Wendy's Short Chapters

2006-12-09T15:59:00.000+08:00

08 Dec 06 Friday

We came back home to find Cookie lying around. Thought tht it was her usual self, there wer several pools of dried up urine and a big pool of vomit look alike stuff.. Cookie didnt eat her breakfast in the morning, thus i deduced that the pool of stuff should have been Valent's as he was also roaming the place beside Cookie.

didnt thought that anything was different with ah girl, i set down to clean up the place. It was only when Ah Kee realised that she was lying in her own urine when we were slightly alarmed...

cookie couldnt move. we propped her up, that didnt help her. She stood that for half a minute (or even lesser). She didnt take any step forward with our constant coaxings.

I thought she was feeling naughty again and didnt think much of it. Washed her up, blowed her dry. Offered her water, to my delight and surprise she took it in. I thought that Cookie has felt better. By then, she wasnt wagging her tail even when we mentioned her name. she still didnt want any food. We could feel that her breathing was labourious and have decided to bring her to the vet on saturday..

I set her to bed soon after. around 2.45am, i was alarmed by ah kee's voice. Cookie has soiled herself with her watery stools. And the more larming thing is that her eye balls were twitching beyond her control.

thats when we rushed her to emergency clinic.

2006-12-09T15:49:00.000+08:00

Cookie, come back safely. . .
This home needs you....
Dont ignore us...
we are your loved ones, arent we..
Dont not recognise us...
Come back safely.

We love you...
Its not your time yet...
you have done nothing to deserve this...
we will ride through this together..
Come back Cookie...

Please.... Dear Lord, almighty Lord...
I know that I have not been diligent in my faith
its not Cookie's fault.. Let the suffering be on me...
Let her come back home safely... let her be well once more..
Come back...Cookie...
safely... swiftly..

We love you.

Reunion of a long lost friend.....

2006-10-10T22:37:00.000+08:00

We are finally reunited after a period of 1 year and 2 months... I must say that its all thanks to Casey who took the "real initiative" to insist and arrange for the meetup. It wasnt as "scary" and awkward as i imagine it to be.

Casey, actually i am glad that my blog can invoke some actions from you as my previous attempts weren't met with full conviction from you. But i was impressed with your persistent attempts and efforts in making sure that i turned up. Anyway, you know what i mean. I am also glad that CK turned up.. the situation didnt seem complete till he arrived with his classic way of making sure that whatever past episodes had its necessary closure.

I am glad things turn out well. :)

confused....

2006-10-08T03:20:00.000+08:00

I AM ONE CONFUSED BITCH~~~~~!!! Arrggghh

The Space

2006-10-07T15:37:00.000+08:00

If you love me and care for me, you will give me enough space to move around

If you trust me, you know that whatever i do , it is not meant to hurt you or undermine you

If you understand me, you know that i will share whatever i can with you in due time. I just need that space at this time

Even as good friends, we may be at different stage of life and have different needs and goals, I don't mean to hide, bluff or be untruthfully to you

Though i have been promised i won't be judged, shouldn't judge and i shouldn't doubt that i would be judged, but I can't help but be wary and eventually judged that i might be judged...

Why can't things be simple and uncomplicated? Where emotions are invested and not expected to be given that level of reciprocal committment

Recently i thought of Jasmine. Still feeling sorry that things turned out the way it did. how things had gotten so out of control.. the emotions that got more and more complicated after we think and rethink the events in our heads

I started to think if it was even necessary then. Guess everyone was feeling raged and confused. Everyone had a certain level of expectations of being understood, a certain level given that beneift of doubt and mutually compromise.

Happy Birthday, Jacylnn....

2006-09-24T15:17:00.000+08:00

Smitten with My Lovely SamSoon

2006-09-24T13:52:00.000+08:00

I don't know what went wrong with mebut i actually went to spend like S$38 on the OST for My Lovely SamSoon.... which I accidentally found out that there is a OST 2 ..... hahahaha... (here I come.... : P)

All the tracks inside are just so enchanting and soothing...felt like a revisit to a few years back when I was so obsessed with the Taiwan series, "Liu Xing Hua Yuan - Meteor Garden with F4 and Shan Cai..." Bought the whole set of the 2 series as well as their respectively OST...

Hmmm, just can't get over the romantic scenes and the handsome dudes in my head....

Maybe its stories of seeing the dramatic changes in these guys who had carefree, bossy attitudes who will do whatever they please and whose hearts were so completely won over by the least possible girls. These guys fell heads over heels in love with them, surprising not for their looks and appearance... Was her cheery and optimistic disposition the reason why the moody male leads had turned around with romance instead??? Loving the female leads with feverish passion...

Its a sweet and funny show, reflecting bits of the Korean mindset and thinking in the pursuit of the perfect romance.

I guess miraculous love stories are still very much capable of fuelling and tugging at the lonely hearts of today's society who may seems to possess the best of materials but lack the quality aspects of a relationship.

Ages....

2006-09-19T09:18:00.000+08:00

It has been ages since i blogged. the past few weeks have been really really busy. Besides the regular MJ sessions that we had, my mind is practically just on work, coming back home every evening - take care of the mess the dogs created, have dinner with Ah Kee, rest early and wake up to go work. It has been a rough ride since, and i forsee that to be the situation for the next coming months.

