Well, last night, I went to ray’s house for hotpot!
Dr. lee was the organiser: back on july the 13th, he sent around an e-mail:
Dear fellow Runcornians and 8 Mile Plainsmen/women :)
There has been a recent immigration of a few new people from the far away lands of Westlake, Albany Creek and Hong Kong to these fertile plains; they have seen the light and have decided to follow the path of wisdom and move to this blessed homeland of ours.
To celebrate this remarkable achievement we would like to hold aHOTPOT FEAST on the night of Thursday, 28th of July, from 6pm onwards at the residence of Ray Nguyen (which by the way will also be the residence of Vincent, White Dan and Joanna Wong :)) at 70 Underwood Road, 8MP.
Please let me know if you can come :) I shall organise. Please let me know if you can help, because I suck at getting the right food. And let me know if you have any preferences :P I'm aiming for a $10/person budget :)
Please forward this to people who I may have missed ^^" I'm still new to the area, so my local awareness is just beginning :P
Please reply asap as to whether you can come or not :)
And please tell me if this time is actually a really bad time ^^" (As can be the case for highschoolers). And I'll just move the time/date :P
Cyas later :)
Vincent
Somehow, stupid me forgot to RSVP him until the day before, when I sheepishly asked: sorry for the late reply!
can i still RSVP? mum says she'll take me!
Luckily, dr. lee replied: I thought you already RSVP'd :P You're already on the list :)
See you tomorrow!
Phew. So last night, dad tootled me off to ray’s house! I reckon, ray’s our closest church neighbour, followed closely by uncle Colbert and his family.
After I hiked up the stairs to ray’s house, I chose an armchair to sit in. complete, blessed safety, yeah. :)
Dr. lee wandered around first and asked what sauces I’d like: I asked for a lil soya sauce and a lil oyster sauce. I can’t eat spicy food (so wasabi was outta the question) and I’ve never tried cracking a raw egg into my bowl.
Once several more people had arrived, the cooking started! I ate: some yummy udon, one or two fish slices, the same of pork balls, one slice of tofu, lotsa kalian and my favourite hardboiled egg @ the end. I drank one plastic mug of lipton’s lemon iced tea, and one more of yummy aloe vera drink.
Pole sat to my right and joey my left. We just all yakked away. Earlier, I’d asked soccer dan, “hey, could you please introduce me to white dan?” he’d laughed, then yelled down the hallway, “oi, white dan! Get in here!”
This asian boy walked in. I asked him, “are you white dan?” and when he nodded, said, “umm … you don’t look very white to me.”
White dan laughed, rolled up his sleeve then compared his bicep to soccer dan’s. “of course I’m very white! Just look @ his arm!” well, fair enough. Soccer dan compared to white dan has a much darker tan. I guess I’m the only one who calls him ‘soccer’ dan; everyone else calls him ‘black’ dan. XD
Pole walked behind me to the loo after dinner; I was very surprised to find a railing in the bathroom! Made things much easier for me. :) when I asked pole how come there was a railing there, she answered, “think they installed it for ray’s grandma.”
Anyways, back seated, we all just yakked away. Zoe told me that she studied sth like communication design @ southbank or somewhere near there. Stupid me asked, “does that mean you design telephone poles or sth?” she laughed, and said, “no. more like billboards, that kinda thing.” XD
Also, pole and joey’s cousin, tiffany, apparently she and zoe have very similar chinese names! Both are called ‘ton ton’. Lol, but isn’t that the name of tsunade’s/shizune’s pet pig in Naruto? XD
Poor tiffany has to get up very early for school, sth horrible like 6:30am! >< but she says she’s like an entire year older than matthew! Wonder why she’s in grade eleven, then, and not grade twelve?
Best of all, pole plop made some kinda cheesecake for dessert! :D the parents arrived to take me home just as the cake was being served, but I managed to enjoy one yummy slice before we left. :) mother nabbed one slice, too.
Then ‘twas back down the stairs for me. I thanked ray for opening his house for our dinner tonight, and dr. lee for inviting me along. Actually, I was slightly curious as to why karson was there on Wednesday night, coz he’s a sunnybankian, not a runcornian or eight mile plainsmen/women, but someone explained that white dan had invited him along.
Anyways, ‘twas a great night of fun, food and laughter. :)
Next post here … when’s book club? I can’t think of any upcoming event happening soon … anyhow, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
harry potter and the dealthly hallows part two
Well, one week ago (last Monday), hayley fung and I went to watch harry potter and the deathly hallows part two together!
I haven’t known hayley for very long; I was more friends with her dad, uncle martin, who passed away from stomach cancer awhile back. I liked uncle martin lots; when ESS was still held downstairs in A1, I’d sit in one of those chairs lined outside the room after service, and he’d invariably wander along and sneak me a bikkie or some chippies, much to the wrath of my mother. XD
Anyways, I somehow got his daughter, hayley, as my friend on facebook, and one night, we were just chatting. I called her ‘hairy’ and she asked me, “umm … why are you calling me hairy?”
I replied, “umm … don’t I always call you hairy?”
She laughed, then said, “perhaps you’ve got me confused with some other hayley @ church.”
Well, @ that time, I thought I only knew one hayley! “aren’t you hayley fung, natalie’s older sister?”
Another laugh. “nope, that’s hailey. Different spelling. I’m hayley fung, uncle martin’s daughter.”
Lol, I was mortified! XD
Anyways, somehow, we decided to watch the last harry potter movie together!
I bought the tickets, coz I’ve got a companion card, meaning my companion gets in for free, and she bought the popcorn! :D
Mum left us @ the front entrance; much thanks to hayley who lemme gently hold her hand while we walked in together. Even better, she was fine with sitting in the front row, meaning I didn’t need to hike up the two steps that mother always forces me to take!
Anyways, here are all my favourite trivia, quotes and goofs from imdb:
Trivia first!
-This film is the only Harry Potter film to be released in 3D in cinemas in their entirety (only select scenes were available for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and only in IMAX).
Share this
-It was reported that a huge blaze wrecked the Hogwarts set after a battle scene went spectacularly wrong. According to the report, explosives used in action sequences set light to scenery for the wizardry school, and that firefighters battled for 40 minutes to bring the flames under control but the set - centerpiece for the film's Battle of Hogwarts climax - was left badly damaged. It was later confirmed that the fire was greatly exaggerated, and that the set that had been damaged was going to need be rebuilt anyway for use in another scene. Some actors were still filming at the studio but none of the movie's biggest stars -Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione) or Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) - were involved. No one was injured.
-Kate Winslet was first considered for and reportedly offered the role of Helena Ravenclaw. The role was rejected by her agent before she was able to consider it, believing that Winslet would not want to "follow suit with every other actor in Britain by being a part of Harry Potter". The role subsequently went to Kelly Macdonald.
-In the two parts of this movie, Hermione impersonates both Mafalda Hopkirk; played byEmma Thompson's sister Sophie Thompson; and Bellatrix Lestrange; played by Helena Bonham Carter, who played Emma's sister in Howards End.
-Most of the events in this film - from the raid of Gringotts to the Battle of Hogwarts - take place over the course of a single day.
-In the story, Voldemort has created several Horcruxes in an attempt to cheat death. Appropriately, his name is French for "Flight of Death" or it can also mean "Stealer/Cheater of death".
-Alan Rickman, Bonnie Wright, Devon Murray, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Somerville, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Matthew Lewis, Robbie Coltrane, Rupert Grint,Tom Felton, Josh Herdman and Warwick Davis (as Prof. Flitwick and/or Griphook the Goblin) are the only actors to have appeared in all eight movies.
Share this
-When Harry goes into the Room of Requirement in the bottom left hand corner there is the knight that Ron rides from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Share this
-In every shot in which Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange appear together, she always moves so that she stands on his right, traditionally the position of the most loyal and trusted follower.
-Also in the Room of Requirement are the Cornish Piskies set loose by Gilderoy Lockhart inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
-Not long after Alan Rickman started to play Severus Snape, J.K. Rowling told him some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know (years ahead of the last book's publication) that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape's protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of Lily's preference for another man, came from." According to Rickman, the directors prior to the publication of the last book were not privy to the information of Snape's true character either, and he had to ask them to defer to him the portrayal of Snape, whether or not they understood why.
-The script was originally written, like the book, to include Draco Malfoy's bully friends, Crabbe and Goyle. As in the book, Crabbe was to be killed in a climactic battle. Jamie Waylett's arrest and conviction on drug charges, however, forced the filmmakers to change this plan. Crabbe was written out of the script, with Goyle being killed in his place. Another Slytherin character Blaise Zabini (portrayed by Louis Cordice) would be used in Crabbe's place for this scene.
-The filmmakers persuaded Tom Felton to convince his girlfriend, Jade Olivia, to play Draco Malfoy's wife, Astoria Greengrass, in the film's epilogue.
-Both Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have stated in several separate interviews, that filming their much awaited on-screen kiss was an "absolutely horrible" experience, due to Emma's admission of Rupert being "like a brother." It took only six takes to complete; whereas the kiss between Harry & Ginny took around ten, Ron & Lavender approx. 15, and Harry & Cho took over 30 takes, by comparison.
-At the end of the film, Harry has two sons, one of whom he addressed as "Albus Severus Potter." The older one, never addressed by name, has the initials "J.S.P." on his luggage. This stands for James Sirius Potter.
-goofs next! :P
-Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): It is often referred that Harry's eyes are just like his mother's, but when you actually see her as a child it is very apparent that her eyes are brown, not the vibrant blue that Harry's are. Her eyes are blue later as an adult however.
-Continuity: After Aberforth presents Hermione and Ron with bread, they each pick up a piece. When the camera cuts back to them, Hermione is chewing, but the piece of bread she is holding has no bites taken from it.
-Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Harry reveals himself to Snape in the Great Hall he is wearing a Hogwarts robe but after McGonagall battles Snape and turns to help Harry up, the robe is gone and he is in regular clothes. However his regular clothes are beneath the robe, thus he could have quickly drop the robe without too much time being consumed, even during the battle scene between Snape and McGonagal.
-Continuity: When young Snape and Lily are shown laying on the grass in Snapes memory, from above they are laying parallel to each other, however as the shot pans across the lake, they are laying away from each other in a V shape.
-Continuity: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), during the Battle of the Seven Potters, George Weasley loses an ear. However, when Fred and George are seen together during certain scenes in Part 2, George's ear is intact.
-Continuity: When Harry and Dumbledore are talking in King's Cross Station, Dumbledore's hand position changes; sometimes the right hand is covering the left, and sometimes his fingers are interlaced.
-Continuity: When Harry gains Severus Snape's collective memories, he is seen to collect only a few tear drops in a vial. However, later when we see Harry empty the contents of the vial into the Pensieve, the vial contains a much larger volume of liquid than what could have been reasonably collected earlier.
-Continuity: When Harry, Hermoine and Ron arrive in Hogsmeade after escaping from Gringott's, the streets, shops and homes in the town are completely covered in snow. When they arrive at Hogwarts, there is no snow anywhere on the school or on the surrounding grounds, yet Hogsmeade is the neighboring town.
-Plot holes: Cho Chang is one year senior to Harry. She was supposed to be passed out after Harry's sixth year. She is seen studying in Hogwarts in this part.(A/N: how come she couldn’t have flunked the year, and therefore repeat it?)
-continuity: SPOILER: In the resurrection stone scene, James Potter's "spirit" appears to have sideburns, which he has never had in any of the previous films and since he has been dead for 16-17 years, it would logically be impossible for his hair to have changed.
And finally, quotes!
-Harry Potter: [to James, Lily, Sirus and Remus] I never wanted any of you to die for me.
-Ron Weasley: We can do this.
-Lily Potter: Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong.
-[from trailer]
Harry Potter: You'll stay with me?
Lily Potter: Always.
Sirius Black: Until the end.
-Molly Weasley: [to Bellatrix Lestrange] Not my daughter, you bitch! (A/N: I quite like this line! XD)
-Lord Voldemort: [to Snape] Only I can live forever.
-Professor Severus Snape: [to Dumbledore about Harry] You've kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment.
-Lord Voldemort: Join me in the forest tonight and confront your fate.
-[from trailer]
Lord Voldemort: Harry Potter, the boy who lived... come to die. Avada Kedavra!
-Neville Longbottom: You were right, never better. I feel like I can spit fire.
-Hermione Granger: [Disguised as Belltrix Lestrange, addressing a Death Eater] Good morning!
Griphook: Good morning? You're Bellatrix Lestrange, not some dewey-eyed schoolgirl!
-Professor Severus Snape: [to the Hogwart's students] If anyone here knows any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward... now.
Harry Potter: [Stepping out of the crowd] It seems despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster.
-Luna Lovegood: Harry, wait, I need to talk to you.
Harry Potter: I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment, Luna.
Luna Lovegood: You won't find it where you're going, you're wasting your time.
Harry Potter: We'll talk later, ok?
Luna Lovegood: Harry!
Harry Potter: Later!
Luna Lovegood: Harry Potter! You listen to me right now! Don't you remember what Cho said about Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem? There's not a person alive whose seen it. It's obvious isn't it? You have to talk to someone whose dead.
-Professor Severus Snape: For myself and a few select members of staff, this news comes as little surprise. We have for some time now considered Mr. Potter's return to Hogwarts as not merely possible, not inevitable.
-Professor Severus Snape: You have preformed extraordinary magic with this wand, my Lord, in the last hours alone.
Lord Voldemort: No, I am extraordinary, but the wand... it resists me.
Professor Severus Snape: There is no wand more powerful, Olivander himself has said. Tonight when the boy comes, it will not fail you I assure you.
-Argus Filch: [about the Slytherin students] Where exactly will I be leading them to, ma'am?
Minerva McGonagall: The dungeons should do.
-Flitwick: You do realize we can't keep out You-Know-Who indefinitely.
Minerva McGonagall: That doesn't mean we can't delay him. And his name is Voldemort, so you might as well use it, he's going to try and kill you either way.
-Harry Potter: Dumbledore trusted me to see this through.
Aberforth Dumbledore: What makes you think you can trust him? What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you? In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers?
Harry Potter: Why should he...
Aberforth Dumbledore: ...Keep secrets, you tell me?
Harry Potter: I trusted him.
Aberforth Dumbledore: That's a boy's answer. A boy who goes chasing horcruxes on the word of a man who wouldn't even tell you where to start. You're lying!
