jenn schiffer's live laugh blog

weekly retro #71: the cat's alive, knicks in five

i wrote last week's retro from the floor of my bathroom next to pumagreg as he lay lethargic after pissing blood, and with advice from the animal hospital to see if it clears in the morning otherwise bringing to an emergency room. today, i type this from my couch as pumagreg lays nearby after zooming around looking for food. it's incredible how a good nights rest can heal even the sickest little guys.

pumagreg is doing SO well. monday was like the day to sunday's (day 4) awful night. cats are incredible creatures but they will also drive you into a spiral with the way they don't show pain so you can't tell if/when they are in pain. it's not unlike watching basketball as someone from new york. to see the knicks win the championships and be closer to witnessing a moon landing in my lifetime, anything feels possible.

photo of pumagreg with a cone on his head trying to go into a cubby of his cat tree but i stuffed it with brown paper to keep him out

losing a hind leg has barely slowed pumagreg down, this was what every vet and person with a tripod cat has told me and they were so right. his biggest barrier, at least until tuesday when we get his stitches removed, is the cone. a bigger barrier, for me, was the adhd paralysis i was locked into for most of the week, my brain was exhausted from the logistics of the last couple of weeks, watching pumagreg in pain, and waking up every few hours to manage his pain.

photo of an old wallet sized photo of me when i was 3 or 4 sitting on santa's lap

here's a photo my brother texted me of the world's tallest 4-year-old with bangs, 37 years before she'd get an overdramatic, ominous alert about her credit score going down 5 points because she had to pay $12,000 to keep her cat alive. she also had to go to labcorp TWICE because the admin fucked up entering codes and they needed more blood to get the tests she asked for in the first place.

photo of a bunch of glaze fired ceramic tiles laid out on a table with a list of our recipes

both arms and bank account bruised, i spent an hour in ceramics class to go over our glazed test tiles and show and tell a couple of our nerikomi pieces that came out of the kiln. most students are glazing this week so i was overwhelmed and left early and will go back tomorrow before we finish the last class of the semester.

photo of the hamilton park jersey city gazebo with lots of flowers and an arrangement with a sign that says "welcome world to hamilton park"

my endocrinologist has me upping the dose of a pill 2x a week that makes it hard to sleep on those nights, but despite sleeping like shit i went to the gym today and had a nice walk. the world cup is going on and the "new york new jersey stadium" (jerking off motion) is about a 20 minute drive from us so we've got our fair share of tourists in jersey city and it's only just begun. it's been very cool to see futball fans from all over the world walking around and exploring jersey city, it reminds me of when pokemon go fest was happening here last year, but with more kilts and face paint.

things i enjoyed this week

there's no feeling quite like a new york team winning a championship the same week you've kept your cat alive and healthy after major surgery. add to that the fact that blueberries are on sale, and that i'm currently sitting in the air conditioning on a 90+ degree (F) day...it's made me able to muster enough energy to stop rotting and look forward to a new week. and to write this.

xoxo jenn

this was published June 14, 2026 under living weekly-retro pumagreg flowers world-cup nba basketball knicks old-photos baby-jenn santa jersey-city

weekly retro #70: asked the vet for a lobotomy but they said no

happy june, happy pride. it's also the beginning of what i'd been preparing for weeks, which is a new chapter in my cat's life as a (hopefully) cancer-free tripod. in this weekly retro i talk about some dark stuff but calling attention to the dark makes the light even brighter or whatever. oh, and go knicks!

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weekly retro #68: quiet before the scheduled storm

this was a week of resetting after doing a lot and before doing even _more_ a lot. finding ways to ground myself is key to plan as i take care of responsibilities ranging from low risk (hosting a karaoke party lol) to higher risk than hosting a karaoke party (preparing the home for pumagreg's upcoming surgery).

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weekly retro #66: spring showers and neighbors' flowers

the other day i was streaming and there was an incredible sounding rain. the chat and i sat in silence and just listened for a bit, it was so nice and refreshing sounding. it was like the earth was getting a nice, clean reset for the season. i hope that's the same for me.

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what i made during my third ceramics class

i said in my second ceramics class post that i'd be back in early may with a roundup of my third class pieces and, here we are, in early may. i brought my final pieces home on monday and i am so stoked to get to finally show them off. here's what i made during my third ceramics class

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weekly retro #65: may the third be with you

anyone who knows me personally knows i LOVE a reset. it's my favorite word in corporate, it's my favorite part of a new month, and it's also a word that literally means nothing to me but a chance to reflect before moving forward.

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weekly retro #63: there's a lot of depression in this one

this week was a rough one, but before i get into it i do want to say i'm feeling a lot better now. i was carrying the post-period lows with bad news, the anxiety of responsibility, and sweat from a heat wave that passed through. there was a point where i hit a vape - something i don't feel good about, but whatever - to set off the air purifier to get circulation in the room without dragging my depressed body 3 yards to press the button like a normal person would.

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