Read the real life stories and experiences of freelance writer Mike Gagnon.

We're Gonna have babies!

This is a huge story I forgot to mention over the weekend.

No Pam and I are not pregnant (Thank Jebus) although, my gut has been growing rapidly....

Anyway, no we physically aren't going to have babies, but the cat we "rescued" is.

About 3 months ago now, while it was still cold out, this stray cat came out of the bushes at us and followed us while we were walking Scooter. She was just moaning and begging for attention. She was affectionate, it was obvious she was someones pet, because stray/wild cats don't beg for attention from people.

Plus she was starving to death, almost skeletal, she was very messed up and out of sorts.

So anyway, we took her home and our suspicions about her being someones pet, likely abandoned, were confirmed. She used the litter box right away, and ate like a fiend, she was starving.

So anyway we kept her away from Baron and Scooter for a couple weeks to make sure she wasn't carrying any sicknesses that she would pass on to them. In the meantime we got her on the waiting list for the SPCA, and also went to the local kennels, vets etc. to make sure people knew we had this cat if they had lost it and were looking for it.

Long story short, if someone owned her they don't want her back.

Once we let her out with the other pets her and Baron became great friends. It took her a lot longer to warm up to Scooter, probably because he's obsessed with sticking his nose in her ass.

Eventually everyone got along.

Then she went into heat. She meowed and meowed and whined like a banshee. We're pretty sure it was the first time she went in heat, we're geussing, as confirmed by the vet, that she was about a year old when we found her. Anyway we lived with the noise.

And then the little kitty developed a habit that would change out relationship entirely. After being in heat for a week or two, she began to do something not smart. Every time we left the house, the new kitty would go to the bathroom on Pam's new suede couch instead of using the litter box. We were't certain it was her at first, so we had to keep all the animals in seperate rooms each day until it happened again and she was the only one in that room.

That's when kitty got kicked out.

We didn't see her for a couple days and thought maybe she found her way home, of just took off. Then one morning while Pam and I were getting ready to head off to work for the day, we heard a strange scratchy sound. I turned around and there, hanging from the living room wondow screen, spread eagled, was the kitty.

SO I brought her back in the house and kept her in a spare bedroon until we figured out what to do.

She was still in heat, and not pregnant. Since she can't be left alone or she'll shit on the couch we started a new relationship that everyone seems to be happy with. I almost think it was actually the cats idea because she seems to enjoy it so much. In the morining she goes to the door and I let her outside. We usually see her staying around the house, in the yard, in the tree etc. And then at night she comes back to the door and I let her in. If she gets hungry or thirsty she comes to the door, comes in for a few minutes, and goes back out.

Some nights she feels like partying with the other cats in the neighborhood and doesn't come to the door at night, but she's always there the next morning waiting to come in for food and water.

The SPCA called one day and said they had finally gotten to her and said they would take her. Like a wus I decided I was too attached and that we'd try keeping her.

At this point she was still in heat, and at night all the stray or loose male cats in the area would be hiding in our bushes in the front yard at night, and sometimes in the day.

Well at some point one of them got her pregnant. She's about 4-5 weeks along now, she's getting really big and I think there'll be a lot of babies.

We're making a space for her in the upstairs office/former spare room number 2 to have her babies.

We talked to the SPCA, and pregnant cats and newborn kittens aren't taken to the shelter. They are kept in foster homes, so we decided to keep her here, and be the foster home. After she has her babies and they're old enough we'll try giving them away. Any that we don't get rid of will go to the SPCA. We haven't decided if the kitty will stay with us long term, if she does she has to be fixed, which we can't afford right now, as Scooter still hasn't been neutered, and is in line ahead of her, which again we can't afford.

So I think we'll find a way to make it work, keep her, and get her fixed though.

Also, if you're wondering what her name is. We've given her at least a dozen, none of which have stuck. Right now we call her little kitty, pregos, or pregnant kitty. In her time with us she's been known as Missy, She-Ra, Kitty Kitty, a bunch of others I can't remember, I'd have to ask Pam.

