Journey through Faerieland

Day 25 – A first
This summer was my first time having birds overnight, let alone for months -- cockatiels and finches. It was nice getting to socialize with them and give them head scratches. It was nice to hear them sing. However, they were a lot of work and could be awfully loud, so I have learned I am not a bird person (at least for pets that I personally have to care for). I do love them, though! Genny is so sweet!

( 30 Day Meme List )

My heart is racing and I just woke up from a dream about people shooting a cat and her kittens and three birds because I asked them to stop feeding the animals cookies and chocolate...

Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy



Mrs. Bates!

Day 7: Favorite movies

Disney movies (especially Beauty and the Beast), Amelie, American Psycho, Best in Show, Miyazaki movies (especially My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service), Zoolander, Mean Girls, the Shrek movies, Enchanted, The Princess Bride, Willow, Labyrinth, and Legend.

( 30 Day Meme )

Today at 8:30am Mrs. Bates was taken by my mother to be dropped off at the groomer. I was worried they'd say her matts were too severe and we'd need to take her to the vet to be groomed (way more expensive). I also worried they'd say she was matted because I let her get fat and I was irresponsible with her, so I really didn't want to go there. I was still really tired when it was time to pick her up, so my mother went alone and just wrote out one of my checks (we're both on the account).

Mrs. Bates didn't like the bathing so they skipped that and just shaved her down. She was very noisy, as usual, with a raspy whine, but she would be quiet as long as her nose or head was scratched. The groomer really liked her and said she would take Mrs. Bates if ever we didn't want her. She didn't try to bite or anything. The groomer said it's difficult for cats to groom themselves in the area that was worst on Mrs. Bates and she didn't say Mrs. Bates was too chubby. In fact, shaved down she doesn't look fat at all. I've been thinking she was overweight, but she probably isn't right now. When I took her to the vet last year the vet didn't think she was fat, but I still thought she was. Though he did think Bunny was fat, which I don't believe. She's a very long cat and her tummy droops a little, but her sides are quite thin.

I will have to take a picture of Mrs. Bates shaved down.

Yesterday was our last day in San Francisco. We checked out of the hotel a little after 11am and left our luggage behind the desk so we could go to Fisherman's Wharf. We went to the aquarium, which was nice. Moon jellies again! And we pet the string rays. We returned there later in the day. We walked up and down the wharf, taking pictures, and looked in various stores. I bought myself a pair of lavender lounge pants because they only cost $10 and the ones I do have and wear to bed have holes in them from the cats' claws (mainly Joey's). There was a store called "Fairy Tales" with lots of Amy Brown and Jessica Galbreth prints and fairy figurines. I was very tempted to buy many things, but they were fairly expensive and I don't have much room for more collectibles. I did get a small migraine after the aquarium -- headache, lightheaded and dizzy, and severe nausea. I took 8mg Zofran and still felt nauseated for hours. It was also very sunny and hot, which wasn't helping. I wore a sweater and was sweating like crazy. We ate breakfast at a doughnut shop and lunch/dinner at In-n-Out Burger. We saw the sea lions one last time.

Then we headed back to the hotel and they called a taxi for us. It was kind of expensive, but worth it. My feet were really sore, I still didn't feel well, and it was crowded. We were at the airport a long time and I read and tried to sleep on the floor. Our flight was at 11:55pm and full. We couldn't sleep on the airplane (I never can). Michael's OCD was pretty bad starting when we got to the San Francisco Airport and was bad at O'Hare when we went to get our luggage (which took awhile). My mother arrived and took us home and we went to bed. Mrs. Bates seems to be feeling better for right now.

Today was a pretty good day, though right now I'm quite depressed, partly because I didn't buy more water for my cats and partly because Mrs. Bates still doesn't seem to be feeling well. She seemed to feel fine yesterday, but we think she's constipated again... And she only wants to eat the dry food, not the wet, which makes her more constipated.

Today Michael and I woke up early (after going to bed very early) and we took the bus to Japantown. There were performers all throughout the day for Japan relief and we donated some money. Also there was a garage sale nearby for Japan relief and I bought a used copy of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame on dvd. Michael bought a J-pop cd. Japantown was much cleaner than Chinatown, but things were also much more expensive. There were lots of neat stores, though! I had chicken teriyaki and rice for lunch. It only came with chopsticks, which I don't know how to use, so I think I used them upside-down and sometimes I just resorted to my hands:P In an anime store Michael bought us a not too expensive stuffed Totoro. He also bought me a little zodiac dog figurine (my Chinese zodiac animal is a dog) and a little print thing that has Japanese characters and the English translation under it -- it says "Dreams come true." There were a variety of sayings or words to choose from.

We also ate chocolate-filled tai yaki (a fish-shaped pastry) from a stand. It tasted like chocolate chip pancakes and was pretty good. Later while exploring the outskirts of Japantown we shared chocolate frozen yogurt (there was no vanilla and I wasn't sure I'd like the "original" flavor, though we should have tried it).

