Quinci - I will love you forever

I have the most amazing cat in the world! (Exclamation point definitely necessary!) He has been my baby for ten years. I think everyone who's ever met him has wanted to take him home. 

He often thinks he's a dog. He'll come when I call his name, beg from the table, sit on command, and follow me around (and also makes me follow him around too). He's gentle and fiercely loyal. And he gets jealous if I even pet the dog. 

If he doesn't get his full amount of affection for the day, he'll make sure I know that he's in need of attention. I really don't mind this. I probably made him that way by spoiling him with love and affection. 

Today I took Quinci to the vet. I was there for three hours while he was getting tests, blood-work, and ex-rays. It turns out he is in the late stages of heart disease, with a heart arrhythmia. And his heart is much larger than it should be. The vet gave him a couple months to live. In shock, I asked if there was any way she could be wrong. She just said no, but that he may have, at most, up to a year. She then commented on his spunk - and that he may just be a fighter. I believe he is.

When I got him (as a present for my 14th birthday), I was thrilled. I had ALWAYS wanted a cat. But my dad was a self-proclaimed "cat-hater" who shot cats with a bee-bee gun when he was younger. When he finally gave in and got me a cat, Quinci immediately melted his heart. 

Quinci is perfect for me. He was born the runt. Since none of his siblings let him have any milk, he was hand-fed. And so he's always loved people (and hated cats). 

Personally, I've always liked soft things. And Quinci is incredibly soft. Every time I have taken him to the vet, the veterinarians always comment that he has bunny-like fur. I love his bunny fur. And I love him. 

Just a few minutes ago, he was nudging my typing fingers with his little pink-orange nose. So I stopped typing to pet him. Now he's comfortably sharing my computer chair with me.

Well, I'm not giving up on him. He's a fighter - I just know it!

Does chocolate addiction have an "off" button?!

Sometimes I really wish chocolate addiction came with an "off" button . . . Days like today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday in particular.

I admit: I eat chocolate everyday and often several times a day. For the last three days, I have had so much chocolate that I've paid for it with a tummy ache in the evenings.

I know I am an obsessive chocolate eater. I normally eat chocolate throughout the day in small amounts: A truffle in the morning, a cupcake in the afternoon, and maybe a spoonful of chocolate in the evening.

More recently, it's not only been obsessive, but excessive. For example, yesterday I had chocolate fudge pop-tarts for breakfast, a chocolate frosted brownie after lunch, chocolate raisins for snack, a cinnamon roll with chocolate frosting after dinner, and a handful of chocolate truffles as a late night snack (a snack that I indulged in while already having a stomach ache!)

And this is becoming the norm. Although the cravings are every few hours, I think about chocolate much more than that.

The stomach ache is kind of like a hangover - it's the sign that maybe next time I should consider cutting down. But no, I'm like an alcoholic. I just can't stop. I wonder if there's C.A. (Chocoholics Anonymous) group I could join . . . Not that I actually would . . . 

Making Connections

Making connections that may or may not be there. . .

• Cherphobia: The obsessive dread of laughing to death.
• “If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane.” – Jimmy Buffett

Therefore, those who are afraid of laughing end up going insane.

• “The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.” – Robert Frost.

So I figure that this must mean – The insane people who don’t laugh because they dread laughing themselves to death are ironically more likely to die because of their irrational worry.