the old-school guestbook archives
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all around the houses... ~ June 4, 2003 - 10:42 p.m. it feels like a strange time right now. hard to put my finger on it. of course, the weather is strange. we're really getting into the rainy season now, and you never know when a storm is going to blow up out of a perfectly blue sky. and this thing with lao boy. who I'm getting more attached to all the time, in spite of the fact that there's lots of things I don't like about the whole setup-- and the fact that I still don't trust him. anyway. it's coming down to a place of both of us having to decide what we want. and there'll be an interlude of sorts, anyway-- because my sweet vietnamese boy is coming to visit. and of course, at this point, I just don't know what to feel. I don't even know how much of him is real and how much imagined. we'll see. I'm a little panicked. and a little delighted. and I just don't even know what all else. I'm just taking it, moment by moment. and my cat, my kitten, my mao noi. my nuggin. I love him deeply. I badly needed a little ball of fluffy unconditional love in my house. what happened was, I was out at wat sok pa luang, doing the herbal sauna and massage thing-- and this little nuggin was walking around on the deck, crying and crying, just badly needing some love. so I started petting him, and he started loving on me and rumbling that crazy loud kitten purr. then he curled up in my lap and went to sleep, no bigger than my fist. and by then it was a lost cause. and then noi, my sweet chubby lao woman friend who runs the sauna said-- "you want him? you take him home. we have many cats here right now." apparently, people just dump their unwanted pets at the temples, because they know the monks will take them in. this little guy was dropped all alone, and much too young to be away from his mama. I explained my dilemma about taking in a cat, and then what happens when I go back to america? and noi said-- "you go home, you bring him back, I'll take care of him. many cats here." and so that was that. he just needed so much love, and I had so much to give. tucked him into my bag and rode him home on my motorbike, little kitten head poking out to take in the scenery. gave him his first (and badly needed) bath when we got home, washed off the crud and the fleas. it was traumatic for both of us, but it was well worth it. I was afraid he'd hate me for a while, but as soon as he was dried off, he realized he'd struck the lao kitty jackpot. maybe it was the dish of food I put in front of him, which he didn't have to share with anykitty at all. maybe it was the love. whatever, he follows me around wherever I go, sleeps on me, and cries when I leave. my lil' nuggin. I went back and forth about whether or not to give him a lao name, but wound up calling him tupelo honey, just because it's a little bit of home and I do get a little bit of homesick once in a while. I'm afraid I may wind up calling him nuggin for the rest of his days, though. it just fits. and by the way, the job interview went really well. she's not quite sure if my experience outweighs my dearth of formal credentials, but I think she likes me. I should know more within the next week or two. I'll letcha know how it all comes out.
(((rings))) |