22nd birthday!

all right, so i didn't wake up with that fluttery, magical feeling in the stomach, but it was such a GORGEOUS DAY! ohhh why is it that spring descends upon the campus on march 7th every year? sigh :). it was just too good to be true.

i am so so so grateful to everyone who sent their well-wishes. feeling particularly loved this year :). Tn and Jn baked a carrot cake for me on friday, went out with housemates + Js for dinner on sat, suite lunch at federal hill today, and lazy afternon out on the fire escape. ahh the presents this year were all so beautiful, and many, very useful. and the cards! teared while reading some, cackled maniacally over others. i also love the abundance of flower themed - especially DAISY themed things... ;) ahh you guys know me so well. thank you! <3

must continue being healthy and happy!

neko

cats get a bad rep. think the Siamese cats in Lady & The Tramp, the mice-chasing, spiteful Lucifer (of all names!) in Cinderella, and the whole black cat omen. *edit: the japanese even use the word 'neko' 猫 (cat) in their expression 'neko baba' 猫ばば which means embezzlement, pocketing, stealing!! oh the associations...

my mom has also conditioned me to dislike cats: we've always seen them as cunning, snobby, self-centered, and unsociable - but this is such a human-centric view. dogs on the other hand... well my Koaty loved my family and me so much... so loyal, overwhelmingly affectionate, energetic, intelligent.... well cats are intelligent too i guess but they express it as outwardly. then my mom and i have always joked amongst ourselves that if ever our house were on fire, dogs would probably bark and rouse us from our sleep and drag us by our shirttails to the nearest exit. cats, however, would probably miao quietly and then slink away whispering to themselves, "let's leave quietly". hahahaha.

anyway, to reverse such ill-feelings towards cats, i have been watching these japanese cat videos. they are surprisingly stress-relieving and i seriously think there must be heart/blood-pressure health related benefits to watching these feline cuties interact with each other.

neko no massaji:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgcGu1R2M-s&feature=related

neko cuddling and grooming another one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQTAqMVl1oU&feature=related

calming right? :)