The Sky is Falling

Lehman Brothers. Merrill Lynch. As familiar as Coca-Cola and McDonald's. And now, suddenly, no more. It's scarey, sobering stuff. Nothing is sacred.

And while the sky might not be falling, literally, our world has changed in the last couple of weeks and the effects of what has happened in the US are far-reaching. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, AIG. It's not over yet.

Our company stock fell just shy of 15% since Friday (our markets were closed yesterday for the Mid-Autumn Festival). It will have an effect on us, though our company has a very long-range vision and it will not, most likely, mean cuts just yet. Personal investments are dropping like a stone and what used to be 'enough' as savings, no longer is. There is unknown territory ahead.

The Treasury and Federal Reserve have taken on some weighty issues. More than ever, more than a month ago, the US needs a government in place which can understand and come to terms with what has just happened.

How do my American friends feel about all this? Do you think it will influence the selection in any way? And what does everyone else think?

Nothing From Me, But Don't Miss Maria's Post

I don't have anything to say today, but please do go over and visit Maria and read this post.

I dare you NOT to laugh out loud!!

My Boy

Update : A few of you have asked how long it will be before my boy can join us in Hong Kong. Well, unfortuantely, the Canary Islands are classified as rabies-infected and Hong Kong is rabies-free. Therefore to land my pets from Tenerife, would mean four months of quarantine here, even though they have had their rabies vaccinations every year.

The alternative, and the one I am currently exercising is to have them travel to the UK on the EU Pet Passport scheme. This involves a six-month process in Tenerife whereby they do blood tests and repeat them until they are given a clean bill of health. They can then land in the UK without quarantine. However, to travel to Hong Kong after that, they have to have been in the UK for a further six months before they gain quarantine-free status on entering Hong Kong. While Rhona has bought into the six months in Tenerife (it started in August), I will have to find them a loving home for the six months in the UK, from February to August. Basically I'm looking at just under a year right now.

The option, for quarantine in Hong Kong, worries me as I've never put an animal through that and I'm not sure how they would survive it. I'd visit every day, of course, but it would probably break all our hearts, having to walk away every day for four months. I've also heard that the quarantine kennels in Hong Kong are not the nicest places, so the 12-month route does seem to be the best for the two boys.

This picture says it all, when I think about how my boy misses me, and I miss him.

He's no longer allowed on the sofa (Rhona's b/f thinks it's not right - I however have a different take on things). This was the second day we were there, enjoying the apartment without Rhona and her parasitic partner. Steve and I sat on the sofa and right away, Lupo climbed up between us, settled down like this and promptly fell into a long, deep sleep. I swear there's a smile on his face in that picture. This wasn't about him trying to come between Steve and I as, later that day, he positioned himself towards Steve and snuggled into him, sharing his love with both of us. Not to be outdone, you can see Toffee jockeying for a place and the late Sai-Loh already settled along my left thigh (his rear end is visible next to Toffee's head).

I saw in Lupo at that moment, an intense sense of peace, safety and comfort. He was home again, his real home, and I swear he was smiling. Rhona can say what she wants about animals not belonging on furniture - and that is a new thing she has bought into since the boyfriend came into her life, before then Lupo even had his own armchair as a bed instead of a thin blanket on the hard floor. When this dog, supposedly trained to keep off the furniture, climbed up without hesitation, to be close to me like this, that is his heart speaking. And his heart speaks so clearly to me, as it has always done.

He and Steve took to each other right away and I'm so happy about that. I can't wait to have Lupo with us. And on the furniture if that's where he feels most loved.

19 September 2008

My life and Steve's life, our life, will change forever on that date. He's arriving at 10:15pm. Finally, we shall have togetherness on a 24/7 basis, rather than as it has been, on a text/phone/email/trip basis.

A large bookshelf and six-drawer bureau have been purchased, just for him. I need to clear some hanging space in my wardrobe this weekend. Our first shopping trip will be to buy a new bed, our bed. And in a couple of months, when my lease is up, we'll be looking for an apartment with more space and an extra bedroom for when his boys visit.

