Black cat in my garden

Recently I have been keeping a small bowl of fresh water for a black stray cat who sometimes sleeps in my garden. After seeing the cat desperately trying to drink water from a little puddle, I decided to provide fresh water for it all the time because there is nowhere in my neighbourhood where any wild animals can access to water. No pond, no water features in anyone’s garden, you see.

I have no intention of making the cat mine. Why? The reasons are: 1) I cannot afford medical fees for pets, 2) I have no one who would look after a cat if I have to be away for a while, 3) I feel I have no right to control any animals’ lives (Why make them domesticated or restrict their worlds against their wills just because I like their company?) I don’t mind any animals using my garden as their sleeping dens or their playing field as long as we can respect each other and live together happily and peacefully.

The cat has been doing fine. Now it does not run away when I go out putting my laundry up on line. I noticed that its left eye is badly damaged. Probably it’s a result of a fight or something. I don’t feed it because of the reasons mentioned the above, but it does not look starving. I usually find it sleeping most of the day, so it must be a proper stray who does not have to go along with humans’ lifestyles.

Yesterday, my next-door neighbour was asking me what I was doing when I was refilling the water container for the cat. I explained the above, and she wasn’t happy at all. She complained that a cat (not sure which cat, though) peed near her back door. (No cat does such a thing on my back door!) She complained that her little dog often had to bark too much at night because he smells and senses the presence of other animals in their back garden. Then, she said that that the cat shouldn’t be around here because it looks scruffy. (She shows no compassion for the cat’s damaged eye. She talks as if such a cat shouldn’t exist or shouldn’t show itself up in front of her!!!)

Well, I wasn’t amused with her comments and attitude, so I told her that I don’t take the cat in only because I can’t afford a pet, not because it looks scruffy/dirty/ugly. I don’t really understand this woman. After her first dog died, she started giving milk to a cat in her back garden, and then started shooing the cat madly as soon as she got a new dog. She is supposed to be a Christian who goes to her church every Sunday and read the Bible every night. I once read in the Bible said that the god ordered the humans to be in charge of the other animals. So, she might believe that she could do whatever she wants to animals. But does the god also told the humans to look down on creatures who are in less unfortunate circumstances? So much for the country of animal lovers!!!!!!

Anyway, my girls and I named the cat “Kuro-chan”, and we will keep being friends with it whatever the neighbour says.

What I did this summer

I think I should write what’s been going on around me this summer. (I know, the British summer ended at the end of August, but it’s still like summer here, so…)

Well, I made kitchen curtains. All hand stitched!! (No sewing machine in this house, it just means.) Found a lovely piece of printed cotton curtain fabric online and cut & stitched by hand. It’s a kind of café curtains with metal ring clips. It was a tedious job, but I actually enjoyed this little challenge. Now my kitchen looks 1000 times prettier! (Still cluttered, though…)

My girls and I went to Belfast to watch a Bollywood film “Cocktail”. This was our very first big-screen Bollywood experience. It was during weekdays, so there were only eight people in the cinema, including us. Actually it was one of the best cinema experiences I have ever had! Everyone should watch a Bollywood film at cinema at least once before they die! It’s entertainment, entertainment, entertainment!

We also went to Ulster Museum for special dinosaur exhibition and Leonard Da Vinci exhibition. It was nice to see and feel real (and fake) fossils, and there were quite many little boys who were scared to see the moving growling dinosaur models! Da Vinci’s drawing was very very very interesting. I am glad that I had a chance to see them with my own eyes! Everyone knows this, but the man is a real genius, indeed.

My biggest change for this summer was my eating habit. I started intermittent fasting after watching BBC2’s Horizon programme (the title was… “Eat, Fast and Live Longer”, probably). All the explanations in the programme were quite reasonable, so I decided to try it myself just to see how healthy I could become. So, I have been doing 2 day fasting (= acutally 500cal per day) and 5 day normal eating each week. Mondays and Thursdays are my fasting day because it suits my life style and the Qu’ran mentions it, too. (No, I don’t do any religions. It’s just a lovely coincidence.) Eating only 500cal a day is not actually difficult. Of course I don’t do anything strenuous on my fasting days, but I feel mentally sharper and disciplined. I don’t know what’s going on with inside my body, but I have lost about 2kg without struggling or feeling deprived. Now I don’t crave sweet stuff too much, which I am happy about. I found a new routine that I really liked. So, I will continue this as long as I am healthy.

