A belated thank you!

My female human recently went back to work, and it has been interesting to hear all about her new students. However, I have a late "thank you" to one of her former students.

Check out this cool gift:

It's a mascot! It has my name! It is the coolest gift ever. My female human says she misses that student and hopes that she is doing well.

Weather: Sooooo hot. What's up with the 100+ temps?!

It's over?!

Yesterday, my female human finished the first quarter at her new job. When she came home she looked both happy and sad...she always tells me that she will miss her students!

However, I think she should *mostly* be happy because for the next few weeks:

• We can take lots of naps together
• We can hang out all day on the couch reading books together
• We can eat tuna together!

So, I'll do my best to comfort her as she finally has some downtime to catch her breath and, best of all, spend time with me!

Weather: It was pretty hot last week, but now that September's here, it's anybody's guess what the temps will be.

It was my birthday!

Last Wednesday I turned 10 years old. That's like 57 in people years.

I still feel pretty good considering I'm headed toward the twilight of my life.

I hope the next 10 years are full of happiness and fun with both my humans...just like the last five years since I entered their lives.

Oh? You wanna know what I got for my birthday? I'll give you one guess. It's NOT the $ you can see in this picture.
That's right! TUNA.

Weather: Heating up a little bit lately, but still bearable.

My Secret Life

My humans are usually gone all day on the weekdays. For me, this means I go exploring around the house. When summer heats up, one of my favorite places to hang out is in the cool porcelain bathtub.

However, I don't like baths. One shot of water from any sink faucet or shower nozzle will send me running.

How about you? How do you cool off in the summer. It's funny, actually summer hasn't been that hot here yet. I'm sure August will bring higher temps.

Weather: Mild days and cool evenings. Perfect.

A Good Friend

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! You can see here I've cuddled up to one of my best pals, Poopie. Please don't be put off by his name; he isn't messy or smelly!

Poopie and I often hang out on the bed when my humans are at work. He told me he wants a chew toy for V-day, and I, of course, want TUNA.

Weather: Been really warm lately, like in the 80s!
But, I hear rain is coming soon :(

Good Job Developmental 3!

Last week my female human finished her summer semester.
She had some really great students,
and here's a picture of her grammar class.

Don't they look smart?

I hope everyone can enjoy a short break before the fall semester begins. Cindy promised me that for the next two weeks we'll spend lots of *QT together.

*QT = "quality time"...which for Belial means tons of naps.

Weather: Gosh, it really doesn't feel like summer.
It's been pretty mild and not too hot.

My Brown Fishie

The last time my Japanese girlfriend visited, she brought me my new favorite toy: my brown fishie. She made it by hand, and stuffed it with a special treat that cats love...cat nip!

Oh my, I have had a great deal of fun with this new plaything. In this pic I'm a little tired from playing with it, hence, I am resting on the pillow!

Weather: Actually, temps are quite favorable.
The mercury hasn't risen too high.

My Grandparents

Later this morning I'll be shipped off to grandma & grandpa's house as my humans take off for San Diego the next two days.

I like visiting g-ma/g-pa's place because they have stairs I can run up and down for some exercise. Also, they spoil me rotten. I hope they feed me extra tuna!

Weather: Two sun baths already today.
It's a gorgeous Memorial Day Weekend!

Test Drive

New shirts!
New shirts for my male human!

I must see if they will be comfortable.

Weather: The May Gray has passed,
and it looks to be a beautiful weekend ahead.

My New Pal 猫猫

I'm very excited to have made a new friend: 猫猫 (Meo Meo). He's from Vietnam, I'm pretty sure...and he's owned by one of my human's students.

I hope to meet him someday because
this student says he's very cute and nice.
Don't you think so?

In the picture below, he looks very studious. It seems he's tired after reading the newspaper. What a smart cat. What's the "mews" Meo Meo? Ha ha, just a little cat humor for you.

Weather: Absolutely lovely these days.
But, there are hints of summer as the temps climb.

Visitors!

Later today there will be three lovely ladies from Japan coming to visit me. My humans always have guests, and those guests always spend a lot of time paying attention to me.

They are pals from my female human's old work days in Yokohama. One is an ex-coworker (Junko), and the other two are former students (Junko #2 & Akemi).

I have never met Junko #2, but I hear she's real nice. I can't wait for her to pet me. I hope she's not allergic to cats.

Weather: Wow, a pretty gorgeous day, finally.
Perfect for our guests from across the Pacific.

