Guttercat's Xanga

A Baby is Born

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:20:56 GMT

Attended a 满月 of some family friends of the missus at Hotel Rendezvous.

When GC made a startling discovery.

Cooee, isn’t he the sweetest thing ever?

This wee tyke’s been christened... Mervyn Lee.

Considering the fact that they never knew my Christian name prior to this, what are the chances of that happening?

All the same, this lad’s on to greater things... I hope.

Grow up a good man, Junior!

Farewell, Beloved Fluffy

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:38:41 GMT

Fluffy, a neighbouring family’s beloved dog, passed away slightly over a month ago.

The last time I saw her, she was on a trolley ‘cos she was too weak to walk after yet another operation.

Squatted down, chatted with her for a bit, & said goodbye... not knowing that it was a goodbye for good.

She died in their maid’s arms, the latter who cried her heart out & couldn’t work properly for a month.

I know the feeling; I went through pretty much the same when Zizy passed away.

A part of you dies when something so dear is taken away.

Rest in peace, Fluffy, beloved.

We’ll miss you.

Visited Mr. Yeo again with la famiglia in tow, & I was pleasantly surprised by his strong grip on my hand... heck, it was even a bit painful at times.

Not that I’m complaining.

& when I chatted with him, he was actually able to vocalise a fair bit, which is a great improvement since I saw him last Friday.

Every time he smiled, it just gave one that little bit more hope.

He’s due for an appointment next Tuesday, & Mrs. Yeo hopes that he can be moved on to solids. Thus far, he’s been taking a liquid diet via a tube, which is uncomfortable to say the least.

They’re such a sweet old couple, it’s kinda hard not to wish that they were my grandparents... especially considering the fact that I haven’t any left alive.

Sure, Mr. Yeo wasn’t subtle about his disapproval of GC not having a stable job previously, but let’s face it, people from my own generation weren’t comfortable with the notion either.

He’s first & foremost an animal lover (a rarity in his generation), & that’s all that matters to me.

I’ll just carry on visiting whenever I can.

Besides, Siobhan has a great time playing with Snowy, their Golden Retriever, who is manja as heck... & a glutton for fruits to boot.

Mrs. Yeo reprimands him when he comes begging... but one has to have a heart of stone not to slip the sweet fella some tidbits on the sly.

Living with the Enemy

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:53:06 GMT

GC’s practically prescient.

Remember a prediction I made less than a month ago?

Well, the details weren’t exactly spot on, but the gist of it remained pretty much the same.

La famiglia’s letterbox was given a close encounter of the superglue kind, & some of the other Management Council (MC) members were given the same treatment (granpaw's the current Chairperson... simply 'cos no one else would touch that position with a fifty foot pole).

Maybe I oughta go into the fortune-telling business.

All the same, when I found out that the MC recently endorsed a ‘stray’ cat culling program... I really felt like seeking out the vandal.

Just to shake his/her hand.

Life’s about karma, folks; you wanna act like a piece of shit; don’t be surprised when you get treated like one.

Thank Buddha that, day 3 into the culling program; none of the resident felines have been caught yet. The estate caregivers have trained our pussies well, the latter pulls a Houdini the moment ‘pest control’ bastards turn up.

A petition is ongoing, you don’t have to ask twice if GC is gonna sign it.

When GC first got wind of the culling program, I was in the midst of dinner.

Appetite gone, I got up to give Mr. Yeo a call, seeing as to how he’s the feline caregiver I chat with on a regular basis.

Mrs. Yeo informed me that 3 months ago, her husband was admitted for a suspected brain tumour.

It turned out to be pus from a brain infection, which pretty much caused a stroke.

He’s been home for a month, & his condition is steadily improving.

Needless to say, GC immediately went over with Siobhan to pay a visit.

It was like visiting my grandparents (& the grandfather of my ex) all over again... bringing back a rush of memories both sad yet bittersweet.

But the thing is, Mr. Yeo has been showing improvement, & I was greatly heartened to see that his level of alertness, & movement, were all pretty good.

He couldn’t speak, & it was really distressing to see his pain whilst his daughter performed physiotherapy on him.

But Mrs. Yeo is maintaining a positive outlook, & you can be sure that GC will be visiting as regularly as he can.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

‘Cos life isn’t fair.

Baby & Junior Race 2008

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:15:43 GMT

Hole in My Soul

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:25:23 GMT

What with inflation & fuel costs (yes, the latter’s been dropping somewhat, but insufficient in inspiring other affected markets to lower their prices as well).

Damn paper traders.

So GC’s starting a new job on the morrow... no more dropping off/picking up Siobhan from playgroup, no more whipping up her lunch in the kitchen, no more afternoon naps together, & so on so forth.

It feels as though I’m selling out, which Hisk says I’m not, so long as I don’t perceive it to be.

Well, I can only hope what I sacrifice in quantity can be made up for in quality.

‘Cept that every moment spent with my girls is top quality, insofar as much as I’m concerned.

The Missus tried explaining the new routine to Siobhan just now, which resulted in a long stream of ‘no, no, no, no.’

The Missus: She’s crying?

