Farewell dear friend

I let my ex-husband have Toki in the divorce.  He couldn't bear to be separated from any of his cats though he did give up Neko in the fight.  She was diabetic so I fought to put her to sleep because she was so sick, but the ex insisted he could handle it.
Toki got sicker.  He asked me for money once to buy her insulin.  Then he never said anything else.  I never asked.  I divorced myself from him and his life and the situations he encounters.  I have to trust  he did the best he could to care for her.
I still cried.  It's probably easier for me than him.  I lost her months ago.  When he called me I was able to see her for the shell of the cat she was.  She smelled like my dad when he was dying in hospice.  She was dehydrated and would have died soon, but why make what is left in her sweet little heart suffer?  It's sad.  I'm sad.  She was an awesome cat.  She was a spitfire, "just like her mom."
My stepdaughter said it best, I think.  "Toki loves Melissa, likes Dad and hates everyone else."  Leaving was the hardest part for me.  I lost 5 friends when I left and she was one of them.  But in the end I could no longer care for her.
I grew her.  I loved her.  Seeing her this afternoon was hard.  It hurts.  It burns.  My heart aches.  I searched in my heart to see if there was something I could have done differently and I don't think there was.  I took the Westies and they view cats as prey.  When Lizard starts barking at them I say, "No, hon, they taste like pain."
I told Toki to look for "Momma" our cat who died a few years ago.  I did that mainly for Tom.  I don't believe in heaven.  I believe her remains will be cast back to the earth and she will return to us only different.

So, Dear Toki, Farewell dear friend.  We loved each other well.  You were a beautiful, wonderful creature.  The karma police will look fondly upon you.  I hope to see you again soon.

Patty Griffin - Little God

love of a dog

And then there was love...

Tax evasion

Brief lesson in Unemployment: You work.  Your company pays unemployment taxes.  They terminate you.  You file and get benefits.  Your company's tax rate increases based on that claim for unemployment.  This is a rough sketch.
Your employer paid $1 billion dollars in wages.  (In Texas, there is only one employer that has paid $1billion in wages.) That's a lot of money.  Right?  So, if their tax rate is 6% that is $60 million dollars.  (I checked my math with 2 calculators. Yes. $60 million dollars.)  This goes into the trust fund.  If you file for unemployment in Texas you'll get $415 a week for 26 weeks. Honestly, I'm still stuck on that amount of money.  I mean just in taxes, that's a lot of money.  SO it's reasonable to think that a company might try to get around this.
Situation: A company has a contract with the U.S. Government to employee contractors in Iraq.  They pay these contractors $120k per year.  They employee 1,000 contractors.  That is $120 million in wages.  At the same rate, 6%, they would have to pay $7.2 million in taxes to support the  trust fund.
I found out today that a company who employs contractors in Iraq has set up an office in Dubai. A subsidiary  employs the contractors. When they return to the US and try to collect their unemployment they are told because their employer is in Dubai, they cannot collect unemployment. "But I signed my contract in Houston.  I have a W2."
The original employer, one of the largest in the world, is not liable for the taxes. This is a loophole that saves the company millions of dollars. The office in Dubai is slightly larger than a walk-in closet. There is a file cabinet, a computer and 2 employees to manage the logistics of hiring thousands of people.
This CHAPS me.

Okay I'm done.  On a cuter note, I've attached a picture of further spoiling of my dog by my English friend.

Spoiled Rotten

This is a picture of my dog in Jordan's arms. He has turned her into his dog. She ignores us now. She looks at me now only to give the look that suggests I should piss off.  My services are no longer needed. My fella says, "It's a dog. It doesn't care!" That earned him a good hearty smack upside the head. She's my dog and I care. Oh well. As long as she's happy, I suppose that's all that matters. Jordan is happy too, so it was worth the price of admission to hang out at my place with my dog.

Mexican Free-Tail Bats

We took the Brits to see the Congress bats.  The largest bat colony in the lower 48.  Last week the weather was reasonable and we stood there for an hour for a pathetic display of bat spirit.  There I was bragging about how cool Austin was because of the bats and they let me down.  The guys were cool about it but it was suggested we might try again later from a different vantage point.  Today we stood on the bridge and looked over the mass exodus.  It was certainly more impressive than it was beside the bridge.  BUT it was also 105 degrees today.  I sweat buckets.  BUCKETS!  It is Sept 26th and it's 105 degrees!  What happened to fall?!  On a funny side note sweet little Jordan got out of my car and said, "Aww, bloody hell! How do you live here?"  You were warned.  Living in Texas between March and November certainly ain't for sissies.

Deputy voter registration duty

I am going to the US Citizenship swearing-in ceremony in a bit.  It's really exciting.  I think it will probably give me that "Proud to be an American" feeling.  My friend suggested it would exceed my expectations and I hope it does.  As a liberal, I am even happy to register conservatives.  It takes a lot of effort to become a naturalized citizen.  I'm proud of these folks. 
Welcome to the family.  We're just as dysfunctional as your old one but we've got a lot of spirit.  I'm glad to have you.

Sorry Guys

Nothing quite as special as being the new girl in the middle of a huge family evaluating you for potential entrance criteria. I think I did really well. Of course announcing to his daughters that he was a candidate for getting me "knocked up" was a bit awkward seeing as they are both old enough to have two children each.  Yes.  I did feel like an idiot.  The look on their faces when they imagined what it would take to get them a brother or sister 25 to 30 years younger than them was a nice touch.
At least the bickering only lasted for the 3.5 hour trip up there.  And it wasn't helped by our secret desire not to have it out in front of our guests.  We chose rather to nit pick the entire way up there making it a thoroughly horrible experience for all of us.  (Sorry guys.)