ERRR...THE UPDATES??

So, here I am again,filling in,  for Mama just couldnt bring herself to string a few sentences to oblige her daughter's plead to update this pitiful blog of hers.

I am not so well myself, to tell the truth. I think age is finally catching up with me.   I got this dizzy spell quite regularly now, and it only happens post meals. When they, Mama and Adik , first saw me wobbled , has difficulty in righting myself and finally, fall over, they screamed and  then, cried. Typical! They grabbed me, called me baby and hugged me  so tight as if I was going to die there and then!!

After witnessing a few more episodes of my losing balances, though they are still very concern ,  they quit  screaming, but they continue making lots and lots of fuss over it . Really, I cant understand these two. They call me fatty, lazy bum,sleepyhead and all sorts of degrading names ( none of which describes me ), but at a sight of me being well...just dizzy, they totally lost it!

Mama of course, googled away my condition and came up with the diagnosis of Feline Geriatric Vestibular Syndrome. Mouthful huh?( I especially detest the word geriatric, I'm not that old okay!) At least, its better than being labelled epileptic as she first presumed!

Well, I tried to tell her that I am okay and I dont have other symptoms that cats with that awful syndrome have, but to no avail. Not until she read and read and read and observed and observed and observed . At   one point, she deduced that I eat too fast and scolded me, reminded me of eating ethic of an aristocat. Indeed, I only have these dizzy spell after having meals, never at other times. So, that rules out epilepsy, as well as that mouthful diagnosis! Adik is worse, she thought I am outrightly obese, my head is not in proportion with my body anymore, thus causing me to topple over during mealtimes sometimes!

Well, I'm lost for words to tell them that I just have vertigo like what Abah used to have. And it is far better than what  Abah had as I dont vomit and it lasts only less than a minute. Plus, I could run as fast as usual right after. So, I just let them worry and the result is, I got more pampering!!

Nowadays, I enjoy extra tender loving care and more frequent treats of my favourite cans  of  sardines and salmons. Hmmm...didnt I always tell you that there's a silver lining in every cloud?

Anywaysss...enough about me ( though I know all of you wants more and more of me,right? And oh, for those of you who wonders, rest assured that I still look as good and fluffy and cute as before).


As for Abang and Adik, they are well and doing fine with their respective studies. Abang is still in syahadah class and hoping to graduate by the end of this year. Adik is preparing for her PT3 which will take place soon...and she grumbles a lot about being made guinea pigs.
They went for umrah for the second time in late February as a long overdue promised gift for Abang for having successfully committed 30 juzuks of the holy Quran to memory. The journey was postponed before because of our late Moktok being sick. It was  a joyous and meaningful occasion for them both as they now understand deeper  of the spiritual sides of the journey compared to their first umrah. Abang got to fulfill his dream of reciting the whole of the Quran in front of the Kaabah while Adik said doing tahajjud infront of the Kaabah was priceless!!

Back from the holy lands, Abah, Mama and Adik went on to visit Cik Tie at her new abode in Patayya where they had wonderful holiday with Cik Lah's family. 
I cant be bothered to find their numerous photos there...

And I'm getting tired writing this...so I guess I'll just stop here.

Till then,so long....and  gear up for Ramadhan all of you,you hear me??



p/s I am never good at giving titles to anything,so...


 

MISERABLE MARCH...

Just when I thought I can retire peacefully,she has to come into our life. And made my life,in particular, oh so miserable.

It was Adik who 'discovered' her and begged and begged Mama and Abah to allow her to bring that tramp home.
I disliked her on the first sight.
And it progressed to disgust and now I simply hate her!!
Nowadays I live my life in seclusion. In Mama's room to be exact. I will only go out when I couldnt smell her rotten odour  around. Well, too bad if Abah, Mama, Adik( and now its school holidays, Abang is around too) have to do extra job of making sure she is out of the house before I could be persuaded to eat.
I cant even linger in the kitchen for a second more than my mealtimes as I cant stand her pathetic voice outside the backdoor.
I am so disgusted I cant write any more...so, guys, thats all from me for now.

signing off.
Dr.M.Grey

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh, Grey,the ultimate snobbish cat!!!
I was hoping she would write a proper entry for this month as I am having a major brain drain due to the heat. Well, me and heat never agree. Year in, year out, you will hear about how bad the hot season affects me as Grey  has kindly written here and here. She is in  a rotten mood this year,thus not so kind!
Well, it is sooo hot now. I have been quite useless for the last two days. Cooped up in my cold dark room with minimum movement. And this morning, Maktok has to come visiting me, along with C.Nini and C.Jah and their families, after listening to exaggerated report by Abah.  And as usual, I would miraculously get well whenever my sisters are around!! Much to Abah's delight of course as he was leaving for another trip to KK this evening.
Poor Abang for having to come home for holidays in a very hot season where Mama stay away from the kitchen as much as possible. We did go for a short break in a jungle to escape the heat. Setiu Agro Resort to be exact, where all of us enjoyed  jungle trekking, canoeing,fishing and cycling in the cooler air. Here's some pics for the record;

It was made even more enjoyable as we teamed up with Mak's family where Adik became inseparable with Kak Iybah and Abang with Aqim....and the resort itself was surprisingly quite void of other holiday makers thus leaving us monopolise the canoes,pedal boats and the floating gondola. Abang got to be Imaam at the surau and recite his daily portion of the Quran on that said gondola after fajar prayer. Blissful indeed!

