My baby boys..

I have always said I don't plan to have any children of my own. My lousy excuse (lousy to some but it sure is a valid one for me) is that I'm no good taking care of another human being, let alone bringing up one. These days I can't even take care of myself - lousy eating habits, lousy sleeping hours...you name it.

So when I agreed to help care for two young pups without a mother two weeks ago...I was out of my mind. Rescuer friend Peter rescued three very young puppies from a pound in Setapak, found in a bowl of water, trembling, starving and sick, and worse of all, without their mother.

My Cumi (left) and Ciki boys....One of the three boys got adopted quite fast after Peter rescued them. Left with two...I sms Peter n volunteered to care for them for ONE day. A week later I ended up fostering them until they got adopted. Before I took up the crazy (since it was my first and a complete novice) job of fostering, they were on drips at the vet and trying to recover from case of diarrhea.

the rascal named Cumi who pulled my heart stringLike a new mother with new born, I nervously took the pups home to my flat with the carrier, a new fordable cage, their medicine and their canned food. The first hour back home with Cumi and Ciki went like a minute. I prepared them food and got the cage ready, used one of my floor towel as their bed. Minutes after they fed I was on to cleaning the bathroom floor littered with their piss and stool.

he eats like there is no tomorrow
really
By the second day I got a bit more efficient with the cleaning, feeding and etc...by then I got a taste of what's like to be a parent and an animal rescuer like Peter and Nicole. When I was out for hours leaving them at home, I would wonder if they have dirtied themselves in the cage or if they were starving yet...later I would feel like a bad parent.

When I got home I would first clean up the cage and got their food ready...when the cleaning and feeding were done I would then sort myself out, eat or shower. When it's time to sit down and get my own work done, they would decide then it's time for me to pay some attention to them. Whining and crying from their cage I place in the master room...they would eventually fall asleep and then it's all peaceful again.

I missss you Cumi!!!
I won't attempt to try to describe this wonderful feeling of caring for the pups, it's something that you will come to understand or comprehend if you have your own pets or children. This happen to be my first experience and I am just so affected.

I said I was out of my mind because the same weekend I took them home from the vet was a super-packed weekend for me and I hadn't a clue how I was going to take care of them...anyway, I had my support system, it's called the Section 17 supporting branch - Justin's house.
Puteh (white) and Brandy watched Cumi savouring his food

So on the second night, I packed my bags and the puppies and drove to his house (tenants include J's parents, a granny and a brother, and two dogs - Puteh & Brandy). I announced innocently that Cumi and Ciki would be adopted soon enough and that I was there with them for the weekend because I was going to be out of the house most of the day.
Cumi playing with Puteh

The family took to the new kids very well and kindly. Justin's dad completely blew me off by showing lots of love and care for the two new pups. The ex-pilot adopted Brandy just recently and have been spending time caring for the two (Puteh & Brandy).

It was such an incredible feeling (happiness) to see them running along each other, the four of them. Brandy who has a completely different temperament from the nerdy and shy Puteh, was viciously jealous of the pups whenever I came home to feed them, yelping and crying from his cage (I caged him up to prevent him from eating the pups' food). It took me one round of feeding and talking to Nicole to learn how to handle it. The next day I managed to feed the pups without Brandy sounding suicidal...I pacified Brandy first with his own snack before I let the pups eat.

how can one not love a face like this one? Cumi
By the third day of my fostering Ciki got adopted at the Plaza Damas outing where the Independent Pet Rescuers team set up their adoption drive. Ciki went to a new home fast...I got the news thro an sms and a strong emotion of sadness swept over me, I didn't get to say goodbye to Ciki before he went off to another home!

Nicole was next to me then and she said, see, you only need two days to get this attached to the animal!
The playing field

That night I collected the lonely Cumi from Carnea who was helping out at the adoption drive, mixed feelings again. I worried about getting Cumi adopted, missing Ciki, feeling sad for Cumi who was now left with no play mate and sleeping mate, worried about not having time to care for Cumi, worried about Justin's family complaining about too many dogs in the house.

