I started my day by petting a stray kitten that was sweet as can be. Definitely one of the better ways I’ve begun my days. I was then given chocolate chip pancakes and fruit for breakfast, which only increased my splendor.
I spent most of my day outside with Freya, the kitten I was becoming far too fond of, and working on the blog. (I know it’s all I talk about of late, but I’m trying to use this time in California to dedicate myself to creating content that I find worthwhile and a huge part of that is putting in the time to actually create that content.) The typical cat habits of keyboard walking and meowing incessantly came easily to Freya as did climbing me like a tree and taking a two-hour nap on my lap, forcing me not to move for any reason. If circumstances were different, I would take her home myself, but seeing how I have a week-long trip along the Pacific Coast Highway planned for my exodus of California, a cat at home that would be insulted at the prospect of sharing, a mother who is looking to retire her pet care taking responsibilities, and a multi-month trip to Africa starting in January it doesn’t feel fair to take this cat with me, much as I want to. It seems it would just be better for everyone if I leave Freya in the entirely capable hands of Hayden’s mom Ursula and their circus of exotic pets.
At just after noon we went out for lunch at Allegro, an Italian restaurant where I had cheese ravioli with marinara sauce. As far as Italian food it was average at best. Everything in the restaurant was reheated and purchased pre-made, which is far from impressive. For a quick, cheap meal it’s alright, but I would also say microwavable ravioli from the grocery store is both quicker, cheaper, and has more flavor. After that, we went out to frozen yogurt at Yogurtland, the yogurt flavors were okay (I have a preference for ice cream or, my personal favorite of the creamy delicacies, gelato) but the toppings were what topped it off. They had fresh fruit options, and tons of sweet options too. I love miniature m&m’s, it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure on donuts and chocolate ice cream.
After our lovely day with Hayden’s family, Vanessa and I returned to her house for dinner and a movie - Session 9. [Spoiler alert] Session 9 is a horror movie in which a demolition construction crew is working to remove all of the toxic materials from an abandoned asylum that the state wants to turn into something more relevant. In the process they discover the tapes of Mary Hobbs, who is a patient with what was known as Multiple Personality Disorder but is now known in the DSM-5 as Dissociative Identity Disorder. She was a patient at the hospital because, under the influence of one of her personalities that served as a male protective figure for Mary, she killed her brother for pushing her and breaking her doll. The movie leads you to believe that something frightening, but also predictable, is happening where a ghost begins killing the people. In reality, the owner of the demolition company accidentally killed his newborn baby and then murdered his wife because she wouldn’t stop screaming. He begins to have a mental breakdown, calling his wife and apologizing throughout the movie, and eventually killing everyone on the crew because he thinks that they know what he did.