Awhile back, I posted this one about Greg Hall, my former high school maths teacher. And yesterdayday, I went and did the Bridge to Brisbane with him!
Last month, he came knocking on our door and said, “hey, Em, a bunch of maths teachers and I are doing the Bridge to Brisbane this year, and we want you to join us.”
I said to him sadly, “Sir, I’d love to, but with my current level of physical abilities, I doubt I can even walk 1km, let alone 10km.”
‘Bah!” he said, waving his hand, “you’d go in your manual wheelchair, of course. We’ll push you. Look on the bright side; you can finally attempt something you’ve never been able to before: boss your teachers around. Push faster! Push slower!” XD
That sounded fairly fun, so I agreed. But I soon regretted my decision, coz he said he’d come pick me up @ 4:30AM IN THE MORNING!!o_O XD
Meaning the night before, the parents gleefully forced poor Em off to bed at some ungodly hour of the night, like 8pm! But there was no point in complaining, coz I did need a good night’s rest for the big day ahead, so I obediently went. Actually, I awoke around 1:30am to use the pot :P once, then, suddenly … ‘twas 4am and dad was poking me with “fifteen more minutes.”!
Although, mother tried cheating, and came to order me up when I still had two minutes remaining! “Go away,” I mumbled, clutching tightly to Bear Bear, “I’ve still got two minutes.”
When I finally did get up, mother fed me one mug of warm Horlicks and I went to the bathroom once, before sitting in the garage and waited for Mr. Hall to arrive.
When he did, I groused at him, “Which insane teacher first came up with the hare-brained idea of dragging me along to some crazy race in the middle of the night? He just laughed and replied, “It’s 4:30am.”
“No it’s not.” I answered him. “The sun’s not up yet; therefore it’s still the middle of the night.” He laughed again. “Get in the car, you.”
The sky started lightening as he drew us to his place.
“Why are we going there?” I asked him.
“My sister Carmel’s kindly offered to drive us to the race start.”
Mr. Hall’s got three younger sisters; only Carmel isn’t a teacher. Think she works in the admin sector.
Lol, funny this was that originally, I thought her name was CARAMEL! XD
Anyways, when she entered the car, we shook hands and I introduced myself to her. Then I told her the story of how Mr. Hall had scared the living daylights out of me back in year ten, when he’d rung to tell me of my maths mark, and she laughed uproariously.
Anyways, Carmel drove us near the entrance; she and Mr. Hall got out Sparkless for me, then we said our thanks and byes to her. “Ring me once you’re done; I’ll come and pick you guys up.” She waved goodbye.
Mr. hall and I started pushing me to the entrance line, which was quite a distance in itself! We eventually stopped at a wall of people, and Mr. Hall got his mobile out and started ringing up the others that were joining us.
“Ah, found you!” a voice suddenly sounded behind us. ‘Twas Bill! I gave him a big hug; he shook hands with Mr. hall, then left to find and bring back Mrs. Perkins.
Suddenly, I heard over someone’s megaphone, “Wheelchair start up the front, please.”
“Umm … is that me?” I asked Mr. Hall, who laughed.
“Nope, you’re with us walkers.”
Suddenly, a couple greeted Mr. Hall, who turned to me and introduced, “Em, this is Mrs. Powell, she took over Mrs. Cook’s job when Mrs. Cook retired.”
I shook her hand and told her how Mrs. Cook had written in my graduation book, “Em, I loved getting your little comments on the maths paper, especially when all was not going well.” See, Mrs. Cook was my year twelve maths teacher, and me, being particularly stupid at maths, would draw poos and angry faces and more poos and crying faces all over my maths exam paper, with comments like, “how can you write any question THIS hard on our maths exam paper, Mrs. Cook? That’s IMPOSSIBLE for us to do!” Mrs. Powell had a good laugh at this, as did the man behind her. I held out my hand to him. “You’d be … Mr. Powell, right, sir? How should I call you?” the man laughed. “’Sir’ sounds great.” Alright, ‘sir’ he was. XD The race finally started, and Mr. Hall and I started wheeling me towards the starting line. As we passed the cameraman taking snaps of all the participants, I gave him a peace sign. XD
Mr. Hall and I started wheeling me up this bridge. Lol, stupid me thought that ‘Bridge to Brisbane’ meant STOREY bridge to Brisbane, but Mr. Hall explained to me, it’s actually the GATEWAY bridge to Brisbane! XD
Mrs. Perkins joined us mid-way, puffing slightly. “Two-thirds of my lungs don’t work when I’m going uphill,” she explained. Poor Perky.
