i had an Abyssinian once.
A Cinnamon Abyssinian that Apocalypse April paid the prime sum of $500 in 1980's dollars for me for my birthday.

We found her ( the cat, that is. Where i found April is another tale entirely...) at some uberpodunk pet shop in West Virginia, sold by some ffolks that knew they had sumpthin, just not sure what.

She was tiny, and lithe, and whip-smart, and i named her Bubastis, after Ozymandius' genetically engineered lynx in The Watchmen. An amazing cat. She'd fetch, listen to you, and all of the cool cat things, of course, just up a notch. She was that amazing cat combination of arrogance and love and cool and alien. She was the most dextrous cat i've ever seen, and climbed glass one time even, to get out of a shower stall.

Mike Watt got her stoned by accident, and CJ Ramone even fell in love with her. She'd sit on my chest sometimes and knead her little paws on me while i'd sing "bu bu bu bu bubastis" to the tune of La Bamba. Her paws were kinda wide, and furrier on the bottom than most cat's i'd seen, i guess it was the Egyptian heritage for walking on sand or something. And she could smile, too.
She developed a habit of drinking outta the sink, i discovered when i'd get up , or come home, or whatever an the sink was running, and one late night i caught her up on the counter nudging the long handle to turn the sink on.

In my apartment in Tazewell, she'd run huge circles thru the hall, hitting the only tile in the flat ( the kitchen) and skidding around the corner til she'd hit th ecarpet again and burst into speed. i used to watch her go round & round & laff like an idiot, til one day i closed the kitche door. She came around the corner, all sliding on the tile like ice, and couldnt stop. She hit the door full-on and scratched her nose a bit.
Then she sulked for 2 whole days, glaring at me. You can imagine, i'd wager.

And once, in Morgantown, she caught a bat. We were sitting around, doing whatever it was we did on a slow summer night in the 90's when a bat flew in teh window and she exploded into the air, catching the bat in one bite, piercing it's chest killing it instantly, then trotting over to me to present it to me. i'm sure the 4-6 ffolk there at the time still have that bit of madness in their minds, too. She caught another bat in Roanoke, but not quite so spectacularly.

She contracted FIV, and one day just wouldnt move any more. She died wrapped up in my favorite afghan, made for me by Dave's (atomic_liver) Mom, and i know he loved Bubastis, too.

i have her name tattood on my wrist, on teh inside across where the veins are closest to the skin, and somewhere Lysbeth has some of her whiskers. For the longest time after that, i could feel her on the bed, moving; or hear her in the kitchen of whatever home i was in, and sometimes i swear i can still feel her jump up on my bed.

My cat now, Saladin, is almost 10, and i dun wanna go thru the loss again, but i know it's comin. He sleeps more & more, and plays a little less...

i've made it a point to tell him "bye' before i leave the flat for any reason. The couple of times i think i'll just skip it, i canhear a little voice in me saying 'how hard is it to just walk up the stairs and tell him, is your life so busy, so important?", and of course, the answer is always 'no'.

i never want to be at the point where i can't stop and say 'bye' to my friend(s).

There is no Christmas Post. and i didnae say "Merry Christmas" and like that because it's none of my business how yer Christmas was. Hope it was swell, of course, but ultimately i think it should be much more personal than it is. Birthdays are your day, Christmas is your share day. Gotta family, S.O., whatever? git to it if you please.
Alla this forced cheer is a bunch of smeg, and i'm sure that that's not a solo sentiment.

New Years is another matter, so try and enjoy yerself for a little bit anyway. Yeh've nothing but regret if yeh dun, cos New Year's is completely in yer own hands.
i wasnae gonna go anywhere, but i've changed my mind a bit. Got a bottle of Trios Pistoles for tonight and a nice bottle of mead for tomorrow, and i should be good.
Got my snazzy new Churchwarden pipe, too ( thanks kimberly_tries). Neener.

And i'll toast you lot, too. Listen for it.


Namaste'.