~~~
Day’s Verse:
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.”
Isaiah 60:1
~~~

I recently learned that the Independent Sector places a dollar value on time people spend volunteering. Apparently this year it’s $20.25 per hour per person. That means the 61.8 million Americans who volunteered in 2008 (the most recent available year) donated the equivalent of $162 billion in their time. I find that truly remarkable. The interesting thing is that, despite all the research about why people choose to volunteer, the actual motivations appear rather mysterious still.

Also remarkable is how Carly, the cat we’re taking care of until Wednesday, likes to come and purr on top of your head at 1:30 in the morning. (We quickly determined that shutting her out of the bedroom resulted in persistent yowling [she is part Siamese] and scratching at the door.) And how she refuses to heat her wet food out of a dirty bowl. And the number of times she wants to go inside or outside in one day. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but Ian and I are house- and cat-sitting for one of my Bike Alliance coworkers who frequently takes trips to San Francisco. This coworker lives about a mile from Greenlake and only 8 or 9 miles from the Bike Alliance, so in addition to having some time by ourselves, I’m also getting a mini-commute most days this week.

We’ve also agreed to a week-long stint at my coworker’s house from the 17th onward. I just hope we figure out what to do with Carly at night, or else it’s going to be a long week. That said, I actually really like Carly. She is a very nice little cat, soft, furry, extremely friendly, and quite affectionate. I’m just not used to having a pet as capricious as a cat. Dogs are so much more understandable: They want to eat and have their bellies rubbed and go outside to dig holes and chase squirrels. Cats, who knows what they want.