Walk

 In view of my medical condition, I am now unable to engage in sporting activities that I used to enjoy once upon a time. The sudden start-stop movements (e.g. badminton, football) will make my knees feel they are on the verge of dislocation. During jogs, I would lose sensation of my right leg & recently, my left arm. When this happens, I have to stop & recover the sensation before moving on. Climbing stairs - I can do this thrice a day. Anything more, my thighs would cramp up & my chest area would feel constricted.

These days, I limit myself to brisk walks usually on weekends & public holidays. I prefer walking at night because my skin condition right now (protein deficiency) makes me very prone to sunburn. I got sunburnt before & that was like the late morning sun, it was not even scorching hot yet. I continued walking & the burnt areas rubbed against my t-shirt / pants causing abrasion. That's how it is with sick people, they would want to return living their normal lives but simply could not. 

By the way, this is the neighbourhood kitty I see during my walks. 

Cat on amp

Would like to take this opportunity, on the final day of the year, to appreciate my cat for: 1) Not using my amps & guitar bags as convenient scratch posts 2) For not getting in the way when I'm reorganizing my gear at home 3) For staying put & listening to my playing (sometimes falling asleep) even on days when I chose to peddle aggressive music from start to end. Thank you, Lisa the cat. 11 years & counting.

Not doing much this holiday eve, taking time to rest before my new contract assignment starts this Friday. Can you tolerate the entire end of the year with absolutely no income while everyone else is partying & going on vacation? Come to think of it, I have no income in January '26 as well till I get paid in February. Be grateful with what you have no matter how little it might be because it's definitely better than none.

Meow-niversary

Taking this time to commemorate meow's 11th anniversary with us. That's right, she wasn't born here, we took her in years ago as she was dumped at our workplace. Unfortunately, the workplace building was gonna be closed down & we were moving out so meow came home with us. This is her typical pose everyday, she would fall asleep on her favourite / preferred plastic bag, leaning against the plushie TS. We are still hazy as to when she actually came in to live with us but we could all agree it was May. We love you, Lisa the cat.

Post - Rebel

Many of us would have read about the passing of Rebel, Billy Sheehan's beloved cat. This happened last year. 

Just days ago, the Sheehan household welcomed two new family members into the fold - Pistachio & Pepper.

I can totally relate to this episode of bereavement. Many of us are very attached to our pets. I am certainly one of them. Days before I got married, my cat died. It took a good while for me to recover & finally accepted another feline into the greater scheme of things. Having a pet, regardless of what it is, reinforces that sense of commitment & satisfaction that we did not know we need & for some of us, this helps to keep our lucidity in check. To all pet owners out there - salute!

Pics: Billy Sheehan IG

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Thanks, everyone, for your generous contributions. We are now in the final week of August, it's the week where I try not to think of the unemployment ahead & all uncertainties heading my way. Come what may, it's a reality check that I gladly embrace. If you can spare some loose change, I am more than grateful being at the receiving end. 

IR

Being an amp person, this BOSS IR-2 is an unnecessary acquisition. I need a new phone more than a new pedal but the funds went to the latter. I intend to bring this along for external use - 1) In the office where the current amp is a solid state Roland meant for keyboards 2) When trying out guitars in the store, so that my tone would be less wimpy. 

By the way, someone is not too pleased with the pre-breakfast photo shoot session. 

10

On this final day of May, I would like to pay tribute to my cat, Lisa, as it is her birthday month. We couldn't remember when her birthday was exactly but it was definitely on the later half of the month. She is not a lap cat & would most probably bite / scratch strangers but she's such a darling, lying around the house & keeping us company. She's a definite lizard terminator & had eaten quite a number that she had caught. More importantly, she kept me company when I stayed up late at night & would sleep beside me when I called it a day. It's still amazing how she would get up every morning at the exact same time, every day of the week. We basically had no use for an alarm clock because she would meow us up. We tried getting her a companion but she didn't like the idea & would hiss at her partner & stopped eating. She remains the princess of the house till today, no other shall share her space & time.

On that note, I used to have a cat before getting married. On my wedding week, the cat died & this loss  wrecked me emotionally for a while, even on my wedding day. I had absolutely no intention to get a new cat because I know its departure would wreck me again but Lisa came into our lives. Someone abandoned her at our work place (we didn't see this happen) & when we took her home, we discovered she was toilet trained so that's how we knew. Our workplace was scheduled to shut down by the year end & the thought of Lisa being abandoned a second time just overwhelmed me. We decided to take her in. Happy 10th birthday to the princess; we absolutely love you being here with us.

Have a good weekend, everyone. Goodbye, May...

On bag

The cat is oblivious to my playing time. She would just prance around the room & would settle on something she fancies.  Most of the time it's the guitar case / bag. When this happens, I do not have the heart to remove her from her preferred spot. She would be left alone till there's a need to move away & that's usually during treats time or when someone opens the front door. I'm really glad my cat has no interest in turning my instruments & amp into her scratch post. Yes!

New DOD

 Ah yes, that I think I need a new pedal to spice up my tone trap working nicely.

