a final goodbye...

My precious boy finally decided that it is his time now to cross the Bridge.
The pain is enormous and the end of the pain doesn't look like it is going to be in sight any time soon, but I'm sure what Boy wants is for us to celebrate his life and remember what an awesome kitteh he has been. So amidst the tears, I shall attempt to do that, because that is what I am sure my Boy would expect me to do.

Where do I start? Right from the beginning seems appropriate. 31st December 1993. A scrawny little kitten took a look at me and decided to follow me home. Fitting just into my palm, he was skinny and kept having diarrhoea. It took a long time of tricking him into eating medicine before his diarrhoea finally cleared and some more time before he became the eating machine he is best known for.

Boy is definitely the genius he always claimed to be. He learnt his name in no time, and very soon, could understand pretty much of everything that was said to him, and about him. He was fiercely loyal and the fiercest fighter I ever seen.

How can a single post sum up all these years of memories?

How he bore it all patiently whatever I try to do to him.

How fierce he was to everyone else that even the vet was afraid to touch him, but has never ever even scratched me accidentally. He even plays whapping games with his paws sheathed.
And when the Little One came, how he accepted him and protected him and looked out for him, much as he would always give his snarky you better leave me alone look.

Or the, what have I got myself into look.

How they shared Secret Paws together.

What a precious little kitten he was.

How he would stand there quietly for his shower because I asked him to.
Yes, showering him is the easiest thing in the world as he didn't even need to be held. He would stand there and not move when I asked him to.

How he has to bear with all my silliness and craziness, and how he was there for me every part of my life.
How I would tell him stories and things in my life and how he would sit there and listen like he really understood it all, and how he would lick me to let me know everything's going to be alright.
How he would let me hug him so so tight I'm sure it was uncomfortable, but he just bore with it.
How we would play catching and how much he enjoyed it.

Your arthritis stopped you from running and jumping the way you loved to these past few years,
I hope you are running like how you used to like it now Boy.

I think you decided on your time to cross the Bridge, and you decided on now because you wanted to do it on your own terms. Fiercely, and with dignity, just the way you have always been.

The time is always too soon to say goodbye to a loved one, to my best friend, to my dear Boy.
But I'm glad you went peacefully in your sleep, without any illnesses or pain.

I miss you Boy, and I wish I can hold you one more time in my arms, and kiss you on the nose, and feel you licking me once again. I hope you are running free on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge now and there is every single thing that you love there.

Goodbye my Boy.

*facepaw*

I've got nothing to say but *facepaw*....

What is this thing tickwing mine feet when I'm twying to sweep?
What annoying tail is that!
I'm going to nom nom nom nom nom nom nom it all up!
Why does That Thing move his tail away!
I haven't finished nomming up his tail you know!

That Thing squeaks!

That Thing, he squeaks!

finawwy, a post after a wong hiatus...

Hewwo evewybody!

I know I'd been a weawwy bad bwogger, but you see, it's all mine Mummy's fault.

She thinks the compooter bewongs to her and when she cwaims that she is working, she wefused to wet anyone else touch it. So I had not been bwogging for a wong wong time, and it's totawwy not because I was wazy or anything because of course I was not.

But I have some vewy good fwiends who misses me when I is not awound. So one fine day, dearJan emailed mine Mummy to ask how we were. And of course mine Mummy cannot wefuse to wet me bwog now because I do have to wet all mine good fwiends out there know how we are wight? So I have dear Jan to thank because I could cwaim some compoooter time to bwog again.

Well, so what's been happening here?

Actuawwy, nothing new.

I'm still vewy busy taking care of mine Mummy, and That Thing is still as annoying as he always is.

Oh, something swightwy exciting happened yesterday, because That Thing had to go to the V-E-T for his wooster shots. And I didn't have to!

And he whined and whined and whined and whined and at the V-E-T, he was so scared he kept pushing his face into mine Mummy's armpit.

And you know what, wemember the wast time I was at the V-E-T, the doctor and evewyone there wemembered me because I almost scweamed the pwace down, but yet the doctor said I was cute.

You know what, nobody wemembered who That Thing was when he went yesterday. The weceptionist had to ask mine Mummy for That Thing's name! And you know what, no one said he was cute!