Insyaa Allah I'll try to make Grey writes again on her enmity with Cheeky in the coming month...
Till then, let us pray harder for rain....

MEEOOWWW...

Hello guys,Assalamualaikum.....
Its me again. Grey the cat.
If its all up to me, I cant be bothered to spend my precious time writing up an entry, but, hey, what can I say.... I have my own fans!!
And they keep asking Mama to let me write again. ( I secretly think they are bored of Mama's same old ,same old stories already hehehe)

Anyway, Alhamdulillah I have been keeping well. Think I have lost a bit of weight...though people  have different views on this. Some would say I am just as fat as ever, some say my tummy is not as big as before. Yes, people do actually discuss me, my weight,(I must reiterate that my muscle mass is just in the right proportion with my body-fat...but these people have no inkling whatsoever of what I'm talking about) my habits and everything about me. Again, what can I say...I am just so adorable that people cant resist discussing me. By people, I mean my Mama,Abah,Adik and the frequent visitors to this household ( some of whom read this blog quite religiously...)

There's nothing much I do around the house nowadays. Plus the house is always quiet from 8 to 3 on most days. 
What do a cat does in a quiet peaceful house? 
Yes, you guess it right!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

When I'm done sleeping( which could last from 3 to 5 hours consecutively),I would get up to have my meals and prowl a bit. Chase away a few cats that dare to come into my territory and try to catch this and that with errr... little success.
 Well, its not that I am less agile now,it just that I cant be bothered. I am going to be 7 soon ( nearly 50 in human years) and well, I think I have garnered enough wisdom for a cat my age. Life is too precious to spend chasing little insignificant things.The chasing in any case, was done so that I have the  cardio part  to complete my daily workout regiment, apart from warming up( I get it done  by walking briskly to the kitchen where my bowl is) and stretching( everyone knows how good a cat can stretch right?)Enough said... I know, Mama is super jealous of me as unlike her, I always do my exercise in a very structured way! Mama, on the other hand, has all the knowledge but not enough discipline. Story of her life!!

Well, there's nothing much I can relay here. Life is about the same as before...and you have heard all the drama in Mama's previous entry.
Last couple of months were as strenuous on me as to the other members of the family. I was left to manage the house alone most of the times. And I hated it! And it was made worse as I couldnt stand the smell of paints. Plus one of the painters keep trying to pet me and even tried to pick me up. I  simply cannot tolerate total stranger  touching me, let alone picking me up!! But well, looking at how please my surrogate mother is with the new colour scheme make it worth every hour I endured the painters and the smell. Mama insisted that the smell was not that bad as she purposely chose environmentally friendly paints with low odour,low VOC and what nots...She forgot that I have super efficient olfactory system. Sigh...

Nowadays life has gone back to normal I think. Mama and Adik are not moping around anymore...though they do discuss the late Tok Ayah every now and then. The three small incisions site near Adik's bellybutton are well healed now. I was scolded quite a few times for jumping on her stomach during those post-operation early days .

Ok guys..I think this is quite enough. I must go back to sleep now. The cool air and the overcast sky are just sooo conducive to shut-eye moments.....
Till then....Wassalamualaikum.

Dr.M.Grey


N.B please excuse the title..I just cannot think of anything suitable for this nonsensical entry!

OUCH!! (part 2)

Just as everybody in this household is taking it for granted that I am all fit and healthy all year long, and they were all happily packing away to go for a short break, I decided to pull a quick one. Its a given anyway. I deserve extra attention once a year. And to get that, I must fell sick...(and err... I kind of promised myself to do this anyway)

I perched on the study table and stared and stared...halooo,look at me!!!! but they were so busy zipping and unzipping the bag again and again and didnt notice my staring at them with a crooked smile until the very last minute.

And Adik shrieked!!! Huh,at last I got your attention!.....Yes, my lower canine tooth was falling out okay...it was juuust hanging on and kind of pointing out to one side already, causing the crooked smile as I couldnt close my mouth properly by then. And Mama shrieked even louder when she saw it. They fussed and fussed about me and I loved every minute of it!! 

The BIG questions were, was I in pain? Should they go ahead and try to pull it out? Was any of them brave enough to do that?

No answer to any of those...

They wanted to consult Abah  who had  flown a day earlier to do some work, but decided against it as it was very late already. Abah must have gone to sleep. Mama then went online in search of advice and instructed Adik to look for signs of:

• Red, irritated appearance of the gums
• Bad breath
• Rotten appearance of teeth  

Alhamdulillah, none of it....From the net, Mama deduced that if a cat has teeth that are falling out, it can either be a completely normal process or one indicating that an underlying health condition exists.

