Blunt, extremely blunt.

Dear friends, have you ever heard of this simple abbreviation: P&C? I don’t mean Palmolive and colgate ok.. I’m sure among the first few things tat come to your mind must be, "Private and Confidential". If so, you’re rite. If not so, you’ll have to learn more business language pal. ;)

P&C simply means, private and confidential.

I remember when I started my first few jobs after Form 5, a senior once told me tat our salary/pay is private and confidential. What she meant was; you don’t have to tell the world your pay/salary. It’s good enough for only your employer, family and close friends (and government, if you qualify for income tax) to know it. She also added, "People don’t go around asking ppl about their salary unless they’re very close to each other."

"What if they still want to ask?" An innocent question from me.
"I would say that those ppl are extremely blunt," she said.

Funny, of 100 ppl I met here, 30% of them are extremely blunt.

First, I’m not close to them. I’ve merely met them for maybe 1month +.

Second, their question was very direct indeed, "What’s your salary?" When I pretended stupid to elude their question, they persistently repeated, "What is your pay?"

Third (and I can’t stand this), when I retaliated by asking them the same question, they went generalizing the whole idea, like, "Oh, enough to eat la.. enough to survive la.. enough enough enough," and all sorts of redundant phrases. So I’ve tried using their method, "Enough to eat la." Then came the irritating reply, "So how much? Got RM1000? 1500? 1800? 2000? 2200? 2500? 3000?"

HEY, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS CAN’T YOU?!

Today I finally told myself, enough is enough. Then came a familiar question from an innocent looking guy/uncle, "How much is your salary?"

"Hah? What did you say?" Act stupid, my first defense line.
"What is your pay, I asked."
"What? You want to know about my salary?"
"Ya, I want to know how much your salary is."
Enough is enough. Smiling, I replied, "I can’t tell you."
"Got 1000?"
I ignored.
"1500? 2000?"
ENOUGH! "I said I can’t tell you, it’s private and confidential."
"Got 2000? I’m sure got one…"

I ignored him totally, didn’t even want to respond to him anymore. Politeness has reached its limit.

Blunt. Extremely blunt.

for once i'm blank

i've tot of so many things to fill up my blog each time in my life.. but now i'm finally sitting in front of the pc, i don't know wat to write. the things i wanted so much to write? hmm..

lost passion.
lost mood.
lost the memory.. i mean exact memory.

so let's talk abt the cockroach. yep, "siu keong". tat day i saw a siu keong in the bathroom, boy, i quickly ran out of the room and called for my landlady. so we sprayed mortein.. he won't die! spray.. spray.. spray.. after about 3 minutes.. my landlady finally blurted a phrase, "you're not scared of dog bites, but you're scared of siu keong?"

"Hey.. dogs don't fly.. siu keong flies you know.." was my simple reply.

Nights before i've tried killing a little siu keong by spraying water jet at it, tot it could drown him in no time.. but then.. 1 minute passed... 2minutes .. 3 minutes... 5 minutes... and he's still running happily rite in front of me! wow.. i surrendered and closed the door behind.

conclusion: Roaches are tough creatures. no wonder they're used as symbols/icons in starcraft..

u-chen!!

u-chen!! i'm suffering from the same syndrom as you had before! mistakes mistakes mistakes in my work place!!!

i din know how they happen, they JUST happen! without my knowing.

ARGGSH!!

oh wow, it was frustrating indeed, at first i couldn't stop blaming myself, felt like slapping my head off, banging it on the walls.. but then.. wat's the point? it won't change the things.

so now i'm extra careful in everything. i know tat i'm not a superspeedy gal, so i'd rather go slow and steady.

no more mistakes.. God bless.

feeding raw food

Yesterday I met a very unreasonable client. Well, I've actually met him before this, in an unrelated occasion outside my clinic, and found him rather annoying. The moment he stepped into my clinic yesterday, I was thinking, "Oh no... not him is it???"

Soon I confirmed that it was exactly him, the very same person, with the same line of thinking and wordings. He brought 2 pups with him, and I was seeing them for the 1st them. This is a glimpse of the conversation we had yesterday...

