The Great Cat Search of '09

So, I figure if I just add "The Great" and "of '09" to everything, it'll sound all dramatic and important and stuff. Anyway, so, if I could go back to Sunday afternoon, when the GC sent me a text that said, "I saw the perfect outfit for you in Old Navy," and I said, "what it is?" and he said "too much to type, I'll come by after work," I would. And I'd tell him I'd planned to go to bed early and he could just tell me another day, because well, I did intend to go to bed early because I plan to start getting up at 5:00 AM every day to workout (no, really - shut up).

But I didn't. Instead, I thought, sure, why not, it'll be nice to have company tonight and he probably won't stay long anyway. At some point before he came, he mentioned something about bringing his nine week old kitten over to introduce me and I guess that went in one ear and out the other because when he knocked on my door that night, around 8:00 PM, I forgot all about the kitten. Before I know it, Gabby has slipped out the door beside me and there is suddenly a little black ball of fur flying through the air, hissing and meowing. Gabby starts yelping and the GC is screaming like a little girl.

And so, the search is on. It's dark and there is not much light out here. (In case you forgot, I live in the middle of the woods, just like the Unabomber.) There are, however, a million and one places a cat of that size could be hiding and the GC is pretty intent we're gonna check all of them. So, we set out into the woods with a flashlight and looked and looked for hours. Oh and upon learning the cat's name is "Burberry," I insisted we stick to "here, kitty, kitty." I climbed on top of things that I look at every day and think to myself, I'm so glad I'll never have to climb up on that, and I climbed under things that I never thought I'd have to climb under. And just as I was bitching about how this search is taking it's toll on my knee (if you'll remember, I ran over myself last summer), I fell about mid-thigh deep into a muddy sinkhole. Hilarity ensued, I suppose.

Around 4:00 AM, we finally called off the search. As I'm sure I've mentioned, I'm not a big cat person, and to be honest, I was pretty sure the thing would be eaten by coyotes or something by daybreak. Plus, the GC had gone from sitting on my back porch with a little cup of food, trying not to cry, to standing just outside my front door, having some super secret convo with some dude he met. Even so, I set my alarm for the minute the sun came up, we decided we'd keep looking until he had to be at work again at 1:30.

Wouldn't you know, the minute we step outside, the little cat is sitting there, yawning and stretching by the back porch, as though nothing has happened. Seriously? What a waste of a night and waste of my tennis shoes (totally gonna have to buy some new ones, as the other ones are encrusted in mud).

Anyway, the little bast...I mean, cat was actually pretty cute (this isn't the best picture, but it's all I've got):