into the wild

lately i'm really obsessed with the into the wild soundtrack, by eddie vedder. in keeping with my general detachment from pop culture, i didn't discover this until a good year after the movie came out, and apparently the album was nominated for an academy award. well done. but regardless, it's such an amazing story. more amazing still because it's true. if you don't know it, i highly recommend checking it out or just reading up on chris mccandless. http://outside.away.com/outside/features/1993/1993_into_the_wild_2.html

while i'm not ready to pack up, burn all my money, and live off the land, i think what resonates about chris mccandless's story is that most people can relate to that feeling of absolute disgust with modern society and its worship of material possessions. that urge deep within to be in nature, to abandon your blackberry and burn your laptop forever. i realize the irony of writing this on a blog, with a photo of a cat that i feed from a can every single day (yes, she is staring wistfully into the wild of uptown manhattan). hell, i'm the kind of girl who gives myself a pat on the back for using natural kitty litter (feline pine baby! http://www.naturesearth.com/). but still, i think mccandless's is a story that leaves you thinking very sincerely about your own spiritual quest on this earth, and how to make the most of the short time we have. check it out. especially the soundtrack.

this is me today

I relate to my fine feline friend as she is captured in this picture. Why? That is a fair question. As you see, little kitty seems to either be attempting to climb up the wall, or simply staring at it. Perhaps both. In other words, kitty isn't really accomplishing much of anything, but manages give the impression she is. I'm secretly beaming with pride on the inside, as this is a skill she has surely learned from example. You will notice she is not engaging in any of the following: 1) Reading the newspaper next to her like a productive citizen, 2) Grooming or engaging in other feline-appropriate forms of self-improvement, 3) Writing her masters thesis so she can graduate in May. Damn...over-identification only gets you so far.

purrfect

as i suspected, i am not quite cut out for this blogging thing. however, i decided if there were ever to be a unifying theme in my blog, i might have just found it. i adopted a cat the other day, and have realized that had I not gotten married, I surely would have become a cat lady. cats are great for a lot of reasons, not the least of which that they are a surprisingly controversial pet. when you announce that you have adopted a cat, people either smile and give heartfelt congratulations, or grimace and try to find a way to gently break to you that they don't share your excitement. i realize that allergies play a large role in this, and that cat allergies are far more common than any other kind of pet allergy...but let's be honest. if you're a cat person, you just don't have that much sympathy for anyone who doesn't like cats. i remember growing up how we secretly villified my uncle and others who didn't think it was just plain adorable that our overfed little beasts used to follow him around and affectionately collapse on his feet.

which brings me to my next heartfelt realization: for better or worse, i deeply identify with cat's capricious, ironic personalities. as i listen now to my neighbor's obnoxious dog barking his head off, and think of just how many dog flops i dodge in an average jog, i remember that i have chosen the perfect pet. you will be hearing more about her, whether you want to or not.