Pet Pet Pet

Few years ago an Irish tourist was bitten by Rottweilers while walking in a fruit orchard in Penang. She died of massive bleeding.

Two days ago a guy was attacked by few Rottweilers while walking near a fish pond. He survived with 120 stitches in his body. The victim said that he was helpless and horrified when one of the dogs actually bit and ATE and CHEW his flesh...!!! I couldn't imagine it..

In the first case : the dogs were "put to sleep" and the owner was fined.

While I symphatize with the victims, I also pity the dogs. They were doing their duties to "guard" their owners's properties. I felt bad that they had to be put to sleep. But they were too dangerous to be left with irresponsible owners.

Rottweilers are not for everyone and they shouldn't be let loose outside without leash. Anyone who is thinking about having a Rottweiler as a pet should know and practice a very strict monitoring on the dog.

A lot of people taking pets without thinking it's consequences. I am not talking only Rottweiler... I am also talking about other pets such as little dogs, cats, fish, monkeys, and other animals.

I used to have cats who came to my house, had some gatherings in my tiny gardens and did their "big and small businesses" there, leaving horrible stench everyday. My poor maid had to clean the garden everyday, wearing mask and gloves...

I tried all kind of cat repellents, from gel, spray, granules, and Powder. I spend hundreds of ringgit every month trying to get rid of the cats. I even tried stupid silly things like making something like a scarecrow and put it on the tree. I google "ways to keep cats out of your garden" and followed almost everything. I sprinkled crushed black peppercorns on the soil, I put wires around the gates, I even poured kerosene around the garden..! I knew it might be dangerous but I was so desperate... I just couldn't take it anymore.

I didn't know where those cats came from. I asked my immediate neighbors who had cats. He said his cats didn't go out and do their business outside. They were trained to do it in the sand box at home. Everybody said that... Nobody was responsible..

Finally my maid came up with brilliant idea... She took 100 gr of bird's eye chillies, pound them, poured water on it and sprayed the water on the garden. It worked magic.... The cats stopped coming to our house. It becomes our ritual, spraying the garden with liquid chillies once a week.

My point here.... Pet owners should not let their pets roaming outside their houses. Sharing is good, but this kind of sharing is really irritating..

Having a pet is a big responsibility..... Not only to the pet itself but responsibility to the public too. Make sure the pet is leashed when it is out of the house. And please.... Don't bring your dogs or cats into malls, they don't care about the sale at Zarra or the latest model of Coach... Leave them at home...

"I don't know....." is good

I grew up visiting Gynecologists almost on monthly basis since I was 10 years old. I had gone to Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, American, Malaysian and Singaporean Gynecologists trying to understand what was wrong with my body. I tried traditional Indonesian herbs, western pills, traditional Chinese herbs, massages, and few other things to cure this thing.

It took me 14 doctors and 21 years to finally find the problems and fix it.

For male readers, my apology... Today's write ups may not be for you but I think it may be useful if you have sisters, wives or girlfriends who have problems with their reproductive organs.

I had irregular periods. Most Gynecologists I visited told me not to worry too much as I only had some cysts in my ovaries. Sometimes I had my period very light, sometimes I didn't have any period for a year, sometimes I bled profusely until I had to be rushed to Emergency room.
So, it baffled me when the Gynecologists told me not to worry about this coz I was worried sick when I was stuck in freezing-cold ER for few hours with piles of ice packs on my belly.

When I reached early twenties, few Gynecologists told me that I might not be able to have children. At that time I didn't like children. Having seen horrific restaurant events where children ran around screaming and finally vomiting their meals on the floor, I found them to be annoying creatures. So when I was told that I might not have children, I was cool... It didn't effect me at all except when I had serious relationship.... when I thought I would marry the guy. I would tell him that I might not be able to give him children. As I wrote earlier, I had few failed relationships. Some of them were contributed by this. When I told my (ex) boyfriends about my conditions, some started to avoid me, some said we could adopt and some even said we could get dogs.

When I told my husband the facts about my reproductive malfunctions, he told me we could either adopt or spend the rest of our lives just the two of us, traveling without excess baggages.

Everywhere I lived, I had to have a trusted gyne. So when I moved here, searching for a gyne was my top priority. I tried more than 3 gynes here who also told me that I had cysts and nothing could be done about it except taking pills to "force" my period to come out.

One night I was driving the Damansara area when I saw a woman clinic opened until 9pm. It was perfect for me coz I could go there after work so I didn't need to take a day off work.

When I went there, I met Dr. Collin Lee. After listening to my medical history and had my USG scan, he told me, "I don't know what's wrong with you."

He was the first and the only gynecologist who told me "I don't know"

But then he was the one who gave me my two "miracle daughters"

Because he didn't know, he did further tests. I was put into so many tests and I had my first laparoscopy, a procedure where a mini camera was inserted into my body to "see" the condition of my organs clearer. He also performed a biopsy, taking liquid and tissue samples from my uterus.

Finally he found out what's wrong with me, put me in 1-year treatment program and performed 2 DDNC procedures. Throughout those years, he always said, "We will try our best."