Me : What food are your pups on?
Him : (In his proud mode) Oh, I go to the market, get the raw chicken necks, raw fishes?and they like it you know!
Me: Do you cook them beforehand?
Him : (still in proud mode) No no no, I don't have to cook them! They eat it raw! I won't bother to cook at all.
Me : As you know, many kinds of diseases can be transmitted by eating raw meats. They contain viruses, bacteria, parasites..
Him : (super proud mode) That's why I bring them here to deworm! (smiles with the yousee-I-am-so-smart look)
Me : Deworming doesn't kill the viruses bacteria parasites..
Him : Don't worry doc, I feed them garlic too! That helps kill the rest of them. Hahaha...
Me : How much garlic do you feed them?
Him : One piece per pup (4kg) daily. You know what? They don't like to eat it. So I held their jaw tight, opened it, forced it in. And wow, they were chewing and spitting and making life so difficult for me.
Me : I bet you don't like eating a big chunk of garlic raw too, do you? (and they're so tiny comparing to your 65kg!)

My heart: (shaking head with a sad note) And who's the one making life difficult here? GOODNESS!!!!

working...

i remembered clearly still how i had wanted so much to start working and venture into my career. gave a lot of thoughts on wat i will look like. wat i will be. when i was still a student back in upm.

now that the days i tot of so much have come.. it was good in a way.. but really a heavy responsibility on your shoulder. never had i felt so much responsibility.. in my life.

i remembered clearly when i was still in my teenage years.. and post-spm stpm holidays where i worked part times.. life was still so easy. it was still basically - a responsible-free life!

wow.. and now.... this time it got serious, coz im building a career. perhaps not that far yet. perhaps it's better to term it as, "i'm starting my career."

and i remember how my stomach shrinks before each exams during the DVM years in upm.. and now? my stomach shrinks almost every morning. "What will I face today?" "What will I do today?" "Will everything goes well?"

Whatever comes, I must still face it. And I will face it, courageously. I'd fallen, even tho' it's just a month plus of work. But I've risen up again. With God as my pillar of stregth, I'll walk on. This journey. Courageously.

a lousy day

i din know why, most of the dogs n cats today are so wondrously full with lice! oh.. they're not just full with lice, they're hair was overflowing with lice n fleas...

omg.. u can actuali see those little insects squirming on the little doggies n kitties.. n my.. you'll eventually feel it yourself when you feel something squirming on your hands.. and ...

eventually your hair! goodness.. .zoonotic? ahem.. no la... they'll get off me sooner or later.. anyway tonight i gota wash all my clothes, hair.. etc.. dun wana get a lice/fleas-infested-bed.

:)

besides that.. today was lousy in a way too. hmmm.....

our biggest enemy

often ppl say i hate this person.. i hate this n tat.. wat the.. well.. have you ever did something wrong.. you wished so much to reverse it? and when everyone around you forgives you for wat you have done, but you just couldn't get over it?

you've inflicted so much pain unto someone.. unintentionally.. and there's no way of forgiving... yourself...

so who's our biggest enemy here?

well...

as the saying goes... get over it fast.. but then, is it reali that easy?

friexxster again

i wonder if someone's been sabotaging friexxster, or some illegal spyware is going on in it? I'm not a techy person.. so they're all guesses...

First i was not able to post a comment. Now I can't even send a message. A normal frien-to-frien message. Everytime i click to send message, a new window pops up, asking me to Re-Sign in (i was already registered with my name) and then Re-enter my password. Wat for??! Then the funny thing happens, "The page you have requested is not found or available"

Great.

convocation!

i've finaly truly graduated! wow! i can't beliv it.. i just cant cant cAnNot believe it!

how could it be?

today was a very happy day indeed.. this is the day when I received the most flowers, ever, in my life. wow... thanks to my belovd family.. n frens - kY, kkan, tee, er, patrk, liz, and the cute juniors. a lot of thanks to these special buddies, nvr forgetting kYin n su, for coming all the way here. haha, poor su -blur case. :p n also to frens who have taken the time to call up - uchen, yHar, aHoon, Richrd, ma, heng, and many more.. wow.. thanks! i'm really grateful! =)

afta taking pix ceremony from 12.15pm - 2pm, i was runnin al the way from Dewan Besar to our fac - we had oath taking ceremony there. Saya bersumpah.. oops.. we dun use such a convulsive word.. it was actuali, "saya berikrar..." hehehe... meeting my long-not-met coursemates was fun indeed.. some of them whom i missed so much.. aaahhh............ =)

life at work

perhaps i'll change my blog title to "Life at work" coz i'm finally working. i remembered when i went interview earlier, most ppl told me,"haiya.. small animal practice ar? no life man... " and i remember how i strongly swept that idea away with just 5 words, "it's a matter of priority."