Steve has a very tough couple of weeks ahead and an especially hard day, on the 18th, when he flies out to his new life in Hong Kong. I wish we could have everything we want, everything everyone wants, but right now this is what we need, to be together.

Are we excited about this? You can bet your sweet bippy we are!! Oh wow, just oh wow :)

The picture is because.......we love pretzeling.

84

That is the somewhat intimidating number of hours I worked from Monday through Saturday, last week. I am hoping that was hell week and things get a bit better from now on. Yesterday I worked just shy of 14 hours and I actually felt like I was going home early, at 8:30pm, having been there since 6:45am. I just wish we operated a compressed work week - that would have given me this whole week off, from the hours worked last week. Though chance would be a fine thing!

Even working all those hours, I found myself in the midst of a disaster zone by Friday evening. This was my work area - yes, there is a desk under there somewhere:

I hate, hate, HATE working like that. And when I took matters in hand on Saturday, I did find a couple of not too pleasant surprises - Monday deadlines I didn't know I had. Well, I applied myself, got the necessary done and then spent a good long while organising myself. This is how I left my desk and I was a much happier person for it:

It was a joy to come in on Monday and (a) be able to find anything I wanted and (b) finally get some working room back on my desk and its surrounding area.

Half the battle is being organised. The other half is just getting it all done once it's organised!

Interestingly Accurate

I saw this on Trueself's blog - if nothing else, do it to check out the amazing pictures used for the test.

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

HFDS - The Coach

You perceive the world with particular attention to humanity. You focus on what's in front of you (the foreground) and how that is affected by the details of life. You are also particularly drawn towards the shapes around you. Because of the value you place on humanity, you tend to seek out other people and get energized by being around others. You like to deal directly with whatever comes your way without dealing with speculating possibilities or outcomes you can't control. You are highly focused on specific goals or tasks and find meaning in life by pursuing those goals. You prefer a structured environment within which to live and you like things to be predictable.

The Perception Personality Types:

Compared to other takers
35/100 You scored -1 on HumanityToNature, higher than 35% of your peers.
65/100 You scored 3 on BackgroundToForeground, higher than 65% of your peers.
13/100 You scored -1 on DetailsToBigPicture, higher than 13% of your peers.
73/100 You scored 6 on ColorToShape, higher than 73% of your peers.

Take The Perception Personality Image Test

Life as a Couple

In a matter of a few weeks, Steve will be here with me at last. Which means we will get to do lots of 'coupley' things. Like meals, movies, walks, visiting with friends, having quiet nights at home and so on.

We'll also get to do some of the more exciting things, like seeing these guys on October 21 in Macau:

I can't say they're totally my cup of tea, but armed with light ear plugs to alleviate temporary deafness afterwards, and the already-established promise of not being part of the mosh-pit, I'm all for it.

While over there, I'd like us to take in the new Macau-based Cirque show (Steve's first Cirque experience, my sixth):

I like the way there's one for him and one for me and we'll both enjoy them together.

As the concert and the Cirque theatre are at The Venetian in Macau, and I have a contact there who kindly gives me discounted rates for their suites, we have a fun-packed two-day mini-break already planned for October. I think there might be some time to enjoy some spa treats, too. I know that will definitely appeal to Steve, he's very partial to a good Lomilomi massage. I'll probably have a facial and pedicure, I don't like exposing the bits in between my head and my feet, to strangers.

I can't wait for my husband (my husband, oh how I love saying that and writing that) to get here. So we can do the little things together, as well as these big things. Not to mention, the intimate things. Something tells me that those will be a priority for us, for a long time to come.

Quiet Decisions and Noisy Indecision

I wonder, which is your comfort zone? Absorbing information, checking back now and then and making a decision. Or constant back and forth in indecision.

My sister is definitely the latter. I am definitely the former. It was decided that, as I had handled everything to do with sorting out all the paperwork and settling the estate, which included forking out not insignificant amounts of cash, firing the original lawyer/executor and finding an alternative solution to getting through probate, my brother and sister would take care of the sale of the house. Between them they have decided that she will take the easier part of cleaning it out and getting it ready for the sale. My brother will handle the sale, itself.

