Tomorrow we'll hit the half-way mark of 2012.
For that, I'm thankful because it means I only have to suffer another 6 more months before I wave goodbye (and good riddance) to a terrible year.
It started off with promises and hopes, but within the second month I realised that 2012 was going to be a depressing year. I lost my unborn Bonus, who'd have been number 4 in the family, and till this day I'm filled with regret and anger over my miscarriage. At 37+, my fertility rate's on a rapid decline and after this incident, I've lost hope of ever conceiving again. Mother Nature's not been merciful but I shouldn't be greedy since I'm already blessed with 3 beautiful girls.
Just as I was trying to get over Bonus, the hub hit a nasty patch at work and his struggles to get back on track haven't been successful. Despite his tenacity and relentless spirit, he was fizzling out and exhaustion consumed him. He's served his last official day at the company he's nurtured for the last 13 years, during which he hardly took a rest. It was a bizarre turn of events that left him and his business partner(s) in a tailspin. So from tomorrow onwards, the company will continue on its journey without its Captain of 13 years. Her new course will be chartered by her founder and one of my best friends, SJ.
For the moment, the hub will still be working on a freelance basis until
his services are no longer required. During this time, he'll take a
deserved break to recuperate, relax, recharge, refresh and revitalise
his body and soul. And then he'll decide what to do next.
Naturally, I'm caught in the middle. But the decision is a no-brainer. I will stand by my man even though I'm broken by the impending strain of a firm friendship forged even before I met the hub.
As I tweeted earlier in the day, "Friends first, business partners second. In reality, it's tough to draw that line."
And so, we've been put to the ultimate test of friendship - the hub, SJ and I. It's no secret that I hate to be subjected to such unnecessary emotional experiences, especially since I'm hopeless in dealing with conflicts. I can't see a way out of this because when it comes to professional dealings, we should never allow our personal feelings to creep in. Easier said than done, of course.
This episode also jostled me back to reality as it proved a major point: that no-one's indispensable in an organisation, no matter how much you've contributed to its growth and success. We've all got our sell-by dates imprinted somewhere. And if you allow yourself to be complacent and take things for granted, you may end up being redundant and placed in the recycle bin along with yesterday's newspapers.
Which is another reason why I'm constantly trying to keep up with what the young'uns are drawn towards. Social media helps me connect to my students and I'm open to new ideas because I want to be able to reach out and relate to them. If I don't make the effort to stay relevant, I might found myself obsolete and out of a job!
I'm now in an awkward position which I never envisioned myself to be in: playing the role of main breadwinner of the family. Of course, it's only a temporary situation and I'm certain of it because knowing my man, he'll be juggling other projects to keep himself occupied and improving the financial situation. He'd already calculated his risks and made back-up plans so our family wouldn't need to depend on my measly salary.
Thankfully we've never been big spenders or fans of brands, and our humble lifestyle isn't difficult to upkeep. Nevertheless, it's a psychological burden that's gnawing at my insecurities. These few months will be a huge challenge.
May The Force Be With Me.
Showing posts with label it's purely business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label it's purely business. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Monday, July 13, 2009
Puppies for Sale
This is probably one of the most heart-breaking decisions we've got to make: selling our adorable puppies. :-'(
Our beautiful Peni became a mother on 23 May 2009 when she whelped a litter of 7 healthy German Shepherd puppies - 3 males and 4 females. All 7 were live births.
Unfortunately, Peni was exhausted when the 6th puppy, Tara was delivered and she didn't attend to the newborn quickly enough. As a result, fluids entered her lungs. The hub and I were helplessly inexperienced and weren't able to apply the right procedure/technique to save her. The hub gave her CPR and managed to revive her after 30 minutes. But it was too little, too late. Tara struggled for 2 days before she passed away.
Thankfully, the vet arrived and attended to the last puppy, Savi.
It's been truly an eye-opening 6 weeks for us. Taking care of newborn puppies is a lot of hard work (and money). All blood, sweat and tears. Literally. Especially now that they bite and zoom in for our ankles, shins and toes. Mine have been regularly bitten, scratched and gnawed at by the playful puppies.