-Professor Severus Snape: It's come to my attention that earlier this evening Harry Potter was spotted in Hogsmeade. Should anyone attempt to aide Mr. Potter, they will be punished.
Professor Severus Snape: [to Voldemort] There is no wand more powerful. It answers to you, and to you only.
-Ginny Weasley: [Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville have entered the Room of Requirement] Harry!
Harry Potter: Hi there.
[pauses waiting for a response from Ginny, then addresses Hermione]
Ron Weasley: Six months she hadn't see me, it's like I'm a Frankie First Year. I'm only her brother...
Seamus Finnigan: She's got lots of them, but there's only one Harry.
Ron Weasley: Shut up Seamus.
-Harry Potter: [to Snape] How dare you stand where he stood! Tell them how it happened that night. How you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him. (A/N: I liked this line lots, too! :D)
-Ollivander: He's after you, Mr. Potter. You really don't stand a chance.
Harry Potter: I suppose I'll have to kill him before he finds me.
Hermione Granger: We can't just stand here. Who's got an idea?
Ron Weasley: Don't ask us. You're the brilliant one!
Harry Potter: Why are you here, all of you?
Lily Potter: We never left.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Of course, it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it's not real?
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love.
-Harry Potter: We have to go there, now.
Hermione Granger: What? We can't do that! We've got to plan! We've got to figure it out...
Harry Potter: Hermione! When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!
-Remus Lupin: It is the quality of ones convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.
Kingsley Shacklebolt: Who said that?
Remus Lupin: Me. (A/N: I liked this quote lots, too! XD)
-Albus Severus Potter: Dad, what if I'm in Slytherin?
Harry Potter: Albus Severus Potter, you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was the bravest man I ever knew.
-Harry Potter: [Harry's son is nervous to go through the barrier] Together.
Ron Weasley: [as they're rescuing Draco and Blaise] If we die for them, Harry, I'm going to KILL YOU!
-Neville Longbottom: [discussing a battle strategy] Are you really giving us permission to do this?
Minerva McGonagall: Yes, Longbottom.
Neville Longbottom: Blow it up? Boom?
Minerva McGonagall: BOOM!
-Minerva McGonagall: I've always wanted to use that spell.
-Gregory Goyle: [aiming at Hermione] Avada Kedavra!
Ron Weasley: [chasing them off] Aaarrrgh! That's my girlfriend you numpty!
-Lord Voldemort: How can you live with yourself, Lucius?
Lucius Malfoy: ...I don't know.
-Kingsley Shacklebolt: [watching the protective enchantments start to crack] Actually, Dean, better tell Professor McGonagall we may need two or three more wands on this side.
-Harry Potter: Remus, your son?
Remus Lupin: He will one day know what his mother and father died for.
-Argus Filch: Students out of bed! Students out of bed! Students out of bed!
Minerva McGonagall: They are supposed to be out of bed you blithering idiot.
Argus Filch: ...Right, I'm sorry Ma'am.
Minerva McGonagall: Actually, Mr. Filch, your timing is impeccable. Could you please escort Miss Parkinson, and the rest of Slytherin house out.
-Ginny Weasley: Dad? Who's Hagrid carrying? Dad? Who is it?
Lord Voldemort: Harry Potter is dead!
Ginny Weasley: [screaming] No!
Bellatrix Lestrange: We won! We won! We won!
-Harry Potter: Does it hurt to die?
Sirius Black: Quicker then falling asleep.
-Harry Potter: I have to go back, haven't I?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Oh, that's up to you.
Harry Potter: I have a choice?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Oh, yes. We're in King's Cross, you say? I think, if you so desired, you'd be able to board a train.
Harry Potter: And where would it take me?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: On.
-Harry Potter: Voldemort has the Elder Wand.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: True.
Harry Potter: And the snake's still alive.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Yes.
Harry Potter: And I have nothing to kill it with.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.
-Neville Longbottom: Let me get this straight, Professor. You're giving us permission to do this?
Professor Minerva McGonagall: That is correct, Longbottom.
Neville Longbottom: So, blow it up? Boom!
Professor Minerva McGonagall: Boom!
Neville Longbottom: Wicked. Um, and how exactly do you propose we do this, Professor?
Professor Minerva McGonagall: Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnegan? As I recall, he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics.
Seamus Finnigan: I can bring her down.
Professor Minerva McGonagall: That's the spirit. Off you go.
-Harry Potter: Ginny! Neville! Are you all right?
Neville Longbottom: Never better! I feel like I could spit fire! You haven't seen Luna have you?
Harry Potter: Luna?
Neville Longbottom: I'm mad for her. I think it's about time I told her, since we'll probably both be dead by dawn!
[Neville runs up the staircase; Harry and Ginny look at each other for a moment, then kiss]
Ginny Weasley: [whispering to Harry] I know.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: We both know Lord Voldemort has ordered the Malfoy boy to murder me. But should he fail, I should presume the Dark Lord will turn to you. You must be the one to kill me, Severus. It is the only way. Only then will the Dark Lord trust you completely.
[Flashback of Snape killing Dumbledore]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: There will come a time when Harry Potter must be told something. But you must wait until Voldemort is at his most vulnerable.
Professor Severus Snape: Must be told what?
[Shot of Snape going through the halls of the Potter house]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: On the night Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry, and Lily Potter passed herself between them, the curse rebounded. When that happened, a part of Voldemort's soul lached itself onto the only living thing it could find. Harry himself. There's a reason Harry can speak with snakes. There's a reason he can look into Lord Voldemort's mind. A part of Voldemort lives inside.
Professor Severus Snape: So when the time comes... the boy must die?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Yes. Yes... he must die.
[Shot of Snape collapsing at the sight of Lily's dead body]
Professor Severus Snape: You've kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment. You've been raising him like a pig for slaughter!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Don't tell me now that you've grown to care for the boy.
[Snape casts a Patronus in the shape of a doe, just like Lily's- the same one that helped Harry find the Sword of Gryffendor in Part 1]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Lily... after all this time?
[Shot of Snape holding Lily's body in his arms while crying]
Professor Severus Snape: Always.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: [after James and Lilly's deaths] The boy survives.
Professor Severus Snape: He doesn't need protection, the Dark Lord is gone!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: The Dark Lord will return! And when he does, the boy will be in terrible danger! He has her eyes.
[Snape pauses in shock]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: If you truly loved her...
Professor Severus Snape: No one... can know.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: That I shall never reveal the best of you, Severus?
-Ron Weasley: If I die saving Malfoy, I'm going to kill you, Harry. (A/N: how? He’s already dead! XD)
-Young Petunia Dursley: Freak! You're a freak, Lily! I'm telling Mummy!
Young Severus Snape: She's just jealous. That she's ordinary, and you're special.
Young Lily Potter: That's mean, Severus.
-Professor Severus Snape: You said you were to keep her safe!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Lily and James put their faith in the wrong person, Severus. Rather like you. The boy survives.
Professor Severus Snape: He doesn't need protection. The Dark Lord is gone.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: The Dark Lord will return, and when he does the boy will be in terrible danger! He has her eyes. If you truly loved her...
Professor Severus Snape: No one... can know.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: That I shall never reveal the best in you?
Professor Severus Snape: Your word!
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: Don't tell me now that you've grown to care for the boy?
Professor Severus Snape: Expecto Patronum!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Lily... After all this time?
Professor Severus Snape: Always.
-Professor Severus Snape: No! Don't kill me!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: The prophecy did not refer to a women. It spoke of a boy born at the end of July.
Professor Severus Snape: Yes but, he thinks its her son! He intends to hunt them down now, to kill them. Hide her, hide them all. I beg you.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: What will you give me in return, Severus?
Professor Severus Snape: Anything.
-Lily Potter: [to Harry] You've been so brave.
-Harry Potter: Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?
-Professor Severus Snape: Look at me... you have your mother's eyes.
-Minerva McGonagall: Potter, I assume you're here for a reason. What do you need?
Harry Potter: Time. As much as you can get me, Professor.
Minerva McGonagall: Do what you have to. I'll secure the castle.
-Neville Longbottom: People die every day. Friends, family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us... in here
[gestures to chest]
Neville Longbottom: So's Fred, and Remus, Tonks... all of them. They didn't die in vain, but you will!
-Griphook: How did you come upon that sword?
Harry Potter: It's complicated. How do we get into Gringotts?
Griphook: It's complicated.
-Neville Longbottom: Right then, so what's the plan Harry?
Harry Potter: Okay, there's something we need to find, something hidden here in the castle, and it may help us defeat You-Know-Who.
Neville Longbottom: Right, what is it?
Harry Potter: We don't know.
Dean Thomas: Where is it?
Harry Potter: We don't know that either. I realise that's not much to go on.
Seamus Finnigan: That's nothing to go on.
-Minerva McGonagall: Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnigan? As I recall, he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics.
Seamus Finnigan: I can bring it down!
Minerva McGonagall: That's the spirit, now away you go.
-Helena Ravenclaw: If you have to ask, you'll never know. If you know, you need only ask. (A/N: umm … that doesn’t make sense? XD)
This was an awesome movie! ‘twas actually quite refreshing to watch a movie with someone other than your mother, meaning hayley didn’t squeak with fear and clutch @ me for anything even remotely scary, nor did she burst into tears and bawl her eyes out @ anything even ever-so-slightly touching, as mother always does. XD
- in general, most of the music was too … loud and action-ish for my tastes, but I really loved the music that was played during the attack on Hogwarts.
- My favourite character, hands-down, was severus snape; I’m a sucker for those tall, dark sarcastic types. Actually, wait – snape wasn’t dark – he was sallow! But he was my favourite character, anyway. I particularly liked the scene when mcgonagall tries to blow him up with her wand – good ol’ snape dodged them all, of course – before leaping out of a window!
- But the harry potter series has finally come to an end … who will create the next fad to replace it?
- I still remember, eleven years back, when I was in year eight, the school decided that we were such a well-behaved cohort that they took us all to the hyperdome cinemas to see the first movie! :D can’t remember who I saw the subsequent ones with, although I saw the fifth one with aunty a and the sixth one with a bunch of church guys. I remember, after the sixth one, dr. lee asking me what had been my favourite part? I had replied enthusiastically, “when snape went AVADA KEDAVRA!”
- I was told that I was just HEARTLESS. XD
- Anyways, next post here … umm, whenever I find the time, I’ll put up my movie review of transformers three, which dad and I saw one Tuesday night @ garbo! Cya then~
- Cheers,
- Em. ^^
I haven’t known hayley for very long; I was more friends with her dad, uncle martin, who passed away from stomach cancer awhile back. I liked uncle martin lots; when ESS was still held downstairs in A1, I’d sit in one of those chairs lined outside the room after service, and he’d invariably wander along and sneak me a bikkie or some chippies, much to the wrath of my mother. XD
Anyways, I somehow got his daughter, hayley, as my friend on facebook, and one night, we were just chatting. I called her ‘hairy’ and she asked me, “umm … why are you calling me hairy?”
I replied, “umm … don’t I always call you hairy?”
She laughed, then said, “perhaps you’ve got me confused with some other hayley @ church.”
Well, @ that time, I thought I only knew one hayley! “aren’t you hayley fung, natalie’s older sister?”
Another laugh. “nope, that’s hailey. Different spelling. I’m hayley fung, uncle martin’s daughter.”
Lol, I was mortified! XD
Anyways, somehow, we decided to watch the last harry potter movie together!
I bought the tickets, coz I’ve got a companion card, meaning my companion gets in for free, and she bought the popcorn! :D
Mum left us @ the front entrance; much thanks to hayley who lemme gently hold her hand while we walked in together. Even better, she was fine with sitting in the front row, meaning I didn’t need to hike up the two steps that mother always forces me to take!
Anyways, here are all my favourite trivia, quotes and goofs from imdb:
Trivia first!
-This film is the only Harry Potter film to be released in 3D in cinemas in their entirety (only select scenes were available for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and only in IMAX).
Share this
-It was reported that a huge blaze wrecked the Hogwarts set after a battle scene went spectacularly wrong. According to the report, explosives used in action sequences set light to scenery for the wizardry school, and that firefighters battled for 40 minutes to bring the flames under control but the set - centerpiece for the film's Battle of Hogwarts climax - was left badly damaged. It was later confirmed that the fire was greatly exaggerated, and that the set that had been damaged was going to need be rebuilt anyway for use in another scene. Some actors were still filming at the studio but none of the movie's biggest stars -Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione) or Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) - were involved. No one was injured.
-Kate Winslet was first considered for and reportedly offered the role of Helena Ravenclaw. The role was rejected by her agent before she was able to consider it, believing that Winslet would not want to "follow suit with every other actor in Britain by being a part of Harry Potter". The role subsequently went to Kelly Macdonald.
-In the two parts of this movie, Hermione impersonates both Mafalda Hopkirk; played byEmma Thompson's sister Sophie Thompson; and Bellatrix Lestrange; played by Helena Bonham Carter, who played Emma's sister in Howards End.
-Most of the events in this film - from the raid of Gringotts to the Battle of Hogwarts - take place over the course of a single day.
-In the story, Voldemort has created several Horcruxes in an attempt to cheat death. Appropriately, his name is French for "Flight of Death" or it can also mean "Stealer/Cheater of death".
-Alan Rickman, Bonnie Wright, Devon Murray, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Somerville, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Matthew Lewis, Robbie Coltrane, Rupert Grint,Tom Felton, Josh Herdman and Warwick Davis (as Prof. Flitwick and/or Griphook the Goblin) are the only actors to have appeared in all eight movies.
Share this
-When Harry goes into the Room of Requirement in the bottom left hand corner there is the knight that Ron rides from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Share this
-In every shot in which Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange appear together, she always moves so that she stands on his right, traditionally the position of the most loyal and trusted follower.
-Also in the Room of Requirement are the Cornish Piskies set loose by Gilderoy Lockhart inHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
-Not long after Alan Rickman started to play Severus Snape, J.K. Rowling told him some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know (years ahead of the last book's publication) that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape's protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of Lily's preference for another man, came from." According to Rickman, the directors prior to the publication of the last book were not privy to the information of Snape's true character either, and he had to ask them to defer to him the portrayal of Snape, whether or not they understood why.