Months back, a neighbour of my parents, a wonderful woman, had offered to start clearing out the house (which Rhona was supposed to have done while she spent an extra week in Scotland after our mother passed away in January). I agreed to this but when my sister found out, she had a hairy. How could I treat Mum's things like this? How can I let a stranger go through her things? Well, I had done that because she had failed in her duty and had constantly told me she was too busy to go over there and do what she'd originally promised. This woman is utterly respectful of our mother and was like a daughter to her in the years after my dad passed away (she's my age). She was never too busy to visit with my mother, never too busy to cook for her, never too busy to help her out. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell my sister that she'd been more of a daughter than her own daughter ever had been. I bit my tongue instead.

So now, finally, Rhona is over there. The last time, she had her boyfriend travel over and they spent a week doing everything BUT sorting out the house. This time she is bringing another friend to 'help' her. And now the emails, text messages and even requests to call her, have started. What do I do with this, what do I do with that? Should I leave sheets and towels in the house? What about the heaters? Do I have to return the gas bottles? What about the kettle and microwave? The DVDs and books? Should I leave the bathmat in the bathroom? For each question I refuse to give her a definitive answer. Instead I try to edge her toward her own decisions. I know that's not what she wants, however.

I'm still not her 'friend', it will be a while before I can be that again as there is frost in the air between us. I'm her sister, yes, but it's time she didn't always rely on someone else to make decisions for her. Silly little decisions that she should be able to make as she took on a specific responsibility. The only one we've asked of her. This is just so indicative of how she leads her life. Relying on others to make decisions. And sadly, she does it so she can apportion blame, should the decision prove to be an incorrect one. I say this from 45 years of being her big sister and seeing her constantly rescued from her bad decisions. I played my part in aiding and abetting for too long.

I'm tempted to quietly decide and help her, but I know it's best for her if I just leave her to her own noisy indecision. Besides, they're both motivated by greed so I'm sure they'll get it done, in the end.

The Eye of the Storm

Is directly over me right now. We have our second highest possible typhoon alert up and it is dead calm outside. Not a leaf on the nearby trees is stirring.

Small though Hong Kong is, the storm managed to find us. Apparently, as it hovered over us, it 're-organised itself' as the observatory reported. Bringing the eye a few miles off from where I sit typing.

The winds will start back up soon and it will be my turn to feel them, so far I've been fairly protected. Meanwhile, sitting in this calm in the middle of a typhoon is a strange thing indeed. Nature is phenomenal.

Damn Right - We Don't Want Him Here Either

Update - The Telegraph online:

Gary Glitter arriving at Hong Kong airport and being greeted by immigration officials.

He has flown back to Bangkok airport after being refused entry in Hong Kong

Gary Glitter has been sent back to Bangkok airport and is likely to be ordered onto a plane back to Britain later today after China became the latest country to reject the convicted child abuser.

Thai officials are understood to have prepared deportation papers to eject Glitter following a frustrating standoff yesterday when he refused to board an onbound flight to Britain claiming ill health.

During the negotiations, which left Glitter sitting in the transit lounge in Bangkok for 20 hours yesterday, he was overheard saying: "I've been in jail three years. Now I want to do home shopping in Hong Kong."

On the Thai Airways Flight TG602 to Hong Kong he instructed cabin crew to arrange an escort at the other end and used the onboard phone to get a friend to book accommodation in Wanchai - the city's nightclub area. But upon arrival last night Chinese immigration officials refused him a visa. The former pop star fled to Hong Kong last night but was denied entry and returned to Thailand's main airport. At least 19 countries have now refused to offer him sanctury after he was deported from Vietnam.

Glitter refused Hong Kong entry - BBC News Report

Convicted paedophile and ex-pop star Gary Glitter has been refused entry to Hong Kong after being deported from Bangkok in Thailand.

Chinese authorities informed the UK Foreign Office they had barred Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, 64, after his arrival at 11pm local time (1600 BST).

Earlier he was deported from Vietnam after spending almost three years in jail for sexually abusing two girls.

He flew to Hong Kong from Bangkok after refusing to catch a flight to the UK.

