My cat, Sushi, still hates me. She’s hiding from me, under my bed, to be precise. When she feels a little bit social, I would take advantage of it and pour Betadine on her stitches and then she goes back snarling at me. Then she would then hide under the bed again, out of my reach.

Her sister, Kimchi, on the other hand, is almost back to normal and is taking advantage of my mommy guilt by begging for more wet food.

Later on Sushi sort of forgave me, but I think it’s conditional, because she got hungry. She finally got out and joined her sister but she’s still haughty, like she would rather die than beg for food. “No, hooman, I’m not yet forgiving you but I’m hungry,” she telepathically told me. Meanwhile, Kimchi has no shame and pulls my heartstrings by meowing like she’s in so much pain and dying.

My entire day was unproductive because I was troubleshooting personnel issues. Things were simpler when I just handle writing stories and editing. But managing people… It’s a whole different ballgame. Much of the stress of this particular job of mine is managing people and dealing with egos. I remember a microbiologist told me (can’t remember if she was my mom’s research assistant) that the reason she chose this field is because microorganisms are more predictable than people. They also don’t bite back or tear you down.

So I find that journalism is 10-20% writing and the rest is human relations. A big chunk of that is mind games or battle of wits, especially when dealing with big people or difficult interviewees. That’s why I always recommended to junior journos and journalism students 48 Laws of Power (full version, not the abridged) to be able to know how to deal with egos and cunning people. It also applies to people who deal with investments or trying to win consultancy contracts.

So it’s kind of double whammy if you’re in my position–managing people and balancing quality with limited resources. Should you let go of this resource because he is a poor performer and risk not being able to hire again due to budget constraints (because 🤦🏻‍♀️ pandemic)? Or you grin and bear it? It’s a constant battle. You deal with egos when pursuing stories to meet your KPIs, and outside of your KPIs you have to deal again with egos, culture, and self-esteem to keep the peace and have a fully functional team.

How to stay sane? Drink tea and move on.

I finally brought my cats this morning to the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for spaying. I felt bad for them as they were meowing loudly like they were so tortured during the drive to PAWS. They’re not used to being in crates and being in the car because their vet is just walking distance from our apartment. They fasted for 12 hours (yes, I was able to make them fast!). Prior to fasting, I gave them heaps of wet food to make them happy before the surgery. It’s sort of a way for me to feel less guilty.

I felt compelled to give some kind of financial help to PAWS since they were sponsoring a lot of cats and dogs under rehab. Then I saw T-shirts for sale that I thought my girls would love as they had cat prints on them. Bought four before leaving and drove by our gate to hand it to our househelp to give to my girls. I then proceeded to drive to Shell to have my car’s engine oil changed and general check up.

And yes, I’m being productive while doing errands. I attended a Zoom press conference while waiting for the change oil to be finished. I managed to write 75% of the resulting story while still in the waiting lounge.

The mechanic told me my brake light is busted so after my car’s preventive maintenance service, I had to make an unscheduled trip to the auto electrical shop that has been my go-to service center for over 12 years. It turns out my reverse lights were also busted so I had all malfunctioning lights changed (reverse, brake, park, and plate number lights).

I also asked for a quote for the autolocks and car alarm and the estimated number of hours. So I will likely have it done by Tuesday, if all goes well (i.e. no important calls).

I finished the rest of my story at home and then drove back to PAWS to fetch my four-legged fur babies. When I arrived, they were no longer sedated and seemed glad to smell me and the interior of the car. Once inside the house, we could no longer contain them inside their cages. I then drove to Tiendesitas (pet section) to buy that Elizabethan collar/funnel collar a.k.a. cone of shame to keep the cats from licking their stitches. Plus more cans of wet food, kibbles, and cat litter.

My cats are very cunning. They still managed to remove the collars even if I had put them tightly around their necks. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I forget, cats are liquid!

And these critters could no longer be contained in their crates after having their fill of wet food (of course, gotta spoil them a bit after surgery!). So now we have to watch them carefully to keep them from licking their wounds. The volunteers at the center said I need to apply Betadine on their stitches to keep them somewhat sterile and bandages are a no-no. I hoped that this would discourage them from even tasting the surrounding skin as I imagine the iodine solution tastes baaaaadddd… But nope. Persistent cats are drying my patience. So I need to guard them inside my room to keep them from moving too much so they will not tear their stitches.

Oh dear, we’re only on our first day. 6 days to go.

So now my cats and I are all celibate for life. 😁🐈