I have a friend. Her name is Kelly. I got to know her when I was 13, she was 22. Now I'm 23, she's 32. Time flies, right? I was walking Gucci one fine day in my neighbourhood and she was walking Lassie. The first time I saw Lassie, she looked like a lion because she had the fur shaved off the lower half of her body as a result of skin problems. Anyway, she was called the "Lion King dog" by my dad. I called her Lassie even though I didn't know if that was really her name, I just followed the old movie. And yes it was. Lassie didn't need to be on a leash, and Kelly wouldn't say hi or anything whenever I called Lassie over to pat her. And Lassie would come, tail wagging so hard that even her butt would move too. She was adorable. Kelly didn't utter a single word until I-don't-know-how-many-months later. Out of the blue, she just said to me, "Eh! Don't you have school today!" or something like that... I really can't remember. But as the months passed, I liked Kelly a lot - she was my role model. She brought me to church and gave me presents and dinner treats on my birthday every year. We were in the same cell group, I was quite chummy with her mum too. But as I grew older, the presents slowly stopped. I'm not resenting it, I'm just saying it's good that she knows I'm no longer the awkward kid she used to know.
Anyway, Kelly moved house when I was 15. I was sad of course, because I wouldn't see her walk Lassie past my grandfather's house anymore (he stayed on the 1st floor next to the park). Actually I still miss poking my head out the door to check round the corner whenever I hear her footsteps or Lassie's bell. =( Kelly would say hi to my grandfather, he loved Lassie too. Everyone did. After Kelly shifted, we still managed to keep in touch. At first. First off, we were in the same cell group and then after I stopped going to that, I would still sometimes take an hour-long bus journey to her workplace to have lunch with her during her hour-long lunch break before I made the journey home again. Yeah I know, a lot of effort right! To cut the whole story short, I guess it was kinda expected that we lost touch after awhile because she wasn't staying in my neighbourhood anymore and she was always so busy with work. She's one helluva workaholic. Her routine is really..... routine: work, sleep, church on Saturdays and Sundays, sleep, work, church. And she works in a church. -_- So as you can expect, she's wayyyyyy too holy. Actually the reason why I didn't want to communicate much with her anymore was because of her telling me about the word of God too much. I know you might say, "There's never 'too much' of God." Yes, but there is something called "over-zealousness". I mean, every time she text me, it was about God or a Bible verse extracted from the Bible. And I realised that I couldn't really take it anymore when every time I had a problem and told her, she'd tell me to pray or ask God or go to church, etc. I've said it so many times before; if I wanted to know what God thought about this or that, I would have asked him myself. I would have gone to church or prayed on my own or picked up the Bible on my own. But I wanted to know what she thought, not God. I got tired of her telling me about God every time I tried to communicate with her, so I stopped contacting her for awhile. She text me to be safe when I went to LA, and said to call out to God when I am in trouble. -____- Precisely what I'm talking about. I didn't respond... My grandfather passed away 2 months after I came back from LA. I picked up the phone and called Kelly. I asked if she could send someone from church down to talk to my unconscious grandfather in the hopes that maybe he could hear and accept Christ and go to Heaven. She told me to do it, but I was quite helpless because I didn't speak his Fuchou dialect well. Whatever little Hokkien I knew, I couldn't string them into sentences. I did tell Kelly that my grandfather was dying. I remembered blabbering on about how he couldn't go yet because I was gonna ask Kelly to bring Lassie to see him since he loved Lassie too. After that phone call, my grandfather passed away the following day. No, he didn't get to see Lassie again. Everything happened fast after that, and I was busy attending his funeral and all. I started resenting Kelly because she never turned up to see my grandfather for the last time, and she wasn't there at the most crucial time I needed my friend.
As you can see, it took me more than 6 months to get over it before I could pick up the phone to call her again. We spoke for slightly over an hour on the phone. She asked me what's up, and I said nothing much - I just called because I hadn't spoken to her in a long time. We mentioned my grandfather in passing and I couldn't bring myself to ask her why she didn't come to the funeral. Was it because it was a Buddhist funeral and she was too holy a Christian? Was it because of work, as usual? Or was it because she simply didn't want to come? I really have no idea, but I never managed to ask. I was quite glad it wasn't in person because I was trying so hard not to cry. Imagine holding on to the phone and swallowing that ball in your throat.
