One year ago today.

I'm not sure if there's anything else to say. I was reluctant to remember what happened one year ago today, but it's been an undeniable truth since I woke up this morning. I feel like the day should be spent lighting candles and attending memorials, but instead, I'm going to work.

There's something surreal about that . . . the sun having just come up, the air probably as fresh as it was that day. I work on the 19th floor, and every morning I get into that elevator, I think about the World Trade Center. My building is a bustling hub of people in suits heading off to do business in their offices, something I've never really been around before. Every morning I get to go to work, and at the end of the day, I get to go home again. All of us in that building are able to simply admire the view from our windows.

I wonder if the events of a year ago will give everyone pause as they head to their high-rise offices this morning.

The newest additon to La Famiglia is Aki, the stray cat I mentioned the other day. We named her Aki, the Japanese word for autumn, because she's a mix of beautiful autumn colours. It's also getting to be that time of the year, so it seemed a good fit.

I took lots of pictures and even a movie of her, which should help make the next few days of 9/11 remembrance a bit more bearable.

aki close-up


aki from above


aki looking content


a shot of aki with my hand,


which gives you an idea of how small she is


a movie of aki grooming herself


(it's a riveting piece, I assure you)

Well, it turns out there was food at the press conference. A lot of food. Delicious food. I am quite sated.

I also discovered that my mouth should come with a label, "contents may be mindless".

I can't seem to weave a convincing thread when it comes to knowing what I'm doing, or what my purpose is. Either I know it, or I don't. Apparently I don't, because I sounded about as vacuous and empty-headed as is humanly possible.

"I, uh, help Al . . . I do . . . stuff . . . " Wow. Great. You do stuff. And does doing stuff pay well?

Did I mention my boots squeak? I swear I was there for comic relief, and to help some of the people with too many titles and acronyms feel above the plebeian masses.

I am so proud.

No lunch.

No wallet.

It's going to be one of those days.

CIA Wants to Monitor your Health

Govt.-Grown Pot Has Critics Fuming

If the first experiments with legally grown marijuana for the use of medical purposes are any indication, the government has a thing or two to learn about growing pot.

Mississippi-grown marijuana provided to HIV patients in a California study is being criticized by medical marijuana proponents as being stale and full of stems and seeds, reports the Associated Press.

"It's stale, low-potency ditch weed," Dale Gieringer, state coordinator for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told the AP of the San Mateo county study. "It's unconscionable that they would be giving this marijuana to patients," he said.

Meanwhile, another California medical marijuana study, in La Jolla, is having just the opposite problem -- the government-supplied pot is too potent. "They've reported getting high shortly after the first few puffs," said Dr. Andrew Mattison, the center's co-director. "These are people with a chronic, debilitating illness who do not want to get high. They want to get pain relief."

Why make stuff up when the truth is so much funnier?

Rampant Miscellany:

The last month in a nutshell:

Victoria, BC


whales


garden


bug zoo


seafood


Edmonton


drag racing


new job


more wicked drag racing


found a cat

And I'm not kidding about that last one. We were driving across town and rather randomly ended up taking the long way to the west end for a movie. Lo and behold, as we were driving down Jasper Avenue, we spotted a rare and wicked-fast sports car parked in front of a restaurant. It was determined that it'll probably be the only chance any of us have to see one up close, so we decided to pull over and take a closer look.

While the others were digging a camera out of the trunk, my attention turned to a strange noise that sounded like some kind of bird. I looked over, and out of the dark walks a teeny, tiny cat who looks more like a squirrel than a cat. As we were petting her, it became clear that not only was she very small, but she was also furry skin and bones. Every bone jutted out from her body, and her skin was loose from dehydration. She might have been someone's pet once, but not in some time.

I went to one of the houses and rang the doorbell. A woman answered and told me that she didn't know who the cat belonged to. Apparently the cat had spent the night on her doorstep, and the house next door was vacant and set to be torn down. If this cat had once had a family, they were obviously long gone. I knew we couldn't leave her there.

We bundled her up in a blanket and took her into the car, where she was surprisingly calm for a cat who had just met us. We bought a bit of cat food from a convenience store, and she inhaled the little I gave her like it was the only food she had seen in weeks. When we got her home, we took her into one of the spare bedrooms to keep her separated from Dusty and Mr. Cubbs. We gave her a bowl of water, and she drank so deeply I could hardly believe my eyes. You could almost see her parched tissues absorbing the fluid.

We fed her small quantities at first, to make sure she wouldn't throw it up. By the end of her first day with us, we were able to give her half a can of cat food, which finally served to satisfy her raging hunger. For the first time in 24 hours, she left some food in her bowl. Her belly now protrudes from her emaciated little body, and a calm has come over her.

She had a trip to the vet yesterday, to check and see what the state of her health is, and if she's likely to be carrying anything that Dusty and Cubbs might catch. It turns out she's in good health considering what she's been through. She's declawed and has no tattoo or microchip to identify her. She doesn't seem to have a spay scar, but she might have been spayed when she was very young. She has a broken canine which will need a root canal, but otherwise she very healthy. She also tested negative for Feline Leukemia Virus, which is extremely, extremely good.

With some careful planning, she will be able to integrate smoothly with Dusty and Cubbs. I think she'll fit in quite nicely with everyone.