good ol' dictionary.com defines 'attitude' as "manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.
that was before i discovered google chrome, where all you needed to do was type "define: attitude" and you'd get the definition "a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways; "he had the attitude that work was fun"
position: the arrangement of the body and its limbs; "he assumed an attitude of surrender"
anyways, how come i'm writing a blog post on attitude?
i wouldn't, but lately, mother has taken to jeering @ me every so often (quite regularly, in fact ><) that i've got a 'bad attitude'.
i'm not really sure what she's going on about ... i mean, i've always thought that i try fairly hard to maintain a positive outlook on life, stay positive and all that kinda stuff; despite the situation god's dumped me into, i still try my hardest to make the most out of everyday.
mother likes telling me that if i comply and do everything she demands i do for her exactly the way she wants me to perform, my life would be so much better for me in just one year. to be honest, i'm not really sure if i believe that ... how does what she's claiming works?
first example: stop crying, she tells me. but i've always believed that tears are just the natural expression of one's feelings. if i'm sad/upset/angry/hurt, then yes, sometimes i get teary.
second example: stop hating god. well, i'm not sure, are we even allowed to hate god? the thing is, though, i reckon god hated me first. yeah, i know there's a passage in the bible somewhere that talks about god loving us first, but i'm pretty sure there isn't one talking about god hating you ... it's a question i ask myself every single day: what did i do/not do that was so sinful/evil to god's eyes that he would gleefully smite me down with a brain tumour and turn my life completely upside-down? i mean, was it that i didn't pray enough to god? or sing worship songs to him loud enough? or give enough offering to him? that's a question i'm still waiting for and answer to, and somehow, i don't think i'll ever receive an answer.
so do i have a bad attitude or not? well, honestly, i don't think i do, and mother says i do. now, if there's one thing mother's taught me in life is that i MUST believe EVERYTHING she tells me, coz she'd never lie to me. fair enough then, i've got a bad attitude. i'll work on it, then.
and could all BCAC ppl do me a favour? if you see me stomping around with a bad attitude, kindly lemme know! sth like, "oi, em, your attitude sucks. get a better one right now, or i'm gonna kick you up the ass." :P thanks!
next post ... the april book club, i think! i've just finished the book yesterday~ righteo, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
writers' group
heylo again! honestly, i didn't plan on having another post so soon, but ...
see, i've joined this writers' group @ the BCC garbo library.it's pretty neat, we all write a short piece (around 700 words) on an assigned topic, then once a fortnight, we all meet up and share what we've written. going there, i now know that my writing skills are abysmal compared to some other members. :P
'twas mother who first forced me to attend this, but now i go along quite happily, coz it's great to share and edit your writing with others. plus, there's morning tea! :D (yeah, i'm a greedy pig, so what? shh ... :P)
but for some reason, mother tonight decided to gleefully force me to post up what i've written on this blog. i dunno why, but hey, no biggie.
this one's a 'setting described through dialogue'. enjoy!
cheers,
em. ^^
July 2011. my most beloved grandmother had passed away suddenly from lung cancer, and my parents and I had rushed back to hong kong to prepare for her funeral.
CLANG CLANG CLANG BANG BANG!!!
“Mother, go shut them up!” I hissed. “This is a funeral!”
‘What’s wrong?” asked my mother, seemingly oblivious.
“Are you deaf or something?! Can’t you hear some idiot banging around a cymbal? I can’t believe they’re being this disrespectful to the deceased!”
Mother tried her hardest to explain to me: “Em, they’re not being deliberately disrespectful to the deceased, that’s just the particular family’s way of sending off a loved one.”
‘WTF?! And now they’ve started chanting some unintelligible mumbo jumbo too! I don’t care how they send their particular loved one off, but how on earth are we gonna send grandma off well if they’re causing a ruckus like that?! Forget it; I’m going to go tell them to please shut up!”
Dad joined in the conversation @ this point. “Em, like mum said, they’re not being deliberately disrespectful. It’s just that family’s particular way off sending their loved one off into the next life.”
“Well, I don’t bloody well care how they send their family member off! But I can barely hear myself think; how the blazes am I supposed to farewell grandma properly with their bloody caterwauling?!”
The pastor that was going to lead grandma’s funeral approached my parents and I.
“Is everything all right?” he asked us.
“No, it’s not!” I snapped back at him. “Can you hear all the bloody ruckus the group next door’s causing? Don’t tell me you can’t, I know you’re not deaf. Why, some idiot’s in there, chanting in some foreign language, and they’ve decided to have band percussion practice inside there also, clanging away like that on those cymbals! I’ve had enough, I’m going in there and telling those disrespectful idiots to please get lost and go someplace else to do their monkey braying.”
“Sorry, Em, you can’t do that; the people in the room across from ours have as every much right as we do to farewell their deceased. But how about we pray about it? We can ask God to please silence their noise so the planned funeral for your grandmother can proceed ahead.”
Okay, fine, whatever. I closed my eyes and offered a quick silent prayer up to God. “Hi God, I know that you and I have some differences right now, but could you please do me a huge favour and silence that rabble out there causing enough noise to wake their dead? I understand that it may be that particular family’s way of farewelling a deceased person from their family, but I’m finding it incredibly disrespectful. If you could please silence their noise, or lower it considerably, or get them to move somewhere out of my earshot to begin their caterwauling again, I’d be exceedingly grateful. Thanks, God. In your name, amen.”
*after the funeral*
“Mum, dad, thanks very much for singing ‘Amazing Grace’ with me for grandma’s funeral today. I hope we sent her off well.”
“I reckon we did, Em.” Mum replied, “I’m sure grandma’s up in heaven now, looking down at us with a great big smile on her face, very happy with the sending-off she received from us today.”
“And there’s one more thing to thank God for,Em, “ my father added, “how, about five minutes before grandma’s funeral was about to begin, all that banging and chanting coming from next door stopped and we were able to send grandma off well.”
Yup. Thanks, god.
P.S. next post here ... umm ... when were janice getting married again?
see, i've joined this writers' group @ the BCC garbo library.it's pretty neat, we all write a short piece (around 700 words) on an assigned topic, then once a fortnight, we all meet up and share what we've written. going there, i now know that my writing skills are abysmal compared to some other members. :P
'twas mother who first forced me to attend this, but now i go along quite happily, coz it's great to share and edit your writing with others. plus, there's morning tea! :D (yeah, i'm a greedy pig, so what? shh ... :P)
but for some reason, mother tonight decided to gleefully force me to post up what i've written on this blog. i dunno why, but hey, no biggie.
this one's a 'setting described through dialogue'. enjoy!
cheers,
em. ^^
July 2011. my most beloved grandmother had passed away suddenly from lung cancer, and my parents and I had rushed back to hong kong to prepare for her funeral.
CLANG CLANG CLANG BANG BANG!!!
“Mother, go shut them up!” I hissed. “This is a funeral!”
‘What’s wrong?” asked my mother, seemingly oblivious.
“Are you deaf or something?! Can’t you hear some idiot banging around a cymbal? I can’t believe they’re being this disrespectful to the deceased!”
Mother tried her hardest to explain to me: “Em, they’re not being deliberately disrespectful to the deceased, that’s just the particular family’s way of sending off a loved one.”
‘WTF?! And now they’ve started chanting some unintelligible mumbo jumbo too! I don’t care how they send their particular loved one off, but how on earth are we gonna send grandma off well if they’re causing a ruckus like that?! Forget it; I’m going to go tell them to please shut up!”
Dad joined in the conversation @ this point. “Em, like mum said, they’re not being deliberately disrespectful. It’s just that family’s particular way off sending their loved one off into the next life.”
“Well, I don’t bloody well care how they send their family member off! But I can barely hear myself think; how the blazes am I supposed to farewell grandma properly with their bloody caterwauling?!”
The pastor that was going to lead grandma’s funeral approached my parents and I.
“Is everything all right?” he asked us.
“No, it’s not!” I snapped back at him. “Can you hear all the bloody ruckus the group next door’s causing? Don’t tell me you can’t, I know you’re not deaf. Why, some idiot’s in there, chanting in some foreign language, and they’ve decided to have band percussion practice inside there also, clanging away like that on those cymbals! I’ve had enough, I’m going in there and telling those disrespectful idiots to please get lost and go someplace else to do their monkey braying.”
“Sorry, Em, you can’t do that; the people in the room across from ours have as every much right as we do to farewell their deceased. But how about we pray about it? We can ask God to please silence their noise so the planned funeral for your grandmother can proceed ahead.”
