I haven’t been in the mood to write for a while now. There are unedited photos sitting by their lonesome selves on my hard disk but the creative juices just aren’t flowing.
Hope everyone had a great Chinese New Year and a fab Valentine’s Day!
Me? Everyday represents an opportunity for us to express our love for each other in so many different ways, there really isn’t any need to especially celebrate it. We had fun that day but we always have fun, wherever we are, whatever we do. Even during mundane things like cleaning the house or walking to the MRT station.
There was a Terrible Incident involving a running/jumping cat, a paw (with claws), a human ear and blood.
The tears wouldn’t stop flowing (and presumably, the blood too, but I wouldn’t know because I couldn’t and refused to look) but it wasn’t all because of the Terrible Incident. I guess I was in shock. The pain was minimal.
So. Yesterday, Mr Thick and I spent THREE HOURS in the gym and on the saddle of a stationary bike.
Yes, you are right, WHO THE HECK SPENDS THREE HOURS IN THE GYM ON A SATURDAY? Apparently, err, we did. And we spent only three hours there. There were people who happily peddled for EIGHT HOURS. Nobody forced us to do this at gun-point, strangely enough, we put our names down most willingly.
Let’s go back a little. The gym (and a most excellent one, I might add, they don’t always try to kill their members) had organised a “hell ride” at one of the outlets – eight hours of spinning on those dratted bikes. It was broken down into different sectors so I volunteered husband and I for the three-hour long mountain stage, intending to stay for all of one hour.
In the end, we stayed for all three hours, although I did take little breaks. At 5pm, we buckled in and started spinning. It went well, my lungs died a few times and came back to life and then at 6pm I took a one-track break. I headed out 45-minutes later to adjust my shorts.
(Let me sidetrack now by saying that if ever you are cycling and feel something poking into your lady parts, go to the loo IMMEDIATELY to adjust your shorts. You do not want to be sitting on the string of your shorts, which has hard plastic covering the ends, because IT HURTS and is ABRASIVE and you DON’T WANT THAT FOR YOUR LADY PARTS. That’s all I shall say for that matter.)
By 730pm, my right ITB was starting to tighten and I decided to go out of the room for some stretching. Stretching turned to downing Coke, which evolved into sitting at the coffee table flipping through 8-Days. Erm, yeah. I decided that it was a tad embarrassing to end the session with a Coke in one hand and 8-Days on the other so I headed back in for one last track and cool down.
Did I die? Surprisingly, no. The amount of perspiration I had excreted was rather cathartic. And it helped that there was a bunch of crazy ladies – A’s favourite members – who cheered and sang and waved their towels in the air throughout the three-hour ride. They helped to lighten the mood and turned it into something celebratory and festive.
There were bits where I pushed myself (up the slopes) and those were I didn’t (these gams ain’t got no speed in them) so in the end, it worked out nicely.
More importantly, I felt stronger knowing that I could do a three-hour ride. I went in thinking I would crash early on but I came out a winner, at least in my own eyes.
I did it and I could do it and I would do it all over again.
I am officially no longer mourning the demise of The Killers’ concert.
Who cares about those Las Vegas ingrates when THERE IS MUSE? We went for their The Resistance tour yesterday and it was PHENOMENAL. I was jumping and throwing my hands up in the air from the get-go and it seems like the entire stadium felt the same. By the end of the concert, I was soaked through in perspiration.
That the band is charismatic and talented is undeniable. How do you explain, otherwise, how three men can hold 11,000 people enthralled without fancy footwork or glittery costumes? All they had were their instruments and Matt Bellamy’s hypnotic voice. They spoke little and concentrated on their music.
And during the bridge of Starlight, it was simply magical to hear the entire crowd sing together in unison. I don’t think Singaporeans have ever sung our National Day songs with as much passion and fervour.
………………..
In other news, a publishing house contacted me and asked to use my photo for one of their articles! The money isn’t that great but hey, it’s not really about the money, is it?
