*****

This is the answer to Suki's question..=D

Daddy asked me to press and feel the spongy materials..

LOL

Finally..

*****

Thought we would try something out of the blue on Saturday before she becomes botak..

She has been the most domesticated dog ever..

We thought a little walk will do her good.

It was an overdue intention but mostly ended up in procrastination.

Somehow we always change our minds at the eleventh minute.

Our plan went through this time.

And this was what I saw when I opened the car boot to dump the laptop.

LOL

The curious and excited little one..

It was a definite plus point to be able to bring your dog along to have breakfast in a lush green nature.

Not many eating places allow that.

If you already guessed it..

Breakfast was good, darn good.

The western set was an absolute value for money.

We chilled for a while, enjoying sips of coffee, tea and juice..

And then off we went into the greens.

Her excitement was evident.

As we put her on the ground, she scurried off..

With her leash on, she was actually pulling us behind her..

She pee and she poop..

Then pee again lol..

Leaving signs of herself everywhere..

The master and his fur ball..

But her stamina depleted very quickly.

And before we knew it,

She was taking in horribly big gulps of air..

Body was jerking and her tongue stuck out more..

Guessed she was really stressed out =x

Enjoyed the day very much 'xcept we had to cut the day short..

Perhaps the next time round CG and Chloe can join us =p

*****

Took me almost a week to tune my routine back.

It's always easy to plunge yourself with adrenaline into the holiday mood, but damn hard to climb back up.

Life has been like that.

What goes up will come down.

The transience, impossible to ignore.

All of us look forward to holidays..

Then indulge mercilessly in making merry.

But life will eventually return back to normal, back to work, back to sick reality..

And the aftermath feeling?

Sometimes even harder to bear..

*****

The past decade saw relations deteriorate.

How my relatives turned into two congregations, left me amazingly dumbfounded..

Playing the tug of war over the most minor issues..

Picking bones in eggs, creating storms in a teacups..

I said I will not get involved, which we cousins all did.

During my absence in office to the second chunk of leave,

I received a sms from my colleague.

Apparently,

One of my uncles turned up at my office to pass me a "brown paper bag"..

When he knew that I was not around,

He brought the bag home informing my colleague that he would return when I'm back in office.

I admit my heart skipped a beat to the sms,

Praying that it was nothing negative from that tug of war.

Then few days later over the weekends,

The same uncle came to my house to pass us that same "brown paper bag".

It was.. ..

A bag filled with Hokkaido goodies..!

Personally from my aunt and uncle who were on the other side of the war.

What have we done to deserve such affectionate pamper in the midst of these disputes..?

That overwhelming feeling was too vivid to ignore.

Very immediately,

I saw the whole chain of events leading to this sweet kindness.

Just end 2008,

I was planning in Hokkaido what nice goodies I could get that would be worthy enough for my aunt and uncle..

Since young,

They have been so awesomely lovely towards my brothers and I..

Always showering us with gifts and food stuff..

And how I never forget my aunt's birthday,

Always surprising her with bouquet of flowers to her office..

This is how kindness snowballs,

At least I thought..

My aunt and uncle began it,

And I ascertain that all of us will reciprocate it.

I called my aunt to thank her immediately..

The tremble in my voice was obvious.

My mind searching for the right words to say to really show my gratified appreciation..

*****

2009

No resolutions were made hence nothing to fulfill and none failed.

Perhaps I shall just keep it that way for 2010..

Of corse not forgetting the motto "Just do it" which I'm still following religiously..

Perhaps this was how my new experiences in 2009 were made possible..

2009

A year of brand new consciousness..

Virgin trips to concerts and Esplanade performances with dear.

First attempt at hot yoga with Suki, and first time participating mass runs with CG..

Loads and loads of new dresses bought..

Start to love reading again..

First liberation session with the whole family..

First hi tea indulgence, first 3D movie..

A year of pleasant surprises made and received..

Began an eating spree from hungrygowhere and LadyIronChef..

And the best of all,

I thought I would not be able to do it by 2009 but I did with pride..

It will be a simple trip, but it represents a childhood promise..

That I will one day bring them to countries they have never been to before..

This child's dream came about when mommy once told me when we grow up,

We will probably fly with our friends, not them anymore..

Too much time's been wasted on pondering and aimless contemplation.

Life's short, so just do it.

*****