Goodbye, house.

Sat on the cat this morning.  Oops.  She looked irked.  I hadn't meant to do it.  She has a grand total of two expressions: serene and irked.  Through most of this vacation, she reminded me why I thought a bunny would be interesting to have instead of a cat-- every cat I have ever known can take you or leave you, and they do not get excited and happy to see you.  Dogs get excited to see you, but we can't have a dog.  Bunnies have a social structure; maybe I can get one that thinks I am special?  Cats do not.  Cats are not domesticated; they are symbiotic.  As a general rule, they only like you in the same way that they like a radiator or a full food bowl.  I wanna be more special than that.  (I know your kitties are exceptions, bevanravenswing, no chiding me.)  When my father and I were playing with SNOBOL a couple nights back, though, Bianca (the cat) sat on my lap and looked serene and purred at the top of her aging lungs.  I petted her.  She rubbed her head on my hand a bit.  She was awfully nice.  Then she sat around this morning watching me eat cereal like a vulture circling a failing cow.  Offered her the leftover milk; she was horrified at my unsubtlety.  Apparently I should have walked off and left it instead.  I offered it instead to the current grand old canine dame of our house until she got sloppy and got milk droplets on my hand.  No more milk for you, Riki, all down the drain.

Leaving my parents' house behind for another year today.  Trying to wake up far enough to be decent conversation prior to getting dropped off at the airport.  Woke up early to say goodbye to Mom before she went off tracking.  Bye, Carlin, bye Ringer, get good hot dogs and don't get confused on the crosstrail.  Dad's downstairs and watching Mom's screensaver in a patient fashion, since I took over his computer in order to write this.  Rather than dislodge me, he's decided to go post the mail that was delivered incorrectly in hopes that I'll be gone by the time he gets back.  He's such a non-conflict sort of human being.

zzz.