Friday 24 December 2010

A Candlelit, Contemplative Christmas

It is Christmas Eve, and I am sitting here in my office drafting reports in order to avoid the bad weather and festive season-induced traffic congestion. The past week has been one filled with tribulations. I am ready to put the crisis behind me, move on and do better. I will not let recent events break my resolve to rescue and help animals in need, and I have faith that this time around, I will do things right and that I have the support of my friends in places high and low.

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Weekly Roundup, In Photos:



Due to the unpredictable weather, I have been going to the SPCA animal shelter a little earlier on weekends in order to be able to bathe and tickwash the dogs before it rains. Once it is no longer warm and sunny enough to bathe the dogs, I clean and disinfect the kennels and shelter to help keep the shelter safe, healthy, and clean for the animals, staff, volunteers and visitors alike. In this photo, the dogs at the back of the office are let out to play and exercise while I clean out their enclosures.



The SPCA cats curl up and tuck their feet in under their bodies to keep warm when it rains. I cleaned out their enclosures and laid out thicker layers of newspaper for added insulation to ensure that the cats remained warm and dry. Adoption rates are quite encouraging, especially when it comes to kittens. I have treated Neko for worms, fleas and other possible health issues and returned her to the SPCA to be put up for adoption. Her adoption prospects look good, especially with the coming Christmas weekend.



My department had a Christmas tea party and gift exchange on 17th Dec, before everyone went off on Christmas vacation. I contributed nacho chips and salsa and root beer floats to the potluck.



Santa left me a present! I must have been on the "Nice" list after all!



I attended KLPAC Orchestra and Choir's "A Candlelight Christmas" on 18th Dec 2010 with Alicia, Lynette, John, Adrian, David and Adam. And what a treat it was!




A year ago, I came to KLPAC in December for Handel's Messiah. It feels good to see the spirit of the season at KLPAC each year, with its brightly-lit and decorated Box Office, its tree-lined park and its welcoming, unpretentious feel.




Young and talented members of the orchestra delighted the guests at the lobby of the KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) with traditional Christmas carols.



I have always preferred chamber music, but the Christmas performance may have just tipped the balance in favour of a full orchestra!

A Candlelight Christmas

Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

A teaser for those who missed the 3-day special.

May the festive season bring justice, compassion, truth, acceptance and mindfulness to this troubled world of ours. May those whose livelihoods depend on humanitarian work understand the true meaning of service. May those who are cruel, corrupt, avaricious and hypocritical beware, for their Judgment Day will come. May all animal abusers face divine justice. May those whose motives are kind and pure and who assist those who are needy and weak find success in all their undertakings.

Wishing all my friends and gentle readers a joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year.

8 comments:

Cat-from-Sydney said...

CO78,
May all animal abusers get divine justice! Pass me his address, I'll send that cat patrol and there'll be feline retribution as well. Merry Christmas to you and yours. purrr....meow!

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Dear Kitties-In-Sydney,
How I wish for feline retribution to those who abuse animals too! I pray they meet their comeuppance one day. Thank you for your love and support, as always.

Pak Idrus said...

Merry Christmas Ee Lynn. Carry on the good works. Take care.

louis said...

CO'78,

You attended the KLPAC concert! Lucky you. I envy you. I had seen a video clip about it in The Star last week which stirred up the Christmas Spirit for me and filled me with admiration for such a great example of religious and cultural tolerance and acceptance. I wished I could attend.

Today I watched two clips of the performance in The Star and the two in your blog. Great way to spend this Christmas Eve!

Season's greetings!

Pat said...

Thanks for the clips, E. I enjoyed them. I just love Christmas music and songs!

May all your new-year wishes come true!

*hugs*

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Dear Pak Idrus,
I suppose Lin may have told you of what happened. Please thank her for all her support and help. I will keep on helping others -- plant, animal or human -- and trust that I will achieve success one day. Thank you for your kind words. You have an amazing family.

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Dear Louis,
Yes, I am lucky indeed! My ticket was a treat from my friend Alicia. The concert played to a full house. It was an incredible performance, full of surprises. Christmas carols like you've never heard them before. We didn't want to go out during the intermission and we didn't want to go home after the encore! Merry Christmas, with love to you, Elena, the kids and the grands!

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Dear Pat,
Oh, you should have been there! The Nutcracker Suite in full orchestra is something all of us must experience in the flesh!
My Christmas wish is to find Bravo a good home. I had to turn down a potential adopter today because it became quite obvious that she only wanted a guard dog FOC. She didn't even ask what Bravo eats or if he has any favourite toys. She just wanted to know if he barked at intruders but not at other times (get a burglar alarm, woman!) and if she had to pay for his licence (I paid for surgery, treatment, neutering, vaccination and deworming and you want me to pay for the licence of a wonderful dog that you get to adopt for free?!?!? Pretty obvious they're not the kind of people who would bring their sick pets to the vet: "Let them eat grass, they'll probably get better. After all, they're just animals.")