Okay, fine, whatever. I closed my eyes and offered a quick silent prayer up to God. “Hi God, I know that you and I have some differences right now, but could you please do me a huge favour and silence that rabble out there causing enough noise to wake their dead? I understand that it may be that particular family’s way of farewelling a deceased person from their family, but I’m finding it incredibly disrespectful. If you could please silence their noise, or lower it considerably, or get them to move somewhere out of my earshot to begin their caterwauling again, I’d be exceedingly grateful. Thanks, God. In your name, amen.”
*after the funeral*
“Mum, dad, thanks very much for singing ‘Amazing Grace’ with me for grandma’s funeral today. I hope we sent her off well.”
“I reckon we did, Em.” Mum replied, “I’m sure grandma’s up in heaven now, looking down at us with a great big smile on her face, very happy with the sending-off she received from us today.”
“And there’s one more thing to thank God for,Em, “ my father added, “how, about five minutes before grandma’s funeral was about to begin, all that banging and chanting coming from next door stopped and we were able to send grandma off well.”
Yup. Thanks, god.
P.S. next post here ... umm ... when were janice getting married again?
Monday, March 28, 2011
FEAR
okay, i know i'm not brave @ all. you can call me a wimp next time you see me. :P
but sadly, i live my life in constant fear these days.
it's all due to my acquired brain injury back in 2007, which left me severely mobility impaired.
like, from the moment i get up, 99.9% of me is fretting, "oh, crap, soon mother will gleefully FORCE :( me to walk here or there" :S
these days, my mother likes to restrict me to a PISSY two hours of internet. that's hardly enough time for me to write my blog and check my e-mail, let alone read some news articles and get my naruto fix! (for those not familiar with naruto, it's an awesome japanese anime that i follow about ninjas)
but when i'm online for the most precious two hours of my day (i used to say that this internet time was my 'most IMPORTANT', but dad said me exercising and improving my mobility was most important, not my internet time. so now i say these two hours of the day are the only two hours FOR MYSELF, when i'm doing the things i want to do for myself, not like when i'm doing physio for my dad or acupuncture for my mum. actually, dad also said i wasn't allowed to say that i was doing anything for them, but that i was doing everything for myself. so, another amendment: i do everything for myself, fine, but that everything is for the pleasure/satisfaction on my parents. and lol, i've just realised i've rambled off topic entirely and have forgotten to close my bracket. :P so here.) :P
the only other time i don't feel this fear is when i collapse into bed @ night, because by then, i'm just too bloody exhausted and relieved that i've survived another day without falling to my death that i'm too spent to feel anymore fear. i can always be scared tomorrow, but by that time of the night, i just wanna cuddle my favourite teddy bear and sleep the sleep of the exhausted.
i was watching house MD last night, it's my favourite show. :) mother wanders over to the sofa, makes her comfortable beside me, then says she reckons that i've grown less fearful over the last year.
i congratulate myself for that. if she thinks i've grown less fearful, it just means that i've become better @ hiding my fear. i owe the thanks to one of my physios back in the P.A, dominique doherty, for that. she's the one who taught me, "em, if you need to freak out, freak out inside of your head. don't bring it out here and cause a scene."
meaning every time you see me struggling to walk these days, i'm prolly looking cool, calm and collected. how i wish i could feel the same way!
will life ever get easier for me? or will i be forever destined to be walking like the disabled blob of a person god's left me as? i dunno ... people say, "time will tell." but it's been more than four years already! how much longer will i haveta live life like the disabled cripple like i currently am, before god gets bored of me and turns his wrath onto one of the 6 775 235 741 other people in the world, and leave me free to recover the shattered shards of my life, such as he's left it? well, i dunno when, but i can only say, i'm eagerly awaiting for that day! :D
next post here ... anything coming up soon? ANZAC day isn't until april 25th ... i know, janice's and wilfred's wedding! or bookclub! :D righteo, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
but sadly, i live my life in constant fear these days.
it's all due to my acquired brain injury back in 2007, which left me severely mobility impaired.
like, from the moment i get up, 99.9% of me is fretting, "oh, crap, soon mother will gleefully FORCE :( me to walk here or there" :S
these days, my mother likes to restrict me to a PISSY two hours of internet. that's hardly enough time for me to write my blog and check my e-mail, let alone read some news articles and get my naruto fix! (for those not familiar with naruto, it's an awesome japanese anime that i follow about ninjas)
but when i'm online for the most precious two hours of my day (i used to say that this internet time was my 'most IMPORTANT', but dad said me exercising and improving my mobility was most important, not my internet time. so now i say these two hours of the day are the only two hours FOR MYSELF, when i'm doing the things i want to do for myself, not like when i'm doing physio for my dad or acupuncture for my mum. actually, dad also said i wasn't allowed to say that i was doing anything for them, but that i was doing everything for myself. so, another amendment: i do everything for myself, fine, but that everything is for the pleasure/satisfaction on my parents. and lol, i've just realised i've rambled off topic entirely and have forgotten to close my bracket. :P so here.) :P
the only other time i don't feel this fear is when i collapse into bed @ night, because by then, i'm just too bloody exhausted and relieved that i've survived another day without falling to my death that i'm too spent to feel anymore fear. i can always be scared tomorrow, but by that time of the night, i just wanna cuddle my favourite teddy bear and sleep the sleep of the exhausted.
i was watching house MD last night, it's my favourite show. :) mother wanders over to the sofa, makes her comfortable beside me, then says she reckons that i've grown less fearful over the last year.
i congratulate myself for that. if she thinks i've grown less fearful, it just means that i've become better @ hiding my fear. i owe the thanks to one of my physios back in the P.A, dominique doherty, for that. she's the one who taught me, "em, if you need to freak out, freak out inside of your head. don't bring it out here and cause a scene."
meaning every time you see me struggling to walk these days, i'm prolly looking cool, calm and collected. how i wish i could feel the same way!
will life ever get easier for me? or will i be forever destined to be walking like the disabled blob of a person god's left me as? i dunno ... people say, "time will tell." but it's been more than four years already! how much longer will i haveta live life like the disabled cripple like i currently am, before god gets bored of me and turns his wrath onto one of the 6 775 235 741 other people in the world, and leave me free to recover the shattered shards of my life, such as he's left it? well, i dunno when, but i can only say, i'm eagerly awaiting for that day! :D
next post here ... anything coming up soon? ANZAC day isn't until april 25th ... i know, janice's and wilfred's wedding! or bookclub! :D righteo, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Sunday, March 27, 2011
lunch with my australian godmother4
hello again!
well, last tuesday, mother and i had lunch with my australian godmother again! i was hoping we'd eat @ the coffee club, but nope, mother explained that mrs. dent had picked sunni cafe. apparently, she really likes the place! i do too, but i wish they had menus! usually, mother goes out and orders whatever random healthy stuff she wants me to eat.
but last tuesday was good - instead of sitting inside the cafe, mrs. dent was seated along the front counter! meaning when we sat down there too, i had a perfect view of the menu written onto the chalkboard. :)
when we sat down, the first thing mrs. dent was hand me my birthday present - some special movie voucher for the birch, carol and coyle cinemas (garbo)! well, this year, i'm waiting for happy potter seven part two, kung fu panda two, and happy feet two! hopefully that voucher'll cover all three movies! :D
'twas nice being able to view the menu and choose my own meal. :) i chose a yummy chicken parmigiana with a chocolate milkshake. :)
mother ordered some kinda all day breakfast, which came with two fried eggs. lol, i asked her would she swap some egg for one chunk of chicken. she said yes - then passed me an ENTIRE egg! :D lol, i only meant would she slice off one portion of egg for me! so i gave her the biggest chunk of chicken left remaining on my plate. :)
mostly, i'm just incredibly proud of mother, who managed to get through the entire lunch without dissing anyone! usually, i cop it like MAD from her, sometimes dearest dad does also, while other times it's one of her friends. but nope, 'twas a nice, amicable lunch. :)
mother told me to tell mrs. dent the story about my birthday card from vincent the physio (a previous post on this blog), which i did. mrs. dent laughed her head off, and said she'd haveta tell her daughter that story. :P she also warned me never to piss her daughter off, coz she's got a BLACK BELT in tae-kwon-do(sp?)! o_O :P
thanks to mrs. dent who shouted us. :) i think she said was my b'day treat. :)
next post here ... toms, or the day after. it's a serious topic. scary for me. :( until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
well, last tuesday, mother and i had lunch with my australian godmother again! i was hoping we'd eat @ the coffee club, but nope, mother explained that mrs. dent had picked sunni cafe. apparently, she really likes the place! i do too, but i wish they had menus! usually, mother goes out and orders whatever random healthy stuff she wants me to eat.