question now is... how's my life. im living well.. in a land of strangers... but no fear.. coz i know that the Lord is with me. ;)

so far everything is going well... except that my medicine knowledge had really went down hill burying themselves. now im struggling to excavate them.. but so far doing ok. =)

convo coming next sunday... hmm... then i'll get my license.. and i can then call myself a TRUE VET.

oh yeah! imagine! 5 years for this day.... oh my oh my...

MV Doulos

Went to West Port to visit the famous MV Doulos this afternoon! Wow, it was a hot saturday, but many ppl crowded the floating book fair which is conducted, managed, maintained and organized by international volunteers- and i got a good harvest today. Praise Lord.

There are lots of books there - a wide range - includes animals (i wanted so much to buy an animal encyclopedia book there, but was budget tight, so have to hold back my dream), DIY books, mechanical and transports, world, languages, sports, motivation n leadership, religions, novels, children.. and all sorts! Though it was superb humid and claustrophobic inside, but i like it, coz i found what i wanted there. (tips! thr's a spot where you got cool air blowing down straight at you near the atlas area)

The best thing was, i believe the prices are standard - they're not hiked up by the taxes n etc. Bought 4 books, for only RM25.60! And one of it was "Window of the World" which is a thick hard-cover book telling n teaching abt the big wide world at only RM16!! I really really luved it! Goodness!

My recommendation? No matter how far, how humid, how hot the weather, GO GO GO!!! You can't miss this chance! The last time they stopped by Malaysia was 6 years ago! And the next time maybe 10 years.. or more.. we'll never know... So hurry up frens, grab this chance! MV Doulos, go go go! for more info, visit their website: www.mvdoulos.org.

Here are some pix... (there are more pix, unfortunately they're not in my camera, which means i dun have it with me rite now. so solee...)

sg trip

24-26june I went singapore. Heck, i've been to singapore more than a dozen times since small, so wat's the big deal with this? Well, the big deal is.. i was going with my frens! yep yep yep!

so on the first day we went to the thai market area (i forgot the name! can sumone help me wi this?), then went to check-in at a hostel in Geylang (hoo-hoo), National Library (which is so huge and grand, wow.. i'd luv to enter it jus for fun) and later went to Marina Bay had a super big bbq-steamboat thr. wow.. most of us ate til we tot our stomach will explode. N guess? I ate more than 30 prawns i think! n chen was there superbly de-exoskele (i know de-boning, skinning, but removing the exoskeleton, wat do we call?) for me. kakakaka..

then the next day was another fantastic one - sentosa. before this i've visited some "visiting singapore tips" - well they gave comments that there's nothing to see in sentosa, that it just exhausts your money.. but i realli liked sentosa! first we went to underwater worl, whic includes the dolphin show (which i tot they're slightly better than toffee's arts), thenwalked around snapping pix, go sea-swimming, then go watch musical fountain. Hmm.. it's basically a laser-projection show. Nothing much of fountain dancing to the music. I'd still recommend our very own Mines Wonderland if you'd reali want to see water-dancing. ;) N finally we went Clarke Quay and had a real walk thr...

On the last day we went Chinatown, Bugis walk and sumwhere.. which i cant remember the names. Hehe.. proved that i'm growing older - the lousy way. :P

Here are some pix to share. ;) wanted to post more, but blogspot's stuckup rite now. can't post. soleee..

Parents' wish

A reminder for myself and everyone... (for better view/effect, go to: http://parentswish.com/site02/index.html )

Pamela...

On the day when you see us old, weak and weary… have patience and try to understand us…

If we get dirty when eating… if we cannot dress up on our own…Please bear with us and remember the times we spent feeding and dressing you up.

