The weekend that was not (aka, How to not save a stray cat)

I knew when I got that phone call from my father last Friday that the weekend ahead was going to be rock n roll. Ay nako, it was.

I was getting ready for class when my phone rang. Having read somewhere that the secret to a less stressful life is to not gadgets such as clocks, watches, beepers, cell phones, email and appointment notifications run your life. That is, if you are currently preoccupied with something, especially if it is something you are enjoying such as eating a meal, pampering yourself, talking with a friend; don't be pressured to disrupt these things just because someone unwittingly encroached unto your personal time by sending a forwarded, pa-tweetums SMS.

Anyway, I virtuously ignored the ringing phone until I found a suitable Friday shirt to wear to school; and I gasped the moment I realized who had been trying to call me. Erpatsko_SMART. It rang again, and I answered in a split second.

"BAKIT HINDI MO SINASAGOT TELEPONO MO??"

Argh.

So anyway, I got scolded for that and for something else. Apparently, my Uncle Sonny who is based in Toronto flew in last week but only told the clan (my Aunt's family and my father) of his local presence on that Friday. What we think he did was he went the rounds visiting and hanging out with his friends during that week; and since he's done with that he can now hangout with family. When he was "interrogated" for this he told them that I knew about it all along because he told me about this trip. My father was now demanding why I didn't tell them. I was a bit taken aback by all of this and I was quick to tell them that I knew nothing about him being here. It's true!

Anyway, the whole Saturday the next day saw me and the rest of the clan at my aunt's. I used to dislike going to family reunions, they were the most stressful things. But now that it doesn't happen that often and everyone's older and have kids (the attention is no longer on my generation), I realize that reunions can actually be fun and relatives can actually be endearing.

I still have to tell you about the kitten that I found lying half-dead on the side of the road somewhere on Laguna Blvd. near Metrobank LTI. It was as if I didn't have a choice at that moment, and I instinctively picked it up and placed it inside a plastic bag I had been toting around. It meowed a few times but on the walk home, it was more or less silent. I can tell that it was very weak and sick and cold. I posted a status message asking for help; on twitter too. But no one responded to help; except for one person who, unfortunately, lived 8500 miles away from me.

Here, let me show you how the conversation went.










I tried my best to nurse her back to life but I really think that kitten had lost it's will to live. It looked depressed as hell and I suspect that it once was a house pet (it looked well-kept for a street cat). It probably died more out of sadness than hunger or disease. It had these really big and beautiful pair of green eyes that just stared at me every time I came near her to try to give it something to drink or eat. I couldn't help but get the feeling she was trying to remember me so just in case we meet again in some lifetime, she would recognize me. I stared back at her one time, for several minutes--you know those staring contests you played with friends as kids? It made me think if I was right in prolonging her suffering like that just because I felt guilty about the cruelty of mankind on the rest of life on earth.

She died around 10pm last night; I buried it in my backyard a couple of hours ago. I'm off to work now. Til next time.