September 19, 2009
My cats owe me two thousand dollars.
My cats owe me two thousand dollars.
No, no. This is about jealousy.
My cats have systematically been killing off my technology because it's the only thing in the house my husband and I spend more time with than them. Not just them. Technology is the only thing my husband and I spend more time with than each other. Hi, honey.
Now, I'm not a cat person.
I know. How is a person with three cats not a cat person?
Well, Archie and his sister were my mom's cats. My mom passed away when they were 18 months old. I offered to bring them home with me after Mom's funeral, but my sweetheart of a stepdad said he wanted to keep them because--even though he was not a cat person--he knew that having them around would remind him of Mom, who loved them so much, and whom he loved so much.
Exactly two months later, my stepdad boarded a Delta jet with two kitty carriers as his luggage. I am not a cat person. I am a cat inheritor.
Don't AWW. Remember. These bitches owe me two grand.
Oh, but you saw three cats before, didn't you?
Doesn't having three cats make you a cat person, Bon?
No. It makes me both a cat inheritor and a cat rescuer.
See, a few years ago, we visited friends in Orange County. We knew their cat had just had kittens and the whole drive down there, I said to my husband, "I'm not coming home with a kitten. I am not coming home with a kitten. I AM NOT coming home with a kitten."
Well, while there, I learned that these folks are so very pro-life that they actually refuse to fix their pets, because if it's the Lord's will, they will reproduce.
I know.
Then I saw their toddler walking around carrying this kitten by her tail. Her sad, broken tail.
And I was *this close* to coming home with a kitten. But no. My logic won out.
And then someone opened the champagne. And I came home with a kitty. It was my birthday after all.
Don't AWW! I'm telling you! She is the most evil of them all!
Her name is Thwok. T-H-W-O-K. Thwok. That is the sound she makes when she hits the wall, running at full speed. Which she continues to do. At age five. (She's not very bright.)
She fancies herself a marvelous hunter. Here she is hunting a bug on the ceiling from the shelves of demo reels. This photo was taken moments before she plummeted to my husband's desk below, killing his laptop. $1500.
Here she is enjoying her bed, our former duplex laser printer. She loved this bed because it was warm and because she learned how to push a certain button and start up a reprint of the last print job. Duplex. Meaning the page would shoot out once, then suck back in (giving great "chase" material) and then emerge again. Until she chased one too many pages back into the machine. $500.
We had to get rid of our comm center because the whole fax machine, answering machine thing became a way for Thwok to terrorize the elder kitties. Well, they tortured each other. They'd all run across the buttons in the middle of the night, playing messages, playing our outgoing greeting, erasing our messages, changing our greeting. Upgrade to internal voicemail and faxing? $350.
Now, their torture of each other could be worse.
You can AWW at that one. They're not my cats. My friends Jodi and Shon have to worry about the plumbing bill for this little incident.
We had to upgrade to a flat-screen monitor. $300.
My laptop. $1700.
Where are we now? $4350? Yeah. Forget what I said about my cats owing me two thousand dollars. This is getting serious.
Neither of us had set this show up to record. Damn cats. Theories on the Facebook abounded about what these pussies were getting out of CBS. Still, their programming choices--however crappy--didn't cost me anything. Now, if they had deleted an episode of America's Next Top Model, we'd be dealing with stuffed and mounted domestic animals at this point. But it did get me thinking about the technology in our lives they have killed.
Most recently, my backup drive.
A one-terabyte external hard drive that backed up my daily goodies and--more importantly--that recently became the archive home for years of my casting files, writing files, books and columns, all of it. Because, "Hey, technology is a good thing and this is a safe place for my data. It's all here in one, safe place. Let's wipe this stuff off the daily-use computers. All of it."
See this little cable here? It's short. It connects the external hard drive to my laptop. And unlike the breakaway power cable on the MacBook, when this cable gets run into by a maniac Maine Coon chasing one of his fellow felines around the house, it actually snaps the attached hard drive to the floor.
The device is under warranty. We can send it back and get a new one. For free. The data recovery, however, is not covered. That's $2000.
But now that I'm doing the math, I realize my cats actually owe me more like $6350.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you three
lovely,
cuddly,
spirited cats and a trunk filled with broken gadgets. These items will be available on eBay for the low opening bid of six grand, starting tomorrow. Thank you for your consideration, and happy bidding!
Posted by bonnie at 12:00 PM | Comments (8)
April 2, 2008
Loves the Kitties
Yeah, yeah, I know. Not everyone is into the beautiful kitties. Whatevs. Fine.
But:
A. I'm totally into Rich and his blog, b/c he covers ANTM like nobody's business.
B. I appreciate the capture of a kitty in total bitchcakes whoredom (I have tried to catch Thwok, the broccoli lover, like this, to no avail).
C. Bonus points for closed-captioning. Brill. Loves.
G'nite!
PS--My Microsoft Office Notifications have stopped working. If you were owed a conversation that was based on an alarm going off, you'll be affected by this glitch. How will you know? Er... I won't call you. Or email. Or whatevs.
PPS--MySpace changed its notifications' system and I had to unsub from all of it to stop the spammage. This definitely means folks who think we interact via MySpace are gonna miss my eyes (if'n that matters).
PPPS--Suddenly respecting the old-timey phone panel and attendant. "Hello, operator? I'm calling K-L-1. Please connect me." Yeah.
Posted by bonnie at 5:49 PM | Comments (2)
January 6, 2008
Y'know, I love him, but...
the next time I get off the sofa and Archie steals my warm seat while I'm up, I'm just gonna shave him bald for my own entertainment.
