Since my brother decided to make the Kool-Aid sweepstakes far too easy, and since I really like grape Kool-Aid, I've decided that it's time to let the cat out of the bag. [Insert groan here.]<---This is Gizmo. Well, it was Gizmo, about twenty pounds of fur ago. Nowadays she looks more like this.
We bought Gizmo from an animal shelter a few years back. She was hanging out in her cage with her siblings. When we stopped and The Wife did that aww thing women do when they see cute, furry creatures, Gizmo pushed her way to the front and practically begged us to take her home. She was all mew, mew, mew, you know how they do.
Since I wanted a kitten with personality and not some moody lump of fur (an apt description of yours truly, now that I think about it), I advocated strongly for her purchase. So we bought the cat and named her Gizmo. We were without child at the time and treated the naming of the feline as though it were a trial run. We made lists. I don't remember all the names (but Marty McFly was regrettably not one of them), but I know it came down to Wicket and Gizmo.
We chose Gizmo and then soon after learned that this chick also had a cat named Gizmo and you know how when you pick out a sweet name and then you find out someone else stole your sweet name (even if they did choose the name first) you get a little upset? Yeah, like that.
So now conversations go like this (if conversations like this actually took place):
Me: Her name is Gizmo.
Other People: Oh, like--
Me: Yeah, but we didn't know that at the time...
Other People: (thinking) Yeah, right. Name stealer.
So obviously Bridget is my least favorite Playboy Playmate. (I like Kendra. Girl's got spunk.)
Ironically*, the cat quit talking about five minutes after we got her home, and since then she's meowed like four times (tail stepped on). Basically, she spends her days sleeping on the couch and her nights pawing at things that wake us up.
*I don't really know if that's ironic or not. I really don't understand what's ironic and what's just coincidence or sort of amusing or just plain weird, but using the word makes me feel a little bit smart and so I use it. I'm comforted by the fact that others seem equally confounded.
11 comments:
Remind me not to tell you the names of my children...or my cat (named after a Survivor contestant, but I'll never tell which one).
I'm guessing Hatch.
Gizmo is a cute name!
And I actually like Bridget the best of the three! She seems so sweet! Kendra is spunky but sooooooo dense...
To be fair, Paul, the contest was extraordinarily difficult.
Monica--True. But in my defense, I did allow unlimited guessing and, let's face it, the prize was nothing special anyway.
Don't you remember the scene from Reality Bites when Troy explains irony to Laney after her terrible job interview? :P
My cats have all been named after movie characters. But, with the execption of Zorro, they're so obscure as to loose all meaning if I tried to explain them.
Paul -
Yes, sounds like we have much in common. I played baseball from the time I could walk all through college (Indiana University; I grew up in Indiana, a Hoosier to the bone, hate those Wolverines:).
I am part of a crit group (3 women) who are really great and relentlessly honest. But I would really like to exchange chapters. A guy's perspective would be awesome, especially since my MC is a boy. How about first 3 chapters? I could only give you my completed MG novel - CROSSING CHALK -- which is set in a fictional Midwestern town and baseball does play a part in the story.
Let me know what you think. I could email them along anytime. Would love your suggestions!
Email address for you?
Best,
grape koolaid nothing special? i dont understand.
Lily Cate--never saw it (and I know this is considered an unpardonable sin in some circles)
Tracy--I'll do likewise and email you my first 3 chapters.
Monica--I'll revise. While grape Kool-Aid is indeed special, it's not all that scarce or expensive, so I don't feel too bad about not giving it away.
The curse of the writer--I just reread my post and revised. "Lump of moody fur" is now "moody lump of fur" because fur can't really be moody, now can it?
I'm going to promise myself not to read it again because I'll surely find something else to change.
In regards to that movie reference, don't worry. You missed nothing. In fact, you're probably better off.
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