what I've learned from a 9 week-old kitten.

I adopted a 9 week-old kitten a few days ago, and she is starting to get used to the house. I named her "Zo", and she is a cuddly maniac. She is about two pounds, and she consists of mostly fur. Though she is tiny and has been with me for a short time, she has taught me many things thus far.

1. To hide everything that is most important to you, unless you want it to be used as a toy, or broken.

2. To not waste money, because it does not grow in the backyard, and kitty food is not free.

3. To appreciate the little things, because time passes so quickly, and life is too short to not watch it.

4. To wear socks. There may be something sticky on the floor.. or for protection from unsuspecting kitty claws.

5. To not be bored, because who knew that shoelaces, or dangling fabric was SO entertaining?

6. To appreciate the warm snuggles now, because when kitty gets older, she'll probably want nothing to do with me.

7. To clip those damn claws! Not de-claw, but clip and take care of those claws. Otherwise you'll end up looking like Edward Scissorhands' victim.

8. To take those "cat naps", because they really do make the rest of the day better.

9. To observe nature at her best.

the nature of wanting.

I have always been a lover of pets, but recently, I've wanted a kitten really badly.
Cats are fairly easy to take care of, without needing CONSTANT attention and walks and everything. I've been dying to get a kitten to call my own, and I even went to the pet store recently to buy some kitten supplies like food / water dishes, a toy, and a little collar.

I started browsing adoption websites and came across a tiny, unnamed Calico kitten (picture is the exact kitten in the shelter). I've always thought that Calicos were beautiful cats, and I've been drawn to them. I thought owning one would be awesome. What really sucks is that this kitten is in Swansea, MA, which is a little more than an hour away from where I am. Since I don't have a license, nor the intention to drive, there is a slim chance that I won't be able to adopt this kitten after all...

Another thing that has been on my mind is ear piercings. I have never been a real fan of ear piercings, or any type of piercings for that matter.... until just recently, I did not want any more piercings than I already had, which were the twin studs that every girl is "supposed" to get. Lately, I've been wanting to get my left industrial ear piercing... I've just been too nervous to go through with it yet.

The nature of "wanting" has always interested me because it's usually the things that you don't necessarily need that you want. It's also those things that you might not even be ready for, like a kitten, that you want, and you want it even more because you know you might not be ready for it yet.

on being happy.

After looking back on my 19 years of life, I can honestly admit that the majority of those years were spent being horrendously depressed. I wasted probably about 12 or 13 years of my life being miserable and unaccepting of people, starting at an abnormally young age. I can remember back when I was 8 years old... I already hated the world. For me, it seemed like things just got worse after that. I had some really bad points in my life, some encounters that most could not imagine.

It's just amazing that I stuck through with everything.

Yet after all that has happened... I can safely say that I am the happiest I have ever been. It's not the money that I make that makes me happy, or the things that I own. It's the little things that go out of their way to do the things they normally do. Like the cashier at Kohl's the other night.. She was just such a sweet, old woman that decided to get a part-time job so she could get to know people and not be afraid of them. Her and I spent nearly 20 minutes just talking about life and stuff in general.

I've realized that people complain far too much about so many little things. It just doesn't seem worth it to me, to complain about the unavoidable or common nuisances. It's the little things that make me happy and give me light, like a warm sweatshirt from the dryer, or a sunny day even though it's a little chilly out. Even just sitting down and watching the sparrows hop around cheer me up. I've found a lot of things to be grateful for, and a lot of things to appreciate. I'm just glad it didn't take so long to happen.

a first for everything... well, not exactly.

Well I decided to leave Photoblog because I had a lot of issues with that site--entries deleting accidently, limits on everything. This site seemed neat, so I'll give it a shot.