Photo of Archie from December 2003 at the old apartment on the old-old computer on the Duran Duran crate. He still sleeps on that computer like it's his own heatrock (but that computer now lives on Keith's desk, and Archie only seems to want to be on it when it will most annoy Keith).
Theme: Archie likes to be "in the way" which, in Archie language, means "in love."
Non-Archie-related note: Breakdown for Scratching the Surface goes out tomorrow! Check CricketFeet.com/Casting for a link directly to the submission page. SOOOOOOO EXCITED! :)
Posted by bonnie at 9:17 PM | Comments (2)
March 23, 2007
Kitties at Home
So, Keith repurposed a cubby in the headshot system area.
Yes. Keith has an interesting sense of humor.
Here's Archie a little closer in.
Toooooo cute, eh?
But wait! I asked Keith to get a wide shot, to include Thwok on top of the kitty condo (which is on top of the cubbies).
Now, look at the larger version of this photo. Look at the top right corner... way in the distance. On top of the bookcase in the den. See that? It's SALEMA and her hauntingly lovely eyes, glowing from the other room.
That's how our kitties kick it at home. Awwwwwwww.
Posted by bonnie at 9:49 PM | Comments (3)
January 5, 2007
Kitties Sunning
All three kitties are happy that we moved the dining room table in order to sort headshots.
More sun.
Posted by bonnie at 1:21 PM | Comments (6)
September 4, 2006
Keith's Dream
So, I come to bed (after turning in my column) at 4:30am and Keith wakes up to tell me about a dream he just had.
Seems he was riding a motorcycle but didn't have a helmet.
So he had Archie riding on the handlebars.
That way, Archie could swat away any bugs that were headed toward Keith's face as he drove.
There was theme music.
How cute is it that my husband dreams in buddy movies? And that his buddy is our cat?
Posted by bonnie at 10:15 AM | Comments (2)
August 30, 2006
And then there was one.
*sigh*
I was waiting to post about this, because I was sure that at any moment there would be NONE, but it seems we've reached the status at which we'll be holding for a while.
When we had to vacate for the tenting thingy a couple of months ago, our cats, plants, and the shrimps went over to Aunt Dawn's for three days. A few days after we brought everything home, we noticed one of the little shrimps had died. It was the clear one that Keith had named "Shallow Hal" (when it lost its red outsideness--not sure what to call it since it wasn't a shell or anything). We figured that shedding had weakened its immunity and the shift in location twice in one week was too much for it to take. No biggie. We had read that these guys live to be 100 or so and we never know how old they are when they get put into the ecosystem anyway.
Okay. So that was late June. Now it's late August and we're down to one, lonely shrimps. We started out with five in March. As each one has died, the remaining guys have feasted on the corpse (*shudder*) and I've tried not to think much about it. When it got down to the final two, I was thinking, "Either you guys are both going to die because we have a toxic little ecosystem that's killing you all, here, or one of you is about to have the place to yourself... because you've been offing your competition in a very bizarre game of Survivor."
Since this one guy is kicking around just fine, it seems, I now dub thee: KILLER.
*sigh*
Posted by bonnie at 5:40 AM | Comments (3)
August 22, 2006
My Cat Is Insane
I was just enjoying leftovers from Tana's and Thwok came up while I wasn't looking and stole a piece of freakin' broccoli. Not lobster. Broccoli.
Weird animal.
Oh, and Deb, I got your emails. I have had NO time to reply to about 90% of my email lately. It sucks, being so swamped, but I hope to catch up on everything one of these days. No, really. I do. *sigh* Oh, and Susan, you can email the script and I may have time to skim it this weekend. Not sure yet.
Doin' the best that I can.
Posted by bonnie at 4:26 PM | Comments (4)
April 6, 2006
How We Work
Okay, so Keith's having trouble getting work done today. Why?
Well... fatass Archie has a new favorite spot.
*sigh*
PS--Next entry is number 1111 at the BonBlogs. I'd better make it a good one!
Posted by bonnie at 7:06 PM | Comments (2)
April 3, 2006
Junk on the Trunk
In true "lemme show ya how it's done, sister" fashion, Salema took a roll in the 'nip in front of Thwok.
And struck a couple of poses.
You go, girl!
Posted by bonnie at 3:27 AM | Comments (2)
March 30, 2006
Step One
Step one, dear Thwok, is admitting that you have a problem.
Granted, you are a cat, and I guess it's okay if you want to go around all Kate Moss with junk on your nose and all that.
But still...
Fix your face, woman! That catnip is a crazy bitch!
Posted by bonnie at 8:07 PM | Comments (11)
January 31, 2006
Imaginary Friend
I'm more implausable than Chip.
Your score was 54 in Unbelievability!
You are your author's imaginary friend, but you're not really the type of character fiction writers should aim for. You're more than a little out of the ordinary. You might have had some really crazy experiences, or have an unusual talent or two. Maybe you were even born with a tail. Whatever it is that makes you unique, it does the job well, because there are very few people like you on this planet. A novel with you as a character would be a guilty pleasure to read. It would be considered intellectual junk food, of course, but damn fun to read nonetheless. Even if many people didn't want to pay actual money to read about you and your exploits, surely it would be checked out from the library at least... once every couple of months.