Then suddenly, a former classmate of mine appeared alongside us, Kate Rasmussen! I haven’t seen her since we graduated high school back in 2004; ‘twas great to see her! I told her what had befallen me, and she told me how she was currently doing some uni degree.
Mr. Powell came and took over pushing with me from Mr. Hall, and kindly stayed with me right till the very end. Basically, we just chatted away. He told me that him and his wife lives at Mt. Gravatt, and that he’s an industrial relations lecturer at Griffith University. The funny thing was that he just called me ‘Sonic’, coz I was wearing my Sonic the Hedgehog cap that I’d gotten from my Ekka showbag! Honestly, I have no idea if he knew my real name was Emily or not. XD
But I kept with calling him ‘sir’, like he’d first instructed me, until at some stage during the race, he laughed and said, “It’s just Ben. Cut the ‘sir’ crap” XD
I think some people entered the race just to dress up silly and stand out! I saw a Star Wars storm trooper, the Cookie Monster and his cookie and a few other silly costumes! Ben was awesome; he’d say, “hey, Sonic, wanna get your photo with (insert character)?” then he’d grab my mobile and take the pic for me! :D
There were also several stations along the way where hundreds of plastic cups were set out with water for us competitors to just take and drink. After swigging a cup, I asked the guy behind the table, “Where’s the bin?”
“Oh, just dump it on the ground,” he said. “Someone will pick them up.” Lol, that’s the first time I’ve ever deliberately just thrown my trash onto the ground! XD
One of the really cool things was that there were even official cheerleaders! We’d go past a stand, there’d be music blaring from a radio/CD player somewhere, and there’d be people clapping and cheering and going, “yeah, you’re doing a great job! Keep it up!” I wonder if they were all volunteers or actually specifically paid to do that?
Last thing to mention: the bathrooms. Lol, there were actually entire ROWS of porta loos dotted along the racecourse! I’d wheel myself up to one, hop out of sparkles, ask Ben/Bill/Mr. Hall to please close the door, then I’d carefully manoeuvre myself around to the toilet. Somehow, I couldn’t fine where they flushed? And, being portaloos, there obviously weren’t any taps to wash your hands in afterwards, but hey, I managed.
At the end of the race, there was an actual bathroom, and I made sure I gave era a good thorough cleaning with that.
And, after the race, you were given a free Bridge to Brisbane tee and a copy of the Sunday Mail! Nice~
And Kylie somehow managed to find me at the end of the race! ‘Twas great to see her, we had a bit of a yak, whilst waiting for Mr. Hall and the others.
When everyone had finally finished, we all posed for a few photos with my mobile. Afterwards, Ben tried finding them from my mobile, but in the end, ‘twas Mrs. Powell who came up to me and said, “Emily, could you please find the photos for us? Ben’s useless with mobiles.” XD
Before we left, I shook Ben’s hand and sincerely thanked him for accompanying me for most of the race. Then I added,” oh, if you’re really curious, my real name’s Emily. Sonic’s just a fictional blue hedgehog.” XD Ben just laughed.
Anyways, Mr. Hall and I wheeled me to this side street, where I handed him two pages of my Sunday Mail and read it myself until Carmel arrived to pick us up. She drove us back to her house, then before Mr. hall drove us away, brought her dog out to meet us! He’ll be a big one when he’s fully grown, but for now, the Rottweiler’s just a big, friendly, sniffily puppy mass.
Mr. Hall tootled us, not back to his house, but to Maccas! “I remember you whining about how 4:30 was too early and that you wanted breakfast at Maccas.” He laughed. “Well, we’re past 10:30 now, but I’ll buy you Maccas for lunch instead, how’s that?” First, though, he stopped at the nearby Subway to buy us drinks first! Lol, I would’ve thought that buying a meal at Maccas (i.e. with the chips and drinks) would be cheaper than buying drinks at Subway, then buying the chips and burgers (well, wrap, in my case) at Maccas, but hey, no biggie. I just had the chicken Caesar wrap with medium chips, while Mr. Hall had six nuggets (without sauce) and medium chips.
Back at his place, I used his bathroom once first. But lol, him being a single man, no-one else would ever use his bathroom apart from him – there was no toilet paper in the rack! But hey, a well-prepared girl’s never without a packet of tissues; I just grabbed my own packet out from my bag. XD
Afterwards, we both sat down to eat, and he flicked his widescreen television on. Cool, he’s got Foxtel! We watched some tennis replays of the game Sam Stosur played for her semi-finals. “What’s an off forehand, sir?” I asked, after hearing the commentator mention one during the match.
Mr. Hall explained that a normal forehand, you’d swing the racquet across your body and the ball would head left (for right-handed people) but an off-forehand’s when you swing kinda awkwardly and the ball just goes straight.