but last tuesday was good - instead of sitting inside the cafe, mrs. dent was seated along the front counter! meaning when we sat down there too, i had a perfect view of the menu written onto the chalkboard. :)
when we sat down, the first thing mrs. dent was hand me my birthday present - some special movie voucher for the birch, carol and coyle cinemas (garbo)! well, this year, i'm waiting for happy potter seven part two, kung fu panda two, and happy feet two! hopefully that voucher'll cover all three movies! :D
'twas nice being able to view the menu and choose my own meal. :) i chose a yummy chicken parmigiana with a chocolate milkshake. :)
mother ordered some kinda all day breakfast, which came with two fried eggs. lol, i asked her would she swap some egg for one chunk of chicken. she said yes - then passed me an ENTIRE egg! :D lol, i only meant would she slice off one portion of egg for me! so i gave her the biggest chunk of chicken left remaining on my plate. :)
mostly, i'm just incredibly proud of mother, who managed to get through the entire lunch without dissing anyone! usually, i cop it like MAD from her, sometimes dearest dad does also, while other times it's one of her friends. but nope, 'twas a nice, amicable lunch. :)
mother told me to tell mrs. dent the story about my birthday card from vincent the physio (a previous post on this blog), which i did. mrs. dent laughed her head off, and said she'd haveta tell her daughter that story. :P she also warned me never to piss her daughter off, coz she's got a BLACK BELT in tae-kwon-do(sp?)! o_O :P
thanks to mrs. dent who shouted us. :) i think she said was my b'day treat. :)
next post here ... toms, or the day after. it's a serious topic. scary for me. :( until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
church movie night!
well, last night, BCAC held a movie night.
dad drove me to church, and thanks to aunty whoever who told me to sit to the side so i wouldn't get my head blown off by the wind (yes, last night was super-windy, for some reason). :P
i only sat by myself for about one minute before grace the physio and her younger bro tim came to sit with me. grace's a physio @ the P.A. orthopaedic ward, and tim's an accountant, i think.
soon after, dr. dr. (she gets two doctors attached to her name coz she's considering during some further study after her medicine degree :P) tai sat on my other side. she's working @ TPCH, in the respiratory ward, i think.
aunty shirley led us for two worship songs. i didn't sing - coz i'm not a fluent chinese reader! >< i think the best i managed was seven words consecutively. :P
the movie was titled 'love is'. it's about this group of randoms and their interactions with one another, their love lives. i was super-confused coz vicky had said that while the movie's in canto, the subtitle's were in english, yet when i started watching the movie, i was greeted by subtitles in canto! hence me=super confused.
after the movie finished, two randoms from somewhere got up and gave their testimony. thanks to dr. dr. tai who helped me once to the loo; i managed okay there.
dad came and picked me up afterwards and tootled us home. repeat the usual nightly routine, and zzz.
next post should come toms or the day after, coz mother and i had lunch with my australia godmother last tuesday and i forgot to write about that! until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
dad drove me to church, and thanks to aunty whoever who told me to sit to the side so i wouldn't get my head blown off by the wind (yes, last night was super-windy, for some reason). :P
i only sat by myself for about one minute before grace the physio and her younger bro tim came to sit with me. grace's a physio @ the P.A. orthopaedic ward, and tim's an accountant, i think.
soon after, dr. dr. (she gets two doctors attached to her name coz she's considering during some further study after her medicine degree :P) tai sat on my other side. she's working @ TPCH, in the respiratory ward, i think.
aunty shirley led us for two worship songs. i didn't sing - coz i'm not a fluent chinese reader! >< i think the best i managed was seven words consecutively. :P
the movie was titled 'love is'. it's about this group of randoms and their interactions with one another, their love lives. i was super-confused coz vicky had said that while the movie's in canto, the subtitle's were in english, yet when i started watching the movie, i was greeted by subtitles in canto! hence me=super confused.
after the movie finished, two randoms from somewhere got up and gave their testimony. thanks to dr. dr. tai who helped me once to the loo; i managed okay there.
dad came and picked me up afterwards and tootled us home. repeat the usual nightly routine, and zzz.
next post should come toms or the day after, coz mother and i had lunch with my australia godmother last tuesday and i forgot to write about that! until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Friday, March 25, 2011
em's 24th bday bash!
well, this year i asked mother if i could please chuck a bday bash. see, i've finally rejoined the 'th' family: twenty-one's your '21st', twenty-two's your '22nd' and twenty-three's your '23rd'.
mother asked me, "what kinda party do you want?"
i had two plans in mind: one, a bday meal @ pancake manor or two, a kareoke bash @ neway. i've only been to the pancake manor once, back in 2007 or earlier, with joshels and some girls. i'd also been to neway with some church ppl for a fun night of bawling our lungs out. :P i put the question onto facebook, and got two responses: tim said to have both, and dr. lee said that there were many stairs to walk up if i chose the pancake manor.
the parents went to neway and k music to suss things out for me, and came back saying neway was good coz they had this 'k dinner' deal which was a plate of food, two drinks and five hours worth of singing.
next problem: who to invite? dad decided that i could only invite five, so i picked christy jie, fisobao, letty, joshels and dr. lee. however, when dr. lee said he had to work that night, i invited lee (leanne's cousin) instead.
i'd wanted to invite janice and wilfred along too, but mother said i couldn't, "coz they're too busy preparing for their wedding to come to your party."
fair enough ... but, turns out, they came along too! see, the sunday before my birthday, aunty denise (janice's mum) walks over and asks me, "heard it's your birthday next sunday. planned a party?' when i told her i'd be having a kareoke birthday bash, she asked me, 'ooh! have you invited janice and wilfred along yet?"
i answered her that i dearly wanted to invite them along, but that mother had told me that they'd be too busy planning their wedding to attend.
aunty denise laughs. "but emily, she warns me, 'if you don't invite janice along, she WON'T BE YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE and SHE'LL NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN!' o_O gulp. i hereby immediately ask mother, who says, "you'd better invite them, then. i'll explain to dad." :P
the days pass quickly, and soon, it's my birthday! :D both mum and dad wander into my room to wish me a happy birthday.
@ bible study, i bring out a packet of chocolate that christine lai had given to aunty wendy to give to me as my birthday present. only problem was that i couldn't eat any - 'twas of the nutty kind! (curse my peanut allergy. ><) but instead of the class sharing it, june (men hua's wife? i'm sorry, i keep getting all the adults in our bible study class confused ><) said she'd take the chocolate down to the morning tea area and get everyone toshare it. :)
service was nothing unusual, just the same. the congregation didn't sing tim and i happy birthday :(, but i made sure to bid tim a very happy 20th birthday after the service. i admit, i'm always incredibly jealous of anyone who makes it to their 20th birthday, coz for mine, god had already smited/smote/whatever the past tense of 'smite' is me down with the brain tumour! >< lol, i prolly spent my 20th birthday in the ICU ward. :(
as usual, we hit plaza for lunch. coz it was my birthday, mother lemme have one slice of KFC chicken for lunch. lol, usually i don't get any say; i just eat what they get. usually it's a chicken wrap from hungry jacks or some sushi.
back home after lunch, and i plopped online. no visitors from SHINE fellowship that day. :( i think mother said they were leaving me free to celebrate my birthday, but hey, i would've enjoyed the companionship. :( but i enjoyed my time online - i got thirty-five facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday! :D i know tina got more than one hundred, but hey, thirty-five's pretty damn awesome for someone who doesn't have any friends anymore! (i'd like to think i've still got friends, but mother often tells me that after my brain injury, i don't :( because my behaviour's warped or sth? ><)
but all too soon, 'twas time to go for my bday party! mother changed me into a nicer top first (the sparkly tweety one i wore for the night was bought for me by cousin teresa when she, uncle dickdick and franco went to movieworld.
dad drove us to neway, 'twas drizzling a lil. much thanks to the random lady working there who kindly let me hold gently onto her hand as i walked inside. :)
kwany arrived first - and he brought me K4! :D see, kwany first brought me K1 and K2 (they're toy grinning flowers that you can twist around sth) when i was hospitalised back in 2007 and 2008, and he bought me K3 when i was in the mater in 2009. after he'd RSVPd that he'd attend my bday party, i asked him, "kwany, will you bring me K4 as my birthday present?" his cheeky response @ that time had been 'wait and see." anyways, kwany's given me the promise that whenever i haveta spend time in the hospital (like, overnight stays, not just day visits), he'll bring me another flower! :D but i'm seriously hoping i won't haveta spend anymore time in hospitals anytime soon!