You scored higher than 64% on Implausibility Link: The Are You a Plausible Character? Test written by coldrose
Oh, and in kitty news: Thwok has taken to getting high... on adhesive. She has been caught licking the top flap of unused manilla envelopes, then making that *ick* *ick* face... then licking again. And again. She HAS to be getting high from this. Why else would she continue to do it?!? Freakshowkitty!
Posted by bonnie at 12:08 PM | Comments (2)
January 17, 2006
Another Kitchen Adventure
We tried out the Gluten-Free Pantry recipe for mini-corndogs today.
Much more like a hot-pocket and less like a corndog, but still tasty. I think we'll create the "dough" again in the future and fill it with veggies and meats and cheeses and such. That might be the best use of it. Still... fun to use two things we didn't own until this weekend: rolling pin and cookie cutter.
3:06pm addition: Could it be bad for an eight-pound kitten to eat a quarter of an uncooked hotdog? It sure was fun watching her drag it out from the kitchen, pouncing on it and playing with it as she took bites from it, while it rolled about on the area rug. I swear, she'd be a GREAT barn cat.
Posted by bonnie at 1:20 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
I think I must
have a puggle.
The cats won't mind, right?
Posted by bonnie at 4:16 PM | Comments (6)
December 9, 2005
Rest in Peace, Dear Joseph
Word from Sacto on Joseph Montana...
Just wanted you to know that Joseph is gone. He went very quickly and very peacefully, with his flaps (ears) up. Thank you for your good thoughts and prayers.
He did very well this week until last night. He woke up at 2, crying. He and I walked and walked and walked. I gave him mineral oil. He pooped, but would not lie down. He finally calmed down enough to lie down around 6. I had to go to an appointment at 8 and left him sleeping quietly.
When I got home around 1, he had gotten up and was lying in the dining area. He was having trouble breathing. I called Dennis and at 2:45 he went to sleep for the last time. I am very grateful I got him there. He was so uncomfortable. Dennis conjectured that whatever has been bothering him these past few months, finally broke free.
Brandt is finishing his grave, next to Cocoa, Geoffrey, BoNose and the two pigs.
Talk with you some time this weekend.
Love to you both.
And that is all.
Posted by bonnie at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)
December 2, 2005
Happy Dance
Tonight, for the first time in MONTHS, there will be a gathering of the Ladies of the Gimlet. Yippee!
That's right... it's finally time for a Gimlet Night! This time: Cranberry Ginger Cosmos and gluten-free baked goods. Of course, the hours and hours of talking, laughing, and pontificating are standard fare. Heeeeeee! Can't wait to see my best girlfriends!
And...
To get you into the holiday spirit, sister Liz has sent a photo of Luke in a Kings' Xmas cap. Hey--animal lovers, keep Joseph in your warm, loving thoughts. Tomorrow is likely to be his last day here. :( Go in peace, sweet Joe. {{{hugs to the fam}}}
Posted by bonnie at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2005
Thwok's Favorite Toy
Thwok's new favorite toy is my padded emery board.
She stole it from my desk yesterday and began picking it up (Yes, she stands on her back paws and uses her front paws like a squirrel does.), tossing it into the air, and then chasing it down as it landed. Then she would grab it between her two front paws and begin kicking at it with her back paws until she flipped it across the room with one too-swift kick, running again to chase it down and punish it for getting away from her.
We've seen her walking around the house with it between her teeth, watched her wrestle with it, and enjoyed the giggles as she tosses it into a wall from which it bounces back and sails right back at her like a boomerang.
She is easily amused (as are we).
*sigh*
Animals are cool.
Posted by bonnie at 8:14 PM | Comments (2)
October 24, 2005
Hey, Plant People
What do you know about plants that are poisonous to cats?
One of the amazing gifts we got at the party last night was a large, lovely plant with big, green and purple leaves. Keith is worried it's one of the many that are bad for kitties.
Now, it's NOT the same as the plant in the photo above (which is poisonous), but it's close. It's also close to this one (not poisonous).
So, big, oval-shaped waxy green-on-top-purple-underneath leaves, with patterns like a zebra plant, sort of fanned out like the black magic plant, and most similar to a dumb cane (but without the cane up the middle). I'm guessing we should err on the side of caution and give the plant away, but it's so pretty! Ugh. Any experts with ideas?
Posted by bonnie at 6:53 PM | Comments (2)
October 18, 2005
So Easily Amused
Thwok has a new favorite toy.
Packing peanuts.
See, Keith went to our distributor's warehouse today and picked up a box of "damaged returns" (which is silly, b/c they aren't really *damaged* as much as smudged or handled in some way that makes them no longer "sell as new" material), in case we'd like to use the books for giveaways or whatever.
Box has assorted packing peanuts in it, and just enough of a hole in the top for the silver munkey to snake her paw inside and pull out said peanuts and play, play, play, play, play.
I am amused at how she is amused. The elder kitties are just so glad the thunder has stopped. They did not like that. I, on the other hand, LOVED IT, especially when it was so loud (just before the rain began) that the entire schoolyard filled with children across the street erupted in high-pitched screams of terror and excitement. Hee hee hee.
So easily amused.
PS--next entry will be my 888th at SpyNotebook.org. Cool, eh?
Posted by bonnie at 3:35 AM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2005
I Love You, Joseph Montana!
Oh, Joseph, you are so good to me!
Honestly, there is nothing so fun as opening the door to a care package filled with gluten-free meal kits, Hello Kitty goodies, and loads of love from my favorite good puppy dog!
Thank your momma Liz for doing all of the running around. LOVE this care package!! Yippee!
Oh, and in other news... it's effin' hot, yo.
