Sayonara, Shiro.

Shiro is a West Highland Terrier we got about 4 years ago. I named him Shiro because it means 'white' in Japanese. He's a very obedient dog, I must say. We put him through canine basic training and so he knows most commands. He brought us many smiles, especially so for my mom.

We are expecting a baby very soon, and my grandmother is terminally ill. Since we're all working in the day, keeping a dog at home has turn out to be a "non-option". And so, we finally decided to give him away.

I have always be the disciplinarian, the "bad cop". There are times, with just a frown, I could send him running in fear. I may not be your typical animal-lover but I love my dog nonetheless. So it wasn't easy saying goodbye to him today.

Seasonal Thoughts

April is Spring for many countries. And spring usually symbolises renewal, new beginnings and new opportunities. This is especially true for some of my co-workers.

The grapevine is just bursting with juicy speculation of who's moving to where, who threw in the letter that bosses dread so much, and who taking over which departments. Everyone seems to be going somewhere. Just today, I received news of five departures.

I once congratulated a friend on getting a senior job title after some years with the company. This, I thought, spelled better prospects and bigger roles for him in the organisation. His sardonic reply was, "Aiyah, it's an appointment. Not a promotion." I raised one eyebrow, looking somewhat puzzled. "They just give me a fancy title and more responsibilities. No pay raise."

At the end of the day, 99% of us work for the cheque. Forget passion, forget loyalty. Forget flexi working hours or attractive staff benefits. Forget Blackberries and fancy job titles. Forget it all. Just show us cold hard cash.

Money really does make the world go round, doesn't it? It certainly makes people move around.

When are you springing into action?

Twenty-O-Eight

It's been a while since I last wrote anything. There's obviously quite a lot to write about if I wanted too. But I'll want to remember two major events taking place in 2008.

This year, my wife and I would celebrate the birth of our first born.

It was kinda funny how my wife decided to tell me the news. She casually sent me an MMS photo of the pregnancy test kit result. The stick showed a "plus". I was on reservist duties then, in camp. I was overjoyed, but couldn't tell anyone. You know, there's this old wive's tale about not revealing anything in the first trimester.

This year, my grandmother could die.

She's been complaining of bouts of tiredness. I thought it might have been old folks seeking attention or even a mild case of depression. But, we found out not too long ago that she has acute leukemia. The doctors think she might see another three to six months. I hope she sees her great-grandchild.


For those reasons, I sometimes don't know how to feel. Can I feel happy? If I do, should I feel guilty? I should feel sad. But I accept death is inevitable and I'm glad she does not appear to be suffering.

A good friend reminded me again today - life is unpredictable, we should just enjoy it while we can.

Reservist - Good Times, Bad Times, Funny Times

I am back for reservist duties after about a year's break. A couple of "earth-shattering" good news this time round. First one rocked my personal world. But I'll save that for another blog entry. The other one, I'm informed, is that this will be my second last in-camp. Woohoo... next year will be my last ICT!

Our unit moved to new premises. And the new place has practically everything. State of art gym, big-screen plasma screens, a business centre with internet access (yup), pool tables, the works. It's like a country club for smelly buggers.

But, I still managed to find fault. No umbrellas! I couldn't find a single umbrella in the entire camp. Well, maybe I didn't try hard enough. But none was plainly in sight. Smelly buggers were running in the rain, some even strolling, but no one could be seen carrying an umbrella. Not "man", I guess.

Sigh... No face...

I had a rude shock this morning when I tried to access Facebook from my office PC. My company finally clamped down on FB's recent outrageous popularity. I refreshed the page three times and rebooted my machine twice just to made sure it wasn't a connection problem. Sigh... no more face.

Face value is very important for us Chinese. It's a cultural thing. Facebook, in recent weeks, also became somewhat important to me. It's a I'm-too-lazy-to-call-my-friends-so-I-facebook thing.

I'm seriously thinking of starting a petition to repeal this newly installed website block that criminalises social interaction between man and man, woman and woman, man and woman, and, woman and man. I draw my inspiration from the happy folks.