I Should Have Known Better

On Tuesday I took the two brown cows to the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Haiwan in Shah Alam to get their blood sampled and have them microchipped. Since we're heading over to Singapore at month's end and we need to have their blood tested at least 14 days prior to shipping (scheduled date: 24th March), it was timely. And since the JPH only did the Nipah test in Ipoh on Tuesdays, I was told explicitly to come only on Tuesday.

Silly me. It never occurred to me to ask how or who will send the blood sample to Ipoh from Shah Alam. When you go to a clinic to get your blood tested, the doctor doesn't ask you to send your own blood sample to the lab. Well, apparently, at the JPH, the onus is on the pet's owner to take their pets' blood samples and drive all the way up to Ipoh, hand in the blood to them for testing after which they will deliver the results directly back to Shah Alam. And only 7 days prior to shipping can you apply for the export permit (even though the JPH guy insists 48 hours prior, Singapore AVA and Maskargo say 7 days), during which you must also have your pet's health certificate and they must also be deflea-ed and deticked.

Well, I almost had a coronary when he told me I was supposed to drive up to Ipoh with the blood samples. No one told me. But then again, I hadn't asked. No wonder he'd stressed again and again that the test is only done on Tuesdays because the lab only tests for that particular test on Tuesday. Don't they understand the concept of despatch? Aren't there enough people testing their pet's bloods so that they can consolidate all the samples and send them all at once? Even a once a week run would be sufficient; they could draw the samples any day of the week, freeze them, collect them all and then send them together. And cost the charges into the pet owners.
I don't understand the way the government works, or thinks, for that matter.

So lucky for me, there was a vet there who'd also sent in a client's pet for blood sampling. Apparently he also does shipping for his clients. And coincidentally his client needed to send his cat to Singapore as well. I ended up paying him RM150 to drive the brown cows ' blood samples up to Ipoh for me. And found a potential agent to take on the job of preparing my brown cows to ship. From here on, he can take over from me, all the way till shipping point at Maskatgo, for a fee, of course.

It will cost me at most, around RM500 to send the cats myself to Maskargo. But I will need to pay for the customs forms in the government customs building next to Maskargo in Sepang/KLIA. Now, why can't they make it easier and allow us to pay for all the forms there at Maskargo? I dunno, that's why we need a new government. Engaging the agent will cost me about double the amount but at least I won't have to find a babysitter fir the girl while I drive around from one building to another at Sepang and Shah Alam. I also won't have to sit around and wait for hours while the kitties are being processed or deflea-ed or deticked. Since the agent is also a vet, he can issue the health cert and do the necessary to prepare the brown cows for the crossover.

Having sufficient dough really can help move things along. Inefficient government processes also perpetuate the cumbersome system of engaging third parties when it should be a simple process of DIY.

To Vote Or Not To Vote?

Here's a thought before you cast your vote on March 8th.

Short But Sweet?

I had a very much needed trim two days ago. I LOVE my hair short. If only it loved my face back.

Scrap That

Right. Unless I want to look like a total Ah Beng (I've got the hair and face to match), I'd better hold off on the N82. It's just a bit too shiny for my tastes. Proves that things really do look better in photos than in real life.

Back to the drawing board and most likely the Sony Ericcson K850 will be the winner then. Sigh...too bad the iPhone has no 3G capabilities.

Why do I feel this need to buy a new phone when my current K750 works just fine?

ARGH.

Week 28 : Practicing for Mount Everest

Our girl must think she is the world's most intrepid explorer. All she wants to do is stand or find objects (people included) to help her in her quest to stand on her two tiny chubby feet. It takes her less time to get up and stand supported than for me to say, "Such a good girl!". She's learned to manouvre around in her walker; she gets around in the living room, sashays her way into the kitchen to pull at the notices stuck on the fridge and of course, makes small play of chasing after the kitties.



I've discovered that cooking for her really is quite fun. I haven't cooked so much and so consistently in my life. I spend the weekend preparing batches of food for her. Usually what gets dumped into the cooking pot are pumpkins, carrots, leeks, sweet potato, spinach, lentils or some form or combination of one or the other. Sometimes there'll be a little too much left over after pureeing and we'll have that for ourselves. Soup never tasted this good at the shops!