Not too sure if it has been mis-expectations on my end about the job which i had accepted last Dec... the new boss and work environment that i had embraced with full conviction. The solid confidence has since been chipped off by little little events and developments. Was the leap really too wide a gap for me to reach? It set me thinking if i am really suited for this job as a career path. But then again, i have been gaining various areas of satisfaction from work, deals closed, new connections made, new exposure gained...

Was it time again for a career move???? I've learnt through the hard way that 5 years is definitetly too long a duration to stay at a single company if there is not much of progress. But 1 year???? seems to be too short huh... Trying to grasp as much control as i could, how do i give myself that opportunity to push on when i wasnt about to be given that opportunity by others. I gathered that there is only so much that is in my control, there's only so much that i can do, for myself, my pride, my job.

Sometimes i really feel that humans do make things difficult for themselves. No challenges - - - life is boring and stagnant, there is no achievement or sense of satisfaction. Too challenging - - we are so stressed up that we couldnt operate at the optimum level.

I will take this as another learning experience since i left comfort zone with RE. Life may be better, pasture may be greener but hey, let's be practical and realistic, we will hit bald patches and hallucinated scenes of loveliness and well-being.

Luckily for me while i had my darkest moments of emotional caved-ins, i found myself having multiple hands and paws supporting me in semi-darkness (where even i couldnt see what's up ahead, whats around me). But those were warm comforting holds who took turns to support me. They gave me strength to push on and perserve for better opportunities and life to come by...

So i am telling myself that i will do the best to my ability, treat my loved ones well. We may leave behind a great reputation, a great name... but hey, these are eventually all memories, at most remembered for just a while. Come end of the day, we all end up in ashes, dont we?

I dont want life to be only be monetary gains and possessions. I want to be at peace with myself.

my love style.....

2006-08-21T23:26:00.000+08:00

Your Love Style is Agape

You are a caring, kind, and selfless partner.Unsurprisingly, your love style is the most rare.You are willing to sacrfice your world for your sweetie.Except it doesn't really feel like sacrifice to you.For you, nothing feels better than giving to the one you love.

What's" Your Love Style?

A typical Canine Sunday...

2006-08-13T21:38:00.000+08:00

Sleepy, Cookie?

hmmm, its only right.... we had a good lunch.. yawn... its time for a short siesta ... hmmmm, ready to sleep .. anytime

Hey, you should choose a comfy place like the mattress... otherwise you wont get quality rest... I need to be supercharged for my next session of speeding around the house....

What? you guys going to nap now??? I am in the middle of my treat munching.... how can that ever override anything... are you guys still thinking straight..? Treats dont come everyday you know?

Hmmm, the vet says ...

2006-08-13T21:27:00.000+08:00

We brought all three of them to the vet on Sat for their annual boosters... the vet checked the regular stuff.. and looked pleased when he said that all three of them are in good health, good coat, good dental..

Cookie would have to watch her weight though in case there is complications from her obesity issues..

Other than that, i must say that we are rather proud that our kids are well taken care of...

Hmmmm, heehee nice work....

the fireworks were so amazing....and so are you Kee...

2006-08-13T20:45:00.000+08:00

http://gallery.clubsnap.com/showphoto.php/photo/68669/size/big/cat/recent/limit/recent

Think i must have been hooked on fireworks...

Ah kee brought me to watch the fireworks on Friday and Saturday.... it was just.. Awesome...

We walked from Suntec to watch the performance along Marina promenade park after work. We were just in time while we joined the crowd to see the first boom... the sky lit up over and over again with gold, red, green, purple.. covered with curtains of gold dust.... "showered" onto the spectators ... there were even fireworks set off the water surface...

I was hooked and was determined to watch the last show on Saturday....

and so we went... Ah kee drove us to Marina South where rows and rows of vehicles parked, bringing families and friends full of anticipation of the final perfomance of the Fireworks Festival for this year...
it was a good location, and i thoroughly enjoyed the leisure 2 hours the both of us had, lazing on the grass... chatting like old times... it felt really good .. as we were still dating years ago..

hahahaa, i think i was more bowled over by Ah Kee's romantic thoughts and arrangements than the fireworks... though the fireworks was still really very nice... but a bit too far away... if you were to watch it from Marina South instead of Marina Promenade park.

Now you guys know why i still idolised ah kee after so many years, after so much development.. it is because i know that he still cares and takes the effort to make me feel special and loved....

Waves around the shoreline of the Kingdom of Sand

2006-08-01T22:46:00.000+08:00

It is time for the imprisoned commoners to decide, are they imagining how bad things are for them or are things really unbearable...

No doubt the royalities are rewarding the commoners with lots of spades to build their beautiful sand castles.. but they are also hose-ing down the works built through sweat and blood.

Frustrating processes that are repeated over and over again, all becos of the mini landlord's rapidly changing mood swings...influencing the ruling policies.

