These words are currently being typed on Patrick’s keyboard.

Yes! It is alive and kicking! I changed the power supply, and not it works again.

I’m going on a trip this weekend. I might come back with some stories.

A working day is a very tiring process. It starts very early in the morning, sometimes with an early visit to the gym, and the grinding continues from a document to a test to a meeting to another document. Some level of magic and enchantment is required in order to get through day after day of hard work.

Yesterday afternoon the little bit of magic came true. I got back from lunch and was dragged with a crowed of colleagues to a side room for a magician’s show. He made people feel they were touched while they were not touched at all, and made my glasses roll over by themselves. He later gathered the whole company for a series of tricks. I helped with a couple that included soft balls that kept multiplying. I was sharp enough to inform the audience that there is a ball in each hand during the first guessing game, but the second one was more clever and amusing. I got a red balloon knotted to the shape of a dog for my troubles.

The show lasted for about half an hour and was very amusing. It was a good break and a way to relax everyone’s head during a long hard day.

I wish the magician can do a bit of magic and make my Patrick work again.

My social life is in great danger.

Yesterday morning, being a national holiday, I woke up not too early. As any normal geek would, the first thing I did was to turn Patrick on, get connected, and check what’s going on in the world around me.

Suddenly there was a bang, everything went quiet and smoke came up from Patrick with a horrific stench on burnt plastic. This is not good. How will I be able to live without a computer?!

It is likely to be only the power supply. At least I hope that’s it (I asked Veggie Vampire, Biking Geek and P. and they all agreed on it). Until I fix it, the only access I will have will be at work, which is a serious problem, because I also have plenty of work to do. Besides, the social part of being online cannot be fully achieved while working.

Still, I’m optimistic. I hope that soon enough I will have my computing power back at home and will be able to spend my geeky moments in peace. Long live Patrick!

This week I listened to REM’s Automatic for the People again, for the first time after a long long break. I wanted to play it again since the MTV2 broadcast of “MTV2 Album Covers” recently, in which Dashboard Confessional covered it, along with interviews with the band and with Michael Stipe. I must admit that I was a bit busy that evening and wasn’t paying full attention to the show, but wish I did. Maybe I should try to get a copy of it somehow.

Listening to Automatic for the People again brought back an amazing flood of emotions. I remembered the times when I used to listen to it constantly. They were bad times, many years ago, in which I was so sad I couldn’t bear the thought of living another day. I remembered how REM’s music helped me through these times, encouraged me to go on and get over my misery.

When your day is night alone,

if you feel like letting go,

when you think you’ve had too much

of this life, well hang on.

These are lyrics that at the worst times helped me get out of bed in the morning and face another day. Reminded me that the bad times will be over, and it’s worth waiting for it.

I’m happy I did.

Since then life has got so much better. Of course, there are always ups and downs, but it’s good to see the sun shine in the morning. I learnt a lot from that bad period. I learnt how to handle loneliness and enjoy my independence. I learnt how to take care of myself and pursue my ambitions. I believe I am a much better person now, more independent and much more open minded. I am able to take what life throws at me and deal with it in the best way possible.

Recently I stopped taking some pills that have been ruining my body and messing up my mind.

Life is so wonderful.

Good news! I just got home a few minutes ago, and was greeted near the house by Tigris! She’s alive after all!

That’s not saying that I’m happy that another cat died a couple of days ago, this is still very upsetting. I’m just happy that my Tigris is alive and kicking!

Furthermore, I noticed that another neighbour has also been feeding the cats, which means I shouldn’t feel too guilty if I leave them here when I move.

This evening is not going well at all, and it’s not over yet.

When I got home today and started taking my shopping out of the car, I saw someone carrying the body of a dead cat, clearing it from the road and throwing it at the side near some bins. I was quite worried, so I went to check it out to make sure it wasn’t one of my cats. However, it was bad news. The colours, the size and the long hair all matched Tigris’s. The body was so disfigured I couldn’t bear looking any more to make sure. It was horrible. There was nothing I could do, just walk back to the car and burst out crying. I liked Tigris a lot, even though she was only a stray cat. She was born in my home, and it was my duty to take care of her. I feel like such a failure.

This is a bad time to be alone.

I still have to go back to work tonight. I hope I’ll be able to handle it all.

Little Julius (P.’s name choice) found a home. Today we went to see a family that responded to a message I posted on one of the pet forums, and they fell in love with the little kitten and decided to keep him. Such a joy!

For some strange reasons, it is believed by many that cat lovers are capable of taking care of every lost kitten. As much as I wish this was true, it doesn’t quite work like that.

Last night P. found a lost kitten in the street, not far from my place. Being the nearest cat lover around, he called me immediately to see if I can look after it. I wasn’t at home at the time, so P. left it in a box near my house with a bit of food.

When I got home it was sleeping in a little corner of the box, so small it could easily be mistaken for a small mouse. I took it home, hoping it will continue sleeping, but no… it woke up and started squeaking at the top of its voice. I fed it somehow, but I’m not sure it was the right way to do things; I might have done it more harm than good. Sebastian and William didn’t like the noisy intruder much either.

There’s not much I can do with the little thing. I took it with me to work today, hoping P. can take it to the vet, and they might be able to find a solution. There is no way I can take care of another cat now, especially not such a small one that demands so much attention. I wish I could.

If any of you is in the area and think they can take care of a little kitten, or know anyone else who might be able to, please let me know.

This stump is all that is left from what used to be a beautiful courtyard full of colourful flowers. For some reason a neighbour decided that these were all weeds that need to be “cleaned away”. Now I no longer have a reason to smile when I leave the house in the morning.

Last night was a long one for Sebastian and me.

Sebastian somehow got a cut in is front paw, which itself wasn’t severe. However, a small litter stone found its way into the cut, and there was a danger of infection. I tried to get the stone out myself, which I would have been able to do if Sebastian wasn’t such a big strong cat with determination to resist treatment. I needed the help of a professional.

I called the vet’s surgery, realising it’s the last minute before they close for the day. I was told that the surgery will be closed in the morning, but if I can come in immediately, they will be able to help. Quickly, Sebastian was packed into his carrier box, and we headed to the vet’s.

A very poorly dog got there before us. I don’t know what was wrong with her, but she was taken to surgery for over an hour. The poor thing was yelping in pain, and her owners were walking around the waiting room with a worried look on their faces.

After over an hour in which Sebastian and I waited patiently and nervously, the vet came out looking miserable. I know he loves animals very much and hates to see them suffering. He used to have the same look on his face while he was treating Belle when she was sick. It was good news for the owners, their dog will be fine after some rest, but that might take a while. They said something about puppies. I hope they will all be fine.

Sebastian’s treatment was an easy one. Get the cat, take out the stone, clean a bit, and we were ready to go. The vet didn’t even charge me for it.

By the time we got home we were very tired, or at least I was. Sebastian didn’t seem to be bothered. At least he didn’t disturb my sleep too much. He will be OK.