This page was created to share a small part of my life with the world.
Go ahead and read About Me . . . below. In the navigation bar to the left, you will find links to pictures of Cinnamon, Oreo, Pepper, Scott, some events/vacations, and perhaps even me . . . As well as some links to other things I find funny, fun, and/or interesting.
Cinnamon is doing well! She's very, very thin now but is in good spirits and she eats every few hours. At least she is eating again! (For a while we were lucky if we could get her to eat once a day.) I visit her every week, almost every day that I have off of work I go and visit her. She purrs for me every time I sit and pet or brush her. She seems to be in very good spirits and doesn't appear to be in any discomfort. Its such a relief for me to see her happy. Her happiness makes me happy. And she seems to be genuinly happy to see me when I come and visit her. I love my Cinnamon.
Check out Questions and Answers with Crystal . . .
I am a 26 year old (2005) SWF who is happily dating and living with my wonderful boyfriend, Scott, and our two cats, Pepper and Oreo. Pepper was adopted by Scott Memorial Day weekend 2002. Oreo was adopted by me August 10th, 2003.
I was born and raised in Western Massachusetts where there is no Boston Accent. My immediate family consists of my parents, younger brother, and Cinnamon, our cat who has been with us for just over 19 years. She turned 19 on April 3rd 2005, her Adoption Day.
I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2001 with a degree in Natural Resources. I then moved to Maryland to pursue a graduate program of study in Meteorology. Needless to say, I hated it and left the program after one year. I was then hired as a Library Technician for the University of Maryland University College where I worked for almost 3 years.
While in my last year in Maryland (2004), I became involved in feeding some cats which I thought were strays. At the time, I did not know the difference between ferals and strays. I fell in love with the cats, despite having Oreo and Pepper, and worried deeply about their well being. I finally met a wonderful woman who was taking care of other ferals at my apartment complex, Anita. She and I became good friends as she taught me how to trap and showed me the Feral Cat Clinic hosted by Metro Ferals in Washington DC. With her help, I was finally able to spay or neuter and vaccinate all the cats that frequented my patio; five cats overall. She also assisted me in catching five kittens whose mothers were two of the feral cats that frequented my patio. I was able to vaccinate, spay/neuter, and test for feline leukemia (Negative!) in the two oldest ones (estimated to be a few months old) and started taming them. The three young kittens, I was able to catch at five weeks old, just before their mother had taught them to be wary of humans. I was able to take them to the Metro Ferals Clinic where they were tested for Feline Leukemia (Negative!). They will be fostered for a few weeks and then adopted out after being spayed or neutered.
In the beginning of July 2004, I moved back to Connecticut to be closer to my family and friends. I also thought that I wanted to go back to school for a degree in Veterinary Technology so that I could be a Veterinary Technician. I began working at a 24-hour Emergency Veterinary Hospital and found the suffering of the animals too painful. Needless to say, it was a bad experience, for more than one reason, so I decided not to go to school for Veterinary Medicine/Technology. Thanks to that experience, I realized that all I really wanted to do was to take care of animals, mostly feral cats. Since taking care of feral cats does not pay the bills, I decided to just do that as a hobby and look for a more "normal" career. I'm still looking . . .
In May 2005, Cinnamon was diagnosed with Cancer. The Veterinarians told us that she only has a few months left with us. I cannot convey how sad and painful this news was to my family and I. Our relationship with Cinnamon is difficult to explain, the easiest way to explain it is that we treat her like she is human. Cinnamon is like a sister and my baby all at the same time; she has been there since I was seven, practically my whole life . . . I have honestly forgotten that she was a cat for just a few moments. Does anyone else out there know what that's like? . . . If you do, then you may understand. So, for now, I'm trying to spend as much time with her as I can before she passes away . . .
I am also currently working on my genealogy. My ancestors come from: Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, England, Ireland, Poland, and Italy, to name a few. Yes, my last name is Italian. I am 25% Italian, 25% Polish, 25% English, and 25% mixed (Scottish or Irish and perhaps French, and others too).
That is currently the up to date account of all the main events that have gone on in my life. I'm sure there will be more soon . . .