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The New Guy

I didn’t get to Starbucks today – UJ needed the car; I’ll have to talk to him about that later. Or perhaps I should see if our Treasurer, IdaBear, will spring loose the funds we need to finally buy our own. I mean, I think it’s justified! We have another new addition to the Society. Meet Rolfe – UJ found him wandering around the supermarket, aimlessly walking up and down the barbecue aisle. He was very hungry when he got home – those supermarkets really don’t look after the critters they have up for adoption. I don’t think they care. I’ll have to have a chat with them about that.

Anyway, we fed him and now he’s watching a movie. Looks happy now – wouldn’t you agree?

Sidney

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Yesterday

Alright, what can I say? I took the day off from my blog. Actually, it’s not really as simple as that – UJ had us out on the road with him to do some spotting – a quick trip to Okotoks. A nice guy, our UJ, and just now there seems to be something of a twinkle in his eye… Hmm, he doesn’t even tell me everything, so I guess we’ll just have wait to find out what’s going on with him.

This morning we’re out and about again, on a very important chore. UJ’s at home, writing, and he asked us to take the car to go and look in all the supermarkets for good deals on Em’s favourite coffee. So far we have ten cans of the stuff – Belgian Hazelnut – and a rain check for ten more. UJ gave us his credit card, of course, but you’d be amazed at how difficul it is for us to actually make a purchase. I mean, isn’t my pawprint as good as the next man’s?

The story is coming along well. It’s at the point where the actual rescue is about to begin. The groundwork, structurally speaking, is laid, and we’re going to get to the proverbial meat of it. Looking forward to the finished project.

Flames Fan

Uncy Jay made a mean Lasagne yesterday – from scratch. He had this weird-looking white stuff in a bowl and he was mixing stuff into it – an egg, herbs and so on – and I asked him what he was making. It was interesting to watch. Of course, I’m not much of a cook myself – it’s hard to stir when you have no thumbs, and I keep getting food caught up in my fur.

Anyway, I’ve picked up as much coffee as I can and have stopped at Starbucks for a beverage. Uncy Jay introduced me to Caramel Macchiattos a while back and I’m sure glad he did!Tomorrow night is the fifth-last game of the regular season for my hockey team – the Calgary Flames – hey, check out my favourite shirt! I am a FAN! And I like Harvey, too – delightfully irreverent. Not too many folks giving them a chance to make the playoffs this year, but I believe, and then I think they’ll be something of a surprise. Go Flames!

A dark, dank, overcast morning . Just me here with my sunglasses and my beverage.

I wonder how Uncy Jay is getting on at home?

Sidney.

Okay

UJ is happy today. He got invited to an industry function, and enjoyed it very much indeed. “Sidney,” he said when he got home, “there are people out there who like me, and who like what I do. And that’s the most important thing.” And you know what? He then went on to ask me about my day, and how I felt! Pretty cool.

He asked me about the movie we’re making – how it’s going. That was an easy answer – it’s going well. Bwossom is acting the part, as are all the critters, and the story itself is slowly coming together. I told him it’s complete in my mind, just not realized yet. He knew exactly what I meant. “You know,” he said, “that’s the story of my life some days.

Anyway, I’m happy that he’s feeling happier.

Sidney.

Unbelievable

I just can’t believe some of the things I have to put up with. I called the meeting and was roundly heckled – I couldn’t believe it! Granted it was a little dark down there, but I don’t think I deserved the attack I got. There were two ring-leaders, or so it seemed. Barry Bear and Murray Moose – Murray, my own vice-president! Et tu, Murray?

The main concern was the darkness, and I will talk to UJ about that, but there were other issues, too. Murray said that he had heard complaints from some of the critters who were bored. There was nothing to do down there. I suggested jigsaw puzzles or crosswords, but boy was I shouted down. “Then, how about writing?” I asked, and a number of the critters agreed they could certainly consider that. Eugene, the webmaster, said he thought he could spearhead that effort, as long as the equipment was provided. “Well, it so happens,” I said, “that I know where there’s a spare computer that you all can use.” Ok, one problem solved.

Another complaint was being unable to come upstairs at all. Aside from how dark it is, a number of the critters felt like they had been forgotten completely down there. If it weren’t for Uncy Jay saying hello to them every time he walked by they say they would never feel involved! This topic became quite heated. “Mea culpa.” I said, but I also reminded them that they have legs, feet and the power to leave the basement any time they want. There is nothing keeping them down there except the limit of their own imaginations. I expect to see a lot more movement down there over the next little while.

Yet another complaint was the lack of funding for musical instruments. Some of the younger critters wanted to dabble in music – to try it out to see if they can do it. “Well,” I said, “I can tell you that there’s no money at all in the budget for that – we must direct our education kibble to the three R’s. But,” I said “I do believe that UJ has some instruments you can use if you want – a clarinet, a guitar, and a mouth organ. I’ll ask him.” There was a little squeak of applause when I said that – from the young ones – and if I know UJ he won’t have any problem with the critterlets learning how to play – as long as they aren’t too noisy.

