2024 Week 22: What a Cat

This week I've been busy with The Cat.

I wasn't feeling very well when I found The Cat. I meant to walk to the Pick locker at the next block, get my parcel, and then go straight to bed. But I saw this fluffy thing staring at me in the dark and went to say hello. She just froze when I walked closer. Then I realised she was wet and probably very lost, so I scooped her up and brought her home. Blow-dried her fur (she didn't like that) and left her in Jon's room with some food. 

She didn't touch her food at all! For the next 2 days my anxiety grew and I buffeted her with food of all kinds. I hardly slept, and the moment I awoke I ran to the room to count her kibbles and inspect the wet food. (Nope, still untouched.) 

Apart from not drinking or eating she was a perfect sweetheart. I really wanted to keep her and so did Jon.  Even Miaou was okay with her! It would have been convenient to believe she had been abandoned, but it wouldn't have been right, so we put up Lost Cat Found posters. No response for half a day - then late at night, just as we were about to turn in, we got a message from her owner in the next block.

So we packed her up and she went home. Goodbye cat. :( At least she's back home and eating now.

There seems to be a lot of animal-related flow in my life recently. Apart from the cat rescue, the bunny boarding thing is doing well. Business is good and I just got another "long-term" boarding guest, probably 2 months or so. I like these long-term ones because they really feel like your own but you get paid for it.

It is hard to believe that pet boarding is a legit business, let alone that it is actually my "line of work". To start with, it's weird to think of it as "work". I mean, there's labour involved; I spend hours daily on housework and pet care when we are at full capacity. There's also skill/experience involved in terms of monitoring animal health and treating them when they're sick. But I don't work very hard or very long, and I never have any trouble motivating myself to care for animals.

It's so different from anything I've ever known as "work". There is little continuity between rabbit boarding and my former career, so it just feels like a side hustle. Plus, there isn't a formal employment/contractual agreement to make me believe that I deserve the money I'm earning from it.

Reminders to self: Pets Hideout is already in its 3rd year of business (!!) and we have boarded over 50 bunnies to date. It's real.

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There isn't much to do at work; apparently I've already finished most of the admin backlog. I've just been enjoying my home-based lifestyle. I got a weekday gym membership and started lifting (with dumbbells this time) and running again, tried to cook healthy creations like the above veggie-packed omelette, and finally finished the Penguin History of the World.

I went for a job interview on Monday and, while it seemed to tick the boxes (social service sector, writing role, office within walking distance) I just could not see myself juggling its demands with my existing business. Truth be told, so long as I continue to make what I'm making from the bunnies ($2K/month) I have little reason to hunt for a job. 

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I have been trying out some new skincare products. The first one is the Kose Softymo Speedy cleansing oil. It's meant for removing makeup, which I don't usually wear, but is actually so good for getting the gunk out of my facial crevices (ears too). The oil seems to melt all that crud and some additive in there makes the oil wash away very cleanly. My sebaceous filaments are mostly gone as well.

I also tried some serums that Jon got. One is a niacinamide serum, too early to tell if there's any effect, but it feels nice and my skin absorbs it easily. Another is retinol cream which my skin rejected by breaking out in eczema-ish patches. 

Finally, I learnt (from Caroline Hirons' book) that moisturiser doesn't really matter, just use whatever your skin likes, so yay! I rebought my favourite, Cetaphil baby face & body lotion.

Next week: start on War & Peace!!!!!