I asked you to do ONE FUCKING THING, and you couldn't even do that!

The BBQ Pit
1

I’ve been in Iraq for six months now, and they gave me leave time. Simple pleasures of home, right? I just wanted to sit on my porch with my indoor kitties, and destress, which is what leave is for. It’s sort of ironic, though, because just getting to the plane was an adventure in itself. One convoy to Baghdad, while we looked for snipers and eyed the IED holes alongside the road; one hair-raising flight out of BIAP, during which the plane flipped over on its side, then did a 180 to the other side, leaving various people’s internal organs behind them; and two days spent clustering in Kuwait, not to mention the thirty-hour flight in coach after all that.

In addition to that, my mom died just before I left, and I had to fight my county because they wanted to take my house so they could put a four-lane highway in there. I wound up with a new house, but I needed someone to stay in it, and watch after my kitties. My best friend stepped up to the plate.

For six months, I’ve been having close calls—like who hasn’t? There was the battle where we got cornered by hundreds of insurgents for twenty hours, and then there was the time another convoy left instead of us—and hit an IED that killed one person and injured three more. Not that that’s unusual here. Balancing it out has been the experience of meeting Iraqis, who are some of the nicest people in the world.

All I wanted to do was cuddle my kitties for a while when I got home.

The bitch hired some stupid sixteen year gumcracking teenybopper to watch her devil child, and the teenybopper paid so much attention to the kid that he let out my fifteen year cat. Her kid thinks it’s really cute when he does stuff like that. So, evidently, does she. She makes lame efforts to make him behave, but mostly it involves rolling her eyes at how precocious he is. Even so, I figured, you know, if that’s all I asked her, she’d take more care than it turned out she did.

Fifteen years old, declawed on all four paws, neutered.

It’s been ten days. I’ve been looking for him for ten days. Iv’e been walking down alleys, calling his name, shining a flashlight. There’s lots of stray cats—wtih claws in this neighborhood. I put an add in the paper, go to animal shelters. That’s how I’ve been destressing. The bitch actually got all upset when I put cat food out in the yard because ‘I counted, margin, and there are EIGHT flies on it.’ Uh, it’s outdoors, of course there’s going to be flies, what’s your problem? She’s such a neat freak that she washes everything in bleach—including dishes. I never lived with her, so I didn’t know what a neat freak she was, but when she bitched at me for leaving a dish in the sink ----because it was ‘messing (her) up,’ I realized that she had to be nuts.

And when she found out he’d gotten out, what did she do? Absolutely fucking nothing. She poked her head out in the yard, evidently, and that was it. Nothing. So he had a day’s head start.

We had a huge fight last night, and she acted like she owned my house, like being an unemployed freeloader was as bad as being in combat, and she jeered at the fact that I cared about losing my kitty. Well, hell, he’s been more loyal than she turned out to be.

Added to all this fun is the fact that when I put up flyers the neighborhood fuckwads tear them down. Then one of these little shits drove by the other day and yelled out, “I killed your cat!” Yeah, I’m destressing all right.

She gave me a lame apology that amounted to, “Well, I’m really sorry you didn’t ignore it when I did something careless and thoughtless. Damn, that’s cruel, but hey, I’ll say I’m sorry because I really don’t want to move in with my bitch sister.”

Yeah, too late. So, dear ex friend, your ass had better be out of my house in the very near future, and you better hope to God my kitty is okay. That’s the only think I asked you to do, that’s all. And you couldn’t even do that. I hope Karma hits you back, big time. You can go rent a crappy flat for whatever it costs these days, and do have fun explaining that six-month on your list of residences.

I know this is kind of lame, but I’m so astonished it almost makes me laugh at her. You’re depressed? And your jobhunt consists of taking a nice long nap every day? Gee, you’re stressed out by catfood in the yard, and a dish in the sink? Is anyone shooting at you? Want to trade, you passive aggressive bitch?

