Today's thoughts: Bam Bam, our beloved foster cat

I thought of writing again in my blog on a more frequent basis just so to get this writer's block off my mind. My last two posts are a bit boring and mechanical, not my usual verbose and vivid writing style. Perhaps it's been too long since I last wrote. Or maybe I'm having a hard time expressing myself, everything is just in my mind but I'm having trouble translating it into writing. Well, that should not happen. I am about to embark on a five-year excursion of writing and I should clear that blockade with a very strong mixture of baking soda and acetic acid. Okay, getting a bit technical here. 

Okay! So what are we thinking today... Or what have we thought of in the past days... anything in particular that I want to share... Hmmm... Let me check my phone and see if there are photos that I can share and make me recall the memories...

Oh, great! I saw some cat photos of Bam Bam. I'll tell the story of how Mico and I became foster cat parents to a very cute and chubby tabby.

It all started when Mico's office mate needed to go back to their hometown in Iligan to care for his (the officemate) ailing father. Their whole family needed to go and  they cannot take Bamsie with them. So they looked for foster cat parents and Mico and I GLADLY volunteered. And soooo, here we are! We are cat parents! :) The nice thing  about being foster parents is you get to enjoy the benefits of having a pet cat but not burdening yourself with thinking of the long-term disadvantages. Mico and I, currently, are just happy to be foster parents. Time will come and we'll definitely have our own permanent cat. We just can't at the moment due to logistical reasons. 

It took a while before Bamsie Baby acclimatised himself with us, around two to three days. He would usually hide under the sofa, the bed, the piano, or any nook and cranny he can squeeze himself into. But little by little, he started  coming out.  

I remember the first time that BamBam felt at home. He let me pet him and he snuggled up to me. Well, not really snuggled, more like quickly brushed himself against me. Bam Bam can be such a snobby cat but he's so darn cute he becomes irresistible. And he's really chubby too! Parang unan, sarap higaan at lamutakin!

These two photos, above and below, show how Bam Bam dislikes being carried and hugged, haha! Pumipiglas o! Look at that face!!! I don't like thiiiiiiiiiis! 

Above and below photos show Bam Bam sleeping on top of our piano at night. Mama asked, "isn't Bam Bam too heavy to be sleeping on top of the piano?" At five kilograms, Bam Bam is indeed big and heavy. But hey, I'm sure the piano wouldn't mind. And he's not sleeping on top of the keys anyway, but at the speakers part. :D

Also note that on the foreground, you can see a battered stuffed cat. That's Pebbles, Bamsie's wife. And you know what men do to their wives... Omigosh, EVERY NIGHT BAM BAM DOES IT.  And sometimes he'd sit on my leg and I'll feel his wet lipstick and YAAAAAAKS!!!!!! Mind you it happened a number of times, grabeeeee!!! He's not  yet neutered so his nightly aggressions are strong.

Bam Bam grew to love the piano. He would normally sit or stand or lie on it. And Mico and I will get so kilig because he's near us. Oo, kilig na kami sa lagay na yan. He doesn't sleep on the bed with us, it's always on the floor or on the piano.

This photo was taken when we went to the grooming salon for Bam Bam's bath and also when we went to a plant nursery to have some of my plants repotted. This photo pretty much sums up our "family". We don't have children yet, and because of my PhD plans, making babies will have to take a backseat for about five years. So yeah, family photos for the meantime will be composed of plants and pets.

These last four photos are the usual activities of Bam Bam. What activity??? Haha! Bam Bam sleeps most of the day, with his belly up and in awkward and compromising positions. Sometimes I'd sneak up on him while he's sleeping and he'll suddenly be awakened and gives me this, "WTF are you doing?" look (look at last photo)

We super love BamBam and we're like doting foster parents to him. But after almost two months with us, it is time for Bam Bam to go home to his real family. I remember crying when it was time for Bam Bam to go but I know I should be happy because he's going home! :)

And now it's been almost a week without Bam Bam. I think the reason why we don't feel that sad anymore is because we know Bam Bam is home and he's loved and well taken care of. The only time we'll feel guilty and sad is that if we know we left Bam Bam somewhere or he got adopted by someone who's not that really into cats. 

