My cat saved my life.

Ok, so that may be a bit dramatic. Noodles didn’t literally save my life. He’s not Lassie or anything. If I fell down a well (or, you know, slipped in the shower, the apartment-life version of falling down the well) I don’t have much confidence that he would run and find someone to save me. (First of all, how would he get out of the apartment? But I digress.)

So what happened is this. I had an 8:30 am court appearance in Riverside…65 miles from my apartment which in L.A. traffic could take forever. I set my alarm on my cell phone to 4:45 am, to allow myself to shower, get ready (in my slow moving way) and get gas before heading out at 6 am. I forced myself to go to sleep at 10 pm.

Several hours later I was dead asleep when I was awakened by the sound of meowing. Loud meowing. Noodles was meowing his pretty little head off. I rolled over sleepily to check the time on my phone and discovered that my phone was off! I leapt out of bed, heart racing, and ran to the kitchen to check the time. I was sure that I’d see it was already 6 am and I’d be screwed.

What time was it? That’s right — 4:45 a.m. on the nose. Noodles was officially the hero of the morning. I have never been so grateful to be woken by Noodles at the crack of dawn.

That was actually the most eventful part of my day…court went well, the day went by peacefully, and now I am sitting with my hero at my side and watching the season finale of The Hills. (Can I just mention how envious I am of Lauren and Whitney going to Paris??)

On a final note before I turn to my Netflix, thank you, dear readers, for weighing in on my poll from yesterday. I’ve always thought pickiness can be good…I’m glad I’m not alone in that sentiment!

Little Miss Law in Training?

First of all, dear readers, let me comment on how many hits I received in the past day on my post about Jane Austen! I must say, I expected to get more comments in the vein of “What are you talking about? You’re not a spinster!” and I am very pleasantly surprised to find that nobody went in that direction, since that wasn’t the point of my post. (My mom did, however, email me with this excellent point: “Spinsters are pretty lucky these days because they have the internet……” Very true.)

Also, I find that my blog readers appear to be quite literary, seeing as how this post drew more attention and commentary than many of my more seemingly juicy posts about dating.

Anyway, one of my favorite things about the blogosphere is finding other kindred spirits out there, whose blogs reflect the same things I think about, worry about, dream about. I have found several — they’re the people who often comment on my blog (along with my “real life” friends) and whose blogs I read daily. It’s funny because even though I haven’t met these people and don’t even know their real names in most cases, I find myself routinely checking to see what’s going on in the worlds of Karalina, Jem1896, etc. When they write cliffhanger posts about a fight with a boyfriend or a worry about work, I find myself becoming anxious, waiting for the resolution.

Then a couple of days ago I got a comment from this blogger, a law student who is brand new to the blogosphere. The first post I read of hers was about the incestous and ill-advised nature of law school dating — totally spot-on, based on my one dating experience in law school. Then today I surfed onto her blog again and was astounded to find just how kindred of a spirit this girl is — first, writing about an unpleasant conversation where a non-lawyer tells her how bad law school is as a place to meet people, she says, “He continued on for awhile and by the end of the conversation, I had decided that I might as well buy a few more cats.” (As my readers may know, I have occasionally contemplated getting Noodles a sibling, but have never taken the leap because I determined that more than 1 cat per bedroom or per person may be pushing it.) Then, her post goes on to mention spinsterhood.

Ok, maybe this isn’t the world’s biggest coincidence. Cats and spinsters tend to be discussed together. Still, my friends, this is a girl after my own heart. And soon to be a lawyer, no less. I think I’ll keep reading!

“My Cats Are My Babies.”

It’s the end of another long and hectic week, dear readers, and I am very glad for it. Tomorrow my friend M. arrives for a visit — from New Mexico to Los Angeles for the first leg of her West Coast goodbye tour, and then on to her new home in England. M. and I have been friends since we were 7, and there is something so amazing about having someone in my life who has known me for two decades, and who I can pick back up with like we never left off every time we see each other, even though for the past decade we haven’t lived in the same city. She’s visited me in LA before, but never in my current apartment and not since I’ve been single, so I’m looking forward to some good quality time.

