Servant Up For Adoption

Name: Survant

Breed: Malaysian Long Hair

Age: Uncertain

Gender: Female

Colour: Chocolate with high vanilla

Adoption Fee: FREE (just get her out of our home!)

Reason for putting her up for adoption:

 Ever since she contracted that horrible, wracking cough, we have been deprived of a sound sleep. Many times Yin Yin or I, whoever the unfortunate party is that happened to be sleeping next to her, would be jerked awake every 2 or 3 seconds with that pulverizing sound. We are tired and sleepy (yawn) and the only chance we get to sleep is when she's out. 

Signed:

Blackie Bond

Lady Faye Yin

Blackie Bond: How To Deprive Your Human Slave Of Sleep

If you are a cat, you would know how frustrating it is when your human slave sleeps when you want to play. They not only sleep like the dead but they sleep like, forever, while you languish in boredom. Such inefficient bodies they have.


To prevent my human slave from a sound sleep, I have devised a fool-proof strategy. It has yet to fail me. Here is a step-by-step guide.


1. Shortly after the bedroom is plunged into darkness, scratch open the wardrobe door, go inside, and start a mournful howl. This will make your human slave think you're trapped inside the wardrobe, get up from bed and retrieved you.


2. Once she has settled back into bed, walk to the bedroom door and meowed. She'll think you want to go out of the room. When she gets up and opens the door for you, trot back to the wardrobe.


3. Wait until she has snuggled under her comforter again, then hop onto the bed and swipe her hand. If she does not respond, give it a quick, hard bite. That bite is guaranteed to get her to open her eyes and talk to you.


4. If she still goes back to sleep, lie down next to her. Position your body in such a way that she has no room to turn without squashing you. Lying stiff on her back, she'll be too uncomfortable to fall asleep.


5. If she still manages to fall asleep, bite and pull her hair. 


6. If that still doesn't work, jump on her like a trampoline.


You know you have succeeded in depriving her of a sound sleep when she staggers out of bed the next morning bleary-eyed and brain-dead.

And now, I must take a cat nap to refresh myself for my exercise in keeping my human slave awake tonight.

Why I want to be a cat....

Advanced Breast Cancer and Palliative Care

Acute pain is what we think of when we think of advanced cancer. We have all heard or seen with our own eyes how advanced cancer patients were gripped in intense pain in their last stage. My late mum's sister-in-law was one example. She died of advanced breast carcinoma and I remember how my uncle had to stay awake each night to rub Chinese analgesic lotion on her. She described her pain as being set on fire.


And that was the pain I feared for my mum in October last year. But thankfully, after my mum was given palliative care, she was comfortable. Her pain was so intense that the specialists gave her the Fentanyl patch so as to not overdose on morphine. She did not experience any pain at all from the moment she used the Fentanyl patch. (Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morhpine ~  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentanyl)


Her tumor had grown and spread to her bones, lungs, chest wall, liver and brain. But she did not experience any pain. Not even up to her last conscious day. When I asked her if she was in pain, she'd shake her head. By that time, she could no longer speak. 


Her discomfort came from breathlessness. Although oxygen mask and additional morphine were given, she was still gasping like a fish out of water. (Morphine helps to relieve breathlessness.)


I know this post is so out of "character", no one wants to read such topics. It's boring. Why did I write it? So that anyone whose family member has cancer would know that they do not need to suffer the pain. Ask your oncologists/surgeons to refer you to palliative care. 

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012......

It has been more than two months since I last visited my own blog, let alone type a few lines. 2011 has not been a good year for me. I shall always remember 2011 as the year that took my beloved mum from me. 


For the first time in my life I can no longer go to my mum and tell her what I did, ate, or what I saw. Last night I cried myself to sleep as memories of my mum washed over me. Were she still alive, she would have been amused to see Yin dressed up in the party hat and mask I brought home from the new year eve dinner we had earlier.


But enough of that....I know I should move on....and on that note, happy new year to everyone!

Yin wearing the party hat and mask from Jarrod & Rawlins

Fireworks viewed from our balcony

OWC - Obedient Wives Club OR Orgy Wives Club??

I can't believe someone, and a club at that, would provide me with so much entertainment and amusement that I am now writing a fourth installment on the same social issue. To refresh our memories, here's my third and second write-up.