Anyway so we're having babies, and if anybody wants one when they're ready please, please let me know. They are FREE!

Talk to you later.

Mike

Posted by: lightning at 11:47 | link | comments

So, you're never going to believe what I left out of yesterday's blog.

Since the entires from last November Pam and I became an Aunt and Uncle. Her oldest brother and his wife had their first child about 10 weeks ago, a baby boy named Kayden.

Also in the spring we found out that my sister was pregnant too. Very exciting news indeed.

(Note: it feels awkward to not use people's names, but I'm trying to respect privacy...thin line)

Anyway on Wednesday she had a check up. The doctor's were worried about her blood pressure. Before her husband even got her home she began having stomach pains and her water broke. They hurried back to the hospital and my sister had to be induced into premature labor.

It was very early as her due date wasn't until September 7th.

Luckily she and the baby made it through and at 6:30PM on Wednesday my sister had a baby boy!

Because he was so premature his lungs weren't totally developed and he has trouble breathing, however he is breathing on his own without any machines and appears to be in perfect health. He's in an incubator because he's so premature and little. They figure he'll be fine, but has to be kept in the hospital for 3-4 weeks because he's premature. His breathing is getting better they say, and believe he'll be fine.

They named him Logan, ha ha ha I'm going to have fun with that, and his middle name is Michael.

My sister has been released from the hospital, but of course they are spending a lot of time back and forth to the hospital to visit their new baby.

I really really wished I could have been there when everything was happening, but because he's premature only grandparents and parents are allowed to see the baby. Also the parents requested privacy because of the stress and fatigue of everything. Normally I would have gone anyway, but I decided to respect their wishes for once. We haven't seen them since last weekend, before she went into labour.

Pam and I really wanted to see them this weekend, but we've both been really sick with an infectious virus that broke out at the Kincardine Hospital. Thanks Kincardine Hospital. Anyway, I'm almost over it, but Pam's still pretty sick with it. Since we can't see the baby there's no risk of getting him sick, but we don't want to get them sick either so they can't see their baby. I told them and they said they appreciated the thoughtfulness.

I'm chomping at the bit. I really want to see them and the baby. I'm really happy and excited, and really worried at the same time. I might put together a box of (sterilized) presents and mail it to them at the hospital. I don't know. I'm so happy, and so worried sick, and so eagre to actually see them and this whole delay from sickness sucks, but I'm trying to keep what's best for everyone in mind.

Anyway, I've got a little new Nephew named Logan Michael and I can't wait to see him.

Everybody send out your best wishes for him, and I'll do my best to make sure I'm there for whatever is needed. I'm gonna be there for this kid and make sure he's always safe and happy.

Plus, it's kinda cool that he's sorta named after me. The Michael part covers me, his father's middle name, and his late grandfather's middle name from his father's side.

Anyway I'm rambling on now, so I'm gonna go and hopefully I'll be back to write some more about my crazy messed up life for you soon.

Mike

Posted by: lightning at 09:04 | link | comments (4)

Hey Everyone, I'm writing this blog finally. It's been so long no one probably comes here anymore, but I'm writing anyway.

Big news, a great new book published by Jason Marcy's Hairy Bald Guy Press. The book is titled "My Day in the life of Jay" It's a collection of stories by other comic creators about Jason Marcy himself. Basically the camera has been turned around, Jay is most notably known for his autobio comics about himself, but now his freinds and fellow comic creators are doing the stories. The book includes work from Andrew Foster, Paul Quinn, Kagan McLeod, Chip Zdarsky, Tim Kelly and many more. There's even two short stories written and illustrated by yours truly! (Mike Gagnon for people new to this website)

It's a great book, Jay's done a hell of a job and I recommend any small press fan check it out, maybe on www.jasonmarcy.com

How did my life become like Kevin Smith's Clerks?

Well the last couple of months have been stranger than fiction.