If, when we speak to you, we repeat the same things over and over again…do not interrupt us… listen to us. When you were small, we had to read to you thousand and one times the same story until you went to sleep…

When we do not want to have a shower, neither shame nor scold us… remember when we had to chase you with your thousand excuses to get you to the shower…

When you see our ignorance on new technologies… Help us navigate our way through those worldwide webs.

We taught you how to do so many things…to eat the right foods, to dress appropriately, to fight for your rights…

When at some moments we lose the memory or the thread of our conversation, let us have the necessary time to remember… and if we cannot, do not become nervous…as the most important thing is not our conversation but surely to be with you and to have you listening to us…

If ever we do not want to eat, do not force us. We know well when to and when not to.

When our tired legs give way and do not allow us to walk without a cane… lend us your hand… the same way we did when you first tried your faltering steps.

And when someday we say to you that we do not want to live anymore… that we want to die… do not get angry… someday you will understand… try to understand that our age is not lived but survived.

Some day you will realize that, despite our mistakes, we always wanted the best thing for you and we tried to prepare the way for you…

You must not feel sad, angry nor ashamed for seeing us near you. Instead, try to understand us and help us like we did when you were young.

Help us to walk... Help us to end our way with love and dignity. We will pay you by a smile and by the immense love we have always had for you in our heart.

Dog-kick

It's just normal to hear the taekwando gurus talking abt side-kick, front-kick and turning-kick. OK, vets - they talk about horse-kick, cow-kick... deer-kick perhaps, but have anyone heard about dog-kick?

I usually bring my Toffee out for long walks, where he'll go wherever he want, whenever I permitted. After the long walks, once he reaches home, he'll routinely go "wash-wash" where I'll squat and check his feet and wash them. Yesterday I spotted some reddish spot on his right hind - seemed ulcerated. So I held it closer to my eyes to take a clearer look.

Suddenly I felt something hit hard on my face. For a moment, my sight was blurred. Confused. Suddenly I realized, "Toffee back-kicked me!" What's different from other animals' kicks were, he did not seem the least annoyed or cared about what I was doing with him earlier (other animals would have given warning signs before). OK, I understand, perhaps his right foot was in pain. The kick must have been a pain-reflex.

Just to prove myself correct, I took up his left foot, which was perfectly well. Surprisingly, he back-kicked again. Once, twice. All the same time he looked very relaxed.

I fell back, sitted, surprised, laughing out loud. I couldn't believe it! Toffee back-kicked me!

How dare him... grrr... ye watch out boy...

13dogs shot right in the owner's very house.

I read with dismay the news article from thestar, 30th june 2006, "Owner of 25 dogs tries to save pets from death".

Reportedly, the owner (Seremban) who kept 25 dogs in his own house, "defied a six-month grace period given to him to move the animals to another area". Seremban Municipal Council received a court order on Dec 20 last year to cull all 25 canines in the house. With the court order, together with four dog shooters from the state Veterinary Services Department and two police officers, they entered the owner's house and shot 13 dogs dead. The owner had tried to save his dogs, and managed to pack 10 of them into his car, but was not able to save the other 13. -thestar

Now my questions are,
- Is this the best way to cope with this matter?
- Why shoot to death? Why not a humane way? Shooting is in no way humane. NO WAY. no excuses. Do you kill a man (or cat) just because the man (or cat) scratches/ bites you?
- Why not catch and cage them, allow the owner to claim them later (as DBKL does)? or other ways? There could be other means of negotiations, such as asking for the professional negotiators' help, or animal shelters. Turning to violence and shooting should never have been an option.

- WHY CULL?
- Since the Municipal Council claimed that there were mounting complaints abt the dogs - where are the complaint letters? Black and white.

It crushes my heart to realize that in this time where we call ourselves "civilized" people, in a developing nation which thrives to be the global hub for education and technology, such cruel, merciless, inhumane shootings still take place, in the victim's home, right in front of their father (the owner) and other family members (other dogs). To make things worse, they are actually substantiated by the court. And a global hub for education? Think again.

What happened to our "Masyarakat Penyayang" campaign? Shouldn't the leaders (the court, Seremban Municipal Council, police and NS Veterinary Services Department) walk the talk? Show some example in the first place? I believe when Malaysians launched this campaign, the word "penyayang" did not only refer to the Homo sapiens species. It covers all living creatures, and what more, the man's best friend - dogs/canines?

