Cat-Sitting

Over Christmas I stayed at my sister's house to cat-sit while she and her partner were in France visiting her partner's mother. I usually stay at my parents' house, but my brother, sister-in-law and 2-year-old nephew were staying there this year. My sister's house is only a few minute's walk away from my parents' house and anyway the cats like to have someone staying in the house, not just coming over to fill the cat-food dish.

Since my sister's partner and his cat Cookie moved in with my sister and her cat Maisie, the cats have never really got on. They have a long-running campaign of ambush and guerrilla warfare, punctuated by phases of totally ignoring each other. While I've been cat-sitting, Cookie has followed me around the house a lot and demanded lots of strokes, while Maisie has popped in occasionally to get some food but spent most of the time out of the house except in the evenings when she sat on my lap while I watched tv or lay along my thigh if I was lying down on the sofa. Cookie won't sit on people's laps, but looks very cross when Maisie does so, as she is jealous of maisie getting the attention. Cookie also has the strange habit of licking soap, which I caught her doing about once a day.

I went out to buy some food on Friday morning and met W (my sister's next door neighbour) down at the shops. She said she'd guessed that I was staying at my sister's house as Maisie hadn't moved in with her, which she usually does when my sister is away. Maisie gets on far better with W's cats Skip and Oliver than she does with Cookie and has always spent a lot of time over at W's house.

Weekly Wrap-Up #35 - Million Dollar Dreams

On December 25th, one man won $315 million in a lottery. With that in mind, how would you answer these questions?

1. What would be the first purchase you make with your newly-won fortune? Why?
I think my first purchases would be some new clothes and some presents for my family. I would pay off my credit cards too, but I would want to take more time deciding on any major purchases and how to invest the bulk of the money.

2. What charities would benefit from your lottery winnings? Why?
To start with I would make donations to Amnesty, as I already support them and think that human rights are very important, and also the local Wildlife Trust.

3. How would you handle the instant celebrity nature of your life, once lottery officials announced your name and shared your photograph with the world?
Luckily, you can choose to remain anonymous if you win the UK lottery. I would definitely do so, as I wouldn't want tabloids trying to dig up dirt on me or people trying to con me out of my winnings.

4. Would you expect long-long relatives or friends to resurface once you obtained the winnings? If so, what would you do? If not, why?
I'd have to tell people close to me about my lottery win, but would probably downplay how much money I'd won. I would give money to recognised charities and throw begging letters straight in the bin, whether they came from long lost friends and relatives or total strangers. I don't think I'm an easy touch, so I wouldn't succumb to emotional blackmail.

5. Many lottery winners state that their lives will not change despite winning a huge sum of money... do you think yours would? Why or why not?
I can't understand why people say that. If winning the lottery isn't going to change their life, then why waste money on buying lottery tickets? If they mean that it won't change their attitudes and values, then that's different.
I would hope that not having to worry about money would change my life. I enjoy my current job and it pays well, but there are things I'd rather do in an ideal world. I could go back to university, take a more enjoyable job that pays less, or work part-time. I wouldn't want to join the jet-set and live an indolent life, but I would have many more options.

Gripes about "LOTR:The Two Towers"

On Boxing Day afternoon, I went to the Showcase to see "The Two Towers" with my brother and my sister-in-law, who wasn't going to let being seven and a half months pregnant stop her seeing it! My brother hadn't read LOTR for years, but my sister-in-law and I had read it recently, and spent the whole of the journey home ripping the film to bits.

I also had a long discussion about it with my friend J when I went back to work today. We were both disappointed, and didn't like it half as much as FOTR. Still, we had fun moaning about the film and criticising it : )

( gripes )

( on the other hand )