"i'm that dog, who are you" meme

Found the post in my draft folder, never got around to posting it, so here it is:

We were so touched after we read Kingsley's post on the above meme, that Jeanie wanted to post a response then.

I am that dog born on 14 July 1998 whose mother had pedigree papers but not father (even though the latter looks more like a classic BC) resulting in my not having pedigree papers.

I am that dog who was born on a farm with no address near Timaru, New Zealand, and zeenie's mum still has the slip of paper with directions to the farm.

I am that dog whose parents barked at zeenie and family when they arrived to pick me up, then consequently they fell over for a tummy rub after zeenie approached them (z: rather cautiously at first!).

I am that dog who was in a litter of 9 puppies but was the last to be adopted, thus was peeking eagerly over the wooden fenced up area in the barn where i lived.

I am that dog who did a slalom through everyone's legs beginning with the farmer's and ending with zeenie, when the farmer opened the gate to the fenced up area.

I am that dog who refused to get into the box to be transported in zeenie's dad's car back to Christchurch, and had to be carried by zeenie the whole way through.

I am that dog who scratched zeenie's face while on the way back to Christchurch, which incidentally, zeenie's dad got a fine for speeding that day a month later.

I am that puppy who lived in a big box in zeenie's garage for the first few months, and in all that time, only had an accident in the box once. All other times, i would ask for help and be subsequently let out into the garden to do my business.

I am that dog who, until today, remains a very fastidious dog and don't like to get dirty. I especially like the feeling of coming out from the groomers and usually do a little prance around when i'm in the mood.

I am that dog who had a big garden to run around in and who snuck up on birds in the garden to scare them with my barking.

I am that dog who tried beer in the garden and liked it so much, I wolfed down a whole can and was a bit loopy (but very happy) afterwards.

I am that dog who 'interviewed' various gardeners and the ones i got along with got the job. I am also that dog who supervised those gardeners when they came to do their job.

I am that dog who moved up to Wellington when zeenie got a job there, and got to sit in the passenger lounge of the car ferry as the dog kennels were being renovated and i didn't want to wait in the car.

I am that dog who loved the windy city and could be seen with a grin and a wagging tail whenever we went out.

I am that dog who visited Kaitoke a few times to try to find the elves at Rivendell, but no luck. I am that same dog who didn't dare to cross the suspension bridge until zeenie showed me it was ok. Subsequently did not notice suspension bridge (silly me!).

I am that dog who loved Wellington city itself and enjoyed walking along the harbourfront, stopping at cafes for food and drinks.

I am that dog whose favourite cafe is in Lower Hutt, called Janus, because they are pet friendly (outdoors) and the food is yummy! (try to the banana bacon pancakes!)

I am that dog who did not learn agility, did not take obedience classes, but jumped straight in to flygility. I am that dog who did so well, we graduated to the next level of classes after one term. I am that dog who was so proud when mum and dad came to see me perform at my class that i nearly ran into a table leg.

I am that dog who didn't do anymore flygility because zeenie moved back to Singapore and i decided to follow him.

I am that dog who went on a lower north island-upper south island tour with zeenie, wibblewamble, mum and dad before flying to Singapore in a specially constructed crate. I am that dog who enjoyed myself immensely on the first part of the trip as there were many pet-friendly places to stay at. Did not enjoy the second part as i do not like confined spaces and flying! To do both at once was a bother!

I am that dog who gets into fights only with dogs bigger than me, there was once, i saw a St Bernard and was all ready to show him who's boss until zeenie yanked me back and scolded me.

I am that dog who came down with tick fever one Chinese New Year and had to appeal for blood.

I am that dog who fought the tick fever all the way and only stayed in the hospital for 3 days instead of the 5-6 the vet recommended. The vet said I could go home after i persuaded him by jumping on him.

I am that dog who had to take all that medication for my tick fever and responded by spitting, flicking, hiding the various pills that my humans put in nice yummy food for me.

I am that dog who would ask my daddy to take me for walks with a woof or a wink (sometimes less).

I am that dog who posed with my humans when they got a new arrival and I loved her as much as they did.

