Byebye Bodhi :(

Okay, I've had this cat for less than a week, I know. And I'm giving him back to his old owners. I feel like crying now but I made the decision myself because I just don't think I'm up for the responsibility of owning a cat. I love him so much though, he's gotten really affectionate and always hops off the table to greet me even though he hasn't known me very long. He has settled in really well, and now acts like he's lived here for years. He never hides under the bed anymore. The thing that made me change my mind was that I am a teensy bit allergic to cats myself, and I have a few red itchy spots. My mum has a lot. Also, I love Bodhi so much but he's not the cat for me. I like the smoochy type of cat that likes sitting on your lap, and though Bodhi likes the occasional head rub, he spends his days mostly staring out of the window and sleeping and using his scratching post. He can get a bit threatening too. Yesterday he was sitting on a bed chewing a plastic bag, and when I removed the plastic bag he twitched his tail and actually glared at me. Then he simply walked over and started chewing an enviro bag. Which probably didn't taste as good so he stopped. I tried to pat him and then he meowed and kind of lunged at me in anger for removing the plastic bag he was chewing on. Thirty minutes later, he was headbutting my hand as usual and asking for a pat. So I don't know if he's bipolar or just a freaky kitty.  He is a very clean kitty and quite low maintenance, so my mum says if I have to keep a cat, then he's the one I should keep. But I am the one who wants to give him back now, a decision I never thought I'd ever make.

I woke up yesterday to find that he had a small bald patch on his neck that was bright red and look sore. Today it had turned a bit grey but when I tried to touch it, Bodhi tried to scratch me so I'm assuming it still hurts. I freaked out and searched online for answers, and the only conclusion I could make was that it could be ringworm, which is contagious to humans. He also has eye discharge and well this is gross, but constipation too. I've now realised that eye discharge is normal in cats after napping, and constipation could be solved with milk, and the bald patch could've been his fur accidentally being caught on something. I could have just been paranoid, but regardless, he is going to need to go to the vet sometime (at least every year) and vets are expensive, and my mum is forever complaining about money and credit card bills, and now I realise it's been incredibly selfish of me to adopt a cat at this stage, and I feel bad about putting even more pressure on my mum. My mum has a phobia of animal germs, and her even letting a fur-covered animal in the house is a huge thing. Even though I could afford an annual vet checkup under $100 from my wages, I sure wouldn't be able to afford, say, multi-hundred dollar medication if he's sick (which he is bound to be sometime during his life) or even worse multi-thousand dollar operations. I have to ask myself, is it really worth it? Even a bald patch makes me worry about his health and vet bills. Sure, cats are great, but I don't really want to spend hundreds of dollars on vet bills and in the long run it may not even be worth it (I've heard of heaps of bad vets that charge you even when they don't know what's wrong). I don't regret adopting him, though. I've had a cat obsession since I was twelve and now that I finally know what it's like to own a cat, I'll stop always longing for one.

I've gone through really intense 'favourite animal' phases. When I was 9-11, I had a huge bird obsession (rainbow lorikeets, mostly). My grandparents' house had heaps and heaps of those, and I fed them everyday. I came to name most of the regulars (they are still there now) and could tell my favourites apart. There was Heidi, the bird that got bullied all the time and flew on my head to hide from the other birds. Then he'd fly back down to eat sugar out of my hand when the other birds were gone. There was Rainlora, my favourite, who would fly on my hand straightaway from the trees and would then climb up the front of my shirt and back around onto my head. Those were the only two birds that flew on my head.

I went through a dog phase before the bird phase. My grandpa's neighbour had a white poodle called 'Toodles'. I used to be scared of dogs, until I met her. I used to run away from her and she'd chase me (she was always faster) then I realised she just wanted to play. Unfortunately Toodles died on the same day Michael Jackson did which is, what, like a few years ago? I can't remember. She lived to the ripe old age of seventeen. I still go out to lunch with Toodles' owner occasionally. I've known her since I was six and she welcomed us to the area with an easter egg in a ceramic cup. Since then, she's always been really lovely and given us heaps of stuff (she even offered to get me a kitten once from a pet store). She's been much more depressed since Toodles died and she lives alone now, which also makes me think: if I'm kind of upset to give Bodhi back when it's only been a few days, how would it feel if he died because I couldn't afford a vet bill? I'm glad to be parting with Bodhi before I develop a stronger bond with him, otherwise it'd just be plain depressing.

Posting about it on this blog is making me feel much better, though. This blog isn't just about my travels so I need a better name for it I guess. I've had many experiences since starting it, and Bodhi the cat is one of the major ones. I'm excited and nervous and depressed all at once for school, which starts on 1 February. Eek. The internet guy is coming soon to get me my new Optus wireless internet (120gb compared to 4gb per month is like, amazing). I'm a bit annoyed because my piano teacher is irritated with me and therefore not responding to my text for not going to her lesson today, so I don't even know what time I should come to my regular lesson on Sunday because she changes my lesson time every week. Yeah, these days I have a maximum of 3 lessons that are at the same time every week, plus she makes me wait at least 10 minutes while she finishes with her previous student. That's enough to get anyone annoyed even if she gives 10 minutes extra at the end of the lesson to make up for it, which she doesn't. I remember when she made me wait 30 minutes at 9pm the day before my 8th grade exam, and finally her husband had to go get her. Just because she wanted to give more time to a student who was a grade higher than me and also had her exam the next day. Not to mention she always slacks off during lessons by taking phone calls from parents and sending texts. God, not even I do that and I charge like a third of what she does. Hello, if she thinks I am going to pay her $200 a week for two 50 minute lessons, she is sadly mistaken. I've wanted to change piano teachers for a long time but this May/June, I'm actually going to do it. I want to apply for the Conservatorium of Music's 'Rising Stars' program which is expensive but not as expensive as my piano teacher if she keeps up this 'two lessons per week' thing, which she will the closer my exam date looms to 'give me extra polishes to my pieces'. Well, maybe I wouldn't need those extra lessons if she actually gave me exactly what I paid for which is one hour during my usual lessons. Plus, they have concerts for students at the Conservatorium every week and I'll be stage-fright free in no time. Also if I'm really really lucky, they give out scholarships if you put in enough effort, and it would be a dream come true for my mum if she didn't have to fork out a fortune for my piano tuition.

So something good to make up for my crappy piano teacher and giving Bodhi back: I (almost) have my iPad 2! My usually good-for-nothing lame grandparents actually gave me money for Chinese New Year and my birthday for the first time in three years when I visited them yesterday. I mean my father's parents, of course. Let's just say I have enough reason to say they're not exactly my favourite people in the world. I would never say such things about my mum's parents, of course. My father's parents gave me quite a bit, let's just say more than enough for an iPad 2. I want the white 32gb one with wi-fi (I don't necessarily need 3g). I've already bid on one on eBay. It's $673 at Jb hi-fi but the one I bid on has 3g as well so it's definitely going to cost more. My maximum bid was $600 so I don't think I'll get it for that price. I'm going to try, anyway.

I have some photos of Bodhi during his short little vacation at my place, which includes his freaky resting positions: he likes to sit up straight with his feet sticking out and his front paws folded across his belly, and he also likes to sleep lying on his back. I'll post when I have the optus broadband. By the way, I already am starting to not like Optus. The guys just came to install it, and guess what they said? They need a longer cable so they have to come back Friday or Saturday. And no one will be home on Saturday. It's pretty dumb, why can't they be prepared beforehand?