Last night when I was dreaming about Christmas gift (the huge Chewing bone), Somtum interrupted my sweet dream with her strange noise.  I woke up, and my Christmas gift, the huge bone, suddenly disappeared.  That was very frustrated situation for me because I could not go back and to continue my dream with that bone again.  I asked Somtum what wrong with her, and she did not say any words, but sat next to my bed for a moment.  Then she let the waste water from inside her body out!  For the Beagle sake! Why didn’t she bark to let boss knows that she wants to go outside as she used to do before?  I was very mad and yielded at her, and my barking was echoed in the dark of early morning.  Boss immediately arrived at our cages, and she thought I did the wet part and barking.  I got the blame from boss right away.  I was in the deepest depress emotion until the second time that  Somtum  performed her action again while boss was cleaning Somtum’s waste.

  Boss said to me she didn’t mean to hurt my feeling by blaming me in the early morning, however, I had to hold my depression for a while to get boss attention.  Do you know when the Beagle in the mood of depression, most of time for “some purposes”?  Examples: biscuit bones, special food, chewing bones something like that.  However, I don’t plan to depress, if boss not at home.  I always pick the right time for my depression.  Now you learn from me whatever you do in your life, you must do at the right place, the right time, and also at the right person, and if three of these meet, I guarantee most of times you will get what you want. 

Finally, my depression disappeared as soon as I saw boss came to me with two big chewing bones in her hands.  Of course, I knew which bone was bigger, so I immediately snapped it in my mouth before it too late because boss said she was going to bring those bones back inside house, if I don’t like neither one of them.  Those words kicked my depression out of my mind within a second.  Finally my dream came true even before Christmas!  

It has been a long time that I did not write to all of you.  Our team, Somtum, The two sister cats, all fishes and me, Joa Ying, have been very busy for our new place.  Do I like it here? Hmm…..I think it alright, just for now because nobody around this area likes my barking, except my boss.  I think she understands the Beagle’s freedom and she said in this country we have the First Amendment to guarantee the freedom of speech.  Therefore, I assume I have freedom in my speech too.

The lady next door, I hear her nickname something ending with sound “R”, my boss said maybe her full name is “Hyena” or something like that  because her screaming voice just exactly like a Hyena’s sound.  For some reason or more reasons, she doesn’t like me from the first day that she saw me.  I assume that maybe because I’m look prettier and heavier than her dogs, or maybe she was born with hormone of hate the Beagle, like me.  It seems to me she doesn’t care much about Somtum’s barking, but whenever she hears my barking, she acts like my voice broken her hemorrhoid.  However, I can’t give up my Beagle barking, sorry Hyena Lady!

Boss keeps tell me more than hundred times that I should decrease my appetite.  That is very depressing suggestion that I ever hear from her.  Last week I ignored all her food she gave me, then she asked me why I didn’t eat.  Oh! Boss, what exactly you want from me?  Do you want me to eat or not to eat?  Well! I better make her happy, so I come back to enjoy my meals, and  Somtum’s meals too.  As her ages, Somtum doesn’t care much of her food like before, but she eats enough to live on her days.  This is the reason I have to take care and clean up of her food every day, except chewing bones she always keep in good care and she doesn’t like me to look at these bones neither.  I keep telling her more than million times, that “Just looking, lady”.  However, she doesn’t trust me with her chewing bones.  That is another depressing issue for me.

Well, I promise I will come back as often as I can to let all of you know about my days here.

Miss all of you,

Joa Ying, the Beagle

Joa Ying reports on her duty now.  Many people asked boss about us, and they wonder if all of us still alive on this earth.  Yes, we do, four of us still here and hang on with our routines as before.  Som Tum slows down on her activities, and for some reasons she starts to forget many things around her.  One day she acted like she didn’t remember me and the two sisters at all.  She stared at me as if she sees a ghost, and then she started her long howling on and on.  I tried to stop Som Tum, but she didn’t listen to me, instead she tried to snap at me when I walked closer to her food bowl.  Oh! My goodness, Som Tum never lost her memory on her food, that good for her, but it bad for me.

Talking about food, I feel like charging my energy to the highest voltage.  I love food. I don’t mind to eat all kind of food all day long, I happy to eat anytime any day and any moment. I can take eating as a full time job, or for over time job too.  However, boss always disagree with me on this matter.  So, each day she sets time and limit amount of food for me that is very depressing thing to think about it.

Another update new about the two sisters, they both are less active on their duties and they come up with the idea of longer hours for their breaking time than before, of course their eyes always close during their break time, and sometime they not even try to open eyes while I walk close to their food bowls.  Well, sleep on, dream on, my beloved friends, I will help to clean up all food for you, don’t worry.  Just trust in the name of Jao Ying, the beagle.  I provide the best on food service for years, guarantee that you will never disappoint on my service!     

 Boss told me about our new friends from Thailand will come to visit our blog, so as I am in charge of this blog, I want to make sure that our blog is ready to welcome our new friends. Boss tells me, she will try to post our recently pictures soon, so at this moment please welcome our new friends’ pictures from Thailand!       

