chewie's first day at school

out of 3 new students (should be 5, but 2 din turn up due to the bad weather), chewie is the A1 star student! i think this should be how parents feel when their kids' kindergarten's teachers tell them that their kids did great in school! hahaha...

turns out, chewie's penchant for food is every dog trainer's dream come true! she responds well since the very first task (recall with the 'come' command). well, actually a bit too well! she even responds to other dogs' names! *sigh*

the other 2 new enrollments were poodles. one was too shy and uptight, as if stoned. wouldn't do anything... the other poodle dun respond well to food inducement.

and it helps that chewie already has some ground work... she sits and comes easily. and is really a pleasure to train! and the trainers were all so keen for her to advance to higher levels, encouraging me to start getting her to love chasing balls and jumping. would be great for agility training later on. the main trainer even tried some of the moves in the pre-novice level with her and she did it beautifully! so proud! *beam*

but she's not very social with other dogs... or rather, she doesn't know how to play nicely with other dogs. maybe lack of interaction. hopefully by enrolling her in the obedience school, she'll be able to learn some social skills in the process.

too bad, i was too busy to remember to take any photos... will see if i'll have the chance to take during next week's lesson.

The Night of Musical Journey

Galaxy Chamber Orchestra
(of Soka Gakkai Malaysia)

presents

Time & Date:
24th November 2007, 8:00pm

Venue:
Ikeda Peace Auditorium, SGM Cultural Centre
(click here for map)

Admission:
Free
(get your tickets from me now!)

Repertoire:
"Le Nozze Di Figaro" - W. A. Mozart
"Perpetuum Mobile" - Johann Strauss
"Closing" from Final Fantasy 9 - Nobuo Uematsu
"Concerto Grosso Op. 3 No. 8" - Antonio Vivaldi
"Kabuki Dance"
Violin Solo
Selection from Pirates of the Carribean
"Morigasaki"
Selection from Lord of the Rings

Selection from Les Miserables

chewie at 4 months +

she's such a clever girl! i never cease to be amazed at how she understands the things i teach her after only a few times... like i've mentioned here before, she learnt to 'sit' pretty fast. that's the first and most basic command any dog should know, 'sit'.




next came 'down'. she did this fairly easily too... like a natural!



then out of a fit of fancy, i taught her to do 'hand-hand', coz it's just so cute! :P



then, from a book, i learnt that it's important to teach our dogs to leave something. say suddenly our pills or some poisonous things fell on the floor, then it'll be good for a dog to know that she is not to touch it. so i taught her to 'leave it'. here's she keeping a close eye on the cookie and waiting (im)patiently for me to give her the ok cue. cute hor?

but this needs more work, coz she's such a thief! whenever i take a step back, she'll grab the goodie and gobble it up in no time! *sigh*

next, i decided to make her 'sit' before i open the cage to let her out. this will teach her a bit of manners and not jump up and down excitedly waiting to come out... this is done easily coz she already knows the 'sit' command.


and then there's this habit of hers that i really want to break. since she found out where i keep her doggie biscuits, the store room has been her favourite room. whenever i open the store room door, she'll rush in excitedly and jump on all the savoury-smelling treats i keep in a plastic bag on the floor, tail wagging frantically. so i thot to myself, this just can't do. i don't want to have to keep fighting her off every time i go in to get her food or treats. so i decided to teach her to sit outside the room patiently while i go inside to get her food. here, she's 'cheating' by putting her front paws in... hehehe...
this needs working too... coz she can't stand to wait too long while i'm inside this heavenly place, with my back turned towards her, dunno doing what! so when she hears the first spoonful of dog biscuits hitting her bowl, she'll be a little wriggling machine, rushing in to join the fun! i'll have to chase her out a few times before i can finish ladling her food... *sigh*


and since she arrived, whenever i want her to go back to her cage, i'll wave some goodies at the top opening of her cage and say 'chewie, cage'. she'll rush in thru the side opening, i'll close the door and she gets her reward! now i don't need to hover the treat on top of her cage... i'll just point to her cage, say 'cage' and she'll jump in happily, waiting for me to close the door and dish out the reward!




and as an addition, i'll make her 'sit' first before getting any reward. so now after jumping in, she'll sit quietly for her reward without having to be told!



and here's her latest trick, which took me completely by surprise. i only taught it to her sporadically and only like on 2 occasions, coz she din seem to like it much. so i thot maybe she won't learn it. but that day, while going thru her drills, i thot to try this command, just to see if she knows it. and she did! she knows to 'roll'! i'm so proud of her!



so now, i've enrolled her into a puppy obedience school. hopefully she'll a good canine citizen and maybe pass her canine good citizen test later on!

