After my “inhale the pool through my nose” debacle, I was a little hesitant to try the flip-turns again. But, it was on my list of things to do this year and since I had finally started, I needed to work on them.
Yesterday, I did 24 flips turns. 4 were dang near perfect, most were functional, 3 brought me to a near stop, and 2 of them sent water up my nose. They weren’t as bad as my previous jaunt in the pool, but annoying. I’ve got a long way to go before I can complete the sequence without thinking about it, but I think I was a little faster with my laps since I wasn’t stopping at each turn. Which is pretty much the point.
In other news… Thunder(cat) loves to play in my clothes closet. Every time I open the door, in he goes. He likes to chew on shoelaces and hide in the back behind the clothes. I don’t want him in there for fear he’ll shred something or get trapped without me knowing it when I close the door. I usually have to pick him up and drag/carry/toss him out when I’m done in there. None of which either of us enjoy.
Yesterday, I was changing clothes after work and had the door open. He darted in there and hid in the back. I wanted to tell him, “You’re never getting to Narnia, dumbass”, but instead I politely said, “Thunder, would you please come out here? It’s for your own good and I would really appreciate it,”
A moment later, he walked out of his own accord and trotted downstairs.
This has actually worked before when I asked him “Is that appropriate behavior?” when he was up on the mantle batting at the TV, but I figured it was a fluke. But it may be that he’s waaaaaay smarter and more refined than I would have given him credit. Maybe I just need to be more polite? This is a cat we’re talking about, so it’s pretty unlikely. Still…
Finally, had some huge and totally accidental success in Minecraft. I was deep in the Nether, making my way carefully across the lava pools and fields of slow sand, heading towards the fortress. In the distance, I heard a Ghast – a giant ghostly squid-like flying fireball shooter – purring and shrieking. I crested a ridge of netherack and suddenly the Ghast was on me. At point blank range, I switched to a pickax and swung just as he shot a fireball at me. The ax hit the fireball and sent it right back to the Ghast – destroying it with one hit. It shrieked one last time and vanished – leaving behind a Tear (a very rare item).
I hightailed it back to the Overworld and put the Tear into a chest for safe-keeping. Then I put my character to bed and called it a day.