Posted by bonnie at 4:00 PM
July 9, 2005
Where to begin...
Where do you begin when you have so so so so much going on that you can't even begin to STOP and organize thoughts into words (much less organize thoughts into words that accurately represent the non-stop goings-on)? Whew! I am spinning!! LOVE IT... but it's a LOT of swirl. I feel like I'm in the center of a kick-ass Spirograph design with lots of color. It's gorgeous, complex, and thrilling to behold. But, man, is it a lot to wrap my brain around!
We've finished up prereads for Shrinks. Wow. Some of the most amazing (and also some of the most baffling) actors I've seen, for this one. I'm thrilled with the actors we'll be bringing to callbacks (once we are able to cut down even further; we currently have too many actors on our short list). As for what was baffling... well... let's just say I actually WISH there were a Hollywood Blacklist so that I could make sure one actor is on it. *shudder* I have written (for the first time, ever): NEVER AGAIN across a headshot. I'll explain why over drinks somewhere, sometime... later.
Just got back from the Chandler Hall table read (I didn't stay for any of the read itself; just went at the start to get the last two actors to sign off on their SAG contracts and to get *my* final check for casting services). It is so very cool to see all of the actors cast in one place at the same time. Casting directors never really get to do that. We may see two or three together during chemistry checks at callbacks, but it's so neat to see a dozen confident, CAST, happy actors gathering, meeting, ready to begin the journey that will result in a feature film a year from now. Very gratifying.
Happily completing my essay (to go with my application) for joining the CSA. Received a copy of the letter Michael Donovan wrote on my behalf. It made me cry. What a wonderful man! And truly, he has been a mentor for me since the very beginning of this road (heck, even before I had any idea it was a path)! Wonderful letter. Wonderful man.
In fact, Michael was one of the first people Keith called with the good news. Yup. Keith Johnson, just three years after his first acting gig in Los Angeles, has signed with Origin Talent. That's right. THE Origin Talent. That's Origin Talent of JP Manoux, Katie Stuart, Patrick Malone, Susan Wood, Rodney Rowland, Kate Flannery, Christa Campbell, Suzanne Krull, Patrick Bristow, Jf Pryor, Will Wallace, Sean Bell, Rusty Joiner, Lindsay Hollister, Jake Hanover, Jessica Lancaster, and *ahem* Bob Clendenin fame. Awwwwww, yeah! That's a working actor agency, baby!
Fucking rockstar development. Abby Casey is the best manager on the planet and Keith Johnson now has a manager and TWO agents. Kathleen Schultz for print (signed earlier this week), and now Origin frickin' Talent. So so so so so amazing. Just unbelievable and delightful and perfect. Congratulations, my working actor baby. Oh, and break a leg at your THIRD producer callback session for Big Love. Nail it to the fucking wall!
*ahem* Sorry 'bout the f-word all over the place. I'm just really happy.
Okay, so in a week full of amazing developments, I get this email from someone who has read my advice in a new book published by the UGA Alumni Association.
Seems my advice to 2005 UGA grads is on page 35. You can download the whole PDF by clicking that phrase. If you just want to see my passage in If I Only Knew Then..., click here (also PDF, just smaller). I shared advice that was shared by my aunt Jean, back when I was in crisis over my decision to move back to Atlanta and go to grad school. I couldn't believe I was actually considering leaving Hollywood. It was my PLAN. She taught me about Plan A and Plan B... well... read the passage. You'll see. Cool to have already gotten email about it.
And, I sent a note to Aunt Jean to thank her for the advice and to show her the impact it obviously had on me. I'm guessing she doesn't even recall that particular conversation, but it certainly helped me, in those tough early-20s (when you're so sure you know how your life is going to turn out and think it's WRONG to not know (vs. how blissful it is to not know, which you eventually learn)).
I love living in Santa Monica. We're almost at our anniversary here. So blissful. Being so close to the beach, being able to walk everywhere, the cool weather, the friendly people. Ah, people laugh about, "Never wanting to go east of the 405," but Keith tells them I try not to go east of 26th Street! The temperature drops there, when you're coming back from "the rest of LA" to the Westside. It's not just that, though. It's also the vibe. My pulse actually slows at that point. I relax differently. It's awesome.
And while I love my digs... man, doesn't this place look cool?
It's almost that time! I'm really excited about this birthday. It's been an outstanding year.
That's Ash in last weekend's LA Times. (Click it to see the whole article/scan--very large.) Go, girl. You are definitely the breakout star of MTV's The '70s House. Win! Win big!
Okay. If you haven't already, shame on you. And go NOW. Read the brilliance that is (collectively) Colleen Wainwright's "Searches, We Get Searches" blogs. Of course, every bit of her blog is brilliant, but it's the SEARCH stuff that makes me *snork* (snort-laugh). So much, in fact, I asked her to teach me how to track searches to my blog so that I could try to be so funny.
So far... here's what I've got. In seven weeks of tracking, the most interesting searches that have come my way have been (and my lame attempt at comedy follows each):
Eva Longoria Golden Globes (Yes, yes she does. Mmmmmm.)
Greer Shephard dress (She does, too. Probably once or twice every day!)
Miata touch-up paint Miata (That's catchy! I could sing that.)
photo of Kevan Jenson (Hm. I don't have one, but I'll see if I can snap a pic on the SixHundy on Wednesday, if you'd like.)
star caps (Tooth-coverings for famous people? Headgear for celestial bodies? Five-point bullets? Nah... just a bright-orange, garlic-smelling herbal drug thingy.)
