There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town.
One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage,
and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas
began to speak. . . .
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me
swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"
"How much?" the pastor asked again.
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story:
'One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the
Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting, "Yes, sir, I just caught a world
full of people down there. I set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you are done with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much? He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.'
The pastor picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.
I thank God every day for my blessed life. I'm not rich, don't live in a mansion and don't have the nicest of material things, but I'm healthy, I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on my table, a family that loves me, good and beautiful friends to get me through, and His promise of a home with Him forever. I have a whole lot to thank Him for!!!
well, this one's a nice lil story, don't you reckon? vicky chow sent it to me. :) as for the last paragraph, i can't agree with the "i'm healthy" part, not after what god's put me through, but for everything else, yeah. :) as for my next post here, it'll prolly come after our church picnic on monday. until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
canadian joke
heylo! my next post wasn't due till the labour day public holiday/our church picnic @ seventeen mile rock, but mother forwarded me this hilarious e-mail qhich i've gotta share with everyone! :P
Cantonese can get u places.......keep reading and find out how ... :P
Let you laugh some more :)) amidst all the outrageous news on the political front :))
Canadian Citizenship Application
An immigrant from China is applying for citizenship in Canada. He is to be interviewed by a Canadian immigration officer. He does not speak English well and knows nothing about Canada. Therefore, he invited a special translator to help him in his interview.
Officer: Do you know who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?
Translator: ( in Cantonese) The officer asked you, Where do you usually go if you want to eat hamburger?
Man: (answered to the officer) Oh..... McDonald (the first minister of Canada is Sir John MacDonald.)
The officer nodded his head and then asked the second question.
Officer: Could you tell me which province you're living in now?
Translator: (in Cantonese) The officer just asked you, What is the dirtiest thing in your nose?
Man: (replied to the officer in Cantonese) Ah..... Bay See (which means nose dirt in Chinese)
(The man lives in the province of British Columbia, commonly known as B.C.)
The officer added a current affair question, "Who is the prime minister of Canada now?"
The translator speaks in Cantonese, "What's that part of the face below your lips and above your neck?"
Man replied "Har Per". (which means chin in Cantonese) (The current prime minister of Canada is Prime Minister Stephen Harper)
The officer nodded his head again and asked the final question.
Officer: Do you know what your privilege is when you become Canadian?
Translator: (in Cantonese) The officer asked you, How does a dog sounds like when it barks?
Man: (demonstrated the sound to the officer)... Woe, Woe. (Vote, Vote. One of the privileges of a Canadian is the right to vote.)
The officer told the man that all the questions were answered correctly, shook hands with him and congratulated him that he had passed the interview to be a Canadian citizen.
BAHAHA!!! hope my cousin katie won't read this post, coz she lives in canada! :P
righteo, cya on monday!
cheers,
em. ^^
Cantonese can get u places.......keep reading and find out how ... :P
Let you laugh some more :)) amidst all the outrageous news on the political front :))
Canadian Citizenship Application
An immigrant from China is applying for citizenship in Canada. He is to be interviewed by a Canadian immigration officer. He does not speak English well and knows nothing about Canada. Therefore, he invited a special translator to help him in his interview.
Officer: Do you know who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?
Translator: ( in Cantonese) The officer asked you, Where do you usually go if you want to eat hamburger?
Man: (answered to the officer) Oh..... McDonald (the first minister of Canada is Sir John MacDonald.)
The officer nodded his head and then asked the second question.
Officer: Could you tell me which province you're living in now?
Translator: (in Cantonese) The officer just asked you, What is the dirtiest thing in your nose?
Man: (replied to the officer in Cantonese) Ah..... Bay See (which means nose dirt in Chinese)
(The man lives in the province of British Columbia, commonly known as B.C.)
The officer added a current affair question, "Who is the prime minister of Canada now?"
The translator speaks in Cantonese, "What's that part of the face below your lips and above your neck?"
Man replied "Har Per". (which means chin in Cantonese) (The current prime minister of Canada is Prime Minister Stephen Harper)
The officer nodded his head again and asked the final question.
Officer: Do you know what your privilege is when you become Canadian?
Translator: (in Cantonese) The officer asked you, How does a dog sounds like when it barks?
Man: (demonstrated the sound to the officer)... Woe, Woe. (Vote, Vote. One of the privileges of a Canadian is the right to vote.)
The officer told the man that all the questions were answered correctly, shook hands with him and congratulated him that he had passed the interview to be a Canadian citizen.
BAHAHA!!! hope my cousin katie won't read this post, coz she lives in canada! :P
righteo, cya on monday!
cheers,
em. ^^
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
barbecue
over public day holidays, i've often threatened my mother that unless she comes up with some activity to do for that day, i'll very happily cuddle up to my favourite teddy bear and sleep till 5:55pm before getting up to watch seven's 6pm news. meaning mother was very happy to accept an invitation from aunty catherine/ping yee for a BBQ @ her place today. :P
we didn't arrive there till almost midday, but i jumped right into the cooking! the difference between aussie-style barbecues and hongkie-style ones is that, while for aussie-style ones, usually a guy stands @ the barbecue and cooks for everyone over a ... what are they called ... dunno, those flat metal plate things, for hongkie-style barbecues, every person holds their own tongs and slowly roasts their meat over the fire.
i started with a beef chop (are they really called that? like, it's definitely pork chop and lamb chop, but what about beef chop and chicken chop?), mother tossed in lotsa lettuce, then i followed with some pork balls, two chicken wings and one chicken chop.
binda and hairy wandered over for a chat, they're all on term break now, but the poor things are spending their holidays studying. ><"
afterwards, i headed inside, where aunty frances was teaching the girls how to make glutinous rice balls (say 'tong buck luck' in canto). but lol, they had to make two batches, coz for the first batch they accidentally added SALT instead of SUGAR! :P
before the glutinous rice balls made their appearance, mother and i both snacked on a mini-corn cob. i did try asking her please for a chopstick to prod through the middle, but mother decided that the corn cob was small enough to just eat with my hands. hey, no biggie. :)
when the rice balls arrived, i munched two before mother decided i couldn't have any. instead, i munched two delicious lindt chocolates until joey decided that two was enough. i wanted to ask joey please for one mug of milk, coz i'm of the opinion that chocolate ALWAYS taste better with milk! :D dunno why mother wouldn't allow me to ask, though ... another oh well.
after eating, i headed over and sat down @ the big table, where we all chatted away. the rest of the girls were all surfing the net with joey. aunty catherine told me that joey was born @ the QEII hospital while matthew was born @ sunnybank private. i wonder if the food there was good?
anyways, before mother tootled us home, she took me once more to the loo. back home, i tootled online.
next post here ... does our church picnic come first or labour day? quite possibly, labour day IS the day of our church picnic @ seventeen mile rock.:P well, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
we didn't arrive there till almost midday, but i jumped right into the cooking! the difference between aussie-style barbecues and hongkie-style ones is that, while for aussie-style ones, usually a guy stands @ the barbecue and cooks for everyone over a ... what are they called ... dunno, those flat metal plate things, for hongkie-style barbecues, every person holds their own tongs and slowly roasts their meat over the fire.
i started with a beef chop (are they really called that? like, it's definitely pork chop and lamb chop, but what about beef chop and chicken chop?), mother tossed in lotsa lettuce, then i followed with some pork balls, two chicken wings and one chicken chop.
binda and hairy wandered over for a chat, they're all on term break now, but the poor things are spending their holidays studying. ><"
afterwards, i headed inside, where aunty frances was teaching the girls how to make glutinous rice balls (say 'tong buck luck' in canto). but lol, they had to make two batches, coz for the first batch they accidentally added SALT instead of SUGAR! :P
before the glutinous rice balls made their appearance, mother and i both snacked on a mini-corn cob. i did try asking her please for a chopstick to prod through the middle, but mother decided that the corn cob was small enough to just eat with my hands. hey, no biggie. :)
when the rice balls arrived, i munched two before mother decided i couldn't have any. instead, i munched two delicious lindt chocolates until joey decided that two was enough. i wanted to ask joey please for one mug of milk, coz i'm of the opinion that chocolate ALWAYS taste better with milk! :D dunno why mother wouldn't allow me to ask, though ... another oh well.
after eating, i headed over and sat down @ the big table, where we all chatted away. the rest of the girls were all surfing the net with joey. aunty catherine told me that joey was born @ the QEII hospital while matthew was born @ sunnybank private. i wonder if the food there was good?
anyways, before mother tootled us home, she took me once more to the loo. back home, i tootled online.
next post here ... does our church picnic come first or labour day? quite possibly, labour day IS the day of our church picnic @ seventeen mile rock.:P well, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Sunday, April 24, 2011
eaater monday and ANZAC day post
well, 'a' comes before 'e' in the alphabet, so let's start with ANZAC day first.
'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.'
both the parents and i are extremely lucky never to have been touched by war. my grandmas were born around world war two, but it's not sth i've ever spoken with them about.
i remember back in high school, we'd have an ANZAC day parade, where some trumpeter would blow out the ... whatever that song's called, the one that goes CGCG ... CGCG ... CGCGCECCCC, etc. yeah, i tried the trumpet for two years back in 1998 and 1999, was bloody useless @ it. gave it to ching ying when he visited brisbane in 2004, dunno what he's done with it. :p
both mine and the parent's generation have never been touched by war, thankfully. my australian godfather was in the vietnam war, and suffers from tinnitus. he tells me that it comes very much in handy when his wife is yelling @ him to do sth. :P
i'm just curious, actually ... there wouldn't be any remaining world war one veterans still alive today, would there? considering the war started in 1904 ... that's 107 years ago, and the soldiers were prolly all in their late teens and early twenties ... yeah, they've all prolly headed into the next life by now.
but yeah, every year, it's good to pause and reflect upon what those soldiers gave up for us. i guess that's why there's still ANZAC parades every year.
as for easter monday ... well, apart from getting an awesome four day long weekend (easter friday), i guess it's a celebration for us christians coz it's when jesus christ arose from the dead. i've always wondered what that was like for him ... coming back into life after three days of being dead. was it like simply waking up from a long sleep, or did jesus actually have experiences in the afterlife while waiting for god to bring him back to life? why did god wait three days, anyway? wouldn't it have been more shocking, after the guards proved jesus had really died, for him to have suddenly popped back up and said, 'hello, guys! miss me?" :P
but i guess the main point of all that is that we therefore have a hope and a future. (isn't that a bible verse somewhere? "plans to give you a hope and a future ...?") by conquering death, jesus made it possible for us to be reunited with him after our mortal bodies call it a day. that's an incredible relief, knowing that you're still somewhere after you kark it. :P
one thing i'm clinging to very hard personally ... my most beloved grandmother passed away from lung cancer before i had the chance to fly back to hong kong, hold her close and tell her how much i love her. the night (well, morning, actually, about 4am) she passed away, dad stayed with me awhile in bed while mother was talking to the nurse looking after grandma. i remember that i had been very upset, and dad had PINKY-PROMISED me that i would see grandma again, one day up in heaven. in that case, after my body calls it a day and i've died, if god wants to boot me to hell for being a miserable little turd :P, i'm gonna raise my hand and say, "wait! before you do that, you haveta reunite me with grandma first!"