-The script was originally written, like the book, to include Draco Malfoy's bully friends, Crabbe and Goyle. As in the book, Crabbe was to be killed in a climactic battle. Jamie Waylett's arrest and conviction on drug charges, however, forced the filmmakers to change this plan. Crabbe was written out of the script, with Goyle being killed in his place. Another Slytherin character Blaise Zabini (portrayed by Louis Cordice) would be used in Crabbe's place for this scene.
-The filmmakers persuaded Tom Felton to convince his girlfriend, Jade Olivia, to play Draco Malfoy's wife, Astoria Greengrass, in the film's epilogue.
-Both Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have stated in several separate interviews, that filming their much awaited on-screen kiss was an "absolutely horrible" experience, due to Emma's admission of Rupert being "like a brother." It took only six takes to complete; whereas the kiss between Harry & Ginny took around ten, Ron & Lavender approx. 15, and Harry & Cho took over 30 takes, by comparison.
-At the end of the film, Harry has two sons, one of whom he addressed as "Albus Severus Potter." The older one, never addressed by name, has the initials "J.S.P." on his luggage. This stands for James Sirius Potter.
-goofs next! :P
-Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): It is often referred that Harry's eyes are just like his mother's, but when you actually see her as a child it is very apparent that her eyes are brown, not the vibrant blue that Harry's are. Her eyes are blue later as an adult however.
-Continuity: After Aberforth presents Hermione and Ron with bread, they each pick up a piece. When the camera cuts back to them, Hermione is chewing, but the piece of bread she is holding has no bites taken from it.
-Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Harry reveals himself to Snape in the Great Hall he is wearing a Hogwarts robe but after McGonagall battles Snape and turns to help Harry up, the robe is gone and he is in regular clothes. However his regular clothes are beneath the robe, thus he could have quickly drop the robe without too much time being consumed, even during the battle scene between Snape and McGonagal.
-Continuity: When young Snape and Lily are shown laying on the grass in Snapes memory, from above they are laying parallel to each other, however as the shot pans across the lake, they are laying away from each other in a V shape.
-Continuity: In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), during the Battle of the Seven Potters, George Weasley loses an ear. However, when Fred and George are seen together during certain scenes in Part 2, George's ear is intact.
-Continuity: When Harry and Dumbledore are talking in King's Cross Station, Dumbledore's hand position changes; sometimes the right hand is covering the left, and sometimes his fingers are interlaced.
-Continuity: When Harry gains Severus Snape's collective memories, he is seen to collect only a few tear drops in a vial. However, later when we see Harry empty the contents of the vial into the Pensieve, the vial contains a much larger volume of liquid than what could have been reasonably collected earlier.
-Continuity: When Harry, Hermoine and Ron arrive in Hogsmeade after escaping from Gringott's, the streets, shops and homes in the town are completely covered in snow. When they arrive at Hogwarts, there is no snow anywhere on the school or on the surrounding grounds, yet Hogsmeade is the neighboring town.
-Plot holes: Cho Chang is one year senior to Harry. She was supposed to be passed out after Harry's sixth year. She is seen studying in Hogwarts in this part.(A/N: how come she couldn’t have flunked the year, and therefore repeat it?)
-continuity: SPOILER: In the resurrection stone scene, James Potter's "spirit" appears to have sideburns, which he has never had in any of the previous films and since he has been dead for 16-17 years, it would logically be impossible for his hair to have changed.
And finally, quotes!
-Harry Potter: [to James, Lily, Sirus and Remus] I never wanted any of you to die for me.
-Ron Weasley: We can do this.
-Lily Potter: Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong.
-[from trailer]
Harry Potter: You'll stay with me?
Lily Potter: Always.
Sirius Black: Until the end.
-Molly Weasley: [to Bellatrix Lestrange] Not my daughter, you bitch! (A/N: I quite like this line! XD)
-Lord Voldemort: [to Snape] Only I can live forever.
-Professor Severus Snape: [to Dumbledore about Harry] You've kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment.
-Lord Voldemort: Join me in the forest tonight and confront your fate.
-[from trailer]
Lord Voldemort: Harry Potter, the boy who lived... come to die. Avada Kedavra!
-Neville Longbottom: You were right, never better. I feel like I can spit fire.
-Hermione Granger: [Disguised as Belltrix Lestrange, addressing a Death Eater] Good morning!
Griphook: Good morning? You're Bellatrix Lestrange, not some dewey-eyed schoolgirl!
-Professor Severus Snape: [to the Hogwart's students] If anyone here knows any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward... now.
Harry Potter: [Stepping out of the crowd] It seems despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster.
-Luna Lovegood: Harry, wait, I need to talk to you.
Harry Potter: I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment, Luna.
Luna Lovegood: You won't find it where you're going, you're wasting your time.
Harry Potter: We'll talk later, ok?
Luna Lovegood: Harry!
Harry Potter: Later!
Luna Lovegood: Harry Potter! You listen to me right now! Don't you remember what Cho said about Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem? There's not a person alive whose seen it. It's obvious isn't it? You have to talk to someone whose dead.
-Professor Severus Snape: For myself and a few select members of staff, this news comes as little surprise. We have for some time now considered Mr. Potter's return to Hogwarts as not merely possible, not inevitable.
-Professor Severus Snape: You have preformed extraordinary magic with this wand, my Lord, in the last hours alone.
Lord Voldemort: No, I am extraordinary, but the wand... it resists me.
Professor Severus Snape: There is no wand more powerful, Olivander himself has said. Tonight when the boy comes, it will not fail you I assure you.
-Argus Filch: [about the Slytherin students] Where exactly will I be leading them to, ma'am?
Minerva McGonagall: The dungeons should do.
-Flitwick: You do realize we can't keep out You-Know-Who indefinitely.
Minerva McGonagall: That doesn't mean we can't delay him. And his name is Voldemort, so you might as well use it, he's going to try and kill you either way.
-Harry Potter: Dumbledore trusted me to see this through.
Aberforth Dumbledore: What makes you think you can trust him? What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you? In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers?
Harry Potter: Why should he...
Aberforth Dumbledore: ...Keep secrets, you tell me?
Harry Potter: I trusted him.
Aberforth Dumbledore: That's a boy's answer. A boy who goes chasing horcruxes on the word of a man who wouldn't even tell you where to start. You're lying!
-Professor Severus Snape: It's come to my attention that earlier this evening Harry Potter was spotted in Hogsmeade. Should anyone attempt to aide Mr. Potter, they will be punished.
Professor Severus Snape: [to Voldemort] There is no wand more powerful. It answers to you, and to you only.
-Ginny Weasley: [Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville have entered the Room of Requirement] Harry!
Harry Potter: Hi there.
[pauses waiting for a response from Ginny, then addresses Hermione]
Ron Weasley: Six months she hadn't see me, it's like I'm a Frankie First Year. I'm only her brother...
Seamus Finnigan: She's got lots of them, but there's only one Harry.
Ron Weasley: Shut up Seamus.
-Harry Potter: [to Snape] How dare you stand where he stood! Tell them how it happened that night. How you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him. (A/N: I liked this line lots, too! :D)
-Ollivander: He's after you, Mr. Potter. You really don't stand a chance.
Harry Potter: I suppose I'll have to kill him before he finds me.
Hermione Granger: We can't just stand here. Who's got an idea?
Ron Weasley: Don't ask us. You're the brilliant one!
Harry Potter: Why are you here, all of you?
Lily Potter: We never left.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Of course, it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it's not real?
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love.
-Harry Potter: We have to go there, now.
Hermione Granger: What? We can't do that! We've got to plan! We've got to figure it out...
Harry Potter: Hermione! When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose!
-Remus Lupin: It is the quality of ones convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.
Kingsley Shacklebolt: Who said that?
Remus Lupin: Me. (A/N: I liked this quote lots, too! XD)
-Albus Severus Potter: Dad, what if I'm in Slytherin?
Harry Potter: Albus Severus Potter, you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was the bravest man I ever knew.
-Harry Potter: [Harry's son is nervous to go through the barrier] Together.
Ron Weasley: [as they're rescuing Draco and Blaise] If we die for them, Harry, I'm going to KILL YOU!
-Neville Longbottom: [discussing a battle strategy] Are you really giving us permission to do this?
Minerva McGonagall: Yes, Longbottom.
Neville Longbottom: Blow it up? Boom?
Minerva McGonagall: BOOM!
-Minerva McGonagall: I've always wanted to use that spell.
-Gregory Goyle: [aiming at Hermione] Avada Kedavra!
Ron Weasley: [chasing them off] Aaarrrgh! That's my girlfriend you numpty!
-Lord Voldemort: How can you live with yourself, Lucius?
Lucius Malfoy: ...I don't know.
-Kingsley Shacklebolt: [watching the protective enchantments start to crack] Actually, Dean, better tell Professor McGonagall we may need two or three more wands on this side.
-Harry Potter: Remus, your son?
Remus Lupin: He will one day know what his mother and father died for.
-Argus Filch: Students out of bed! Students out of bed! Students out of bed!
Minerva McGonagall: They are supposed to be out of bed you blithering idiot.
Argus Filch: ...Right, I'm sorry Ma'am.
Minerva McGonagall: Actually, Mr. Filch, your timing is impeccable. Could you please escort Miss Parkinson, and the rest of Slytherin house out.
-Ginny Weasley: Dad? Who's Hagrid carrying? Dad? Who is it?
Lord Voldemort: Harry Potter is dead!
Ginny Weasley: [screaming] No!
Bellatrix Lestrange: We won! We won! We won!
-Harry Potter: Does it hurt to die?
Sirius Black: Quicker then falling asleep.
-Harry Potter: I have to go back, haven't I?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Oh, that's up to you.
Harry Potter: I have a choice?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Oh, yes. We're in King's Cross, you say? I think, if you so desired, you'd be able to board a train.
Harry Potter: And where would it take me?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: On.
-Harry Potter: Voldemort has the Elder Wand.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: True.
Harry Potter: And the snake's still alive.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Yes.
Harry Potter: And I have nothing to kill it with.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.
-Neville Longbottom: Let me get this straight, Professor. You're giving us permission to do this?
Professor Minerva McGonagall: That is correct, Longbottom.
Neville Longbottom: So, blow it up? Boom!
Professor Minerva McGonagall: Boom!
Neville Longbottom: Wicked. Um, and how exactly do you propose we do this, Professor?
Professor Minerva McGonagall: Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnegan? As I recall, he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics.
Seamus Finnigan: I can bring her down.
Professor Minerva McGonagall: That's the spirit. Off you go.
-Harry Potter: Ginny! Neville! Are you all right?
Neville Longbottom: Never better! I feel like I could spit fire! You haven't seen Luna have you?
Harry Potter: Luna?
Neville Longbottom: I'm mad for her. I think it's about time I told her, since we'll probably both be dead by dawn!
[Neville runs up the staircase; Harry and Ginny look at each other for a moment, then kiss]
Ginny Weasley: [whispering to Harry] I know.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: We both know Lord Voldemort has ordered the Malfoy boy to murder me. But should he fail, I should presume the Dark Lord will turn to you. You must be the one to kill me, Severus. It is the only way. Only then will the Dark Lord trust you completely.
[Flashback of Snape killing Dumbledore]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: There will come a time when Harry Potter must be told something. But you must wait until Voldemort is at his most vulnerable.
Professor Severus Snape: Must be told what?
[Shot of Snape going through the halls of the Potter house]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: On the night Lord Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry, and Lily Potter passed herself between them, the curse rebounded. When that happened, a part of Voldemort's soul lached itself onto the only living thing it could find. Harry himself. There's a reason Harry can speak with snakes. There's a reason he can look into Lord Voldemort's mind. A part of Voldemort lives inside.
Professor Severus Snape: So when the time comes... the boy must die?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Yes. Yes... he must die.
[Shot of Snape collapsing at the sight of Lily's dead body]
Professor Severus Snape: You've kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment. You've been raising him like a pig for slaughter!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Don't tell me now that you've grown to care for the boy.
[Snape casts a Patronus in the shape of a doe, just like Lily's- the same one that helped Harry find the Sword of Gryffendor in Part 1]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Lily... after all this time?
[Shot of Snape holding Lily's body in his arms while crying]
Professor Severus Snape: Always.
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: [after James and Lilly's deaths] The boy survives.
Professor Severus Snape: He doesn't need protection, the Dark Lord is gone!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: The Dark Lord will return! And when he does, the boy will be in terrible danger! He has her eyes.
[Snape pauses in shock]
Professor Albus Dumbledore: If you truly loved her...
Professor Severus Snape: No one... can know.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: That I shall never reveal the best of you, Severus?
-Ron Weasley: If I die saving Malfoy, I'm going to kill you, Harry. (A/N: how? He’s already dead! XD)
-Young Petunia Dursley: Freak! You're a freak, Lily! I'm telling Mummy!
Young Severus Snape: She's just jealous. That she's ordinary, and you're special.
Young Lily Potter: That's mean, Severus.
-Professor Severus Snape: You said you were to keep her safe!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Lily and James put their faith in the wrong person, Severus. Rather like you. The boy survives.
Professor Severus Snape: He doesn't need protection. The Dark Lord is gone.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: The Dark Lord will return, and when he does the boy will be in terrible danger! He has her eyes. If you truly loved her...
Professor Severus Snape: No one... can know.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: That I shall never reveal the best in you?
Professor Severus Snape: Your word!
-Professor Albus Dumbledore: Don't tell me now that you've grown to care for the boy?
Professor Severus Snape: Expecto Patronum!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Lily... After all this time?
Professor Severus Snape: Always.
-Professor Severus Snape: No! Don't kill me!
Professor Albus Dumbledore: The prophecy did not refer to a women. It spoke of a boy born at the end of July.
Professor Severus Snape: Yes but, he thinks its her son! He intends to hunt them down now, to kill them. Hide her, hide them all. I beg you.
Professor Albus Dumbledore: What will you give me in return, Severus?
Professor Severus Snape: Anything.
-Lily Potter: [to Harry] You've been so brave.
-Harry Potter: Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?
Professor Albus Dumbledore: Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?
-Professor Severus Snape: Look at me... you have your mother's eyes.
-Minerva McGonagall: Potter, I assume you're here for a reason. What do you need?
Harry Potter: Time. As much as you can get me, Professor.
Minerva McGonagall: Do what you have to. I'll secure the castle.
