Tuesday, February 15
the one that got away!
Argh! I'm a little mad and a little sad this morning. Mad, because the shelter volunteer that was supposed to meet with us yesterday never showed up. I'm hoping that it's confusion on my part...having wanted to schedule the appt for Wednesday but her wanting to do it last night. Sad, because I just got a call from the shelter saying that Lucky's owners finally came in looking for their cat, even though, it's after the 5 day period that they have to claim him! I was told that the shelter manager made the decision for give it back to them because they were hearing impaired and might not have understood the process. So, the cat gets to go back home and I get to go back to the shelter and pick another kitty.
Monday, February 14
adoption update...
Wow! The Humane Society here doesn't waste any time. I have already been contacted for the phone interview. It was mostly informational. The only questions that they really asked were about whether you've ever had a pet and make sure you know about keeping the litter box clean.
And, I just got a call to set the the in-home interview. I wanted to set it up for Wednesday, but the volunteer was a little "insistant" on making it today. Well, that's just fine...So, I called my BF, who gets home at 2:30 most days, and asked him to do a once over on the house.
Things are looking good! If the in-house visit goes alright, we should be able to pick up Lucky Thursday or Friday!
And, I just got a call to set the the in-home interview. I wanted to set it up for Wednesday, but the volunteer was a little "insistant" on making it today. Well, that's just fine...So, I called my BF, who gets home at 2:30 most days, and asked him to do a once over on the house.
Things are looking good! If the in-house visit goes alright, we should be able to pick up Lucky Thursday or Friday!
it's valentine's day, and i'm in love...
Over the weekend, my BF and I celebrated Festivus. We spent it at home this year. See, for Christmas, my aunt and uncle gave us a gift certificate to Dean & Deluca since they know that I/we like to cook. Last week as spent planning what we were going to make for dinner. First, we settled on having a cheese plate and salad. For the main course, I made a bacon wrapped filet with Maker's Mark pan sauce -- using a recipe from this book. Funny title, great recipes! BF made the dessert. (For some reason, he really likes to make desserts.) He made a Grand Marnier souffle! Everything was awesome...and, we only spent $1 more than the value of the gift certificate!
Then, yesterday, we went to the DC Animal Shelter to look at kittens. They had two rooms with cats available for adoption, and all of them were really cute. In the first room we saw a little, striped grey kitten. That was my BF's instant first choice because it was truly a kitten. Then we went to the other room. There were a group of 5 more kittens, most of them about 3-months old.
The cat that caught my attention was quietly, hiding in a corner cage. "Lucky", a ~year-old bengal cat, is the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. We had one of the volunteers bring him out of the cage, and the second I had him in my arms I knew I was in love! He was very calm and friendly...This was surprising once the volunteer told us how he ended up at the shelter. The animal rescue brought him in after being attacked by a dog. They did test and x-rays and determined that all injuries were superficial...Lucky is missing a little patch of fur where they shaved him to check for wounds, but other than that he's in good shape.
Yesterday, was the last day that owners could come to the shelter to claim the cat, so we put in an application to adopt him. As it was explained to us, the adoption process is very thorough. First there is a phone interview. Then, they will check with our landlord to make sure we are allowed pets in the apartment. If approved, one of the volunteers will come to our apartment to check it out and counsel us on what to expect when we bring a new pet home. Assuming we get approved to adopt a cat and Lucky is still available for adoption, we will get to bring him home.
On the application, you can choose and first choice and second choice. We didn't put down a second choice. The other cats that we had taken out of their cages didn't click the way that Lucky did. One was a 3-yr old snowshoe. Although it was a pretty cat and very friendly when you approached the cage, the second I picked her up, the cat started getting nervous and hissing. The other cat that we interacted with was the little grey kitten that my first saw. Unfortunately, it wasn't cleaning itself properly and had a little poo on its back legs and tail. While my BF was holding, the volunteer tried to clean it up a little. That made the kitten nervous and it started pawing/scratching.
Then, yesterday, we went to the DC Animal Shelter to look at kittens. They had two rooms with cats available for adoption, and all of them were really cute. In the first room we saw a little, striped grey kitten. That was my BF's instant first choice because it was truly a kitten. Then we went to the other room. There were a group of 5 more kittens, most of them about 3-months old.
The cat that caught my attention was quietly, hiding in a corner cage. "Lucky", a ~year-old bengal cat, is the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. We had one of the volunteers bring him out of the cage, and the second I had him in my arms I knew I was in love! He was very calm and friendly...This was surprising once the volunteer told us how he ended up at the shelter. The animal rescue brought him in after being attacked by a dog. They did test and x-rays and determined that all injuries were superficial...Lucky is missing a little patch of fur where they shaved him to check for wounds, but other than that he's in good shape.
