chien po
People who rare pets are a peculiar bunch. During the days of creation God gave Adam power over all the creatures this world. Yet, for people who have cats or dogs living under the same roof, these creatures definitely have great power over us. We feed them, we take care of them, we bathe them, we send them to the vets to give them vaccines and for cure when they're ill, we cuddle them, we hug them, we talk to them, and some of us even sleep with them. As for my family, the phrase 'treating our pets like members of the family' is an understatement. We treat our pets like kings.My family have several cats as pets. It was never our intention to rare animals. A female stray cat wandered into our home and my siblings gave her food. (Notice that I didn't use 'it'. I used 'her'.) The cat never left the house since, and the cat family expanded. We have several in our care. One of the kitten was given the name 'Chien Po'. The name is from the Walt Disney cartoon Mulan. In the cartoon, Chien Po is an extremely large man with a bouncy stomach, a hearty appetite and a soft, good-mannered personality. However, the cat Chien Po in our family is nothing of that sort. Although he does have a huge appetite, he's a fit kitten with no extra fat and he's the noisiest of the lot. He loves attention and from the tone of his 'meow', he demands it all the time. Whenever one of us open the front door he will immediately run towards the door of his cage and start pressing his face against the wired door of his cage. This is an indication that he wants to get out and he wants to be hugged. He has a really loud purring noise and he has an extremely short tail compared to other cats. He has beautiful black and grey stripes over his body and really large, piercing eyes. He may be the most irratating of the lot but he loves his human masters and we loved him greatly. He loves to eat and often times, he would crawl through the open window in the kitchen and start meowing in a loud, irritating voice until we give him what he wants: food or carry him like a baby. Only then will he shut up.He died this evening. Unexpected. His nose was smashed. It may be human's doing but we're not sure. When we found his body, it was still warm, but a bit hard.Most would think that this is not a big deal. Even humans die unexpected deaths. Accidents happen. People die. What more animals who have shorter lifespans and are exposed to greater dangers? But this is not just a normal cat. We've cared for him since the day he was born. We watched him grow. We named him. We saw him play with his siblings, catch snakes, trying to catch the birds and the butterflies, running around on the field opposite the house, making friends with the neighbours (the neigbours' kids also treat Chien Po like a pet) etc. Chien Po is family.My family have learned a lot by having pets. When you watch animals grow, you'll notice that they go through the same phase every human does. They play together when they're young. When they're of age they start to mate. They guard their territories from outsiders. They know who are good to them and who aren't. They know where their loyalties lie. Even if you beat them, scold them or shout at them, they won't fight back (but they might run away for a while). Animals find it easy to develop an affinity towards humans because they don't know what is deceit or greed or vengence or hatred. We may one day conquer the stars, travel faster than the speed of light and find the cure for the common cold, but we can't be rid of deceit, greed, and hatred. I doubt it if animals experience that. Everything they do is based on instincts and most of what we do is based on choice. When we see stray animals on the streets or dead animals on the road, we feel sad. They're not suppose to be this way. I wish Malaysia can improve their systems when it comes to handling animals, particularly strays. Highways and cities are no place for dogs and cats, animals that are supposed to be pets. Most people only want animals with pedigree, but not the strays that roam in the streets. Even animals have been broken down into groups and some groups have higher preferances than others.The cage is a lot quiet tonight. And I don't like it one bit.
