Quick update...

Fuzzy Family:
All's well, though Norn's been under the bed a lot lately.

The Boy:
All's well, though he's a bit covered in poison ivy and in dire need of a real vacation.

The Job:
All's well, but BUSY

The Shelter:
I've been a sucky volunteer about posting cats...but am trying to be better!

The Schooling:
This is actually the big news. I've decided to take a 2 month break from coursework - I've just been totally overwhelmed lately. I feel a bit like a failure, but in the end, it's much better for my GPA if I just suck it up and rest during the evening instead of frantically trying to keep up with courework.

The Travellers:
I've actually not heard back from the initial organization I contacted, so I've tried another avenue. We shall see what comes of it...

Awesome LOLZ

Made me smile...

Personal Research Project - Travellers Part I

I've started up an interesting new personal research project. (Because, of course, I don't have nearly enough stuff to keep me occupied between my three pets, family that lives 2 1/2 hours away, boyfriend, job, MBA, etc. etc. etc...).

I was recently doing some general research online (during my lunch break, of course), and I came across the plight of a minority that I have only become acquainted with through the misconceptions of popular culture and a brief glimpse on the side of the road when my family was traveling through Ireland in 2001.

The Travellers of Ireland are a minority that have been continuously subjugated and rated as second-class citizens on both an individual and organizational level. Whether it is through over acts of violence against these people, social exclusion from public places such as pubs and other buildings, or even the systemic enforcement of using seperate facilities from the general population for applying for welfare, Travellers are forced to take a second-row seat to what the rest of us enjoy as a normal life.

What really spurred on my interest in this were some statistics I read in a paper that you can read here titled "Racism In Ireland: Travellers Fighting Back". Some of the details included were these:

• Travellers have more than double the national rate of stillbirths.
• Infant mortality rates are three times higher than the national rate.
• Traveller women live, on average, 12 years less than settled women.
• Traveller men live, on average, 10 years less than settled men.
• Travellers' life expectancy is now at the level that settled people reached in the 1940's.

There is actually a relatively 'large' population of Travellers living here in the US. I've written to the Irish Traveller's Movement (based in Dublin) for information about any possible information they may have regarding Travellers in America.

The closest I've ever come to getting any sort of understanding of this group is by watching The Riches. I'd like to really know who these people are. My heritage may not be directly Traveller, but they are still Irish and that is certainly a large part of who I am. I'm excited to learn more about this group - tune in later for more details.

Deja Vu...

Because my cats have to stop the paper towels from fighting all the time...

LOLz and bridal shower hats...

I have a brilliant plan for my sister's bridal shower. As an invitation, she sent out hats to everyone, and we are supposed to decorate them and bring them for 'judgement'. The winner gets a really cool quilt my mom made, so I am seriously gunning for the prize.

However, I have a secret weapon. One that will blow everyone away. My hat is TOTALLY going to win. But since I can't post about it here (since the only person who really reads this blog is Amanda, and she's supposed to be surprised), I will blog about the outcome after June 21st.

In the meantime, here is a LOL with which to amuse yourself...

It's not that I will own too many cats...it is that too many cats will own me... :-)

Tough times...

Though this is a serious post, I feel the need to start it off with a silly picture...

First off, I am so lucky to be able to rent my apartment, pay for my car and its insurance, buy food for myself, and take care of my pets the way they deserve to be taken care of. I read an article today that absolutely broke my heart - it took a look at the current recession of the US economy in a way I had never considered before. http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/06/04/economy.pets.ap/index.html

I had never considered the problems some people must have buying food for their pets. People on fixed incomes must be suffering so terribly right now, as fuel and food costs continue to rise unabated. I always thought the toughest spot we could be in was me having to buy the off-brand wet cat food so Norn could take her nightly glucosamine treatment. I've always had enough to buy them medicine, food, and even toys.

But reading this article really opened my eyes to some of the serious issues that pet owners face. It's easy to say, "Well, they should have made sure they could afford pets before they got one", but many people find themselves in tough situations they had never imagined, long after they've brought an animal into their family.

With four hungry little mouths to feed, (when we count Pan the bunny), I am truly grateful that I'm able to provide my fuzzy family with all the things they need to be healthy and happy. I buy them good food, get them good vet care, and get them toys they don't play with in favor of the boxes they came in. I have a great life. I'm going to try to remember this the next time I'm whining over not being able to buy a Wii or some other useless electronic gadget that doesn't bring me near the level of happiness that Frigga, Freyja, Norn and Pan give me.

And here's a picture so that everyone can enjoy their cuteness...

In order, it's (from left to right) Freyja, Frigga, and Norn.

Summary of all bad days we've ever had...

Again...

The LOLcats has captured it...

The essence of a bad day...

Though I, in actuality, had a WONDERFUL day. And I have a kitten next to me who's all pooped out on a catnip high.