actually, doesn't it say that there's no tears/any unhappiness up in heaven? if that's the case, how exactly will grandma be happy if i run up to her, embrace her, then say, "sorry, grandma, gotta go. there's a place down in hell with my name reserved for it."?
but hey, that's yet another easter monday and another ANZAC day passing us by.
next post here ... labour day? isn't that sometime soon? anyways, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.'
both the parents and i are extremely lucky never to have been touched by war. my grandmas were born around world war two, but it's not sth i've ever spoken with them about.
i remember back in high school, we'd have an ANZAC day parade, where some trumpeter would blow out the ... whatever that song's called, the one that goes CGCG ... CGCG ... CGCGCECCCC, etc. yeah, i tried the trumpet for two years back in 1998 and 1999, was bloody useless @ it. gave it to ching ying when he visited brisbane in 2004, dunno what he's done with it. :p
both mine and the parent's generation have never been touched by war, thankfully. my australian godfather was in the vietnam war, and suffers from tinnitus. he tells me that it comes very much in handy when his wife is yelling @ him to do sth. :P
i'm just curious, actually ... there wouldn't be any remaining world war one veterans still alive today, would there? considering the war started in 1904 ... that's 107 years ago, and the soldiers were prolly all in their late teens and early twenties ... yeah, they've all prolly headed into the next life by now.
but yeah, every year, it's good to pause and reflect upon what those soldiers gave up for us. i guess that's why there's still ANZAC parades every year.
as for easter monday ... well, apart from getting an awesome four day long weekend (easter friday), i guess it's a celebration for us christians coz it's when jesus christ arose from the dead. i've always wondered what that was like for him ... coming back into life after three days of being dead. was it like simply waking up from a long sleep, or did jesus actually have experiences in the afterlife while waiting for god to bring him back to life? why did god wait three days, anyway? wouldn't it have been more shocking, after the guards proved jesus had really died, for him to have suddenly popped back up and said, 'hello, guys! miss me?" :P
but i guess the main point of all that is that we therefore have a hope and a future. (isn't that a bible verse somewhere? "plans to give you a hope and a future ...?") by conquering death, jesus made it possible for us to be reunited with him after our mortal bodies call it a day. that's an incredible relief, knowing that you're still somewhere after you kark it. :P
one thing i'm clinging to very hard personally ... my most beloved grandmother passed away from lung cancer before i had the chance to fly back to hong kong, hold her close and tell her how much i love her. the night (well, morning, actually, about 4am) she passed away, dad stayed with me awhile in bed while mother was talking to the nurse looking after grandma. i remember that i had been very upset, and dad had PINKY-PROMISED me that i would see grandma again, one day up in heaven. in that case, after my body calls it a day and i've died, if god wants to boot me to hell for being a miserable little turd :P, i'm gonna raise my hand and say, "wait! before you do that, you haveta reunite me with grandma first!"
actually, doesn't it say that there's no tears/any unhappiness up in heaven? if that's the case, how exactly will grandma be happy if i run up to her, embrace her, then say, "sorry, grandma, gotta go. there's a place down in hell with my name reserved for it."?
but hey, that's yet another easter monday and another ANZAC day passing us by.
next post here ... labour day? isn't that sometime soon? anyways, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
baptism!
today, BCAC held a church baptism!
only one dunkee, josh cham ... i think originally, monica (to) was gonna get baptised too, but she had to suddenly fly back to hong kong or sth?
mother took me once to the loo upon arrival, then surprisingly, allowed me to sit in the furtherst back row!fiona did turn around and ask me why i was sitting so far back, but i just asked her why she was sitting so far forward. :P
i chose to sing every song for the baptism, coz 'twas such a happy event. we had to stand for it all, but oh well.
uncle/pastor chong gave a short message, then josh cham got dunked! :D (later, he told me that the water had been F-F-F-reezing! :P) he also shared his testimony with us after he'd been baptised. apparently, he was the evil brat in his sunday school class when he was little! :P
we all went to the snage for some happy snaps (and a silly one :P) before i headed down the stairs and went to the loo once. then i got to sit in an armchair beside aunty a. ah, complete, blessed safety. :) mother returned with about three wee forkfuls of chocolate mudcake for me (bet dr. lee ate lots! :P) and one quarter-triangle of a ham cheese sandwich. too bad, the bikkies contained peanuts. ><
aunty peggy wandered along, and handed me the roster saying when i'd next haveta tell the story to the wee kiddies. she told me that she actually gave birth to kalos @ the mater mothers, and that you got to eat fried rice there! wow, i'm supremely jealous - the princess alexandra never had anything that cool! i also told her my milk story, which garnered a few laughs.
when we left, mother and lee ganged up on me after i told lee about how mother had once called me "dead, unliving, useless matter". but hey, no biggie. i also shook hands with josh cham and offered him my congratulations before we left.
one very sweet thing: mother tells me that when josh stepped outta the pool, both bee and julz had towels ready for him so he wouldn't catch cold. aww, sibling love. :D :P
as for me... dunno when/if i'll ever get baptised. i've several issues i need to sort out with god first. but i remember rev. lam telling me last sunday, "hurry up and get baptised, em ... you can't eat with us till you do!" :P not that a lil piece of plain biscuit and several mLs of grape juice are that appetising, but hey ... :p
next post here ... possibly toms. it's easter monday! but if nothing interesting happens toms worth blogging about, then most definitely tuesday - ANZAC day. righteo, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
only one dunkee, josh cham ... i think originally, monica (to) was gonna get baptised too, but she had to suddenly fly back to hong kong or sth?
mother took me once to the loo upon arrival, then surprisingly, allowed me to sit in the furtherst back row!fiona did turn around and ask me why i was sitting so far back, but i just asked her why she was sitting so far forward. :P
i chose to sing every song for the baptism, coz 'twas such a happy event. we had to stand for it all, but oh well.
uncle/pastor chong gave a short message, then josh cham got dunked! :D (later, he told me that the water had been F-F-F-reezing! :P) he also shared his testimony with us after he'd been baptised. apparently, he was the evil brat in his sunday school class when he was little! :P
we all went to the snage for some happy snaps (and a silly one :P) before i headed down the stairs and went to the loo once. then i got to sit in an armchair beside aunty a. ah, complete, blessed safety. :) mother returned with about three wee forkfuls of chocolate mudcake for me (bet dr. lee ate lots! :P) and one quarter-triangle of a ham cheese sandwich. too bad, the bikkies contained peanuts. ><
aunty peggy wandered along, and handed me the roster saying when i'd next haveta tell the story to the wee kiddies. she told me that she actually gave birth to kalos @ the mater mothers, and that you got to eat fried rice there! wow, i'm supremely jealous - the princess alexandra never had anything that cool! i also told her my milk story, which garnered a few laughs.
when we left, mother and lee ganged up on me after i told lee about how mother had once called me "dead, unliving, useless matter". but hey, no biggie. i also shook hands with josh cham and offered him my congratulations before we left.
one very sweet thing: mother tells me that when josh stepped outta the pool, both bee and julz had towels ready for him so he wouldn't catch cold. aww, sibling love. :D :P
as for me... dunno when/if i'll ever get baptised. i've several issues i need to sort out with god first. but i remember rev. lam telling me last sunday, "hurry up and get baptised, em ... you can't eat with us till you do!" :P not that a lil piece of plain biscuit and several mLs of grape juice are that appetising, but hey ... :p
next post here ... possibly toms. it's easter monday! but if nothing interesting happens toms worth blogging about, then most definitely tuesday - ANZAC day. righteo, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Saturday, April 23, 2011
madam hippo
well, don't blame me - i didn't give leanne that nickname (madam hippo, her cousin lee did! you can go bash him up @ church toms. :P
i first met leanne in 2005, i think. we met @ U.Q, coz leanne went to the same school as fiona so, stinkerville (okay, okay, somerville. but the somerville uniforms are PUKE green, not lime green! :P)
we chatted, and found out that we had lots in common, like, our love of reading, writing and anime.
i guess i was the evil one who started the jokes first. one day, i was over @ leanne's place, and we were mucking around on her piano (i think her mum, aunty diana, teaches piano?) when i noticed a cord running out from the piano. i knew that the cord linked to a heater in the piano, which prevented the keys from sticking down during winter. but did leanne?
"hmm ... i think you need to recharge the piano batteries soon, the keys are starting to sound a lil faint." i told leanne with a completely straight face.
"huh, whaddya mean? pianos aren't run on batteries, are they?" she asked, completely unaware that i was pulling one over her.
"they are, see?" i explained, "pointing to the cord that ran from under her piano. "that's the cord right there. just needs plugging in to recharge."
she looked @ the cord. 'oh, okay, cool. i'll tell mum, she'll know what to do, right?"
SHE FELL FOR IT! :D i admit, i kept my compusure for all of about five minutes, then just doubled over laughing.
immediately, she knew i'd pulled one over her. i was lucky to escape that encounter alive. :P i even had the audacity to place a green ornamental duck i've got onto the piano and place a piece of paper beside it, with the words, "PIANO BATTERY." needless to say, she. was. not. impressed. definitely! :P
anyways, when i first landed sick with the blasted brain tumour, leanne was actually over in singapore. she found out through serena leong, i think, and kindly posted some naruto plushie figurines for me to dr. lee, who brought them into the hospital for me..
last year, before she went down to canberra to work, she told me that she wanted to take me to the australian outback spectacular for my birthday! mother came along, and when we got there, we were shown to front row seats! 'shh!" leanne told me. "whatever you do, don't tell the staff there that you can actually walk a lil! i told the organisers that we needed front row seats coz you were wheelchair-bound!" so i stayed silent. :P
the show was spectacular!horses, pigs, cows, dogs, even CAMELS! that was also where i first met lee, leanne's cousin. i didn't remember having met him before, but he remembered that i called leanne 'smelly'! :P don't ask me how i came up with that name, she doesn't stink, honest! well, not too much, anyways. okay, so really, not @ all. :P
but boy oh boy, did she get me back good for the piano battery good! dinner was being served, thick, juicy sirloin steak. my mouth was starting to water, when leanne turned to me. "oh, sorry, em," she said to me, "i wasn't sure what you ate/didn't eat, so i ordered you the vegetarian meal."
o_O" ><" ?! you mean everyone would get to tuck into thick, juicy, tender sirloin steak while i had to make do with rabbit food?!