preparations
Today my sponsors held a pre-departure briefing for students who will be leaving for Australia and New Zealand next month. Before this, JPA held the BTN Camp (where we have to go through the kursus kenegaraan in hopes that we'll become more patriotic) and also the Psycho Camp (to give us our psychological profile and they claimed that I'm prone to depression. Maybe. I don't know. They're the shrinks.) There are a few scholars who missed those two programs but nobody missed the pre-departure briefing. That is because we'll be getting money. How typical of us youngsters eh? =pMy dad was gracious enough to take leave for the day to send me to INTEC, UiTM, where the briefing will be held. Although we left early, we were caught in massive traffic jams. The cars have increased but the roads stays the same. We seriously ought to do something about it. No wonder people get serious stress problem just from driving.When the briefing started, we had to listen to speeches, advices, briefings... when I can safely say that 99% of us are just waiting for the money. It was then where I realized that I have only about 2 more weeks here in Malaysia. The departure date hasn't been confirmed yet, but it'll be in early February.A friend came and sat beside me to just talk. We haven't sat down and chat in a while. So we asked each other how we feel about going away for so long. My friend was sad to leave his parents. When he talks about Australia to his mom, he says that he can see his mom holding back tears. As for my parents, they've more or less accepted the fact that I'm leaving soon. My mom accepted it long ago and she spent the last one year giving me all the advices that she can think of. She just wants me to be all right, to get the degree and to be happy. My dad has been driving me up and down from Seremban to K.L. to get my applications done. He had spent a lot of money on me, too. I don't really feel any particular sort of emotion now. I'm not really sad, but I'm not really that excited either. I guess its because I'm abit afraid of the unknown. I don't know what to expect despite of all the advices and descriptions and experiences shared with me by friends who are residing in New Zealand. However, knowing that my parents are really willing to let go and let me live my life is a great plus. I can actually look forward to a new, exciting life there.After lunch, we got our allowances and our blazers. The suit (blazer and pants) cost me RM 380. The blazer was abit tight and the pants was too short. It was suppose to be custom made to fit my body but I don't know what went wrong, but it was okay. It looks good. And they had my name sewn inside the blazer. My first personalized item!Two more weeks...
hmmm...
NZ Custom RegulationsAll food, plant, animal products must be declared in the 'arrival form' card.I have a question.My daytime face moisturiser is has seaweed extracts. Do I need to declare it? Does this means I have to declare every cosmetic product I have?
the donkey, the well and the dirt
Allow me to share with you an interesting story told during church service today.There once lived a donkey that accidently fell into a large, deep well while it was happily frolicking through the planes. Frightened and anxious, it cried out as loud as it can until it became hoarse. When the farmer realized what happen, he tried to figure out how to save the donkey. He thought, and thought, and he thought somemore. He couldn't think of a safe, inexpensive and reliable way to save his donkey. So he decided to fill up the well with dirt and let the donkey die. The well was of no use now and he couldn't save his donkey.He gathered the villagers and asked for their help to fill up the well. Thus, the strong, brawny lads of the village, each with a shovel in their hands, start digging up dirt to fill up the well. When the donkey saw the level of dirt getting higher, inch by inch, it realized that it's fate has been sealed unless it finds a way to escape.The men continued their shovelling and filling. After a while, no sound came out of the well. Out of curiousity, the farmer peered down the well. Much to his amazement, he saw his donkey standing on the pile of dirt. He quickly took a shovel, dig up some dirt and threw it down the well. When the dirt fell on the donkey's back, the donkey simply shook of the dirt and took a step up. The men were in utter shock. They continued filling up the well with dirt, and the donkey continued shaking it off and taking one step up. Shake, step, shake, step, shake step.... when the well was fully filled with dirt, the donkey was out of the well, and it happily skipped away to the grassy fields.Moral of the story: Let's be honest. Life is always going to deal you a bad hand and throw dirt at you. Just shake it off, and take a step up.An army chaplain hung this sign outside the door:"If you have any problems, come to me and I'm wiling to listen. If you don't have any problems, come to me also. I wanna know how you do it."There's a side in us that nobody sees. People may look happy and contended but that is because each one of us suppresses our troubles deep inside us, and not let it show. Each of us faces problems, troubles, hardships...albeit different ones for each individual. Some people face problems in finances, some in love, some in friendship, some in studies, some in work... Those who say that they don't have problems are living in denial. And if they really don't have any problems, I sure wanna know how to achieve that kind of life.Humans are born to suffer as the sparks fly upwards. That cannot be change. However, we can change the ways and methods used to approach the problems. ATTITUDE. Everything happens for a reason. Every trial occurs to teach us a lesson that we need to learn, and if we don't learn that lesson, we'll be forever stuck in a never-ending, vicious cycle. Shake and step. Shake of the dirt and take a step up. If we can face problems in a positive way, it helps build character. So be positive and don't let the devil take too much credit. That's what I learned in church today. Now.. if only I can apply it in reality, I will never be a sourgrape anymore.Sidetrack...My dear friend and coursemate Sakinah hits the big 2-0 today. Happy birthday!!!! I miss you loads and hope you'll have a wonderful year in Australia. I miss shopping with you, watching BLEACH with you, just chilling with you, chatting with you, late night suppers with you and the gang.... Sigh good friends are hard to find, especially one that know you so well, until he/she can read your mind. =p. Happy birthday again and may God take care of you always.