Finally, some of the critters wanted to be able to watch TV whenever they wanted (the rules say only when UJ is around). Now, I had to put my foot down on this one. The reason for the rule as it currently stands is to protect the equipment, which cost UJ quite a lot of money. I explained that we can’t just have everybody jumping all over the remote control, trying to make it work, especially when you remember that many of their paws are just far too big to hit the buttons properly. There was compromise there – agreement and understanding.

I was surprised by the number of complaints, and by some of the vitriol, but in retrospect I don’t think I should have been. I have been somewhat absent, and I can appreciate that those guys could feel left out. I mean, on the last five road trips I regret (now) that I’ve never taken the time to debrief them as I always do the upstairs crowd. This is something I can fix, and in apologizing I made a promise to do better in the future.

Family portrait

By the end of it there was general contentment, and I think we’re back on track again. The fact is, I lost sight of some of my responsibilities, and forgot some of the promises I had made long ago. My bad.

Anyway, it shall be fixed. Like I say, I expect to see a lot more movement down there in the next little while.

Sidney

The work

Today I’m sitting in the kitchen, preparing to address the many chores on my list. I have a meeting scheduled later today with the basement critters, who seem to have some sort of grievance with the level of lighting in their area. Now I know that they deserve the best when it comes to ambience, but they also must realize that we are working within a tight budget. It promises to be a tough negotiation, but I’m confident they will see reason in the end. We are ultimately a very wise bunch, we critters.

The meeting

The weather here was delightful yesterday morning, but it rained in the afternoon. Then in the evening it cleared out again just in time for the opening of the new mall extension over at Chinook. Now, I must admit that I was some annoyed not to have been invited, especially as I am President of this Organization, but at least UJ was invited and I know I can always count on him to keep an eye out for our interests. When he got home he told me that he saw and met dozens of critters from other chapters, and that they reported being well looked after. They credited the society with this fact, and Uncy Jay said that they all sent their best wishes and thanks. This is, of course, the message I will pass along to thebasement critters later on today.

Anyway I must go. I will try to get back in touch after the meeting.

Sidney

Uncy Jay

I’m worried about Uncy Jay. He’s having a tough time with his job search, and he can’t figure out why. “Sidney,” he says, “I did my job well, and I did it for a long time.” He hasn’t really voiced this overtly, but I think that he’s worried someone is bad-mouthing him. He calls it “sent to Coventry”. That would, of course, be very unpleasant – not because I know where Coventry is or have anything against it myself – but because I know how hard Uncy Jay has worked – certainly for as long as I’ve known him. I hope he finds a job soon that he likes.

There is no end of paperwork for the president of a large organization like this.

There was some excitement around here the other day – we leaders got to go to a car show with Big Babs – that’s Jay’s big, old car. We love those shows. Not only do we get to spot all the way there and back, but we get to look after Babs all day, too. Babs doesn’t get out very much – not like Cindy. She says that she’s an old lady and needs a lot of time to recover between trips. She’s part of the Buick family, of the Michigan Buickses, and she’s 43 years old this year, which is – what – 99 in car years? She’s proud that she’s made it this far, and that she can still certainly “cut a rug” and turn a head, and all without any kind of plastic surgery.But she’s never more happy than on show day – when thousands and thousands of people get together to hover around and say “Ooh, look at the nice car!” She enjoys sitting all day, proudly listening to all the nice comments, with Uncy Jay looking on, and with us inside, standing guard. Of course, Uncy Jay always gives us a part in the show: this time he had us reading from the original manual so that everyone would notice it. And they did, and we had fun. He said there would be a test, but of course there wasn’t. He’s funny that way.

And of course when we got home we had to tell all the other critters all about it, so it was fun to re-live it, too. Anyway, that was the last show of the year for Babs – which is a bummer because it was also only her second time out (she spent quite a lot of time in the hospital this year, for one thing and another – but that’s for another day).

Anyway, UJ says he’s going to do some writing today. Perhaps he’ll let me help!

More later. Now that I’ve found his mobile thingy, it’ll be easier to do this.

Sidney

A very active society

To look at us you wouldn’t think we ever did anything, but don’t be deceived. The fact is we’re a very busy bunch. That’s why we need a full executive contingent – everyone has to pull their own weight to get things done. Good thing we don’t weigh very much.

We do a lot together: TV nights, movie nights, sports nights. We cook, we clean, we support, we love (unequivocally), we move, we shake, we jiggle and we giggle. Of course, we only giggle when something is funny – and we giggle very, very quietly – so you would hardly even know it was happening unless you knew what to listen for. And on top of all that, we make the occasional movie. We’re actually thinking of doing another Proof of Life thing because we keep getting wind that there are those of you out there who don’t believe.

Anyway, it’s late and I’m tired. Need to go seeps.

Sidney