Hello, my sprightly boys and girls! I trust you've all been bad since mallorymaloney.com's last Updates/Blog entry?

No need to re read that opening sentence --- You read it correctly the first time! I asked if you were bad simply because asking if someone's been 'good' nowadays is a bit of a loaded question, in my opinion, and I don't wish to make my visitors feel uncomfortable. o_o

Besides, good isn't always stark white, and bad isn't always jet black. There's always a sort of grey line between the two, a line that constantly changes placement, shape, size, hue, and clarity.

But that's enough about the philosophy between 'good' and 'bad' --- I'm going to change the subject before they figure out what I'm really trying to say and pin that homicide case on me! n_n

... Did I just type that out? >_>; Hm. Well then, it is time for a subject change, isn't it? Look over here, children: Updates! Shiny updates!

Firstly, I added a brand new Affie to the Affiliates page. *^^* Everyone go check out Chloe's newly launched site!

I also checked a few things off the Wishlist page. But then I had to add a bunch of new things. e_e; That page is nothing but a never ending cycle of materialism.

Next on the list of shiny updates is the Movies I Must See page. Again, a few checked off, a few added. ((I cannot fucking wait for Saw VI, man. I do believe I've unconsciously started a mental countdown for 24 October.))

And lastly is a few minor updates to my Facts page. New favourite bands/musical artists, books, and TV shows! Whoa, dude. Media mayhem.

And that brings us to the blog segment of this entry, which is set to revolve around ... My encounter with a grimalkin! That's right, a grimalkin. ^^

;She smiles widely, expecting positive reactions to her announcement. Upon receiving only silence, she widens her eyes in disbelief.;

Wait ... You guys don't know what a 'grimalkin' is, do you?! Oh, FFS. The word 'grimalkin' is of Shakespearean origin, and simply means 'cat'. Way to dumb down mallorymaloney.com, friends. =_=

;She then waits for the inevitable 'Actually, you do just fine dumbing down the place on your own, Mallory!' comeback. Upon receiving it, she bursts into emo tears and runs away from the Intarbuttz forever and ever.;

'Cept not really, 'cause ... Psych! Haha! Gosh I'm awesome. n_n

Er, anyway. So I was out riding my bike the other night --- Which, if I may interrupt myself for just a moment, I won't be doing again anytime soon, as someone actually stole my bike this evening. Yes, people in my city are sad enough to steal a rusty, rickety, peeling, falling apart bicycle made in, like, 1995 and think they're escaping with a real piece of treasure. No worries, though --- I've decided not to let it bother me, seeing as there's nothing I can do about it anyhow. I'll just try to pick up another cheap bike on Craigslist or Kijiji or something.

But anyway! Let's get back to my encounter of the grimalkin kind, shall we ...? We shall.

I was out riding my bike the other night, getting some exercise after supper, and as I was pedalling along, I noticed a dark shape on the sidewalk ahead. Realising it was a rather lovely looking black cat, I slowed down and hopped off my bike, wanting to pet it ... As I'm known to do with every random cat I lay eyes on.

I set my bike down carefully on the sidewalk, so as not to scare the cat away, and began moving toward it, holding out my hand and making kissy noises as I advanced.

I expected the cat to run off, as most usually do, but this one actually greeted me with a meow and ran up to me. I squatted down and began to pet its back, talking in a soft voice to it as it wove its way around my legs and hand.

And then, the strangest fuckin' thing happened --- The cat stopped its weaving pattern, sat directly in front of me, and looked up into my eyes. Just sat there and stared at my face intently, which of course, isn't something cats normally do.

I admit I felt a little nervous at that point, because the only time cats usually stare that intently at a human is just before they attack via a swipe or a bite to the person's face. So as the cat continued to sit there and stare directly at my face, I moved back slightly, out of swiping range, and asked it what was the matter.

