Early in the morning of 2 November, Cleo left us. It’s been a week, but we’re still adjusting. I kind of didn’t want to write another post, but it feels wrong to give Piper a send-off, but not Cleo.
Cleo was a rescue kitten who picked us. We were visiting an adoption centre to see her. After a bit of a cuddle, we put her down to have a think, but she meowed to call us back. There were no doubts. We signed the adoption papers and whisked her home.
This one’s difficult to write. Last week our youngest cat was hit by a car. We don’t know what she was doing on the road. Piper was a homebody. She was allowed out unsupervised, but had never shown any interest in the road. Most likely, she was in our front yard and something scared or chased her out there. She was black, it was night, and our street is a bit of a thoroughfare. Easy math, but it’s not really productive to dwell on reasons. Knowing won’t change it.
The effect on our family has been devastating. The house feels emptier without Piper. She was a homebody, and around much more than either Apollo or Cleo. Very much a lap cat, she was always up for a cuddle and a pat. I still miss her jumping up on the bed when my alarm goes off, making sure that I was going to show her that there was still food left over from the previous night.
I’m back. Well, I don’t know if I’m back back, but I guess I’ve got some things to write, and I’ve been rethinking how I do that.
I haven’t played a game seriously in months. I spent August and September travelling, and while I was away Blizzard completely rebuilt Mercy from the ground up. Mercy was my main (by a long shot), so it felt like I was starting over with the character. I kind of lost my passion for Overwatch, so I’ve been kicking the can around. I’ve fired up Witcher 3 and Civilization VI, but neither grabbed me. This afternoon I realised that what I wanted was something exciting, easy to start, and not requiring too much brain on a Sunday afternoon. Hopefully that would rekindle my relationship with my gaming rig.
So I fired up Steam, hoping to skim through the list of 334 games I have already purchased and find something that fit the bill. Surely, after years of forking out for sales and bundles, I have something in my library to pass the time. Back in February, I bought the Humble Freedom Bundle. Over 30 games, many of which I have never heard of. One of those definitely fits the bill, so let’s have a look. Fortunately, I remembered to build a category so that I could find them later.
The 1990 miniseries adaptation if It was my gateway into the horror genre. I was too young at the time to see it as a coming-of-age story that unfairly gave physical form to the terrors each individual faced growing up. Indeed, if my mother had realised that the blood exploding from Beverly’s bathroom sink was a metaphor for the dread of menstruation and the implications of impending womanhood in the face of a possessively protective single father, I don’t think that twelve-year-old David and his three siblings (youngest age five) would have been allowed to go anywhere near it.
I haven’t watched Tim Curry’s outstanding performance as Pennywise since the 90s, but It has always been a standard that I hold all other horror up to, and while I’m not a fan of Hollywood’s obsession with reboots, remakes, and sequels, I was excited and curious to see how it would turn out. Overall, I had a good time. Well, I can’t really say that. My relationship with horror is such that I tend to look away at the most tense or violent moments. I stay and watch despite myself. Overall, my objectives in watching the film were fulfilled.
Brave the spoilers below at your peril…