Goodbye 2005...

...And thank you Lord for all that You have done! You mercy and grace is sufficient for us!

Kathleen Tycoon!

Heh... That was Katie's race name.

A 'lil about our new member... She used to be an ex-racer greyhound that has since retired. She was born in October 2002, started her racing career in June 2004 (only 'lil over 1 year!) and retired in December 2004 (short career).

She has raced in Gold Coast, Tweed heads and "CAP" dunno where that is. Had 19 races, of which I have so far found that she got 1st on 18 August 2004 in GC and 2nd and 3nd in 2 other races. I think they don't record (or archive) any other results.

But yes! our dog was an "ex"-champ!! We let her loose in the yard yesteray and she was all excited and started running about like a mad woman... kekeke... I was in the house and I saw her dart across, MAN she was fast!!

She's brought many laughter in our lives... And I think many more will come... Thanks Katie... and Lisa, who made this possible...

Meet Katie

Here is a photo of her being totally RELAXED!! Click to see more...

Flurry of information

You will see a flurry of entries these few days... Why? 'Cos we're on holiday! both out offices close from yesterday til the 3rd of January. So finally no work for one week! COOL!

And also we have added a new member to out CHIANG family. Katie's her name, and I'm sure Kat will tell you all about her experiences.

First question everyone might ask is "what breed"? its a Greyhound! Here is a copy of an email I sent to my mum about facts, TRUE facts, contrary to any misconceptions you guys might have about greyhounds. (the email has been modified to make more sense )

--------------------

We have been praying about it (and will keep praying). The dog is gonna be part of our family and at least for the next 10 years. Kat love dogs. I initially don’t and find them troublesome. But this past 2 months, and many researches later, I am now looking forward to this. I treat it as “training” to have kids. Our commitment to her as part of the family, and how we care and play with her is all part of learning. I hope you can see that we really take this really seriously and we are not rushing into it.

I will attached some photos of Katie and here are links to more information about Greyhounds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhounds

http://www.friendsofthepound.com/ greyhound.htm

http://www.greyhoundpets.org.au/

Flickr Photos

We "aggressively" uploading all our stored photos to flickr/brokenvase so do chect there regularly as I don't think I will make a flickr badge each time I upload a set. Its too many photos...

Chistmas Lightings Tour

Apparantly every year aroun christmas come people decorate their HUGE gardens into a chistmas lighting display, much like shopping center lightings in Orchard Rd in Singapore. Only difference is these are normal people doing it in their backyard!!! There is a competition each year and the top 3 will be chosen and others "highly commended".

We went with Phil and Alvin's family last night to visit these houses. On the way we even had ice-cream from the ice-cream van you see in the movies!! Driving along ringing their bells. You don't get that everyday in SG. No one will be bothered to come down from the 15storey flat... kekeke...

Anyway, we visited about 5 homes looked at the pretty displays... They are quite interesting! Some even have smoke and trains for kids to play and projector screening the santa storey onto their garage door... Very VERY DIY stuff... Seems they take 6 months to prepare! Some people are just free hor... The pics are taken from my phone as I (as usual) forgot to bring my digital cam.

Byron @ Byron

Grrrr... For the THIRD (post) time...

It is a real hassle to integrate flickr to the existing system. I will try as this would save me from creating my own album system. I finally broke tradition of using my own code because of laziness...

Anyway, here are photos of a FANTASTIC weekend.

In training

I'm in a customers place training right now... *yawn*

2005

last few hours of 2005. some people are celebrating. many have gone to south bank to countdown the new year and watch the fireworks. i am at home, moping the floor...hmm.. very exciting indeed.

2005 has been a events filled year. started working life here in brissy, bought a place of our own, served in church, met many new friends, renewed old friendships and got myself a dog finally.

God's blessings have never failed to keep me in awe. looking back at 2005, He has guided and been with us, through big things and small things, through ups and downs, through good times and bad ones. His mercy, grace and love never fails.

Playtime

apparently, we have to teach katie how to play. when greyhounds turn from racers to pets, the owners have to teach them to play as they were not taught when they were puppies. all that is on their agenda was racing and it was "all work and no play".

katie was just so gentle and placcid and all she does was to sleep all day. nothing seemed to excite her. i tried running around in the yard and she looked at me as if i was a mad woman. i got her a stuffed monkey and she was not interested in it as well.

we went to the pet store yesterday and there were some squeaker toys on sale. we bought one and tried it on her yesterday. boy, was she excited!!

her tail was wagging and she was chasing it around when we threw it far away from her. she does not know how to fetch it but we are just so delighted that she knows how to play and enjoy herself.

Day 3

she slept wonderfully in her own bed in our room on the first and second night. no whining or problems falling asleep. in fact, i think she fell asleep way before both of us go to bed.

i woke up at about 5 in the morning and she followed me downstairs to the yard to do her "business".

it was a very hot day yesterday. i think the temp hits a high of 36 degrees even before noon. i was down for singing for the worship for church and i was perspiring non stop on stage. a yucky feeling.

she refused to go into the yard this morning after breakfast. we figured that she refused because of the heat so we left her inside the house.

kevin and caroline came to visit the church as they were in brissy. and phil made me sing "Mary did you know", which was the solo song that I sang for the Christmas skit during worship. everyone likes the song. good recommendation, theolynn!!

we came back home after the church and were happy to find that she survived pretty well alone at home. no chewed furniture or accidents at home. but she was very excited to see us.

we brought her and a Mars bar cheesecake that I have made to Phil's place for Christmas lunch. the kids love her. she was a little nervous when the more rowdy kids poke her with a stick but she soon calmed down.

we were so hot and tired when we got back from phil's place and all of us went to take a nap. but katie was the one who slept first.

oh by the way, mervin got me a christmas present!! the kelly clarkson cd!!! thanks, dearie. 

