The Cats n The Scam

life with Tomo around is a routine now. Tomo is a dear, and i find that it's not difficult to take care of a cat. and because of that i've this yearning to find a persian, because i love a persian's short and stumpy legs. persian cats are walking carpets just waiting for you to cuddle them. 

and so like a madwoman bent on her sole purpose, i scoured the net trying to purchase a persian kitten online. obviously, the price is steep. then suddenly an ad caught my eye. this person, so-called Wayne Wright, wanted to sell his persian kittens for only rm200 each. that's really really cheap! even a kampung cat can cost more.so i contacted him through email, and he responded warmly. i thought that he's a mat salleh, and he told me of the sad story of how his daughter who loved the kittens had passed away and he wanted to let go of the kittens. okay, emotional appeal established. then he said he's living in Singapore and will use a home delivery. i contacted a daughter of my friend who is also interested in cats so she also contacted him. i began to smell a rat after praying a few days ago. i realised that the pics that he sent me are taken in a studio and none in real environment. i asked him several times about the food given (as all true cat enthusiasts would do) and i even told him what i feed Tomo. when finally i asked him for the latest picture, he gave me another set of staged pics and seemed a little bit angry. and then to answer my question about the food he gave to the kittens, he repeated exactly what i had written about what i feed Tomo with. and that's when i knew that this is a scam. instantly i recalled some news in the paper regarding this - how unsuspecting women had to pay thousands and thousands to receive a certain item from overseas and i knew that was what this so-called Wayne Wright wanted to do. so i cancelled the order, to which he never replied afterwards and i called the police. the next morning, before i lodged a police report, i received several emails from an email add "globalpet80@yahoo.com" asking for fee to pay for the delivery of the phantom kittens. the content itself was a joke, because it was so amateurish and pathetic and i knew even i could do better than that. i guess it was his desperate attempt to make me believe the scam. 

yes i know. some of you would think "how could you be so stupid?" but alhamdulillah, Allah was there to save me.

anyway, in the midst of all this hullaballoo, i went to see the vet because Tomo has this recurrent conjunctivitis. the vet advised me to keep Tomo indoors and not in a cage at the patio. i wanted to buy Tomo a hooded cat litter tray, so that there will be no unpleasant smell in the house. and since i wanted to visit As, i decided to bring Tomo along in his carrier and later stop at the pet shop where i put Pixie up for sale.at the pet shop, i saw Pixie. and i felt guilty. how could i have this yearning for a persian when i already have another kitten (never mind that she's DMH) and i left her at the shop? pixie was well, but thin and her limbs were weak as she spent all her time in the small cage. i told the man that i wanted Pixie back and he was more than happy to give her back to me.

at home, i saw there's a vast difference between the 2 kittens. Tomo is confident, healthy and well-fed. Pixie looked lost and wanted to sit most of the time. today's the third day she's back home and the 2 of them have been scampering around the house. Tomo seems to be smitten with her, and was gentleman enough to let her eat from his bowl. 

yes, i still have this yearn for a persian, because it reminds me of Fluffy, but then i've 2 wonderful kittens in the house, and i want to shower them with my love and lots of food.

 

the adventurous trip to puchong

2 months ago i bought a second-hand Kitchen Aid mixer. never mind that it's secondhand, it's Kitchen Aid! Chef Wan uses it. Nigella uses it, Chef Michael Smith uses it. Anna Olson uses it. when the big names in culinary arts use it, you've got to have it. hello, Kitchen Aid, bye-bye Kenwood.

it's a heavy duty mixer and white in colour. wish it's pink though, but since this is second-hand, i can't complain. i didn't use the mixer straight away after receiving it. but to my dismay i found out that the whisk couldn't rotate. i was sooo disappointed. i called the previous owner but he claimed that the mixer was in good condition when he gave it to me. i decided to visit the Kitchen Aid service centre and guess what? it's located in Puchong. a place i'm not familiar with.

yesterday i asked Mozie to be my guide. actually both of us had a rough idea where we're heading, but driving in KL is different especially on the highway. so off we went, and i was confused most of the time that my car nearly scratched the others. that's what i meant being adventurous. and we got lost twice, and was in an unfamiliar area. finally, we arrived at the place safely. and guess what? the hand-in of the mixer took me about 5 minutes. the drive itself was an adventure that i was disappointed that the hand-in was anti-climactic and quick. they told me they would call me and the repair would take around 2 days. 2 days?? i could feel throbbings in my head, a sign of migraine which lasted until i returned home.    

Recollection of the Old Days

i was driving to school this morning for the cross country race when i saw a crowd of people thronging the Mindef's field. i knew there was some sort of sports going on, but imagine my surprise when i saw rows of target butt ... and i was back to the UKM days once more. i saw many bows being rested on the tripods, and i saw archers walking with arrows sticking out from the quiver.

yes, i was once in the Archery Club. i couldn't remember what drove me to join the club, perhaps i saw my future teammates in action at the field. perhaps i saw this one girl bringing the Samick bow back to the kamsis every evening. 

archery is fun. it's an elegant sports which requires patience and i felt at peace when i drew the bowstring and let go of the arrow. i love assembling the parts, which probably takes 15 minutes, i guess. back then hitting a few arrows on days when i was stressed with the assignments was a reliever. not to forget the interesting characters i got to know when i joined the team. we travelled to a few tournaments together, and i once remember at the malaysian open, the most wonderful sound was the sound of arrows swishing as archers walked back (after counting the hits and pulling the arrows out of the target butt) to the line.

so you can understand why i was excited to see people with quivers of arrow and the bows with stabilisers resting on tripods. i was a part of that scene once.

Being Considerate

i think this is one of the most-talked about subject in the whole world.

what does being considerate mean? the dictionary.com defines it as "showing kindly awareness or regard for another's feelings, circumstances". it is not always that you find other people showing some consideration when doing things, and as for me, when i find it, i'm most pleasantly surprised and think that the person who shows it is a very civilised person.

take for example, when i brought Tomo for his first vaccination at a vet in Ampang. it was Saturday, so naturally, the clinic was packed with feline and canine lovers alike. since i'm a Muslim, i'm very apprehensive when i'm at close proximity with dogs, and will watch them carefully, hoping they won't suddenly spring on me (i once had a shock when the custom officers used a dog to sniff me out when i was at Dover Beach custom in 2007, going to Calais). when i was waiting for my turn, i saw 2 men with a huge Dalmatian. one entered the clinic and saw me, the only Muslim around. he exited the clinic and i saw him talking to his friend. his friend stayed outside with the dog while he came back in. only when i was about to go in did the friend enter with the big mutt and i felt very nervous. but he held him on a tight leash, and the poor mutt was struggling to find a comfortable position, all the while scratching the floor in order to get a firm grip.

even the staff at the clinic cleaned the examination table before i brought in Tomo.

i was touched by this show of consideration. Islam teaches us about tolerance, something that is easier said than done. having said that, it is not okay for us to demand consideration when we do not give it ourselves. think about the other people, and respect their life principles. do not adopt the "holier than thou" attitude, because this attitude will lead to hurt and anger. that is the reason why the learned Muslim scholars  usually adopt a gentle disposition and will not utter any unpleasant words lest they will hurt the others' feelings.and that is consideration for you.

i also have a lot to learn about being considerate. not to say that since i'm writing this piece, i'm a considerate person. i aspire to be a considerate person, because we always strive to become better today than we were yesterday.