what's happening with mom

Mom lives in Klang on her own closeby the hospital where she works as a nurse. Yesterday morning, I called my brother in Boston right after he sent me an SMS and I was told the bad news that mom fell down (again) ! Just like me, mom dances only to the tune of the snake charmer. Exercise is a subject that embedded somewhere in a deep dark recess of our brain that we don't even know where it is ! What's most important to mom is air-conditioning and cable TV. Maybe about 2 weeks back, she fell outside her home and thought nothing of it until she felt some numbness in her hand. She consulted with the doc and was diagnosed of having 1 or 2 prolapsed discs in her neck area. For the past week, she's kept her silence and has been undergoing physiotherapy that requires several hours of traction per session. Mom, I noticed is getting clumsy in her old age and naturally we worry about her. My brother intends to have her over in Boston sometime during Autumn but I am concerned that the cost of her medical care will be financially stressful for him. Neither of us can deny that the present economy has done nothing for our bank accounts except deplete it since everything cost more these days. We are thankful to still have our jobs and my brotehr was actually surprised that he was able to renew his work permit. What mom needs is exercise and to lose weight. Her body is getting a wee bit too heavy for her legs to carry and I suspect that that's the reason for her back problems. We can't do much if she doesn't want to listen, can we ? All I can do now if pray for her good health and that she stays safe. No more falls please and mom, please watch your footing !

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pet togs for sale

My aunt is a very talented person, retired and a "pet mummy" now. You just tell her what you want and she'll knit it for you. These knits for your pets will keep them warm, secure and comfortable.

Prices for PET TOGS range from RM25 above, depending on your pet's size and the type of yarn you choose. If you are interested, please email me at valery.khoo@gmail.com and I will forward your enquiry to her.

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colours of the world

This poem was nominated by UN as the best poem of 2006, written by an African child.....

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
And when I die, I still black
And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you gray
And you calling me colored?

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first date

Jay Leno went into the audience to find the most embarrassing first date that a woman ever had.

The winner described her worst first date experience. There was absolutely no question as to why her tale took the prize!

She said it was midwinter... snowing and quite cold...and the guy had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City , Utah. It was a day trip (no overnight). They were strangers, after all, and truly had never met before. The outing was fun, the skiing great, the coffee hot. The day was uneventful until they were headed home late that afternoon. They were driving back down the mountain, when she gradually began to realize that she should not have had that extra latte. They were about an hour away from anywhere with a rest room and, to top it off, they were in the middle of nowhere! Her companion recognised her discomfort, and suggested she try to hold it, which she did for a while. Unfortunately, because of the heavy snow and slow going, there came a point where she told him that he had better stop and let her go beside the road, or it would be the front seat of his car.

They stopped and she quickly crawled out beside the car, yanked her pants down and started. In the deep snow she didn't have good footing, so she let her butt rest against the rear fender to steady herself. Her companion stood on the side of the car watching for traffic and indeed was a real gentleman and refrained from peeking. All she could think about was the relief she felt despite the rather embarrassing nature of thesituation. Upon finishing however, she soon became aware of another sensation. As she bent to pull up her pants, the young lady discovered her buttocks were firmly glued against the car's fender! Thoughts of tongues frozen to poles immediately came to mind as she attempted to disengage her flesh from the icy metal. It was quickly apparent that she had a brand new problem due to the extreme cold. Horrified by her plight and yet aware of the humor of the moment, she answered her date's concerns about 'what is taking so long' with a reply that indeed, she was 'freezing her butt off' and in need of some assistance!

He came around the car as she tried to cover herself with her sweater and then, as she looked imploringly into his eyes, he burst out laughing. She too, got the giggles and when they finally managed to compose themselves, they assessed her dilemma. Obviously, as hysterical as the situation was, they also were faced with a real problem. Both agreed it would take something hot to free her chilly cheeks from the grip of the icy metal! Thinking about what had gotten her into the predicament in the first place, both quickly realised that there was only one way to get her free. So, as she looked the other way, her first-time date proceeded to unzip his pants and pee her bottom off the fender.

As the audience screamed in laughter, she took the Tonight Show prize hands down. Or perhaps that should be 'pants down.

''Did you ever see the young man again?' asked Mr. Leno. 'I married him,' was the reply. 'He's sitting right here next to me.'

