Who Is Luckier?

'Some women choose to follow men. Some women choose to follow their dreams. If one day, you are wondering which way to go, remember this: Your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn't love you anymore'.

The above is a quote from Lady Gaga that urges a woman to work, be independent and free.

Life is like playing with a dice actually. You never know which number will turn up when the dice stops rolling. Who can say if being single and successful is good enough for you? Or is it more satisfying to have the love of a man even if you would have to share him with someone else?

You can wake up one day and find that the company doesn't need you anymore. You are being transferred to another job which you know that it's not your forte and being told that you could either take it or leave.

It is certainly the same as you are being told that he doesn't love you anymore and wants ton leave you. Same sickening feeling as if the air has been punched out from your body.

A woman can succeed in her career. Another may succeed as a mother. But can a woman really excel in doing both things at the same time? Juggling job and love? You may be able to do it with lots of patience. Maybe.

Luxury,nowadays, is no longer being seen as able to buy an expensive jewelery or a the latest pair of designer clothes. Some would say that luxury is spending the time at home, baking cookies, reading magazines and hanging out with the kids. Sundays have indeed become precious.

So, girl, you would better believe it that you are luckier than cat to have time to be back at home and able to cook dinner from scratch. You are one of the privileged.

Do not envy Cat who seems to be wearing chic clothes, staying late at the office and seems to be traveling here and there. You know, it could be lonely and tiring at times. No special someone waiting or coming to meet you at the end of the day.

When it comes to the subject of living a truly successful life, there are no clear answers. As good old teacher always say: The grass always look greener on the other side of the fence. Cat is grateful..even if life is not a bed of roses at the moment, it's still something to write about and something to be grateful of..

Still, wouldn't it be nice to take off the high heels and just spend an hour or two lazying around on the sofa, and then baking one of those tasty cakes from the various collection of recipe books on the shelves?

Friend from Abroad

"Yesterday brought the beginning, tomorrow brings the end, and somewhere in the middle we became the best of friends." ~Author Unknown

Today, cat receive a visit from a 'friend' who came back for a vacation from Dubai. How she has changed. And how "we" have changed.

Yesterday, we were merely co-workers, each doing her own job and sometimes we do fight; spats more like it. She being on the customer point of view and cat being on the hotel's view (Trying to maximize the room revenue).

Last year, she resigned and went to try her destiny in Dubai. We had a fun time at the farewell party, with coke bottles splashing everywhere in the office and afterwards when things had died down, we sit down and talked. Bits and pieces of everydays life. And it continues with ym..and..slowly cat begin to understand her. She had thought of cat as a too strict a manager and cat had thought of her as being too playful. But under all that layers, there's a fine person underneath.

Today, seeing her in cat's office, with her previously short hair, which has grown longer and her sunny smile, cat did not have a chance to really talk to her. Well, dear ex-collegue, cat just want to say that cat is proud of what she has done, what she is today and for being a friend.

This is for her :
The aim of life is to live. And to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. -Henry Miller-
Live life to the fullest, girl.

Signing off,
Cat

************************************
Life is pain, princess. . . anyone who says differently is selling something
-Wesley The Princess Bride-

A Pound of Flesh

Cat was reading the 5th Nov's Sunday newspaper (backtrack reading as Cat was so busy this week) and there was this article written by a columnist on a particular 'snatch thief' case.

In the pasts, snatch thieves' modus operandi was to work alone. They would eye the victim's handbag, snatch it and run as fast as they could. Alas, running does take a lot of work and the percentage of being caught is very high.

So, they thought up of a new scheme. Find a partner and a motorcycle. One person will drive and the thief at the back will snatch the victim's handbag. And they discovered that this method really works. The gain tripled. Then other snatch thieves began to follow the example.

In this particular news, the headlines were announcing that " Woman Kills Snatch Thief". A snatch thief had stopped the woman and demanded some money as he claimed that the woman hit his motorcyle. He grabbed the woman's handbag when she took it out from the car. The women drove her car and chased the snatch thief into a dead end road, and really hit the motorcyle this time. The snatch thief was killed in the process. The woman is now being investigated by the police for culpable homicide and not to murder as there was no intention to kill.

The columnist was asking us to imagine what it's like to be in the thief's shoes and to empathise with him. As per the columnist, nobody was interested to know what the snatch thief's story was.