To continue to build sand castle or to see the real grand castles... it s your choice... take your pick

I WAN TO LOSE WEIGHT

2006-08-01T22:21:00.000+08:00

Someone told me today... that she felt sad for my under utilised gym package... Hearing this, i realised that what she said is quite true...

Hmmm , i have decided... i am going to be more active ... I want to lose weight!!!!!

About Wish

2006-07-27T19:24:00.000+08:00

It is really amazing how Wish knows when i am going out for work or for leisure. Every morning, i would wish all my 4 darlings goodbye before closing the door. Before closing, i would usually check on Wish's facial expression, followed by Valent and Cookie.

Somehow, Wish really knows when i am going off for work or not. If i am going to work, he will not "ramp" the door fanatically coupled with his series of sharp barks that could be heard around the neighbourhood. This is witnessed again recently when i was at home on sick leave.

Ah Kee was sleeping when i left to see the doctor. The minute i stepped out the house, he started his series of stressed behaviour. Ah kee said that usually when i leave for work, all 3 of them will each go to one corner and continue their morning naps.

Aint dogs really one's soul companions? i am awed at their ability in differentiating ...

If there were to be canine baseball or football clubs, Wish would be the one doggy the talent scouts have to include in their player list. You should look at how he can turn and twist in the air so that he could catch the toy/ ball that was thrown to him.

Any height / any angle , you throw the ball, he aims for it. No doubt needed that he would let the opportunity passed.

This is further reaffirmed when he dashed towards groups of football games in the parks (adults or children) as he rushed to be part of their game. All these because he is one BIG ball fan....

Nowadays, Wish and Valent have this habit of waiting aside by the bedroom door for me to enter for bedtime. The minute i am in, Wish will make his way on to Ah Kee's pillow and plonk himself down, making himself very comfortable for bedtime.

He is getting more and more classy in his selection of bedding too. Towards the middle of the night, i am likely to find his head on Ah kee's pillow while his body is on the bed.. ( sleeping just like us) .

Friends around me may find me grumbling and complaining about how he destroyed our household stuff... however, at the end of the day, Wish is really a sweetheart, and he knows that he had a place in my heart no matter what happens.

Define Life

2006-07-17T23:13:00.000+08:00

Define.... the following.

Marriage

Relationship

Being Steadfast

Blindly Optimistic and Positive

Monetary and Emotional values

Fairness

Qn: What is life really all about?

the sun will still rise in the east regardless..

2006-07-03T22:34:00.000+08:00

Much seems to have changed especially recently......
wonder if it something done by me
Initially its my departure and separation
causing some form of distress and discomfort
then things seems to settle its sediments
Maybe that's what i thought

Just when i decided to come clean with most people
things start to change...
some for the better... some for the worse...

What exactly went wrong???

*all my hair has nearly been stressed-dropped ... aaarggghhhhh*

4 years past .... just like that

2006-07-03T22:25:00.000+08:00

its amazing....whenever people asked me how long have you been married? i normally wouldnt rem the exact duration... till this football faze re-ignited itself 4 years later from my wedding dinner...

ha ha ha...now i can always remind myself by tagging the date with World Cup next time round!!!!

~STRESSED STRESSED STRESSED~

2006-05-16T21:44:00.000+08:00

When will things stablise... how much more time will it take??? how long more should i wait???
how much more should i do???

sometimes

2006-04-15T23:25:00.000+08:00

i just wanna be nice and allow other people to have their say when it comes to making a decision. What's the rush...? at least let them vocalise their views , preferences ... why hasten the process just because of impatience... it could have been a more pleasurable process and result.

Letting others have their ways doesnt mean that i have a weaker character, its just that the issue at hand is not critical enough or that crucial for me to make my stand or insist on my stand.

Enough of MISUNDERSTANDINGS!!!! either i am thought of being the leader of ideas or that i am too weak to make a stand!!

About Gemini ... About Wendy....

2006-03-05T22:33:00.000+08:00

Gemini Astrology, Gemini Horoscope, Gemini the Twins

Gemini, the Twins, a constellation of the Zodiac, is seen best in the Northern Hemisphere. The two brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, are named after the twin sons of Leda in Greek mythology. Pollux is a first-magnitude star. Castor, a second-magnitude star, is a triple star, and each of its components is a double star--making six stars in all. Gemini is located by extending an imaginary line from the two bottom stars in the Big Dipper's bowl away from the handle.

The Gemini's personality
Gemini Zodiac Sign - ruled by Mercury. Your Sun Zodiac sign may not best describe your personality features, your characteristics and general qualities that you bring to life. For many people, their Ascendant or its planetary ruler is the more obvious characteristic, or sometimes the

Moon sign.

Your Sun sign, rather, says more about the direction you should be moving in, to make the contribution to humanity you were born to make, and thus achieve a degree of personal fulfilment. (The planet that rules your Ascendant says as much, probably more, about this than your Sun sign.)

The purpose of Gemini is to be one who gathers and conveys information. Gemini is to the human race as a whole what the nervous system (which Gemini rules) is to the body. If the body is in touch with a dangerous object, the nervous system carries a message to another part of the body that results in an impulse being generated which has the necessary effect of withdrawing that part of the body from the dangerous object. Or your senses may detect a pleasant fragrance coming from somewhere, a message signals that it might enhance your enjoyment of life if you move towards the source of the fragrance, and you might move towards it (especially if you have planets in Taurus in your birth chart - Taurus enjoys the physical pleasures of life!)

