Sorry to hear that, it's dreadful timing but I suppose if it had been developing it was going to happen eventually.

I hope Minque can still enjoy her holiday.

Thanks all for your kind words. I still can't grasp that I do not have a cat anymore! I feel likethere's a big hole inside of me, I miss him immensely! My dear children were so great, they took care of everything it was hard on them, I know that.

Strange thing I have had this feeling ever since he first got sick that I would soon loose him...but I did say a fine goodbye to him just before we left tuesday morning. So his sweet soft stomach my last memory of Bolzie is a cuddly soft kitty lying on his back in the grass, me tickling his soft stomach. I kissed his head and told him that everything was going to be fine...

The next day I had to decide, over the phone, that he was to be put to sleep...

My kids buried him today, under his favourite bush...in our garden, by the veranda....
,
I have no cat anymore, it tears me to pieces..

Bolzmann R.I.P..You were the sweetest kitty....I miss you so much!

Been there, done that. At least you got to say a wonderful good bye to his furry tummy.

Your kids were very brave to take care of him at the end. Having worked emergency medicine for a total of fourteen years, this is something I see all too often. Still breaks my heart . . .

Take care of yourself, minxie, while you come to terms with the void in your heart. It'll take time, so don't rush it.

Dear friends, mALX has asked that I update everyone at the Coffee Shop on her absence.

As you recall, her ex-husband was terminally ill. Sadly, he did indeed pass away just recently. Things are hectic now, with family in town for a memorial service and working through the probate process. As soon as that rush is over, unrelated business will call her out of town for about ten days. After that, she hopes to collapse for a week or so to absorb what has happened. She emphatically states though, that she will be back.

I know you join me in wishing her comfort during a trying time. I expect she will once again brighten up our forum before the end of August.

Thanks so much for the update, Paladin!

On the one hand, I can't wait to have mALX back with us. On the other, I hope she takes as much time as she needs to work through all this before she rejoins us.

mALX, we will all be here for you when you return! Don't come back before you are ready.

Sorry for your loss Minque. As I have said, the peace you gave him is better then his suffering.

And the cycle of life will continue, as you will find another beloved companion, not to replace Bolz, but simply as providence.

The true heart, has an infinite capacity for love.

Still thinking of you folks, minque and Bolzmania.... Time does heal- it just takes a while.

Acadian- thank you so much for the update. We miss our mALX around here- the place seems darker and emptier without her.

On the computer front, my new (used) $160.00 system arrived and is now set up. Morrowind and Bloodmoon are installed, but I have not yet discovered whether my save games will load...

Much computer geekery was performed over the weekend- I will refrain from boring everyone with the details. Suffice to say, Morrowind with integrated graphics instead of shaders is awfully ugly, so there will be no screen shots for the time being. On a better note, I now have software which allows me to do a complete backup and restore of my system (including all program files- and saved games).

If life and work and computer repairs will allow, I hope to be playing MW soon (and writing about it). I also hope to be able to devote some time to reading all the great work I have sadly neglected over the last few months.

Acadian: That's sad....Thank you for the update. I think we'll all be sending mALX our wishes for good luck. She'll be missed in this community.

On the computer side of things, my Optic DVD-RW isn't working YAY! I fixed it this morning but I had to restore my computer.

As ugly as setting bDoAmbientPass=0 in oblivion? But if the computer has a AGP port then you should get a grpahics card big enough for morrowind for next to nothing.

Talking of computer geekery (of a milder sort) I thought I might bring to attention for the couple of newer members (and others who've forgotten) the existance of the #chorrol IRC channel. It's a long time since much was said there and it would be nice to shine a little life into the dusty place. Anyway for those with nothing better to do either use the java client (linked from the forum frontpage) or if you have a client it's irc.chatspike.net channel #chorrol .

If 'twere only that easy- I have a couple of 32 or 64MB AGP cards lying around. But the new box is PCI-E. So I will have to wait until I can free up $75 to $100 (I want to be able to play Oblivion).

Thanks to your reminder, I pulled the original Trey from the Forge here. Now to give it a thorough dusting.

Good reminder about the IRC...

What it do ladies and gents?

I just kind of comically noted to myself that I tend to pop my head in here on six month intervals. Strange isn't it? Anyways I'm at home going stir crazy while I wait to get back to school for my last year. It crazy to think that I was apart of these forums like my freshman year of highschool and I'm just about to graduate. Wow.

Anyways I just wanted to stop by and say hello and see if any of the "old-timers" are still around.

Peace

Welcome back, Channler. As one of the older "old-timers," I am happy to say that a fair number of us are still around. Pull up a chair.

Considering all the unhappy news we have been experiencing lately, I wanted to pass along a story that shows all is not dark and gloomy.

The new cat (Princess Juneipurr) has her own schedule- as most cats do.

So, beginning around 4:00 a.m., she will show up on the bed, with one of her toy mice, and proceed to have a grand time batting it around and jumping on us. She usually announces her arrival with a "trill"- a sort of long "purrr-ripp" sound. Once we convince her that it is not yet time to get up, she will disappear, only to come back an hour later. And so on, until it IS time to get up.

