some turning points

2007 flew by me and it’s the end of the year again. So many things have happened in our household that I need some time to jot down the various turning points.

For starters, this turtlepad has been an avenue for me to pen down my thoughts and to make human friends. This year saw many of my female owner’s friends coming to read about my (siblings included) life. I am happy to be able to share my turtle life with so many human friends, coz at the end of the day, I hope that people will take care of their pets (and not abandon them) and gain insight into how important animals are to the world.

Another significant change in us turtles’ lives is of course, that our owners are no longer together. As it happened in June, we literally spent half the year as a complete family, and the other half of 2007 as a single parent family. Of course we miss him at times, but not having him around makes us appreciate our female owner even more.

A spate of events which I hope would never happen again, is the bout of illnesses that Dodo and I went through this year. While we recovered well, we know that at the back of our female owner’s mind, she is constantly fearful and anxious that we may fall ill again.

As pets, we also saw how our female owner changed this year. This year must have been a tough one for her, with so many changes in her personal and work life (some of which are chronicled in this turtlepad). Whatever it is, we turtles will always be here for her.

couple fren

Today's my female owner's birthday! Happy 18th birthday!!

As with Christmas, this was the first time in so many years that she celebrated it "alone". This year, she had dinner with her long-time couple-friend. She literally saw them starting out as strangers before becoming acquaintances then friends (she knew the guy first, before the girl was posted to her class), progressed to form a clique with them, witnessed the ambivalent stage of he/she likes me, he/she likes me not before they became an item, went through years of courtship, and now, about to seal their romance in marriage.

They were always there, in their separate ways and their couple ways for my female owner. For this, we turtles are grateful, coz this would in turn, help my female owner take better care of us!

potato, green peppers and eggplant

Apparently my female owner had lotsa mini adventures during her holiday to Shanghai. Largely monolingual in English, she visited Shanghai with two of her closest colleagues-turned-confidantes.

Most memorable for her, was the days spent together, wrestling the cold winter, enduring sore feet (from trying to look glam wearing boots) and bargaining with shopowners (who quoted exorbitant prices for their goods).

An unforgettable experience would be the night when the three of them visited a club with a male acquaintance. It was her first time being in such a social context and the experience was one to learn from and never to be repeated. Wahaha. (Whatever that means, coz she didn't want to say too much too.)

Craving for Shanghai food, the three of them ended up at a local food joint on their last night and devoured local delicacies, of which, the one featured belowed was the most delicious.

My female owner's travelling mantra has always been: "Go as friends, come back as friends." In recognition of the delicious dish above, the tagline for this trip would be "Go as friends, come back as potato, green peppers and eggplant". Three ingredients for three great friends.

left behind

My female owner finally came home today. She went for a holiday without telling us turtles and we only found out a few days later when her mother fed us. Her mother is the in-house nanny whenever she goes overseas. See how moody we look, because she was not around for so many days.

Me, brooding under the Trolley

Nanook, pouting.

Dodo leaning onto Dona, looking bored

memories linger

My female owner came home very happy today. She had a whale of a time at her friends' house celebrating Christmas. It was a comfortable group size of six, with diversity in demographics, but similarities in experiences.

During the party, one of her non-Christian friends asked a seemingly innocent question "How do you all usually celebrate Christmas?"

At the very moment, I guess my female owner was stunned... coz for the past 6 years, she had always spent Christmas with my male owner. They got together 7 Christmases ago. She has long forgotten how to celebrate Christmas "alone".

This would be her first Christmas as a swinging bachelorette in a long while. Not that she has any issues with it, just that memories linger and she's a sentimentalist.

Oh well... but as I was saying, I know she had fun today... without getting tipsy.

Yah, it was the exact same group of friends who had to lug her home the other time. This time, they learnt their lesson and collectively sought to reduce her alcohol intake. Strategy worked! (But she still didnt feed us when she came home...)

proof

For those who dont believe me, here's proof that I've lost weight. Look at the bulge around my neck in the photo below (Jun 2007).
This is me, a few days ago, with less bulge around my neck (aka no double chin!)
This is me, taking dancing lesson from my female owner. (Actually she was just testing to see how heavy I am)

1am

I finally get it! I've been wondering why my female owner has been coming home so late these days. I finally figured out why - she's addicted to coming home late. As in, if she reaches home before 1am, she will feel that something is amiss or that she was shortchanged.

Hmmm... then the next logical question to ask (and answer) would be, what could be the reason behind her addiction and cognitions? (my female owner is in the business of psychoterrapin, opps, i mean, psychotherapy... so i picked up some jargon along the way.)

Blame it on 6.5 years of being attached to someone who insisted on sending her home by 10pm everytime they go out. I remembered it being a sore point between my owners. My female owner likes to hang out late, while my male owner has this neurotic thing about getting her home by 10pm, so that he can take a bus home later.

The good thing was that we turtles got a lot of attention in those days. I mean, if your owners come home so early, that could only mean that they have more time to play with you.

Haiz. Times have changed. Not only do we not see our male owner anymore, our female owner has kind-of vanished into thin air. She only appears after 1am. She's probably making up for lost youth.

siblings

My female owner did something she has never done in her life. She went shopping with her brother (with her mother included as a chaperon) yesterday. Although it was for a purely functional reason - he wanted to get my female owner a laptop - the coming together of the two siblings was a sight to behold, simply because they hardly spoke more than ten sentences to each other in a year.

Trust us, we know, because we are the silent listeners in the household. Walls have ears, so do turtles.

reading

My female owner spent some time with us in the Balcony today, reading a book. We like it very much coz her presence is very reassuring. It makes us feel loved and remembered.

in the green of health

Thank you all for asking about me. I am in the green of health already. I am back to my usual routine - hiding under the trolley, coming out to greet my female owner and talking to my siblings. I am no longer kept in isolation, with a warm light shining over me.

The air smells fresh, the sky is extra blue, the weather is cool, just as long as you are healthy. Cheers to health!

stock-taking

My female owner had her brown-gold aikido grading yesterday. It would her last grading for a long time, so of course, the process was important for her. After all, the outcome is almost a guaranteed promotion.

It turned out to be the best grading experience she ever had. For one very important factor - her partner was someone she often trained with in a different dojo. Her partner was very gentle towards her and assisted in all ways possible to make life easier for her. Her other friend helped to take photos of her during the grading and commented afterwards that my female owner kept smiling.

Time to take stock. My female owner has completed her flute exam. She has gone for her aikido grading. Performed in town and terminated her flute lessons.

Will she have more time for us now?

unceremoniously

And so, it ended unceremoniously, the way each lesson would normally end. With a "bye" from my female owner to her flute teacher and that’s it.

Today marks the end of her official flute lessons. After dedicating 45 months of Mondays to flute.... it was time to say goodbye. My female owner is a closet sentimentalist and romantic. She’s not very good at saying goodbyes and expressing her appreciation for people, so she did the next best thing. She went shopping for her flute teacher. Again, being not very creative, she ended up with SINS chocolates.

She didn’t even tell her flute teacher what it was for. Christmas? Farewell? Thank you? (No wonder the lesson ended unceremoniously!)