Traits of a Gemini:

Witty
Restless
Curious
Gets bored easily
Entertaining
Energetic
Intellectual
Versatile
Manipulative
Freedom-loving
Optimistic
Naughty
Fickle-minded
Conniving
Cynical

Likes...

Excitement
Communicating
Adventures
Learning
News & gossip
Writing
Travel
Gadgets

Dislikes...

Wasting time
Repetitiveness
Immorality
Hypocrisy
Seriousness
Being analyzed
Narrow-mindedness
Holier-than-you mindset

Lifelong companions and commitment

2006-03-05T21:55:00.000+08:00

something which i found on a doggie website... which i thought was very apt.. i am sure most of my closer friends would probably be able to appreciate the following as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My dear dogs,

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note that placing a paw printin the middle of my plate and food does not mean it becomes your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. The stairway is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the objective. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.I cannot buy anything bigger than a king- sized bed. I am very sorry about his. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm and disrespect.For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If, bysome miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, bark, try to turn the knob or stick your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. I have been using the bathroom for years-- canine attendance is not mandatory.To pacify you, my dear doggie, I have posted the following message on our front door:

Rules for Non- Dog Owners Who Visit and Always Complain About Our Dogs

1. They live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)

3. I like my dogs a lot better than I like most people.

4. To you, it's a dog. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is shorter, hairy, walks on all fours, and does not speak clearly.Remember: Dogs are better than kids because they: eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called,never drive your car, don't hang out with drug- using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things to thank for....

2006-01-05T21:45:00.000+08:00

It's my first blog for the year 2006, and the past 3 weeks have been most eventful for me.

2005 started with a bang for me with my first official flight to Shanghai with two friends, giving me my first encounter with snow...

It brought me wonderful memories till this day.

Along the way, came all sort of flavours of life. It ended almost disasterously with a wound on my back. Luckily, things couldnt have ended better. With my leaving of Re, i found even better conditions thereafter in a greener pasture...

Thank God for everything that i had! Things and events couldnt have been smoother and well timed. In fact, i should give thanks to my ex "team Leader" (let's rem that she is a leader in name only k.. and lets not have any more misunderstanding than necessary after all the hoo haa... hehehee)

In fact, i have more to thank for besides the above... I am grateful that my hubby has been with me for the 11th xmas and New Year, despite all the rough ride we had all these years. Though we had our fights and upset moments, i could feel a better relationship between us, hopefully we could better our marriage and family life along the way.

Of course, i am not forgetting my family - my parents, my sisters and my brothers. I always feel like a teenage when i am around them.

I am also grateful to a group of close friends. to tell you the truth, this is the first time that i count down to Xmas and New year with friends. It was a heartwarming moment though the setting was at home.

To this, i wanna say, dear friends , i am really glad that you are all in my life. Take care of yourself and may all good things happen to you....

Here's wishing everybody as blessed a year as possible!

Cheers

Ain't no Mountains high enuf...Aint no Valleys low enuf... Aint no Rivers wide enuf

2005-12-08T17:32:00.000+08:00

for friends who are wondering what that wendy has been doing the last few weeks,after she had gotten stabbed behind ... here goes some updates.

this list is according to priority if not importance..

1) sleep (Well, it is essential, if i need to recover from the nasty wound behind)

2) job hunting ( I will survive.. hey i cant succumb to the evildoer's plot right?

3) clean up the house ( beginning to dread being 24 by 7 at home...endless fur , shit and pee to clear.. not to mention the pails and pails of stuff to wash!!! God help me!!)

4) idling at home with my 3 darlings (rare and nice moments ... ahhhhh ... shiok, thats more like it)

5) went out to walk walk, eat, meet up with friends, catch shows like Chicken Little and Harry Potter

6) exercise (YES! I did it! I walked to ECP with Wish to exercise for another hour plus or so.. haha,can feel my confidence seeping back ;))

7) attempts to cook for Ah kee(got to show him some homely TLC before i have to spend my time and efforts at work again..:p)

Dont worry, basically i am ok. i will survive,while at least i am mentally and spiritually ok, although physically fat with limb muscles. (will work on that.. need to get more adrenaline pumping)

Sigh ..So, resolutions for 2006... to get back in shape and good physical health, to be careful of future backstabbers as well as to have improved relationships for all in my life!

Here's to the coming Xmas and 2006! Cheers

Our Last Night in Bali ~ Grand Balisani

2005-12-08T16:21:00.000+08:00

Grand Balisani is a very beautiful place to live in when one visits Bali, considering the amount of money we spent on accommodation, i think that we have gotten more than the fair share of worth back. It has wonderful and friendly staff... who made great efforts in making their guests feel at home.

Check with Casey on this, she will swear by how the staff ensured and assured her that the poor lizard roaming in her bathroom's sink was absolutely harmless...Hey who knows, mebe lizards are supposed to be there, like you know they are the original habitants before Casey lived in...and she doesnt even have to pay extra for the lizard's companionship... hor Casey? ; )

hahaha

anyway, wanted to show more pics about the superb pool we had in the hotel.. and our rendenvous for the last evening in Bali..