-Neville Longbottom: People die every day. Friends, family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us... in here
[gestures to chest]
Neville Longbottom: So's Fred, and Remus, Tonks... all of them. They didn't die in vain, but you will!
-Griphook: How did you come upon that sword?
Harry Potter: It's complicated. How do we get into Gringotts?
Griphook: It's complicated.
-Neville Longbottom: Right then, so what's the plan Harry?
Harry Potter: Okay, there's something we need to find, something hidden here in the castle, and it may help us defeat You-Know-Who.
Neville Longbottom: Right, what is it?
Harry Potter: We don't know.
Dean Thomas: Where is it?
Harry Potter: We don't know that either. I realise that's not much to go on.
Seamus Finnigan: That's nothing to go on.
-Minerva McGonagall: Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnigan? As I recall, he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics.
Seamus Finnigan: I can bring it down!
Minerva McGonagall: That's the spirit, now away you go.
-Helena Ravenclaw: If you have to ask, you'll never know. If you know, you need only ask. (A/N: umm … that doesn’t make sense? XD)
This was an awesome movie! ‘twas actually quite refreshing to watch a movie with someone other than your mother, meaning hayley didn’t squeak with fear and clutch @ me for anything even remotely scary, nor did she burst into tears and bawl her eyes out @ anything even ever-so-slightly touching, as mother always does. XD
- in general, most of the music was too … loud and action-ish for my tastes, but I really loved the music that was played during the attack on Hogwarts.
- My favourite character, hands-down, was severus snape; I’m a sucker for those tall, dark sarcastic types. Actually, wait – snape wasn’t dark – he was sallow! But he was my favourite character, anyway. I particularly liked the scene when mcgonagall tries to blow him up with her wand – good ol’ snape dodged them all, of course – before leaping out of a window!
- But the harry potter series has finally come to an end … who will create the next fad to replace it?
- I still remember, eleven years back, when I was in year eight, the school decided that we were such a well-behaved cohort that they took us all to the hyperdome cinemas to see the first movie! :D can’t remember who I saw the subsequent ones with, although I saw the fifth one with aunty a and the sixth one with a bunch of church guys. I remember, after the sixth one, dr. lee asking me what had been my favourite part? I had replied enthusiastically, “when snape went AVADA KEDAVRA!”
- I was told that I was just HEARTLESS. XD
- Anyways, next post here … umm, whenever I find the time, I’ll put up my movie review of transformers three, which dad and I saw one Tuesday night @ garbo! Cya then~
- Cheers,
- Em. ^^
Monday, July 18, 2011
FIRE!!
Well, last night, all was well. Mother had gleefully forced me off to bed at some ridiculously early hour, and I was just cuddling my favourite teddy bear and counting myself into some sleep.
But suddenly, I smelt smoke. I wondered, “Did mother leave the stove on? Did dad forget to switch the oven off? Coz there honestly was this really strong smell of something burning wafting through my room.
Mother has installed a baby monitor into my room, and so I yelled upstairs to her, “mother, is there something burning outside? Coz there’s a really strong stench of smoke!”
Mother didn’t answer me verbally, but I knew that she had heard me when I heard her footsteps thudding around upstairs.
She came downstairs into my room, turned on the light. “Yeah, I smelt something burning, too. So I poked dad awake and then you called out.” She said.
Mother walked over to the window, yanked open the curtains and peeked outside. She took a look outside, then, suddenly, YELLED, “FIRE!” she rushed out of my room and yelled up the stairs, “dad, call triple zero! There’s a car burning outside!”
Then she grabbed the garage remote and opened our garage door. “Mother, where are you going?” I called, alarmed.
“I’m going to tell Jamie!” she called back. Jamie’s our next door neighbour. Actually, not next door; he’s the neighbour directly across from our house. He’s a really nice guy, and dad often lends him tools to use. Too bad, he’s moving house like, toms! But back to what happened last night:
“Wait! Before you go, can you please help me put on my AFO? Coz you know I can’t walk without wearing it, and if this fire spreads we may have to make a run for it!” I ask her.
Mother rushes back inside, jams my AFO on, then dashes back outside to alert our neighbour. Outside, I hear my dad talking into the telephone, “Hello, this is Kwok. I need a fire engine.” Lol, I’ve never heard my dad introduce himself with his Cantonese name before; he’s usually just ‘Michael’! XD
I send a quick prayer to God, “Um, God, there’s some fire going on outside. Could you please protect all of us and make sure we don’t get burnt to a crisp or anything? Thanks.”
The fire engine arrives promptly (but without its sirens going off, I wonder why?) and, I presume, puts out the fire. The parents spend some more time talking to the police, who have also arrived, presumably telling them what they saw and heard.
It’s like midnight by the time mother returns to my room, switches out the light and removes my AFO. I offer to wear it for the rest of the night, just in case something dramatic like this happens again, but mother reassures me and insists that everything’s fine, now. And with that, I hug my favourite teddy bear and we return to sleep together.
The next morning, as mother drives me out to St. Lucia for physio, I have a look at the area where the burning car was. I mean, I didn’t actually see or hear anything of the fire, but mother had told me that the fire had broken out on the left hand side of the street. All that’s there now is some lady picking up some rubble from the charred grass.
Actually, last night, when the parents were both outside, there was this loud explosion – BANG! “Dad! Mum!” I screamed outside, terrified that they’d been blown up into smithereens, or something horrible like that. But luckily, they both rushed back inside and reassured me that they were fine and still intact and that the explosion was most likely the car that was burning.
Anyways, mother wasted no time at all telling my carer what happened last night the moment she arrived. XD
“Oh dear, what a traumatic event that must’ve been for you guys.” Carol sympathised with us.
But, all in all, I’m very grateful that the fire was contained very quickly last night, and no-one was injured.
Next post here … lol, I dunno! Book club isn’t till next month; neither is the EKKA holiday … anyways, cya when I cya!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
But suddenly, I smelt smoke. I wondered, “Did mother leave the stove on? Did dad forget to switch the oven off? Coz there honestly was this really strong smell of something burning wafting through my room.
Mother has installed a baby monitor into my room, and so I yelled upstairs to her, “mother, is there something burning outside? Coz there’s a really strong stench of smoke!”
Mother didn’t answer me verbally, but I knew that she had heard me when I heard her footsteps thudding around upstairs.
She came downstairs into my room, turned on the light. “Yeah, I smelt something burning, too. So I poked dad awake and then you called out.” She said.
Mother walked over to the window, yanked open the curtains and peeked outside. She took a look outside, then, suddenly, YELLED, “FIRE!” she rushed out of my room and yelled up the stairs, “dad, call triple zero! There’s a car burning outside!”
Then she grabbed the garage remote and opened our garage door. “Mother, where are you going?” I called, alarmed.
“I’m going to tell Jamie!” she called back. Jamie’s our next door neighbour. Actually, not next door; he’s the neighbour directly across from our house. He’s a really nice guy, and dad often lends him tools to use. Too bad, he’s moving house like, toms! But back to what happened last night:
“Wait! Before you go, can you please help me put on my AFO? Coz you know I can’t walk without wearing it, and if this fire spreads we may have to make a run for it!” I ask her.
Mother rushes back inside, jams my AFO on, then dashes back outside to alert our neighbour. Outside, I hear my dad talking into the telephone, “Hello, this is Kwok. I need a fire engine.” Lol, I’ve never heard my dad introduce himself with his Cantonese name before; he’s usually just ‘Michael’! XD
I send a quick prayer to God, “Um, God, there’s some fire going on outside. Could you please protect all of us and make sure we don’t get burnt to a crisp or anything? Thanks.”
The fire engine arrives promptly (but without its sirens going off, I wonder why?) and, I presume, puts out the fire. The parents spend some more time talking to the police, who have also arrived, presumably telling them what they saw and heard.
It’s like midnight by the time mother returns to my room, switches out the light and removes my AFO. I offer to wear it for the rest of the night, just in case something dramatic like this happens again, but mother reassures me and insists that everything’s fine, now. And with that, I hug my favourite teddy bear and we return to sleep together.
The next morning, as mother drives me out to St. Lucia for physio, I have a look at the area where the burning car was. I mean, I didn’t actually see or hear anything of the fire, but mother had told me that the fire had broken out on the left hand side of the street. All that’s there now is some lady picking up some rubble from the charred grass.
Actually, last night, when the parents were both outside, there was this loud explosion – BANG! “Dad! Mum!” I screamed outside, terrified that they’d been blown up into smithereens, or something horrible like that. But luckily, they both rushed back inside and reassured me that they were fine and still intact and that the explosion was most likely the car that was burning.
Anyways, mother wasted no time at all telling my carer what happened last night the moment she arrived. XD
“Oh dear, what a traumatic event that must’ve been for you guys.” Carol sympathised with us.
But, all in all, I’m very grateful that the fire was contained very quickly last night, and no-one was injured.
Next post here … lol, I dunno! Book club isn’t till next month; neither is the EKKA holiday … anyways, cya when I cya!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Sunday, July 17, 2011
lunch with my australian godmother6
I’ve explained before that I not only have a cantonese godmother, but I even have an australian godmother, yeah? Actually, I not only have an Australian godmother, I even have an Australian GRAND-godmother! :D(she’s my Australian godmother’s mum, obviously. XD)
The first time I met her, she told me just to call her ‘nana’. She still lives by herself down in melbourne, and can you believe it – she still DRIVES! I think she’s somewhere in her mid-late eighties.
Anyways, nana’s my only penpal right now! Yup, that’s right, we keep in touch through snail mail. After all, you can’t really expect an eighty-something year old to be facebooking, can you? XD
The funny thing, though, is that she has tremendously flowery writing. I remember, one night, when dad went and checked our letterbox, he came back with a letter. “em, I think this letter’s for you,” says he. “but I can’t read the writing, it’s too flowery.” And while I’m now much improved in deciphering her cursive, in the beginning I had to ask mother please to figure out for me what exactly it was that nana had written to me! XD
Anyways, I last saw nana around Christmas last year – wow, that’s about six months ago! But on Tuesday, mother and I met up with mrs. Dent and nana at the springwood fasta pasta!
They arrived before us, but they both stood up when we arrived, and I immediately gave nana a great big hug. Mrs. Dent walked over, laughed, and said “what about mine?” so I gave her one too.
Being the incredibly boring person I know myself to be XD I stuck with my tried and trusted favourite, fettucine cabonara with added chicken. Mother ordered herself some pizza, while mrs. Dent and nana both had the same dish, some kinda ravioli with red sauce. I drank a lipton’s lemon iced taste (coz I love the big fat lipton’s glass they provide it in for you :P), mother drank coke, while both mrs. Dent and nana drank cuppucinos.
Did you know, now that renee is married, her new surname is wolf! Hehe, I think they get more interesting with each generation – nana was ‘anderson, her daughter’s ‘dent’ and now renee’s ‘wolf’! XD
We also shared some garlic bread before tucking into our main meals. Hmm … next time, must introduce mrs. Dent to cheesy garlic bread … that stuff’s simply divine.
Also huge thanks to mother who managed to curb her oft vile tongue – she didn’t diss me, dad or anyone else that whole afternoon!
I also learnt that the dent family dogs are getting on in their years. Jag’s the grandpa, at ten years old, rosie’s eight, and even little bobby’s six now!
Have I said yet? Huge thanks to mrs. Dent who shouted us; better still, she said that we can all catch up at the coffee club for lunch once more before nana heads back down interstate!
Next post here … lol, I never did remember to post my entry about disabled parking permits, did i? maybe see you soon, then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
The first time I met her, she told me just to call her ‘nana’. She still lives by herself down in melbourne, and can you believe it – she still DRIVES! I think she’s somewhere in her mid-late eighties.
Anyways, nana’s my only penpal right now! Yup, that’s right, we keep in touch through snail mail. After all, you can’t really expect an eighty-something year old to be facebooking, can you? XD
The funny thing, though, is that she has tremendously flowery writing. I remember, one night, when dad went and checked our letterbox, he came back with a letter. “em, I think this letter’s for you,” says he. “but I can’t read the writing, it’s too flowery.” And while I’m now much improved in deciphering her cursive, in the beginning I had to ask mother please to figure out for me what exactly it was that nana had written to me! XD
Anyways, I last saw nana around Christmas last year – wow, that’s about six months ago! But on Tuesday, mother and I met up with mrs. Dent and nana at the springwood fasta pasta!
They arrived before us, but they both stood up when we arrived, and I immediately gave nana a great big hug. Mrs. Dent walked over, laughed, and said “what about mine?” so I gave her one too.
Being the incredibly boring person I know myself to be XD I stuck with my tried and trusted favourite, fettucine cabonara with added chicken. Mother ordered herself some pizza, while mrs. Dent and nana both had the same dish, some kinda ravioli with red sauce. I drank a lipton’s lemon iced taste (coz I love the big fat lipton’s glass they provide it in for you :P), mother drank coke, while both mrs. Dent and nana drank cuppucinos.
Did you know, now that renee is married, her new surname is wolf! Hehe, I think they get more interesting with each generation – nana was ‘anderson, her daughter’s ‘dent’ and now renee’s ‘wolf’! XD
We also shared some garlic bread before tucking into our main meals. Hmm … next time, must introduce mrs. Dent to cheesy garlic bread … that stuff’s simply divine.
Also huge thanks to mother who managed to curb her oft vile tongue – she didn’t diss me, dad or anyone else that whole afternoon!
I also learnt that the dent family dogs are getting on in their years. Jag’s the grandpa, at ten years old, rosie’s eight, and even little bobby’s six now!
Have I said yet? Huge thanks to mrs. Dent who shouted us; better still, she said that we can all catch up at the coffee club for lunch once more before nana heads back down interstate!
Next post here … lol, I never did remember to post my entry about disabled parking permits, did i? maybe see you soon, then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Friday, July 15, 2011
eating out
After my brain injury, mother for some reason likes to restrict me only to one meal out per week. I mean, fair enough, I only earn thirty bucks per week, that’s not even enough to cover one torture session with Vincent the bloody physio! XD
I understand that whenever I do get to eat out, like my fortnightly trips to garden city, mother MUST also eat out. I’m cool with that, in fact, I try to remember to thank dad for taking mother out to dinner whenever I get to eat out myself.
