Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Management Team, Part II: Meli Topaz

Please meet Meli Topaz, also known as "Her Imperial Highness" to all inferior beings, which are, actually, all other beings. Meli (which means "Honey" in Greek, because she has naturally honey-colored highlights for which Jennifer Aniston would pay thousands of dollars; she is capable of being very sweet; and she "sticks" to me in a very non-klingon way) joined us in August of 2001. We're not certain how old she was and, besides, you never discuss a lady's age, right? So we just say she is "mature" and leave it at that. Meli is a long-haired tortoise-shell kitty. She is certainly beautiful; everyone says so and, let's face it, if you're just plain beautiful it's no longer an issue of vanity, right? It's just a fact and you live with it, no sense in false modesty.

Anyway, like many "torties", Meli has what is commonly called "Tortitude" or, as I prefer to describe it for the uninitiated, extremely rapid-cycle bipolar disorder. You never really know when the toggle will go from "kiss" to "kill" (it never seems to go the other direction with these rapid changes in mood). It doesn't help that she has a severe digestive disorder - I'm willing to bet there hasn't been a day for a very long time that she has felt genuinely well.

It's for this reason that Meli is one of my heroes. She's got a tough row to hoe but she sticks with it, giving me kisses (nose kisses are especially rare and treasured), grooming my hair and just generally keeping me on the straight and narrow. I couldn't do the things I do without her help. Thank you, Meli.

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