He had boarded a Thai Airways flight to Chinese territory Hong Kong after Thai authorities refused him entry and threatened to deport him to Britain.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "It is a matter for the Chinese authorities to decide what action they take now."

Immigration police at Hong Kong airport said privacy laws meant they could not comment on Glitter's case.

He had earlier been barred from entering Thailand by immigration officials after he said he wanted to remain in the country or go to another Asian nation.

This was despite a plea for medical treatment as Glitter said he was suffering a heart attack.

Glitter sold millions of records as a glam rock star in the 1970s, with hits including I'm the Leader of the Gang.

Thai police had earlier told Reuters news agency they would be "deporting him to his home country, England, unconditionally".

The BBC's Jonathan Head says 19 countries have already said they would refuse Glitter entry.

The fact he has flown to Hong Kong is a blow to the UK authorities who want to get him home and on the sex offenders register, our correspondent says.

I think these [new paedophile controls] are sensible and proportional ways of toughening up what is already a very tough system.

If Glitter does return to the UK, he will be met at the airport by police and required to sign the register.

He will then be subject to monitoring and have to tell the police where he plans to live and if he planned to go abroad. He could also face an order prohibiting him from going near children or using the internet.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said on Tuesday it was her view that Glitter should be given a Foreign Travel Order (FTO) banning him from overseas travel.

Ms Smith has also announced plans to tighten controls on the movements of paedophiles.

Proposed measures include increasing the length of time an FTO can apply from six months to up to five years, and automatically confiscating the passport of anyone subject to an order.

At present, police are only allowed to rely on evidence from the previous six months about the risk an individual poses, but that time period would also be extended under the plans.

"I think these are sensible and proportional ways of toughening up what is already a very tough system. I think that's what we owe to children in this country and to children abroad," Ms Smith said.

The home secretary's announcement came after children's charity Ecpat UK accused the government of "turning a blind eye" to British sex tourists.

The charity said it was too easy for nationals convicted abroad to stay under the radar of British police upon their return.

For those who haven't heard of this scumbag, here are some highlights:

Gary Glitter is an ageing British pop star (from the 70s)

Arrested and imprisoned in the UK in 1999 after police found over four thousand child porn images on his computer when it was left for repairs at a local shop. Served two months of a four-month sentence and formally classified as a sex offender. Left the UK for Spain then travelled to SE Asia.

Evicted from Cambodia in 2002 after accusations were made that he had sexually abused girls as young as 10 - he said he had been "teaching them English".

Arrested in Vietnam for in 2005 for molesting two girls, age 10 and 11. Imprisoned in 2006 after being convicted of "committing obscene acts with minors". Released on 19 August 2008 and deported from Vietnam, supposedly to travel to UK but he landed in Bangkok and refused to connect to his London-bound flight. Instead, tried to enter Thailand - refused.

Flew to Hong Kong and tried to enter Hong Kong - refused. He's at the airport here now and says he wants to now fly to Singapore (yeah right!!) or Sri Lanka.

Another Big Blow

At 5pm on 21 August, the forecast is for a direct hit around 5pm tomorrow afternoon. Looks like we'll get the eye and no work tomorrow!



Update 21 August : Moving closer, potential for a direct hit.

Typhoon Nuri.

Well, here we go again, the third of the year. This one could be the worst yet, it's already at typhoon (hurricane) intensity and still has a lot of ocean to get over. On its present track it will be closest to us on Friday afternoon and it may actually pose a serious threat as it's still turning more westerly.

This may be the big one we've been waiting for, for several years now. Talk about great timing, though, the last equestrian event is tomorrow. That should be able to go ahead.

