Sirens, Employment, and Crashes- Oh My!

Such an original title, I know. Might as well get cracking on the explanations- even though I'm pretty sure the only two people who read this blog are me and Fruitbat...
Yesterday I returned for the break in between my classes, I was even (for once) not focused on recreation, but on working on my assigned art project. (My teacher shows no sign of allowing us to work on it in class- he's talked through the last two class periods.) I had just finished setting up when that cursed wail- like that of a forlorn soul slipping into the abyss, sounded through the halls. The fire alarm. Usually, it annoys me, yesterday, I was quite irate- I made it downstairs only to be told that it was a false alarm and that we could go back to our rooms. Which was fine. What was annoying was that the alarm continued on and off for the next ten to fifteen minutes. Fire alarms aren't designed to be ignored, and my eardrums were ready to happily kill someone.
Also yesterday, I had an interview (my first in San Angelo, no one else even called me back!) and was hired! In the interest of paranoia, I won't be saying where. I'm so happy though. I was SKIPPING in the parking lot on the way to my car!
Today I was riding my bike to class, like I always do, and had my first collision here. I ran into some poor guy from behind. He zigged when I thought he would zag. He stumbled, I only got his calf with my tire, I think- I tried to keep balance, wound up falling off my bike, trying to catch myself in time to stand, stepped on my foot wrong in the process, and landed on my hands and knees. I was really embarrassed- they kept asking if I was alright, I was, and am, fine. I felt soooo bad! I've never run into someone like that before.... I've never run into someone before!

In other news, back at home there's been some trouble with Bella and Hannah for a while now (those are two of our dogs). They get into fights every now and again- bad ones. My older sister EvilGlare was trying to separate the two of them and wound up getting bit- as bites go its supposedly not bad (especially considering that Bella and Hannah are big dogs) but it is infected, so she's been going to the doctor. Poor EvilGlare, she's not even a dog person! She's a catperson! Doesn't that make her automatically exempt from dog-related injuries?

The picture is from DeviantART by Gabeszntx, called Wolves. I just colored it.

Fears

People have many things that they fear- heights, spiders, being alone, clowns, words spelled with the letter q... you get my drift. Well being the roommate of a Fruit Bat has brought me face to face with two of these fears in one week. Fortunately, I took a back seat for both of them- unfortunately, that didn't stop the worry. A few days ago now (I've been waiting for FB to post this story herself, but she's been busy) our school had an outdoor event featuring free pizza. College students+ free= massive attendance. The people in charge of the event were blasting music, and several of the girls were dancing. One such girl had a small white dog. I grabbed some breadsticks (the pizza was gone) and FB and I sat down. I was feeling twitchy and sulky- I don't like really loud music, and I'm not a big fan of social interaction- pathetic, right? FB on the other hand looked moderately excited, and told me she was going over to see the dog. I followed after a moment, in time to see the dog lunge toward something on the ground, and FB try to ask if she could pet the dog- at least I think that's what she said, I couldn't hear her. We started on our way back to the dorm, FB stopping to look back at the dog, which was behaving erratically. She went back to him, he was twitching, snapping at the air, hopping up a little on his leash- then his legs folded underneath him, still snapping. FB realized what was happening before any of us -that thing the dog had gone after earlier had been a chicken leg, and the dog had tried to swallow it whole. FB tried a version of the Heimlich for dogs which involves doing something to the back, and stuck her hand inside his mouth to see if she could feel the obstruction- she assures me that this is what you are supposed to do. You may recall that the dog was snapping. Here enters the first fear- Fruit Bat got bit by a dog. We're just happy that it was a little dog, not a Deko-deko sized one! She called me over to hold open the dog's mouth (which I did) while she pulled out the chicken leg. The whole affair didn't take very long, but it sure felt like it at the time. The dog's owner was very grateful to us- and yes, the dog was fine. Now, the other fear. Last night I got to bed a little later than FB, she was trying to catch up on some missed sleep, and I was more interested in reading for a little bit. I went to bed around midnight- but was still awake when FB suddenly sat up in bed, stumbled to her feet, groping for a water bottle. She was making horrible wheezing sounds, I said her name, and she responded, "I can't breathe!" I didn't know WHAT to do, what can you do in a situation like that? Pat the person on the back, that's what, feeling panicked. I knew that she could still breathe at least a little bit (in my experience, if you can talk, you can still breathe, if she hadn't told me she couldn't breathe, I might have called 911.) The attack only lasted a few minutes, but both of us were creeped out- poor FB didn't get back to sleep until 2 or so, and I was jumping every time she coughed! She went to the clinic today, and apparently she's having "bronchial spasms" which is sort of like asthma's twin cousin. Now she has an inhaler, some medicine and a vaporizer given to us by her grandmother- neither of us want the next time to be worse.
The picture can be found on DA under Destiny Island Cats or ignesfatuis- I recolored it a while back.

I Thought I Was Going To Die....