Is it hard work caring for 6 lively puppies? You bet.
During their first 2 weeks, the hub was sleeping downstairs in the living room at night to take care of Peni and the pups. We were afraid she might trample on them, so we only brought them out of their "tub" when they needed to be fed. And like human babies, they fed every 3-4 hours directly from their mother. I helped out a few nights when the hub was exhausted and used the chance to catch up on some reading. (That's how I managed to complete reading the Twilight series in a couple of days).
At about 3 weeks, the puppies finally opened their eyes. And this was roughly about the same time they started teething too. Their appetites increased and we had to supplement with Lactol Puppy Milk because Peni was, by then, beginning to tire of feeding them. And their teeth were getting sharp too.
Now that they're 6 weeks they now eating solid food. We feed them with a mixture of dry pellets and meats, and milk, about 3 times a day. Needless to say, these fast-growing puppies are burning large holes in our pockets. The amount of food they consume is frightful. If we didn't own a pet shop and get food/milk at a discounted price, we'd go broke paying through our noses to maintain their daily diet.
The six puppies are a playful lot and when they're not sleeping, they're fighting and barking their heads off. And the only way to quieten them is to give them some food or treats to chew on. The puppies have been vaccinated and registered with Singapore Kennel Club (SKC) so they've all got names now: Jackson, Megan, Mikey, Layla, Whiskey (who's already been sold) and Savi.
Now we've in the process of selling our lovely puppies. Much as we'd love to keep them, we're not allowed to do so as we already own 2 full-grown German Shepherds in our compound. According to the Law, we're permitted up to a maximum of 3 large breed dogs per registered address. Not to mention the fact that it's very expensive and it requires a lot of work maintaining them.
We are, however, very particular about potential and prospective owners and hope that their future masters would love and care for them as much as we do. So if you do know of any family looking for quality, pedigree German Shepherd dogs (their sire is Jack, SKC GSD champion and Peni herself won competitions), do let us know.
Below are links to the photo albums I created on Facebook:
If only I could keep them all!
Sigh.
Here are selected pictures of the puppies, my personal favourites. Enjoy!
Jackson and Megan, first and second born
Newborn puppies with ribbons for identification
Drinking from mummy
Huddled in their little tub
All 6 lined up in a row
Wei loves Peni (note the weighing scale in the background to weigh them daily)
The kids give Peni some love and encouragement
Their eyes are finally open!
The hub bottle feeds the pups
Feeding Jackson some formula milk
Playing with mum
Wei watches Peni and the pups
A typical - "after milk" scene
Hiding under the chair
Meal time - milk with pellets
The little prisoner
I believe this is Jackson
Chewing and biting
Play time with "uncle" Arif!
of my favourite photos!
The kids watch as the hub paints nail polish as a source of identification
Xian gives Arif a huge pat for being such a good "uncle" to the puppies
Here's Layla chewing on my slipper!
Meal time madness!
The hub with on the puppies - I think it's Whiskey
Chewing up our rubber hose
Looking forlorn out of their "temporary holding area"
This is definitely Whiskey chewing up hub's slipper
It's time for Mikey's weekly bath!
My guess - Jackson and Megan (I could be wrong!) after their bath
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Wanted: Professional Pet Groomer / Stylist
Woofy's Corner is looking for a full-time professional groomer / stylist!
If you're interested in taking up the job or know of anyone who may be keen, and want to find out more, please contact Vincent at 96832469 or drop us a quick email: enquiries_woofy@hotmail.com
Thanks! :)
If you're interested in taking up the job or know of anyone who may be keen, and want to find out more, please contact Vincent at 96832469 or drop us a quick email: enquiries_woofy@hotmail.com
Thanks! :)
Monday, March 09, 2009
Taking hours for minutes
I can breathe a little easier now.
During last Friday's Board of Examiners' meeting, I sat in the front row of the lecture theatre because I needed to power up my notebook to type the official meeting minutes. Also, I didn't think the battery would last more than 2 hours and thankfully I didn't take any chances because the whole session lasted over 4 hours!
