Class cancelled... again...

Class was cancelled again today. And it's not because of rain.

A certain "Deputy Manager" from the CC called Chief (last minute) to request that class be cancelled as they are in "dialogue" with the complainant (same one, who else) to try and resolve the "complains".

I find it strange that we are asked to cancel class. I thought all along we are a "legit PA outfit" - having permission from the Tampines MP to use the grounds. So why the request to cancel class? Shouldn't life go on to show that the CC is supporting us and that we have the right to be there?

Apparently not. Some thoughts come to mind :

1. - the typical "kia su & kia si" attitudes of civil servants - in the event of problems, just cancel everything and lay low and wait for the problems to die a natural death with no guts to stand up to what is right; which is what's happening since day 1 the complains surfaced
   
2. - we are really not as "legit" as we thought - I wonder what happened to the process and documentation between the day we saw the MP till today; was it just a verbal agreement on the MP's part and thereafter, nothing else was done? - most probably
   
3. - the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing - this is most present in how one government agency pushes the buck to the other, all saying "it's not my problem" - very typical of most government agencies

I really wonder how the CC is going to handle the "dialogue" with the complainant this week. Kowtow to him? Most likely, given the civil servant mentality.

So where does that leave us?

Anyone know of any place we can train complaints free?

Feedback worked

Pawtobello actioned on my feedback, though I'm not sure what was done.

In her reply to me, the MD stated that it was a new team she had put up and she had spoken to them. Not sure what was transpired, though. Nonetheless, she was quite receptive of the whole thing and given me a 20% discount off my next bill!

I'm not sure why I emailed to her to show my unhappiness. Normally, I would just leave it alone and promised not to patronise them again - like a certain dog bakery at a certain petrol station and some other places.

But this time it's different, probably I want Pawtobello to succeed. You see, we dog owners are a deprived lot - we can't have a meal with our pets anywhere (ok, with the exception of SLL, but things may change, all it needs is someone to complain). I feel that Pawtobello is a genuine pet cafe where dog owners can dine with their pets without people giving us dirty looks

We have been to other pet cafes but somehow, Pawtobello "looks right". I'm not saying the others are no good but if I have a choice, I'd rather chill there.

So , looks like I may need to pay them a visit again and see what changes (especially to the breakfast menu) was being implemented.

Sick of work

That's it. I'm sick of work.

Simply no mood.

And today being a Monday doesn't help. Mid life crisis? Maybe. Shouldn't mid life crisis affect people in their 30s? I think it's a wee bit too late. I'm already past 40. Late developer? Perhaps.

I used to look forward to going to work. Not anymore. In fact, I DREAD going to work nowadays.

I SIMPLY DON'T ENJOY MY WORK ANYMORE !

I'm not sure what I want to do though. It would be nice if I can drop everything, take a year or two off and not doing anything. I may make use of this time to see what interest me and then perhaps, (re)make a "career" out of it.

But alas, I don't think I can do that. I've got mouths to feed and bills to pay. Simply quitting the job and dropping everything at a whim is NOT an option. I've wondered about being an entreprenuer and run a business. But that, too, have it's own set of problems. I'm not totally dissing it though. If opportunity comes, I may in fact have a go - maybe as a "sleeping partner".

Until then, I still have to drag myself to work everyday.

Disappointing Breakfast

Class was cancelled today due to rain. So the few of us went to Pawtobello to have brunch and chill.

Advice of the day : Never, never, ever order the breakfast menu. It was a complete LET DOWN !! The portion was horribly small, and cost $13 !! Not worth !!

Here's what it consists :

- a normal looking, normal sized sausage
- a normal looking, somewhat small sized fried egg, sunny side up, yoke half runny
- a slice of bacon
- a thin slice of ham, which by the way, tasted way too bland
- some baked beans, by my estimation, not more than a tablespoon
- supposedly some grilled tomatoes but they have obviously forgotten about it until we reminded them and then it came later, all few SLICES of it, to be shared by the 5 of us who ordered the breakfast

What a complete disappointment and rip-off ! The main courses are better and larger portion. Scruffy Murphy's breakfast beat them hands down, anytime - and it's about the same price.

Feeling tak shiok and tak cukup, we all headed down to Sketches, the pasta and pizza place a stone's throw away to have second round. Mind you, the Aglio Olio I ordered is only $7.90 but it's far more filling than the miserable $13 Pawtobello breakfast.

I have since emailed Pawtobello indicating my unhappiness. Awaiting their reply.

SRT

It's not Singapore Repertory Theatre. Stands for "Silver Ring Thing".

The British High Court rightly rejected the appeal of the schoolgirl who insisted on wearing the silver ring as "as an expression of my Christian faith not to have sex outside marriage".

Er... excuse me hor, shouldn't that be part of one's moral - regardless of whether one is Christian or not? You mean you need to wear a ring to remind you of that? And for that matter, to remind other people of that fact?

What is this world coming to? Ok, picture this :

- on my left middle finger, I have the SRT
- on my left wrist, I have a bracelet to remind me "Thou shall not kill"
- on my right ankle, I have an anklet than reminds me to "Honour my father & mother"
- on my left earlobe, I have an earring to remind "not to bear false witness against my neighbour"
- just above this earring, I have another one to remind me "Thou shall not steal"
- I have a toe ring on my right second toe to remind me "not to covet my neighbour or their stuff"
- I also have a nose ring to remind me that I "shall have no other Gods before Me"
- on my right ring finger, I have a string tied round to remind me of why I have all the other ornaments I'm wearing
- and a head band to remind me to buy milk

I'm just surprised that one needs to be "reminded" of such things - ok lah maybe to buy milk, but of moral stuff? Shouldn't parents be imbibing their kids these stuff and not having to depend on "outward reminders"? In the case of this British schoolgirl, the parents actually agreed with and supported her.

