Human weakness...no place is safe

The recent scandals involving Catholic priests once again surfaces the weaknesses in humans. It is not uncommon to hear of human failings even at the highest of office in politics certainly as well as in the corporate world. And, certainly we should not expect too much of the religious who after all began life as a common man and is still human, whatever the frock that covers the body. In fact, at one Sunday sermon the priest right put it to the congregation when he appealed for decorum especially from women who turned up in church to take holy communion. He asked that they avoid wear spaghetti string T-shirts for "we priests are humans too...". The current scandals gripping the church indeed underscored what the priest said.

However, I can understand the sense of betrayal that the victims must have felt. I grew up with deep respect for one of my neighbours who was strict with his nephews. He was a regular at church and always seen as a person with an upright personality. One day while I was among my group of friends, I overheard him using the four-letter expletive matter-of-factly...and gosh how all my respect for this "Uncle" began to crumble. And as I grew into my teens, I even learnt that he was coveting a neighbour's wife. He would visit her when her sailor husband was away and she would go with him on his scooter for rides. Indeed I recalled my mum telling me how she once saw them walking hand-in-hand. There is a certain trust that we would place in a person, because of his office, or because of his title, be it CEO, teacher, priest, godparent for example. And the children who went to take refuge in the convent and other homes run by the religious would have thought that they have found the safest place on earth, only to be abused by the avarice of mankind.

I have always felt that in prayer, it should be a communication between Man and God. The priests and other religious are just facilitators. I have been put off many times by the high-brow attitudes of these people that sometimes put me in dismay. They behave very much like the Pharisees,and others behave like demi-gods themselves. If only they could leave religion to God himself, we could have averted all these man-made scandals.

Farewell our lovely Snowy

Snowy, a female Maltese, was born in Sydney, Australia. From the day we bought her she was a darling to everyone who came into contact with her. Her warm personality made her the one special dog that stood out from the others. She was very affectionate towards humans, never bit anyone and was a tough girl who fought for one year with the tumour above her left eyebrow and in her mouth.

She had a cheerful disposition and what I would call "a happy dog". She was delightfully playful, brimming with energy and knew how to prime herself to win everyone's affection. Even a cousin who was afraid of dogs, got so attached to Snowy after a visit that she cuddled her the whole day and offered to bring her to her home. That's how Snowy had been as a pet.

At our first meeting with Snowy we discovered that she loved to play hide-and-seek with anyone who was game to run around the sofa and chase her. Like a child, she would spin around and hid herself and dart from one side of the sofa to the other in glee. Whenever someone came home, she would gladly rush to the door and then darted back to pick up a ball to welcome you. She would be so pleased to see you home to give you a warm greeting with the ball in her mouth. How she learnt this trick, no one knew as we didn't teach. Perhaps she learnt it when she was put at the pet farm when everyone was away on vacation. She gave birth to two puppies, fathered by Goofy (who incidentally passed away a year ago on 12 March 2009). One puppy died after birth and the other is Richie who is one alone as an orphan, pinning for his mother.

Snowy lived a fulfilling life in many ways. She lived in apartments and in a detached house in Hunter's Hill (Sydney). She romped around Sydney from Bondi beach to other QVB and shopping areas. She eventually flew to Singapore which was to be her new found home. Like a true Aussie, she enjoyed sun-tanning on days when the sun was at its zenith and would sit in the blazing heat as if to get a good tan. She loved eating just about anything from chocolate to French fries, biscuits, and all types of tidbits. She was a sprinter as she darted from one end of the garden to the other...notwithstanding her short legs. What a girl she was...small eyes, cute face and cuddly body. She could even pirouette on her two hind legs to stand up and peek into our neighbour's house.

We had prayed for her to have some quality of life as the tumour grew from the crown of her eyes to her forehead. It was about half the size of a pingpong ball and we decided to let the vet removed it. He cautioned that it may trigger the cancer to deteriorate. Snowy went on the operating table on 12 March (which happened to be Goofy's death anniversary), came home that same evening to recuperate. The next day she was back to her normal self; with good appetite for food and was up and about. Her operation left her left eye exposed, as the skin had to be cut off. She was examined by the vet on 15 March and her progress was satisfactory.

Alas on 17 March 2010, around 8.10pm she was seen in the car porch, unable to walk and shrieking and gasping. She was rushed to the emergency clinic where the vet who operated on her came back to see her. Snowy was not her usual self. She was suffering and in pain. She was crying out intermittently. The vet surmised that she might not be herself anymore as the cancer could have gone into the brain. I thought: how could that be so when it was only five days after the operation? The decision had to be made to give her the final injection so that she could move on peacefully to Heaven. Farewell dearest Snowy...we'll all miss you dearly and remember you always. We are so sorry that you had to leave us in this way but we know we had to let you go if only to make it less painful for you.

The vet injected into her right leg; she cried softly and within seconds Snowy has left us forever. Bye Snow, Snow, bye...

Remembering Goofy...

A year had passed since Goofy, my pet Shih Tsu, left the family for a better place. His name is still top of mind for everyone at home. At meals, at casual conversations, Goofy invariably becomes the subject of discussion. We remember him for his playfulness, his energy, his loving care for his family and of course his habit of identifying spots in the house to mark his territory. Truly he is special. He was no pushover for if he was not happy with the way he was treated, he knew how to use his growls. Yet there were a few moments when he was naughty but above all, he would always be lovingly missed by everyone who knew him.

Yesterday, the day that Goofy passed on, 12 March, and his wife Snowy underwent an operation to remove two tumours - cancerous tumours one above her left eye and the other in her mouth. Snowy is a tough dog and within 12 hours of the operation she was up and about today. Her looks is somewhat disfigured after the operation, but she didn't lose appetite for food.

Till today, mention the name Goofy and his dear son Richie will be all perked up and wagging his tail to look for his father. He would go to the front door and wait...in vain. We sometimes wonder if Richie understands that his father had gone to a place to rest and never to return until the day when we will all be able to meet again in some distant place...

Her Stylista

It's so refreshing and encouraging to know that the entrepreneurial spirit has not been dampened by the economic environment. Not even the financial fiasco in Europe, not the woes of the Icelandic bank could deter young people from taking a shot at doing their own business. I was particularly pleased to see Her Stylista at blogspot which was started by a "bunch of people" and it displayed a whole line up of latest fashion/clothes for young people.

As I hear from the grapevine that it has got off to a good start since the business was launched. Mails were coming in from across continents, inquiring. And I thought that was a good start. If I recall my forefathers used to tell me about how early Chinese settlers who spread out across Asia especially Southeast Asia would toil as labourers. As time passes, they began to save some money and small businesses were started. Several of these grew and became institutions in their own right, with their influence spanning across several countries.

I hope such stories can be replicated in this age of modern technology. I look forward to the people behind Her Stylista telling me, well we started on 8 March 2010as a fledgling enterprise and over a period of time we have grown.... I shall wait eagerly for this story to be told.

Meantime, you may want to look up herstylista.blogspot.com