True Story

"Hi, Horatio!" I greet my pet the moment I set food inside the door.
Horatio bubbles in his bowl and shyly swims behind a leaf, his golden fins flitting behind him.
"Oh, come now," I say. "No need to be so koi."

Calendar Girl

 Look! The Cat Welfare Society Calendar for 2013 has come out, and my photography is featured! Since I contributed, I received my free copy in the mail today, and though I may be biased, I find it to be a very nice, sturdy-looking calendar with a beautiful collection of pictures. If you want to improve the fate of Singapore street cats by supporting the CWS or just in dire need of a calendar, you can get your own copy here. Oh, the great malady of the human condition! It's only worth something if someone sees it.

Mamma, I'll send you one  by mail.

Horatio

This is my new goldfish Horatio, named after Horatio Nelson, the brilliant British naval commander. Do not be fooled by his cheery disposition. Inside this small body beats the heaviest of sorrows. He is the lone survivor of the great Fishbowl Holocaust of 2012. Fifty percent of the population died.

To the Island!

Yuka and I recently took a trip to the Coral Island for a much needed, well deserved holiday. The journey there proved rather tumultuous--we were only told of our imminent departure late the previous evening--and it was marked by delays and a card-eating money machine. Our long, winding bus ride took us through the hazy regions of Malaysia, before we arrived to an empty ferry terminal.

 Ahoy there! Sailing for adventure!

 We arrived at last, safe and sound, and were quickly escorted to our resort by the friendly locals.

A friendly local

 

One of the best aspects of a holiday is that it takes you far, far away from your norm. Your thoughts no longer spin in the same circles. You are taken out of your everyday pattern, and your thoughts are safely tucked into bed, their sheets pulled gently up to their chins.  There is no need to think about tomorrow. Just the crystal seas, the blue mountains.

She waits.

 In the evening, a storm blew in--a thick, dark cloud of lightning that thundered on the horizon.

 We fell asleep to the sound of rain.

Like Ariel, Without a Voice

I have been so busy for the past few weeks that my hours run into each other and trip over their own feet. There is nary a horizon on this sea of paperwork--my mind feels sluggish, as if dead in the water, sailing aimlessly; perhaps cabin fever is next. It is as if my creativity stands forgotten in a broom closet, where I set it aside for future use. The whole thing is making me feel out of sorts. My friend Natalie tells me she misses my voice in the world. So do I.

Cat Nap

    Mar and the cat

The Saga Continues

I am sitting on my sofa grading vocab sentences, and Victor has written the next chapter of my adventures, in which the other English teacher at my school, Mr. Adams, makes an appearance as my dubious lawyer.

1. The infamous cookie thief, outlaw Miss Gabriel, was brought before the Council of Bakers to be admonished.

2. To aggravate her crimes, the prosecutor produced photos of her eating an entire batch of cookies by herself!

3. Her lawyer, the wise Mr. Adams, was bringing an informality to the situation in his Hawaiian luau t-shirt and shorts.

4. He began his defense, "I believe we must institute a way for cheese cookies to be more defined."

5. "After all, we have never given lavish information on what exactly a cheese cookie is; is there even a single person among you who is able to describe to us this food?"

6. The morale of the Council of Bakers fell as it realized its ignorance; how could someone be imprisoned for stealing something if they didn't even know what it was?

7. Thanks to Mr. Adams oblique methods, Ms. Gabriel was declared not guilty.

8. She would not listen to his self-effacing remarks for her freedom from jail was because of him.

9. As a reward, she gave him enough money to stimulate a five-month extension on his Hawaiian vacation.

10. Subsequently to this court case, Ms. Gabriel is still on the lose today--where will she strike next?

Where indeed?