[Dailydrool] Still alive and kicking

[James Bankston]

Dear Drool friends,

I was told folks have been asking about me, so I figured I'd better write.

I haven't really been reading or keeping up with the Drool since about October. I have been getting posts from the Adventure Club and their members, though. I really have no good excuse for not reading the Drool of late. Maybe it was because there just seemed to be a string of really sad bridge crossings one after another--especially Jacquelyn Baker's Max--and I needed to take a break from all the upsetting news.

No, I've still not added a new furry friend to my life, though I've gotten a few offers. Things are still up in the air in various parts of my life and I'm waiting to see how they go before I commit to anything.

In October I did save a kitten who was stuck up a tree. She was affectionate and cute, but also rambunctious and fond of biting and scratching. She got into things and stressed me out and even made me angry. I was horrified to find that I was capable of getting angry at an animal. That made me feel like a monster.

After a month of trying to find her a good home I gave her to a vet tech friend who fell for her.  The kitty stayed with her another month, but got electrocuted when she bit through a power cord. That made me feel even more like a failure--that all my efforts to save the kitty had been for naught.

I'm still pursuing individual and group therapy, which has helped to a degree with my grief and depression, as have the meds. 

I got fired from a bad job on Halloween, the day after the first anniversary of Fred's death. Fortunately I found work a few weeks later.  I'm doing writing work from home, and if I can get my employers to send me assignments at the same speed I can crank articles out, and if the job lasts, things should be okay. But thus far I have to send lots of e-mails their way to remind them.

Hmm. What else? I've joined some Meetup.com groups for writing, French, and so forth, to give me a reason to get out of the house. I've been engaged in a massive spring cleaning for the last two months and may even sell off a few thousand books soon. Other than that there's not been a whole lot going on.

Thanks to all of you for your concern. I hope everybody--four-legged and two-legged--is doing okay.

James Bankston and Fred ATB and Cleo ATB
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