My first daughter was conceived naturally two months after the last DDNC. Both Dr. Collin and I never expected this. We thought I would need to try IVF to have babies. After the delivery of my first daughter, my period has been very punctual... No more pills, no more injections, no more monthly trip to gynecologist.

Two years later, my second daughter was conceived.

It all started with "I don't know"

How many times were we too scared or too embarrassed to say "I don't know" when we were unsure?

A lot of narrow minded people think saying I don't know means admitting stupidity.

Our world is huge... So many things to see, so many things to learn.... It's impossible to know everything.. yet so often I heard people said,"I know everything, no need to learn."

To me, learning is a lifelong experience.... I learnt from my trusted gynecologist that a simple and humble "I don't know" has made him one of the most influential Gynecologists and Fertility experts in Malaysia. His small clinic has grown into a public listed company and he was conferred a datukship (similar to a "Sir" in England) few years ago.

I also learnt that it pays to get a second, third, or even fourteenth (Dr. Collin Lee was my 14th gynecologist I visited in 20 years) opinion when we are not sure about something.

If it weren't for the "I don't know", I wouldn't be able to survive my daughters's nonstop challenging questions of "why". They ask me at least 5 why's a day.. And I often have to answer, "I don't know..... let's find out."

Mend my broken heart...

I fell in and out of love so many times. Every time I had a serious relationship, I always thought "this is the one" until few months or years after that we started arguing, feeling bored with each other, finding faults, getting irritated of small tiny unimportant things or avoiding each other.

No matter how many times my heart was broken, how many gallons of tears shed, how many painful memories made and how many tequila I swallowed to reduce the pain, I could never reduce the pain of broken heart. People say "practice makes it better" but I think it's not true for broken heart.

Although the experiences didn't reduce the pain of broken heart, they have taught me a lot of things:
1. I learnt that the first few months of the relationship is the best time. I would smile just thinking about him. I could really be super slim coz I didn't need to eat... Seriously, love alone could make me full... I skipped my meals just to hear his voice or just to be with him. I didn't feel hungry at all.... A very weird thing for me who eat even when I don't feel hungry.

2. No matter how the boyfriend looked, the first few months he could easily beat Brad Pitt or George Clooney. At that time, I could find a lot of things that made him beautiful and handsome. I really learnt that "beauty is at the eye of the beholder" is really true.

3. I think "Nothing's gonna change my love for you" is totally bullsxxx!! and overused. If I fall in love with another guy, will he still love me? Of course not...!! If I hate his mother and always break her heart, will he still love me? Of course not...! If he said he would, then I would not want to have him as my husband anyway...

4. Opposite attract is amusing in the beginning but after awhile it's more fun to have someone who enjoys the same thing like I do, even the simplest thing like eating spicy food. I love spicy food but there were times that I had to settle ordering non-spicy food all the time for the sake of accommodating my ex. At the end I used it as a weapon when we argued by saying that I sacrificed for him... Which now I find it very immature and selfish.

5. No matter how many times I told my self I didn't want to fall in love again so I wouldn't get hurt, I still did... Falling in love is not something that I can plan... It just happens.

6. I believe that if it's meant to be then no matter what happens, it will happen.

7. I strongly believe that I have to use my heart AND my brain in any relationship. Love alone can blind a person for awhile but once the lust and passion simmer, the relationship may not be that beautiful anymore.

8. Bad breath and body odor combined is the ultimate #1 turn off factor. No matter how handsome, how rich or how romantic a guy is, if I could smell a mixture of durian, belachan and blue cheese oozing from his pores, I would just run as fast as I could. Because of this I learnt that look and money are not that important....!!!

Actually there are more things I learnt from failed relationships but the point I am trying to make is, no matter how bad the broken heart is, after awhile it will heal and we can learn something from it.

It's better to have loved and hurt than to never have loved at all... What do you think?

A fine young man.... Gone too soon

I've never met him. He didn't even know that I existed. But I felt like I've known him all my life. I cried when he was in pain. I smiled when he wrote funny things. And today.... I cried and cried and cried..... He went back home to God leaving beautiful memories to those who know him.

Rheza Christian struggled against Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma, a very rare cancer that ate his bones. He lost his arms, his legs and his freedom to breath, walk, and sing. Despite of his difficulties, he didn't complain to God... He was still grateful that he was blessed with friends and families who loved and supported him throughout his fight against cancer.

With his blog, he made hundreds of people smile, laugh, and cry. He had inspired me to be a stronger person, to be grateful for my arms, my feet, my lungs, my eyes, my overweight body, my sagging skin and even my house chores..

He lived a shorter life than mine, he was only 29 hrs old, but he surely had taught me more about life. Even during his last months, he still wrote and twitted, inspiring his followers to live life to the fullest.

I started blogging coz I got a bit bored with my new life as a housewife. He blogged because he really wanted his friends to change their views about lives, to appreciate every small little things in lives, to live life to the fullest, to ignore minor irritations, to love our parents, to know that God is the boss, and all other good things that make our lives richer.

It's too late for me to say thank you to him.

The only thing I can do to honor him is by asking the readers of this blog to pay a visit to   http://gayot.posterous.com/ or to google his name and read his write ups in his facebook.

