Retirement Blues

I used to wonder what life would be during retirement. I dreaded the day when I had to retire. One month before the scheduled date, I was hospitalised. I was diagnosed with hepatitis C a few months earlier and after a series of tests, I was told I had to start my treatment.

I was given medical leave the moment I started the treatment. So, in actual fact, my retirement started a month earlier. I was really misearable. The treatment comprised of weekly injections and daily oral medication. It made me really sick. Most of the time I felt giddy. I lost my appetite. My haemoglobin level was very low and this made me very tired. I could not climb a short flight of stairs without stopping several times.My hair dropped. Everything tasted bitter and yet I had to eat to increase my haemoglobin. On top of all this I developed vertigo. Every time I turned my head, I had to close my eyes . Otherwise the whole world would spin. The vertigo went on for two weeks. I was terribly misearable. All these were the after effects of the medication not the effects of hepatitis C itself. The effects of hepatitis will only be felt at an advanced stage. I was diagnosed at stage 2.

During the six months of treatment, I made numerous trips to the hospital. I am really grateful to all the nurses and doctors who assisted me during my predicament. I was rather scared that I might not be able to complete the 6-months treatment period inspite of the sufferings I had to endure. The doctor who treated me had already made it clear that if my body could not withstand the effects, then he had to stop the entire treatment and this meant that my hepatitis would not be cured.Nevertheless, with support from friends, relatives and most of all my husband and mother, I completed the treatment on the 14th of August 2008.Six months after I was told by the doctor that "you are like any normal person now". I suppose that meant I was cured.

Syukur Alhamdulillah.

My Cats

I was never a cat lover until one day several years ago my mother took pity on a stray very-pregnant female cat. This cat was meowing continuously and looked sadly at my mother. My mother was also not very fond of cats but it was fated on that day, she decided to give some leftover noodles to this cat. It was very early in the morning and there was only the noodles. The poor cat was so hungry and ate all up. The cat then left but returned the next morning. My mother fed her again and this went on for a few days. Then, one day , the cat started searching for a place to give birth. My mother found a box and she unhesitantly climbed in . Soon after, she gave birth to 4 lovely kittens. By this time I was slowly but surely falling in love with the mother cat and her kittens.

Everyday after work, I would sit and watch them from day one. I gave them names of course. They remained in the box for exactly one month. Then they began to climb out of the box. They were very active. Everytime they climbed out, I put them in again fearing that they might wander off and get lost but I found out to my dismay they were too fast for me. They were beyond my control. Soon they were all over the place. My compound was quite big so they had a good time roaming. My neighbour at that time was my aunty, so their domain became bigger and wider.

When they were about four months old, I did something which I regretted to this day. They were becoming a bit too much for me and my elderly mother to handle so I decided to give them away. I decided that I would not separate them, so I had to look for someone who was willing to take all four. The mother cat, whom by now, I called Kitty, could continue to stay on with us I decided. It was not easy to find someone willing to take all of them but finally I found a childless couple who wanted all four. I was quite happy I found a good home for them. Their new 'parents' were a pilot and a dentist.

They day came when they had to leave for their new home. I remember crying my heart out. My mother and my aunty cried too. I put all four in a cage and we drove to their new home and upon arrival something happened which really broke my heart to pieces.

I was quite naive about cat behaviour at that time, so upon arrival, I opened the cage in front of their new house. Immediately, two of them ran out and disappeared. Their new parents were now left with only two kittens. I kept on calling the pilot to find out whether they found the missing kittens. After three days, he called to say that he found one dead kitten not far from where they were first released. That night, I cried and cried and regretted that I took such a drastic action to give them away. The other missing kitten was never found. From that day onwards, I vowed never to give away any cats of mine ,should I own any, to anybody.

The incident happened about thirteen years ago but it still saddens me to this day everytime I think of them. But my episodes with cats did not stop there, in fact, it had just begun. Be on the lookout for more stories on cats.

My First Blog

My interest in blogging began when my husband started his own blog. Other than golf, my husband had no other passion until he started his blog. For someone who is only about 30% computer literate (compared to my 50%), now my dear husband is an avid blogger. Everyday after golf , he will be at his laptop. I am amazed at his ability to recollect past incidents ( some as long as 30 years ago) in vivid detail. Another thing which I discover about him is his ability to write.
As mentioned earlier, my husband knew very little about computer. When he started blogging, he would get my assistance. In fact, he was the one who influenced me to start my own blog. This is my first blog and I am rather excited. I hope to write more after this.