May 2008.. the month that was..

May.. what a month! Of course the most life changing event was the premature demise of my darling ChaCha.. So sad.. I miss him loads.. He was young, only 3..

ChaCha sitting by the door, waiting to go out..

Pix of Girl & Mechi taken in the aftenoon before I found ChaCha.. They look a bit forlorn - did they sense his demise?

There was lots of travel for work.. which was fun, exciting and tiring. Minus the weekends, Public Holidays and what nots, I was only in the office for about 10 days!

I had a Mother's Day surprise from my niece & nephews - who are also my Godchildren. Since I have the Godmama status, apparently I qualify for Mother's Day goodies! Cool..!

My goodies..

The pix below was taken at the fruit shop - I'd seen the capsicum in all their glory from afar and thought, "How pretty! Must take a pix.."

Cantik, no?

Cupcake treat at the office from one of the publishers.. The power of wishful thinking - the lot of us were thinking dessert and it actually came along! The cakes were pretty but I'm "pro-Devi". Devi is my colleague Nan's cousins who bakes and sell cakes and they fantastic, I tell you! Her butter cupcakes with sugar frosting are heavenly.. and so is her carrot cake, orang cake, etc. Everyone who's tasted her cakes will agree! I kid you not..

Here's a pretty pose by Girl.. She doesn't often end up looking nice in pix but this one.. SO cantik, no?

Travel for Work at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah - 20 - 22 May 2008

The date is 20 May and Kota Kinabalu is the last destination for work.. for now. The flight, as usual, was early in the morning. OK, the flight per se, at 7.30am, wasn't that early.. but this meant being at KLIA an hour before, which meant leaving the house an hour before that and waking up an hour before that - which meant 4.30am!! N'er mind, 2+ hour flight.. can sleep la..

Thankfully, we had a rental car again.. an MPV this time as there were 4 of us. We stayed at this place called Likas Square Business Suites. The reception area didn't look like much.. the walk from the lift to our unit was... far and a tad creepy - and this was like at 12 noon! Can't imagine what'll be like at night! Yikes!!

But..., the apartment was cantik la..

Yes, Jasmin was my roomie again & that was our room.. The living room (and dining area that can't be seen in this shot..)

The counter top looking into the kitchen.. The kitchen..

The residnt cat downstairs.. very chatty this one..

After settling in, it was time to work. It seemed like a long day - I guess it's only 'coz it gets dark by 6-ish over here. After dinner, the lot of us headed in to town.. No, not to have fun - we had to meet with some other colleagues who were staying at the Oh-So-Posh Le Meridien!

After that, we headed back to the apartment and man.. was I right - the corridor leading from the lift to the apartment was SUPER creepy at night! Somehow most of us weren't that tired and we stayed up chatting and watching TV. The Martha Stewart Show featured a super duper chocolate brownie that made all of us just go "OOOHHH..." in unison - it was hilarious!

Bright and early the next day it was off to work and like all the other locations we finished by about 3pm.

Another Floating Mosque.

When back, chilled a bit and hit the town. My colleagues Shamini & Rafidah had some major salted/dried fish shopping to do, Jasmine was meeting up with her friend (yes, she's quite the socialite, has friends & relatives everywhere this one! Haha..) while I headed off to the bookstore.

Made some great purchases, very happy.. especially of these 4 books!

Then, it was off for dinner with Shamini. Rafidah had gone off with her cousin - she too is quite the socialite and has friends & relatives everywhere! Haha! Dinner was at the market place. In all the times I'd been to KK, I had never had the opportunity to go jalan-jalan! So, yes, this was all new and great to me!

BBQ (or more accurately, bakar) seafood galore.. Our pick..

Condiments for the seafood... A very happy Shamini with the food..

Then, it was off for dessert... Shamini with our picks..

Close-up of our picks... The variety of flavours.. well, actually, only half it.. Good stuff!

We were pretty beat by the time we got back.. not to mentioned stuffed! Well, at least I was.. Shamini went on eating - she had a take-away order of chicken wings and was quite happily munching away, encouraging the rest of us to join in but.. we just couldn't even tho' it really smelled great! The gal can eat.. and it doesn't show - how good is that??!!

Left the apartment early the next day as we had to make a stop at the maket, before heading for the airport, to buy prawns! It's really great 'coz they pack it up really nicely with dry ice and all for you. No drips or smell.. and apparently cheap too! Had a late breakfast at the airport.. our flight wasn't till about noon.

Snapped this from the car on the way to the market.

We boarded the plane, waited in it for about 1/2 an hour and were told get off! Apparently there was a"technical" glitch that needed fixing! Awww, man..! In the end, we ended taking off about the same time we were supposed to arrive in KL! Yes, we were almost 2 1/2 hours delayed!

Finally arrived at KLIA at almost 5pm! All the waiting just made me tired.. Sadly, unlike our return from Penang, today isn't a Friday and w had to go in to work the next day... Aww, man..

In loving memory...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ChaCha
17 April 2005 - 10 May 2008
Dearly loved, sorely missed, fondly remembered, never forgotten..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ChaCha, when he first appeared on my doorstep on 17 April 2005..

About A month later..

Actually, the little guy couldn't have come at a better time - about a month after his arrival my housemate announced that she'd be moving out. So, ChaCha was right there to keep me company!

