Black Doggerel

I realise I have been just the tiniest bit incommunicado. I apologise. I've been dealing with a double-barrelled blast of obsession and depression together... it hasn't left a lot of brainspace over for conversation. I would promise a return to normality at some point, but I have no idea what might be considered normal for me. I'm not sure I even have a baseline.

Just know that I am reading everyone's journals and that I still love you.

Walked dogs tonight, and when I went to turn down the alley, I saw a fox standing in the middle of the path, looking me in the eye in that "And who the hell do you think you are?" way that urban foxes have. Unbelievably, I spotted him before the dogs did, and was able to prevent the dogsplosion by turning down Woodbury Avenue. Woodbury Avenue is covered with woodpigeon feathers; there's no trace of any actual pigeon parts (believe me, Squish would have found them) but the quantity of feathers makes it very plain that the pigeon didn't survive. This may not be unrelated to the fox.

I am drinking coffee with amaretto-flavoured syrup in it, at 1am. This is probably a really bad idea. But damn, it tastes good.

I've fallen abruptly out of love with Neopets and in love with Subeta. Subeta's not perfect, it's new and can be very glitchy, but a. some of my favourite people in the world are there, b. my virtual pets don't look like shit on a stick, and c. most importantly, they've demonstrated a vastly better attitude towards their players. For example, when they decide to redo their artwork, users get to vote on it. (Bitter? Moi? HELL YEAH.)

And in other news, my mother is now connected to the Intarwebs. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Today: Big Neopets site revamp. Pictures under the cut...

( What, all my pretty chickens? Damn!! )

( Meme! )

i'm aware that I've been tagged for at least two other memes, but i have to finish a driveforlife post and make 20,000 neopoints first. yarr mateys!

in other neopets news, I noticed stealthly on staarbux' userinfo, and I thought, that's a good idea, let's do that. so I give you neosnarkguild! invitations to join have been sent to everyone in the guild except rozae's sister - does she have an LJ? if she does, she may also consider herself invited. yay!

Dear Spike,

I know you're excited and impatent for your morning walk, but here's a clue - snatching the T-shirt I was trying to put on for an impromptu game of keep-away isn't going to get us out the door any faster. Arsehole.

However, your total failure to bark at that elkhoundy-huskyish-shepherdy dog across the road makes up for any amount of arseholery. I am so proud of you!

Love and meatballs,

Mum.


In other news, check out my Destruct-O-Match hi-score, people!

Been re-reading Val Maurer'sTemperament Theory - I'd be very interested to hear what other dog people think of it. I've found it useful and accurate at least where Spike (a bold, upbeat extrovert, in case that wasn't blindingly obvious) is concerned - for example, the part about bold-type dogs needing to sleep alone (Spike can sleep anywhere he likes, but he chooses to sleep out in the hallway away from everyone) and the part about praising bold dogs quietly (loud squeaky praise such as Squish needs makes Spike act out). Squish is a bit more opaque - I'm thinking shy/extrovert/upbeat, but I didn't have him yet when I first read the theory, and the whole thing's written around herding dogs, so it takes time to sort through which parts still apply and which don't.

(Obviously I'm ignoring the parts about drugs, pinch collars and e-collars. I don't think she's recommending any of that for general use, and in any case I don't think it invalidates the basic theory.)

Neopetters - I need a blueberry jelly hot dog, and I've not been able to reach anyone on IM to shopwizard it for me. Help?

In other news, there's a young Golden Retriever who lives along one of our dog walk routes and Spike has now seen him three times with only a couple of barks. Much (quiet)praise and meatball!

Holy fucking shit, there need to be warnings or something to prevent people with addiction issues from getting their hands on fucking Neopets. It was all right just pootling about posting messages on our funky Guild message boards, giving each other humourous anonymous gifts of fish and half-eaten fruit and taking spins on the free stuff tombolas. It was all light hearted and jolly and we got together in the dotpetchat and giggled about the stupid swearfilters and swapped tips. It was shiny innocent pastel-coloured fun.

But that's never enough, is it? Not for the likes of me. I had to go and start in on the fucking Altador plot, didn't I?

Suddenly the Neopets experience went from passing joints round in a roomful of giggling friends to trudging around town all day trying to score heroin when no one has any. Any sane person would give up after two, eight, twelve, sixteen, thirty-two hours of calling dealers and getting told every hour to try again in another hour, or two, or three, or getting told to walk five miles to a meeting place where the dealer fails to turn up again and again and again and again. Wouldn't they? But that's a place in my mind where I'm not remotely sane, and I'll keep going till I drop, long after I know it's pointless, because I've got that deadly, unshakeable optimism that breaks all of us gamblers and risk takers in the long run.

There is a good side, I suppose. At least Neopets doesn't cost real money and, unlike heroin dealers, it's got online help forums. Phew.

In other news, one of the cats just scared herself, all the other cats and both dogs nearly shitless by switching on the vacuum cleaner. My bad. I usually remember to leave it switched off at the mains. But it gave me the best laugh I've had since beating silverblaidd up in the Battledome with a wet snowball.

( Edited: these are my damn neopets! )

Ha. I just woke up from a dream in which I was drinking coffee with cottonmanifesto while she showed me holiday pictures.

also, tenna got me into Neopets. Which is just kinda nuts. But fun.