I went to ride Ariel today. Storms were building up and I could hear it thundering. Nella and Sharon came out a few times and told me that the storms were going to miss us so I didn't worry about it. You know how animals can tell if there's a bad storm coming or that something bad is going to happen? Yeah, Ariel tried to tell me but I ignored her. She tried bucking me off for the first time in the six years that I've owned her. I got on to her for it and 15 minutes later I took her to the barn to groom.

As soon as I set the brush down to take her back to her pasture it started pouring. Not a puny pour but an all out "I'm a freaking flood!" pour. "Yes, yes, of course! Why not?" I exclaimed to Ariel. "Maybe we can run to your pasture and..." then it began to hail. Okay, the bad thing about this entire situation was that the roof of the barn is made of tin, therefore, it was extremely loud, and when the wind blew it sounded as though the whole building were going to take flight.

Now at this point, if you know me well enough, I was having a freaking spazz attack. I'm scared senseless of severe or bad storms. I thought that any second a tornado was going to come down and swipe the barn from the face of the planet. I took Ariel to her stall and then grabbed the two orange kittens before going into the boarder tack room where it was much quieter. I texted Vulpecula and then went out of the boarder room witnessing lightening strike the electrical pole in one of the pastures. "I'm going to die!" I said aloud before checking on Ariel who was wide-eyed and tense. I tossed her some hay which calmed her down and got her mind off the weather.

When it finally settled down I decided to put my helmet on and dash for my truck before it started up again. Right when I was about to run I saw Nella and Sharan speed by in her van. I jogged after them knowing that something was up. Then I saw it.....my truck windows were down. I ALWAYS unroll them because my air doesn't work very well and it gets hot in my truck. Needless to say, it wouldn't have mattered if I had remembered beforehand because it had been hailing. "Dang it! Dang it, dang it, dang it!" I yelled throwing my things into the truck and continuing my jog after Sharon and Nella.

I reached them and discovered what the problem was. The wind had destroyed the water tank. They now have no water out there. Not until someone can come out and fix it that is. They're going to call someone tomorrow.

I got in my truck, determined to drive home, only to discover that my windows were fogged up. I had to wait five minutes and then I had to wipe the water off from the INSIDE of the window so that I could see out. XD It was quite funny.

There was also two humming birds trapped in the barn. They couldn't figure out that in order to get out they had to fly down and through the doors. Silly birds.

Anyway, it was quite an exciting first day back home. I just hope that it isn't so eventful tomorrow. The seat covers for my truck are currently in the dryer. Heh...

A Midnight Double?

Yes, we have a Midnight double, dubbed Zant from The Legend of Zelda game. Basically, I took my camera with me on the daily ramble that Vul and I go on yesterday. I wanted to get pictures of the two kittens we saw the day before. It just so happened that while I was trying to take a picture of Midna (a grey tortie) I looked down and there was Zant. A spitting image of last year's kitten, Midnight who was re-named Inspector by his new owner.

I know, I know. "No more animals!" Don't worry, I'm not bringing them back with me. I haven't even started feeding them yet. I will be once I have a plan. What shall I do? Hmmmm......My parents might kill me and bury me 20 feet under if I bring home any more animals. Specifically any more dogs. Dakota was the last straw. Ah well. What can I say, I have a soft mushy heart that feels like it's being ripped in two when I see starving or injured animals. At least I don't ignore them like most people do. I try to do something.

I hope I'll be able to get a Feral Cat Trap-Neuter-Return program started here. That would be the most ideal situation.

I'm still sick with a horrid cough than neither cough drops nor nasty cough syrup have been able to cure. I finally broke down today and bought some Dayquil. It seems to have calmed my cough down. THANK YOU GOD!!! Maybe I'll be able to get a good night's sleep for once.

