Li Lian

  • My Dog Has Dental Problems

    My sister took Boo Boo for his annual vaccination, and during the routine overall health examination, the vet confirmed that Boo Boo requires dental treatment.

    He explained that Boo Boo will need to be anesthesized during this scaling procedure. The evening before the procedure, Boo Boo will have to fast – no water, no food. How is Boo Boo suppose to understand why he is not being given food and water? We will then have to send him to the vet in the morning where he will be given the anesthetics. He will then be in a state of ‘sleep’, and in the evening, when the anesthetics starts to wear off, while he is still groggy the scaling process will start.

    I AM SO TORN AS TO WHETHER BOO BOO NEEDS THIS DENTAL TREATMENT!

    There are useful websites proclaiming that the long-term risk of ignoring the pet’s teeth is greater than the short-term risk of anesthesia. They also claim that a pet can only have complete dentistry while under anesthesia. Oral disease in pets will lead to heart, liver or kidney diseases (More details: www.veterinarypartner.com and www.petdental.com)

    And websites wanting to sell pet oral care scare me with details like ‘risky anesthesia scaling causes 1 in 400 dogs to die’ and ‘1 in 8 dogs suffer side effects from anesthesia’. These oral care spray and gel claims to remove plaque, tartar and kills bacteria. Before and after pictures shows a difference in 6 weeks. A set of spray and gel costs USD39.95. (More details: www.petzlife.com) This product has also been approved by the Animal Wellness Magazine. And so, I made my sister go online to purchase this product. Shipping costs USD16.00.

    Whilst waiting for this product to arrive, I go to a pet store to get him toothpaste. It’s edible PET! toothpaste. It’s beef flavoured. Boo Boo obviously didn’t think it tasted like beef. He wiggled and struggled for the full 8 minutes I tried to brush his teeth. My sister had to help hold him still. And still it was almost an impossible task. No wonder pets need anesthetic for dentistry! When brushing his teeth, I further noticed how awful his teeth are! One of them was loose and shaky too! I think he really needs to go for scaling.

    So, the appointment shall be made this coming Thursday.

    Boo Boo, please don’t be too mad with us. We love you so, and this decision is made with so much thought and consideration.

    And to all pet owners, please remember to brush your pet’s teeth!

  • Stares, Sniffs and Smiles

    I am sure we’ve all been served ‘bad’ food when dining out. By ‘bad’ I mean the food could be off, or taste suspicious, or even perhaps have a foreign object in it that’s not part of the meal you ordered.

    Ever notice how the first thing the waiter or waitress will do when you ask for their assistance is to STARE! at you blankly? After staring at you blankly, then they will stare at your meal, as if they’ve never seen it before in their lives!

    The next thing they will do is to SNIFF! your meal. Why would they think that by smelling my meal, that they would be able to confirm that it has gone bad? And what happens after that?! Why don’t you just go ahead and have a little taste of my food while it is still in front of me to validate my complaint?

    After being really defensive, they would then SMILE! at me as if I were a lunatic, and confirm that there is nothing wrong with my meal. Based on sniffing it, it is confirmed that my meal is ok, and I am a complete nutcase.

    When faced with less satisfactory customer service at an eating outlet, I suppose we should try to be nice. After all, the waiter or waitress is probably having a really hard day. By being nice and empathizing with how busy and overworked they are, perhaps I could touch them into feeling sorry for having neglected me, and for thinking that I was complaining about my meal for a laugh?

  • Gifted? Talented? Something else?

    Have you ever seen what a ‘.php’ script looks like? I don’t even know if that is what it’s called. If you are using WordPress like me, and you want to edit something on your ‘sidebar’, you’ll be faced with a mountain of gibberish! At least that is what I thought it looked like.

    Jax was trying to teach me how to make some amendments on my sidebar. The column of things that you see on the top right of this this web page.

    Even with a step-by-step guide, I found it indiscernible! Jax calls is ‘script editing’. I call it alien language. I asked him how he learnt it. And he told me that he was perhaps ‘born with it – it felt like he just knew and understood it’.

    So, is there an ‘IT’ gene? Is there a ‘programming’ gene? Why are some people just more technically and computer literate than others? Is being technically inclined something that you either have, or you don’t?

    Does that make these group of people an elite group of people, or am I just an idiot when it comes to anything to do with technology?

  • Cafe Mocha

    1/3 espresso, 2/3 steamed milk, and a portion of chocolate!

    This is my current addiction.

    I satisfy my addiction from Starbucks or Coffee Bean. Because there are many many outlets available. But none within walking distance.

    I do wonder why it costs so much for a cup of ‘specialty’ coffee? It will cost an average of RM10.00 for a cup of coffee. Even more so, for one of those ice-blended novelties.

    So, why do we pay 10 times more for coffee without complaining? Why would we, with a median salary of RM2k (age group between 18-25) and RM4.7K (age group between 25-44) allow ‘sipping’ of bucks from our wallets?

    Is it an emotional ritualistic experince we seek by doing something nice for ourselves?

    Is it a status symbol? Whereby it is COOL! to be seen in one of these outlets? Maybe that’s why a cup of coffee costs so much! They are always located in prime locations. Rent must cost a bomb. Does holding a paper/plastic cup from Starbucks of Coffee Bean say out loud, “I am wealthy enough not to care about overspending for coffee”?

    My cup of coffee will pay for Keith, the barista to smile at me, there’s electricity, milk, water, internet access (this is a free service they provide), cost of paper cup, washing the cup….. is that it?

    Will I continue to succumb to my addiction? I think so. Most likely. Definitely. I’ve tried making my own cafe mocha, but it just doesn’t taste the same! I have been sucked in to the ‘coffee community’. And I haven’t got a clue as to why I am a sucker for cafe mocha that costs RM12.00.

  • Not so hungry…

    I have been refraining from snacking for 5 days now. Did I snack less? Yes, I did. The thought of writing down everything I snacked on was somewhat enough to put me off snacking. But I just ended up eating bigger meals. Oh, and I did gain weight in 5 days.

    This will sound like an excuse, but I was eating bigger meals because I was eating out all weekend!

    So, I’d say, the key to healthy eating and weight maintenance would be to have your meals regularly, in non-excessive amounts. To snack if you feel like it, but snack healthily on appetite suppressing snacks, and to keep a food diary. I have actually heard of people who took pictures of everything they ate with their camera phones, and at the end of every day and every week – review the amount that they have eaten. This would be a good enough indication, and quite off putting way of confirming how we sometimes tend to pig out!