2

That sucks! No other way to describe it, it sucks! Sorry things aren’t working out

3

Lame? Lordy, not at all. I join all ranters everywhere in moving aside to give you all the room you need. God go with you, Margin. All the best.

4

I’m so sorry about your kitty! :frowning:
This is definitely not what you need right now.
If you happen to be in Tally, FL I’d be more than happy to help you look, but that’s probably not the case.

Oh, and, margin?
Thank You! :slight_smile:

5

Oh, and, margin?
Thank You! :slight_smile:
Hey, they asked me to do a job, and I’m doing it. Just like everybody else.

I’m not mad at all at this bitch. I’ve been looking for my poor kitty for ten days. I’m just trying to come to terms with the fact that I might not ever see him again, and then I think about how scared he must be, and…God, hatred doesn’t begin to describe what I feel for this bitch.

Which is strange, because I don’t feel that for the enemy in Iraq. It’s bizarre. I had a problem recently with my brohter in law, too—he ‘bought’ my old computer, then didn’t pay for it, then gave it away to someone. When I asked him direct questions about what he’d done with all my files on it, he just kept brushing me off, and this was all happening during a week in which we got mortared more frequently than usual. Him, and this friend? Them I can just despise. I can’t imagine doing that to someone. They can, evidently.

Maybe it’s because, say, the insurgents don’t have faces, really. And the fact that, well, it’s war, you expect your enemies to shoot at you. But passive aggressive people—it just seems like they do all this damage that just sickens you, whereas a lot of physical wounds heal up.

All this over a cat. But he meant something to me, and she just didn’t give a shit. I can’t forgive that at all.

6

Margin, you take care of yourself now. When you go back over keep your mind alert and not preoccupied on things here. Your house and pet(s) are going to be fine and waiting for you. Just please return safely.

And yeah, thanks!

7

…seriously, one of the best rants ever…

…we lost our kitten, about a month after we got her, for a DAY. The house went into mourning. There were yelps of delight when she came wandering into the kitchen with a new limp and a singed ear, we had no idea what she had been through, but we were glad to get her back…we celebrate with Kentucky Fried Chicken for us, and the Premium Brand Kitten food for her, it was a good day…

There was a thread in MPSIMS the other day about cats that go missing that come back, and all of the stories in there had happy endings. Best of luck in the search, there were a lot of cats that were missing for over a month that came back, so there is always a chance.

…and as for your service in Iraq, a little Maori saying…

Kia Kaha

Stand Strong. Be safe man, take care.

8

Wow, that’s really awful! She’s lucky you haven’t already tossed her lame ass out the door, you’d certainly be justified! There’s just no excuse for her behavior.

Now you hear stories all the time about lost pets returning following lengthy absences – here’s sending good kitty vibes your way! Phone home! Phone home!

9

Man that totally sucks, sorry to hear it.

Let me be the 433rd person to say Thanks. :slight_smile:

10

Non-animal people will NEVER get what an important role pets play in our lives. My two dogs are my hairy children; had a friend who promised to watch them just casually let them out, I would land on that “friend” with both feet and all MY claws.

I have had all my cats for 10+years…there is a different quality to one’s relationship with a cat, something that is built up over time. To loose that is a real loss.

I hope you are able to locate your kitty friend. The ex-friend (and your BIL) should rot.

Sending kitty-finding prayers your way, and light for your return to Iraq.

11

First, margin, thank you for your service. I hate that you’re in harm’s way, but I understand that it’s your job to go where you’re ordered, and I’m very grateful that you’re there to do it.

Second, I sure hope your kitty comes back. My cat’s gone missing for as long as three days, and I was a nervous wreck. I just about bawled my eyes out when she returned. I hope yours found a place to hunker down and is now headed back.

When you get a chance, dump these good-for-nothing “friends” and get yourself some new ones.

12

You volunteered, like everyone else over there, and like everyone else you deserve our thanks! Just accept 'em. :slight_smile:

You asked her specifically to do one this thing for you - because it was important to you. And she not only flubbed it, but also doesn’t see that she flubbed it. You’ve got every reason in the world to be furious with her. Good rant. Bad situation. I wish I could offer more than my condolances.