The business is taking off, doing great. Just as things were really beginning to pick up my business partner, decided that he didn't actually want to do the work necessary to own a publishing company anymore, so he decided to pull out.

I was fine with this. He hadn't been doing any work for about three months anyway and all the duties were being carried on my shoulders. However, he thought that if he wasn't involved, that there shouldn't be any more business because god forbid it survive without him. When I told him I'd carry on without him his ego was bruised and thus began a string of childish fits, accusations and problems.

Cry baby.

Anyway, as of June 1st all the business accounts and assets were supposed to revert solely to my name and my business partner would be out of the picture. Instead, in a blind and ignorant panic, or at least that's what he wants me to believe, he went ahead and took all the money in the US accounts out, and closed all the credit accounts on May 31st, the day before it was all supposed to revert to me. What he did was not only illegal but immoral. He purposely did all he could to bring all the production and printing of Open Book Press to a screeching halt. And in fact we did stand still for a few days. Until I got my own credit accounts up and running. I already had bank accounts in Canada and had instructed our customers to send payments to me anyway. In an effort to try and prove that the business couldn't live without him he tried to make things as hard as possible out of spite and then tried to play the ignorance card. I informed him that in fact legally he was in trouble, so he agreed to pay out the royalties owed to our authors at that time from the money he stole from the account. Even so he caused enough problems that there were major financial and credit issues for the company to overcome, now I've got most of that resolved and am finishing up patching the thoughtless damage done. What he didn't consider was that when he did what he did he wasn't just screwing me over, but all our authors as well. If I were him I don't imagine I'd show my face in the publishing world for awhile.

Anyway, just as I overcame those difficulties, another problem arose. Deadbeats! Several major clients were behind on thier money owed to me for book sales. Many are still behind. We had a huge jump in sales in June, but those payments aren't due until September/October, which will be nice when the time comes, but doesn't help me now. In the meantime however, cash is tight as I had to use all of my own out of pocket money to cover the damage done by my business partner, and if customers don't pay for books I don't eat. I've gotten some to pay up but not enough, so for a temporary period, a couple months or so, I need to get a job on the side.

I had an interview with a local paper, it may pan out to a job, but not until the fall. I ended up finding part-time work with a pool company. The delivery guy was always calling in sick and then going out to party, lying about having the shits etc. So they brought me in to replace the delivery guy. A couple days per week I drive around and deliver pool parts all over Ontario. Cool job eh? Then one of the installers was also always lying and calling in sick, so then they started having me fill in for him too, doing a lot of crappy concrete work etc. This meant I was losing too much time from the business. Thankfully the installer came back, unfortunately they let the delivery guy come back too, so now I'm just the call-in guy to fill in when needed, thus again defeating the purpose of having a job on the side for cash flow.

However...the guy who owns the pool company also owns the convenience store that is across the street from our house. He decided to offer me a job there, and since I have no reason not to I agreed. So I've worked two shifts now, and I'm on call when they need a fill in for the pool company. So basically I'm now going to be spending a few hours a week in a convenience store, putting together newspapers, selling smokes, renting videos, pricing pop, and working with a colorful cast of characters.

My life is Clerks. How did this happen? I don't know. It's weird. I haven't worked in a  convenience store since I was like 15. That was nearly a decade ago. Even stranger, I work in a convenience store, but I operate a successful publishing company, but need the convenience job because several large distributors don't like to pay thier bills.

It's odd, but I'm strangely comfortable with it. I feel it'll be a good story to tell later on.

On the plus side a rich neighbour across the street threw an entire inflatable pool set out, accessories and all on the side of the road. He got a newer, bigger one. He wrote FREE on the box so I took it. I had to patch a couple holes in the bottom but once I did it was good as new. Pam and I now have a pool in the back yard. It's small, only 12 feet wide, 3 feet deep, but it's nice, it's a pool, and I've been spending lots of time in it. Hot as hell right now, so I'm gonna go and get in the pool.

Hopefully write back to you all again soon!

Posted by: lightning at 17:00 | link | comments