They decided to deal with it tomorrow, kissed me goodnight and allowed me to sleep with them. YES!!!

I slept soundly but I know Mama didnt, because she had learned so much from the net just then and she was feeling guilty!!! The vet did check my teeth when we go for our yearly booster but he never said a thing about brushing teeth and Mama, ignorance in many things as she is, never seen anyone brushes cats' teeth in her life!!

Morning came and it was very chaotic. They had to catch their flight around noon but I was the priority here!! Matter was made worse when Abang called early in the morning asking Mama could she please send him a towel! He said he has been borrowing a friend's towel for the last few days...Mama was beyond shock!! ( biasa la mama kan, drama queen sokmo!) How could he leave towels behind? Personal hygiene ranks very high in Mama's list, so she didnt take it very well when Abang said to just bring the towel when they come to visit .(Abang said that after Mama exploded)

Well, in my opinion, Abang shouldnt be blamed. It was frantic the day he left. On the first day of  Eid-al-Adha we slaughtered 2 cows on our backyard , shared mostly with Abah and Mama's siblings. So, you can imagine the full house with cousins ( an occasion very much enjoyed by Abang and Adik of course) and the works that followed after. Abang helped out a lot. Yes, it was a yearly affair and Abang is quite adept at it by now but still, his room was a mess as it was used for male cousins to lepak, change and pray. He had tried to gather all his things but still...And his flight back to Penang was very early the next morning. 

So, Mama became very stressful and snapped at Adik at every single mistake she made...kesian adik. 

The vet was closed and so were the courier companies as it was the birthday of our beloved Sultan. Many calls were made and to cut the long story short, a back-door transaction(shhhh!) was finally made with a courier agent. A visit to the famous pet shop of Kubang Kerian and a chat with the ever friendly and knowledgeable owner saw Mama heaving a relief sigh . He calmly assured Mama that it is an entirely normal aging process.

Just before noon, I was  left with the neighbour who is as crazy about me as my own family with loads of premium wet food together with a  what-to-do/ watch-out  list.

They barely had time to catch the flight...and off the went to KUCHING, of all the places!!

I am very satisfied to know that they didnt really enjoy their time there as there were too many reminders of me...heheheh. Mama even updated her fb status with: In Kuching and missing our kucing!!

none of them is as cute as me tho...

Ok folks,I need my beauty sleep now...so long!!

Dr. M. Grey

THE HEAT IS ON..... pt 2

Mama and heat are just not meant to be together...that explains why am I here again, filling the void as May is nearing its end. As usual, I'm not very good at giving titles to my entries,so just let me repeat the title for  last year's entry on the very same subject matter....Do not complain or I promise never to write again!! You better take heed as its not everyday you could read a blog entry from a clever cat like me...

Daily harvest from Mama's vege beds

May started out very-very hot, with no rain at all. Mama's enthusiasm for the kitchen garden died with all the crops. Alhamdulillah though, the effort was not at all futile, the family got to taste all the veges from the few harvests before the heat sets on.

 After a couple of weeks of hot spell, the rain came for a few days,  giving us much needed  respite....and Subhanallah, it was so refreshing. We could all really taste the barakah in that.....the air became cooler, new shoots sprouting everywhere and flowers started blooming. 

Brunfelsia blooms...(mama's garbage enzyme does help too)

Now, the heat is back on again to test the patience and to see how grateful some of us are over the other blessing showered upon us everyday by HIM. InsyaAllah it wont be long anymore before the next rain come...

Mama is a bit better this year. ( compared to last year that is...I'm sure my advice did play quite a role in this...). Yes, she still stay away as much as possible from the hot kitchen, but at least she did something quite useful. As for staying away from the kitchen, it was not a bad thing either. First and foremost, unlike me, she really doesnt need to eat three square meals a day....well, I dont have to spell it out clearly why it is so, do I? 

And Abah was not around most of time, away as external examiner in other university for those sitting for professional exams and aspiring to be doctors. And when he was back home, he was busy entertaining external examiners that came to HUSM.

As for Adik, now that she is a teenager ( and very conscious of that fact!) is forever watching what she eats...I'm quite sure Mama's behavior is affecting her's. Mak Tok is  always asking her to eat more rice...and Mama is always saying good eating habit must start early. I dont really  understand all these talk about basic metabolic rate, calorie requirement  and what nots that Mama has been explaining to Adik. So, I better not go into that. I dont need to  anyway, being  an individual with an ideal weight...hahaha..I can see Mama is green with envy over this statement!!!

Oh yes, I was saying about Mama doing something useful earlier and I almost forget about it...dont blame me! Its easy to forget because its not everyday Mama does useful things.  

