clearbluecup

we packed the cat into the car and went off into the west cork night. yes, we are becoming those people who take their cat with them everywhere like a child. it's true.

like the anxious parent, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the cat climbing along the supporting beam in the house, a good 12 feet above the floor. calmly the cat walked to the end of the beam, brushed the cobwebs and dust from it's whiskers, deftly turned about face and walked back to the balcony. no reason to be worried at all.

while we were out west we went to the beach twice, drank a celebratory amount of wine and stayed up late into the night chatting around the wood fire. we climbed up to the headland and stuck our pink noses out into the atlantic wind. we called around to visit albion, who was sweeping the floor when we arrived. "it's just so mucky here!" he said, "i'd forgotten about all the mud."

we saw a seal on the beach, expertly camoflauged by the rocks. we saw swimmers running into the turbulent sea on new year's day, their white skins glowing neon in the sun while everyone else was bundled up with scarves and wooly hats and techy gore-tex jackets. we saw hundreds of rabbit holes in the abandoned golf course beside the beach, some big enough for my 5 year old niece chloe to fit into.

we got dressed up for a new years party, drove out to bantry to find it, got all the way down the muddy irish road without getting stuck, and arrived at the house to find that there were only three cars parked outside. we sat outside in the car trying to decide what to do, our friend wasn't there and we couldn't get ahold of him on his mobile, neither of us knew the hosts or anyone there except our friend who hadn't arrived. what to do? I'm a big chicken. we turned around and drove back up the muddy boreen and as we turned out onto the main road a white volkswagen van turned in onto the side road after we pulled out. was that our friend? would we follow him? we had no way of knowing so we chose what we did know - we drove back to andy's house and ate white buttered toast while toasting the new year with champagne. the radio was playing a racous version of auld lang syne, then the DJ put on the first song of the new year - "I'm waiting for my man" by the velvet underground.

i still haven't decided if there is any significance to the heroin dealer song, but i have decided that this year is going to be the year that i DO things, where I have more action, more words, more oomph and bang. where i go out, meet people, invite friends over for dinner and work ambitiously at what i want. no more waiting around, i am going to be who i want to be. I've started saying "I want to do x" instead of "i should do x". it's a subtle difference, but effective.

click on the photo above to see the new year's album.

Tabitha (discontinued now as I am convinced he is a boy)

Louis

Louie (it's a subtle difference...)

Klaus

Spunky

Spunky McSpunkerson

Mew Mew

Richard the Lionhearted

Tiger

Gato

Tsunami

Wasabi

Kitty

Pusskin

Chairman meow

Chester the cheshire

The current full name is Louis Wasabi, but it's not set in stone yet. Any suggestions?

He's dignified, well mannered, he's got crazy serious eyebrows when he's concentrating and a cheshire cat swirl on his side. he likes to sit on my lap when I'm working on the computer and watch the screen, every now and then putting a paw out to check if it's real. he's got a little pink spot on his black nose. he likes to chase fake mice hidden inside a clear plastic box.

ok, i'll stop talking about my cat now.

edit:: I've decided on louis, and we took him to the vet on the weekend for a checkup = he's a boy.

work is a whirlwind, and I am exhausted from running to and fro answering questions.

the worst part is that I CAN'T SLEEP at night.

I'm not used to insomnia! normally I'm a very sound sleeper.

also, we were given this book by management as a christmas present. makes me wonder where my cheese is. and whether it's even worth it running after stupid cheese all the time.

not to mention the worst storm in 25 years forecast for tonight. batten down the hatches, as they say.

On saturday we went out to the opening ceremonies of the European Capital of Culture year in Cork. We saw fire jugglers, kitchen sink drummers, autograph collectors, a light and water show in the river and some fantastic fireworks. Then we gorged ourselves on curry... mmm, curry. :)

I'm looking forward to the year ahead, uncertain though it seems at the moment with work and whatnot. Judging from the atmosphere around the city on saturday Cork is going to be a fun place to be.

Click on the photo above to see the gallery.

one of my favorite things is watching louis chase his tail.

first, eye it up. stare down any mischevious twitching. wiggle your haunches and scrunch up your striped eyebrows.

then, ATTACK!!!

recursion at it's finest.

morning sun streams in through the lace curtains. sleep sits softly in my veins still, and I am quiet. The cat sits on the windowsill, and every hair on his body glows in the sun.

it is growing dark. the sun sets silently behind the houses. i type away, focused on the glowing screen in front of me. when I sit back and lean my elbows against my knees i am struck by the texture of my hands in the darkened room. the skin is healthy and glows in the cool light from the laptop, but every single line and crease in my knuckles seems graven in stone. i can even see all the lines and nicks in my ring.

i am walking along a path near a sacred site in west cork. all the stones in the path have been lined up carefully, so as to guide the walker along. the rocks are a beautiful shade of reddish brown, which is uncharacteristic for the area. i come to a fork in the path. to my left the path continues, straight and flat. to my right, the path goes up a very steep bank and dissapears over the top of the hill. i choose the straight and flat path, and continue walking. eventually i come to the fork in the road again, and this time i notice that there are small pieces of quartz embedded into the steps that lead up the steep path. i think to myself that the quartz might be a signpost, so i begin climbing up the steep steps. eventually i come to a river, and tom and i are lying down in the river with our white feather duvet around us. i am cosy and warm. we look out across the river and watch a giant hairy beast washing himself in the water. then our friend noah comes to guide us and I spend a long time trying to get my hair into two perfect ponytails.

i am sitting at the kitchen table, with the cat purring on my lap. the sun is pouring into the room. i am blinded by the sun, but i don't move my chair. instead, i close one eye and look across at tom. hundreds of points of light dance between us, swirling like galaxies.

now that louis has all his vaccinations, we've been letting him go outside to play during the day. he's discovered the equivalent of adventure sports for cats:

climbing 10 feet up into the elderflower tree...

AND CHASING HIS TAIL.