November 23, 2005

Editing Against All Odds: The Purr War

I'm so proud. Last night I managed to complete the rough draft of a 28-page newsletter. A full week in advance of my self-imposed deadline.

There were definite obstructions this time:
* Gilmore Girls/Veronica Mars and all things CSI.
* The need for sleep.
* On-going back pains. (Note to self: MUST do more yoga)
* A desire to immerse myself in the BBC's Pride & Prejudice miniseries yet again.

And of course, His Yowliness.

He's become something of a lap cat these past few years, and seems to have a pavlovian response to my settling in front of the computer. He must sit on my lap NOW! and spend the whole time pushing my arm and hand away from the mouse and the keyboard.

Ever tried to work with a cat on your lap? It goes something like:
Type, type,type, swipe.
Unhook cat claw from sweater.
Fix typing error.
Tap, tap, tap, tap (hey I'm getting some speed now!),tap, tap, tap, tap, swipe.
Unhook cat claw from sweater.
Stare at screen in disbelief. Where did the last 2 paragraphs go?
Tap, tap... tap oh no, my legs falling asleep...
Try to shift and get feeling back into leg without annoying cat.
Fail miserably as his big 'ole cat ass starts sliding and he scrambles back into place.
Listen to annoyed yowling as he settles down.
Pet.
Pet some more.
Find that sweet spot behind his ear. Forget typing for a bit.
His eyes are closed! He's purring! Cautiously start typing.. tap, tap, tap, tap....
Hmmm... Wonder if it's safe to reach for the mug of chai?
Decide against it - last thing I need is a swipe and a spill...
Tap, tap, tap, tap, swipe.
Sigh.

The only reason I put up with this at all is that I'm a bona-fide wimp who melts at the first sight of cuteness. And while it's annoying and slow to work this way, spending that time together is priceless. Yeah, I know - I'm COMPLETELY whipped.

7 comments:

Suse said...

Oh that brought back memories of trying to type or write with my Burmese on my lap.

(Michele sent me).

Oh, and sorry to hear it's raining. It's 27C and a glorious spring day here!

buffi said...

Sounds much like trying to type with at toddler on your lap (I wanna push the "w" Mommy. "wwwwwwwwwwwwww") No rain here. We are awaiting the snow. Well, I'm not. The children are. I'll be happy if it doen't come.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tricorum Satisdee said...

All I can say is AMEN, sister! With the three monkey-cats I've got at my house, doing ANYTHING that involves the use or creation of a lap is immediately heded for diasaster or distraction.

Ciera said...

It snowed a little over night, more expected tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

my favorite is trying to read the newspaper with the cat deciding to lie directly in the middle of the pages. sigh, i love cats.

oh and anytime you have to watch pride and prejudice, please please call me. i would love to indulge with someone else. the boy just mocks me and my repeated viewings.

Cin said...

Cats really are little people in fur coats, aren't they?

Suse & Ciera - Lucky you! I love the more extreme whether conditions, which is probably why I'm loving this fog. We're into day 6, and expect the rain again any second. What else can you expect of a Vancouver?

Zoƫ - As soon as this is off to the printers, I'm taking you up on your offer. And I understand about the boy - I just indulged in the purchase of the special edition Titanic DVD, and I can FEEL the DS's eyes rolling about the additional 3 hours of Titanic-y goodness.

Anonymous said...

Cats just have a unique way! thanks for visiting the other day, it was a nice surprise to discover that we have something in common. Now I am off to pack my suitcase, I will be taking many pictures to share. Have a nice weekend!