Sigh...

Two more papers left to go, and at this point I am so stressed out it's hard to believe that in a week I can leave academic paper-writing behind me and never look back. In fact, I was so stressed out that I decided the best way to get my papers done would be to go stay with my family in Lowell, as I've found that taking breaks every hour or so to talk nonsense to my cat somehow makes me more productive, or at least, happier.

Well, it looks like my cat is dying. She's wandering around in circles and falling over (when she can manage to stand up), sneezing, refusing to eat (apparently she hasn't done so in a week), covered in cat dandruff, and drinking buckets and buckets of water. I knew she was really old when I got her a few years ago (she was toothless and probably about 14?) but it still really sucks. I'm moving to New York next month to start Work, and I sort of suspected she was too sick to take with me, but...

I know this is a news blog and not a personal journal, but if Tom Tomorrow can post pictures of his dog, I figure I might as well post a picture of my cat (back when she was healthy):

And in typical Mikhaela fashion, I feel guilty for caring so much about a cat when there are starving kids in Iraq about to get bombed. Which just makes me feel even worse and cry even harder.

Dr. Mitt's latest prescription...

Yeah, so while I'm moping, why don't you read all about Mitt Romney's request that the Massachusetts Legislature give him "emergency powers" to slash the budget as he sees fit--which at this point seems to mean he might cut local aid, which primarily goes to education in poorer cities and towns ("Governor seeks more power to cut").