My friend asked me yesterday what I would be doing today. I told him I was gonna visit a long-time old friend of mine but I still had this little resentment in me. And he showed me this video:
I cried torrents of tears, and I couldn't help watching it over and over. It might seem like it doesn't have anything to do with what I'm talking about but the last part does, when the video says to "get in touch with somebody today, you'll be glad you did". Anyway, to sidetrack a bit, I think people should know now why a person like me (and a lot of others out there) can love animals so much. They are different from us humans, yet they are so full of compassion, so full of humanity. Nobody remembers you as fondly as they do, nobody loves you as unconditionally as they do..... They're the most non-judgmental living things I know. This is the best reunion I've seen in my entire life, and I don't think there could ever be a better one. I love you, Christian........ ♥ ♥ ♥
So I went over to Kelly's house earlier today, and sat and chatted with her and her mum for 2 hours over green tea and a piece of cake. I told them about my plans for the future (regardless of whether they would work out or not), the jerks I met, I told them about Gucci and Cookie, about my work... Kelly's mum asked about my family, and I told her about my grandfather. She asked me if Kelly went for the funeral, and I shook my head. She said she didn't know, or she would have gone on her behalf. I just shrugged; I still cannot really talk about my grandfather without tearing up. Anyway he's gone now, so what's the point of fretting over funeral attendance anymore? I would have loved to tell them more, but I said I couldn't, and then mock-threatened to burst into tears if we didn't change the topic right then. 2 hours seemed like such an awfully short time to catch up on more than 6 months' worth of happenings. I wished Kelly had more time but she said she needed to go to bed for work tomorrow. Her dad and brother also came and went, and for a split second, it felt like I was 13 again. I was excited to see Lassie as well, but when I came to the door, only 2 dogs came running. One was Seven, and I could recognise her 'cos she's the only black one. The other one didn't look like Lassie at all - it was Tinkle. I was gonna ask Kelly where Lassie was when she opened the door for me, but I didn't need to because Kelly said, "There, Lassie's in her basket chewing her bone." I looked down at my feet and there Lassie was, dear old Lassie. My heart broke when I saw her because she has aged so, so much. I cannot even remember the last time I saw her. Her fur was going in patches and she looked shrivelled up. She just looked so small and worn. I didn't dare to touch her because she might bite while chewing her bone, but a part of me didn't dare because she looked like she might break. I was quite confused since Gucci is 12 and Lassie is only a year older but they looked so much different from each other. Gucci sleeps a lot too now, yes... But his fur is still okay except for old age spots everywhere on his skin which I can see when his fur is wet, but he's still very much active when he wants to play.
Lassie didn't look like Lassie at all, but I knew it was still her when she reached out to paw me as a sign to say "pat me". Dear old Lassie. This was Lassie 4 or 5 years ago, if I remember correctly:
And this is Lassie now (she doesn't like to take photos):
Seven:
Tinkle:
I feel bad that I've missed out on Lassie so much. =( She's lost weight, hasn't she? In the past when I wanted to carry her, I had to have Kelly do it and put her in my lap 'cos she was so heavy. Now I can carry her up easily on my own. This time whenever I want to see her, Kelly would always say, "Not free." Actually I was to meet Kelly for dinner at the mall next Monday, but she brought it forward 'cos something else came up. Therefore I went to her house instead, which I wanted to because I wanted to visit Lassie. It's been quite a long time, I almost lost my way while walking from the bus-stop. I know Lassie's not my dog, but I love her all the same... she's been a part of me since I was 12. She was always so welcoming, trotting over happily whenever I called her, and her fur would fly and bounce with the wind and her steps. She's much more dear to me compared to Seven and Tinkle because they came later. Not to say that I dislike Seven and Tinkle, but you know what I mean. I would hate it very much if Kelly didn't tell me should Lassie pass on one day... I noticed that Kelly didn't allow Lassie to sleep while I was there. She would say, "Wake up, Lass. Don't sleep." Lassie's ears are a bit off now, she cannot hear when someone calls. So we'd have to catch her eye and wave enthusiastically if we wanted her to come over. Kelly seemed really calm about the possibility of Lassie passing on in time to come, though... Maybe because she's experienced it with her previous Pomeranian before, back when she was still in school and we weren't yet friends. Actually, maybe a little bit too zen...? X_X I wonder if the same thing applies to why she didn't turn up for my grandfather's funeral. =|
I took a long time to say goodbye to Lassie before I left for the night because I really don't know when I'd see her again. Kelly walked me to the new bus-stop after. I had to run to catch the bus 'cos it was leaving, so it was a rushed farewell. Anyway she's going to shift house again, back nearer to my area. For that, I'm glad.
Talking about Lassie and all that, it makes my heart heavy. People get so caught up in their own lives that they don't actually realise how fast time flies by like nobody's business. Time really is a funny thing - it passes by so swiftly when you're having fun or intently occupied with something, it crawls along as slow as a snail when you keep looking at it. It really is true when they say that "time waits for no man". I don't know if Kelly reads my blog even though she knows I have one. She's rarely online and even if she is, all she does is check her email for work. But either way, I just wanted to say that it was great catching up and I have really, really missed her. As a friend, I have missed her.
