cat ate my salad

the cat ate my salad. i still can't believe it.

after a long day of working, serving, giving to other people, i was looking forward to this little treat for me... but the cat ate my salad. : (

ive been up since 1 am, working on my presentation on peace journalism and conflict analysis tools, due at 10:30 a.m.

before my talk, i still had to take paolo to his taekwondo lesssons.

the talk was good. i could tell i made the audience think, from the thoughtful, reflective way they looked when i emphasized a point, and the questions they later asked. i ran the whole show from beginning to end. i hope i was able to plant seeds in their minds and hearts for the cause of peace.

the open forum part got so excitingly interactive, we ran overtime and finished at 1pm. they asked me to take my lunch with them and i took a few bites just to oblige.

but then i remembered paolo, who has been off from his taekwondo lessons for an hour already; i imagined him just roaming the mall.

so i rushed to fetch him, and thankfully quickly found him at the toy section, as usual. he looked wan and tired though and i asked if he was hungry. unusually for him he nodded yes, and asked if he could have both a chinese siopao and a hotdog waffle with cheese, plus his favorite orange drink. knowing paolo to be a not-so-enthusiastic eater, he must have been really hungry by this time, and so i bought him all he wanted to eat.

then, we shopped a bit more for some household items and groceries, from the P1500 fee i had just been given for the 2-hour talk.

by 2:30pm when we came home, i was drained but happily so, in a satisfied way, feeling good and thankful for this day, and thinking how all was right with my world again.

i decided to skip a full lunch and go to sleep instead, but already thinking id fix my self a salad from the ingredients paolo and i recently bought at the mall, when i woke up.

people who know me, and who know that i rarely venture out into the kitchen to fix something (well i fixed the salad in the dining area, far from the maid's kitchen... : > ), know how big a deal this was that i decided to fix my self a salad.

i dreamt of that salad.

when i woke up at 5pm i tasted that salad in my lips and tongue.

and so, even as i was still half-awake, i proceeded to the dining area and took out the ingredients and started preparing my salad.

after everything was all in and tossed to my satisfaction, i placed my big bowl of salad on the living room side table even as i turned to the tv to see what was showing.

the little ones were enjoying Mr. Bean's antics and i started to relax at the mindless enjoyment, too.

until i remembered my salad.

by the time i turned back to my salad, the cat was already buried in it, lettuce leaves covering her ears.

...

...

*&^%$#@(*&! : ( : ( : (



oh, life.