We had vodka, chips and lots of silly talks..

We will miss the place....

And... He Passed with Flying colours!!!!

2005-12-08T16:12:00.001+08:00

Guess, that's it for the basic class..

Wish came in first.. or so Augustine boasted to Ck and Casey during one of our "111" lunches...

As they were aweing and all, i followed up with another "fun fact", i said:

" hmmm, but his class hor, only has 2 students today..."

hahaha, so i guess, that says a lot about everything..

but hey, I am still proud of you Wish.. Luckily we didnt come in second place hor? : ) Muck muck ...

Summising our Bali Escapade

2005-12-07T22:42:00.003+08:00

The last day of our trip was rounded up by going back to Kudeta where we looked forward to seeing the picturesque sunset. We were certainly not disappointed...

Actually besides ending our trip with the wonderful sunset scenes, we had a little surprise for the two bdae babies.. (Caz and Bern)....

Bernard,... you thought that you were very smart and alert right? Guessing that we wouldnt have celebrated only Caz's bdae alone knowing that yours was a couple of days before hers...

hahahah,despite all efforts for the pre empt that we would also be celebrating his bdae, Bernard still had a surprise and shock i should say.... (hopefully that it was a pleasant one though)

Poor Jennice though..she had a really hard time trying to avert /divert bernard's probing and leading questions...He is growing child u know with lots of inquistivity... u know lah, questions from kids are always hard to handle. ;)

As for Caz, Ck brought her to the shoreline to stroll while the staff at Kuteda prepared the bdae cake... He too had a hard time trying to justify to her why there wasnt enough time for her to take a pony ride... insisting that its already late and all... so that they could go back to the surprise in time..

the Staff came out in 2 crowds, singing their Balinese bdae song, delivering two sets of prettily displayed chocolate volcano cakes that had melted chocolate inside. They were so creative that they even wrote their names on the plates as part of the decoration... It was a satisfyingly touching scene.

no words could describe the surprise on both their faces...

Perfect ending to a perfect trip..

last but not least... as we approached the airport, i saw this billboard that says,

"If there were no peace, its because we forgot we belong to each other"

I think that that was a wonderful statement. Hopefully there will come this day where we need not remind ourselves any further not to self destruct our environment, the human race and this warming globe that we live on.

Peace

10 weeks of training efforts...

2005-11-30T00:51:00.000+08:00

It was a fast 10 weeks before we started on Wish's training course, and before we know it, Wish will be having his test this coming sunday. We will know by then if he makes the mark..... : )
If he makes it, we will probably proceed on with the intermediate level where Wish will learn fetch, jumping over hurdles and more advance heelwork..

Wish us luck ..!

1st Attempt @ Water Rafting~

2005-11-20T23:35:00.000+08:00

One of the exciting highlights of our trip would definitely be the water rafting experience... We set out in the morning with great anticipation.

After we geared up, we walked down the mountain to reach the river below. Treacherous steps were estimated to be around a hundred or so.. coarsely made from stone slabs. .. I had a very difficult time managing my fear for height, on top of it, steep steps with no handholds....

By the time i reached the river point where we board our raft, i had a pair of jelly legs... good thing there were guys in the group, giving me confidence as well as acting as my fall "breaker" by walking in front of me.

i thought that for a first timer, we did pretty well. Think most of us would agree that we could handle a better and faster river. The Ayung river which we rode on was basically quite mild, of course we found the water to be extremely refreshing already with the river ride giving us pure oxygen that we would not have any chance to inhale if not for this trip. The refreshing air was complemented by the green forliages, the sound of waterfalls, gurgling and swirling sounds of the river around boulders...

Highlight of this trip was a "no time to remember how much ability i have , but i have got to save CK".. hahaha, I really do think that Jennice and myself would not ever forget this scene as we pulled Casey back while she reached selflessly towards the side of the raft where Ck has fallen off. It was an act of True Love.

:) All in all, it was an enriching experience, and .... we have found an even better river to nagivate when we go back to Bali the next time round, it would be cheaper, the river cleaner, faster and the steps to the river. would be a easy 7 steps...urrrgggh.... how come we didnt have that good lobang .... before we decide on river Ayung...?

But again,

rafting gears USD 10

rafting guide USD 15

to witness Casey selfless attempt to save Ck ~~ Priceless...

Sea Sports day

2005-11-07T10:41:00.000+08:00

We had a sumptous breakfast buffet in the morning.... not many guests around... we almost had the whole place to ourselves. Having rested, we were all looking forward to a great day ahead!

Today will be the Sea Sports day ... Setting out at 10am, Komang drove us to Nusa Dua where the beaches were incredulously beautiful and white .....

we had a small unpleasant hiccup while we were negotiating for a good package which led us to leave the premise in search for another vendor. Apparently along the same stretch of beach, the guys managed to find a very competitive quotation... Upon learning , the original vendor 'A' went over with us to "talk" to them....

