Hush puppy!

Our horrible neighbors are lighting cherry bombs and my poor darling baby boy is terribly frightened of the noise. He's trembling and wide-eyed. I've been trying to calm him as best i can and he seems alright now but i did a quick Google on "How to calm your dog" anyway.

Apparently, one of the sure fire ways to calm a dog down is to give him a dose of Benadryl. This method is very effective and with the proper dosage is fine to use but This totally freaked me out anyway. It doesn't seem alright to me to drug your dog/cat without a veterinarian's OK so i skipped this.

Another widely recommended method was to slip a Thundershirt onto your dog's torso. I didn't exactly know what this was but after a quick google it turned out to be this:

Thundershirt

Hmm. I'm pretty certain this is just a clever marketing scheme.A Thundershirt isn't exactly necessary. after a bit more research (read: Google search)  i found out that a nice comfy tee shirt that fits snugly onto your dog's torso works fine too. This works just like a hug and has a calming effect.
  


I noticed that whenever Pumpkin is worried about loud noises, he inches towards the TV. I guess he likes distracting noises just like us humans. It calmed him down to just sit with me and watch me watch TV.

Note: Don't coo and cuddle your dog too much during a scary time. He/She might think this is a good way to gain attention.

General Ranting Post

Lately my head has just been full of rage. For some reason, my temper seems to be constantly rising with  every teeny tiny thing that goes wrong. And you should know that a multitude of things can go wrong in one day.

I'm also fed up with feeling angry all the time. It takes a lot of energy to be upset about everything. So i took a break and though to myself, "What in the world is up with me?"

It took me a while to realise that i'm extremely stressed. My mother, who is a stroke patient, is going through a hypochondriac phase;  my sister is having life issues; my dad is basically taking care of everyone; pumpkin (our darling doggie) is recovering from an illness and that leaves me to do the cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping and keeping track of other house-holdy things that seem to always need attention. And i must say, it is absolutely EXHAUSTING.

I dont know how my mother managed to do it single-handedly for so many years. She took care of her family through and through. We never realised how many things she handled until we had to do it ourselves. We were probably the most ungrateful family and she deserved better. For all that she has done for our family, we are extremely grateful and we love taking care of her the way she took care of us.

It is extremely stressful to wake up and find a dirty kitchen or dirty bedsheets that need to be washed. i can not emphasize how much these small things add up. A messy table makes me want to yell at everyone i can possibly yell at! A pile of clothes that need to be folded makes me break down in tears. Honestly, i think i'm going bonkers.

Ah well. I need to buck up. Put things aside for a while and hit the books. yes, i still have to do all these things but its easier if i take things one at a time and not freak out about evrything.

Cheers to staying calm!

The World Is Full Of Laughter

Can you hear it?
The sound of the dogs howling
The passionate voice of the rain
Can you see it?
The hurrican that's com crashing upon us
and the peopl left with nothing but pain
Can you feel it?
The energy pulsing through us
Th blood rushing through our veins

 This terrible world is a terrible place
Its full of spite and full of hate
but
Inspite of the rumours and social cuffs
we learn to adjust
It is this that gives me hope for our future
This is why i smile in the face of disastr
I know the world is full of laughter

Wide Awake

An old friend of mine contacted me the other day. Our friendship ended quite badly so i was surprised to get a message from her. I wondered if something was terribly wrong so I called her.

We talked for a very short while. It seems to me like she is overworked and needs some company. I would have obliged if it wasn't for the terrible way things ended with us. I used to think very highly of her, but when that fell i clearly saw everything that i had refused to accept for so long. When she contacted me and invited me to meet with her, i thought "Why in the world would i want to?".

Our friendship was very educational. I learned a lot of things in the years we were close friends but i don't feel the need to still be her friend. Yes, when we fought we both said some harsh things and i have forgiven her and she has forgiven me. There is no need for us to still be friends. Forgiveness does not mean that i would accept her back into my life. It just means that i have accepted the trouble and have moved on with it. 

Another reason why i would rather not meet up with her is that she comes as a package deal with a bunch of people i would rather not hang out with. Each one of them has some major flaw and all the while i was in that group i never felt like i could trust any of them. in that group there was a pathological liar, a narcissist and an arrogant one. Sure i have my flaws too (i'm an egoist. My ego is probably bigger than the Eiffel tower), but i value loyalty in my friends.

I feel like i am seeing things clearly now. I'm perfectly happy with my life and with my close circle of friends. I dont need her friendship. Though she feels like she needs mine. I'm having trouble deciding whether i should meet with her since she is clearly in desperate need of reconnecting with me, or whether i should just continue with my life. Any thoughts?

p.s. Mala, i'd love to hear your opinion. :-)

A much needed vacation and why.

My excitement if tending towards infinity. to quote my sister, "We're going to the land of Vicky Donor! eye candy, good food and SHOPPING!"

I feel like i really need this break. A little vacation to get my head back in the game. Lately, i have been feeling a little out of it. I've been feeling claustrophobic. Every time i think about hitting the books i feel like i'm going to be smothered. It's definitely not the work load that is making me anxious. I guess  it's that i have to do it.

i also feel like my breaks arent long enough (who doesnt?), but i'm having difficulty focusing. It's as if my breaks arent fulfilling enough. Hmm.. As long as this doesnt become  bad thing, i think i'll be okay. Lately i've been away from my usual crowd of friends. They're all a bit preoccupied with their respective boyfriends and prospective boyfriends and studying too. i dont know how they manage it, honestly. Well, hanging around with my old batch of friends is highly boring for a single girl. It's all goo goo and gah gah. Either too much love chat or too much shop talk. I like to unwind by forgetting about things, you know? i'm a bit of an escapist that way. I love to run away in my mind, if only for a little while.

i've been hanging out with another crowd for the past few days. unfortunately, i like it. They're exciting and daring and they're all so good at balancing it all. Fascinating..

My week away from home is bound to set things right (hopefully).

TTFN!