Going, staying

It seems like godpa's been going places. He's taken a long weekend break from work for swimming, window shopping, and exploring Singapore - a sort of staycation. Although I didn't get to join him, I'm cool about it as I'd rather stay cool indoors then get sweaty and stinky.

Given the great weather, a swim and tan at the pool was in order. Then it was off to wintery cold climates in Orchard Central, a new shopping mall that's beginning to fill up with shops. Godpa recommends trying the new Quiznos Sub sandwiches (looks very much like Subway), and Tully's Cafe, which coincidentally is next to Quiznos. Their Chai Latte is nicely spicy and frothy.

The next day godpa went off on his own to do a photo shoot in town. It's a rather solitary thing that requires a bit of venturing around little known streets and alleys. He also gets to "top up" on his tan.

He tells me tomorrow is Father's Day and the family's going on an excursion to the Jurong Bird Park. I love (chasing) birds but humans prefer to just watch them respectfully. Looks like I'll just have to wait to see godpa's photos. Hmm, he still has another day off so there's still chance that he may bring me out.

Hot Dog II

As promised, godpa helped me put up more glam shots. I prefer the blue background as it looks so professional like a studio backdrop. Maybe godpa should go into pet photography or I go into the dog walk industry.

With these photos and the tuned up camera settings, godpa has re-ignited his passion to make better use of his trusty D70s. He plans to bring it out on outings over the weekend.

Hot Dog I

Our fridge broke down this morning, fortunately it was a minor fault and cost godpa $180 for repairs. He took the morning off from work just so he could wait for the repairman, setup an emergency ice box, and perhaps shop for a new fridge. Afterall all my precious raw foods are in the freezer.

Not wanting to sit still, godpa took the time to take some glamour shots of me. It was also a good opportunity for him to fine tune his Nikon D70s (and brush up his rusty DSLR knowledge) as he had been considering upgrading but eventually convinced himself that it wasn't money worth spending. He says he'd rather save for some certificate in Narrative Therapy coming up soon. So he mounted one of his best prime lens and patiently waited for me to pose. Frankly I was more keen on napping.

There are more glamour shots but godpa's heading back to work soon.

Great Singapore what?

Godpa went to the PC Show over the weekend, and he told me what a show it was. A massively great show of littering -- brochures were strewn all over in the big exhibition halls, trampled to bits under scurrying feets eager to find a good sale for the latest gadget. What a total waste of paper and inconsiderate behaviour. Godpa only picked up two brochures just so he could check out printer prices as his old Canon is going kaput. He's been to previous shows but somehow this one's a big mess. Is the Singapore Kindness Movement of any use? Well, at least godpa remembers the propaganda of the courtesy jingle when he was a kid: "Courtesy is for free, courtesy is for you and me ..."

Thankfully not all experiences are unpleasant. There's always a silver lining somewhere. Like when godpa and his colleagues were treated to freshly made egg tarts by a client. Yum, human food smells so good. Too bad godpa watches my diet like a sight hound. He has bought something useful for me though, a large 3 litre bottle of Earthbath puppy shampoo that'll make me smell like a cherry. Well, he didn't choose it based on scent but on the more natural ingredients used. I'll have to wait for it to be home delivered though.

Mysteries and doubts

Godpa read somewhere that smaller dogs mature faster and live longer than larger breeds. He's not quite sure whether that applies to me as I behave like a clingy puppy. Could the vet have made a wrong estimate of my age? I guess no one will ever know and I can keep my age a secret.

I was weighed this morning at home and got a surprise reading of 5.5 kg. I gained more than 0.5 kg since March? I think we'd better go uncle Leon's house to weigh again (not to the vet's, thank you). Uncle Leon thinks I'm being overfed with carbo from having rice at dinner time. Yep, blame it on godpa's parents because they can't resist my charm. Here's proof.

Farm hound

Godpa "burnt" his Saturday attending some training. The venue was a pub restaurant in the Blair Plain Conservation Area, a place famous for Peranakan architecture. No dogs there but there were some friendly street cats. He took a photo of one that happened to be defensively staring at another alley cat. Gives me the shudders.

Our whole family went to D'Kranji Farm Resort yesterday. I was curious to see how a farm can become a resort. Godpa told me the concept is something like Qing Jing Farm in Taiwan but after yesterday's visit, he thinks the resort villas are overpriced considering the lack of natural scenery and the overall ambience of the place. Furthermore they don't welcome dogs to the resort except on special occasions such as the clubpets carnival.

The weather was just nice for us because it rained before we left the house. Poor Uncle Leon was having a sore throat but I'm glad Godpa was adamant on having this outing for me so I could show off my cute puppy haircut. There was a good crowd there and cars had to be parked along the road outside. The carnival itself was not a grand affair and had some stalls featuring dog food, doggy fashion, dog lessons, and grooming services. It was good that dogs and humans still came to support it though, especially for charitable causes like ASD, Noah's Ark, and SPCA. Godpa bought a nice white t-shirt from Noah's Ark, not for me, but for himself. It's rather cute with a big paw print embossed on dri-fit type material.

I received two photo requests, once by a grey haired Caucasian lady near the Noah's Ark stall. And another one after a sales guy came and requested us to join their lucky draw and photo contest. While all the dogs and owners seemed excited, my anxiety levels were pretty high because of my poor doggy social skills. My barks became a feature at the carnival site and it even led one man to give me a doggy dental treat. Other than quieting me, he was trying to introduce his product which unfortunately wasn't much of a success because I have great teeth from a raw diet.

Things were more peaceful for me when we explored the rest of the farm resort. The only incident was an unleashed JRT that came dashing out of a shop to tackle me. As we headed back to the car, I got a pleasant surprise as a fan of my blog came up to greet me. Godpa was surprised too when the young girl asked for my name and blog site to confirm who I was, and later revealed she follows my exploits on the blog.

I plonked straight into bed last night feeling comforted that I'm an urban dog who doesn't need to work her butt off as a farm hound. But I wonder if godpa wants me to work when he got me to pose with a bottle of tea this morning. Product endorsement anyone?

Cool cut

Godpa's going to be busy attending a full day training tomorrow so it's gonna be a boring Saturday. He told me about Sunday's programme at the clubpets event and it does look interesting.

Being an image conscious girl (and for the practical reason of keeping cool in this hot weather), I finally got my grooming yesterday. I'm pretty satisfied with it though godpa and Uncle Leon says my muzzle fur looks a bit messy. I suppose it makes me less cutesy looking.