A Timely Reminder

Today's meditation from Daily Bread is taken from 1 Corinthians 3:7

"It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow."

Sometimes we tend to think that all our accomplishments are because of what we have done. i.e we've worked so hard, studied so hard or practiced so hard that's why we deserve to be good or successful and to be complimented. I honestly do at times fall into such a trap although it may be masked with feigned humility.

The verse serves as a timely reminder to me that whatever compliments I receive be it about the business or whatever else I've done, is not due to me but clearly and truly due to God. I pray that I will always be reminded of this - that everything IS about God and from God and I am just an instrument in His macro purpose.

All glory and honour to Jesus!

It's Official. I miss Elmo more than Hubbs!

Although Hubbs may not be too pleased with this posting, there is no point denying the truth :-). Sorry Hubbs. Since Elmo was sent for boarding 3 days ago, I've been thinking about him so much that I'll go into my blog just to look at his cute pictures. I've also called the trainer to check up on Elmo, probably more often than I've spoken to Hubbs through the phone during his 5 weeks away. I guess this is what happens when people have kids right? The Husband gets bumped into 2nd place, or maybe 3rd, or maybe 4th....(kidding hubbs). Good thing hubbs is coming back in 3 days but Elmo is back today!!!

So what's the lesson in this? Don't have kids? Ha ha. I hope Pas. Ong doesn't read this if not I'll be hauled up for a mini sermon on the need for a family ;)

By the way, I've learnt a new term. Hubbs and I are known as "DINKS" = Dual Income No KidS. So empowering right?

Is Honesty A Difficult Policy?

It was a challenging day for me today. In 8 years of business, today was the first time I had to tell off a senior manager for being dishonest. Don't people realise that one lie leads to another and then after a while you'll lose track of the original lie and get caught? Especially when it comes to work, how am I supposed to trust the person now that I know he's capable of lying with a straight face even after being confronted. (the guy admitted to lying after much probing) I certainly learnt my lesson when I was 9 when my parents beat me with a cane so badly that I don't think I've told a lie since then.

I know that this may be a loaded statement but from my experience men tend to be more daring liars and yet less convincing ones. Do you agree? Also, are there any justifiable reasons to lie? Let me know what you think either in the Cbox or in the comments.

Elmo's First Boarding

Wet Elmo


This Wednesday till Satuday Elmo will be sent for his first boarding. It's going to be a crazy week for me with day trips to Kuching followed by another day trip to Kuala Terengannu the next day. I wish I didn't have to put him in boarding but I guess it just wouldn't be fair to him as I don't foresee myself having time to spend with him.

Luckily, his trainer has agreed to take him for RM25 a day. I've decided to place him with the trainer so that at least there will be someone to practice with him daily versus placing him in a dog hotel. I hope he doesn't miss home too much but I'm absolutely certain that I'll miss him. Just thinking of being without him for 3 days is already quite dreadful for me. I think I'll probably miss him more than I've missed hubb. :0) Note to hubb if you're reading this -(good thing you'll be back in 9 days or else Elmo will certainly replace you as THE man in my life)

Elmo has certainly grown since the last picture post. He's now as least 10-12kg in weight and 1 and a half foot tall. Good thing is that he's still looking cute. Like his owner, I think he'll grow up having a fat face. I will try to take some pictures of him so that I can add it to this post. Can't wait to take him out next week for his first walk about the park.



Elmo taken on 25th March 08

First Near Death / Serious Injury Experience

Today was an eventful day. My boss and I decided to take an unplanned trip up to Ipoh to visit the outlet at Tesco. As usual immediately upon entering the outlet I headed straight for the kitchen to do my rounds of product testing. After spending 10 minutes in the kitchen speaking to the chef and the Area Manager who was also there, I walked towards the section where the upright water boiler was situated. Next to it was the deep fryer. Suddenly sparks started flying from a wire connected to the water boiler which was less than a foot before me. It twitched wiggled and more sparks started bursting out. This was followed by a bright yellow flame and a mini explosion. All this was happening right in front of my face and yet I didn't move and inch. I think I just froze. Now on hindsight I should have just run out of the kitchen. Thank God the wire did not fall into the deep fryer which had at least 5 litres of hot oil in it. If that had happened combined with the gas stoves in the kitchen I'm sure something really severe would have happened and I would not be blogging about this now. Truly God was with us then.