She spent her last flute lesson playing one of her grade 7 exam pieces and believe it or not, she felt nostalgic running her fingers over those notes. Those passages which used to give her so much problems, those phrases where she would try to sneak a breath (and end up being caught by her flute teacher) and those high notes which she could never hit right. How one year of not playing the piece has made her so rusty.

Changes take place. Life moves on. Memories live on.

different directions

We haven't seen our male owner for exactly six months. That fateful day, six months ago, my owners had a big quarrel and since then, they have moved on, in very different directions.

My male owner, I heard, has found a new partner. Men generally move on faster I think. My female owner's male friend who also broke up around the same time as her has also found a new partner.

My female owner, still a swinging bachelorette, as with her girl friend who coincidentally regained her singlehood status six months ago.

For us turtles, Dodo and myself fell ill again. In fact, Dona also injured his arm, but he kind of healed naturally. Nanook is still the healthiest of us all.

quiet moments

Finally got to see my female owner for more than 5 minutes today. We almost didnt manage to see her today. She had a full day of activites lined up... aikido in the morning, breakfast with her aikido friends, birthday shopping with her mother, badminton, music practice in the afternoon, so that she can perform in town at night, and chill-out with her friends at night.

Then.... she came home in the wee hours of the morning today... after playing bridge with some friends. So she decided to skip aikido + breakfast. Then her mother couldn't make it for shopping and didn't go badminton. So she spent the morning and some parts of the afternoon at home. Yeah!

She crawled into the Balcony and spent some quiet moments with us. We like it very much. Those quiet still moments...

searching

12 days to Christmas but where's my owner?

We are all looking for her.

losing baby fats

I think I lost weight. I can retract my head into my shell a little bit more than usual. My female owner has been feeding us less these days. Maybe once every 3-4 days. Partly because of my illness, partly because she's in her depressive mood again.

Dodo and I try to cheer her up every morning, by waking up early to say hi to her. I think she likes it, coz she never fails to smile and come towards us to pet us on our heads. Hmm.. shall try to get Nanook and Dona to join us in this morning routine.

bombshell

My female owner dropped a mega big bombshell on us today. She told us that she would be leaving us to further her studies come early 2008.

All of a sudden, our perfect turtle world came crushing down on us. The weight was so great, our armour shells were not strong enough to protect us. Each of us is grieving at this sudden turn of events in our own ways. The mood in the Balcony is solemn and gloomy.

What would we do without our female owner? She's our greatest fan and no one takes care of us so dedicatedly as she does. Not even our male owner. We also do not want to go back to him. He looked after us for a while when we were little and left us at our female owner's house when we got too big for comfort.

Somebody help us.

drunk

My female owner came home drunk this morning. I heard a lot of commotion when she came home. It's a first in her life where she had to be brought home by her long-suffering friends who had their drinking activities interrupted by her lousy drinking capacity (followed by her strange acting-outs when she had too much to drink). She didn't even feel high. In fact, she felt choked, frustrated and restricted.

My siblings were actually waiting for her the whole day for food, but she disappeared from home early in the previous morning and never returned till this morning. A fruitless wait...

In the midst of her drunkedness, she couldn't help but recall one of the first few gatherings she and my male owner had with their mutual friends when he was still courting her. They went to East Coast Park to chill and she got a little high on beer (think her capacity for alcohol improved only a little over the years, but obviously has much room for growth). She started to see the horizon raising and falling. Then she needed to pee and he supported her to the toilet. Midway, she saw this very fat lady and started laughing, saying "she's so FAT!" Wahaha. She almost got everyone killed then.

Of course, that incident stuck with my owners and became a memory which they often revisited. Hmm... it also made my male owner impose a drinking ban on my female owner as he was afraid of what might happen to her when she drank in his absence. From henceforth, my female owner hardly drank alcohol, especially in public places. She didn't even go to pubs, clubs or watering holes. She kind-of cut herself off from the company of friends in this aspect, allowing herself to drink on selected occasions and even then, in small amounts.

Until this year... when my owners broke up. My female owner broke her abstinence and started to experience drinking in various quantities and varieties.

Hmm... that lack of drinking experience may explain for her lousy tolerance for alcohol. Right now, I know she feels traumatised by what happened last night. What embarrassing things did she do or say last night? She was trying desperately to be sober (just like her first experience at Iguana - more on that next time) but was fighting a losing battle and had to concede defeat when her friends carried her out of the restaurant by force.

aikido grading

My female owner is in one of her busy periods again. I think my recent bout of illness knocked her personal life upside down, so she's back with a vengance - to accomplish her other priorities in life.

Her aikido grading is round the corner and she's gearing herself up with extra practices. I know this, because my female owner's mother has to keep washing her gi (she only has two sets). Poor mother.

Today's practice was noteworthy. One, one of her aikido kakis asked her, after grabbing her upper arm, if she lost weight. Wah... I would be happy too, if people said I lost weight. Truth be told, my female owner hasn't been having regular meals these days. Sometimes, she would really forget to eat. Hmmm.... maybe she was trying to accompany me when I lost my appetite recently.

Second, a senior kaki commented to her that she has improved a lot, especially since the previous week. Now, the funny thing was, he did not even train with her today. So what were his comments based on (my female owner is very scientific. She needs evidence and examples in order to be convinced)? Anyway, he said that my female owner is ready for her grading. Yeah!

Third, her instructor said that some brown belts in the class still roll like prata.... and my female owner, paranoid by nature, asked her first dan senior if the instructor was refering to her. The first dan senior always says that my female owner roll like a bag of taohuijui (soya bean milk) or humjingpeng (a pancake). Wahaha. Then to satisfy their curiosity, they asked the instructor whether he was refering to her...

Haha.

grumpy

My female owner came home grumpy today. I know, coz she didn't even say hi to me when she reached home. I'm so cute and lovable, how can she not pop in to say hello, after not seeing me for one day?

my first morsel in 12 days

My two courses of anti-biotics are finally over. That’s like 10 days of injections. Some days I received more, because my female owner jabbed me wrongly (can you believe that?!) so she had to re-jab me again. I was very thankful when her mother returned from her holidays. You see, my female owner’s mother is a nurse and she’s really good at such things.

Anyway, to celebrate my release from those horrible injections, I decided to try to eat something today. So bright and early in the morning, I climbed into the feeding tank to await my female owner’s arrival. She came, as if on cue, at 7plus. Gave her my biggest smile and she dropped some pellets into the tank. I dutifully finished up the pellets (just a handful of them) and she, feeling relieved that I was eating again, dropped in some more for me.

end of flute exam

My female owner has been on leave for a week. Today, she woke up the earliest - about 7am. She woke up to find me walking around the Balcony. I'm trying to work up my appetite as I haven't been eating for 12 days. Anyway, today is a "special" day as she has to go for her flute exam.

-------------------
She just came home from her exam. Looks like she didn't perform well (again). I know my female owner suffers from severe performance anxiety (that's why she rejects all requests to perform SOLO at functions, because she doesn't want to spoil the event). She's just like us; she freezes when people focus their attention on her.

Anyway, we turtles secretly celebrated the end of her flute exam, coz that means that we no longer have to endure her endless practices. But wait! Oh... just remembered that she would still be practicing for her outdoor Christmas performance next week. But at least she will be playing Christmas songs. We turtles won't mind grooving to those tunes.