everyone else soon arrived, and we started singing away~
but i had two surprise visitors!
the first was tess. tess is my carer from kyabra who comes to look after me on saturdays, from 10am till 1pm when mother's @ work. see, i used to treasure saturday's; my favourite hobby's sleeping, and saturday was my only day when i could sleep till like 1:30! too bad mother was a party pooper who didn't like me sleeping so much (she's prolly jealous that she can't sleep as much :P) and rang DSQ asking if they could send someone to dig me up. tess just came to gimme a bday present and a hug. :)
the second was dr. dr. tai! (she gets two dr.'s coz she's doing some extra study after her medicine degree :P)she brought me a lovely batch offlowers, and also stayed to sing a few songs. :)
idiot of the day goes to me, however: while we were singing, i poked joshels in the ribs (he's widly ticklish :P) and asked joshels, "hey, does it have that (i switched to CANTONESE!) 'be a dog, be a cat' song?" joshels looked @ me like i'm daft or sth (well, i prolly am. :P and replied, "uh, em, i don't speak your language." oops, i was mortified! :P
thanks to letty and christy jie who helped me once to the bathroom before dinner. i was rather cranky, however, to discover that the disabled toilet didn't have a bar installed! >< but i managed alright.
for dinner, i chose that salty fish and diced chicken fried rice. much thanks to whoever that pushed the tablr up next to me, so i could eat without spilling food everywhere. :)
the 'k dinner" deal also included two drinks. i ordered a cold milk tea first, but stupid ela knocked the entire cup over (era slapped her for that) then after dinner i also ordered a cold horlicks.
thanks to janice who brought a camera! :D when the night was almost over, i asked her if i had time to stand and take a photo with each of my guests, but she said no. :( so i just stood up and took a group photo with everyone and then one with the parents. :)
oh! and we FINALLY got lee to sing! :D the silly man refused to all night, but someone pulled up 'happy birthday' and ordered him to! :P the first time, his voice died out about the third line, but i just ordered, "again! and the WHOLE song, this time!" :P lee actually sings very nicely and in tune; dunno why he's so shy about that?
can't remember who ... but i asked someone to please set an alarm on their phone telling when 8:22pm was, so i could announce to everyone that i'd finally been born and was officially twenty-four! (see, i was born 6:22pm hong kong time; that's 8:22pm brisbane time)
anyways, i hugged and thanked everyone for coming. :) but you guys who came were NAUGHTY! my birthday = my shout! who went around collecting money then stuffed that into the bag containing my presents, then SMS'd my mother when we were almost home?! lol, if my mum yells @ you when she sees you @ church on sunday, don't look to me for help. :P
but home, repeat the usual nightly procedure.
then, 'twas present opening time!!! :D lol, don't think i got much that i'd put in my birthday wishlist, :P but hey, any and all presents were and are highly appreciated! :D
all in all, i had a WONDERFUL birthday. i wonder how the next six years will fare for me... they'll all be 'th' years. does that mean i'll haveta wait seven years till i get another birthday party? :P
anyways, next post should come before tuesday - coz mother and i had lunch with my australian godmother @ sunni cafe three days ago! until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
P.S. janice uploaded the my birthday photo pics onto facebook under some album about pikkies taken during march. joshels deserves to be smacked coz he tagged someone who did the bunny ears onto someone else's head. :P
mother asked me, "what kinda party do you want?"
i had two plans in mind: one, a bday meal @ pancake manor or two, a kareoke bash @ neway. i've only been to the pancake manor once, back in 2007 or earlier, with joshels and some girls. i'd also been to neway with some church ppl for a fun night of bawling our lungs out. :P i put the question onto facebook, and got two responses: tim said to have both, and dr. lee said that there were many stairs to walk up if i chose the pancake manor.
the parents went to neway and k music to suss things out for me, and came back saying neway was good coz they had this 'k dinner' deal which was a plate of food, two drinks and five hours worth of singing.
next problem: who to invite? dad decided that i could only invite five, so i picked christy jie, fisobao, letty, joshels and dr. lee. however, when dr. lee said he had to work that night, i invited lee (leanne's cousin) instead.
i'd wanted to invite janice and wilfred along too, but mother said i couldn't, "coz they're too busy preparing for their wedding to come to your party."
fair enough ... but, turns out, they came along too! see, the sunday before my birthday, aunty denise (janice's mum) walks over and asks me, "heard it's your birthday next sunday. planned a party?' when i told her i'd be having a kareoke birthday bash, she asked me, 'ooh! have you invited janice and wilfred along yet?"
i answered her that i dearly wanted to invite them along, but that mother had told me that they'd be too busy planning their wedding to attend.
aunty denise laughs. "but emily, she warns me, 'if you don't invite janice along, she WON'T BE YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE and SHE'LL NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN!' o_O gulp. i hereby immediately ask mother, who says, "you'd better invite them, then. i'll explain to dad." :P
the days pass quickly, and soon, it's my birthday! :D both mum and dad wander into my room to wish me a happy birthday.
@ bible study, i bring out a packet of chocolate that christine lai had given to aunty wendy to give to me as my birthday present. only problem was that i couldn't eat any - 'twas of the nutty kind! (curse my peanut allergy. ><) but instead of the class sharing it, june (men hua's wife? i'm sorry, i keep getting all the adults in our bible study class confused ><) said she'd take the chocolate down to the morning tea area and get everyone toshare it. :)
service was nothing unusual, just the same. the congregation didn't sing tim and i happy birthday :(, but i made sure to bid tim a very happy 20th birthday after the service. i admit, i'm always incredibly jealous of anyone who makes it to their 20th birthday, coz for mine, god had already smited/smote/whatever the past tense of 'smite' is me down with the brain tumour! >< lol, i prolly spent my 20th birthday in the ICU ward. :(
as usual, we hit plaza for lunch. coz it was my birthday, mother lemme have one slice of KFC chicken for lunch. lol, usually i don't get any say; i just eat what they get. usually it's a chicken wrap from hungry jacks or some sushi.
back home after lunch, and i plopped online. no visitors from SHINE fellowship that day. :( i think mother said they were leaving me free to celebrate my birthday, but hey, i would've enjoyed the companionship. :( but i enjoyed my time online - i got thirty-five facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday! :D i know tina got more than one hundred, but hey, thirty-five's pretty damn awesome for someone who doesn't have any friends anymore! (i'd like to think i've still got friends, but mother often tells me that after my brain injury, i don't :( because my behaviour's warped or sth? ><)
but all too soon, 'twas time to go for my bday party! mother changed me into a nicer top first (the sparkly tweety one i wore for the night was bought for me by cousin teresa when she, uncle dickdick and franco went to movieworld.
dad drove us to neway, 'twas drizzling a lil. much thanks to the random lady working there who kindly let me hold gently onto her hand as i walked inside. :)
kwany arrived first - and he brought me K4! :D see, kwany first brought me K1 and K2 (they're toy grinning flowers that you can twist around sth) when i was hospitalised back in 2007 and 2008, and he bought me K3 when i was in the mater in 2009. after he'd RSVPd that he'd attend my bday party, i asked him, "kwany, will you bring me K4 as my birthday present?" his cheeky response @ that time had been 'wait and see." anyways, kwany's given me the promise that whenever i haveta spend time in the hospital (like, overnight stays, not just day visits), he'll bring me another flower! :D but i'm seriously hoping i won't haveta spend anymore time in hospitals anytime soon!
everyone else soon arrived, and we started singing away~
but i had two surprise visitors!
the first was tess. tess is my carer from kyabra who comes to look after me on saturdays, from 10am till 1pm when mother's @ work. see, i used to treasure saturday's; my favourite hobby's sleeping, and saturday was my only day when i could sleep till like 1:30! too bad mother was a party pooper who didn't like me sleeping so much (she's prolly jealous that she can't sleep as much :P) and rang DSQ asking if they could send someone to dig me up. tess just came to gimme a bday present and a hug. :)
the second was dr. dr. tai! (she gets two dr.'s coz she's doing some extra study after her medicine degree :P)she brought me a lovely batch offlowers, and also stayed to sing a few songs. :)
idiot of the day goes to me, however: while we were singing, i poked joshels in the ribs (he's widly ticklish :P) and asked joshels, "hey, does it have that (i switched to CANTONESE!) 'be a dog, be a cat' song?" joshels looked @ me like i'm daft or sth (well, i prolly am. :P and replied, "uh, em, i don't speak your language." oops, i was mortified! :P
thanks to letty and christy jie who helped me once to the bathroom before dinner. i was rather cranky, however, to discover that the disabled toilet didn't have a bar installed! >< but i managed alright.
