pet tax

#Blaugust 2023 Wrap Up (#31/31) and some sad news about my gerbils

Posted by Gryph on August 31, 2023

Posted in: Blog News, Communities, Creating, Life Stuff, Writing. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, pet tax. 3 Comments

A brown gerbil sleeps curled over the back of a black gerbil.

Before I launch into a farewell to this year’s Blaugust, I have a more personal farewell to make. Around 5:30 this morning, one of my gerbils (Meg, the brown one) passed away.

Her sister Progo is doing alright so far, but I’m unsure how she’ll do going forward. She was never as social as Meg, but she was very close to her sister. Introducing a new gerbil is dicey in the best of situations, and I don’t think she’d appreciate it if I tried. I’ll just have to try to spend as much extra time with her as she allows

Meg had been off for a few days and I thought it was coming soon, so I wasn’t entirely surprised at least. She and her sister were/are between 3-4 years old, pretty senior for gerbils. It’s still always sad they can’t stay with us as long as we would like, and I was up late with her once I realized she was likely on her way out.

So, forgive me if this post isn’t my best work. I’m very tired, and while I’m not an entire mess about it, my mind isn’t really on blogging at the moment.

Another Messy Week For Streaming (#Blaugust 2023 #29)

Posted by Gryph on August 29, 2023

Posted in: Gryph is Playing, Gryph Streams, Life Stuff, Livestreams. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, Good Omens, music, pet tax, World End Diner. 8 Comments

Map of Tropical Storm warning in South Carolina

Welp, not the blog post I was planning on for today. But I did want to apologize that this might be the second week in a row I’m not able to stream.

Return of Life Stuff! We’ve got an incoming tropical storm to prep for and I’m going to be working an extra half day to cover a short shift at work. Depending on the weather I might be able to stream Thursday? My days off this week are kinda gonna be dictated by what the weather decides to do, as well as if we lose power/internet or not. I’m trying to run my errands and such before the rain and wind pick up – of course, so is everyone else. So that’s always fun.

I’m also allergic to tropical storms. Well, not really. But I learned when I moved to a place that sits at sea level and is prone to wild barometric changes, that my sinuses are very sensitive to that sort of thing. They’re already bugging me, and there’s a good chance I’ll be fighting a migraine at some point in the next couple days.

Happy One Month Hyperfixation Anniversary! | In Which A Very Tired Me Babbles About Good Omens Again (#Blaugust 2023 #28)

Posted by Gryph on August 28, 2023

Posted in: ADHD, TV. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, ADHD, books, Good Omens, pet tax. Leave a comment

Screenshot of multiple monitors. Upper left is a porch with cat toys, lower left is the game World End Diner, lower right is the movie Good Omens 2. Upper right is blank, I only have 3 monitors. — *Good Omens has basically lived on that monitor for a month now.*

It’s been a month since Good Omens Season 2 released, and the hyper is still fixating over in my little world.

I had intended today’s post to be another light essay on how hyperfixation works in my life, and possibly trying to pull together some of the fun bits of knowledge I’ve acquired through living on the Good Omens tags for a month straight. Neil Gaiman has been his incredibly patient self and answered so many fan questions, it’s really been a treat to keep up with his tumblr. He’s got a Good Omens Season 2 FAQ post that a fan put together pinned over there as well, which is pretty cool.

Anyway, that was the plan. The reality is I just got home from work, where I was fighting a sinus headache all day with limited success. Lack of sleep (unrelated to the hyperfixation, I’ve just had a lot of Life Stuff the last two weeks) is finally catching up to me as well.

My brain lost the word for “coccidia” this morning while discussing some kittens in our care, and I stammered, “Cocci…cocci…cocci…I know I’m saying this wrong…” with what I’m sure was a rather confused look on my face until one of my coworkers thankfully rescued me by asking if I was trying to say, “coccidia.”

So I mean, I’m still doing a Good Omens post. I just don’t think it will be as clever or put together as I wanted it to be.

#Blaugust 2023 24/31 and counting!

Posted by Gryph on August 24, 2023

Posted in: Blog News, Writing. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, food, pet tax. 2 Comments

Black and white cat is stretched out, but looking at the camera with curiosity.

We’re coming into the last week of Blaugust, and there’s been some chatting in the Discord about what comes next. Do we plan to stick with daily blogging, do we pick a different schedule?

I joined Blaugust 2023 in part just because Belghast is awesome and it’s been a while since I did one of these. 🙂

Also because “Update Blog” had been on my To-Do list for months, ever since I let my WordPress sub lapse and couldn’t decide if I wanted to start it up again. (Plus realizing I still had links to Vine and Google+ on my socials widget…) I stared at that bullet point every weekend, and then said, “Eh, I’ll get to it next weekend.” Joining Blaugust helped my timesense deficient brain move the task from “not now” to “now.”

Adventures in Broken Air Conditioning (#Blaugust 2023 #21)

Posted by Gryph on August 21, 2023

Posted in: Life Stuff. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, ADHD, books, Good Omens, pet tax. 2 Comments

Gargoyle gecko perches on one of my thumbs. He is shades of brown with orange stripes. His eyes are a bright, light blue. His tail is curled around my thumb. — *Ember, my gargoyle gecko. This pic is from a year or so ago, and he’s bigger now.*

Yesterday, our air conditioning decided to stop working.

I live in South Carolina, and our temps have been hovering around 90F-100F for the last…I’m not sure how long, but too long for me. More important than my own comfort or lack thereof, is the safety and health of my smol pets.