Cat does agree that as bad as the snatching situation is at the moment, justice should not be taken into each individual's hand, especially when it involves killing someone (even if it was said as self defense). A life is still a life whether it's the victim's or the snatcher's. Who are we to decide on our own who should live and who should not? That is why the law is there: to give a fair trial to everyone. (This does not happen in all cases, but Cat still wants to believe in the system).

Cat does try to empathize with the snatch thief..but the only sadness that Cat felt is the way he died. That's all. It's sad to be hit and die like an dog crossing the road. He deserves to be punished but certainly not until having his life taken.

Cat's heart goes to the snatch thieves parents..what will happen to them and how will they take it on knowing the news?

This heart goes also to all the snatch thieves' victims and their family..
To the victim who ended in coma or died after being dragged a few meters from the place of incident (because the victim does not have the time to let go of the bag)? To the victim's partner and children who would be waiting unsuspiciously at home for their spouse or mother to come home..

An eye for an eye?
Food for thoughts.

Night Sky

It seems like zillions of years since Cat last wrote.
Writing needs peace of mind and that was what's missing. It has been a never ending roller coaster ride.

Sometimes it's when you try your best not to hurt people by not telling everything or changing a few facts in order to soften the blow, that is when you hurt them most..especially when everything blows out in the open.

Sometimes you do what you think is best for everyone..actually it's more like doing things at the spur of the moment..following the emotion. Well, who actually can say what IS good for everyone? 100 people has 100 different ideas on what is good for them. Thus, there's no satisfying everyone..you die first or you turn mad before you can achieve this gigantic task. 

Cat decided to take a long leave from writing. Taking the time to think and do some self finding. Doing some housekeeping in her mind and heart too. Sifting finely on what as well as the who is important in her life. Cat cannot erased the past, but Cat is doing her best to change for the better. This is a promise. 

Yours,
-Cat-

Familiar Strangers

When cat looks at the world around cat, cat usually did not notice things until the lesson becomes very clear. Cat has not ride on the bus for 3 months already as cat has been going to work on car pool with friends.

Cat likes to walk around when cat has lots of things to think about. A matter of clearing the mind. Today, cat waited at the bus stop to take a bus to town. It takes 30 minuted to go to town and cat usually sits at the window, daydreaming (smile) or reading or sleeping. Lost in her own world.

As cat went on the bus, the conductor said, 'Hello there. Long time we never see you. We thought that you have moved to another area.' The driver nodded and said, 'And I told him that surely a smart young woman like you would have probably got promoted and moved to KL.' Cat was surprised that they remember cat. We had a small chat and cat went to sit at cat's usual seat by the window.

Then an old lady climbed on the bus. 'Oh, fancy seeing you here again. How are you, child? Everything ok?' Again, cat was surprised. 'Do you know Cat?', the very words that came out from cat's mouth. She nodded and told cat that cat was the 6.45am girl at the right window. Ahh..Cat smiled and talked to her for a while. Then a couple climbed on and.. the same thing happened again. They said that they were glad to see cat.

The wife said that for 3 years, no matter what the weather, they will always see cat at the same window early in the morning going to work. The girl in black was what they called cat. (smile). The person who never talked to anyone but always have a smile on her face as she climbed up the bus with her big bag. Oo..soon everyone was joining in and telling cat about how they speculated about cat's profession ..(salesgirl, student..ouch..teacher..) and why cat has vanished. One of them thought that cat had had an accident and another thought that cat was sick.

The 30 minutes journey became a short one. It made cat realized that cat has been one of the markers in the landscape of their lives. We were strangers..but with familiar faces. They have given cat a sense of belonging and place.

Think of it. While going to work, without realizing it, cat has been a part of their familiar view. All of us had shared an easy, familiar chat although we never got around to exchanging names. This is what it means..when you have been gone for a while, or when you were feeling disoriented, out of place, the sight of a familiar stranger would let you know..you are at the right place.

Signing off,
Cat

Action Speaks Louder Than Words..

Neil Gaiman has got it right with his quote on Love :
Love makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart.
You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one person, no different from any other person, wanders into your life… when you are not paying attention, and you give them a piece of you. Your life isn’t your own anymore.