Parenting has now gone very terribly wrong.

I wonder what will people come up with next time - stick post-its all over their bodies?

Sheeesh...

Bangkok bound

Sigh... L & the boys left for Bangkok yesterday afternoon...
We'll miss you dearly... take care and don't forget to write....

Dinner at Pawtobello

The tribe had dinner at Pawtobello this evening. Have to admit it wasn't too bad. I like the idea of a pet restaurant. This is REALLY a pet restaurant where you and your dog can "partake" a meal together.

There are both human & dog menu and the choice is pretty good. From bruschetta to laksa to muttloaf for dogs. Price-wise, I really don't think it's too expensive. Price ranges from about $11 - $18 for main course. Dogs meal come in 2 portions - a large & a small one. Price is below $10 for a large portion. The drinks menu not too bad too - they don't serve soft drinks and BEER (!!??). Lots of teas & coffees as well as their own "fruit ice-blended" concoction.

This is what we had :

Keisha : Muttloaf (beef meat loaf thingy)
Keisha Ma : Wiener Schnitzel (breaded pork chop thingy)/ Watermelon & Strawberry ice blended drink
Me : Bruschetta / Veal Sausages with Sauerkraut and Mash Potatos / Lychee & Rambutan ice blended concoction

Human food portion not huge (I think only meals in San Antonio is huge, as the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, but I digress) but it's enough for me.

Dogs were running around off leashed (not sure if it's good idea to let them run around unsupervised). But the staff was on hand to "control" any unruly or "harassing" dogs. There were easily 5 Maltese, including Sha this evening. So I guess Maltese is a VERY popular breed.

In addition to the makan, there were also merchandise for sale - leashes, collars, T-shirts, dish, etc. Bought a red leather collar and a t-shirt for Sha-Sha. The merchandise is a bit on the pricey side though.

We really like this place. I think we can have our birthday celebrations and gatherings here. It's really a cosy place to chill. Just need to call to make reservation.

Took a walk around Robertson Walk after dinner and found that there are a lot of restaurants in that area, from Japanese to Brussels food. Some of these restaurants even allow pets. Will be checking them out in the coming weeks - always looking for places to eat where Keisha is welcomed too.

Pawtobello definitely have my vote.

Rest in peace...

2 deaths in 2 days. That's depressing :-(

Aliena's dad passed away on Tues (10 Jul) .

Mark's husky Smokee passed on yesterday (Wed, 11 Jul) of "organs rupture" supposedly from pyometra (pus in the uterine cavity).

Both the deaths came as a surprise, at least to me. Aliena's dad was recovering well after surgery and we saw Smokee the previous day (Tue, 10 Jul) at Stormville. We were at Stormville when we heard about Aliena's dad from an SMS sent to Mark.

It's all too sudden.

My dad passed on on 18 Jun. Now that's 3 deaths within 2 months. Depressing...

AVA Demo at CHIJ Katong Convent

AP did a demo on Monday (9 Jul) & Tuesday (10 Jul) at CHIJ-KC as part of AVA's Responsible Pet Ownership (RPO) program. Sherry from AVA did a presentation and that was followed by our demo.

The Monday session was for the lower secondary while the upper secondary session was on the following day.

I think Sha-sha had a fan club after the demo. The girls really liked her. Right from the beginning when we entered the stage, I already heard the oohs & ahhs. I have to admit that I was a little frightened - I don't handle crowds well :-( Trick is not to look at them - just look at the floor or at Keisha.

On the whole, the demo went ok. Team Linus & Team Keisha did the usual CGC stuff - random heelwork, distance control (although Linus thought the parquet was a little too comfortable :-P), recall, etc. The finale was Charity's 3rd party scent discrimination - never fail to impress the crowd.

I only hope that the message of RPO went home. Being responsible is only half the equation - the other half is TOLERANCE.

Another 2 complaints

My first post proper and it's a lament. :-(

Another 2 complaints from residents of Changkat. What irks me most about these complaints are :

1) they are groundless, and
2) those in "office" merely acted as messenger

Most of the complaints revolve around noise and soiling. Show me prove that our trainees are the ones soiling the place or forever hold your peace. On the same note, even if we get "evicted" from the training ground, can dog poo ever be rid of in that area forever? We are not the only ones with dogs, you know. What then? Start a "constituent campaign" to ban dogs in Tampines. And if that's successful, to extend the ban in the whole of Singapore? :-P

About noise. Show me a dog that doesn't bark (excluding those mute ones, of course) and I'll show you a fish that doesn't swim - a dead one. I have to admit that there are some barkings here and there but I don't think they are excessive. I've heard and come across barkings that are non-stop and excessive. Start a "constituent campaign" to ban dogs in Tampines? And if that's successful, to extend the ban in the whole of Singapore? :-P

I also feel that those who received the complain shouldn't just be a messenger. Find out exactly what the problem is and get prove from the complainant and then work with us. We are not unreasonable. If there are grounds (read proof) we'll be more than happy to do something about it.

By not "challenging" the complainant means that he/she is right even though the complain is groundless. This will make them bolder in future complains and less tolerant about things. They will kick a fuss about the littlest things and know they will get away with it. We should put a stop to this.

Singapore always wants to be first in everything. And if there's a competition or poll in which nation has the most tolerant attitude, I'm sure we wouldn't be anywhere near the first. Why not make this the first?

photoscape... happenin' software

Found this from the freeware site. Fantastic photo editing software. Notice Keisha's mosaic on the left hand side? It's done via this.

Check it out : http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

google calendar is finally up...

after much tweaking, finally got the google calendar up... now can see what's on... :-)