Neither my gargoyle gecko nor my gerbils are supposed to be in extreme heat. Gerbils may originate in the desert, but in their natural habitat they burrow deep underground during the hottest parts of the day. And gargoyle geckos are one of the New Caledonian geckos which also are not built to withstand much heat. Both pets do best right around room temperature or a little higher – one reason I own them, since it makes their care a little easier. At least, when the air conditioning isn’t broken. Gargoyle geckos shouldn’t be in temps over about 82F and gerbils, 77F.

The house’s main thermostat was 85F when I got home from work yesterday. The thermometer I keep in my office was “only” at about 82F, but that’s still way too hot for the smols.

Rest Day and State of the Blaugust (#Blaugust 2023 #15)

Posted by Gryph on August 15, 2023

Posted in: Blog News, Life Stuff, PC Gaming, Writing. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, cats, cozy games, food, pet tax, Steam, TNR, TVAR. 1 Comment

Charlie. Our black and white cat is curled up on the floor, fast asleep.

Today we’re going to do a quick Blaugust check in since we’re about halfway done, as well as some random life updates I haven’t put together into full blog posts yet. It’s also a grab bag because I’m still pretty exhausted – enough so that I canceled my stream for the night.

I am doing my best to have a rest day.

I’m hitting my goal of a full Blaugust this time, but I am starting to struggle with the time. Finding things to write about is no problem, but every brief post wants to be a normal post and every normal post wants to be an essay. Add in editing and finding pics, and the time does fly.

I know I said I was going to be less picky about my posts as an experiment, and I have been! But I legitimately enjoy editing, finding pics and screenshots, making the design of the page appealing, and writing the alt text. Skimping on any of those isn’t really giving myself a present, it’s blocking myself from part of the process I get joy from.

A Look At My First Week of Blaugust (#Blaugust 2023 #7)

Posted by Gryph on August 7, 2023

Posted in: Blog News, Creating, Life Stuff, Writing. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, cats, Good Omens, music, pet tax. 2 Comments

Cat pic! Grady, our floofy toasted marshmallow of a flamepoint Ragdoll cat, is lying in a small cat tree, on his back. His front paws are curled into his chest and his back paws are showing pink toebeans. He has light blue eyes and is fully aware of how cute he is.

I had another couple posts I was working on, but since it’s Day 7 of Blaugust I feel more like doing a look over the past week and how it’s gone for me. Seven points for seven days and some free cat pics!

Of Litter Boxes and Best Laid Plans: Charlie’s Story (#Blaugust 2023 #6)

Posted by Gryph on August 6, 2023

Posted in: Animal Stories, Life Stuff. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, animal shelter, cats, pet tax, TNR, TVAR. Leave a comment

*Charlie Chaplin – A black and white DSH kitty with the hint of a mustache stops in the middle of playing with a bacon cat toy. He stares, curious, at the camera.*

Taking a break from gaming content to share with you how we wound up with our accidental foster cat, Charlie Chaplin (named by shelter staff). Mostly because the story amuses me, but also because a surprising (maybe unsurprising) number of folks I’m meeting through Blaugust are rather interested in the cats. 🙂

To set the scene, for those who don’t already know, I work at my local animal shelter. I actually have a post half prepped about what I do all day, but the key point here is just that I work there.

Charlie came to my shelter through Animal Control. He’d been picked up as an injured stray cat, and spent some time at a local emergency vet being treated for an abscess on his leg. When he was stabilized, he came to my shelter.

This is where the first amusing bit happens. See, my department does process Citizen Stray intakes – but Animal Control intakes come in through the back of the building. I saw Charlie only briefly, and only because I overheard the vet techs talking about his mustache.

#Blaugust 2023 #2 – I’ve been smoted. Smitten. Season Two of Good Omens – There will be spoilers!

Posted by Gryph on August 2, 2023

Posted in: TV, Uncategorized. Tagged: #Blaugust2023, Good Omens, pet tax. Leave a comment

*A Good Omens Season 2 ad image. Crowley and Aziraphale are looking at each other, standing next to the Bentley. Naked Gabriel is in the background. Amazon Prime, July 28.*

Spoilers ahead, but not before the cut.

Season 2 of Good Omens AFFECTED me. I’ve said it online a few times, but it bears repeating.

The last time I went online specifically looking for how fans were unpacking and speculating about a show, it was around Season 4 of The X-files and tumblr didn’t exist yet. I was also a young teenager, just to make sure I feel appropriately old now, 27 years later.

Season 2 affected me enough that I’m writing this up on July 31st despite knowing that my first post for Blaugust will be the traditional “Hey, I’m doing Blaugust!” post, and the next one really ought to be some form of introduction. It probably only took this long because I work 10+ hr shifts Friday-Monday so I wasn’t able to give myself the time until now, after work on Monday.

This season of this show affected me to the degree that I started listening to the character music playlists they put up. I put on Season 1 when I’m not watching Season 2. I put on the audiobook for the millionth time. I’m searching to find podcasts covering this season, and posts online discussing it. It affected me to the degree that I’m pretty sure I literally dreamed that the [redacted] situation was all cleared up the night after I watched it, because apparently my brain just deeply needed more closure.

Friends and neighbors, I don’t get like this about shows. And yet, here we are.

I expected I’d enjoy this season. I did not expect to be ~~smoted by~~ smitten with this season. Add me to the list of people having “unexpected feelings” after this one.