Boy, do i feel threatened... *swallowed saliva*.. he walked as if he was going to tear down the other party's premise while he tried to remind us over and over again that they were the main operator and the other vendors were just doing contracts for them ... sigh, apparently the other vendor was quite in their control and immediately withdrew their competitive prices the minute he spoke to them...

Thinking that we had no choice but to stick back to them and their ' so called" very good price, vendor "A" walked backed to his premise with us where our transport awaited.

hahaha, never did he expect that we actually walked back to our van , prepared to forgo whatever fun we wanted to have. hahaha could see the rude shock on his face...

Anyway, luckily our day wasnt ruined by that incident.. and we managed to get a really good deal..

We did parasailing , flying fish, snorkelling, banana boat.... and were quite sun burnt by the end of the afternoon...

What a day! Whew...

Jimbaran Seafood Dinner

2005-11-06T11:51:00.000+08:00

After all the surfing for the guys at Kuta Beach, we proceeded on to find our dinner... the thought of Seafood dinner set all of our mind drooling. After checking out prices for getting someone to drive us over, we settled for a driver that gave us a really good deal. We decided to "persuade" him to be our tour service driver for the next 4 days at our preferred price.. : P

Our seafood dinner turned out to be a good spread of bbq prawns, fried fish (the best dish), mussels/ toa tous, crabs and fresh coconuts. We were staggering with our dinner in our tummies as we head back to our hotel.

Komang (our driver) turned out to be a really good choice. He went beyond his duties of driving us around, giving us lots of advice and suggestions on where we can go to have what we want. He even went from places to places/ businesses to businesses just so that we could get the deal and the price that we want. He is really really patient with us...treating us with heart.... there was this once when i wanted to get a bag if possible. Komang brought us to this small shopping establishment.Not sure if anyone remembers The Oriental Shopping Centre" in Ang Mo Kio Central where its a regular hangout for students and aunties alike .. That place looked exactly just like that..
He even went to the extent of helping me choose a suitable one and helping to see if it is suitable for attaching a small lock to it.

Wow..we were all very impressed.. i mean.. like nowadays, where can we find such service where people who do things with their heart?

Beautiful Beautiful Bali

2005-11-05T10:51:00.000+08:00

I kept myself in suspense and anticipation as the group of us boarded the plane heading for Bali... What will i find.. nice sunny beaches? ruined restuarants destroyed by mindless terrorists? defeated Balineses?

after a 2 and a half hour flight, we reached Bali's nice sunny weather. The first impact at the airport clearly and strongly reflects the strong Balinese cultural and Hinduism religion. Statues of various gods and deities can be seen everywhere. Some of them sat on feroious creatures, some wielding awesome stances. Others sporting a surfing move reflecting the hot sport of the sunny island with strong surfs.

Bali - Very sincere, friendly people; a place with fantastic beaches with kms of flat and clean shore as well as strong surfs for aspiring surfers; lotsa buddha statues and protraits; lots of woodcrafts as well as strong beliefs in their religion by placing offerings anywhere that they think would help improve their luck.

Life is down to the basics and simple for the locals there despite the dependence of their economy on tourism industry. You can see cows grazing lazily on any green pasture that you may come across as you travel along the roads. The air there is fantastically clean, with min presence of pollution as we take in long whiffs of the sweet country side air, enjoying the chirping of the birds and other habitants of the wonderful ecosystem.

The Balinese's mobility is amazing, many of them can be seen travelling on their motorcycle or scooter, according to ah Kee, aka "cup(3) giah(4)". You can see young children riding pillion to a slightly older child or a prettily dressed lady on a nimbly rode scooter. Family of 3 to 4 pax riding on a single motorcycle is also often a common sight.

I could feel a sense of relaxation as i attempted to take in as much sight as i can. Accomodation was at the Grand Balisani Suites, a hotel with a beautifully positioned pool overlooking the sea.

On the first day , we went to Kuta Beach, where it is supposed to be very popular with tourists for both shopping as well as surfing fanatics. the feeling was overwhelming. Once we reached the beach itself, we were swarmed by different people having different services as well as wares. What impressed me was that the Balinese people were very cooperative and definitely patient, waiting for their turn to hawk their ware persuasively and persistently. What they do not have, they will reach into their neighbour's stock and help them to repackage the deal into something that you would consider buying.

fantastic people!!!

The Bomb can't Stop Us

2005-10-29T13:09:00.000+08:00

29 October 05 is finally here... Our long awaited holiday to Bali.. Not too sure if we were as eager to be there as our inital excitment! The past month was quite an emotion rollercoaster for us!

Reservations and tickets were firmed up before 1 Oct 05, however it seems a stream of never ending obstacles for us. A group of people, supposed terroists, kinda of missed the bombing Oct 2002 and decided to re enact the incident once again on the 1st Oct .

Words were passed among our clique ... Are we going or do we not... ? Concerned parents started asking... are you all still going? Can dont go, then dont go. YOU ARE NOT TO GO!!! Ah Girl, you can still go if you want to, just stay in the hotel room as much as possible, dont anyhow go walking outside ...

