War of the Roses...errr....Drama Queens

There's a cold war in the house and I'm not comfortable playing the role of middle feline between Mama and Angelina....sigh....but someone has to do the job. Since I'm the cutest in the house, and the most kindhearted, I guess it's only natural that I was assigned the task of mending the rift between them.

Angelina dedicated a song to Mama yesterday. This is Mama's reply. Oooh....we have two Drama Queens in this house. Dad, help!!!!!!

meowww.....Nikki

Mama, Please Forgive Me!

I know that my Mama is still annoyed with my runaway act last week. How do I seek forgiveness from you? I tried shadowing her in the house, I tried eating whatever she prepared for me, I even tolerated the wet treatment....but she keeps sighing and saying..."Oh Angelina, what do I do to please you?"

Mama, listen to this song carefully. I've learned my lesson. I loooooove you Mama. And I'm glad to be home. purrr....meow!

Reminiscence on Friday: The One About Hydrotherapy

This was originally published on Dec 26, 2006. We haven't had the hang of uploading photographs then so you won't get to see me wet. 

Burrr....I'm wet, and definitely shivering today. My Mama had this bright idea of giving me a bath today coz "Oohh..it's a bright sunny summer day. Let's give Angelina a bath," she said. Not that I mind the aromatherapy cum hydrotherapy services that she gave at the SPA (the kitchen sink, actually) but it's freezing outside and it's very very windy. I'm not even complaining about the massage she gave while lathering the aloe vera shampoo all over me but it will be ages before I get to lick my entire body dry.

You see, we cats have a reputation when it comes to cleanliness and hygienic practices. We like to groom ourselves at any time of the day, worse for my long-haired brethren, but we don't particularly like WATER! We belong to those expensive category of possessions that's labelled DRY CLEAN ONLY. Not that we need to be sent to the laundromat though...

I don't know about other cats but another of my pet peeves is nail clipping. I will claw, scratch and yowl my way out of such a situation. No manicure or pedicure for me...please!

The only area where Mama and I see eye to eye is the upkeep of my toilet. She's been very good at poo scooping, choosing the right litter material and knowing when to change it. You'll be amazed at the range of litter materials available nowadays but my Mama is an expert at choosing the right one for me. You want to know what we do if our toilets are dirty? We'll do the business elsewhere! Probably on the furniture. I know Mama had that problem with her other family. Heard that they vomit a lot too.
Oohh..my tail is still wet. Must lick it dry...lick it dry...lick it dry....meow!

Ducky Wet Dreams

Happy times are here again! Sorry everyone....my quest to conquer the world was shortlived. I now realise that I'm not cut out to live in the wild. I still have to plan and do my plotting from the comfort of my Mama's abode. Anyway, I've released Nikki from blog caretaking duty and now I'm back blogging....for good! Yes....Mama....I won't run away again. Promise!

This is a continuation of our "balik kampung" story.

I was minding my own business while waiting for my turn at the camera when suddenly my Mama said, "Angelina, would you like to have duck for lunch?"
Look, this is what I saw. Mama and Dad trying to catch a/some duck(s) for me.

Aaahh...free range ducks.....fresh from the farm.

OK....zoom in to get a better look. They were still unaware of Mama and Dad at this time.

They started running away from Dad....

Stopped in their tracks coz Mama was waiting on this side. Having a conference?

Can't turn back coz Dad was at the back....chasing them.

Some jumped into the water....escape or watery grave?

Everybody jumped!!!!! There's safety in number?

That was like Moses and his flock crossing the Red Sea....

Yeah! To safety!

Angelina's Note: Hmmmmm....there goes my dream lunch. It's OK Mama and Dad. It's the effort and intention that counts. purrr....meow!

About Time, Angelina!

Yessss!!!! She's back! Now we can laugh again in this house.
First, we received a call at about 11.30pm from Block A, about three blocks away from us. A young lady said she found Angelina. Mama asked a few questions like colour, markings etc and then went to check. Unfortunately, the tabby wasn't Angelina.
Then at around 1am, a text message came in. Someone texted to say they found her at Block A. Again? We said. Mama was reluctant to go as she had just come back from Block A. But the couple then sent an MMS. And confirmed certain markings. They waited downstairs while Mama put on some decent clothes.
Finally! The right tabby was found. I'm happy to report that at least she's not infested with fleas, just some dirty feet, and she seems very hungry. She still smells of the shampoo she had from the spa treatment last week. One of these day I'm going to interview her about her "adventure". Hey...I was born in this house, lived here all my life and I've never ventured further than the main door and the only travels I had are the annual visits to the vet. At least Angelina has travelled 7,000km from Sydney to here, and then spent one week outside the house. And instead of getting a scolding, she was smothered with kisses and given treats. 

