Cookie Boy and Munchkin play

Cat's don't need any deep reasons to be happy. They spend approximately a third of their life just lazing around. They hunt a little, eat a bit... and when they're through, they find absolute contentment in sleep. I am a writer, and my cats keep me sane. How about yours?

Cookie Boy's story - lost in translation

Cookie Boy wears a "lost" look.

I was googling Teecup Limited last night when I came across a weird link that said Google could translate my latest blog entry on Cookie Boy from English to Filipino.

The original story was about the cat discovering the corpse of a bat this week. I wasn't really expecting much from Google's English to Filipino translation.

Still, curiosity got the best of me. Here is an excerpt of the translation:

Isang unidentified bat na nagkaroon wandered sa Teecup Limited headquarters natutugunan ng isang wala sa oras pagkamatay na ito linggo.

Walang mantsa ng dugo, kagat marks at iba pang mga pisikal na katibayan upang magmungkahi na ang isang away ay ensued, sinabi ng cat sa bantay.

"Ang mga bagay lamang froze sa kamatayan," isiwalat Cookie Boy.

Ang tanging lalaki na miyembro ng's pack teecup ng mga di-tala ng mga ninuno cats ay sa patrol kapag siya natuklasan ang katawan.

Siya tinanggihan paglusob ang kabag at sinabi na siya natagpuan ang bangkay matapos habol sa roaches.

"Tulad ng marami bilang Gusto kong kumuha ng credit para sa mga pumatay, hindi ako isang bat nakamatay," cat ang sinabi.

I had the pleasure of a good laugh from the giant G's paragraph-by-paragraph rewording. Google's English to Filipino translation is SO much funnier than Nagmalitong Yawa (a character in Filipino literature). Don't you agree?

On a serious note, if you want your English blog site translated to Filipino, take my advice: Get a human  to do the job. Here's why:

• No matter how advanced technology may be, absolutely nothing can substitute the real human being in terms of language usage.
  
  
• Translation isn't a matter of expressing individual words from one tongue to another. Rather, translation takes into account the dynamic expression of thought within a given context.

There's no way I'm leaving Teecup Limited to the hands of a machine. The story on Cookie Boy's encounter with the bat deserves an international audience.

Cookie Boy - Watch Cat

Cat on patrol. Cookie Boy winks at the press.

An unidentified bat that had wandered into Teecup Limited headquarters met an untimely demise this week. 

There were no blood stains, bite marks and  other physical evidence to suggest that a fight had ensued, said the cat on guard.

"The thing just froze to death," disclosed Cookie Boy. 

The only masculine member of teecup's pack of non-pedigree cats was on patrol when he discovered the body.

He denied attacking the bat and said that he found the corpse after chasing roaches. 

"As much as I would like to take credit for the kill, I'm not a bat slayer," the cat said.

Though docile to humans, Cookie Boy is notorious for his hunting prowess in the animal world. 

Cookie Boy - Furminator Model

Ready for some grooming. Cookie Boy positions himself on the table, waiting to be furminated. He loves the activity -- or maybe he doesn't. I wouldn't know, since he never protests. He just purrs and closes his eyes like a docile little baby. The book "Cat Watching" by Desmond Morris mentioned that a cat purr can only mean one of two things: Either the kitty is in pain or the kitty likes the sensation.

Cookie Boy - Drunken Master

Drunken master mode. Like women, cats can be very moody. This is Cookie Boy's laziest pose ever. He's stuffed. He doesn't want to play nor hunt. He just wants to sleep. When the cat is on drunken master mode, I get the chance to carry on with my writing projects with minimal breaks.

Cookie Boy - Resident Fat Cat

In celebration of the Love Month, my regular blog entries on freelance writing will make way for another soft spot in my heart: my non-pedigree cats. 

Meet Cookie Boy, my portly golden nugget. He was neutered at age 1 and has since then been a certified house cat. He loves to eat, sleep and snuggle.

People say he looks a lot like Puss in Boots in "Shrek."

name: Cookie Boy

aliases: La-Love, Baboy

eye color: yellow

fur: golden yellow

weight: 5.5 kilos
favorite food: tuna in brine