"BAHAHAHA!!!" suddenly leanne bursts out laughing. huh, so we're even, now. :P doesn't that mean the next prank's my turn? hmm ... too bad i've run outta creative juices to concoct sth fiendishly evil ... :P
anyways, she's just come up for easter, and today we met for lunch @ mosburger! :D she got the original mosburger and drank minestrone soup, while i got the chicken teriyaki burger with some chips and a cold milk tea. nomnomnom~ we also bumped into uncle cecil and aunty amy! yancey was out ice-skating.
after lunch, we went for more eating! this time @ just soy cafe. :) leanne hot tofu flower with sth, while i got the shaved ice with mini pearls, shiramataku (sp?) dough and egg pudding (coz the shop had run outta normal pearls, for shame! :P) more happy catching up followed. :) for some reason, leanne's switched to being a computer programmer instead of an engineer. dunno why? also, apparently, all four members of her family attend different churches!
leanne tootled me home, then showed me how to use skype before she returned home.
well, mother's told me often enough that i don't have any friends anymore. :( but leanne's sure one of the best peers i've ever had! :D
next post here should be toms - church baptism! but isn't only josh cham getting baptised? whatever the case, hope the aunties still whip up some awesome arvo tea for us! :D until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
i first met leanne in 2005, i think. we met @ U.Q, coz leanne went to the same school as fiona so, stinkerville (okay, okay, somerville. but the somerville uniforms are PUKE green, not lime green! :P)
we chatted, and found out that we had lots in common, like, our love of reading, writing and anime.
i guess i was the evil one who started the jokes first. one day, i was over @ leanne's place, and we were mucking around on her piano (i think her mum, aunty diana, teaches piano?) when i noticed a cord running out from the piano. i knew that the cord linked to a heater in the piano, which prevented the keys from sticking down during winter. but did leanne?
"hmm ... i think you need to recharge the piano batteries soon, the keys are starting to sound a lil faint." i told leanne with a completely straight face.
"huh, whaddya mean? pianos aren't run on batteries, are they?" she asked, completely unaware that i was pulling one over her.
"they are, see?" i explained, "pointing to the cord that ran from under her piano. "that's the cord right there. just needs plugging in to recharge."
she looked @ the cord. 'oh, okay, cool. i'll tell mum, she'll know what to do, right?"
SHE FELL FOR IT! :D i admit, i kept my compusure for all of about five minutes, then just doubled over laughing.
immediately, she knew i'd pulled one over her. i was lucky to escape that encounter alive. :P i even had the audacity to place a green ornamental duck i've got onto the piano and place a piece of paper beside it, with the words, "PIANO BATTERY." needless to say, she. was. not. impressed. definitely! :P
anyways, when i first landed sick with the blasted brain tumour, leanne was actually over in singapore. she found out through serena leong, i think, and kindly posted some naruto plushie figurines for me to dr. lee, who brought them into the hospital for me..
last year, before she went down to canberra to work, she told me that she wanted to take me to the australian outback spectacular for my birthday! mother came along, and when we got there, we were shown to front row seats! 'shh!" leanne told me. "whatever you do, don't tell the staff there that you can actually walk a lil! i told the organisers that we needed front row seats coz you were wheelchair-bound!" so i stayed silent. :P
the show was spectacular!horses, pigs, cows, dogs, even CAMELS! that was also where i first met lee, leanne's cousin. i didn't remember having met him before, but he remembered that i called leanne 'smelly'! :P don't ask me how i came up with that name, she doesn't stink, honest! well, not too much, anyways. okay, so really, not @ all. :P
but boy oh boy, did she get me back good for the piano battery good! dinner was being served, thick, juicy sirloin steak. my mouth was starting to water, when leanne turned to me. "oh, sorry, em," she said to me, "i wasn't sure what you ate/didn't eat, so i ordered you the vegetarian meal."
o_O" ><" ?! you mean everyone would get to tuck into thick, juicy, tender sirloin steak while i had to make do with rabbit food?!
"BAHAHAHA!!!" suddenly leanne bursts out laughing. huh, so we're even, now. :P doesn't that mean the next prank's my turn? hmm ... too bad i've run outta creative juices to concoct sth fiendishly evil ... :P
anyways, she's just come up for easter, and today we met for lunch @ mosburger! :D she got the original mosburger and drank minestrone soup, while i got the chicken teriyaki burger with some chips and a cold milk tea. nomnomnom~ we also bumped into uncle cecil and aunty amy! yancey was out ice-skating.
after lunch, we went for more eating! this time @ just soy cafe. :) leanne hot tofu flower with sth, while i got the shaved ice with mini pearls, shiramataku (sp?) dough and egg pudding (coz the shop had run outta normal pearls, for shame! :P) more happy catching up followed. :) for some reason, leanne's switched to being a computer programmer instead of an engineer. dunno why? also, apparently, all four members of her family attend different churches!
leanne tootled me home, then showed me how to use skype before she returned home.
well, mother's told me often enough that i don't have any friends anymore. :( but leanne's sure one of the best peers i've ever had! :D
next post here should be toms - church baptism! but isn't only josh cham getting baptised? whatever the case, hope the aunties still whip up some awesome arvo tea for us! :D until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Thursday, April 21, 2011
eaater eggs!
well, like everyone else i know, i'm a fan of easter eggs. chocolate! :D actually, the only exception being my mother, who doesn't like sweet things. but i'm sure my most beloved grandmother must've dropped her on her head fat too many times when she was a baby, so she doesn't count. :P
anyways, when easter came around in 2007, i was in the ICU of the princess alexandra hospital, fighting for my life after some stupid surgeon botched up a relatively simple surgery. a nurse did kindly give my mother an easter egg for me, but mother ate it for me, coz obviously i was in no condition to eat it myself, being in an induced coma.
come 2008, 2009 and 2010, i've been very lucky to have church peers who have passed me an easter bunny or two. :)
but this year ... my easter egg intake has trumped the past few years combined! this year, one of mother's former schoolmates (they studied childcare together) bought me an entire little BAG of easter eggs! :D
not only that, but i received a BOX of LINDT chocolate from vincent the physio! :D mother says she saw that box on sale when she was grocery shopping, and they cost, like, TWENTY bucks! wow, i'm feeling loved, here!
actually, i said to vincent the physio that i was feeling loved after he drew me that birthday card with him saving me from getting seriously fried by a bolt of lightning, and he said that he was feeling seriously touched when i said i'd start praying to god to please let him wear rubber gumboots that day when he was saving me from the lightning bolt, so that the lightning would pass through to the ground and he wouldn't get too seriously fried. :P
but back to the topic of easter eggs ... on wednesday, i attended worker's fellowship, coz they had invited jon snowdon to come talk! i admit, i didn't recognise his face, but i did recognise his accent. :P
anyways, afterwards, i held karson's arm and walked out to what normally serves as the morning tea area. someone kindly passed me one tim tam and two little easter eggs. nomnomnom~ only i couldn't open the easter eggs by myself! >< i did try asking karson could he please help me open one, but he refused, can't remember why. luckily, dr. lee was hanging around, and he held the lil egg still for me so era could unwrap it. :) then karson did the same with the other easter egg.
actually, the only other type of easter egg i'm after are those cadbury creme ones! you know, the ones with the gooey filling? but it's prolly too late to ask for one now ... oh well, there's always next year. :)
next post here ... easter monday, i think, followed immediately by ANZAC day! until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
anyways, when easter came around in 2007, i was in the ICU of the princess alexandra hospital, fighting for my life after some stupid surgeon botched up a relatively simple surgery. a nurse did kindly give my mother an easter egg for me, but mother ate it for me, coz obviously i was in no condition to eat it myself, being in an induced coma.
come 2008, 2009 and 2010, i've been very lucky to have church peers who have passed me an easter bunny or two. :)
but this year ... my easter egg intake has trumped the past few years combined! this year, one of mother's former schoolmates (they studied childcare together) bought me an entire little BAG of easter eggs! :D
not only that, but i received a BOX of LINDT chocolate from vincent the physio! :D mother says she saw that box on sale when she was grocery shopping, and they cost, like, TWENTY bucks! wow, i'm feeling loved, here!
actually, i said to vincent the physio that i was feeling loved after he drew me that birthday card with him saving me from getting seriously fried by a bolt of lightning, and he said that he was feeling seriously touched when i said i'd start praying to god to please let him wear rubber gumboots that day when he was saving me from the lightning bolt, so that the lightning would pass through to the ground and he wouldn't get too seriously fried. :P
but back to the topic of easter eggs ... on wednesday, i attended worker's fellowship, coz they had invited jon snowdon to come talk! i admit, i didn't recognise his face, but i did recognise his accent. :P
anyways, afterwards, i held karson's arm and walked out to what normally serves as the morning tea area. someone kindly passed me one tim tam and two little easter eggs. nomnomnom~ only i couldn't open the easter eggs by myself! >< i did try asking karson could he please help me open one, but he refused, can't remember why. luckily, dr. lee was hanging around, and he held the lil egg still for me so era could unwrap it. :) then karson did the same with the other easter egg.
actually, the only other type of easter egg i'm after are those cadbury creme ones! you know, the ones with the gooey filling? but it's prolly too late to ask for one now ... oh well, there's always next year. :)
next post here ... easter monday, i think, followed immediately by ANZAC day! until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Monday, April 18, 2011
lunch with my australian godmother5
actually, this was just afternoon tea with her, not lunch, coz PIG mum was more in favour of me enduring a torture session with vincent the bloody physio first. ><
but we met @ the underwood coffee club! actually, we arrived several minutes late, coz the driver (mother) got lost! >< i can't laugh, coz i forgot the directions to that place, too! :P
sadly, coz we were just having arvo tea, mother wouldn't allow me to get my favourite yummy eggs benedict :(, but @ least i got a yummy chocolate thickshake! :D see, from experience, mother only allows me to get a chocolate thickshake once every three visits, meaning i'll prolly haveta wait until the second half of the year before drinking one again. oh well. i also had a cookie! :D it had smarties in it! mother had some kinda bikkie called a 'melting moment' and i can't remember what mrs. dent had, sorry.
i really hoped that mother would curb her viscious tongue, and she did to some extent, thank god. :) neither dearest dad nor i copped anything from her today. however, poor aunty nga really copped it from mother! :(
mrs. dent said she'd told my story of card writing with vincent the physio to her daughter, who had a good laugh and called me a 'bird'. i think, a 'bird' is aussie slang for 'someone funny'? cheep cheep cheep. :P
actually, i don't think we'll see mrs. dent again until june sometime, i think her and mr. dent are going interstate somewhere for a holiday. but 'twas lovely to catch up with her, all the same. :)
next post here ... maybe as soon as thursday! coz i think dad's taking me to some church talk thing toms night! in that case, cya soon!
cheers,
em. ^^
but we met @ the underwood coffee club! actually, we arrived several minutes late, coz the driver (mother) got lost! >< i can't laugh, coz i forgot the directions to that place, too! :P
sadly, coz we were just having arvo tea, mother wouldn't allow me to get my favourite yummy eggs benedict :(, but @ least i got a yummy chocolate thickshake! :D see, from experience, mother only allows me to get a chocolate thickshake once every three visits, meaning i'll prolly haveta wait until the second half of the year before drinking one again. oh well. i also had a cookie! :D it had smarties in it! mother had some kinda bikkie called a 'melting moment' and i can't remember what mrs. dent had, sorry.