Love gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase can turn into a glass splinter working its way into your heart.
It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind.
It’s a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain.
**************************************
This was posted on a Friend's FB Status:
Why does a person purposely wants to hurt another person's feelings? Sometimes, when you think about it, it doesn't make sense at all..

Hmm..since when does anything that has to do with feelings make sense? Especially if the above Status update is the result of something between a man and a woman. Everyone knows that a man and a woman's mind works differently. One side is saying A but the other side is hearing it as B. Some things do get lost in translation.

Let's look at it this way. Words especially if written or typed is dangerous (unless you have 'smileys' to put at the end of the sentences so that others can say..'Oh. that's a joke. No need to take it seriously). If the person who wrote something or the person who reads the sentence is in a foul mood at that time, feelings would turn to anger or hurt.

And basically, when people feels hurt, the reflective action is to strike back. Hmm..how about rewinding back the tape to a few hours earlier..have you said or done something to hurt that person's feelings in the first place? Or have you 'NOT' said or done something that was expected? There may be a reason for the hurtful words. Feelings becomes extra sensitive when love is involved.

It might be easier if you could talk face to face..look into the other person's eyes, see the body language : The lips can say anything, but in the long run action speaks louder than words. A hug can replace the so hard to pronounced word 'Sorry'. Everyone needs to feel appreciated and worthy..

It takes two people to make a relationship works. It takes only one to destroy it. Cat also would be much happier if she does not think a lot. Simple minds work better in relationships even though it might lack imagination. There's always two sides of everything. If you feel hurt, turn the other way, walk off. Sometimes, it's better this way. Giving some space..

Learn to forgive. And if something hurts you so much, again forgive and let go. Let it out of the mind and concentrate on other things. If you can't see the action, well, you need to decide something. You, and only yourself knows how the story goes..

Hmm..

Signing off,
Cat

Love Actually

There's something in the air.. sniff it.. why..it is full of the sweet smell of roses and shhh.. listen, there's the sound of fluttering wings..oh my.. there goes a naked kid playing with love shaped arrows. Shouldn't someone take those arrows from him before he hurts the public?

Ah yes..love is in the air. As the florists are all flashing their too bright smiles, thinking of all those orders at triple the price for roses..let's talk about this day dedicated to love.

Valentine's day..a day of celebrating love. Be it with your partner, lover, parents, children, pets, cat..it's a day where you are allowed to openly or secretly tell a person of your feelings to them. How about singles? Well, you can tell yourself how much you love yourself. :) No self pity allowed..go and splurge on a little black dress and paint the town red. There's lots of other singles out there. Valentine's is only one day, after all. Be thankful that you are not involved in a relationship with a married person..it will surely make you cry, not to have your loved one with you on this pink colored day..

A few wonderful love movies to rent:
* Avatar : love is more than the surface..and it's certainly universal
* Any Disney's movies : A guaranteed happy ending
* Casablanca (1942):no matter how much you love someone, you have to let them go.
* Dr Zhivago : a man's life of agony: he must choose between fidelity for the woman he married or passion he feels for the woman who inspires him.
* Gone With the Wind : the difficult love between a manipulative Scarlet O'Hara and the man that she won't admit that she loves
* The Notebook : true love can have a bond that is stronger than any force on earth
* West Side Story : 2 lovers are torn apart by bitter rivalry (a heartbreaking end)
* Slumdog Millionaire: love is worth fighting for, and nothing worth having is easy to obtain

Is love really worth all the tears and sadness? Love actually..is worth it. Yes. At least, once in your lifetime, you'll get to feel the intoxicating fumes of being loved, cherished, adored and desired. To feel the heart beating at 80km per minute (laughing).It's certainly worth it even if it ends in tears.

Ouch.. watch out where you shoot those arrows, you little naked imp! Oo..that certainly hurts..and why is cat starting to see pink spots..oooo...purr..

Signing off,
Cat

Regrets

When you are living in your mother's comfort,

You tend to forget all her effort,

How she has loved and cared for you,

The emotional torment that she has been through.

You think your mother will live forever,

There will be other times to show you love her,

I'm sure she'll understand that too.

One day you might find that she has gone,

Things will never be the same at dawn.

You will regret like I have,

Cry like I have.

What could have been will never be,

How could you have let it be?

Time makes no dates,

Love can never wait.

No need for Mother's Day or her birthday,

You can make everyday a special day,

Just by a thoughtful gesture,

You'll give your mother endless pleasure.