How'd I do, Coco? You say the searches will get better with time, right? ;) Hopefully the comedy will too.
Just transition artwork, above. It says my name. Cool, huh?
Okay, so we took a vote in the Gillespie-Johnson household. Best Hunter: Thwok. Sexiest Vixen: Salema. Sweetest Oaf: Archie (although Keith was close on that one... he's not as sweet).
Oh, and Lily, here's my blog!
'Til next time!
(reminders to self: blog about why a special agent from the ATF stopped by on Thursday, the cat that meditates to the Stones, Fantastic 4, and cool sofa repair guys. also look up the date's for Joni's vist, find out if the casting gig in MO and the trip to Tahoe are mutually exclusive, roll out a SMFA seminar press release, and consult the SixHundy for the rest of the scary to do list. that is all. back to work. stop with the blogging and trust that you'll remember all the other shyte you want to write about when the time is there to do so. seriously. go now. now.)
Posted by bonnie at 11:41 AM
June 22, 2005
Real World Austin
Holy crap, that's a good show.
So, I got home from the SAG LifeRaft talk (which was effin' rockstar) and from taking Keith and Quinn to the airport (Quinn was VERY excited about taking the red-eye home) and found that Kris' boyfriend TiVo had saved Real World: Austin for me. Holy crap, what a good show! I don't remember such an exciting first episode ever.
In other I-love-TV news, I've noticed a whole buncha cool stuff coming up for my summer TV viewing. More on that later.
I've got to tweak the schedule for Thursday's prereads, plus finish the breakdown for Shrinks. Man, I should be sleeping! Oh well...
PS--There is a much more agile version of Archie who lives outside these days. What a panic attack seeing him run through the courtyard tonight gave me! Thought the oaf had escaped Casa Gillespie-Johnson. Nope. Still sleeping, right where we left him. Ha!
Posted by bonnie at 2:25 AM
May 28, 2005
Joseph Montana Update
Reports from NoCal: Joseph Montana is doing much better, thank you.
Yay! The vibes worked! Thanks, everyone!
In other news: T-minus 11 DAYS until Quinn gets here for his annual visit! YIPPEEEEEEE!
I'm so excited I just can't stand it! Yippee yahooee and hooray!
Posted by bonnie at 11:33 AM
May 22, 2005
Joseph Montana
Please send peaceful, happy puppy vibes to NoCal for Joseph Montana, age 14.
Joseph has always been very good to me--sharing a bed with me on visits to Liz and Brandt with Keith, sending me Hello Kitty presents (with Liz's help, of course), and remembering all major holidays with cards in the mail.
Last night, Joseph was taken to the vet with major old-age issues in his back, making his legs basically not work so much. Since Joseph is diabetic (and blind), these are serious concerns.
We love you, Joseph. Hang in there, if it's not painful. Go quickly, if it is. XXOO
Posted by bonnie at 6:50 PM
May 10, 2005
Happy Birthday, Animals
A year ago this week, Thwok was born (she's the little grey thing on the right in the photo--with brother Oscar, nursing on mom Chanel).
And here she is today.
Because we don't know *exactly* when Archie and Salema were born, but we know for a fact it was late April/early May of 1999, we choose this week to celebrate the birthdays of ALL the Gillespie-Johnson animals.
Happy birthday, animals.
And mom, tomorrow, happy birthday to you.
Posted by bonnie at 11:52 AM
April 15, 2005
Munkey Trouble
I love this cat, but she's making work a little difficult.
She has learned how to start up the printer--yes, she knows how to stand on the GO button, causing whatever last printed to print AGAIN--because she loves a good game of get the printer to suck back duplexed paper so I can chase it.
That's fine. (Unless I've just printed a few chapters of the book at once.)
But I've realized--since we trained her to fetch crumpled up paper balls when she was a kitten--that she now has a love for knocking over wastepaper baskets to get out balls of scrap paper.
Be careful what you create, people.
PS--Book-related: only need a bit more indexing and then it's all over. What's next? Casting two films, it seems! Woo damn hoo!
Posted by bonnie at 7:46 PM
February 19, 2005
Note to Self:
Note to self: Thwok is not to be trusted.
Came home from awesome, awesome, awesome Gimlet Night with a bag of supplies (toilet paper, tissue, etc.) and went to bed with the bag of supplies left out (to put away in the morning).
Toilet paper EVERYWHERE. Shredded to bits. The plastic wrap that had previously contained the toilet paper? Shredded to bits. Living room carpet? Covered. COVERED in itty bitty shreds of tissue paper and plastic wrap. COVERED.
Good morning to ya!
Posted by bonnie at 10:39 AM
February 12, 2005
Thwok Online
So, I haven't set up her website yet, but tonight, Thwok got her own email address.*
Why?
So that she could write a proper thank you note to Biscotti for the awesome Valentine's Day presents (cat-nip filled, shiny, fabric-covered, bell-inside balls) she received today!
Awww.
(Thanks, Aunt Cindy! I loved the Hello Kitty notepad too, BTW!)
*Yes, I know this makes me one of "those people" who sets up email addresses for her pets. Is it scarier that I've done that or that I feel BAD for not setting up addresses for Archie and Salema too?
Posted by bonnie at 2:45 AM
January 29, 2005
Bad Kitty!
Grr. Bad kitty! Opened the window to find a screen somewhat like this.
Bad kitty!
Posted by bonnie at 1:25 PM
January 20, 2005
Silly/Sweet Kitty
Thwok misses Keith too.