After the commotion died down, I discovered that the chef was trying to be "smart" by connecting a 13Amp wire plug to a 15Amp wire leading to the water boiler. The best thing was the connection was secured together by some flimsy black wire tape. Who taught him such silly things I've got no idea. If only he could apply his ingenuity to what he's actually employed for. All in all I'm just glad that nothing serious happened and I hope the chef learnt his lesson. Again, thanks and glory to God for His protection upon the outlet and all of us in the kitchen.

My Very First Traffic Offence

Today was the first time in my 15 years of driving that I got stopped by the traffic police. A truly historical and memorable event in my life :-) It happened after I dropped HH back at her house in Kiara, along the SC road. I think I must have been so tired and keen to get back that I forgot that the road was prone to speed traps. Apparently, I was travelling at 90km/h and the speed limit on the road is 80km/h.

Once I got pulled over I immediately took out my purse to produce my IC and driving license. I think the police thought I was trying to bribe him. The first thing he said when I wound down my window was " so miss, how? You were speeding on an 80km/h road. What do you want me to do about it?" (of course this was in Malay) so I replied " So how? If I was speeding, saman (give me a ticket) lah." The police man was truly surprised and taken aback by my reaction and said "Oh mau saman ah? (oh, you want a ticket?)" He obviously expected me to plead with him and offer him some money. So I replied "Ya Encik, salah mesti saman (yes sir, if wrong then I deserve a ticket) ". I think he wrote the ticket reluctantly. Guess today was not his lucky day. Too bad he stopped the wrong person.

And that my friends, is a RM300 lesson on how to make our police force less corrupted!! (the "saman")

The Lord Is Indeed Risen!!

Today is Easter. How wonderful it is for us that Christ is truly alive and living in all of us. Although it has been a tiring week with daily church services and super early prayer virgils, the week has certainly drawn me closer to knowing what God's purpose and plan is for me. It has also reminded me what is truly important and what our focus should be in our short stint on earth. Even while writing this ,the joy that I feel knowing that God is with me, is so overwhelming that I can't find the right words to express it. It is one of those feelings that you have to experience to fully comprehend.

Easter service today was one of the best services ever at KL Wesley. The choir, the band and Kent Reynolds truly led us into a meaningful time of praise and worship to God and I could feel that the congregation for once was truly one in spirit worshipping God. I pray that our worship was pleasing to God. I would also like to share below the blessing given by Kent Reynolds during the benediction.

"MAY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
MAY THE LIFE OF CHRIST BE LIVED THROUGH YOU AND THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST BE CONTINUED THROUGH YOU.
MAY THE LOVE OF CHRIST BE IN YOUR FELLOWSHIP AND IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.
MAY THE POWER OF CHRIST BE MANIFESTED IN YOUR MINISTRY.
MAY THE GLORY OF CHRIST BE IN YOUR WORSHIP.
MAY GOD GIVE YOU THE DESIRE OF YOUR HEART AND MAKE ALL YOUR PLANS SUCCEED. (Psalm 20:4)"
© 2007 - Kent Reynolds Ministries, Inc.


I'm posting a picture of 8am service on Easter Sunday taken on my lame phone camera. Though it doesn't do the service justice I hope it gives you a feel of the congregation this morning from the gallery.


Picture taken during sermon delivered by Kent Reynolds

Birthday

Just for the record, nothing exciting happened for my 32nd birthday. But I received excellent presents for HH, PasOng and MK. Was also truly touched by boy and wifey's surprise of a butter cake. On eve of my birthday EW and TT (welcome back TT!!) came by to spend time with me, knowing that I'll be alone since Hubbs is away. They gave me a lovely bouquet of daisies. It was so sweet of them to wait till midnight before leaving.

Butter cake surprise by boy and wifey Flowers from EW and TT

Elmo biting again

Elmo has gone mad again. He has started biting me and quite aggressively now. He tore my shorts as well as my shirt tonight. I tried standing still and not moving hoping that he'll get bored and stop but it didn't work. I now have 5 new bruises on my knee and thighs. Finally I was so frustrated that I decided to take up the wifey's advice to whack with a rolled up newspaper. Guess what...it works!!! So effectively that now when I raise my hand he automatically goes into a sit position. But I must say it pains me to hit him and that I'm not too sure how good this would be in the long run. I don't want him to grow up being afraid of me lifting my hand.

