Utter & Complete Takeover

Mimi here. Guess what? Master is packing to go on a trip to America -- leaving this Thursday -- and she's really busy and doesn't know it but I have COMPLETELY TAKEN OVER THIS BLOG!!! So, let's get right down to business....

Here's a photo of me looking gorgeous, the kind of "stare into the distance" look you get from other supermodels.

Master is leaving, and apparently it takes a village to take care of me when she is gone, so this lovely village lady is coming to stay at the house with me while Master is gone ... and she has a whole entourage of people who will step in to fill her shoes if needed. You know the drill: if for any reason Ms. Lu cannot fulfill her duties as Miss Mimi's Caretaker, the first runner-up will get a chance to take over her title and serve out her reign.

Ooooh. I really like Ms. Lu. She's really, really nice. I think she used to be a masseuse or something. It kinda seems that way.

Wow, I'm so relaxed, I just fell asleep right there in the middle of the floor. My leg joints are very flexible, don't you think?

Oh! I think I hear Master coming. I better run for now. Don't know if I will get another chance to post a blog before Master leaves Thursday with her computer, but if not, I'll try to write again in January when she gets back. I'm gonna miss chatting at ya! Please pray for us during our separation. Master does badly with her separation anxiety, ya know what I mean?

Love and Lickety Kisses,

Meems

Mimi Gets a Job!

Hey, Mimi here. Guess what? I got a job! I'm a satellite technician apprentice. Am I cool or WHAT?!!! Here's a look at my work day:

While the satellite boss tries to figure out what's what (and let me tell you, that took a long time), I decided to sniff his shoes and see where he'd been that day. He seemed to like it.

Here I am just listening to orders from the boss. I'm pretty sure I'm being a BIG HELP.

Uh, what tool did you say you wanted boss? You want some wire? How 'bout a thingymabob? 'Cause I see lots of them in here.

All in all, I don't like working. In fact, I found out that "apprentices" were not in charge, so of course I couldn't stand for that. If I can't be in charge, I quit. So that's exactly what I did, I quit. Back to my easy life as a regular dog now.

Mimi Says ...

Mac or PC? NEITHER!

Look people, I am sick to death of everybody and their blog spending all their time on computers. Doggone it, it is wrong. God gave you two hands, and it is very clear that one of them is for holding a coffee cup and the other is for petting me. If He had wanted you to use the computer, He would have given you four hands (like He gave ME, so if anyone ought to be using the computer, it is dogs, not two-handed people). So cut it out.

And please keep that hot coffee as far away from me as possible.

You people need to get your priorities straight. The best things in life are me...I mean free.

Love and Lickety Kisses,

Meems

Flowers Along the Moat

I used to live close to the historic Grand Canal, but now that I have moved, I live closer to the historic city moat that has been around since before the time of Christ. As I passed over it this morning, the bridge was decked out in bright potted flowers, as so many things are this time of year. Enjoy the flowers while you can, because winter's brutal blows are headed our way soon!

P.S. It's kind of fun to live in a city with a MOAT! I thought moats where just made-up things you heard about in fairy tales until I moved to this country.

Autumn in Bamboo Forest

The Parade of Roses? Not exactly, but displays made of flowers are all over town this time of year, every year, but especially this year to commemorate the country's 60th birthday. That flag is all flowers!

Hmmm. Wal-Mart? What you can't see under the Wal-Mart sign is a Starbucks, and the Burger King two doors down, and the Sephora and H&M shops inside. Don't get too excited about the Wal-Mart. They are not like the ones in the USA. There are far better places for me to shop in Bamboo Forest than this Wal-Mart. But I like the other shops in this mall just fine!

Flowers are not just for spring. Autumn has brought a surprising number of blooms our way.

A closer look at the same two flowers....

Ahh, look at this beauty I found when I was out and about! Her dog breath is as fragrant as any flower (an acquired taste), and she's just as lovely. I think I'll take her home with me!

Poor Fella

You gotta feel sorry for the guy who wrote the driving handbook for China. He (she?) did a brilliant job -- the book outlines all the logical driving rules, right-of-way laws, and safety maneuvers. Alas, it appears that all that hard work was for naught, because I'm QUITE SURE that besides me, no one has read that book.

Ignorance of right-of-way is just one of the annoying things I deal with on a daily basis. Add to that varying degrees of flat-out rudeness, arrogance, illusions of immortality, excessive speed, cell phone use, I-pod use, and daydreaming while driving, and you have a recipe for chaos...and other bad things.

