Viruses, KfH Capers, and Patience Lost
Didn’t go to the gym last night. I simply couldn’t face it. I’ve been feeling totally washed out recently, and by the time I’d made dinner, served it, and then washed up I didn’t feel like doing squat. In fact, I felt just a tad naseous. I decided to download my email, read a bit, and go to bed early.
So naturally some idiot with an Australian email address (probably a spam-meister) sent me [email protected]. An early bedtime was not to be. Norton found and quarantined it immediately, but it took me a while to figure out exactly where it came from. I knew it was in my email, but couldn’t find anything with an attachment that had come in the same day (I run virus scan daily at home). It took me forever to realize that it wasn’t in my in-bin, but in my delete-bin. I’d already taken one look at it and discarded it while I was in hotmail earlier at work! Duh.
This is the first time I realized that Outlook Express downloads even files scheduled for deletion. I spent some fruitless minutes attempting to figure out how to get the IP# off of the email without opening it, in hopes of tracking down the source. It simply wasn’t worth the bother though, and I ended up exterminating the email without successfull getting any further information than the source was some Raelene in Australia. May her mouse ball fry in Hades.
On the good side, MWUFFLTHB was online and able to help me figure out how to kill the preview option in Outlook Express, so at least that potential virus access route is now plugged. MicroSoft doesn’t make it easy; there was absolutely no mention of how to switch off preview in Outlook’s help section. Thanks, Mwuffle!
It’s a good thing I didn’t go to the gym last night, as my little gastointestinal problem kicked in again while the Professor was there working out. It probably helps explain why I was feeling so punky anyhow. At least I now have samples for my doctor to send to the lab. I have to run nearly two hours out of my way tonight to deliver said samples though. Why can’t anything ever be easy? Between that and the procedure on Friday, we ought to be able to figure out what the heck is going on and fix it before I genuinely go crazy.
OK, enough potty talk. Let’s talk about everybody’s favorite subject: Kitten from Hell. Because yes, folks, she’s been at it again. She finally wrapped her teeth around Data a couple of days ago, which means that the only Next Generation figurine that she’s left unmolested is Captain Picard himself. She nailed the toilet paper while I had company on Monday (and I had just put out a fresh roll that didn’t have any teeth marks in it!). She also stole my black sheep toy that says “Mahhhhhh!” when you turn it upside down. The sheep has a ribbon made of plant fibers tied around his middle, and KfH chewed the ribbon apart. The ribbon is glued to the sheep, so I couldn’t just remove it. I had to smooth it out and retie it as best I could. That sheep was a present from a good friend, and I could have fried her when I saw that.
Last night, while I was arguing with my computer over the origin of my sequestered virus, I heard a small, plaintive “mah!” from behind. I turned in my chair in time to see KfH jumping OFF of the top of the bookcases onto the back of one of the chairs! So THAT’S her route! Not only that, but finally I **caught** her at the misdeed. I grabbed the water bottle and started to fire. She ran but she couldn’t hide. I was angry, I was tired, I felt lousy, and the damned kitten (who assuredly does know better) was screwing around with irrecplacible stuff right behind my back while I’m in the same damned room with her! [takes deep breath, calms down, continues] I was relentless. The kitten was soaked, and running for cover that she could not find, and I was chasing after her like a mad woman. Which is when the asthma attack kicked in.
The Professor, who was just getting ready to leave for the gym, came out to find the kitten (and living room) soaked, and a crazed woman with a spray bottle in her hand chasing a kitten in circles while wheezing and turning blue. KfH saw the Professor, jumped up on the love seat next to him, curled up with her head in her paws, and just let me blast her until I ran out of water.
No, I’m not proud of myself. But at least I didn’t drop kick her into the next county. The Professor then went to the gym, the kitten was incarcerated in the bathroom (I remembered to hide the toilet tissue this time), and I grabbed my inhaler and went to bed. KfH was later released, and for the first time actually looked a little chastened.
This morning, when I got up, she’d dumped another furry mouse toy in Clueless Wonder’s water dish and had knocked the trash can over to play with the used kleenex. At least she didn’t drop any of THOSE in CW’s water bowl.
This is The Professor holding the Warrior Princess. The fact that she stayed in this position long enough for me to snap a few pictures in nothing short of miraculous. She is not a cat to be cuddled.
For any veterinary dental students out there – how many teeth does a kitten have?
Yes, this is the innocent little darling who broke down my increasingly fragile mental stability last night.
