Road Maps

Last Saturday I went out for a friend's birthday. Out of eight women, the birthday girl and I were the only single ones. Four were married, two will be married this summer, and of the six, two have babies. More of my friends are married than single these days, but I've never felt so outnumbered. It was quite the reality check.

I never had a date in high school, but at least I wasn't alone. Countless conversations took place between my friend and I about how it didn't matter that we never had boyfriends in high school because we'd go to college where there would be a plethora of smart, eligible men. The latter was true. College was foolproof. Or so I thought. Besides, the dating gods owed me for being forced to sit at home on prom night. But then I never even dated anyone from my college (when I was in school, that is).

I've never understood those women that declare a "cut-off age" for marriage. If I'm not married by the time I'm 26, I'll throw myself off a bridge. That's a hell of a lot of pressure to put upon oneself. Though I never had a timetable, I always kind of figured I'd be married by the time I was 30, but I've come to realize the odds are no longer in my favor. I'd have to date my future husband for at least one year, if not more, and then we'd need a year to plan the wedding. So I basically have 10 months max to meet the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.

This is not the end of the world here people. If I'm still single at 30 and by society's standards, that makes me a crazy old cat lady destined to die alone, so be it. I don't need marriage to define me as a person. If it happens, it happens. It won't do any good to force it or have unrealistic expectations.

I finally got around to seeing Juno last weekend. This quote sticks out in my mind, when Juno says to her father: "I need to know that it's possible that two people can stay happy together forever."

Am I Crazy, or Just Plain Stupid?

A little of both. Most definitely.

I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to blog about the latest addition to my family, Marley. If you don't like the name, blame my friend : P (btw, I just learned how to do that emoticon a few days ago). We were sitting around trying to come up with names when he saw the book, Marley & Me, on my coffee table. It kind of stuck in my head and I'm sick of thinking of names so the poor thing is out of luck.

If you're completely shocked by my news, it was somewhat of an impulsive decision. However, last week I did write a very long, detailed blog about my love for animals and how I missed having a pet, but when I went to post it, I'd been signed out of blogger so I lost my entire post. By then, it was time for bed so I never went back to that topic.

Instead I spent the following day looking at Petfinder for a cat to adopt. Initially, I considered an older cat so I went to this non-profit, no-kill animal shelter in St. Paul called Feline Rescue. All the cats are either abused or abandoned and they are free to roam the place which is really nice. There was one black and white cat, Cookie, that I seemed to bond with, but I didn't feel ready to commit at that point.

The next day, I began searching kittens on craigslist when I came across a couple cute ones so I emailed replies to both. I called one woman and made arrangements to see/pick-up the cat that evening while she worked the overnight shift in Plymouth. It wasn't until I was halfway there at 10:00 pm that it occurred to me I could be putting myself in danger. I was driving to a random stranger's home late at night and given that I was acting on impulse, I hadn't bothered to inform anyone of my whereabouts.

Nonetheless, everything turned out fine. I showed up at the home of where the woman worked -- I'm led to believe she was a cleaning lady of some sort. Look up "cat lady" in the dictionary and you'll see her picture.

Anyway, Marley is adorable and very playful. I'd forgotten just how sharp a three-month-old cat's claws can be! But he is sweet and I was pleasantly surprised to find him curled up next to me in bed the other morning. I feel guilty that I haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to him as of yet, but I don't think I have much going on this week so I should be able to give him some much-needed attention!!

Haven't had a chance to take any pics yet, but here are a couple from the craigslist ad. Stay tuned for more Marley pics and updates.