OWC, a controversial women's club, has just released a book that is probably the most outrageous ever written by a Malaysian. The book encourages a Muslim husband to have sex simultaneously with all his wives. 

First, a good wife should be like a high class prostitute. Now, a good wife should team up with her husband's other wives for orgy sessions. Wow! 

I don't really care what they do behind closed doors, but really, don't they think they are degrading themselves by seeing themselves as sex workers rather than a wife? The status of a wife and sex worker is as different as night from day, so why would they want to sink to the level of a prostitute, and encourage other wives to do that, too??  

Could it be because they have no brains, no personality, no character whatsoever that would hold the interest of their husbands, and sex is the only way they could sustain their husband's interest? 

Check out this report in The Star today.

When Euthanasia Is Merciful......

Ever since mum showed me a sudden appearance of a lump the size of a golf ball in her left breast in May this year, her cancer has been advancing  aggressively. 


In early August, every single night without fail, she felt intense tearing pain at her back, where the rib cage bones are located. She could not sleep and started taking Panadol for pain relief. The pain accelerated quickly, and by the middle of August, she was in pain more often than not. I had to give her 600mg of Ibuprofen twice a day plus rubbed her back with Counterpain, an analgesic cream.


By September, none of those helped relieve her pain and she finally agreed to see the oncologist for pain management. At the hospital, mum asked if she could be put to sleep painlessly (euthanasia), which, of course, is against the law in Malaysia. Needless to say, the specialist declined to help her along that path.


I had thought that stronger drugs like Tramadol or morphine would effectively mask mum's pain, but apparently, those narcotic drugs only take the edge off the pain, not mask it completely. 


With mum opting for no treatment, we suddenly found that there are many people who chose not to be treated, too. Her church friends started to share about their own family members who opted for no treatment while my cousin shared about her friend in US who did not want treatment and opted for palliative care instead. Why did mum and those people chose to have no treatment, preferring to eventually die from their disease or condition?


Mum had invasive ductal carcinoma stage IIIB in 1999. She had mastectomy plus chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy. She completed the treatment but it traumatized her greatly. 


Those who has had treatment for life-threatening diseases or conditions, or knew someone who has had those treatments, are very aware of the pain and suffering the treatments bring. 


My late father-in-law was a diabetic and when the time came for him to have dialysis, he chose not to do it. He had seen his brother, also a diabetic, who went for dialysis three times a week, and he knew of the pain his brother went through. Needless to say, my late father-in-law died in his sleep four years ago, but he did not suffer.


And so, comes the point of this post. It got me thinking of animals that are sick and suffering. Is it kinder to put them through invasive treatment or to put them out of their misery? Many of my friends, animal lovers and rescuers, are against euthanasia. Just mention the word and you'd be flamed. 


But, if our pets could speak, what would they choose for themselves? Would they want invasive treatment, or would they choose euthanasia? Are we being selfish, reluctant to let our pet go when we choose to hold on to them by prolonging their life and thus, suffering? Euthanasia is after all, the most painful decision a pet owner has ever had to make. 


I had to make such a decision once. And it wasn't easy. Up to 10 o'clock at night, the vet from UPM was still calling me, telling me I had to make a decision, whether to put Brownie out of his misery or to let him continue to suffer. The vet assured me that Brownie would definitely be in pain, and that it was more merciful to let him go peacefully. It was the most heartbreaking decision I had ever made and I hope no pet owner has to ever make that decision.

The Four Don'ts at Nirvana Memorial Centre

I was at Nirvana Memorial Centre to pay my last respects to a good friend's late father last night. Despite the sad event, it was a great time of fellowship, with lots of laughter, some at my expense. I was teased about being an ugly girl with a magnifying glass on her nose by friends who had not seen me in my myopic glasses before. (I wear contact lens during the day.) It was all good-natured teasing, of course. Like all good friends, we could never resist poking fun at each other.


Oh yeah, and there was lots of food....the most incredible spread I had ever seen at a funeral parlour. And in the midst of chatting, laughing and enjoying the food, something caught hubby's and my eye......a sign with four don'ts....

1) No food allowed.....huh??!!.....the food galore was part of the package, ain't it??
2) Silence....oops, guilty
3) No smoking....ok, checked. Nobody smoked here.
4) No camera.....that, too, was OK, until I saw that sign and had to fish my camera out of my bag and commit the final blunder.....

