Archive | September, 2016

Another Break!

30 Sep

I thought the back-to-back three day weekend two weeks ago was the end of such breaks but no. I was surprised to learn that the coming weekend is yet another three-day weekend with Monday being a replacement holiday.

In the midst of several busy design projects, I find such things an interruption especially to the thought process and workflow. But such interruptions are actually good for the soul, to search the inner self for sanity and calm to deal with the stress that I am feeling.

So I do look forward to Monday being a holiday.

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Antics of a Senior Citizen Pet, Part 2

29 Sep

The OCD-ness in official pet number one has surfaced yet again! Two nights ago, we changed the drainage pipe of the washing machine and he totally lost it. Roo just cannot stand the sudden change because it’s something new and out of place.

As his little abode is just next to the washing machine, he can see it and irks him to no end. Hah! Such an OCD but annoying (for us) at the same time because he keeps barking at it. And it’s insufficient to just raise the pipe over the machine to be out of his reach because it’s still there and he can see it.

So what did we do? We had put the pipe away and instantly, there was peace until the next wash and the pipe has to be fixed back. A very inconvenient situation but I hope this is temporary until we find a permanent solution for we cannot allow him to be a Little Napoleon in total control of us. 

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Antics of a Senior Citizen Pet

27 Sep

Rooney, our English bulldog, affectionately called ‘Roo’, was recently elevated to “Senior Citizen” on top of being official pet number one because of the food we recently bought for him. And with his recent change in status, we suddenly see a lot of the picky pot’s idiosyncrasies. It has always been there but now being a senior, it becomes more obvious and here’s some of it.

Idiosyncrasy #1: He does not like drinking water from his water bowl. With the weather sometimes so hot, I suspect water left in there tastes flat and warm. He prefers to drink off the tap, kind of like having draft beer, only this is water of course. And he makes it known (by barking obviously) he’s gotta have his draft water at every opportunity when we are home.

Idiosyncrasy #2: He cannot stand that once he’s done eating, his bowl is left there, unwashed. And he makes it known he’s gotta have his dish washed and put away. Like immediately. Now, this instant.

Idiosyncrasy #3: He insists on being escorted to and from the garden when clearly he can do it himself. Sometimes we feel it’s just plain silly, a brave bulldog needing someone to escort him in broad daylight and at night in semi-darkness for the short walk.

Idiosyncrasy #4:  He cannot stand the fact that when we eat, he does not. Every time when he’s out in the garden, he can see the dining table and there we are having our meal whilst he is just standing there, looking longingly. Half the time our meals, dinner especially are very hurried and hardly relaxing because of the constant noisy interruption.

Idiosyncrasy #5: He also cannot stand his poop left there for even two minutes after he’s done. Obviously he makes it known until we have to go clean it up.

Idiosyncrasy #6: We all sincerely believe that Roo has OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). He just cannot stand it when something is not put right in its place. Irks him to no end and he makes it known insistently. I don’t know how many dogs are like him. If a towel fell on the floor or the kitchen mop is not put right, we will surely hear from him.

I wonder if there are any bulldogs out there like our Roo? Hmm…

  

  

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The Snickerdoodles, Part 3

26 Sep

Just when I thought the little aquarium was fine, disaster has struck. Early July when I last posted about them, the community had eight Bettas and rather unhappy. As I sort of left them alone hoping they will change their mind, suddenly we find the Snickerdoodles down to three! Dear oh dear…

Hubby thinks the poor Bettas just expired their shelf life, hence the demise. Whatever it is, I think we will not replenish the aquarium anymore. It’s morbid to think that it’s a waiting game now…

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Much Improvement

23 Sep

It has been past a month since I last held a golf club, 21st August being my last game played at Raffles Golf Club in Singapore. Amazingly, despite such a lengthy break I don’t have any withdrawal symptoms for the game. Have I lost my passion? Save for a couple of bouts chipping in the garden at home, I don’t have the urge to quickly head back onto the golf course. Maybe my virtual games and work at the office kept my mind busy to quell any thoughts.

The treatment for my left hand has progressed well. I have done 12 sessions already! It was after the tenth session that I could feel a big difference in the overall mobility of the hand. I am pleased, very pleased. One of the main factor to this progress is the discipline to do the home exercises, ice the hand and of course, going for treatment three times a week. As there has been improvements, treatment is now down to twice a week.

When I first started, the pain level was 6/7 out of 10, 10 being very painful. As of yesterday before my twelfth session, it’s down to two. I foresee by next week, this will improve further. Although my doctor has approved for me to continue the garden chipping activity, going to the driving range is still off limits. I am also encouraged to hold 1kg dumb bells to increase the muscle strength and this I will do during my once-a-week gym sessions.