Unplugged Friday

Weekend is here, rare off day today so it's a long weekend for me. Nothing major this morning, just some unplugged moments with the cat. I sometimes wish I could do more on my free days but I have meds to deal with. The weary side effect just makes playing a challenge most of the time. These days I tend to avoid / delay medication as much as possible but I risk getting internal infection leading to breathing difficulties, severe skin rash leading to passing out. Imagine all this happening while I'm on the go, don't think people around me would know what to do. They couldn't give up their seats for me in view of my medical condition let alone render the necessary help. 

Wishing everyone a great weekend ahead. If you have kids, school's out, term break is here.

RIP: Juliette

Paul Gilbert's cat, Juliette, had passed away (announced 27 Jan). She had always shown a particular interest for musical instruments & I can totally relate to this having a cat in my residence as well. More importantly, the pet & its owner will always share a special bond that will lead to a feeling of terrible loss once the pet passes on. I underwent extended grief when I lost my cat days before we moved out & me getting married. To all cat owners out there, thank you for caring & putting in a tremendous amount of love - we feel your loss.

Pic: PG IG

Hyper

Someone knows I'm up to something.

To be continued... 

Security

Someone's keeping watch over the new guitar till I come home to unbox it.

Got Mojo

Three weeks later, they were in the mailbox. Another tone adventure awaits but not in the mean time.

New kid

So we got a new kitty in the house- Mona the cat. This was an injured stray at my wife's work place. She decided to bring it to the vet last Friday night & currently putting up with us until it heals. I believe in providence & having another feline in the house is certainly a blessing. OK so someone couldn't stay put while posing with the pedal...

Happy end of March, people. The first quarter has passed us by. 👍

In the bag

Hello. I'm the fur kid in this house & I love it when my dad brings home big bags for me to play with (like the one from Davis GMC seen here). I can also camp in for hours but I prefer the bed at night, he he...

Feline

Heavy rain this evening saw the cat taking refuge on anything but the cold floor. Seen here, our majesty resting on one of my guitar bags. I have no issues with this whatsoever. We are fortunate to have a cat that does not sharpen her claws on our furniture, my amps or guitar cases. It's just not her thing. Good kitty! 😸

Second

Oh, hi! We're letting this acclimatize before unboxing. See you soon 👍

The weekend

The weekend comes & goes. For many of us, work encroaches our weekend for a simple reason- we let it happen. I have a strict work-rest principle: Work stays at work. I'm the type who makes sure rest days remain work-free. Rest days are for my guitars but this Takamine here isn't mine. However, it's a regular visitor to my residence; the EG510. It's given a fresh set of .011s & it's fretboard re-moisturized. I started work yesterday but was drawn to some DVD time so the final bits of work ended this morning.

Then came some ME time & I chose to play through this 1W-er; my Marshall JCM800 anniversary model. There was a strong urge to plug into something bigger but restraint triggered some ideas so it was worth it. All this done before lunch. 

The rest was family time, naturally. My family understands my inclinations so it's only natural that I return the understanding. Nothing fancy, lunch in town which concluded with some ice-cream. Those of us who do not have family commitments (yet) might indulge in excessive guitar time but once family comes into the picture, I urge you to include family as & when they require your presence.

Family time includes spending time with the cat as well. This is my cat, Lisa. I used to own a cat years ago but it passed away the week before I got married. That was a depressing moment in my life; the loss of a family member. Yes, my cat is family because both cats came to me. They were neither bought nor picked up from the streets; they literally came into my life. Lisa was an abandoned cat at my work place. I started noticing her & fed her after seeing how hungry she was every Monday- nobody fed her over the weekend. We decided to trap her one day for a sterilization programme but the vet said, upon inspection, she's already sterilized. I arranged for her to be sent over to my residence after hearing that the work place would be closed down by the end of 2014. It would mean a total uncertainty for Lisa in terms of food. Lisa was already toilet-trained so that surprised us & re-inforced the fact that she's an abandoned pet. So here she is, a family member for life. 

If you respect life, never abandon your pets. They are living creatures like the rest of us & would be subject to trauma once left behind. Only humans are heartless enough to abandon a living entity by choice so that puts us lower than animals but we don't take time to reflect.

Enjoy the final moments of your Sunday. If you feel cheated by now, chances are, you didn't understand what 'weekend' means in the first place. Cheers!

Lisa

There was no playing yesterday as I was busy welcoming the cat into the family- Lisa. This little darling appeared one day at my workplace. She was very tame but got nervous around noisy, obnoxious idiots. We recently sent her to the vet for sterilization but when the doc cut her open, we discovered she had been sterilized before so we suspect it was a case of abandonment. Following this surgery, she spent about a week at a friend's residence to recover. She was ready for us yesterday so I had to rush home from work to mesh the front gate & some windows up to prevent unnecessary incidences in days to come.

We were surprised that she was toilet trained so this reinforced the fact that she was abandoned. We let her roam around the house to mark her territories & that included some time with my gear (whatever's left in the house). Seen above- Lisa getting acquainted with one of my amps, had to make sure she didn't use it as a scratch post :-)

It's been more than a decade since I had a cat. That was way back when I was still single. Just days before we moved to my current residence (also days before I got married), my cat died & that was really heart-breaking. I couldn't bring myself to have a new cat since then to avoid plunging into depression once more. That's how close I was to my previous feline companion. But here's Lisa now- I think she was fated to come our way.

Cat @ Excelsior

That cat spotted at the entrance to Excelsior Shopping Centre (leading to Davis' pedal store)- he's still there. Asleep. At peace with himself.