on turning 30...

this is in response to karen cheng’s post, one of the few ‘stranger’s blogs’ that i frequent. and seeing that i’ll be hitting the big three-oh next year, i thot maybe i should give my take on the topic.

well, i’ve never really thot abt being 30. i mean, i used to think abt being 12, abt being 18 and 21. but who the heck thinks abt turning 30, rite? but i guess it’s sorta like an age-mark for everyone, especially women.

frankly, i don’t feel like i’m anywhere near 30. i still feel like i did when i’m in university. juz the other day, i was telling the housemates that when i go out, i’m still dressing like i did when i went for lecture! in jeans and Ts. and i dun think i look the age too. once, i was stopped by a reporter from sin chew to ask abt my views on a particular topic. and when she asked for my details like name, age etc., she was so shocked to learn that i’m 29. she thot i’m a college kid!

perspectively, i guess i’m a failure for a 30 y/o. i mean, women at 30 r supposed to be matured, with an established career, starting/nurturing a young family, financially independent, full of confidence, adult enough to know what she wants and yet young enough to have the zest and energy to face the challenges of the world, etc.

and then look at me. i dun feel an adult at all. even tho’ i consider myself streetwise, i don’t hold myself well with intellects my own age and i get intimidated easily. and career-wise, what career??? i don’t see where my career is heading, if what i’m doing now can be called ‘career’. my financial state is a haywire with credit-card debt like the black hole, and even tho’ i’m in a relationship, we’re not hearing wedding bells anytime soon… and i’m still not ‘settled’. i’m still running around, pursuing things like ice-skating, music and stuff, instead of seeking self-development such as getting a second degree/master or taking up a course to enhance my resume.

*sigh* will i end up the ‘old aunty’ pursuing youngsters stuff? but then again, y must i conform myself to society’s perception of what’s ‘aunty stuff’ and what’s ‘youngsters stuff’? is there really a clear definite line between the two? take ice-skating, for example. when i first started taking lessons, my colleagues at that time would laugh at me, especially this ‘big sister’, who is abt 8-10 years older than me. she’s quite a modern mom, not aunty at all. but when she heard that i’m taking ice-skating, she would always tease that i’m too old for such things. “lao liao lar (old already lar), still wanna do ice-skating. all ur bones are too stiff liao!” yes, i agree that age is a factor to consider. i’m more afraid of falling down compared to those kids, which made it harder and longer for me to learn the more difficult steps. but it’s something i want to do and it’s not like i’ll be going for the olympics…

i dunno… i dun even know how i feel abt turning 30. so what exactly should i feel differently the morning i wake up as a 30 y/o, compared to the previous night as a 29 y/o? will i suddenly feel wiser? more matured? or maybe feeling blue because i’ve reached the 30th mark without achieving anything great with my life thus far? or suddenly feel my bones going stiff? hehe… but then again, age has never really been anything to me other than numbers marking the duration i’ve been on planet earth. so why should 30 be any different from 29, rite? what’s most important is that i live my life MY WAY.

too soon, maybe?

now i'm thinking, maybe we bought chewie too soon... at first the our intention is to get a doggie AFTER i move into our new condo. i was very excited to be able to keep a doggie again, coz i really miss my niji dearly. that's y we've been going into every pet shop we see, just to look at their selection of doggies in the window.

but then the bf saw this cocker spaniel (who will later become chewie) with the same birth date as him and then and there he decided he wants her! so i asked him to call one of the housemates to ask if i can keep the doggie in our apartment and the good soul agreed... so we excitedly bought chewie, along with all her accessories and dog food etc and brought her home.

well, luckily i'm working from home, so i can clean up after her and give her lots of play time to help burn off her energy. that way, she won't be so bored in her cage the whole day long. but now i'm having second thoughts. staying with housemates mean the house is not mine (obviously). so i need to keep a constant watch over the little bugger, to make sure she dun chew other ppl's shoe, floor mat etc. and during the night when the housemates are home, i need to make sure she dun run into their room. so i have to multitask: one hand cleaning out her cage, one hand entertain her with her chew toy to distract her. but sometimes she'll just bolt away and make for the rooms! that's when we can hear bloodcurdling screams from the housemates! hehe...

also, having other ppl in the house means they'll sometimes feed her the doggie food i keep handy in a small container nearby for training purposes. not that i'm against anyone feeding her, but incorrect method and indiscriminate feeding will only confuse and disrupt her training.