During this summer, I suddenly came up with an idea for a fiction. No, I won’t tell you anything about it, but I’d like to develop the idea when I am not too busy this autumn and winter. It’ll be nice if I can write some kind of decent fiction before I die. Can’t imagine myself earning anything from this, though.

Now it’s September, but the weather has become like proper summer at last! It means I have to tidy the gardens while it is dry and sunny. If anyone wants to join me for gardening, you are welcome as long as you do what I tell you without any moaning!

Forget the Olympic games and all the other 2012 hassles! I've got so many things to do!

It's been such a long time since the last time I wrote anything here. Amazing.

Anyway, I thought I would have more free time after finishing the short Open University course, but I was totally wrong! My luck came, and I bagged a couple of juicy long-term translation projects. (It won't make me rich, but it is the most enjoyable projects I have ever done. The blokes from the translation company are super nice, too! Lucky me!) So, I had been working full-time, and I am now dying for some creative writing/painting/sculpting.

Also, I passed the OU course! I really wanted to know how much I could do academically outside Japan, so I am pleased with the result. There are so many things I learned from the course: critical thinking, academic writing, etc. I am now more confident when I discuss (or argue about) anything in English. Probably I am more persuasive (and pig-headed).

There has been a bit of drama going on in my family. My father suffered pneumonia, and his doctors found out he had heart conditions. He is in a good hand and will have a surgery this summer. So, all of us are supporting him, and each other, of course. I have an experience of living with a heart patient, so I know what my mother is going through now. In a way, my experience was worth it because I can give my parents mental and emotional support without causing them any unnecessary upset and struggles. Fingers crossed. Touch wood, too.

My kids' summer holiday is starting tomorrow, and of course I am moaning about it already! Well, we are planning to go to Ulster Museum for dinosaurs and Leonard Da Vinci exhibitions. Of course I want a little bit of retail therapy in Belfast and probably want a slice of lovely cake and coffee at Avoca. Also, I'm thinking about buying nice fabric to make curtains for my kitchen, which could be a bit difficult for me who do not have a sewing machine but I am up for another challenge!

Yes, the British are fair and tolerant, aren't they?

I had one of the most incredible heated discussions with a woman who lives in this town today.

All she told me was some black people overcrowding a few houses in the neighbourhood, and she said that they all came from the south (Republic of Ireland) illegally. Then, she says that it’s not fair that black people were allocated to the newly refurbished Housing Association houses in the neighbourhood. Then, she went on to tell me that some of the foreigners who live next doors to her daughter’s house use a caravan in the garden for sleeping. Then, she started talking extremely suspiciously about a white van which my next-door neighbour had brought a couple of weeks ago, just because she doesn’t know he got the van. Yes, this neighbour is a foreigner.

She did nothing but badmouthing foreigners, so I felt sick in the stomach. 

When I asked her where she heard all the stories, she didn’t tell me any answer.

When I asked who said such stories, she said “councillor”. (Well, those right wing fascists, I’m sure.)

When I asked her if she had spoken to those foreign people, she didn’t give any answer.

When I asked her why she thought foreigners should live in shacks, she started saying that she didn’t discriminate anyone for the colours of their skins.

When I asked where those foreign people originally come from, she did not have a clue.

When I asked what kinds of visa status those foreign people have, she did not have a clue.

When I asked why she talked ill of black people all the time, she denied it. (But every time she mentions black people, it’s all about negative stuff. I heard that she once looked horrified to see my big girl walking with her black friend.)

Anyway, I kept telling her that not all foreigners were bad and it was very unfair of her to judge people on the colours of their skins. Also, I told her more than a dozen times that she was very unfair and accusing people without any proof.

Yes, I told her all those to her face.

No wonder quite many local kids are xenophobic.

Our mouths are made for eating, not for speaking.

I don't know why, but some of our family members have too many accidental spoonerism kind of embarrassing moments. It's been quite bad for these few days, and here are some:

We noticed a new bigger clock inside a barber's shop. Then, my wee one said, "You know, that Turkish barber's big cock..."
Yes, she forgot to pronounce "l". Since then, I haven't been able to put my face towards the shop's glass wall just in case I make an eye contact with the barber and burst into laughing...

