Leksyon

May sakit ang isang tiyuhin ko kaya nilinis naming magpipinsan ang bahay niya. Nagtapon kami ng mga bagay. Sabi ko sa kanya mag-iiwan ako ng dos por dos at malaya siyang gamitin iyon para hatawin ako kung di siya masisiyahan sa gagawin namin.

Habang naglilinis kami, naisip ko na mas magaan talaga ang buhay kung walang pagnanasa sa materyal na bagay.

Ganito: kung ang kotse ay para makarating ka sa point B mula sa point A. Kung ang bag ay para may paglagyan ka ng mga gamit. Kung ang damit ay para hindi ka hubad o ginawin. Kung ang pagkain ay para matugunan ang kalam ng tiyan.

Kapag ang mga bagay na nabanggit ay binili mo para taob ang mga kaibigan/kakilala/kaaway mo, may problema ka.

Friends

It's amazing how some friends can be abusive sometimes. Some ask and grab. Some steal your time. 

And sometimes, some surprise you with their rabid, addled mind.

The incoming president said last night that some journalists deserve to be killed because they are corrupt and biased. 

I read a friend's post today that he thinks the incoming president has balls in going after entrenched and abusive forces in society. 

Sometimes, your friends will surprise you by showing who they really are. 

The Basement Parking Cats

Weeks ago, a neighbor caught me feeding a mom and kitty tandem at the basement parking. It was a few grams of dry food for cats, part of Hidey’s stash.

I was worried my neighbor would find it offensive, a resident caring for and encouraging strays. I quietly waited for a sermon.

“Wow, that’s cute. It’s a good idea,” she said.

I relaxed and smiled at her.

Days later, I saw the mom-and-kitty tandem eating off from a plastic wrapper laid out on the parking garage floor. I think my neighbor thought it would be good to follow my example. I don’t know if what I do is right, I just think cats should be fed.

This morning on my way out to have my car washed, I saw the kitten playing with her food – a dead swallow. The kitten’s mom was watching a few feet away, with what I perceived as pride.

Cats are known to be maniacs for personal hygiene. The basement dwellers are not. They can stand a few sessions of intense licking. I have seen the mom cat try to clean her offspring with a few licks, but apparently it’s not enough.

I wondered if humans are like cats. Deprived of basic needs like food and water, hygiene is not a priority.

I think that’s the case.

Blogging

I think I should return to blogging. I miss writing. 

Hidey woke me up by giving me a few nips here and there and then running away. The little jerk has her adorable way of asking for food or attention. 

She's in heat. It's been five days. Last night she molested my laptop's mouse. This was followed by an aggressively amorous attack on my left slipper. 

Ezra is the latest kid to join our workforce. She's four years old. She incessantly reminds me that she will turn five on August 11. 

They're counting the votes as I write this. I hope Robredo wins. Duterte's win is clear anyway. I am worried though that he has been mouthing unflattering lines lately. And sometimes, it's hard to determine if he's being ridiculous or serious. Either way, he fails to communicate. 

She's better now

She's  better now. She's back to her playful self. She bites my leg in the morning to tell me not to move as she's with me under the covers. She kneads her way to my face and kisses me, her charming way of asking for food. If that doesn't work, she bites.
 

She bites me when she wants to be playful. She meows to ask for more food. She runs away and hides when it's time for her meds. 

I am glad she's back. 

Feline Infectious Peritonitis

I was hoping I wouldn't have to take Hidey to the vet, but she refused to eat this morning. I force fed her with a sliver of tinned tuna but after less than an hour, she threw it up. She made an awful, mourning sound and I saw why she was stressed: she made a mess.

She hates making a mess.


She watched as I cleaned things up.

I brought her to the vet and I was told Hidey was dehydrated. I knew that meant she will have to be confined with a needle stuck to an arm. Shamelessly, my tears fell. I apologized to the vet. She said she understood.

I called the clinic twice, and I was told Hidey was being mean and unapproachable.  I said that was impossible. I went to the clinic after work and Hidey hissed at me. I greeted her happily and she calmed down. I opened her cage and hugged her, despite warnings from the staff that she might bite me.

She didn't. She was sweet and conspiring and huggy.

I asked that all tests and needles be done while I was there. After all that, we learned that her temperature has normalized. I coaxed her to eat and she did, though just a bit. I spent an hour with her before leaving for home.

I was told that Hidey's world revolves around me that's why she feels she has to be defensive when I'm not around.

I got a shirt from my car. I went to the clinic's toilet and took off the blouse I was wearing and placed it inside Hidey's cage. She stepped on it and went to sleep. 






Early tomorrow morning, I will go to the clinic and hug her before going to work.

Cat stuff

She's not beside me as I write this. It's unusual.
She's in our room, sitting in her doughnut bed.
She didn't welcome me as bubbly as she usually does when I got home past 10 PM.
I prepped her food and she ate a few morsels then sat on my jacket and stared at me.
I took a shower and she didn't move.
There's something wrong with Hidey. She's not bugging me at all.

When I changed in my room after my shower, she jumped on the bed minus the usual agility.
She found her doughnut pillow and sat in the middle of it.
I'm going to bed now to keep her company.
I hope it's not a bad thing.
I think I'll feed her tinned tuna tomorrow, her favorite.

Darkest before the dawn

I was walking in UP when my playlist played this.
Now, I've heard this a hundred or so times. But listening to it again tonight along with a few songs of the same genre and sentiment, I began to feel sad.
Then I remembered the time my heart got broken right after high school, that thing called first love.
I started crying, remembering all the pain I had to face every day. How I read myself to sleep. How I woke up every day with my spirit broken.
How it took me years to feel better and function fully again. How I had to deal with a lot of hits at that phase of my life.
Looking back, I am thankful that I went through intense pains and fears early in life. They made me tough.

Now, can I fall in love again, please?

The way we write the news

Hindi mapigilan ni XXX ang maiyak...
Hindi mapigilan ni XXX ang matawa...
Hindi mapigilan ni XXX ang maluha...

Bakit, dapat bang pigilan?

It's stupid, the way we write the news these days. Tunog lata, malakas, walang laman.

Naiyak si....
Natawa si...
Naluha si...

But if you're writing for TV...why do you need to say something that is visible?

Would you like to step out?

"Would you like to step out?" the vet asked me.
"Thank you, that would be nice. For all of us," I said. 
And so they drew blood from one of Hidey's leg. How much, I'll never know. Was Hidey pained? I'll never know. Small mercies. 
Hidey's been sniffing and her eyes have had discharges the past two days. I cut work short today to take her to the vet. 
Thankfully, her blood samples show she's okay.
She was given eye drops and I was told to buy eye cleaners.  For use twice a day. For the cat, not me.
I like Hidey's doc. She treats me like an idiot, but kindly. Explains everything so I'd know what to do to take care of this creature with four legs. 
I also learned today that Hidey is 2.5 kilos heavy. From .8 kilos in November, I think cat and human are okay. I write this as she watches me, lying down beside my laptop, tired from a few minutes of playing with a ribbon I attached on one kitchen cabinet door.
She puts her eyelids together with determination.