The Missing Button

I spent 4 ays in Vienna catching up with long lost cousins, whom I last met 7 years ago, and re-visiting a city I visited in 1980! The first thing I wanted to do was to see the white Spanish horses perform. 31 years ago, I had just enough money to visit their stables. The price of the show ticket was out of my range as I was on a tight budget having planned to spend 3 months roaming Europe & UK.

I watched with much amazement at what the hoses could do and was determined to try horseback riding again. Failing that, I was thinking about how I could train Chloe to trot and "dance' like those Lipizzans. She is black and they are white ... but they started as black foals anyway!

Vienna is full of beautiful old buildings, magnificent churches, cathedrals and quaint cobbled stone streets. Branded-name shops stand side by side with ice cream parlours, eateries, hotels, supermarkets and pharmacies. All have beautifully clean and modern interiors with their proud ancient facade. They have much history and of course culture. This is the home and playground of many well known composers. Opera houses and performances are everywhere. You can buy a ticket from any of the Mozart look-alikes on the street. Of course you can end up with an invalid ticket too!

Vienna is also full of people. It is a popular tourist destination.

What struck me when I was in my hotel lift and other lifts, was the missing "door close" button. It was the same when I was in Budapest. They have two sets of buttons and both are "door open" buttons. I pondered on this when I was looking to close the lift doors. They have no need for a "door close" button because the doors will close ... eventually. You just need to wait.

I remember someone pointing out the fact that in any lift in Singapore, the most worn out button was the "door close" button. We are always in a hurry, always rushing, always happy to have beaten the other person to the lift and always pressing that "door close" button. A gracious society, I think, would have a worn out "door open" button.

Next time you enter a lift, take note and try NOT to press that "door close" button. My guess is that if you don't, someone else will. Still ... something to think about.

Where There Is A Will ...

My little dog Chloe is quite a character. God had made her cute, so some nice people, like us would want her. We bought her from a dog farm in Pasir Ris. We had spent 2 weekends and viewed many schnauzers, but none tugged at our hearts. We were down to the last 2 farms when we spotted this cute, "brown" schnauzer. She was 5 months old and the owner was trying to sell us the younger pups. When she turned to look at us, we knew our search was over. We had found "our" dog.

Chloe adjusted well and quickly into our family. Her short legs and long body gave her a cute, "sexy" gait and her loving and affectionate nature endeared her to the people around her. Our old boy Jordan, our other dog, found her a handful initially but managed to growl her to submission. It was so nice to watch them play catch with each other with both being agile and fast. Jordan being 9 years old then would be the first to stop to rest. His long tail was his liability as it allowed Chloe to catch him by hanging onto his tail. His sharp yelps often indicated that Chloe was not giving him any chance and held no regard for his seniority.

Soon Chloe was asserting herself and was trying to vie for the post of top dog. Of course she realised that the humans in her life were top dogs. It was Jordan she was hitting at. She grew into a regular "tom-boy" and was tough and rough and seemed not have any pain receptors. She loved a cuddle and loved lying next to any human being. She was a typical ... bitch. She was loving and lovable.

Being assertive and with "top dog" ideas, she started being aggressive and would growl at any dog her size or smaller than her. She would avoid meeting the bigger ones. Once she hid behind a lamp post when she saw a huge Bernie, which was hilarious because she was clearly visible! Smart girl!

From a young age, Chloe attempted to pee like a male dog, lifting one of her hind legs and trying very hard to shoot her urine at the base of trees or posts. As difficult as it was for her to do it, she slowly devised ways to do it right. She would hop on curbs with her hind legs and even managed to push her hind legs against trees and posts and get a steam going. She once sniffed at a branch way above her head (must have been a big dog!) and attempted to hop up backwards while peeing trying hard to hit the high branches!!! I could not help but laugh out loud.

Chloe taught me that if there is a will, there is always a way!