The King's Speech

I watched The King's Speech yesterday. I was enthralled with Colin Firth's acting as King George VI.  I do believe he deserved the title of Best Actor.  I do think Colin Firth is one of Britain's best actors. 
In the film, the king has a problem with stuttering.  He works with a language therapist to help him overcome his stutter. He improves a lot.  Later on it turns out that the therapist doesn't have a degree in linguistics or speech therapy. He just learned to work with WWI veterans that had speech problems as a result of shell shock. 

I do think that one lesson learned from the film is that people don't always need credentials to do a good job at what they do.  Knowledge is essential of course, yet passion for what ones does is also important.  We don't always need a certificate to prove what we know.  Sometimes those without a degree may know as much as someone else with the degree, if not more.  Likewise someone with a bachelor's degree may not always know less about a subject that someone with a master's degree.

Unfortunately also, there are people with degrees in certain subjects that don't do well in that field because they lack the talent.  Just because someone could say, become a medical doctor doesn't mean he will do well as a doctor.  A doctor needs interpersonal skills and good judgment.  Not everyone with a teaching degree has the passion to be a great teacher.

I do think this teaches us that degrees aren't always a litmus test to how much someone knows about something or how well someone does something.

We Lost Max

My family lost Max on Monday morning.  We got a phone call from the vet and she said he took a turn for the worse. It turns out his bladder ruptured and his body became toxic.  It was a hard blow for us because we had thought he was going to be fine. We were hoping he could come home with us that day. 
We arrived at the vet and poor Max couldn't lift his head up.  He was gasping for air and grunting.  We were so shocked and heartbroken.  We were with him for a while and talking and talking to different staff members. It was evident that nothing more could be done for him, yet none of us wanted to believe that.
My aunt and I left the room when the vet tech put Max to sleep.  My mother was with him, petting him. Earlier she was singing to him the same song she always sings to him when she arrives home from work.  Max could recognize his Mama. 
Max was brought out to us wrapped in a plastic bag and blanket.  We buried him in newspapers and a paper bag.  I planted two lilies and some flower seedlings on his grave.
This is just a month and a day after losing Mindy the cat to a seizure. We also lost other pets last year.
We are tired of losing pets.

Max Update

The vet called and said that Max's skin has been stitched up.  They had to stretch it a lot since the wound is large.  He did lose some skin during the accident.  It is sutured shut.  One toe had to be amputated. I did notice that one of his feet was hurt badly.  He did make one poo since arriving, yet they had to put a catheter in him to release some urine.  I do hope he does that on his own soon. 
So far it looks like he's being one resilient little Maltese doggie.

Garden Shop and Later Max

Early this morning my mother and I went to a garden shop.  We got a blueberry bush that will have pink berries. I never saw such a thing before. I just had to get it since I like unusual plants, as well as blueberries.  I guess "blueberry" won't be such an appropriate name for them now, but I am not sure what else to use. So "pink  blueberry" even though it sounds silly.  We also got a gooseberry bush, which is more popular in Europe.  Our local expatriates from Europe have called the store to ask for them.  We got a raspberry bush and a kiwi plant.
My mother also bought two pear trees (Bartlett and Asian pear) and an apple tree that will yield four types of apples. Since it's a grafted tree it can pollinate itself and not need another tree.  It will have Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Gravenstein apples.  It's a good idea, since it sells.  We left the trees to be delivered to our home later and took the bushes home in the car.

My mother later left to go to the gym. I wanted to go to the bank, so I stayed home and waited for my sister to come over.  She brought her laundry since her pets peed on her bedding.  She brought the laundry downstairs.  I helped her with the laundry by holding up the sheets as she sprayed some stain remover on them.  She went to the sink to wash her hands. I stepped outside to wait for her out there. 
As soon as I opened the door  Max, my mother's Maltese dog, ran outside. I quickly ran after him, calling him to come back. He kept running down the driveway and into the street.  I ran across the street after him.  A SUV was coming.  He walked in front of the vehicle.  I heard a crack and the SUV stopped.  Max was underneath. 
I was screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" and "FUUUUUUUUUU**!!!!"  I saw him there, still alive. I didn't know how I could get to him since he was square underneath.  The couple got out of the SUV.  A man who was in a van also stopped.  He reached under and picked Max up.  I could see he had a big wound near his hind leg.  I was calling for my sister, who didn't come out of the house. When she came out I ran to her and said Max got hit.  The man asked if we had a box.
My sister found the top half of a cat's litter box that was in the yard. I had taken it outside to clean it and let it dry.  We put Max inside it and went to her car.  I held him on my lap. I found her  nylon jacket and put it on him.  I was later handed a shirt that was in the car. I put that on him and held it tight against him. Max held up his head.  I spoke softly to him. He later put his head down. I petted him and tried to get him to put his head up again, it made me feel better.
We made it to the vet and they took Max away.  I waited in the waiting area, which was very crowded. I paced and paced. I know Max is my mother's favourite dog.  Deborah left to get my mother from the gym since she wasn't answering her cell phone.  I sat in the private room and listened to the vet's words.  She said that he needed a X-ray to check for trauma.  He could be fine if there is no trauma.
Later my mother and aunt showed up with my sister.  All four of us were there.  The vet came and said that there was no trauma, yet he has a broken pelvis. He said that for smaller dogs the pelvis breaking isn't always bad, because they don't put much weight on it.  We need to see what happens in the first 24 hours.
All four of us went to see Max. He was sitting upright, with his back all bandaged.  He was panting, but very alert. He looked at all of us and wagged his tail.  I was glad to see he had control over his tail.  I also greeted an orange cat in the next cage, who rolled around and purred.  A smart cat knows a cat person when he sees one.
I do hope Max does get better soon, and that he doesn't get any infections.

Going to New York City

Last week I got to spend a few days in New York City. I have wanted to spend the night in Manhattan for a long time. My mother and I spent two nights at Hotel Carter, a cheap hotel that's just over $100 a night.  It's not fancy at all, the couch was ripped and the water had to run for 10 minutes to get hot enough for a good shower. Yet, I can't complain. It's better than spending over $300 on a hotel for a night.  To me, a hotel is only good for sleeping, showering, and keeping my things.  I am willing to stay in a cheap place.  The hotel was in a great location because it was so close to Times Square. Let those other people break the bank on a hotel.
I went to see Phantom of the Opera on the first night. It was good. I saw Phantom back in high school.  It brought back memories.  I was with the school's music department.  The seniors all had their names put in a hat and some names were drawn to get the better seats. I was one of the lucky ones that got to sit closer to the front.  This time my mother and I were in the far back. It's OK, the show was good anyways.
The next day we went to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. It was worth it to go. It's open from 10am to 6pm.  We got there a little past 11am.  I loved the collection of lilacs. I saw some types I had never seen before. I didn't know about those with white on the edges of each tiny blossom. I saw some tree peonies which i have never seen. They smelled lovely.  The azaleas were also in full bloom and I loved walking around in them.  I saw one strange bush that was mostly white, yet had some specks of pink in the flowers.  Some flowers had one or a few bright pink petals, and one flower was totally pink.  It was a hybrid, and it was interesting what the genes do in a plant.
I did go inside the library for a while and look at the collections. I browsed the magazines from horticultural societies around the world.  I would like to go back there again to read the book collections. 
The greenhouse was great.  Many large cacti were there, similar to some I saw in in a greenhouse near Namsan Tower in Seoul.  The place had many large palms and ferns.  Moss grew everywhere.
I do wish I could go there very often. If I lived closer, I would make myself a member and go there every few weeks to see the different plants.