for dinner, i chose that salty fish and diced chicken fried rice. much thanks to whoever that pushed the tablr up next to me, so i could eat without spilling food everywhere. :)
the 'k dinner" deal also included two drinks. i ordered a cold milk tea first, but stupid ela knocked the entire cup over (era slapped her for that) then after dinner i also ordered a cold horlicks.
thanks to janice who brought a camera! :D when the night was almost over, i asked her if i had time to stand and take a photo with each of my guests, but she said no. :( so i just stood up and took a group photo with everyone and then one with the parents. :)
oh! and we FINALLY got lee to sing! :D the silly man refused to all night, but someone pulled up 'happy birthday' and ordered him to! :P the first time, his voice died out about the third line, but i just ordered, "again! and the WHOLE song, this time!" :P lee actually sings very nicely and in tune; dunno why he's so shy about that?
can't remember who ... but i asked someone to please set an alarm on their phone telling when 8:22pm was, so i could announce to everyone that i'd finally been born and was officially twenty-four! (see, i was born 6:22pm hong kong time; that's 8:22pm brisbane time)
anyways, i hugged and thanked everyone for coming. :) but you guys who came were NAUGHTY! my birthday = my shout! who went around collecting money then stuffed that into the bag containing my presents, then SMS'd my mother when we were almost home?! lol, if my mum yells @ you when she sees you @ church on sunday, don't look to me for help. :P
but home, repeat the usual nightly procedure.
then, 'twas present opening time!!! :D lol, don't think i got much that i'd put in my birthday wishlist, :P but hey, any and all presents were and are highly appreciated! :D
all in all, i had a WONDERFUL birthday. i wonder how the next six years will fare for me... they'll all be 'th' years. does that mean i'll haveta wait seven years till i get another birthday party? :P
anyways, next post should come before tuesday - coz mother and i had lunch with my australian godmother @ sunni cafe three days ago! until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
P.S. janice uploaded the my birthday photo pics onto facebook under some album about pikkies taken during march. joshels deserves to be smacked coz he tagged someone who did the bunny ears onto someone else's head. :P
Saturday, March 19, 2011
reflections on being 23!
heylo! i'm using uncle slam's laptop here! we're over his and anna's place for dinner, aunty a's here too.
but this is my last night as a twenty-three year old; here are my reflections on what life was like for me in my twenty-third year.
firstly, being twenty-three, physically, wasn't any different to being twenty-one or twenty-two. i'm happy to say that i'm slightly better @ walking (meaning my balance has improved and i'm less likely to fall over @ any given second).
actually, it's now sunday - my birthday! :D anyways, where was i?
i still live in constant fear - every time i sit down, 99.9% of me fast forwards and jumps to, "oh no, soon mother will come and gleefully FORCE :( me to walk here/there ..." but recently, one of my carers/life coaches/support workers/whatever you call them nows :P taught me about guardian angels and how everyone has one, and you should talk to them about your fears. so i've been doing that every night.
the main event that occurred in my 23rd year of life was the death of my most beloved grandmother through lung cancer. >< i still miss her desperately everyday, but have stopped crying myself to sleep about it coz i realise it won't bring her back.
i still struggle with walking and using the left side of my body; sometimes i wonder, "will i be like this for the rest of my life?" but i'm still clinging to my belief that god will turn his hatred of me onto one of the gazillions of ppl also in the world and i'll be left to recover the shattered shards of my life - and i cannot wait for that day!
what else? physio consumes huge portions of my life. :P
hopes for the year ahead: as always, i aim to improve my physical abilities this year; i.e. walk better, don't fall over so often, use my left arm more, etc. i've learnt that it's okay to dream, but that it's just plain stupid to dream too fancifully. oh! i definitely DON'T plan to fall to my death this year! really, i'm just relieved that mother no longer believes i'll die before my 30th birthday - that leaves me free to achieve my target age of 100! :D i've always said i'll go happily the night after i receive my letter from the monarch of england congratulating me on reaching one century, but not before that! :P
well, i'm officially turning twenty-four in just over two hours! i'll be rejoining the 'th' family! you know, how twenty-one's your 21ST, twenty-two's your 22nd AND TWENTY-THREE'S YOUR 23rd - well, soon, i'll be in my 24TH year!
hopefully this'll be a great year for me. :)
cheers,
em. ^^
P.S. next post should come toms - i'll be posting about my bday bash i'm having tonight! :D
but this is my last night as a twenty-three year old; here are my reflections on what life was like for me in my twenty-third year.
firstly, being twenty-three, physically, wasn't any different to being twenty-one or twenty-two. i'm happy to say that i'm slightly better @ walking (meaning my balance has improved and i'm less likely to fall over @ any given second).
actually, it's now sunday - my birthday! :D anyways, where was i?
i still live in constant fear - every time i sit down, 99.9% of me fast forwards and jumps to, "oh no, soon mother will come and gleefully FORCE :( me to walk here/there ..." but recently, one of my carers/life coaches/support workers/whatever you call them nows :P taught me about guardian angels and how everyone has one, and you should talk to them about your fears. so i've been doing that every night.
the main event that occurred in my 23rd year of life was the death of my most beloved grandmother through lung cancer. >< i still miss her desperately everyday, but have stopped crying myself to sleep about it coz i realise it won't bring her back.
i still struggle with walking and using the left side of my body; sometimes i wonder, "will i be like this for the rest of my life?" but i'm still clinging to my belief that god will turn his hatred of me onto one of the gazillions of ppl also in the world and i'll be left to recover the shattered shards of my life - and i cannot wait for that day!
what else? physio consumes huge portions of my life. :P
hopes for the year ahead: as always, i aim to improve my physical abilities this year; i.e. walk better, don't fall over so often, use my left arm more, etc. i've learnt that it's okay to dream, but that it's just plain stupid to dream too fancifully. oh! i definitely DON'T plan to fall to my death this year! really, i'm just relieved that mother no longer believes i'll die before my 30th birthday - that leaves me free to achieve my target age of 100! :D i've always said i'll go happily the night after i receive my letter from the monarch of england congratulating me on reaching one century, but not before that! :P
well, i'm officially turning twenty-four in just over two hours! i'll be rejoining the 'th' family! you know, how twenty-one's your 21ST, twenty-two's your 22nd AND TWENTY-THREE'S YOUR 23rd - well, soon, i'll be in my 24TH year!
hopefully this'll be a great year for me. :)
cheers,
em. ^^
P.S. next post should come toms - i'll be posting about my bday bash i'm having tonight! :D
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
st. patrick's day
well, honestly, i didn't even know today was st. patrick's day! it's prolly a public holiday in ireland, like how we've got our own australia day.
but i had no idea that today was st. patrick's day until mother and i wandered out to toscani's for lunch, and lo and behold - there was a band playing, lotsa people wearing green, and even more people sitting around enjoying a beer! see, originally, we were gonna have lunch with aunties vicky and tiffany, only aunty vicky got called to work, and poor aunty tiffany came down with the runs! ><
i went home and googled "st. patrick's day" then went over to wikipedia to learn more about it.
turns out that it's actually a religious holiday, named after some fellow called st. patrick, who lived some four hundred years before christ was born. however, nowadays it's become more of a secular event celebrating irish culture. apparently, the original celebratory colour was blue, but somehow, it's become green over the centuries. originally, 'twas some feast day. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people. there are many sporting events associated with st. patrick's day, and it's also celebrated in many countries around the world, not just ireland. apparently, it's celebrated in argentina, canada, great britain, south korea, new zealand, japan and the united states too. turns out many cities celebrate st. patrick's day, with lotsa sporting events been contested!
anyways, next post surely should be my birthday! i can't think of anything else that would come up between now and then!
cya later!
cheers,
em. ^^
but i had no idea that today was st. patrick's day until mother and i wandered out to toscani's for lunch, and lo and behold - there was a band playing, lotsa people wearing green, and even more people sitting around enjoying a beer! see, originally, we were gonna have lunch with aunties vicky and tiffany, only aunty vicky got called to work, and poor aunty tiffany came down with the runs! ><
i went home and googled "st. patrick's day" then went over to wikipedia to learn more about it.
turns out that it's actually a religious holiday, named after some fellow called st. patrick, who lived some four hundred years before christ was born. however, nowadays it's become more of a secular event celebrating irish culture. apparently, the original celebratory colour was blue, but somehow, it's become green over the centuries. originally, 'twas some feast day. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people. there are many sporting events associated with st. patrick's day, and it's also celebrated in many countries around the world, not just ireland. apparently, it's celebrated in argentina, canada, great britain, south korea, new zealand, japan and the united states too. turns out many cities celebrate st. patrick's day, with lotsa sporting events been contested!
anyways, next post surely should be my birthday! i can't think of anything else that would come up between now and then!
cya later!
cheers,
em. ^^
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
birthday card
well, last year, for christmas, vincent the physio requested i draw him a birthday instead of printing him out one. dunno why he requested that, but no biggie, i drew him one:
first, i drew myself praying @ night, saying, "dear god, please will you smite vincent the bloody physio down with lightning so he can't come and torture me anymore?"
after that, i drew mother scolding me, "that's not very nice, em, draw sth less rude.'
so i drew me again praying @ night, saying, "dear god, can you please let vincent the bloody physio win several hundreds of million dollars so him and his wife will bugger off overseas forever and stop torturing me?"
but then i drew afriend saying to me over MSN, "em, you realise that the chances of you ever winning gold lotto are even less than the improbable chance of you ever been struck down by lightning?
back to the drawing board. i'm praying again, saying this time, "god, change of plans. kindly seriously FRY him with lightning!
over the page. kat and vincent are out dating ... love is in the air, love hearts floating around the besotted couple, when suddenly ...