We sure miss Bam Bam. Hopefully in time, we get to have our own Bamsie. :)

Today's thoughts

It's been so long since my last entry with the same title and now I'm having writer's block. I feel like I do not know how to write anymore. Let's see... we can begin on what happened today and perhaps we can also discuss what I did over the weekend...

22  May 2021, Saturday

We celebrated Philippines-Australia Friendship Day! And this was a special celebration because it marks the 75th year of Australia and Philippines diplomatic relations. We planted trees at the Arroceros Forest Park in Ermita, Manila. I got to host the event. Additionally, the Australia Embassy was also looking for some promotional materials that they can use for their campaigns so April, Arvin, and myself did a recorded interview. It was nice to know that Mayad Studio was the hired photographer and videographer for that event. Ambassador Steven J. Robinson, Secretary Martin Andanar, City Administrator of Manila, and Dr. Magdalena Lim were the special guests. Retired Lt. Col. Querubin was also there. It was indeed an honour and privilege to be assigned as the emcee for this occasion. 

Oh! There's another thing I want to highlight!!! Mico and I had our lunch at Intramuros and guess what, we rented Bambikes and biked inside the Walled City!!! Hahaha it was so much fun! and so RANDOM!!! Nag-bike kami ng tanghaling tapat!!! Pambihira, 11AM to 12NN!!! SUNOG!!!

En route to finding whatever lunch there is... We ended up going to Intramuros! So random, I love it!

Ze husbandry will kill me for posting this chubby pic of his, haha! Here we are resting under a tree, with our Bambikes parked.

One of the five photos we took of our random Bambike tour.

Sobrang init nito but I just wanted to have my photo taken with that backdrop.

Here's the Bambike rental store beside San Agustin Church. It's only 100/hr! :)

The Australia Alumni Communities PH with dignitaries Ambassador Steven J. Robinson and Secretary Martin Andanar

I got to host the event, yey! Such an honour and privilege :)

23 May 2021, Sunday

Was feeling a bit under the weather perhaps because of the biking under the intense sun. Also I had my first day of period on Saturday and I guess that contributed to my weakness. But Sunday was also a FUN DAY with family!!! :) We ate dinner together and did some makeshift videoke using YouTube and a hand held microphone with speaker. Even if I was feeling a bit weary, the family had great fun! :) Family talaga is always THE BEST!

                                                                                              

I bought myself a mechanical keyboard and it changed me...

The title may be a bit too much. It didn't change me per se, but I think what changed is my productivity. Typing on a mechanical keyboard makes writing fun and exciting. Pressing on the keyboard doesn't require much effort: pressing it down halfway already registers the letters. I also like the clickety-clackety sound the keyboard makes, though I think blue switches would've made me happier as it's click sounds are louder. 

Anyway let's get into the keyboard itself. I bought a budget-friendly mechanical keyboard: the Tecware Spectre Pro standard 104 keys, which has the num pad. Sorry for the warped image, I used the wide angle lens for the photo. I wanted to include the num pad. I got this keyboard type, thinking that I'll be inputting a lot of numbers as I do my dissertation.

This model cost me PhP2,620 from DynaTech in Shopee. I thought this price is okay for a mechanical keyboard. Going below 2k is a judgment I do not trust, haha. Before purchasing I read and watched a number of reviews about the Tecware Spectre Pro and I was satisfied with it. It took a bit of research as to what type of switches I would prefer. Cherry MX switches are the original ones but their patent has expired and their keyboard switches can now be created by other manufacturers. Tecware carries Outemu switches and they're available in red, brown, and blue. I chose the brown ones as they're not too noisy and offers a tactile feedback but once I got to try the keyboard, I figured the noise of the blue switches is something that I would've preferred more. Perhaps if Mico decides to get one, I'd offer him this Outemu brown keyboard and I'll get a blue one. Haha.

What else can I say... not much really. Typing using this mechanical keyboard is so much fun. It's like typing on water only better... But then I really don't know what it feels like to type on water because there's no such thing!

Sharing a video below of the different LED settings for this Tecware keyboard.

I doubt if I'll ever return to the membrane keyboard, except perhaps if I'm working remotely and on a laptop. I'm really digging this mechanical keyboard while typing. Hopefully when it's time to do my PhD dissertation, it will motivate me to write write write! :D Hahahaha anything to help me get insprired to write.