An Animal Communicator

SO, Rosina, the animal communciator, came to deal with poo-eating Bolt today. I kinda got more than what I'd bargained for. 

Rosina arrives and quickly identifies Bolt as the problematic one. "He knows he is the naughty boy," Rosina says, "is he the one in trouble? He thinks he is in big trouble, but he is not upset," she translates his barking. She explains that he is a "very hungry boy" and that's probably because when he was a puppy, he was starved so he would look small and cute. Poor Bolt!

Apparently, Bolts fears he will get sent away again. He thinks Rosina is here to take him away. Batman feels the same. He is very sensitive, very scared. While Ding Ding is a "gentle soul" but has problems with Bolt. He feels a bit left out, maybe because he has not been enough attention from us. Oh no!

Batman also had a terrible puppyhood ... Rosina says she can hear a lot of "screaming" inside his head "I am having problem reading him". :o0  Batman apparently is full of feminine energy and should have been a girl (should we re-christened her BatGirl?) ... s/he ie very nervous and we should be careful with him/her during thunderstorms. Poor Batman ...

Anyway, we are advised to treat Batman like a little girl because, err, that is what he is! If he is confused about his sexuality, so are we now!  But he/she is a cool kinda chick and likes car rides (!!!) Anyway, he is also a very dog ... Rosina reassures the pair that they wouldn't get abandoned again and promised Bolt that if he stops eating his poo, we'd feed him with chicken snacks (his favourite - so we are told). She says Bolt is very strong -- an Alpha Dog. He knows why she is here.  He tries to become "the boss" around and we should not let boss Ding Ding around. "Bolt is the Attention Seeker, Schemer and People Pleaser" says Rosina.

Hold on to that pal, cos Bolt will sneaky up behind you and snatch it

Rosina says Ding Ding has not been his older self, he is no longer energetic and he is jealous of Bolt, who IS enegetic. We have been advised that he should have his own things.

But here comes the most spooky part of the consultation: about 30 minutes in, Rosina stares at Ding Ding who is resting in his "room" (a large cage he's been sleeping in since a puppy) and says after a pause: "Was there another dog? Did it die?" Tears swell in my eyes. How did she know? She then says Dong Dong (the other dog who did die, a year ago) is "still in this flat", not so much her "spirit" but memories of her ... so towards the end of the session, Rosina "takes" me and Ding Ding to meet with Dong Dong, who is now residing happily on the other side of Rainbow Bridge. Weird, huh?

In memory of our sweet, sweet darling Dong Dong

Three Reviews

Caught three shows over the weekend and they were all entertaining in their own sweet ways. But let's start off with Romeo and Juliet by a local amateur theatre group. It's not your traditional Shakespeare play as the director decided to give it a contemporary spin, with a rock n roll soundtrack/costumes/set to match. Unfortunately I didn't make it past intermission. It was not so much the style - I enjoyed the movie version of R&J, which this production is kind of similar to - but  the two leads I had problems with. Sure, they are kinda cute in the posters but Romeo swung between being stiff to over dramatic (like, throwing himself onto the floor in  despair). While Juliet ... well, in the scene that followed the murder of Tybalt, she came on stage and ... spotted something (the dagger that killed Tybalt?) on the floor and, instead of ignoring it, she gave it a good wack with her foot, sending it flying back backstage. I was a little surprised by that, since the (emotional) scene had already started. But what was really funny was that the bloke sitting in front began to bop up and down on his seat, trying not to laugh out loud. In fact, he tried so hard he was wiping his eyes. Then I started to laugh ... it was kind of hysterical - and the scene in complete ruins.

Courtesy of Orpheus Theatre

The night before I was at a classical music concert with a Disney theme. It was enjoyable as the tunes  (inlcuding Chim Chim Cher-ee in Mary Poppins) brought back some fond childhood memories. The only drawback of the evening was the conductor who, was whatever reason, was a tad nervous. He actually read out of his "cat paper"! Which was kind of surprising given he had performed in public zillions of times and had appeared on British telly.