It's beginning to look (err sound) a lot like Christmas! Everywhere we go...

F. POULENC SONATA FOR FLUTE AND PIANO 1

My female owner's flute exam is coming. This is one of the pieces she will be playing. Of course don't expect the same standard from her!

back to turtle life

Thank you R and L, for your constant encouragement. As D puts it, we turtles have a great will to overcome adversities and to fight for our right to live. With you supporting me and my female owner, I'm sure we can make it.... though slowly and steadily, in good old turtle style.

Anyway, in an attempt to feel like a turtle again, I managed to climb over the new tank which my female owner placed me in yesterday. For those who do not understand what I mean... I escaped! From the small container and returned to communal living with my siblings! My siblings were of course, excited to see me. They welcomed me back with open arms and hi-shelled me.

I went back to my usual favourite spot to stone. Found my sister there, so I rested on her.

Went into the feeding tank for a soak, and my brother came in to join me. Think he's really worried about me.

sleep

My female owner’s parents came home one day earlier than she expected. She got the dates mixed up, probably due to her busyness. Anyway, she left the house in a hurry when she received the SMS from her father to fetch them from the airport.

Needless to say, her mother found out about my illness. As usual, she was upset that my female owner spent so much money on us turtles. My female owner didn’t dare tell her the real cost of the vet fees. Exasperated, her mother asked her to put me to sleep…

I think I'm falling into depression.

trying to get well

My female owner told me to get well fast. My spirit is willing but my flesh and my shell is weak. I still feel ill... and dont have appetite. She told me that many human friends are still asking about me. I feel so touched at their concern. Thank you all for asking about me. I'm also trying to get well...

I know my female owner has been trying her best, giving me my daily jabs (I still hate them!), switching on the warm lamp whenever she's home and spending time with me to encourage me to get well fast.

vitamin supplement

My female owner told the vet that I had not been eating. The vet was quite concerned about it and prescribed soluble vitamin powder for me. For me to consume it, my female owner would need to spike my water with the powder. The small bottle of vitamin supplement cost my female owner about $35. She was mortified at the cost, espcially since she does not believe in taking health supplements for herself. Natural is the best, she says.

Together with another course of anti-botics and consultation fees, the visit yesterday cost her about $80. I feel so bad... How come Nanook is so healthy? All she does is eat and sleep but she doesn't fall ill.

exhausted

My female owner brought me to the vet today. Let's just say that both of us were traumatised by the visit for different reasons. This bout of illness is taking a toil on us. I'm getting paranoid, each time I see my female owner, because I dont know what she's going to do to me next. I'm so scared of the injections. At the same time, my female owner is struggling to care for me. Although she doesn't blame me for my illness, I can tell that she's getting worn out, with all the running around and juggling with work, flute exam, housework and caring for my other siblings.

saved by an E

I found out the meaning of my name! Well, sort of...

Last week when I was ill, my female owner's clever friend suddenly asked her what's my name. So she said "Nooki". Then he looked both shocked and bemused and said "What?!" Then my female owner repeated herself, perplexed at his outburst. So he asked her "Do you know what that means?" And she said "Small corner". The clever friend, a walking dictionary, replied "That's a nook. But do you know what nooki(e) means?"

"Err, no"

"Nooki(e) in UK slang means to have a quick make-out"


The consolation that he offered was that my name is spelt as N-O-O-K-I and not N-O-O-K-I-E

poked

My female owner came home in a nasty mood. I know, because she poked my feet as a form of greeting. She must have had one of her horror days at work, since even her aikido class could not dispel her negative energy. Maybe she's in a bad mood partly because of me too...

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day;
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For it's skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said;
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what lies ahead

(chorus)
Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand

Ev'ry step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter,
Ev'ry cloud is silver-lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye;
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.

(chorus)

guilt

And so, a morning ritual is established. I waited gingerly for my female owner to appear. I know that she is going to prick me again with anti-biotics. I spent my waking moments thinking of ways to escape the jab. Although she's bigger and stronger than me, I must not give up without a struggle. The last time I had a prolapse and was sent to the vet, I was forcefed. My food was doped with disgusting tasting medicine. I won that food battle by simply refusing to open my mouth. My two owners exhausted themselves trying to coax me to eat.


The outcome for this morning was slightly different and unexpected. Of course, my female owner won. This time, she was able to inject deeper into my muscles (i.e. the syringe went in further into my foot). What was unexpected was, in the midst of the struggle, she pricked herself with the needle and started bleeding too.


oh... now I feel so guilty.. What have I done to her now.

hungry

I'm hungry....

The veggie my female owner fed me yesterday was yucky. She gave me the same thing again today. She also boiled some carrots for me. YUCKS. Don't really have appetite for carrots, especially when they are of the same colour as my tub. I know I should be grateful to her for taking the efforts to boil carrots, especially when the only other thing she is willing to boil these days is hot water, to cook cup noodles for her meals. BUT.... I'm a sick turtle... I want my pelllets.

I know that my oldest brother, Nana, loved carrots. My female owner once fed Nana, Dodo and Dona microwaved carrots (now, that's an unwise move, to feed us microwaved food). Nana loved it so much, he eyed for Dodo's orange coloured ear after all the carrots were gone. Poor Dodo felt so traumatised then. First time he saw his gentle giant brother being so carnivorous.

sick...

I'm feeling sick... just got my jab. It was a tug-of-war between my female owner and I. She saw me trying to climb over the tank and decided to jab me then, in an attempt to sedate me. She achieved her aim. The struggle I put up to avoid the jab zapped away all my energy and now, I'm feeling so exhausted. Once she had her victory, my female owner threw in a leafy stalk as instructed by my vet. Yuck. Can I have my usual pellets please?

road to recovery

my first morning at home...

so painful...

My female owner switched on the warm lamp as instructed by my vet. The warm lamp is supposed to increase my metabolic rate. But it's really bright and invasive. My female owner intends to get a proper warm lamp for me (the one that is shining happily at me now is a improvised one). Hope she gets one in pink shade.

I know that I'm supposed to get my injection soon. I'm not looking forward to it. I know my female owner is not looking forward to giving it to me too. For one, she knows we dont like it. For another, she has to single-handedly hold me, pull out my leg and jab me. How's that for a pair of hands? Even at the hospital, they work in pairs to tend to me. Here, she works alone, untrained but full of love.

I haven't seen my siblings. I need to be quarantined from them until I'm okay. It's lonely being in this tank. I feel scared at times. One thing I dont miss though, is my female owner's flute. She put me in the same room as her while she practiced the flute. It was really diffcult to sleep with the bright lamp on, and the flute practice.

But, for the sake of everyone who loves me, I must get well fast!

so many people to thank

Hi everyone,

I'm back! My female owner just brought me back from the hospital today. It's the longest time I ever spent alone, in a tank all by myself. I'm still a little wobbly from all the injections and stitches. I heard that I would need to be given an anti-biotic injection every morning. Not really looking forward to that.

It's a nice feeling to be back at home. I cant be let out yet, but it feels good just being home, with my siblings and female owner around me.

I also want to thank all my female owner's friends who supported her through these two days (you know, if the owner is in good mental health, the pets will benefit too).