Well, of course, it's natuwal since I'm definitely MUCH cuter than That Thing.

And here is a pigshure of handsome me for your viewing pweasure.

nomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom...

why do I have a weird bwother?

That Thing, he talks in his sweep!

it's wooster time again...

It's that awful day of the year again when I have to hiss at the V-E-T while she gives me mine Wooster Shot.
The onwy good thing about all this is I get to have about an hour without That Thing whining away at mine side.
He has to stay all by himself at home, and That Whiny Thing he is, he kept whining away when mine Mummy and I got home and now he wefuses to wet any of us get out of his sight!

There were 3 giant woofies who were seeing the V-E-T before me and big cwumsy things they were! I gave them the best hiss I could and the V-E-T assistant said I was such an awesome kitteh who wasn't afwaid of anyone! Of course I wasn't afwaid! They were huge, but they sure can't beat a genius bwain wike mine.

When it was mine turn to see the V-E-T, she had 3 assistants together in the woom with her.
But I didn't think those assistants were any much help. One of them asked mine Mummy (in a shout because I was hissing and gwowwing at them all woudwy so that evewyone outside in the waiting woom can hear what tortures I'm going thwough) if mine Mummy could hold on to me while the V-E-T examined me.
And then the 3 assistants simpwy stood at the other end of the woom, and wooked while the V-E-T attempted to poke and pwod at me while mine Mummy held me.
That took out all the fun. I would have wiked to scare the V-E-T a wittle!

The V-E-T pwodded and squeezed me and after a wong time, finawwy said to mine Mummy, "he's vewy good for his age!"
I totawwy disagwee with the V-E-T.
First, I think the V-E-T should have the courtesy of talking TO me, instead of talking ABOUT me to mine Mummy wike I wasn't awound! After all, it's ME she is discussing with mine Mummy isn't she?
And I totawwy disagwee with the V-E-T saying I'm vewy good for mine age because I'm not just vewy good.
I'M PURRFECT!
Get it?
I'M PURRFECT!
And I'm PURRFECT for all ages.

I didn't have a good nap today

I know I have been a vewy bad bwogger wecentwy.

There are so many things that keeps me busy and mine Mummy being the world's waziest mummy doesn't help things.

But just wook at what happened today!

Wooky here!

While I was bwissfuwwy asweep, That Thing pushed his head wight up to mine!!!!

I weawwy do not appweciate sweeping with mine head touching his!!

Don't you think he's a bit too much? Give him an inch and he takes a foot, no, a mile, no a squiwwion wight years!

First it was shawing mine bed, then touching mine paw, mine butt, and now this!

poop-on-demand...

Today is a HOWWIBLE day.Earwy in the morning, after I had mine second bweakfast and is waiting patientwy for mine Mummy to turn away so that I can nom That Thing's bweakfast, mine Mummy took out the haversack/kitteh carrier.

And without asking mine permission, she put me inside it!

That was awfuwwy wude! Has she asked me if I was fwee today? No! She simpwy scooped me up and took me away, just wike that.

I mean, it's ok if I was fwee, but I had evewything pwanned for the day, naps, whapping That Thing, naps, noms, whapping That Thing, naps, noms, you get the gist; it was going to be a vewy busy day!

And now I had to endure going to the V-E-T!

Well, what can a gentleMANcat do but accept his wot in wife gwaciouswy?

So I went to the V-E-T with mine Mummy.

The pwevious time I had been to the V-E-T was an entire year ago for mine wooster shot and the V-E-T and the assistants hadn't seen me for a whole year. But mine fame was so gweat that when they saw me, they all wemembered, THIS IS THE SCAWY SCWEAMING KITTEH! Heh!

So when it was mine turn in the consultation woom, THWEE other assistants came into the woom with gwoves, towels and what have you.

Then the bwavest of the assistants came forward with her towel and attempted to wwap me up.

Of course at this point in time, all h*ll bwoke woose.

I scweamed and scweamed and scweamed and I'm sure I did much better this year than wast year. Pwobably you could hear me down the stweet.

So mine Mummy told the V-E-T, that perhaps she should ask the assistants to all go away and that it's better mine Mummy hold me. How happy those assistants appeared to be when they huwwied out of the woom.

