Two nights ago, I was getting ready to go to bed at 3:30 when I realized that I hadn’t seen Missy for awhile.  Usually she’ll come at night to sleep next to me or at least hang out in the room.  I decided to go searching and remembered that the cat door hadn’t been closed, so I was pretty sure she was outside playing.  After calling her for awhile, I started to get worried.  We had lost a cat before and all the dread that I had felt then came rushing back.

It never took more than 15 minutes to call Missy back usually, so when it was approaching half an hour with no sign, I got really worried.  I got a flashlight and went outside around the neighborhood, to see if perhaps she had gone far and just couldn’t hear me.  I kept hearing rustling in the bushes and paused each time to see if she was prowling in them.  No such luck.  Back at the house, every time Molly came around to see what I was doing, I thought it might be Missy.  An hour into my search, I was freaking out.

By then it was 4:30 in the morning and all sorts of horrible scenarios of what could have happened flashed through my mind.  At the same time, I would go through periods of calm where I convinced myself that there was still hope that she was fine and I’d find her later.  Eventually, I decided that I needed to get some rest and I couldn’t do much more until the sun came up.  At 5, I lay down for a nap and set an alarm for 6.

However, I woke up on my own at 5:30 and instinctively called out for my cats.  A shadow appeared in my doorway and I figured that Molly was there to see what I was doing.  It was getting light out, so I climbed out of bed and went to see if I could track down Missy this time.  When I got to the doorway to pet Molly though, I discovered that it was Missy!  The relief that washed over me was fantastic and I immediately went to close the cat door.  I probably hugged Missy a little too tight, since she jumped out of my arms (probably wondering why I was making a huge fuss).

Since then, every time I spot Missy I feel extremely happy.  I decided to keep the cat door closed for now and only let her outside during the day when I am around.  Luckily, she’s pretty good about coming back – I think she only goes further on her night runs, so as long as she’s back before it gets too dark out, I feel pretty safe.

It’s hard to see, but those blotches are bunny rabbits hiding in the darkness. For awhile, every night they’d come out and nibble on the grass by the neighborhood pool, so one night I decided to do a little paparazzing.

I have an almost insatiable curiosity that drives me to want to know just about everything, particularly when it comes to stories.  That’s why I’m not into excerpts of writing or clips of video.  When I read a book, I don’t like to skip around (even with textbooks where it doesn’t really matter).  When I watch a show, I hate missing any part of it so I prefer watching online, where I can pause and rewind as needed.  I guess part of it is due to a desire to experience things as the author meant it to, but mostly it’s because I don’t want to miss a thing.

Whenever I find a new TV show to watch, I have to start from the beginning – I usually have to go back 4-5 years and watch for weeks to catch up, but that is exactly what I do.  I can’t just hop in partway through the story and be satisfied.  When it comes to news stories, I usually have to find half a dozen sources to read through before I am satisfied that I know all there is to know.  Often I still feel like they left me hanging though, not providing the deep level of details that I was hoping for.  This is typically because they only provided one point of view or didn’t plot out enough historical information to provide a rich context.

And so I find myself spending a great deal of my time looking into things, finding articles linking to articles in a seemingly infinite loop of reading material.  Or I spend a lot of time sitting there patiently watching all the old episodes of a show in its 5th season and still going strong, until the day that I finally catch up to modern day and the most recent part of the story.  The desire to know – the need to know is a strong motivator for me and drives a lot of behavior, all because of my inquisitive mind.

Panda seems to have a bee stalker friend – it’s huge and apparently obsessed with his window. Or maybe it’s trying to tell us something with its dance…

The Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar had a special day for Bruin alum because the founder was a UCLA grad himself. We got to see lots of cool creatures!

They start so small and light, but then get HUGE!

What a curious fellow. Too bad I couldn't put him in my purse to take home.

I am amazed by how much my cat sleeps. When I wake up in the morning, she is there napping away. If I don’t have anywhere to be, I like to stay with her and sleep a little more or work on the computer. Through it all, she keeps on sleeping, with a few positions adjustments here and there.

This weekend I spent the majority of my time laying with her since I don’t often get time with her like this. She’s just so cute and fuzzy and cuddly! Now how could I disturb her sleep? Plus, her presence is comforting to me. I feel more relaxed and happy to have her snoozing away on top of me. Unfortunately it encourages me to be lazy though! I wouldn’t have left the bed to eat or otherwise take care of myself if I didn’t have plans during the day. Still, it’s nice sometimes to take life at the pace of a cat and slow things down to enjoy them.

If I made cars, I’d paint them in two colors, much like the Toyota from the LA Auto Show. Why do we get stuck with so many cars with no flair? I think Mini Cooper’s just about the only brand of car you can get these days that has two colors. Still, I think you can have a sleeker look since the line of change is very much horizontal for those.

Instead, a more curvy line that helps accent the shape of the car or creates an image of how air might sweep along the side would add such appeal! I don’t understand why car companies aren’t doing it. People are already so I seeded with self-expression through their vehicles and getting to choose a two-tone design just allows them to add another layer of choice and (supposed) individuality.

I know I’d go for it!

Is it eating or spitting out food?