And just curious, but do I eat super-slowly, or do all Australians just eat super-quickly? Coz I remember, every time mother and I have lunch with Mrs. Dent (my Australian godmother), she always finishes eating ages before we do; and on Sunday, Mr. Hall gobbled his meal in a jiffy then just sat and watched me eat. After I’d finally munched the last chip, he remarked, “Well, it took you thirty minutes longer to eat a medium meal than me.” XD
Another awesome thing’s that he’s got an armchair, and after rocking in it happily while watching Cartoon Network (back when we had Foxtel, Cartoon Network was channel twenty-one, but now it’s sth like 702!) I’ve decided that I now want a ROCKING ARMCHAIR for Christmas! :D hope you’re listening, Santa! XD
All too soon, ‘twas time to go. After visiting his bathroom once more (and this time, I asked for some toilet paper, please XD) I walked back to his car and Mr. Hall tootled me home.
The parents met us at the door, and I gave Mr. Hall a big hug and thanked him for taking me out to such an awesome event and even shouting me Maccas afterwards!
Epilogue: but the fun wasn’t over yet! In the arvo, Kwany and Letty both came to visit me, and we had heaps of fun playing this charades Wii game with the Umbilical Brothers. Then, at night, I went out to church for the mid-autumn festival celebration for JUST and SHINE fellowships combined! Meaning, by the time I got home and hit the sack, I was well and truly, absolutely, buggered. Thus I slept. And slept. Dad left for work and I slept some more. Mum came into my room to feed me two antibiotics (forgot to mention, I went to see the doctor in the arvo before Letty and Kwany came to visit me) then I continued sleeping. And I SLEPT! In fact, I didn’t feel well and truly well caught up on sleep until almost 3pm! XD
Huge thanks to dad who went and bought me the courier mail today, so I could check out my time for the race. Carol found my name for me, while I was munching half a pork salad roll for afternoon tea. Turns out I completed the course in 00:58:57. Lol, had I been slightly slower using the toilet, I’d have passed one hour! XD
Anyways, all in all, ‘twas an amazing experience. Huge thanks to Mr. Hall who invited me along, then to him, Ben and Bill, who all pushed Sparkless with me. This has been quite an adventure which I’ll treasure for a very, very long time!
Next post here … hopefully a movie review! See, the Smurfs movie’s due out soon, and also the Lion King in 3D! I HAVE to see that; the Lion King’s my favouritest movie ever! Anyways, thanks for reading this slightly longer post!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
P.S. I’ve got several photos from the race that I wanna upload onto Facebook; must wait for dad to please find me that cable that attaches the phone to the computer, first. XD
Monday, September 12, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Botox
You know how celebrities get botox injected into their faces to smooth out their faces (and give them a plastic look XD)? Well, today, I had FOUR shots of botox injected into my left calf! Ask me to show you my left leg next time I see you – she’s all wrinkle-free. XD
Unless you’re a physio, you probably wouldn’t have heard of this term before, but my left leg gets something called clonus. Clonus is when I’ve had to walk longer than usual, leaving me very tired, and when I finally do sit down, the muscles in my left leg spasm in protest to being worked for so long, and my left leg starts bouncing up and down by herself. Bemused, I can only say to mother, “umm … that’s not me.” XD
Botox actually stills the spasms for six months, or, in my case, up to nine months before those pesky spasms start returning. Ideally, I should get a botox injection every six months, but you know how things are like at public hospitals: slow go. Meaning my last shot of botox was November 2010.
But gosh, did the doctor make up for not seeing me sooner: I got FOUR shots of botox today! And they don’t come cheap, you know – they’re like nine hundred bucks a syringe! So you can understand why, next time I see you, I’ll probably stick out my left leg and say, “look at her! All wrinkle-free!” XD
The doctor who gave me the injections was my doctor back when I was still hospitalised, dr. Ron Hazelton. I remember him, coz my left leg’s been put in a cast before (I like to tell everyone “those horrid physios – they DROPPED me and broke my poor leg!” XD) and I used to wander around the ward with a whiteboard marker and get everyone to sign my cast. Dr. Hazelton had a sign, too – then lifted my foot in the air and put green spots with the whiteboard marker all over my toe! “There,” he laughed, putting my foot back down, “now I’ve given you the green spotted toe disease.” XD
When I was released from the hospital, I passed a book around and asked people to please write me a note; the good doctor actually wrote, “see you at the day hospital for rehab. Dr. Hazelton (the green-spotted toe disease specialist)”! XD
But I’ve been outta the hospital almost three point five years now, and I really didn’t expect him to remember what he’d done to my foot; however, one of the first things he asked me when he arrived at the day hospital was “have there been anymore outbreaks of the green-spotted toe disease?”! I told him presumably not, seeing as HE was the instigator of that disease! XD
He had me walk into a room, and I lay back down for the first two shots. Ow, and Ow. I remember my BIRU (Brain Injuries Rehab Unit) physio, Janelle, reassuring me, “Em, don’t worry, if you faint I’ll get a wet cloth and dab at your brow until you come to.” XD
For the other two shots, he instructed me to lie on my tummy. OW, and OW! >< but I didn’t faint. XD
Afterwards, mother got my footwear back on, and I went outside and sat down, because Dr. Hazelton said he’d write a short letter to give to my UQ physios to tell them what he’d done to me.