We were talking about a TV show "Take Me Out", and my wee one said, "Paddis McGuinny". She meant "Paddy McGuinness", of course...

We were watching a TV programme on exercise, and it was talking about walking. Then, I said, "Peado-meter" when I meant "Pedometer"... My big girl told about this to her friends at school, and now they think that I am cute!!!

You see, we don't need to drink alcohol or hire a clown to have a laugh. We always manage to  surprise and entertain ourselves just by opening these big gobs.

Yeast in the air? That's what you call gobsh*te!

I made new sourdough starter a couple of weeks ago, and the first batch of bread was a big success! My correspondence course is coming near to the end, and I can't wait to do something creative in my spare time for a change. I can't wait, so I didn't wait, and that's why I re-started sourdough baking. I still have one more essay to write, though!

Anyway, here is one BIG myth about sourdough that I have been wanting to tell the world: FLOUR AND WATER MIXTURE DOES NOT BECOME SOURDOUGH STARTER BY CATCHING YEAST IN THE AIR, BUT IT SIMPLY FERMENTS BY ITSELF!!!

Want a proof? Mix water and flour to make a small ball of firm dough and place it in an airtight container. Then, leave it in a warm place for a few days. You WILL see something going on in the dough. That's how I created my own starter, you know.

Social science, winter holiday and the Green Book

It's already 2012, and my last post was... about 2-3 months ago. So, here's a bit of my update:

Still working as a freelance translator and still not earning as much as I'd like to, but started an introductory social science course at the Open University from November. Why? Well, I wanted some kind of a new challenge, and wanted to learn social science-related matters "properly". So, decided to jump into the world of academic study. I was really really really scared that my ever-deteriorating brain might not be good enough for academic purpose, but,  to my surprise, I've been doing fine. Telephone tutoring is great. My tutor is very nice, and I love asking him questions, learning from him, discussing the topics, etc. Written assignment was my biggest worry, because I wasn't sure if I could write academic essays in English. But I'm doing fine. Probably work experience and several popular science books helped. I'd like to continue studying to get a certificate, but I'm not sure if I can. It all depends how much money I can spare for myself. Fingers crossed.

Survived another Christmas/New Year season! I don't mind spending such "special" days, but the preparation was still the biggest headache.  But with this country in deep recession, many people seemed to scale down their celebrations. Didn't hear much boasting and bragging about big presents and luxury treats this year, which made my life easier. But still I don't like this materialistic season...
Had a very unusual New Year's Eve. I was at the next-door with two elderly ladies. They were alone, so I was invited. I wanted to welcome the New Year with my girls, but I was drinking Bailey's and and hugging two grannies instead... What a way to welcome a New Year!

Currently I am reading the Green Book. You know, the book by the deceased Gaddafi bloke. I have such strange book lying around in my house, and I thought that I should read it at least once just to see what was in his mind and what went wrong in him. Guess what? I don't agree with several things that he wrote, but now I see him as human. The more I read, the less I can distinguish the difference between him and other politicians of the past and the present, including those current world leaders who detest him. Well, I will keep an open mind about this big man of Africa.

Well, not sure what's in store for 2012, but wish that life will be more hopeful and brighter this year for everyone!

Summer 2011

Hope you've been doing fine!

It's been a long time since I posted anything meaningful here, and my excuses for this long absence are... "Wasn't in a mood", "Too busy trying to earn a few pennies", "Taken up a course", "Too angry to write", etc.

Anyway, I tried my first acrylic painting, and here is the completed one:

I guess you are staring at the screen and saying "What the f... ?", soI should explain a bit. All the things in the picture are what I saw this summer in London:

Flowers at the top (including the red one with white outline)

From the tiles of Islamic world at Victoria & Albert museum. Since I was little, I have always been attracted to the Middle Eastern and Central Asian stuff and I spent quite a long time in the Islamic section in the museum.

Purple dots and grey sky

Ceiling in our favourite café where me and my big girl eat Arab food and my wee one has fish and chips.