He would follow me everywhere I went and was there to amuse me as I moved from room to room, cleaning the apartment, arranging the funiture, etc. ChaCha was great company.. he'd be at the door to greet me when I got home and usually he'd be very 'chatty' (who or what else was there for him to chat with???) and he'd always insist that I sat down to accompany him while he ate.. at least for a while. He also started asking to go out - something that I was quite hesitant and he quite persistent about! But, ChaCha was a smart fella.. he'd go out for a bit and come back.. He knew what a car was and not to be in its way!!

It was just the 2 of us for exactly 2 years before I got my next cat, Girl. Naturally, CahCha didn't take to her at first, but they eventually became great friends. Secretly, I reckon he actually appreciated her company.. especially when I had to go away. ChaCha also started being less 'chatty' - well, after all, now he had Girl to chat with, right?

Check out ChaCha's expression as he glares at Girl.. Friends at last..

Five month later, I got my third cat Mechi. Again, ChaCha was not pleased and took much longer to warm up to Mechi - probably 'coz Mechi was another male.. Mechi was terrified yet in awe of ChaCha.. but li'l Mechi was smart enough to keep his distance!!

Mechi checking out ChaCha from a safe distance.. A tender moment between the 2 boys..

All 3 got along well. I would often wake up in the morning with all 3 of them on the bed all around me! It was nice.. especially if all 3 were purring in unison!

ChaCha had some unique traits.. I don't think it was unique to him per se 'coz I'm pretty sure the are cats out there that also share these traits but it was "uniquely ChaCha" to me 'coz I've never had or met a cat that displayed such traits..

1. The Shower - He used to love hanging out by the bathroom door and watch the water from the shower, irregardless of whether there was anyone in the shower or not! Don't ask me why.. it just seemed to please and calm him... and it kept him quiet for a bit!

2. Bad Temper - Oh, yes.. this fella was a real fire cracker! He didn't like being teased. All you needed to do was to hold a fist up to his face and he'd get SO mad.. but it was quite funny and quite painful! My hands, arms, legs, ankles used to be covered with scraches and bite marks! And, this fella knew how to sigh! Not many people have heard it but he would actually sigh to express his annoyance!!

Flared nostrils.. pinned back ears.. ChaCha's angry!

3. The World Upside Down - At first I thought it was just a phase but ChaCha actually liked lying like this and watching the world go by.. or at least watching me go by! It was hilarious 'coz he'd lie like this but his eyes would follow me wherever I went.


4. I'm Sleepy - It was SO easy to tell when he was sleepy!

It would first start out with what seemed to be a pout..

Then, the rim of his eyes would turn all pinky..

Tho' there would be times when he would be sleepy but just couldn't sleep. So..
..he'd find a quiet spot to zone out, staring blankly into space (which often made me wonder what he was thinking of!!), before falling asleep.. or he'd suck and knead his favourite piece of cloth (or rather what used to be my shawl!) while purring to induce sleep.. So cute.. this was something he did till the very week he died..

5. I Love to Sleep!
OK, granted cats usually sleep a lot anyway but cats are nocturnal creatures. ChaCha, however, had adopted my sleep pattern and knew lights out meant sleep! But, he'd still sleep during the day too! Haha.. He always looked so peaceful when he was asleep..




The washing machine was one of his favourite spots 'coz it was by the window and, being the 'kay poh' that he was, he loved looking out to see what was going on outside. He would often meow out to me when he saw me below too..

6. The Poser - ChaCha also always knew how to pose for the camera and hardly ever took a bad picture! It was as if he knew what a camera was and what to do when faced with one!




7. Foot Fetish - You always had to be careful whenever you find him lying looking at the world upside down by you feet 'coz before you know it you may find that ChaCha had happily sunken his teeth into your toes! And, he always looked somewhat amused when people yelped! It would never be a hard bite that hurt but it definitely would give you a bit of a shock!

8. Mr. Sociable - ChaCha loved having company! He would be there to greet you at the door, then he'd follow you around and sniff you out! It was as tho' by sniffing you he could tell a lot about you. Most of the time he'd be happy just sniffing your feet or the leg of your pants or the hem of your skirt but on ocassion that wasn't enough and he would proceed to climb and sit next to you to sniff your top or even your face! And, he'd usually meow a lot as he went along too! Hilarious!! Most people who have visited me at home know what I'm talking about!

9. Dip, Dip - He liked dipping his paw into his drinking water.. somethimes both paws, one after the other, before taking a drink.. Why does he do it? Also, a mystery! I'd even asked the vet about it but he couldn't give me an explanation either. It was so cute to watch as he dipped his paw ever so gingerly..

10. Red Meat - Tho' cats generally like fish, ChaCha loved his read meat - lamb in particular! Beef was fine too but lamb was definitely No. 1!! Since there is no (wet) lamb flavoured cat food, I often had to resort to feeding him dog food! No complains from ChaCha - loved it!!

2005 - First Christmas together.. 2007 - Second New Year together.. Most recent & last pix of us together..

What can I say.. I've watched him grow from the scruffy little furball that turned up at my doorstep to the handsome young cat that he was. We spent a good 2 years solely in each others company - he was indeed my "Home Entertainment Unit" and there was never a dull moment!! I'll miss him lots... I had always feared that by letting him out something bad would come of it and.. it did.. but ChaCha was not one to happily remain indoors 24/7.. he was curious and loved the outdoors.. I still don't know what actually happened to him, not that it really matters now.. I only hope that he didn't suffer and passed on peacefully.. and if cats could understand emotions, I hope he knew how much he was loved..