On the streets of DC, you will often come across squirrels, but I had never seen one so white before.
After pausing to see why I was staring, she promptly returned to her feeding frenzy.
I waved my finger at her to attract her attention, only to get attacked because she thought I was offering my finger as food. Ouch.
Lately I’ve really noticed how much feeling and emotion is tied to driving. I’ve been going around town in a 1999 Camry speckled with water spots and covered in dust and it has made me self-conscious in a way I’m usually not. I’m afraid of other drivers looking over and noticing how dirty the windows are and judging me for it. There’s something about a dirty car that makes me feel bad about myself, probably because it’s obvious that I haven’t taken care of the vehicle lately.
You see, the car has been sitting on our driveway in the sun, next to the sprinklers, and under a tree for ages. In that time, it has suffered stains from getting sprayed every day by the sprinklers, getting beat down on by the sun, and getting particles falling from the tree. The tree’s branches were so overgrown that they were scraping against the car. Not exactly the best conditions for storing a vehicle! I kept telling myself that I would wash the car one day when it wasn’t too hot out, but I kept putting it off.
Now that I was driving the car, I wondered what people thought of my old, beat up car as they drove by in their shiny sports cars and SUVs. Were they wondering why this car was so filthy? Were they trying to get a glimpse at me to see what kind of person would drive this car? Who knows if they even cared, but I felt like they noticed. After I got the car washed a few days ago, I immediately felt better about driving it around. Now it was just an older model car – not some dirty or run down piece of junk.
This whole experience was in total contrast to the feeling I got driving my family’s Lexus. Not only does it drive better, but it’s not subjected to various weather conditions. When I drove long distances, I would take that car, and it would always boost my morale. I felt better because it was clean, because it is a good brand, and because it handles really well. Sitting in it is more comfortable both physically and emotionally. While I had felt a difference driving this car vs. the Camry in previous years, it was never so apparent as when the Camry was also much more dirty.
It’s funny how we let something like this affect our internal well-being so much. But I guess it’s just how our culture runs – when we have nice things, we feel better (to a certain extent). Not just because other people see that we have these nice things, but also because they are designed to make us feel good. Makeup can make people feel more beautiful, titles can make people feel more powerful, and cars can make people feel more in control or affluent. Americans in particular seem to love to express themselves via their cars, so there’s an even higher value for them in this culture. I never really realized I was so affected by these things too.
Click on the pictures to see the squirrel blown up for a better view!
I heard a strange clicking/cackling sound outside one day and went out to find this squirrel.
It ran all the way around the house until it got to the end of the stucco and had nowhere to go.
Eventually it made its way back to the other end of the house and ran up the chimney.
At this point, I wondered why it didn't just run off across the roof.
Instead it stuck around waiting for me to leave.
Quite the acrobat!
It was a pretty windy day - check out the wind blowing its tail around.
I wonder how long it can last up there...
Then it got on the defensive.
By this time I got tired of looking up so I laid down for a more comfortable view.
Whoa, that is not a flattering picture. After this, I got bored and left the poor thing to its own devices.
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.
For some reason they both liked to sniff this pillow and would walk in circles sniffing!