For those for whom it is still not too late,

Don't make the same mistake,

Things left undone & unsaid,

Will only give all a heartache..

Beginning

Looking at the blue sky..what a warm sunny day.

It's a day where no sad stories should be told.
Where should Cat start ye..? From the very beginning? Or maybe from the middle... or let's just skip everything, and turn straight away to the last page. Nah, let's go accordingly by the book.

Once upon a time.. 

Cat was born in a small fishing village in southern Johor. By 'small', Cat really mean small: there were less than 3000 inhabitants (well. actually 2999 inhabitants + 1 kitten) there at that time.

Most of the villagers are fishermen, and a few are farmers. The land are plentiful but more suitable for cultivation of pineapple and local fruit trees. As often the case with small villages, there are not that much entertainment around, and the younger generations would choose migration to bigger towns.   

It was actually Cat's mum hometown. Mum had grown up there all her life till she got married to Dad at the age of 18 years old. Mum was so lucky to have 14 of her siblings with her, as the distance from one house to another is around 8km. Just imagine, how far it was to go to school. It took her 30 minutes of walking in the wee early hours (even before the cock crows).

When Cat was small, we did not 'balik kampung' often. :) It was a journey of 180km from Muar to Kukup and around 2 hours and 45 minutes of driving in Dad's antique red colored Volkswagon. It was a long drive with a panoramic view of plantations, never ending highway and again more trees along the road.

Cat got carsick almost every time we made the trip, affected by the strong smell coming from the palm plantations and from the long bumpy ride. (Thank God the roads are much better nowadays, kan..:)

Passion

Let us talk about passion tonight. No, not that kind of passion as in love. (smile) But passion for work. This afternoon, as cat was strolling, out in the sun, during lunch time.. cat saw an old couple that has been selling fruits nearby to cat's flat 6 years ago, pushing their fruit cart just across the road. Ohh.. just fancy that..they are still selling fruits until today.

Cat ran across the street (cat being cat), and said hi to them. How happy the heart is when they still remember cat. After some exchange of cat's news, cat asked them about their children. Do you know that the eldest is now a businessman and the 2nd (which is the youngest) is a teacher.

Oo..then cat started to remember the case of the old man who was abandoned by his children and lived in the shed behind a school. That old man had had to work as a gardener in the school as his children had abandoned him due to a quarrel among themselves. Oh.. don't tell cat that this couple had been abandoned too.

As if reading cat's mind, the old man started to laugh.' No, cat. My wife and I have been selling fruits since we were young. We are not rich but we have enough for everyone and we even managed to send the kids to universities with the money we make selling fruits. So now, even though the kids do send us more money than we ever needed, we feel that we as long as we are still strong, we want to keep on selling fruits especially during week days. The schoolkids will miss us if we are not there and we would take this time too to meet old friends like Ah Seng who sells mee at the other corner.'

'Don't worry about us, cat.' the wife smiled. 'Our children sent us money every month. We can stay at home and watch TV if we wanted too. We don't know until when we will still stay together.. and..we do need the exercise' chuckled the old man while looking at the wife.

Cat was surprised. This is the first time that cat has seen people love doing what they are doing. They were actually proud that they are still working and not just waiting for their children' money. Imagine that..

While there are some of us who doesn't want to work but just want to enjoy the good life. There are those who just complaints about their job.

Just imagine that..

Signing off,
Cat

To Accuse is Easy..

There are times when cat just want to leave everything and give up. There are times too when cat just feel like throwing something at someone (smiling..well, cat is almost human). And there are times when cat just wish that she is deaf so that she would not hear anything at all.

Why? Because some people just love to judge others based on what they see on first glance or by what they hear from others. Why don't they just take the next step and ask or give advices if they really think that the thing is wrong. Why wait till the thing is done, then said 'I told you so'.

If you see a kid playing with matches and papers, why don't you just go tell the kid that how dangerous it is to be doing that. Or does it gives people satisfaction to go around telling others how bad that kid is and how the events will turn out if he keeps playing with those items. Or do they hope that by telling it to someone else, that someone else will talk to the child, instead? In the end, no one did, but instead the child was wondering about all the weird look people were giving him. You know how gossips starts: it begins with an innocent remark, told from one ear to another. And as words were passed on, things get twisted and the story became exaggerated and moved away from the original remark. And one day, the kid would just use the matches to please everyone's expectations on what he will do.