No one dared to put down a firm commitment, a fate which he or she might eventually be responsible for . ... Till the 2 guys in our group, Ah Kee and Ah Chew said "lets just go..."
Things will be dirt cheap... we will have a lot of bargaining power! Bring 2 get 3 free" Ah Chew fantasized!

Ah Kee even said that " of cos we got to go, we will then have opportunities to be at the story front.. should anything happen. Then we can come back and tell our friends first hand stories!!!.."

Hahaha, such are the responses to the stupid things the terrorists did. I bet they wouldnt have even thought that they will get such responses and mindset after their "heroic sacrifice"...

Anyway, we did had a better deal because of the bombing... not sure if you think its a good deal, but we were given a better hotel , better room at the same price. So Bali, fear not, we will not forsake you....

Well, will update more when... i come back safely...

Wish ~ Responding well to Training

2005-10-29T06:54:00.000+08:00

Been really busy training Wish these 2 weeks, thus no time to update my blog.. there are many things which i wanted to record.

anyway, let's start with Wish since i am basically busy with him... it has been 4 weeks of training already, and i am getting prouder of Wish's ability to respond positively by the day. While some of his class - cannies are still trying to be at terms of being in training class.... it is evident that once Wish is on "command", he instantly became a student.. A good one in fact.. He will obediently walk by my left and sit automatically (note: this is VERY Important!! really....hahahahanot many doggie students can do this well yet!) once i halted. This response is on tracked with the training syllabus .

Oncoming weeks, Wish will be trained on sit stay.. which means that he has to stay in the exact spot that i left him while i do something else as well as lying down on command.

This is going to be exciting, and i cant wait to see the end results at the end of the 10th week.

will definitely update Wish's progress once he conquered the next stage!!!

Training ~ Wish

2005-10-15T15:20:00.001+08:00

Ok Jennice. got your comment and hint.. and thanks a lot for your support on my blogging efforts.... : P

Wish's training class is really quite boring to really describe in details.. but anyway for your sake... I die die will also try.. soooooo..... Here goes nothing...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Reason for enrolling in a Training class

Wish is very different from the past doggies that we had.. He barked at anyone .. (i.e. any dog that doesn't belong to our home).. I mean .. He also barks at the small Shino (The white Maltese who lived next door..She is a frequent visitor of our home ever since she joined the neighborhood is especially since she is small enough to slip through my front gates, which is quite cute. Will probably elaborate more on this if I have time.)

So.. anyway .. Wish's social issue is pretty obvious once I started to bring him out for outings... This proves to be quite different from what I initially thought. By right he should like it a lot.. Like all dogs are supposed to like to go on their walks right...?? But I was so wrong and off target on this ...

The First Encounter

..So off we went to my friend Joleen's petshop... When Wish was introduced to all the doggies present..he was half barking half shrieking away in fear.. I mean I can actually see him tremble as he barked. Ok, so your new friends are large golden retrievers.... but.. hey they turned wary of Wish instead of their not so pleasant introduction. Those friendly retrievers were not even close enough to carry out the usual "stiffing initiation ceremony"

Evidently enough, he barked loudly and fanatically at all dogs that we met along the way on subsequent East Coast park outings... This included a very very handsome Husky.. who on the other hand wasnt even bothered or i would say aware of Wish's fanatic barky presence...

Lost face totally ... Wah la, paiseh until no hole to hide man... this is when we decided that we have to send him to a training class. I have been asked this question, hey thought that u have trained your dogs in these kind of classes before.. cant u just train Wish on your own... then can save up the training class course fee..."

Therotically , that's very possible. the training content and methods are all there. but i would like to share a thought and observation.. to bring your puppy to a training class has 2 achievable objectives... firstly : to of cos get him to be more obedient, secondly, which is more important, it is to have your puppy / dog interact with other doggies.. this socialising reason is very important and cant usually be achieved if you should train your dog on your own. Plus you are training your dog in a distractive environment where there are many humans and dogs training together.. thus it gives a better training on the concentration and attentiveness ability .

Wish'sTraining Classmates

There are altogether 7 students for this session..Namely, a golden retriever, a husky and a labrador retriever. They are from this family with 4 kids and heir mummy... there is also this min schnauzer... the breed that our dearest Casey doesnt like most.. She is a very obedient little doggy. basically quite good already... should have good potential for future training levels.The last two would be a silky mix owned by a young couple, and another cross breed owned by another family.

Wish's Well Behaved First Lesson

The trainer started off the class by demostrating the proper way of holding the leashes and the basic principles behind succesful training. then all of us were encouraged to walk and train our charge, sending vibes that we are the real leader of the pack .. and they can only but to listen and follow us. Afterwhich, we were briefed on the new stuff to be practised for the next 45 mins in class and also for the whole of next week which is also wish's and my homework.

Then all of us were lined up in 2 lines facing each other, where we practised our heelwork among our classmates upon our Trainer's command. As we all walked and halted with our charges, it was pleasantly surprisingly to note that , Wish not only didnt bark at other doggies as we walked past them, but he also didnt put up signs of rebelling or resisting of my leading him.. Of cos he did show subtle signs of sudden panic when we walked past each other... I was quite proud of Wish then.. As we always say, this marks the little milestones for Wish..