For D, who encouraged her through msn and helped her make the necessary phone calls when she was in a state of shock. For accompanying her to see me, at the expense of lunch. And yes, you were brave enough to see in her car when she was an emotional wreck. You were so patient!

For L, who would always pray for me and ask about me whenever I suffer a prolapse.

For Q, who constantly enquired about me.

For B & E, who took time to watch a movie with my female owner to cheer her up and for being in the room when she was very upset.

For F, who spent the afternoon talking to her to calm her down. Your listening skills were therapeutic.

For D2, who readily agreed to drive her down today to see me and for visiting me.

For U, who actually kept your promise to accompany her to see me today (commitment issues, I heard), even though there were dogs around.

For J, who accompanied her to see me during lunch today, and accompanied her to bring me home after work.

For Y, who kindly offered to drive her down to the hospital to pick me up today even though it was out of the way.

Err... not sure if I missed out anyone else... but if I did, please dont hold it against me.. I'm but a recovering turtle. Although this was an ordeal for me... through the storm, I feel so blessed, that so many human friends care about me. For your sakes, I will get well!

I miss Nooki

Female owner:

I miss seeing you under the trolley
When I wake in the morning
I miss seeing your silhouette
When I return home at night
I miss seeing you
Perched in the middle of the feeding tank
Patiently waiting for your once-in-two-days meal
I miss seeing you scrambling towards me
When you want my attention

I wish you will not suffer from this again
I wish I know how to truly take care of you
I wish you would know that I never meant for you to be ill
That if I could,
I would take your pain upon myself to
Free you from all discomfort

I want to see you smile again
I want to hold you in my hands
Seeing you helpless is driving me crazy
Pray, tell me, what should I do?
I find it hard to eat
I cant bring myself to sleep
Even playing my silly flute without you around
Is not the same anymore

Nooki, you are a brave girl
You must hang on and get well fast

Nooki is still in hospital

Female owner:

Visited Nooki during lunch-time today. While less of her intestine is exposed, it is still huge and fiercely red. She was alert and awake, in her usual stoned manner. The hospital had placed her in a red tub and shone a warm light into it. While I stood there looking at her, she starting to move and even tried to scale the tub. So like her usual self.

Th vet called me at 1500hr and informed that she needed to carry out the operation. She cautioned that as a result of infection, Nooki may get blood poisoning. Although she didnt use the word "die", it's pretty obvious what she meant. She also said that Nooki has constipation.

At this point in time, I do not have any updates, as it seems that the vet is still operating on her.

I want to thank all of those who have expressed concern for Nooki and me. Although she is just a fat, yellow terrapin to many, she means a lot to me. Your support, concern and encouragement have helped lifted my spirits and brought me through this trying day. If Nooki knows just how many people are concerned and praying for her, she would certainly be moved to tears.

For those who wish to visit her, she's at Mount Pleasant Hospital. Visiting hours are 1300-1400hr and 1700-1900hr. Just say her name and mine.

Nooki needs surgery

Female owner:

The vet just called to say that they are unable to put the intestine back into Nooki. They would need to cut away certain parts of her intestine which have gone bad. She has lost a lot of blood and is currently being stablised using anti-biotics.

Surgery is the only option. If not, she will die. The surgery will be done tomorrow and her prognosis is guarded.

For a turtle of 5 years, she has gone through a lot of pain and discomfort. I leave her life in God's hands.

Nooki is in hospital

Female owner:

Nooki was just sent to the animal hospital for surgery. I came home to find that she had a mega-big prolapse. The internal organ (I'm not sure what it is) that came out was about 1/4 of her shell size. It was bloated and dark red. As I drove her to the vet, she started bleeding and her internal organ started to look like raw meat. It later started to turn purple. Even the vet looked shakened (this vet also treated Dodo in his previous episodes. I was very glad to see her, coz I know she's really caring and gentle).

The vet will try to push back her organ and stitch her back. She will be staying overnight in the hospital. I hope that she will be discharged tomorrow. I don't mind paying for her surgery, as long as she can be treated.

Please pray for her...

a message from my female owner

My female owner wants to use this platform to inform MY readers that she got the official letter already. Not very sure what it means, but my female owner says that most of MY readers will be able to understand this coded message. If don't know what she means, then just ignore...

I also don't know what she means.

family

Without my female owner's parents around, evenings can be very quiet and dark... That's because my female owner also will take the opportunity to meet up with her friends. Hence, we turtles are often abandoned at home... like today.

My female owner has no qualms about being left alone at home, or being by herself for long periods of time. In fact, she relishes in being alone. Hmmm... not my cup of tea. Even though terrapins are solitary creatures, I prefer to have my siblings around me, especially at night. It's a nice and warm feeling knowing that your family is nearby while you are sleeping. And when you wake up, your family will be the first thing you see.

Please don't ever separate us.

1/4 second

My female owner's parents are out of town again! So we turtles only have our female owner for company.

My female owner is at home today. She continued with her flute practice and spent a long while trying to redeem her darn 1/2 a second. After much efforts, she managed to redeem 1/4 of a second. Still entering the bar too early for some profound reasons.

family photo 2007

Recently, my female owner attempted to take a family photo of us today. She wanted to capture our front view, similar to the photo you see right below. Alas, we were not very cooperative that day. We couldnt keep still all at the same time and started moving at different times and these were some of the shots she got.

In the end, she gave up trying to get a good shot of us.

neurotic perfectionist

I think that playing a musical instrument makes one neurotic. The best living example is my female owner. She is still grappling with her exam pieces and has started to use the metronome to make sure that she keeps to time. For a good 10 minutes today, she kept replaying a particular passage in order to figure why she is darn ½ a second early for the new bar. You get it? She spent 10 minutes trying to find out why she is ½ a second early.

In addition, her teacher has told her on several occasions that she is a split-second too early in her entries. A split-second? How does one measure a split-second?

Really, you need to be a neurotic perfectionist in order to be able to play a piece well.

Newsong - Light Your World - Trust His Heart

Enjoy the beautiful lyrics.

random shots

Nanook: Don't be deceived. She is bigger than she looks.

Me: I'm sure you can recognise me by now.

Dona: He's camera-shy. Look at his black shiny eyes. So intense.

Dodo: Wonder why he looks so sad.

update on the finger

It's Monday and my female owner is on leave again! I wonder why she can afford to be on leave so often. She must have worked really hard in the earlier part of this year.

And despite her mishap, she's still playing her flute (the close-hole one of course). I think she should stop exerting herself because her wound opens up everytime she plays (ie she's still bleeding!). Such energy and intensity!

second fiddle

My female owner, in her absent-mindedness, cut herself very badly on her fourth finger. While it took ages for the bleeding to stop, it was the least of her concern. She was more bothered that she can't practice her flute anymore. Her $3000+ flute is open-hole, meaning that each hole needs to be covered properly, in order to produce a good tone. It would be diffcult to achieve that, given the plaster on her finger.

In desperation, my female owner took out her first flute (this one cost her $1000) and realised that she was able to produce nice tones because the flute is closed-hole (and we turtles thought we could have a respite from her practices!). Hence, she decided to use this flute for the time being (talk about being second fiddle... or flute)

Actaully, I think she sounds better with the cheaper flute. Why did she buy an expensive flute in order to sound worse?

growing sideways

The events of the recent months have taken a toil on my female owner and it's showing. In other words, she is beginning to be like me - getting rounder and fatter and her clothes (for me, it would be my shell) don't really fit anymore.

