2015.

As we envision a new phase of life together, there is no denial that sacrifices ought to be made.

2015 comes as a challenging year. Planning the wedding and doing house preparations simultaneously is absolutely a bad, bad idea. They get confusing after sometime, so all the while we feel that we were being led on by our vendors. They walked us through their proposal in lightning speed, and not giving us sufficient time to recollect our thoughts and consider our options... but who is to blame them? Their time is readily money. To be honest, we weren't able to tell whether what we have been spending on is considered a necessity or just sheer lavish. What is the balance here? How can we get everything at a reasonable price and yet at the same time have a "good wedding" and a "good home"? Seems impossible.

We will be in debt. A huge debt on top of our 30 years housing loan. Really, I worry. I worry about our bleak future in this country which has one of the highest standards of living. 

What has already been spent:

- $27K for 5% deposit of our house (paid in cash)

- $20K for renovation and electrical works

- $10K for our solemnization

- $5K for furniture and home appliances

Always thought that I will live out of "poverty" after my student days, but my short-sightedness has failed me and carried me thus far. Haha. Guess I'll still need to eat grass for two more long years before I can start saving again. 

My colleague who now has two kids told me he used to survive on bonuses for his wedding and house. Each payout from the company is used to pay a debt. He even went to ask people to pay back the money he loaned them. So people, if you have borrowed from me or JunWen, please start returning us our hard-earned money!

"Start small. Buy a 3-room HDB, and don't buy a car. That's how I started out." Says the good doctor. Haha.

I started out buying a 4-room flat. Sorry, boss.

Aiming to be debt-free in 3 years!

I guess, that's one of the challenges you face if you decide to get married. More to come!

I must admit that shopping for furniture and electronics are fun, even more fun than online shopping. 

My job entails talking to the nursing home residents about their views of death and the plans that the hospital wishes to help them with.

What left a deep impression was a young man who has multiple comorbidities. He knows his prognosis isn't good; he may pass away in a few years. When asked what makes his life meaningful, he said it is for the nurse to let him do wantever he does. By this, he means it is to not have the curry puff run out, or not to be forced to take a handful of medications every morning. Such simplicity one can ask for his life.

When you have met someone like this, you find that your problems are microscopic; they are what you see when you are up in the sky. Too small to be worth mentioning.

Have you ever wonder why stray dogs in the woods are not starved here? I mean they don't even look malnourished and gaunt from the malnutrition.

Yes, dog lovers. 

They are stray feeders who dedicate their lives to helping homeless dogs; they drive to such places after work to pay those strays a visit and feed them. It's a daily affair, mind you. 

Knowing a number of such people has been nothing but a blessing, as they have been my source of inspiration. 

;)

But these stray feeders usually are individual persons, not from any organization. Hence, on a personal level, other than food to offer, they have no resources to render help to the dogs which are wounded. That's when many came to animal welfare organizations for help. Although the shelter is full and we can't help every dog, injured dogs have been listed as the SOS rescue team's top priority. Hence, as long as the dog is injured, they will help regardless. Regardless of the medical fees and the stress to other dogs in the shelter that came along.

I received requests from animal enthusiasts to help abandoned dogs, but there's really so little that I can do. Shelter is always at its fullest capacity; with its full-time staff overworked, I can't possibly keep every dog in my house. However, when a stray feeder fed me with images of the dog with a big maggot wound on his neck, I know we have to do something, and I know we will. I can't concentrate on anything else except getting help and coordinating with both the requester and the SOS team. It was Good Friday the next day, and Simba and I spent a lazy day at home; mainly cos we need to get firsthand news on the dog and act on it fast. 

It was indeed stressful worrying about whether the dog will run away from the feeder and avoid humans from then now. It will be harder and harder to trap him and he will die from the wound if infected.

However, it turned out that he was lured by the food and trusted the feeder enough to have him leash him.;)

He was weak. Fearful and not knowing what to expect, he was initially reluctant to go out of the transport container into the isolation cage. Of course, after some coaxing, he allowed the feeder to gently pull him out.

I feel bad for asking the shelter manager come back to the shelter on a public holiday. She has been overexerting herself for the dogs. SOSD is already 24/7 for volunteers like me, and for a full time staff like her, there will be like a thousand unread msgs if she were to leave her phone alone for an hour. She took pics of him and examine his maggot wound closely, for the purpose of reporting to the SOS team on severity of his condition.

The cost of a vet visit on a public holiday is rocket high, and undoubtedly unaffordable. Our president is a doctor, who came down soon after to treat the wound and we are deeply appreciative of this fact.

The moment he realized that he is trapped in the cage. He looked so sad I can't help but feel for him. Imagine being a free roaming dog for a few years and you got trapped because you followed the only human you ever trusted your whole life.

You must have felt so betrayed.

He was such a gentle and calm creature, emaciated and dehydrated looking too.

The feeder named him "Ah Chui", Hokkien for water. Maybe he is a fengshui person and thinks good fortune. Haha.

He didn't cringe in pain even when we applied a powder that relieves pain, and when we touched the region surrounding his wound. He must have been too weak and the wound area must have been numb after his mind constantly influenced him to ignore the pain and survive. Mind over body.

While we were all worrying for him, Simba went to other isolation cages to interact with other dogs. Cat sounds from his phone reverberated through the isolation ward, and Simba's motive? Yes, to attempt to make the dogs go crazy... but to his surprise (not mine), they didn't bark or react strongly. Lol. But of course! The dogs at the shelter have been well trained by volunteers; they walk by their side and when these volunteers stop, they stop as well. 

After settling him down, Simba and I were supposed to walk to the nearest bus stop and take a bus back. But fate has it that the direction idiot (yours truly) took him the wrong way and we walked miles before we reached Tebing Lane. It's a chill out place for people who have just exercised at the park.

Then we walked to Punggol Park via the park connector.

As usual, he couldn't resist the opportunity to exercise at the exercise corner. He couldn't possibly let it slip past us.

Photogrid of what Good Friday 2015 brought us.

And that night, maggots were removed from the opening by Dr Siew. Ah Chui was bandaged up.;) 

The feeder told us that after Ah Chui recovers, we can put him back to the cemetery since he has been taken care of by the feeder. However, during his few weeks of recuperating in the shelter, this friendly and positive personality has warmed the hearts of volunteers there. He's now renamed Charlie and we are ready to have him in the shelter until he gets adopted!;)

Sometimes it's dogs like Charlie that reminds me to hang in there.

And some dogs are really super cute, like Sage here. It makes all you are doing for them worthwhile.