     Four of us, Som Tum, Thong Pond, Thong Thai, and I are doing fine.  I have many stories to share with you, but just don’t know which one to tell you first.

      First of all the two sisters have been changed from two crabby cats to be more friendly cats now. Both of them gain extra weight too.  Most of time I can find them at their basket or their food bowls. Once for a while three of us join a team to catch mice, just to show boss that how active we are. We’re not only expecting boss to impress us, but also the extra rewards is a must inside our food bowls too, please.

     Now I have my new routine, ”the daily voice exercise” at 4:00 AM.  Boss doesn’t happy about my voice exercise at all, but nothing can changes my mind, because I’m a Beagle.  Beside this, I like to run around while exercise my voice.  Keep healthy body is the most of my concern.  Somtum starts acting like she lost her sheep dog life style by forget her barking, and sometimes she even forget who I am.   So, sometimes Somtum and I had the big argument.  I had to do this to help Somtum gets her memory back. Wow! that worked real good, but no one won.  However, both of us got punishment from boss by loss our snack bones for a few days.  That was O.K.

   I still enjoy watching the nature.  You know? Last summer I sneaked out to the top of the hill again.  I went out all day long, so when I returned, boss had to change the new chain for me again since the old one couldn’t keep me stay home as she hope. I came home with some wood ticks for boss to pick them out from my body before they get big and round bodies with the ugly gray color.   Boss wonder why in this world has to have wood ticks to suck dogs’ blood. Can we live without wood tick on earth?   Well, I don’t know neither, boss.

 Joa Ying had “gone with the wind” again, and boss had to look for her.  I would like to tell boss that no jail, no lock, no chain can keeps Joa Ying from following her nose to wherever she want to go.  I believe that if Joa Ying’s nose can leads her to the moon, or any planet in this universe, she willing to follow it.  Joa Ying always forget about everything, when she follows her nose.  That is the way of Beagle dogs.  They have spirit of hunting, and can’t give up their Beagle’s pride.  They do as their hearts call for, as same as Joa Ying  who likes to take off as soon as she has a chance, even just one second.   

Finally Joa Ying showed up at the top of the hill.  When she saw boss was waiting for her, Joa Ying quickly ran down toward to boss as if she done nothing wrong at all.  Her wagging tail looked like the small white flag to let boss knew that she was home again.   
                 

 Boss told Joa Ying that if this happen again, boss will keep Joa Ying in the Dog Jail forever, and also Joa Ying will be on chain for 24 hours too.

  “Congratulation the independent Beagle!” I whispered to Joa Ying while she quietly walked pass me to her jail . 

When I was young, my neighbors’ children and I liked to go outside of house to run in the muddy ground.  We jumped and ran to catch each other.  We were laughed and shouted to each other just to see how much louder noise we could make, and to compare with thunder sound.  

 In the tropical climate, we have the heavy rains pour from the sky like water from the faucet, and the roar of thunder and lightening were small subject for us.  We didn’t realize that was very dangerous situation.  In that time we had no fear for anything, except ghosts, the darkness, and monsters in our imagination. 

 Our fun time was end as soon as our parents came out, and tried to catch and dragged each one of us went back inside house, and most of us got the big spanks from them.  Spanking was normal punishment for all us at that time.  No one turns their parents to polices nor goes to court to sue them like nowadays. We grew up with spanks and love from our parents.  That was the best way we had learned about the right and the wrong.     

I used to excited and happy on the rainy days, but not now.   Every time I see rain drops, my tear drops start to run too, and my childhood’s memory comes back to haunt me.  The homesick starts to bother my mind in the moment that the first rain drop falls from the sky, and all day long is the cloudy day. 

I’m not sure how many people waste their time for this nonsense feeling.  Who care if it going to be the rainy, or sunshine day?  It isn’t important for the world to feel or to care for.   It is just the feeling of unknown woman who is far away from her homeland.  That’s all. 

However, the rainy day takes away the safety places from the street people who have no home to go.  Walking in the wet clothes with empty stomachs is the most challenged for them.  Nobody can see their lonely tear drops, since the rain drops flow in the same time on their faces.  I don’t know why I always think about these people in the rainy day.

 Maybe the feeling of the homesick person and the homeless person is not much different from each other.  Rainy day keeps remind me that “there is no place on earth is the same as your own home”.

P.S. Thank you for one of my friend who forwarded this picture to me on the rainy day.   I can feel inside their hearts, the lonesome couple in the crowd.  

All of us call him “Mr.Zoom”.   He is the little greenish turtle, and he has joined as our member club since last year.  He came from China Town in Chicago.  Boss went there for vacation, and she brought him back home.  