She decided to go into the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom and I decided to let her play. She came out COVERED in Keith's shaving cream. Now she smells like a freshly-shaved Keith (and she did NOT like having the shaving cream cleaned off... but I guess she'd hate licking it off even more). It's like she wanted to make me say, "Awwwww."
It worked.
Posted by bonnie at 12:38 PM
January 6, 2005
Sweet Kitty
This was on the aftercare instruction sheet sent home with Thwok. She's doing great!
Animal Birth Control was great: $45 for the spaying AND healthy kitten shots. We looooove Santa Monica! And we love our no-kitty-having-kitty.
Posted by bonnie at 1:14 AM
January 5, 2005
Kitty Update
Thwok is home, safe and sound. She was released at 11am. She was teetering around all wobbly and such due to the drugs and the dilated eyes (Why would they do that?) but she was happy to recognize some smells.
As directed, we've kept the other cats away from her. Archie has been the hardest one to deter. He would really like to check her out.
*sigh*
I'm so glad she's home and okay. Thank you, everyone, for the good kitty vibes.
Posted by bonnie at 6:17 PM
Little Kitty Vibes
Please send out some good little kitty vibes to Ms. Thwok.
Sweet little girl went to the doc at 6:45am to have her girl-parts tied up. Aw.
Tiny bit of trauma among the adult kitties, as they know what the carrier is for and they didn't enjoy seeing/hearing her being put into it. Since they've "come around," they've not left my side. Aw.
Sweet babies.
Thwok will be home after 1pm. Will report later.
PS--Hollywood Happy Hour effin' rocked! GREAT turnout, wonderful guests, awesome, amazing, fun time! Rockstar!
Posted by bonnie at 8:58 AM
December 27, 2004
She's Becoming a Woman
Well, technically, she will never be a WOMAN, she will simply be an adult female cat... but it's happening.
How do you know when your female kitten is becoming an adult cat? As we'd been warned, "You'll know." Oh yeah... we know.
Oh, the howling!
We had been told to wait until this started happening, so that all of her good female hormones would set in before the surgery removes much of her girlie inards. Thanks for the tip, former vet employee Shon. We'd have just done it at the six month point, which would've cheated her out of another seven weeks of growing as a female.
Good news is, the Santa Monica City Shelter has provided us with a voucher to defer the cost of spaying Thwok. We'll take her to the clinic next week and have the whole thing done for $30. Insane, right?!? Awesome.
So... I was looking for something to distract me these next couple of days. Think a howling kitty will do the trick? Heh heh.
Posted by bonnie at 1:33 PM
November 23, 2004
Awwwwwwww.
Y'know what's wonderful? Feeling blue for no good reason (or no good reason you can figure out) and having a kitty come up and purr at you... also for no good reason.
Sweet kitty. I'm so lucky.
Posted by bonnie at 8:36 PM
November 4, 2004
Fetch Kitty
We have successfully trained Thwok to fetch.
That's pretty dang cool cat-action if you ask me.
And now, for the SpyNotebook.org update:
the 411 on the spynotebook
November 4, 2004 09:40 AM
It's Moving Time
No, this is not an announcement that I am moving to Canada or Scotland or Boulevard but rather an announcement that I am going to be moving the Spynotebook blogs pretty soon. I am moving from Lunarpages to Dreamhost because Lunarpages will no longer allow Movable Type on their servers.
I don't want to move. In fact, the thought of having to deal with the DNS and email issues is all rather annoying. But, yeah, that's what is going to happening over the next few days.
So, if you wake up one day and can't blog or find the blogs then know that they will be back soon.
Posted by bonnie at 8:43 AM
September 27, 2004
Kitty Link
Well, Thwok decided to take a nap on the Chicklet and this is what was in the browser window when she got up:
ddddddd8frc n kbvb7uhcjnn
Therefore, the above will be the official webpage name for kittiness.
It will be active after the human (me) has had a chance to obey the munkey's wishes and code appropriately.
Why must I have "real world" stuff to do while there is clearly Thwok-mandated work?
Posted by bonnie at 11:44 AM
September 25, 2004
This morning...
...they have added a petting zoo and pony rides! Oh, I am sooo loving this!!
Posted by bonnie at 10:50 AM
July 22, 2004
Pet-sitting
Weirdness at the pet-sitting corral...
Today a neighbor knocked on the inside-of-the-garage door to let me know the garage had been open for a few hours. WHAT?!?
I tried to figure out what combination of buttons or switches I'd pushed that made the garage door open and couldn't. Yet the door was open. What had happened?!?
Luckily, said neighbor said, "It's a good neighborhood. You're safe," but still I felt a little weirded out. No one who has ever been assaulted in any way likes being told there's an all-access pass in the 'hood. Ever.
Otherwise, life is good. Working. Busy. Love it!
Posted by bonnie at 9:25 PM
July 5, 2004
Heh heh
Well... she ASKED to come home with me. So...
Yeah. This is the newest member of our family. I think her name is Thwok. She's enjoying the company of her Aunt SixHundy in this photo, taken by her first human mom: my sis Deb McCarthy.
Uncle Archie and Aunt Salema have reserved judgement for now, but both will be won over before long.
Oh, and we signed the lease on the new place today (and forked over a few thousand buckaroonies). So... here we go!
PS--Sorry to give you more quizzes/surveys to waste your days with, Kris. I hope you're posting YOUR results somewhere fun so I can come see. ;) Tee hee.