So yesterday I discovered that indeed, there can be too much of a good thing. You would think that being the cat-owning, cat-loving, aspiring crazy cat lady that I am, I would want to meet a cat-loving guy. After dating a guy who was deathly allergic to cats, and then a guy who didn’t mind cats (but since Noodles’ vicious attacks on me began when we started dating and ended when we broke up, I suspect Noodles had it in for him/us), I vowed that my next boyfriend would have to live in peaceful harmony with Noodles. “Love me, love my cat.”

Upon further reflection, though, I decided that “Love me, like/tolerate my cat” might be a better motto. Yesterday, while out with J., I ended up chatting with a group of people and the topic of relationship dealbreakers came up. One guy mentioned that a dealbreaker for him would be a girl who doesn’t like cats. Naturally, my ears perked up. I didn’t find him attractive, but I found it inspiring that a guy could actually like cats. Then he uttered the least-hot phrase I have ever heard: “My cats are my babies.”

Whoa there, tiger. That’s just a whole new level.

And it got even worse. He shared that his cats’ names were Antigone and Oedipus — “Tiggie” and “Eddie” for short. He also mentioned that he had paid $4000 in vet bills for one of the cats.

Now, I know it’s stereotypical, but in my view it’s perfectly normal for a guy to be really into dogs. A guy who loves his dogs is all at once cute, endearing, masculine and sensitive. It’s like the man’s man way to show he can be emotional and have a soft spot for something. Did anyone not cry when reading Marley and Me? (I read the screenplay, not the book, but I assume the book is equally tear-jerking.)

Also, a coupled man who has cat(s) with his girlfriend or wife is perfectly acceptable.

A single man who looooooovvvves cats, on the other hand? Maybe it’s just me, dear readers, but (don’t tell Noodles I said so) I just find it to be creepy.

Speaking of Noodles, he is sleeping peacefully and I should be doing the same…

Have a fabulous weekend!

“Nope, It’s Just Me and My Cat.”

It’s been a long Monday, but a good one. Still, I am happy to be home, in comfy clothes, Sex & the City on in the background (no, there’s no such thing as watching it too much), with Noodles on his new-favorite perch in front of the balcony, and blogging. Mmm.

Today I met with the in-house counsel for one of my firm’s big corporate clients, down at her hotel by the airport. She’s been traveling around like crazy and we haven’t had much time to talk about all the deadlines coming up or about case strategy in general, so it was good to sit face to face with her and discuss everything. Even better, it was a great chance for us to bond. I met her for the first time a few weeks ago at the client’s corporate headquarters, but since we were in the office, we had no chance to just chat. Tonight we were both a lot more relaxed and while we mostly stuck to business, we laughed a lot. She also gave me a huge compliment – she said that even though I’m a young associate, that she told my boss I’m “fabulous.” That was a nice boost after the way I felt about my job last week.

Then, we bonded over a very unlikely topic — our cats. She looked at her watch and commented, “Oh, I don’t want to keep you! Do you have kids?” “Nope,” I replied, “It’s just me and my cat.”

(Ironically — this was unplanned — I just came to the part in this Sex & the City episode where Miranda moves into her own condo and finds out that the woman who lived there before her died and the cat ate her face.)

Anyway, the client laughed and said, “Oh, you’re a young associate, they don’t give you time for anything but a cat!” She told me that she has two dogs and two cats, and can’t seem to stop adopting pets. Then, I was even able to give her advice that is probably far more sage than any legal advice I can dispense at this stage in my career: how to make your cat stop biting you.

This, dear readers, is why they pay me the big bucks.

See, I Could be Worse: Part II

Yes, I have a cat that I adore.  Yes, my parents refer to him as their “grandchild.”  Yes, I have toyed with the idea of purchasing a pet stroller.  Yes, my cat occasionally sleeps with me.

 But still, I’m nowhere near being the crazy cat lady that this woman is.  I can take comfort in that.

Can I just share with you how happy I am that it’s the weekend, dear readers?  After my workload settled down I have found myself utterly lacking in motivation at work — partly feeling like I deserved a break, partly having a hard time kicking it back into high gear when I don’t have imminent deadlines.  That will change next week, for better or for worse. 