And mine Mummy held me, and that was the end of all fun because I won't bite mine Mummy. So I just growled and growled, but genius me is not going to give up so easiwy. I was still twying to pwot the V-E-T's demise.

And then a bwiwwiant idea stwuck me.

So while the V-E-T was oh so carefuwwy poking me with the needle, giving me the wooster shot, I concentwated with all mine might.

And when the needle was wemoved and mine handsome self cawwied up by mine Mummy, I pwesented to them....POOP...oh gwowious POOP!

Mine Mummy was so embawassed and kept twying to expwain, "oh dear, he's never had any accidents before!"

Hey Mummy, it's not an accident! It's dewibewate, intentional POOP! Get it?

Well, anyway, I was still poked and gotted the wooster, but at weast, I did make mine feewings felt.

Mine Mummy dispweases me...

Finawwy, mine Mummy is going to stay put back home for a wittle while and these days That Thing and me have been vewy busy making our dispweasure felt, namewy in ways wike scweaming on top of our wungs at 230am in the morning and wunning in between her feets when she is walking and demanding her to pway pway pway with us.
I haven't been too pweased about her wast twip to Hong Kong though, because you know what?
She didn't come back with woads of pwesents for us.
In fact...this is the onwy thing she came back with.A toiwet!
Why in the world does she think I will be pweased with a toiwet?
Gwanted, That Thing woves to dwink water fwom the toiwet bowl, but this toiwet doesn't even have any water!See, I don't even bother to take a second sniff!
Mummy! You dispwease me!

Beijing pictors are up thanks to handsome genius gentleMANcat me...

Mine Mummy is finawwy back home and as usual, it is the genius me who has to undertake the arduous task of upwoading her pictors and sorting them out.

Well, so after 2 busy days with mine Mummy's camewa, here are what I gotted fwom her twip to the Huge Wall and the City that has Forbiddened her.

This is mine Mummy's first view of Beijing.

She was on the cab, on the way fwom the airport to her fwiend's house.
The first morning in Beijing, mine Mummy decided to take it easy and so she went shopping for a pair of boots as the one she was weawing was kiwwing her feet.
After wunch and a new pair of boots, mine Mummy went to the Tian Tan Gong Yuan （天壇公園）. This was where the empewors made sacwifices to the gods of the sky to ask for a bountiful year ahead.
Mine Mummy's fwiend holding up the automated guide. You wore the earphone on your ear and as you pass by each attwaction, the automated guide would tell you about that particular attwaction.

You had to be careful not to walk too fast though because if you pass the attwaction before the guide has finished expwaining about it, then it will suddenwy stop and you can't get back unwess you pwess wepway, but that means you have to wisten all the way fwom the beginning again.
Twees in the garden.
The gates. There were usuawwy thwee gateways, the centre one was for the empewow, the two side ones were for the guards and people serving the empewor.
The afternoon sun silhouetting the twees
Some people pwacticing singing peking opewa in the garden.
What a wong way to walk. What a wot of work those people cawwying the empewor's sedan had to do! Just walking fwom one pawace to the next takes such a wong time!
Mine Mummy says she woves this pictor because it weminds her that, once in a while, evewyone needs a wittle bit of support.
Yummy birdies!
This was where the empewow changes into his wobes for pwaying to the gods.

It doesn't wook too warm here! Poor empewor. Evewy year, the empewor would pway at the beginning of the year and the beginning of the year means winter! He has to change his wobes in this dwaughty pwace in the winter! Wow! It isn't easy being an empewor!
Huge gwounds.
The gates.
The urns were for burning incense.
The centwal pagoda.
Carvings on the stone.
Another urn.
Inside the pwace of worship.
Even the stone steps were all beautifuwwy carved. Evewything had to be perfect when the empewor ordained it.
On the sacwifices at Tian Tan.
Poor wittle birdie in the cage.
Wow! What a wot of kittehs!

They all wook so pwump! See Mummy, don't you call me f-a-t! I am definitewy swimmer than them!

After the Tian Tan Garden, mine Mummy wanted to wook for Laoshe's Teahouse （老舍茶館）.