I am that dog who snuck into the house one day to relax by the window, and would not have been found out (after i ran back out to the yard quickly) if not for the sheepskin rug that i had moved next to the window to protect me from the cold marble floor.

I am that dog who passed away just 2 months short of my 14th birthday, but will live on in my human's heart.

This little piggy....

We have been reading nursery rhymes to the offspring, mainly because she likes it, but also because we like to do it too (never thought i'd say that!). The only problem is that when the offspring likes something, she'd ask for it again and again and again.....and again, seeming never to tire of hearing the same thing (reminds me of Jeanie and her dog food dinner). So sometimes I spice things up a little when i read to her and one of the more recent examples came from a 'Mother Goose' book that is her current fav:


This little piggy went to market, which was in Chinatown and ended up (at least bits of it) next to a sign that proclaimed "best roast pork in cow car water!"

This little piggy stayed at home, smart piggy although also lazy, hence the saying "as lazy as a pig"......also 'home' for a pig is a filthy mudhole. 

This little piggy had roast beef, ok, this is just wrong here. The piggy ate some cow? I suppose they eat through anything, at least according to the movie "Snatch", which is a great movie but you can watch it when you're older.

This little piggy had none. Singapore does not believe in a welfare state where we support those who have none. So this little piggy will have to go out and work for some (for a given definition of whatever 'some' is that is appropriate for pigs), just remember not to look in a market.

And this little piggy went... "Wee wee wee" all the way home... yes, do let us know when you want to wee ok? [we are trying to get her to use the toilet instead of her diaper. =)]

2012

2012 has been a good year for me, filled with much laughter and joy with a big part of that coming from our offspring. She has adapted well to going to school and seems to enjoy being there (99% of the time) with her friends. Career-wise, i managed to take on an event management duty and it went off quite successfully although the stress for those few days actually took a while for me to recover. Not really my cup of tea i think lolz.

Looking forward to 2013, some changes will be happening: getting a new job, moving to a new house (i just need to buy a new car to complete the trifecta hahaha, although at these COE prices right now that's just crazy) and in accordance with a recent sermon i heard, a change of heart is being planned: a new outlook/approach. Instead trying to be nice to everyone, I'm going to devote 2013 to my family and myself. Not having to play for mass also means that I will be less concerned about church and more concerned about my spritual wellbeing. My new attitude to strangers and clients will be described by them as cold, reserved, cordial, professional, quiet (yes, i will try to be zen). To my friends, hopefully they do not feel any change, if anything, i'd value them even more and will try to express my appreciation for their company. Looking forward to the new year!

Christmas at home.....

Christmas with my rather dysfunctional extended family consists of laughter, loud music (and people), and smattering of love. The offspring contributed an item for the Christmas program and i think it went quite well, even though there was no choreography or music to back her singing, but it was the way she stood there gamely and sang her heart out with a smile. =) It may be that being a parent has changed my view, but i think a little child singing beats any adult any day (duet competition or not (in fact it was rather goose pimple inducing due to the numerous off-pitch slides and overused vibrato singing (gosh i sound like Simon Cowell))).

More examples of the Machiavellianist behavior from some of the little brats:
- getting caught jumping on the (rather expensive) leather recliners and sofas, and climbing over the table
- pouting and venting when put in the time-out corner
- "forgetting" and leaving the time-out corner
- more pouting and slamming of walls with a toy when put back in the time-out corner
- setting up a new obstacle course with other furniture
- sulking and whining loudly when things don't go the way wanted
- lying through the teeth when confronted about jumping on the furniture
- yelling, shrieking, shouting at the dinner table "because i feel like it"
- running everywhere at full speed
What do the parents do/say about this? Bugger all, because they are totally blind and oblivious to these random acts of malicious mischieviousness.

I only hope that our offspring does not learn from such ....behavior......was looking for an adjective as 'naughty' is too mild, while 'evil' is too extreme.

Seasons' greetings!