BTW, he’s got real doctor’s writing like you, dr. lee. Almost impossible to decipher! XD
Then, surprise! Who should come into the day hospital but one of my old BIRU physios, Micky, and one of my current UQ physios, Karen! I gave Dr. Hazelton’s note to her right away, then she stayed for a minute or two and had a chat with mother and I. Apparently, she still wants to cast my left leg, but Katrina doesn’t? Dunno, it’s their decision either way.
Before we left, Micky gave mother some kinda sandal thing that my left foot can wear once she’s been casted. And she says that I’ll see her in a month’s time for a follow-up. Lol, that remains to be seen! Coz last year, I had the botox in November, but the supposed one-month follow-up didn’t happen until January, then, the four-month follow-up (whether that be four months from the initial jab, i.e. March, or four months from the first one-month follow-up, i.e. May) didn’t happen until, like, June! XD but hey, I’m not complaining, seeing as I didn’t haveta fork out a single cent for all this. XD
Anyways, so ends the adventure of me getting celebrity legs today. XD
Next post here … well, hopefully Sunday! See, I’m doing the Bridge to Brisbane with Mr. Hall and a bunch of other Canterbury teachers! But if the parents decide I need an early bedtime after the excitement of that day, then definitely Monday. Until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Unless you’re a physio, you probably wouldn’t have heard of this term before, but my left leg gets something called clonus. Clonus is when I’ve had to walk longer than usual, leaving me very tired, and when I finally do sit down, the muscles in my left leg spasm in protest to being worked for so long, and my left leg starts bouncing up and down by herself. Bemused, I can only say to mother, “umm … that’s not me.” XD
Botox actually stills the spasms for six months, or, in my case, up to nine months before those pesky spasms start returning. Ideally, I should get a botox injection every six months, but you know how things are like at public hospitals: slow go. Meaning my last shot of botox was November 2010.
But gosh, did the doctor make up for not seeing me sooner: I got FOUR shots of botox today! And they don’t come cheap, you know – they’re like nine hundred bucks a syringe! So you can understand why, next time I see you, I’ll probably stick out my left leg and say, “look at her! All wrinkle-free!” XD
The doctor who gave me the injections was my doctor back when I was still hospitalised, dr. Ron Hazelton. I remember him, coz my left leg’s been put in a cast before (I like to tell everyone “those horrid physios – they DROPPED me and broke my poor leg!” XD) and I used to wander around the ward with a whiteboard marker and get everyone to sign my cast. Dr. Hazelton had a sign, too – then lifted my foot in the air and put green spots with the whiteboard marker all over my toe! “There,” he laughed, putting my foot back down, “now I’ve given you the green spotted toe disease.” XD
When I was released from the hospital, I passed a book around and asked people to please write me a note; the good doctor actually wrote, “see you at the day hospital for rehab. Dr. Hazelton (the green-spotted toe disease specialist)”! XD
But I’ve been outta the hospital almost three point five years now, and I really didn’t expect him to remember what he’d done to my foot; however, one of the first things he asked me when he arrived at the day hospital was “have there been anymore outbreaks of the green-spotted toe disease?”! I told him presumably not, seeing as HE was the instigator of that disease! XD
He had me walk into a room, and I lay back down for the first two shots. Ow, and Ow. I remember my BIRU (Brain Injuries Rehab Unit) physio, Janelle, reassuring me, “Em, don’t worry, if you faint I’ll get a wet cloth and dab at your brow until you come to.” XD
For the other two shots, he instructed me to lie on my tummy. OW, and OW! >< but I didn’t faint. XD
Afterwards, mother got my footwear back on, and I went outside and sat down, because Dr. Hazelton said he’d write a short letter to give to my UQ physios to tell them what he’d done to me.