Someone's soooo hungry! Kibbles and water first.

Special treat of fresh beef. yummmm.....

Thank you all for your purrrayers and words of encouragement. It has been a distressing period for us with Mama not sleeping a wink and then getting sick, the midnight prowling in the area by Mama and Dad.... Thank you to all our neighbours who called and looked out for her, and finally.....found her. The young couple who found her - Aunty Faza and Uncle Yazid, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. They won't even take the reward money that Mama's been offering. Thank you all. A thanksgiving party is in order, I think. We'll send the invites.
Oh yeah...looks like my stint as the blog caretaker is over too soon.
Till the next time,
xoxo
Nikki

Wordless Wednesday: Sad Nikki

I'm spending a lot of time thinking about Angelina.....where could she be?

Mama and Dad are sick with worry and of course it affects the household. I miss playing with Angelina.

Let me contemplate in peace.

Last Set of Pictures & Route of Escape

It's been a week since we discovered her missing. Angelina had a busy day on Tuesday, May 17. She had a nip fest in the morning and then Dad gave her special spa treatment after lunch. She wasn't complaining much though we know she hates being wet. She spent the rest of the day with Mama and Dad in the master bedroom, including some nap time in the laundry basket. These are the set of photographs taken of her on that day.

How did she do it?
The only way she could have left the house is through the balcony. It is a dangerous thing to do but Angelina is very adventurous and determined. When we lived in Sydney, we had to put up a hardwood barrier separating our balcony with the next door neighbour as she had a tendency to "visit" them. But she always comes back when called.

The balcony ledge that's easily accessed. We have bought wire mesh and closed off the access on Sunday.

The other side of the balcony. Not difficult for a very experienced and agile feline like Angelina.

She would have jumped onto this area from that ledge. Those doors sealed the utility stuff, they are locked.

The common area that we share with three other units. We are on top floor of five storeys. If Angelina had used those stairs to go down, she could be anywhere.

Wish we have good news to tell but we don't. We have put up posters all over the place, with monetary reward on offer. We've had many phone calls and text messages from people who said they saw Angelina here and there. So far, the cats they described or saw are not Angelina. Now we realise that there are many strays in this area and all tabbies look the same. It's a large area where we live. In the gated compound, there are eight blocks of apartments, outside the gate there's the low cost flats, almost 1,000 units there and also five blocks of shoplots. It's a very high density area. We've also been "told" that she's being kept by someone who likes her. If that is true, we hope Angelina will be returned to us soon.

Reported by,
Nikki

IMPAWTANT NOTICE TO ALL

Hie Peeps! This is Angelina's Mama.
I'm afraid I have bad news.
Angelina is gone. We lost her. We've searched for her high and low. Our house is not big, impossible not to find a cat hiding in a tiny 900sqft apartment.
We think she may have jumped from the ledge at the balcony to the common area. And as she's still unfamiliar with the territory, may not have found her way home.
Until Angelina is found, this blog is suspended.
If she's not found, I have no reason to continue.
Pray for her return.

Anyone For Nip?

It's a public holiday today. Malaysians are celebrating Vesak Day, a holy day in the Buddhist Calendar. What's a cat to do? Get high on some nip.....purrr....meow!

Yeah....it's nip time. Mama just gotten me 3oz of the stuff.....teeheehee.....

Perpetual state of "lalok" (street slang for "high").

A (kinda) Different Mothers' Day Picnic - Part 2

Not too far from Mama's village is a town called Sekinchan. It has a thriving fishing community as well as rice farming activities. Mama and Dad made a little detour just so we could be more adventurous. And I love it as I get to exercise my camera clicking paws more.

Mr State Rep, if I may say so, what's the idea behind this billboard? May I recommend my Dad to redesign your thingy?

As usual, we'll look see if there's any stray around. There was this black beauty at the market place. Looks like he's been hurt in the past. Hmmm....maybe he was hungry and wanted a taste of the really fresh fish and the fishmongers weren't too happy about it, eh? But kitty needs to eat.

Oh yes.....fish and fish everywhere....

The locals call this siput sedut (lit. trans: sucking snails????) coz you have to suck the shells to get the flesh out. Slimy stuff but yummy. Usually they're cooked in hot chili and coconut gravy, or stir fried with chili.

Aaaahhhh.....cuttle fish or squid....whatever it's called, I love it. It's so fresh that it's body (tube) seems translucent. This fresh, best grilled!

More fish...and crabs too...OK, so I loooove seafood.

Interesting building this is. It's a music school. I thought it's a giant keyboard.

Dilapidated fisherman house next to a swiftlet bungalow. Bird's nest is big business in this area.

There's a larger and proper fire brigade station in the area but this one is where the fire volunteers congregate - looks so rustic.