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who's smarter

Mom comes to visit her son Kumar for dinner.....who lives with a girl roommate Sunita. During the course of the meal, his mother couldn't help but notice how pretty Kumar's roommate was. She had long beensuspicious of a relationship between the two, and this had only made her more curious. Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Kumar and his roommate than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, Kumar volunteered,
"I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Sunita and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Sunita came to Kumar saying,
"Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver plate. You don't suppose she took it, do you?" Kumar said ,"Well, I doubt it, but I'll email her, just to be sure."

So he sat down and wrote:
"Dear Mother, I'm not saying that you 'did' take the silver plate from my house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the silver plate. But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner. Love, Kumar.

Several days later, Kumar received an email from his Mother which read:
"Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Sunita, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Sunita. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her OWN bed, she would have found the silver plate by now under the pillow...Love,Mom.

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the sad truth

A Letter from a Shelter Manager

I think our society needs a huge " Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all. ..a view from the inside if you will. First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know. That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays" that come into my shelter are purebred dogs. The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat). " Really? Where are you moving to that doesn't allow pets and why did you choose that place instead of a pet friendly home? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10- 12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She' s tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me: "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog." Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are. If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long. Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment. Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".... First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk - happy, wagging their tails. Until, they get to "The Room", every one of them freak out and put the brakes on when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. When it all ends, your pet's corpse will be *stacked like firewood in a large freezer* in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. *What happens next?* Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right? I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much further than the pets you dump at a shelter. Between *9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year* in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

* ADOPT A HOMELESS ANIMAL AND GIVE IT A LOVING HOME *
* MAKE YOUR PET A MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY *

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i say i will do but i never do

I often make plans and seldom see these plans through. Is it human nature or is it procastination ? Plans always seem interesting at first and suddenly when it comes to making it actually happen, I simply put the plan off because it can wait ! Aiyoh it happens to most of us. I have been thinking of cleaning my ceiling fans for over a month now and when the weekend arrives, every excuse available to mankind will run through my head; I deserve a rest after working so hard, work so hard will make me too tired to work on Monday, fall down lah...and the list goes on and on and on and on. I am asking myself if it's really so hard to bring the ladder out, put some water in a pail and get that darn bottle of whatever spray it is out from wherever ? Of course lah. I am a self-professed and certified couch-potato, piggy, snake, python or whatever else you want to call it. It's no wonder that I can only expand sideways (yes, I AM). All I can think of doing is catching my zzzzzzz ! Wanna hear about my earlier endeavour(s) ? Yeah....it started with vitamins, then it was exercise, then it was unpacking (and yes, I am still in a packed state from over a year ago), baking (yes again, I have expired stuff as proof), repotting my plants (yeah, yeah, yeah) and only God knows what else I have been dreaming of. Living alone is surely loads of fun no ? Hell....I don't have anyone to remind me of what I said I would do ! In conclusion, I deserve to be what I am....python, pig, potato, fat butt and all ! I only dance to the tune of the snake charmer....zzzzzzzz

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shame on you !

Is this how you treat another living being ? Is this how you would treat your parents or children ? Shame on you my fellow Malaysian whoever you may be. What gives you the better right to live if you cannot accord that same right to another living, breathing creature of God ?

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a sad sad day

All dogs go to heaven......

The 13th of March, 2004 was a terribly sad day for the family. Rocky left us on his final journey across the rainbow bridge. He had been unwell for the past week. He was weak, refused to eat and was vomitting phlegm all the while. My aunt and I took him to the vet and he was given some medication. The vet was honest and told us that it did not look good but we should take him home and monitor his condition. The vet ordered crate rest but guess who got "crated" instead....Bubbles ! We had no choice because this was the only way that Rocky could rest. The vet explained that Rocky's heart was failing and theer was nothing that he could do. We were all upset and that night, we stayed up with him for as long as we could. My aunt slept on the couch that night so that Rocky did not have to be alone. As I left for work early the next morning, I spent some time with him and tried to coax him with some food but he just turned away. I told him to be a good boy and try to eat something and I would buy him a treat on my way home that night. Right about lunchtime, my aunt called me and told me that Rocky had collapsed. She and my mom were rushing Rocky to the vet. I just felt numb but what could I do. I counted the secounds until I could leave work and get to the vet where Rocky was "hospitalized". How and what I feld as I entered the boarding section and saw Rocky, I could never ever explain or put into words. He had drips on both front paws and I could only imagine how painful it was. He was such a good boy. the vet told me that he never once fought, struggled or attempted to bite them when they were adminsitering the drips. Even after the drips were in place, he never once tried to "attack" it. That's our boy with the golden heart. I stayed with him for as long as I could; hugging him and telling him over and over again that he could go if he was suffering. When the vet told me that they were closing, I held Rocky's face in my hands and told him how much he meant to me and how much I love him. I looked into his soulful eyes and told him again that it was OK to go. Ah Ma (my dear grandmother who passed away in 2000) would be waiting for him. What I saw in his eyes is (again) something else that I find hard to put into words. We just understood each other and all I saw was love in his eyes. In my heart, I knew that this would be the last time I would ever get to hold him, hug him or look into his eyes as I always did. As I left, I reminded him to resta nd be a good boy and that I'd be around to see him early the next morning.