There was a time when things were "happy-go-lucky" for her and she would play badminton up to three times aweek. Alas, her badminton kakis started to leave her one by one for greener pastures. She also broke up with my male owner who had, a few months before, specially bought a badminton racquet suitable for her playing style. She chose not to keep the racquet for it reminded her of fantasies gone wrong (that they would grow old together playing badminton and developing themselves into a formidable couple). So, she stopped playing badminton altogether, save for the occasional game once or twice a month.

Her gym kakis also vanished into thin air, leaving her with little motivation to hit the gym. To add to that depressing turn of events, she started to get stressed over work and her flute exam, causing her to seek refuge in her favourite de-stressor..... FOOD! All kinds of food - ice-cream, chocolates, fried food, titbits. You name any fattening food, she probably like it. She also started partying, and that meant huge dinners and alcohol...

All roads lead to Rome and the accumulation of all these events over the past few months have led to one major consquence - she put on weight and became flabbier! Wahahaha. Now the owner looks like the pet. Join the club! =p

turmoil

Today, my female owner received some news which may change her life (and ours) forever. Not one to be decisive, I reckon that she will be in turmoil for the next few weeks. Better keep out of her way!

narcissism

Allow me to be narcissitic and show you some photos of myself today.

boundaries

My female owner came home looking drained and unfulfilled.

It turns out that her client in crisis wanted to harm himself and she had to step in to take the necessary precautions. That meant that she ended up talking to several parties (the drained part)… and missing her aikido class in the process (this is the unfulfilled part). Certainly not what she expected, for a week which has only 4 working days!

One thing she always found difficult doing was setting boundaries with her clients. She can’t bear to say no to people. Hence, she struggled to say no to her client when he wanted to see her at that very moment. But then, my female owner always had problems setting boundaries anyway. Even for physical ones, she did not set a proper boundary for us turtles and this eventually led to Nana’s death. So what more psychological boundaries?

therapy

Counselling can be emotionally draining. My female owner kinda reached a breaking point today when she saw a client who has several issues. Because of the complexity of the problems, she felt inadequate and unequipped to deal with his situation. She ended the session feeling lousy about her competency as a counsellor and wondering if she had done her client more harm than good.

During lunch, she went through a defusing session (why do humans use such big words?) with a counsellor friend. Basically, it was a time when she could talk to someone about the session and resolve her emotional issues. She spent the time arguing for her personal and professional beliefs, exploring where she could have done better for future cases (?! she still want to take up such cases?!) and also receiving guidance from a more experienced counsellor.

Guess she ended up feeling better about the whole thing and armed with new ideas on how to handle such cases. Bet the client would never, in his wildest dreams, know the kind of impact he had on her.

Pet therapy is so much easier! We just surround our human friends with unconditional attention and affection and they will feel better! Try it!

survival instinct

Soon after my owners broke up a few months ago, my female owner went to cut, dye and perm her hair, all for the sake of the traditional "break-up-so-must-get-a-new-hairstyle" therapy. We turtles got a shock when we saw her that day. You can't blame us, because we have seen her with straight hair all our lives.

Over the weekend, she did another one of her BUSMGANH stunt, minus the BU part. So now her hair is curlier than before (she got bolder). All well's except that she spent $500 on hair vouchers, just because she liked the hair stylist (not in that romantic way, coz he's gay). If that's not enough, today, she coughed out $400 for one of her pursuits (don't ask me what, coz she has so many crazy commitments, that I lost track).

As usual, Nanook panicked when she heard that my female owner became $900 poorer over two days. She asked if my female owner would have enough to buy our food. Dodo wasted no time in pointing out to her that my female owner has recently bought THREE bottles of food for us. That should fill our stomachs for 3 months.

Peace ensues in the Balcony.

borderline

My female owner was feeling bored, so she surfed Psychology Today and did a "Do I need therapy?" test. She was serious about finding out if she needed therapy and hence, she did the test carefully.

Here are the results:

What do your responses tell us?
Although your scores were generally very good, you had symptoms in at least one category. This suggests that you should probably consult with a mental health professional for further testing or treatment, especially if you are distressed about the symptoms you are experiencing. There is most certainly a treatment out there that will help improve the symptoms you are experiencing.

The following are the areas of concern detected by the screening:
i) You have experienced symptoms of a major depressive episode, but not enough to qualify as a full-blown episode, or as major depressive disorder.
ii) You appear to suffer from some symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.


While (i) did not surprise her, (ii) certainly did. According to the same website,

Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of identity...


The wikipedia states that some common features are:

P - Paranoid ideas
R - Relationship instability
A - Angry outbursts, affective instability, abandonment fears
I - Impulsive behavior, identity disturbance
S - Suicidal behavior
E - Emptiness


Hmmm..........

Perhaps my male owner was right after all. Towards the end of their relationship, he told my female owner that he thought that she had some mental illness.

fluffy

overheard from the pulpit today:

I'm not fat, i'm just fluffy.

Dodo's love language

I had a minor dispute with Dodo today, regarding his love language. He insisted that his love languages are quality time and physical touch, and not just quality time (as I stated previously). When I pointed out that he would retract into his shell when touched, he reminded me that he likes being stroked under his chin. It's just that the person must know his "love spot" and he will extend his neck for the person to stroke.

Next time, you are welcome to try.

Love Language

Ever heard of the Five Love Languages?

My female owner was introduced to it many years ago but it was only recently that she managed to get hold of a copy of the book. The author, Dr Gray Chapman, argues that different personalities express/receive love (whether it is romantic, platonic or familial) in different ways. The five love languages are:

Quality Time
Words of Affirmation
Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch

At the end of the book (The Five Love Languages for Singles), she completed a self-assessment tool to find out her primary love language. This is the results, ranked in order.

1 - Acts of Service
2 - Quality Time
3 - Receiving Gifts
4 - Words of Affirmation
5 - Physical Touch

Hmmm…..

I looked around my siblings and tried to decide what their primary love language is:

Dodo – Quality Time: Coz he’s always running out to meet my female owner
Dona – Words of Affirmation: Coz he doesn’t like to be touched so love has to be expressed verbally
Nanook – Gifts: Need I say more? She’s always waiting for food
Me – Acts of Service: Just keep the Balcony clean!

Hmmm….. Looks like we have something in common with our female owner, we don’t fancy physical touch very much… And my poor female owner! She has to adapt to our different personalities!

how did she do it?

I wonder how my female owner did it.

She slept for less than 5 hours, after her late-night/early-morning online session, went to work in the morning, and ended the day at close to midnight, after reaching home from her aikido training. How did she find the energy to sustain herself through such long hours and physically demanding activities? Last I heard, she skipped dinner too. And oh yes, at 0033 now, she's still online!

There were a few times in the past when we turtles had to keep late nights. Rather, we had intermittent sleep. This was because my female owner was doing things in the Living Room till the wee hours of the morning. Whether it was reading something or watching television, she would, once in a while, walk into the Balcony to find us. Hence, we would be woken up by the fuss and would, as all pets do, try to entertain her as best as our tired bodies could. Dodo was the most attentive (as usual). Sometimes, he would not even sleep, but keep awake throughout the time she was in the Living Room, just to show my female owner his undying loyalty.

