The Battle of Wits

My mother used to say the two hardest things are smart kids and smart dogs. She never had to deal with either, and I have had to deal with both. Except it wasn't a dog, it's a cat.

Nina is a purebred Ragdoll that came from a cattery in Ken Caryl about 5 years ago. Ragdolls are a fairly new breed out of California, founded about 1962. The stories of the legendary cat breeding lady who engineered this breed is shrouded in cat show lore. I fell in love with the breed from the claims of their friendly and charismatic personalities. Their fur is unlike any other breed, it's insidious and soft and is mostly free from tangles. They are large animals, with females weighing in around 12-18 lbs and the males can get upward of 20 lbs. They're big cats with big feet and they don't do well on uncarpeted surfaces because of the tufts of hair that stick out between their toes like Wolverine's knives. They can't get good traction and it's funny.

I found a local breeder who had 9 kittens to sell, part of a menagerie of 15 cats and an intact male. Good catteries will let you meet the parents, siblings and aunts. Females with the right characteristics, markings and come from good mothers are usually bred or sold for pet quality. Males who are not show quality or breeding quality will be neutered and also become pet quality animals. Meeting the parents and seeing how the family was raised indicates a healthy cattery and a better chance at a well adjusted kitten.

Nina is well adjusted, all right. She was indifferent when I came to the cattery, and was content to just be near the center of attention, which was me. I wanted a female kitten and she was the last one. I missed the chance to adopt her and her beloved sister by a few days, the sister went to a family that never saw her, and just placed an order for her. Soon, she was shipped to her new, unknown owners. The lady at the cattery said Nina cried for her sister for several days.

Nina's personality continues to be one of indifference. Until you go away for a few days. Panic. Until there is no food in the food bowl. Outrage. Until the litter box hasn't been cleaned in the last few hours. Rules.

Her favorite rule is that she gets the rocker. It's hers. We have a discussion daily about me getting my butt out of my chair so she can lay there. Seven, eight times a day, the rocker stalker is there. She furtively and systematically skulks and silently hops into the rocker as soon as I get up. Her Snoopy's vulture stare starts the rhythm practiced like a well rehearsed dance.

Ever watchful, ever beautiful, the rocker stalker is one smart cat. She has memorized my habits and waits patiently for my move. Even now, she is waiting...

Gaps in Time

There's so much that has happened in the last month, and I feel remiss in not documenting it in my blog. Dumb things like getting my Facebook page up and running. Learning Twitter and how to use it. Coming to understand more about Wikis and how to use them. Trying to understand what online teachers want from me and how do i ferret out the tiny details of their knowledge and make it my own. Taking a class on portfolio presentation and feeling totally inadequate. Not too much for a month.

Doug Bell is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and teaches the class on Fridays. He talks about the aspects of the journalism market as it is today and has hopeful insights and advice for students who are graduating at this time. We review resumes, talk about interviewing skills and will work our way toward portfolios. My resume received a grade of "B" but he didn't really like it. He felt overwhelmed by my huge variety of skills and that it's confusing. Pick a focus. Pick a passion, that's what he says. Write your resume to that focus. My problem? Jack of all trades, master at none . There's work to do.

Doug also has sent Noelle Leavitt, President of the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists who gave a spitfire talk and then took the class to the Press Club to get a feel for the place. She had great ideas, websites and resources and I've checked them all. Some interesting stuff to be had if you know HOW to look at things and not from behind a newspaper.

Though Doug really didn't like my resume, he did like my "Personal" section and told me not to change a word of it:

"I shoot, I write, I problem solve. I love my Mac, tolerate my PC and use Nikon as my mantra. I love knitting, art history, Mexican food and Margaritas. Of all the characters on Sex and the City, I'm most like Carrie. Except without the shoes."