My Week with the Cat

Yes, another blog featuring cat information. But there's nothing else to write about when my sweetheart is gone. Corbin has been in Santa Barbara doing research since Monday. He returns home tonight! I have learned absence does make the heart grow fonder. Additionally, his mere presence fills me with life. This week I've been a lazy cat feeling completely lifeless without my Corbin. I'm so glad he'll be back soon.

My week without Corbin has been very unproductive and I haven't nearly ate as well as I do when he's around. Below is a list of my post-work activities and dinner.

• Monday - I went to the mall and bought some new clothes to fill my loneliness. It sort of worked. Ate left over eggplant Parmesan. Felt a little guilty for buying stuff while my house was a mess so washed some dishes. The house is still a mess. Watched Intolerable Cruelty until I passed out.
• Tuesday - I returned unopened food that I bought for a Young Women's activity and went to Target and bought shampoo. Ate a grilled cheese sandwich. The house is still a mess but who cares? Watched the Prestige until I passed out.
• Wednesday - Went to a Young Women's activity. Ate a grilled cheese sandwich. The house is still a mess and I really don't care. Came home and watched the Long Long Trailer staring Lucille Ball until I passed out.
• Thursday - Cleaned the house...finally something productive. Corbin comes home and now I care :) Ate a disappointing frozen pizza from Trader Joe's. Watched Down with Love until I passed out.

While Papel can be a good companion, he is certainly no replacement to Corbin. Here's why:

1. Papel cries, Corbin does not. As soon as I walk into the door, the crying begins and does not stop until he's fed. One day I seriously thought about recording it and posting it to prove just how loud and long he can cry. His cries went on for some time. Apparently it wasn't acceptable for me to go to the bathroom after a long day of being chained to my desk. After feeding him, he's content as he gulps down his dinner. Following the meal, he cleans himself, sits on the deck and then comes back inside and begins to cry again. Now he's bored and wants to play. And I'm tired and missing my sweetheart, so I ignore him and...see point #2.
2. Papel sneaks up on me, Corbin does too...but I like it when he does :) For those of you who don't know, I'm visually impaired. I normally wear contact lenses. At night I take them out. Just before falling asleep, I become paranoid that I may not have locked the front door. So I drag myself out of bed and stumble into the living room. Just as I'm about to pass the couch to check the front door, out jumps Papel, who I can't see because it's dark and I'm visually impaired. He's reared up on his hind legs with his front legs waving and his mouth open. I walk right into him unknowingly and his front legs wrap around my leg and he begins to playfully bite my leg. I'm practically asleep and blind and all I know is something fury and pointy is on my leg. So I shake him off and try to restore my heart rate and breathing.
3. Papel hogs the bed, Corbin can be pushed out of the bed if necessary. Papel sleeps with us every night. He typically sleeps right where I would put my feet if I were to lie straight on my side of the bed. It's very difficult to push him out of the way so I end up sleeping diagonally with my feet ontop of Corbin's. I thought with Corbin gone, I'd at least get more space in bed. I was mistaken. Papel continued to lie down in the same spot. And silly me, so did I. Apparently without Corbin I also loose some level of intelligence and problem solving skills.

I would write more, but my lunch hour is over and I have to return to work. Stay tuned for a post on our reunion.