BTW, he’s got real doctor’s writing like you, dr. lee. Almost impossible to decipher! XD
Then, surprise! Who should come into the day hospital but one of my old BIRU physios, Micky, and one of my current UQ physios, Karen! I gave Dr. Hazelton’s note to her right away, then she stayed for a minute or two and had a chat with mother and I. Apparently, she still wants to cast my left leg, but Katrina doesn’t? Dunno, it’s their decision either way.
Before we left, Micky gave mother some kinda sandal thing that my left foot can wear once she’s been casted. And she says that I’ll see her in a month’s time for a follow-up. Lol, that remains to be seen! Coz last year, I had the botox in November, but the supposed one-month follow-up didn’t happen until January, then, the four-month follow-up (whether that be four months from the initial jab, i.e. March, or four months from the first one-month follow-up, i.e. May) didn’t happen until, like, June! XD but hey, I’m not complaining, seeing as I didn’t haveta fork out a single cent for all this. XD
Anyways, so ends the adventure of me getting celebrity legs today. XD
Next post here … well, hopefully Sunday! See, I’m doing the Bridge to Brisbane with Mr. Hall and a bunch of other Canterbury teachers! But if the parents decide I need an early bedtime after the excitement of that day, then definitely Monday. Until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
bookclub! (september)
The book discussed for September’s book club was this old book called Madam Bovary. It’s a classic, and when Amanda first handed it to me, I thought, “oh no, I’ll prolly hate it, coz it’s a classic!” besides, the author died ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY YEARS BEFORE I was even BORN! XD
But I brought it home, and tried to read it. I really did try, but honestly, ‘twas just so BORING! Sth about this doctor, whose wife suddenly dies, and he begins having an affair with one of his patient’s wives. I lasted all of seventy-five pages, then gave up and returned to reading John Howard’s autobiography.
I expected all the other ladies in the group to love the book; see, in the past, they’ve loved all the books I’ve found terribly boring, and any book I’ve found even remotely interesting they’ve all detested. I used to think ‘twas our age gap; I mean, come on, they’re all at least FORTY years older than me! (Well, maybe not forty. Thirty-five? XD)
But, surprisingly, only one woman tonight liked the book! There were about fifteen ladies attending tonight, BTW. But everyone decided the book was yawn-worthy, although most trudged through and read the whole thing. Only another woman, Barbara, couldn’t finish the book, although she persisted a lil further along than me. I gave up at seventy-five pages; she lasted till ninety-one. XD
After discussing the book, talk turned to other books that we’d read this month. I can’t participate in this talk, coz my reading speed must’ve slowed down stupendously post brain injury and it takes me almost the entire month to read the one book! >< but Jen shared about this book she’d read, about a woman who has total neglect on her left side, kinda like me. It sounds interesting; maybe I’ll e-mail Jen and ask her for that title so I can reserve myself a copy from the library.
The book we’re doing for October’s this one by the famous author Marcus zuzack (even though he’s so famous I’ve no idea how to spell his surname! XD) it’s about this girl who loses her family during the world war and starts helping to smuggle books outt of Germany. Whatever the case, hopefully it’s a more interesting read than Madam Bovary! XD
Next post here … this Sunday, hopefully! I’m gonna take part in the Bridge to Brisbane race! Until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
But I brought it home, and tried to read it. I really did try, but honestly, ‘twas just so BORING! Sth about this doctor, whose wife suddenly dies, and he begins having an affair with one of his patient’s wives. I lasted all of seventy-five pages, then gave up and returned to reading John Howard’s autobiography.
I expected all the other ladies in the group to love the book; see, in the past, they’ve loved all the books I’ve found terribly boring, and any book I’ve found even remotely interesting they’ve all detested. I used to think ‘twas our age gap; I mean, come on, they’re all at least FORTY years older than me! (Well, maybe not forty. Thirty-five? XD)
But, surprisingly, only one woman tonight liked the book! There were about fifteen ladies attending tonight, BTW. But everyone decided the book was yawn-worthy, although most trudged through and read the whole thing. Only another woman, Barbara, couldn’t finish the book, although she persisted a lil further along than me. I gave up at seventy-five pages; she lasted till ninety-one. XD
After discussing the book, talk turned to other books that we’d read this month. I can’t participate in this talk, coz my reading speed must’ve slowed down stupendously post brain injury and it takes me almost the entire month to read the one book! >< but Jen shared about this book she’d read, about a woman who has total neglect on her left side, kinda like me. It sounds interesting; maybe I’ll e-mail Jen and ask her for that title so I can reserve myself a copy from the library.