Fate...and Pretty Lights

Two years ago, almost to the day, I put up this post about my hometown. The first comment was from Steve, my new blog friend, and I added an extra photo just for him:

Steve said...
It sure is pretty! I love seeing the skyline at night!
Wed Aug 16, 11:37:00 AM HKT

Fiona said...
I do too Steve - I love going up The Peak - the mountain overlooking the city, and watching day turn into night and the lights all coming on.We have something quite unusual here, every night at 8pm, the skyscrapers take part in a light show...I'll see if I can find a pic and post it!
Wed Aug 16, 11:53:00 AM HKT

This was the picture:


Little could either of us have known back then that, on Sunday, 4 May 2008, he'd stand by my side, as my husband, and take his own photograph of the lightshow across the harbour:

Sustainability in Love

Love is expressed in so many ways. Some, big, some small. Some which pass by almost imperceptibly, some that scream out to the world.

I have taken some odd turns in trying to find relationships in my life. Reaching out to the wrong person in the mistaken idea that what I was being given, was love. And even experiencing flashes of true belief, that I was with the person I was meant to be with. I know he has, too. I also know that every step we took, every moment of being sure of someone and then being disappointed by them, has led us to where we are today, together.

And that those flashes were just that, unsustainable bursts of energy that were just a scintillation of our senses and nothing more. A connection that seemed true, that seemed real, that seemed what we needed and wanted. But, compared to what we are living today, they were flashes. Something that, for whatever reason, couldn't be sustained with that person.

Today, my husband and I stand closer than ever before. We love deeper than we ever have. We understand each other more and more every day. We appreciate each other. And we respect each other. And no matter what the flashes have been for each of us in the past with those other people, what we are living today is the real thing. True love that is hard sometimes, but which sustains our very existence and breathes life into us. I think of him, I hear him, I see him, I smell him, I taste him, I touch him and I am home.

Steve, when you read this, as you head eastwards from North California, just know how incredibly proud I am of you right now, and how I appreciate the investment you have made in 'us' over the past month. I love you with all my heart and soul, my cherished husband.

My Life

Seems awfully dull at the moment. I've just done six days in a row of between 14 and 16 hours each (most were at the high end and most without more than a 15 minute break) and then on Sunday I slept like a log, or is it a dog....with me most probably like a hog as I'm somewhat prone to being a trifle audible when I sleep. I can just see Steve reading this laughing, because he knows what I can sound like!

The only thing of any note during my entire week is that I lost a toenail, completely. I'd dropped something on it a few weeks back and it had been sporting an odd brown hue around the base but it never went black so I thought I was out of the toenail-less zone but no, after I spent a nice 20 minutes painting them all a lovely almost-nude-but-slightly-pink-very-subtly-sparkly shade, I noticed my middle toenail on the left foot looked odd and when I touched it, off it flopped. It still hurts a little when I'm wearing shoes but I'm hopeful I have complete regrowth.

Apart from that there really is nothing going on.....how boring am I!! But I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and still trucking on.

Ummm no I haven't been to the specialist yet as the day I was supposed to see him, we had a typhoon alert here and everything closed for the day (of course I came to work anyway thanks to a negotiated deal with one of the few taxis around that morning). I haven't re-booked the appointment but the humming has stopped! After about five days. Yes, yes, I know I should still get checked out and I will, I promise, soon, really I will, absolutely, yes.

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Yesterday morning, I woke up and immediately cursed. My air conditioner was making a strange noise and I just thought that there couldn't possibly be a worse time of year for it to give up on me. We've had record heat here in the past week or so and, combined with our 80-95% humidity, the lack of my bedroom air conditioning unit would make for a very unpleasant time indeed.

I went to use the bathroom and at that point realised the humming wasn't coming from my air conditioner at all, but from the inside of my ears!!! Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm just a constant, fairly loud hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm not an alarmist when it comes to little aches and pains and hummmmmmmmmms, but a few other things have been going on lately which, when put together with this new and incessant hummmmmmmmmmmmmm, leads me to worry a little bit:

1. I seem to have developed a tendency to tilt to the left when I get up in the morning, to the point I've toppled over a couple of times, luckily onto my bed!

2. I have had, over the past couple of months, about four incidences of peculiar vision - not dizziness or blurred vision, but what feels like the vision from my right eye passing to my left, and vice versa. No just a mild sensation but so strong that I have to stop what I'm doing and close my eyes for a minute or two.

3. I've had a persistent headache which comes and goes, it's usually with me for a day at a time then it disappears for a week or so.