But for now, this weekend is absolutely, gloriously devoid of any work or obligations.  (I might come in on Sunday briefly to clean up my office, but that is more to save my own sanity.)  Instead, I just have fun plans: shopping (need to buy a dress to wear to a wedding next month), brunch, and movies (The Heartbreak Kid tonight; Across the Universe, which I have been DYING to see, on Sunday, and perhaps even an indie flick tomorrow.  I have some catching up to do!).  And of course, sleeping in and getting some quality time with Noodles.  I can’t wait!

 Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

So much for domestic bliss . . .

So last night I wrote a blog all about how tranquil my life with Noodles has been of late.  I then went to bed, taking Noodles with me.  He’s normally a good bed companion because he stays on his side of the bed and actually bothers me less when he sleeps with me than when he doesn’t.  We both fell into a lovely tranquil sleep.

 I was then awoken in the middle of the night by a hacking sound.  I turned on the light only to find that poor Noodles had yakked a big hairball right on my favorite fuzzy blanket and sheets.  GROSS.  Disgusted, I leapt out of bed (still half asleep) to clean it up, remove the blanket and change the sheets.  Noodles, who appeared to be feeling a lot better after getting the hairball out of his system, just sat confusedly on the bed, squinting his eyes in the bright light as if to say, “Why are you making me move?  I was sleeping!” 

 Once I had fresh linens on the bed and had decided that Noodles wasn’t going to be sick again, I fell back asleep, only to have an extremely stressful dream.  In the dream, I was supposed to be doing an oral argument in federal court.  The courthouse was supposedly on this huge sprawling college campus and I wandered around trying to find it.  I was with an odd group of friends from high school and beyond.  The oral argument was beginning in 10 minutes.  I then realized that not only was I running late, but 1) I was wearing jeans; and 2) I was totally unprepared to argue.  I borrowed a black skirt and top from a friend, and I rushed into the courtroom just as the first case was being called.  It was then that I realized that not one, not two, but three of the partners for my firm were there to watch me.  I was terrified.

 I was only saved from this stress by Noodles beginning to meow his head off from the hallway.  Assuming that he was trying to alert me that he was sick again, I leapt out of bed even though it was only 5 am.  Noodles seemed fine and there were no hairballs lying around that I could see.  I fed him and then tried to bring him into bed with me again (sometimes he just wants the attention).  But instead of settling down and letting me pet him, he jumped down, went into the hall and started meowing his head off again.

And you wonder why I question whether I want to have children.

 Needless to say, I am now at work feeling quite groggy after last night’s debacles.   I swear I’ll start working…right after this blog zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..

Little Miss Law Takes a Breath

There’s nothing quite like going from being hideously, all-consumingly, mind-numbingly busy at work to finally catching a breath and having some free time. After 2 straight weeks of intense hours and stress, things have finally calmed down and it feels just miraculous. Tonight I came home, put on my PJs, cooked some ravioli, watched some mindless TV (“You are still in the running towards becoming America’s Next Top Model!”) and talked on the phone. When I am busy, I tend to be very bad at keeping in touch (unless you are on Gmail chat – ha ha) so it feels very very nice to be able to reconnect with my friends.

So how are things looking in the world of Little Miss Law now that the dust has settled? Quite nice, actually. My parents came down to visit this past weekend and we had a really enjoyable time, laying by their hotel pool, putting my 42′ TV to use, and strolling around on the Santa Monica Pier. And of course, lots of eating. It’s always hard to cram our time together into just a couple of days, and I know that we would all prefer to live in the same city so that we could just have lunch or dinner together on a regular basis. But for now, it is what it is: email, phone calls and occasional visits. And I am thankful that we have remained so close despite the distance.

