Friday, 10 August 2018

Friday Follies - Hey Weirdo!


Life is weird.  People are weird.  Pets are weird (cats in particular).  But most of the time it's just normal weird, not 'weird' weird (like Trump's hair or Angelina Jolie's relationships).  We are all weird in our own little ways, and that's what makes us delightfully unique and never boring.

Can't we be both?
Some of us are more weird than others.  I spend a lot of my life fighting my 'weirdness' and trying desperately to fit in, blend in, and melt into the background.  But my inner weirdo fights to be free.  I usually reign her in, but sometimes she comes out.  It entertains my husband (who, by the way, also has an inner weirdo) and I think sometimes scares him.  Keeps him on his toes, I say.

Here are some of my weirdo ways.

Good thing I've already found my weirdo.
Currently I'm being weird about my new cordless stick vacuum.  I know, I know...how boring!  But as a functioning adult, I know that you can relate to getting a new appliance that actually does what it is supposed to, is easy to use and is fun (it seriously makes this really cool 'boingggggg' noise when you let go of the power trigger.  Fun?  Sadly, yes.).  My mother, who loves me and wants the best for me, subtley (like a brick to the head) pointed out on the weekend that my 17 year old self would have been appalled that at 50 I was slightly in awe of my new vacuum.  Something for cleaning my house.  I'm hanging my head in shame (but giggling with glee inside).  Don't despair, I recall a party at a friend's house where we all had a very drunk discussion on the merits of the different types of clothes pegs.  Teenage me is turning in her grave.

Yes!
My taste in music.  If you had a look on my phone, you will find everything from 80's music, heavy metal, thrash metal, rap (Eminem style), classical, Susan Boyle, Neil Diamond, 70's music (I DO go to Rio!), country and Middle Eastern (I fell in love with the different rhythms in my belly-dancing days).  It can be a bit jarring to go from Rob Zombie to Peter Allen, but they all represent different parts of me.


I talk to my animals - a LOT.  Is that weird?  Not in my family, but I think it took my husband a bit of getting used to when we started to live together.  Fortunately osmosis has worked it's magic and he talks to them all the time too.

I most certainly do.
Cats are pretty weird do, hence my absolute adoration of all things feline.   I particularly like when the cats have a complete freak out spontaneously and start chasing ghosts up and down the halls and up and down the walls as they skitter past you with complete unabashed abandon.  And then they stop.  And stare at you.  What's that about - I wasn't the one being weird at that particular moment.  Just when you think that you are familiar with their weirdness, more weirdness comes out. Clawde is 9 and middle aged for a cat.  He was having his nightly cuddle on my lap the other night while we were watching TV and got up to sit on the table.  He watched TV for a bit (he likes to do that sometimes.  One of my old cats particularly liked watching hockey and used to chase the puck.) and then quite calmly and precisely began biting at the tissues in the box and ripping them to shreds.  As tissues do, they stuck to his wet, rough tongue, so there was vigorous head shaking accompanying this task.  He's never done that before.....or since.  Weird.


I also have a weird 'thing' where all the cupboard door have to be closed properly, especially before I go to bed.  Not left slightly ajar, but closed.  This is probably a hang over from when my Dad made me watch Star Trek when I was very little, and it used to scare me before bed.  Who know what monsters lurk?

Did I hear something in the closet??
Clawde, being the generous cat that he is, contributes to my obsession.  In the middle of the night, he goes through the house and opens EVERY sliding door in our house (which includes the closet in our bedroom).  I think this must be because of the universe's need for balance, the yin and yang if you will.  It also makes one think of poltergeists and spectral ghosts messing with my mind, but fortunately I've caught Clawde at it many times.

Hello?
Dogs aren't quite as weird as cats.  They are too busy trying to please everyone and just make sure that they can still hang out with the humans. They don't want to mess that arrangement up.  Chamois used to be a bit weird when she'd do a big stretch and then rest herself on her knees.  She seemed to be quite comfortable that way.  Personally, I've never seen another dog sit that way before.  She can't do it now, of course, with a knee scaffolded by titanium and bone grinding on bone in her old joints. 

No Chamois, of course, but that's how she used to sit.
I must learn to think more like a cat in that respect and embrace my inner weirdo.

Who's weird?



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