I’m fine with mother only restricting me to one meal out per week. Like I said, sadly, I don’t earn enough nowadays to support myself. ><
But one thing I do ask of mother is that she keeps things fair. Like, I’m fine with only getting one meal out per week. But what kinda annoys me is when mother gets to eat out MANY, MANY more times than I do. ><
Take for example, Wednesday. On Wednesday, an Asian lady from Cathay Community Services comes to mind me for three hours, freeing mother to go do things like grocery shopping, relaxing at a massage, etc. but extremely often, she nags someone like Aunty Anne to take her out for lunch. I’ve tried protesting this, I mean, how come she gets to eat out while I remain cooped at home? Mother’s smug answer is always, “Because Aunty Anne shouts me.” Anyways, I’ve learnt to just thank Aunty Anne sincerely every time she comes over to shout mother out for lunch.
But it turns out that mother also gets dad to take her out for dinner whenever I’m attending something at night! Last night, I attended SHINE fellowship at church, and, while I was out, dad took mother out for dinner at Pinelands Plaza somewhere. Now, I’m not restricting mother only to one meal out per week like how she enjoys restricting me, I’m just asking her please to KEEP THINGS FAIR. Like, if she only eats out once per week, fine, restrict me to eat out only once per week, too. But if you get to eat out more than that, please let me eat out also!
In view of last night, what with dad taking mother out for dinner, I tried asking her this morning please to gimme fifteen bucks so the carer coming in to dig me up at 10am could take me out to the Coffee Club for brunch. Unsurprisingly, horrid mother refused. >< and tomorrow, when I’m attending the English Sunday service and dad’s having Bible Study, mum will head out and enjoy morning tea with all the other church aunties. *sigh* life just isn’t fair, you know. But hey. My life sucks. I’m used to it. ><
Anyways, next post here … should be tomorrow, if I find the time! I haven’t written about the lunch that mother and I enjoyed at the springwood fasta pasta with my Australian godmother and Australian grand-godmother! Righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
I understand that whenever I do get to eat out, like my fortnightly trips to garden city, mother MUST also eat out. I’m cool with that, in fact, I try to remember to thank dad for taking mother out to dinner whenever I get to eat out myself.
I’m fine with mother only restricting me to one meal out per week. Like I said, sadly, I don’t earn enough nowadays to support myself. ><
But one thing I do ask of mother is that she keeps things fair. Like, I’m fine with only getting one meal out per week. But what kinda annoys me is when mother gets to eat out MANY, MANY more times than I do. ><
Take for example, Wednesday. On Wednesday, an Asian lady from Cathay Community Services comes to mind me for three hours, freeing mother to go do things like grocery shopping, relaxing at a massage, etc. but extremely often, she nags someone like Aunty Anne to take her out for lunch. I’ve tried protesting this, I mean, how come she gets to eat out while I remain cooped at home? Mother’s smug answer is always, “Because Aunty Anne shouts me.” Anyways, I’ve learnt to just thank Aunty Anne sincerely every time she comes over to shout mother out for lunch.
But it turns out that mother also gets dad to take her out for dinner whenever I’m attending something at night! Last night, I attended SHINE fellowship at church, and, while I was out, dad took mother out for dinner at Pinelands Plaza somewhere. Now, I’m not restricting mother only to one meal out per week like how she enjoys restricting me, I’m just asking her please to KEEP THINGS FAIR. Like, if she only eats out once per week, fine, restrict me to eat out only once per week, too. But if you get to eat out more than that, please let me eat out also!
In view of last night, what with dad taking mother out for dinner, I tried asking her this morning please to gimme fifteen bucks so the carer coming in to dig me up at 10am could take me out to the Coffee Club for brunch. Unsurprisingly, horrid mother refused. >< and tomorrow, when I’m attending the English Sunday service and dad’s having Bible Study, mum will head out and enjoy morning tea with all the other church aunties. *sigh* life just isn’t fair, you know. But hey. My life sucks. I’m used to it. ><
Anyways, next post here … should be tomorrow, if I find the time! I haven’t written about the lunch that mother and I enjoyed at the springwood fasta pasta with my Australian godmother and Australian grand-godmother! Righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
follow up
My left leg gets clonus. For those of you unfamiliar with the word ‘clonus’, it’s when my left leg gets worked harder or longer than usual (such as whenever my mother gleefully FORCES me to plod on the bloody treadmill for twenty minutes), when I finally get to plonk my weary butt onto a seat, the muscles spasm and my leg starts bouncing all over the place. Only, that’s not me! That’s just the muscle spasmming in protest of being overworked. I like to call it my parkinsons. “hey, mum, look!” I sometimes call. “I’ve got parkinsons again.” XD
There’s no cure for that, but the spasms can be stopped for about six to nine months with a shot of botox. Yes, the same botox that celebrities fork out lotsa money for to get rid of the wrinkles covering their faces. Meaning sometimes I stick out my leg to mother and say, “mum, look @ my celebrity leg!” XD
I last got one shot of botox into my left calf November last year. The physio said I would come back for a one month follow-up, but I wasn’t really surprised when my one month follow up turned out to be a two month one. Thought they were just super-busy around the Christmas period, or something.
At the one month follow up, I asked micky (the physio) would I get anymore follow ups after that. She said, “yeah, we’ll see you again in four months time.”
Now, I’m not sure if by four months she meant ‘four months after your initial botox injection (meaning in march)’, or ‘four months after your one month follow up (meaning in may), but by july, we still hadn’t been given another follow up date yet! Mother tried ringing the princess Alexandra hospital to push them for a follow up appointment, but to no avail. “ah, the UQ physio can follow up on her,” was all my mother got from whoever it was that she rang from the hospital. Only thing was, the UQ physios were very concerned with my ever-stiffening left calf, and were saying that I required more botox like, NOW.
My saviour was karen, one of the teachers @ the NAB clinic. “oh, I know micky!” she says. “lemme write a letter to her.”
And that got me my follow up.
After a quick breakfast of one slice of toast and one warm mug of yummy horlicks, mother tootled us off to the P.A. I admit, I was rather pissed when she refused to park closer to the entrance, preferring the outer car park @ the entrance, but hey.
After one quick toilet trip, we settled down in the waiting room. Again, zero thanks to mother who refused to pass me a gossip mag to browse, but luckily, the day hospital has a large flatscreen television plastered to the wall, and I watched the end of sunrise and the beginning of the morning show happily until micky came, and instructed me to wait for her @ the outpatient physio.
But walking to the outpatient physio gym, we bumped into Janelle! :D Janelle gesch was my main physio when I was hospitalised in BIRU back in 2007 and 2008. I gave her a great big hug, coz I missed her – haven’t seen her for years! Then I asked her, “umm … aren’t you supposed to be on long service leave now? Last time we were in e-mail contact, you said you were due for long service leave around mid-year.”
Janelle laughed. “yeah, I reached ten years,” she replied, “but I’m putting that holiday on hold for awhile.” Wow. Hard-working woman!
Anyways, I plonked my butt onto the end plinth that micky directed me to. Kathy came along, too! She’s this OT I met in the beginning of this year, when I had my first follow up. I sheepishly asked her, “sorry, I forgot. Was your surname ‘vipers’?” Kathy roared with laughter. “close!” she said, laughing away. “it’s ‘kaipers’ with a silent ‘a’.”
Micky arrived, ordered me to shuck elf’s footwear off, then … actually, wait. Before I did that, I did the 10m walk timed test. This new physio called ‘emily’, too, walked behind me for that.
After that, I lay down on my back, while micky and Emily measured my foot. “I can assure you I haven’t grown for like one decade!” I laughed @ them. XD but Emily told me that they were actually measuring certain angles that elf made when they were moving her.
When the measurements were done, micky bade me stand. I did, once I checked with her that she would act as elf’s AFO. See, my stupid left ankle rolls out whenever I stand/walk without wearing my AFO (ankle-foot orthosis), and that HURTS! ><
For some reason, while I was standing, they said I stood funny coz I didn’t weight bear at all on elf? Lol, that prolly stands to reason, I get told so often to weight shift to the left, I prolly don’t weight bear at all on my right foot! XD
But they said something about putting my left foot into a cast. I’ve had that done twice before, back when I was still hospitalised in BIRU. The cool thing about that will be that I can ask everyone to sign my cast. XD
Anyways, micky and Emily decided that yes, I will definitely need some more botox in my left calf. Micky said she’d organise that with dr. hazelton, but that it could take a few months, coz dr. hazelton was on holidays currently.
Well, I figure I’ll give her until the end of august to organise something.
Oh! I’d better also use this post to explain the names I’ve given my body parts. XD see, this all started when I was still in BIRU and the nurses would gimme a shower. I’d say “please help my dumb left arm get into the sleeve.” Yup, she was my ‘dumb left arm’. Only one day, a nurse tells me, “oh, em, don’t call your poor left arm the ‘dumb’ arm. She’s just the sick arm.” So after that, my left arm became my ‘dumb sick’ arm. That was until another nurse at the hospital told me, “em, I work at a nursing home, and at the nursing home, we don’t call the affected side ‘dumb’ or ‘sick’. We call it the ‘CRAZY’. Nice; my left arm was now called my ‘dumb sick crazy’ left arm. Quite a mouthful! XD
That name endured until one of my carers/life coaches/support workers/whatever they’re called nows :P said to me, “em, that’s too complicated and long for me to remember. You need an easier name … I know! Call her ela.”
“ella?” I asked confused.
“no, ela. ‘e’ for emily’s, ‘l’ for left, and ‘a’ for arm.
Nice! After that, I named all my body parts like that. Now I’ve got:
Ela – emily’s left arm (hand and fingers included)
Era – emily’s right arm (BTW, it’s pronounced ‘eera’, not ‘error’, coz she doesn’t wanna be known as a mistake! XD)
Erf – emily’s right foot
Elf – emily’s left foot
Erl – emily’s right leg
Ell – emily’s left leg
Eeh – emily’s empty head
Eft – emily’s fat tummy (obviously, I like this name lots! XD
Anyways, next post here … should come toms, if I find the time, coz today, mother and I had lunch at fasta pasta with my Australian godmother and grand godmother! :D righteo, until then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
There’s no cure for that, but the spasms can be stopped for about six to nine months with a shot of botox. Yes, the same botox that celebrities fork out lotsa money for to get rid of the wrinkles covering their faces. Meaning sometimes I stick out my leg to mother and say, “mum, look @ my celebrity leg!” XD
I last got one shot of botox into my left calf November last year. The physio said I would come back for a one month follow-up, but I wasn’t really surprised when my one month follow up turned out to be a two month one. Thought they were just super-busy around the Christmas period, or something.
At the one month follow up, I asked micky (the physio) would I get anymore follow ups after that. She said, “yeah, we’ll see you again in four months time.”
Now, I’m not sure if by four months she meant ‘four months after your initial botox injection (meaning in march)’, or ‘four months after your one month follow up (meaning in may), but by july, we still hadn’t been given another follow up date yet! Mother tried ringing the princess Alexandra hospital to push them for a follow up appointment, but to no avail. “ah, the UQ physio can follow up on her,” was all my mother got from whoever it was that she rang from the hospital. Only thing was, the UQ physios were very concerned with my ever-stiffening left calf, and were saying that I required more botox like, NOW.
My saviour was karen, one of the teachers @ the NAB clinic. “oh, I know micky!” she says. “lemme write a letter to her.”
And that got me my follow up.
After a quick breakfast of one slice of toast and one warm mug of yummy horlicks, mother tootled us off to the P.A. I admit, I was rather pissed when she refused to park closer to the entrance, preferring the outer car park @ the entrance, but hey.
After one quick toilet trip, we settled down in the waiting room. Again, zero thanks to mother who refused to pass me a gossip mag to browse, but luckily, the day hospital has a large flatscreen television plastered to the wall, and I watched the end of sunrise and the beginning of the morning show happily until micky came, and instructed me to wait for her @ the outpatient physio.
But walking to the outpatient physio gym, we bumped into Janelle! :D Janelle gesch was my main physio when I was hospitalised in BIRU back in 2007 and 2008. I gave her a great big hug, coz I missed her – haven’t seen her for years! Then I asked her, “umm … aren’t you supposed to be on long service leave now? Last time we were in e-mail contact, you said you were due for long service leave around mid-year.”
Janelle laughed. “yeah, I reached ten years,” she replied, “but I’m putting that holiday on hold for awhile.” Wow. Hard-working woman!
Anyways, I plonked my butt onto the end plinth that micky directed me to. Kathy came along, too! She’s this OT I met in the beginning of this year, when I had my first follow up. I sheepishly asked her, “sorry, I forgot. Was your surname ‘vipers’?” Kathy roared with laughter. “close!” she said, laughing away. “it’s ‘kaipers’ with a silent ‘a’.”
Micky arrived, ordered me to shuck elf’s footwear off, then … actually, wait. Before I did that, I did the 10m walk timed test. This new physio called ‘emily’, too, walked behind me for that.
After that, I lay down on my back, while micky and Emily measured my foot. “I can assure you I haven’t grown for like one decade!” I laughed @ them. XD but Emily told me that they were actually measuring certain angles that elf made when they were moving her.
When the measurements were done, micky bade me stand. I did, once I checked with her that she would act as elf’s AFO. See, my stupid left ankle rolls out whenever I stand/walk without wearing my AFO (ankle-foot orthosis), and that HURTS! ><
For some reason, while I was standing, they said I stood funny coz I didn’t weight bear at all on elf? Lol, that prolly stands to reason, I get told so often to weight shift to the left, I prolly don’t weight bear at all on my right foot! XD
But they said something about putting my left foot into a cast. I’ve had that done twice before, back when I was still hospitalised in BIRU. The cool thing about that will be that I can ask everyone to sign my cast. XD
Anyways, micky and Emily decided that yes, I will definitely need some more botox in my left calf. Micky said she’d organise that with dr. hazelton, but that it could take a few months, coz dr. hazelton was on holidays currently.
Well, I figure I’ll give her until the end of august to organise something.