Guess it shows that sometimes we still have to resort to the old school method of raising a dog. Instilling a certain degree of fear of authority is good. Let's hope I won't have to whack him too often. Good thing is that in exactly 11 days hubby will be back and Elmo will be Hubbs' problem. Ha ha!!

Purpose Driven Life in a Nut Shell

Got this email on Rick Warren's recent interview. I believe is sums up what life is all about.


Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE "PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE" )
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life?

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do,

II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD

I put up this post not only to share but also as a reminder to myself.

Maundy Thursday

It is Maundy Thursday today. Today I realised something so true about the bible. No matter how many times you've read and re read the same passage, God always has something new to say to us each time. I've read the following passage so many times but today the message really hit home. It's especially appropriate as I begin my 33rd year in this world that God has placed me.

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Matt 26:39

How more sacrificial can God be that He allowed His only beloved son to die for us. And although Jesus pleaded for it not to happen, He acknowledge God's will and obeyed every step till the end. How do we compare to that? How do we respond that? Do we acknowledge God's will and plans in our life?

It has made me realised that no matter what problems we are facing now, no matter how lonely we feel, no matter what obstacles we face, no matter what illness we face, as long as we walk close to God, those obstacles and situations that we face is just a glimpse into God's bigger purpose for us and those around. Are we willing to allow God to hold our hand and lead us through our difficult times and say yes God may your plan come to fullness and may Your will be done in my life.

*thinking of Noe*

Getting older

Oh well, I guess this is the time of the year again. The time where once when I was under 21 it was something to look forward to but now way past 30 it's something to dread. If I'm feeling this way now I wonder how I'll feel like when I reach 40. Oh no!!!

This year is made worse by the fact that Hubbs isn't around. But I know he really wishes that he's here with me on this forgettable day. So far the day before didn't begin that well. I had my first major fight of the year with my boss. No fun. Then had to eat my cake on the go. And to cap it off I received bad news regarding Noe's battle with cancer.

Considering that the day before was so crap, am I looking forward to the actual day? No. But I do thank God for the many blessings and provision for the past year and I do look forward to walking closer to Him each day and I'm waiting with eager anticipation His many plans for me in the year ahead knowing that He'll be with me each step of the way.

As for my birthday wish this year, I pray that God will heal Noe and give her the strength to undergo the necessary treatment and that He will continue to use her to bless so many of us.

Who Is In The Driver's Seat?

As some of you may know this week is holy week. And as mentioned in my earlier post we have this pastor, Rev. Kent Reynolds from Asbury Theological Seminary at our church to conduct services for the entire week right up to Easter Sunday. Although the traffic was horrendous today from PJ to KL, I'm glad that I braved the 1.5 hour bumper to bumper traffic to get to church.

Now this pastor is a giant of a man. And I literally mean he's a giant. Our home pastor who is relatively tall around 5'8" is only up to this guy's shoulders. So you can imagine how Rev. Kent sticks out in the congregation. I wouldn't say the visiting pastor is a very charismatic "rah rah" preacher but he certainly gets the point across. Although I cannot remember exactly what all the key points of his sermon were tonight, there was one point that I think for those of us who profess Jesus as our savior, should take some time to meditate over.

It is always easy to say that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. The easy part is professing He's our saviour. But though it is easy to say that Jesus is my Lord, how many of us actually fully acknowledge His Lordship in every aspect of our lives? Is He Lord of all the decisions that I make? Is He Lord of my relationship with others? Is He Lord of my time? Is he Lord of my finances? Is He Lord of my actions and words? Do we say "Hey Jesus, why don't you come along for the ride and bless me wherever I'm heading?" or do we say " Jesus you drive and I'll sit behind and let you drive me wherever you want."

I don't know about you, but I certainly struggle with giving Him Lordship over more than 1 of the above mentioned aspects. What is it that makes it difficult for us to give Him Lordship? Note that "give" being the key word since God has given us free will. So we have a choice to give over to Him lordship over our lives or not. Is fear of the unknown holding us back or has it got to do with trust? Do we not trust God who has promised to prosper us and to give us every good thing? Or is it because we want to say to God, you show me what you have in plan then I'll decide whether to give you Lordship over my life. I for one am truly guilty of both.