She caused a little stir over the Chinese New Year: her bright countenance and affinity with people made her easy to get along with and the adults had a field day playing with her or taking it in turns carrying her. I didn't have the heart to put a dress or skirt on her so she ended up looking the little boy.



She's started to want to chew her food. Must have picked up on my own chewing action; to save time in the mornings, I have my breakfast while I'm feeding her and make a big show of chewing. She's a fast learner. I've also started showing and teaching her the sign for 'drink'. Like I said, she learns fast; she understands when I make the sign and readily opens her mouth wide to take a gulp from the bottle but hasn't learned how to sign herself yet.



The little imp is growing up fast. Sigh...too fast. Feels like she's attempting and accomplishing so much and before I know it, she'll be an adult already. Argh! I get the blues when I see young adults these days and envision her as one of them. Why can't they stay this age forever?

She does love to eat though. No matter what I cook for her, she downs with gusto. She loves papaya too. So far, the only thing about feeding her is that she gets distracted really easily, especially if the kitties streak across her field of vision. Then she'd rather watch them and munch the high chair than her food. Or maybe it's just her way of telling me she's had enough and that I'd better get that bowl out of her sight.

Thoughts Before Midnight

Where was I before Sophia? In a daze.

Where am I now? Still in a daze, but in a good way.

What do I think of now? How to make the world a better, safer place for her. How she's growing, changing so fast. Too fast.

What I am thankful for: that she is the anchor that yanks me back from my otherwise sometimes turbulent and dark thoughts; my rainbow in a gray, colourless sky; the present that forces the past away; a part of me that is, for now, all good.

She is the eye of my storm.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

I applied for a savings account for Sophia Meiyin some weeks back. In the box for 'race' I left blank. If Malaysia is to be truly a melting pot, that little box should be gotten rid of. I'm not going to label my child Malay for she is only half Malay. What about her other half which is Chinese? What about other kids who are born of mixed parentage too? The Chindians or Eurasions? What if they are a quarter Malay, a bit of German, a bit of Chinese and Portuguese? Are they still labeled as Malay? That would be disregarding their other inherited bits. They are as much Chinese as they are German or Portuguese or Malay.

If we still need to fill in the 'race' box in this day and age, we are by far regressing as a multi-racial country rather than progressing.

On second thoughts, I should have just put Malaysian in the box.

And Life Just Whizzes By...

I am up to my ears with work. Swamped, really. Never had to do so much with Excel in my life! Add to that my misplaced ambition to incorporate writing into my schedule. Aiyo...

The one shining light? The little monster, of course. She turns 7 months this Saturday and I suppose I'll be celebrating a quiet Valentine's Day with her at home tonight. Oh damn! I have a business dinner tonight...sigh. Maybe I'll leave the office earlier today and see her first. Oh damn! I have a meeting with said business associate after lunch. Seeing as he's here all the way from Germany, sigh...there's no help for it then.

I miss the little angel/monster. She's extra clingy now and all she wants to do is stand and climb. Still the smiley happy baby that she is. Sigh, such a dear.

Am thinking of getting a new mobile phone. The Nokia N82 comes to mind. It's between that and the Sony Ericsson 850i. I've been using Sony for so many dog's years now that I'm not sure I'd know how to use a Nokia. But the N82 looks very tempting: video capabilities, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and all.

In the news too: parliament has been dissolved. Luckily I registered early last year. I'll be eligible to exercise my right this year. Yay!!! It probably won't make much of a difference but I know who I'm NOT voting for.

Week 25 : You Ain't The Boss Of Me

Sophia threw her first real tantrum. It was a no holds barred screaming jag. I discovered just how shrill her screams can be and how much lung capacity she has. And just how persistent she can be.

It started off after I picked her up from her walker. She'd been in it for a while, watching me prepare dinner. I picked her up to give her her milk feed for tea. I placed her on the mattress before preparing to lie down next to her but she would have none of it. Our little miss screwed up her face and let out a yell. When I didn't pick her up but tried to reason with her, she started belting it out. Oh-kaaaay. So she didn't want her milk, she didn't want to lie down and I as sure as hell wasn't going to pick her up. Naah, she was NOT going to dictate when I should pick her up. So I left her there on her mattress, clutching her security blanket, screaming her pretty little head off.