blood runs thicker than water
I was 9 years old. Primary Three. It was his first day at school. Coming from an English educated family, he doesn't speak a word of mandarin. Neither did I when I first stepped into this Chinese-based primary school. After the assembly we went to our respective classes. All morning I was worried about him. I wanted to see him. I wanted to make sure he was okay. When the recess bell rang, I didn't go to the canteen with my usual gang of friends. I went to look for him. I wanted to buy something for him to eat. I went to his classroom. I saw his schoolbag but I didn't see him. I ran across the basketball court, up the hall, down to the canteen, into the teacher's carpark, up to the higher primary block... I couldn't find him. I was crying. I thought I lost him. And then there he was. Out of the blue. I saw him. Out of pride I held back my tears and asked him where he has been.Few days later....The bell rang. School was over. I went over to his class, only to see him crying. I asked him what happen. He said:"I got caned 7 times today." At that precise moment, I knew what it was like to be really angry and extremely protective. When my dad came I told him what happened. I couldn't remember my father's expression or what he felt. Later in my growing up years, my father told us that after he found out my brother was caned, he went to the staff room the next day to see the headmaster. He wanted an explanation. The headmaster called up the teacher and asked her to explain herself."May I know why my son was caned? He only started school less than 2 weeks ago?""Your son wasn't injured! So what is the big hu-ha?""Whether he was injured or not is another question. I want to know why he was caned.""He didn't hand up his artwork. I asked him several times and he didn't answer. So I caned him.""He did his artwork. I saw him doing it. In fact, he did it 3 times because he thinks it wasn't good enough. My son said when he wanted to hand up the artwork, he couldn't find it in his bag. Someone must have rummaged through it because all his things were disorganized.""Then why didn't your son explain this? Why did he keep quiet?""Let me ask you. If the boy in question is an Indian child, and not my son, will you cane him?""Of course I won't.""Why?""Because he is not Chinese. He can't understand mandarin.""What makes you think my son can understand mandarin? Just because he is Chinese? He couldn't understand a word you were saying. That's why he didn't answer you. That is the reason why I sent him to a Chinese school. To learn mandarin."*speechless*It was this incident that caused him to have an increased fear of authority. He became more anxious and stressed out. He became afraid of anybody who has power over him. It wasn't until he was Form 3 that he managed to shed this fear and became a normal student who constantly criticise teachers behind their backs.He finished his SPM last year, and he's in college now pursuing A-levels. Other people may not be able to sense the brotherly/sisterly love among us (my brother, my sister and myself). We don't talk much. We never have heart-to-heart talks. But we've lived together since the day he was born and I can safely say that I'm able to predict his actions in almost every circumstance. He was always the reliable one, the smarter one, the strong-silent one, the trustworthy one and the one who stays at home. I'm always the rebellious one, the hardworking-but-not-as-smart-as-her-brother one, the chatty one, and the 'kaki jalan' of the family. I noticed that he never really gets any scolding, unlike me who needs to watch my every step to make sure I don't get blasted by my dad the disciplinarian.Everytime I think of my brother, I would remember my 9-year-old self and his first day at school. After all these years, I'm still worried. I'm worried that he won't be able to cope with his studies. I'm afraid that he'll have a hard time adjusting. I'm worried that he won't have any friends. I'm worried that he'll regret going to college. All nonsensical worriness. I know he'll be just fine, but I still worry.
