Tagged! - I'm It

I got tagged discretely by the effervescent Ghasheema. So here goes. First, the rules....

The system:

In the 8 facts about [name], you share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you. At the end, you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going. Each blogger must post these rules first. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, a blogger needs to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog...

1. I had a lot of lofty ambitions growing up. I wanted to be Six Million Dollar Man, Starsky, Man From Atlantis, BJ, Rick Hunter and just before common sense hit me, Michael Knight. Trust me when I say my parents were very worried when I talked excitedly about driving big red rigs and black talking cars.

2. When I am contemplating getting a new gadget / device, I tend to lose a lot of sleep. I only get restful sleep once it has been purchased. Obsessive? Nope. Just passionate.

3. I love the idea of living on a beach or near the ocean. I love the view of the sea and to be able to just come out of my home to see and smell the sea is like heaven on earth. Fortunately me, I do live near water. There is a huge drain not too far away.

4. I must absolutely sleep with a bolster. No bolster, no sleep. Take away my bolster and then put the idea of buying a new gadget in my head and I will be a total wreck.

5. If there is something on my plate I don't really enjoy, I usually force that down my throat first. Then, I enjoy the rest peacefully. My wife thinks I am a true vegetable lover.

6. I absolutely love watches and have quite a number. When I was a little boy, I could never convince my Dad to get me those fancy watches I saw in magazines. So, I'd cut out the watch face from the advertisement, stick it to a long strip of paper and wear it around my wrist, securing the "watch strap" with paper-clip. I would wear it on every outing and family events. After a few days, my Dad would buy it for me. I guess he wanted to reward me for my ingenuity.

7. I believe that we are all living in the Matrix. I am waiting to be offered the red pill only. The blue pill is synonymous with erectile dysfunction.

8. I absolutely hate drawers or cupboards that are left open or ajar. Even chairs at the dining table that are not pushed back after use irks the living daylights out of me. Drawers and cupboards must remain closed fully - period.

I really don't have 8 bloggers to tag. So.... eenie... meenie.... minee.... Phoenix, Eshda3wa and The Princess.

Manhood

Warning : Not for the squeamish. Read at your own risk.

Eddie, our dog and everyone's best friend, lost his "manhood" last Friday. To put it technically, we had him neutered. It was a difficult decision for my wife and I to make for someone we love very much but I guess it had to be done.

You see, lately, Eddie has been feeling a little more needy than usual. It is no wonder especially with our little boy in our lives. Its hard to spread the little time my wife and I have between the three. Emphasis will always be for our little boy but we are constantly feeling guilty when we shower attention on him and Eddie and Casey are somewhat neglected.

To compensate for this, Eddie has been trying to "get it on", for a lack of a more elegant term, with Casey. And Casey, being the strong feminist that she is, hasn't allowed Eddie to get his way - ever! This is apparently causing Eddie a lot of frustration and the two end up fighting regularly these days. So, we had to nip it... er... in the bud.

Eddie has his needs. And it is painfully obvious that Casey doesn't. Perhaps that is our fault too - cos we got her spayed when she was just 6 months old. We needed to help Eddie. So, we did some research on the Internet as well as gathering some background from our vet. As it turned out, the process of neutering has some benefits for dogs. For one, he will no longer be prone to testicular cancer or prostate diseases. Dogs tend to occupy a large part of our hearts but live unduly short lives. By doing this, we minimise the risk of him having diseases that are difficult to treat and ensuring that he lives a long and healthy life. Also, his "needs" will be significantly reduced thus helping him get off Casey's back - literally. One of the other minor benefits is that he will no longer feel the need to leave his calling card at every possible lamp-post.

So, after a few weeks of discussion and decision-making, we agreed to have it done. I felt bad for Eddie the night before for taking something so precious away from him. Being a guy, I would understand. On the way to the vet's, I kept patting him as I was driving telling him that it would be ok. He was dropped off at 10 am and we were told to pick him up at 6:30 pm.

Being the anxious people we are, we got to the vet's at 6 pm. I was concerned for Eddie. Although the doctor assured us that the procedure was routine and there was nothing to be worried about, it still caused me a lot of nervousness. When we got to see him at around 6:45 pm, we were met with a severely groggy Jack Russell who was just waiting to get out of the metal cage that kept him prisoner for the last few hours. His surgery went well. All that is left of where Eddie's family jewels used to be "displayed" appears to be an empty sack resembling a shrivelled prune.

As he tried to leap out into my arms in that sleepy state, I tried to grab him but flinched when I remembered that he had stitches. At that instant, I felt a pain myself - in the same "geographical" location. I think it is called "sympathy pain". I tried very hard to steady him. I think the vet saw the worry (and pain) in my face and comforted me with "dogs are more resilient to pain than we give them credit for".

This was so true. Although Eddie had strict instructions (through us) not to run around, indulge in rough play or jump around, he started hopping onto our relatively high sofa and taking leaps onto the raised up area that is our dining room a couple of hours after he got home. Although a slight limp was noticible, it was obvious the pain didn't bother Eddie too much. But not me. Everytime he hopped onto the sofa, I'd wince just thinking of the pain.

Eddie is still within his recovery period but I am glad to say that he's doing well and running around happily as though a weight has been lifted. Ok, bad joke. But I am glad to see that he appears to be calmer and well-behaved.

More about neutering and spaying can be found here.

Eating Insects

I have come to the definitive conclusion that children's nursery rhymes and songs are highly disturbing.

It sounds all nice and cheery but when you analyse the lyrics, they can be quite worrying. Although I've talked about it before, nothing I've described is as disturbing as this song that I heard while one of my son's CDs was playing in our living room.

Check this out....

There Was An Old Woman

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a bird,
How absurd! to swallow a bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a cat,
Imagine that! to swallow a cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a dog,
What a hog! to swallow a dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a goat,
Just opened her throat! to swallow a goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a cow,
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old woman who swallowed a horse,
She's dead! — of course!

I asked Mrs Prem about buying such a disturbing CD for our son. As it turns out, it is a children's classic! Here's a video!

Suddenly, Rihanna's "Umbrella" doesn't sound so bad for a 1 year old.

Umbrella (Chorus) - Rihanna

When the sun shines
We’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath
I'm ma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella

That's more like it. A song about friendship, sharing and protecting oneself from the rain.

*sigh*