The recently ended President's Day weekend was alternately frightening, fun, exciting and wet for we here at Ashram Cody.

Frightening because on Saturday evening, while Sarah and myself were sitting quietly enjoying one another's company, our small 13 year old cat, Mang, curled up in her little bed, let out a cry of such volume and strangeness that neither of us could identify its source for a second or two. I imagined, at first, that it was the toddler in the apartment below us or some unknown ghost child who had somehow entered our home. Then of a sudden I recognized the sound as a much amplified variation on the universal cat cry of distress and rushed to Mang's previously mentioned little bed, fearing that she was about to puke up a hairball and/or the usual mixture of food and digestive fluids. Well, she did wretch up a bit of partially digested food. Right, no surprise there - common feline behavior. But when she proceeded to thwump over on her side and convulse, her little paws curling up around her face, there was a bit of panic in the living room. This was unprecedented and, thankfully, short lived. The convulsions ceased, she rose to her four feet and stumbled across the room to plump down and, seemingly, catch her tiny breath. We administered caresses and soothing tones, and pondered packing her up for an after hours vet trip. Within ten minutes she was snacking and digging around in her litter box as usual. She seems good as new now, or should I say good as a 13 year old cat, and I can only hope I don't regret delaying a vet visit until finances allow.

Fun on Sunday evening when Molly joined us for a horror movie marathon and slumber party. Pizza was had and we watched, one after the other:

Asylum (1972)

Phantasm (1979)

and

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (1972)

(classics all that Molly, that spookshow loving girl, had not yet seen)


Exciting when on Sunday morning, several hours before the horror movie marathon mentioned above, we viewed an apartment just off of Piedmont Ave. , fell in love with the place, and spoke a few minutes to the landlord after submitting our renters resume to him. Doubly exciting on Monday morning when the previously mentioned landlord telephoned and offered us the apartment! We signed the lease later that day. Never has finding not only an apartment, but a delightful apartment with a garden in one of Oakland's shinier neighborhoods, been easier. The move is on!

Wet because of the weather.