Whenever I get exasperated with Squee (overly-enthusiastic nips, messy mealtimes, wild and senseless attacks), I humour myself by imagining that I'm just doing some sort of community service, taking care of him till I meet a sweet old lady one fine day who JUST HAPPENS to be lonely and a "playful, rambunctious kitten" would be just THE THING. Pls interpret that as I'll literally fling the monster into her arms and RUN. Hahahaha. Yes. I've a sadistic streak. *sinister grin*

But other than those unpleasant spats, he's super cute whenever he looks up at me with a questioning expression - Eyes wide open, ears upright and alert. Makes me go 'Awwww... Come here, sweetie...'. He's also a purr machine that always seems to overload itself when started up. Even Richie never purrs THAT loudly. BTW, I've gained a more realistic view of animals and their behavioural/thought processes. I left Squee to run around the flat unsupervised and 5 minutes later I heard squeals from the kitchen. Ran in to find Richie holding Squee in a 'death grip' - ie Mouth over throat. The brutality. So much for hopes of comradely brotherhood between the two. Odd that Richie didn't take his chance to finish Squee off - I'm sure he could have done it without a hitch. Not rooting for either side though. Squee does ask for it at times, he's disillusioned about his capabilites and thinks he can throw his weight around a cat 4 times his size. My mum says Squee's ugly - unfortunately I have to agree. He looks like a goblin, really. Oversized ears, dark orbs of eyes, and his facial markings. Cute = Ugly but adorable? Heh, I guess... SOMETIMES.

Was at a meeting at the Starbucks in Holland V. today. In the midst of our conversation a foreign-looking, well-spoken woman came over and started clearing our used serviettes, straw's paper wrappers etc. She even asked if we still wanted a half-eaten sandwich on a plate. Then she started sorting everything at the tray-return counter with aplomb, discarding waste into the bin and placing the utensils aside, like an old-timer at Starbucks. The only problem? Dressed afluently in a big floral print dress with a cardigan, the whole thing just struck us as plain odd. Eyes agog and breaking out into soft nervous laughter, we observed her every now and then, diligently clearing plates and mugs from the tables around us, wiping up spills and condensation with paper towels found under the counter... 'Disorder' was the first word that came to my mind, and as the meeting progressed, any other possibility just had to be ruled out. After some time her work resulted in a full tub of crockery that she then carried off to the Ladies. I presumed she washed all the mugs in there. She was sweeping the laminated floor when we left the place. Sigh. I don't know. She certainly wasn't being disruptive. Mild disturbance to the less-tolerant perhaps, but rowdy no. Why was it that we were so easily stunned by her actions? Was it because it was seemingly subservient to go around clearing things especially when she was obviously not a Starbucks employee? How quick we are to stare when we see an anomaly in society - we sticking to rules of accepted social behaviour and swiftly making judgements upon those who deviate from them. "Oddball. Please don't come too close. Freak. Crazed ditherer. What's he doing here? Oh dear, how awful. Nutter. Doesn't she know that's disgraceful?" Well... the people on duty in that Starbucks outlet today had better be thankful - somebody has done all their duties and chores with superb care and finesse. I'll bet the place has never been cleaner before SHE waltzed in.