Let's See If This'll Work

I was blog-surfing a few days ago and I found this: http://snapflashsnap.blogspot.com.

So, being the tamad that I am, I'll try and follow his lead. Write five things, maybe not everyday, and maybe with weekends. LOL. So here goes.

1. Macau - Me, my sisters, brother and Doraemon (see item #2) are here in Macau for the Holidays at our Mom's place. This is the second time were spending Christmas here and the cold weather and anonymity out on the streets are a nice change from the heat and familiarity of Manila. We'll spend New Years Eve here as well and head back to the 3rd World right the next day.

2. Doraemon - I brought along my very first Doraemon stuffed toy from my still humble collection to start this little project I've been meaning to do for quite a while. Take pictures of him around significant places and tourist spots that I've also been to. You see, I love Doraemon. How he would always have a solution to everything and he never backs down from any obstacle he and his friend Nobita is faced with. And the pictures I'd be taking would be a sort of constant reminder to never forget Doraemon's teachings wherever I go :D

3. Ben - So sad that we left Ben at home. All alone. Not literally though as our house help are there with him but still... my sister couldn't help but get teary eyed (literally) as we drove off from the house in a cab.

4. Miming and Kooting - Left them, my little "mag-ina", at home as well. It would've been ok if the mother-and-son cats and Ben get along well, but unfortunately, they don't. I just hope Kooting would still recognize me when I get back.

 

 

5. Christmas Gifts - GRRR!!! The only gift I was able to bring here in Macau is for my mom's. They're all made to order gifts and I didn't know that we had to leave early way ahead of the time that I would be able to claim them. Oh well, I guess I'll just give the rest once we're back in Manila.

At Boni High Street with Ben and my Sisters

Spent the bisperas ng Undas (All Saints/Souls Day, sorry, Im not into Halloween) with Ben the Beagle and my sisters at Bonifacio High Street. Had fun seeing other dogs and some of their owners wearing halloween costumes. Ben seemed like he had a blast too. He particularly enjoyed roaming and running around the R.O.X. Store where my sisters registered for a marathon run as well as looking at new stuffs at the Hobbes and Landes' pet supply section. My sis didn't buy him anything though.

Kitty Found… then Lost :(

It's official, the first stray kitty that I took home is also the first kitty that left me.

I'm so sad. She was the sweetest of them all. Very young, probably about a month or two. She purrs when I touch her. Calm and well behaved during the hot day but she also gets really playful and active at night.

I first met her outside a restaurant my sisters and cousin were eating at after spending an afternoon walking their beagles. It was just last Sunday. She bravely came near the beagles and was probably telling them to leave cos that particular restaurant was her turf. And just like that I fell in love. Her fur was pure white, a little dirty of course, but nothing a sponge bath couldn't take care of. I started feeding her some morsels and she gladly ate them. She would go under the other tables but when I call her she comes right back. How could I resist taking her home?

(Read more and her picture after the jump)

The Bitch (Episode 2)

I just realized very recently that the word Bitch actually refers to female dogs! But somehow, in the modern sense, that word really fits my cat Miming! Haha. My sister came up with that word to describe her when Miming (pronounced Mee-ming) was being particularly bitchy with Ben (my sister's  5month old Beagle). Ben was being quite hyperactive and playful that day and decided to channel his happiness on Miming.

So when the Beagle was taunting and barking at the Cat, wanting to get close and play with her, she went all Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon on him. She felt so threatened and mad the hair on her back stood up. She never really got to injuring him with her sharp claws thought. Thank God. It seems Ben is quite adept at evading her weapons.

See Miming hates being touched and caressed and the only interaction she enjoys with other species is when she can bite and scratch them. She hates being touched and played with and when Ben came along, it turns out she hates Ben as well. Did I mention she hates being touched?

Nevertheless, she is my cat. Or should I say I am her human and all of us here gladly put up with her. I went through my Multiply albums last night and saw quite a lot of pictures of her. She actually has an album of her own there. Here are some of Miming's earliest shots that I quite like.

[caption id="attachment_245" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="on her first night @ home"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_246" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="she sleeps comfortably on an extra pillow beside my bed"][/caption]

The Bitch

[caption id="attachment_196" align="alignleft" width="216" caption="Miming about 10 months old"][/caption]

I own a cat. Or should I say aside from people and a dog, there's also a cat living in this house with us. Owning would never be an appropriate term to use on cats because you never really own one. Case in point is this cat I'm talking about. I just call her "miming" (probably the tagalog equivalent of the term "kitty") since I've never had the habit of naming cats. They all respond to high pitched calls of "miming" anyway.

Miming came to existence inside a trash can in a parking lot of a plush mall in Makati. Clinging on the inside walls of the trash can and meowing with all her might in that small kitten voice of hers, she was probably just more than 2 weeks old at that time. That was about a year ago. With the help of a friend of mine who found her and decided to bring her home inside an empty juice box, she somehow found her way here in our house and she's been here ever since.

If I had to guess at who she was and how she got there, I would say her mother was a stray and she was born in a place where cats were unwanted, people there probably took the litter away to different places just to get rid of them. And with the behavior she's been exhibiting since she got here, I would say she never really felt any genuine care. My sister was able to give a spot on description of her behavior. "She's such a bitch!"

She doesn't purr, she hates being touched or caressed, but she likes play fighting A LOT. Touch her a bit and she would end up scratching or biting you thinking that that is exactly what you want from her. And she enjoys it. Play fighting is probably the only fun she knows of having, aside from eating expensive cat food of course. She only eats canned Whiskas or the dry Friskies.

Talk about a true rags to riches story. From the trash can to expensive cat food. But to her credit she does eat some left over fish from dinner though.