the mcs dilemma
in my previous post, i said something about being in a dilemma. yup, i still am. should i continue pursuing MCS? another related question is whether i should complete MCS or not.
continue? well, i have just learned that the school is offering data struct and networking this sem, two subjects that i’m interested in, so why not? if this is going to be my last sem, i want to have data struct and networking as my last subjects. and i want to do well in these subjects. of course, it’s easier said than done, what with the new project and everything. but really, i want to not screw up this time. i want to make up for all the wrong things i did last sem. heck, i’m paying my own tuition so i owe it to myself to be able to learn a lot and do well in school so that i won’t end up wasting my money and time. this sem is going to be my second chance, and if i decide later on or if circumstances dictate that i will have to quit for a while, then i want to be able to look back on this sem in the future without regrets.
complete MCS? i dunno. depends on several things, i guess. i won’t bore you with the details. 
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the alley cat who “adopted” us
last time, it was an alley dog who adopted us. now it’s an alley cat. yup. he enters and leaves our apartment as he pleases. ( whenever the door’s open, that is, hehehe 
) and everytime he sets foot on our house, he acts as if he owns the place. he has no second thoughts in stretching on our floor ( he doesn’t even look up to us to ask permission, he just lies down instantly! tsk tsk tsk, such a shameless cat, hehehe. his shamelessness amuses me. ) or poking his head through the rooms as if he has every right to do these things. his worst habit is rubbing his body against anything and everything he fancies–even our legs!
i used to own two pet cats back when i was in grade school–one was katherine and the other was kenny, katherine’s son. i liked it when they rubbed their bodies against mine. their fur was so soft and, well, furry. i thought when cats rub against you, it was a sign of affection. much to my disappointment, i later learned that cats, and most territorial animals, rub their bodies against objects and places to mark what they consider to be part of their territory. hmp! so does that mean my cats back then merely treated me as part of the other territory?! i thought they were a part of mine… hehehe. but i digress. back to this alley cat. even though i like being touched by pets, this alley cat was overdoing it ( and he is not even my pet! ). he even follows people around. i sometimes think it’s cute but there are times when his constant rubbing (which earned the cat the name “bag-id”, meaning “to rub” in cebuano) can become a nuisance… the alley cat is himself a nuisance sometimes… but one who has an interesting, mysterious, beautiful pair of eyes.
i’m not sure if animals feel the way humans do, but i imagine his eyes to be cold and indifferent… but also knowing and confident. if he were human, i’d say the expression in his eyes alone would have the word matalinong suplado written all over him. if he were human, he would be a silent, intelligent, street-savvy person who can blend in easily with any crowd but will still somehow stand out. hehe. before this goes on any further, aren’t you curious why i call him as the alley cat who adopted us? that’s because we didn’t choose to adopt him. somehow, he found his way to our apartment and chose our place to be one where he regularly stays and by association, he chose us as his… er, what would you call us? part-time owners? nah. i think one cannot own a cat ( with “being owned” meaning that you can keep it, control it, and dispose it as you see fit ). cats simply cannot be owned. why?, you ask me? cats cannot be leashed, cannot be domesticated enough to obey, cannot be trained to play tricks (and if ever you attempt to do so, they give you this disdainful look. that would surely give you a second thought in trying to train them. hehe.). cats have minds of their own–one cannot control them. so what do we call ourselves–we who have cats? companions?! hmmm, doesn’t sound right. as if cats are humans. well, judging from the way they act, they almost are. anyway, so much for this question on what cats and people are to each other. and so much for that alley cat. i just wonder if he will be visiting our house for a long time or will our apartment will be just one of his transient stops, that’s all.