In the driving handbook that no one has read, it says that if you get your driver's license through fraudulent means, you will lose your license for life. Yet I don't know anyone who got their licenses the old-fashioned way (which is to take the exam without cheating). I'm not saying these people do not exist (I'm sure they do), I'm just saying I haven't met one personally.

The above photo is taken in a bike lane, which is to the right of the main traffic lanes. This is one of the rare occasions in which there are no cars or pedestrians in the bike lane. Sometimes the bikes can't get through the bike lane because cars decide to use it as a parking lot.

The guy on the bike in the foreground has earphones in his ear.

China, I love you, but I'll love you more when the whole traffic thing gets a little more polite, you know what I mean?

Rescue the Perishing

Sunday, I was gone almost all day. I got home at 5 p.m., and was putting my electric bike in my garage when I heard a faint crying sound. I stepped out of the garage, praying that the sound was coming from outside my garage. No, of course it was not outside, it was inside. I could not figure it out. It almost sounded cat-like, but my garage door had been completely closed for days, so there was no way a cat could enter.

I got closer to the source of the sound, and realized my sofa (being stored in my garage, stacked high to the ceiling, small pieces on top of big pieces) was crying. There were thick flannel sheets covering the sofa. I moved them back. The big seat cushions were haphazardly positioned, and I moved one. There was a newborn kitten, by itself, struggling to connect with someone or something. I freaked out, of course, as people do when helpless mammal blobs are unexpectedly found in enclosed spaces of theirs. I found a box, put a sheet in it, and put the kitten inside.

Soon after, I heard more noise. Two more newborns, still with their umbilical cords attached to a wad of placenta, were located in a different part of the sofa, wrapped up in the cords so that they had almost died from it. I untangled them then went upstairs to get scissors and call a friend (who told me not to cut the cord; who knows if that was right or not).

I went back down with a flashlight, and saw that way back in the back of the sofa cushions were two big beady eyes, no doubt attached to the momma cat. I tried to get to the cat, and she ran scared to the back of my garage in the midst of heavy boxes (she did not flee out of my garage which is what I would have liked). I looked to see where she jumped from and found the fourth and final newborn kitten. (I hope there were only four or else my garage is going to be stinking in a day or two.) Birth fluid was all over my sofa. :-(

Anyway, when looking for momma cat, I found a drain hole in my garage, which is probably how the cat got in the garage to have her babies. I stopped it up. I put the box of babies outside my garage (but still in a sheltered area), but the momma still wouldn’t come out. For HOURS she wouldn’t come out, but finally she did later that evening. Momma cat is no doubt traumatized by this whole thing. Me too. But I think the momma cat definitely has the harder recovery.

I had things planned for Sunday night, but apparently God wanted kittens to be born in my garage instead. Rescue the perishing, pray for the dying... rescuing homeless animals is not quite what I had in mind for my mission in life, but between feeding the homeless dog Bon-Bon and rescuing newborn kittens, I'm starting to see a pattern.

Mimi knows NONE of this story. Don't tell her. She's got quite a jealous streak. ;-)

The Way Mimi Sees Things

How much is that doggy in the window? Priceless! Mimi loves her little picture-window perch from which she can look down on the world below. All three bedrooms have these kind of windows, and she has beds in two of the three windows (third room is closed off).

Mimi has dog buddies at our new locale. There is (sadly) a homeless dog who lives in this apartment complex. Since one neighbor said the dog didn't have a name, I took it upon myself to name the dog Bon-Bon and often give her something to eat, as do others who live here. (Bon-Bon has at least two other names that I have heard people call her after I named her. Sometimes I jokingly call her Bon-Bon-Hwa-Hwa-Little Bear, in case she recognizes any of those names.) Bon-Bon is friendly, quite cheerful despite her circumstances, about 1.5 years old, and seems to survive fairly well. One day when there was bad weather, some neighbors put BBHHLB inside the lobby of their building to protect her from the elements. BBHHLB followed me into a convenience store earlier today to buy Diet Cokes; I've acquired a shadow. Mimi and BBHHLB sometimes chase each other and tussle, something Mimi doesn't get to do with dogs that have owners. Mimi runs fast like lightning...much faster than the other dogs.

I just got back from a trip to Hong Kong yesterday, and I am tired and am suffering headaches. It was a dog update or nothing at all, so don't anyone hassle me about another dog update! Haven't had time to take other photos recently. Hope this finds you all well!