Beauty Sleep

Now that my female human has been home for two weeks, she's finally over jet lag and can sleep through most nights.

I definitely reap the benefits of this as I can cuddle with her under, in, on, and over the covers. Here's my favorite spot: right on the pillow.

I hope you all are sleeping well these days. Final exams and projects must be coming soon; don't overdo it, okay? Be sure to get your beauty sleep.

Weather: I think it's gonna be a great, sunny, balmy weekend.
Awesome.

Finally, She's Home!

You have no idea what a torturous Spring Break I had. My female human was gone all week, so I had to be content with company from only my male human.

He doesn't pay as much attention to me as she does; quite frankly, I was lonely. When she came home, I literally jumped for joy. I promptly woke up from my depressed sleep the minute I heard her voice and welcomed her home with many loud and prolonged meows.

BTW, do you know the cat in this picture?

I'm pretty sure my female human saw many of these during her Spring Break. The Maneki Neko, with its upraised paw, is a symbol of good luck beckoning fortune and wealth. It is often displayed in many Japanese shops.

Happy New Year

One of my human's coworkers told her she would celebrate the new year this weekend.

Wait, wait, wait.
Isn't that January 1st?

Apparently, not in all cultures. March 21st will mark "Nowruz," and my female human has many students and good friends from this area of the world. She hopes that all the people from this corner of the globe will have a happy celebration this weekend.

Weather: Finally, just right. Not too hot or cold.

Laundry Day!

I love laundry day. My human Cindy says she hates it; there are too many clothes to wash.




Why do I love it? When she dumps the clothes fresh from the dryer on the bed, they immediately become a cave of warmth into which I burrow.

My humans get mad because then their clothes become dirty again... what?! I'm an indoor cat, so my fur is dirt-free!

Weather: Wow, after all that rain, it sure is purty around here.

Welcome Reading Students

I heard from my human Cindy that she's got a new group of students for her reading class.
Welcome to my blog.

You will learn all sorts of interesting (?) things about me when you read this ... good luck on your extra-credit quizzes. I love extra credit, but I call it extra "food" credit like when my humans give me fresh tuna or salmon instead of the regular canned stuff.

Hope you have a great semester, and happy reading!

Weather: A bit cold at night.
I am always sneaking under the covers with my humans lately.

Congratulations

I heard from my human Cindy that her students graduated yesterday. What does THAT mean? She seems conflicted: both happy and sad. Maybe I should graduate, too?

Nah, I'll just take a nap as is par for the course.

Also, she told me a student requested that I start a book club. I think it's a great idea because I know I'll be doing lots of reading w/Cindy during her winter break. So, here's the first of "Belial's Best Book of the Week."

Belial's Best Book: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss. This is a classic holiday tale about a Scrooge-like character who messes up "the big day" for all the Whos in Whoville. DON'T BOTHER w/the Jim Carrey movie version; the book is true magic. (ISBN: 9780394800790)

Weather: Cold, cold, cold at night.
I seek refuge under the bed covers most nights
to soak up my humans' warmth.

A NEWER Place!

Hey, check this out. I recently discovered the guest bathroom. It's a lot of fun! Whenever my human Cindy is getting ready in the morning, I go and hang out to keep her company.

I especially like when this towel is on the floor for me to sit on. It's like my own personal place mat. Maybe I can ask Santa Claus for a towel embroidered with my name?

Weather: What is up with it these days? It's totally cold at night.
Then it's kind of hot in the day. I don't get it.

Sick Human = Nap Time

I feel really terrible that one of my humans has a cold. I swear I do. But, this means I have someone to nap with during the day. Hooray!

Sorry if this is being self-centered, but it's much better to nap next to a warm human than on the computer chair like I normally do during the long hours my humans are at work.

Why the computer chair? Well, I'm waiting for someone to turn it on so I can blog, of course.

Weather: Very fall-ish. Not too hot, but not too cold.

My Favorite Month

Many people associate October with the fall harvest, or even Halloween on the final day of the month.

Not me! October is the month when we celebrate and honor black cats the world over. Black cats often get a bad rap because of many superstitions, but they're actually quite cute! There's nothing "bad luck-ish" about them.

Does your country have a negative superstition about black cats? America sure does...so that's why it's confusing to me that Halloween decorations are covered with these guys. Talk about a mixed message.

Anyway, welcome to October, the best month of the year, for the best reason: Black Cats!

Weather: Santa Anas in true form yesterday.
It was soooo dry, so I drank a lot of water. You should, too!