I Am a Cat

Gypsy Girl

I am a cat. There's a famous novel by Natsume Soseki by that title, have you read it by any chance?     My name is Gypsy and Caroline's Speakeasy is my home.  You probably won't have a chance to meet me since I'm not one to come and hang out with the house guests; my sister Django is better at that, always wanting to be the center of attention! I generally do my own thing, but I've noticed that Caroline is taking way too long to get started on this blog so I thought I'd lend a paw on this rainy morning to get the ball rolling.

Since it's supposed to be a "Random Ramblings" blog,  I'll take the liberty to comment on a few things I've noticed around here lately:

1. Have you heard of Lady Myojo? She is the cat who lived in the palace in Sei Shonagon's days and is mentioned in The Pillow Book. Something about her being a "Lady" and me a "Girl" is irksome, but I guess that's the difference between living in a Palace and a Speakeasy. I will make an effort to subdue my green eyed monster and be thankful for my good fortune.

2. A young man from Brazil recently came for a visit and there was a lot of lively conversation in Portuguese which I didn't quite understand, but I did catch the part about him living in Tokyo and studying to become a Manga cartoonist. Do no young people study Japanese Literature anymore? Seems as though all the young people who come to Japan these days have been influenced by anime and manga.  Folks should read more Japanese literature, they don't know what they're missing!  I particularly like Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's "A Cat, a Man and Two Women". Fumiko Enchi's "Masks" is pretty good too.

3. After an extremely hot summer this year, things have finally begun to cool down. Before you know it,  it'll be cold enough to light the fire, but I'm getting ahead of myself,  fall really is my favorite time of year around here.

Ta-ta, that's all for today, it's purrfect weather to curl up with a good book.