and now, one of the housemate's mom is here for 2 whole weeks... so i can't let chewie out too often, only long enough for me to clean her cage. so kesian, terperap in the cage for such long hours! but bo-pien... can tell from the housemate's mom's face that she dun quite like it. of course lar, everyday only know how to poo and pee and make noise. and when let loose, she'll go ard sniffing and licking ppl. and i keep her in the dry kitchen area, so it's quite inconvenient for her mom to cook. so of course dun like lar! but how wor? takkan keep her outside on the balcony? she'll get wet when it rains... and takkan keep her outside in the wet kitchen area? she'll keep the whole block awake with her barking... *sigh*

dunno how now... been complaining to the bf abt this. but what can he do also? *double sigh*

my new baby!

dear all, meet chewie! she's american mixed english cocker spaniel... only abt 3 months old. and she's the bf's little sister! coz she shares the same birthday as him. but hey, how come i'm the one who has to clean up after her??? but she's so adorable. and so clever too! spent one night here and oredi she knows where i keep her doggie biscuit! and she oredi knows her name, as well as 'sit', just after a few times i taught it to her! and she comes when i say "chewie, come!" but i think that's mainly because i have treats in my hand! next will try to get her to understand 'stand', 'hand-hand', 'down', 'look at me' etc. according to the vet, u can practically bribe a dog to do almost anything! hehe...

all the bf said was: "not even belong to us 24 hrs, oredi spent my RM500+ on doggie stuff and vet check-up!" hehe... siapa suruh it's his sister wor?

and since she's still so young, she poos and pees like 100 times a day! also, she's shedding now... changing her baby coat, i think. i'm so busy!!!

but so happy the housemates let me keep her! i know they dun really like the idea of keeping a dog in the apartment, coz they're smelly and dirty and bite things... but they know how much i yearn for it, so they agreed! cool huh? *happy*

i'm still alive!

well, that was quite a long silence from me... well, for one thing, nothing much happening nowadays. and another, having to pay for ur own internet connection surely is the biggest 'blogging-inspiration' killer!

ok, here's a quick update of what i've been up to:
1. work lar... until no day no night
2. orchestra practice for our upcoming concert in nov
3. this...
Spring Waltz! the final installment of the seasonal opus by the same producer of Autumn In My Heart, Winter Sonata & Summer Scent. hehe... have not watch summer scent tho'. anyone watched? nice?

anyway, as with the previous 2 'seasons' (dunno abt summer, tho' i'm sure it's also along the same lines), this last season did not disappoint in its mixed-up identity, looking for someone from the past when he/she's right in front of ur eyes, and the frustration and 'get moving already!' feeling that comes from watching all K-dramas...

and tho' Daniel Henny is quite yummy, no one beats bae yong joon! heh...

4. i've not mentioned this before, but the bf and i are getting our own condo. so been bz running ard for all the loan, documentation, legal side, surveying of furniture, etc etc. pretty hectic! and also the budget to worry abt, hence no. 1 above! and this is also partly the reason for previous post...

well that's all. dem exciting life i have, rite?

family affairs...

contrary to popular belief (ok, maybe just my naive and distorted view of things), a relationship between 2 people is not well, between just 2 people. now i realized, whatever decision, plans and undertakings we make/take will need to involve not 2 people, but 2 families! *sigh*

maybe i'm so used to being independent, coupled with the fact the my parents don't really impose any major restrictions on me, going along the tunes of "as long as ur life is not threatened, we trust that u're big enough to know what u're doing and what's important is u're happy", that suddenly having to extend my consideration for other ppl's family's views, opinions, wish, etc is just so dem frustrating! and the spoiled and obstinate brat in me wonder if it's really so important to give in to one's father's every whim and fancy, when all these while, it's MY every whim and fancy that's being met by my dad! *urgh*

new fad...

in one of my previous posts, i've promised to blog abt my new fad... well, ok, it's not so new now, but nvm lar. here it is!

yep! PS2! hehehe... actually it's not so much my fad, but the bf. i only play the dummy games like super mario and monoply. hehehe... but he put it at my place so that he can shoot, race and bang police cars to his hearts content without nagging parents and controller-hogging siblings. like a kid right? *sigh*

not only that, he's obsess in collecting games! now it's filled 2 folders! *sigh*

another step up the IT world...

guess where m i now? hehehe...
starbucks! going wi-fi, with my brand new laptop! *grin*

just finish my bookcrossing meetup in bangsar shopping village and since gco practice is not until 8pm tonight, took the chance to pop into starbucks (oppostite bakerzin - the meetup venue this month) to take advantage of the fast connection to upload my cambodia pics... but dunno y, flickr is still quite slow. other site r dem fast, just flickr! only 100+ pics uploaded, 400+ more to go! *sigh*

but nvm lar. still heaps faster then my dial-up... so can't complain much...

will make it a short one this time round...