And the Spring Goes On

We took a trip to Hartford yesterday. Most of these pictures were taken in or around Bushnell Park.

We found some interesting historical museums that I might like to visit at some future date including the Twain House, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Museum, and the Webster Memorial. Hartford is a rather strange city because it doesn't seem to be very planned. There are small, old Paris allies right next to the main thoroughfares with the monstrous insurance buildings. Oh, we found a cool old cemetary that we wanted to wander around in but we couldn't find how to get in. It was very frustrating because there was another couple inside taking pictures but they didn't get close enough for us to yell at them. Besides the fact that yelling in a cemetary is in very bad taste.

(This post's pictures brought to you by Jay. More pictures at flickr)

In case you were wondering, we are THOSE kind of people.

I'm not talking about when I told my mom that I was planning on becoming a women's studies major and she sighed and said, "I hope you're not going to be one of THOSE women." I'm not sure if I fulfilled her prophesy or not. (You're welcome to weigh-in with your opinions.) On this occasion I'm referencing the kind of people who would put their cat on a leash and take it outside, despite the frequent and curious stares of random strangers. Witness our shame:

Zissou hopped-up on nature



Checking to make sure that we are close behind, but not too close.



Squirrel? Rabbit? Bird? Can you say over stimulation?



The outdoors experience was a generally pleasant one. He was a little rebellious and rolled about when he first realized he was attached to the string but he quickly adapted and then set about exploring.

The voyage back indoors was extremely unpleasant for all involved. The cat freaked out everytime we passed through a door and tried to claw his way down. We went through four doors and up one flight of stairs which were also the cause of some trauma. As soon as we were back in the apartment Zissou started purring and he hasn't begged to go out or tried to escape since.

I'm not sure if he had flashbacks to his rough and tumble life on the streets or if doors are just extremely traumatic for cats. Whatever the reason, it looks are days as THOSE kind of people are pretty much over for the time being.


Content to view his nature from the other side of a screen.

Did I Mention About the Spring?

The Life Quixotic with Cat Zissou

Presenting Zissou in repose,


flipped,


all stretched out,


approaching wakefulness,


at play,


bird watching (stalking),


and unaware of the size disparity.


If you made it this far, then you deserve a bit of a narrative to accompany the onslaught of pictures.

Last Sunday we visited a private, non-profit shelter called CATALES -- pronounced cat tales -- in search of a cat to call our own. In truth we visited a woman who has turned the basement of her home into a cat sanctuary. She currently has around 84 cats on the premises and the organization has at least two other foster homes. Not to mention the 10 or so cats that she claims as her own. If you're wondering, yes she does have a husband but he's a bit hard to make out because he doesn't move around as much as the cats.

We had originally been interested in a young female named Calliope but upon entering the room our attention and affections were drawn to the curious and energetic Austin who had set about meowing, pacing, and generally making it known that he wanted to be out of the cage and where the action was. Never to make a decision quickly, I insisted that we tour the entire facility of cats just to make sure. I think Jay was ready to take him home after about five minutes but it took almost 90 minutes for the process to be complete.

Then we had to wait until Thursday for him to come home with us. He had been booked at a fundraising/education fair for that Wednesday so Jay made the responsible call that it would be a lot of stress to take him home Sunday only to bring him back Tuesday and then get him again on Thursday. Besides we didn't have anything bought yet.

I had expected to get a female cat and was planning on naming her Yoshimi from the Flaming Lips' song "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." After an hour or so we decided to name him after this man in this movie that way he still gets a theme song.

After we brought him home on Thursday it took him about fifteen minutes to decide that he liked the place. Since then he has been settling in a little more each day. So far he is leaving our plants alone, using his litterbox, and fulfilling his cuteness requirement.

The only thing that threatens his happy existence is his inability to recognize Saturday and Sunday as days of sleeping in past 6:30.

What Can Brown Do For You?

Well, apparently they can't open the building door and walk up to my apartment and deliver my package. Also, they can't tell me that I need to come down to get my package or that they are having trouble getting the door unlocked or you know utter words to inform me that waiting for a knock on the door is not going to get me my package.

They can, however, leave a nice little slip that apologizes for missing me even though I was there in the apartment the whole freaking time!

This is just another example of imbeciles taking something I like (the color brown or say the letter W) and creating bad feelings about said thing.

I have a small W on my refridgerator. It's part of my re-claim the W from the evil neo-cons (much like decepticons only without the cool transforming bit) campaign.

As you can imagine, it's not going so well. Maybe if he would just stop being such an imbecilic holier-than-thou toad, I would have a chance.

. . . but you won't let those robots defeat me

It has been awhile since I lived in a place that had a true winter. I forgot how much the seasons affect a persons state of mind. I find myself completely revelling in the beginning of Spring.

The past few months have been spent almost completely indoors, the weather and our general mallaise having combined to make us rather dreary homebodies of late. I can report a general change in this trend in the last three weeks. A change that has been marked by various weekend outings and adventures.

We have even been able to check a place off of our "Need to Do" list.

New Haven is known for its pizza. A few weekends ago we were able to partake of some truly superior pizza pie. The flavor of the pizza is all about the quality and age of the oven and the oven at Sallie's has been turning out delicious product since the thirties.



The oven isn't the only thing about the place that hasn't changed since the beginning which is why it took a bit over an hour of waiting in line to get a booth. Our pizza was definitely well appreciated by the time it got to our table.

Our happy adventure that we started this weekend won't have anything to show until Thursday. You'll just have to be patient and wait for it.