Blackie007 Is Now Blackie Bond

When my blog post titled July 9, 2011 - A Day To Be Remembered was hacked, I had thought it was just one post. I had checked all other posts filed under 'Politics' (not that there were many posts on that topic) and they were untouched. Little did I imagine that my two other blogs would be hacked later and stolen.

Yes, stolen. As in, I am no longer able to edit or have any control over those blogs. I only realised it today, when I was about to edit my blog profile. I saw with surprise that one blog was missing, while another one was renamed to Muffin with a different URL (muffingorilla.blogspot.com). The original name was Muffin The Toy Gorila, and my URL was muffinthetoygorila.blogspot.com. The other one was Muffin The Toy Gorilla with a double 'l', for those who might have typed gorila with a double 'l.

I tried to contact blogger support, but all the message I got was, 'you might have entered the wrong email address', 'you might have entered the wrong password', and 'fill out the form and an email message will be sent to you to verify that the blog belongs to you'.

Well, I did all that, and guess what? I never received that email associated to Muffin's blog. Why? Because it has been stolen from me and is no longer associated with my email. And there is no way I could contact Blogger support (no email contact, or other forms to fill out) to return the blog to me.

I apologise to those who had been following my blog, it isn't possible for me to contact each and everyone of you. I hope you'll stumble upon this new blog name and realise it's me......

Amazon Kindle 3: A Review

For the past one year, I've only been reading ebooks and have not bought a single copy of the print book. I read my ebooks on my computer, and there were some issues I had to bear with. For example, the glare of the screen. Reducing the brightness doesn't help as that means the text becomes less readable. My eyes got tired from the hours of reading, and the whites started to develop red 'lines'. 

Then there's the non-portability of the ebooks. I no longer had a book with me to read when I'm waiting for someone or for my turn at some place. And not to mention the computer getting hot from being left on for more than 12 hours a day.


Those became issues of the past when I got my Kindle. The Kindle uses the E-Ink technology which makes reading easy on the eyes. It is very light, and now I carry 300 ebooks (the storage capacity is 3500 ebooks) everywhere with me in my handbag so that I'll have a different book to read for different moods. I would not have been able to do that with print copies.


The Kindle lets you look up the definition of a word without leaving the page you're reading, and if you're feeling lazy and just want to close your eyes and let someone read to you, just activate the text-to-speech and let the Kindle read to you.


And if you like to listen to music while you read, all from the same device, just copy the MP3 files into the music folder in the Kindle. The Kindle is wifi enabled, and comes with a browser. I find the browsing experience extremely primitive though. 


The Kindle does best what it was designed for --- reading ebooks. It really delivers! 

Special diet, special diet, I need a special diet chef

First, it was hubby who needed a special diabetic diet. Now it is mum. Yesterday, her annual blood test results showed that her uric acid reading is high while her sodium, chloride and potassium are lower than normal. This is despite her potassium supplements prescribed by the doctors. 


The doctor did not prescribe any medication to lower her uric acid nor to increase her sodium. She said just increase the salt in our food and to avoid food high in uric acid (more than 100mg/100g, according to my research). 


Spinach tops the list at 57g per100g, followed by mushrooms (488mg/100g), sardines in oil (480mg/100g), fresh sardines (345mg/100g), anchovies (239mg/100g), all beans and peas products and by-products (190mg/100), salmon (170mg/100g), mackerel (145mg/100), crustacean seafood and red meat (including pork).  


Not only tofu is out of the menu, but practically all meat as the only meat mum could eat is chicken and hubby simply refuses to eat this poultry in any form.


What is good for hubby is bad for mummy and vice versa,e.g. I can't increase the salt in our food, as hubby is on a low-sodium diet.....I am so f****d.


More research, more research, today's dinner will be ready and served next week..... :P

Polygamy, Prostitution and Homosexuality

For the first time since the creation of this blog in 2008, I am writing a third installment on the same social issue. Which is so not me, as I tend not to bother myself too much with this. There are more than enough serious blogs out there, and my blog was meant to be a light-hearted, perhaps frivolous ramblings. You know, a chance to talk to myself without being called a nut.


Anyway, this post is a look at polygamy and a follow-up to a previous post titled "More prostitutes please, we are Malaysians". 