Oh! I’d better also use this post to explain the names I’ve given my body parts. XD see, this all started when I was still in BIRU and the nurses would gimme a shower. I’d say “please help my dumb left arm get into the sleeve.” Yup, she was my ‘dumb left arm’. Only one day, a nurse tells me, “oh, em, don’t call your poor left arm the ‘dumb’ arm. She’s just the sick arm.” So after that, my left arm became my ‘dumb sick’ arm. That was until another nurse at the hospital told me, “em, I work at a nursing home, and at the nursing home, we don’t call the affected side ‘dumb’ or ‘sick’. We call it the ‘CRAZY’. Nice; my left arm was now called my ‘dumb sick crazy’ left arm. Quite a mouthful! XD
That name endured until one of my carers/life coaches/support workers/whatever they’re called nows :P said to me, “em, that’s too complicated and long for me to remember. You need an easier name … I know! Call her ela.”
“ella?” I asked confused.
“no, ela. ‘e’ for emily’s, ‘l’ for left, and ‘a’ for arm.
Nice! After that, I named all my body parts like that. Now I’ve got:
Ela – emily’s left arm (hand and fingers included)
Era – emily’s right arm (BTW, it’s pronounced ‘eera’, not ‘error’, coz she doesn’t wanna be known as a mistake! XD)
Erf – emily’s right foot
Elf – emily’s left foot
Erl – emily’s right leg
Ell – emily’s left leg
Eeh – emily’s empty head
Eft – emily’s fat tummy (obviously, I like this name lots! XD
Anyways, next post here … should come toms, if I find the time, coz today, mother and I had lunch at fasta pasta with my Australian godmother and grand godmother! :D righteo, until then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Thursday, July 14, 2011
bookclub! (july)
Well, the book we did for july was called 'my place' by sally morgan. i was hoping i'd enjoy this book, coz aboriginal fictions's still historical fiction, and historical fiction's my favourite genre of books to read after fantasy and science fiction. And it did turn out to be an interesting read, although I didn’t finish it until yesterday! ^^” see, I’ve somehow acquired this habit of reading my books out aloud, which drastically reduces the speed @ which I read. See, I usually read out aloud the first three weeks, but then, come the Monday three days before the Thursday night book club, I just read silently. XD
When i arrived, again, amanda had already chosen me a seat @ the table by dumping a whole pile of fantasy and science fiction books there for me! :D I spotted a new feist novel there! That’s definitely going on my Christmas wishlist! :D
Also much thanks to Amanda who made me a cup of tea, white and two. I also nabbed myself ten bikkies, and happily munched them all during the discussion.
To be honest, though, I didn’t contribute too much during this bookclub, coz I was too immersed in reading the new feist novel! ^^” but I did share with everyone my favourite line from the book:”no, ‘bottom’ is spelt ‘b-o-t-t-o-m,’ not ‘b-u-m!’ XD
But, when we moved onto more general discussion, I told all the other ladies how I’d attended a memoir writing workshop @ the logan village library, hosted by Phyllis mcduff. In it, she taught us to write 200 pages, ten per chapter. One of the attending ladies then set me a deadline! “we’ll do your book in 2013.” She informed me. XD
The book we’re doing for next month’s a science fiction one! Apparently, it’s some post-apocalyptic one … sounds interesting. ;)
When book club finished for the night, Erika (who was so fit she clambered up the stairs to the library instead of catching the lift!) said we’d haveta catch up with esther for lunch soon! Esther was the second-youngest member of the bookclub (after me) who left to resume her uni studies; she used to be the one who always made me a cuppa
Next post here … should be toms! See, toms afternoon, mother and I are going for lunch @ fasta pasta with my Australian godmother and grand-godmother! :D righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
When i arrived, again, amanda had already chosen me a seat @ the table by dumping a whole pile of fantasy and science fiction books there for me! :D I spotted a new feist novel there! That’s definitely going on my Christmas wishlist! :D
Also much thanks to Amanda who made me a cup of tea, white and two. I also nabbed myself ten bikkies, and happily munched them all during the discussion.
To be honest, though, I didn’t contribute too much during this bookclub, coz I was too immersed in reading the new feist novel! ^^” but I did share with everyone my favourite line from the book:”no, ‘bottom’ is spelt ‘b-o-t-t-o-m,’ not ‘b-u-m!’ XD
But, when we moved onto more general discussion, I told all the other ladies how I’d attended a memoir writing workshop @ the logan village library, hosted by Phyllis mcduff. In it, she taught us to write 200 pages, ten per chapter. One of the attending ladies then set me a deadline! “we’ll do your book in 2013.” She informed me. XD
The book we’re doing for next month’s a science fiction one! Apparently, it’s some post-apocalyptic one … sounds interesting. ;)
When book club finished for the night, Erika (who was so fit she clambered up the stairs to the library instead of catching the lift!) said we’d haveta catch up with esther for lunch soon! Esther was the second-youngest member of the bookclub (after me) who left to resume her uni studies; she used to be the one who always made me a cuppa
Next post here … should be toms! See, toms afternoon, mother and I are going for lunch @ fasta pasta with my Australian godmother and grand-godmother! :D righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
kung fu panda 2!
well, on monday, mother and I went to see kung fu panda2! :D
huge thanks to mother who kept her promise and bought a small popcorn for us to share. the funny thing, though, was that I normally eat popcorn by taking one kennel per time, whereas mother always grabs one huge fistful and stuffs that into her mouth. Meaning I tried copying her; whenever she took one fistful, I took one fistful. The end result? I had popcorn littered all over my seat. XD
anyways, here are all my favourite quotes, trivia and goofs courtesy of imdb:
Trivia first:
According to the director Jennifer Yuh, Shen proved to be a great challenge to animate, so much that the complexity of the character was like that of doing six characters all at once.
For some strange reason, there’s only one piece of trivia and one piece of goofs!
Revealing mistakes: During the flashback of Po as a baby, he goes into a pot headfirst to retrieve a vegetable. In the next scene, it shows he landed on his bottom, not on his head like he went in.
But perhaps there’ll be more good quotes:
Po: My fist hungers for justice!
[his stomach belches]
Po: That was... my fist.
[from trailer]
Po: Kung-fu staring contest! GO!
[stares at the viewer for 16 seconds]
Po: You guys look amazing, by the way...
Shifu: This could be the end of Kung Fu.
Po: But I just got Kung Fu !
Shifu: And now, you must *save* it
Po: [stares up a long passage] Ah. My old enemy... stairs!
Po: The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now.
Share this quote
Shen: The only reason you are still alive is that I find your stupidity mildly amusing.
Po: Well thank you, but I find your evilness extremely annoying!
Shen: Who do you think you are, Panda?
Po: Who do you think I am, Peacock?
[both laugh for an extended time, each taking turns]
Po: Why are we laughing?
Soothsayer: Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn't make you who you are. it is the rest of your story, who you choose to be... So, who are you, Panda?
Share this quote
Shen: How did you find peace? I took away your parents, everything, I scarred you for life...
Po: See that's the thing, Shen, scars heal.
Shen: No they don't... *wounds* heal.
Po: Oh, yeah... what do scars do? They fade, I guess...
Shen: I don't care what scars do...!
Po: You should, Shen. You got to let go of the stuff from past - because it just doesn't matter! The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now. (A/N: perhaps i should try apply this to my own life?)
Shen: How many times do I have to kill the same stinking panda?
Tigress: [to Po] I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and then drinking boiling water...
Share this quote
Tigress: [to Po] I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and then drinking boiling water...
Mr. Ping: My son saved China - you, too, can save! Buy one dumpling, get one free!
Share this quote (A/N: my favourite quote from the movie, here! XD)
Mantis: I didn't have any problems with my dad. Maybe it's 'cause Mom ate his head before I was born...
(A/N: remind me to tell dad to behave himself, lest mum eats his head! XD)
Shen: My parents hated me. Do you understand? They wronged me. And... I will make it right!
Soothsayer: They loved you! They loved you so much that having to send you away killed them!
[Shen stands still in silence for some time]
Shen: The dead exist in the past. And I must tend to the future.
Crane: So this is stealth mode?
Po: I mean, let's face it, not one of my stronger modes.
Mantis: Fear the bug!
Po: But how can kung fu defeat something that destroys kung fu?
Mantis: I never expected to die like this. I thought I'd meet a nice girl, settle down, and then she'd eat my head. (A/N: lol, glad I’m not a mantis! XD)
All in all, this was an awesome movie! There weren’t any notable music themes to mention, sadly, but fair enough, this was a kid’s action movie, you couldn’t really expect super-beautiful music.
Special mention must also go to mother, who didn’t (a) clutch @ me squealing with fear or (b) bawl her eyes out over some sad/emotional/touching scene, but again, this is a kid’s action movie, you won’t find super-scary/super-emotional things here. XD
But, all things considered, this was an awesome movie! My favourite character was by far the tigress, she was just so cool and strong and … she just rocked, okay? :D
Next post here … toms! Book club night! I only finished the book early this arvo. ^^” righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
huge thanks to mother who kept her promise and bought a small popcorn for us to share. the funny thing, though, was that I normally eat popcorn by taking one kennel per time, whereas mother always grabs one huge fistful and stuffs that into her mouth. Meaning I tried copying her; whenever she took one fistful, I took one fistful. The end result? I had popcorn littered all over my seat. XD
anyways, here are all my favourite quotes, trivia and goofs courtesy of imdb:
Trivia first:
According to the director Jennifer Yuh, Shen proved to be a great challenge to animate, so much that the complexity of the character was like that of doing six characters all at once.
For some strange reason, there’s only one piece of trivia and one piece of goofs!
Revealing mistakes: During the flashback of Po as a baby, he goes into a pot headfirst to retrieve a vegetable. In the next scene, it shows he landed on his bottom, not on his head like he went in.
But perhaps there’ll be more good quotes:
Po: My fist hungers for justice!
[his stomach belches]
Po: That was... my fist.
[from trailer]
Po: Kung-fu staring contest! GO!
[stares at the viewer for 16 seconds]
Po: You guys look amazing, by the way...
Shifu: This could be the end of Kung Fu.
Po: But I just got Kung Fu !
Shifu: And now, you must *save* it
Po: [stares up a long passage] Ah. My old enemy... stairs!
Po: The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now.
Share this quote
Shen: The only reason you are still alive is that I find your stupidity mildly amusing.
Po: Well thank you, but I find your evilness extremely annoying!
Shen: Who do you think you are, Panda?
Po: Who do you think I am, Peacock?
[both laugh for an extended time, each taking turns]
Po: Why are we laughing?
Soothsayer: Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn't make you who you are. it is the rest of your story, who you choose to be... So, who are you, Panda?
Share this quote
Shen: How did you find peace? I took away your parents, everything, I scarred you for life...
Po: See that's the thing, Shen, scars heal.
Shen: No they don't... *wounds* heal.
Po: Oh, yeah... what do scars do? They fade, I guess...
Shen: I don't care what scars do...!
Po: You should, Shen. You got to let go of the stuff from past - because it just doesn't matter! The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now. (A/N: perhaps i should try apply this to my own life?)
Shen: How many times do I have to kill the same stinking panda?
Tigress: [to Po] I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and then drinking boiling water...
Share this quote
Tigress: [to Po] I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and then drinking boiling water...
Mr. Ping: My son saved China - you, too, can save! Buy one dumpling, get one free!
Share this quote (A/N: my favourite quote from the movie, here! XD)
Mantis: I didn't have any problems with my dad. Maybe it's 'cause Mom ate his head before I was born...
(A/N: remind me to tell dad to behave himself, lest mum eats his head! XD)
Shen: My parents hated me. Do you understand? They wronged me. And... I will make it right!
Soothsayer: They loved you! They loved you so much that having to send you away killed them!
[Shen stands still in silence for some time]
Shen: The dead exist in the past. And I must tend to the future.
Crane: So this is stealth mode?
Po: I mean, let's face it, not one of my stronger modes.
Mantis: Fear the bug!
Po: But how can kung fu defeat something that destroys kung fu?
Mantis: I never expected to die like this. I thought I'd meet a nice girl, settle down, and then she'd eat my head. (A/N: lol, glad I’m not a mantis! XD)
All in all, this was an awesome movie! There weren’t any notable music themes to mention, sadly, but fair enough, this was a kid’s action movie, you couldn’t really expect super-beautiful music.
Special mention must also go to mother, who didn’t (a) clutch @ me squealing with fear or (b) bawl her eyes out over some sad/emotional/touching scene, but again, this is a kid’s action movie, you won’t find super-scary/super-emotional things here. XD
But, all things considered, this was an awesome movie! My favourite character was by far the tigress, she was just so cool and strong and … she just rocked, okay? :D
Next post here … toms! Book club night! I only finished the book early this arvo. ^^” righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Sunday, July 10, 2011
read or die
Woah, that’s a seriously creepy title, isn’t it? Read or DIE. ><”
But that was the movie that letty brought over to my house this afternoon for us to watch!
The main character’s this girl called yomiko readman, and she’s like a librarian, of sorts. She’s got this affinity with paper; she can control it.
Surprisingly, I found this movie listed on imdb! So here are all my favourite trivia, quotes and bloopers:
In episode 1, when Joker debriefs Yomiko on the I-Jin incident, a screen displays a list of people who were candidates for the I-Jin project. One of the names is series creatorHideyuki Kurata.
The acronym R.O.D stands for 'Read or Die'.
Share this
Hey, there’s only two trivia items! Oh well, onto the quotes and bloopers, then:
Continuity: When Yomiko catches Nancy in the hallway outside her room to talk to her, her hair briefly seems to be out of the braids Nancy put it in a few moments ago. The braids return as they're about to leave the submarine.
And only two bloopers, one not even interesting enough to include. XD well, surely there’ll be more quotes, though!
Drake Anderson: Don't blame me if you die.
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': I already do.
[repeated line]
Yomiko Readman aka 'The Paper': Please give me back my book!
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': [about her code name] I don't really like it. It makes me sound like a porn star.
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': My name is Miss Deep.
Yomiko Readman aka 'The Paper': Okay, so what's your first name?
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': What kind of a secret agent would give her real name?
Hey, imdb’s really lacking things for this movie! They didn’t even include my favourite quote; too bad I can’t remember it. ><
Also, what kinda name’s miss deep’?
Because this movie was in japanese, I had to rely on the English subtitles (Letty prolly didn’t; I’m sure her Japanese language skills are of a much higher standard than mine. XD )
However, I’m not sure if this is yet another result of the evil brain injury god gave me, or were the words in the movie were just said very very fast – but I had trouble following the subtitles! ><”like, I’d start reading one line, and before I’d finished it, the next line would appear! ><”
There was also very little noticeable music happening … nothing for me to comment on, anyhow.
