I bring you updates.

Izzy the Cat has, according to the animal hospital receptionist, survived her spaying. I told Henry that she was having an operation to keep her from having babies, and from the look on his face, I might as well have told him that we were having her paws lopped off. "But… but she needs to have babies," he whimpered. What, kid, you think the only thing girls are good for is baby-making, IS THAT IT? Go fix Mommy a drink. Just pour it into a glass, it's already pre-mixed in that jug. The one with the blue label. Now scoot!

They say she's doing fine, but then, how do I know they're telling me the truth? As a friend of mine pointed out, they could stuff any old cat back into her carrier, and I might wonder for a little while how my cat changed into a tabby, but then I'd forget, as I always do. What was I talking about, again?

While I was calling, I got the idea that I should ask if I could talk to her. The receptionist put me on hold and then I was giggling through hours of hold music, imagining the look on her face. "I just want to hear her sweet voice," I would say. But then, they probably get this all the time, don't you think? I bet they have a recording of a cat meowing that they play, just for their crazier clients. I lost my nerve when she returned to give me the update. But I was snickering the whole time, so I'm sure she thinks I'm nuts anyway. My cat's okay, you say? That's hilarious! Did you put wheels on her, where her paws were?

In other news, I just made out with my antibiotics. It was a little awkward, but I felt it was the right thing to do. So yes, my ear is better. Thank you for your concern, and for not fleeing my site in disgust and horror.

I have an essay in the latest issue of Wellesley magazine, so if you're coming from there, welcome, fellow alumnae! Remember that time, on that hill, near the lake? I'm sorry about that. I didn't know those were your good pants. And that they'd be so flammable.

The presence of esteemed, successful, immaculately dressed alumnae makes my next news item a little…awkward for me, but I think we all know I've learned to embrace my awkward side, so here goes.

You might have noticed I have a donate button now. Right up there, in the left-hand-column, above the big honking ad. Huh!

I debated whether or not to add a donation button. On the one hand, I already have ads, but on the other hand, the ads do not pay as I had dreamed they would. I know there are people who are against ads and anti-blogging-for-any-reason-besides-love, but I come from the land where writers get paid for their writing, and I don't see a problem with that. But then, I don’t like to feel like I'm begging. But then, I am! I debated until I felt a little sick, but in the end, I decided to leave it up to you, the reader. If you wish to donate, I thank you from the bottom of my scrappy freelancer's heart. If you can't, you're probably struggling like me, and I raise my chipped mug of re-heated coffee to you in solidarity. May we all make more money doing what we love to do.

My final piece of news is probably insane, but here goes: I have enjoyed NaBloPoMo so much that I want to keep it up. Almost. I pledge to you, dear readers, that I will write an entry for every weekday, excepting holidays and extreme cases of illness, from now until my hands fall off. And I have to get wheels to match Izzy's.

Comments

[Melissa]

extending nablopomo?!? even though i think you's crazy, that's great news for us alice! looking forward to it!

[Marcy]

Forgive me, this is my grandmother's training showing in me, but isn't the plural of alumnus "alumni"? I might be wrong though.

Keep up the blogging! I've been loving your posts. =)

[braine]

Just don't start inventing or intentionally causing disgusting emissions to fill out your daily quota.

[Tammy]

Alumni, unless it's an all-ladies school. Then, it's alumnae and you get to savor the memories of dating Harvard men!

So happy about your nablopomofoeva pact!

[Twice Five Miles]

Hooray, more Finslippy! I have enjoyed your NaBloPoMo almost as much as you have.

[John LeJeune]

Alice u cwazee. I'm doin' NaBloPoMo and I can't wait until Saturday (on the 31st day he rested.)

Swellsley. . . I was the photographer guy who always shot parties at TZE and ZA. Ever been to those Joints? Pearls and a LBD required.

John - Party Pic guy

[Cindy]

Yay! More posts!

[Jodi]

Since you were writing about the cat. I was reading this as "In other mews..."

[Sparkling Red]

Awesome! I'm now officially addicted to posting daily on my own site.

I'm glad that your ear is better. I seriously almost passed out from reading that last post.

[Ree]

I'm all for extending it, too. Without the pressure. So, I'm not pledging, but I'll be grateful for the continuing Finslippy updates.

[Laura]

I approached NaBloPoMo with a good deal of dread, but I have actually found it to be a really good writing practice. I'm hoping to keep up daily posts too.

