This is it. I'm leaving for the kennel today. Goodbye, my friends. Should I die in there, please bury my kong (the red one) with me...
Vale of tears,
Ginger
xoxox
Vale of tears,
Ginger
xoxox
Saturday, July 9, 2005
Itinerary for NZ
Shame, shame. Joe only got 40/100 for the quiz. He really doesn't know me very well, does he? Got my age and birthdate wrong! What kind of a husband is that?! *Bitch-bitch* :P
Anyway, here's a sketchy plan of our itinerary in NZ (whee! 1 more day!):
Mon
2pm: Arrive in Auckland n collect car
3pm: Check in
4pm: Roam city / visitor centre?
6pm: Dinner
8pm: Roam city? *shrugs*
Tues
6am: Rise n shine / breakie
7am: Off to Whakapapa Ski Resort
11am: Arrive and check in
12pm: Ski, ski, ski! (If I only know how to, haha!)
Wed
8am: Rise n shine / breakie
10am: Check out
Rest of day: Our plan is to drive to and stay at Lake Taupo for the night (apparently, the lake is as big as Singapore!) but the journey back to Auckland is like 4 hrs and we simply can't afford the time if we want to get to the Australian Consulate Office by 8am the next day so, we are still deciding where to go for this day.
Thur
7am: Rise n shine / breakie
8am: Start queuing outside Australian Consulate-General (we were told that the queue is mad so have to go there really early) to get our passports evidenced and stamped for our permanant entry visas. :)
Rest of day: Not planned (because it really depends on how long the procedure will take).
Fri
8am: Rise n shine / breakie
10am: Check out / roam around city
12pm: Lunch
2pm: Airport / Home sweet home ...
As for Ginger, we are putting her in a kennel different to the one I mentioned before because the said kennel doesn't open on Sun and refuses to let us check her in at 6.30 in the morning just before our flight. So it's either we bring her in on Sat which I thought was a bit silly or we find another kennel. And glad that we did because this kennel is a lot cheaper and more spacious, it is also very near to the airport. Although they also don't allow us to bring her in at 6.30am on Mon, they are open on Sun. :) Here's a pic of where she'll be at for the next 6 days.
Not too bad, eh? We inspected the place this afternoon and it housed like 30-40(?) dogs right now so, she'll have a bit of company. Unlike the other kennel where the dogs are kept apart by walls, this one has fences which allow the pooches to see each other (not sure if that's a good thing though but Ginger is fully vaccinated so I'm not too worried that she'll pick up kennel cough or whatnot from her canine friends). Another plus point is their claim to disinfecting the complex daily so I'm assuming they should be pretty decent on the hygiene scale (hopefully!).
Alrighty, till my next post when I'm back from NZ as an aussie PR ! :)
Anyway, here's a sketchy plan of our itinerary in NZ (whee! 1 more day!):
Mon
2pm: Arrive in Auckland n collect car
3pm: Check in
4pm: Roam city / visitor centre?
6pm: Dinner
8pm: Roam city? *shrugs*
Tues
6am: Rise n shine / breakie
7am: Off to Whakapapa Ski Resort
11am: Arrive and check in
12pm: Ski, ski, ski! (If I only know how to, haha!)
Wed
8am: Rise n shine / breakie
10am: Check out
Rest of day: Our plan is to drive to and stay at Lake Taupo for the night (apparently, the lake is as big as Singapore!) but the journey back to Auckland is like 4 hrs and we simply can't afford the time if we want to get to the Australian Consulate Office by 8am the next day so, we are still deciding where to go for this day.
Thur
7am: Rise n shine / breakie
8am: Start queuing outside Australian Consulate-General (we were told that the queue is mad so have to go there really early) to get our passports evidenced and stamped for our permanant entry visas. :)
Rest of day: Not planned (because it really depends on how long the procedure will take).
Fri
8am: Rise n shine / breakie
10am: Check out / roam around city
12pm: Lunch
2pm: Airport / Home sweet home ...
As for Ginger, we are putting her in a kennel different to the one I mentioned before because the said kennel doesn't open on Sun and refuses to let us check her in at 6.30 in the morning just before our flight. So it's either we bring her in on Sat which I thought was a bit silly or we find another kennel. And glad that we did because this kennel is a lot cheaper and more spacious, it is also very near to the airport. Although they also don't allow us to bring her in at 6.30am on Mon, they are open on Sun. :) Here's a pic of where she'll be at for the next 6 days.
Not too bad, eh? We inspected the place this afternoon and it housed like 30-40(?) dogs right now so, she'll have a bit of company. Unlike the other kennel where the dogs are kept apart by walls, this one has fences which allow the pooches to see each other (not sure if that's a good thing though but Ginger is fully vaccinated so I'm not too worried that she'll pick up kennel cough or whatnot from her canine friends). Another plus point is their claim to disinfecting the complex daily so I'm assuming they should be pretty decent on the hygiene scale (hopefully!).
Alrighty, till my next post when I'm back from NZ as an aussie PR ! :)
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Friday, July 1, 2005
Horseriding
Looks like Joe beat me to the announcement. He's probably more thrilled (and/or relieved) than I because having a permanant visa means that he can continue working on his current project (some marketing strategy role on some wireless video cam invention? *shrugs*). Anyway, it's all good now and he might even get to travel to Sydney next week for some work-related seminar. I'm asking to tag along because I've been wanting to visit my brother but budget's on the front burner at the moment especially with the NZ trip coming up on the 11th this month. Nevertheless, you'd never know if there's a cheap ticket promotion lying around waiting to be discovered. ;)
PR aside, it's been a whirlwind of activities the last few days mainly because the exams are over (not mine, of course, but my MU friends') and it's only natural to want to "maximise" the holidays while it last. And one of the first things we did was to take an equestrian trip.
PR aside, it's been a whirlwind of activities the last few days mainly because the exams are over (not mine, of course, but my MU friends') and it's only natural to want to "maximise" the holidays while it last. And one of the first things we did was to take an equestrian trip.
Only 4 of us this time. The rest are either not free or have flown back home to enjoy their holidays. We went to our "usual" Uncle Nev trail rides because he charged reasonable fees and (probably also because) I was too lazy to explore "new territories". :P
Mounting time. That's Jean, the expert rider, having her stirrups adjusted and checked for alignment. I never gave much thought to this part of the preparation until my horse started to run, and I realised my stirrups were "unbalanced", and my left foot kept popping out and hitting against the damn piece of metal. So the first reaction was to try and get the foot back on the ring but after a while, I just gave up and let it hang loose while the horse galloped away. It didn't seem like a bad idea, but when I reached home and looked at my ankle, it was all bruised and swollen. How clever.
Jean again. And her gorgeous stallion - Midnight. All set and ready to go.
Sokling, the other expert rider. ;)
This photo is not blurred. It was really foggy (and cold) in the forest. In fact, it was so cold Jean's hands started turning blue. She rubbed them real hard to get the blood back but for all I know, those pair of gloveless hands could've dropped off her wrists (the horror!). Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but they really did turn blue.
Rest time. Giving the horses a breather ...
... and a drink.
A bunch of very thirty horses. Mine drank for like a full minute nonstop.
Finally, a lovely view of Mt. Disappointment State Forest. Still can't tell what's so disappointing about it though.
Friday, June 24, 2005
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)
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)
Thursday, June 23, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
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