Only in Brooklyn?
After a week of contacting different rescue organizations and no kill animal shelters, then putting up a flier in my favorite coffee spot - Blue Marble, I finally found a foster home for the family of kittens. Brooklyn Animal Foster Network helped me capture the family (not without a few scratches and an intense bite) and will arrange for them to get their shots and spayed at a discounted price, working with the ACPCA. I met the wonderful young couple through Twitter. As I posted pictures and updates about the kittens, they realized, like me, that they couldn't not do something. So about two weeks after finding the kittens, I found myself in their living room in Brooklyn, checking up on the family while they were away at work. I get my kitten updates from the guy's Twitter feed. Happiness!
His Tweet "Fireplace repurposed #kittenpile Only in Brooklyn?
A few days prior, I attended an awesome casual Sunday dinner, that lasted till 1am. I was invited by a girl who lived in my apartment and whom I had met while feeding the kittens. By the end of the night, me, her friend, her and her boyfriend were laughing harder than I've laughed in months. I lived in Manhattan for five years and barely knew my neighbors, let alone broke bread with them - three months living in Brooklyn and I know three neighbors, have had friendly conversations with my super and already have a favorite local barista.
Last Sunday, I came back from an afternoon date to my friend's insistent text messages that I join her for a drink. She told me she made friends while drinking alone at a bar. Hey! Don't knock it. Apparently you can make new friends drinking alone. So I joined her and her ten new friends at a bar a few blocks from my apartment. We went to dinner and learned more about one another. Then dinner turned into - let's go watch a movie back at my place. So me and five others trekked to Fort Greene to one of the nicest bachelor pads I've ever seen and watched a cheesy, 80's Kurt Russell movie. While there, I discovered that one of my new friends works at a company I used to work at and dated someone I interviewed with. You can hang out in Park Slope, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill or Prospect Heights, throw an iPhone and it will hit someone who works in the advertising/ media world.
Only in Brooklyn?
Men, Cats & Human Nature
Lately every other news story has been about a high powered politician cheating on his wife. This story has become so prevalent that people are starting to question the institution of marriage, arguing that it's simply human nature for men to want more than one partner. But the effects of their behavior can be devastating.Last week, I discovered an adorable kitten who came up to me as I was taking out the garbage. She was very persistent, begging me for food. So I ran up to my apartment and got some slices of turkey I had in the fridge. But then I couldn't find her. I asked a woman who was passing if she saw the cat and we both set out to find her. Our journey led us around the corner where we ran into a man who told us she was not a kitten, but rather, had five kittens of her own. Really puts ones problems in perspective when you meet a young cat living on the street with five mouths to feed.
Yesterday, I met the super who's yard the family of cats were living in. He told me that this was the third time this particular cat got knocked up and each time, she had a litter of 4-5 kittens. He had already taken in two and couldn't have any more cats. He was at the end of his ropes with the cat. I told him I'd take care of it. Later that night, I saw a large cat running full speed across the street, coming from the direction of the family of cats. He ran away from me, knowing what he had done and I scolded him, hoping he hadn't impregnated her once again. The animal shelter I had called earlier said it was unlikely she'd get adopted and the best they could do was spay her and release her. 
That same day, I had a chat with my new roommate who was subletting from one of my male roommates. She was stressed because her room was a mess and she had nowhere to put her clothes. She had a few cardboard boxes on the floor filled with clothing and proclaimed "He doesn't have drawers! How could you not have drawers?" Coincidentally, I have also had to make do without drawers, subletting from another guy. And I was equally as perplexed over how one could not have a set of drawers, particularly for their drawers. For men, it may be part of their animalistic nature, engrained in their very being to spread their seed. But we have evolved from mere animals. In New York, at least, we have evolved from simply surviving, to actually thriving. We're not living outside, or on the street, but in apartments where people have bedrooms, beds, desks, lamps, closets, and DRAWERS. Apparently, it takes having a woman to tell you that in order to be properly organized, you need a set of drawers. And men, you're not going to get that kind of advice from simply - "spreading your seed."
Cats of All Sizes
I recently watched a TED talk by Beverly + Dereck Joubert about big cats in Africa. They spent 3 years studying a leopard they named Legadema, Setswana for "light from the sky." How beautiful is that? Perhaps my emotions are running high from all the changes I've been experiencing - mostly overwhelmed with happiness, but I teared up many times during their 20 minute talk. I'm not going to ruin the video for you but I will say it was heartbreaking to learn how these big cats are being decimated by poachers and hunters. According to the Joubert's, over the last 50 years: Lions have gone from 450,000 to only 20,000 today.