4. Over the past couple of weeks, I seem to have developed motion sickness, something I've never in my life suffered from. Now, however, the five-minute taxi ride home leaves me considerably nauseous.

5. When going upstairs recently, I've misjudged the placement of my foot on one or two steps.

I went to the doctor today, that's how concerned I became when I started adding things up. And of course googling led me down a path to possible brain tumour and aneurism. So I have a referral to the Otorhinolaryngologist (now I know why we call them ENT specialists!) on Wednesday, where he will look further into these symptoms. I have to say the GP wasn't particularly concerned, in fact he said that I probably just need more sleep and to get my eyes tested. I told him they were tested only three months ago so I'm sure it's not that and as for sleep, I get plenty of catchup sleep over the weekend. Thinking back, the 'more sleep' prescription of his seems to be pretty standard whether for an eye infection, a viral infection, a UTI or this damn humming in my ears!

What needs to be said is that I don't have music plugged directly in to my ears, in fact the last device I had which required earplugs, was a Sony Walkman - an original Sony Walkman, the big yellow plastic 'Sport' version, for cassette tapes. That should give you a clear idea of how long ago that was. I don't use a mobile phone much at all, not even every day. My tv sound level is mid-range, as is my hi-fi. Yes, Hong Kong is a noisy place, but I don't go to noisy bars or clubs. I avoid any and all jackhammering on the roads and haven't had a pile-driver close enough to do anything but make my building shudder a little.

So, I'm just wondering if anyone else has had these symptoms collectively, or even any of them individually?

Gone

Sai-Loh

1998 - 2008

Update: The results of some tests that had been done on his last visit to the vet came back yesterday. Apparently there was more wrong than just the infection, they think he might have had a brain tumour now, but would have had to do some more tests to be sure. They feel that explains the cause of the blown pupil. Perhaps he did lose his balance and fall, or perhaps he knew and chose his own destiny. Rhona continues to search but now maybe it's best she doesn't find what's left of him, for her sake. Thank you all for your kindness.

Sai-Loh (Cantonese for 'little brother') came into my life in 1998, when I visited the SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) looking for a friend for Toffee, whom I got from the same place two years before. I had just about given up that day as none of the cats available for adoption, seemed the sort that would be a good pal for my Toffolo (one of his pet names).

As I was about to leave and come back another day, two big green eyes met mine. There was this lovely tortoiseshell cat looking up at me, from an area which was marked 'not for adoption'. I leaned down to read the card on this cat's cage and discovered why it wasn't up for adoption - the death knell was sounding and he was to be put down the next morning.

I found an attendant and asked about this 'Bess' and she told me that it was OK, they were just getting organised for the next morning. So off I went, proud owner of a cat saved from death row. Until I got to the desk to sign the paperwork and pay the adoption fee. I said: "You do realise this cat isn't a female cat?" After much examining of the nether region, it was decided that yes, indeed, this was a male cat named Bess. Not that there was much doubt on that score!

I was forbidden to take her, now him, home as it was very clear he'd not been neutered and their policy is that no animal leaves, capable of reproducing. I reluctantly left him behind that evening, they wouldn't even let me have him with a promise of returning for 'the operation' another day. So I asked for them to let me know as soon as he was ready to come home.

Two days later, I got the call and rushed in to get him. I was speaking with the assistant at the entrance to the recovery area and a moment letter heard this loud miaowing from the front of the room. He'd remembered my voice and was calling for me! This from a cat that hardly miaowed in his entire life (as I was to find out later). This little fellow had my heart right then, and forever more.

He was about a year old and had been on the street all his life, so he wasn't that comfortable being inside. But he adapted to life on the 34th floor. When he first came home, as night fell, he'd make his way up to the top of the highest point accessible to him (usually the top of the wardrobe in my bedroom) and all you'd see was that little face. He'd spend the night there, no doubt relying on his street sense to keep himself safe while he slept. Another street habit he had, and which I saw broken only on this last visit, was that he'd drink only from a running tap, never standing water.