But this was still a sweet little movie, I enjoyed it.
I was kinda confused about the miss deep character, though, I mean, was she good or bad? @ first, I thought she was good, then I thought she was bad, then … lol, then I got too confused to follow it. XD
However, the movie ends with yomiko visiting miss deep’s sister, and letty tells me that miss deep was trying to protect this sister all along. Whoops, well, that part just went right over my head. XD
Anyhow, this was a nice little movie. Letty says there’s more to be found on the net (whether manga or anime I can’t remember); maybe I’ll google it one day.
Next post here … I think this Thursday – it’s the monthly book club! Righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
But that was the movie that letty brought over to my house this afternoon for us to watch!
The main character’s this girl called yomiko readman, and she’s like a librarian, of sorts. She’s got this affinity with paper; she can control it.
Surprisingly, I found this movie listed on imdb! So here are all my favourite trivia, quotes and bloopers:
In episode 1, when Joker debriefs Yomiko on the I-Jin incident, a screen displays a list of people who were candidates for the I-Jin project. One of the names is series creatorHideyuki Kurata.
The acronym R.O.D stands for 'Read or Die'.
Share this
Hey, there’s only two trivia items! Oh well, onto the quotes and bloopers, then:
Continuity: When Yomiko catches Nancy in the hallway outside her room to talk to her, her hair briefly seems to be out of the braids Nancy put it in a few moments ago. The braids return as they're about to leave the submarine.
And only two bloopers, one not even interesting enough to include. XD well, surely there’ll be more quotes, though!
Drake Anderson: Don't blame me if you die.
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': I already do.
[repeated line]
Yomiko Readman aka 'The Paper': Please give me back my book!
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': [about her code name] I don't really like it. It makes me sound like a porn star.
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': My name is Miss Deep.
Yomiko Readman aka 'The Paper': Okay, so what's your first name?
Nancy Makuhari aka 'Miss Deep': What kind of a secret agent would give her real name?
Hey, imdb’s really lacking things for this movie! They didn’t even include my favourite quote; too bad I can’t remember it. ><
Also, what kinda name’s miss deep’?
Because this movie was in japanese, I had to rely on the English subtitles (Letty prolly didn’t; I’m sure her Japanese language skills are of a much higher standard than mine. XD )
However, I’m not sure if this is yet another result of the evil brain injury god gave me, or were the words in the movie were just said very very fast – but I had trouble following the subtitles! ><”like, I’d start reading one line, and before I’d finished it, the next line would appear! ><”
There was also very little noticeable music happening … nothing for me to comment on, anyhow.
But this was still a sweet little movie, I enjoyed it.
I was kinda confused about the miss deep character, though, I mean, was she good or bad? @ first, I thought she was good, then I thought she was bad, then … lol, then I got too confused to follow it. XD
However, the movie ends with yomiko visiting miss deep’s sister, and letty tells me that miss deep was trying to protect this sister all along. Whoops, well, that part just went right over my head. XD
Anyhow, this was a nice little movie. Letty says there’s more to be found on the net (whether manga or anime I can’t remember); maybe I’ll google it one day.
Next post here … I think this Thursday – it’s the monthly book club! Righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
origin three
okay, so at the end of last year, when the maroons had won five straight origin series consecutively, which was a new record, i know i said, "thank-you very much, blues, you can win next (meaning 2011) year. we've won five consecutively, which is a new record.
but i was wrong!!!!
see, this year is darren lockyer's swansong; he's hanging up his boots after this game, and we HAVE to send him off with a win! i mean, how would it feel to win five consecutive years, then, in your last year before retiring, you lose? that'd be a DREADFUL way to go out! so, sorry blues, we need to win this series too.
after origin two, i'd sent an e-mail to uncle colbert, telling him that it was ALL HIS FAULT that the maroons had lost the second game; you see, without his support, the maroons flopped! >< the next day, he responded my e-mail, accepting all the blame. XD
anyways, he figured it would be in his best interests to turn up for the third game. :P after he passed my clothing inspection (NOTHING blue! :P) he took a seat on the sofa beside me. dad sat behind us in a dining room chair, giving him easy access to all the food. :P
wow, can you believe it - there were almost fifty thousand people in attendance! the official count was sth like 48 998?
originally, i had a lil trouble remembering who was the captain of the blues - paul gallen or kurt gidley. uncle colbert told me that gallen was the captain, and i reminded myself of this fact through alphabetical order.actually, poor gallen had a rib injury, and i was kinda horrid when i started praying, "please, can someone bruise gallen's ribs so he can't play and will haveta sit out most of the match? but uncle colbert was even more cruel:"BREAK his ribs!" he cried. o_O :P
the game started well for us! we were leading, and holding the blues try-less. then the phone rings, and mother goes to answer the phone. it's little mickey, my almost four year old cousin. mother wanders down the hallway to chat with him, and in her absence, the blues score. >< when she comes back, i gripe @ her, "it's all your fault. without your support, the blues scored." XD
half time brings one quick toilet trip for me then it's back to the television. dad and uncle colbert drink rice green tea and share an orange/mandarin; mother kindly passes me two pocky.
the second half brings more jubilation, more tries. it's our custom to toss bear bear up in the air to celebrate everytime queensland scores a try; however dad does this a lil too over enthusiastically and knocks poor bear bear's nose against the ceiling! >< uncle colbert takes over the job of celebrating with bear bear after that. :P
and bear bear's show of disdain towards the blues: both halves, when they ran out onto the field, bear bear pointed his butt towards the television screen. :P
poor thurston suffered a leg injury sometime during the second half, and was stretchered off the field. "ahh, he over-extended his tendon," says uncle colbert, ever the consummate professional. i don't know what uncle colbert meant by 'over-extending his tendon' and asked him to please explain. uncle colbert picks up bear bear, bends his leg backwards, and demonstrates to me what 'overextension' means. later that night, i ask bear bear did overextension hurt really badly, and bear bear answered, "not for me, it didn't. see, i'm a soft teddy, no bones. bending me this way and that won't hurt me. but if i had bones, then yes! it would've hurt like hell!"
i was kinda disdainful of thurston coming back onto the field in a wheelchair being pushed by this really old bloke; i mean, come on! he's got two good hands and one good leg - he should've been able to push himself around just fine! i mean, i've only got one good arm and one good leg and i can manage it! @ the very least, he should've stood up for the photo that could've graced the front cover of today's courier mail!
"how could he stand, em?" mum reasoned with me, "i mean, look, he's only got one good leg."
"he could've stood like you always accuse me of standing," i replied, "weight bearing only on the good side." but the guys did a pretty good job of covering up the wheelchair he was sitting in for the group winners photo. :)
all in all, i'm amazingly proud of our lads for winning SIX series consecutively! if the poor blues are feeling like the losers that they really are :P well, they can have the next series. we've won SIX in a row, now! :D
next post here ... prolly next thursday night, it's the monthly book club! which reminds me, i haven't finished the book yet! better hurry up~
cheers,
em. ^^
but i was wrong!!!!
see, this year is darren lockyer's swansong; he's hanging up his boots after this game, and we HAVE to send him off with a win! i mean, how would it feel to win five consecutive years, then, in your last year before retiring, you lose? that'd be a DREADFUL way to go out! so, sorry blues, we need to win this series too.
after origin two, i'd sent an e-mail to uncle colbert, telling him that it was ALL HIS FAULT that the maroons had lost the second game; you see, without his support, the maroons flopped! >< the next day, he responded my e-mail, accepting all the blame. XD
anyways, he figured it would be in his best interests to turn up for the third game. :P after he passed my clothing inspection (NOTHING blue! :P) he took a seat on the sofa beside me. dad sat behind us in a dining room chair, giving him easy access to all the food. :P
wow, can you believe it - there were almost fifty thousand people in attendance! the official count was sth like 48 998?
originally, i had a lil trouble remembering who was the captain of the blues - paul gallen or kurt gidley. uncle colbert told me that gallen was the captain, and i reminded myself of this fact through alphabetical order.actually, poor gallen had a rib injury, and i was kinda horrid when i started praying, "please, can someone bruise gallen's ribs so he can't play and will haveta sit out most of the match? but uncle colbert was even more cruel:"BREAK his ribs!" he cried. o_O :P
the game started well for us! we were leading, and holding the blues try-less. then the phone rings, and mother goes to answer the phone. it's little mickey, my almost four year old cousin. mother wanders down the hallway to chat with him, and in her absence, the blues score. >< when she comes back, i gripe @ her, "it's all your fault. without your support, the blues scored." XD
half time brings one quick toilet trip for me then it's back to the television. dad and uncle colbert drink rice green tea and share an orange/mandarin; mother kindly passes me two pocky.
the second half brings more jubilation, more tries. it's our custom to toss bear bear up in the air to celebrate everytime queensland scores a try; however dad does this a lil too over enthusiastically and knocks poor bear bear's nose against the ceiling! >< uncle colbert takes over the job of celebrating with bear bear after that. :P
and bear bear's show of disdain towards the blues: both halves, when they ran out onto the field, bear bear pointed his butt towards the television screen. :P
poor thurston suffered a leg injury sometime during the second half, and was stretchered off the field. "ahh, he over-extended his tendon," says uncle colbert, ever the consummate professional. i don't know what uncle colbert meant by 'over-extending his tendon' and asked him to please explain. uncle colbert picks up bear bear, bends his leg backwards, and demonstrates to me what 'overextension' means. later that night, i ask bear bear did overextension hurt really badly, and bear bear answered, "not for me, it didn't. see, i'm a soft teddy, no bones. bending me this way and that won't hurt me. but if i had bones, then yes! it would've hurt like hell!"
i was kinda disdainful of thurston coming back onto the field in a wheelchair being pushed by this really old bloke; i mean, come on! he's got two good hands and one good leg - he should've been able to push himself around just fine! i mean, i've only got one good arm and one good leg and i can manage it! @ the very least, he should've stood up for the photo that could've graced the front cover of today's courier mail!
"how could he stand, em?" mum reasoned with me, "i mean, look, he's only got one good leg."
"he could've stood like you always accuse me of standing," i replied, "weight bearing only on the good side." but the guys did a pretty good job of covering up the wheelchair he was sitting in for the group winners photo. :)
all in all, i'm amazingly proud of our lads for winning SIX series consecutively! if the poor blues are feeling like the losers that they really are :P well, they can have the next series. we've won SIX in a row, now! :D
next post here ... prolly next thursday night, it's the monthly book club! which reminds me, i haven't finished the book yet! better hurry up~
cheers,
em. ^^
saying thank-you
I’ve always had a fascination with languages. It’s awesome to be able to communicate with people in their native languages.
Just over three years back, when I was still hospitalised, I grew so bored I decided to learn how to say ‘thank-you’ in as many languages as possible.
And now, I can say ‘thank-you’ in…
(1) English: it IS my mother language, after all. XD
(2) Cantonese: I was born in hong kong; lived the first 3.5 years of my life there. The confusing thing about Cantonese is that there’s one thank-you for ‘thank-you for giving me something’ and another thank-you for ‘thank-you for doing something for me’. When I was younger, this confused me no end, and I’d usually just blurt out both thank-yous whenever the occasion required it. :P
(3) Japanese: I studied Japanese for the last year of primary school and for the whole five years of high school. My Japanese teacher was so incredibly pissed with me after I e-mailed him declaring my 99.9% sure intention to study Japanese, then let the 0.01% win by studying Chinese. :P
(4) Chinese: I studied mandarin for one semester @ uni with madam hippo before my brain injury. Now, my entire chinese vocab consists of the numbers one to ten, ‘hello’, ‘thank-you’ ‘I don’t know’ and ‘your mum’s fat’. :P
(5) French: I studied French for one semester back in year eight, but I hated it, sorry. See, there were boy words and girl words and the second half of most the words were usually silent. It drove me insane! Funnily enough, my French teacher came to visit me in hospital once, and asked me, “Emily, do you remember any French @ all? Coz I only taught you for six months before you refused to study French anymore.”
“yes, miss,” I replied, “in French, I can still count from one to ten, say ‘hello, ‘thank-you’, ‘I don’t know’ and the f-word.”
An offended gasp. “I never taught you how to swear!” exclaimed my French teacher.
“relax, miss,” I told her, “you didn’t. but one day, you gave us some work to complete with dictionaries, and the moment you stepped outta the classroom, a classmate opened his dictionary, then said to everyone else, “oi, if you wanna learn how to swear it’s on like page 123 (or sth).”
“tell me who taught you.” Demanded my offended/shocked teacher.
I raise a hand. “sorry, miss,” I apologise, grinning, “on my honour as a former Canterbury student, I can’t.” XD
(6) german: one of my physios when I was hospitalised was german. I prolly also learnt to say ‘danke’ (thank-you in german) from watching countless episodes of inspector rex with the parents on SBS.
(7) Korean: one of the trainee nurses in hospital was Korean.
(8) Spanish: another of my physios in hospital was Spanish. Actually, her name was micky, and I took great pleasure in calling her “mrs. Mouse.” :P but lol, she’s partially forgotten me since I was released from the hospital; the last time she saw me, she said, “hello, emma!” (my name’s Emily, BTW. :P)
(9) indian: one of my former carers was from India. Are all indian females vegetarian? But woah, can they take SPICY food! One afternoon, when I was munching my afternoon tea, she was having hers too, and offered me some. She was having rice bubbles mixed with all these spices. I tried one teaspoonful, and BANG! My mouth BURTS into flames! “I can’t eat spicy food!” I squeak @ her. Dad comes downstairs and offers her one teaspoonful of our lee kum kee asian style chilli sauce. She puts it into her mouth, swallows, then asks, “umm … why isn’t it hot?”me: *facepalm* XD
(10) Algerian: one of the guys who fed us breakfast, morning tea and lunch was from algeria! His name was habib; dunno why I thought his name was abu. “thank-you, abu, thank-you, abu!” I’d say every morning. One day, he stopped making his rounds, and in his rough, low, gravely voice said one short word:”habib.” His name wasn’t abu, it was habib! “eep, I’m so , so sorry! I squeaked @ him. “I promise I’ll never forget your name again!” XD
(11) somalian: this one I only learnt new today! There’s this agency called kyabra, and they have this homework club, which is aimed for students from African countries. They have volunteer tutors helping the kids out
(12) thai: I’ve got a friend from primary school, Kristen grassick. She’s a lovely girl, tall and beautiful – prolly coz she’s half Australian and half-thai! Anyways, one day, mother and I met her and her great-aunt (meaning, kristen’s mum’s aunt) @ the sunnybank plaza foodcourt, and she taught me how to say thank-you in thai! It’s almost as confusing as cantonese, coz we’ve got the ‘thank-you for giving me sth’ and the ‘thank-you for doing sth for me’, but in thai, there’s a different thank-you for boys and girls! I’m not sure whether it’s a different thank-you said by the girls then a different thank-you said by the boys, but anyhow, it’s just confusing! XD
next post here … should be toms afternoon, coz we’re gonna WIN the final state of origin tonight! Righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Just over three years back, when I was still hospitalised, I grew so bored I decided to learn how to say ‘thank-you’ in as many languages as possible.
