14. Adopting a cat

Sorry, dears. Life has been a haze for the past few days. I'll tell you the story one by one. But I'll start with the major story of my life.

April: 

My birthday wahoo. My friends got me a cat for my birthday. Adopted from SPCA. Now, I would not recommend anybody giving a cat as a present for anyone for a birthday. A cat is a big decision to make; you might think that all you need is to feed it and change his/her litterbox BUT factoring in the reason that he/she might get sick; toys; bla bla, well a cat is not just a hasty decision to make. Food & litter is not cheap here in Malaysia. I recently bought Science Plan for Maximus which was around RM 45++ for just 28 days worth of food.

My friends knew I have always wanted to have a cat but I never really had one because of sinus problems/mom's wrath. Now that my brother and sister-in-law left to study in UK, and that I'm staying alone, my friends thought it would be a perfect time to get me a cat. My parents, of course, FREAKED OUT when they found out about having a cat.

You can't even begin to fathom how scared I was about keeping Maximus. My work keeps me busy; it's not a regular 9-to-5 job as recently, we started a project; I might finish work at midnight, or 8 pm. I was afraid that I could not take care of an animal who depends solely on you to feed him, or I would not be at home and I'll return to a house full of ruins. That and the fact that I have never ever had anything furry to take care of (had tortoises but that was it).

I googled information on how to keep a cat. The first day at work, I kept him in his cage. And I read that it was cruel to cage a cat; that if you were gonna cage him, you didn't deserve to have a cat in the first place. So I let him explore the house (I live in a condo); watching him like a hawk and preparing to sound him if he was going to do anything naughty like bite wires, scratch furnitures or jump off my balcony.

When I took him in, he was 2 and a half months old, around 400 grams. He was sick with feline fever at that time, and it cost me RM400+ for boarding, feeding, consultation fees & taking care of the furry bugger. I cried when the doctor informed me that Max was emaciated and that there was a slim chance for recovery.

But now, five weeks later, he is 1.5 kg and healthy. I've never loved a furball as much as I do for Max. I love that he waits for me patiently at the door when he hears my keys rattling at the door. I love that he waits for me patiently at my feet as I hang my laundry. I have even come to love him biting and scratching me as I feed him his antibiotics and bacteria shots for mammals.

My most dreaded moment was going off to Singapore for a 3-days-2-nights vacation; I had just picked him up from the vet; he was just recovering from his fever and he was doing alright. My friends had promised to look in on him, and feed him. It was such a relief when I came back and he was still purring and eating.

 

He is now very healthy (and a bit spoilt). In the beginning, I let him sleep with me in my room; but I developed a cough and cold the same time he started to develop symptoms of feline fever. I was also allergic to his fur. I had to "sterilize" my house when he boarded the clinic for his feline fever. So now he sleeps out in the living room. He is my alarm clock, as he will meow very very early in the morning to let me know he is hungry. He knows not to jump off the balcony. 

Maximus is a very playful cat that basks in attention. He loves silly games like chasing your hand (you place it under a blanket and move it around). Sometimes when I'm resting he'll walk across my head. He loves to disturb me when I'm reading or doing work (plonks himself in front of my book/laptop). Having a cat forces you to be more clean and attentive (keeping anything wiry after you're done with it, throwing away anything like lint, strings etc).

 

But it is all worth it. He knows I'm his master and there's no feeling like it when he curls up in your arms and purrs like a lawnmower. It's the best feeling in the world and I'm grateful to have Max around. I love him and I plan to having him stick around for the rest of his cute, furry life. To others, yes it is costly to keep a cat - the doctors said that there was an epidemic from cats adopted from SPCA so it really is up to you where you would adopt a cat from. I rather adopt one than buy one that was bred at a shop anyways. They are lovely creatures who are actually very independent. You will be rewarded with companionship & furry warmth at the end of the day.

6. biker ready.

I must have an affinity for all things (or in this case, people) British, such as Alexa Chung, Keira Knightley, and Sienna Miller. There is something about the effortless chic they put into their style. I only wish it was cold enough in Malaysia for me to wear leather jackets =S Anyway, here is my take on Sienna Miller influenced with a motorcycle style, especially now that my boyfriend is crazy about superbikes (he bought a Kawasaki Ninja 250 back in February and is now looking at cruiser bikes). What he spends on his bike I wish I could spend on shopping, sigh.

biker ready. by archdookie featuring suede wedge boots

1. Topshop Cut out shirt, $46; 2. Hot Topic Skinny jeans, $30; 3. Rupert Sanderson suede wedge boots, $995; 4. TopShop wedge booties, $160; 5. Proenza Schouler leather shoulder bag, $1,995; 6. Pineider leather luggage bike helmet, $434; 7. Topshop Coral Leather Double Buckle handbag, $50; 8. Improvd Cropped Scarf Leather Jacket tying scarve, £270; 9. Imoni leather glove, $196

Sorry I haven't been blogging as frequently as I did the previous week. I have been spending time with my girlfriends ❤, eating, playing catan, was introduced to L4D2, and took photos for a marathon.