When I first took him home, the vet said that with another male cat there, it would be a difficult transition and to keep them apart with a door between them for the first few days. Ha! He walked in the room, Toffolo loved him up and within 15 minutes they were sound asleep rolled up together, sharing Toffolo's bed. That's what they were like for the next nine years, inseparable.

He spent a year with me in Hong Kong before we all moved to Tenerife, where he spent another seven years with sunshine and clean air, most of it with my sister. He thrived and became a wonderful loving cat, once a few years of 'mad half-hours' was out of his system. He was actually capable of running around a room, along the walls, about five feet from the floor. We called it his 'wall of death' routine.

I visited every year, always wanting to see how my babes were doing and he was doing well. Except that during this last visit, I found that to not be the case. I posted about it here. It now seems that on Wednesday, my sister took him back to the vet and he was diagnosed again as having a bad infection in his mouth and head. More antibiotics were given and he was taken home. After dropping him at home, my sister then took the dogs out to the beach for a few hours and upon returning, found no sign of Sai-Loh. She searched and searched and nothing. He was nowhere in the apartment. She searched outside, nothing. Now she thinks he must have jumped onto the neighbour's sun awning and then onto a wall and away. Something he's not done in seven years.

Maybe he did, or maybe he fell and wandered off. Maybe he reverted to being a street cat and wanted to go away alone, to die after being sick for two weeks. Maybe, so many things. But one thing that is not a maybe, is that had she been taking better care of him, she'd have noticed he wasn't well and would most likely have caught the infection sooner. And she didn't tell me about all this until Saturday, three days after it happened, and as a sort of after-thought on an email about other things.

What hurts the most is knowing he probably suffered terribly during his last hours, his last days. And that he was a strong, healthy cat all his life and didn't deserve to go like this. He deserved better.

I'll always remember my silent, strong Sai-jai, my little street warrior. The tough kid who could put very large dogs in their place. Toffolo's precious buddy. A good cat, a good friend. He touched my heart, he touched my life.

Living Life in Shorthand

I feel as though I'm living my life in shorthand these days. As though there isn't enough time in the day to do anything in a deliberate, laboured way.

I shower quickly.

I eat on the run 90% of the time (not sure when I last had a meal that required me to sit at a table with a knife and fork).

I run projects out without double-checking and hope they're okay (so far so good).

I have nine piles of work around me at the moment, NINE! I usually have three - must be done today, must be done this week, must be done by month-end. Now I have all those other piles which contain a jumble of all sorts of things, from reading to pending to must be done sometime, to how the f**k am I going to get this done!

I can put my face on in the morning, in under two minutes (not that very much goes on the face, only daytime moisturiser, two eyeliners, mascara and lip stain).

I get home at about 10pm-ish (I start at about 6:30am), walk out of my clothes on the way to the bathroom, shower and collapse in front of the telly but haven't managed to watch an entire programme for over two weeks.

It just feels like I'm propelling myself into a flat spin and am losing control over the simplest of things. At the weekend, I use Sunday to sleep and try to recover from the pace of the week. I think I'm getting too old to sustain this level of commitment, although I've promised my boss two more years with her. I had to, she looked like she was going to pass out when I broached the subject of my leaving recently. At least she's promised to put another assistant for me in our 2009 headcount budget. However, that's not approved yet and we may be about to enter a hiring freeze, even though our Paris project is confirmed and another US one may well be on the cards.

I work hard. I get paid well. I enjoy what I do. But damn, I wish I was able to do it better right now.

P.S. Yes, those are my squiggles. That is the first paragraph of this post. Thank you Dad for insisting I train to be a secretary, I still have a use for my shorthand, from good note-taking to being able to write things in front of other people and not have them know what I'm writing ;)

No. 2 Cat

Update as of now - Am worried about the boy, his infection is back and the vet can't work out why as she removed the source. It must still be rampaging through his system. He's back to turning down his food and one pupil is blown again, apparently whatever it is, it's pressing on his optic nerve. They're giving him a stronger antibiotic. My fingers and toes are crossed that he's going to be OK.

This beautiful boy has just been subjected to 48 hours at the vet and they're not ready to let him go for another 10 hours.