So where does that leave me? Am I to only say that for the time being that Jesus is my Saviour and not fully my Lord? I guess the most honest answer would be yes he is my Lord and no he is not fully Lord of my life. Yes, because I have chosen to give Jesus the key's to my car and I will sit behind and no because I know at times I will be a naggy back seat driver but with His grace working in my life I will learn each day to fully trust Him and His will for me.

So who is in your driver's seat?

Thank you Hubbs

Thanks to Hubbs for adding to my watch collection. Hubbs got me an automatic Hamilton brand(owned by Swatch group that makes Tag, Omega and others) watch yesterday. I've been eyeing it for a year now but have been restraining myself. Although Hamilton isn't exactly one of the more popular brands, I'm into collecting any swiss movement mechanical/ automatic watch. It does help that for a swiss made automatic it is relatively cheap especially buying it in US . Again, thanks to Hubb for always thinking of me.

With this latest acquisition, my dream watch purchase of Jaeger Le Couture will have to wait. But I can still dream.

Have Dog Will Date/Mate

This is an observation I've made since getting Elmo. People are friendlier when you have a dog (exception being the rude neighbour 4 houses down) It's funny that when you have a dog, people naturally are drawn to the dog and you'll find strangers approaching and starting conversations with you.

So here's a piece of advice for all you single people out there. Get a dog. Take him/her out for walks and trust me, your social circle will certainly grow. So who knows, one day when you're going about your daily routine of picking up your dog's poo, your McSteamy may just come by. As for me, I can only dream :)

Elmo's final vaccination

The weekend has been crazy. I've been meaning to add to the blog earlier but I've been just too tired this weekend. It seems that ever since Elmo came down with some kind of skin infection it has been our weekly routine to take him to visit the vet at hands and paws every Saturday. This weekend it was for his final round of puppy vaccinations. Honestly till now I've still got no idea what he's being vaccinated against but we got him the vaccine that apparently protects him from everything. Let's hope it works. Thanks to boy and wifey for their help in driving Elmo and I to the vet for the past 3 weekends. You guys are the best.

So Elmo is now a free boy. Well, not truly free yet until 14 days for the vaccination to to effect. I'm glad that we'll finally be able to take him out for walks and expose him to the world. Now he's still a little afraid of going beyond the gate. To him it's a whole new foreign land beyond those metal bars. Everytime when we try to lead him into the car he'll walk up to the gate and then he'll plop himself down and would refuse to move. It's rather cute I must say but I hope he grows out of it. I don't see myself carrying him when he's as heavy as Rusty.(boy and wifey's dog)

Here's a picture of Rusty trying to hide in the corner when it was raining. Can't wait for the 2 weeks to pass so that I can take Elmo to visit his uncle Rusty. Let's hope Rusty teaches Elmo some manners.

This weekend's vet visit was quite eventful. Elmo is now 8.2kgs heavy. He managed to put on 1.2kgs since the last weigh in which was last weekend. I've got a feeling that I'm over feeding him but I'll let it be cause he's a growing boy. Elmo totally loves his vet Dr. Mervyn. He got so excited seeing Dr Mervyn that he peed at least 4 times from excitement. That's something I've never seen him do ever before. Sign of true love :-)

One thing about dogs that I'm most impressed about is that they don't seem to feel pain. I've been taking Elmo for jabs 4 weekends in a row and not once has he squirmed. Maybe he's just so excited seeing the vet that all the pain just vanishes. Again, sign of true love. If only it works for humans.

That's about it on Elmo this weekend. Below are some pictures I managed to take of Elmo just tonight. Check out his paws. They're so cute and big.

Happy Palm Sunday everyone. Let's look forward to Easter and our risen Lord.

My Gadget Wish List

As mentioned in my profile, I need to have new gadgets every so often. I actually don't know when this obsession/addiction began until boy pointed it out a few years back. He said that for someone who isn't the most tech savvy, I actually own quite a few techie items. Maybe it started when Dad bought me my very first PalmPilot 10 years back when it was still owned by US Robotics. Ever since then I've owned 4 different palm devices.

