Funny story: back in the summer of 2006, I was in training for XM radio retention at a call centre, and a few of the higher ups came in to talk to us. The talk was suspiciously informal and it quickly became apparent, that they were looking for people who had potential to become management types. This was obvious to everyone else too, since they all answered the question “where do you see yourself in two years?” with variations on “I’d like to move up the company and get to work with you guys, cause I’m willing to do anything, anything (winks for emphasis) to get paid more than the $8/hr I’m making right now.” As for me, I had neglected to tell them that I was going back to university in September anyway, so I had no interest in blowing smoke up their asses or performing any sort of professionally political verbal fellatio. “Hmmmmm,” I said taking a good long time to formulate my answer. “In the next two years, I would like to be a cat owner.” My co-workers laughed, as did my immediate supervisor, though she choked it back when the higher ups looked at her.

Here we are two years later, and not only do I own a cat, but I’m not working in a goddamn call centre. I love it when a plan comes together.

Paul is adapting nicely to his new environment, here in our decent little apartment conveniently above flood level in Fredericton. He adapted quickly, to be sure; he’s never had a potty accident, and he has yet to really cause any major damage around here. He seems like he almost knows his name, and responds well to simple commands like “no,” or “stop” or the more colorful “don’t bite you little shithead!”

He’s also in quite good health, says our vet. He even put up with our giving him worm medicine (standard practice with a kitten, apparently, they’re all born with some amount of worms). He didn’t like it when we gave him the medicine, but on the other hand, he didn’t throw a massive fit either. He just dealt with it.

My biggest concern is cords. We’ve got an electrical current running through the cords for the Wii, the PS2, two computers, the stereo, the amplifier, the record player, the TV and whatever else at any given time. He doesn’t seem to have much interest in the computer cords, but he has been chewing on some other cords. Sometimes, a “NO!” is enough to get him off them. Other times, it takes a loud clap accompanied by a “no!” In a worst case scenario, he gets the spray bottle, which will inevitably drive him to sulk off in the closet where his food and litter box are.

He seems to be enjoying himself though. Luckily, he’s a huge fan of little felt mice and a tiny kitty tent that we got at the Dollar Store. He’s been slowly destroying the tent, and we’ll have to replace it at some point, but for a few bucks a pop, who cares? Also, he’s just recently noticed that if he get’s up on the sill, there’s a whole world outside the window. It seems to catch him completely off guard, as he’ll just drop whatever he’s doing and stare out the window when he notices it.

I just called him and he came. That’s a good sign, I think. Lindsay hopes she can teach him some tricks. We’ll see how that turns out.