The Acadaemia Nut: Bela: His Greatest Hits

This is one of the first pictures of Bela I remember taking. This was when Schmoobs and I were still in Knoxville (many ~~moons~~ moves ago!) and I snapped this pic of Bela in the middle of the day while I was a pathetic unemployed person with a Master's degree. Omg. Nothing has changed. UGH. Anyway, I created the thought bubble using my mad Microsoft Paint skillz and left this as Schmoobliedooblie's desktop computer wallpaper one day. Aren't I delightful? Also: Thing I Was Not In Possession Of In 2006 = Good font judgement.

...Then along came BB. One of the earliest - and most favorite! - photos of the Beebla. This just captures their essence. Bela in a sunpatch glowering imperiously from afar at this little innocent and naive furball that came barelling into our lives. Sorry, Bela. I know there was a part of you that loved her at least a teeny tiny bit somewhere deep inside. Or at least you tolerated her.

But sometimes you did not tolerate her.

Ah. Quite possibly the photo I am most proud of in the long inventory of my obsessive photo taking. I call this their Vanity Fair photo because it totally looks like it should be on the cover of a worldwide publication. This is natural lighting at its finest. I opened up the shades to our big sliding glass balcony door in our first apartment in Texas and snapped right when the stars and planets aligned. Bela's Blue Steel is masterful perfection.

But I got a solo shot of Bela as well. In Soviet Russia, the sun worships Bela! This cat knew how to pose and find his light better than any creature in the history of ever.

Um...but sometimes he could look derpy as well. Not often. But sometimes.

Oh, the gun show? Hold on, let me finish bathing myself and I'll show you the way.

He could be a cruel taskmaster. "MORE SCALES MORE ETUDES MORE LONG TONES!!!"

His name is Bela. He likes his clarinets shiny and his coffee black. Now, unless you have some catnip, please leave him alone to dwell in his thoughts and perhaps analyze some recently collected works of Stockhausen.

Aw. Cute. Bela: "Wake up. I demand wet food."

Handsome kitty...

...Bela: "I know."

Mmm...roasted Bela.

This creature would not leave the space heater for the duration of the long winter season. Well, sometimes he did, but only to move to his blanket throne which was topped by a heated electric blanket.