Mrs. Treydog and I were laughing about this behavior, and she said,

"I guess for her, every day is Christmas."

And maybe that is not a bad way to approach life. Of course, it's easier if you are a cat who sleeps 17 hours a day, and plays or eats the other 7.

And someone else works to pay the bills!

Good news for a change is always welcome!

My girlfriend just got a pet dog...and he's a maniac.

It bit me twice and I have a huge mark on my FINGAH! CHARLIE BIT MEH!! In fact, I screamed that out loud when I got bit and my girlfriend started calling the dog charlie.

Aggggh! My brain is full!

Last week of EMT class wish me luck!

Good luck!

I know about the full brain syndrome!

Best of luck, just remember that once you're done you can get it nice and empty again.

Not really any news from me. My knee has continued to deteriorate (the doc says it is cartilage and it's knackered in both knees) so now I make it to the shops and not much more. I might get to see a specialist one day but the waiting list to get onto the waiting list is weeks so it's about as likely to get better by itself. Still I get some other things done instead.

I actually laughed at that. Albeit jealous and a pained one.

You see, my hound died. And he was right in front of me. The worst part is, I didn't do nothing about it. I returned from Phillipines to Japan, and was greeted by my family there etc.

After celebrations passed and all went back to normal, my attention went to my G. Retriever. He was skinny beyond words, and I suspect that one of my stupid cousins didn't pay full attention to my dog. I even left some money for him to buy food for Reaver!

So, I decided to head to my cousins place in hopes for an explanation. While dressing up, the big furball came up to me and practically begged to join. Soft whining, ears flat back and those brown pleading eyes. . . Who in their right mind wouldn't refuse an offer like that?
A dog-hater, maybe.

Anyway, I was like 'Sure, why not? This is probably our first walk together last time I was here. And that was like, two months ago.'

And our last, I might add.
Since that air-head's house is just a couple of blocks away, I decided to walk leisurely with my dog.

As me and furball walked across a road, a truck went on our way. Apparently he didn't notice it WAS BLUE (or green for that matter) NOT RED.

You can guess what happened. The dog, for reasons unknown to me, went ahead... And. . . y'know. That's why I haven't been online for.. I don't know. One week? Two weeks?

... Death do have a sick sense of humor. Our first meeting, since two months, turned into our last. The only thing that I felt that time was.. what's the word? Regret? Sadness? Anger (at myself for not taking Reaver with me to Phillipines)? Confusion? Shock? Guilt?

Or maybe a mixture of all six?

Thanks for listening (so to speak) to my rant. I haven't opened up to anybody since then, probably lacking the guts to do it.

-U.

Well, you told us, and we are a caring, friendly bunch....

Growing up with collies, I became all too familiar with the dog vs. automobile conflict.

I am so sorry for your loss, and for the circumstances. Talk as you feel the need, visit when you can- but know that we share your grief.

I am so sorry to hear that Uren. Animals are as much members of our family as humans are. Their loss is always painful.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts. Steve did die; he was buried with full military honors and my son was given the bullet casings from the gun salute and the flag that draped his coffin/urn. I could not put off my business trip, too many other factors were relying on it being on a given date.

Two things came of my trip: My stud dog may have some future contracts with this breeder (hopefully), the man spent years perfecting this line and my dog epitomizes what he was trying to bring out in the offspring (so I have my fingers crossed on that).

Here he is:


The second thing (hopefully good) that came from the trip was my new puppy. Her bloodlines make her a very special dog, so far she is showing a very promising beginning. She was 3 1/2 pounds when I brought her home and was running circles around the stud trying to herd him. These dogs are Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dogs and are used for hunting or herding (or both).


New puppy at 7 weeks old:


(She is gray colored with very blue eyes, bad lighting in that pic, sorry.)

I am back home, but exhausted. I will try and get on here a bit in the next week, but may not get to read much. You all ROCK for being such good friends! <333

P.S. - Zalphon, I love your poem, and I know you have been worried sick. You changed your email address in the middle of all this going on, I have to find it and figure out how the F I'm supposed to change it in Windows Vista. I tried repeatedly and it keeps going back to your old email address as soon as I get out of the screen and try to mail it. You know I would write you if I could though, you are always in my heart.

SHE"S BACK! SHE"S BACK! Princess Juneipurr Cheezit the First does a happy kitty dance. She has missed her cousin Maxical terribly. And I have missed Maxical's creator.

Welcome back, dear. We have saved your table by the window, and (as always) dogs are more than welcome, too.

Sheeeeee's Baaaaaaaack! I have missed everyone. It is like being in a vacuum being away from here. It meant so much to see the kind words on here from everyone, you all ROCK!

I just hope my Oblivion group on Myspace hasn't revolted and mutinied I've been gone so long. <3

Yay! Welcome back!

I know it's been an awfully rough time for you and your family. I wish the best to you and your son as you move forward from the past couple of months.