CRACK!!! vincent gets FRIED by a lightning!
next scene's kat jie jie on the phone, dialing triple zero. "i need an ambulance, quick!" she cries! "my husband's just been fried by lightning!"
and the end scene: i've drawn vincent looking like a corpse on his hospital bed :P then i draw me, with a bunch of flowers. "hope you get well soon, vincent," i tell him, "look, i even brought you some flowers."
when i showed my artwork to mother, she said i was evil, but when i gave it to vincent, he laughed his head off.
fast forward almost three months. it's my birthday on sunday! "vincent, i tell him, "it's my birthday on sunday. this time, it's your turn. will you please draw me a birthday card? come on, it's your chance to get revenge on me. you can fry me with lightning too, or you can get me run over by a car, or you can shoot me dead. revenge's yours for the taking." he laughs. "alright," he promises, "i'll see what i can come up with."
the days pass by. last night, i go to bed wondering, "what will he draw for me?"
i planned to ask him for the card when i left upon the completion of my torture session with him, but nope, he hands me the card the moment i step into the treatment room.
on the first half, there's just one person, with a lightning bolt spearing down, about to fry me.
but on the second half, a second person, crying "NOOOO"HAS GOTTEN STRUCK BY THE LIGHTNING. sorry, shrieking! ><
i laugh, and point to the picture. "so that's me, and i get fried by lightning while you're just standing there smiling?"
"of course not, he replies, mock offended. "that's you, about to get fried by the lightning, and that's me, pushing you outta harm's way and getting fried by the lightning instead."
wow. i'm feeling loved here!
inside the card, he's written, "wish you have a huge huge progress this year Em, otherwise your cruel physio has to torture you some more."
the inner right half, he says, was written by kat jie jie:" dear emily happy birthday!!! kat and vincent"
well, he gets points for drawing me such a nice card, but loses some for not signing the card himself. :P
anyways, his and kat jie jie's birthday isn't till september 29th; hopefully by then he'll have given up the desire of having hand-drawn cards and i can go back to printing him one! :P
next post here ... didn't aunty vicky say that we'd have lunch with aunty tiffany tomorrow? if so, new post toms!
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
first, i drew myself praying @ night, saying, "dear god, please will you smite vincent the bloody physio down with lightning so he can't come and torture me anymore?"
after that, i drew mother scolding me, "that's not very nice, em, draw sth less rude.'
so i drew me again praying @ night, saying, "dear god, can you please let vincent the bloody physio win several hundreds of million dollars so him and his wife will bugger off overseas forever and stop torturing me?"
but then i drew afriend saying to me over MSN, "em, you realise that the chances of you ever winning gold lotto are even less than the improbable chance of you ever been struck down by lightning?
back to the drawing board. i'm praying again, saying this time, "god, change of plans. kindly seriously FRY him with lightning!
over the page. kat and vincent are out dating ... love is in the air, love hearts floating around the besotted couple, when suddenly ...
CRACK!!! vincent gets FRIED by a lightning!
next scene's kat jie jie on the phone, dialing triple zero. "i need an ambulance, quick!" she cries! "my husband's just been fried by lightning!"
and the end scene: i've drawn vincent looking like a corpse on his hospital bed :P then i draw me, with a bunch of flowers. "hope you get well soon, vincent," i tell him, "look, i even brought you some flowers."
when i showed my artwork to mother, she said i was evil, but when i gave it to vincent, he laughed his head off.
fast forward almost three months. it's my birthday on sunday! "vincent, i tell him, "it's my birthday on sunday. this time, it's your turn. will you please draw me a birthday card? come on, it's your chance to get revenge on me. you can fry me with lightning too, or you can get me run over by a car, or you can shoot me dead. revenge's yours for the taking." he laughs. "alright," he promises, "i'll see what i can come up with."
the days pass by. last night, i go to bed wondering, "what will he draw for me?"
i planned to ask him for the card when i left upon the completion of my torture session with him, but nope, he hands me the card the moment i step into the treatment room.
on the first half, there's just one person, with a lightning bolt spearing down, about to fry me.
but on the second half, a second person, crying "NOOOO"HAS GOTTEN STRUCK BY THE LIGHTNING. sorry, shrieking! ><
i laugh, and point to the picture. "so that's me, and i get fried by lightning while you're just standing there smiling?"
"of course not, he replies, mock offended. "that's you, about to get fried by the lightning, and that's me, pushing you outta harm's way and getting fried by the lightning instead."
wow. i'm feeling loved here!
inside the card, he's written, "wish you have a huge huge progress this year Em, otherwise your cruel physio has to torture you some more."
the inner right half, he says, was written by kat jie jie:" dear emily happy birthday!!! kat and vincent"
well, he gets points for drawing me such a nice card, but loses some for not signing the card himself. :P
anyways, his and kat jie jie's birthday isn't till september 29th; hopefully by then he'll have given up the desire of having hand-drawn cards and i can go back to printing him one! :P
next post here ... didn't aunty vicky say that we'd have lunch with aunty tiffany tomorrow? if so, new post toms!
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Monday, March 14, 2011
erika and tilly
well, @ the book club i've joined, i've met a really lovely lady there called erika. she's from germany!
knowing my birthday was sometime this month, she said "let's go out for lunch to celebrate." @ first, she suggested the glen, coz she knows we live close by it, but mother suggested the rochedale deli cafe, coz she'd met erika there once when the nice church ladies had taken her there once(mother ALWAYS STRESSES that it's the church ladies who invite her along, she's NEVER been the one to beg/nag/plead them to take her there :P)
so that's where we went! much thanks to erika who led era hold gently onto her arm; that just meant that erf was able to step past elf every time without problem.
i ordered eggs benedict with a choc shake, while mother ordered some steak and chips thing with coke. sorry, though, i didn't like mine; eggs benedict isn't supposed to taste SOUR! >< and i asked mother would she trade one chip for some bread, which she did. :)
of course, poor em copped some flak from mother, but that's to be expected. personally, i'm just glad she left dearest dad and everyone else alone. :) it's much easier to sit there and just absorb all the insults mother's hurling your way, but oftentimes, when mother starts hurling insults @ others (like dearest dad and aunty a, for example), i'm hard pressed not to speak up and defend them!
and, for the first time ever, i have a FEMALE teddy bear! :D (all my current teddies are male, don't ask me why :P) erika gave me this adorable clothed little bear who's name's 'tilly'. i asked mother to please put tilly on my bed, so bear bear, oem, voem and the others can all introduce themselves to her. :)
actually, for the past two christmas seasons, erika's given me PERFUME for christmas! last year's this one called 'sunshine', i think, and the one from the year before's either called '4711' or '5822'. :P lol, i usually dab a lil on before i head out for book club once a month. i'm not really much a perfume wearer. :P
last year, in july, i'd also missed one month of book club coz my dearest grandma passed away with lung cancer. when i came back for the august book club, useless me got somewhat teary because of that. much thanks to erika who found a tissue and wiped away my tears. then, next month, she bought mother a plant! i'm not really sure ... is it custom to give someone a plant after they suffer bereavement?
anyways, erika's just one of the lovely ladies that i meet every month for book club. :) there's jan, and margie, and penny ... lol, there's too many names to count!
next post ... think mother and i are going to have lunch with aunty tiffany and aunty vicky sometime this week? see you then!
