"Doing What I'm Best at"

How difficult can it get to pose for the camera? Stare into space. Act cool. Look starry-eyed. Keep that smirk look on your face. And let your body do the talking.

Lights, Camera, Action! Models-wannabe, watch me now...

Mikki the Genie

This genie does not reside in a lamp;
This genie has no magical powers;
This genie has no ability to grant wishes;
This genie has caught up with the times.

Mikki is now a regular at the SCV cable box which used to be one of Braun's favourite "parking lots". Braun would just perch or stand at attention on the cable box. Mikki leaves no room to lack of creativity.

心花怒放

Need I say more?

35 + 1

This day has double significance. It is my birthday (I'm turning 35) and it is the first anniversary of My Cats' Cove. This is my 127th post but it doesn't 'feel' like I've written that many.

I looked back on my first few postings and memories kept flowing back. I was at a crossroad then, at the work front. I was at the end of a five-month break, on the verge of taking my mark in the corporate race again. I'm enjoying my work very much because it puts my strengths/skills to good use and I've a personal interest in my company's products. The latter, in particular, is important because the exposure adds value to me as a person.

On the home front, I'm blessed with a wonderful husband and having endless fun and joy with the company of my three girls. I insist on calling my cats my girls because they're part of my extended family. Like it or not, I'll continue to flood this blog with their photos and narrations of their antics - sometimes, you should try reading between the lines and you just might get the drift :p That is the fun part about writing.

Thank God too that I've the health, drive and energy to go about my daily activities and other pursuits. My fire has not gone out. May the joy of the Lord fill all the days of my life!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get my driving license on first try. I dread to think that I've to wait another four months for a second attempt. I'll have to give it my best shot!

I'm in the midst of planning a vacation. It has been two years since my last one. The destination is somewhere I've wanted to go for a long time. Hopefully nothing crops up this time. I'll need to find a reliable and experienced cat sitter for my girls. Don't think I'll send them to a boarding place.

Driving license (on 1st try?) + Dream vacation come true = my short-term plans. I haven't thought of anything beyond end of 2007. Some inkling of longer-term plans but I need to wait, observe, assess, pray about it and then see how.

As per my 'usual practice', I've taken leave for today. I'm gonna be Queen of the day. Grimlock has also taken leave. Our tentative plan is wake up just in time for brunch (dim sum at a good Cantonese restaurant it shall be); have some retail therapy ('shiok' to shop on a weekday when the malls are much less crowded); and then have dinner at a good steak restaurant :) La, la, la, la...

Happy Birthday to Me!

That's me and my mama. I was just two-months-and-eight-days-old.

No idea how old I was in this photo. I was a glum-looking child so this was one of the few photos that I actually flashed a smile (quite sweet hor? ha ha)

Siesta Sonata

Viola, I just produced my maiden clip using my digital camera :) And my girls had the honour of appearing on it! The attempt is amateurish but I promise to do better the next time. I filmed the three musketeers this morning while they were snoozing away on the sofa. It is difficult to capture all three on film, keeping still and doing the same thing. The lighting is quite dark because it was raining outside. Keep a look-out for Skoda (cute!)...

Traffic-Stopping Power

These were the 'deadly' poses that Skoda put up one weekday when I was getting ready to go to work. So irresistibly cute that I just had to stop in my tracks and give her instant "therapy", take out the camera and started snapping away.

My sweetie pie was nearby, on top of the fridge and getting into the "mood" as well...

Tick tock, tick tock... Darn, I got to run! Just a few more shots! Now, where is Mikki?


There she is, the stalker. Aaaawww...big cute round eyes!

There was nothing else that I needed to kick-start my day. My darlings had made my day!

Princess (S) on a Pea

Grimlock's latest toy is a Nintendo Wii. The sports games are very fun and engaging, almost like the real thing. It's not just the fingers that need to do the exercising. You've to get off your bums and get into the swing of things. No wonder some gyms provide these as well. We only have one TV set, in the living room which is quite tight for space. Whenever we want to play Wii, we would have to move the coffee table and our beanie seats out of the way.