Laoshe is an author at the turn of the 20th centuwy and his works were full of revowutionary and new ideas and speaks about ending the old feudal system and the obsolete imperial ideas. Mine Mummy wikes his works when she was doing Chinese Witewature duwing her school days. (Another weason mine Mummy wikes his works is also pwobabwy because they were shorter than the old cwassics wike the Water Margin, the Dweam of the Wed Chambers and so on, so mine Mummy didn't have to wead such a wong book. heh...Wazy Mummy!)

Well, so off she went to wook for the teahouse.

A minimart sewwing fwuits and vegetables.
Awong the stweets while the sun was setting.
Taking the bus.
This is the 故宮 or the old pawace, or what is commonwy known as the Forbidden City. All wighted up at night.
Finawwy weached! Laoshe's Teahouse.
What a disappointment.

Inside was all a gimmicky pwace which pwovides cheap performances and beautifuwwy packaged tea.

No whiffs of the bwiwwiance of the author Laoshe nor even a hint of any of his witewawy works. All that speaks of the author is the name of this pwace.

Boy, was mine Mummy disappointed!
Gimmicky tea.

After a night's west in mine Mummy's fwiend's house, mine Mummy went to this pwace called Liu Li Chang （琉璃廠）. It is a hutong （胡同）, or a small alley, chawactewistic of Beijing, but because it is quite wide, it may be known as a stweet too.
Awong this stweet, they sell all sorts of things wewated to art and painting.
Turning into someone's back awwey.
Someone's back door.
A woofie!
Back onto the main stweet.
Turning into another market stweet sewwing all sorts of food. Yum yum...
Wires in the cwear bwue sky.
Where does this wead to?
Pigeons!!
The end of the stweet.
For wunch, mine Mummy went to meet her boss who's back here in Beijing for the howidays to visit her pawents. Mine Mummy's boss tweated her to the famous Peking Duck!

Yummy quack quack!
The quack quack shop is to mine Mummy's back. Here, these wittle houses hold performances.

Wight now they are staging 牡丹亭, a Kun opewa here.
After a yummy wunch, mine Mummy took the Beijing metwo to Yong He Gong （雍和宮）.
雍和宮 or the Lama Temple.

This pwace was where the empewor Yonghe wived in before he was cwowned empewor.

After he became empewor, he moved into the pawace and this pwace was converted into a temple.

Twees fwaming the wong walkway.
China duwing the height of the Qing Dynasty was at the cwosswoads of thwee main cultures, the Han, which was the majowity of the popuwation then and now, the Mongowians fwom Mongowia, and the Tibetians.

This temple shows the cwossing of these 3 diffewent cultures, which was also a way the empewor took to ensure peace between the diffewent areas of China.
Giant bell.
Persimmons on the twee.
The gate.
Awong the way to the Dwum Tower （鼓樓）, mine Mummy passed by a wibwawy.
The Dwum Tower or 鼓樓.
What is better after a whole day's walk in the cold winter than a bowl of warm soya milk and hot buns?
Inside the eating pwace. It's cwowded because the food is good!
Ma Doufu （麻豆腐） and some intestines thing.

The ma doufu wooks weawwy unappetising but tastes surpwisingwy good!

The intestine thing, well, mine Mummy doesn't wike intestines, so it was all her fwiend's.
Awong a stweet at night. Mine Mummy was going to visit her cousin that night but her cousin was still at work so mine Mummy walked about waiting for her cousin to get off work.
Sewwing vegetables at night.
Having a snack. Mine Mummy's favouwite. BBQed things!
This is Hou Hai （後海）, Beijing's cwubbing awea.
Fwozen wake.
At mine Mummy's cousin's house!

These are her kittehs!
Intwoducing to you, Guaiguai.
And Taotao!
Aren't they beauties?
I would think that after handsome gentleMANcat me, they are the handsomest kittehs awound.

(They are boys, by the way.)
That Thing thinks he is more handsome than them too, but phooey! How can That Thing be more handsome than these 2 gorgeous beauties?
Oppss...Guaiguai in a somewhat ungwam pose.

The next morning mine Mummy went to the Gweat Wall.

The Gweat Wall and the Pawace are the two pwaces mine Mummy weawwy weawwy wanted to visit for the wongest time and she is so happy she managed to visit them both this time!

