Rodents

Was going through my camera's memory card and found this forgotten picture. Can't believe I hadn't uploaded it yet. Found this little "cutie" here in my backyard about 1.5 months ago. It was the second time in the same week that a dead rat/mouse was found dead in my backyard. Pixie must have given this particular one a heart attack as I can't seem to find any teeth marks to prove that she has bitten the rodent to his death. (yeah, I did a little post-mortem on my own :P)

By the size of it he was probably a young one. Frankly speaking I would say that he is actually quite cute if they weren't such a pest. Big ears, pointy nose, dark round eyes, tiny feet. He reminds me of the movie Ratatouille.

Once, when I was much younger, a rat actually tried to nibble or played with my toes when I was asleep. Being a deep sleeper, I didn't actually bother about it until the guy actually came up to my face (EEEUWWWW!). With my eyes still closed I simply brushed him away and only realised that it was a big black (could have been brown, lights wasn't on so I couldn't really tell) rat was on the same bed with me! I jolted out of bed (nope, no screaming) and ran to my parent's room. By the time they came to my room again it was gone. We probably caught him several days later, I'm not quite sure. And then I found that my bedroom door had been gnawed - and I didn't even realise it because I was in deep sleep :P

I don't have any rodent problems at the moment, but those pesky household geckos are driving me crazy. We have a good supply of mosquitos and flying insects in the backyard because we leave the lights on at night and these pests come to have a feast, then leave their droppings on the walls, ceiling and floor.

If anyone has got a suggestion on how to get rid of them, I'd be very grateful.

Re-organizing Photo Collection

Am in the midst of trying out the new beta sharing service by Shutterfly. So far I like the features.....if only the site was a wee bit faster. Anyway, for those who keep track of this blog, please do visit http://guiri.site.shutterfly.com/ and let me know what you think of this new arrangement.

Cheers!

Frog Can Crusher

My little toy just arrived today! I was waiting for it since Monday once I found out that the package has cleared customs.

I was a little disappointed when I saw 'Made in China' right at the bottom of the box. Frankly I have lost faith in 'Made in China' products. Anyway, I opened the box to find to big round eyes staring back at me :D It was really cute and just as I had expected it to be.... and I regained my hopes.

The frog can crusher with its arms and legs extended

So how does it work? I washed down a can drink so that I could try it out immediately! The frog's head look quite solid, but the movable parts was kinda flimsy. I put an empty can right underneath the frog's head and stomped hard. Voila!!!

The crushed can inside the frog

Why a can crusher?? Well, I am not exactly an environmentalist, but I try to do my bit too. So, intead of just chucking these empty cans into the bins, I separate them to be sent to recycling centers. One problem though, I don't go there very often, so they are taking up space in my kitchen! Once I asked TW to look for a can crusher from a local hardware store, and what did he get? The salesperson told him, "Guna kaki lah" (Use your feet!)

So I searched in eBay and there was a whole list of can crushers for me to choose from. There were probably many others that are more practical than this frog (which cost me USD9.99), but I've set my eyes on him since more than 5 years ago on a site that sells novelty gifts (they didn't deliver to Malaysia then)....and now I've found him again. How can one resist a long lost love? *grin*

Probably for the next few days I'll find myself drinking a lot of canned drinks... just to step on the frog's head. Wonder how many stomps it will be able to take before the poor guy has to retire?

Smelly Surprise

Finally got home last night from our 7D trip to Hokkaido completely drained..... and what did we find? The electricity switch had tripped (probably due to thunder and lightning) and an unbearable stench coming from the kitchen.

Of course, the FRIDGE!!! I had frozen fish, prawns, sausages, ice cream and i-can't-remember-what-else in the freezer! Fearing the worst I opened the freezer door and the stink practically knocked me off. And then the sight of fruit flies (or whatever they call it) lingering inside the fridge too....UUrrghhh...

And so, instead of a good night's rest.... I spent the night cleaning the fridge; had to throw away every single item in the freezer, and whatever that is not spoilt from the fridge below. What I couldn't get rid until now is the smell. Trying out some remedy that I found online .... baking soda, newspaper, charcoal.... whatever I could find. Gonna leave them in there for a day or two to see if it works.

Will put some updates from my Hokkaido trip later.... btw, it was awesome!

One Lucky Horsey

I feel very lucky because I am surrounded by so many people that care about me...i.e. my family, my friends :) Of course I didn't realise it ONLY now. But I felt really touched yesterday, when I had a small little accident at work and my elbow was dislocated (am typing now with only one hand on the keyboard, and the other on a sling)

Lyne was with me throughout, keeping me company until the parameds arrived, then followed me to the hospital. She even had to endure a cold butt after sitting on an icepack accidentally; both her hands were occupied to hold my arm up in position that is least painful for me. Also lots of story to keep my mind off the pain. Though I am no believer, she also prayed for me. Thanks, Lyne.