Not wanting to miss out the action, Skoda decides to join in the fun on the side by getting on top of it all.

Whenever there is a commotion or something new at the Cove, Skoda would be the first to check things out and get her way around. This is just so typical of her. One gung-ho gal she is!

你敬我一尺，我敬你一丈

Grimlock and I had a crazy idea to put the girls up for a comparison of some sort recently. It was triggered when we saw Mikki all stretched out while sleeping (she is quite fond of doing this). We took out the measuring tape and did the following...

Starting from the youngest, Mikki. Her body length was about 58cm.




Next was Braun - about 43cm





And then Skoda, close to 60cm

"What is this? A new game?"

"How do I measure up to the other two?"

The measurements might be inaccurate but our curiosity was satisfied, hee hee :)

左抱右拥的感觉

There have been many a time when Skoda would plonk herself right between Grimlock's legs for her nap (yes, that is the exact spot). I love watching her when she does that. This habit has indeed landed her in the top spot, so Grimlock's legs are "hers"; she holds the strings to his heart as well (稳坐阿姐的地位).

Of late, Braun has also grown quite fond of getting onto the sofa and snuggling up to Grimlock. I might soon have an issue with that. So is Grimlock more of a cat magnet than I? One I can take it but two?!?! Braun "picking" him over me?!?! Hey, Braun is my sweetie pie ya! The girls hang around me more so doesn't that mean anything :{

My reasoning on the preference is that I don't use the sofa often (I prefer to sit on the floor which I find cooler) and I can't sit still for long (I'll be busy with something somehow). This must be it...

Then there was one fine Sunday (22 July to be exact), Braun got up the sofa first and placed herself in the hollow of Grimlock's right arm. My eyebrows went up a little (or maybe more). And shortly after, Skoda followed suit and plonked herself down right there. Imagine my disbelief, what, two at one time?!?!? Uuurrgghhh...

That's my puppy snoozing away in the background. Can I look to her infallible allegiance?

"Happiness is like a cat sleeping on your lap. You can't force it to come to you and you can't force it to stay with you." - Pierre Foglia (P/S: well, this sums up the essence of the Chinese title of this posting)

Dream, Thy Name is Sweet! (II)

"My little one, may your slumber always be sweet and tight!"

Can you see her little tooth?

Puppy Love

Dear DJ, I'd like to dedicate the song "I Will Follow You" by Ricky Nelson to my favourite being @ the Cove, Mighty Mouse. Please tell her I'll be her puppy, always. - luv, Mikki.

I will follow you
Follow you wherever you may go
There isn't an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep me away

I must follow you
Ever since you touched my hand I know
The near you I always must be
And nothing can keep you from me
You are my destiny

I love you, I love you, I love you
And where you go I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow
You'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love
From now until forever, forever, forever

I will follow you
Follow you wherever you may go
There isn't an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep
Keep me away, away from my love

I love you, I love you, I love you
And where you go I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow
You'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love
From now until forever, forever, forever

I will follow you
Follow you wherever you may go
There isn't an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep
keep me away, away from my love

And where you go I'll follow

Yes, Mikki follows me around the house very much like a puppy. Sometimes I think my presence at the Cove can be quite disruptive to her routine. It is hard for me to slip away. She picks up my slightest movement.

If she is dozing off or had settled down nearby and I make a move, she'll be hot on my heels.

If I'm in the room and she is kept out (for like more than three minutes), she'll howl away and scratch at the door.

If I'm walking ahead of her, she'll pick up speed and overtake me (and many a times, I almost trip).

In the morning when I'm preparing to go off to work, she'll track my steps until I pick up my handbag, she'll then sit some distance from the doorway and look at me with her round big eyes (I'll avoid eye contact and make a quick dash out of the house).