The BOE minutes were required for checking and editing first thing Monday morning so I'm glad I brought my notebook down because the minutes were about 3/4 completed by the end of Friday's meeting. I just needed to spend time to reconstruct some sentences and check for factual inaccuracies.
Much as I dread to bring work home, I really had not much of an option since the minutes are expected to be out early on Monday. Plus, the hub offered to pick me up from work so I lugging around an extra file won't hurt.
On a side note: I grudgingly took over the wheel and drove back home - with the hub sitting beside me, of course. The fact that I'm trying this now is proof that I survived the 10 minute journey. A few baby steps at a time and hopefully in a few months I'll be confident enough to handle the car alone, I hope!
Anyway, on Saturday night (read: midnight) when the kids were finally asleep, I gathered my file and flipped through the reports with the intention of completing the minutes. To my utmost horror, the MS word programme crashed on me and I couldn't even open my file! It's been giving me loads of problems and I've even un-installed/re-installed the programme a few times.
Boy, was I hopping mad! That was my only window of opportunity to finish up my minutes since there's no way I can fiddle about with the computer when the kids are awake.
Since I was up and couldn't go to sleep, I created a Facebook Group for Woofy's Corner. Now that the hub owns the pet shop 100%, I thought I'd do my part to help him with some publicity for the business.
On Sunday, I came back to the campus to pick up my office notebook but couldn't squeeze out any time to work on the meeting minutes...
...until 4am this morning. Yes, I was up at 4am. It was peaceful and quiet, with no distractions and I thought I could finally finish up typing the minutes.
But I was sooooooo wrong.
At about 5am, the baby woke up wailing because she couldn't find her automatic milk dispenser. And then at 5.45am, it was Xian's turn to get ready for school. After Xian left with the school transport at 6.20am, I rushed back to try finish up, only to be disturbed when Wei screamed again for milk at about 6.45am.
*Sigh*
To cut a long story short, I managed to tidy up my minutes (on my way to work and in office)and sent them out at 8.45am. So far, there have been 2 rounds of revisions, and there are 3 more supervisors to go before I can upload the minutes into the system.
But at least the tough parts are done and I can relax for a bit before I start preparing for the new term.
During last Friday's Board of Examiners' meeting, I sat in the front row of the lecture theatre because I needed to power up my notebook to type the official meeting minutes. Also, I didn't think the battery would last more than 2 hours and thankfully I didn't take any chances because the whole session lasted over 4 hours!
The BOE minutes were required for checking and editing first thing Monday morning so I'm glad I brought my notebook down because the minutes were about 3/4 completed by the end of Friday's meeting. I just needed to spend time to reconstruct some sentences and check for factual inaccuracies.
Much as I dread to bring work home, I really had not much of an option since the minutes are expected to be out early on Monday. Plus, the hub offered to pick me up from work so I lugging around an extra file won't hurt.
On a side note: I grudgingly took over the wheel and drove back home - with the hub sitting beside me, of course. The fact that I'm trying this now is proof that I survived the 10 minute journey. A few baby steps at a time and hopefully in a few months I'll be confident enough to handle the car alone, I hope!
Anyway, on Saturday night (read: midnight) when the kids were finally asleep, I gathered my file and flipped through the reports with the intention of completing the minutes. To my utmost horror, the MS word programme crashed on me and I couldn't even open my file! It's been giving me loads of problems and I've even un-installed/re-installed the programme a few times.
Boy, was I hopping mad! That was my only window of opportunity to finish up my minutes since there's no way I can fiddle about with the computer when the kids are awake.
Since I was up and couldn't go to sleep, I created a Facebook Group for Woofy's Corner. Now that the hub owns the pet shop 100%, I thought I'd do my part to help him with some publicity for the business.
On Sunday, I came back to the campus to pick up my office notebook but couldn't squeeze out any time to work on the meeting minutes...
...until 4am this morning. Yes, I was up at 4am. It was peaceful and quiet, with no distractions and I thought I could finally finish up typing the minutes.
But I was sooooooo wrong.
