I'm finally posting pictures of our dog mika. We got him on 22 August 2009. The girl who rescued him brought him to us and left in a hurry. After she left he was looking at the door confused and waiting for her to return.

The first week was terrible. he had terrible separation anxiety and would howl, cry and try his darnest to jump over the fence which is keeping him in the kitchen. when we come back, there will be torn basket, torn notebook, pee and shit everywhere. I felt so tired picking up after him, disciplining him and walking him. and during work I was constantly worried what he is doing at home and if he is lonely being left at home for so long. all the strategising and work got me so burned out I wanted to give him up by the end of week 1.

as the weeks wore on, we got to know him more and he us so we became more comfortable with each other. To solve his separation anxiety we did this conditioning exercise where we go in and out many times for short periods to desensitize him. we even resorted to climbing out of the bedroom window (ours is a corridor unit). after a while he got accustomed to us going out and we distracted him with treat balls so it worked out in the end. you can't imagine my relief. we still haven't tried coming back walking him and going out again. which is what we plan to do if we want to go out on friday nights...

Now I'm beginning to enjoy having a dog cos there's a creature at home that I can disturb. it's quite entertaining actually. haha.


Mika and me                                                             Big dog and small dog


creatures at rest


Happy Dog!


Looped his toy round his neck. haha


Mika with his favourite toy


He brings this toy to us when we he wants to play.
And it makes a squeaky sound when he bites the tummy


Silly looking dog

In my attempt to eat healthy i've been cooking and eating at home. One of the meals i've particularly enjoyed is porridge with Fried Dace and Black Beans (you know the one that comes in an oval can from china, narcissus brand) with salted egg and vegetables. too bad I didn't take pictures of them. The Fried Dace with porridge is such a comfort food, I could eat porridge with just that. and it brings back memories of childhood when I eat them...

IH dearest actually cooked food, or more put together stg for me. haha. I never thought I'll see the day. It was so out of the ordinary that I actually took some photos.


Pasta with salad and soup


Honey baked ham sandwich

After 25 blog entries over the span of 3 years and 3 months, I am proud to announce that I am ready to launch a 'best of blogs and comments'. Unlike my usual self, I am blogging for the 2nd time in less than 7 days and I actually reread all my past entries and comments.

so here are a few of the comments that had me laughing and realising that we are actually quite funny.

Blog: end of the year end holiday mood - not!
Anonymous
oh no...checking shopdrawings is a real pain in the a**. especially those on huge A0 sized paper with creases where they've been folded. then there're the 3 boxes to check - APPROVED (= can't find mistakes so just tick gingerly...nagging feeling that something i missed will come back and haunt me later), RESUBMIT (= aha, mistakes aplenty. good job at spotting them. satisfaction akin to spotting wally. downside is that you've got to check another set of resubmission dwgs), APPROVED WITH COMMENTS (this is the no win no lose option, my favourite box).

Blog: Animal observation
scratch_and_claw: haha so the rabbits haven't been killed by the cats like you were wondering the other day ;P
froufrou: that cat must be my cousin.
poooey: I thought you are a bitch?
froufrou: Then you ah kow lah!

Blog: About nothing at all
little universe: are you wearing your 'i need an epilator' t-shirt again?

Hope you had a laugh reading it and wait for my Top Ten blogs and comments due in 3 years time.

BTW can anyone tell me who signs off as 'the hamster' ?

Notice I only post entries when I'm at home in Penang.... the last time I posted was 58 weeks ago, that's like more than a year ago! I checked the latest friends' entry and there's nothing too! guess everyone is busy celebrating CNY.

This year I spent reunion dinner with IH's family for the first time, felt a bit strange and sad that I didn't spend it with my family. IH came back with me to Penang after that, and thank God everything is OK so far. it is rather funny to see my parents trying to speak to him in English.

Everytime I'm back in Penang, I'm reminded how beautiful this place is, at least to me. and how many nice memories I have of Penang. of course now it's more crowded, more cars, more malls and more buildings around although quite a few thoughtlessly built. The only thing is it's freakin hot right now and shady trees are not exactly the favourites of the local city council.

I was in Penang 2 weeks ago and went hiking up a hill at a place called Youth Park with my sis. She's been doing this for weeks already apparently and I must say results are showing.

I was quite pleasantly surprised at the existance of this trail, as I've never realised it existed through all my visits to Youth Park in my teenage years which was mainly to roller skate. The path is au naturel, earthen and cut by some kind folks and smoothened by the daily trots of hikers.