If I continue to ignore her, she'll rub herself against my feet and look up at me. (The human slave will succumb to Her Highness' wishes and give her instant "therapy". Satisfied, she'll trotter to the food bowl and munch away.)

If I'm at the sink or the kitchen countertop, she'll take my back as her tree, transform herself into a monkey and race up my back to see what I'm up to.

If I'm at the desktop, she'll settle down near my feet, like what she is doing here.

I don't know how long this habit of her will go on but I'm secretly enjoying every bit of it. Mikki is about nine months old now so I'm surprised she still sticks to me. Maybe this is the best part of having hand-raised her (well, my attempts to inculcate some other desirable "habits" had failed terribly).

When Skoda was younger, she too loved to follow me around - until she was about five/six months old and until Braun came along. Now she'll come and look for me, say if I'm out of her radar for more than 30 minutes. Braun doesn't follow me around as much. She will look for me on a need-be basis, eg the food bowl is empty (so the human slave should immediately top it up) or she wants treats (so she'll lead the human slave to the cupboard where the treats are kept and yowl away).

Told you cats are Vocal, Assertive and Direct. I simply can't give this "wicked" quote a miss: "The more people I meet the more I like my cat" - Anonymous

Roving Eye@mcc: "I'm Not of the World"

I went back to my former estate last week to visit an old "friend". I chanced upon this cat who was completely in a world of his own. He was sleeping on a couch in-between a provision shop and a hairdressing salon. There was quite a bit of human traffic but he was least bothered with them all.

For as long as I was there, I had hoped the humans would also leave him alone. Lo and behold, a little girl came along and started getting her hands all over him. I got a little worried because how she was touching him might just rubbed him in the wrong way. The mom was nearby but she stopped at asking the little girl to leave him alone. Thankfully, the fella took the harrassment in his stride and I was relieved when the mom and daughter finally moved on.

Get Well Soon! (II)

Brought Braun to her vet this morning. The slots were already all taken up for the day. The nurse asked that I bring her on Monday. After I related the urgency, the nurse kindly agreed to "squeeze" Braun in. When I took the pet taxi out, the smart girl knew what was going to happen and ran into hiding. I rounded her up in the room and quickly whisked her into the pet taxi and rushed down to the vet. Grimlock had to work today. Thank God I still can manage Braun's weight. When we weighed her on Wed, 8 Aug at the vet's - she tipped around 3.5kg - her weight has stayed the same.

I updated the vet on how much Braun detested the oral medication and the stress the feeding is causing her and us. He gave her a Dexafort injection (anti-inflammatory). He is unable to give her any injection for antibiotic that would stay in prolonged effect. Braun's review is to be brought forward, in one week's time. The blood clog had subsided slightly. He said the peeling on her hind paw was due to contact with chemical and asked if we used bleach to clean our floor. Of course not! But we do use a floor liquid detergent. He said we'd have to wipe a second round using just water so as to remove all traces of the floor detergent. I was just looking at Skoda's and Mikki's paws when they were snoozing yesterday and don't recall seeing a similar peeling on them. Anyway, there is a slight redness on some of Braun's toes so I guess the extra diligence would be necessary. I'll be bringing her back on Thurs, 16 Aug evening.

When we touched home, Skoda and Mikki came immediately to "receive" us. Did they think I brought Braun out for an adventure without them? I could tell Braun was very happy to be home from her reactions. She stuck out and kept swiping her paw as if hoping to break free from the pet taxi. It was sweet watching how Skoda and Mikki came around Braun.

The first thing Braun did when she was "set free" was to spend a good 10 minutes licking herself. I supposed this is therapeutic for cats, it has a calming effect. After that, she settled down at one of her favourite snoozing spots for her nap. Good to see her so at home.

There was some nice sun coming in onto the dining table. Skoda wasted no time in getting her dose of vitamin D...

Three is never a crowd when it comes to a siesta party...