My very first palm

Exactly a year ago I decided to consolidate my devices. So instead of carrying a pda and a phone I figured it was time to buy a PDA phone. So after looking around and being indecisive (thanks to Hubb for his patience), I bought a Dopod D810 last April. At that time it was the latest PDA phone in the market with GPS, wifi, 3G, HSDPA, EDGE and whatever else all in one. I think now it has been renamed HTC3600i. I did consider getting a palm os phone since it would have been easier to transfer all my existing programs but most of the palm devices out there were just too bulky and had the "nerd" factor written all over it. Female and nerd is an oxymoron. No way!! So out went RM2,800 for the phone.

Although it is quite a good pda phone and relatively stable running WM6, I started getting quite frustrated with the fact that it doesn't have a keypad. So trying to make phone calls on the go or sms-ing can be quite a pain. Single hand use is close to impossible unless it's answering the phone. Of late I've been thinking of getting a phone with a proper keypad. So although it may be considered a slight downgrade in terms of tech specs and functions my next gadget wish item is the:

Palm Centro

Unfortunately, the phone hasn't been launched in this part of the world but apparently it will be sometime in March. Just in time as a birthday present :-) Thanks in advance to Hubb for his offer to get it for me. Can't wait to have and hold it but definitely not the white one as pictured. I do hope they launch the red centro failing which I'll settle for the black one. For those interested, check out the review.

My other gadget wish item is something I saw in Time magazine sometime last year. I've been drooling over it since and actually told Hubb that it'll be my next gadget purchase. As usual it has not been launched in this part of the world. So Hubb being the sweetie that he is said he'll get it for me when he's in the US. Unfortunately, being such a fantastic revolutionary device, it has been sold out and they can't manufacture fast enough to meet demand. That said, I'm also not too sure whether it'll work in this part of the world as it connects on some phone network and not wifi to the Internet. So I guess it could be a blessing in disguise. Oh well, looks like I'll just have to settle for the centro to satisfy my current addiction. Here's what I'm dreaming and wishing for :

The Kindle

Watch the review on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAf4vxGEOAo
(As you can see I've not learnt to add video to my blog)

That's it for now. For my sake I hope this wish list doesn't grow.

Elmo's owner's ramblings

Today was a good day. Good in the sense that I finally managed to sneek off sometime from work to just sleep and not do anything. I've been feeling a little under to weather lately. Body ache and a slight headache. My parents are a little worried as they've just fully recovered from their bout of dengue fever. I seriously doubt it is. I think it's just my body screaming out the need for rest. I've also been having this persistent lower back pain which could be due to the way I've been sitting, hunched over my laptop on the bed...not the best position. But to be safe I'll have it checked out once Hubbs returns from Tampa.

I'm really looking forward to the Hubbs' return as I'll finally be able to take a few days of and just be at home with him to vegetate and catch up with my reading, dvds and not forgetting catching up with Hubbs. I truly cherish such rare moments as it has been really difficult to find time for myself. Like I always say to those who are envious that I run my own business, it's much easier being an employee than an employer as the day never ends. Being an employee though has its fair share of frustration can be a little easier on one's sanity as there's always the option of "heck it! I've had enough" but unfortunately no such luxury can be said for being self employed. But I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. What is important is that we must never lose sight of the bigger picture and that is to be thankful for all the blessings of being able to do what we do.

Easter is coming and so is my birthday. I'm looking forward to Easter as for the whole of next week there's this speaker from Asbury Theological Seminary who will be preaching at church for Holy Week. A nice change from our usual pastors. As for my birthday I'm not too keen on it as that would mean I'm getting older. But I guess there's no running away from it. It doesn't make it any better that Hubbs is again away this year and is unable to spend my birthday with me. Ever since we got married we have consistently managed to miss either our wedding anniversary or my birthday because Hubbs has to go to US. Oh well, maybe what is important is the quality of time spent when we are together.

Mom, Dad, Big Bro, Boy and wifey came over for dinner tonight. We "ta pua-ed" from 88. It was nice to have everyone together for dinner as we have not had dinner as a family since mom went into hospital. Too bad Hubbs isn't around. Everyone misses you Hubbs...can't wait till April. The usual topic of conversation was our bowel movements :-) and "why have a dog when you can have kids". It ended with Big Bro saying no worries as , if and when, he gets married, "sui cha bor" will certainly want kids. So Big Bro, get married soon and take the burden off us!