I also realize that I haven’t written anything recently about my furry life partner, Noodles. For the past few months, we have been getting along swimmingly and living in domestic bliss. This weekend, with my parents in town, he got a special treat. A couple of months ago, I mentioned to my mom that she and Dad shouldn’t be too disappointed if Noodles winds up being their only “grandchild.” Well, my parents took this comment quite seriously and spent a good deal of time in my apartment, brushing Noodles and generally doting on him, much to his great pleasure. Then they informed me that, loving “grandparents” that they are, they wanted to take me to Petco to buy a toy for their furry grandson. We went and picked out the perfect little structure – not too big, but tall enough for Noodles to sit on and look out the sliding door at the Hollywood Hills. Sure enough, he is sitting on it and admiring the view of the Hills as we speak.

(Yes, I do realize that this adds another giant mark to the “crazy cat lady” tally. So sue me.)

Yesterday, much to my amusement, I got an email from A., who apparently has now designated me as his social coordinator for him to hang out with my co workers (his former co workers). His email said, “Interested in setting up a drinks this week? I want to see people.” Anyway, I am an awesome social coordinator when I have the time to be, and so I already rallied a good group of people. My co workers are some of my favorite people, but it’s often hard to motvate people to all get together, so I’m happy whenever we do. It’s also just so nice to be back in touch with A. He and I were such good friends before we ever dated, and he was my 2nd best confidant at work. During the few months that he and I weren’t talking, I often had stories about work etc. that I wanted to tell him but I couldn’t contact him. Now that we are back in touch, even though we only talk every few weeks, I feel like that very particular friend-space he occupied in my life has been filled again, and I like that.

I have a lot more I can write about, since I have been delinquent in my blogging, but for now, dear readers, it’s bedtime . . .

Little Miss Law’s Guide to Vegas

I am back from my Vegas extravaganza, and we had a fantastic time !  I was a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to do Vegas like we did in law school, since we go out so much less these days, but we brought out some serious rally monkeys and partied like rockstars (as evidenced by the fact that when I woke up this morning, my first thought was, “Can you actually die from sleep deprivation?”).  As my dear readers know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — so I can’t share any of the juicy details of the weekend.  I thought that instead, I’d share some of my favorite places we visited, for any of you (esp ladies) who are planning a Vegas weekend. 

1)  The Lazy River at the MGM.  The “river” meanders all through the pool area, with beach chairs all around it.  It was ridiculously hot this weekend, so we didn’t spend as much time at the pool as we normally might, but when it got too hot to handle, it was so pleasant to just float down the river (notwithstanding all the children and drunk people).  You can also rent an innertube — though I saw one very irate couple who got their innertube stolen.  Not pretty.

2)  Moon Nightclub at the Palms Casino.  The club is on the top of the Palms, so there is an amazing view of the Strip and the city….gorgeous.  On the 2nd floor there is a separate bar that remained uncrowded all night, and we could go out on the balcony to get fresh air and check out the view.  They also played really fun music all night – everything from hip hop to 80’s to techno.  But get on the list or you’ll be waiting a loooooong time.

3)  Fat Tuesday’s.  If you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you are familiar with the shops on every corner selling the pre-mixed slushy drinks.  Fat Tuesday’s brings that to Vegas.  There’s one in MGM and one in New York New York (and probably others I’m not thinking of).  You pay less than $10 and get a big slushy drink of your choice – if you are feeling particularly adventurous, add a shot of Everclear.  You’ll be happy you did when you get to the clubs and realize that drinks and shots are $12 apiece.

4) Finally, the piece de resistance for any bachelorette party — Thunder From Down Under.   Some of my girls were not so excited, but by the end of the night, even the naysayers were hoarse from so much hooting, hollering and laughing.  (I think the bacheloretts exclaimed, “That was the best thing EVER!”)  If you go, especially for a special occasion, make sure to splurge for the VIP seats — it means that the guys dance on your table and it’s more likely that someone from your party will get chosen for special attention…esp if she is wearing a veil!  The show is basically just hilarious and entertaining.  I can’t say so enough.

That concludes my tour of Vegas!

Oh!  One last story.  On the way back from Vegas, my friend O. and I flew together and were seated next to a guy who was probably in his 30’s, who did real estate.  We were talking shop for a while, then he asked O. how long she had been married.  They chatted about that for a minute, then he asked me, “What about you?”  I replied that I’m not married.  He looked at me for a second and said, “You have a cat, though.”

