Oreo crossed The Rainbow Bridge at 12:30 AM on July 9th 2016
Our beloved guinea pig, Oreo, crossed the Rainbow Bridge 2 years ago but the pain was too raw and fresh then and I couldn't share about her passing. Now that the pain has dulled just a little, I want to blog about my little buddy. I want to remember every detail before my memory fails me.
She was 8 years old (144 human years) when she died. A couple of months prior to her death, we found an abscess on her body and took her to see Dr. J, a darling lady vet . Oreo adored her.
Dr. J drained Oreo's abscess. I remember a lot of shrieking, squeezing, flushing and ... cottage cheese. Yep, the foul smelling pus looked like runny cottage cheese! I didn't know a guinea pig could shriek so loudly!
After cleaning the wound, Dr. J sent us on our way. We were overjoyed that we weren't going home empty-handed.
Oreo's wound healed completely and for the next few months she was eating well and back to her old happy self.
Late one night, I noticed she was unusually quiet and listless. Her fur was all puffed up and her breathing seemed laboured. I searched the guinea pig forums on the net and learned that a puffed up coat was usually symptomatic of a cavy in pain.
It was close to midnight and everyone else was asleep. As I was about to go to my son's room to awaken him so he could drive us to the vet, I heard Oreo suddenly dashing round and round her pigloo in a frenzy. My first thought was that she must be getting better or else she wouldn't be darting maniacally in circles like that.
When I went to check on her, she was lying very still on her side, gasping for air. I assumed that she was merely exhausted after all that crazy running. I stroked her gently and thought that a session of cuddling and petting would probably fix her. Just as I was lifting her out of her cage, her head flopped to the side, her breathing stopped and her body went limp. I stared at her lifeless body in disbelief! Her death was too sudden. There wasn't even time to realize what was happening. A minute ago, she was so lively and now she was gone in the blink of an eye. I didn't even have the chance to cuddle her or say goodbye. I just couldn't bring myself to put her down in her cage and I held her in my arms and petted her until her body grew cold.
Looking back, I believe there was a reason for her strange behavior before she collapsed. Despite her pain and difficulty breathing, she had managed to summon up whatever strength she had left in her frail body for that final surge of energy that enabled her to bolt like that. She was trying to get my attention so I would go to her. She had known that her time was up and she wanted to say goodbye to me before she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
Goodbye, my little buddy. *Popcorn in that grand meadow across the sky. Know that you are forever loved and cherished.
Missing you, my little piggy.
*Popcorning is a name for those crazy leaps a guinea pig does in the air when it is happy
I am not usually a big fan of blogger tags but it's a fun way of getting to know your blogger pallies. I found this tag on the lovely Dot Makes 4 blog. Created by Debbie from My Random Musings, 100 questions are designed to help you get to know your blogger pallies.
So to all my new awesome readers, I am sharing random truths about myself with you. I skipped some of the questions though.
Here goes.
THE BASICS
1. What’s your name?
Veronica
2. Any nicknames or aliases?
I have several given by my aunts and uncles
3. Your gender?
Female
4. Your star sign?
Taurus. Tiger according to Chinese zodiac.
5. How old are you?
Going to be 56
6. Your relationship status?
Married. And to the same wonderful man for 25 years.
7. Any children?
2, Josh and Rodney
8. Any pets?
None currently. My guinea pig died last year and I am still pining for her.
9. Any tattoos or piercings?
None, not even my ears.
10. What do you like about yourself?
I am fun, I think!
11. What do you dislike about yourself?
The list is too long! #1 on the list is my inability to drive a car. I am spatially challenged.
12. Righty or lefty?
Right
LASTS
13. The last thing you drank:
Green tea
14. The last thing you ate:
Prawn ramen
15. Your last phone call:
Hubby
16. Your last text message:
My son informing me that he was not coming home for dinner
17. Your last email:
Spam offering to enlarge body parts I don't have.
18, The last song you listened to:
Havana, the squeaky chicken version
19. The last book you read:
Tail & Trouble by Victor Catano
20. The last time you cried:
When our guinea pig died.
21. The last blog you read:
Dot Makes 4
22. The last person you spoke to:
My son Rodney
23. The last place you visited:
My hometown
24. Your last holiday abroad:
UK in 2011.
HAVE YOU EVER?
28. Have you ever lost someone special to you?
Yes. More than a handful and mostly to cancer.
29. Have you ever been so drunk you threw up?
I don't drink
31. Have you ever met someone who changed you?
The Hubs.