Merry Christmas

christmas is finally here and in a few hours, it will be gone.

it has been a tiring christmas this year but has been full of events.

too tired to describe what we have done today but i just want to wish you all, a merry merry christmas!!

first day jitters (be warned, long entry)

on the drive back from lisa's place to brissy, katie was just laying in the back seat, dozing off once in a while, sitting up whenever we stopped at a light, thinking that we are home.

we had to stop for petrol at the kiosk near our place and it has been a 2 hour ride for her. i stayed in the car with her and suddenly she insisted to come into the front of the car. we tried for a good whole 5 minutes and couldn't get her to go back to the back seat and i was thinking, "oh my gosh, what have i gotten myself into this time?"

finally, she went back to the back of the car and we zoomed home. as soon as we stopped and got her out of the car, she went to the front lawn and peed. then we realised that she had wanted to pee and did not want to do it in the car and that is why she was eager to get to the front coz she thought we would let her out. mervin and i were thankful that she is sensible enough not to pee in the car. and we realised that she is a very sensible dog and when she seems agitated, she has a good reason why.

she didn't eat much on the first day, lisa warned us that she might do that due to a change of environment. but she took treats out of our hands so that was a good sign.

she was introduced to the whole house. she was a little apprehensive about the stairs but after a little encouragement, she seems pretty good at going up and down them. she always does a stretch before she goes up or down the stairs. what a "disciplined athlete!!! she knows that a good stretch is always good before any exercise.

we had to leave her in the yard when we went to church for the skit. she seemed fine when we came back, although she was eager to come into the house.

she is a lazy one, all she does even when we are busy with our own stuff, is to lie down on the rug or her soft bed in our room and look at us. i reckon she sleeps almost 20 hours a day. waking up only when it is meal time and when she gets her cuddles and pets.  

Newest Member of the Family

introducing katie... she is 3 year old. very gentle and placcid. all she does is to sleep all day....

Christmas Skit

our church in brissy is going to put up a evangelistic christmas skit called "Christmas Story". it is a simple story with just a few casts and a couple of musicians.

we had a music rehearsal last night until almost half past eleven. i was assigned to sing a solo called ,"mary, did you know". it is a very beautiful song, much more beautiful when the piano, the volin, guitar and drums come together to bring so much emotions to the song. suddenly felt that my voice as an instrument is so inadequate.

this week has been a tiring week. had worship practice on saturday and was singing for the worship session on sunday. last minute has the christmas skit to practice, mowing of the lawn, cleaning of the house and doing some research on an important yet scary event in our lives. not to mention the last minute christmas shopping. a little bit stressed out and therefore all the pimples are popping out everywhere.

but nothing can dampen the joys of serving Him in His family. nothing can extinguish the desire to see the lost coming to His feet. how insignificant are tired voices, tired bodies, sore throats compared to what He has done and suffered for all on the cross!!

Words from a child

Read this in a dog rescue forum.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's f amily surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunne d me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?"

The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.

best weekend of the year award

and the award goes to... *drum roll* .. leonardo's christmas retreat!!! congratulations!!!

it was just an amazing weekend.

the resort was heavenly. the room was so beautiful and cozy. the pool was very nice and the food was just soo...... yummy.

the beach was pure bliss. the weather was so wonderful for those two days where we hit the beach.

kayaking was very fun. was scary coz i have never gone so far out in the sea before. waves in australia are definitely not so gentle like in singapore (that is why people can surf here!!) we even came very close to a school of dolphins while we were out at sea. we kayaked around the cape of bryon and whoever has been there, knows that it is a very beautiful place.

we had to kayak harder and faster than usual as some of the guys had to catch a flight back home in the afternoon. mervin had some really bad sunburns on his leg and i had some on my shoulders. loren and i were so sore after the whole trip, we thought we won't be able to get to work on monday.

through it all, i met a bunch of very wonderful people. it is a very nice team that leonardo has gotten and it is definitely the people who have made the company what and where it is now.

to loren, carmen, chris, sue, jayden, josie, al, bryanne, greg, colette, roger, jo, shirley, john, paul, martin, michael, louise, it has been wonderful meeting you guys and have a merry christmas!!

p.s we have some photos to put up but mervin is in charge of it. so everyone stress him to hurry up and put them up. hee hee hee....

Kayaking

we are going to mervin's company's conference retreat cum christmas party this weekend. and we are going kayaking... my third time!!! i am looking forward to it coz i have never done it in ozland. scary too coz there are scary marine animals in the waters here. sharks and crocs in the rivers... and more sharks and jelly fishes in the seas...

Am I Dreaming?

i was on my usual lunch time walk around my office. it is usually at lunch time that you realise that brisbane is not deserted.

a father and a little boy were walking behind me and the little boy asked his dad, 'daddy, am i dreaming?'

the father asked, 'there is nothing dreamy about this. we are trying to walk through the crowd towards the train station and this is a huge crowd. come on, hurry up.'

sometimes, children ask questions which you don't know to laugh or cry.

and sometimes, fathers do not have the best sense of humor.

31 Days

31 days to the next year. so fast. 2006 is just at the door, knocking and 2005 is coming to an end.

whilst most people are stressing about what presents to get and what type of food to prepare during christmas party, i like to take this period to quieten down my heart and reflect on what has happened during this year.