I Feel Schmoozey, Oh So Schmoozey!

Yes indeed, today I am feeling the schmooze, because I've been given the schmooze award, not once, but TWICE, in the past few days. I'd like to extend my gratitude to both Sindhu, over at Under The Sun, and Awannabe over at Awannabe's Hangout, who chose to bestow this award upon me here at Cat On My Head.


Here's what Mike, one of the originators of this award, and the human behind the wonderful Gummy The Lovesick Alien, had to say about it: "Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation. Some bloggers are gifted with the ability to effectively schmooze and others not so much."

What amuses me about being given this particular award, is that I am so UNschmoozey in my offline life! When I'm not at work, I really do live a hermit's life, and happily so. My socializing is done with cats, not with humans. But, online, I've discovered that I really do enjoy being a part of the blogging community, and participating in social networking sites like Blog Catalog.

Now, as it often goes with these blog awards, and memes, I am supposed to pass this on to 5 other schmoozey bloggers. And this is where I fall down in my responsibilities. BUT... If YOU, dear reader, are a blogger, and you're feeling the schmooze, just leave a comment saying that (include the specific words "I feel the schmooze"), and I will nominate the first 5 of you for the schmooze award. So tell me, are ya feelin' it??

I Won Rising Blogger's 'Post of the Day'

I am pleased as punch to announce that my post from the other day about my Grandma Julia has been awarded the 'Post of the Day' by Judd Corizan over at The Rising Blogger, as seen HERE. Thanks, Judd! Each day Rising Blogger features one post to have the honor of that day's spotlight. It's a great idea, and it's worth visiting Rising Blogger to see what Judd has chosen each day.




Judd asks winners of the Post of the Day award to nominate a favorite post by another blogger. I thought long and hard, and I have made my nomination. "Which post? Which post?" I hear you wondering. Well, I'm not saying! Hah! All I will say is that I talked it over with 8 out of 9 of my cats, over tuna & cream, and we came to a unanimous decision. Judd, over at Rising Blogger, has been notified of our most excellent choice. Why did only 8 of the 9 cats participate in the decision? Well, because Boo was outside hunting bats, and could not be lured in for our important blog post nomination meeting. Any other questions?

7 Random Things (Tag - I'm It!)

The other day I was 'tagged' by The Translator, over at his excellent Rosetta Rants blog, to post 7 Random Things about myself. Then I'm supposed to tag 5 other people to do the same. I'm going to flake out on tagging others, as it seems to cross some internal boundary I have (tagging phobia, perhaps?).

On the very same day The Translator tagged me, I was also nominated by both Gerri, over at Absolutely True, AND Adria, over at the In Cinq Project, for the Rockin' Girl Bloggers award. Both of them are themselves Rockin' Girl Bloggers, and I appreciate them tossing this title my way. I'm now supposed to nominate others, who will nominate others, who will nominate others... but I'm going to flake out on this as well (see tagging phobia comment above). I've also taken the liberty of taking the 'girl' out of my nomination, since I haven't felt like a 'girl' for around 30 years! Check out my blog roll, though, of sites I've enjoyed, as there are numerous Rockin' Bloggers of all ages and sexes on there, both human and feline!


Now, let's get on with the 7 Random Things About Me:

#1 - My first spoken word was CAT. (Yes, even at a very young age I knew what was important in life.)

#2 - I have come close to dying four times so far in this life:

- First, when I was 6 months old and ate almost an entire bottle of Vicks Vapo Rub. I was rushed to the hospital in a coma and my stomach was pumped.

Baby Me

- Second, when I was 3, and fell into the Bosporus and almost drowned.

- Third, and most unhappily, when I was 16, and took an large overdose of sleeping pills & alcohol in attempted suicide. I was once again rushed to the hospital where my stomach was pumped.

At Sixteen (tough grrrl)

- And fourth, about 6 years ago, when my appendix went kaplooie, and I had to have an emergency appendectomy.

#3 - I've had my name legally changed 3 times so far. The first time I had it changed was when I was 28, and since then I seem to have gotten the itch for change every 10 -11 years. I've officially been 'Jaya' for about 3 years so far.

#4 - I've had, in my younger, friskier days, an equal number of male and female lovers... and probably a few too many of each.

#5 - I am now entertaining all offers of marriage from any wealthy humans who would like a plump, aging, antisocial wife (with 9 cats). The cats and I will require our own house, with swimming pool, on a quiet section of your estate. Age, sex, and appearance not important, but you must like cats, be intelligent, and have a great sense of humor. If you prefer not to marry me, but would still like to bestow your financial favors upon me, that is also most agreeable.

#6 - I'm not involved in any organized religion, even though I have a sister who is a Catholic nun, and spirituality is a very important part of my life. The only religious organization I ever DID join was the Unitarian Universalist Church, back in 1987, when I lived in Provincetown, Massachusetts. That was in large part due to the intelligent and moving sermons being given by the wonderful Rev. Kim Crawford Harvie, who is now the Senior Minister at the Arlington Street Church in Boston.

Rev. Kim

#7 - I wrote these 7 Random Things down while driving my car to Santa Fe, finishing just as I drove past the Ohkay Casino, north of Española. I do NOT advise any of you to copy this behavior. Not only did it hinder my focus on my driving, but it was also a bit difficult to read what I'd written when I got home again.