Posts by SnakesInTheTower

22

new kitten in the house...how to get the resident cat to accept?

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

as some here may know, i got a cat at the local shelter a couple of years ago.

max (short for maxine)...is a very good natured, loving cat...as much as a cat can be.

lately she has really been trying for my attention.... why?.

SnakesInTheTower

my thinking too.... I think the two will be fine... we left for a 4 day vacation a few weeks ago and Max was by herself, except for daily visits from my fiancee's parents...when we got home Max went crazy.... and she has been extra affectionate since...

..now a month later this interloper appears on her scene....

....right now the kitten is kept in the bathroom if we leave. I went and dropped the 9YO off at school and left the kitten out in the house.... only gone about 15 min.... both cats were fine...except for the hissing and growling...lol

..on another note...the 9YO is actually afraid of animals....cats and esp dogs. took him awhile to warm up to Max... I am having to teach him how to properly handle and pick up a kitten so as not to hurt it....

..ironically, the 9YO actually wants to clean the litter box...gross stuff and all....but other things he is finding out that a new kitten (like any baby) is a lot of work...and not just a stuffed toy to play with...and like any kid...not so much into hard work.

...we thought about keeping the kitten in his room at night...he wants that......I need to get him to declutter it before that can happen. Lots of things that the kitten can get into... but we will see...

on another cat front... my cat Max actually bangs her body against our bedroom door if it is shut...we only have a sliding latch right now to keep it locked when we need to...the cat banged it so hard the other night she blasted the screws out of the frame and came right on in as if no big deal...not the first time...and she wakes us up because she wants to look outside through the blinds... Max is a big kitty.

...the cats waking her up is really causing a problem with my dear fiancee....having trouble sleeping as it is... dont know if we can actually lock the door anyway....the 9YO comes in occasionally at night (as opposed to 3 times a night at first) because of growing pains....

ahhh... maybe I should video the two cats...post it online...lol....

Snakes (Rich )

...I am off to meet my fiancee at her job for coffee...and then I have yard work to do before the rain...

22

new kitten in the house...how to get the resident cat to accept?

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

as some here may know, i got a cat at the local shelter a couple of years ago.

max (short for maxine)...is a very good natured, loving cat...as much as a cat can be.

lately she has really been trying for my attention.... why?.

SnakesInTheTower

As some here may know, I got a cat at the local shelter a couple of years ago. Max (short for Maxine)...is a very good natured, loving cat...as much as a cat can be. Lately she has really been trying for my attention.... why?

You see, my fiancee's 9YO son lost his hamster...died a couple of months ago.... ever since he has been pestering her for a replacement pet. For awhile he had been going for a leopard gecko.... after showing my fiancee the care requirements (heat lamp on 12 hours a day...nasty little mealworms that are fed live...etc)....I was able to get past that idea.

..... but then my future mother-in-law, the crazy cat lady, got a whole new litter of kittens. Why she refuses to get these cats fixed is beyond me...she is, to put it kindly, cheap. Has money, refuses to part with it. She and the 9YO's grandpa watch him for us on Saturdays and after school some days.... and of course the kittens are a kid magnet. Now the 9YO wants one of the kittens.

So my fiancee starts working on me. My concern is the resident cat. I have had cats over the years, and even introduced them before...but that was always under my parents home... this is the first time I have dealt with it myself.

after much cajoling, they talk me into a trial run...a couple of hours a day in the evening to introduce the two cats. Unfortunately, our house is not very big, so there really isnt a good room to put the kitten into..that is usually the best...kitten behind closed doors, let them smell each other for awhile...

Well...the MIL throws down the gauntlet because grandpa hates the cats and wants them gone (litter smell, old wet food, etc)...so we had to decide by today if we were going to take the kitten. Of course, the kitten is cute...arent they all? Supposedly the cats are either going to a shelter or a farm...kittens to the shelter likely....adult cats to the country (I hate the dumping thing...ticks me off)

so resident cat max is alternately ignoring and hissing (and today growling) at the kitten (named Adventure by the 9YO). Information I have found says that it can take 3 weeks. sheesh...

Last night I had to lock the kitten into the bathroom (unfortunately it does not lock from the outside, so there is nothing keeping big cat from pushing open the door...)...poor kitten cried off and on....

the kitten is lying asleep behind me in the office chair...the big cat is on her perch next to the window, next to me, looking out the window....every time she turns around and sees the kitten...hiss..growl.... then quiet... then normal meow...then growl...she is grooming herself like crazy now.

The worse thing that the big cat has done is batted the kitten once...chased it away...and held its head down with her paw..... the kitten has taken the proper submissive postures....but then chases big cat...

so...bad idea...letting little kitten into the house? I told the family I will give kitten 3 weeks...and if Max doesnt accept the kitten by then (or her behavior gets worse in the interim) I told them the kitten has to go. I take cat ownership seriously. Max was here first. They are accepting that. Actually, after last night, my fiancee was ready for the kitten to go now...

