August 27th, 2012.

Israel Dempsey at the Capital City Cheesecake open mic in Takoma Park, MD.

“We need to talk.”

There’s plenty of variations on this, but they’re very rarely good. In a relationship it’s usually the run up to a breakup. At a job it’s probably because you’re underperforming. For a regular gig, they’re probably going to replace you with a DJ… or maybe in iPod.

However, when it’s about your open mic, which has already been canceled, I’m not quite sure what it can possibly be. It wasn’t quite worded that way, but it was essentially a “can you come by? It’d be great to have a conversation about this” – I appreciate the follow-up of breeziness, assuring me that it’s nothing bad and that there’s “no rush”, but my brain is chewing on it. I couldn’t make it today, she doesn’t want to chat about it via email and neither of us are phone people.

I guess there’s a possibility that they’ve changed their mind, but I really doubt it. Once it’s canceled it’s sort of like “well, it can only go UP from here, right?” but my friend Paul pointed out that she MIGHT be calling to have all people involved executed. However, as the host of the open mic I don’t see how that would fall to ME.

Guardian of brush and paste.

It’s probably something to do with the end-date. Maybe they’re making us farewell cake!

Yeah. Farewell cake.

Well, in any case – it’s sort of WEIRD being home. Normally coming home feels pretty good – but this was such a short outing, on the heels of being at the store and … well… I’m already back at the store – that it just feels kind of jarring and a little bit overwhelming. HMT is rolling right into the school rental season and that’s just STRESSFUL.

Holy crap! So, there’d been some hints in the form of vague texts and suspicious cans of kitten food, but when we finally made it home from our North Carolina wanderings, Amy had INDEED brought home a new kitten.

One good piece of news though: while we were gone Amy got a kitten! It’s such new news that I don’t even have a picture yet. We got home at 10.10 last night, Ash got home at around 10.14 and we all got into chatting about whether or not we thought there was a kitten in the house.

Amy had made some ambiguous texts and Facebook posts that led us to believe that the appearance of a kitten was a real possibility – but we couldn’t believe that Amy was upstairs keeping the kitten from us.

Orion having patience enforced.
That’s a damn cute kitten. World? Meet Juno! She’s cute as a kitten! Because she is.

But then we spotted special kitten formula food cans in the kitchen and we KNEW she was up there pussy-blockin’. We waited. And waited. And Heather hung out because SHE had a kitten craving… we all waited hungrily.

Finally Amy emerged and we were invited into her lair for a kitten viewing. Apparently the kitten was in the midst of its first new-home poo and couldn’t be interrupted in the midst of such an accomplishment.

Judging by the smell, I think she made the right decision.

And so we’ve got a new kitten. She’s not allowed to mix it up with Orion yet, so she’s being held in kitty prison for a couple more days. Orion caught a glimpse of her and appears to be thinking “I couldn’t have just seen what I THOUGHT I did…”

And so on TOP of wondering what the Cheesecake Ladies want to discuss with me, I’ve also been thinking about the new kitten. Tentatively named Juno (so we can say “BAD JUJU” when she’s bad – I feel we should name her something that we’d be able to say “GOOD ______” when she’s GOOD) which isn’t my favourite – but since whenever she throws up I’ll be the first to say “NOT MY CAT” I’ll gladly acquiesce naming right – Kristen especially has been suffering a desire to just GO HOME and play with the kitten.

Someone ELSE in the house even called out of work with a case of the kittens. Sigh. Still, I guess it’s important. The sooner we can get through the “getting the kitten to trust us” phase we’ll be able to get on to the “breaking the kitten’s will” phase so that she enjoys being cuddled on demand – or at least ceases to struggle.

Work, work, work.

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