The heat would keep her in the bedroom, forcing her brain to work  a bit , tap-typing away Malay translation of a book on Etiquette For Teachers And Students for madrasahs use. It was Ayah Chik Razif who gave her the chore seeing that Mama has so much free time and living her life like a madam tai-tai.( albeit not a wealthy one) He is supposed to do that but re- delegated the work to Mama. It is not that easy as the book was originally written in Urdu and then translated to English causing some original connotations to be lost somewhere . And the fact that it is dotted here and there with the Holy Verses and Ahadith that need accurate translation. Ayah Chik is always  a phone call away to guide as he has got lots of experience, having translated the Fadhai'l A'amal series when he served at Sri Petaling Madrasah few years back.

Exercise wise, unlike last year,she has been good this year. Reason, she found a "ladies only" gym. So there she goes twice weekly for a couple of hours doing cardio and strength training in air-conditioned studio. So, no excessive sweating or heat stroke or whatever excuses of last year's. Those strength training has proven good as I personally saw Mama clearing and digging up the vegetables beds with no complain whatsoever!! My Mama is no longer a lembek lady..yeay!! 

Abah is especially happy about this as he will have less chores to do at home. To encourage Mama more, he even bought a portable air-cooler and place it in front of the treadmill at home so that Mama could still use it on the days she doesnt go the gym. He 'incidentally' bought it on Mothers' Day...I must use the word 'incidentally' as Abah insists he does not celebrate birthdays,Mothers Day or whatever days. He said,giving gifts are simply sunnahs, thats the only reason he is so fond of giving gifts to Mama... and somehow the gifts are always the practical ones...I wonder why?? And oh ya, Adik got some hand-made chocolates for Mama on that day. Mama ate two of them and she finished the rest..... Practical too, isnt it? Hhemm, like father like daughter...

Anyway...that's all I can think of. Hopefully next month, you'll read Mama's entry and I dont have to write again until the next hot season. Abang is coming home on 4th June for a week, InsyaAllah...Please pray that Mama dont do anything stupid such as eating whatever Abang will eat in that one week and 'undo' the 3kgs she has lost in the gym.

Signing off,

Dr.M. Grey

OUCH!!

Yes folks, its me, Grey...  and last week, I was in  pain.

It was my right front leg....it hurt so much when I moved. I'm better now, thus able to write this account of my once-a-year sickness. See, I got sick around this time too last year. (Hemm, thats a thought...based on the amount of attention lavished on me, I should make it a yearly event!)

Unlike humans (err..a woman in particular), we cats are very good at hiding pain,but there's no fooling that lady! Mama noticed my limping straight-away. I tried to tell her that it's no big deal but she wouldnt listen to any of it. She wanted to run to the vet immediately. Abah stopped her, saying,"let us wait for two three days, it may be nothing"...As she very much wants to be one isteri solehah, she reluctantly agreed. But, literally on the third day, ( and I was still limping and had a slight fever by then) a visit to the vet was on the top of her to-do list of the day.

The vet  did a thorough check-up and declared that I'm a healthy 6-year-old cat with a body score of 3 year-old . Do you hear that, I am officially an awet muda cat, seriously!!!

The limping was nothing serious, it might just be a traumatic injury following my misjudging a distance and fall not so gracefully on the feet as usual. So said the vet.

But my Mama wasnt buying it!! She tried to put forward her theory but the vet was  in a hurry to finish as he was going out to  to do a housecall or barncall or whatever a vet does...He calmly assured Mama that everything was okay, gave me an injection for the fever, recommended a tasty high energy dietary supplement ( I like!!!)  and left.

You see, in those three days of observing  and fussing over me and worrying and crying and doing solat hajat, ( if you think Mama is over-reacting, you should see Adik...she was expecting the worse.

She even wrote an entry in her blog implying that I might die...oh, how could you Adik!) , Mama had also been doing her housewifey research on the net . And she came to the conclusion that I have all the symptoms of Feline Osteoarthritis.

She observed that my limping was worse upon arising from rest.  I didnt move very much, let alone jump, and had obvious pain when walking. I just stay put  either  on Mama's or Adik's beds, curling at their feet at nights and leaned against the pillows on the days, gravitating towards the warm spots. I wouldnt eat at all. (but they carried me to the bowl and pleaded with me to eat.) I neither poo nor pee on those three days. And Mama said, I had some sort of personality changes...whatever she means by it.

Mama tried to emphatise with me. She put herself in my shoes (not that I'm wearing any, and even if I do, our sizes would vastly differ), and said she could actually feel the pain. Such a drama mama she is!! She thought that as our age are approximately the same ( when you convert the cat years to human years that is. I could tell Mama's age directly here but Mama would ban me from this blog forever....yes, she's a bit vain..please forgive her, she cannot help it, being a Libran), we'd be having common ailments.

My Mama, you see, suffers from plantar fasciitis. ( yes, go google it now!)  She brushed aside the suggestions that her insistence on wearing unsuitable footwear read high-heels and her err..excess weight are the main contributing factors. She instead, is convinced that her  alternate day brisk-walking on the treadmill is the main cause, made worse by her small feet  and reluctantly admits that her age too, might has something to do with it. 