Flowers at the bottom

Gold flowers on a headdress from an excavated tomb in Afghanistan. I paid £10 to see a special exhibition at the British Museum, which was worth more than £100!

Profile with red outline

One of many wet specimens at Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons.  It is a right section of a child’s face, which was dyed to show the tumour inside the nose, but the dye ended up colouring the whole skin and the face looked as if he died only 5 minutes ago. (He lived in 19^th century, I think…) We joined a free guided tour at the museum, which was very very very good. (Yes, I’m a nerd:)) )
I painted the profile without much detail to remember that we visited Tate Modern to see contemporary art. The red line kind of suggests that his face was sliced in half.

Blue lady on the centre-right and rainbow on the left

London Pride (gay parade) and the air kiss I got from the bloke in sparkling blue dress and blue make-up, of course;) The rainbow is not like a natural rainbow because it is meant to be a huge long cloth that filled the whole street during the parade.

Hand and clown at the bottom-right, and  potted plant at the top-left corner

We went to Barbican Gallery to see a special exhibition on animation, and The Hand by a Czech animator Jiri Trinka was the most memorable and impressive for all three of us. I should have taken you to the exhibition! It was fantastic!!! After coming home, I managed to get hold of the DVD which contains "The Hand" and other short animation works! Thanks to the DVD, now I’m reading The Good Soldier Svejk.

Girl on slope

We spotted her while eating sandwiches on a bench in Kensington Gardens. She must have been only 3-4 years old, and she was with her mother and another set of mother + little daughter. The girl suddenly started making a yoga pose in front of us, while strolling behind her mother, which was very comical. (Her mother looked a posh upper-middle class who eats organic food and practises yoga.)

In the painting, I just let her grab the rainbow. Wanted her to bring down the world in a way that no adults could ever do.

Pink glasses

Worn by a heroine of the film we watched in London. The film was made by a Chinese-New Zealander woman and the title is “My Wedding and Other Secrets”, which was a special screening at a New Zealand Film Festival. One of the actresses made a speech before the film!

My girls instantly figured out what each thing in the painting was, so  I'm quite happy about the result. I didn't know painting can be so time-consuming, but it was great fun!

Just let you know...

... I still exist:)

Haven't posted anything for the last several weeks. Well, I have been busy with work (Long hours but not much earning, actually. That's life.) and painting (I'll upload a pic when it is finished). Because of those 2 things plus my family life, I haven't got my energy left for anything else.

See you soon!

Mm...

My girls are growing, and now my wee one (12) is taller than my big girl (14)!

Should I invent new nicknames for this blog?

Happy B****y Father's Day!

It's Father's Day tomorrow, and this afternoon I paid for Father's Day's card + present for a man who has a lovely stepdaughter-to-be. I didn't even know that I had paid for those stuff until this evening, and I haven't even met him in my life.

The thing was, my wee one was with her best friend all day today, and she asked me for £2 to buy something from a shop which was to close in 5 minutes. I had no time for interrogation, and handed over the money to her ungrudgingly, which wasn't really what I usually do.

After my wee one 's friend went home, I asked my wee one what she got from the shop. She answered,
"A (= her friend) wanted to get something for her mum's fiance for tomorrow's Father's Day, so she bought a card and a little present."

I'm not angry with anyone, but please someone tell me why I always end up helping out people of better financial positions on my rainy days??

I've been quiet recently, but...

... it's been bit tougher than usual recently.

First, my contract with an Indian company ended in mid May. They said that this was due to the stabilization of their business with Japan and they were currently focusing on getting more clients from other Asian countries. So, they had now very few job for me and they had no reason to keep me. They also said that the end of the contract did not mean good-bye, and they would get in touch with me when any suitable projects came up in future. It would be nice if I can work for them now and again, but I don't wait for them, though. I've been doing some little jobs on the net (nothing illegal or filthy, don't worry!) while trying to find new clients.

So, it means I have less income. Pity. But what can I do? I'll just keep looking and keep trying. But one good thing: the house and the gardens are bit tidier (miracle!) and I have a time for baking and writing. Seems that the creative part of my brain has been switched on again, which is nice. I have been baking sourdough loaves one a week, and cook more variety of dishes. I even have a time to sit with my girls in the evening. Lovely.

