Baxter is sooo gonna get it.

Today: got cat.

Went with K. on a delightful excursion to some major retail chain stores around a very rain-soaked North Jersey. Last stop: Bergen County Animal Shelter. We looked at cats. And kittens. There were lots of them. Every single one of them broke my heart a little.

After much debating and sadness and "what do you think?" questions directed at various persons in the immediate vicinity, I finally settled on this black-and-white big-eyed beauty. (This is the photo from the shelter.) He's 11 months old and has white whiskers. After having spent much of the afternoon behind my toilet, he was persuaded to come out for some food, and we've been snuggling ever since. He gives kisses and likes to put his arms around my neck to get his face right up next to mine. Damn. This is better than a boyfriend. Well, almost. Ok not really. But the snuggly thing is freaking cute as hell.

As of now, his name is still #54455. I have devised the short list of new possible names. Here they are (Feel free to comment, in email or otherwise. Don't bother telling me what a huge dork I am; I already know this.):

Darth Vader
Miles Davis
Baba O'Riley
Guildenstern
Henry
Roger Thornhill
Willow
Schroedinger
Khan Noonien Singh

I tried to avoid the obvious: Romeo, Mittens, Guinness, Socks, Puss N Boots, etc. I think this is a good thing.

I'll post later about how amazing this all is in detail, but the short version is that for the first time in about 3 months, I'm not out studying for my alcoholism exam, I'm completely exhausted, and it looks like I'll be getting to bed before midnight. If you know me, you know that this is pretty extraordinary.