"Men are by nature polygamous", said Dr Rohaya, Mohamad Ikram Ashaari's third wife. “We hear of many men having the ‘other woman,’ affairs and prostitution because for men, one woman is not enough. Polygamy is a way to overcome social ills such as this.”~~ source: The Muslim Observer

This is the woman who said "a good wife is a good sex worker to her husband" and "disobedient wives are the cause for upheaval in this world because men are not happy at home and their minds and souls are disturbed". Her husband, Mohamad Ikram Ashaari,  the man whom Al-Arqam insisted could forgive the sins of Muslims, established Ikwan Polygamy Club to promote polygamy in August last year. While polygamy is legal for Muslims in Malaysia, where a man is allowed to have four wives at a time, husbands who are polygamous have found it difficult to provide for all their wives and children.


But that is not what I'm going to write about. I'm more interested in their claim that polygamy will solve those social ills. I SAY and I say it with capital letters, that polygamy creates MORE social ills. 


Let's take a look at the entitlement of four wives to a man. The population in Malaysia is equally split between males and females. So if there are ten (10) men, then there are ten (10) women in Malaysia. Two men will get four wives each, while one man will get two wives only. The other SEVEN men will never have a wife.


What will those seven, wife-less men do? Turn to homosexuality? Share the other men's wives? Or indulge in incest with their sisters, daughters or mothers? Or turn to bestiality?? I see nothing but more social ills......

And for this Obedient Wife Club, Malaysia is on the map again! 

Malaysia Obedient Wives Club: Good sex is a duty in Yahoo News

Malaysia 'obedient wives' Club: Good sex is a duty in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Malaysian club urges wives to be' whores in bed' in news.com.au

FB users counter Malaysian 'sexist' wives club with new group in Daily India

'Obedient Wife Club' urges women to be whores in bed in The Sydney Morning Herald

Malaysia Obedient Wife Club promotes marital sex in Forbes

Malaysian women launch 'The Obedient Wife Club' in AFP

Obedient Wife Club set up to curb divorce in The Telegraph

Malaysian Polygamy Club Draws Criticism in The Muslim Observer

Wives told to be whores in bed in Bangkok Post

Population index:
Gender ratio: 
at birth - 1.07 male :1 female
under 15 years - 1.06 male : 1 female
15 - 64 years - 1.01 male : 1 female
65 years and over - 0.79 male : 1 female
total population - 1.01 male : 1 female
~~ source: Malaysia Department of Statistics


Updated on 13/10/11:
OWC - Obedient Wives Club or Orgy Wives Club

More Prostitutes Please, We Are Malaysians!!!

I never thought I'd  need to follow up my post "More Sex Please, We Are Malaysians" with another post. But life in a circus is unpredictable and Malaysia is a circus.


Take these news articles in today's and yesterday's The Star, for instance.


'Wives can curb social ills like prostitution by being obedient and alluring'
Obedient Wives Club to offer sex lessons on how to pleasure husbands

When asked whether it was the wife's fault for being abused, she said: “Yes, most probably because she didn't listen to her husband.”

Sex lessons to help wives “serve their husbands better than a first-class prostitute” will be among the courses provided by the Obedient Wives Club (OWC) to help promote harmonious marriages and counter social ills.

Its vice-president Dr Rohaya Mohamad said it was time sexual prowess took a front seat in marriage beyond the traditional “good mother or good cook” roles.

So, let us see....
A good wife = a first class prostitute
A first class prostitue = a good wife
Therefore, all wives should be prostitutes. Or is it all men should aim to marry a first class prostitute??


The Obedient Wives Club is created by Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd, which also has an Ikhwan Polygamy Club. Perfect compatibility. After dinner, the husband leaves for his Polygamy Club while the wife proceeds to her Obedient Wives Club. 


Perhaps I should start an online business selling whips, hooker boots, leather thongs, pornography DVDs and graphic comics. I bet I will be a millionaire in no time, since a large population will be prostitutes and in need of those supplies! Any buyers here? :P


P/s: Prostitutes Wanted: Must be willing and grateful to be whipped, beaten up, thoroughly abused, raped and used in any manner the man, her master, wishes. If you think it is a priviledge to be treated thus, or that this is the pathway to heaven, please apply here.


P.P.S: Come join us to take a stand in the  We do not want Sexist Nonsense from Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd Facebook page.