Cat knows..that is how life is. It's not an easy path and every test is expected to make you into a stronger person. Alas, it still hurts to hear or see words that insinuated on things that is not totally right. First reaction is to be angry. Second, came the sense of how unfair it is. And now, just to let it go. What's the use of getting upset. At least you'll have a clear picture and the time to think things out. Not changing cat's mind anymore.

To think of it, to accuse is always easy...The hard part is to be at the 'accused' person's seat.

Signing off,
Cat

Lost Without Compass

You are right. There's no place anywhere for the soft-hearted people around here. This tiny bit of heart has been broken into even smaller pieces that no glue can put it back together.

Now this is the Law of the Jungle:
(as old and as true as the sky..)
And the Wolf that shall keep it, may prosper,
But the Wolf that shall break it must die..
For this is the law of the jungle:
Only the strongest and the fittest will survive..
Every man for himself..
To kill or be killed..
To eat or be eaten..

Signing off,
Cat is lost in a world that she could not understand. Silly, silly cat.. (small laugh)..

Broken People

From the start, every self help book that cat read was about forgetting the past hurt and to always be a positive thinker. They say that we should not dwell on our sadness as everyone have problems and each of them might be even worse than ours. So, we learn not to complaint and sweep all those unwanted and bad events under the carpet.

We shrug off life's trials and tribulations, convincing ourselves that they have made us stronger. Many people go through life with a broken piece inside them, masking the inner turmoil with routine, work and play. Most of the time, we may be completely unaware of this flaw in us because the broken piece does not make any sound: just a dead silence which might become a time bomb one day.

There's the case of the child abuse victim who does the same to his children; the college student who flips out with a fully loaded automatic rifle; the abused victim who can never seem to form any stable relationship; the guy at the service counter who starts shouting for no apparent reason and lastly the tortured soul who finally decides to end her life.

A Asohan seems to voice it out more accurately: There are so many broken people out there. Counselling can help if a person is aware enough to seek help. But in some cases counselling can only the dress the wounds so that the person can play a functional role in society and then hope that the wound will not reopen or fester. Even those who want to help will not be able to reach in that deeply to help the most tortured souls.
For those unthinking people who ignore the consequences of their misdeeds or falsely believe that they would be redeemed 'as time heals all wounds', think again. The damage that you have done to other people may be deeper and darker than you'd like to assume.
***********************************
'Have you ever seen a dog get hit by a car, but walk away? There's this impact and you know that something terrible has happened to that dog. But it still walks away and doesn't seem to realize the implications. It just walks on. But, you, you know that something terrible has happened inside this dog and it is now there, biding its time.' - Full Frontal movie-

Signing off,
Cat

Remembering Cat

Do knight in shining armor really exist? Or are they a fragment of someone's creative imagination that were passed on to others?

Same goes with the fact that there are no dragons, no witches, no fairy godmother.

Life is so much different than Disney's stories. Life, actually, is more like the original works of Hans Christian Anderson: The little mermaid didn't get the prince. Even when in the end, the mermaid decided not to kill the prince, she was turned into sea foam. The prince were happily married to the princess and did not even remember the mermaid. Sad but reality bites.

Could this Cat do that? Sacrificing her life for the happiness of another? To stand still and watch everyone continue with their daily lives as they normally did? 

The answer is yes. If the world is as hard as Hans in his story telling tales told us, Cat would probably do what the mermaid did. She would put this heart of hers into a box. Lock it and keep it in a safe place where it won't fall to pieces every time the silence became heavier than any burden. Tears has never been known to solve anything. Just like throwing ashes into the wind. 

If Chrissy can stick to her rigorous plan in changing her life, cat believes that cat also can stick to this plan of changing cat's emotional mindset.

Cat wants to be strong so that no one can hurt her or make her miserable ever again.

Let's make a pact, Chrissy. As long as you will not throw down the towel, cat will not give up also. Cat will try to start all over again but with a brand new diary.

This would be cat's own fight in keeping the spirit high and not letting anyone put cat's self esteem down that bottomless well again. Thank you Chrissy, for opening cat's eyes. Hugs and salute to you.