It, of course, didn't answer me, and came toward me again in its weaving around my legs sort of pattern ... And as I hesitantly reached down to pet it once more, I realised it was purring. This put me at ease a little --- 'Cause since when do cats purr just before they attack, right? --- So I sat down on the sidewalk next to it and began talking to it again, telling it that it was a 'pretty, strange kitty' in an admiring tone.

After the cat rubbed against my legs, hands, and arms for awhile, he came around to the front of me again, and once again did the whole sit down and stare into Mallory's eyes thing. This time, I didn't move, and instead just stared back ... And the cat slowly, hesitantly, reached a paw to my face, as if it were nervous itself, as well.

Bracing myself for a sudden swipe across the face, but still mostly convinced it wasn't interested in attacking me, I held my breath and waited. The cat moved closer, rose to its hind legs, rested one front paw on my knee, and then very gently touched my cheek with his other front paw --- All while staring directly into my eyes.

I widened my own eyes in wonder at this, staring back and reaching forward to pet it once more, and it hopped back down to all fours, still purring in what seemed like an affectionate way.

After that, the cat did the same thing again --- Except it moved to my side, almost behind me, rose up, rested both of his front paws on my shoulder, stretched a bit the way cats do when they rise up on their hind legs, and then tried to touch the side of my head, instead of my face.

When I turned my head to look at it, however, feeling a bit nervous once again, ((Because, let's face it, when do cats ever act like this?!)) It quickly hopped down and tried to act real chill, as if it hadn't been doing anything unusual whatsoever.

I told the cat that it was very strange indeed, waited until someone passed on the sidewalk --- I had to pick up my bike and move it out of the way, during which the cat followed me as I stepped from the sidewalk and into a nearby driveway --- Gave it one last pet, and then hopped back on my bike and rode away. I looked back as I rode, but the cat was already slinking back into the darkness, once again acting as if it were just a normal cat.

I also feel it necessary to mention that the cat was directly across the street from a church. When I noticed this myself, ((Only because a few late night chuchies walked up the steps and to the front door, unlocking it whilst loudly remarking, 'We're one step closer to Heaven!')) I started thinking it was some sort of, y'know, divine cat sent from Heaven to bestow me/other passerby with Godly luck ... But has Heaven ever been known to be fond of black cats? Or bestowing me with Godly luck, for that matter? No. No it has not.

So then I was thinking it was maybe some sort of infernal cat, instead, sent from Hell in defiance of the church across the road, with the intent to curse me/other passerby with the wrath of Satan himself. Or whatever.

... Of course, if y'want me to be perfectly honest, it could've just been a regular cat of the non supernatural variety that simply likes to stare at people's faces in its spare time. IDK. e_e

Continuing the subject of black cats, I decided that I'm going to be one for Halloween! Not because of my encounter with the strange yet lovely grimalkin, though. I decided at, like, the beginning of August that's what I was going to dress up as, because Halloween's that important to me, haha.

I'm in the midst of making my own cat tail and cat ears, in fact! They're going to be constructed of this awesome faux fur trim I found at Fabricland. You're supposed to use the trim in coat making, I believe, to decorate cuffs or collars, but I found it absolutely perfect for making a cat's tail, considering it's already cut to the ideal size. All I had to do was take about three feet or so, fold it good side in, and sew it along the open edge!

However, turning the sewn tail right side out is an entirely different story. I've been working on it for an hour or two at a time for a couple of days now, and it's not even halfway finished. >< Ugh! Luckily I'm in love with Halloween, and therefore motivated to actually complete the project, but it's still one of the most boringly slow tasks ever. #_#

The cat ears'll be easier, though, as I'm planning to assemble them using hot glue instead of the thread and needle method, and I'm going to attach them in the same manner to a thin black plastic headband I bought. Oh, and no worries! When the tail and ears are both done, I'll take a photo and post it up here ... Even if I have to use my ancient HP PhotoSmart 320 to do so, having lost my good camera at the Green Day show. -_-;

Until then, kittens, have a purrrrrfect day! =^w^=

... And you thought 'one step closer to Heaven' was bad.