Updates: FB group counters sexist wives club.
Related topics:
Polygamy, Prostitution and Homosexuality
OWC - Obedient Wives Club or Orgy Wives Club

The Little Tyke Is At It Again

Plants and flowers used to be found in every crook and corner, and on side tables, coffee tables, or dining tables in my home. Those were things of the past ever since Blackie took over my home five and a half years ago.

Nearly two weeks earlier, a friend, AC, gave me a lovely bunch of chrysanthemums for my birthday. Thank you for those lovely flowers that brightened up my home, A.

Less than three hours later, Blackie started to chew them. By the time I returned from Cameron Highlands, they were half gone. 

And this morning, I caught the little tyke chewing the lavenders I bought at Cameron Highlands.

Trying to look innocent

Oops...he knocked down the vase....I caught it just in time

The vase is now sitting on top of my shoe cabinet outside, between the gate and the door, and Blackie is now sitting there, working out the details of how to get up on the shoe cabinet. He rushed back inside when I tried to take a picture of him. Goes to show the little tyke knows the flowers are off-limits to him.

Conned - Hybrid Guava-Apple It Is Not

Till today, Cameron Highlands remains one of my favourite places to unwind and relax, second after Penang. The last time we went to Cameron Highlands was in September 2009, and we thought it's time to revisit the place. There were not much changes, other than a couple of 'new' fruits. 

One of the fruits that could be seen everywhere in Cameron was Jambu-Epal, a hybrid of guava-apple. It comes in a packet of two, and sells for between RM8 and RM10 each, depending on the store, and RM15 for two packets. The colour of the fruit is a very bright apple-green colour. 

The colour is so unnaturally green that it looks like it has been colour-treated. When I posed the question of whether the fruit had colour dye added to it, the vendors denied it. They claimed that this is the natural colour of the fruit. The fruit, they claimed, is known as guava-apple and grown locally. It tastes like an apple but has the texture of a guava. 


On the day we left Cameron, we succumbed and bought two packets for RM15 after one of the vendors let us taste a small slice. On hindsight, the slice was too small for us to realise that the apple sweetness we tasted is not natural.

The shock came when we got home and I cut one of them. As I was washing it, I thought I saw greenish water running down the sink. As I rubbed the fruit more vigorously, I could feel the sliminess of the flesh of a fruit that has been de-skinned. 

What I discovered after I had cut it into slices and even removed the green part was that the guava-apple is none other than your ubiquitious regular guava, nothing more, nothing less. It must have been soaked in an extremely sweet green colour syrup for a very long time, for the saccharine sweetness has permeated all the way into the guava. Despite removing the green coloured part, it was still too unnaturally sweet to be eaten. 

I threw all four away. But before I did that, I washed and cut another one for the photos and this blog.

The green colour water that dripped from the fruit after I scrubbed it with my hands.

Is It Better To Be An Insomniac Vampire or A Walking Dead?

It's 4:58pm on a hot, sunny Wednesday afternoon, and I am feeling particularly sleepy, and with nobody to talk to (hubby is at work, mum and two kitties are sound asleep, emails from cousin and friends have been replied to), it's time to indulge in some verbal diarrhea a.k.a. ramblings in my blog. Dear readers, this is your modern day's old lady mumbling to herself. I think I could grow to love this image of myself. It is more sophisticated than that of an old crotchety lady, sitting on a rocking chair, knitting and mumbling to herself, no? 


More than two and a half years ago, I rambled on about the nicknames hubby gave me in a self-indulgent post titled List of Nicknames. The nicknames have not changed much. I am still called the Insomniac Vampire, due to my insomnia. But a new nickname has emerged. I now have the dubious honour of being called The Walking Dead. Is that a promotion or what??


I've always had low blood pressure (hypotension), but it's not something in the forefront of my mind. Ever since hubby started monitoring his blood pressure and blood glucose level diligently, he puts me under the 'microscope', too. And he found, to his horror, that my blood pressure does not vary too far from what has now become the benchmark of my 'normal' blood pressure readings: 88/52. My systolic reading does not sway too far from 88, and neither does my diastolic reading. The highest ever recorded was 90/55. But it's usually 86/50, 88/52, never dropping below 50. 