[Laura]

Not insane at all. Or rather if you're insane you're in good company (saying so myself).

I've made the same pledge myself!

[Jen in CT]

As I recall, Wellesley is a women's college, so alumnae is correct.

I look forward to more finslippy posts--yay!

[The Mom Bomb]

On the bright side, on the off-chance the vet did replace kitty's paws with wheels, she'll make a fantabulous pull toy for the kid.

[Rachel]

A women's college, Alice? I thought I was the only person in the world who went to a women's college (Chatham U). Well, besides the classmates I occasionally see.

I love it. Quite.

[lulu]

Hello fellow alum!
Making money is GOOD.
I think I have heard of you, John. You take great pics!

Glad to hear we'll get more finslippy :)
Gotta run, I think baby's gotten into the trash can and is having a big ol' party.

[Sonja]

Donate button: just fine
Writing every day, Monday - Friday: super, duper cool!

[She Likes Purple]

Good! I've enjoyed your daily posts a lot!

[Kristabella]

Yay for keeping it up. I'm all for the weekday posts. I have a hard time on the weekends. Plus, I don't like the PRESSURE of writing every day. I think that didn't help me.

[saucygrrl]

I've also found NaBloPoMo more enjoyable than I first thought. I've been considering keeping it up as well.

So glad to hear that your ear is better! YAY! Hearing is good, and so are ears that aren't leaking anything. I'll raise my glass to that, but then again, I'll raise my glass to just about anything. ;)

[Karen Vogel]

There's gotta be a better way. Why don't you just give us the first half of each post, and make us pay to read the rest? There must be some mechanism to do that. And, um, I expect freebies because I suggested it.

You're welcome. Love your blog.

[witchypoo]

It's your site. The button is there. I hope you get lots of hits on it. A blogger has to pay for their bandwidth requirements, yes?
I don't think it is anything like begging;it only makes sense to me when you consider the amount of time and thought that goes into blogging regularly.
I started blogging a half hour too late to sign up for NaBloPoMo, but decided I would take on the challenge of posting each day.
The last two days have been tricky, but I was sidetracked by CSS wrangling.
Hey, a poor excuse is better than none.

[Brooke]

Yay! GOOD FOR YOU on the donate button; "alumnae" is clearly more smarty-pants than the pedestrian "alumni"; and daily finslippy! I'm so excited, I think I have the vapors. Yay!

[Candy]

And I raise my chipped mug back atcha, for while I'd happily donate if I could, I can not. So consider this a cosmic donation. Don't spend it all in one place.

[Tina]

Doooooooooooooooooood. Sweeeet!

Like I've said before, Finslippy is my first stop on the blog trails. That you will have a new...bowl of...trail mix left out for us Monday-Friday is so grand.

I'm doing NaBloPoMo, too, and dang if I'm not attached to the daily posting myself. I think I'm going to be a looneytune and keep it up, too.

OHMYGODIKNOWYOUMUSTBESOEXCITED.

I'm gonna donate something, but this is only going to expand your budget by about the size of a Kit Kat. I'm closer to the chipped coffee mug end of the spectrum than I am to the gilded Medici end. But I like you. Enjoy the candy bar or can of baked beans!

[Victoria]

Maybe it's the fact that I had coffee, glorious coffee, for the first time in five months this morning, but damn it feels good to be a gangsta. And now, now, Finslippy wants to post five days a week? Heart be still... er, well, it can't right now, too much caffeine, but, what I mean to say is that I'm ridonkiously psyched. Way to be spankin' fabtabulous, Alice.

[Moose in the Kitchen]

Three cheers for mostly broke freelance writers everywhere! And a donate button is far better than asking your mother for money. Not that I would ever do that. Ahem.

[Bipolarlawyercook]

I would rather pay for Finslippy than the New York Times, so there, I have donated a drop in the bucket. : )

[Liza]

long-time lurker here, comming out of the dark,

I was so suprised when I opened my wellesley alum magazine and saw your essay! i knew i liked you for a reason :)

[All Adither]

Hooray! You've spoiled me with the everyday posting. I'm so glad to see you're going to keep it up.

[Laura]

Alice- I love your blog. And I have to say that I've commented before but I don't do it very often. I am so glad that you will be posting more frequently. My heart sinks a little when I come here and there's no new blog post and sometimes it's like that for days. So thank you for saying you'll post more frequenly. When that raise comes in I will click that donate button. But for now I raise my matching chipped mug to you and say thanks for making me smile when I come here.