Recovery from an injury sometimes can be long and arduous. A simple injury like mine has taken this somewhat long journey, what more an injury of a more complicated nature? But with discipline and patience, I feel my journey has not been that difficult or taxing. I am not counting the days yet to when I can play my first pain-free game, I just want to be totally healed. No rush after such improvements.

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So So Annoying

22 Sep

Two nights ago the annoying iOS9.3.5 struck again on the iPad Mini! I was in the thick of things crushing candies when suddenly, the device just blacked out. Quit the app and blacked out, not once or twice but three times! Man, I was annoyed.

And yesterday morning, again! I just made it pass the challenge of Level 1941 in Candy Crush with four lives to spare when it blacked out, thus the victory was not captured! Aarghh.

It is unfortunate that my iPad Mini, being the first generation model, is too old to update to the new and improved iOS10. So I am stuck with the annoying iOS9.3.5 that is so unstable. It’s almost as if the OS is conspiring with the iPad to stop me from crushing any candies. Hrmph…

This has again reaffirmed my stance for my iPhone5S – maintain the stable iOS7.1.2. I must say I am perfectly happy with it because I don’t face the issues like the iPad is giving me. Furthermore I don’t see why I need all the new stuff that comes with the new OS. What you don’t have, you won’t miss, that’s how I look at it.

So with one device ‘down’, I will be maintaining status quo for my phone. My poor iPad.

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Am I Missing Out?

20 Sep

Over the weekend, M2 upgraded her iPhone5C and iPad Mini4 to iOS10 and loved it. When the OS was first released last week, there were a lot of update problems reported with people’s phones becoming bricks. I told her to hold off the update last week until a patch came out which I think did to fix the problem. She’s happy.

As for me? Err… I am still on iOS7.1.2, dinosaur that I am. When iOS8 came out sometime back, I refused to update because I had read somewhere that it wasn’t stable. So I left my phone as is. Then iOS9 came out, I took the plunge and updated my iPad Mini first only to be traumatized by the act because it wiped out my iPad. I know, there is this thing called ‘backup’ but it’s complicated.

Fearing the worst for my iPhone5S, I held back any further updates for it. And when my iPad went on to iOS9.3.5, I found it to be unstable. This reaffirmed my stance not to update the OS for my phone.

But am I missing out on the new OS’s goodies if I held back? Or am I being paranoid for nothing? She’s been gushing about the new stuff and thinks I should. Hmm…

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Work? What’s That?

19 Sep

It feels funny to return to work after enjoying a three-day break that occurred twice within a week, once at the beginning and another towards the end of the week. One could actually get used to it. While it’s bad for workflow, it sure does wonders for the inner being.

And I am in the opinion that such breaks are much better than going away for a vacation. Vacations are fun but tiring. Usually I would need another break to recover from the vacation. But these three-day breaks, they are different. I feel much relaxed and rested to the point of getting lazy.

We did not go anywhere far only to our favorite mall, spent time with Mom, caught a movie and eating food to our fancy. And being at home, it’s nice and quiet until the official senior citizen pet barks to make demands.

Of course, I was also being a couch potato, crushed some candies, harvested fruits and beat up some monsters while M2 put in some hours doing her revision. Best part is we didn’t have to pack our schedule to see this, do that and eat off the list – something most vacation-seekers tend to do while being on a holiday. And we have the comforts of our bed and pillows after a long day to be well rested and ready for the next day’s activities or should I say inactivity.

Well, got to snap out of it, if not complacency will kick it. It was good while it lasted. Now, back to work!

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Short Week

16 Sep

It has been a surreal week. There was a public holiday on Monday and again today, making this week the shortest work week that I can remember. We had to rush things for work the week before in preparation for an important presentation on Tuesday and then not wanting the 3-day weekend to be over. And now, we have another 3-day weekend ahead. Although it’s nice to have this kind of work week, it does not occur often but so far, twice within such a short span, we have to thank our lucky stars.

So we face a nice long weekend and it’s been raining non-stop since this morning. What can we do? Snuggle in bed and if the weather persists to be like this over the weekend, I may end up being a couch potato. Happy long weekend people!

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A Solution

15 Sep

I never resolved or revived my dead iPod Shuffle and have accepted the fact that it cannot be resuscitated. So I left the situation as is until yesterday. Out of the blue, I found an unexpected solution!

Tired of my usual music choices in my car, I decided to revive hubby’s old first generation iPod Nano which he retired upon upgrading to an iPod Classic that has a ginormous storage capacity for all his music. So no love loss for him with me using the Nano.

The device is also 1GB like my Shuffle and enough for me to use in the car. Yay. With 197 songs loaded, car rides will be a sheer driving pleasure from here on. I may like Jacky Cheung and Michael Buble but sometimes a little variety is nice.

  

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