cheers,
em. ^^
knowing my birthday was sometime this month, she said "let's go out for lunch to celebrate." @ first, she suggested the glen, coz she knows we live close by it, but mother suggested the rochedale deli cafe, coz she'd met erika there once when the nice church ladies had taken her there once(mother ALWAYS STRESSES that it's the church ladies who invite her along, she's NEVER been the one to beg/nag/plead them to take her there :P)
so that's where we went! much thanks to erika who led era hold gently onto her arm; that just meant that erf was able to step past elf every time without problem.
i ordered eggs benedict with a choc shake, while mother ordered some steak and chips thing with coke. sorry, though, i didn't like mine; eggs benedict isn't supposed to taste SOUR! >< and i asked mother would she trade one chip for some bread, which she did. :)
of course, poor em copped some flak from mother, but that's to be expected. personally, i'm just glad she left dearest dad and everyone else alone. :) it's much easier to sit there and just absorb all the insults mother's hurling your way, but oftentimes, when mother starts hurling insults @ others (like dearest dad and aunty a, for example), i'm hard pressed not to speak up and defend them!
and, for the first time ever, i have a FEMALE teddy bear! :D (all my current teddies are male, don't ask me why :P) erika gave me this adorable clothed little bear who's name's 'tilly'. i asked mother to please put tilly on my bed, so bear bear, oem, voem and the others can all introduce themselves to her. :)
actually, for the past two christmas seasons, erika's given me PERFUME for christmas! last year's this one called 'sunshine', i think, and the one from the year before's either called '4711' or '5822'. :P lol, i usually dab a lil on before i head out for book club once a month. i'm not really much a perfume wearer. :P
last year, in july, i'd also missed one month of book club coz my dearest grandma passed away with lung cancer. when i came back for the august book club, useless me got somewhat teary because of that. much thanks to erika who found a tissue and wiped away my tears. then, next month, she bought mother a plant! i'm not really sure ... is it custom to give someone a plant after they suffer bereavement?
anyways, erika's just one of the lovely ladies that i meet every month for book club. :) there's jan, and margie, and penny ... lol, there's too many names to count!
next post ... think mother and i are going to have lunch with aunty tiffany and aunty vicky sometime this week? see you then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Saturday, March 12, 2011
bookclub! (march)
well, considering my birthday's this month, the only birthday present i asked of mother was that she allowed me to catch the lift up to the library and back down from it to the car. sadly, mother was HEARTLESS and wouldn't even gimmee that much. :( yes, i'm capable of walking up those stairs, but there is also a bloody elevator for mobility impaired people - i.e. ME! >< but hey, as long as mother's happy ... :( and, as usual, i didn't get any dinner afterwards. dunno why mother ALWAYS refuses to take me through the red rooster drive-thru for a tropicana pack (i'm very partial to the pineapple fritters! :D)but luckily, awesome hina fed me the perfect arvo tea plus one crunchy pear for arvo tea, so i wasn't too hungry. besides, i got three weetbix for breakfast the next morning. :)
once i'd hauled myself to the room, mother kindly buggered off and lemme enjoy bookclub with all the other nice ladies. erica made me one cup of tea, white and two, and amanda (the librarian that takes the bookclub) captured my attention with two new fantasy books the library recently acquired. one was a david and leigh eddings one, which i happily delved into somewhere during bookclub discussion. i remember first finding eddings during high schhol, along with feist, hearn and feintuch. :)
anyways, can't remember the title of this book ... sth like 'across the front line'?
lol, i must be a literary dud compared to all the other ladies - they all loved the book! i, on the other hand, find it totally boring ... there weren't any memorable quotes to jot down and share with them all! but hey, each to their own. :) perhaps i found the book so completely boring because the author died before my father was even BORN? :P
anyhow, the book we're reading for april promises to be interesting - it's called sth like 'the secret life of bees' and it's about some girl that accidentally killed her mother when she was a young child! o_O sounds intriguing ...
anyways, next post here will prolly come next sunday (not tomorrow, but the 20th march) coz on that day, i'm turning twenty-four! gosh, i'm feeling OLD now ... i'll have passed the 'st' (twenty-one), the 'nd' (twenty-two) and the 'rd' (twenty-three)! yup, i'm rejoining the 'th' family for the next seven years ;)
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
once i'd hauled myself to the room, mother kindly buggered off and lemme enjoy bookclub with all the other nice ladies. erica made me one cup of tea, white and two, and amanda (the librarian that takes the bookclub) captured my attention with two new fantasy books the library recently acquired. one was a david and leigh eddings one, which i happily delved into somewhere during bookclub discussion. i remember first finding eddings during high schhol, along with feist, hearn and feintuch. :)
anyways, can't remember the title of this book ... sth like 'across the front line'?
lol, i must be a literary dud compared to all the other ladies - they all loved the book! i, on the other hand, find it totally boring ... there weren't any memorable quotes to jot down and share with them all! but hey, each to their own. :) perhaps i found the book so completely boring because the author died before my father was even BORN? :P
anyhow, the book we're reading for april promises to be interesting - it's called sth like 'the secret life of bees' and it's about some girl that accidentally killed her mother when she was a young child! o_O sounds intriguing ...
anyways, next post here will prolly come next sunday (not tomorrow, but the 20th march) coz on that day, i'm turning twenty-four! gosh, i'm feeling OLD now ... i'll have passed the 'st' (twenty-one), the 'nd' (twenty-two) and the 'rd' (twenty-three)! yup, i'm rejoining the 'th' family for the next seven years ;)
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Thursday, March 10, 2011
podiatrist
well, today i went and saw a podiatrist for the first time ever!
see, i've been having acupuncture for several months now, and my doctor decided two weeks ago that i should have a break from acupuncture for two months, to give all the holes she's stabbed into me with her needles some time to heal (obviously not true. :P)
so last thursday night, when i was about to sleep, i told my left foot, "elf (emily's left foot), we're not going to see dr. lin tomorrow for acupuncture." she wasn't happy with that @ all, and said, 'emily, you sleep. i'll think of some reason to see dr. lin tomorrow."
come the next morning, i'm awoken by mother gasping, "emily, what's wrong with your left foot?! it's all SWOLLEN!" meaning elf got her wish: we went to see dr. lin that day. :P i told her how elf'd gotten all jealous about not being able to see dr. lin, so had purposely swollen! :P she laughed, then decided, "we'd better continue, then!" :P
but dr. lin refers me to this podiatrist on logan rd. called evonne (forgotten her last name. yau?) we make an appointment to see her. hey, she speaks canto, too! and not only that, she's aunty rose's daughter!!! aunty rose was a cleaner when i was @ BIRU; we often talked!
so elf gets a pedicure. :P nah, not really. evonne just fiddles with her a lil. when we leave, we meet her hubby (andrew?), who shows us a ultrasound photo of their new bub! they've already chosen a name for him, oliver! best of all, he's doing a thumbs up for the photo! :) well, he'll definitely be a handsome kid, all mixed-blood babies are. :)
anyways, next post should come toms; i also attended book club tonight! until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
see, i've been having acupuncture for several months now, and my doctor decided two weeks ago that i should have a break from acupuncture for two months, to give all the holes she's stabbed into me with her needles some time to heal (obviously not true. :P)
so last thursday night, when i was about to sleep, i told my left foot, "elf (emily's left foot), we're not going to see dr. lin tomorrow for acupuncture." she wasn't happy with that @ all, and said, 'emily, you sleep. i'll think of some reason to see dr. lin tomorrow."
come the next morning, i'm awoken by mother gasping, "emily, what's wrong with your left foot?! it's all SWOLLEN!" meaning elf got her wish: we went to see dr. lin that day. :P i told her how elf'd gotten all jealous about not being able to see dr. lin, so had purposely swollen! :P she laughed, then decided, "we'd better continue, then!" :P
but dr. lin refers me to this podiatrist on logan rd. called evonne (forgotten her last name. yau?) we make an appointment to see her. hey, she speaks canto, too! and not only that, she's aunty rose's daughter!!! aunty rose was a cleaner when i was @ BIRU; we often talked!
so elf gets a pedicure. :P nah, not really. evonne just fiddles with her a lil. when we leave, we meet her hubby (andrew?), who shows us a ultrasound photo of their new bub! they've already chosen a name for him, oliver! best of all, he's doing a thumbs up for the photo! :) well, he'll definitely be a handsome kid, all mixed-blood babies are. :)
anyways, next post should come toms; i also attended book club tonight! until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Saturday, March 5, 2011
fellowship
well, when i was little (less than ten years old) i attended children's fellowship, which was all in canto. hymn singing, story telling, then craft making/games. when i entered my teens, i participated in teens fellowship. i still remember how it was held @ the state primary school diagonally across from AIC (antioch international church, our old church located @ the corner of beenleigh and pinelands roads). we'd all gather @ the morning tea area, then cross the intersection, someone lugging the keyboard that we brought along for worship.