According to the doctor, if my diastolic reading ever plunges below 50, I am to be rushed to the hospital immediately, because that is considered a critical morbidity stage. So, when my readings are 88/52, hubby says he sees his dead wife walking around. And that's how the nickname The Walking Dead started. I can't quite make up my mind if I should be flattered. I do believe I prefer to be an Insomniac Vampire, at least a vampire is more attractive than a zombie.....the latter has a rather distinctive, err, scent.  :)


And now I have a cousin with Graves' Disease. What is that?? Is she a grave-robber? Or grave-digger? No, nothing so glamorous unfortunately. Graves' Disease is an autoimmune disease that causes high thyroid, and I am so concerned for her. I've always pictured her to be forever young, healthy, bubbly and happy, to imagine that she could be anything less than that is very disconcerting, to say the least. 


It's now 5:22pm,  time to 'pen off' and perform some wifely duties -- hoover the floor and then retreat to my kitchen to cook up a storm for hubby. 

Much Ado About Cat Litter

Just like humans with their toilet rolls, cats have their preference when it comes to cat litter, and yes, they prefer the more expensive ones, too. My cats do, at any rate. And so they protest when I switched to a cost-effective cat litter nearly four months ago. Which brings me to this blog post that should have been titled The Benefits of Pine Wood Pellets if I had been in my right mind, which I hadn't. 

I'm not one of those disciplined writers, who never go off-topic, just focusing on the salient points of the topic title. Rather, I'm more like a little doggie, preferring to amble around, and sniff at every possible trees, tyres, lamp posts and ground before deciding which spot to settle on. Which is why I could never earn a living as a writer....my editors would throw up their hands in despair, if they don't strangle me first.


Back to cat litter, I've never used the sand or crystal type from day one as I don't fancy having soil or bits of sticky crystal tracked all over my home, furniture and beddings. I've only used wood based litter, and the one my cats really love is Cats Best OkoPlus Cat Litter. (Bear with me while I ramble on about the previous cat litter first.)


Although expensive at RM146 for a 40L bag, which lasts two months, it is very effective in covering up the odour, and doesn't track too much. Because my cats sleep with me in my room at night, they do their business there, too, and it's of paramount importance that I do not need to scoop the very minute they poop or pee in the middle of the night. 


I've also tried Breeder's Celect Recycled Paper which my cats didn't like and neither did I for the simple fact that it is not effective in covering the odour and I had to get up to scoop each time they poop or pee (I'm a light sleeper and the slightest smell and sound would wake me up). 


So, when I was first introduced to pine wood pellets, I was hesitant to try. No, I wasn't skeptical, as the people who recommended it are Jimmy and Amanda, two friends whose opinions I value. Just hesitant, because my two kitties are extremely fussy. They have very defined likes and dislikes.


However, the pine wood pellets is only a fraction of OkoPlus, and it seems such a waste to spend RM146 on something that is going to be flushed down the toilet. The money saved from the cat litter could be better used to buy more sashimi treats for them. After much thought, I decided to give it a try.


First, for the pine wood pellets to be effective (no tracking and long lasting), it needs to be used in litter boxes that has a "sieve".

See the holes in the sieve where I pushed the pellets aside? When the cats pee, the pellets will absorb the liquid and break into sawdust. To clean, just lift up the sieve tray and give it a few shakes, and the sawdust will fall through into the tray below. 


For bigger cats like the Maine Coon, the regular litter boxes in the market might be a tad too small. Jimmy said that he gets two large plastic boxes of the same size, drill holes into one of them, and stack them together with the one with the drilled holes on top. 


Initially, I balked at the idea of drilling holes into a plastic box. I'm not the handy type, and drills and I don't go very well together. Amanda, the sweet, kind lady that she is, offered to drill them for me. Thanks, hun, I really appreciate that!  :)  Below is what the top tray with drilled holes look like.


Now, nearly four months later, and I still haven't finished the first bag of pellets. That is one massive saving, as a bag is less than RM30. Although I've passed down the savings to my cats by buying more of the sashimi treats for them, they don't seem to be mollified.


They do not like the feel of the pellets on their paws, and have resorted to doing their business on the edge of the litter box. See how Yin balances herself precariously on the edge with her four paws. 

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos, I did not have the time to rush into my room to get my camera, so the handphone, which was next to me, was the next best thing. The lighting was too strong, too, as the box is beneath the window, which didn't help to improve the photo quality.


Her body would be swaying to and fro as she poohs, and once, the box nearly flipped over. But somehow, the little finicky empress managed to learn to hold her balance. If only I could snap a photo of Blackie, who waves a paw in the air for balance!