Yesterday, was the last day that owners could come to the shelter to claim the cat, so we put in an application to adopt him. As it was explained to us, the adoption process is very thorough. First there is a phone interview. Then, they will check with our landlord to make sure we are allowed pets in the apartment. If approved, one of the volunteers will come to our apartment to check it out and counsel us on what to expect when we bring a new pet home. Assuming we get approved to adopt a cat and Lucky is still available for adoption, we will get to bring him home.
On the application, you can choose and first choice and second choice. We didn't put down a second choice. The other cats that we had taken out of their cages didn't click the way that Lucky did. One was a 3-yr old snowshoe. Although it was a pretty cat and very friendly when you approached the cage, the second I picked her up, the cat started getting nervous and hissing. The other cat that we interacted with was the little grey kitten that my first saw. Unfortunately, it wasn't cleaning itself properly and had a little poo on its back legs and tail. While my BF was holding, the volunteer tried to clean it up a little. That made the kitten nervous and it started pawing/scratching.
Monday, January 31
it's time to start paying myself...
I've been really good at saving money over the last year and plan on continuing that in 2005. I made it a resolution to save $3,500 this year...that's outside of the money that goes straight to my retirement plan through work. I know that I should be able to save more than that, but I wanted to start with a conservative number.
Well, last week, I made my first payment to myself in 2005!
Well, last week, I made my first payment to myself in 2005!
Monday, January 24
tax season!
In case you haven't heard, it's really f*ckin' easy to file your taxes online. Oh, and it's free! So, there's really no excuse to wait on doing your taxes. I just filed mine today.
Unfortunately, I have to wait until the 28th before I can file my DC tax return. I guess that will be on my list of things to do this weekend.
Unfortunately, I have to wait until the 28th before I can file my DC tax return. I guess that will be on my list of things to do this weekend.
Tuesday, January 18
done with school...
It's official...I have made the last payment on my student loans! And, even though my burden was a lot smaller than many of my fellow alum, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
My BF and I have argued at times about whether private universities are worth the money. I usually go with the argument that private universities are often able to provide financial aid in ways that some state schools cannot. Perhaps I feel that way because my university was very generous in helping me pay for my education, largely through private grants. I was also fortunate enough to get work-study as part of my aid package. These factors made NU very reasonable for my parents...Who, thankfully, only made me take on loans in my final year of school.
So, this week, I get to cross off one of my new year's resolutions and say good bye to my month loan payment. It's like I've graduated all over again!
My BF and I have argued at times about whether private universities are worth the money. I usually go with the argument that private universities are often able to provide financial aid in ways that some state schools cannot. Perhaps I feel that way because my university was very generous in helping me pay for my education, largely through private grants. I was also fortunate enough to get work-study as part of my aid package. These factors made NU very reasonable for my parents...Who, thankfully, only made me take on loans in my final year of school.
So, this week, I get to cross off one of my new year's resolutions and say good bye to my month loan payment. It's like I've graduated all over again!
Friday, January 7
i'm gettin' a kitten...
Woohoo! Last year around festivus, I told my BF that I wanted a cat. At that point we had been living together for about 8 months. We were still working out the kinks of where things go, what we could get rid of, etc...you know, still settling in. We both decided that even though it would be cool to have a pet, we didn't have space for the essentials that we would need.
Since then, we've discovered that there is cat that lives in our back alley. Our downstairs neighbor feeds the cat and brings it into his apt every once in a while. So, over time, the cat has become very friendly and will come talk to us whenever we hang out back there. I think that being around this cat has warmed my BF up to the idea of getting us our own!
So, this festivus, he said he would get me my own cat. I'm really excited! And, it's funny, he's being a little more particular about what cat we get. He definitely wants a kitten, and he prefers to get a Siamese. So, this weekend I'm going to take down the Christmas tree and start "cat-proofing" our apartment. I'll probably spend the next couple of weeks reorganizing some of the closet to make room for things that are usually out on the bookshelves and desk.
Since then, we've discovered that there is cat that lives in our back alley. Our downstairs neighbor feeds the cat and brings it into his apt every once in a while. So, over time, the cat has become very friendly and will come talk to us whenever we hang out back there. I think that being around this cat has warmed my BF up to the idea of getting us our own!
So, this festivus, he said he would get me my own cat. I'm really excited! And, it's funny, he's being a little more particular about what cat we get. He definitely wants a kitten, and he prefers to get a Siamese. So, this weekend I'm going to take down the Christmas tree and start "cat-proofing" our apartment. I'll probably spend the next couple of weeks reorganizing some of the closet to make room for things that are usually out on the bookshelves and desk.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)