A very delightful Bloomington welcome.

I am staying with a couple friends of mine for a few weeks while I am working at my new job and waiting to move into my new house. They have two cats (Chewy and Churro; see img 1) that are incredibly cute, yet very destructive. They run around at night and knock things over, and sometimes run over the length of my sleeping-bagged body when they are playing tag. My like for cats has never been high, and living with them has reiterated in my mind how weird they are. For instance:

1. Always hungry & steal people food.
2. Clumsiness - Churro has no balance and falls off things, and Chewy often slides into the cabinets face first if she is running on the wood floor. All I'm saying is that this opposites previously believed 'cats always land on four feet.'
3. Interest in multiple things at once, or switching back and forth between chasing an inanimate object, each other, the kitty laser, their own tails, etc.
4. No cats have the same meow. Chewy actually sounds like a very miniature Wookiee.
5. Kneading chosen nap place - usually me. Churro has awfully sharp claws. No matter how cute she is when she gets cuddly and how loud she purrs, it HURTS. see img 2
6. Must be under human feet at all times.
7. Naps in impossible positions.
8. Must lay on human lap / face / laptop at supremely inopportune times. see img 3
9. Cats smell like poop.
10. They like toilet water.
11. They also like playing with kitty litter. Kitty litter + toilet water = cat footprints errywhere.
12. If Chewy could pick a favorite place in the whole world, it would be in a kitchen cabinet. You know, where the clean dishes live.
13. New object in house = new favorite place to nap.








































I also have this mad cat allergy, but I just cannot resist their cuteness. My face, on occasion, looks like Rudolph's nose with extra snot.



I started my job at Bloomingfoods, a food co-op, where I make sandwiches and coffee, stock the salad bar and cooler shelves, and wrap up deli food for customers, amongst many other things. I felt the strong bonds between coworkers from the first day, and think that the job is a good fit for me.

So far, I have been thoroughly impressed with this town. It is bike-friendly, pretty Eco-friendly, has a great music scene, etc etc etc. There are so many gems here - bookstores, restaurants, a community orchard.. the list goes on. On Saturday, I rode over to the farmers' market which was the first of the indoor winter market of the season. My friend insisted on buying me carrots and a butternut squash there because she wanted me 'to have a really good welcome to Bloomington.' I have felt that from almost everyone here. The town is welcoming, the people are sincere, and in general, I see much more genuine respect for each other as human beings than I have in the last two cities I lived in. As one friend told me, "Bloomington is a fantasy land. Cotton candy and rainbows." Bloomington is magical, yet still very humble.

I do very much miss the friends and family I am not able to be around right now. Mostly my SISTER who just got ENGAGED. [Insert squealing and huge smile here.] I have already started wedding dress shopping for her, and figured out that I might become a maidzilla if she thinks she wants to get anything ugly.. Joking aside, I am really really happy for her and her hubby to be. They cute. Also, if you were wondering, all their puppies found homes!

I will be moving into my new house at the end of December. In it already will be two lovely ladies, a yellow lab named Darby, and three backyard chickens. All of us are garden lovers (!!!), and we will have three types of composting. I could not be more stoked.

I mentioned that Bloomington has a great music scene... In the past week or so, I had dinner at Cafe Django, named after the fantastic Django Reinhardt, while watching live jazz. I saw one of my favorite bands, Murder By Death, play a sweet show here in their hometown. And the night before that, I went to a punk rock tribute show and danced my booty off to Operation Ivy covers.

That said, I'll leave you with this: