The end has come...

No, the sky isn't falling or anything so apocalyptic as the end of life as we know it...

It is, however the end of Francis Goes to Hong Kong on Blogger.

It is still in the early stages and more changes are on the horizon, but I can now be officially located at Cat and Muse.

My blogger account will still be up and running for a while, but there will be no new posts here.

If you still care to tune in, please use the link(s) or type http://catandmuse.com into your browser!

Hope you will all join me at my new site!

Big changes...

are closer than you think...

http://catandmuse.com/

New picture of Pixel...

and adventures in how to be a bad mom.


Here he is, all grown up...my little Pixelator:

I accidentally dropped Pixel into a bowl of water that was soaking in the kitchen sink. I have read that it is not healthy for hamsters to be wet or bathed, as it can kill them if they catch a chill. That having been said, I do NOT recommend dropping your hamster into a bowl of water.

I feel the need to explain myself, so you all should know I was just cleaning his exercise ball and he was running around on my shoulders. He speeds up the longer he is out and he managed to run down my arm and for safety reasons I allowed him on the counter top with the intention of putting him back on my shoulder. Before I could grab him, he slipped on the stainless steel edge of the sink and plopped right into the bowl of water. Ooops.

So, I searched what to do if your hamster gets wet and found that you should use a hairdryer on him on a cool setting with about a foot of space between the hamster and the hairdryer.

FYI, it takes a very long time to dry a hamster with this method.

Another time, I accidentally went to bed after handling him and forgot to close the door to his cage. At about 4 am, Francois (my cat) was frantically trying to wake me and I chose to ignore him. He was apparently trying to wake me to inform me that Pixel had escaped and was cruising around our flat.

I didn't know this until I awoke around 7 am, at which time the search party began. We weren't entirely sure if Francois would eat him or not, but it turns out that he just isn't all that hungry. We didn't find him that morning, so I put hamster food all around in places I thought he could be hiding in hopes of coaxing him out.

No such luck, but Francois did lead Cybr to where Pixel was hiding and we recovered him intact.

Bonus that he was still alive, I felt like crap already.

So, that should sum up how NOT to care for your hamster! Any questions?

P.S. At least I haven't dropped him like three or four times like his dad has done!

Added bonus in Paradise...

I forgot to mention something about our upcoming honeymoon to Koh Yao, Thailand that I find very interesting...

We first fly from Hong Kong to Phuket, Thailand and then from Phuket we will be taking a SEA PLANE for a 45 minute flight to Koh Yao.

I think this is SO FREAKING COOL! A sea plane. I have never been on one and always wanted to. We were told to have our cameras ready for the flight, the views we will see while on the sea plane are supposed to be awesome.

Just another added bonus, we are so psyched about this trip.

Happy Birthday, Buddha!!

Today is Buddha's birthday. It is also a public holiday here (yea!).

We decided to join in the first day of celebration for Buddha's B-day by attending the Bun Festival. I have some pictures and a better description that I will update very soon.

For now, I am extremely sunburned despite all attempts to keep sunblock on. I used to be so tan back in the day, but now that I have been anti-tanning for nearly a decade I am officially very white. Unless I spend the better part of a day in the sun and sweating off all sunblock. Then I am red. I do have an interesting pattern between my shoulders, it looks just like Mexico. Kinda weird, but true. It is uncanny!

Anyway, after I sleep for a bit, I will continue to update this post on Buddha's Big Birthday Bash...


I'm baaa-aack!

This is the harbor at Cheung Chau where the first day of celebration for Buddha's B-day begins.This is the main street facing the harbor, near the ferry pier and also a major parade route where the bun climbers run through to climb the tower of buns. It is the Parade of Bun Festival, after all! We missed the actual climb, but that was okay...it was so hot!
This after alighting from the ferry, there is crowd control for all the gazillion people trying to see the parade of buns...it was absolutely crazy.
This is one of many dragon dancers in the parade. There was a marching band, banners, dragons, kids all painted up in tradition make-up and wardrobe and balancing on these three prong platforms.
These are the buns that are on the tower, they are filled with something unidentifiable and you can purchase them. We weren't certain at first if they were edible or not and even if they were if it would be offensive to actually eat it!
In addition to the parade, there were a lot of ambulances going through due the intense heat. Apparently, people were passing out left and right, which it was definitely hot enough for that. Notice how small the ambulance is, people are as tall as it is and it isn't that long either. I doubt Cybr would fit in it lengthwise.
Ahhh, the perfect ending to a miserably hot day.

Are we in some weird moon phase or something?

I saw a small boy today, maybe 3 or 4 yrs old, urinating into a clear plastic bag that his mother was holding for him. Something like a ziploc bag, approximately quart size.

I know that perhaps we could color this scenario a variety of ways. Maybe a bladder urgency, maybe a physical illness, maybe a thousand different reasons that this wouldn't be strange...

However, this was taking place in a shopping mall about 5 feet in front of a public toilet.

Seriously, this is a very odd thing to see. I double took. So did everyone else, there was a people traffic jam caused by the mass confusion it caused all the passers-by.

Weird.

Random thoughts...

1. I was just made aware via comment on the post that I never said when we were going to Paradise. We are going in July and will be there on our Anniversary. I believe the dates are the 19-25th. I CAN'T WAIT!!
2. I just had a Swedish massage (so cheap here! depending on where you go) that actually hurt (so good).
3. The massage lady actually stood on the massage table. It was kinda like in the movies!
4. I get really tired of picking up every one's poop. I pick up so much poop it seems surreal. I do not pick up my own poop or Cybr's for any reason. Just thought I would clarify. I am not sure why.
5. I have a lot going on right now and it feels good.
6. I have had a perpetual ear ache since the return flight from the US to HK back in April. It comes and goes about every other day.
7. I saw the doctor about the ear ache and she says there is nothing visibly wrong with the ear. That helps.
8. I yacked a slightly chewed french fry out of my mouth today because it tasted funny. Cybr did not appear to be overly impressed by this.
9. Even though I am extremely busy as of lately, I am still bored. Kinda crazy, huh?
10. If my latest employment endeavor works out, then I will have obtained a goal of mine that I thought to be a bit out-of-reach.
11. I am addicted to playing Meteos on my DS Lite.
12. I have so much to blog about, but not enough hours in a day...but, I will get to it.