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.

bicker

My female owner’s parents are back. They wasted no time in announcing their presence and dominance in the house. After welcoming them back on Friday night, I went to sleep with the rest of my siblings. Alas, their bickering early Saturday morning (my female owner bore the brunt of the noise as she was sleeping in the living room) rudely awakened us. Apparently, one of them had misplaced something and the other one became irritated with that. The dispute was quickly resolved when the missing item showed itself up.

May peace continue to reign in this household.

the end. the beginning.

The day has finally arrived.

14th Sept 2007.

The day when my female owner’s parents are coming back from their holiday.

It’s also the day when my female owner’s colleague-turned-good-friend is leaving for her studies in UK. The impending departure of her friend never really hit home until today, when she saw her friend and suddenly, all layers of denial and masking crumbled and my female owner finally confronted her very own emotions.

Over the years, I’ve seen my female owner crying for one reason – disputes with my male owner. But today, I saw her crying because of the separation from a good friend and the multiple losses that came along with it – the heart-to-heart talks, the drinking and card sessions all over the island, the corridor chats during office hours, the laughter shared, the private jokes exchanged, the sorrow (at work) divided, the workload lightened, the social support given, her soothing presence, her accepting nature, the durian sessions, the friendships made, the overseas trips, the building of good memories, the oh-shit moments, the telepathy established. The list goes on.

So many things, mostly good, hardly bad, my female owner has to let go. The friendship was established only last year but the impact made is definitely lasting.

The beginning is the end (of something). The end is the beginning (of something).

7 years old!

My brothers are 7 years old today! Still a juvenile in turtle years but nonetheless, something to celebrate. This is especially so for Dodo, who has suffered a few bout of illnesses in his short life. Anyway, let's stop dwelling on sad things. For this special day, my female owner made something for my brothers.

Nice or not?

be responsible

Many people buy pets on impulse - because the animals look cute, their children beg them or worse, they want to chase after a girl! Although terrapins are not represented in the pictures above, we are very vulnerable to being abandoned too. In fact, I would consider terrapins a high-risk group, especially because of children.

There are many reasons for this. Firstly, we are small. We fit nicely into a child's palm, so we are attractive to children as they can cuddle us. We also retracted into our shells when touched. This gives the child a sense of power and authority. In addition, we are often a child's first pet (just as any adult if he ever had terrapins when he was young and the answer is usually in the affirmative). This could be because we are low cost (how can you beat $3 per terrapin) and look easy to maintain. Alas, we grow up fast, possibly outgrowing our first tank in a matter of months. We produce unpleasant smells if our water is left unchanged and we end up looking like we breed bacteria. Hence, terrapin-owners usually grow tired of their pets after a few months and would abandon them in ponds and reservoirs. Other owners will try to give away their pets to terrapin-lovers. For instance, my female owner was asked recently to adopt two terrapins but she refused. To add to that, the Chinese believe that letting go of animals into the wild during certain festivals is a humanitarian act and terrapins are usually the ones being released!

We can't really survive in the wild because we are domesticated animals. So please, think carefully before getting a pet, even if its a low-cost baby terrapin. We have lives too.

home alone

My female owner just informed us that her parents would not be home for the next week. That means that she's left home alone with us!

Gosh, wonder how things will be like for us.

My female owner usually comes home late while her parents comes home early. If they are not around for a week, doesn't it mean that we can sleep earlier since no one will be home and hence, no artificial light will be switched on?

Holiday time for us!

happy birthday

Happy Birthday to Male Owner! From all of us at The Balcony.

the past

The four of us came a long way with our female owner. We went through thick and thin with her. To prove this, let me quote what she wrote in her final year thesis (2003) at the acknowledgements page:

"Nana, Dodo,Dona, Nanook, Nooki
To Nana, my alpha male terrapin who died because I was too busy, the guilt still stays with me. To the rest of you, for amusing me with your cute and innocent antics."

My female owner also made mention of my male owner on this page. I wonder if he knew.

Trust His Heart

TRUST HIS HEART

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don’t understand,
When you don’t see His plan,
When you can’t trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

All things work for our good,
Though sometimes we can’t see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth,
Our Father knows what’s best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim,
And you just can’t see Him,
Remember, you’re never alone.

He sees the master plan.
He holds the future in His hands.
So don’t live as those who have no hope;
All our hope is found in Him.
We see the present clearly,
But He sees the first and the last.
And like a tapestry, He’s weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him.

criteria for feeding tank

One of my female owner's friend expressed concern about the size of our bathing tub (see previous entry). He felt that it was too small for us. Indeed, he is right. It's quite a squeeze for four active terrapins actually. Not that my female owner had much of a choice.

You see, she had strict criteria for our feeding tank (its not really a bathing tub).

First, it has to be made of clear plastic (so that we can look through it to see outside/ we wont feel like we are in a prison cell).
Second, it has to be bigger than our first feeding tank (or else what for upgrade).
Third, it cannot be too big! (or else she will have difficulties carrying the container to the kitchen balcony to clean).
Fourth, it has to be low enough that we can climb out of the container by ourselves (she didnt want us to be cooped up in the container against our will)
Fifth, it cannot be too expensive (its only a container at the end of the day).

With such criteria, it's no wonder that she couldn't find a suitable container for a long time. My owners finally found something that fitted criteria 1-4. But my female owner thought that it was not worth it to pay $20 for a plastic container. So she was hesitant about getting it. My male owner saved the day by paying for it.

Now, we are all benefitting from it. As you can see, the container is low enough for us to climb in and out as and when we feel like it. So we have access to water, especially on those hot days when we need to cool off.

Peace.