My kitty, Garth means a lot to me. He is not actually the most affectionate
cat I've known. He can be very aloof and independent sleeping in a separate
chair often even though he could have my lap or sitting across the room
staring at me. But I know when he chases me or snuggles up in the early
morning hours purring like a train he really does love me too.

I had to take him to get castrated on Friday. The day before Valentine's day I
had my best male friend castrated, kind of ironic, no? I really had to do it,
the timing was just coincidental. Male cats will spray urine to mark territory
and are very difficult to keep home because they want to search for mates. I
dropped him off at the vet in the morning. When I got to work I got a call
from the vet saying he wouldn't let them take bloodwork and asking if they
could try sedating him first. The bloodwork which I had opted for is an extra
precaution before putting him under anesthesia. My little fierce warrior, he
won't even let people pet him unless he wants to be pet. I fretted all day,
pacing and worrying about him. I know it's not an uncommon procedure but I was
still worried about my little guy. 

He was fine when I called late in the afternoon and I was quite relieved. They
said he might be a bit groggy from the anesthesia, but my Garth got home and
wanted to play. Though he was a bit unsteady on his feet still and when he
climbed up to the chimney mantle, his new feat, I took him down so he wouldn't
try to jump and misjudge distances. Saturday was different and he basically
slept just about the whole day. I was a little worried, but he was eating and
drinking so I just kept an eye on him. He had been licking his wound a lot
which he is not supposed to do so. I'm continuing to check it to make sure he
heals.

He's doing better than I am. I failed. I brought my drawing to the gallery to
submit for the member's exhibit and got cold feet going up the stairs. The
form said I had to put it up for sale. My mom had suggested beforehand that I
just set a very high price thus deterring most potential buyers. Even with
that thought, I couldn't give up my favorite drawing. I just couldn't bear to
part with it potentially being sold. I guess I'm not up for this as well as I
thought. I'm now wishing even more that I had gotten the other drawing matted
and framed, because I feel a bit less sentimental about that one. So my
failure is really two-fold, not getting the new drawing matted and not being
able to part with my favorite drawing. 

I'm not defeated. I realize that I just need a larger body of work. Once I'm
overwhelemed with too many pieces in my studio room, then I will be happy to
have a few sold. At least that's my current plan. I also need to take better
pictures of pieces so I have a good record of things I have done. Not that
every chicken scratch needs to be documented, but I'm realizing the importance
of having some documentation.

And on a side note, 40% commission by the gallery? That's the cut they were
taking. I knew it would be high and I'm not necessarily surprised. I am just
now curious what a standard commission is. I had never really thought about
it.