PPS--10am tomorrow is the start-time to call in your RSVP if you are a member of the SAG Conservatory and intend to attend their cool weekend workshops July 17th & 18th (I'm speaking to two groups on the 17th). 323.856.7736. So excited!
PPPS--See y'all at HHH tomorrow. We're gonna have a BLAST!
Posted by bonnie at 8:18 PM
June 6, 2004
Aww...
Skinner just sang my song. Yes, I'm watching The Simpsons while being purred to by Nelson's cat and having my toes licked by his dog. Life is good.
Quinn photos coming soon... much to do first.
Posted by bonnie at 8:13 PM
May 2, 2004
Cats... up to no good!
So, ever since the whole "my computer is dead" drama, I've been leaving my computer up and running/sleeping (and open) all the time (since shutting it down could mean having to go through all of that again).
Well... I came out to my computer today, before heading out to Scott's surprise birthday party, and the screen was BLACK. I nervously tapped a few keys, wiggled the mouse, checked the plug... nothing. "Oh, crap," I'm thinking.
Then I recall how my animals seem to love the warmth of the open laptop (and the conquering of the only creature in the apartment I seem to spend more time with than them and Keith) and hit the brightness key, only to find that, yes, one of my lovely kitties has found the tiny little button and blackened my screen at some point.
After checking email and getting the address to the party for Mapquest, etc., I hide Entourage and Safari and see four new PDFs sitting on my desktop. Huh? What are those? "Keith, did you put four PDFs on my desktop for me to look at?" "No." "Oh my God. Did the cats turn off my screen AND take four screen captures AND save them as PDFs?" "No way." "No. You're right. There's no effin' way."
Ladies and gentlemen, I present the following evidence: first capture, screen on. Second capture, screen being dimmed. Third capture: screen dimming complete.
Granted, I had to size these down a bit. The original files were saved at a size of 53mb each. Cats don't get the need to scale images to something a bit more appropriate for sharing.
Holy crap, these are some crazy kids!
Posted by bonnie at 11:02 PM
April 29, 2004
Angus Update, Computer Update
You'll recall the post from a few days ago about our dear friend Angus and his spinal surgery.
I can report that he is doing very well. I've stayed with him the past two days (and will be with him again tomorrow--quite possibly for a few days next week too) and he is doing GREAT, in fact! Very spirited, happy, and not at all groggy and sad like I thought he would be, after such big surgery. Still needs help getting around (and really is cage-bound for most of the day, while he recovers) and doing his "business," but he is still so very "Angus."
Michelle (his mom) is very pleased. I am too. My kitties, on the other hand... not so much. ;) Ah, they'll get over it. They always do. Hee hee.
Computer Update
The G4 PowerBook running 10.2.6 is no more... well... is no more running 10.2.6, that is. Yes, I know I took a big risk installing 10.3 on an unstable version of 10.2.6, but I didn't have an effin' choice. It was the ONLY thing that would boot from the CD drive (EVERY other CD wouldn't even mount or, if it did, would freeze up the computer upon double-click). If I never see the spinning pinwheel of death again, it'll be too soon.
Anyway, I have LOTS of helpful links to share with Mac OSX users who may, someday, find themselves in similar situations. Just can't post them right now. I'll come back and add them in. Right now, I have GOT to get my ass back into bed. I am still very sick (post-migraine queasy) and achy. Staying up ALL NIGHT on the first night that should've been a GOOD night's sleep (thanks to good drugs for the migraine) in order to fix my computer (yes, the fix was an 11-hour process) is exactly NOT the right way to get healthy.
I've cancelled my big casting meeting for tomorrow (just can't do it. Next week) and will sleep with Angus all day tomorrow if I have to, in order to prepare for my huge weekend (screening Friday with Mitchell, screening Saturday for the first film I cast followed by a play at Sacred Fools, party Sunday for a filmmaker/friend). Keith is in Sacramento 'til Saturday morning. Good vibes, pointed north.
More updates to come. G'nite! And THANK YOU, JONATHAN. Tonight's sleep is brought to me by the letter V.
Posted by bonnie at 10:12 PM
April 18, 2004
A Weekend of Animal Love
Three Dogs To Discuss.
Friday night, I came home from our night-walk obsessed with what will be our first dog, once we are in a home with a yard and ready to start a family.
It's a Shiba Inu, which is Japanese for "dog from Shiba." They are small--great for inside--and have that cat-like undercoat I love so much. And... they're the color of Archie! He'll be so pleased! ;) Warnings about socializing early, since they're so very loyal and in charge... so we have to be ready to do it right, once we make the plunge.
Next, yesterday, we went to Marina del Rey for orientation for a pet-sitting gig we'll do in July and August. Jackie's Chihuahua, Lily Rose, is very sweet. Very little and friendly and a big hussy, according to her mom. Not at all fickle. A great little tramp! Very eager to stay with her by the beach for a few weeks this summer. It's gorgeous there. Lily Rose looks a little like this cutie.
And finally--and this is very important--let's all say a prayer for Angus, our favorite Corgi. He has been having some trouble this week with his hind legs and spine and it turns out he's going to have to have surgery for a disc disease that is impacting his spinal cord. Let's all send happy, healthy puppy vibes over to Momma Michelle and her sweet baby Angus for a very speedy recovery.
New Neighbor
Very quickly, we have a new neighbor subleasing the place next door. Day two here and he was on crutches. Oops. Not sure what happened there, but he seems okay. Has a "job-job" that he goes to every day (that makes him the ONLY one of that ilk living in our building) and leaves his door open/screen-door latched like we do. He likes the Beatles.