lol, i can't really remember if i joined youth fellowship; i suspect i did ... :P
once i started uni in 2005, i attended uni fellowship! faith, fellowship, fun, and ... food! :P
halfway through last year, uni fellowship divided into two: the older people who had graduated uni and were now working left and formed workers fellowship. i think they meet every wednesday night ... not sure where, though.
me, being disabled and unable to further continue my studies, stayed with uni fellowship. but @ the beginning of this year, mother told me that i'd no longer be welcomed @ uni fellowship! >< she said, "you're getting too old for everyone there, em." when i pointed out that dr. lee was even older than me but he still attends uni fellowship, mother told me, "yeah, he attends coz he's mentoring some of the younger boys. you don't mentor anyone, so you're not welcome there anymore. besides, the topics they discuss aren't relevant for you any longer either, coz you don't study."
well, dulp. >< did that mean i had to content myself from only seeing my peers (i call everyone @ church my 'peer' now; mother's made it clear to me that i no longer have friends anymore ><) only every sunday, @ church? ><
thankfully, no. enter the chow sisters: vicky, cathy and sharon (smoky). they invited me along to their SHINE fellowship! :D SHINE stands for Seek Holiness IN Everyday, BTW. it starts @ 7:45pm, so a lil later than uni fellowship, which starts @ 7:30. it's only a small group, about ten people, but i guess that varies with the week. the main challenge for me is that it's held in canto! like, i know, my cantonese has improved in leaps and bounds after my debilitating brain injury, but when people are talking about this book of the bible and that book of the bible, i'm left asking, "what's that called in english?" well, @ least i'm fine with being the reason of their good-natured laughter whenever i get stuck on complicated words and phrases. :P
actually, i'm wondering, will my canto reading skills improve slightly after attending SHINE fellowship this year? like, for hymn singing, the songs are usually canto songs, and i know that when michael leung led it once, his powerpoint slides were all in canto, too.
but mostly, i'm just grateful that i'm allowed to have some fellowship with my peers. :) honestly, i'd get rather lonely if i could only see them once every sunday!
anyways, next post should come this thursday - bookclub! :D until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
lol, i can't really remember if i joined youth fellowship; i suspect i did ... :P
once i started uni in 2005, i attended uni fellowship! faith, fellowship, fun, and ... food! :P
halfway through last year, uni fellowship divided into two: the older people who had graduated uni and were now working left and formed workers fellowship. i think they meet every wednesday night ... not sure where, though.
me, being disabled and unable to further continue my studies, stayed with uni fellowship. but @ the beginning of this year, mother told me that i'd no longer be welcomed @ uni fellowship! >< she said, "you're getting too old for everyone there, em." when i pointed out that dr. lee was even older than me but he still attends uni fellowship, mother told me, "yeah, he attends coz he's mentoring some of the younger boys. you don't mentor anyone, so you're not welcome there anymore. besides, the topics they discuss aren't relevant for you any longer either, coz you don't study."
well, dulp. >< did that mean i had to content myself from only seeing my peers (i call everyone @ church my 'peer' now; mother's made it clear to me that i no longer have friends anymore ><) only every sunday, @ church? ><
thankfully, no. enter the chow sisters: vicky, cathy and sharon (smoky). they invited me along to their SHINE fellowship! :D SHINE stands for Seek Holiness IN Everyday, BTW. it starts @ 7:45pm, so a lil later than uni fellowship, which starts @ 7:30. it's only a small group, about ten people, but i guess that varies with the week. the main challenge for me is that it's held in canto! like, i know, my cantonese has improved in leaps and bounds after my debilitating brain injury, but when people are talking about this book of the bible and that book of the bible, i'm left asking, "what's that called in english?" well, @ least i'm fine with being the reason of their good-natured laughter whenever i get stuck on complicated words and phrases. :P
actually, i'm wondering, will my canto reading skills improve slightly after attending SHINE fellowship this year? like, for hymn singing, the songs are usually canto songs, and i know that when michael leung led it once, his powerpoint slides were all in canto, too.
but mostly, i'm just grateful that i'm allowed to have some fellowship with my peers. :) honestly, i'd get rather lonely if i could only see them once every sunday!
anyways, next post should come this thursday - bookclub! :D until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
birthday wishlist
heylo again! yesterday, after posting my summer reflections, i said i prolly wouldn't post until book club (next thursday) but today's the 1st of march, and do you know what i put up on the 1st of march every year? my birthday wishlist!!! :D here's what i want this year!
-'betrayal of natalie hargrove' by lauren kate (prolly just a book i found when reading the e-mail catalogue borders sends me periodically)
-walking stick (see, i've explained countless times that when i struggle to walk, i don't trust my own two feet on the ground, and i would love to hold onto sth that does touch the ground. now, coz horrible mother has decided that i'm not allowed to hold onto anyone's hand gently when i walk, the only way i can get around that's with a walking stick. honestly, i walk so much better with one!)
-two more goldfish (to replace poor silver and bronze, who passed away during winter, 2008)
-lazarus rising by john howard (i'd like to read his biography, especially considering i voted for him during that election when he lost to kevin rudd)
-whiter shades of pale by christian lander (prolly another book i found while i was reading the borders online catalogue)
-delirium by lauren oliver (lol, another book whose blurb i can't even remember! :P but it must've been interesting for me to note down into my birthday wishlist!)
-hellhole by brian herbert and kevin j. anderson
-teddy bear (one can never have enough teddy bears to love :)
-kit kat cookies and cream (i figured that i'd @ least need one food item in my wishlist! :P)
-i-pad. see, mother PROMISED to buy me a HUGE present if only i stopped asking please for my walking stick. that was back in 2008. i decided i'd like an i-phone, and stopped asking for my walking stick. well, it's 2011 now, and i'm still without my i-phone. and anyways, that's outdated now, so i'm asking for an i-pad. mother says she hasn't gotten me this HUGE present that she PROMISED i'd get because "you cling onto whatever else is available). well, fair enough, i won't deny that accusation, but i'd just like to remind mother: our deal was "emily stops asking for walking stick, mother buys emily a huge present." NO-WHERE in that deal are the words added, "and BTW, if emily clings onto whatever else she can find, the deal's null." *sigh* but hey.
anyways, looking back, i've just realised that i've already asked for ten things in my birthday wishlist - so i'd better stop here! can't be seen as some greedy pig, after all.:P righteo, until next thursday!
cheers,
em. ^^
-'betrayal of natalie hargrove' by lauren kate (prolly just a book i found when reading the e-mail catalogue borders sends me periodically)
-walking stick (see, i've explained countless times that when i struggle to walk, i don't trust my own two feet on the ground, and i would love to hold onto sth that does touch the ground. now, coz horrible mother has decided that i'm not allowed to hold onto anyone's hand gently when i walk, the only way i can get around that's with a walking stick. honestly, i walk so much better with one!)
-two more goldfish (to replace poor silver and bronze, who passed away during winter, 2008)
-lazarus rising by john howard (i'd like to read his biography, especially considering i voted for him during that election when he lost to kevin rudd)
-whiter shades of pale by christian lander (prolly another book i found while i was reading the borders online catalogue)
-delirium by lauren oliver (lol, another book whose blurb i can't even remember! :P but it must've been interesting for me to note down into my birthday wishlist!)
-hellhole by brian herbert and kevin j. anderson
-teddy bear (one can never have enough teddy bears to love :)
-kit kat cookies and cream (i figured that i'd @ least need one food item in my wishlist! :P)
-i-pad. see, mother PROMISED to buy me a HUGE present if only i stopped asking please for my walking stick. that was back in 2008. i decided i'd like an i-phone, and stopped asking for my walking stick. well, it's 2011 now, and i'm still without my i-phone. and anyways, that's outdated now, so i'm asking for an i-pad. mother says she hasn't gotten me this HUGE present that she PROMISED i'd get because "you cling onto whatever else is available). well, fair enough, i won't deny that accusation, but i'd just like to remind mother: our deal was "emily stops asking for walking stick, mother buys emily a huge present." NO-WHERE in that deal are the words added, "and BTW, if emily clings onto whatever else she can find, the deal's null." *sigh* but hey.
anyways, looking back, i've just realised that i've already asked for ten things in my birthday wishlist - so i'd better stop here! can't be seen as some greedy pig, after all.:P righteo, until next thursday!
cheers,
em. ^^
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