Everyone else were equally concerned too, I wished I could thank all of them here. Aunty Dion helped transfer me to Pantai Cheras Medical Center, to Dr. Ang whom she trusted. At PCMC I was admitted to the ward and sedated to perform a reduction of the elbow. Mom helped me to drive the car home from work. Dad was so worried he questioned Sandra on why my family was not informed immediately. Of course I explained to dad that it was my idea, but he was still upset. :P

My hubby stayed in the hospital with me throughout the night. I actually woke up at 2am in the morning complaining that I was hungry. After feeding me with a chocolate bun, he said I fell asleep almost immediately, just like a baby :P

Looks like I wont be able to drive, at least not for a while. I was discharged this morning but still not alowed to straighten my elbow. Mom wanted to help me shower but I insisted to do it myself. Anyway, later I had to ask for her help again to fasten my bra.... he he he :P

Follow up appointment with the doc is scheduled for next Mon 27th Aug. Hopefully by then he'll allow me to remove the sling!

Migration of Photo Album

FYI, I am in the process of migrating my photos in my Yahoo! album to Shutterfly. Please update your bookmarks if any. New link is http://sitheng.shutterfly.com/. And oh, it is password protected now. Please e-mail me first to get access. :)

**Albums moved to http://guiri.site.shutterfly.com/ (Update: 16 May 2008)

Poor Thumbkin, Poor Pinky

Both my li'l pinky and my thumbkin hurt :( Just started my first piano lesson today. Mom thought it would be easy for me since I could type so well....NOT!!! My first song to practice with was just a tinnie winnie part of Ode to Joy and I am already getting cramps.....geez.....how will my fingers be able to last another 9 lessons?? :P

Feminine? Who....me?

Just as I thought I'll have more time to spare now that my German course have ended, mom signed both of us up for piano lessons :O She saw the ad in the paper several days back about Piano for Adults course, and knew that I would definitely be interested (I wonder... whatever gave her that idea? :P ). So there we were yesterday at the centre for a free demo, and we thought it was a good idea to try it out. As a matter of fact, why not?? I can't play any musical instrument yet, en plus, I can't sit still neither, and eventually will find something else to fill up my time, so might as well. My first lesson starts this Thursday.

TW was very excited when he heard about it. I asked him why. Almost wanted to give him a smack on the head when he told me, "You are one step closer to being more feminine... he he he..." :O

I have a new TOY!

Went to Low Yatt Plaza today with TW to get some computer stuff. Then I got myself a new pen tablet, something I've been wanting for years! I still haven't figure out what I am going to do with it next, but this is what I did just moments ago :D

Honda Safety Driving Course 2007

Mom and I had a great mother-daughter activity yesterday :D Honda sent me an invitation weeks back for a safety driving course. I was quite skeptical about taking part, what if they ask me to do some stunts which I can't do??? Then again, the course was FREE, and I was allowed to bring a partner along. So I asked mom to see if she would be interested to join, and she said yes!

That's my mom getting ready for action!

So there we were at the APAC near the old Subang airport, all geared up in Honda T-shirts & caps (we had a nice goodie bag too!). I must salute Honda MY for doing such a great job at making this event a huge success. The group was relatively small, only about 25 of us, and everyone was treated like a king. After every practical session, we were given cool wet towelettes and drinks to refresh ourselves at the canopy. Breakfast, lunch and breaks served were also abundant and quality of food was good (caterer: Mum's Place @ Damansara Perdana).
Program of the day:

7:30am - Arrival of participants and breakfast (nasi lemak...yummy!)
8:30am - Opening ceremony and theory session by Jonathan Tang (from Bkt Batok Driving school in S'pore)
9:45am - Group photo session
10:00am - Pre-drive essentials with our group's trainer, Masagoes (car check, blind spots & blind areas)
10:30am - Warm up at the circuit and maneuvering practice with the 'S' curves (also highlights on correct sitting posture, etc)
12:00noon - Lunch time (satay, lamb chops, prawn salad, etc.....burp!)
1:00pm - Emergency braking with ABS (we did it on both wet & dry surface - this was just the warm up to get us used to hard braking)
2:00pm - Collision and danger avoidance with ABS (this was a little tricky, we had to speed up, brake at on a slipper rubber mat with water and soap, then avoid colliding with the cone in front of us, 2nd part was to break and avoid colliding with the cone at the sudden change of signal light)
3:30pm - Break with kuih nyonya, fried wantan, etc (starting to feel like this is a weight gain program!)
4:00pm - Cornering (My mom's fav part of all! We get to drive at diff speeds, 20km/h, 30km/h and up to 60km/h on a sharp corner without braking! Mom said she felt like she was 18 once again...he he he)
5:15pm - Summary and a quick test (we both scored 14/15! Not bad huh?)
5:45pm - Presentation of certificates
6:00pm - End of event & Test drive for your choice of car (we wanted to try out the Integra, but the queue was just too loooooooooong!)

We were definitely tired but enjoyed ourselves tremendously at the end of the day. Wonder if I'll get to try this out again in the future?

*Updated 9th May 2007 : An article about this driving course at Paultan.org - along with our photo!!! :D