[Spandrel Studios]

I still can't stop laughing at the flammable pants.

[Holly]

I am also de-lurking to say how crazy happy I am about the daily Finslippy. It has made my day, which was definitely in need of a bright spot. This is my most favorite blog and I'm looking forward to reading many, many more entries. I will donate when I can, but for now I am raising my chipped mug-(chipped wine glass?) in solidarity. Thank you Alice!

[Tammy]

I'm all for the "Donate" button. I think you should make it interesting for us, though, by giving us a different goal every month, i.e. "Pay for Alice's penis implant surgery!" or "Buy Alice a mink stole!" And then maybe have one of those United Way fundraising measurement graphics that looks like a thermometer.

But perhaps I get ahead of myself.

[jules]

Extremely good point on the DONATION button. I've been debating that kind of thing myself.
Jules
House of Jules

[LetterB]

More daily posts? It's like Christmas in December!

[Strizz]

If I could get paid for doing what I loved it would involve a lot of chocolate and pajama pants. And a shiny new camera that did everything I wished it would. And a magic lamp, that had a genie inside.

[Heather]

Alice, I have LOVED November, because it meant I could read your blog every day. I am really excited about your newfound blogging dedication. I have loved Nablopomo too!

[Deb Abramson]

Wow, Alice, remember the early days of November, when NaBloPoMo was kicking your ass, and your readers were all like, Um...er...is this how it's gonna be? I have to go now...

And now you are totally kicking its ass!

[Mauigirl]

I love daily Finslippy and am so glad you want to continue! I too have enjoyed NaBloPoMo and will try to post more often; I found out challenging and fun to find something to say every day. However, I need to post some new stuff on my Medicana blog (which I have neglected all month) so I may take a short break to do that!

[Mauigirl]

Um, that was s'posed to be "I found it challenging," not "out challenging."

[Jozet at Halushki]

I've been enjoying my NaBloPoMo stint as well. I used to fuss and fret over perfect word choice and never get a post up.

Now I'm all "Subject verb agreement? What are that?"

And "Of course! I'll write about leeks!"

NaBloPoYear?

[JLow]

What do you think Henry would have said if your cat was a he?

What would have been your reaction to his reaction?? ;)

I don't think putting up ads on blogs should be considered an issue. I too debated on whether I should, and how many. After reading a few "pro" bloggers' sites, I agree with that they say, that we may chase away some readers, but in general those who "know" us and enjoy our topics will come back anyway.

[Lori]

All I can think of is to say yay. Most of my other sentiments have already been expressed.

[magpie]

Alice! I was reading my Wellesley magazine in bed last night and scratched my head thinking "Alice", "Henry", this all seems oddly familiar - and it was you! The world is so tiny sometimes. 1982, BTW. However, I never set anything on fire there, that I can remember anyway.

[elise]

I share the sentiments (although not the income! whee!) of the lawyer/cook person up there. I'd rather pay for a subscription to you, lovely Alice, than any other online newsy deal I might read.

You've been my fav for going on four years now.

I just cain't guit you, Finslippy.

[elise]

Ummm, that was supposed to be QUIT. Not some weird misspelling of "gut", or "gait", both of which have completely different and rather unsettling meanings in that context.

Stupid cowboys and their stupid tricky language.

[nate]

Hey! Not an alumna of Wellesley, but of Mount Holyoke, class of 91. So Go 7 Sisters! Or at least the 5 of them that are left.

(I always had a sense I had something in common with you, educationally-wise...)

And elise, not to worry--I, at least, figured you'd listened more closely to Brokeback than I had and picked up some sort of dialect. Or who knows, maybe Heath had a cold when they taped it...

[Manic Mommy]

Back to the cat: When I had mine neutered, the vet called me to let me know the surgery had gone well, he was resting comfortably, etc.

I joked "Okay, so he's a she now?"

Awkward pause.

"Umm, it doesn't work that way..."

[Sara]

Alumnae, alumni, I'll take either over "alums," which is what my former high school principal insists on calling the graduates of our (all-female) school. It probably wouldn't bother me so much if that very institution hadn't thought it a bright idea to educate me in Latin, the better to later appreciate our fearless leader's butchering of the English language. Grr.