I mean, I take pictures for fun and I am not even that good at it. Sometimes, I think that I am lucky because I have a good set of camera and lens so the pictures just turn out with nice DOF and vibrant colours. And armed with my basic knowledge of Photoshop, it’s really not too tough to turn a so-so photo into a nice one.
But. Anyhow. It feels nice to have someone think that my photo is nice enough to be published so yay!
After more than a month of staying in the same household with two kittens, it has become very obvious that no two kitties are the same.
We roll together
There was some hissing and sulking when Emi was first brought into the household. She was perfectly fine, had no problems adjusting, but I can’t say the same for Coco. That kitten was livid. It took about two weeks before she would calm down enough not to run away when Emi was near.
Everything’s fine now although there are still times when they would chase and pounce on each other. And it’s very funny to see their individual personalities emerge when they play, eat, sleep and do nothing.
Coco
Ah, my little Coco beans (that’s what I call her). She’s a fine Little Miss Prissy. She sits properly and primly, tucks her tail between her legs when we hold her up and never, never slouches. Between the two, she’s more cautious and guarded. When we first took her in, we kept her in the spare room before coaxing her out slowly. Initially, she was reluctant to come out of her comfort zone but gradually grew used to having the entire house as her playground. And she hates it when we have people over – she doesn’t like crowds and would hide in the room.
Her wariness doesn’t make her less lovable though. Almost every night, she would be sitting by the window in the kitchen (it faces the main corridor) and, when she catches sight of us, would jump onto her feet and start meowing loudly as if to say, You are home! I’ve missed you!
Once or twice, when I was home alone in the mornings, I would open my bedroom door to a seemingly empty house. All it took was a call: “Meow, where are you?” The darling would actually respond with loud meows! I’d find her perched on top of the fridge or curled up in the bedroom by the bay window.
I sleep
She’s really clever too. If we leave the room and say “bye bye” or “let’s go!”, she would follow us out of the room. If she wanted us to retrieve her toy from under the sofa, she would make a lot of noise and paw at the area. Sometimes, I would find myself having “conversations” with her – it’s quite funny!
Emi
My favourite story of Emi is this: one Sunday morning, I came out of the bedroom door and walked down the corridor with Emi trotting by my feet. Standing at the living room was husband, who said chirpily, “Good morning, Emi!” The cat paused, looked up at him and proceeded to roll on the floor twice. After the act, she got up and walked away, as if nothing had happened, leaving husband and I clutching our sides in mirth.
Emi is really a chill kitten. She had no qualms about coming to a strange place, took to the litter box immediately and was happy to be petted. She quickly claimed the sofa as her bed and sleeps A LOT. Funnily enough, she doesn’t meow but chirps. As in the manner of “brrrp!” And if she wanted to be heard, she would wail. LOUDLY. In the manner of, “Oh Gods of Cats! Hear my plea! I lead a miserable wretched life and hasn’t had a meal in 20 days!”
I chill
But she can be quite the attention seeker. She hates it when we go into a room and leave her outside, and she gets annoyed when Coco is obsessed with a toy and ignores her. She would start yelling loudly or, in the case of Coco, pounce on the poor dear and demand to play with her. We’ve had to grab her and pull her away from Coco more than once!
The fun thing about Emi is that she can be like a baby. We’d grab her and cradle her in our arms. She would struggle until we start scratching her head, the sides of her face and on her neck – her eyes will go soft, glaze over and before you know it, they are shut fast. She’s also a most unglamorous sleeper – hind legs sprawled, body twisted in strange ways, legs over her head.
I may just be biased but seriously, aren’t my cats just the cutest?
Where have you gone? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was celebrating my birthday? Suddenly, February is tapping me on the shoulder and telling me I need to flip my calendar.
You’ve been a rough month, despite the fact that I had a really great birthday. The Killers cancelled their concert here and it absolutely ruined my Friday. For two consecutive Fridays, I was hit by unexpected bad news and had to pacify irate bosses.
Both my knees are busted – it hurts when I walk, when I stand in my heels for too long.
I’m tired.
I’m not sure you were the start that I was looking for but now that it’s over, it can only get better, can’t it?
Yannisms 