Tigers from 45,000 to only 3,000
Cheetahs from 50,000 to 12,000
and Leopards from 700,000 to only 50,000.
From global warming to killing animals needlessly, we have lost touch with nature. But this is something we should easily be able to prevent. How could we, as humans, knownigly be responsible for this type of behavior? In the video, they pointed out that killing one lion disrupts an entire ecosystem. The new lion that enters the pride, kills all the cubs and sometimes even the mothers protecting them in order to establish his power. It's interesting to learn how violent nature is, and in this case - as unnecessary as war itself. But humans are causing that added violence.
Before you lose hope completely, there's a beautiful and bright side to nature - specifically an incident of motherly instincts that we see through Legadema. But I'm not going to tell you what happens. You'll just have to watch for yourself and if you're interested in learning more, you can check out this post via Roar Africa, a company that offers guided tours of Africa.
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf
We Interrupt This Program
I interrupt my resume-revising, manifesto-writing, presentation-preparation, and contemplation of why there are only 24 hours in the day to bring you this video. That's PJS!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3iFhLdWjqc?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=540&h=285]
Cats Running Around Ikea
A little something to make you smile on this lovely Friday.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCB7RqGS684?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=540&h=285]
This Happened
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gppbrYIcR80&hl=en_US&fs=1&&w=480&h=385]
Sunday Night Ponderings
As I sat in my dark, cold apartment on this rainy Sunday evening with my roommate and two cats (post yoga at Crunch!), I briefly considered going back on an internet dating site... and then quickly came back to my senses - realizing that I should probably focus my energy searching job matches instead of love matches. And then I checked my calendar, remembering that all my evenings are jam packed up until next week and that apparently, being unemployed, networking and working on my own ventures is more time consuming than being employed and in a relationship. But I can't complain! Hmmm. I ponder.
In no particular order, a visual guide to what I've been up to when I'm not networking, attending amazingly inspiring and informative AWNY events, sitting in cafés job searching, working with my friend to help her PR business in the social media realm, reading business books, etc. This is for you mom.
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| Under the cherry blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Saturday April 24thAdd caption |
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| More cherry blossoms (I think) in Central Park |
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| Central Park |
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| I have no words. Okay, I do. Thomas and Oscar love each other. |
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| Sunday pancake brunch with the roommate = roommate love. |
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| Oscar, making catnaps sexy since April 2010. |
This Doesn't Surprise Me At All
Kitteh!
And then I'm going to train him to do this - and he'll be a YouTube sensation.
Cutest Video Ever
After having a conversation about Facebook's new privacy glitch and spending 5 minutes looking at profiles I shouldn't have looked at, I needed something to put me back into a happy place. Hello Lolcats.
http://www.viddler.com/player/2158f538/
Mischief, Meet Your Long Lost Brother
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KswnjMa-MQ&hl=en&fs=1&&w=425&h=344]
To Negate the Picture of Sharon Stone..
The images above are of my two favorite cats of all time when they were kittens. Pippin is the orange tabby and China is gray with specs of orange. They were brother and sister and the most loving cats I've ever had. You could tell we all loved each other from the gecko. Both unfortunately passed away within the past 5 years and despite Mischief and Lola's quarks, I don't think we've had cats as loving as these two. Happy Friday!
Kitty Curiousity
The parentals informed me that yesterday Mischief and Lola briefly escaped the safety of their suburban home and explored the wild unknown of (Gasp!) their backyard. Mischief made it as far as their neighbors backyard while Lola was found slowly sniffing her way from one end of the patio to the next, dumbfounded by her new freedom. Mischief was an asshole as usual and ran away from my dad until he pulled out the big guns; i.e. dry cat food. Oddly, my parents rewarded Mischief's behavior by presenting him with a new stuffed Otter and Otter baby toy. A very odd household obsession that I do not support.
Above Photo: Lola. NOTE: Adorable but devilish grin. 
Above Photo: Mischief. NOTE: Appearance of anger and drunkeness.
Above Photo: Proud parents of stuffed toys. I am told are Otter Mommy #2 and Baby Otter #2.