Dasein's Birthday

Today is Dasein's 10th anniversary on this planet! Thank you for coming to earth Dasein, my most beloved alien invader!

March Lion (03.24.13)

Spring seems late in coming this year to the New York area. The March lion is still going strong, and there's no sign yet of  turning into a lamb.

It rains and it even snows, but the dogs were happy to catch some sunny weather this weekend. It was quite nice in the sun, although still chilly in the shades.

Dasein's eyes have the power to make you throw the ball, even against your will. 

Shanti, the Grass Sommelier

Dasein always gets the ball.

Dasein, always, always gets the ball.

Unlike the rest, Dr. Pooh is a thoughful gent.

This one has his own agenda. 

She who must be obeyed.

Happy Birthday DASEIN!

Today, Feb. 19th, is Dasein's 7th birthday. (It is a well-known secret that Dasein is actually an invader from outer space, so her true age -- her space age -- is vast beyond reckoning, at least couple million light years.)

Dasein, mostly, disapproves

Dasein puts Shanti in her place. 

Dasein's opinion about the art of photography.

January 9, 2013

Captain Wu-Wei  is a very sensitive type.

One day, as usual, Shingen & Asha was out on a date.

Someone was watching 

Captain, don't be sad. Asha just doesn't go for fluffy guys. It's not your fault that you're so fluffy.

 Dasein is happy that she's not fluffy

Socrates isn't fluffy, but he sheds (Because he's a pug.)

Kamu is worried that she may be semi-fluffy

 This is what Shanti thinks of fluffiness

 Promise thinks fluffiness is just fine

House Hunting

This has nothing to do with the theme of this blog, which is all about the buhi-nyans, but I just agreed to sell the condo I live in.  Well, it is not completely unrelated since my animal kids will also be greatly affected by the move. My condo has been on the market since last November, and I having animal childrend did not make the process easy.

Living Room. The cases contain my mother's doll collection. 

The Smaller Bedroom, now arranged as a study.

The condo is a duplex, and the upstairs (ground floor) is the main living area. Last October I had the floor redone, and the walls repainted upstairs. And ever since, the children have been banned from the upstairs, and we have all been living downstairs on the basement/garden level. So it's been quite cramp. That's also the reason all my recent pictures haven't had much variety.

But someone has finally come along who wanted my apartment, and now it's my turn to look for a new place to live. I have an arrangement to stay here for 2 month after the closing, but I must act very quickly once we close. Unfortunately, I don't have adequate fund to make a down payment, so everything must be done quickly in that 2 month that I have after I close.

Well, there are still lots of hurdle. Finding a new place is sort of exciting, but there are lots of uncertainties too. I hope I can move to a place that will be a good home for my animal kids.

Now changing the subject entirely...., here's some of the recent pictures that didn't make it onto the 365 Project:

Shingen & Asha.These two are ever the pair.They are like bookends on the windowsill. 

Shingen: A rather spotted character!

Dasein, she always have a scheme. 

Socrates: A Philosopher or a Fool? Or maybe, Foolish Philosoper/ Philosophical Fool?

Captain Wu-Wei. The nominal leader of the Righteous Cats Brigade. We must keep the universe safe from Dasein's evil
paws!

Relatively decent picture of Promise -- he who is difficult to photograph.

365 Days of Buhi-Nyan

Dasein likes to sleep all wrapped up in sheets.

There's a website called 365 Project; it's a photography site where people try to post a photo a day. The goal is to have pictures for every day of the year. I found out about this site recently, and I opened an account to keep photographic records of my daily life with my animal kids. 

It also works a bit like social network site, so you can look at other people's pictures, and follow particular photographers, and comment on their works. There are many really stunning and beautiful photographs. I get the feeling that the majority of the people there are pretty serious photographers unlike me, who's a pretty lousy photographer. My page at 365 Project is rather embarrassing, really, in comparison to people who really knows what they're doing with a camera.

I would like to learn more about photography, and get better, since almost all my pictures of my kids disappoint me. I wish I can capture their individuality, quirkiness, and all the funny, entertaining, and wonderful  moments, but most of the time my pictures are out of focus or blurry, and they just don't do justice to their subjects. 

These are some of the problems:

1) Most of the pictures are taken indoor, and the lighting is inadequate, yet using the flash does not provide a solution. 

2) My subjects (the furry-blurries) wouldn't sit still. And they are very fast when they move, unlike me, who is pretty slow. 

3) My hands are not that steady. 

4) The furry-blurries are low on the ground most of the time, and I would need to grovel on the floor to get to their sight line. 

A better camera with higher shutter speed may solve some of these problems, but with my limited photographic abilities, I'm not sure whether it's going to be worth the investment. It's a dilemma.

Tempo & Shingen, this morning (Jan. 27, 2007)

Portrait: Dasein (1)

Dasein has very expressive ears. 

This is continuation from yesterday.

So let me write about Dasein. I met her first at a pet shop in Brooklyn. Actually, I was interested in black pugs, and the search online told me that there was one available at a pet shop in Bayridge. I had no intention of buying a puppy, but it was raining that day, and I felt restless, so I made the trip to a part of Brooklyn that I've never been to before to see the puppy. No harm in seeing.... so I thought... hahaha.

Of course I should have known better. Back then I only had a vague knowledge of puppy mills, and their evil, and all the dirty secrets about the pet trade, but that is no excuse since I think of myself as a researcher, and I normally would have done much more research before I would make an important decision like bringing a new puppy into my life.

Well long story short -- Dasein was an impulse buy. I went to the store just to look at a black pug boy, but ended up with a boston terrier -- a breed that until that day, I've never even heard of.

A picture of Dasein couple of days after she first came home.

Dasein was already about 4 month old when I first met her. Usually pet store puppies get separated from their mothers as early as 8 weeks old, so now I surmise that she was either at the store or somewhere along the pet trade pipeline for couple of months. And now I also know that that's not a very good place for a puppy to be for so long. I will never know to what extent her birth circumstance and early life experiences have negatively impacted her development, but I am sure that it must have had a profound impact.

To be continued...