This would be a promise I would never be allowed to keep. As I was getting ready to go see Rocky the next morning, the vet called and told me that Rocky's condition was deteriorating fast. My mom and I rushed over but it was just too late. God loved Rocky so much more than we did and took Rocky into His loving embrace. The only consolation that I felt was that he was finally free from pain and suffering. I knew that my Ah Ma would take good care of him. Rocky was still warm when we arrived. My mom left shortly to fetch my aunt from her place of work nearby.

It was hard to go home knowing that I would never hear or see Rocky running up to me again. I cut a lock of Rocky's hair and still keep it until today. I had him cremated the following day and his remains were returned to me in a floral urn placed in a basket of flowers. We are Catholic with a family alter at home. Rocky's remains were placed at our family corner alongside my grandparents and stepfather. He was family like the others whose little corner he shares and we pray that God keeps him safe.

This post is dedicated to our precious ROCKY

17 June 1995 ~ 13 march 2004

Thank you, dear and precious boy for bringing so much joy and love into our lives

You are in our hearts forever and we will never forget

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woof woof

I did it again in mid 2002. I walked into a friend's pet shop and saw this adorable boy. The called him Coconut and ask me as many times as you must but I really don't know lah. I can tell you that he looked nothing like a coconut ! It was just fated (yeah when I want something I'll manage the required excuses thank you !). I brought Bubbles home when he was about 6 months old and he has been family for the past 7 wonderful years. OK OK so it hasn't always been wonderful. There were times when all I wanted to do was pack him into a box and hide him under my bed. Thank goodness Rocky was an accommodating and generous old chap and never fought back when his toys were stolen or taken away from him. That made it a lot easier to handle but it was heartwrenching to see our dear old faithful being robbed of all the toys he so loved and enjoyed. I kept replacing the "stolen" toys but what went on just continued and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Rocky just kept giving in to his "little brother" while our hearts kept crying for him. When Bubbles was still a pup, there were mornings when we noticed that Bubbles had blood spots on himself but we never ever heard a single growl during the night. We knew who the culprit was but Bubbles was never caught in the act. We know you did it Bubbles....but that was a long long time ago. More to come......

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paws in the family

I've always loved dogs. During the worst time of my life almost 15 years ago, I found myself walking into a pet shop one hot and sunny day and bought myself a puppy. It was love at first sight; not just for me but for my family too. We decided to keep the name the pet shop had given him and Rocky he was. He became family and I can't remember the number of times that I've shook my head and wondered if this boy even realized that he was different from the rest of us. I smile to myself when I think of it now. He was 6 months old when I brought him home. Rocky was super intelligent. Without any training at all, he learnt how to carry his own towel ready for his bath and to carry out his pillow from the kitchen in the morning. I must admit that this bugger had exceptional taste during his teething days. His choice being my Italian leather shoes, the legs of an antique chair and nothing else. He bit and he chewed and nothing could stop him. It was always only the best for our boy. My mom once carried a huge rattan basket back on a flight from Singapore for her Rocky. My brother was working with Singapore Airlines at that time and even when we never got anything, Rocky was sure to have something ~ a placemat for his bowl, a new collar, a roll of salami, supplements and whatever else under the bright blue sky. My grandma used to spoil him rotten. When we were at work, these 2 would settle into a routine of "one-for-you-one-for-me" and it was all about potato chips ! Caught them at it one day. It's no wonder how often I had to keep replenishing those bags of potato chips. Who wouldn't love a face like that !

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