It is disheartening and a public disgrace to learn that despite all the spites and cruelty that we, human beings, inflict unto the canines - who are not able to speak for themselves - they remained faithful and loyal always, entertaining and giving comfort to their owners whenever needed.

They had assisted much in the police forces, customs, saving people in rescue forces, helping physically and mentally-disabled people, and many more levels of people in our multi-racial society. In short - mankind needs canines.

I believe that it is now time that these canines deserve some care and love back from the society, especially the authorities. Stop discriminations. It blinds us. It hinders all kinds of progress.

The canines had successfully maintained their status as "Man's Best Friends", generations after generations. And I believe - forever more.

Last but not least, an applause goes to Independent Pet Rescuers and Malaysian Animal Welfare Foundation for the relief they provided to the grieving, distressed, heart-broken, tearful 66-year-old owner.

My sympathy goes to him and his children.

The heart of a man speaks thru his treatment unto animals. So is the heart of a nation.

Eng said: "My house became a killing field. There was blood everywhere. I not only lost my dogs but I also had to spend hours cleaning the blood. This is so inhumane. Those dogs were like my children." ~nst, 1st july 2006.

a tiring day

today has been a tiring day - been to seremban n nilai with the children (again). but this time is really tiring, coz

1: i didn't have enuf sleep. i knew tat i have to wake up at 6am++ today, but somehow, i just do not want to sleep yesternite, until i finished watching fear factor, and continued with "2 and a half man" comedy. it was a funny one - yesterday's episode was abt sex - literally, in a comedy manner. but it's universal - meaning even children can watch this.. so dun think too far folks..

2: one person managing 80ppl++. well, that's made up of abt 60+ children, and 20+ teachers. it's quite managable tho', but the fact that everyone needs some attention once in a while scavanged my entire energy. but i'm stil ok... until we went to the dragonfruit farm at 3pm, when the sun's scorching my skin. that's ok still.. until.. the 100+ children spotted a few 2-3mth old puppies wandering there.

at first, they point fingers.. then chase.. then hold up the pups.. then started kicking and throwing stones at the poor pups while laughing and running happily. poor pups were trying hard to find some hiding spots -in vain of course, coz the children were just too excited, they chased n screamed and bombarded the pups with stones and stuffs. And I was there, all the while shouting, giving warnings, and sometimes even slapping the children at the arms. it's tiring.

until the end i got really fed-up, i made up a horrible look, pointed at the exit, and shouted, "ALL OF YOU, OUT OF HERE NOW! OR ELSE I'LL START BEATING EVERYONE. BY THE COUNT OF THREE! 1...2..."

Most children started turning to the exit, but there are of course, the few stubborn ones who didn't believe that meant what i said. but eventually the crowd ceased...

3: it was a hot day. I brought only 700ml of water.. i was dehydrated. perhaps 5%. :p

If a dog were a teacher...

If a dog was the teacher you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout..! run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

* an interesting article by www.petplace.com. =)

John Q

Wow! few hours ago i just watched a wonderful movie by rtm2 - so wonderful tat i couldn't take my eyes n ears off it! oh boy.. the title of the movie is John Q, starring Denzel Washington (yep, i'm talking abt the handsome chap ;)

here's a critic from http://www.movieeye.com/reviews/get_movie_review/308.html, by Gareth Von Kallenbach. The reason why i chose him is bcoz i like the way he wraps up the story, n of course, i couldn't help but to agree with it. =)

---

How far would you go to save a loved one? This is the question that for many of us thankfully will remain a hypothetical pondering. However for John Archibald (Denzel Washington), in the new Drama "John Q" the question drives him to stage a high stakes crisis where life and death are the only options.

Directed by Nick Cassavetes, "John Q" tells the story of John Archibald and his family, wife Denise (Kimberly Elise), and son Mike (Daniel E. Smith) as they struggle to cope in difficult economic times. John is working part time at his factory due to hours being cut, and his wife has just started at a grocery store. Despite the financial hardships, they are a loving and happy family who have good friends and are respected by their congregation and community.