Take your time getting caught up. There's a lot to do! New stories to enjoy. Old friends to say hello to.

When Maxical is ready to entertain us again, we'll be here!

Welcome back, my dear! You know I'm very sorry for your loss. We have all missed you terribly. Take all the time you need to ease back into things.

Praise the daedra! Praise the Nine! Praise Anu! Even praise Sithis! After this long and arduous wait, you return. What news do you bring us of this strange place... You said it was Earth, right?

And now, closure.

A moment of silence, to remember with love.

And now, the dross is discarded in the grave: the gold remains, forever.

Sorry for your loss.

It's good to see you back again though. When you feel like writing again we'll be here to read and enjoy.

Those dogs are beautiful.

I couldn't have made it through this time without you all, friends. Your kind words and thoughts have really helped. Thank you all. Foxy, your poem was awesome!

Been playing with pictures again, so I hope I can let everyone see what Princess Juneipurr Cheezit Thundercats Are Go the First looks like:



Don't let the innocent face fool you- she's a beast, I tell ya!

Miss Cheezy!

I know full well what demons reside beneath those innocent faces!

My present version does the pokey pokey with the blankets in the morning when he wants me to feed him. It's always about food with him. That's the way it should be - after all, I neutered him over five years ago!

Trey, what a beautiful kitty! I would like to proudly point out that she is a blonde! We need more on the forum!

She is NOT blonde, she is a redhead! And so she joins the elite group of red-heads: Mrs. Treydog, Rumple, Helena, mALX, etc.



@ Treydog - She is beautiful Treydog!

I went outside and looked up into the sky.There was something different about it. A name was written on the wind.

I couldn't work out what it said (my eyesight is fading, you see)

Then in shock it hit me.

mALX is back.

YIPPPPEEEEE!!!!!!!

Welcome, oh Lady of the Catahoula. Come inside. The fire is stoked, the food is on the table, a glass of wine is resting beside your elbow.

Please sit down, ease your weary bones into the soft chair and just let your friends at Chorrol talk away the night.......

Trey, I will have to reprimand you if you post pictures so CUTE that you make the boss (me) smile uncontrollably when he is about to go into a serious staff meeting.

A fearsome jungle predator!

Life is as empty as it was and will probably be.

Ok, so i'm back from Germany...about two hours ago. I came back to an "empty house", no happy kitty to great me with his usual "yeah? about time you came back, haven't been fed properly since you left.."

@Blackie, I'm totally in for getting a new furball, it's the one thing that ease the pain, and as you said, it's by no way a replacement for Bolzie, it's a completely new individual, and I'll tell him all about Bolz... I know this works for me, I lost one dog and one cat before and got new ones ...problem is hubby...he's not very keen on it, but we're working on him, my son and I!

@mALX!!! i'm so glad to se you back! Missed you you know!

@treydoggie! that lil' Princess of yours is just adorable....her schedule reminds me a bit of Bolzie's, he, too, wanted service at 4 AM....and 2 AM...And guess what! He got it!

Goodness, graciousness, treydog! That cute little cat just spells out 'Adorable!!'

Welcome home, Minque! I hope you do get a new kitty. I bet it will help.

Welcome back minque! I highly recommened kitty therapy. (Whisper- The new cat made me say that- she's a tyrant).

Um, I mean- she has been a wonderful addition to our home.

Well treydog, your not the only one with a new computer it seems! Ahahahahaha!

So if Minque gets her rear in gear, Ill start updating some certain stories.

Wow just installed the first disc on here, and I've never seen Morrowind so fast! Like the interiors loaded up faster then oblivion does, and Oblvion runs like a madman on here.

P.S. Wow tribunal finished in the time it took me to edit this post!

What's the new system that is magically speeding everything up Black Hand?

Uhhh? Hmm this calls for special arrangements....I'll come back to you Blackie....

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+Essentio+...0package%20deal

Asus Essentio...I know I know, not the "Most top of the line EVER!" but so far I have zero complaints about this comp. But that package deal up top is exactly what I bought. As to why Morrowind is superfast on this particular get-up I haven't nary a clue.

*pokes head around door from a hostel in San Francisco*

I begin to think I should have waited to delurk until I was actually home, since time for writing and time for commenting has been just a wee bit scarce lately. I've been away on a conference (the joys of being a PhD student!) and then went to visit a friend and do tourism because it's not every day you travel halfway around the world! Although at this point I am *really* longing for my nice quiet cozy flat back home...

Ah, so your only four hundred miles north of me.

Whats a certified EMT and has two thumbs?

*points thumbs at self*

This guy!

Passed my nationals! Ah yeah!

*Googles EMT* (you didn't mean East Midland Trains right?)

Well done Blacky, does that mean exciting new jobs and the like? It must be nice to see the work you put in pay off into qualifications and new oppertunities. Got any plans to celebrate?

News from here is that I'm going to be away until monday (probably) because I've decided to go on holiday for the weekend.

All I could think of was 'Emergency Medical Training' i dunno why.