P/S: This does not mean that Cat do not need anyone. Of course, Cat will always need someone to standby her. A someone who would be proud of Cat each time Cat did something good or correct. Cat also need someone to help Cat gets up again each time she falls down. She knows that even the strongest person would breakdown and cry..sometimes.

Cat wants with all her heart to laugh out loud and be the reason that brings a smile to those close to her.  Cat would want to hear someone's news and be there in case someone needs Cat. There won't be any pity, sorry or empty promises between us. Cat would only be glad to know that someone cares. The bruises and cuts are to be expected when riding a bike.

Cat used to say,  'If you will take care of me, I will take care of you too.'
But now, instead of that, Cat is saying 'I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me.'

Wheel of Life

It's true what they said: the wheel of life does turn around. Cat had thought that the wheel is stuck and Cat will never see an example of 'retribution' on earth.

Cat knows..it's not good to wish something bad to others..but most of the time cat only sees the good gets trodden, trampled, bashed..that Cat wonders if the contrary does happen.

And today, Cat saw it. Really... M had an accident yesterday in which he was hospitalized-having broken ribs. Everyone was silent when they heard the news. Poker faces everywhere. Try as hard as Cat wanted to (God, please forgive Cat.., Cat is only able to find a tiny bit of sympathy inside cat. Guilty conscience prevailing, Cat and a friend gave a call to the hospital to ask about his state..and..oh..grr..he's still the same arrogant person. Oh, again, dear God, please forgive Cat for having bad thoughts  (smile)

All that aside, Cat was thinking that..well, the wheel is still turning. And once it moves, it will continue to do so. There will be time when whatever bad things that you have done will get back to you. When? Only time can tell.

And, it makes Cat a little pensive and sad tonight. There will be a time when Cat too will have to grit her teeth and bear whatever comes onto Cat's way. Hmm..

For the time being, hoping that God will understand.

Still looking with shiny eyes and hoping for the best. No regrets...ever. But a heart wishing a wish and hoping that all will turn out well.

Thank you God. Cat is grateful for the everything and for the reminder.

Signing off,
Cat

A Miracle..

Today, we went to the hospital to visit a friend who has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. The baby was sleeping and had a look so pure and innocent that cat's heart just went to him. His eyes were closed, yet his tiny hands and legs moved slowly under the blanket that was wrapped tightly around him.

For the first time since these last few days, cat's heart lightened. Cat kissed the baby gently and closed cat's eyes. You know..that baby smell..the best smell in the whole world. And as cat's lips touched the baby's soft tender cheek, cat fell in love with him. A miracle...this feeling of love.

The mother was still lying on the movable bed. She looked tired but her face was glowing. "The baby is beautiful", cat told her. Suddenly, she picked him up and passed him to cat.."Would you like to hold him, cat? Ooo..Cat's eyes were big. Did she really said that? Yes, she's is still looking at cat and holding the sweet child.

Holding the small precious bundle, all the sadness left cat. How lucky his mother is. Understanding slowly came to cat. Life is worth having when you have someone to tend to and that someone needs you too. Without that bond, life would be empty. Motherhood is a special status that Allah has bestowed upon selected women. It is something that most women dream of achieving but not everyone of us is given such an honor.

Hugging the small baby delicately, Cat gave him a last kiss and returned him to the mother who's shining eyes never left the baby. Warmth came back to cat's cheeks. Oh, how cat wish that he was cat's. But it would not do any good in wishing and envying others.

God answers but in an indirect way. Trial and lessons to make the faith stronger..especially to those that is a bit slow like Cat. Typical of cat, isn't it..strong in theory but weak when it comes to actually doing it.

'God created you from one being and from that being He made it's mate. He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in three fold gloom.Such is Allah your Lord' (Az-Zumar 39:6)

Signing off,
Cat

High Temperature 2

The temperature continues to rise. Today, it's at 33°C and expected to reach till 35°C on Saturday. The weather forecast said that we were to expect occasional storms in the day.

For an occasional storm, it's really occasional: 7 minutes of heavy rain and it stops as sudden as it came. By the time you put on your slippers and open the main gate, getting a little bit drenched (as you were lazy to get an umbrella), the strong sun quickly comes out and let you dry again.

Even the water level of small river (hmm.. or maybe it's more like a very big ditch/drain) besides the area where cat lives, has dropped down drastically 1 1/2 meters from the normal level. That is how hot it is here.

