Cats and Aerobics
It’s funny – a few people I know have discovered this blog and linked it to me. That's not too much of a stretch when you know a bit about my background; I’m definitely not hiding here. But, that’s not the point. What I find amusing is that in a couple of cases where someone has linked the blog to me, the narrative they seem most interested in concerns the cats. Maybe that’s because the blog has grown bigger in the past couple of months, when the cat stories were at their peak. Or, maybe people just like stories about Ethiopian cats. I think it’s the latter and I intend to give the public what it wants: all cats, all the time.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m ready to show our resident-feline the pink slip. All she does is meow, and she does this at a pitch that invariably makes the skin crawl. I think it’s the same pitch used for train and car horns; something about the pitch has an evolutionary significance. Anyway, although the cat tries to vary her meowing, we think to please us, I’ve had just about enough. The only thing that prevents me from giving my support to “Operation Mercato Transfer” is the image of her wandering skittishly around Mercato as she tries to avoid kicks from discontented trades people and rocks from little kids. For now, she stays; though, I grow less enamored every day.
The dog, on the other hand, is a real pleasure, though he is still having some difficulties with potty-training. Just this afternoon, my foot was a mere six inches from a land-mine he deposited on the kitchen floor. In one respect, I was glad he’d forgone the carpet for the cement floor of the kitchen; it is much easier to clean. However, I’d just taken him for a walk during which time he obviously didn’t take care of his business. So are the joys of pet ownership.
Actually, the dog is quite nice. I have concerns about him sneaking into our Muslim neighbor’s house, like our last dog did. I still haven’t repaired the fence dividing our houses. He’s definitely cute, but we aren’t quite decided regarding his potential as a guard dog. Early on, he seemed really mean, perfect for the task. Lately, he’s mellowing which might make him a poor candidate to protect the house. The last dog, though he was by no means a security dog, was at least very loving. Our new one seems to be caught in a no-man's land of average security dog and average pet. At some point, he’s gotta break either way. I’m pulling for a security dog.
Look who just came in. The cat. Guess what she was doing? You already know the answer to that. She does have a few endearing qualities. In the morning she comes in to rub up against my legs and to bite my feet, signaling it's time to eat. At first, the biting was cute, because she was a little kitten. Lately, though, she’s been biting a bit too much and it actually hurts! I’ve tried to put a stop to it.
I just finished watching the aerobics half hour that seems to be on ETV every night at 5:30. My favorite instructor so far is the really buff guy with glasses. The quiet confidence of his baritone is enough to make anyone do their steps as he quietly counts off to eight. Tonight, a woman was leading the program – first time I’ve seen a woman. She seemed to be doing a good job; the class was following along well. Though, at times she changed too quickly to the next exercise, leaving some of the students confused.
I have to wonder if it's a pre-selected participant group in the aerobics class. They may not look super-fit, but their agility is worth noting. Few of them seem to miss the beats or changes, even if the instructor is moving quickly. I’ve seen some of the people doing aerobics at the gym I frequent, and they are nowhere near as coordinated. That leads me to conclude that the participants on these programs are hand-chosen by ability.
Not that I could do much better. I was actually contemplating heading down to Hotel Genet to see if I could get on the program. I’d say there’s less than 50% chance that I could even make the cut. While it might be amusing to see a Farenj in the background trying to keep up with the class, it also might detract from viewers at home trying to follow along. I’ll put this prospect on the back-burner along with my plans to make the Ethiopian Olympic swimming team. (Might have to wait to 2012 for that one.)
These on-TV aerobics classes make me wonder if there are actually people at home following along. I can’t imagine that some of the same women that I see dressed in gabbis walking to and from Church rush home from an evening visit to the church to catch the 5:30 showing of aerobics. They must be targeting youth/professional people. But even then, I’m curious about viewership. This might call for an investigation. Might just be a promo-op for Hotel Genet. Call the auditors.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m ready to show our resident-feline the pink slip. All she does is meow, and she does this at a pitch that invariably makes the skin crawl. I think it’s the same pitch used for train and car horns; something about the pitch has an evolutionary significance. Anyway, although the cat tries to vary her meowing, we think to please us, I’ve had just about enough. The only thing that prevents me from giving my support to “Operation Mercato Transfer” is the image of her wandering skittishly around Mercato as she tries to avoid kicks from discontented trades people and rocks from little kids. For now, she stays; though, I grow less enamored every day.
The dog, on the other hand, is a real pleasure, though he is still having some difficulties with potty-training. Just this afternoon, my foot was a mere six inches from a land-mine he deposited on the kitchen floor. In one respect, I was glad he’d forgone the carpet for the cement floor of the kitchen; it is much easier to clean. However, I’d just taken him for a walk during which time he obviously didn’t take care of his business. So are the joys of pet ownership.
Actually, the dog is quite nice. I have concerns about him sneaking into our Muslim neighbor’s house, like our last dog did. I still haven’t repaired the fence dividing our houses. He’s definitely cute, but we aren’t quite decided regarding his potential as a guard dog. Early on, he seemed really mean, perfect for the task. Lately, he’s mellowing which might make him a poor candidate to protect the house. The last dog, though he was by no means a security dog, was at least very loving. Our new one seems to be caught in a no-man's land of average security dog and average pet. At some point, he’s gotta break either way. I’m pulling for a security dog.
Look who just came in. The cat. Guess what she was doing? You already know the answer to that. She does have a few endearing qualities. In the morning she comes in to rub up against my legs and to bite my feet, signaling it's time to eat. At first, the biting was cute, because she was a little kitten. Lately, though, she’s been biting a bit too much and it actually hurts! I’ve tried to put a stop to it.
I just finished watching the aerobics half hour that seems to be on ETV every night at 5:30. My favorite instructor so far is the really buff guy with glasses. The quiet confidence of his baritone is enough to make anyone do their steps as he quietly counts off to eight. Tonight, a woman was leading the program – first time I’ve seen a woman. She seemed to be doing a good job; the class was following along well. Though, at times she changed too quickly to the next exercise, leaving some of the students confused.
I have to wonder if it's a pre-selected participant group in the aerobics class. They may not look super-fit, but their agility is worth noting. Few of them seem to miss the beats or changes, even if the instructor is moving quickly. I’ve seen some of the people doing aerobics at the gym I frequent, and they are nowhere near as coordinated. That leads me to conclude that the participants on these programs are hand-chosen by ability.
Not that I could do much better. I was actually contemplating heading down to Hotel Genet to see if I could get on the program. I’d say there’s less than 50% chance that I could even make the cut. While it might be amusing to see a Farenj in the background trying to keep up with the class, it also might detract from viewers at home trying to follow along. I’ll put this prospect on the back-burner along with my plans to make the Ethiopian Olympic swimming team. (Might have to wait to 2012 for that one.)
These on-TV aerobics classes make me wonder if there are actually people at home following along. I can’t imagine that some of the same women that I see dressed in gabbis walking to and from Church rush home from an evening visit to the church to catch the 5:30 showing of aerobics. They must be targeting youth/professional people. But even then, I’m curious about viewership. This might call for an investigation. Might just be a promo-op for Hotel Genet. Call the auditors.
posted by AARFZ at 7:07 PM
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