Rest in peace Rheza... May God bless your soul...

The age of innocence

It's Friday morning and I am taking a break from my housework of washing dishes, doing laundry and ironing... so this blog will be short and light.

We went to Nadine's friend birthday party last month. The mother rented inflatable slide, gigantic jumping castle, two clowns, and an event organizer for the party. Judging from the amount of food, party packs, party props, and the decoration in the house, I was sure that she must have expected at least 50 kids.

The party supposed to be from 2-5pm. I was a bit late, arriving around 3pm, and found out that Nadine was the only friend who had arrived. Half an hour after I chatted with the host, few more kids arrived. At 4pm, the party started with 6 kids. I felt so sorry for the host... I was sure she expected more than that but sometimes things just didn't happen as expected. The fact that she didn't put any phone number for RSVP on the invitation card contributed to the inaccuracy of the guest numbers.

But despite of just having 6 kids, the party was really fun... Everybody had good laughs looking at how the kids were so innocent, answering and doing hilarious things the clown asked them to do:

The clown started the party by asking the kids their names and where they came from. The first kid reply, "My name is Adam and I come from my mommy's tummy." We just burst... The clown didn't give up...

He asked the boy,"Adam, where do you live?".

Then Adam answered, " I live in a house."

"Where is your house?" added the clown.

Adam replied, "Next to my grandma's house."

The clown gave up....

Then the clown asked the kids to line up, put on some fancy shawls on their shoulders and asked them to do the catwalk. All 6 kids, boys and girls, bent on their knees, started crawling and do "meow meow..." LOL.... The clown really unexpected this... We had a good laugh...!

Then time for games.  The clown asked the kids to give him 50 cents. The fastest kid who can give him 50 cents would get a present. One kid quickly put his hand inside his trouser and gave RM1 to the clown.  The clown told the kid, " I wanted 50 cents NOT 1 Ringgit."  The kid said, " Yes, you can give me back 50 cents."

That kid must be a math wizard... He outsmarted the clown.

Here's what I learnt from the party:

1. To always put RSVP number on the invitation card.

2. Kids are really amazing, they can turn simple things into laughters.  Sometimes we don't really need fancy bouncing castle, inflatable slides or other props to have fun.  People are the ones who make a party fun.. not the hardware.

3.  To try my best to attend every invitation I get.... It's such a sad thing when your guests do not turn up on your party.  Sometimes we get a bit carried away... We expect people to come to our party but when we are invited, sometimes we skipped the invitation... I am guilty of this.. I promise to try harder, to make time attending invitations wherever it is.

Thank you for reading my blog and have a great weekend....:)

Spread the eggs...

I heard and said it a hundred times and I had probably applied it more than ten times : Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

In terms of investment, I did it. I spread the little wealth I have in cash, stocks, and property. In terms of love, I spread the abundant love I have to my family, my relatives, my friends, my neighbors, and some deserving strangers. In terms of food choices, it's definitely widely spread. Imagine if I put all my passion only in Asian food.... I won't enjoy traveling anywhere outside my comfort zone.

But after so much said and done... sometimes I still forget to keep doing it in every aspect of my life.

Last weekend my family spent a nice 5-day holiday in Bangkok with my in-laws. We went to the amazing Safari world, shopped at the malls, had relaxing massages, and dined scrumptious seafood and Thai food. But the much anticipated trip was going to Jatujak market or JJ market as the locals call it. It only opens on weekends and has everything under the sun, from funky clothes, furniture, bags, perfumes, plates, cutleries, food, to pets... Yes, it has traders selling cute puppies and kittens. All sold at very reasonable prices.

While my husband took care of the kids at the hotel swimming pool, my in-laws and I braved the heat and Bangkok traffic jam to go to JJ market. We shopped like mad women let loose from the mental institution for the first time, ignoring breakfast and lunch, hopping from one shop to another . We just had some snacks in between our shopping spree. After more than 6 hours melting under the heat of zinc roofs, finally we called for a break... We decided to have a few minutes before going to the household section.

To us, break means finding a bench to sit down and check on our handphones. To my relief, I got no SMS and no missed call, meaning my kids were alright and my husband did an excellent job entertaining them.

When my sister-in-law checked her handphone, she noticed that her bag had a big hole. Someone had slashed her bag and took her wallet. She had all her money there plus credit cards, ATM cards, ID card and driving license. We made a police report and apparently it happens all the time there, just like in any other tourist spots anywhere in the world.

At that time, we were reminded again not to put everything in one basket. My mother-in-law and I started to rearrange things inside our bags. I spread my cash and credit cards, I put some in the handbag, some in my jeans pocket , and some in the shopping bags. We were so paranoid that we did some silly stuffs by putting our cash in the candy canister and inside the pocket of the our newly-purchased clothes. Luckily we didn't put it under our bras, like the old indonesian women used to do. Can't imagine the face of the shopkeeper when we took the money from the bra..... LOL

But on the second thought, maybe I should.... Who knows the shopkeeper will give away d goods for free in exchange of the yucky sweat-drench money from the bra..

Anybody dare to try...?