L - R: Me, Sarah, May & Ikhsan at the Standard Chartered Marathon 2011.

Since I have been receiving a lot of positive feedback on Malaysian food I will try to incorporate some food pictures into my blog posts.

Laksa - it's made using spaghetti, and fish sauce which has been boiled for a very long time until the sauce thickens, served with fresh beansprouts, onions, and sambal belacan which is fermented shrimp mixed with fresh chilli and lemon sauce.

This is nasi goreng kampung - basically it's fried rice cooked with egg, chilli, green leafy veggies and chicken in a really hot wok, and garned with fried anchovies.

And finally, Biskut and Stinky waves you goodbye.

This is biskut. Actually she's called Cookie but I kept calling her biskut and so she's biskut now. She's Ikhsan's cat.

This is Stinky (actual name is Angel but she smells). She's a very old Labrador dog who is very enthusiastic and affectionate. She loves water but hates to be dried which is why she stinks. Stinky belongs to May.

Apologies for the absence! Schoolwork and heaps of assignment.. it's already pressing my social life and obligatory "family time" eurghhh. Here comes some of the endless pictures.


This was at Sha's place. She ordered tons of oysters and lots of people ended up eating the chicken... so I happily ate a lot.. like 25 oysters. Everybody forked out RM 35 per head, and that is like $10.22 USD. For friggin 25 oysters! What a steal. Here it is in closer zoom and all it's gooey glory.


Mm. I cannot remember where it's from, Manhattan or New Zealand. Anyway. The point is. They taste so damn good. Enough.


Me in class with Pingu. Apparently people call her that because she looks like the penguin, haha.


The cheesy crust thingy from Pizza Hut. I don't care if it's from PH, this was sooo good.


The mushroom soup I overloaded with parmesan sprinkles. Eurgh, I hate mushroom soup.


Garlic bread! Nuff said.


Me in a beanie from F21 and super huge grandma glasses.


This was amazinggg. For RM 10 though it was wee bit expensive just for baby prawns and aubergines.




Okay seriously monopoly deal is too damn addictive.


Sarah with blang-blang, super huge cat. It belongs to Sha's family and is very grumpy because it has been neutered and has never humped another cat.


Looking crap. It was hot okay.


Looking even more crap!

There's tons more photos but I am just going to post it bit by bit.Stuff like Ne-yo's concert and Valentine's day. And a super huge whale skeleton. Oh and my four year anniversary with the bf is coming up, not to mention my mom's birthday! Ideas anyone (especially cheap ones are welcomed) =)

Back.

I've been busyyyy with my finals and I just started my holidays! Yes to party, rest and hangover mornings. I haven't updated in a while, hey, but most bloggers go through that dry spell phase where they're too busy to download. I'm sure if you are a blogger you've gone through it. Hats off to you if you have yet to do this.


Mmmm. I love pizza. Papa John's make good pizza.


Amazing fish concalaisse (spelling) I had at Coliseum. So tasty tasty.


Coliseum. The old guy in the corner has been working there for 30 - 40 years here?


Some asshole reversed his truck into my car, scratched, dented it and broke the lights.


Usual shisha beezness.


Jack and his cute girlfriend.


Momok sleeping on my notes again.

At his not-so-surprise party.
As it turns out, three of his idiot friends called my boyfriend up asking if "he was going to the party at Duta Vista". Apparently when I texted "surprise" they forgot that element. So he was sort of expecting it. After all that hard work, what a bummer.


The expected surprise. Eeeesh.


Ignore my oogleh face in the corner


Stef frog ribbit ribbit.

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The huge ass banner me and Stef made. Mostly Stef. I was too busy cooking in the kitchen.


The pressure of hosting a party got to me. Chicken fight with Stef.


The cute mini card I bought which played the famous happy birthday song irritatingly everything you opened it haha.


Khalil with his 'artistic flair'.


Without these two girls it wouldn't have been possible. Mad love to you guys <3


Birthday cake! Strawberry chocolate, looks disgusting but tasted absolutely amazing.


Thunder thighs!

Yep. That wraps up the sad month I have been having. Next year for his birthday it's going to be just me, a wok, and fried rice. No more of this surprise shebang.