I. Am. Going. To. The. Kennel.

It's a sad, sad day. They broke the news to me.


I. Am. Going. To. The. Kennel.


I am also offering the following once-in-a-lifetime rewards to anyone who can talk them out of this appalling idea:
1) 20 rawhides
2) 10 pieces of bite-sized organic beef or pork jerky or a mix of both, whichever you prefer
3) any 1 of my squeaky toys
4) 5 pieces of 3" x 3" cheese
5) 1/2 tin of milk bone dog biscuits


Hell, I'll even throw 1/4 bottle of my bad breath banisher if you can get me out of this.


Thanks in advance,
Ginger (xoxo)

Not So Bad!

Seems like we are able to extend our present visas so there's no need to go flying out of the country in a jiff. At least not until we get our PR. Initially, we were kinda worried about not getting our PR after our NZ trip because that would mean another "mandatory" exit again but now that we've heard about the visa extension option, it's one item checked on our distress list.


As for Ginger, she'll just have to get used to the idea that she's going to a kennel. She made it sound like her sanity's hanging by the thread but the fact of the matter is, this kennel is different (at least quite different from the one where she was quarantined).


For one, the lady owner is reputed to be a crazy lover of dogs. So much so that she lives in the kennel. Literally. We've reci-ed the place and found out her house and the kennel are fenced up in this one big compound. And apart from walking the dogs under her care daily and allowing them to play with each other in this reasonably-sized playground, she sometimes shares her bedroom with them just like Jacko shares his with little boys.


But more impressively, the kennel is resided next to a veterinary clinic. In fact, they share part of the compound and access to the clinic staff is a mere five seconds walk. Not that we think anything is going to happen to Ginger but the time she was placed under home care two years ago while we were holidaying in Tioman, she was pawed by a cat in the eye and had she been taken to a vet. quickly instead of only until we picked her up, she might not have developed the nasty infection that she did. Anyway, the proximity of the vet. clinic to the said kennel is certainly perceived as a safety net by people like us who just needed that peace of mind.


Perhaps more importantly, the kennel charges a tolerable fee of $16/day (including food) and since we've only planned to be NZ for a few days (definitely less than a week), the bill sounds affordable.


So, disposal of Ginger during our stay in NZ - checked. Heh. :)

Kennel or not?

Are they or are they not sending me to a kennel? Curiosity can kill a dog too!

Oh No! Kennel!

Overheard: "Nah, I'd rather put her in a kennel."


If I hadn't been in quarantine for a month last year, I wouldn't have known what a kennel is. Oh that dreadful, dreadful place. Worse than a prison and lonely as hell. The exercise yard was impossibly small I could sniff out the whole area in, what, 10 secs? It's inconceivable they could even consider to undertake the exploration of the possibilty of putting me there. And I thought they cared about me. I guess it is only the illusion of being loved.

10 More Days to Expired Visas

10 more days and our current visas expire. Whether or not our permanant visas arrive by then, we've got to get our butt outta here. So, tomorrow Joe's going to buy us tickets to New Zealand (wheee!) during his lunch time at work. Yes, he's actually going to work. A one month contractual assignment with his now ex-lecturer in some company (don't ask me). This is actually his 2nd project after his graduation. The 1st one was with some government agency to develop a business proposal on the commercialisation of ***(?). Apparently, *** are roaming in Melbourne (allegedly in the city as well!) in numbers more than desired. The funny thing is, we've never spotted a single one! Either we are blind or statistics lie? Anyway, it's great that he has something to work on while he job-hunts. I can't be the sole breadwinner all the time, can I? :P Actually, I haven't been working that much these days (mostly once a week) because truth is, I'm not a fan of my current job but it pays some of our bills so, I'm keeping it. Joe says I should find something else but I guess I'm just afraid to venture out of my comfort zone. Afterall, new job means new skills to learn, new people to meet and new environment to adapt to. Not that I don't need to meet new people at work (most of the time I do) but at least, I don't have to deal with picking up another set of skills or the groping effort to settle in an unfamiliar place. Call me an old dog but I'd rather be a little disgruntled in my own domain than learning new tricks in foreign territory. And anyway, it's only a part time job.


So, like I said, 10 more days to exit the country. What's going to happen to Ginger? Yet to figure that out but she's definitely not going to the previous dog minder, mainly because, she (the dog minder) charged an exorbitant fee of $25 a day the last time we were back in Singapore for almost 2 months and we simply can't afford to burn more holes in our pockets given our "compulsory" trip to NZ. As for kennels, even though it's cheaper, I really can't bear to have her locked up most of the time. I'm very tempted to ask my friends to come over our place and dogsit her again like the last time Joe and I went to the Grampians but I'll be taking advantage of their goodwill (Jean, if you are reading this, no, I'm not intimating). Hmm...the bane of having a dog. Suggestions, anyone? Sell the dog, maybe? :P


***updated: apparently, it's P&C (oops!). For those who have read this post before the update, pretend you hadn't read it, k? :P

Sibling?

Dear Diary,


the truth is, I believe, my adoptive parents have always been honest with me (and white lies are meant to preserve my self-esteem or so they claimed when I asked them again why I was actually ranked 4th in place - see previous entry). Anyway, like I was saying, they have always been frank with me. When I became part of the family, they told me I was born in aussieland and later exported to Singapore for sale (yeah, life of a dog). Ironically, after a brief stay in the hot tropics, I am back here in aussieland. Often, I wonder if I would meet my biological parents or even siblings (if they weren't trade off like some commodities like I was).


And then, I met her.

I was checking out my usual pee posts (gossip columns, I like to call them) when I caught, what I thought, a mirror image of myself and I realised, holy crap, it's not me (because she moved and I didn't. Ha, ain't I clever?). My heart skipped a beat as I marvelled at her uncanny resemblance to me. I could tell Daddy Joe was astonished too because he was already taking his camera phone out and trying his best to capture a decent shot of her but, alas, she's not like me - the veteran model (and that's why the pic turned out blurred cus she couldn't keep still).


Dear diary, do you think she looks like me? I didn't have the chance to find out her name because she left after 5 mins leaving me all warm and fuzzy inside I couldn't begin to tell if it's the possiblity of seeing someone who might've been one of my siblings that made me happy or I had, in fact, met one of them.

Portrait & PR Application

My sis sent me this portrait of herself done by her new beau. Not bad, eh? I thought I'd post it here because it's really quite nice.


Other nice news include our sending out of the final set of PR application. All we can do now is wait. If all goes well, we should be making plans to exit Australia soon (as it's required by law to receive our permanant visas offshore). The cheapest option would be New Zealand but I'm really not that keen since I was there for almost a month when I went backpacking. Still, it's a holiday and if we did go there, the skiing part sounds like a blast. So I'm not complaining. ;)