What????  I know I talk about Noodles and pet strollers on here a fair amount, but in general I didn’t think that I actually came across as a crazy cat lady!  *Sigh*. 

Little Miss Law Comes Home

I must say, there is nothing better than traveling, and then there is nothing better than coming home to your own apartment and sleeping in your own bed.  Aaaahhh. 

I wasn’t quite ready to leave Maui yesterday morning — I was wishing I could have a couple more days of vacation — but after a 5 + hour flight, an hour waiting at LAX for my bag, and a taxicab ride, I was the happiest girl in the world when I finally turned my key in the lock to my front door and my legs were encircled by a meowing Noodles.  (He was so happy to see me, in fact, that he followed me around like a puppy all evening; started meowing at 4:30 a.m., and didn’t stop meowing, even after I fed him, until 7:30 a.m., when I finally pulled myself, bleary eyed, out of bed and started getting ready for work.)

At any rate, it was a fantastic vacation.  The weather was perfect:  mostly hot and sunny, with some brief periods of luscious tropical rain.  The balcony of our suite overlooked the well-landscaped grounds, the pool area and, beyond that, the ocean.  I slept on a Murphy bed in the living room, next to the balcony, with the sliding glass door open, so every morning when I woke up as the sun rose, I would turn over in bed and look out at the water.   What a way to start the day. 

Our days were full of a good mix of exploring, eating and lounging — my three favorite things to do on vacation.  We ate some amazing food, including to-die-for pork pot roast and some excellent seafood.  We went to the Maui Ocean Center aquarium, which was really neat; snorkeled and swam, and then ate dinner, at Napili Bay; took a submarine ride; shopped; and had lots of pool time.  The highlight of my trip, though, was a 1/2 day snorkel trip out to Turtle Town and Molokini.  There is nothing I have experienced that is more tranquil than snorkeling, surrounded by fish, feeling my body weightless and suspended.  We saw so many fish at Molokini, it was like swimming in an aquarium.  Truly amazing.

It was also great to spend time with Mom & Dad and our family friends.  We haven’t taken a family vacation in a long time, so it was a really special treat.

Finally, I got in some reading, as I had hoped.  I took with me the three books that I mentioned in my last post, and then I ended up buying a book at LAX (because I had packed the other 3 in my suitcase): Back to Wando Passo, by David Payne.   It took me a bit to get into it, but once I did I was hooked.  I’m sure my parents had a flashback to when I was an avid reader in elementary school and they couldn’t get me to put down a book long enough to have dinner!  Payne is an extraordinary writer, and the book is quite gripping.  Using fantasy elements, it weaves two dramatic love stories, one from the present day and one from the Civil War period, which both took place at Wando Passo, an old rice plantation in South Carolina.  Payne must have done an incredible amount of research — about the Civil War, plantation life in the South, race relations, Cuban mysticism and witchcraft, blues music, and on and on — because the novel is so vivid, descriptive, and most of all accurate.  If you are willing to suspend disbelief and lose yourself in this book, I recommend it.

I also read a lighter, summer beach read — The Guy Not Taken, a collection of short stories by Jennifer Weiner (who I love — she also wrote Good in Bed and In Her Shoes).  The stories were funny, sad and genuine, and it’s an extremely quick read.

Well, dear readers, I must go collect my laundry and head to bed. On Friday I am off to my next adventure — a bachelorette party in Vegas — and I’m sure that more stories will come from that! (Though if the old Vegas adage applies, I may not be able to write about it…)

Funny Cats (aka “lolcats”)

This will be brief…I am at work, after all!

 Every day I look at WordPress, and every day I see that I Can Has Cheezburger? is one of the top blogs.  I always wondered, “what’s the deal with that blog?  Why is it so popular?”  but never actually looked at it.

This morning, I did, and laughed out loud.  It’s a bunch of pictures of cats doing funny things, with great captions.

It’s funnier than it sounds, I promise.  Maybe even if you’re not a crazy cat lady.

Check it out.

PS.  The cat with the frog at the top of the page is my very own “lolcat,” Noodles.