Anyway my worries were unnecessary because it was clear that the family is so loving they wouldn't leave any animals left unattended. By the fifth day, on my first free day, I woke up at Justin's house to find that Justin's dad was already up and he had cleaned up Cumi's mess and fed all the dogs their breakfast. Talk about being touched.
sending Cumi off to his new family...goodbye shots

And then the unexpected happened...on that day itself I got a call informing me that a potential adopter for Cumi has arrived in town from Penang and wanted to collect Cumi right away. Again, I was stunned by how affected I was by the departure. I went from feeling silly and feeling burden by the pups to now completely missing them from my side. I miss their smell and their sounds...

Ok ok, missing them aside (goodness, I was only with them for a mere 5 days!!), am totally glad and grateful that all three pups have found new homes. Beyond feeling glad for the animals, I have this sense of new purpose now...after having witnessed successful adoption, I have a new faith, a new found confidence in the work that these rescuers are doing out there. It works!

Am grateful for the joy that Cumi and Ciki have given me, in such short period of time. Am happy that they are now bringing joy to their new families. The experience is memorable, rewarding...magical.

Adopt a stray today, you?

I don't have yet any plan to foster or adopt more animals soon but it's on my future plan, the animals will be the children that I won't be having.

Why I did it and never looked back...

busy, and needing my sleep like NOW...so a bit of teaser information before I continue on why, and why you should consider too.

Information on Going Vegetarian...J said I should never...well, this is what he said to me over our google chat:

J: you really shouldn't try to convert people or make them uncomfortable or inconvinent others. ok? just blog about it...we'll do this together. Also, you cannot make others feel guilty or bad for eating meat. it doesn't work - the convert has to come from inside that person.

...it started this time round with him reading a piece of news about the lifting of foie gras ban in Chicago, the news link to this wonderful clip on "the delicacy of despair".

Today I shall leave you with just this clip, it's preachy and it's extreme but unfortunate, it speaks the truth.

The link to this video embedded here




Watch more videos at PETA.org

Must see -

Meet Your Meat
Go Vege

The Maids Nation

Have you ever stopped in your track sometimes and wonder...what was life like before things like mobile phones, emails, foreign maids, Air Asia (and the list goes on)?

But my topic today is on maids.

No matter how hard I try to imagine myself in the shoe of today's working parents and also in the shoe of the kids being cared by foreign maids, I still prefer my childhood back then. Am trying to figure out why I have this feeling of...like, I observe the middle class children these days who live in nice homes with possibly everything they ever wanted in it and I cannot feel even the slightest tinge of envy.

I don't why is that. I feel that there is something strange, and unnatural in that picture, yes, unnatural.

Maids in these homes cook and clean...actually, there are two kinds of households with maids. The two vastly distinctive `maid-management' are -

type A family/household - the maids basically handle and execute all labour/chores in the household. A a simple way to describe these households with some examples

- family members do not help at all in any chores, all they do is wait for things to be done for them.

- maids do not eat before the family members, maids do not eat on the dining table, they are given their own eating quarter

- maids do not hang out in the living area of the family members, they stay in the kitchen.

- maids are servants to the children as well, follow them all over the house to feed them while they wander all over to play while eating.

if you think this sounds extreme? I have met families with these practice before you can't be too surprised.

type B family/household - the maids HELP around in the household, they assist the family in cleaning & cooking. They are basically part of the family, they are asked to join in meals with the family members and when the family dine out, the maids are brought along to eat. The purpose of the maids in these household are to help carry out the tasks where it can't be completed alone by the family members. The family members are not without their own duties, be it doing the laundry, watering the gardens, cooking and etc.

