Thought For The Day

"We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep apart when we have quarrelled, express ourselves in well bred phrases and in this way preserve a dignified alienation, showing much firmness on one side and swallowing much grief on the other."

- George Eliot

Quote For The Day

"It is not the evil doers who are evil in this world, but those who watch and let it happen"

-Albert Einstein

Another Weekend

It hit me again that the weekend is here. The choice of weekend would be to drink oneself high and forget all blissfully (alas! for a night's sleep only), watch the World Cup match with germany and England going for it against each other (my bet is with Germany, as always), lie on a nearest sandy beach (if it does not rain, as the rains have begun again every afternoon).

But then, I can't think only of myself, one has children. Their needs and wants seem to come first before ours are ever executed, that is a good thing actually, as once you have them all settled, satisfied and sated it's the parents' turn.

My weekends, when the children are with me, are usually just like that.

I wake early Saturday, send them for their Saturday sports co-curricullum in school (which occupies them til the afternoon). I proceed to have breakfast with my girlfriend (who is also an early riser, surprising for a single woman because if it were me, I would not wake til past 12pm!), a long breakfast mind you. We laugh out loud, talk family, friends, men (sigh....). We then go our separate ways. I head home maybe just in time to cook lunch or watch a little tv. When the kids are back, its seeing to them and if possible a little nap in the late afternoon because my night is going to be late with another girlfriend (or maybe the same one), doing the usual over too loud music with a bit of a tipple thrown down our throats.

Sunday, one can't afford to wake late if the kids are bugging you that they want their breakfast. Another day starts catering to them (yet again!), maybe a trip to the gaming shop for a couple of hours (as they are not allowed pc games at home, neither will there ever be a Sony PlayStation at home no matter how much the kids beg). While they do this, I go grocery shopping alone. Alone is always the best bet, your own pace and time and one can linger as long as needed to read over a food label on whether the item is made in China or is genetically modified or has some undesireable content that we would not want ingested. Tv watching is a must if its a slow Sunday. Once kids settled, maybe dinner for myself with another girlfriend and copius amounts of girl-talk.

I do not feel guilty saying that I enjoy my time alone away from the kids. I am not rushing around seeing to them but to leisurely see to me.

Xiao Hei

Please excuse my long absence, self-diagnosed myself with depression which was 'kind of' cured by downing copius amounts of margarita's (frozen, of course! gives a good dosage of brain freeze without the electrocution) and having d.

Anyway, this is my other tail, Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei means 'little black' in mandarin. He is a daschund and is now 6 months old. My friend in Malacca gave him to us as her daschund had a litter of 6, and Xiao Hei is the best of the lot as he is wholly black, not a brown in sight as regular daschunds go.

I was a bit skeptical bringing him home as I knew my mother would go ballistic with us having another pet around the house as she loathes pets. And right I was because when she saw Xiao Hei, she told me take it back to my friend. Being the stubborn me, I just let it wait out to give her time to adjust; she has to you know, as we got December in December 2009 and what now with Xiao Hei which came home in March 2010. But now, lo behold, she is telling me to get rid of December and keep Xiao Hei. She likes him because he is extremely intelligent (I only had to train him once as to where to pee), a good guard dog, fearless, shows you his love with his doe-eyed looks. Also, my mother is now cooking their food for them!! I myself cannot imagine this turn in my mother that I find it extremely hilarious, but good because I am left out of the chore of cooking their food.

Anyway, the reason I am eager to write is because Xiao Hei was knocked down by a vehicle 2 days ago.

He ran out of the gate as he usually does with December in tow, but this time, only December returned to the house. So, my son Aidan, went looking for him and can you imagine, I actually told Aidan not to go hunting for Xiao Hei because he will always come back. Aidan came home crying to me in the kitchen that I'd better come quick because Xiao Hei was bleeding by the side of the road. I stopped whatever I was cooking, grabbed an old towel and followed Aidan to the site. It was an inner road near our house and there he was lying on his side, back legs and tail bloody and pitifully doe-eyed.

I wrapped Xiao Hei in the towel and gingerly tried to pick him up because he whined whenever I tried to touch him. Carried him home and knowing that most vets close early, I put him in my Ranger and hunted for a vet at the nearest commercial area. When I got to one that was near closing, the vet carried him from the Ranger and proceeded to the examination room to thoroughly checked Xiao Hei.

This was all 2 days ago. Yesterday he went in for an x-ray examination as the vet was waiting to see of Xiao Hei would be able to pee and poop, because if he can't, it means that his internal organs have ruptured. What was found was that Xiao Hei's inner pelvic bone is fractured and recovery would be 6 weeks but he would be able to stand and walk a bit in 3 days time. So until then, he'd be lying on his side even to pee and poop.

He is coming home today, as he has been in the clinic on drip and medication since the accident.