I've just put in another web counter as I realised that I've been deceiving myself. The existing web counter actually tracks everyone that comes into this blog regardless of how many times you been to the site. It is currently at 70 and I realised that 90% of those visits are by me and the rest by Hubbs. Poor me. Anyway I've decided to put in another counter to track only new visitors. Currently it's still at 2 i.e me and hubb. So let's hope it picks up soon.

Enough of my ramblings. Will post on Elmo's progress later.

Clever Elmo

Elmo learnt his first "leave it" today. He picked up my slippers and tried to walk away with it. I tested out the "leave it" command with a treat of chicken breast in my hand and guess what..he actually dropped my slippers and went into a sit position. So applying the clicker rule of "click" followed by treat, I "clicked" and treated. Being the "clever" Elmo that he is, and boy does he learn fast, he continued a series of "pick up slippers- drop-sit", "pick up slippers - drop-sit" for at least 5 minutes and with each series I clicked and treated. Now I really wonder, did I train him on "leave it" or did he just train me on how to treat :-) Oh well. He's cute nevertheless.

My List of Countries

I wonder how many bloggers out there actually get blogger's block. I've realised that when this happens, it best to resort to typing out a list. Now you know why David Letterman has his top 10 list. But I must say that DL's list is totally hilarious and DL wouldn't be DL without his list. Anyway since I'm experiencing my very first blogger's block after only 2 days of blogging here's my boring list with respect to countries.

Countries I've lived in
1) Malaysia (currently living)
2) Singapore
3) Australia

Countries I've visited
1) Indonesia
2) Singapore
3) Vietnam
4) China
5) Japan
6) Thailand
7) Australia
8) United States
9) UK
10) Hong Kong

Countries I'll love to visit
1) Czech Republic
2) Italy
3) Switzerland
4) Holland
5) New Zealand

Countries I wouldn't mind visiting if money grew on trees
1) France
2) Greece
3) South Africa
4) Russia
5) UAE

That's it folks!!

Elmo's Not Well Again

It's that time of the day again when I'm inspired to add to my blog. Elmo was totally brilliant today. I hope I'm not saying too soon but Elmo has actually stopped biting me. I'm so proud of him. He didn't bite when I took him out in the morning nor did he bite when I took him out in the evening again. Let's hope it stays that way for good.

I've actually managed to take some latest pictures of him today. It was quite a difficult task as he is rather camera shy and tends to move away from the camera. Here are the 3 pictures that I managed to take after at least 10 attempts.

Although he looks a lot skinnier now he's actually growing taller. I was told that he's entering his teenage phase looking gawky, gangly and skinny. Quite the opposite of me as I was chubby (still am) short (still am) and pimply (still on occasions). Nevertheless Elmo still looks cute to me although his uncle "boy" and aunty "wifey" reckons he looks ugly. No wonder parents never think that their kids actually look ugly.

I've also re-started Elmo back on his usual dry food. As mentioned in the previous post, Elmo was suffering from diarohea for a while and I had to put him on this really expensive diet which cost RM6.50 per feed. It actually smells yummy, a little like spam. It's apparently a prescription diet that can only be sold by vets and certainly more expensive than what I eat on a daily basis.

Anyway, he was on this special diet for around 2 weeks and last night I began giving him his usual food again. Unfortunately, today he started having diarrhoea again. Looks like I've to start him on the expensive food again. Poor me (literally) and poor Elmo. The vet however did say that I could get chicken breast and cook it well, chill it and feed it to Elmo as an alternative. I've actually considered it but I guess I'm just too lazy to do the whole cooking thing. Let's just hope and pray that Elmo will be better soon.

Time for Elmo's final play time. Blog later.

Elmo in the Evening

This evening Elmo had his 2nd lesson with the dog trainer. We enrolled him for 6 classes of 1 to 1 training using the clicker system. Apparently this training method teaches the dog to think instead of trying to scare him into submission. The way I look at it, it's something like the old school method of caning your child vs the new school method a being grounded. Hmm...maybe I should have signed up for the old school method since it worked very well on me during my formative years :-)

Anyway the clicker system uses this device that makes a "click" sound hence the clicker. The device is actually a dressed up version of noise makers that one would find in a new year's eve celebration packs. Below is exactly how my clicker looks like...blue.