i really hoped that mother would curb her viscious tongue, and she did to some extent, thank god. :) neither dearest dad nor i copped anything from her today. however, poor aunty nga really copped it from mother! :(
mrs. dent said she'd told my story of card writing with vincent the physio to her daughter, who had a good laugh and called me a 'bird'. i think, a 'bird' is aussie slang for 'someone funny'? cheep cheep cheep. :P
actually, i don't think we'll see mrs. dent again until june sometime, i think her and mr. dent are going interstate somewhere for a holiday. but 'twas lovely to catch up with her, all the same. :)
next post here ... maybe as soon as thursday! coz i think dad's taking me to some church talk thing toms night! in that case, cya soon!
cheers,
em. ^^
Sunday, April 17, 2011
rain/getting wet
how does that song go again? "rain, rain, go away, come again another day," or, as i used to sing it, "rain, rain, go away, come again when our dam levels reach below 40%." :P
now, i promise that i have a shower every single day, but i HATE getting wet! i remember, when i was in high school (gosh, that was seven years ago, man, i'm getting old! >< :P)and, when it rained, if the teacher happened to be out of the classroom @ that time, all my classmates would happily run outside and frolic around in the rain, getting themselves drenched. but not me. i'd just lean back in my chair and say, "sorry guys, i hate getting wet, but you guys have fun out there. oh, and BTW, if the teacher comes back into the classroom and yells @ all you guys for getting rain-soaked, well, don't look to me for help." :P or, if the church girls and i all went down to the beach together, they'd all run eagerly for the surf, whereas i'd just spread my towel down on the sand, kick my shoes and socks off and just start building sandcastles. (keeping in mind that i'm no sculptor; my definition of a 'sandcastle' was just piling sand, sand and more sand on top of each other and having a vaguely pyramid-y shaped thing. if i was feeling fancy, i might dig a moat around it, or a tunnel through it. :P) anyways, the rest of the girls would be jumping over the waves, splashing and squealing, and they'd call out to me, 'hey, em! come out here, the water's beautiful!" and i'd yell back them, 'yeah, but hey, the sand's beautiful too! come outta the water when you're all ready and i'll have built an awesome sandcastle for you to admire." :P
after god smited/smote/whatever the past tense of the word 'smite' is with a brain tumour back in 2007, i was showered by the nurses @ the hospital everyday. the first thing i noticed was that they never turned the water off when i was washing my hair like mother often does, in fact, they usually gave me the hose to play with the water for awhile afterwards! one day, i asked them, "umm ... how come you're letting me play with the water so much? aren't we on, like, water restrictions or sth?" (back in 2007, the dam levels were only around 40%; mother says she actually remembers them dropping as low as 20%!") the nurse showering me told me, "yeah, we are on water restrictions right now, em, but don't worry, the hospital's paying the water bills, not us." to which i replied, "perfect! kindly pass me the showerhead then, please, i'm not stopping till i'm all nice and wrinkly!" :P
back @ the beginning of the year, when brisbane flooded, both mother and i were bombarded with messages from our friends and relatives, asking us if we'd drowned! :P okay, so they weren't really quite that dramatic, but they were worried for our safety. one of mother's friends, aunty ruth, who lives down in sydney, told mother, "if you guys need to evacuate, you're welcome to come down to sydney with us! we don't have enough spare beds or anything, sorry, but you can just bring down bedsheets and sleeping bags if you need a place to escape to!"
actually, even father was affected by the floods! one day, he surprised us by arriving home @ 3pm! see, usually he doesn't get home from work til almost 7pm. i asked him, "dad, why are you home so early? it's only 3pm!" to which he replied, "the floods are causing road closures. i rang uncle david (his boss; fiona's dad) who just said to go home; obviously it's impossible to deliver into flooded areas."
luckily, my parents and i live near the top of a fairly steep street; if we were to flood, i'm sure all the houses below us would drown first. :P i'm also sure my dad would come rescue me from the rising water levels if that were ever to happen. :)
funnily enough, i'm only against the prospect of getting wet! like, once i'm soaked through to the bone, i'll happily revel in my wetness. it's just the prospect of realising, 'oh, poop. gotta get wet soon." :P
if anyone learns of any way to get showered and clean without getting wet, please tell me ASAP! aren't there like, steam baths or sth? but until then, guess i'll just haveta endure my prospects of getting wet. :P
next post here isn't ANZAC day, sorry! it's easter friday! until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
now, i promise that i have a shower every single day, but i HATE getting wet! i remember, when i was in high school (gosh, that was seven years ago, man, i'm getting old! >< :P)and, when it rained, if the teacher happened to be out of the classroom @ that time, all my classmates would happily run outside and frolic around in the rain, getting themselves drenched. but not me. i'd just lean back in my chair and say, "sorry guys, i hate getting wet, but you guys have fun out there. oh, and BTW, if the teacher comes back into the classroom and yells @ all you guys for getting rain-soaked, well, don't look to me for help." :P or, if the church girls and i all went down to the beach together, they'd all run eagerly for the surf, whereas i'd just spread my towel down on the sand, kick my shoes and socks off and just start building sandcastles. (keeping in mind that i'm no sculptor; my definition of a 'sandcastle' was just piling sand, sand and more sand on top of each other and having a vaguely pyramid-y shaped thing. if i was feeling fancy, i might dig a moat around it, or a tunnel through it. :P) anyways, the rest of the girls would be jumping over the waves, splashing and squealing, and they'd call out to me, 'hey, em! come out here, the water's beautiful!" and i'd yell back them, 'yeah, but hey, the sand's beautiful too! come outta the water when you're all ready and i'll have built an awesome sandcastle for you to admire." :P
after god smited/smote/whatever the past tense of the word 'smite' is with a brain tumour back in 2007, i was showered by the nurses @ the hospital everyday. the first thing i noticed was that they never turned the water off when i was washing my hair like mother often does, in fact, they usually gave me the hose to play with the water for awhile afterwards! one day, i asked them, "umm ... how come you're letting me play with the water so much? aren't we on, like, water restrictions or sth?" (back in 2007, the dam levels were only around 40%; mother says she actually remembers them dropping as low as 20%!") the nurse showering me told me, "yeah, we are on water restrictions right now, em, but don't worry, the hospital's paying the water bills, not us." to which i replied, "perfect! kindly pass me the showerhead then, please, i'm not stopping till i'm all nice and wrinkly!" :P
back @ the beginning of the year, when brisbane flooded, both mother and i were bombarded with messages from our friends and relatives, asking us if we'd drowned! :P okay, so they weren't really quite that dramatic, but they were worried for our safety. one of mother's friends, aunty ruth, who lives down in sydney, told mother, "if you guys need to evacuate, you're welcome to come down to sydney with us! we don't have enough spare beds or anything, sorry, but you can just bring down bedsheets and sleeping bags if you need a place to escape to!"
actually, even father was affected by the floods! one day, he surprised us by arriving home @ 3pm! see, usually he doesn't get home from work til almost 7pm. i asked him, "dad, why are you home so early? it's only 3pm!" to which he replied, "the floods are causing road closures. i rang uncle david (his boss; fiona's dad) who just said to go home; obviously it's impossible to deliver into flooded areas."
luckily, my parents and i live near the top of a fairly steep street; if we were to flood, i'm sure all the houses below us would drown first. :P i'm also sure my dad would come rescue me from the rising water levels if that were ever to happen. :)
funnily enough, i'm only against the prospect of getting wet! like, once i'm soaked through to the bone, i'll happily revel in my wetness. it's just the prospect of realising, 'oh, poop. gotta get wet soon." :P
if anyone learns of any way to get showered and clean without getting wet, please tell me ASAP! aren't there like, steam baths or sth? but until then, guess i'll just haveta endure my prospects of getting wet. :P
next post here isn't ANZAC day, sorry! it's easter friday! until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Saturday, April 16, 2011
mr. and mrs. zee!
well, yesterday, i attended janice's and wilfreddy's wedding!
mother was @ work (dunno why she couldn't take a day off for an event as special as this; i think she said later that she couldn't be bothered with having to pay so much money to attend? dunno), so 'twas cathy who came around 8:30 to get me fed, showered and ready for the service.
i was an usher, meaning i handed out programs and said "if you know the groom, please sit on the right hand side, but if you know the groom, please sit on the left. if you happen to know both, just pick whoever you like better and sit on that side." :P
after i'd handed enough of the programs out, dad led me into the hall, where i sat in the back row, next to some aunty vicki and her hubby (don't know his name, sorry).
aww ... how sweet - wilfred himself played the guitar and serenaded janice in! she was preceded by bee, chloe and pole (her maid of honour; apparently, married maids of honour are called 'matrons of honour'?) actually, they were preceded by one very cute little flower boy and one very cute little flower girl! i wonder who's kids they were? actually, the happiest person that day was prolly uncle yuk tai; when he walked his daughter into the church, he was literally beaming from ear to ear! :D
dr. lee led worship; we were asked to stand for both songs, but i sang both, coz 'twas such a joyous occasion.
then liam gave his words of exhortation before they said their vows and exchanged rings. when they were declared husband and wife, we all burst out into cheers. :D era poked ela, said, "oi, are you gonna clap with me or not?" ela replied, "of course!" and opened up wide so era could clap into her. :)
after that was photos! i was slightly pissed when dad wouldn't lemme join the photo for university friends - i mean, i attended uni with the girls for two years before god smited me down! >< but i joined the photo for 'friends of janice'. :)
once photos were all taken, i went downstairs to the bathroom once first, then had a huge morning tea - the aunties already make good stuff for baptisms, but for a wedding! - ! prolly explains why after aunty a tootled us home mother refused to feed me any lunch and just gleefully forced me off to bed.
only i was desperate to get online to record my plodding total and today's events, so when dad came back home (or came back inside the house, i think he was just doing some gardening or sth) i immediately asked him if i could PLEASE tootle online! >< only he refused too and told me to rest. so i gave up, cuddled bear bear and happily snored with him until mother said 'twas time to get out.
aunty a arrived, and dad tootled us all down to the coast together. i spent most of the trip hoping against hope that mother would lemme spend the night in sparkless.
alas, no such luck. mother was HEARTLESS and gleefully FORCED :( me to walk into the ... whatever the place where the reception held was called. (fix bar, thanks, joshels. :) huge thanks to lams who walked arm-in-arm with me once i entered to a comfy sofa, where i plonked my butt down. :P
there, we just sat, chatted and munched on canapés until the party before us finished. mother took me once to the loo before we found our designated seats. i sat beside letty, opposite fiona, and @ the same table as unty a, liam, helena, pastor chong, jill and someone else. (sorry, grace, robin - jill's partner and joshels, sorry! ><)
entrees came first. i got the beef - 'twas atill pinkiah/bloody! o_O but i traded some with fiona for her pork belly. that was much yummier. :) mother took me again to the bathroom once before mains were served.
the menu said the mains tonight were salmon and chicken. i really hoped for the chicken, but fiona said if i got the salmon, she'd swap with me. but i got the chicken, and much thanks to fiona who cut it up for me. actually, in her own word, "here, i've massacred it." :P
we just chatted happily away all night. uncle noah wandered along and asked me why i hadn't ordered anything to drink. i told him, "i don't drink soft drinks, sorry," then uncle noah immediately flagged a waitress down and ordered me an orange juice! :)
the girls helped me walk up to the photo booth, where we all lined up for photos. i wasn't too afraid of falling coz i had my back against the wall. i wore a pair of bunny ears - but forgot to take them off after our photos came out! 'twas dr. lee who kindly led me back to my seat, before he noticed. "ehh? your rabbit ears!" :P
all the speeches were subperb! pole's was awesome coz she wrote hers in rhyming verse, and lams was hilarious coz he parodied several songs and said that janice and wilfreddy had deliberately picked the shortest two people they knew to be their best man and maid of honour to make themselves feel taller. :P
also big thanks to the waitress who remembered me! she wandered over, asked if i'd like another orange juice! slurpslurpslurp~ but i declined a third, thanks, else i'd have been going to the bathroom all night! :P
we must've left earliest! janice and wilfred had just done their bridal waltz and they'd just opened the floor for everyone to join them, when mother suddenly decided, "right. let's go home." before we did that however, i dragged her out to the dance floor with me! i got a cheer. :) really, i only stayed out there for twenty-odd seconds, turned a circle or two and waved my right arm around, but i still got a cheer. :D
after one last loo trip, dad tootled us home, and mother immediately kicked me off to bed after the usual nightly routine.
but all in all, what a fantastic day! :D i hope the newlyweds really enjoyed themselves; i know i sure did!
just waiting for photos to come out now; think karson's sorting through them.
like i wrote in that book where we stuck all the photos in, wishing janice and wilfreddy many, many more happy decades to come!
so... lams and bee married, now janice and wilfred have, too! wonder who's next? :P
next post here ... umm ... ANZAC day? unless sth else comes up, cya then!
cheers,
em. ^^
mother was @ work (dunno why she couldn't take a day off for an event as special as this; i think she said later that she couldn't be bothered with having to pay so much money to attend? dunno), so 'twas cathy who came around 8:30 to get me fed, showered and ready for the service.
i was an usher, meaning i handed out programs and said "if you know the groom, please sit on the right hand side, but if you know the groom, please sit on the left. if you happen to know both, just pick whoever you like better and sit on that side." :P
after i'd handed enough of the programs out, dad led me into the hall, where i sat in the back row, next to some aunty vicki and her hubby (don't know his name, sorry).
aww ... how sweet - wilfred himself played the guitar and serenaded janice in! she was preceded by bee, chloe and pole (her maid of honour; apparently, married maids of honour are called 'matrons of honour'?) actually, they were preceded by one very cute little flower boy and one very cute little flower girl! i wonder who's kids they were? actually, the happiest person that day was prolly uncle yuk tai; when he walked his daughter into the church, he was literally beaming from ear to ear! :D
dr. lee led worship; we were asked to stand for both songs, but i sang both, coz 'twas such a joyous occasion.
then liam gave his words of exhortation before they said their vows and exchanged rings. when they were declared husband and wife, we all burst out into cheers. :D era poked ela, said, "oi, are you gonna clap with me or not?" ela replied, "of course!" and opened up wide so era could clap into her. :)
after that was photos! i was slightly pissed when dad wouldn't lemme join the photo for university friends - i mean, i attended uni with the girls for two years before god smited me down! >< but i joined the photo for 'friends of janice'. :)
once photos were all taken, i went downstairs to the bathroom once first, then had a huge morning tea - the aunties already make good stuff for baptisms, but for a wedding! - ! prolly explains why after aunty a tootled us home mother refused to feed me any lunch and just gleefully forced me off to bed.
only i was desperate to get online to record my plodding total and today's events, so when dad came back home (or came back inside the house, i think he was just doing some gardening or sth) i immediately asked him if i could PLEASE tootle online! >< only he refused too and told me to rest. so i gave up, cuddled bear bear and happily snored with him until mother said 'twas time to get out.
aunty a arrived, and dad tootled us all down to the coast together. i spent most of the trip hoping against hope that mother would lemme spend the night in sparkless.
alas, no such luck. mother was HEARTLESS and gleefully FORCED :( me to walk into the ... whatever the place where the reception held was called. (fix bar, thanks, joshels. :) huge thanks to lams who walked arm-in-arm with me once i entered to a comfy sofa, where i plonked my butt down. :P
there, we just sat, chatted and munched on canapés until the party before us finished. mother took me once to the loo before we found our designated seats. i sat beside letty, opposite fiona, and @ the same table as unty a, liam, helena, pastor chong, jill and someone else. (sorry, grace, robin - jill's partner and joshels, sorry! ><)
entrees came first. i got the beef - 'twas atill pinkiah/bloody! o_O but i traded some with fiona for her pork belly. that was much yummier. :) mother took me again to the bathroom once before mains were served.
the menu said the mains tonight were salmon and chicken. i really hoped for the chicken, but fiona said if i got the salmon, she'd swap with me. but i got the chicken, and much thanks to fiona who cut it up for me. actually, in her own word, "here, i've massacred it." :P
we just chatted happily away all night. uncle noah wandered along and asked me why i hadn't ordered anything to drink. i told him, "i don't drink soft drinks, sorry," then uncle noah immediately flagged a waitress down and ordered me an orange juice! :)
the girls helped me walk up to the photo booth, where we all lined up for photos. i wasn't too afraid of falling coz i had my back against the wall. i wore a pair of bunny ears - but forgot to take them off after our photos came out! 'twas dr. lee who kindly led me back to my seat, before he noticed. "ehh? your rabbit ears!" :P
all the speeches were subperb! pole's was awesome coz she wrote hers in rhyming verse, and lams was hilarious coz he parodied several songs and said that janice and wilfreddy had deliberately picked the shortest two people they knew to be their best man and maid of honour to make themselves feel taller. :P
also big thanks to the waitress who remembered me! she wandered over, asked if i'd like another orange juice! slurpslurpslurp~ but i declined a third, thanks, else i'd have been going to the bathroom all night! :P
we must've left earliest! janice and wilfred had just done their bridal waltz and they'd just opened the floor for everyone to join them, when mother suddenly decided, "right. let's go home." before we did that however, i dragged her out to the dance floor with me! i got a cheer. :) really, i only stayed out there for twenty-odd seconds, turned a circle or two and waved my right arm around, but i still got a cheer. :D
after one last loo trip, dad tootled us home, and mother immediately kicked me off to bed after the usual nightly routine.
but all in all, what a fantastic day! :D i hope the newlyweds really enjoyed themselves; i know i sure did!
just waiting for photos to come out now; think karson's sorting through them.
like i wrote in that book where we stuck all the photos in, wishing janice and wilfreddy many, many more happy decades to come!
so... lams and bee married, now janice and wilfred have, too! wonder who's next? :P
next post here ... umm ... ANZAC day? unless sth else comes up, cya then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Thursday, April 14, 2011
bookclub! (april)
well, for this month's book club, we did 'the secret life of bees'. it's a fairly short novel about a girl who may/may not have killed her mother with a gun when she was a lil girl. she now lives with her father, a cruel man who forces her to kneel on grits (just google it, if you dunno what 'grits' are) whenever she did sth that displeased him. her only companion is a black maid, who has decided she's gonna register to vote. on that day, however, she manages to piss off a group of white guys, which lands her in jail. this same group of white guys later bash her up so bad she ends up in hospital. the girl, lily, fearing for rosaleen's (the black maid's) safely, breaks her outta hospital/jail, and they hitch a ride to a place she only knows by name, tiburton. she only knows this place because she only has a single photo of her mother, and that photo has the place 'tiburton' written on it's back. there, rosaleen and may stay with a group of sisters (april, may, june and august) who are bee keepers. lily learns how to look after bees. lotsa things happen, one of the sisters commits suicide (she always had problems; she even created herself a wailing wall, similar to the one that's in ... jerusalem? and, in the end, the father, who's been hunting for his daughter, leaves her alone with these sisters, who are all named after months. she also joins some religious thing that worships mary, the mother of jesus, and they always do their hail marys and stuff.
book club was great, 'twas awesome to see all the lovely ladies. :) thanks to amanda who made me a cuppa, white and two, and erika who made me a second cuppa when i finished the first with several bikkies to spare (i had: scotch finger x2, one choc chip, one ANZAC and several cream ones). june also came around bearing easter eggs! everyone got a lil packet. :) i asked if there were any easter songs, like how there's so many christmas carols, and june taught me one:" here comes peter cottontail, hoppin' down the easter trail, hippity, hoppity, hippity hop ..."
okay, i admit, i was a pig who nabbed ten bikkies, but then i rediscovered my self-control and pushed the plate of bikkies away to erika, saying, "take them away, else i'll keep eating!" :P
the other awesome thing was that mother FINALLY allowed me to take the elevator up to the library. however, she did gleefully FORCE me to hike up the stairs @ home and did gleefully FORCE :( me to walk back down them again once before we left for the library. *sigh* dunno why she had to do that, but hey. :(
amanda (the librarian taking the book club) also captured my attention with a new science fiction novel recently acquired by the library. this one's about space-faring cats!
i also made sure to pass on tilly's greetings to erika (it's an older blog post in this blog somewhere last month, 'erika and tilly'.) and erika also brought some cadbury chocolate from aldi and some other brand which we all shared!
book club next month ... lol, i've forgotten the name of the book, but it's massively thick. meaning, if i want a chance to finish this book before the next book club, i'll haveta read it silently to myself. for some reason, after my brain injury, i've developed a liking of reading books out aloud. it's a lot slower, definitely, but it helps me remember what i've read. i'll go back to reading 'lazarus rising' (john howard's autobiography) if i finish this book early.
next post ... coming soon! coz: dum dum da dum - janice and wilfreddy are getting married this saturday! :D i prolly won't get the chance to write about the wedding till sunday or monday, but hey, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
book club was great, 'twas awesome to see all the lovely ladies. :) thanks to amanda who made me a cuppa, white and two, and erika who made me a second cuppa when i finished the first with several bikkies to spare (i had: scotch finger x2, one choc chip, one ANZAC and several cream ones). june also came around bearing easter eggs! everyone got a lil packet. :) i asked if there were any easter songs, like how there's so many christmas carols, and june taught me one:" here comes peter cottontail, hoppin' down the easter trail, hippity, hoppity, hippity hop ..."
okay, i admit, i was a pig who nabbed ten bikkies, but then i rediscovered my self-control and pushed the plate of bikkies away to erika, saying, "take them away, else i'll keep eating!" :P
the other awesome thing was that mother FINALLY allowed me to take the elevator up to the library. however, she did gleefully FORCE me to hike up the stairs @ home and did gleefully FORCE :( me to walk back down them again once before we left for the library. *sigh* dunno why she had to do that, but hey. :(
amanda (the librarian taking the book club) also captured my attention with a new science fiction novel recently acquired by the library. this one's about space-faring cats!
i also made sure to pass on tilly's greetings to erika (it's an older blog post in this blog somewhere last month, 'erika and tilly'.) and erika also brought some cadbury chocolate from aldi and some other brand which we all shared!
book club next month ... lol, i've forgotten the name of the book, but it's massively thick. meaning, if i want a chance to finish this book before the next book club, i'll haveta read it silently to myself. for some reason, after my brain injury, i've developed a liking of reading books out aloud. it's a lot slower, definitely, but it helps me remember what i've read. i'll go back to reading 'lazarus rising' (john howard's autobiography) if i finish this book early.
next post ... coming soon! coz: dum dum da dum - janice and wilfreddy are getting married this saturday! :D i prolly won't get the chance to write about the wedding till sunday or monday, but hey, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
being spiteful
everyone always tells me how much mother loves me, and i don't doubt it.
but how the HECK can she be so SPITEFUL towards me sometimes?!
it all started quite awhile back, when mother was gleefully forcing me to do sth. i remember turning to her and asking her sadly, "mother, does it really give you that much pleasure to see me suffer?"
and i will never forget her answer. she said, "YES, IT DOES."
in her defence, i must add that she continued on to explain that i must suffer in the short-term, in order to have an easier life in the years ahead.
but i haveta ask: how many years must i suffer and struggle before god finally gets bored with me and turns his wrath upon one of the 6 775, 235 741 other people in the world (statistic courtesy of google, and it's two years old, so the real number's prolly higher than that) and leaves me alone to recover the shattered shards of my life, such as he's left of it? i mean, it's been just four years already! ><
but back to the topic of being spiteful. nowadays, because my walking balance is so crap, i'm liable to crash to the floor @ any given moment's notice. if i do fall, i tend to fall backwards, so for those who won't lemme hold gently onto their hand while i'm walking, i just ask you to please walk behind me and shove me back upright if i start to topple over.
recently, mother's been refusing to do that. >< i honestly dunno why, i mean, like, she's not carrying me or anything. really, i'm supporting all of my own dixty-odd kilos.
but yet, she refuses to help me with even this simple act of kindless. leaving me to inch my way down the hallway to the bathroom, hoping with each new step i take won't be my last. >< i just tell myself that since i've being having acupuncture, my balance has improved and i shouldn't fall. but, if i do, it should only be a bum fall, and no injury caused. most importantly, i just tell myself that mother will somehow gain (a perverse?) pleasure outta watching me fall. i really don't understand how a parent can find pleasure in watching their child fall over, but hey, mother always tells me that there are batloads of things i don't understand now, so i'm not gonna try and understand. i'll just perservere ... and keep struggling on. :(
anyways, expect a new post here toms - coz tomorrow night's bookclub! :D the book for april's 'the secret life of bees'. until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
but how the HECK can she be so SPITEFUL towards me sometimes?!
it all started quite awhile back, when mother was gleefully forcing me to do sth. i remember turning to her and asking her sadly, "mother, does it really give you that much pleasure to see me suffer?"
and i will never forget her answer. she said, "YES, IT DOES."
in her defence, i must add that she continued on to explain that i must suffer in the short-term, in order to have an easier life in the years ahead.
but i haveta ask: how many years must i suffer and struggle before god finally gets bored with me and turns his wrath upon one of the 6 775, 235 741 other people in the world (statistic courtesy of google, and it's two years old, so the real number's prolly higher than that) and leaves me alone to recover the shattered shards of my life, such as he's left of it? i mean, it's been just four years already! ><
but back to the topic of being spiteful. nowadays, because my walking balance is so crap, i'm liable to crash to the floor @ any given moment's notice. if i do fall, i tend to fall backwards, so for those who won't lemme hold gently onto their hand while i'm walking, i just ask you to please walk behind me and shove me back upright if i start to topple over.
recently, mother's been refusing to do that. >< i honestly dunno why, i mean, like, she's not carrying me or anything. really, i'm supporting all of my own dixty-odd kilos.
but yet, she refuses to help me with even this simple act of kindless. leaving me to inch my way down the hallway to the bathroom, hoping with each new step i take won't be my last. >< i just tell myself that since i've being having acupuncture, my balance has improved and i shouldn't fall. but, if i do, it should only be a bum fall, and no injury caused. most importantly, i just tell myself that mother will somehow gain (a perverse?) pleasure outta watching me fall. i really don't understand how a parent can find pleasure in watching their child fall over, but hey, mother always tells me that there are batloads of things i don't understand now, so i'm not gonna try and understand. i'll just perservere ... and keep struggling on. :(
anyways, expect a new post here toms - coz tomorrow night's bookclub! :D the book for april's 'the secret life of bees'. until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Sunday, April 10, 2011
hen's night!
actually, janice didn't just have a hen's night - she had more a hen's day and night! several girls (janice, pole, clo, fi, bee and christy jie, i think) went down to the coast and beached the whole day, then @ night several more girls (like, flora mok, grace, stef anya, stef sisi, prolly others and me) joined them for dinner. :)
but i almost didn't make it down! for some reason, dad gets pissed when i say, "if you think so, then it's so" and drove me back home (we had only just entered alan cres.), where he ranted @ me for ages before he calmed down somewhat and drove me down to meet the girls. actually, he ordered me to close my eyes and sleep, so i did. didn't fall asleep, though. just spent the whole trip with my eyes closed hoping percy could somehow give mother the heart to lemmes spend the night with the girls safely in sparkless, but alas, she was HEARTLESS. >< meaning although i tried my stinking hardest to enjoy the night with the girls, but couldn't release my constant fear of "oh, bugger, i'm gonna haveta walk again somewhere soon." ><
when i first arrived @ the apartment where they were staying the night, i sat on the couch and introduced myself to the girl sitting beside me. her name's anya, and she got invited coz her boyfriend attended grammar with wilfreddy. she's graduated architecture, and her surname's sth like 'cheng'. ah, sorry, 'meng'.
pole helped me once to the loo before i held flora's arm gently and walked all the way down to dinner.
we ate @ some teppanyaki restaurant! are teppanyaki restaurant's japanese or korean, anyone?
i drank a lychee iced tea for the first time, yum! 'twasn't brand lipton, but in some red and yellow can.
i stuck with my tried and trusted - good ol' teriyaki chicken. my miso soup, i donated to pole (who sat on my right, janice sat to my left). but for some reason, why was the dish so SALTY?! i thought teriyaki chicken was supposed to be sweet! pole had steak, think fi had filet mignon, janice had salmon and stef was adventurous - she had croc! is croc red or white meat?
the chef dude needs more practice, though. :P before he started cooking, he made some display of juggling KNIVES - but he DROPPED some! o_O i was thinking, "man, i hope he won't accidentally send one of those pointy things into my heart! ><" i asked him was he japanese, he replied, "nope. i'm from the phillipines," so i gave him my best 'garm er.' i didn't really think 'twas appropriate to say to him, "you're fat!" :P
for some reason, my meal arrived dead last. :P no biggie, though, i just waited and chatted with the girls while they gobbled away.
pole drank lemon lime and bitter - we traded slurps. janice herself had one glass of plum wine. both pole and i tried a sip - it's very sweet!
thanks to janice and pole who tipped my bowl of rice into the plate so i could just scoop and eat.
when we finished eating, i asked janice if we could order dessert, but janice said nope coz there was a cake upstairs waiting for us!
huge thanks to fiona mok who drove anya, pole and i back to the hotel. i was the GPS holder, while anya sang me the happy birthday song. she says she can't sing, but stays in tune just fine. :P
back in the hotel room, i went to the loo once, then crashed on the sofa, where we played a game! lol, janice was showed random body parts and she had to pick out which one was wilfreddy. lol, she guessed ears, bellybuttons, big toes, and one i asked "is that a BUMCRACK?!" to the hilarity of everyone else. :P actually, 'twas the crack you get when you flex your bicep. :P
after the game, anya helped me walk over to the table, where we ate cake! the really cool thing about the cake was that the marshmallows were heart-shaped! :D @ first, i thought i couldn't eat any, coz the ingredients said it contained hazelnuts, but i tasted some and 'twas fine ... actually, christy jie and i just shared half a slice; when i asked christy jie could i please have my other half slice, she cut me a tiny lil bit more. :) even better, someone poured me one glass of milk! :D we also took happy snaps, i think they might be on bee's facebook?
dunno why christy jie called my mother to come pick me up so early ... but i was back in the car and dad was tootling us home by 9:05pm. the trip from the gold coast to brisbane takes about forty minutes, when there's no traffic, BTW.
back home, repeat the usual nightly event, zzz.
all in all, i had great fun with all the girls last night! :D i hope they enjoyed themselves too~
next post here ... prolly this thursday night - bookclub! :D until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
but i almost didn't make it down! for some reason, dad gets pissed when i say, "if you think so, then it's so" and drove me back home (we had only just entered alan cres.), where he ranted @ me for ages before he calmed down somewhat and drove me down to meet the girls. actually, he ordered me to close my eyes and sleep, so i did. didn't fall asleep, though. just spent the whole trip with my eyes closed hoping percy could somehow give mother the heart to lemmes spend the night with the girls safely in sparkless, but alas, she was HEARTLESS. >< meaning although i tried my stinking hardest to enjoy the night with the girls, but couldn't release my constant fear of "oh, bugger, i'm gonna haveta walk again somewhere soon." ><
when i first arrived @ the apartment where they were staying the night, i sat on the couch and introduced myself to the girl sitting beside me. her name's anya, and she got invited coz her boyfriend attended grammar with wilfreddy. she's graduated architecture, and her surname's sth like 'cheng'. ah, sorry, 'meng'.
pole helped me once to the loo before i held flora's arm gently and walked all the way down to dinner.
we ate @ some teppanyaki restaurant! are teppanyaki restaurant's japanese or korean, anyone?
i drank a lychee iced tea for the first time, yum! 'twasn't brand lipton, but in some red and yellow can.
i stuck with my tried and trusted - good ol' teriyaki chicken. my miso soup, i donated to pole (who sat on my right, janice sat to my left). but for some reason, why was the dish so SALTY?! i thought teriyaki chicken was supposed to be sweet! pole had steak, think fi had filet mignon, janice had salmon and stef was adventurous - she had croc! is croc red or white meat?
the chef dude needs more practice, though. :P before he started cooking, he made some display of juggling KNIVES - but he DROPPED some! o_O i was thinking, "man, i hope he won't accidentally send one of those pointy things into my heart! ><" i asked him was he japanese, he replied, "nope. i'm from the phillipines," so i gave him my best 'garm er.' i didn't really think 'twas appropriate to say to him, "you're fat!" :P
for some reason, my meal arrived dead last. :P no biggie, though, i just waited and chatted with the girls while they gobbled away.
pole drank lemon lime and bitter - we traded slurps. janice herself had one glass of plum wine. both pole and i tried a sip - it's very sweet!
thanks to janice and pole who tipped my bowl of rice into the plate so i could just scoop and eat.
when we finished eating, i asked janice if we could order dessert, but janice said nope coz there was a cake upstairs waiting for us!