The book we’re doing for October’s this one by the famous author Marcus zuzack (even though he’s so famous I’ve no idea how to spell his surname! XD) it’s about this girl who loses her family during the world war and starts helping to smuggle books outt of Germany. Whatever the case, hopefully it’s a more interesting read than Madam Bovary! XD
Next post here … this Sunday, hopefully! I’m gonna take part in the Bridge to Brisbane race! Until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Sunday, September 4, 2011
father's day 2011
I think father’s day in Hong Kong’s celebrated sometime in May? How come we celebrate mother’s day on the same day and father’s day on different days?
Anyway, today was Australia’s father’s day!
Several years ago, I went to the photo shop @ Sunnybank Plaza and said to the sales guy, “I’m after a photo frame that says “daddy’s little girl.” He looked at me. “Sorry, little girl,” he apologised. “I’m afraid we’re all sold out.” I was crestfallen. “Oh, no! What’ll I get my dad for father’s day, then?!” >< the sales guy smiled. “Don’t worry,” he told me. “How about you go home and bring me back a photo of you and your dad, and I’ll put it on a cup for you?”
Sounded good. I went home and chose a photo of dad and I from quite some years back. We were all in Hong Kong for Christmas, some cousin of mine was getting married (I’ve lots of cousins on my dad’s side – I’m number eleven of thirteen!), I’ve got both my arms around dad (who has a PERM, of all the odd hairstyles he could choose from! XD) and we’ve both huge grins on our faces. Dad loved that cup so much, he drank from it so often, that the photo on the cup’s actually peeling off! XD so the next year for father’s day, I bought him another mug, a blank one, with the words:” HANDS OFF – DAD’S MUG!” then, on the inside, “use at your own risk!”
That cup’s actually brought me lotsa laughter, because on the day’s when a carer/life coach/support worker/whatever they’re called now :P comes and gives me a lil help with my shower, there’s usually enough time for us to have a cuppa afterwards. It’s happened several times, when my carer takes out this mug, looks at it, and then hastily puts it back! I laugh, and then say, “just use it. Dad won’t care.” XD
This year, I already know what I wanna get dad! See, my parents celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary very recently, and I’d been wondering what to buy my parents as anniversary presents. Mum asked dad, and dad had said he’d like a pair of crocs. Well, awesome, there’s a croc shop in the upper level of Garbo. Only problem was that I’d only bought along fifty bucks to buy them presents with, and it turns out that one pair of crocs cost the entire fifty bucks! Meaning, if I got dad the pair of crocs but got mother nothing; I could just imagine her reaction when dad opened his! XD So I ended up buying dearest dad another present, and decided to save the crocs until father’s day.
Actually, I asked mother please to buy me them when I was at the writer’s group last Thursday morning. See, the carer and I had gone to Garbo for the late night shopping only the Thursday before, and I’d seen several awesome red pairs (dad’s favourite colour is red, very Chinese of him, no? XD) in my dad’s size (dad wears size nine) and I asked mother to please buy them for me then just take the money from my pathetic income (thirty bucks each week).
Mother’s favourite colour is green, therefore I must admit I wasn’t really surprised when mother came back with a pair of green crocs (the kind of green that canto ppl call ‘duck poo green’ XD) claiming that she couldn’t ‘see’ any red ones. Funny, because only the week before, I saw an entire SHELF of them! XD but dad had his crocs; I wasn’t about to complain because of that. ;)
Mother also bought me this really pretty card, which I promptly drew all over for dad. She hid it away somewhere, and then I was all set!
Sunday morning, mother hands me the bag containing dad’s card and present. I walk outside from my room, find dad in the kitchen, give him a ginormous hug and hand over his present with a “happy father’s day, dad!” he eagerly tears open the box, then cheers. “Ooooh!” suddenly, he declares, “I’m gonna wear them to church today!” whoops. I quickly dissuade him of that notion. “Um, dad, I think it’ll be better if you were enclosed shoes. If you attend church with your toes poking out of these crocs, Reverend Lam might think you’re being disrespectful and not let you in!” phew, dad agrees to return to wearing his normal black leather shoes, once I promise him that he can wear his new crocs after church. (Actually, I think he’s still wearing them! He and mum are just watching television together now) :) *collective “aww…” :P*
Anyways, I hope he had an awesome father’s day today!
Next post here … prolly Friday arvo, coz on Friday, I’m going to the princess Alexandra to get a shot of botox into my wonky left leg! Until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
P.S. hey, this is the first time I’ve published two posts in one day! Hope I’m not too boring to read~ XD
Anyway, today was Australia’s father’s day!