Snakes (Rich )

43

worst privelege ever?

by rockmehardplace in

jw
friends

collecting money after every meeting.

i could never get someone to help, and i was always last to leave.

when i did finally have one person who would help, if i used them too often i got questions about why the two of us were always taking the contributions.

SnakesInTheTower

sir82:

Unrolling insulation into a windowless, airtight attic in a Kingdom Hall remodeling project on literally the hottest day of the decade, while wearing gloves, thick long pants and long sleeves in a futile attempt to keep the fibers out of my skin.

Are you sure that we did not work together??? I worked insulation on QBs for a long time...until I was able to weasle into volunteer service (sit in a tent reading the newspaper and drinkng coffee while checking in people, once in awhile walking around the site making sure the workers had a colored dot on their hard hat indicating they had checked in..... LOL... )

and I am glad I was advised dont take a hot shower after installing insulation..... opens your pores...fibers go in.....itch for weeks...

Snakes (Rich )

22

Cheating in the Congregation

by EXMS in

how often does anyone see cheating happening throughout the congregation?.

reason that i ask this is because it happened to me.

in this three years things seemed to go great.

SnakesInTheTower

cage:

if you gonna play with snakes, you going to get bit

heeeeeyyyyy! I resemble that....lol

And...welcome to the board EXMS....be glad that you didnt get stuck with her...

SnakesInTheTower (of the "got the hell out of the Borg" Sheep Class)

ps...regarding the topic..... this crap happened more than the average JW realized.... I even knew of wife swapping among participants in a district convention drama........it occured at a private "rehearsal".... but it didnt come out until after the convention...so much for good examples. ....so yeah....plain vanilla cheating doesnt surprise me..

61

Quality Men who Don't Smoke and Don't Get Drunk...

by White Dove in

why's it so hard to find them?

it seems like everyone i see around me smokes: my apartments, every job i've ever had, people on the streets.

finding a quality guy that smells good and has a functioning brain not strung out on drugs or alcohol every week is hard to find..

SnakesInTheTower

I meet the qualifications....I dont smoke...and I dont get drunk....but I am off the market... I think my dear fiancee might take issue with me if I said otherwise..lol

My fiancee had been married to a drunk and a smoker...she does not smoke and rarely drinks....how she stayed with him for so long I dont know.

My JW mom married a non JW smoker after my JW dad died...with her asthma I dont know how she does it (though he is a great guy and tries to be considerate around us nonsmokers...and they have a filtering system in their house that helps)

So we nonsmokers/non drunks/quality guys are out there...we are just cautious. You have to look for us. I met my fiancee at her work (St Louis Bread Co...aka Panera)...and asked her out at the laundromat.....story here (amazing that it has been nearly a year)

Snakes (Rich )

123

How I obtained my personal files from Bethel

by jwfacts in

it has taken me a long time, but i have finally put together an article outlining how i used the law to force bethel to send me my personal files.

it is a very long article full of scans, so i have linked to it at http://jwfacts.com/watchtower/experiences/personal-files-privacy-act-1988.php.

in brief, in 2006 i requested that bethel send me my files on the basis that the australian privacy act 1988 entitles people to receive a copy of any information a corporation holds about them.

SnakesInTheTower

paul...

I am impressed with the amount of information you have posted regarding your exit from WT, et. al. We are close in age and have taken similar paths up the so-called theocratic career ladder. ...yours took you to bethel... mine took me through MTS (with a couple of side trips as a temp at bethel....trips that told me bethel was not for me....partly based on behavior I observed first hand by so-called "spiritual men" at bethel.

your posting also tells me that I would not take the same amount of time in my case. I do not think I could do this in the US at any rate. I have no idea if I am DF or not. The elders certainly have enough proof to give me the boot officially...both in my postings here and my personal circumstances in the real world. I get an occasional visit from an elder (the last one was informal I believe).... but no visits at all from a CO or DO or from any elder from the last KH I associated with.

I am glad you got out... I am glad to be out myself. I cannot believe I, as a congregation secretary, used to write utterly inane letters like the ones you posted...sheesh...how petty in retrospect....

Snakes (Rich )

31

Can you believe someone actually made this.........?

by iknowall558 in

.

SnakesInTheTower

yes.......what is sad is that such talent is wasted on such a display. I once knew a sister that was extrememly talented in cake decorating (and baking...some people can bake but the cake tastes like crap).... she even worked for a bakery for a time...