After our practical, we are given a summary briefing and a last demostration for the homework to be done for the whole of next week...So that come next Sunday, we can practise something else..

So come every week we will practise new add-on components till we have a mock test at the 10th week......

hmmm,so its really paying off, a little by little....Hang on there Wendy!!!... we must perserve on and will definitely see the results.... (Ah kee, in order to show your support for both Wishie and me, hope that you can also perserve and send us to our class every Sunday morning, k? ; ) )

Wish us luck... everyone!!

Wish's First Official Training Class

2005-10-10T15:54:00.000+08:00

9 Oct 05, (Looks like it is going to rain)

"Quick, we are going to be late."

It's sunday, 9.15 am... Can we make it in time at Simei for the 9.30 class??

'Oh no, cannot be late.. It's Wish's first official class.. Hurry leh. "
going to be late.. i bring wish downstairs first and start the engine , k? You dont always dilly dally leh...gonna be late liao"

Our latest puppy has been enrolled for the obedience training class... u noe,... hopefully he would become more sociable with other dogs and of course to be more responsive..

the past week of homework and heelwork done... will Wish forget everything when he is stressed up? for the moment , i felt like an anxious parent wanting the most perfect first day for my kid..

"haha, luckily, trainer not here yet... "
There are many cute dogs there, of which my fav is this very "GL" golden retriever, handsome face .. and good structure...

His handler is a little girl leh... think he trained the girl more than vice versa.. this time siao liao lah.. dont know if the girl will be able to handle him a not.. That golden can be quite a fighter, got into fight with a male shetland sheep dog. Good thing the trainer is there to correct his behaviour... a inspiring moment indeed.

Ah kee, our Wish has hope once again!

Whew, lesson finally over... think Wish didnt exactly make me lose face ... and everything went quite ok..

ah Wish ,sorry har, u are going to have more lessons of sit and heel coming in the next 10 weeks... good luck man ....hee hee hee

The "Forbidden Word"

2005-10-10T14:06:00.000+08:00

didnt know when we started to be so on about mj.. used to dislike it when augustine played years ago... but now... we are talking about a different story,... hahaha

lots of initiatives in arranging for mj sessions now... like once or twice a week.. in fact.. our home became a fav hangout.. and we even had a name for it.. "the ERC" -Eunos Rec CLub - cool huh?hahahah...

We are nt exactly encouraged to play mj.. and are " watched by " our mgt... thus.. we replaced it with " the forbidden word" .

the jokes we had in the office on how we can relate mj strategies with office processes anytime... and how we can communicate the mj events with min exposure.. like our mid autummn festival,.. we suggested that we can put a note in the mini mooncakes at the pantry , stating the time , place and date to meet. all we got to do is go the the pantry to get ourselves an innocent looking mini mooncake..

oh man.. we are really obsessed liao.. ???
We really got to look for alternatives to ease ourselves off this universal sport .... but
will Suzzz Xie and A mei be willing to take this suggestion? they have turned pro mj honurable members of ERC already.... oh man...

The Motivation in My Life

2005-10-09T07:01:00.000+08:00

those who know me will know how i "rave" and love my two doggies - Valent and Cookie (for the records, cookie still has a place in my heart ... although Valent is my all time fav)... My pride and soul to my life.. that is besides augustine lah...

Valent is a very handsome cocker whereas Cookie has very sweet and girlish personality ( see.. Valent cannot beat her in this are... : P).

My "thought by others as the most nelgected, most ignored..baby "COOKIE"

..She is actually also very much my pride and soul.. but hey.. everyone has to have a fav right... its just that she is the next fav after hmm Valent ... and hmmm Wish... (*sheepish grin).. she has despite all these a huge following of fans and supporters in my office...rooting for her... in case she has been .. you know nelgected by me...

But, hey, dont worry, jennice and elayne.. Cookie is still a needed member of this family to balance things out.. we wont be seeing a roaming cookie on the streets.. hahahah

WISH

to this wonderful pair of cocker spaniels, me and augustine had recently bought another puppy- a black tri american cocker spaniel ... (a colour that we had wanted for quite sometime..) after much deliberation and name changing, we called him "Wish" ... not sure how that came about.. but augustine named him.. u know lah, got to give him some sense of ownership over Wish,oh and also bcos i insisted on naming cookie "cookie".. (He wanted then to name her TINO- omg.. absolutely out of qn, right?.. it will be so "soong") .. so he gets to name Wish this time round...

Wish is also another handsome boy... however sad to say... not much of the good personality that Valent has.. hmmm... very paiseh to bring him out to meet people and other doggies....certainly not like Valent who is the social butterfly who is also friendly and responsive to anyone.. (ermmm ok, and very much to food..) valent is an excellent choice if you are planning a party and needs an appreciative crowd .. he never fails to make you feel like you are the best cook in the world ) :D

No matter what it is, i am confident that Wish would still have his fair share of fans... haahah

I love all of you BABIES... dont know what will happen to me if i were to lose anyone of you one day!!! : '( the thought of it is enough to make me teary... Waahhhh...Elixir ... i need exlixir..!!!!!