39. Have you ever been arrested?
No!
41. Have you ever done something you regret?
I might have but I am more regretful of the things I haven't done
43. Have you ever embarrassed yourself in public?
I had stage fright when I was singing at a company dinner and made a fool of myself. I still shudder at the memory!
44. Have you ever misjudged someone?
Many times. I am a poor judge of character.
YOUR BELIEFS AND OPINIONS
45. Do you believe in God?
Yes.
46. Do you believe in yourself?
Not as much as I should.
47. Do you believe in Santa Claus?
No. I think he gives people the wrong message about Christmas. Christmas should be all about Christ's birth.
48. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes. Had a couple of encounters!
49. Do you believe in aliens?
Nah.
50. Do you believe in miracles?
Yes. My son Josh was a miracle baby.
51. Do you believe in the power of positive thinking?
Sounds clichéd
52. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yeap.
53. Can money make you happy?
Oh YES!
54. Would you describe yourself as a feminist?
......Er... While I believe all genders are entitled to the same social and political rights, I am not opposed to chivalry. I certainly will not stop my male companion from paying for dinner if he insists!
55. Are you pro-life or pro-choice?
Depends on the circumstances.
56. Do you have strong political beliefs?
Not really
57. Do you have strong religious beliefs?
I was brought up by very strict Catholic parents and studied in a convent school.
58. What do you think the most important thing you can give a child is?
Unconditional love?
RIGHT NOW
59. Are you eating anything right now?
Nope
60. Are you drinking anything right now?
Nope
61. What are you listening to right now?
My son practising his violin
62. What are you thinking about right now?
Whether or not I should continue with this tag.
63. What are you waiting for right now?
Dinner. We are eating out tonight.
64. What are you most excited about right now?
Nothing!
65. What’s your pet hate right now?
Inconsiderate neighbours
66. What’s your favourite thing right now?
Cookie decorating
My latest project - a cookified logo of Hubby's cousin's restaurant, Amelio Desa Parkcity
67. If you weren’t answering these questions, what would you be doing right now?
Attending to a more PRESSING matter. I have a pile of clothes to iron! Haha!
FIRSTS
68. Your first best friend:
Maggie. We were classmates in Secondary School
70. Your first celebrity crush:
Lee Majors! He was the Six Million Dollar Man. Haha! Most of you were either not born yet or in diapers when the show was running!
71. Your first holiday:
A family trip to my aunt in Kuala Lumpur when I was about 10 years old.
72. Your first pet:
A cat. Her name was Pussy.
74. Your first regret:
Not studying harder in school.
74. Your first job:
Computer programmer
75: Your first childhood memory:
Grandma's old wooden house. Back then, the whole clan was around and we had many cousins to play with.
Which would you choose?
76. Love or money?
Tough one. Love?
77. Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter
78. Hook up or relationship?
Definitely a relationship.
79. Dogs or cats?
I am totally a cat person
80. Coffee or tea?
Depends on my mood
81, Beer or wine?
Neither
82. Sweet or savoury?
Savoury. I don't have a sweet tooth.
83. Introvert or extrovert?
A bit of both
84. Vampires or werewolves?
Vampires if they look like Ian Somerhalder!
85. Seaside or countryside?
Seaside.
86. Summer or winter?
Summer hands-down. I get depressed when it is cold and dark
87. Books or movies
Movies. But if there is a book version, I would prefer to read the book first and watch the movie later.
88. Horror or comedy
Depends on my mood
A FEW RANDOM QUESTIONS TO FINISH OFF
89. Do you wish you could change your past?
Not really. I think everything happened for a reason.
90. What’s your dream job?
I had always wanted a job that would take me places.
91. What’s your guilty pleasure?
Fish crackers. Once I get started, I can't stop.
92. What are you afraid of?
Cockroaches. Eeeekkk!
93. What was the first thing you wanted to be when you grew up?
A pilot!
94. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Teleportation.
95. If you could change anything about your life what would it be?
I wish I had traveled more when I was younger.
96. Would you want immortality?
NOOOOOOOOO!
97. If you could interview anyone alive or dead who would you choose?
My great grandfather who died when my dad was only six. He was the first of our clan to migrate to Malaysia. My dad still regales us with many interesting and fascinating stories about him.
98. Would you say you are happy?
Isn't happiness transient? Right now, yes.
99. What one piece of advice would you give to yourself at age eighteen?
That it is ok to say no. I have been a doormat most of my life.
100. Where would you like to be in five years’ time
I would like to experience living in a different country, not as a tourist but as a local.