My Reminder

It was drizzling when i got to her school, and the offspring insisted on using an umbrella, which i initially resisted because after i needed more hands to do so (especially to lock the car door), but of course i gave in (how can one resist that pleading tone from one's offspring). A bit of a balancing act was needed to do so, but we managed. Seeing her so enthusiastic about school really started my day off well, and i walked with such a happy step that i forgot i left my umbrella hanging by the entrance to the school.

Tried to call the school about it but to no avail (left a message but no call back) and i had written the umbrella off. As we were heading for a family outing that day, I picked her up myself and as i approached the main door, lo and behold my umbrella was still hanging there. =)

I then promptly forgot about it (again) because i was so happy to see her (we did our little dance/hug of joy), and i heard a little voice exclaim while she was in my arms walking to the car: "Papa, your umbrella!"

Really observant of her considering it was hanging in a corner. That made my week......well that and spending the rest of the day with the wifely person and the offspring. *grinz*

Playing for mass

I play for mass at church and the parish where i am, one of the priests takes an active interest in music as he is truly multi talented, being able to play all kinds of instruments from basic guitars, to more exotic banjos and mandolins, as well as flutes, trumpets and percussions. 

However, a disagreement today has led to my being excused from playing for mass (i.e. i got fired lol). Not really a nice feeling, but i feel i should pen down happened in an effort to make sense of it (and for record's sake). 

We were told to combine one of the mass proper songs with a hymn, but they were in different keys, so we amended the key of the mass proper to match. Now the priest decided to play his ukelele with us today, and it may not have been communicated to him about the key change. So he comes charging up after mass demanding that we stop making a mess of it as the two songs could not match. No amount of explaining could deal with the situation and even playing it on the piano for him to show it matched, didn't help (probably because he still didn't realise we changed the key to match). 

A while later, he came up to me and asked me to clarify again, and we didn't really want to argue at that point, so we said we would play whatever he wants us to play. Then he brought up the subject of practice, as he felt we were doing great injustice to the scores with bad endings and intros, but i replied that we are playing to score, so since he wrote the scores, he could amend as he saw fit. Instead, he started going on about me not turning up for practice.

Now there is a simple reason i don't turn up for practice, aside from the fact that it is at a really bad time on Friday for me due to family commitments, it's that the other band is there at practice and they have their own keyboardist (and only 1 piano). The few practices that i attended seem to start rather late, and didn't leave me anything to do aside from listen, so i stopped trying to kill myself attending these practices by rushing around.

I was then presented with the ultimatum. Turn up for practice or don't play for mass, and since i could not commit to practice, i was therefore excused from playing. 

In a way, it is a relief as i was struggling each week to gather a band to play (our drummer quit after one of this berating sessions), and i needed the time to prepare for a house moving, but it still cuts to the core to be treated this way by someone of the cloth. I am trying to give him the benefit of the doubt or attribute this to his old age, but am embarrassed to say i cannot find any reason for this injustice i feel, and I've tried to give my best to the church, but to hear him say "you can go play at other churches, i excuse you from playing here" was a bit of a shock to the system to say the least.  

I do hope the music ministry continues to flourish, and hope they find a good committed musician, at least one that is better than me, as i have tried my best and it is apparently not good enough. 

The circus is coming to town

So Christmas is coming, but instead of glad tidings and good cheer (or a random jolly guy in a red suit and beard) we have a media circus coming to town with a PAP MP (and speaker of parliament) resigning from his post.  As seen from the various events throughout the year, the media has now encompassed various electronic forms like email, websites, forums and smses, aside from the traditional printed paper/TV/radio. Both sides do take cues and clues from each other and by putting both sides together with an objective eye, one can gain an appreciation for most sides of the story. There will always be bits missing, although this appears to be less and less with this multi-media onslaught.

I have to applaud the men-in-white for moving rather decisively and nipping this issue in the bud, although I would be jumping the gun abit since the saga is far from over. The issue of a by-election is now on the cards, and going by precedence, it should be a no-brainer, although we have been surprised before. Reading through the various official announcements and letters, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the PM. I actually like him and think he is doing the best job given the situation and circumstance, but the issues he's had to deal with throughout the year merely highlight that the job is getting harder and harder.