However, unlike my female owner who is able to keep going despite a lack of sleep, Dodo will conk out the next day and spent his entire day snoozing in a corner, bright sunlight or not.

So, how did my female owner do it?

instant messaging

My female owner is addicted to instant messaging! She went online at 2130hr last night and logged off only at 0245hr this morning! You see, she was trying to install a webcam and spent some time ironing out the kinks. Like the other pary could hear her but couldnt see her, etc.

I suppose what my female owner chooses to do has nothing to do with us turtles..... as long as (yes, some of you must have guessed it already) she remembers to feed us. My female owner only tore herself away momentarily from the computer after midnight to wash our feeding tank and to feed us.

Her actions were totally functional. She didn't want us to starve to death. Dodo was pretty upset, as he was looking forward to spending some time with her. Even Nanook wished that she would hang around longer in the Balcony. Rather, my female owner ran off as soon as she fed us, to continue with her instant messaging.

morbid thinking

my female owner has morbid thinking.

She once told her friend (who was unfortunate enough to be around when she expressed her morbid thinking) that when she dies, she would want all her turtle paraphernalia to be displayed at her funeral.

She would want her well-wishers to take home any item of their choice, as a way of thanking them for coming to her funeral, and to remember her by. If this is not morbid enough, she then expressed her concern that no one would come to her funeral and the turtle collection would be left intact.

As far as I know, the four of us are not part of the turtle collection to be given away. Oh, that means that we would be orphans. Maybe our male owner will re-adopt us?

smokers

My female owner was a little upset today. She came home and saw her father standing in the Balcony. Instantly, she knew what was going on. He was smoking, when he's not supposed to.

Out of respect for him, she pretended not to know what he was doing and walked into her room. Deep in her heart, she was upset that he was smoking in secret. She was also upset that he smoked in the Balcony, where the four of us are, thus subjecting us to second-hand smoke.

My female owner hates it when her loved ones smoke behind her back (i.e. they already promised not to smoke/ quit but still smokes when she's not around). Don't get her wrong. She has smoker friends. In fact, Dodo and Dona were given to her by her very good friend who smokes. Come to think of it, Nanook and I were bought by my male owner who smokes too.

How ironic.

One of my female owner's friends recently smoked in front of her. To everyone else, he is a non-smoker. But somehow, he revealed his smoking habit to her. While puffing away on his cigarette (with the smoke away from her face of course!), he said "don't ever believe a smoker who tells you that he has quitted smoking. He's lying."

After believing in my male owner for 6.5 years on this, my female owner has come to the same conclusion too.

trust goes a long way

My female owner's friend paid a compliment regarding her driving skills today.

You see, she would usually drive on Thursdays to her aikido class and would give the friend a lift home after that. So this poor guy has been a victim of her recent resolve to overcome her fear of driving. He has to sit in her car and put up with her lousy driving all the way from the east to his house in the north. Wahaha.

Then for two weeks, he was out of town and did not take her car. Coincidentally, my female owner's father was out of town and she drove the car all over Singapore for work purposes.

So, today he came back to class and took a lift from her again. Along the expressway, he suddenly commented that her driving has improved!

That was encouragement indeed for my female owner. My poor owner has been the butt of many jokes revolving around her poor Mandarin and driving ability. Although she doesn't mind being teased (as long as her friends are happy), the positive comments regarding her driving over the past few months had certainly boosted her self-confidence and helped her realised that she had been shackled by her own fears all these years. Some of her friends were not even afraid to sit in her car despite her inexperience and those actions spoke so loud - hey! I trust you enough to put my life in your hands. Learn to trust yourself too.

afternoon activities

ever wondered what we turtles do in the day when our human friends are hard at work?

Me: Practise Yoga

Dodo: Take a nap. Dona: Just stone

Nanook: Relaxation

the long and short of it

My female owner gets a lot of questions regarding her love for turtles. You see, besides rearing turtles for more than half her life, she has hundreds of turtle paraphernalia in the form of soft toys, magnets, t-shirts, money-boxes, containers, ornaments, tissue paper, key-chains, office accessories, slippers etc etc.

Anyway, one common question asked would be “so, do you keep turtles?” and her proud answer would be “yes, I have four”

Q: “Wah, so many, how long have you had them?”

A: “about 5-7 years”

Q: “how do you tell them apart?”

Depending on her mood, my female owner may either give an abbreviated version or an expounded version of how to tell us apart.

Short version: “different sizes and colours”

Long version: “Oh, they are different in sizes and colours. Not only that, they have different personalities too. Dodo, this palm-sized dark green one, is very curious. He likes to come out to greet people and lavishes in human touch. He would even walk into your hand if you stretch out yours. He enjoys even being stroked at his neck. Dona, the skinny and smallest, is anxious by nature. While he may have very bright and dark eyes and look very alert, he does not like to be touched. He only likes to look around. Be careful, he might even bite you if he is threatened. He is the only one who can flip himself over if overturned.

Nanook is the biggest of all. To lift her, you need to use both hands. She usually moves when she sees you coming with food. Other than that, she will be sleeping or resting in the corner. Nooki, the bloated turtle, cannot retract her head or limbs into her shell. In fact, if you tap her on her head, she will look like she is going to explode, because her eyes will puff up and turn red. Nooki hardly moves, whether or not there is food around. Sometimes, you have to drag her out for meals. She is that nonchalant. Nooki has the nicest nails.

You may be interested to know that Dona likes Nanook and will trail her wherever she goes. Similarly, Dodo likes Dona and will follow behind him. Hence, sometimes you will see Nanook leading the way, followed by Dona and then Dodo. Nooki, the most indifferent turtle of all, would be still, under the trolley. I used to think she was autistic as she did not interact much with her siblings....”

one

159 posts later, this blog is One today!

I can't believe how one year flew by me this way. Although I'm usually talking about food or the lack of it, many of my female owner's friends have told her that they enjoyed reading what I have written. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Makes me feel really loved.

I have some ideas to renovate this blog but you know how the weather has been - cool and sleepy. It's hard to get my metabolic rate up these days. And not to mention that turtles are known to be slower. Hang around for the changes ok?

pricky

My female owner is pricky today. She snapped at her long-suffering mother before coming over to the Balcony to seek solace in us. I guess we have a calming effect on her because of our slow and steady movements. I mean, how emo can one get, watching turtles crawl around a small area?

By the way, Dodo, my dearest brother, is the best emo-meter around. He senses my female owner's moods very quickly and accurately and knows exactly what to do to suit her emo-level. Certainly the most empathetic turtle around.

I wonder what's bothering her. She's so sullen, she didn't even say anything about me putting on weight lately. Dona says it's the effects of aging. I say it's burnt-out. She played too much last week and is nursing pre-Monday blues again. Nanook doesn't care, as long as she gets her meals. Dodo doesn't need to know the reason. He just wants to be there for her.

tired out

My female owner was so tired out by the week's activities that she fell asleep on the sofa just outside the Balcony on Friday night. She spent the whole night on that short sofe and woke up on Saturday AFTERNOON to the sound of Dodo trying to scale the wall but falling back to the ground. Dodo was apparently making so much noise that my female owner thought that someone was in the kitchen!