And now, I can say ‘thank-you’ in…
(1) English: it IS my mother language, after all. XD
(2) Cantonese: I was born in hong kong; lived the first 3.5 years of my life there. The confusing thing about Cantonese is that there’s one thank-you for ‘thank-you for giving me something’ and another thank-you for ‘thank-you for doing something for me’. When I was younger, this confused me no end, and I’d usually just blurt out both thank-yous whenever the occasion required it. :P
(3) Japanese: I studied Japanese for the last year of primary school and for the whole five years of high school. My Japanese teacher was so incredibly pissed with me after I e-mailed him declaring my 99.9% sure intention to study Japanese, then let the 0.01% win by studying Chinese. :P
(4) Chinese: I studied mandarin for one semester @ uni with madam hippo before my brain injury. Now, my entire chinese vocab consists of the numbers one to ten, ‘hello’, ‘thank-you’ ‘I don’t know’ and ‘your mum’s fat’. :P
(5) French: I studied French for one semester back in year eight, but I hated it, sorry. See, there were boy words and girl words and the second half of most the words were usually silent. It drove me insane! Funnily enough, my French teacher came to visit me in hospital once, and asked me, “Emily, do you remember any French @ all? Coz I only taught you for six months before you refused to study French anymore.”
“yes, miss,” I replied, “in French, I can still count from one to ten, say ‘hello, ‘thank-you’, ‘I don’t know’ and the f-word.”
An offended gasp. “I never taught you how to swear!” exclaimed my French teacher.
“relax, miss,” I told her, “you didn’t. but one day, you gave us some work to complete with dictionaries, and the moment you stepped outta the classroom, a classmate opened his dictionary, then said to everyone else, “oi, if you wanna learn how to swear it’s on like page 123 (or sth).”
“tell me who taught you.” Demanded my offended/shocked teacher.
I raise a hand. “sorry, miss,” I apologise, grinning, “on my honour as a former Canterbury student, I can’t.” XD
(6) german: one of my physios when I was hospitalised was german. I prolly also learnt to say ‘danke’ (thank-you in german) from watching countless episodes of inspector rex with the parents on SBS.
(7) Korean: one of the trainee nurses in hospital was Korean.
(8) Spanish: another of my physios in hospital was Spanish. Actually, her name was micky, and I took great pleasure in calling her “mrs. Mouse.” :P but lol, she’s partially forgotten me since I was released from the hospital; the last time she saw me, she said, “hello, emma!” (my name’s Emily, BTW. :P)
(9) indian: one of my former carers was from India. Are all indian females vegetarian? But woah, can they take SPICY food! One afternoon, when I was munching my afternoon tea, she was having hers too, and offered me some. She was having rice bubbles mixed with all these spices. I tried one teaspoonful, and BANG! My mouth BURTS into flames! “I can’t eat spicy food!” I squeak @ her. Dad comes downstairs and offers her one teaspoonful of our lee kum kee asian style chilli sauce. She puts it into her mouth, swallows, then asks, “umm … why isn’t it hot?”me: *facepalm* XD
(10) Algerian: one of the guys who fed us breakfast, morning tea and lunch was from algeria! His name was habib; dunno why I thought his name was abu. “thank-you, abu, thank-you, abu!” I’d say every morning. One day, he stopped making his rounds, and in his rough, low, gravely voice said one short word:”habib.” His name wasn’t abu, it was habib! “eep, I’m so , so sorry! I squeaked @ him. “I promise I’ll never forget your name again!” XD
(11) somalian: this one I only learnt new today! There’s this agency called kyabra, and they have this homework club, which is aimed for students from African countries. They have volunteer tutors helping the kids out
(12) thai: I’ve got a friend from primary school, Kristen grassick. She’s a lovely girl, tall and beautiful – prolly coz she’s half Australian and half-thai! Anyways, one day, mother and I met her and her great-aunt (meaning, kristen’s mum’s aunt) @ the sunnybank plaza foodcourt, and she taught me how to say thank-you in thai! It’s almost as confusing as cantonese, coz we’ve got the ‘thank-you for giving me sth’ and the ‘thank-you for doing sth for me’, but in thai, there’s a different thank-you for boys and girls! I’m not sure whether it’s a different thank-you said by the girls then a different thank-you said by the boys, but anyhow, it’s just confusing! XD
next post here … should be toms afternoon, coz we’re gonna WIN the final state of origin tonight! Righteo, cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Sunday, July 3, 2011
seafood
you know, i'm very cheap to feed. i don't like most expensive seafood. XD just fry me an egg, give me one bowl of plain white rice and some soya sauce, i'll be all set. :P
actually, i do eat three types of seafood: fish (obviously, i prefer fish and chips where possible :P), scallops (LOVE them, but again, i love them the most when i get them crumbed with fish and chips :P) and after my brain injury, calamari (the ones i get with fish and chips, obviously :P).
even when i was a wee lil kid, i'd refuse to eat prawns. somehow, my mother reckoned that i reused to eat them coz i was scared of their orange and white stripes, so one night, she mashes the prawns into my bowl of rice so i can't see them. i take one mouthful, screw up my face, and go, "eww, mum, prawns! disgusting!!!!" after that, mother understood that i really didn't like prawns and stopped trying to feed me them. :P actually, when i grew older, when dad cooked prawns and placed them onto the table, i'd shove the plate closer to him. "yuk, dad," i'd say. "your prawns stink. move them closer to yourself." :P
once, down @ ian dipple lagoon, where charis seafood is, i tried a raw oyster. my verdict? DISGUSTING!!>< 'twas SLIMY!! like, eww. :P
several months ago, i rang madam hippo down in canberra, and asked her what she was having for dinner that night.
"ling fish." came the response.
i thought i'd heard her incorrectly. "come again?" i asked her.
"ling fish." she repeated a second time. i exploded into laughter. BAHAHA!!!! see, my mother's name is ling. :P
dad and i made a big fuss outta 'eating mum' whenever we had this fish. obviously, mother. was. not. impressed. definitely! XD
oh yeah. tonight, aunty a came over for dinner tonight, and we had baby abalone. that too is DISGUSTING, BTW. XD
basically, seafood and i don't really get along very well. :P
but i almost forgot! one more thing: tinned tuna! obviously, john west is the best, like they say on their ads. safcol comes second, but greenseas comes dead last, coz their tuna's all dry and yucky, not juicy.
anyways, next post here ... well, bookclub's next thursday ... maybe i'll get my post about disabled parking permits up before then. anyways, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
actually, i do eat three types of seafood: fish (obviously, i prefer fish and chips where possible :P), scallops (LOVE them, but again, i love them the most when i get them crumbed with fish and chips :P) and after my brain injury, calamari (the ones i get with fish and chips, obviously :P).
even when i was a wee lil kid, i'd refuse to eat prawns. somehow, my mother reckoned that i reused to eat them coz i was scared of their orange and white stripes, so one night, she mashes the prawns into my bowl of rice so i can't see them. i take one mouthful, screw up my face, and go, "eww, mum, prawns! disgusting!!!!" after that, mother understood that i really didn't like prawns and stopped trying to feed me them. :P actually, when i grew older, when dad cooked prawns and placed them onto the table, i'd shove the plate closer to him. "yuk, dad," i'd say. "your prawns stink. move them closer to yourself." :P
once, down @ ian dipple lagoon, where charis seafood is, i tried a raw oyster. my verdict? DISGUSTING!!>< 'twas SLIMY!! like, eww. :P
several months ago, i rang madam hippo down in canberra, and asked her what she was having for dinner that night.
"ling fish." came the response.
i thought i'd heard her incorrectly. "come again?" i asked her.
"ling fish." she repeated a second time. i exploded into laughter. BAHAHA!!!! see, my mother's name is ling. :P
dad and i made a big fuss outta 'eating mum' whenever we had this fish. obviously, mother. was. not. impressed. definitely! XD
oh yeah. tonight, aunty a came over for dinner tonight, and we had baby abalone. that too is DISGUSTING, BTW. XD
basically, seafood and i don't really get along very well. :P
but i almost forgot! one more thing: tinned tuna! obviously, john west is the best, like they say on their ads. safcol comes second, but greenseas comes dead last, coz their tuna's all dry and yucky, not juicy.
anyways, next post here ... well, bookclub's next thursday ... maybe i'll get my post about disabled parking permits up before then. anyways, until then!
cheers,
em. ^^
Saturday, July 2, 2011
life mottos
from 1992 to 2004, my motto in life was just 'study study study'. not very hard, considering i didn't get any homework until grade five, and back then, homework was just one page of work for the week that could be completed within ten minutes. :P life was cruisy! XD
for 2005 and 2006, my motto in life wasn't exactly study study study, but more like STUDY STUDY STUDY! XD my word of advice to anyone considering tertiary study was, "do whatever you want, but don't study law. seriously. coz when you study law, you have to do so much reading for homework, i swear, you will have words coming out of your ears!" like, i'd be studying for an exam, and my mother would wander over and say, "em, how come there's a sentence floating out of your ear?' and i'd reply, "yeah, mum. chapter five, paragraph four, line three, sentence two, the first word." XD
after god absolutely wrecked my life by giving me a brain tumour, my motto in life was 'just keep plodding'. for those who are musically inclined, stick the notes C, G, F# and G onto the syllables. :P
technically, i'm still living by that motto. each night when i collapse into bed, too buggered out to start fearing that i'm gonna be forced to walk again the next day, i just tell myself, "well, em, tomorrow's another day to try your hardest to improve your mobility and not fall to your death."
however, when this year rolled around (and wow, we're already more than halfway through it!), i developed a new motto for life: I WILL RISE ABOVE THE HATE.
what hate? well, simply, the hatred god has shown to me when he decided to totally ruin my life by giving me a brain tumour and leaving me profoundly disabled.
sometimes, when i get really frustrated, i tell god that he won't win. he may have won everything else already, but i won't let him win the battle where i try to make my life as good as possible for me. mother will jeer @ me every now and again, "you can't win god. who are you to try and win god? you're asking to get fried by a lightning bolt." lol, well, guess what? i'm not looking to win. god can win, if that's what he wants. i'm just looking to hang in there, because i haveta hold fast to the belief that one day, god will get bored of me and turn his wrath onto one of the quadrillions of people in the world. surely, he can't hate me forever. and then i will be free to regain the shattered shards of my life, such as he has left of it. and i cannot wait for that day! i often wonder how long it will be before god gets bored of me and turns his hatred onto someone else. @ first, i hoped that five years would be enough, but it's been just over four already, and it's looking like five years won't be enough to deflect god's hatred of me onto someone else. that's okay. i'll just keep persevering (and keep plodding! :P). maybe ten years'll do it. one can but hope. we have that much, @ least. it never hurts to hope. it may be stupid to hope too fancifully (like, i've given up asking for my electric wheelchair and walking stick anymore), but it can't hurt just to hope. i still have that, @ least. :)
next post here ... well, i never got around to typing that post about disability parking permits, did i? else, it's the monthly bookclub on next thursday! righteo, cya then~
cheers,
em. ^^
for 2005 and 2006, my motto in life wasn't exactly study study study, but more like STUDY STUDY STUDY! XD my word of advice to anyone considering tertiary study was, "do whatever you want, but don't study law. seriously. coz when you study law, you have to do so much reading for homework, i swear, you will have words coming out of your ears!" like, i'd be studying for an exam, and my mother would wander over and say, "em, how come there's a sentence floating out of your ear?' and i'd reply, "yeah, mum. chapter five, paragraph four, line three, sentence two, the first word." XD
after god absolutely wrecked my life by giving me a brain tumour, my motto in life was 'just keep plodding'. for those who are musically inclined, stick the notes C, G, F# and G onto the syllables. :P
technically, i'm still living by that motto. each night when i collapse into bed, too buggered out to start fearing that i'm gonna be forced to walk again the next day, i just tell myself, "well, em, tomorrow's another day to try your hardest to improve your mobility and not fall to your death."
however, when this year rolled around (and wow, we're already more than halfway through it!), i developed a new motto for life: I WILL RISE ABOVE THE HATE.
what hate? well, simply, the hatred god has shown to me when he decided to totally ruin my life by giving me a brain tumour and leaving me profoundly disabled.
sometimes, when i get really frustrated, i tell god that he won't win. he may have won everything else already, but i won't let him win the battle where i try to make my life as good as possible for me. mother will jeer @ me every now and again, "you can't win god. who are you to try and win god? you're asking to get fried by a lightning bolt." lol, well, guess what? i'm not looking to win. god can win, if that's what he wants. i'm just looking to hang in there, because i haveta hold fast to the belief that one day, god will get bored of me and turn his wrath onto one of the quadrillions of people in the world. surely, he can't hate me forever. and then i will be free to regain the shattered shards of my life, such as he has left of it. and i cannot wait for that day! i often wonder how long it will be before god gets bored of me and turns his hatred onto someone else. @ first, i hoped that five years would be enough, but it's been just over four already, and it's looking like five years won't be enough to deflect god's hatred of me onto someone else. that's okay. i'll just keep persevering (and keep plodding! :P). maybe ten years'll do it. one can but hope. we have that much, @ least. it never hurts to hope. it may be stupid to hope too fancifully (like, i've given up asking for my electric wheelchair and walking stick anymore), but it can't hurt just to hope. i still have that, @ least. :)
next post here ... well, i never got around to typing that post about disability parking permits, did i? else, it's the monthly bookclub on next thursday! righteo, cya then~
cheers,
em. ^^
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)