Now, she thoughts we share the same attributes..my constant sprinting here and there, my small feet (seriously Mama, have you ever seen cats with large feet?), my age and my eerr... rotund body, which I totally disagree . For the umpteenth time, I state, I AM NOT overweight!

Even if I am, it is a universal truth that FAT CATS ARE BEAUTIFUL. Unfortunately though, the same cannot be said to human. Umm, I'm so sorry you are not a cat Mama....

No, that's not the real colour of my eyes!! Mama really is a bad photographer!

Anyway....

My point here is, Mama IS wrong. I dont suffer from osteoarthritis. I'm still too young to get it. Deal with it Mama!!! Even if our age are in the same bracket, I am much healthier than you are, due to my healthy eating, exercising lots more than you and stress-free life I am blessed with. Scratch your plan for my weight loss or exercise regimes. You, on the other hand, SERIOUSLY need them....

Okay folks...before you think that I am cruel to Mama and sound a bit smug, I must tell you that I really do appreciate Mama's efforts ( however misguided it was) and I'm showing it...So much so, that I have broken quite a few of my feline principles so far.

I have become the opposite of aloof cat I was before.

Nowadays, I'm a sweeter cat. I let them rub my abdomen, which they are crazy about. 

Please note that not everybody is welcome.....

(The rubbing/scratching area used to be limited to neck and head areas only .) I've started licking Mama's  and Adik's hands and feet daily to show my affection. ( Abah, though, is not priviliged to this affectionate behaviour as he doesnt deserve it. He didnt do any solat hajat for my speedy recovery) I let all of them carry me for as long as they like,( I'm doing away with the 5 minutes time frame) without me struggling hard to wrench myself free from their suffocating embraces. (Abah is included here as he did give me some massages and enquired after me everyday during those limping days.) 

Okay, I think thats enough to quench the longing someone has for my writing....(*wink to Miss Cat expert in Wangsa Maju)

I'm gonna have my beauty sleep now.... I'll have a short nap in Mama's wardrobe,the coziest spot in the whole universe. Since recovering, they've been spoiling me rotten. Mama,  happily lets me in whenever I want to, which she totally prohibits before (mental note: must get sick more often)

InsyaAllah, starting tomorrow, I'll have some peace and quiet for one week. Abang is arriving tomorrow and all attention will shift to him. I'm not complaining though...these people are too much sometimes!

Till we meet again...enjoy your weekend and Selamat Berkorban. Dont forget to fast on the Days of Tarwiyah and 'Arafaah ie 8th and 9th of Dzulhijjah.

Sign,

Dr.M.Grey 

 

BOY TO MAN

Alhamdulillah, the weather is getting nicer...not as hot as for the past couple of months. No excuse to stay-away from the treadmill anymore, no excuse for not fasting on Mondays and Thursdays and no excuse to ignore the now overgrown garden. Hemm...looks like Mama has her hands full. And believe me, she really needs  these. Those extra flesh are prove enough...need I say more?

Abang was home for the first week of school holidays. And Mama fed him very well....and in the process of fattening Abang up, Mama inadvertently fatten herself up too! Well, I witnessed how the three of them, Abang, Adik and  Mama, finished up 4 big tubs of different flavours of ice-cream in the span of one week. Add to that, big boxes of BigApplesDonuts, all kinds of nasi for breakfast, lunch and dinner, various kinds of puddings and cheesecakes, you get a perfect formula for fast weight-gaining....(especially if you are in a certain age-group and you fold up and stowed away your treadmill and let it be covered with cobwebs).
The two young competitors in that eating marathon used up all the energies on badminton, cycling and whatnots while the older  one just played it down, trying to fool herself up    by telling her oldself that she didnt really eat, just accompanying the kids...a small serving here and there, a little bite of this and that and a tiny-miny spoonful of whatever....Haha, kid yourself not Mama!!

She is now too  absorb in endeavouring ways to get back to her former self ( which is not too good to begin with, haha), thus  leaving me to take care of this space again.

Anyway...

Abang came home by bus...much to Mama's annoyance. She strongly opposed the notion when it was first brought up. But, Abah, Mak Tok and Umi ( among the peoples consulted over that BIG decision) were all for it, leaving Mama grudgingly agreed to the idea. But, how she fussed and fussed about it!!! I,as one wise cat, advise you Abang, please do not do it again as I couldnt stand her state of mind during that time . You have got the experience you want, now get over it already! 

Abah fetched him from the main bus station as Mama couldnt be trusted to brave the crowd in Kota Bharu town during school holidays. I tell you, it was crazy out there. All the roads are jam-packed  with holiday makers. 

So there we were, waiting excitedly for Abang at the door after getting a call from Abah saying that they would arrive in 5 minutes. We were literally jumping ( yes, mama sometimes forgets to act her age) at the sight of Abah's car and Abang just stepped out and calmly arranged the scattered shoes and sandals at the bottom of the stairs!!  Mama was like,"ABANG!!! LEAVE IT, WILL YOU!!".

It was another 30 seconds before we could maul him down.....