At about 5am, the baby woke up wailing because she couldn't find her automatic milk dispenser. And then at 5.45am, it was Xian's turn to get ready for school. After Xian left with the school transport at 6.20am, I rushed back to try finish up, only to be disturbed when Wei screamed again for milk at about 6.45am.
*Sigh*
To cut a long story short, I managed to tidy up my minutes (on my way to work and in office)and sent them out at 8.45am. So far, there have been 2 rounds of revisions, and there are 3 more supervisors to go before I can upload the minutes into the system.
But at least the tough parts are done and I can relax for a bit before I start preparing for the new term.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Woofy's Corner: Now Open
a couple of months back, i mentioned briefly here that the hub decided to invest in a pet shop.
so far, our little prince arif's benefited most from this venture as he now gets to try out different brands of food - which has turned him into a spoilt, fussy eater. our canine family member's obviously got expensive taste as he only finishes his meal when we give him the top quality (and pricey) brand of food.
well, it's an existing business which has been up and running for the past 5 years or so. the hub just wanted to try his hand at managing a retail business, and it started more out from interest rather than churning out profits.
so far, our little prince arif's benefited most from this venture as he now gets to try out different brands of food - which has turned him into a spoilt, fussy eater. our canine family member's obviously got expensive taste as he only finishes his meal when we give him the top quality (and pricey) brand of food. anyway, the pet shop's moved to a new location - just round the corner, at the next lane. here's our new address:
Woofy's Corner
27 Lowland Road
Singapore 547418
Tel: 6284 6093
27 Lowland Road
Singapore 547418
Tel: 6284 6093
Email: enquiries_woofy@hotmail.com
Opening hours:
11am - 8pm (Mon to Fri)
11am - 6pm (Sat & Sun)
and of course, i've started a woofy's corner blog too. feel free to browse http://woofys-corner.blogspot.com/ as i'll upload promotions and specials there.
do support us, yah? ;)
Opening hours:
11am - 8pm (Mon to Fri)
11am - 6pm (Sat & Sun)
and of course, i've started a woofy's corner blog too. feel free to browse http://woofys-corner.blogspot.com/ as i'll upload promotions and specials there.
do support us, yah? ;)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
fur, whiskers, paws & claws
heavens, no!
this is NOT about terrorliza.
since the baby's not ready to arrive i've decided to divert my attention to another topic. my life ain't just revolving around her existence you know, though i've to admit she's causing me serious anxiety attacks with her waiting game plus a terrible case of pee-every-hour syndrome. :(
anyway, it's about time to reveal this little tidbit which i've kept quiet about for the past few weeks...
we're now co-owners of a PET SHOP!
it's a small shop located at kovan/upper serangoon area, just behind kovan MRT station, very near our home. it's presently called Ella Pet-nology The Pet Tavern (quite a mouthful, if you ask me) but the newly registered name is Woofy's Corner.
not that the both of us have any intention of giving up our day jobs to run the shop. we're not taking THAT huge a risk, in case you're wondering...
in the true blue spirit of entrepreneurship, the hub decided to invest in the shop mainly because he wants to experience running a retail business. also, we've been patronising this shop for about 3 years (since fanny's time) and we get all of little prince arif's supplies from the shop too. so when the owner approached the hub to put in some money and help improve/expand the business, he pondered long and hard, and decided to take the plunge!
i guess the hub's like me - we can't keep still and need something to occupy our minds despite juggling so many tasks/roles. now that the hub's got a new interest to focus on, he's busy reading brochures and magazines on the different brands/types of pet food and all things pet-related. in a way, it helps him take his mind off the stress at work...which is ironic as he's now thrust into a whole new different ball game and has to start from scratch! but he relishes the challenges and is actually brimming with ideas and plans, ready to implement them in a flash.
there're still loads to be done. the hub's now looking into the legal and administrative processes of the business, while his new business partner (coincidentally a guy called laurant!) will continue running the daily operations of the shop. the hub's also roped me in to help oversee the logo design and i've got some people working on it now. we're pretty much on a shoestring budget - it's really a small little business, so we're quite cautious about expenditure. we plan to set up a website at a later stage to list our products and services, but only after we're a bit more settled and familiar with the industry.