Well, while my cats aren't too happy with the pine pellets, I am satisfied with its performance. It doesn't track, nor does it leave a sticky feel to my cats' paws. This is especially important to me, as Yin has a habit of washing her two front paws after using the litter box if I don't catch her in time to clean her. Yes, she washes her 'hands' after using the toilet, in her water bowl. Some cats are just too fastidious about cleanliness. 

The pine wood pellets can be purchased from:
Home Pet Food & Care
41, Jalan 1/149J,
Bandar Baru Seri Petaling,
57000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: (03) 9059 3191 / 3192
Business hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 11:00am to 9pm

Living With A Diabetic Hubby

Last week was a week of major upheaval of lifestyle for us, for on Monday, hubby was confirmed as a Type 2 diabetic, with a reading of 14 mmoL/L. Which means, to a layman, a very high level of plasma glucose.


For the rest of the week, we were kept busy trying to figure out what he should eat and should not eat. A dietary plan has to be worked out, with the intake of carbohydrates, sugar, fat, protein, and even sodium calculated. Everything I put into the pot or wok, had to have its calories calculated, and broken down into the carbo/fat/protein/sodium/sugar levels. 


Eating out is worse. We were suddenly stumped for ideas on where to go or what to eat, as most food outside are not healthy. Of course, healthy foods are sashimi (not sushi as it contains white rice and sake, alcohol), or Korean grilled stuff or steamboat. But then, we had to take into consideration the sodium levels in the Korean grilled stuff and the soup in the steamboat. 


So, that left us only sashimi, which we already had a week earlier. So we decided on Chinese food on Sunday evening. Imagine our order to the cook of a Chinese restaurant: "Spinach soup with no salt, and no century eggs, please....fried beehoon with no salt, or soy sauce please." And on Saturday, we had to turn down an invitation to pancakes cooked by a "top English chef", in his own words. What a bummer! 


When I mentioned this, some friends of mum said, "Oh, I have diabetes, too. There's no upheaval. Just take less sugary food, and if possible, don't take any white sugar." 


Well, I'm sorry, it's not as simple as that. And this is the reason why I have chosen to write this post, to hopefully educate those who hold to the myth that if you have diabetes, you only need to stop taking white sugar and take less sugary food.


My father-in-law died within two years of injecting insulin. No, not from insulin injection, but from the complications caused by diabetes, which I think some people are not aware of.


First, the complications caused by diabetes:

• Vascular disease - The large blood vessels are narrowed, resulting in nutrients not being carried to your body's organs which might result in heart failure or stroke.
• Small blood vessel disease - Blood vessels in the eyes and kidney may be damaged, which might result in vision loss and kidney failure.
• Nerve damage - The nerves in the feet and hands might be damaged, and cuts or blisters might be infected, which might result in having to amputate the limb.
• Skin disorder - Skin disorder such as bacterial infections, fungal infections, itching, Diabetic Dermopathy, Necrobiosis Lipiodica Diabeticorum, Atherosclerosis, Eruptive Xanthomatosis and Acanthosis Nigricans (see: http://tiny.cc/41z01 and  http://tiny.cc/wzeeq)

Two in three diabetic patient will suffer from the complications above. A good diet management will only manage to delay the complications, but if the patient lives long enough, the complications will come as surely as it will rain after a long dry spell.


Second, the list of food to avoid:

• Refined and simple carbohydrates - Sucrose, glucose or fructose (sugar derived from fruits), white rice, white bread, white flour, table sugar (whether white or brown does not matter), sweets, honey and corn-syrup are to be avoided as they convert to glucose very quickly. 
• High fat food - The list is endless and self-explanatory, too, I think, so I'll leave it as it is.
• High sodium food - Canned food, preserved food, processed food, snacks like potato crisps, sauces and gravy are to be avoided as those food contain salt. 
• Alcohol - this can cause liver damage and heart failure in a diabetic patient.

List of recommended food that hubby should take to prevent rapid peaks in the blood glucose levels:

• Complex high-fiber carbohydrates - Oats, cereals, legumes, wholegrain products, dried beans, peas, lentils, fruits like oranges, strawberries, and dark green vegetables, or yellow peppers.
• Omega 3 - Salmon, tuna, mackerel (but NOT king mackerel) and herring. These fish contain omega 3 and protect against the hardening of arteries.
• Omega 6 fatty acid - Blackcurrant oil, primrose oil, borage oil. These protect against nerve damage.