The past week had been another one of those weeks where we turtles did not hear her playing the flute. She came home late every night and surprise surprise, was home the earliest yesterday, Saturday night at 9pm+. Even then, she went out again at 10pm.

We miss her.

is it?

I wonder if Christmas is coming soon...

Rob Thomas - Little Wonders

Let it go

My female owner's friend sent her this link, instructing her to pay attention to the lyrics.

The first few words immediately struck a cord in her heart "Let it go, Let it roll right off your shoulder. Don't you know, The hardest part is over..."

Beautiful song, serving as a reminder for her to "let it go .... in the end .... We will only just remember how it feels"

So really, let it go, whatever that is holding you back from enjoying life, coz "Our lives are made, In these small hours, These little wonders ... Time fades away, But these small hours These little wonders still remain"

guixian

My female owner was highly amused this afternoon. She logged on to her MSN for a mere 2hrs and she had several reactions from her friends. The reason? She changed her username from "turtleangel" to "guixian". As it was a simple name change, she never expected to have so many outbursts from her friends.

GUIXIAN??
Why are you called guixian?
Is guixian your Chinese name?
So traditional, not your type

For the uninitiated, guixian just means turtle fairy..

changes

Dodo sat on top of me today for a few hours and we had a shell-to-shell talk. Our topic of discussion? My female owner.

You see, our female owner has been attached all our lives and now that she's single (i.e. unattached), we noticed some changes in her.

i) She has put on weight - must be because her nights of partying and suppering
ii) She has stopped finding refuge in the Balcony - she hardly feels dampened
iii) She has stopped poking us out of agitation (yeah!)
iv) She's home more often during the weekends
v) She watches less television in the Living Room - she no longer has to keep anyone company in front of the tube.

It's great to see her less moody and more carefree. Her friends are happy for her and so are we. A happy owner breeds happy pets.

AGAB

My female owner is in her “ALL GUYS ARE BAD” mode again. At times like this, my brothers, Dodo and Dona will cower in a dark corner for safety reasons.

Here’s how her AGAB thinking started. Once upon a time, when my female owner was a teenager, she had a good gal friend whom she engaged in nightly teleconversations with. Of all the things they could talk about, the two of them spent many hours telling each other how “all guys are bad!”, pointing out the evidence each of them gathered during the course of the day.

The two gals eventually grew up and reached adulthood…. And her friend, who enforced her belief that “all guys are bad”, got married a year ago!

Oh well. I think my female owner needs some psycho-terrapin (pun intended) to challenge her AGAB core belief.

sisterly love

This is my sister, Nanook. I love her very much.

so fast

My female owner found me in my corner soon after I told you I was snuggled up there. She promptly brought me to the Balcony and to my surprise, Dodo was anxiously waiting for me. He said that he had already lost Nana and could not bear to lose another one of us.

I felt a tinge of guilt for causing Dodo to worry at my disappearance. I will be more considerate in future - return to the Balcony when it's time.

missing

My female owner hasn't been feeding us. She brought down the barricade between the Balcony and the Living Room. My siblings had a field night climbing over the ledge to enter the Living Room.

I finally did. Reluctantly. Dodo told me to, coz I'm getting fatter (even my brother notices!) and he thinks I need to lose weight. Err... as if taking a few steps will help but he said that the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Firstly, where does he get his wisdom from? Secondly, I hope he's not serious about me taking "a thousand miles" journey!

So anyway, I took my first steps into the Living Room and started exploring the nooks and corners. Some of the dark corners look very inviting. I found a cosy corner after a while and rested my tired body there.

At press time, I'm still snuggled up in the corner. I can hear my female owner looking for me.. but nature calls... and I need to sleep..

zzzz....

housewives

The latest batch of overseas scholars to join my female owner's company have two things in common. First, they are all males. Maybe it's a selection criteria? Anyway, the second and more interesting thing is, all their mothers are housewives!

Hmmm... there's probably something about being a stay-at-home mother that contributed to these boys' intellectual success. Of course, the other explanation (and it sounds absurd) is that having a housewife mother is a selection criteria.

A very good reason indeed for females who do not want to work, to offer to their husbands.

I wonder if the outcome will be the same for the combination of working mothers and househusbands. Maybe more females will get overseas scholarships.

replies

Few weeks back:

Someone asked my female owner: "Do you regret breaking up with him?"

My female owner's reply was: "It's too early to tell."

_________________
Fast forward to today:

My female owner's reply is: "All's well that ends well."

all black

Moodiness sets in for my female owner every Sunday night at this time. It's that fine line between weekend and the start of a new week.

Being a typical working adult, she gets pre-monday blues on Sundays and Monday blues on Mondays. By Monday night, she will usually be ok, simply because it's the end of Monday for her. To "celebrate" Monday blues, she will usually wear all black on Monday. If Monday was a bad day for her, she would wear all black on Tuesday. If the whole week had been lousy, she would wear all black on Friday even.

For us who watch her leave for work everyday, this is how we sense her mood. Sometimes, if her mood is extra low, she would ignore us totally.

silence

This week has been peculiar.

We haven't heard my female owner play her flute the whole week! Not even today, when it's Saturday. She has been busy running around doing her stuff. While it can be a earful listening to her stumble over her notes over and over again, the silence is deafening. We actually experience withdrawal symptoms, now that she is MIA.

It's like Dodo will stretch out his neck to look for her, only to see nothing. Nanook will wait in the feeding tank for food, only to be disappointed. Dona will hide in the shadows in expectation of her booming voice, only to be anxious for nothing. And me? It feels strange that no one is scolding me for being too fat.

Absence makes our hearts grow fonder.

death by jumping

My eldest brother, Nana, died about 4 years ago, after he climbed over the kitchen balcony ledge and fell 9 storeys down. Jumping off buildings is a common suicide method in Singapore because of the many high-rise buildings. My brother’s actions seemed suicidal, but he certainly wasn’t. He was full of life and curiosity, so much so that he wanted to explore my female owner’s house. In this case, curiosity really killed the turtle.

Because Nana actually overcame all the barriers that my female owner set up to keep us in the Balcony, she didn't know he escaped until the next day. His escapade had brought him to the back of the house where there was no barricade to keep him from falling over.

My female owner cried for days after his death. She could never bring herself to look at his photos (he’s the most photogenic of us all). Perhaps one day, she will bring out his photos to show us. You will then see how handsome he was.

quarter-life crisis ... thank you

My female owner once said that we turtles can live over 20 years in captivity. That means that I am 1/4 way there. That also means that I'm entitled to my quarter-life crisis!

I've left behind the stage where I was growing, from a baby terrapin to my current size. I have kind-of stagnanted physically - I'm not growing bigger, just fatter around my neck (see what I mean here)

I spent the last year of my life penning down my thoughts at this space. I wonder what the next year brings for my siblings and I. I hope that all of us live to a ripe-old age and grow old happily together. I wish for joy and peace to all those who have made a difference in our lives - for those who had petted us, for those who had fed us, prayed for us, played with us, washed us. Even for those who helped my female owner through her life struggles, or simply left your footprints in her life, thank you for loving her. You made a difference in her life, and by doing so, you made a difference in ours!