Several years ago, I went to the photo shop @ Sunnybank Plaza and said to the sales guy, “I’m after a photo frame that says “daddy’s little girl.” He looked at me. “Sorry, little girl,” he apologised. “I’m afraid we’re all sold out.” I was crestfallen. “Oh, no! What’ll I get my dad for father’s day, then?!” >< the sales guy smiled. “Don’t worry,” he told me. “How about you go home and bring me back a photo of you and your dad, and I’ll put it on a cup for you?”
Sounded good. I went home and chose a photo of dad and I from quite some years back. We were all in Hong Kong for Christmas, some cousin of mine was getting married (I’ve lots of cousins on my dad’s side – I’m number eleven of thirteen!), I’ve got both my arms around dad (who has a PERM, of all the odd hairstyles he could choose from! XD) and we’ve both huge grins on our faces. Dad loved that cup so much, he drank from it so often, that the photo on the cup’s actually peeling off! XD so the next year for father’s day, I bought him another mug, a blank one, with the words:” HANDS OFF – DAD’S MUG!” then, on the inside, “use at your own risk!”
That cup’s actually brought me lotsa laughter, because on the day’s when a carer/life coach/support worker/whatever they’re called now :P comes and gives me a lil help with my shower, there’s usually enough time for us to have a cuppa afterwards. It’s happened several times, when my carer takes out this mug, looks at it, and then hastily puts it back! I laugh, and then say, “just use it. Dad won’t care.” XD
This year, I already know what I wanna get dad! See, my parents celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary very recently, and I’d been wondering what to buy my parents as anniversary presents. Mum asked dad, and dad had said he’d like a pair of crocs. Well, awesome, there’s a croc shop in the upper level of Garbo. Only problem was that I’d only bought along fifty bucks to buy them presents with, and it turns out that one pair of crocs cost the entire fifty bucks! Meaning, if I got dad the pair of crocs but got mother nothing; I could just imagine her reaction when dad opened his! XD So I ended up buying dearest dad another present, and decided to save the crocs until father’s day.
Actually, I asked mother please to buy me them when I was at the writer’s group last Thursday morning. See, the carer and I had gone to Garbo for the late night shopping only the Thursday before, and I’d seen several awesome red pairs (dad’s favourite colour is red, very Chinese of him, no? XD) in my dad’s size (dad wears size nine) and I asked mother to please buy them for me then just take the money from my pathetic income (thirty bucks each week).
Mother’s favourite colour is green, therefore I must admit I wasn’t really surprised when mother came back with a pair of green crocs (the kind of green that canto ppl call ‘duck poo green’ XD) claiming that she couldn’t ‘see’ any red ones. Funny, because only the week before, I saw an entire SHELF of them! XD but dad had his crocs; I wasn’t about to complain because of that. ;)
Mother also bought me this really pretty card, which I promptly drew all over for dad. She hid it away somewhere, and then I was all set!
Sunday morning, mother hands me the bag containing dad’s card and present. I walk outside from my room, find dad in the kitchen, give him a ginormous hug and hand over his present with a “happy father’s day, dad!” he eagerly tears open the box, then cheers. “Ooooh!” suddenly, he declares, “I’m gonna wear them to church today!” whoops. I quickly dissuade him of that notion. “Um, dad, I think it’ll be better if you were enclosed shoes. If you attend church with your toes poking out of these crocs, Reverend Lam might think you’re being disrespectful and not let you in!” phew, dad agrees to return to wearing his normal black leather shoes, once I promise him that he can wear his new crocs after church. (Actually, I think he’s still wearing them! He and mum are just watching television together now) :) *collective “aww…” :P*
Anyways, I hope he had an awesome father’s day today!
Next post here … prolly Friday arvo, coz on Friday, I’m going to the princess Alexandra to get a shot of botox into my wonky left leg! Until then~
Cheers,
Em. ^^
P.S. hey, this is the first time I’ve published two posts in one day! Hope I’m not too boring to read~ XD
once upon a time in china 3
Today, my visitors were Letty and Christy jie! Letty had brought along ‘Once Upon A Time in China3’ for us to watch! Here’s my movie review:
Well, actually, here’s all my favourite trivia, quotes and goofs courtesy of imdb firstXD :
Let’s start with goofs:
• Crew or equipment visible: When Wong Fei-hung kicks his lion costume to the air, the string holding it is clearly visible.