huge thanks to fiona mok who drove anya, pole and i back to the hotel. i was the GPS holder, while anya sang me the happy birthday song. she says she can't sing, but stays in tune just fine. :P
back in the hotel room, i went to the loo once, then crashed on the sofa, where we played a game! lol, janice was showed random body parts and she had to pick out which one was wilfreddy. lol, she guessed ears, bellybuttons, big toes, and one i asked "is that a BUMCRACK?!" to the hilarity of everyone else. :P actually, 'twas the crack you get when you flex your bicep. :P
after the game, anya helped me walk over to the table, where we ate cake! the really cool thing about the cake was that the marshmallows were heart-shaped! :D @ first, i thought i couldn't eat any, coz the ingredients said it contained hazelnuts, but i tasted some and 'twas fine ... actually, christy jie and i just shared half a slice; when i asked christy jie could i please have my other half slice, she cut me a tiny lil bit more. :) even better, someone poured me one glass of milk! :D we also took happy snaps, i think they might be on bee's facebook?
dunno why christy jie called my mother to come pick me up so early ... but i was back in the car and dad was tootling us home by 9:05pm. the trip from the gold coast to brisbane takes about forty minutes, when there's no traffic, BTW.
back home, repeat the usual nightly event, zzz.
all in all, i had great fun with all the girls last night! :D i hope they enjoyed themselves too~
next post here ... prolly this thursday night - bookclub! :D until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Friday, April 8, 2011
dentist
well, i'm a dental DISASTER.
serious!
it all started back in 1999, when i visited the school dental van. i was in grade seven, and the dentist did an x-ray of my mouth. only he came back with some interesting news. "hey, em,' he told me, "you know, right above your jaw but underneath your nose, you've got THREE EXTRA teeth?"
well, that was interesting. mother takes me home and laughs, "must be all the milk you drink, em."
but i get booked in for day surgery @ the wesley hospital. they put me under G.A, then some surgeon takes those three extra teeth out, plus four more for braces. when i wake up, WHAM! big, fat, swollen cheeks! >< but not to worry, that night, my parents have rice for dinner. we are chinese, after all. i can do without rice for breakfast or lunch, but not dinner. guess what i had for dinner? ICE-CREAM! :D that was to combat the swelling the operation brought. custard and jelly, too. :)
another time i see the dentist, he notes that my teeth have gone perfectly smooth. "do you grind your teeth?" he asks me. well, how would i know? i'm asleep! but mother jumps in with, "oh, yes! i've heard her @ night!" so the dentist fashions for me this mouth splint thing, which i wear every night before i teeth. it means that when i do grind, i grind the plastic, but not my teeth.
i'll admit to a bit of cheekiness back in 2007 and 2008, though, when i was hospitalised. in the morning, a nurse holds the container to my mouth, saying, "spit it out." i feign a look of terror, and lie, "umm ... i think i accidentally swallowed it during the night!" the poor nurse gasps, "oh, no! what'll i do now?!" i laugh, and pop it out with my tongue. "just kidding!" :P that trick worked so well, i decided to try it once more on my favourite nurse, a male Filipino nurse named orli. "oh, no, orli, i think i swallowed it!" i gasp @ him the next morning. but the cool nurse was unfazed. "yeah, whatever, em." he says, waving the container in my face, "spit it out." :P
sometime later, we're down @ the coast, having fish and chips with the kwok family. suddenly ... ><"!! my jaw locks! i can't open the bloody thing! >< mother takes me to see another dentist, who explains, "we can wrench your jaw open under G.A, but there's nothing to prevent it from locking again. hmm ... screw that option, then.
instead, over time, i learn to open my mouth again. it's a bit of a weird sideways process, but i manage. even nowadays, when i fully open my jaw, it sorta clicks. @ least there's no pain, though.
actually, i just saw the dentist this week, coz i've been so enthusiastically grinding my teeth when i sleep @ night, i've practically worn through the plastic! mother takes me back to see the dentist, who like ... sands it, well, smooths out the sharpened parts, anyway. but he says if i keep @ it, i'll prolly snap the thing sooner or latter and need a new one! >< well, i've had it for quiet a few years, already ...
one last story: last year, i see my dentist, who does another x-ray. this time, he returns with some exciting news! "your wisdom teeth are beginning to come out, em." i cheer. "awesome! i'll finally get a chance to become wise!" but his next words dash my hopes. "sorry, em, they're coming out crooked. we'll prolly haveta remove them." dulp. >< there goes my chances of ever becoming wise. but don't worry, look on the bright side! @ least i'll get ice cream for dinner again! :D
next post ... umm, i think i'm joining janice and the other girls for dinner toms night, as part of janice's hen's night! :D if that's the case, new post coming on sunday!
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
serious!
it all started back in 1999, when i visited the school dental van. i was in grade seven, and the dentist did an x-ray of my mouth. only he came back with some interesting news. "hey, em,' he told me, "you know, right above your jaw but underneath your nose, you've got THREE EXTRA teeth?"
well, that was interesting. mother takes me home and laughs, "must be all the milk you drink, em."
but i get booked in for day surgery @ the wesley hospital. they put me under G.A, then some surgeon takes those three extra teeth out, plus four more for braces. when i wake up, WHAM! big, fat, swollen cheeks! >< but not to worry, that night, my parents have rice for dinner. we are chinese, after all. i can do without rice for breakfast or lunch, but not dinner. guess what i had for dinner? ICE-CREAM! :D that was to combat the swelling the operation brought. custard and jelly, too. :)
another time i see the dentist, he notes that my teeth have gone perfectly smooth. "do you grind your teeth?" he asks me. well, how would i know? i'm asleep! but mother jumps in with, "oh, yes! i've heard her @ night!" so the dentist fashions for me this mouth splint thing, which i wear every night before i teeth. it means that when i do grind, i grind the plastic, but not my teeth.
i'll admit to a bit of cheekiness back in 2007 and 2008, though, when i was hospitalised. in the morning, a nurse holds the container to my mouth, saying, "spit it out." i feign a look of terror, and lie, "umm ... i think i accidentally swallowed it during the night!" the poor nurse gasps, "oh, no! what'll i do now?!" i laugh, and pop it out with my tongue. "just kidding!" :P that trick worked so well, i decided to try it once more on my favourite nurse, a male Filipino nurse named orli. "oh, no, orli, i think i swallowed it!" i gasp @ him the next morning. but the cool nurse was unfazed. "yeah, whatever, em." he says, waving the container in my face, "spit it out." :P
sometime later, we're down @ the coast, having fish and chips with the kwok family. suddenly ... ><"!! my jaw locks! i can't open the bloody thing! >< mother takes me to see another dentist, who explains, "we can wrench your jaw open under G.A, but there's nothing to prevent it from locking again. hmm ... screw that option, then.
instead, over time, i learn to open my mouth again. it's a bit of a weird sideways process, but i manage. even nowadays, when i fully open my jaw, it sorta clicks. @ least there's no pain, though.
actually, i just saw the dentist this week, coz i've been so enthusiastically grinding my teeth when i sleep @ night, i've practically worn through the plastic! mother takes me back to see the dentist, who like ... sands it, well, smooths out the sharpened parts, anyway. but he says if i keep @ it, i'll prolly snap the thing sooner or latter and need a new one! >< well, i've had it for quiet a few years, already ...
one last story: last year, i see my dentist, who does another x-ray. this time, he returns with some exciting news! "your wisdom teeth are beginning to come out, em." i cheer. "awesome! i'll finally get a chance to become wise!" but his next words dash my hopes. "sorry, em, they're coming out crooked. we'll prolly haveta remove them." dulp. >< there goes my chances of ever becoming wise. but don't worry, look on the bright side! @ least i'll get ice cream for dinner again! :D
next post ... umm, i think i'm joining janice and the other girls for dinner toms night, as part of janice's hen's night! :D if that's the case, new post coming on sunday!
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
greg hall
see, i have this high school teacher i've kept in contact with after i graduated. his name's greg hall.
for four years, i was his 'cover girl'. say you're a teacher and tomorrow you've got a maths class in the morning and an english class in the arvo. but come tomorrow, you awake totally crook and unavailable to go to work. so you send your lesson plans in, and this mr. hall will organise a 'cover' for you, meaning that some teacher will haveta sit during the class and mind the kids.
now i handed out these cover slips for four years, meaning everyday @ 8:15am i'd knock on his staffroom door, take the slips then run around the school, knocking on doors then calling, "cover for you, sir. cover for you, ma'am." obviously, the teachers HATED me! :P there they were, about to enjoy a free period, when along comes this annoying student to ruin your free period with a lesson for you to cover! the more polite teachers would sigh, frown and politely say 'thank-you, emily," but there was this particular teacher, lisa emu (she had a dash above the 'e'e, 'twas pronounced 'aye-mu') who would go bananas @ me! "take that away!" she'd screech behind her closed door. "i don't want one!" i'd laugh, and stick the cover slip between the door. "righteo, ma'am," i cheerily call, "just leaving the cover in the door. remember to get it!" then i'd just continue my rounds. :P but it was poor mr. hall's turn to cop some flak from her, when i did this job for him on the very last day of school! "shame on you, greg!" she cried, "emily's graduating today, and you're still forcing her to do this for you?!" :P
mr. hall was also my maths teacher in grade ten! tell you the truth, he scared the crap outta me! :P but he'd explain some new maths principle, then @ the end, go, "right, who doesn't understand?' my hand was always the first up, followed by about 95% of the class. but, because mine was the first up, he'd give a great big sigh. "emily, you WRETCHED child ..." i'd squawk in protest, "but sir, that's not fair! what about everyone else who put their hands up?! why don't you call them wretched children too?!" he'd smirk @ me. 'easy. coz you put your hand up first." huh. ><" :P
actually, that man almost gave me a heart attack, @ the end of the year! you know how in year ten, you get a junior certificate with all the subjects you study and a ranking? like, very high achievement, high achievement, etc. well, all year, i'd been sitting on a high high achievement. but, for the final term four exam, i managed to score well enough on the test to just drag my score up to a very high achievment! mr. hall was so happy for me, he rang my home! can you imagine? me, just home and hearing the phone ring, picking it up. 'hello?" a gruff voice answering, "hello, this is greg hall from canterbury college. can i please speak to emily chan?" my heart PLUMMETED, and i was thinking, "oh, S-H-I-T, what have i DONE?!" in a quavery voice, i answered, 'speaking, sir. what's up?" he told me the good news, and @ first, i was ecstatic! then i got grumpy. "for goodness sakes, sir, couldn't you have left that news and told me tomorrow?! you've just taken ten years off my life!" :P
anyways, when i first fell sick with the blasted brain tumour, mother rang the school and let him know what had happened to me.
later, when i was in the rehab ward, he came visiting bearing gifts! he'd just taken a school history trip to turkey, see, and when he'd taken the kids out shopping, he'd called back two girls. "i have a former student who's in hospital right now, he explained to them, 'and i wanna buy her sth. here's some money, please buy her sth girly." and they came back with a really pretty bracelet and necklace for me. :)
he also gets me tees from all the places that he visits! but lol, poor man has zero fashion sense. :P the first time he bought me a tee, it was so BIG that even my dad couldn't fit into it! but then, the second time he bought me a tee, 'twas so SMALL even my mum couldn't fit into it! :P
anyways, i last saw him around the beginning of this year, when he was dropping off souvenirs he'd bought me from his last trip to morroco! he said i could contact him again around my birthday and we'd go and have lunch together. so i e-mailed him @ the beginning of march. he didn't reply, but rang mother, explaining to her that he was too busy right now to celebrate but that he'd contact us during term break one hols and we'd go out to celebrate then.