I have a friend. Her name is Kelly. I got to know her when I was 13, she was 22. Now I'm 23, she's 32. Time flies, right? I was walking Gucci one fine day in my neighbourhood and she was walking Lassie. The first time I saw Lassie, she looked like a lion because she had the fur shaved off the lower half of her body as a result of skin problems. Anyway, she was called the "Lion King dog" by my dad. I called her Lassie even though I didn't know if that was really her name, I just followed the old movie. And yes it was. Lassie didn't need to be on a leash, and Kelly wouldn't say hi or anything whenever I called Lassie over to pat her. And Lassie would come, tail wagging so hard that even her butt would move too. She was adorable. Kelly didn't utter a single word until I-don't-know-how-many-months later. Out of the blue, she just said to me, "Eh! Don't you have school today!" or something like that... I really can't remember. But as the months passed, I liked Kelly a lot - she was my role model. She brought me to church and gave me presents and dinner treats on my birthday every year. We were in the same cell group, I was quite chummy with her mum too. But as I grew older, the presents slowly stopped. I'm not resenting it, I'm just saying it's good that she knows I'm no longer the awkward kid she used to know.
Anyway, Kelly moved house when I was 15. I was sad of course, because I wouldn't see her walk Lassie past my grandfather's house anymore (he stayed on the 1st floor next to the park). Actually I still miss poking my head out the door to check round the corner whenever I hear her footsteps or Lassie's bell. =( Kelly would say hi to my grandfather, he loved Lassie too. Everyone did. After Kelly shifted, we still managed to keep in touch. At first. First off, we were in the same cell group and then after I stopped going to that, I would still sometimes take an hour-long bus journey to her workplace to have lunch with her during her hour-long lunch break before I made the journey home again. Yeah I know, a lot of effort right! To cut the whole story short, I guess it was kinda expected that we lost touch after awhile because she wasn't staying in my neighbourhood anymore and she was always so busy with work. She's one helluva workaholic. Her routine is really..... routine: work, sleep, church on Saturdays and Sundays, sleep, work, church. And she works in a church. -_- So as you can expect, she's wayyyyyy too holy. Actually the reason why I didn't want to communicate much with her anymore was because of her telling me about the word of God too much. I know you might say, "There's never 'too much' of God." Yes, but there is something called "over-zealousness". I mean, every time she text me, it was about God or a Bible verse extracted from the Bible. And I realised that I couldn't really take it anymore when every time I had a problem and told her, she'd tell me to pray or ask God or go to church, etc. I've said it so many times before; if I wanted to know what God thought about this or that, I would have asked him myself. I would have gone to church or prayed on my own or picked up the Bible on my own. But I wanted to know what she thought, not God. I got tired of her telling me about God every time I tried to communicate with her, so I stopped contacting her for awhile. She text me to be safe when I went to LA, and said to call out to God when I am in trouble. -____- Precisely what I'm talking about. I didn't respond... My grandfather passed away 2 months after I came back from LA. I picked up the phone and called Kelly. I asked if she could send someone from church down to talk to my unconscious grandfather in the hopes that maybe he could hear and accept Christ and go to Heaven. She told me to do it, but I was quite helpless because I didn't speak his Fuchou dialect well. Whatever little Hokkien I knew, I couldn't string them into sentences. I did tell Kelly that my grandfather was dying. I remembered blabbering on about how he couldn't go yet because I was gonna ask Kelly to bring Lassie to see him since he loved Lassie too. After that phone call, my grandfather passed away the following day. No, he didn't get to see Lassie again. Everything happened fast after that, and I was busy attending his funeral and all. I started resenting Kelly because she never turned up to see my grandfather for the last time, and she wasn't there at the most crucial time I needed my friend.
As you can see, it took me more than 6 months to get over it before I could pick up the phone to call her again. We spoke for slightly over an hour on the phone. She asked me what's up, and I said nothing much - I just called because I hadn't spoken to her in a long time. We mentioned my grandfather in passing and I couldn't bring myself to ask her why she didn't come to the funeral. Was it because it was a Buddhist funeral and she was too holy a Christian? Was it because of work, as usual? Or was it because she simply didn't want to come? I really have no idea, but I never managed to ask. I was quite glad it wasn't in person because I was trying so hard not to cry. Imagine holding on to the phone and swallowing that ball in your throat.