'new year' or 'used year'?
Lucy: It's funny. It's new year, but I don't feel anything new.
Linus: What do you mean?
Lucy: Everything is the same. I don't feel any new changes. I think this is not a new year. I think this is a USED year!! ~Peanuts~First of all, happy new year 2006 everybody!Since entering college, it has become a habit for me to have a diary. I was quite determined to put an end to my foolish forgetfulness by jotting down everything that I feel important in a diary. When I was in college, I had a small wallet size diary which was always with me. I would jot down things like what I need to prepare for tutorials, class replacements, appointments with friends, assignments' details, datelines, examination timetables etc... I'm also somewhat interested in wise and powerful quotes, poems and such. If I happen to stumble upon such things while reading the newspaper or magazines or listening to some music I will also jot these down in my diary.When the new year was approaching I bought myself a new diary. Nothing expensive, but it serves it's purpose. Last night, I had a serious bout of temporary insomia. I just don't feel tired. I really didn't feel like going to bed. So I decided to do something fancy with my new diary. I remembered writing in my diary what I deemed to be inspirational. I got it from the devotional Our Daily Bread:~When somebody writes your last column, how much "blank space" will it include? When you come to life's end, will there be important things left undone? Will that white space bear silent testimony to goals you never reached, good habits you never formed, help you never gave, kind things you thought about doing but never did? Will a sizeable empty space say that you intended to develop a deeper relationship with God, but that close intimacy remained an unfulfilled ideal? Or will others be able to say of you that you finished the race and kept the faith?~I've been through 19 new years and there will be more to come. (hopefully... you'll never know what's going to happen) This year I realized that I have many dreams, thoughts, goals, good habits, etc that I would like to have but I don't. For example: My best friend in secondary school, Prisca, has an awesome talent in music. She plays 4 instruments which are the piano, the guitar, the bass guitar and the drums. I've always admired her, especially when she starts strumming and plucking the guitar. Everybody will surround her and start asking her to play their favourites (she's a walking karaoke box). For years I've longed to be able to play like that. Back then I could only play C, G, A and E. Not enough to play a proper song. Late last year, I thought to myself: If I try hard enough, do my homework, start 'google-ing' chords for some songs and start practising everyday, I may be able to play the guitar. I may never be a pro or an artiste but at least I'll be able to strum my favourite songs and some of the popular ones. Furthermore, I still have one more month before I start uni. It's now or never, because when uni life starts, I won't be able to get my hands on a guitar, let alone practice everyday. There are a great deal more things that I want to do, but just thinking of it ain't going to get me anywhere. And then years will past by, and the opportunities for such things will fly out the window as well. In addition, things like "kind things you thought but never did and help you never gave" will only bring about a lifetime of regret. Often times, we find ourselves facing one particular chance to perform an act of kindness to other people, but we frequently let that chance slipped away because of pride, greed, indifference and such. Perhaps some of us have always dreamed about having joy and happiness, but somehow we've let the weight of this world and bad circumstances bury us into grief and depression. If we've been that way in the past and not planning to make some changes about it, we're not in a new year, we're in a 'used' year. What's the point of having new years when nothing new is transforming in our lives?So this is my new year's resolution:"TURN DREAMS, THOUGHTS AND GOALS INTO ACTIONS." I won't be able to complete all that I wish to do, but I do hope to have a headstart.As for my diary, I did the best I could in decorating it. I never was an artistic person. I've inserted the poem "A STUDENT PSALM" behind the front cover. For the front cover itself, I've attached the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. It acts as a reminder, reminding me that sometimes the roads taken by the majority are not the only paths in life. We shouldn't be afraid to take some risks.May you have an eventful year!!