Psalm 23 for students

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not flunk

He keepeth me lying down when I should be studying

He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break

He restores my faith in study guides

He leads me to better study habits

For my grades' sake

Yes, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades

I will not have a nervous breakdown

For thou art with me

My prayers and my friends, they comfort me

Thou givest me the answer in moments of blankness

Thou anointest my head with understanding

My test paper runneth over with questions I recognise

Surely passing grades and flying colours shall follow me

All the days of my examinations

And I shall not have to dwell in this stupid school forever

Who Am I Casting Crowns

Dedicated to all children of God on Children's Day. God loves you, yesterday, today and forever. May this song bless you as much as it has blessed me.

Verse:
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Pre-Chorus:
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapour in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Verse 2:
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

Facebook

In a bid to remain current, my female owner decided to check out the latest online fad - Facebook. Through it, she managed to reconnect with an ex-colleague and even chat with her on MSN.

The tools that humans come up with to keep themselves connected with the world. No wonder they say that we are mountain turtles...

Anyway, please go find my female owner on Facebook if you can. Keep her occupied then she won't bother us too much.

Heh.

18 forever

Those who know my female owner will know that she always says that she's 18 years old. After insisting that she is 18 years old for a few years, her friends have started protesting that she has not aged (tsk tsk to these logical people she hangs out with!). So recently, she upped her age to 18 years and 3 months (courtesy of the three years she has been working at her current job). Wahaha.

Yesterday, she was using MSN via www.ebuddy.net and for some reason (she can't figure out why, although she figured that it was because of her email user name), her user name was the two-syllabus name that she normally goes by (rather than her usual MSN nick "turtleangel"), except that the "O" was captitalised while the rest of the letters were in small letters (i.e. xOxx). Her friend, 5 years younger than her, protested at this coz he felt that it was so act cute and so wannabe 18-year-old (he is not aware of her obsession with always being 18).

My female owner was secretly pleased at this affirmation of her forever young state of mind.

just another week

Been a lazy week for us. We woke up on many occasions to rain and cool weather. I found myself sleeping most of the time. My female owner took Dodo out for a walk today. Why Dodo only? Well, he's always the most eager to go for walks around the house. The rest of us are more tempermental. We will walk around only if we feel like it. If we don't, we would do a cursory walk up the living room, before snuggling into a dark corner to snooze.

My female owner has kinda gotten used to our temperaments. She knows that if we are in a lazy mood, no amount of cajoling can get us out of our shells.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival. I know that this is my female owner's favourite day of the year. Every year, for as long as I've known her (that's five years), she would spend the evening with my male owner. The Chinese celebrate this night for many reasons.

My female owner celebrates it as a tribute to her childhood. She finds its therapeutic and heart-warming to see little children enjoying themselves in the park, lighting candles and carrying lanterns. There's a sense of innocence and bliss in the air as children gather with their families to enjoy the moon's warm glow together.

In 2001, after the 9-11 bombings, she remembered going to the park to check out the Mid-Autumn night scene. To her grief, she saw only a handful of children playing in the park. This sight reminded her of how 9-11 robbed the children of their right to play freely, without fear.

Anyway, this year, being single, she decided not to go to the park anymore. She also did not seek out company to celebrate this night. Rather, it became a night like any other. She did steal a peek at the moon though and was delighted to see it shining brightly in the sky.

We turtles also decided to leave her alone... in case she is in her melancholic mood and does not want us to make too much noise.

hot pursuit

Following yesterday's discussion on Dona and Nanook, here's a video for your pleasure viewing.

size doesn't matter

I promised you I would tell you more about Dona and Nanook. Dona has eyes only for Nanook. This is despite their sizes. Dona is really small and skinny while Nanook has been dubbed "the armour tank", no thanks to her size. If you don't believe me, here are some photos for you to make your own conclusions.

hungry look

My female owner's friend, Monkey, once commented that we always looked so hungry. I guess we don't really have many facial muscles to begin with and since I'm always talking about food, or the lack of it, it was right of her to conclude that we are usually hungry.

My female owner found out that fish, if their metabolism is reduced (e.g. by lowering the surrounding water temperature), can survive up to a week without food. Nanook, my elder sister, almost fainted when she heard it. Her insecurities started acting up and asked Dodo like for the 67th time whether she is a fish or a terrapin.

Dodo, in his usual patient and reassuring manner, assured her that she is a true-green terrapin, otherwise, Dona (my second brother) wouldn't have the hots for her. Oops, I let out a Balcony secret!

Tell you more next time, my female owner is on her flute again. Quite hard to concentrate with all these interferences.

spectacles

My female owner went for aikido training (yes, she's into such stuff too..) today wearing her brown spectacles. She hardly wears her spectacles for training due to the vigorous movements which she is required to make during training. Not to mention that some trainees can be rough and merciless in their pursuit (no, not of her, but of the techniques), making it quite probable that her spectacles would fly off her nose. However, she decided to wear her spectacles today as the dojo in which she normally trains on Fridays can be quite dusty, causing her eyes to hurt (poor owner...)

Her instructor was at first bemused to see her wearing her spectacles. Later, he kept commenting that she looks better in it (as compared to no spectacles). That left her wondering if that means that

i) she looks quite bad now, without spectacles
ii) she looks ok without spectables, but wearing spectacles would help to cover some of her flaws
iii) she should wear spectacles on those days that she goes for training
iv) she should not think so much but just switch to spectacles permanently

at it again

My female owner is at it again - the flute. Her flute exam is probably drawing near and she is burning the midnight oil trying to smoothen out the notes. Ah, our ears hurt and our shells rattles at some parts of her playing. To ensure our continued sanity, the four of us will be holding regular prayer meetings to pray that she will pass this time. Join us in prayer if you can.

she forgot

My female owner forgot to feed us yesterday. It was not that she was too busy to feed us. Neither was she too lazy to feed us. She just plain forgot. She only remembered when she woke up this morning, and saw the empty tank. I thought we are unforgettable?

Sleepless in Singapore

I'm so tired. It's not easy being a turtle these days. Over the last few weeks, my female owner has developed a new habit of sleeping late. It's strange. She used to devote about an hour a night to chat with my male owner on the phone. Now that they are no longer talking (which means that she has an extra hour every night), she is still unable to complete her work at the old bedtime.

Anyway, one of the reasons is that she was hooked on this American drama called 24. I'm too tired to explain what the series is about, but just take it from me that if something America, crime-related and comes in a series can sustain my female owner's interest till the end, it is something worth watching.

So, DVDs are meant to be watched at night it seems. My female owner spent her nights watching the series and her solo escapade flooded our Balcony with bright light. I don't usually pay much attention to her affairs (especially when it's night time), but Dodo, my beloved brother and the alpha male, rallied us to keep her company while she watched her show. He was trying to make her happy by offering her some pet therapy... and wanted our support.

And so, the four of us went without sleep for a few hours, until about 2am on Sunday morning, when my female owner finally decided to turn in. And that is only after she finished the series (finally!). For the records, yes, she was happy to see us coming out to find her in the wee hours of the morning. So the efforts were worth it.

So tired now. I can feel my shell cracking and hear muscles crying out from the lack of rest. I need to sleep, hibernate maybe.