Cough-syrup fun

Yes- you did read the title correctly. I said cough syrup fun.
You know, as children, we were generally made to take one of two kinds of medicine, liquid or chewable. Apparently, we weren't trusted to swallow things.
The most notorious of the liquid offenders is, of course, Cough Syrup. Because it really isn't replaced by anything once you get older.
Sure you can pop cough drops like it's going out of style, but for the serious long term relief, there's no real substitute.
This fact doesn't bother me in the slightest. I never had a problem with cough syrup as a child, and as a immature adult, I don't have much trouble with coughing.
This is not the case for everyone, of course. For one, my sister Evil Glare hates cough syrup with a passion usually reserved for genocide.
So, apparently, does Fruit Bat.
Now, you wouldn't really know, because she hasn't really posted, but the dear FB has had a rather bad cough for the past five days or so. After a particularly rough night, she went to the free clinic on campus today.
It's either a cold or really bad allergies, but that part doesn't really matter because the treatment is the same- COUGH SYRUP.
Now, FB informed me that she really hated cough syrup- to the point of vomiting as a child. I didn't think it was actually true until it was time for her to take it. (No, she didn't vomit.)
First, she mocked the bottle, trying to read what dose she ought to take, and nearly not taking it because "It's two teaspoons and I don't have anything to measure with." No, the cap did not have a nifty measuring thing on the inside.
Then, opening the bottle, gouging at the protective seal with a pair of craft scissors, stabbing into the liquid itself "It's BLOOD!!" and claiming that her scissors were now "tainted."
Finally, after smelling it and nearly losing it right then, she managed to pour a little into a mug.
Assuming the position by the sink, mug in one hand, treat of root beer float as a reward in the other, she stood, counting to three.
One...
Two...
Three...
And held the mug away from her face.
At this point I was getting nervous- I should be here for this, but my class starts soon. So does Fruit Bat's for that matter.
"Take it because Vulpecula's going to be late for class." she coached herself.
"Take it because a TIME PARANOID Vulpecula's going to be late for class." I corrected.
One...
Two...
Three...
Mug got too close, she smelled it and pushed it away from her face.
"Sorry. That's not enough. Wait! I got it!"
Without telling me what the magic thought was, FB started the ritual once more.
One...
Two...
Three...
And down went the cough syrup. In went the ice cream- which smeared on her face in her eagerness to get rid of the taste and consistency of the syrup.
I laughed the whole way to class.
She just told me what the thought was. Some long-time readers might remember a puppy we dubbed Gaara. Well, Gaara's a dog now, and a mal-treated one at that. He and a little corgi are confined to a small run in the backyard of their house. Neither dog is neutered, and it's doubtful that they've had any shots, neither wears a collar, even though they frequently escape. Their run has no shelter for them to go to in the hot part of the day, and their water would be deemed disgusting by a sewer rat.
Anyway, today someone from the humane society was going to come around to check on them- and FB told herself that if she didn't take her medicine, no one would come.
Something completely unrelated...
Ah well, I at least had fun today.

Where's the weekend?

FB and I discussed this only yesterday- we both feel as though this week has been longer than normal. Of course, we were discussing this in relation to the lack of call-backs for our applications. *SIGH* Anyway, here's the rundown on my classes. I'm taking two art classes this semester, Drawing 1 & 2. Apparently, you don't have to take drawing 1 to get into drawing 2, which makes no sense whatsoever to me. My drawing 2 class is first in the day, and we're learning gesture drawing, which apparently translates to "how to draw without outlines" its a major pain, and I keep feeling like I'm doing it wrong! My drawing 1 class is after lunch, and is much bigger. The professor set up a still life for us to draw (to see where we are artistically) and if I was sitting, all I could see was the back of the person in front of me's head. As interesting a drawing as that would have been, it wasn't the assignment, so I stood. I might have complained about those classes, but I really think that they're fun, the first one is just frustrating because it's something I don't know- which is the point of the class, as I often remind myself. My other classes are an English class- which I already love, my professor is HYSTERICAL. He was testing our definitions of things like critique, perception and truth, and for perception it went something like... "A piece of literature means whatever the reader thinks it means." and you had to say whether the statement was true or false and explain. When people kept arguing for true, the teacher told us that Poe's Tell-tale heart was about the secret life of bullfrogs. lol. I have a Government class with a lot of people from honors, but I'm reserving judgment for the moment- I mean, the teacher gives the notes orally, and seems to get sidetracked, so it's hard to TAKE notes, but the sidetracked information seems valuable, and I feel like I'm learning. The last class is a computer one, Graphic Design, which is not at all how I thought that it would be. I thought we'd be doing things in photoshop and stuff like that... instead we're making letterheads, business cards, envelopes, resumes... things like that. We're working with corelDRAW, which I have never worked with before. So yeah, it's a little intimidating, especially when I consider that I'm the only non-design major in the class. However, I shall prevail, I shall get a good grade, and possibly learn something that may be of use to me later. I'll never know unless I learn it, will I? Another self-made Kenshin motivational poster today- my opinion exactly.

School

Yes, that place of wonder and dread has pulled us to it once more. Or, yeah, the fruit bat and fox are back at college now. Fruit Bat and I are now dorm-mates! This will doubtless make the blog a bit strange, as we now see each other with far greater frequency, but since this blog is more for the benefit of family and friends back home, our posts should still come with the same unerring irregularity. It feels so strange to be back, it's our second year, older, wiser, and knowledgeable about such important things as which doors to open, and what days are best for laundry. The Bat and I didn't start to feel nervous until we were driving down the road to the school, about three blocks away, and then it suddenly hit us- that we were BACK. Sometimes I wonder if "Fruit Bat" shouldn't be "Pack Rat"- she brought most of her stuff with her, as I type, secure and done with unpacking, she moves things around on her desk, trying to find places for it all. She says she wants to make the place more homey- and it certainly is, we have posters on all the walls and a tv, truly impressive, I hardly recognize the old place. Within moments, we will travel downstairs to try and find out where parking permits are sold, then maybe we'll get dinner. I'm not sure if jobhunting starts today or tomorrow- as it's five now, I'm inclined toward tomorrow... but a job will be gotten!