i joked that his new partner is now regretting his offer - especially now since the hub can be *quite* the slave driver when he's all fired up to get things up and running.
the shop sells pet food including vitamins and treats (for dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas), pet accessories (leashes, dishes, toys, clothes) and offers pet grooming services as well. no live pets for sale though. besides making pet food deliveries, they (or should i say "we") provide pet transport as well and will fetch your pet to the shop to be bathed/groomed. anyway, here's the address of the shop:
Ella Pet-nology The Pet Tavern (for now)
2 Kovan Rd
#01-04 Simon Plaza
Singapore 548008
Tel: 6284 6093
it's really quite an exciting period now, what with the new business and a new baby on the way. even though i'm not going to roll up my sleeves and work in the shop, it's still going to be something new for me. i'll post pictures of the shop, once i take them of course...
so if you require any pet food/supplies delivered to your home (free delivery for orders over $100), or would like to send your pets for grooming, please call laurant sia at 6284 6093. or recommend us to your pet owner friends. would truly appreciate any form of support from you all! :)
thanks a zillion in advance folks!
this is NOT about terrorliza.
since the baby's not ready to arrive i've decided to divert my attention to another topic. my life ain't just revolving around her existence you know, though i've to admit she's causing me serious anxiety attacks with her waiting game plus a terrible case of pee-every-hour syndrome. :(
anyway, it's about time to reveal this little tidbit which i've kept quiet about for the past few weeks...
we're now co-owners of a PET SHOP!it's a small shop located at kovan/upper serangoon area, just behind kovan MRT station, very near our home. it's presently called Ella Pet-nology The Pet Tavern (quite a mouthful, if you ask me) but the newly registered name is Woofy's Corner.
not that the both of us have any intention of giving up our day jobs to run the shop. we're not taking THAT huge a risk, in case you're wondering...
in the true blue spirit of entrepreneurship, the hub decided to invest in the shop mainly because he wants to experience running a retail business. also, we've been patronising this shop for about 3 years (since fanny's time) and we get all of little prince arif's supplies from the shop too. so when the owner approached the hub to put in some money and help improve/expand the business, he pondered long and hard, and decided to take the plunge!
i guess the hub's like me - we can't keep still and need something to occupy our minds despite juggling so many tasks/roles. now that the hub's got a new interest to focus on, he's busy reading brochures and magazines on the different brands/types of pet food and all things pet-related. in a way, it helps him take his mind off the stress at work...which is ironic as he's now thrust into a whole new different ball game and has to start from scratch! but he relishes the challenges and is actually brimming with ideas and plans, ready to implement them in a flash.
there're still loads to be done. the hub's now looking into the legal and administrative processes of the business, while his new business partner (coincidentally a guy called laurant!) will continue running the daily operations of the shop. the hub's also roped me in to help oversee the logo design and i've got some people working on it now. we're pretty much on a shoestring budget - it's really a small little business, so we're quite cautious about expenditure. we plan to set up a website at a later stage to list our products and services, but only after we're a bit more settled and familiar with the industry.
i joked that his new partner is now regretting his offer - especially now since the hub can be *quite* the slave driver when he's all fired up to get things up and running.
the shop sells pet food including vitamins and treats (for dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas), pet accessories (leashes, dishes, toys, clothes) and offers pet grooming services as well. no live pets for sale though. besides making pet food deliveries, they (or should i say "we") provide pet transport as well and will fetch your pet to the shop to be bathed/groomed. anyway, here's the address of the shop:
Ella Pet-nology The Pet Tavern (for now)2 Kovan Rd
#01-04 Simon Plaza
Singapore 548008
Tel: 6284 6093
it's really quite an exciting period now, what with the new business and a new baby on the way. even though i'm not going to roll up my sleeves and work in the shop, it's still going to be something new for me. i'll post pictures of the shop, once i take them of course...
so if you require any pet food/supplies delivered to your home (free delivery for orders over $100), or would like to send your pets for grooming, please call laurant sia at 6284 6093. or recommend us to your pet owner friends. would truly appreciate any form of support from you all! :)
thanks a zillion in advance folks!
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