When we got to Tenerife, I found that he had a very snotty nose and there was dried snot all around it. When I asked Rhona about it she denied all knowledge of it and said she hadn't noticed anything. Well, the only way you wouldn't see that is if you literally didn't see it. And she obviously hadn't looked at the boy for days. With my blood boiling I cleaned him up as best I could (and also took care of his 'brother' who had very weepy and crusty eyes).

I told her that there was clearly something wrong as a healthy cat doesn't have a runny nose (Toffee's eyes are a constant problem and just need to be cleaned every day or so) and his coat also was showing signs of him not being in top condition. He was very affectionate with Steve and I and was eating well so she said she would take him in to the vet in a day or so - I reminded her again as I was leaving.

Sunday rolled around and still no treatment had been sought. She went home that evening and found him alternating between standing staring into a corner or looking for a dark place to hide. Upon noticing that one of his pupils was totally dilated, she rushed him to the emergency vet, whereupon she was told that he had a huge infection in his gums and it had also moved up above his palate. He was, it seems, in a very critical condition. They pumped him full of antibiotics and sent him home with her, to rest. On Tuesday she took him to his usual vet, who found serious inflammation around three teeth and booked him in for surgery on Thursday to have the teeth removed. So much for regular vet's visits, she told me they had been going, so now I'm worried about their shots being up to date. Something I'll be chasing her about very soon.

When they got in there, they took out those three teeth and two others, and even though he apparently did well in the surgery, they wanted to keep him in for overnight observation. I'm hoping it's all going to be okay. I'll get him and his brother back soon and they'll be looked after properly. Rhona leaves the cats alone for very long periods of time as she has been spending nights at her boyfriend's and not even going home after work to take care of them. Probably just loads up their food dishes and disappears for a couple of days. Gggggrrrrrr!

I won't even go into the state of the apartment - MY apartment - which she's been living in rent-free for the past almost eight years. Oh well, I'll have to fix it up before I can put it on the market when she moves out but that will be a big project as it needs a total overhaul.

So much more to say about my sister, I came away from that trip feeling disappointed and downright angry, not to mention being totally embarrassed by her behaviour. She outdid herself that time and I was totally pissed off with her and her boyfriend. She chose the bottle and that obnoxious person over spending time with Steve and I. And when she did spend time with us, her behaviour was absolutely atrocious most of the time.

I was glad to leave, only sad to say goodbye to Lupo and the cats. But not for long. Now I have to prepare my life for having my babes back with me. Or rather, with US!

Update: He's home, he's eating like a demon with the remaining teeth and purring like his old self. A happy cat :)

Pandas, Real and Mock

During Steve's visit to Hong Kong in May, we took a trip to Ocean Park where they have a 'Panda Environment'. This is the entrance to the giant panda's home:


Inside, we saw these magnificent animals doing the thing they love doing, second best (eating is the first thing):

I'm really not one for animals in captivity, but the earthquake in Sichuan province has posed a terrible threat to the panda community. Some years back, after a less severe earthquake, the bamboo plant (which panda's thrive on) burst into bloom and died off. The fear is that this will happen again. And with only approximately 1,500 pandas left in the wild, breeding programmes in captivity could well be the difference between this species surviving, or not.

I wasn't allowed to leave until Steve captured me sporting a panda headband :)

Back to the Grindstone

Back to a mountain (almost 800) of emails and a full intray. I managed to pick up some viral bug, too. And I miss my husband all over again!

We had a quite simply awesome time, bar one extremely ugly episode - which lasted three out of the five days - courtesy of my sister. That man I married continues to prove to me just how amazing he is. How wonderful he is. How much he loves me. And how very blessed I am to have him in my life. Every chance we get to spend time together, we grow more in love with each other.

Our ports of call included Edinburgh, Lower Burnmouth, Darlington, York and finally Tenerife - and we spent a couple of nights at airport hotels. We saw wonderful places, met great people (I'll not include my sister or her boyfriend in that group, though) enjoyed a lot of laughs and loving moments together. And for me the best part of it all was that I got to spend time with my two favourite guys - Steve and Lupo.

P.S. Lupo totally adores him :)