Courtesy of the HK Sinfonietta

Piano Battle 2, the last show I saw over the weekend, was by far the most entertaining. The idea behind this concert is that two pianists are to battle it out at their keyboard. I saw the two (German) pianists Paul (below right) and Andreas (below left) performed last year and they were great. What impressed me most was Paul's playing (esp. Chopin), which is as light as feathers and very, very lyrical. Andreas, on the other hand, is not as sensitive a player but full of fun and character ... your typical Big Kid Next Door. Anyway, the local audience obviously voted more on personality than the performance/music itself. So, yes, Andreas, last year's winner, won again. They are set to conquer South Korea with this idea so good luck, boys!

Courtesy of artists

An Extremely Sore Core

Ouch! What's going on? "Core" continues to hurt ... Injury!!! Actually, this is what is known as "good pain" as I know (hope!) it will go away this weekend. It's been, hmmm, 20 months+ (who's been counting?!?) since I first stepped on a yoga mat and the experience can only be described as "transforming". Better blood ciculation, better digestion, straighter spine (my brother asked the other day: "Have you grown?"), more and stronger muscles, more confidence etc. But when I first started, I thought I was just going to practise once a week (frankly, when I signed my first 12-month contract, what went through my head was less how I would benfit from yoga but roughly how much each class would cost and how I could make it as cheap as possible. I AM so cheap!) ... anyway, what propelled me and a fellow colleague to the yoga studio (advertised below!!) was 1) it was only a skip and a hop from our office then and 2) my neck was SO TENSE it began to block off circulation to my brain, hence I was having occasional "fainting spells" (I only discovered after having checked the ticker, which was fine, and a session at the acupuncturist - the day of the Sichuan Earthquake ...)

And that was how it started. At the beginning, I used to lie on the mat, staring at the ceiling thinking: this is weird, it's like being a character in some movie ... the first few classes were a killer ... bending forward meant hands going down as far as where the knees are, and after each class I felt completely drained. Then there was the "spiritual" aspects of yoga. I used to think my instructors were kinda crazy. What ARE they talking about: breathing into areas you feel pain, inner body bright? Err, What? However I soon before accustomed to this new language (verbal and physical) and after a few weeks, one class became two, two became three ... and before you can say shavasana I was doing double classes and the more physically demanding classes.

My yoga gear ...  dog not included

(and stop looking at the Mickey Mouse pillow case and bed sheet)

Having good teachers is one of the major motivations and I was lucky to have quite a few. Each of them has a different style/take on yoga practice and, to be honest, after awhile you kind of fall in love with them all because these are very kind, gentle and generous people (unlike many I encounter in my professional life!) The trick for progression is also to start off easy, with understanding instructors, before moving onto the more challenging classes/instructors. That is what I did. The first year was basically spent understanding what yoga is: the importance of breathing and alignment before applying your understanding to the practice. I love the spiritual stuff too ... but then, not all instructors are into that, and those who are, they don't usually hang around forever. The past six months I have been following a different set of instructors who are basically more into the physical aspect. Which is fine with me. But am hoping to strike a more "phsycial/metaphysical" balance in the coming months.

There is a two-day, eight-hour workshop coming up next month and I've signed up for it. Alighment is still an issue because of my tight hips etc (see my New Year Resolutions) but, perhaps because I am relatively light (not over 130lbs), inversion poses seem, to/for me, more manageable. I'm looking forward to that because I will be able to assess where I am at today and how to move forward from here.

Nexus Hysterics

Oh yes, it's HERE! Spanking New. Am charging it tonight so can spend whole of tomorrow figuring out how to use it. I've never used the Android OS before so definitely need time to explore. So far, I like what I see: big screen, vibrant colours, sturdy built ... Geek Alert going off ... Dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo

But won't be able to spend entire day sussing it tomorrow cos I've also have booked two yoga classes. Last night's Core Class was a killer. Was doing headstand then lifting legs up and down. So it was a bit like a reversed sit up. So up and down, up and down, for God knows how many times ... until instructor finally said stop. Is he a sadist? Anyway, core muscles hurting like mad today, meaning I really worked them hard - and said instructor actually did a great job. Maybe I am just a masochist ...

