My Credo

"Life can't defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death." Edna Ferber

Friday, November 14, 2014

November 14, 2014: The Reality of Winter

I played with the cats today at the local animal shelter. A sweet, but "cage-crazy" tabby called Azalea kept me company for at least 30 minutes. She kept up a cat monologue the whole time, and I felt extremely distressed for this animal, who has been there for 30 days and just wants a human companion. Actually, I think she would make an excellent companion for a senior citizen who lives alone.

Eventually, she calmed down, and even began to chase me around the room - picture, if you will, a chubby-cheeked brown tabby cat chasing an overweight middle-aged woman around a small room - and then plopped on my lap. When she finally settled down and seemed calmer, I put her back in her cage. She hissed, spat, and glared at me from the corner of her cage, making irritated cat noises the whole time. "BITCH!" she seemed to screech. And I felt oddly guilty.

But I also understood her. I am also feeling my cage right now - snarly, grumbly, and generally pissed off at this week. When I am working, I generally feel at peace (this week was the exception though), but then I come home to nothingness. Most of the time, the nothingness is a relief - I am an introvert, after all - but it can also be numbing, and even sad. This is why I prefer living near major cities, where there is always something to do. Here, there is a pretty good chance of getting snowed in - the nearest real city is 2 hours away.

The extreme cold and lack of sunlight isn't helping either. Truthfully, when I left California, It hadn't even occurred to me that I would have to deal with the physical reality of winter weather in a smallish university town. But I've made my home - such as it is - here and will have to learn to deal with it. I think the hardest thing will be spending Thanksgiving alone, but I will likely volunteer at some soup kitchen to keep my mind off things.
Sincerely,
The California Exile

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