sure enough, last sunday, he suddenly pops over! i'm just having some fun with my SHINE guests, michael and kathy. when i hear his voice, i quickly whisper the quadratic formula to them, unless the scary man meets them and demands they answer that question. but he doesn't, just asks me where i wanna go to celebrate my belated birthday, and after i leave, kathy says to me, "he seems quite nice, em.' lol! :p
anyways, we decide on toscani's @ garden city! mother just says i'm not allowed an omelette again, can't remember why, but oh well. but this time, she lets me have malt in my chocolate milkjshake! i've never tried that before, yummy! anyways, i browse the menu, then order a club sandwich. mother tries battered fish and chips (we trade one slice of chicken for one wee chunk of chicken, and mr. hall has chicken "stuffed with some stuff." hey, he said that, not me! :P
and wow! mr. hall bought me john howard's autobiography, lazarus rising, as my birthday present! i must've told him that i wanted that book sometime!
and he even shouted us lunch. :) we both hugged him before he left.
last point of mention; i'm so proud of mother, who didn't diss anyone today! usually i cop brickloads of flak from her, as can random others. >< but mother was very nice today. :)
anyways, drawing this post to an abrupt end coz i do believe that mother's gleefully forcing me off to bed in three minutes. :P
next post here ... maybe toms! think i'm seeing the dentist ... my poor teeth are already chattering in fear. :S i'm a bit of a dental disaster, see. :P but will explain toms!
cheers,
em. ^^
for four years, i was his 'cover girl'. say you're a teacher and tomorrow you've got a maths class in the morning and an english class in the arvo. but come tomorrow, you awake totally crook and unavailable to go to work. so you send your lesson plans in, and this mr. hall will organise a 'cover' for you, meaning that some teacher will haveta sit during the class and mind the kids.
now i handed out these cover slips for four years, meaning everyday @ 8:15am i'd knock on his staffroom door, take the slips then run around the school, knocking on doors then calling, "cover for you, sir. cover for you, ma'am." obviously, the teachers HATED me! :P there they were, about to enjoy a free period, when along comes this annoying student to ruin your free period with a lesson for you to cover! the more polite teachers would sigh, frown and politely say 'thank-you, emily," but there was this particular teacher, lisa emu (she had a dash above the 'e'e, 'twas pronounced 'aye-mu') who would go bananas @ me! "take that away!" she'd screech behind her closed door. "i don't want one!" i'd laugh, and stick the cover slip between the door. "righteo, ma'am," i cheerily call, "just leaving the cover in the door. remember to get it!" then i'd just continue my rounds. :P but it was poor mr. hall's turn to cop some flak from her, when i did this job for him on the very last day of school! "shame on you, greg!" she cried, "emily's graduating today, and you're still forcing her to do this for you?!" :P
mr. hall was also my maths teacher in grade ten! tell you the truth, he scared the crap outta me! :P but he'd explain some new maths principle, then @ the end, go, "right, who doesn't understand?' my hand was always the first up, followed by about 95% of the class. but, because mine was the first up, he'd give a great big sigh. "emily, you WRETCHED child ..." i'd squawk in protest, "but sir, that's not fair! what about everyone else who put their hands up?! why don't you call them wretched children too?!" he'd smirk @ me. 'easy. coz you put your hand up first." huh. ><" :P
actually, that man almost gave me a heart attack, @ the end of the year! you know how in year ten, you get a junior certificate with all the subjects you study and a ranking? like, very high achievement, high achievement, etc. well, all year, i'd been sitting on a high high achievement. but, for the final term four exam, i managed to score well enough on the test to just drag my score up to a very high achievment! mr. hall was so happy for me, he rang my home! can you imagine? me, just home and hearing the phone ring, picking it up. 'hello?" a gruff voice answering, "hello, this is greg hall from canterbury college. can i please speak to emily chan?" my heart PLUMMETED, and i was thinking, "oh, S-H-I-T, what have i DONE?!" in a quavery voice, i answered, 'speaking, sir. what's up?" he told me the good news, and @ first, i was ecstatic! then i got grumpy. "for goodness sakes, sir, couldn't you have left that news and told me tomorrow?! you've just taken ten years off my life!" :P
anyways, when i first fell sick with the blasted brain tumour, mother rang the school and let him know what had happened to me.
later, when i was in the rehab ward, he came visiting bearing gifts! he'd just taken a school history trip to turkey, see, and when he'd taken the kids out shopping, he'd called back two girls. "i have a former student who's in hospital right now, he explained to them, 'and i wanna buy her sth. here's some money, please buy her sth girly." and they came back with a really pretty bracelet and necklace for me. :)
he also gets me tees from all the places that he visits! but lol, poor man has zero fashion sense. :P the first time he bought me a tee, it was so BIG that even my dad couldn't fit into it! but then, the second time he bought me a tee, 'twas so SMALL even my mum couldn't fit into it! :P
anyways, i last saw him around the beginning of this year, when he was dropping off souvenirs he'd bought me from his last trip to morroco! he said i could contact him again around my birthday and we'd go and have lunch together. so i e-mailed him @ the beginning of march. he didn't reply, but rang mother, explaining to her that he was too busy right now to celebrate but that he'd contact us during term break one hols and we'd go out to celebrate then.
sure enough, last sunday, he suddenly pops over! i'm just having some fun with my SHINE guests, michael and kathy. when i hear his voice, i quickly whisper the quadratic formula to them, unless the scary man meets them and demands they answer that question. but he doesn't, just asks me where i wanna go to celebrate my belated birthday, and after i leave, kathy says to me, "he seems quite nice, em.' lol! :p
anyways, we decide on toscani's @ garden city! mother just says i'm not allowed an omelette again, can't remember why, but oh well. but this time, she lets me have malt in my chocolate milkjshake! i've never tried that before, yummy! anyways, i browse the menu, then order a club sandwich. mother tries battered fish and chips (we trade one slice of chicken for one wee chunk of chicken, and mr. hall has chicken "stuffed with some stuff." hey, he said that, not me! :P
and wow! mr. hall bought me john howard's autobiography, lazarus rising, as my birthday present! i must've told him that i wanted that book sometime!
and he even shouted us lunch. :) we both hugged him before he left.
last point of mention; i'm so proud of mother, who didn't diss anyone today! usually i cop brickloads of flak from her, as can random others. >< but mother was very nice today. :)
anyways, drawing this post to an abrupt end coz i do believe that mother's gleefully forcing me off to bed in three minutes. :P
next post here ... maybe toms! think i'm seeing the dentist ... my poor teeth are already chattering in fear. :S i'm a bit of a dental disaster, see. :P but will explain toms!
cheers,
em. ^^
Friday, April 1, 2011
march 4 jesus
well, last night, instead of attending SHINE fellowship, i attended March 4 Jesus, some kinda church rally thing!
when i arrived, i was perfectly content to sit in the back row out of the wind, but dr. lee held ela and led me all the way to the fourth front row, where i sat beside cathy and vicky. actually, stupid ela smacked poor kathy when i sat down, but luckily, she didn't get cross with me. :P
actually, i saw liam! i gave him a big hug and passed on my congrats to him for becoming a grandad; his grandson's name is levi!
some guy started with a prayer for us in mandarin; i poked vicky nervously and whispered, "umm ... tonight isn't ALL gonna be in mandarin, is it?!" luckily, she told me that it'd be in mandarin with canto translation.
vicky and kathy went to lead worship, leaving me the only one seated in the row. only good thing was that i didn't haveta stand when everyone else did! :P i didn't sing anything, mainly coz i couldn't read enough canto to save my life! :P but i heard some very nice but unfamiliar female voice sing behind me. i turned around to see who the singer was - 'twas april, uncle ching's niece! she's got a lovely voice! :) we waved to each other.
speaker tonight was some male pastor, and he delivered a sermon in canto about suffering. some lady translated for him into mandarin. much thanks to vicky who got out her english bible, flipped to the passages everyone else was reading in canto, then read them to me in english. :)
the choir also sang. our church choir also wears the same uniform that they wear when we perform! 'twas a choir made up from several different churches; the only person i recognised from BCAC was aunty melody. but both uncle john and his wife, aunty anita (thanks, dad) sang, too. i remember dad telling me that uncle john's got a very powerful voice!
after the service, i had a yak to dr. dr. tai, before dad picked me up and tootled us home. i thought he'd gone back home to spend the night with mother, but no, turns out he'd gone home then come back, staying @ the back of the congregation to listen to the sermon!
anyways, next post here should be bookclub! we're doing 'the secret life of bees'; should be interesting!
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
P.S.thanks to vicky who wrote down three sentences that i wanted to remember from the night:
learn from yesterday; live for today and hope for tomorrow. :)
when i arrived, i was perfectly content to sit in the back row out of the wind, but dr. lee held ela and led me all the way to the fourth front row, where i sat beside cathy and vicky. actually, stupid ela smacked poor kathy when i sat down, but luckily, she didn't get cross with me. :P
actually, i saw liam! i gave him a big hug and passed on my congrats to him for becoming a grandad; his grandson's name is levi!
some guy started with a prayer for us in mandarin; i poked vicky nervously and whispered, "umm ... tonight isn't ALL gonna be in mandarin, is it?!" luckily, she told me that it'd be in mandarin with canto translation.
vicky and kathy went to lead worship, leaving me the only one seated in the row. only good thing was that i didn't haveta stand when everyone else did! :P i didn't sing anything, mainly coz i couldn't read enough canto to save my life! :P but i heard some very nice but unfamiliar female voice sing behind me. i turned around to see who the singer was - 'twas april, uncle ching's niece! she's got a lovely voice! :) we waved to each other.
speaker tonight was some male pastor, and he delivered a sermon in canto about suffering. some lady translated for him into mandarin. much thanks to vicky who got out her english bible, flipped to the passages everyone else was reading in canto, then read them to me in english. :)
the choir also sang. our church choir also wears the same uniform that they wear when we perform! 'twas a choir made up from several different churches; the only person i recognised from BCAC was aunty melody. but both uncle john and his wife, aunty anita (thanks, dad) sang, too. i remember dad telling me that uncle john's got a very powerful voice!
after the service, i had a yak to dr. dr. tai, before dad picked me up and tootled us home. i thought he'd gone back home to spend the night with mother, but no, turns out he'd gone home then come back, staying @ the back of the congregation to listen to the sermon!
anyways, next post here should be bookclub! we're doing 'the secret life of bees'; should be interesting!
until then~
cheers,
em. ^^
P.S.thanks to vicky who wrote down three sentences that i wanted to remember from the night:
learn from yesterday; live for today and hope for tomorrow. :)
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