Phew! That took really long.
Here's where I am supposed to tag some bloggers but I do understand that some of us hate being tagged so I shall skip that part. Tag yourself if you wanna play along. Let me know so I can visit your blog.
The Hubs and I were on our way to the mall exit when we walked past a popsicle cart. The Hubs had a hankering for something cold and he bought a durian flavored ice pop. The Hubs happily lapped his icy treat as we walked towards a swanky hotel. The hotel lobby and mall shared the same exit to the basement car park.
There was already a small crowd awaiting the elevators as we were approaching the hotel lobby. Suddenly, a lady in the crowd exclaimed, "I smell durian!" The Hubs quickly stuffed the popsicle into a pocket of his trousers. Ding! The elevator doors opened and everyone got on board. As the doors closed, the pungent durian smell was even more intense. "Eeew! I wonder where it is coming from?", the same lady complained, sniffing exaggeratedly like a hound dog, her eyes scanning around for the culprit.
Feigning disgust, I covered my nose with a piece of tissue paper so no one would suspect we were the offenders. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, the elevator doors finally opened and everyone rushed out save for The Hubs and me, an old man and a young couple. The old man looked at The Hubs and said cheekily,"I know it's you!" The Hubs sheepishly fished out the offensive item from his pocket and protested, "But it's only a popsicle!" Just then, the doors opened and as the old man was stepping out, he winked, "Don't worry, I won't tell!"
Ooops! It just didn't strike us that durian popsicle was....well....durian! Honest mistake!
This sign at the Singapore Airport prohibits the transportation of durians.
Penalty: SGD500
In case you are wondering what I am ranting about, durians are prohibited in public transportation, hospitals, taxis and hotels in our country and most parts of South East Asia because of their overpowering pong.
Interestingly, did you know that in 2013, Sydney officials had to evacuate an entire floor of an office building after smelling what they thought was a gas leak.?! It was only much later that they discovered it was durian! The odour had wafted up through the vents from a neighboring warehouse where Malaysian agricultural staff were unloading a shipment of the pungent fruit!
The Star reports
Malaysia's Sydney Consulate agriculture director Muhammad Rudy Khairudin Mohd Nor said the 'gas' alert followed Agriculture Malaysia staff opening 10 packs of 'Musang King' and 'D24' durians at 2 pm for lab tests in their Sydney CBD office. The strong, pungent smell of the durians went into the ventilation system and reached the next office on the 15th floor of the Market St building. "The staff in the adjoining office, all Caucasians, panicked because they thought there was a gas leak ... they summoned the emergency services. The whole floor was evacuated within minutes," he said. Muhammad Rudy said security and emergency staff arrived at the 15th floor to investigate and, sniffing out evidence, ended up at the consulate seeking answers. "We explained that the smell came from the durians. The officers were amazed and puzzled how similar the smell was to gas, although they were convinced after we showed them the fruit and how it smells," he added.
*Salted egg meets croissant. The combo? An eruption of perfectly balanced sweet and savoury flavours that send your tastebuds to salted egg heaven! It's the best thing since cronuts!
And if that didn't pique your interest, watch this video!
Food porn at its best!
My love affair with this divine pastry started when my dear friend Val acquainted us when we met up for tea a couple of weeks ago. I had always thought that Kringelswere the best tea-time treats ever but now I'm a convert!
Thanks, Val! Muaahhhhhhh!
So enamored was I of this luscious pastry, l scoured the internet for info regarding its origins. Surprisingly, there is little history and no official wiki write-up on these babies. All I have learnt is that they debuted in Hong Kong and only hit Malaysian shores about a year ago and the mania has since swept neighbouring countries like Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines, etc. It was reported that when the frenzy first hit Malaysia, Singaporeans would cross over to neighbouring Johor and brave the long queues just to bag a couple of these home!
There is a right way of eating these beauties. You slice the croissant right in the middle and let all that golden yellow gooey goodness ooze out slowly before you cut up the rest of the pastry. Sop up the lava and nom, nom, nom, nom!The messier, the better!
It's hard to describe the taste. It's a chockfull of all things wonderful - buttery, creamy, gritty, sweet, savoury..... kinda like a cousin to Hollandaise, only better! The umami element from the salted egg yolk complements the sweet filling really well.
*For the uninitiated, salted eggs are brined duck eggs that are ubiquitous in most Asian cuisines. In Asian supermarkets, these eggs are sometimes sold covered in a thick layer of salted charcoal paste
Honest mistake!
