things sure have changed since yesterday

A couple of weeks ago my mum brought Julian, on of my former foster kittens, home. Two weeks later, everyone's happy...except my cat Mitzie won't play with Julian because she's about 75 in human years and he's only about five, and so he's been kinda lonely. Which meant last Firday my mum went to pick up Julian's brother Max. So now we have three cats: Mitzie, 14, and Julian and Max, both eight months.

Mitz is being stoic in the face of change...she hasn't run for the hills yet, so we think she'll be OK; I think she probably remembers them, and so her hate is tempered somewhat by familiarity. Juju is as smoochy as ever, and is apparently overjoyed to have somebody that will PLAY WITH HIM OMG: he follows Max around and grooms him and is just generally a precious bb. Max has settled in, but we're a little concerned...he's HUGE, bigger than Mitzie (who is big for a female DSH), and he keeps pestering her. We’re not sure if it’s an “I want to play with you!” thing or an “I want to be top cat!” thing; Mum’s trying to make Max aware of his place at the bottom of ladder, but we're not sure if he'll understand that or if he'll just get resentful, or if he'll understand and get resentful. :\

But: so far, so good. Of course, you all know what comes now: pictures! Also videos!

( Julian (aka King Julian aka Jujubean aka Juju aka Jude) and Max (aka Maximus aka Maximillian aka Baci Boy aka BB )
There's a longer version of that video wherein Juju rolls over and smacks Max in the face...I LOLd, no lie. XD

**

And now a much belated meme!

Comment on this post with I VOLUNTEER! I will give you a letter. You will think of five fictional characters that begin with that letter and post their names and your comments on these characters in your DW/IJ/LJ.

The lovely mixtapestar gave me the letter J! And I came up with:

( Five Js )

**
And now I have to get cracking on my final assessment pieces. I have:

• For Media & Politics:
  
  • a final exam wherein I have to two hours in-class to write an essay answering one of three questions given to us on the day (due next Wednesday)
• For Contemporary Domestic Politics in the US:
  • an oral presentation on judicial activism in the US (due next Wednesday)
  • an essay on a subject of my choosing (due in a week and a half),
• For Theory of International Relations:
  
  • an essay on any of the topics covered in the last six weeks (due in two weeks)
• For Strategic Studies:
  
  • a take-home final exam wherein we're given about 10 questions and we have to write one-page (at the most) answer to two of them (due a week after he sends out the questions)

Let's briefly discuss how much I love my Strategic Studies lecturer, OK. He's a great speaker, he's funny, he curses in class (well, he cursed once and then spent five minutes telling us how if we liked we could pretend that he was saying "phoque" (French for seal) instead of "fuck"), he sets doable readings, and our assessment from him consists of: an oral presentation (40% of grade), the take-home exam (40% of grade), and participation in class (20% of grade). He's on the same level of awesome as my Introduction to Politics/Political Institutions lecturer from last year, who was also a great speaker and marked us on in-class quizzes of five or ten questions each, one or two minor essays, and participation in class. If you ever get the chance to study at Sciences Po or Griffith University, try for a class with Ronald Hatto or Gideon Baker...those guys are A+ Excellent. :D

Edit: Wow, HTML fail. It should be fixed, but if it looks wonky, please tell me!

So I mentioned in my previous post that I'm fostering kittens. And because even against my better judgement I've managed to get somewhat attached, I have...*counts*...150+ pictures and eight short videos of the kittens and their mum, since I started fostering them three weeks ago to the present day. Here's a few pictures.

( Don't be fooled by the cute...they're pure evil distilled into kitten-form... )

And here's where I ramble a little...I know I have to give them back, but OMG they are so cute and lovely and I wants them, precious. If I could justify keeping them, I really really would. Unfortunately, I think my existing cats would actually leave if I did keep them longer...they've done splendidly under the circumstances, and I think KM has gotten more used to them over time, but I think four weeks is long enough

The Doctor is really cool...he has these short little stubby legs, and at first he was quite small (still is, really), but right from the beginning he's been extremely inquisitive and brave and really into exploring. And he can see himself in the mirror! The very first time I showed him himself in the mirror, he fluffed himself up and pressed back against me and was like "OMG WHO THE HELL IS THAT???" I wish I'd got it on camera, because I think he's used to himself now and although he can see stuff in the mirror, he doesn't fluff up.

Descartes was a thinker for the first few...well, hours, really. IDK, it seemed longer at the time...he was so quiet and thinky! Recently he's been acting somewhat evil, and has been play-fighting a lot with the Doctor, so I've given him the nickname "the Master". He's a real smoocher...he'll meow to see where I am, then come over and get a pat or curl up next to my feet. Descartes is the favourite of KM (my oldest cat)...she is less likely to growl or hiss at him than the other kittens.*

Bugsy is Descartes' "twin" brother...they're pretty much identical, with similar grey/brindle/black markings, as opposed to the Doctor's multi-colour mottled effect. I named him for Bugsy Mallone...he has more black to his markings, he's the biggest, and he's the most forward and aggressive of the three. I mean, he's absolutely lovely, but he's the most likely to lie in wait under something and attack your toes.

And them's my boys! They leave my care next Friday and return to the AWL. They need to be one kilo (just over two pounds) before they can be neutered and then adopted out...I hope they'll be roughly that when I take them back. I'm going to take some of the best pictures and make adoption posters that I'll put up at uni...I want these guys to find good homes! I think they will...they've got the best personalities, and they're not too destructive... :\

* Though lately he has been trying her patience...as I type, he's just taken it upon himself to leap over to the sofa she is on and sit about one and a half feet away from her. Out of range of a swipe, but close enough to make her growl.