User Comments - RJ

Posted on: Cats Are Cool

Yep, and Jenny, you can do what I do. Use a pair of sunglasses. That will keep them from stealing your soul with that tricky look thing of theirs. Well, I did use them, until I lost mine in a card game. That's how they got them 9 lives you know.

Posted on: Cats Are Cool

Chanelle,

That is horrible for the poor guy. Are you saying he was caught in a trap? Is that what caused such horrific injuries? Was this done intentionally? I am also wondering about veterinarians in China. Are there many? Hard to find? Expensive? Good care? Sounds like he is on his way to a full recovery though. Herbal Cat remedies. Amazing. Maybe a little cat acupuncture and he will be back at the top of his game. :-) Good luck to both of you.

Posted on: Cats Are Cool

Cats are cool. Indeed. Yang mao? One expression I have heard several times in China when referring to having a pet, was to "feed" them, as in "I dont have time to feed a cat". Meaning I dont have time for a pet cat. It seems the relationship is percieved as more of just providing food and therefore they will continue to hang around, whereas in the US we think of "having" a cat like "having" children, part of the family almost. I had a Maine coon cat for years that would go for walks with me. She would stalk me by traveling parallel to the sidewalk in the bushes in front of the houses we passed. She would wait until I got ahead a little and then dart ahead to the cover of the next available bush or tree. At the end of the street she would go no further but she would wait there for me. When I returned 30 min later she would still be waiting to join me for the last leg of the journey back home. Beautiful cat, unfortuantely she finally died of old age. My favorite short hair "sleep in the bed" cat lived to be rather old as well. She was diabetic, and I gave her insulin injections for the last 2 years of her life. I used to check her sugar using a finger prick kit and I knew her glucose curve and response time well. She was a great patient. My current favorite ("Tiger") turned 17 today. Getting old. She was born in my garage. At one time we had 4 cats in the house but now we are down to 2. No more when these are gone. At least I dont think so. :-)

Posted on: Cats Are Cool

BTW- Oct 16th is national feral cat day. Really. Im sure cpod knew this - thus the cat lesson :-)

Posted on: Cats Are Cool

hehe, it does test one's patience at times, but they're worth it. There are lubricant type medications you can feed them to prevent hair balls, all flavored up so they like it, but for some reason, my cats want no part of it.

Posted on: Cats Are Cool

I had a dog as a boy, and cats more recently. Both make good pets, they are just different. I never realized the value of a cat until I spent some time with one a few years back, while being a good guy and helping out a stranded pregnant kitty. They have as much personality as a dog, its just more subtle, and you have to give them a little time to start communicating with you. Today a grateful cat sleeps in my bed every night. The down side of our two indoor cats is that I often take my first bare foot step out of bed in the morning into a fresh pile of warm cat puke. This is brought on by the never ending "hair ball" problem, which comes from excessive grooming. Im sure all the cat lovers out there know what I'm talking about. We also have 3 ferral cats hanging around the back yard (becasue my wife feeds them). They are fun to watch and we have a skunk that comes and eats side by side with the young kittens. Interesting. I was hoping for "skittens" but evidently the two species have grossly different numbers of chromosomes. Cant happen. Darn. Dogs are loyal, but pretty kiss-ass. They have no shame. A cat on the other hand has self respect and will not lose face. The cat always wins. I guess I have to respect that. They tend to be fairly clever as well but you have to pay attention to notice it. They dont do "fetch". It is beneath them - hehe. All in all, I have to give cats two thumbs up. (dogs too).

Posted on: Taxable Salary

Thanks Jason.

Trust me Zhen, I have no desire to spend any time in a Chinese jail, (or anywhere else for that matter) but I am curious. Bodawei understands. :-)

Posted on: Taxable Salary

bodawei,

you mean you have never spent the night in a Chinese jail? :-) Do they even do one-nighters? Is there such a thing as bail? Lawyers are not thought much of, I know that. I asked a friend in China who do you call then if you are arrested? He said you call you father. Only if you are from out of town and dont know anybody do you call a lawyer - and then you are screwed. Guanxi. Not bail. Perhaps you could do an undercover expose for us. I can help you get arrested :-).

As for the lesson, I just assumed he was talking about rental allowance in a round about way, but your right, they dont say it that way exactly.

Posted on: Taxable Salary

bodawei,

to me it was suggesting exaggerating your rental allowance somehow. I wouldn't recommend this but then again I know very little about Chinese taxes, in fact, I know nothing about Chinese taxes. I got the impression that the employer was painting a rosier picture than really existed for this guy. I love the ending. Perhaps we need a lesson on Chinese prisons.

Posted on: Music Corner in the Park

Im impressed that you would take gu qin lessons. I would love to, but wow, learning to play an instrument would be as big a drain on time as learning a language. How much would an instrument like this cost anyway (in $US)?