Tragedy strikes the family unexpectedly when Mike collapses during a baseball game, and is discovered to have a failing heart by the doctors attending him. It is revealed that short of a transplant, Mike will not live much longer. The cost of the transplant is a quarter of a million dollars, and John is informed that his insurance will not cover the procedure.

Unwilling to let his only child die, John and Denise set about contacting various relief and assistance agencies in an effort to raise the money and save their son. Desperate to pay the rising costs, the Archibalds soon take to selling their possessions and accepting charity from their congregation but it is still far too little as they are denied assistance time after time by the bureaucracy.

Desperate to keep his son in the hospital after being informed of his pending release due to lack of funds, John takes matters into his own hands and takes the hospital's emergency room and several people hostage. John has a very simple request, all he wants is to have his sons name placed on the donor list so that Mike might have a chance to live.

During the hostage standoff, John has to negotiate with veteran police officer Grimes (Robert Duvall) who wants to end the standoff quickly and quietly. The efforts are hampered by the Chief of Police (Ray Liotta), who is more concerned about election year politics and his media image than in doing what is right for all parties involved. Further complicating the situation are Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche), as a hospital administrator more concerned with the bottom line than helping the public and Dr. Turner (James Woods), as the surgeon that can save Mike, but who is more concerned with policy and procedure than the human issue at hand.

The hostages John holds are a mixed group including a Hispanic mother, an expecting couple, an abusive rich snob and his girlfriend, nurses and guards and a smooth operator known as Lester (Eddie Griffin). It is the diversity of the group that leads to some of the more memorable moments in the film as the notion of health care in America is seen differently by each member of the group, and the film avoids the racial issue and instead relies more on the economic factors that for many determine the type and quality medical care they can receive.

While the film is dramatic, it rarely seems forced or contrived and the issues raised by the film are valid with no easy answers. The film also takes steps to show the other side of the issue, as while the bureaucracy is painted in a bad light, the audience is given some of the reasons behind their actions and decisions.

The cast is very good and Washington and Woods give outstanding performances without stepping on each other's toes. The ensemble cast works well and there is solid chemistry amongst all the characters. Perhaps the most enjoyable things about "John Q" other than the fact that it entertained, was that it informed without preaching nor making broad generalizations. The situation in the film was shown as what happened to one family without making broad references about this sort of situation happening to everyone. "John Q" is a well-made and informative film that was a pleasant surprise.
---

The thing that really captured me in the movie was how loving the dad, mom n child were - they have respect n love to each other, and best of all, they have faith in God. There were sentimental moments where John talked to his wife Denise & son Mike over the phone during the hijack in the hospital's emergency room. One of the hostages is a cardiologist capable of doing heart transplantation. At the end of the day, as John was pushed even further to the corner by the negotiator & policemen preying on him outside the hospital, he decided to give up his own life and transplant his heart to his son (he was tested a suitable donor). This is the climax of the movie when John gave his few last words to his son, among which he told Mike that he'll always be with him, while placing his hand onto Mike's chest. Heart.

So did John die in the end? Haa... if the main character dies, then the movie will not fit into the list of my favourite movies. ;) Watch the trailer: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0251160/trailers-screenplay-E15629-10-2

ps. I recommend another movie - a similar one, "The Negotiator" starring Chicago's two top negotiators, Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Danny Roman who desperately needed to prove his innocence by holding hostages and Kevin Spacey as Lt. Chris Sabian who tried to help Danny find a way out of the mess. Great movie. =) Watch the trailer here: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120768/trailers-screenplay-E10026-10-2

Fog vs Mist vs Cloud

I was on the top of the hill sometime ago enjoying the beautiful scenery with fog flowing past me. Then a question provoked me, "Y do u call it fog, and not mist? wat r the differences? y fog and not cloud?"

so i did some homework and heregoes...

definition from Compact Oxford English Dictionary; www.wordsmyth.net; pamela's conclusion:

FOG: a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth’s surface which obscures or restricts visibility; a thick cloudlike mass or layer made up of tiny water droplets suspended in the air near the ground; fogs are near earth surface

MIST: a cloud of tiny water droplets in the atmosphere, limiting visibility to a lesser extent than fog; a concentration of droplets of water or the like suspended in the air; mist is much lighter & smaller & simpler than fog

CLOUD: a visible mass of condensed watery vapour floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the general level of the ground; a visible body, usu. white or gray, of fine water droplets high in the earth's atmosphere; cloud is a body.

