The 2 cats in the world that I like.

I was walking with a friend on campus today when he saw a friend of his I didn't know. The stranger was introduced to me as "Jeff" and I waited while they spoke briefly. As we were walking away, my friend said,"It's funny, because I want you to feel the same affinity I have for Jeff, but there's just no possible way I can transfer that to you so automatically."

I can certainly identify with this. There are a lot of people that I want the whole world to discover and appreciate for who they are. And no matter how much I blog about these people, it will probably never work.

I can, however, think of one exception to this rule: Zina and her cats.

I think most everyone knows that I hate cats. I am terribly allergic and I find their skittish personalities annoying.

Zina, on the other hand, loves her cats more than I've seen any other mentally healthy person love their animals. And somehow, during my weekend at the ranch, this seemingly irrational affinity towards her cats magically transferred to me.
It's not like I really got to "know" the cats better or spent "quality time" with the cats; it's that Zina seriously loves her cats so much, that you can't invalidate her affection with any degree of sincerity without feeling traitorous and brutal. To minimize or despise the cats' presence at the ranch might create palpable feelings of tension.

So I even started talking to them and was very careful to wash my hands after petting. They are pretty cool cats in the sense that they are incredibly unique (photos compliments of Karisa Price):

This is Reuben, who I allowed to sit in my lap and drool at least a half cup of saliva on my arm as I pet him.


And here is Hans, who is really the most beautiful house cat I've ever seen. His fur is sooo soft.


Reuben even made it into one of my sketches. This is Morgan, sleeping in front of a parabolic space heater in the lodge. You'll notice Reuben in the bottom-right corner.

And here is a picture of all of us who went on a Sunday "walk" where two of us got lost in the wilderness and missed half of the final conference session. (Per mom's request. Obviously the other girl is Zina.)

It was the best conference weekend of my life.