2.11.2008

5

Beane with Beagan's hand

6


2008-02-11 February 103, originally uploaded by jessica_beagan.

Beagan by Beane

7

Amanda on Skype, with New England, by Beagan

8


2008-02-11 Beagan Skype, originally uploaded by jessica_beagan.

Beagan on Skype by Beane

2.06.2008

Luchy Texting Cesar

I'm putting together a body of work on Venezuela. I realized that all of my photos are taken from behind the gates. Taking pictures on the street is not safe, according to my hosts. I'm working out this whole concept right now of keeping the girls from harm. The submission is due Friday. Wish me luck.

So I took pictures at home, instead, or at the finca, or the terrenho. I take most of my pictures at home anyway, but there's an angle to this. Click on this pic to see the set of 38 photos from my trips there, in 2004 and 2005.

2.05.2008

Letterhead

I've been focusing on this lately.

Mercury is Clearly Retrograde

I've not had a good week with technology. I suppose it could have been worse, had the whole system been in a dither during the CTU Faculty In-service. And the proposal I had to assemble for Crafted Spaces today went off pretty well.

However, my tech mojo has run its course. I'm trying to tweak four (4) pictures I shot at Aaron's tonight (new paint, wanted to show him while he's away) --- but Photoshop is acting all squirelly. So I will leave you with one of my projects for today, the letterhead for Crafted Spaces.

2.01.2008

A Happy Friday

I've been looking forward to the end of this week.

Rococo, I am happy to report, is herself again. I suspect she was more sick from dehydration than from what she ate. She's hungry, alert, and sociable again, chattering non-stop. I am intensely relieved.

Amity took a personal day today so she's home, online, and spouting a laser beam of creative energy out into the universe. My day will be a little more quotidian than this, I'm afraid. I have chats in 15 minutes, then about an hour and a half until Aaron picks me up. The cable guy is installing the internet between 1-3 (no more pirated wifi) over at A's, and two contractors are coming over to give estimates for painting and deck repair and perhaps to overhaul the kitchen and bathroom. One of the contractors is my brother, so it will be good to see him.

At some point I have my own estimate to prepare, taxes to prepare, and that writing job to wrap up. I want to do that this week. Aaron's leaving for Japan for the week, from Monday to Friday, and I plan to be productive. I'd like to be productive this weekend too.

Alright, off to teach.

1.30.2008

Lots of Guilt

I have not been a very good "mother" this week.

Now I'm not trying to say that having two cats is like having kids. I'm not so much of a childless crone that I've lost my sense of perspective. I just mean that, like being a mother, having two cats means that little critters rely upon me for their general health and well-being. And sometimes, we are selfless. Othertimes we are selfish. But most of the time, we do what we all need to do to keep the balance in our little ecosystems.

So Fishy-bon drops dead sometime on Sunday, and then Tuesday I wake up to a text message from Andrea that reads:

"Rococo has thrown up about 8 Times this morning. you miggt want to check on her. also the litterbox is pretty full
From: Andrea
7:47am 1/29/08"


Now, this is enough to make anyone feel guilty. Let me first point out that I guarantee that I read this far more accusatorily than Andrea could ever dream of feeling. She's too kind, and I have too much of a guilt complex. Bottom line, she's genuinely concerned. And I am pond scum.

Truth be told, I haven't been around much. Work, travel, and social calendars. But I started feeling bad. I flushed Fishy-bon on Sunday night, and couldn't sleep Monday because I hadn't slept at home in days and felt worried about the cats. Then I wake up to Andrea's message. So I come home, she's puked everywhere, but seems to have coughed up the foreign object. We go to work, no problem. Then home and all evening, no problem. We go to bed and she doesn't puke again until the next morning. It's only once and she seems okay, even though she hid out all night. I go to work.

Now, I had had plans to be away again tonight, to stay at the Folks' and hang out with Dad while Mom is in DC. I have to work again at the lab tomorrow, so it would work out well. But Andrea called me at 6, as I was wrapping up my visit with Grandpa, to say Rococo was still throwing up, and that her energy and behavior indicated that my little Kitten felt worse still. Needless to say, I flew back to Providence, gathered Rococo, and continued on to the Animal Hospital in Swansea.

Bay State Animal Hospital was fantastic. They treated Coco for dehydration and gave her some meds, and a bland diet. She's hiding out in the dark downstairs, curled up in a tight little loaf the same way I found her in my bathroom today. Mojo is being vigilant, and I love her for it. As of right now, I'm planning to go to work tomorrow, but that remains to be seen.

I've been neglectful. I traveled last weekend, had guests this weekend, and just have not been around. I'm trying to nurture my human relationships, and my own needs, but I've not been here for my cats. And they are my responsibility. So if I'm not happy with Rococo's condition in the morning, I will stay home, and she and I will return to the vet.

Andrea just got home from bowling. Time to fill her in on the doctor's visit and the patient's condition. I'm going to go check on Coco too.

1.29.2008

RIP Fishy-bon

I regret to report that Fishy-bon, the betta fish Aaron won in the raffle at the Wickenden pub last month, died this weekend. He was looking a little pale and listless on Saturday night when I cleaned his tank. We found him floating amongst the faux column "ruins" at the bottom of the fishtank on Sunday. He was flushed down the toilet with only a modicum of ceremony.