Bla, bla, blog! Well, I did find some time away from work this week: for a quasipolitical event. The Montgomery County (Pa.) Young Republicans has moved its meeting night to one that's possible for me to attend. And thus, to celebrate the event and ensure I could be there without fail, I left my job a bit early. [cue the celestial music ... ] But the great leisure of time away from work being what it is, I ended up picking up some free wood by the side of the road (and having a great Terry Schiavo chat with the chap who was offloading it) and expanding other tasks to more than fill my so-called free time. I was [gasp!] slightly late for the meeting. Nonetheless, it was outstanding. The scheduled speaker, a congressman who will want some grassroots help in his reelection efforts for his third term, sent his community outreach fellow in his stead. But, God willing, he'll still get the help he needs. And many of the same old gang are there. Plus, the new GOP crop looks promising: The key is to give them something to do and keep them busy. And keep them coming in. It doesn't hurt if they have a beer or a Pepsi in their hand, and somebody standing next to them who has something interesting to say, either. That's what kept me going to meetings even when the speakers were occasionally quite dry. On an entirely unrelated and absolutely personal note, I have been given a cat. I never said I wanted a cat. I did say I would take this one, but I honestly never expressed a desire for one. I do, however, think that both my dog and I will make it through this difficult transitional period with grace and style. Vaughn and I will keep her. She's a calico: white, ginger and black. Her name is O'Neill for (Are you sitting down?) both Paul O'Neills, Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. and Neal Peart. And Patricia Neal, too, I guess. But she's becoming known as Neala, and I think she likes it as well as any creature likes a name. Incidentally, Vaughn, my Dalmatian, was named for Sarah and Stevie Ray. And sometimes I fib and say he was also named for Mo. I'll post photos of the beasts if I ever stop being too lazy to look into photo hosting.