Okay, I’m ridiculously disappointed! This movie only has one goof, one piece of trivia that’s just too boring to put in, and NO quotes! ><” well, I guess it is a very old movie, made in the 90s …
The music was mediocre, but fair enough, ‘twas a martial arts movie with lotsa cymbals banging. I think the cymbals provided the majority of the soundtrack. XD
This being a canto movie, we stuck on the English subtitles. However, the words must’ve been too small, else my vision truly must be crap, coz I had difficulty following the subtitles! *sigh* it’s prolly just my bad vision … when god decides to screw up your life, he really SCREWS IT UP. >< luckily, my canto skills were of a sufficient standard to understand the majority of the movie. XD
Only the movie was so boring, I think I actually dozed off! XD I only awoke when Letty suddenly scrambled off the couch and went down the hallway to answer her mobile. Actually, perhaps Christy jie had fallen asleep too? Coz she was curled up on the sofa, her back towards me, so I dunno. What I DO now, however, is that she missed the end of the movie! Somewhere near the end, she goes off to the loo, and by the time she comes back, the credits are almost finished rolling! XD
All in all, a very boring movie. Fingers crossed I won’t haveta watch it again anytime soon! XD
Next post here … umm, should come in about thirty minutes, if I can get my act together. Today’s actually Father’s Day!
Cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Well, actually, here’s all my favourite trivia, quotes and goofs courtesy of imdb firstXD :
Let’s start with goofs:
• Crew or equipment visible: When Wong Fei-hung kicks his lion costume to the air, the string holding it is clearly visible.
Okay, I’m ridiculously disappointed! This movie only has one goof, one piece of trivia that’s just too boring to put in, and NO quotes! ><” well, I guess it is a very old movie, made in the 90s …
The music was mediocre, but fair enough, ‘twas a martial arts movie with lotsa cymbals banging. I think the cymbals provided the majority of the soundtrack. XD
This being a canto movie, we stuck on the English subtitles. However, the words must’ve been too small, else my vision truly must be crap, coz I had difficulty following the subtitles! *sigh* it’s prolly just my bad vision … when god decides to screw up your life, he really SCREWS IT UP. >< luckily, my canto skills were of a sufficient standard to understand the majority of the movie. XD
Only the movie was so boring, I think I actually dozed off! XD I only awoke when Letty suddenly scrambled off the couch and went down the hallway to answer her mobile. Actually, perhaps Christy jie had fallen asleep too? Coz she was curled up on the sofa, her back towards me, so I dunno. What I DO now, however, is that she missed the end of the movie! Somewhere near the end, she goes off to the loo, and by the time she comes back, the credits are almost finished rolling! XD
All in all, a very boring movie. Fingers crossed I won’t haveta watch it again anytime soon! XD
Next post here … umm, should come in about thirty minutes, if I can get my act together. Today’s actually Father’s Day!
Cya then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Thursday, September 1, 2011
winter reflections
A pinch and a punch for the first day of the month! No returns, white rabbit.
Actually … I don’t really remember what ‘white rabbit’ stands for/means; I just know it’s something I played with all my schoolmates back in primary school. XD
Sorry I forgot to post this up yesterday, but here are my reflections on winter!
Actually, I’ve had a very comfortable winter. Full credit goes to dad, who had someone install a heater/air-con thing for my bedroom when I was released from hospital just over three years ago. That means, when I wake up halfway through the night, freezing to death coz I’ve kicked my blankets everywhere (sorry, I’m a ridiculously messy sleeper; mother tried zipping me inside a sleeping bag once, but by morning, I’d squirmed out. XD) I can just grab my blankets, curl up with my favourite teddy bear and return to sleep.
But I HATE being cold! ><” trust me, I’m so glad that spring’s here, I’ll not even complain of the hay fever! Prolly because mother and I suffer hay fever all bloody year round and not just spring. ><”
Just a short post here tonight … mother’s sitting beside me right now, waiting to boot me off to bed. ><”
Next post here … dunno! Prolly bookclub. XD righteo, until then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
Actually … I don’t really remember what ‘white rabbit’ stands for/means; I just know it’s something I played with all my schoolmates back in primary school. XD
Sorry I forgot to post this up yesterday, but here are my reflections on winter!
Actually, I’ve had a very comfortable winter. Full credit goes to dad, who had someone install a heater/air-con thing for my bedroom when I was released from hospital just over three years ago. That means, when I wake up halfway through the night, freezing to death coz I’ve kicked my blankets everywhere (sorry, I’m a ridiculously messy sleeper; mother tried zipping me inside a sleeping bag once, but by morning, I’d squirmed out. XD) I can just grab my blankets, curl up with my favourite teddy bear and return to sleep.
But I HATE being cold! ><” trust me, I’m so glad that spring’s here, I’ll not even complain of the hay fever! Prolly because mother and I suffer hay fever all bloody year round and not just spring. ><”
Just a short post here tonight … mother’s sitting beside me right now, waiting to boot me off to bed. ><”
Next post here … dunno! Prolly bookclub. XD righteo, until then!
Cheers,
Em. ^^
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