13

margin, you have shown great forebearance in not killing that woman. I know exactly how you feel and sympathize completely with your reaction. I hope that your kitty returns to you very soon, all in one piece. Please let us know when that happens. In the meantime, try to take care of yourself, OK?

14

I hope you find your cat and a better cat sitter.

What branch of service/what unit do you serve with?

15

First, margin, let me join in the chorus of thanks. It’s your job, yes, but it’s a job you didn’t have to take, and I appreciate that you’ve done so. So yes, thank you.

Second, please give the freeloader my best wishes for a thousand sand fleas to infest her underwear drawer! There’s a line, and she crossed it so long ago that she’d need a bus ticket to get back.

Last, I’ll keep a good thought for your kitty. They’re resilient beasties, even without claws. I have every belief that he’ll find his way back home.

Take good care, margin.

16

This bitch looks to me like she’s totally selfish, controlling, passive-aggressive, and lazy. She didn’t give a damn about your cat because it wasn’t something she lost. All she knows is some stranger came into what she thinks is her house started making a big stink about a cat that she never cared about, and left a dirty dish in her sink. This woman certainly deserves a good hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer. And I’ll bet you anything that her kid’s going to grow up to be a completely useless pantywaste fuck-up just like she is. My condolences, margin. Good luck and stay alive!

(If I’m this pissed at this girl, I can’t imagine how angry margin is. :eek: )

Adam

17

Dang, and all your killin’ gear is back in Iraq. And you have to find someone to watch your place when you return. That right? For all the good this broad did you you might just scrounge up a semi-cogent street person & give them a place to stay this winter…no, that’s probably not a good idea either.

New locks. Get new locks!

18

It’ll probably take me thirty days to toss her out, but my two remaining kitties are at my best friend’s house, and he’s a cat person.

I spent all day walking around the neighborhood in despair, because there’s so many places for a cat to hide. I actually saw one cat that the people told me might be him; it was a female who was half his size and a totally different color. At least I didn’t run into people shouting, “I killed your cat!”

You know, in six months in Iraq I managed to not get too freaked out about anything. We’ve survived a lot of stuff there, had a lot of close calls. But this made me cry in that really hopeless way that just seems to exhaust you.

Oh, and I’m supposed to be destressing myself. Isn’t that nice? That bitch. It’s not even out and out hostility; it’s just…If she had a gun, I could do something.

Zebra, I’m Army, and I’m an interrogator/linguist, although my languages don’t include Arabic. I am studying it, though, and I’ve actually branched out into short sentences. Before someone asks, I was not at Abu Ghraib, and I had to study the Geneva Convention. Most of the time, I interrogate somebody and get innocent guys released. There’s lots of those. One of Sadr’s ways of evening old scores is to plant evidence, or have people make accusations that result in arrests. After thirty years of Saddam, an Iraqi who’s innocent of the crime he’s been accused of will often just simply give up. That’s not something the general (American) public knows, but it gives an added dimension of horror to Abu Ghriab.

I’m babbling. I’m tired, and it feels hopeless. She apologized once in that lame ‘please-don’t-throw-me-out’ way, but to make up for this you have to demonstrate that you’re sorry. Sitting on your ass and not doing one fucking thing does not count as a demonstration of remorse in my books.

19

As others have said, thank you for your willingness to serve.

As others have said, condolences for your kitty. I’m hugging one of mine right now, and I recall when I learned that a house sitter dropped him down the stairs! I was so, so upset. I hope your cat comes home soon and safe, and that you can find a more effective house sitter for the future. Toss the bitch out with as much grace as you can muster. She doesn’t deserve it, but you do.

Be well, do good.

20

margin, I hope you’ll be able to find your cat. Sorry to hear that life has been so stressful lately.

Best wishes that the remained of your tour in Iraq goes by quickly and safely.