A Little Delight

OH YES, MINE IS ON ITS WAY :o)

A Pet Problem

Bolt, or "Ball Ball" (typical Cantonese pet dog name) as my parents call him, is a super-cute, clever and adorable little Bichon Frise (see photo gallery). He was an abandoned pet and my family took him in after our other dog died of a sudden heart attack last April. Bolt is what I always wanted ... a poster dog. Then one morning months ago, my mom discovered that, underneath all that cute white fluff buries an unspeakable truth: Bolt is a poo-eating dog. *horror* That's right. What we initially thought was a mere puppyhood phase has now turned into a perpetual habit. And we have tried EVERTHING to deter him from eating his chocolate pudding but NOTHING has so far worked. So, out of desperation I've emailed a pet communicator tonight, hoping that she would talk him out of this nasty habit. Well, we shall see. It's just that I think punishing him is a bit cruel and not the solution. The message simply doesn't seem to have sunk in.

Whatever you do, DO NOT LET HIM LICK YOU!!!

Anyway, it will be nice to find out more about his background: where he lived before and, possibly, why he was abandoned. Hope he doesn't start telling communicator about OUR bad habits though ....

Something/Someone Missing

Suddenly I have the song Missing playing in my head. So having rummaged through some old boxes I've found this:

Well, I don't have the CD case anymore but had taken the disc out. Everything But the Girl (EBTG) has been my favourite "band" (well, there are only the two of them, Ben & Tracey) since they did the cover for Rod Stewart's I Don't Wanna Talk About It. Tracey's velvety voice is hypnotic... smooth and silky and soulful. So I first bought Idlewild, then worked backwards in their collection - Eden, Love Not Money, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright - before getting every single studio release over the next god knows how many years. The latest being Thorn's solo album Out of the Woods. Today though, I want to listen to Missing (Track Six) because, well, I'm missing the people I love. The song is particularly sad, about a girl looking for a former boyfriend who has "disappeared somewhere". And when she walks pass his old place, all there is left are their memories.

And I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain ...

Perhaps I'm just bored. Downloaded some stuff off BT (I know, bad boy, bad boy) last week and saw the bumper NY edition of Dr Who. The story was a bit confusing but just wanted to watch something British (and am sci-fi/tech geek ... ordered Nexus One already ... yeah!!) There were lots of cameos towards the end of the show but who ARE these people?

Anyway, off to yoga tomorrow. Am getting a little obsessed with "alignment" lately. CanNOT believe I can't even "do" the basic Warrior 1 and 2 poses without looking deformed ... my hips are literally all over the place. I saw on one YouTube clip in which the instructor says, in Warrior 1, your hips should be like two headlights pointing to the front. Now, no matter how I ADJUST my hips, one headlight is always pointing sideway!!! Anyway, will continue to practise and practise and practise until, well, miracle strikes.

There are miracles, right?

My New Year Resolutions

Well, Christmas and New Year 'd come and gone and my new year resolutions for 2010 are as follows (though not in any particular order):

 

* to write better;

* to be a better person;

* to better my yoga practice;

* to find love

The first one on the list is probably, and relatively, the easiest, given it is not really dififcult If I put my mind to it. It is, therefore, achieveable. To better my yoga practice is also not going to be impossible because I love my practice -- though it does mean a lot of hard work because there are many physical limitations (extraordinarily tight hips and groin) that are stopping me from "perfecting" various poses that I need to overcome. But I can always work towards that perfection and, though challenging, is achieveable.

OMG, it's Patrick Creelman in another incredible pose!!!

Better oneself is tricky. Like everyone else (are there perfect humans?) I am born with fundamental flaws: a sense of insecurity, jealousy, greed (and so on) so this one certainly needs a bit of effort. But will try, try and try ...

And to find love. Hmm, not even sure this should be a resolution because can you work on finding love (?) Where to look? How to look? What to look? Will there be signs? Will I have to work hard to find them?