Casting Continues
We had an actor fall out of Perfect, so there's some recasting going on. Otherwise moving forward very happily. Attended a standup show of the cast of Significant Others at the Improv Thursday night (congrats on the season two pickup!!!) and did some karaoke singing after with the gang. Will post photos soon.
The Moor is almost completely cast. Working out details for our male lead. Looks good. I'm very excited about having been a part of all of these wonderful projects--and about moving forward on the next two (details to come once ink is on paper).
Showcase
Attending some League Schools' showcases this coming week. A bunch of graduate students and graduating students from all over the country are coming into Los Angeles to show off their work here in town. I'm very excited to see what they bring to the table. Yes, I will keep updating my Shows I've Seen blog as necessary. ;)
Cool New Thing
In addition to the kick-ass new gig with Breakdown Services, Showfax, Actors Access, et. al., I've now come into a great little gig with a bicoastal conservatory. I'll spend some time this summer creating the course I'll teach to graduating students in their final semester (both NY and LA students) on the Business of Acting and this crazy industry. That's gonna rock. Very very very excited, and yes, of course, Mom is proud.
Again, more details when the ink is dry.
Funny Body Thing
Get this: all day last Saturday, my left arm was sore. Like from my shoulder blade over the top of my shoulder and down to my elbow. Really weird pain that was just baffling me. I was like, "Am I having a heart attack or something?" with the whole left arm thing.
And then I realized what caused the soreness. Get ready to laugh. I threw darts for half an hour last Friday night at the Cat and the Fiddle before my casting meeting. Yes, I am soooooo out-of-shape that throwing darts is a WORKOUT. Jeebus!
So, I've been doing Pilates again, walking every day with Keith (such a delight to have our nightly walks), and really enjoying the feeling of simply being even a tiny bit more active. It's been hard seeing my body put back on the Atkins-lost weight on this Schwarzbein Principle plan, but my doc told me to expect it, so I'm just keeping on with the program in good faith, knowing that--in the long run--it's going to be an outstanding life choice.
Hell, just the fact that I'm consistently sleeping again--for the first time in YEARS--is pretty dang huge, in terms of life-changing body chemistry adjustments. So, I keep on. It's good.
And Finally
HUGE thanks to the God that is Chip. I really appreciate you for getting the BonBlogs back online so quickly. You truly are my techno-god (do NOT tell Keith). ;) Thank you and thank you and thank you some more. It's good to be back.
Posted by bonnie at 2:30 PM
March 7, 2004
Bummer
'member when Archie had the blood in his urine and had to go to the hospital? Now Salema has the blood in her urine and has to go to the hospital. :( Send good kitty vibes, please.
Posted by bonnie at 10:01 PM
August 21, 2003
Archie, Movie, and the Race
Got Archie out of hock today for $902.51. He's on special food for a few weeks, plus pain pills and antibiotics, and Salema cannot have any of his special food, as it could lower her pH too much (which is also unhealthy).
Ugh.
He's in pain, sad, and his fur is all messy. He smells funny and Salema hasn't decided he's actually her brother yet.
Today we went to the premiere of a film in which Keith played Joe the Bartender. His scene was GREAT. Amazing tape for his demo reel. He was definitely a shining star in the film.
I'm exhausted. I'm not yet doing my "real job" for Fox. Instead I'm doing the job I turned down three weeks ago "until it's time to start the real job." There's a reason I said no to that job. Ugh. I was in tears today.
Actually, this is a happy Blog. I'm home, kitties are home, Keith was great on the big screen, and we bought fudge (peanut butter fudge for me) at one of those "cut it off on a slab" places before we left Old Pasadena to head home. I'm in major sugar shock now. That feels good. Tee hee.
Oh! The dish damn froze again and TiVo couldn't tape the season finale of The Amazing Race. Anyone wanna school me? THANKS.
Posted by bonnie at 10:55 PM
August 18, 2003
Leave Paradise Forever
Oh, how I love Paradise Hotel! Sad thing is, I'd love it even if I hadn't worked on the casting team for it.
Have I mentioned how glad I am that Stompy Stomperson is gone from upstairs? Man... there was a part of me that thought, perhaps, I was just way too sensitive to the sounds of an upstairs neighbor and that I would never ever be able to live under anyone. Well... how glad am I that he's gone and I have learned that is NOT the case! I actually do just fine with a non-Stompy upstairs neighbor? VERY.
And... sad and scary, must share this: Archie Kitty, the big fat oaf of a Maine Coon I inherited from my mom, is in the kitty hospital... has been since noon today and will be until Wednesday at least. :(
When we came home from Joshua Tree, he was especially vocal, and he only usually "mearks" (as opposed to "meows") occasionally. This morning, he was trying to tinkle in the litter box and kept meowing very loudly and sadly... and never could pee.
Turns out he [Do not read if you are especially squeamish about tee-tee parts.] has some crystallized something in his bladder and, since the male feline urethra is so very very narrow, the only way out is... anesthesia, catheter, and time.
And $700+.
Ouch.
Started the new job today. Love it. Will love it even more when payday rolls around. Also love talking with fellow Paradise Hotel employees about the twists and turns going on as they bring on "retread" contestants and disregard people we'd slated for them to bring on board. Eh... whatever. I'm proud of the folks who've come and gone. Miss Beau. Can't wait to hear from "Seacrest" again soon. ;)
Posted by bonnie at 9:14 PM