The bus ride back to Fisherman's Wharf was quite crowded. Afterwards we bought Michael and his mother sweatshirts similar to the one I just bought yesterday. Then we went back to the room for a little bit. Then we went to Fisherman's Wharf again and walked down the streets, ate dinner at In n' Out Burger (which we don't have where we live), and we walked further down the wharf where you could see Alcatraz well. We forgot the camera, though, after returning from Japantown (where there are cherry blossoms in bloom!), so we'll go by the wharf another day and take pictures there. Michael and I walked through some of the surrounding streets, browsing, and we bought sliced pineapple and watermelon from Safeway (a grocery store). The staff of the hotel just brought us up a refrigerator free of charge so we're keeping the fruit there. Michael was going to buy me Ghiridelli dark chocolate filled with mint or raspberry filling (we also passed the Ghiridelli building/restaurant on the wharf), but I decided I would rather have fruit instead. I'm still quite full, but will eat more of the fruit for breakfast. Tomorrow we plan on going to San Francisco Zoo. I think I'm going to get ready for bed now.

Partly taken from an email about today so far:

Church went well and Michael's OCD was fine there. During the offering they played a Tchaikovsky piece:-) I love Tchaikovsky. Next week the sermon is supposed to be on Transcendentalism and Buddhism and I desperately want to go, but Michael will not be here to take me. I asked my mother to go with me and her first response was "no" because she "didn't want to." It really upset me because I hardly ask her to take me anywhere and it's only about 15 minutes away and this is a one occasion thing. Finally she said maybe she will drop me off. Then the following weekend I will miss church because we will be in San Francisco. I'd rather not miss church two weeks in a row:-/

The Pet Expo was fun, but very overloading due to the crowds. It was nice to see all the animals and pet them. I cried a little because so many were up for adoption and needed homes. If I could afford it and knew I didn't have to move into an apartment soon I would have probably tried to adopt another cat or even a dog. They were all so cute. There were rabbits, a guinea pig, and sugar gliders, too. Michael really wanted to go to the Pet Expo, but didn't think I would be willing to go this year since I have a bad memory of it from last year, but Michael really wanted to go and I didn't want him to be sad so I said I would go. I'm glad I did. I get lost very easily, so Michael led me around the huge building. I bet he will be leading me around the streets of San Francisco, too. I get turned around easily. Oh yes! And a cockatoo sat on Michael's shoulder and said "hello" twice:-) He can also say "hi" and "I love you." It was really cute.

I went from being in a terribly depressed mood the past three nights into an incredibly good mood tonight! I feel guilty for spending so much money this month on things I didn't need and I really want to save a little bit of money, but Christmas adventures seem more important! I want to go to a German Christmas festival in Chicago and look at all the crafts and other assorted goods. If I see something I really like and it's not too expensive Michael will buy it as an early birthday gift<3 My birthday is January 13, though I was due Christmas Eve (December 24). I also want to eat all the German foods listed by the vendors! I'm usually not an adventurous person when it comes to food, but I want to try the different desserts and meat-filled buns. Not the cheese or vegetable-filled buns, though. I also wish I could try the German hamburgers and potato pancakes. And I have a big craving for bratwurst now. I'm hoping this week I can get my mother to take me to the grocery store so I can get bratwurst and buns to put them on. That way I won't be tempted at the Christmas festival to get something I already know I like and can get at other times. Same with cheese strudel (if it is what I think it is, it is something cheese-like that I do consume). We might be able to go to this Christmas festival earlier in the day and then go to Lincoln Park Zoo at night for their lights festival (like the Brookfield Zoo thing I just went to). I will have to withdraw more money, but it would be worth it. At least I am 100% done with Christmas presents and just have to wrap some.

Also Michael was going to buy me the anime Romeo x Juliet for my birthday, but I can watch it on hulu.com and will only choose that over other things if I really, really like the series and feel I will rewatch it many times. I usually dread my birthday, but tonight I feel excited about it. Zyprexa must make me rapid cycle or something, because I am feeling insanely good right now. Though usually on Zyprexa my mood is stable (it's not like my mood is going up and down so much on a regular basis).

Today I was quite anxious. This was due to some situations that make me very anxious normally, but I also might have forgotten to take Ritalin today. For me the greatest difference I notice with Ritalin now is that it helps my anxiety during the day. Michael and I left his house in the early afternoon and we had to do a bunch of errands and spending a lot of time in the car, pulling in and out of places, going on the highway, etc. all make me very anxious. I'm terrified of getting in another car accident. I also don't like being in stores sometimes because they are very chaotic with people circling around. We went inside two Walmarts, which is my most hated store (followed by grocery stores). Michael did buy me another junior-sized mocha milkshake for me from Steak n' Shake. I love them and they are so cheap in the afternoon when they are discounted.

I also was super anxious about voting because I worried there would be a line, especially as we arrived at my polling place (my old elementary school) shortly after school was dismissed and shortly before rush hour. I almost started crying because of it. But there was hardly anyone in the gym, where voting took place. So that went okay. Then we got home and had to take care of the animals and clean up. At first I was stressed, but after the cleaning was done and my things were put away I felt a lot calmer. I feel perfectly fine now -- better than most nights as of late.

We are watching The Facts of Life which is soothing to me. I didn't watch Who's the Boss? today because I just saw the final episode yesterday (which I've been waiting a long time to finally see!). Now it's starting over from the beginning and I've seen those episodes recently. I also saw The Nanny the past two nights and I've always really loved that show, even when it was still airing new episodes and I technically wasn't allowed to see if due to my strict father. Hopefully I can play that in the background tonight as I read or something:-) I'm glad to see my kitties again, though my house smells like cat no matter how much we clean it:( My old apartment always smelled fine so I'm hoping when I move back to an apartment I can prevent that musty cat smell from taking over.