I went into the kitchen to cook. Luckily the sound of the ventilation hood somewhat drowned off her screams, but only a little. I could still hear her screaming high murder in the room. I peeked in a couple of times. She was just sitting there, tearing at her cloth and screaming for all the world to hear. It was hilarious really, seeing this little ... thing ... that was my daughter show her displeasure and screaming because she couldn't get her way. I was NOT going to raise a brat. So I went back into the kitchen, chuckling to myself at her little antics. After about 10 minutes, she sounded like she'd lost some steam and was calmer, so I went back into the room to console her and pick her up. No way!! Our little miss decided she did not want mommy to pick her up after she'd left her to cry by herself. She started pushing and kicking me away even as I held her up.

Fine, be that way. I left her alone on her mattress again. More screaming. Back to the kitchen to finish up the vegetable stir fry and then wash up the mess in the kitchen.

When I was done I realized all was quiet. I peeked around the corner into the room and found the little monster flat out. She was face down on the mattress, slumped over from her sitting position, dead to the world from the exhaustion. Twenty minutes of throwing a tantrum will do that to you, my dear. Let this be a lesson to you: Mommy will not be cowed into kowtowing by screaming and yelling.





This week we tried spinach, pear, peas and carrot after her introduction to and initial staple of baby rice cereal. When I went shopping for baby food some weeks earlier, I found out just how much junk baby food manufacturers 'fortify' their baby food with: all manner of important sounding initials such as DHAs, sugars disguised as sucrose, palm oil, and loads of vitamins which I'm not quite sure babies really need from their first foods. All they really need is iron and vitamin C for absorption. And hold the gluten, please. At least for a month or two even though the books say it's ok from six months. The safest option of baby rice cereal: Heinz. It was the only box which had five or less ingredients listed. Less IS more.

I am proud to say that Sophie is taking to eating solids like a fish to water. She loves her food (in general, the only food which she thrust out with her tongue was avocado) and eats so fast it's as if she's afraid that if she's too slow, mom will gobble up whatever's left in the bowl. That said, she can get quite distracted at times if the cats are about or the food's a bit bland.

All in all, solids has proven to be an enjoyable milestone. I can't wait to start her on her savouries.





Her crawling prowess has bumped up several notches; she's faster and stronger. And she'll grab onto almost anything that will help her come to a stand, including climbing all over mom, going to the extent of grabbing my hair. I feel like a human obstacle course.





We've now made a comfortable nest for ourselves on the bedroom floor. My ever doting parents went out and got us a couple of thin, foldable mattresses after they heard about Sophie's fall from the bed in the middle of the night (Rizal panicked but I couldn't find a single red spot or bruise on her body). She still has a habit of waking up at the ungodly hour of 4am or thereabouts to have a romp. She doesn't make a fuss or cry but having a playful baby crawling around or onto you guarantees that your sleep is somewhat interrupted if not totally dashed. And yet, there is the comfort of co-sleeping because it's just the two of us at home anyway. And my wrist doesn't seem to be getting any better now that she's getting heavier. Yup, excuses, excuses for not training her to sleep on her own in her own bed. We'll get her one soon. When we get to Singapore.





Where did the time disappear to? In a flash, six months has dawned upon us and she's babbling more and more each day now. Have I had her for so long? I can barely remember when she was a newborn. She's coming into her own now and I still call her 'baby'. But then again, she still is one. She's not even a toddler yet, even though her dad says she is. How fast this little one is growing. I wish she'd stay a baby like this for a little longer, if not forever. Adults are so difficult to deal with.

This coming March, my column and feature appear in Mother & Baby. Sophia's pictures are slated to appear. It's been a while since I've seen my byline in print. It will be interesting.

Running On A Full Load

Pant, pant. Huff, puff. Pppbbbtthhhhhh!

Work due and overdue, little monster keeping me on my toes, client meetings, running around on assignment, impending deadline coming up (yes! I'm back into writing and will have a byline soon).

And I still haven't the guts to finish the other two-thirds of Earthlings.

In the meantime, the little monster has started crawling and is using me as an obstacle course.

Phew!