My friend asked me yesterday what I would be doing today. I told him I was gonna visit a long-time old friend of mine but I still had this little resentment in me. And he showed me this video:
I cried torrents of tears, and I couldn't help watching it over and over. It might seem like it doesn't have anything to do with what I'm talking about but the last part does, when the video says to "get in touch with somebody today, you'll be glad you did". Anyway, to sidetrack a bit, I think people should know now why a person like me (and a lot of others out there) can love animals so much. They are different from us humans, yet they are so full of compassion, so full of humanity. Nobody remembers you as fondly as they do, nobody loves you as unconditionally as they do..... They're the most non-judgmental living things I know. This is the best reunion I've seen in my entire life, and I don't think there could ever be a better one. I love you, Christian........ ♥ ♥ ♥
So I went over to Kelly's house earlier today, and sat and chatted with her and her mum for 2 hours over green tea and a piece of cake. I told them about my plans for the future (regardless of whether they would work out or not), the jerks I met, I told them about Gucci and Cookie, about my work... Kelly's mum asked about my family, and I told her about my grandfather. She asked me if Kelly went for the funeral, and I shook my head. She said she didn't know, or she would have gone on her behalf. I just shrugged; I still cannot really talk about my grandfather without tearing up. Anyway he's gone now, so what's the point of fretting over funeral attendance anymore? I would have loved to tell them more, but I said I couldn't, and then mock-threatened to burst into tears if we didn't change the topic right then. 2 hours seemed like such an awfully short time to catch up on more than 6 months' worth of happenings. I wished Kelly had more time but she said she needed to go to bed for work tomorrow. Her dad and brother also came and went, and for a split second, it felt like I was 13 again. I was excited to see Lassie as well, but when I came to the door, only 2 dogs came running. One was Seven, and I could recognise her 'cos she's the only black one. The other one didn't look like Lassie at all - it was Tinkle. I was gonna ask Kelly where Lassie was when she opened the door for me, but I didn't need to because Kelly said, "There, Lassie's in her basket chewing her bone." I looked down at my feet and there Lassie was, dear old Lassie. My heart broke when I saw her because she has aged so, so much. I cannot even remember the last time I saw her. Her fur was going in patches and she looked shrivelled up. She just looked so small and worn. I didn't dare to touch her because she might bite while chewing her bone, but a part of me didn't dare because she looked like she might break. I was quite confused since Gucci is 12 and Lassie is only a year older but they looked so much different from each other. Gucci sleeps a lot too now, yes... But his fur is still okay except for old age spots everywhere on his skin which I can see when his fur is wet, but he's still very much active when he wants to play.
Lassie didn't look like Lassie at all, but I knew it was still her when she reached out to paw me as a sign to say "pat me". Dear old Lassie. This was Lassie 4 or 5 years ago, if I remember correctly:
And this is Lassie now (she doesn't like to take photos):
Seven:
Tinkle:
I feel bad that I've missed out on Lassie so much. =( She's lost weight, hasn't she? In the past when I wanted to carry her, I had to have Kelly do it and put her in my lap 'cos she was so heavy. Now I can carry her up easily on my own. This time whenever I want to see her, Kelly would always say, "Not free." Actually I was to meet Kelly for dinner at the mall next Monday, but she brought it forward 'cos something else came up. Therefore I went to her house instead, which I wanted to because I wanted to visit Lassie. It's been quite a long time, I almost lost my way while walking from the bus-stop. I know Lassie's not my dog, but I love her all the same... she's been a part of me since I was 12. She was always so welcoming, trotting over happily whenever I called her, and her fur would fly and bounce with the wind and her steps. She's much more dear to me compared to Seven and Tinkle because they came later. Not to say that I dislike Seven and Tinkle, but you know what I mean. I would hate it very much if Kelly didn't tell me should Lassie pass on one day... I noticed that Kelly didn't allow Lassie to sleep while I was there. She would say, "Wake up, Lass. Don't sleep." Lassie's ears are a bit off now, she cannot hear when someone calls. So we'd have to catch her eye and wave enthusiastically if we wanted her to come over. Kelly seemed really calm about the possibility of Lassie passing on in time to come, though... Maybe because she's experienced it with her previous Pomeranian before, back when she was still in school and we weren't yet friends. Actually, maybe a little bit too zen...? X_X I wonder if the same thing applies to why she didn't turn up for my grandfather's funeral. =|
I took a long time to say goodbye to Lassie before I left for the night because I really don't know when I'd see her again. Kelly walked me to the new bus-stop after. I had to run to catch the bus 'cos it was leaving, so it was a rushed farewell. Anyway she's going to shift house again, back nearer to my area. For that, I'm glad.
Talking about Lassie and all that, it makes my heart heavy. People get so caught up in their own lives that they don't actually realise how fast time flies by like nobody's business. Time really is a funny thing - it passes by so swiftly when you're having fun or intently occupied with something, it crawls along as slow as a snail when you keep looking at it. It really is true when they say that "time waits for no man". I don't know if Kelly reads my blog even though she knows I have one. She's rarely online and even if she is, all she does is check her email for work. But either way, I just wanted to say that it was great catching up and I have really, really missed her. As a friend, I have missed her.
