Heard a story from someone I know.

He used to be on the large side but due to some unfavorable medical reports in his last checkup, he decided to get a personal trainer and shape up.

Within 6 months, he lost 18kgs, went down 2 shirt sizes and can now do 45 push-ups with no problem (he used to be able to do only 7), and he feels loads better health-wise.

It’s good that he took the initiative to get in shape before something really serious happened but how many people actually do that?

So I think this is an inspiring story for everyone to take care of their health before it’s too late.

Some people are seriously nice.

There’s this colleague of mine. He’s fresh out of uni, in his first job. He’s hardworking and has all the qualities you’d want in an employee.

When working on projects such as these, we, the team members, tend to forge strong bonds because we stay late nights together and we toil in the ‘dirt’ together, so to speak. So we usually move from being just colleagues to being genuine friends.

And Eugene is a genuinely nice person. He would offer to do things that other people would normally say “Ah, go do it yourself la”. He volunteers to drive when we go out for lunch (ok, I sometimes make him drive ), he helps carry mine and other female colleagues heavy laptop bags (not multiple bags la, one at a time) like yesterday, when I joined them for lunch directly from a meeting and didn’t drop off my bag in the office before heading out. And today, I said I won’t be joining them for lunch coz I was gonna go for a doc’s appointment, he asked if I wanted him to accompany me. Aw! Of course I declined, since he’s got tons of work plus it’s not like I’m sick and can’t drive, hehe.

Such a sweet boy. His girlfriend is very lucky

How come it is second nature for some guys to offer to do things for their friends and other halves, while for other guys, it’s like they’re giving you their lives? And these people don’t make you feel like they expect anything in return when they are nice to you. They are honestly genuinely nice!

My good friend Merv is also nice like that. We’ve been friends for more than 10 years and throughout all these years, he’s consistently offered to get me breakfast or lunch if he’s in the area, always asks of me when I’m ill, drops everything to help me out (when he’s able to). And he’s not only nice to me, he’s nice to almost everybody. So much so that I keep telling him to stop being so nice, lest people take advantage of him.

His wife is very lucky

I wish I became a vet.

Or an animal behaviorist (right, like there’s any market for this profession in Malaysia).

Or a marine biologist.

Or an environmental conservationist.

At least I would be more useful on this earth.

Sigh.

The past 2 weeks have been traumatizing.

Nessa developed seizures 3 Fridays ago and it got progressively worse. Dr. Vijay prescribed steroids to see if it would bring any inflammation in the brain down but it didn’t work. It got so bad that she was having fits almost every hour. That night, I couldn’t take it and decided to take her to the 24-hour vet so that they could monitor her and administer Valium intraveneously.

Watching my beloved pet having a seizure is, by far, the most traumatizing thing for me to-date. Because there is nothing I could do except try to hold her down until the fit passed. To watch her writhing and thrashing around, and being unable to control her bowels was just too much to bear.

We’re currently controlling her seizures now with barbiturates. Phenobarbital, it’s called. We still don’t know the cause of her seizures so this medication is purely an anti-convulsant and does not address the underlying problem. I am considering if I should get an MRI done so that we can rule out or know for sure if there’s anything affecting her brain. But what if we do find out that there’s a tumor? There is no neurosurgeon here in Malaysia to operate on it. But the other vet I consulted had a point : If we know what is the problem, we can be prepared to face the upcoming challenges. So, the MRI is something I am considering at the moment but will not rush into doing it because the animal needs to be under anesthetic in order to get the scan done.

I’ve also found out, thru the blood tests that was run to rule out any organ/blood disorders, that Nessa is mildly positive for FIV, the feline equivalent of HIV. Can’t be sure where she caught this from but am suspecting it is from her days as a stray. This might also be the cause of her seizures.

I joined a group called epi-felines, run by people who have cats with seizures. So far, I have gotten a lot of support and information from the group. It seems that seizures are uncommon in cats and most of the time, the underlying cause of the seizures cannot be identified, and most of them are keeping their cats’ seizures under control with pheno.

Having a pet is a lifelong commitment. Living with a pet with a health condition is even more work. I’ve got to give her her meds on time and monitor her closely to ensure that she doesn’t display any strange behavior. But this is all part and parcel of taking care of a living creature.

Having a pet is not unlike having a child. Except that a child will eventually be able to voice his/her desires and wants and needs, while a pet will never be able to do that. In that sense, it is more difficult to keep a pet because you have no idea what is hurting them or whether they are sick until you see the physical signs.

Many people would say, it’s just a cat. But to me, my pets are living creatures who depend on me for food, shelter and a loving home, while I depend on them for their companionship and unconditional love. My cats have been with me for more than 8 years, longer than any boyfriend ever lasted. They ask nothing of me, save for their twice daily feeds and cleaning of their litter pans.

Me and my pets are a package. Previously, I have often wondered if it is too selfish of me to impose this particular aspect of my life onto others (especially a significant other), but a few of my dear friends have shown me that I must be true to myself and those who can’t accept it, can go look elsewhere. I now realize that people may come and go in my life, but my pets will remain constant. That is, until they pass on.

I have not watched Monster-in-Law but I have read enough posts by brides at a forum that I’ve been following to know that monsters-in-law actually DO exist!

Granted, the stories are only from the viewpoint of one party, but seriously, anyone who would want to spend time making up stories about their in-laws treating them like crap need some type of help. Even my mom has her own share of horror in-law stories.

Of course, there are some gems of in-laws out there. I think my sis has them (based on my observation and some anecdotes that she shared with me). But I think these are few and far between. Sigh.

So those with gems of in-laws, whenever they annoy you, think about other women out there who have monsters-in-law.

If I ever have a kid, I hope I will be the coolest mom-in-law ever if s/he gets hitched

I have always found it disconcerting and hypocritical when people make such a big show of being religious but in their day-to-day behavior and actions, they portray the opposite.

In fact, I can’t stand such two-facedness.

I love my parents!

They are the coolest! They are down-to-earth, laid back and easygoing, and they make my friends feel comfortable interacting with them.

And best of all, they are not dictating the supposed biggest day of my life! They are happy as long as I’m happy.

I couldn’t ask for more.

~~~~~

And they are so supportive of me nursing Nessa, and they help out too! I don’t think I could’ve held up much longer without their help.

I have them to thank for my love of animals. Thank gawd they are not like other parents who make their kids so totally paranoid of animals by saying they are dirty, they bite, they are full of diseases, and such.

I love my blog.

It’s so depressing and morbid.

I haven’t seen a happy post here in eons. *pats self on back for the good work*

When people tell you it’s the biggest day of your life, don’t ever believe it.

Because you know what? It isn’t yours to begin with.