I guess I have swayed off my topic (hope you got my point though). Anyway, I have enough encounters with children these days to know that I wouldn't have wanted my childhood any other way. With our growing affluence in the society, middles class children are given the best education and the best entertainment/toys (measured by the price and its technology)...but what I see in them are nothing more desirable than prematurely vulgar attitudes.

The positive attributes of being well-exposed at young age is that they are outspoken, knowledgeable and eloquent. What is downright annoying is that they are spoilt, obnoxious, self-centred, rude....(feel free to add on to my list)..etc.

....I guess with that said, I am now an unpopular person with rather unpopular opinions but really, these are my observations, whether you like them or not.

My sister has two school-going children and a new born who turned one-month today, is someone I admire for her determination and dedication of staying `maid-free' until a few weeks ago. She and bro-in-law took care of their own home since niece Eva was born, my sister cleaned the house by herself, cared for the first two kids by herself. She stayed home and became a full time housewife, totally unglamorous compared to her old job (air stewardess). She only started working full time when Eva and Julian started school.

I do see the difference between my niece & nephew from the other kids who grow up having maids running after them. Sure Eva and Julian are well-pampered by their parents but they never had a full time maid taking care of their whims and fancy.

Now with her full time work at the family business (music school) and the newborn (Joel), she hired herself a foreign maid and joined the majority of the middle class community in KL.

I really don't think it is healthy to bring up a kid with lots of tuition classes, computer games, Ipods, mobile phones from age 7, designer clothes, and you name it, all the materials you can buy with money.

...all this talk and maybe you'll say what do I know about bringing up a kid, since I don't have one of my own.

I don't, but I know what feels right...having too much from young will not teach a young person to appreciate simple things in life -- and simple things are the best things in life.

*thank you Justin for posting the video link in the comment section. Click to watch...and to ponder.

I quote from the video, the ending note from Irene Fernandez (Tenaganita), on the maid-abuse issues in Malaysia -

"This nation is going to get the backlash, you are going to have families, bringing up children who believe it is normal to abuse, to treat others inhumanly and therefore, what I foresee is we will increase violence in our society if we do not address the problem today."

The Law of the Garbage Truck

This one I can relate quite close to home :) though before reading this I have been trying on my own to not let petty things get into my big picture but to now know this new methodology of the Garbage Truck is most delightful...

Thank you Sushee for sharing it in email :)


The Law of the Garbage Truck

By David J. Pollay
Positive Psychology News Daily, NY (David J. Pollay) - October 2, 2007

I really like this. Hope you will too......something for us to think about as we look toward a new year.

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly you can get back your focus on what's important.

I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened.

I hopped into a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches.

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling some pretty nasty words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly!

So, I said, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

'Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.'

So this was it: The 'Law of the Garbage Truck.'

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, 'I'm not going to do it anymore.'

I began to see garbage trucks . Like in the movie 'The Sixth Sense,' the little boy said, 'I see Dead People.' Well, now 'I see Garbage Trucks.' I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting.

Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses.

Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here's my bet. You'll be happier. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so.. Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't. Believe
that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, TAKE IT! If it changes your life , LET IT! Nobody said it would be easy........ They just promised it would be worth it.

Masked people

My first engagement with Genting Berhad...dress up and sing opera to the slots machine customers. Event - 2008 Genting Slots Masquerade Party

The pictures are simply too fun not to be put up so here you go...

all pics by Justin

My first event where I got to hire my own dancers for the performance, I called up Alexa & Fung Tuan straightaway...

Alexa and IThe beautiful blue butterfly... there's a poser in everyone of us :)

hair by Sam @ A Cut Above (BSC branch), did my own make-up, dress from MNG, hair accessories from my second hand shopping collection...(I bought the butterfly mask from Amcorp Mall)
show time, pleasing the crowd
obviously the Teresa Teng numbers were a hit with the audience, Chew Xia from the audience gracefully joined me in singing Mei Hwa.The magic on the dance floor...
Alexa, Fung Tuan and me