Have I considered the Atkins Diet? Well, I have researched that as well, and found that the Atkins Diet is an over-hyped commercial diet, which might in the long term do more harm than good. Why? Because the Atkins Diet opt for a high protein and low-carbohydrate program, which causes a person to lose the water in their body rather than the fat cells. That is why anyone on Atkins Diet loses weight rapidly. (see the claims and reality of the Atkins Diet - http://tiny.cc/5dbya )

So, I had to resort to planning our own menu. After calculating hubby's calorie needs, I have to calculate each and every ingredient I use. For those who may not know how to work out your own calorie needs, below is the Harris-Benedict formula I used:

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x W) + (5 x H) - (6.8 x Age) = Daily calories required

Women: BMR = 665 + (9.6 x W) + (1.8 x H) - (4.7 x Age) = Daily calories needs

W = weight in kg   

H = height in cm

Age = years

After I got the daily calories need for BMR, I multiply it by an activity factor for our lifestyle. 
Activity factor guideline table:

• Sedentary - none or very little exercise = BMR X 1.2
• Light activity for average of 2 days/week = BMR X 1.375
• Moderate activity level exercising  4 days/week = BMR X 1.5
• High activity levels exercise & sports more than 6 days/week = BMR X 1.7
• Higher activity levels = up to 2 x BMR

And now, I have to go cook. I do believe I will become an expert dietitian by the end of two months!!  

The Pros and Cons of Married Life

Disclaimer: This post is nothing but the ramblings of someone who has nothing better to do than to self-indulge in some mindless drivel. It does not contain any useful information. Reading it will not make you better-informed. Rather, the contents might contain harmful elements to your sanity. If you still wish to go ahead and read it, do so at your own risk. You have been forewarned......

------------------------ooooOOOOOOoooo----------------------------------

Humans are like cows. The grass on the other side of the fence is always greener. It's not unusual to hear someone who is married complained that they wished they were not married, while those who are single wished to join themselves to someone for better or worse.


As a married woman of eight years, I feel I am qualified to list the pros and cons of married life as well as include some tips on how to overcome them, where applicable.


First, the disadvantages of married life:


1) You'll always have a dinner companion. No tips. Still mulling it over.


2) You'll always find that you are squeezed to the edge of your King-sized bed as the elephant of the house occupies the centre while in deep sleep. Have a sharp pin on the ready beside your pillow and when that happens, prick the elephant in the arm with it. Don't worry about hurting the elephant even if he yowls, the skin is too thick to suffer any serious damage.


3) You're forever on your knees helping your spouse look for his missing socks. There are three options here. One, you could paint his feet, from toes to ankles, to look like they're wearing socks so no socks will be required anymore. Two, you could string all his socks together and put them around his neck so he knows where they are at all times, even when he's at work in the office. Or, as a last resort, you could chop off his feet and save him from having to wear socks. 


The advantages of married life:


1) You'll always have someone to tell you you're fat (even if you don't think you are) and proudly call you his cow.


2) You'll know the Apocalypse hasn't come in the dead of the night when you hear the snores from the other side of the bed.


3) You'll always have a guinea pig to experiment your recipes on.


4) You'll always have a free plumber. You only need to holler when the sink clogs up. But do get a pail and mop ready in case the plumber decides the quickest way to unclog the sink is to simply open the bottom cover.


5) You'll always have someone looking over your shoulder as you go about your life to make sure you haven't dropped dead standing up or sitting down with your eyes opened.


The advantages are not limited to the above, but I think you would have got the idea now --- it's far more advantageous to be married than not. 


P/s: This is a tongue-in-cheek post and in no way does it reflect my relationship with my husband. I love my Mr. Potato lots! He's a GREAT hubby!   :)

Goodbye 2010, Welcome 2011

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2011 bring you every good thing under the sky. May each of you be blessed with excellent health, joy, peace and....wealth. Can't leave the last bit out, since I'm a Malaysian of Chinese descent and must stick to the traditional greetings.  :)

2010 has been a great year for me, but it's time to say goodbye. To celebrate, I'm planning a quiet new year eve dinner at home........no one is allowed to talk......first one to speak does the dishes. My cats are exempted from this ruling, of course.