My Clicker

Basically everytime Elmo does something that I like, I'm supposed to click so he knows I'm confirming his action and this is to be followed by a treat. So far the training is working as he has not bitten me today because he's too busy trying to "please" me so that he gets his treats. I'm rather concerned about his weight now as he's been adding on 1kg each week. He's now 7kgs and I bet this weekend when I take him to the vet for his final vaccination he'll be at least 8kgs. (Note to self to cut his meal portions) After only 2 lessons I'm so proud that the clever little fellow can now sit still for 30 seconds, knows how to lie down, doesn't bite his lead as much and the best thing is that he doesn't bite me!! The trainer brought with her a "kong toy" today and filled it with treats and a some peanut butter. Elmo went mad over it and kept chasing and trying to use his paws to hold it down and pry stuff out of the hole. It kept him entertained for at least 15 minutes until he managed to get all the treats out. Will get him his own Kong toy this weekend.

Kong toy

The funny thing about taking care of Elmo is that whenever I'm on my way back from work I actually dread having to "sort him out", but when I actually get back and get to his cage, I can't help but be glad that we decided to get him. He's just so adorable that picking up his poo and his soiled newspapers is no chore at all. Hope Hubb doesn't see this if not he'll assume I'll be ok picking up poo from now onwards. But how I wish Hubbs is here to watch Elmo grow :-(

Let's hope tommorrow morning Elmo will be as well behaved as he was tonight.

A Little About Elmo and Life Now.

Elmo is a 3 month old American golden retriever. He's really very cute as long as he doesn't bite. Hubb and I decided to get ourselves a dog to fill the "gap" in our lives ever since boy, wifey and Rusty moved out. Some are actually hoping that from a dog we will eventually progress to having kids...yeah rite!! ( not that I have anything against kid - I actually love them; just not the whole 9 months and D-Day)

Back to Elmo. We got Elmo from this breeder who has a reputation of breeding champion dogs. The breeder's stud (elmo's dad) is actually the one and only Asian Grand Champion (not that I know what that means :)) Hubby reckons that everything I have must be the best or I rather not have it. Hmm...wonder if that applies to choosing the right husband..ha ha. So when Elmo was 3 weeks old we went to the breeder's place and paid RM2,800 for him. The picture belows shows how adorable he was..key word being "was".



We had a choice between him or his brother. His brother was also very cute but was not as inquisitive as Elmo and started crying 5 minutes after he was taken out from the cage. Whereas Elmo was busy sniffing around and ignoring the world. A month into bringing Elmo home, Hubb and I now wondered whether we made a right choice. But I guess in life regretting is just a waste of time right?

Elmo was brought home when he was slightly over a month old and the first few nights were quite torturous. Elmo began whining every 2 hours and poor hubb and to sit with him and put him back to sleep. My mom reckons it would have been easier taking care a of baby. I beg to differ. Anyway, after 2 night of leaving him in the hall we decided that we had enough of the whining and set up his cage and playpen in the back room. I'm glad to report that he's adjusted well.

Before we decided to get Elmo, there was an understanding that it would be hubb's duty to clean up after Elmo and I'll take up all upkeep expenses of Elmo and play with him when I'm not too tired. But guess what?! Hubb dropped the bomb sometime later that he had to go off to Tampa for 2 months and guess who's left with Elmo...

Good thing is that Hubb's trip got delayed and cut short to a month instead of two. Bad thing is that just before Hubb left for Tampa, my parents got admitted to hospital for dengue fever and Elmo decided to have diarrhoea. So not only did I have to run up and down the hospital to take care of parents but to take care of a sick dog as well. As they say, when it rains it pours. No hubby, sick parents, sick dog. Here's Elmo at 2 months.




3kgs less and 2 weeks later, I'm glad to report that everything is back to normal now. Parent's are back at work and life is as normal as life can be without Hubb around. Praise be to God for His healing and provision during this ordeal and to all our friends who supported us in prayer and through visits and for their offer to donate blood for Dad. Thank God for great siblings and for sending us an understanding and friendly doctor in Palmdoc.

As usual I've gone off topic. Will now pretend to get back to work and will blog more on Elmo and life later tonight.

My very first entry

I read somewhere that blogging is actually therapeutic. So after prying into the affairs of other bloggers I've decided to start one of my own and let the rest of the world have a glimpse into mine. Let's hope that this will not be my first and last entry into this blog. Let the daily grind begin!!