So, I've had a few moments of proper quality time with my girls. After a barbecue with my girl and my wee one's friend, A, on one Friday, 3 of us decided the next day to go for a long walk to the cemetery where their granny and granda were buried. I had promised that we would walk to the cemetery (about 40 min on foot?) last summer because the last visit was when my girls were toddlers. But with the bad weather and my workload, I couldn't keep the promise. But it was a gorgeous day on that Saturday and we enjoyed the walk. We had such a nice time that we decided to repeat it on another fine Saturday so that we can tidy and the family grave.

On the way home from the cemetery, we bravely went inside of a halal shop and found quite many nice Asian food stuff including baklava. Glad that we have one more favourite shop in the town.

Must go and make a dough for tomorrow's bread baking.

Mooncup: A beginner’s review

If you would not like to read women’s stuff, please go to another page NOW.

Mooncup is very little known in this country, even though being sold by a UK company. This menstrual cup is, in short, a reusable silicon cup that catches discharge inside vagina. An alternative for sanitary towels and tampons. All you need is one Mooncup. So, no need to keep spending your money for buying hundreds of packets of pads and tampons, and also no need to contribute polluting the environment by such disposable sanitary goods.

Sounds good? I guess many of you have apprehension. Would Mooncup be as good as testimonials in its official website? Would it hurt? Would it leak? Isn’t it expensive? Is it hygienic? Would it messy to handle? Well, such questions popped up in my head, but I plucked up courage and bought one. So, here is my personal review of Mooncup.

Price

Mooncup is £21.99 at Boots, and around £17 – 18 on the net. Yes, it’s not a kind of stuff that you buy just because it caught your eyes in a shop by chance. It looks horribly expensive especially when it is sitting beside a price sign for other sanitary goods such as “Buy 2 for £2”. If you live on the dole, such a price puts you off to start using a Mooncup, of course. BUT, one Mooncup lasts for many years (unless you lose it), and it won’t take you long to spend £22 for sanitary goods.  So, it is not really expensive.

Size

Mooncup is available in two sizes: A and B, but it is very easy to choose one that is right for you. No need to measure anything, no need to calculate anything. Just with your age and birth experience, you pick your size.

After opening the box, the first thing I thought was “Wow, bigger than I thought!” But the thing is, I actually don’t know the exact anatomy of my body inside. So, no wonder I was surprised. After all, I gave birth to two babies. So, a Mooncup is not big really.

How to use

One thing that I like about Mooncup is that it shouldn’t go deep inside your body.  But I guess some of women/girls, who, for example, have never been examined for gynaecological/obstetrical reasons, might not like the idea of inserting an object inside. But for those who do not become too nervous or embarrassed to examine the parts by themselves, and who have given births, there shouldn’t be any big problems. All you have to do is practise to get used to this new device. It might take a few tries until you feel confident using your Mooncup. But it’s a kind of skill that you quickly learn by a bit of experience. 

Leakage?

I bet the biggest worry for everyone is leakage. In my case, there were 3 leakages during the first time. But it happened during the heaviest days, and each was just a very tiny stain (and fortunately I was wearing a small sanitary towel).  Compared to the days I used conventional towels, my clothes are much cleaner with Mooncup.

Comfortable?

Yes, definitely. I often forget it was in the middle of my period when I used my Mooncup, because I don’t feel a thing while wearing it and also because my skin is clean and dry. It is fine while exercising, sleeping, running, etc. I feel liberated, indeed, and I’m not exaggerating about this feeling of freedom.

Messy?

Yes, if you count emptying bloody discharge into toilet/drain as messy. But definitely NO to me. It is handy if you have a sink next to a toilet so that you can rinse your Mooncup while sitting on the toilet. But I was absolutely fine even in public toilets. You will soon get used to handling the cup, surely.

My verdict

I’m sure that my Mooncup will stay with me for another several years. I do understand various kinds of apprehensions and I don’t want to be pushy, but I recommend any women to have a try. The price and availability are a main issue, surely. Big supermarkets such as Tesco seem not keen to stock Mooncups. Also, the “disposable” culture and current economic climate, which hinder eco-friendlier life, does not encourage women to start using them. 

Anyway, thanks for reading this much.