Halfway up the hill, I asked my sis if there was anything to drink up there as I was really exhausted and thirsty and needed something to look forward to. She said there were drinks but since neither of us brought money, I told her it would be a problem. To which she said it was ok cos the drinks were free. For lack of breath I decided not to ask anymore but I was thinking, could it be a watercooler or some spring water from the ground?

So I was pleasantly surprised at the end of my ardous climb, there was a kind of make shift shelter with benches and tables and people sitting around sipping from cups and bowls. There were free coffee, water and green bean soup! People were washing their own bowls and putting it back. Free! I can't believe there is still such a thing in this day and age. I don't know who sponsored this or put in the effort prepare the drinks daily but it really makes me feel happy that such a camaderie still exist. 

I guess that's the nice thing about staying in a small city. There is somekind of community spirit, people somehow interact and talk more easily with each other. When I went back down the hill and was using one of the outdoor exercise machine where 2 person can swing on it facing each other simultaneously, a fat Malay woman just hopped on and asked me what it's for. She was swinging happily away and talked to me like I was her neighbour. Back in Singapore, I don't even talk or have eye contact with the person whom I see frequently on the lift. 

Oh well maybe tomorrow I should say hi to my neighbour....


that's me in oversized unglam attire

 
my sis tucking in to a bowl of watery green bean soup

Weekends in JB is really a time for (forced) resting. For some reason on weekends at home, I don't have the time to sit around and laze; if there's nothing to do, I may sleep for a while but I'll wake up feeling really guilty. But here there's nothing for me to do cos I'm at TC's house. So basically it's sleep, eat, watch a lot of DVD, eat, nap and maybe go to the supermarket for a while. One of the perks is that food is taken care of, like when I'm home in Penang. It's like a relaxing holiday I must say, not like one of those holidays where you come back needing another few days of rest.

But if I were to stay a few more days, I may become permanently lethargic...

Bi-cycle! Bi-cycle!

Today i got myself a spiffy red bicycle with chain and bell from my friendly neighbourhood bicycle shop for $83 only! TC got the same thing but in black. We cycled to Kayla's house and saw Scooter barking madly at us from the gate and rode off after that to Siglap. Ate unspectacular 'shao rou' and chicken rice for dinner. To make our ride to Siglap more worthwhile we had cake and coffee at Starbucks after that.

On the way back we tried a different route and ended up having to carry our bicycles across the overhead bridge. Not fun. Cycled around quite a bit too cos we were a little lost. Halfway cycling next to the deep drains next to the tall trees that basically left us cycling in the dark, I was praying for a safe return home..

Now my thighs are hurting, I can't imagine what it'll be like tomorrow...

I got 3 miniatures from little universe for me birthday, put them together and had fun taking pictures of them.

Unbeknownst to Moomoo and his friend, a giant kangaroo watches 
on from behind a tree as they busy themselves with supper


'Get away from me lady friend you kangaroo pervert'


Jack trying his darnest to capture his dog poised to 
strike two spring birds while Jill watches on.

I just watched the execution of Saddam Hussein on the internet and somehow I have an overwhelming feeling of sadness after that. Although he is reported to have killed many people and committed many atrocities still, I feel sorry for him and sad to see him hanged.

I remember back in 2003 when US was going to attack Iraq and watching Saddam on tv defiantly challenging them to the time when he was found, dishevelled and hiding in a hole on the ground.

Why can't they imprison Saddam for life, why hang him? Killing him won't make the past wrong right.

I've always felt resentment that US attacked another sovereign nation and without the consensus of the UN. US had always decided what is good for other nations. Their claimed weapons of mass destruction were never found, and if they are really so concerned, why not attack North Korea. If Iraqis themselves had brought down Saddam it is well and good but then again perhaps they can't help themselves...

I wonder if there is any other way another nation could have helped Iraq attain democracy...but for now, we just have to believe that what big brother decides is for the best.

As you can see inertia got the better of me. but anyway, whilst my Egypt photos are being processed, I shall post some other nonsense.

today the evening news reported that in malaysia a ban was imposed (or was it a recommendation list?) on certain baby names. in my mind I was thinking what kind of names deserve to be banned, not like pple are so stupid to name their kids vulgar names. Like Leong Ah Tu?

Anyway for Malays, names like Zoini - Male adulterer and Wonti - Female seductress are nonos. (anyway think I got them wrong don't quote me ok). and for chinese Ah Kow and Sam Seng. hahahaha! I've heard of Ah Kow and they are 60+ now but Sam Seng? and no babies to be named after fruits (Apple?), colours, veges. heehee. I didn't know unsuitable names are so prevalent in Malaysia.