GC: What’s so surprising? I feel like crying myself.

House Hubbies don’t get respect, but fuck that shit; just being able to spend as much time as I’ve had with my girls? It’s priceless.

& it may very well be over, but at what price for what gains?

I’ll still be giving my new job my all, don’t doubt that.

But it hurts.

I don’t want to end up like that Mum at the East Coast Park Food Centre who was completely flummoxed when her younger child started singing the theme song of Wonderpets.

Stroller Woes versus Retarded Hoes

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:53:10 GMT

As always, our Gahmen’s desire to build a more gracious & caring society has fallen flat on its face.

Follow the leader mah.

In today’s thesundaytimes lifestyle, an article was written up about parents with strollers in public & the difficulties they face, as well as how some other members of our society view them as menaces with ‘battering rams’.

I must admit, I’ve done that once or twice, but only ‘cos I’m BLOODY SICK & TIRED OF FUGGIN’ ARSEHOLES WHO KEEP BARGING IN FRONT OF ME TO GET INTO THE LIFT.

For fug’s sake, you buggers have arms & legs, si? You don’t look that old as well, so why can’t you take the fuggin’ escalator? Not say as though you’re carrying heavy stuff either, & btw, we have been waiting here for the past 10 minutes.

I have only two words for such individualistic individuals, ‘Chee Bye’.

But wait, just when one thinks that stupidity has hit a record new low, we have a law graduate by the moniker Joanna Lee who shows us that fascism is very much alive!

She says that ‘it does not make sense to take a stroller with a baby up onto a bus’, & that ‘the mother should have had the sense to take a taxi’.

A lot of sense hor, Ms Lee? But frankly, your 2 cents not even worth one cent, can?

You think everyone so rich, can take taxi here taxi there like you issit? Oh but wait, what’s a law graduate doing on a public bus? So unglam! ‘Degree’ must be from some foreign correspondence school one lah!

Ms Lee, why not show some altruism? Donate all your salary to poor parents so they can take cabs instead of getting in your way on public buses! Isn’t that a solid idea?

For my parting shot, I shall quote a certain Ms Marissa Low, ‘Parents should just leave their baby at home.’

Ms Low, I pity you... you must have had a terribly traumatic childhood. I surmise that your parents must have kept you locked up in a cage for many years, before you ran off to join the circus. Did you happen to have been sexually abused as well?

Opinions are like arseholes, but these inbred slack-jawed berks have haemorrhoids.

Vandalism in da LP... Part Deux

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:53:03 GMT

Isn’t it amazing how $ingapurreans are always filled with such neighbourly goodwill?

Singapore Garden Festival 2008

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:17:18 GMT

Vandalism in da LP

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:55:29 GMT

2^nd case thus far, could it be due to neighbours falling-out from the ongoing En-Bloc debacle?

If that’s the case, considering how granpaw’s been behaving, GC won’t be surprise if we’re next on the hit list.

Disgust

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:05:01 GMT

After lunching with WahWah & Jian at Terminal 3 earlier this afternoon (we popped by NLB’s Library Book Sale @ the Expo), GC was making his way to the bus terminal when he was accosted by an employee of the airport out on a fag break.

Ok, so he had trouble understanding a China tourist, & asked if I spoke Mandarin, no worries.

But once I ascertained that the lady wanted to know how to get to T2, the bugger ‘conveniently’ disappeared.

Leaving yours truly to direct the lady to the Skytrain transit area (I could’ve flogged her off, but hey, I’ve been a tourist before).

Once again, great service standards, $ingapurr!

Went for my cousin’s birthday celebration (she’s a year older than Leo), mainly for the grrls to have a bit of fun.

Which they did have in loads... but at a price of sorts.

Feeder fishes (SGD 7 per bag) were released into an inflatable pool for the kiddies’ amusement. True, these poor mites were destined for the gut of a much larger fish, but all the same... it might’ve been a swifter (& slightly less painful) end.

A few of the kids, in a moment of misguided ‘enlightenment’, thought it was ok to practice catch & release... over & over again.

Some others ‘liberated’ the buggers into one of the fishponds... yeah, liberating them to die. Stress from mishandling is bad enough, but the lack of acclimatisation basically finished the few survivors off.

There’s a bunch of them in one of my tanks now, courtesy of Siobhan. I don’t know if they’re going to make it, & 3 of them didn’t even survive the acclimatisation process, but I’m gonna my darnest at the very least.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the ‘magician’ who performed had a guinea pig ‘appear’ as his last trick, which was given to the birthday girl.

As I later understood it, this wasn’t a standard part of his repertoire, but most probably an effort to impress my aunt (who can be generous to a fault).

Yet did anyone pause to consider the guinea pig’s plight?

Poor wee thing was shivering like crazy, whilst all the kids were yammering to touch it. & once it was announced that it was for the birthday girl to keep or give away as she saw fit, they started badgering her to give it to ‘Me! Me! Me!’

I suggested that maybe we should bring it home ourselves, but the missus gave GC a look of utter disbelief (4 cats, 4 tanks of fish, 2 terrapins & 2 hermit crabs at last count).

Sigh.