My Gladiator Cat

When I moved into my apartment about 2-and-1/2 years ago, I would sometimes see a little grey-and-white stray cat coming into the courtyard. He always seemed to be injured in some way and was very afraid of people. I live on the 1'st floor and would put some food out for him. However he would disappear for months and then suddenly appear again. About a year ago he again appeared after a long absence and as usual he seemed to be injured. Well, I'm just a sucker for poor injured furry things and decided that I had to try and help the poor thing.
I put out food every day and after a while he would come every evening to eat. I started sitting outside when he came to eat, and would sit a little closer to the bowl every day. After about a month of this ass-kissing he at last let me touch him. It turns out he really loved being rubbed on his nose! But he would not come into my apartment and still sometimes stayed away for a couple of days and would then turn up with all kinds of wounds, especially on his legs. I started to leave my door open when he came to eat and would sit just inside the door. Eventually his love of a nose-rub and curiosity got the better of him and he ventured into the house. One day I closed the door while he was inside and he went nuts! But eventually he even got used to that.
It is now about 10 months since I started this epic endeavor and he is the "normal-sized" cat I mentioned in a previous mail. He is now a male no longer and had all his shots. He is still very independent and wants to go outside and run around. And now I know where all the wounds came from! He is always looking for a fight. I've had to take to the vet about 4 times, because of bites from other cats. I think it is other stray cats. He doesn't fight with my fat cat or with my neighbors' cat. But if any other cat shows his face he will go and look for a fight. Even if he hears cats fighting across the street he will run there as fast as he can, across a busy 4 lane street, to join in! He is still just a wild little gladiator cat. He catches mice all the time. His record is 3 mice and a pigeon in one day!
He likes climbing straight up the palm tree in our courtyard, up to about 10 feet, just for fun. Then he slowly backs down again. He is still afraid of other people, but is very sweet with me. He likes to sleep with me and will even crawl in under the covers. In the morning when I open the door, he runs out and rolls around in the sand. Then he calls me to come down and scratch his stomach. I think he is starting to calm down now. It's been more than a month since he's been in a fight. I'm holding thumbs that he will stop for good and just enjoy the good life of pampering, nose-rubbing and tummy-scratching that he can have everyday.

My Fat Cat

I have a very fat cat. I've tried to put her on a diet but she just sits in front of her bowl and stares at me with her big, round green eyes until I feed her more. What is more, she tries to eat the food of my poor normal-sized cat. I feed them at the same time - the fat cat gobbles her food as fast as possible and then stares at the other cat eating until he is so intimidated that he gives up. Then she pounces on his food and tries to swallow as much as possible before I can take away the bowl. It's driving me crazy.

4am - Mouse Time!

I hear a distinctly mouse-like scurrying from the kitchen. Four, round, cat-eyes are watching the cupboard where the trap is. Sure enough, there is the mouse. In the trap. Hmmm. To free or not to free? The cats are watching my every move. I decide to free the mouse. Patter out to the courtyard. In my PJs. Let the mouse go. Back to the apartment, the four cat-eyes are looking at me reproachfully. I reset the trap, just in case. We all stretch, curl up and go back to sleep.

A mouse-sized hole in the catfood

There is a mouse living in my kitchen. My kitchen sink started leaking on the catfood. When I took the food out, I saw a hole in the bag, obviously made by a mouse. The cat keeps bringing me live mice. I guess I'm supposed to be very impressed and proud. But inevitably I spend the better part of the evening on hand and knees trying to get the mouse from under the couch. Or bookcase. Or refrigerator. Well, I went to get a mousetrap. The humane kind that is really just a little box with a trapdoor. So now the two cats are sleeping in the living room, and I'm trying to decide on the best food to put in the trap. I think I'll stick to the catfood - it's called Meo-Mix.

I can't sleep.

The problem is not really insomnia, the problem is that I cannot sleep at night. After Conan I go to bed, the eternal optimist that tonight, I'm going to be able to fall asleep. But I'm wide awake, my mind is jumping form one thing to the next. Eventually I get up and try to watch some TV. There is absolutely nothing on TV at that time of night. The odd X-File reruns, but I've seen them. I smoke. The cat goes out. The cat comes back in. It's 5am.

Eventually I go to bed. Sleep. Get up. Go to work. Maybe tonight it will be better?

My Exam is over. Thank God. I'm hoping for the best.
Well, now I can get into my current obsession. It's a little film called Lost in Translation. I saw it for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago. And since then I have seen it an embarrassing number of times. For me it has a kind of European feel (including the end!), and it made me think of "Three Colours:Red". I'm not quite sure why, I haven't seen Red for some time, so maybe my synapses are misfiring. In any case, the film has a kind of moody feel, in no small part due to a fantastic soundtrack. Bill Murray is great (I'm also a Groundhog Day fan), and more serious than usual. Although there are funny parts in it, it's not a roll-around-on-the-ground-laughing kind of movie. It's more a "grin" kind of movie. It makes me want to turn down the lights, pour a glass of whiskey and light up a cigarette. If you enjoy moody, quiet movies that requires some careful listening and observation, this is one for you. Also check out the link to my fav LiT fansite. Once you get past the opening page it is a beautiful site with lots of info and pictures, including a translation of the Santori scene. There is a nice picture of Quentin Tarantino wearing a LiT t-shirt. [Update - unfortunately this site has disappeared recently - hopefully it will see the light of day again.]

Ok, so obviously I'm not studying as I should be doing right now!
I came across these instructions at http://www.caterina.net and it seemed like a fun thing to do. So here goes.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
The book is The Ultimate Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I actually read these books a long time ago. I described them to a friend of mine and she said she wanted to read them. So when I ran across this secondhand copy I bought it with the idea to give it to her. But I started reading it again!
The 5th sentence on p. 23 is: "You think the world's going to end?"

OK. It seems to work.

Well, a little more about this Blog. If you think that the only good cat is a flat cat - this blog is not for you. If you think that Lost in Translation is the most boring movie ever - this blog is certainly not for you. If you thought the Janet Jackson boob-episode was anything more that a moderately funny insident that got way to much attention - this blog will probably not be your cup of boob. Well if you are still interested check back from time to time. Now I really have to study.

Well, this is my first try. Should really be studying for my Exam tomorrow. Just want to see how this will work.