Most of time he spends time by himself in the small tank that boss gave him for his private room.   We will see Mr.Zoom every morning when he has a small piece of fresh meat for his breakfast.   Somtum, and the two sisters don’t care much about Mr.Zoom, but I do.  I really like to watch him, and I try to put my nose close to him as much as I can.  However, boss doesn’t like me to do that.  She said the way I love to clean up food bowls for all of us, and then she thinks maybe I will clean up  Mr.Zoom from his tank as a snack too.  Oh! That’s really hurt my feeling.  It is impossible, boss!  I’m a gentle heart Beagle, and I have a lot of love and care for all creatures on earth. 

I think I will try to make friend with  Mr.Zoom, and someday we may gang up to fight back with those   two cats.  I believe that our friendship  has no  boundary, so the friendship between Mr.Zoom, the  turtle and  I, the gentle and kindness heart Beagle  will be last forever.  Do you think so?

  All I know, the friendship between the Beagle, and two cats gets rough and tough everyday.  Joa Ying has her own Beagle world, while the two sisters want to show off their superior since they were here first. 

 Yesterday while Joa Ying was sleeping, I saw Thong Thai, the white cat, punched on Joa Ying’s face three times with no reason, then that cat walked away and acted like nothing had happened.  I sat close to Joa Ying, and when she woke up she thought that was my punch, and she gave me the stern warning right away.  I had to explain to her what had happened, and I wasn’t the one who caused her problem.  While she was  listening my explanation, Joa Ying took that chance cleaned up my food and within a second the bowl was absolutely empty, so I turned to her with my serious warning too.   Then we almost end up with another war, if boss didn’t stop us. 

Two sisters and the Beagle like to play the war game when they out of boss’s sight.  I don’t want to take side, so I’m in the neutral area as same as Switzerland kept in peace during the World War II.  Once for a while I have to join the war to protect my food bowl from Joa Ying because she has very strong ambition to take over our food bowls in this house.   Nobody can changes her mind yet.   

 This year boss let me have another part time job, to follow boss to the road side and boss will put the garbage can for the garbage truck to pick up every Thursday.  I really enjoy my new job because I have a chance to run around, and boss knows that I never stand close to the road because I’m afraid of the big trucks on the road.  I always be safe first.

 Joa Ying wants to have this job too, but boss didn’t give her because whenever boss let her free from the chain, Joa Ying will follow her nose to different directions, and she forget everything at home then she  will be gone all day long.   Many times that  Joa Ying came back with the small dead animals like the mole, or dry stick, and she wanted to put in her collection pile.  However, boss told Joa Ying to leave  her new treasures outside only.    Boss concerns about Joa Ying’s safety, so she has to put chain on Joa Ying when all of us go work outside the house.    I know Joa Ying doesn’t like that, but she has no choice.  

Summer is not my favorable season because of my long hairs, and it is difficult for me to handle the heat from the sun.  I have to dig the ground deep enough for my body to stay inside there to avoid the heat.  Boss doesn’t like to see many holes around the backyard that I had dug, and she always put soil back to cover all holes.  Boss said it looks like the moon’s surface. 

Well, if so why doesn’t boss enjoy the moon scene on earth that I had worked very hard, instead of watching the full moon in the sky that is very far away from us?  

Spring is here! 

Woo Pee!

I love to see more sunshine days in spring.  Goodbye the crabby winter I hope you don’t come back soon, or you may forget to come back forever. 

My sister, Thong Pond, and I have been reopened our service for 2009 on the first day of spring, March 20th.   However, hunting mice is only our part time service because we still want to keep our permanent full time job, keeping warmth on the couch, and we can’t effort to lose this job.

That why we have to hold two jobs now.   Boss said if we consider hunting mice is only our part time, she will consider the part time meal for us soon.   We hate that message!  Therefore, both of us have to be more active in front of boss in order to keep our full time meals.  We can’t let boss cut off our benefit. 

Boss tries to make that couch unavailable for us as much as she can.  Now both of us have to find the new way to continue our full time nap.  My sister can’t find the place that she likes more than the couch, so she always sit next to the couch as if she were watching for mice, but most of time her eyes close.  I assume she starts to learn how to make the peace in her mind by practices the meditation.   Her eyes close, her body relaxes, then she takes the deep breath in, and slowly take out, and about fifteen minutes her head will slowly bow to the coffee table before her body fully down to the floor for her long peaceful nap.        

I have a better idea than my sister; by using the grocery bag that boss left it in the kitchen.   I moved the bag to the living room, and kept it in my private corner.  I got an idea from the TV. that I like to watch, so I used that brown bag for my sleeping bag.   It was warm and comfortable enough for my full time job, sleeping, but it was kind of noisy when I moved my body inside.   

 Joa Ying, the Beagle, liked to play my bag while I was inside that bag, and once we had big argument  because she try to put her miniature whale body inside that bag, and she found out that bag didn’t fit her.  I screamed out loud for help, and gave her the biggest punch on her face and I tried to get out. 

Finally the bag  was tore a part, then boss came to stop our fight.   Now I have to loose my sleeping bag forever.   I wonder when that miniature whale Beagle will pay me back for the damage she had made.  

 This is very serious issue of spring 2009 that I ever had.