The Zoo over Ambuscade Street

The first sign that something was amiss came when I stepped out of the bedroom, and the cat came dashing towards my feet, not from the living room, but from the kitchen. Very out of character. Then, rather than embarking on her normal morning Dani-eating-breakfast routine of attacking the curtains and blinds in an attempt to maximize the attention I give her (oddly enough, the only time she does this is when I'm eating breakfast), she crouched down and stared intently underneath the stove.

Interesting. As I ate, I continued watching her. Abruptly, she launched herself away from the stove, towards the pantry, and proceeded to squeeze herself under the door. This never fails to amuse - the bald spot on her head is coming back. At this point I start to feel the faint glimmering of understanding.

Everything was quiet until, suddenly, it wasn't. There's a flurry of motion behind the door...and a Damn Rat Bastard sprints out and dashes behind the dishwasher. Gracie O'Malley the Pirate Cat wasn't far behind.

At this point, sadly, I had to leave so I could make it to work early enough that I could leave at a decent hour, so I couldn't indulge in a flurry of appliance-moving and kitten-throwing. But now, at least, we know that the kitten knows the mice are around and is chasing them actively. She's a pretty smart little thing - it won't take her long to figure out the rest.

It's also finally gotten cold enough that my car feels compelled to helpfully *ding* and inform me that it's 37 degrees outside. I still haven't been able to find out why it does this, or why it does it only when it's exactly 37 degrees. One of those unsolved mysteries, I suppose.

I really don't want to work today - maybe I can get away with only working a part day. It's cold and rainy outside, I want to read!

Tokyopop and OEL manga.

I object strongly to the use of the word "racist" in this context. Very strongly.

we were very pleasantly surprised that the whole notion that it's all Ameri-manga and off-topic was countered by somebody making up this term "OEL."

Emphasis mine. Heh - I wonder who they're talking about there? An ho-jeebus-meemie, but did they say Neil Gaiman? That's one name that has me shelling out cash sight-unseen.

Moving beyond that, I found it fascinating that the new OEL books are "more expensive and time-consuming" than licensing existing manga titles. Especially with so many of their titles on 3+ month gaps between releases. How long has it been since the last volume of Kindaichi?

Tokyopop claims these titles are selling well, and while I haven't seen anything else to support or disprove that, I have to wonder how long it's going to last. And if the creators they've signed on can handle a release schedule that isn't going to be so long that they lose reader's attention.

None of these titles have managed to catch mine, yet. We'll see.

Micromanager is trying to give me a heart attack. That's the only explanation. She ran (a rare occurance) into the conference room and asked me if I knew anything about a fiber to one of our off-site contractors being cut.

*insert sweat pouring off of me here*

At this point it looks like it's not my fiber, since Fu-Master hasn't managed to get it activated yet (which doesn't mean that hasn't been potentially cut, but it wouldn't have caused this issue), and it's probably not our dry pair connection (one of our contractors is running out to check). This puts it firmly in the realm of Not My Problem. I hope. For which I am eternally greatful. One misplaced backhoe a year is enough, thankyouverymuch.