My dog, Whisky

My first dog Whisky, who had been guarding the house and a great companion to my family for the past 13 years has died three weeks ago. It was very difficult for me during the two weeks before her passing. She just laid on the floor, eats nothing and cries every now and then.

She has never been vaccinated since young, and because heart worm transmission is common in tropical countries, she is no exception to get that. At those time, none of us knows about such vaccination to prevent heart worms in the blood stream. As the heart worms grew so as the dog, it became difficult or almost impossible to treat them. Vets have said an infected dog could normally live for about 10 years in tropical countries. Whisky was a strong fighter. She has been trying to be strong fighting with her weaker than normal heart until her death.

I could still recall playing with her running around in the compound, splashing water from the first floor down on her, she just loved it. Everytime we play badminton she would bark non-stop just so she could be released from the den. She loves the shuttlecocks, each time biting it into pieces when she gets it. She would get excited just by seeing my racket, net or the badminton bag. Lizards, mice or any crawling animals are her favourites 'toys'. Cats are her greatest enemies, she would chase them until they are out of sight.

She was buried on top of the hill behind my neighbour's house.

Whisky - Forever in my heart.

I Love You... Very Much...

You'd think I'd remember
how miserable I always am
after an argument with you.

You'd think I'd remember
how sad and alone I always feel,
even if I think I "won".

But the problem is--
I don't always think.
Instead. I let my emotions plunge me
headlong into a situation
that's hurful to both of us.

Then, and only then,
I seem to remember how empty
life seems when things
aren't right between us.

I know some things
are hard to overlook or forgive..
but if you could do just that,
I'll try very hard
to make you glad you did.

The 12 Apostles in Melbourne

It's been roughly six months since the last time I posted. The reason for that is: lost of interest in posting, and perhaps a little bit of laziness. So I logged in today and somewhere it reads Last Post: April; Total Post: 48. I was thinking... 48?! That's a LOT (well for me it is). I didn't realised that!

Anyway I just got back from Australia on Monday. I was on holiday in Sydney and Melbourne for 10 days - Sydney for a day only and the same nite flew to Melbourne. A much awaited holiday for me. Here are some photos of the famous 12 Apostles in Melbourne, about 4-5 hours drive from the city by bus. Very winding road, with really nice sceneries although I didn't enjoyed much of it as I was feeling very drowsy, not to mention the 'egg & ham sandwich grinded in warm orange juice' that was made during the journey.

Quotes

Obvious quotes that I found online, however, they are interesting and maybe a reminder:

A person is among all else a material thing, easily torn not easily mended.

The hardest part isn't finding who we need to be;

it's being content with who we are.

Beware the fury of a patient man.

There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches but

the wrong comes when riches possess man.

Just when you think there is no one else to disappoint you, you disappoint yourself.

Life is the garment we continually alter but which never seems to fit.

Mistakes are inevitable, what separates a person from others is

the improvement made after a mistake is realised.

Silence is text easy to misread.

Falling asleep

I'm having difficulty trying to sleep now. Perhaps if you have consistent problems of sleeping, you could try the following (some are obvious):

1) Do something you like prior to sleeping, eg. take a bath, take a walk, play with pets, or anything intimacy.
2) Make tomorrow's to-do lists just before you go to bed to reduce your anxiety and keeps your organised.
3) Get yourself ready to sleep by relaxing a few hours advance.
4) Read the dullest book.
5) Avoid excitement shortly before bedtime.
6) Start counting
7) Change the bed, or bedsheets.
8) Adjust light levels to a comfortable level.
9) Get into comfortable position, loosen any tight or restrictive clothing.
10) Practice deep breathing
11) Listen to music. Soothing ones. Just like the one in this blog.

Sweet dreams.

Picture Perfect

I just thought this is a really good photo and will be nice to be put in this blog. Mind you, this photo is not taken from the web, but taken by a friend who is not a professional photographer. I guess we call it 'kalok' to be able to shoot such a nice looking photo. If you right click the photo and save it, then use your picture viewing program to enlarge the photo, you will notice a guy carrying a baby girl in a dress. The image of the guy and the little girl are blur, but I like the fact that the strangers fit into this picture really well. (Even the photographer did not realised there are people behind it...real kalok.)

Insensitivity

Sensitivity is probably the most common word in the management of relationships. The usual implications is that men lacking it, or even don't have it, are the reasons for social ills. Often men are not even aware that they are hurting. I googled a few sites on this topic and compiled certain things to note, or should I say useful.

If women were to really get sensitive to their men, most often they would be so much disappointed. The men would be thinking, "Why should I be so sensitive? Why do I want to let it affect me badly?". More often than not, when being commented on insensitivity they would think otherwise and goes: "I'll see what I can do and show just how sensitive I can be." Instead, it would probably be more effective that a man needs to regain his sensitivity for completeness, to get out of anger traps, to avoid emotional crippling of both parties, to improve his relationship with a woman, and to rid himself of addictions or to reduce stress.

Men tends to have the capacity to forget things, let go of problems more easily. The only drawbacks of that talent is that it brands us as being insensitive in the eyes of the females.

We are all insensitive in some degree, because your experience is not mine, nor mine yours. Our differences in life experience will cause others' reasoning, ideas, and problems. Instead of demanding total sensitivity, the key is to not respond unhappily when we are misunderstood.

Quotes for Thoughts

"One of the tests of leadership is to recognise a problem before it becomes an emergency." - Unknown

"He who is not impatient is not in love." - Italian Proverb

"Our culture teaches us to buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like." - Gordon Bishop

"When a man tries to see into the distance, what does he do? He narrows his eyes." - Lady Miyako

"When you love, you risk not being loved back. Then again, when you live, you risk dying. Take the risk." - Unknown

"Choices are the hinges of destiny." - Unknown

"To wonder is to begin to understand." - Aristotle

"The best things in life are not things." - Unknown