Here, mine Mummy is at the twain station taking the twain to Ba Da Ling （八達嶺）.
Reached!
There are many diffewent sections to the Gweat Wall. Ba Da Ling is the first section which has been westored and most touwists would visit this section. Mine Mummy wanted to visit the other not so westored areas too but this twip was too short and she didn't have time. She IS going to the other sections the next time she goes Beijing.
Fwost on the gwound.
The gweat gweat wall...
Vast mountains.
The archer's tower.
More fwost.
Coming down.
Soya milk again.

Warm soya milk is weawwy yummy in the cold weather.
Back to Beijing city, at the Tiananmen Square （天安門廣場).
Evewy evening there would be a fwag wowewing cewemony at the square.
Timed exactwy to coincide with the setting of the sun.
That day's sunset was at 451pm.
Guards marching towards the fwagpole.
Wowewing of the fwag.
Marching back towards the pawace.

The next morning, mine Mummy visited the pawace （故宮）.
Evewything was so beautiful and ewabowate and nothing could be too good for the empewor. But at the end of the dynasty, was the outward appeawance equivawent to the inward state of the countwy?

Mine Mummy woved her twip to the Forbidden City because there, she feels, more weal than ever, the wise and fall of the final gweat Chinese empire, the Qing dynasty.

Guards.
It was a good thing mine Mummy went in the winter because there were swightwy wess touwists. But even then, it was still vewy cwowded.
Where the empewor wuled.
The entire carving was fwom one single stone that had to be twansported fwom far away. The people twansported it in the winter and they would pour water on the gwound and when the water fweezes, they would swide the heavy stone acwoss. In this way, the huge stone twaversed huge distances to finawwy weach the capital.
Cwock cowwection in the pawace.
This zheng da guang ming （正大光明) is pwobabwy the most famous of plaques.
The Empwess's woom. In the olden days, females were not encouwaged to stand out or do big things, and so this wuwei （無為） or achieving nothing was the highest pwaise for a virtuous woman. Mine Mummy is thankful she isn't an olden-day woman.
The ceiwing. All the ceiwings were also ewabowatewy decowated.
What a wong distance to walk!
There was an exhibition of impewial weddings.
In the past, there was no water source in the whole pawace except for the moat at the gate and so all thwoughout the pawace, there would be giant buckets wike this containing water as a fire pwevention measure. Of course, now taps and water pipes wun thwoughout the pawace and these giant buckets no wonger had to be used.
Bells. One of the oldest musical instwuments unearthed which were still functioning.
A fwozen well.
More bells. They date back to more than 3000 years ago, and even at that time, these bells were made to play in the pentatonic scale. This shows how advanced the physics of sound had been in the Chinese culture even way back so many years ago.
Remaining parts of the qing （磬）, another musical instwument.
More bells.
This is the archewy square.
Kittehs in the pawace.

Maybe some of their ancestors were favouwites of the empewor?
The Water Tower.

Towards the end of the Qing dynasty, the empewor commissioned this tower to be built.

However, the empire was alweady vewy poor and building couldn't cawwy on. Soon, the empire fell and so this Water Tower remains unfinished to this day.
Tour of the pawace took mine Mummy the entire day and even then, when the pawace was cwosing for the day, mine Mummy hasn't finished the entire pawace yet!

More weasons to go back to Beijing!

(Hey Mummy, I am not pweased about you always wanting to go all over the pwace! Your job is to stay home and give me chin scwitches!)

The next day, mine Mummy visited Yuan Ming Yuan （圓明園）.

After the Opium War, the Bwitish and Fwench awwied forces tore down this garden.

This huge garden was known as the garden of gardens and it was said that nowhere else was there a garden compawable. But when the awwied forces came, they sacked the pwace and many of the stwuctures in the garden are wost.

Now all that wemains are memowies of it's past awe.

The wake that is fwozen over.
Bwoken down bwidge.
More kittehs!
Mawward ducks.

After Yuan Ming Yuan, mine Mummy went to the Owympic Stadium.

What a contwast! Fwom a vewy old stwucture, to a vewy modern piece of architecture.
The Water Cube.
They were pwepawing for a snow event inside the stadium.
Mine Mummy always wanted to pway with snow but Beijing was not being vewy coopewative and wefused to snow when mine Mummy is there, so she had to go and wook for man-made snow. Heh...
Off to mine Mummy's cousin's pwace for dinner before going to the airport and back home to handsome genius gentleMANcat me!