What comes up when you Google yourself? I’ve done this occasionally over the years and it changes from time to time. There used to be sailing results and high school track times but they have since vanished. I have it easy- my last name is unique so only results pertaining to my family show up.

Here’s what shows up now:

• Facebook
• A crappy, unprofessional internship that I quit
• A project that my girl scout troupe did in the 3rd grade about our town
• An honor society
• A scholarship
• A court document from the time I was robbed in Spain
• My thesis title
• The JET Programme Tokyo Orientation packet
• A bunch of stuff regarding my relatives

Not too shabby. Nothing incriminating at least :P

I read an article recently (I wish I could remember where) about time spending. It mentioned that where you spend your time online is probably a more accurate representation of your interests than self-report. When people ask what me what I like to do, I would usually say something like, “Oh, I like dancing and going out to eat. I play video games and read.” But if you look at where I spend my time online, my interests are a little different. Recently I’ve spent a lot of time at different organizational blogs, interior design and furniture sites, reading health and technology articles on msn, looking up advice columns (I’m nosy. I love those things), and checking out friends’ sites. Plus the occasional fan fiction for kicks (though my tolerance for mediocre writing is lessening). Not really how I’d describe myself but I am interested in all those things. Anyone else get different results?

To do:

• visit the leasing office
• laundry
• eat lunch
• contemplate navel
• snuggle with cats
• buy Gideon’s Trumpet for school summer reading
• cook stir fry tonight
• play SSB Brawl on Wii??? :) :(

I saw a bumble bee buzz outside of our 19th floor window a few days ago. It’s amazing they fly that high. I recently learned that bumble bees used to be called “humble bees”. Neat.

I put up some pictures of the new apartment in a gallery. Be sure to check them out.

We had a great party on the 4th of July. We had a bird’s eye view of the parade and the concert afterwards. It rained on and off all day, so I was really glad we didn’t have to sit out there soaking wet like the masses. The parade was possibly the worst excuse of a parade I’ve ever seen. Maybe I’m spoiled from the Toms River Halloween parade but man it was bad. The opener for the concert was awful, the next band and John Legend were okay. He’s a brave man to wear all white on a rainy night. We played with the kitties to pass the time until the fireworks.

The fireworks would have been spectacular had there been less moisture in the air. It caused a lot of smoke, so half the show was hidden. We had the TV on at the same time and we swear they were using stock footage of past years’ fireworks on the news. Still, it was all in all a good night with plenty of friends, food, and drink.

Highlights of the night: seeing two guys get busted for shooting off a roman candle by about 9 bicycle cops. We saw them frantically peddling across the field to catch the guys. Priceless. Also, meeting “Kimberly.”

Highlights of the next morning: broken goalpost on the field.

I have just about a month left until school starts. In the meantime, I got a job at a large chain bookstore cafe. I’m looking forward to it.

I added a LibraryThing widget on the overhead navigation bar. It displays 5 random books from my library. Yes, I have an tiny obsession with this site :P

My boyfriend, the Catfather, Maus and I are moving to Philadelphia at the end of June. Our new one bedroom apartment is on the top floor of a high-rise overlooking the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Schuylkill River. Understandably, we’ve been pretty busy. It’s amazing how much stuff you need for a house that you don’t need for an apartment. But I’m determined to make this move as organized and non-stressful as possible.

I see how my family is drowning in stuff and I’m doing my best to avoid the same fate. It’s hard because I have terrible pack-rat tenancies that I learned early on in my life. I also have a terrible memory, so actually seeing objects, scraps of paper, ticket stubs, etc helps me remember what I’ve done and where I’ve been. If only I liked scrap booking more…(One of my goals that probably won’t happen anytime soon is to start digitally scrap booking). Clothes and shoes don’t tend to fit me well, so I keep buying more but only wear a few key pieces. These are all quirks that I’m trying to work around. Finally having all my stuff in one space for the first time in 7 years is helping my weed through the majority of it. Unclutterer.com continues to be my inspiration.

I’m so excited to start my new life in Philly. Law school will probably eat my life but I’m looking forward to using my brain again.

…or Maus for short. She’s my new kitty. I picked her out on my birthday at the Delaware SPCA. She was so tiny. I picked her up and all she did was purr even with all the dogs barking around her. When we got her home, it seemed all she wanted was to snuggle.

Of course after we got some food and water in her and she got comfortable, now she’s bouncing off the walls. Maus has two modes- on and off. When she’s on she’s testing gravity (by knocking objects one at a time off the nightstand), chasing her shadow, leaping off the steps like a deer, and attacking cursor on the computer screen. When she’s off, she’s dead asleep. She has the loudest purr I’ve ever heard-it can wake me up in the middle of the night when she hops into bed.

I don’t know much about her history but Maus had to be a stray. She’s not used to appliances in the home- she almost jumped in the dishwasher and the oven and she’s still fascinated by the refrigerator. She still eats like a stray, like she’s not sure when or where her next meal is coming from. She has the cutest little meow. In some ways, her attitude reminds me a little of CJ, our family cat who died last year.

My boyfriend already has a cat. He’s a stately Siamese of 13 years named Tang (but we call him the Catfather because he’s a little stout). Picture Winston Churchill as a cat and that’s Tang. At first the Catfather was not having this new member of the household but Maus wore him down pretty quick. He still hisses when Maus gets too rambunctious and pounces on him but they’re always near each other during the day. I think he’s glad to have the company. Their favorite pastime is watching the world outside the screen door. The Catfather likes to meow at birds and Maus likes to pounce on any bugs that get on the screen.

I picked the name Maus for a few reasons. Maus is German for mouse. She’s small and grey like a mouse and this is the Year of the Rat (or Mouse). Her full name, Die Fledermaus, is both an opera and a character from the Tick. She certainly flutters around a lot.

Appearance: Grey with ghost stripes and spots. Small light grey locket and area around the mouth. Gold eyes. 6 lbs (still tiny)

Age: 6 months?

Allies: The Catfather (teacher, mentor, and sparring partner)

Enemies: the uncatchable red bug (laser pointer), the bird that won’t die (feathers on a string)

Favorite foods: cat food, tuna fish

Likes: crinkle noises, attacking things, stealing hair ties, jumping on the table, snuggles

Dislikes: being ignored, ???

You can see more Maus pictures by clicking on the overhead navigation bar.