Fixed # 7

it's been almost 6 mths since i last updated my Fixed! oh goodness.. ok, here goes..

---

KL, 26 December 2002

It was a sweet day indeed, Jack, he's back to my life, finally! Tassy smiled ear-to-ear all the way back to her home. She took out her photo album and held it close to her chest. Jack.. she smiled, how I missed you! She flipped the first page. It was her friends' convocation pictures. She smiled. Flipped.

Her heart sank suddenly. Staring straight at her was her little pet chick at his cutest points in life. The pictures of Kiki, from few-day to few-week-old were nicely cut and decorated in her album. Tears started pooling in her eyes. It was 2 years ago. Yet it was like yesterday.

Everyone had advised against her idea to relocate Kiki in her friend's horse ranch - a place where birds of all kinds get to roam and eat freely, in short, it was a heaven for chicken. At least in her eyes. The day she first brought Kiki to the ranch, all other chicken had isolated him. Poor Kiki was so terrified of his new environment, he kept running for safety under Tassy. Kiki had trailed after her everywhere in the ranch, longing for her to bring him back home - to her house. Though her heart was very heavy and sad, she had thought that that was the best decision for Kiki. All he needed is some time for adaptation. I'll visit him every evening.. he'll be fine.. How wrong was Tassy.

5 days later, she received a call from the ranch telling her that her chick was sick, very sick. Troubled, she rushed to the ranch , wishing for Kiki to be fine. She walked around the ranch calling out for Kiki in the dark, hoping to find him quickly. Then she heard the familiar peeps n chirps answering her calls. She followed the sound. Fast. Kiki? There he was, in a cat cage. "I've placed him in a cage... afraid that he'll be hurt.. injured.." she recalled her friend's voice.

Quickly she took Kiki out to the ranch office where the lights were on. To her horror, Kiki's right leg was very swollen, right up to the thigh. It was greenish (gangrenous) and smelt putrid. Dried muds stuck around and stained his once cute yellow feathers. Tears started streaming down Tassy's cheeks. Kiki.. I'm sorry.. u must have suffered.. I'm really sorry.. sorry... dun worry, I'm here now.

Kiki was not able to touch his right foot onto the ground. All he could do was to hop with his left foot. Tassy brought him home immediately, washed him clean with warm water and cleaned the wound. You're gonna be fine.. promise me you will.. All the while warm tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. Tassy's family members were unusually quiet that night. Her mom had quietly watched her clean Kiki's wound with tears making puddles on the floor.

Early next morning, Tassy had brought Kiki to her trusted vet, wanting only one answer, "He'll be fine." Lady luck was not on her side. "The leg can't be saved... septicemia.. chance of survival.. dogs may survive with 3 legs, but a chicken with only one?" Her heart felt a pang. Mind messed-up. Her lacrimal glands had stopped listening to the brain and poured out its content uncontrollably. Tassy had wished someone was there telling her what was the next best step. But she was Kiki's owner. Guardian. Parent. She decided to stop Kiki's pain.

The vet took out a syringe filled with pentobarb & looked at her. "I can do it for you if you wish. But ur going to be a vet one day... there are situations which you must learn how to handle..." She nodded. She knew it, understood, but there was no way she could accept it. How?

Her right hand took over the syringe. She had started sobbing, her entire body trembled. She took Kiki out of the box. His eyes were half closed, barely responded to her – too tired, or perhaps too much pain? She took a deep breath, held Kiki firm, and poked the needle into his peritoneum.

Suddenly, Kiki’s eyes opened wide and he gasped. Tassy gasped in shock. No! What happened?! She had almost screamed but at the instance Kiki’s eyes closed and laid still in her palm. She looked up at the vet, horrified. “He’s in peace now,” he gave her an empathic slow nod. Behind him, through the tinted glass she saw her senior who was already a vet then, standing there watching her - his eyes melancholy.

She closed her photo album. It was still like yesterday. I’m sorry Kiki, I am.. really… Kiki…