The NST newspaper last Sunday reported that TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) advised consumers to use electricity prudently even more so during this heatwave. On Feb 4, power demand stood at 14,384 megawatt and six days later the demand registered at 14,417 megawatt. (an increase of 33 megawatts in 6 days).

That is to be expected. The hotter it gets, the more you uses the fan and/aircond. And this weekend will surely shows a much higher increase in electricity usage as Malaysians are enjoying a long holiday period from this Friday till Sunday due to the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. Hoping (even if it's hopeless) that they will not be any black outs in Cat area again and again. Hot and in darkness: :( hated that..

The human temperature around here is also on the rise. More headaches with things to decide and basically a need to cut cat's self to 100 pieces in order to get all things done (Going back later and later . How do you prevent the heat from getting to the head? Sigh.. wish there is a good formula to it. Tempers so thin and feelings so fragile. Luckily cat does not have a license to drive :p.. who knows what this distracted cat might run over while driving? Hmm..Got to keep cool.. and cat still has not get her 'Sirap Bandung' or Ais Kacang yet..

Signing off,
Cat 23022010

Mirrors

If you observe people, you will see that there are times when they do not know anything about themselves.

They made their choices to do what they think were right.

They say and acted out their decisions.

They say that they are happy.

However, their faces showed what they really feel. 

They do not realise  this.

They do not notice this

The fact that their eyes are like mirrors that reflected what really is inside  their hearts.

For Argument's Sake

He: Marrying you was the biggest mistake of my life!
She: I am ashamed of myself for ever choosing someone like you!

The shouts went on and on..a never ending litany of blaming each other. If only they would stop and think..

For whose sake is the argument really for? For themselves...or..for the child who has been hearing all the shouting while crying in the corner..?

Don't they realised that though they are husband and wife, they remained two different people. They will never have the same opinion on everything. If all they do is argue..without ever trying to understand each other, then they will only hurt themselves in the end.\

Sometimes, when you are too close to one another, you thought that you can see clearly where the problem lies. Alas, in reality, sometimes it's when you are closest that you cannot understand anything. You only feel your own hurt and see what he has done to hurt your feelings.

It's at times like this, you need to calm down and take a close look at one another.

Living Life

Life ( by anonymous)

live life
at one point or another its time to move on
live life to the full before it’s all gone
never regret doing anything that you wanna do
life is too short so its entirely up to you
regret is not a nice thing to be playing on your mind
so go explore the globe and see what you can find
the big bad world is not as scary as you think
get in the ocean on a boat that's gonna sink
climb Mount Everest without any harness
hanging on for life from light through to darkness
jump out of a plane at 30 thousand feet..
don't be scared and accept defeat
don't be spending most of your life in bed
You'll get enough sleep when you die

----------------------------
Have you ever sometimes wish that you were someone else?
Wishing to be better, slimmer, smarter or funnier? Once in a while the thought will enter the head : To be wishing for things to be different from what they really were or for to be able to change the past or even to be someone else than you are.

Sometimes the response or the "look" you get from people made you want to live otherwise. When that happens, check yourself. Are you doing what you expect others want you to do or are you doing it because it's something you wanted to do.

The choice and responsibility for achieving success and happiness is our own. Change the mindset. Think of what those people are saying as a provocation. A little struggle, a little risk is necessary. Move away from the unhealthy environment, if you must. Then, do whatever is necessary to achieve whatever you want. Do it for your self and you'll find that you have more interest and better results. If you want to be slimmer, then go and put on a diet. Do Not grumble. People will only laugh at you. The world loves to make fun of other people's misery. Put on your smile, put cotton in your ears, tighten your belt and just do it. Just have to keep it your head to do it because you wanted it.

Easier said than done? Of course, writing this is easier than trying to actually do it. Sometimes you will be lucky to have someone to support this changes and stand by you through whatever waves that rocks the boat. Sometimes you would be all alone in making the changes. Sometimes, every 1 km, there's a stone wall blocking your way. Sit down and think. You have been hitting the wall with your knuckles and it's still standing there. Maybe the wall is there to tell you that it's a no entry area and you should think of taking another path. Time to look at things differently.

Cat has been there and cat can tell you it's not easy. Cat would have like, wish and hope that things are different.. Alas, that is certainly impossible.

Carpe Diem.

Signing off,
Cat