Abang said he felt like a grown-up riding the bus home. Got down at the stops and bought all kinds of gift for Mama, Abah and Adik. He, somehow, couldnt find anything for me, sob,sob...( he made up for it though by buying me a ball at the nearby supermarket)

The truth is, Abang has really grown up. Really. Know what I mean? He is a man now....

Apparently 'it' happened sometimes before he came home.But he was not too sure about it. Mama, being inquisitive by nature, and closer than close with Abang, managed to uncover the whole sequence of the 'dream' and inexperienced as she was, consulted Abah and Ayah Ji the maulana.

Abang ended up having to qadha' around 10 days worth of prayers. And he did it most dilligently and the whole family got to hear him reciting all the surahs he has memorised in those qadha' episodes.....it was just beautiful!!

reported by;

DR. M. GREY

THE HEAT IS ON.....

...and Mama is  eerrr..out ( of her elements)

So, guys, looks like its me, Grey, again....

Apparently,our beloved Mama is badly affected by the weather. The heat really gets to her and taking its toll on her, draining her out, turning her into lifeless being. ( the creativity juice, if she has any in the first place, is totally dried too, thus the need for me to  take over).  These days, she's  quite a different person. Right after zuhr prayer, she'll get into this weird mode of 'not doing anything'. To me, it looks like as if  she stops functioning. I think she even stops thinking. Truth be told, I'm a little worried about her. Worse still, I'm the only one around from 7.50 am to 4 pm. I, therefore, as a responsible and sensitive and loving child cat of hers, never leave her side.... ( except for a few minutes to,y'know, answer the call of natures...)

From 2 to 4 pm she'll sit still on that recliner, do nothing except reading and sipping cold water, while I obediently sit at her feet. She hardly moves. And when the pitcher she's been drinking from becomes empty, she'll look at me longingly, wishing that I could go and fill it up again...and I stare back at her, conveying message that reads, 'Mama, I would if I could...but you know my limitation. And, frankly speaking, you are already spoilt as it is, you dont need a cute cat to spoil you further'. I'm quite sure she reads it perfectly fine as she would lazily and ever so slowly drags her feet to the fridge....

She's been eating very little...the heat has taken away the usually very extremely healthy appetite. She then wonders, why she hasnt loose any of those excesses pounds despite not eating as usual. Oh Mama, do I need to explain this too? You see Mama, all the energy you use are only for flipping those pages of books you read, and nothing else...so, do I need to say further? Being polite as I am, I really dont want to insult your intelligence, or whatever shred of it left. Furthermore... do I need to point out the fact that you have conveniently forgotten your routine on the treadmill? Looks like the alternate-day regime has been replaced by once-a-week half-hearted effort!!

And I pity you Adik and Abah, for having to live with her ...and good for you Abang! ( for being away that is...) . The idle mode means  very few cooking done , as the kitchen is,well, obviously the hot spot!!( our kitchen faces west where it gets the full brunt of the fierce sun) After asr prayer, she'll start rummaging in the deep freezer,  and more often then not, comes out with some frozen ready-to-eat 'something' from as far back  as eidil-adha!! And throws it into the microwave. Seriously Mama!! Where is your 'trying to eat natural food as much as possible'  so-called principle? Have you forgotten the fact that food that has stayed too long in the freezer are of lesser quality? Dont you feel guilty for not feeding your family the nutritious meals at all? Hah, I guess not!! The heat has taken your memory away too....sad!!

Abah and Adik, good-naturedly, bear with this...all in the name of protecting Mama from the evil of migraine which is ever-looming nearby.( heat,fatigue and bad smell are the three migraine-inducing factors to Mama) They have to...Or else suffer from a darker mood of Mama. A situation where  the need for the whole house to be kept in the dark and everyone is reduced to tip-toeing around her, making as little noise as possible and never to let  any offensive smell, especially  of food, to come near her...Yes, she could be very difficult to live with.  Abah would be the one suffering most as he will have to lovingly massage her to sleep.( err..somehow Mama always know if the massage is done secara terpaksa and will refuse it!..followed by a few hours of sulking thereafter)) All alone now that you are gone Abang....you are the one who would usually rescue Abah from that ordeal. ( And we must never mention Abang at this stage or the waterwork will start and will be quite difficult to be stopped once it begins).I do help sometimes too...by walking on her feet and calves...I really do!! And I'm quite sure Mama does appreciates it. Despite all those massages and whatever strong painkillers administered, the evil throbbing will not end until she becomes sick enough and throw up all the contents of her gut . Some kind of abdominal migraine I would say...and its bad, real bad. Seriously.

Ok guys...if you have any love for Mama, please pray for her. She's in dire need of your prayers to become wholesome again and be patient and be thankful of whatever situation she's in.  Look no  further than at ME!! With my thick fur, I should be more uncomfortable than she is...but, do any of you hear any complains from me? NO. I am always grateful of what Allah decides for me....

With that wise words, I end this entry. 

                   well, no mama here, she's gone for yet another refill...