Fishing depot in the fishing village?

Colourful fish boxes at the fishing depot.

Another interesting building that used to be a movie theatre, I was told.

Hey birdy.....saw flocks of them near the fishing depot.

Another kind of birdy.....Mama forbids me from chittering at them! The birdies are bigger in size than me. They may think I'm their lunch instead.

Does this mean we are going to sleep here next time instead of Atuk's place?

We stopped by a roadside stall selling these delicious fruits....items for the picnic basket.

Look at how big that mango is!

Close up of the mango pile. They are all local fruits, from surrounding villages.

More and more mangoes, the brown tuber is what the locals call keladi (yam or taro).

Oh yesss! Local corns. I love them steamed, grilled or boiled. Or even cooked in sweet coconut milk....yummmmm...

The stall also sells steamed and boiled corns (see that big steamer at the front of stall).

Angelina's Notes:
1. Mama's village (or rather my maternal grandma's village) is called Kampung Sungai Sireh (literal translation: Betel Leaves River Village) in the Rice Bowl of the state of Selangor. The district is Kuala Selangor (Selangor Estuary) while the county is called Tanjung Karang (Coral Cape????). So, the address would be Kampung Sungai Sireh, Tanjung Karang, Selangor, Malaysia.
2. The main activity in this area is of course, rice planting. As Mama's village is also the location of a MARDI rice research station (MARDI - Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute), the farmers here have become somewhat the guinea pigs. They get to be the first to plant a new variety, use new fertilizer or even new ways of planting and harvesting. Wayyyy ahead of other parts of the country.
3. Side activities - coconut, mango, corn, breadfruit, vegetables, cooking herbs like lemongrass and galangal, fresh water fish farming, sugarcane, cockle farming and sea fishing.
4. Latest craze - birds' nest production where humongous brick "caves" have been erected all over the place. These "caves" are where swiftlets come and build nests using their saliva as building materials. These nests are said to have certain medicinal properties and fetch very good prices. Hence the huge interests. But these "caves" are spoiling the landscape. You can see them dotting the rice fields. I'd use the term Sybaritic eyesore!
5. purrr.....meow!

A (kinda) Different Mothers' Day Picnic

Scene 1: Bedroom
Time: 6.00am
Date: 8 May 2011

Mama: Angelina, wake up sleepy head...
Angelina: (one eye open) Hmmm....five more minutes, purrrlease....
Mama: If you don't get up now, I'm going to take Nikki instead of you....
Angelina: OK OK...I'm awake now....(stretch, lick, flick tail) Where are we going?
Mama: Didn't you say you wanna go for a picnic?
Angelina: Not this early....can't we go around lunch time?
Mama: Nope, we have to start early as it's about one to two hours of driving, depending on traffic.
Angelina: Wow! I love riding in the car. Are you or Dad driving?
Mama: Dad. Hey...he's still asleep.
Angelina: Wake up, Dad!
Dad: Huh???

Scene 2: In the car
Time: 7.00am

Mama: You two sure took your own sweet time to get ready, eh?
Angelina: Mama...you know...I'm a girl. I got to do heaps of girl stuff before we can go out. What's your excuse, Dad?
Dad: No comment.
Mama: Like father, like daughter.
Angelina: Relax Mama....are we going to your village, Mama? Are we going to "visit" grandma?
Mama: Yes, we are. I want you to know your roots and family too.
Angelina: Wow! I like that. Are we there yet?
Mama: We haven't even left our area.
Angelina: Sorry....I'll go snuggle in the back seat then.

Scene 3: Mama's Village (destination of the day)

Wow! Rice plants! It's fruiting now.....

This mimosa like creeping plant is edible. The locals call it kangkung puteri or susupan.

The rice ears upclose. Rice comes from this? Awesome...

Dad's hard at work...that contraption is called "kunci air" or water lock (weir???) that controls water as and when needed by the irrigation canals.

See how clever the villagers are? Instead of using concrete, they use mangrove stakes as bank reinforcement, it's organic and environment friendly too.

I used the zoom lens to capture this. That big tree with large leaves on the left hand corner is a breadfruit (local name: sukun) tree. This tree can be found in abundance in the village. 

I think this an abandoned old village type house.

Back to the rice plant - some naughty snails laid eggs here. They're pests and causing headaches to the farmers.

Dad's hard at photography work again.

Dad chatting up two guys who were spraying rat poison in the rice field. They must be thinking: rice paparazzi?

I like this shot. So, I put it here. I think this is part of the water control system.

Another nice shot I took. Dead guava tree against the blue sky.

A lonely banana tree....hey Monyet King, it needs a monyet as accessory.

We got to take some of these papayas home. They are sooooo delicious!