....until she decided to start regular pioneering instead.... (probably the cake was made for a "get-together" or someone going to pioneer school or some anniversary of pioneering...blech)

Snakes (Rich )

16

local elder stops by for a casual visit

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

first of all, i never believe that any visit by an elder is truly casual.

this particular elder was one of my closest friends from the time i first met him in the lobby of bethel during a tour, to the time he moved here from uk, to the time i left his congo.

i posted elsewhere that he once came by the house and said "is there anything i can do to help you come back to the kh?

SnakesInTheTower

sir82:

One elder = one witness = it never happened in JW-land

this visit....

When you have 2 or more elders show up at the same time...then you'll know they are fishing for something to hang you with.

I had that visit awhile back and wrote about it here

So if showing up to the door in my PJs and robe, with my fiancee and her son also appearing in their PJs and robes is not proof enough nothing is

Snakes (Rich )

16

local elder stops by for a casual visit

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

first of all, i never believe that any visit by an elder is truly casual.

this particular elder was one of my closest friends from the time i first met him in the lobby of bethel during a tour, to the time he moved here from uk, to the time i left his congo.

i posted elsewhere that he once came by the house and said "is there anything i can do to help you come back to the kh?

SnakesInTheTower

will reply later this weekend...thank you for taking an interest in this..419 views....a lot of lurking...that is good...

indeed.... I have been taking a break from things JW/ex-JW for awhile. I will be posting more later. I had originally planned on posting my story on Freeminds but the hard drive crashed a few months back... the good thing about that is that it gives me a chance to rewrite and maybe reflect a little more.

I hope that if my experiences and writings help even one person get out of the cult, it is worth taking the time to post. It was such stories that helped me. My experiences are far from unique or even interesting. It might be that, in its similarities to so many others stories that have left, it will show those still in that they are not alone in their doubts about the Organization. Yet, details of our stories are unique..each has a twist. The common threads we share help tie us together in our journey out.

Snakes (Rich )

16

local elder stops by for a casual visit

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

first of all, i never believe that any visit by an elder is truly casual.

this particular elder was one of my closest friends from the time i first met him in the lobby of bethel during a tour, to the time he moved here from uk, to the time i left his congo.

i posted elsewhere that he once came by the house and said "is there anything i can do to help you come back to the kh?

SnakesInTheTower

First of all, I never believe that any visit by an elder is truly casual. This particular elder was one of my closest friends from the time I first met him in the lobby of bethel during a tour, to the time he moved here from UK, to the time I left his congo. I posted elsewhere that he once came by the house and said "is there anything I can do to help you come back to the KH?" My response was to get my JW-only versions of the WT...his response was: "you know where the KH is located, you can get them there."

Well....so much for the "anything" part of the help. When my JW mom heard about this and was here for a visit, she seen this former friend/current elder at the convention...he must have said the same thing to her because she was pissed at him.

Forward to yesterday. My fiancee and I had just gotten home from grocery shopping and we were unloading the car and all of a sudden this guy pulls into the driveway. He has been attempting contact since shortly before the Memorial. I know this because my fiancee mentioned that his name and number popped up on the callerID at home. It no longer forwards to my cell phone voice mail, so it just rings and there is no answering machine. I wondered how long after not returning his calls that he would appear in my yard.

I told my fiancee to go inside and I would be in to help put away groceries and start dinner in a couple of minutes. The elder, unsolicited, grabbed a couple of bags of groceries from the trunk of my car. He was trying to use that to get inside the house. I took the bags from him and brought them inside. My fiancee wanted to tell him off and I didnt want to go there. So I went back outside and kept him ...not even on the porch...but in the driveway. My body language was strong. My arms were crossed across my chest, my stance firm, looking directly at him with neither a smile or a frown. Sending a clear signal I did not want to talk to him. He did not get the point. We talked a little about this or that....no direct mention of the Borg, but as most of you know, a JW cannot have a conversation for very long before reverting to JW-subjects. He mentioned that his wife was going back to school since being laid off....hmmmm...could it be she was laid off because instead of working she is regular pioneering? hmmmmm.... After about 10 minutes...I told him that we were starting dinner and we had to get groceries put up and the 9YO doing his homework. We shook hands and he left.

I figure as long as he is polite and not nosy, I will be polite and not be an a**hole.

In any case... he did not harangue me....conversely....he knows my fiancee lives here.... so are the local yokels helping the elders in my old congo in building a case against me? who cares? I dont. The two local long time elders came by here a few months ago, verified what they already knew, and I havent heard a word since. I have no idea if I have been DF or not. Unlikely....I would most certainly have heard about it by now.

....and if so.... well, it doesnt matter. I have a great life.... with a great gal.... marriage is in the works...but delayed by financial circumstances (I have written about in the past on these pages).... but it will happen. So why should I return to the vomit (the JWs)?

I havent been on the board much....too busy living life.... but I check in from time to time.

Snakes (Rich )