MEEOOOW....

(Please excuse the title...I'm not very good at giving post title, given that this is only my second attempt at  blog-posting. Unlike 'someone' who usually put fancy title only to write about how she misses her son!!)

Annnywayy....

Here I am again, taking  over from Mama for this month lest she will bore you to death with her same old - same old stories of you know what la kan...

Hemm, what should I write about now...

Let me begin by sharing with you my ever-increasing duties in this household.

I still guard the house.

Here I am at the vantage point where I could keep an eye on everything that moves. (and yes, the car is YELLOW...with the word 'Dragon Sound' on it...sungguh tak seswai dipandu oleh a niqaabi, dont you think?)

And yes... apart from that important duty, I still have to entertain the naughty girl... mostly by playing hide and seek with her. Ah, she's easy to please...

                                My favourite hiding spot....where is she now?

Right after 'Asar prayer, off we go and jump on  to her new-found sanctuary.....

Yes, you see it right. Its a rambutan tree....These days, weather permitted, she can be found here, reading,  almost every afternoon. And I keep her company, always. To tell you the truth, it was ME who discovered this spot. She saw me crouching there,enjoying the afternoon breeze while listening to those birds chirping and those naughty squirrels jumping mindlessly , eating all Abah's bananas, snakefruits, papayas and everything edibles. I have quit chasing them after being severely reprimanded by Mama long ago. She taught me to love all things  breathing and non-breathing ...though I still cannot comprehend why she screams her lungs out whenever those cute smallish green snakes slither by every now and then. Well, this place is like a zoo sometimes, all kind of creatures can be seen here.....While at this, I must say that I am so aghast at peoples' reaction whenever they see me approaching the  fish bowl to have a drink.

yesss, this is my favourite drink. Fish flavoured water. I dont eat fish though!!

 They thought I'm gonna eat those tiny colourful fish. No way!! I'm much too civillised to do that okay!! Plus, I dont eat anything but my premium kibbles. Call me a food-snob, go on, but I stand my ground!

But I digress..... 
Back to Adik's adventure.

I have always known that you, Abang and Adik harbour a dream to have a tree-house. I remember how the two of you even tried to build one by yourselves after your request was turn down by Abah and Mama. They have their own valid reasons for turning it down though.

So, one day, Adik was doing her daily chores of putting the organic waste into Mama's compost heap  when I sort of meoowing at her from my perch. She came, she saw and she conquered!! Not one to argue over trivial  matters, I just let her.....Well, she still needs me up there as a company , so, no big deal. 
Since that day,she'll be here until the sound of  Qur'an reciting came from the nearby mosque indicating Maghrib is soon approaching. Nothing to worry here as the rambutan tree is actually in the backyard garden with chain-link on the perimeter.

At the moment she's reading Alice In Wonderland and I am being subjected to some kind of harrasment. She insists that I should grin like that stupid Chesire Cat!! She has  tried pulling my lips out and upward, cracked silly jokes, danced an  awful dance and  even threatened me in her attemp to make me flash a grin!! I feel like screaming, ADIK, STOP IT!! Yes, I could wink at you every now and then, but that's it ,okay,...I dont do GRINNING! Werent you and Abang believe that I am an 'aristocat' not too long ago? I am therefore, a lady-cat who must maintain her posture, stature and that nonchalant, indifferent look all the times. A grin will just wipe it away! NO CAN DO! Stop harassing me already!

In the morning, when she's in school, I take my much-needed rest...I used to sleep for hours and hours.

BUT, not anymore.
Recently I found Mama did something quite detrimental to the household finance. I observed her for a few days and concluded that I need to do something before it gets worse. Ah, what to do, duty beckons.

So, nowadays, whenever I see her sitting in-front of the desktop or her netbook for more than half an hour, I"ll just leisurely shashay  my catwalk over the keyboards. With my ample size, I just cover the monitor nicely and with my weight, everything she's been tapping away just vanish into the thin air. Abah is very thankful to me and applauds me for rendering a grrreat service to the household.

(I can only have my beauty sleep uninterrupted on mondays and wednesdays when Mama is not home,doing her so-called charity works.)

Yes, you guess it right.
Mama is on the slow but sure path of addiction to the on-line shopping!! I have seen packages arriving from all over the world for the last few months....THIS REALLY HAS TO STOP MAMA!! And she has a partner-in-crime. A cousin who shares the passion. They call each other almost everyday, comparing things, prices, web-addresses, whatever...This cousin, I happen to like her because she provides good advice to Mama regarding my well-being, otherwise I should ban her from visiting. I heard that her next visit will be on the coming CNY break, is it right?

I have to stop now...some noise is coming from the ceiling, gotta go inspecting.

And oh...Abang, if you read this piece a few years from now, please be informed that I DO miss you...I visit your bedroom everyday, sleep on your bed, on  your swivel chair and on your study-table where I can still sniff your smell....I know you miss me too. Dont worry, the coming weekend, Abah, Mama and Adik will go visit you and I'll make sure they wont forget to bring the camera to show you all my cute poses.

I end here with a picture of me wearing the bling-bling Adik bought for me in Seoul....very befitting me, if I can say so myself....

Signing-off,

Dr.M.Grey

GREY (herself…)

For most of you who frequent this blog ( i really cannot see why though), you should know me well by now…..

Mama, head still fuzzy with overdose of ketupat and such, has been ignoring this pitiful space….

I, the cat with, ahemm, quite a few talent….have decided I should take over for at least, this one time. (depends though, if you guys like my style, I might consider writing again).

Since Syawwal is still here, I might as well recount my experience during the festive days. Alhamdulillah ( for I am a muslim cat), I am thankful that this year, I was much spared compared to the year before, from molestation that is. (oh no, not sexually, just physical attack I mean). The little girl who used to pull me by my tail while walking the opposite way of my direction, didnt come this year. People seems much more civilised this year. They still look at me admiringly, but, they just ask the usual questions and stroke me gently. Quite a few fell in love in me, which is, well, totally understandable( smug look)…..For the few little rascals who tried to suffocate me, I have learned the trick or rather have found some strategic locations for refuge whenever I smell them kids.

During the last few days of Ramadhan I got really sick and discovered how much love this family has for me. All three of them ( Abah was out of the picture for he was away, doing the usual last 10 days Ramadhan i’tikaf ), were worried sick. Adik and Mama cried a lot while Abang, trying to be macho, (part of his psyching-up to be away from home soon), blinked away the tears. 

Oh, by the way, Abang is still home. Mama, hemmh, as expected, has asked for a postponement for the registration date . Reason, she couldnt bring herself to part with her son yet!! So, Abang will leave home by the end of October….InsyaAllah, by that time, both of them will be ready. Judging from the way they talk about it and NOT crying anymore, I think, they’ll be okay. Dont worry Mama, I’ll be here for you…and I’m quite sure I am far more adorable than Abang, and as a bonus, I do not talk back…..

Alhamdulillah, I was my healthy, rotund self by 1st of Syawwal. Not without drama though….When Mama first noticed that I’ve not been eating like usual , she was puzzled, she thought I finally took her advice to cut down on my food and slim down a bit. Mama is a bit off here…I am not overweight, I just look big because my hair are long and fluffy. Plus, I do eat very healthily, I dont just eat anything, in fact, I just eat what I perceive as healthy. I read all the small prints on the food packet y’all!! Gotta make sure they have all the vitamins and minerals  essential to my growth... Look at this pics;

ooookayy...the nutrition value is acceptable here.

 and weigh myself right away to ensure I didnt exceed my portion...oh, I'm  so disciplined!!

Back to the story, after two days of not eating AT All, Mama made a frantic call to Abah. ( i have an appointment with vet a week ahead for my vaccination booster, so Mama tried to avoid bringing me to the vet just yet). Abah, thinking that I resemble his patients in cuteness and sizes ( No way!!, I am cuter!!! ), prescribed some pcm after enquiring about my weight, in his paediatrician manner. It took turn to the worse. I got sicker!!!

Ran to the vet….mama got scolded by the vet for giving human’s medication to non-human. Mama, in turn, called Abah and scolded him. Abah, just laughed it off....huh! I have decided to love him less for it!!

The vet even told a scary tale about how just a week before, a cat died from some sort of renal failure due to its owner playing doctor and fed it with human meds. Shudder!! Mama should have listened to her cousin cum eating comrade for any cats advice.( I am convinced that she is actually a vet disguising as auditor so that she can work in a company which provides free meals of fried chicken and pizzas to its execs)

 

All in all, I think I have a good life…..as a matter of fact, I do think that everybody SHOULD be a cat. It’s a blissful life you know. Take me for instance. Unlike dogs, who have masters to obey, I have a staff of four, serving me. The oldest one, goes out to work everyday so as to ensure I got my premium kibbles, my supplements and other stuff which are quite pricey. The lady of the house, owner of this blog, is the one making all the purchases. She’s quite good in that department and has a good taste I might say , wink*! She makes sure I got all the beautiful and nice quality stuff. The tall lanky boy in the family is the most gentle one with me. He is in charge of cleaning after me. I really dont know what I’ll do when he’s not around soon. The girl, who is a bit of a bully, is the tukang sikat diraja , whose job is to comb my hair until it shines, feed me supplements and play hide-and-seek with me. She’s the only one in this house who has had the mark of my claws on her body as she keeps wrestling me….Collectively, they love me as much as I do them.

Filling raya packets for cousins..

at Maktok's after Eid Prayer

With cousins, Dijah, Nabil ( who had new baby brother on raya eve) and Haikal

7PM, 1 Syawwal 1430H...on the ride home

p/s please ignore other pictures and look at mine only…honestly though, i look far better in ‘person’. Mama, poor lady, has no camera skill whatsoever and cant be bothered to read the manual. Miss illa, can you testify to this?? I’ll be grateful!! 

signed,

Dr M.Grey