Getting Out

Just this past Thursday, I went to Sushi Dan for the first time since my surgery. I have been craving for their spicy tuna salad for the longest time. Finally I was able to devour that perfectly fresh, harmonious dish. I, of course, did not go alone. Although eating alone and shopping alone can be a luxury at times, there is just something fun about having a meal with friends.

Xia Jia, Haicang, and Pei Huang joined me. They drove all the way from USC area to visit me. They were so sweet! After lunch, I invited them to my apartment. They absolutely loved our apartment building and my apartment, especially my bathroom. Ha~

We talked for a few hours... They are such nice people that I wish I had gotten closer to them sooner. Fortunately, there is Facebook that we can use to stay in touch with one another, as emails can get boring sometimes.

Anyway, a few highlights of our conversation:

Pei just recently got married to someone. Shocking, I know! They married in Vegas, and in a month or so, she is moving to London. Her husband is currently in Birmingham, but will soon be transferred to London to be with her. I mean..."Wow, sometimes life does make some unexpected turns!"

As for Haicang, he is moving to New York City in a few days. Even though he has two friends there, he will be on his own most of the time. He said he would be living at a hotel until he finds an apartment. His currently plan is to live there for a year and then return to China to be with his honey.

Xia Jia is driving her friend's car and waiting for her car to be ready for pick up. She is looking to practice more with her backing skills, parking skills, and everything!! No offense to her, but judging from how she parked her car the other day, I seriously wonder how she got her license. A good example would be that it took her 5 minutes to parallel park into a space that was big enough to fit two cars!! Xia Jia, I still love you though. =)

My Love for Sushi

My love for sushi is somewhat amazing. Here is how the story goes... After learning about how delicious the food is over at the Lighthouse - an all-you-can-eat Japanese Sushi Buffet - Yung Yu gathered many of us to enjoy a feast. Although we carpooled, there were many hurdles I had to overcome before I could put those delicious food into my mouth.

First, I had to go to USC University Hospital earlier that day to have my splint removed and then to have my two-week cast put on. I was by myself. After that, I drove to school to go to the health center for a stupid insurance claim form. Irene was running a bit late. So we all had to wait for her after Yung Yu, Emily, Lucille and myself met up. Finally, we were on our way to Santa Monica.

Walking on crutches wasn't an easy thing for me. While we waited for Lien and Rachel to arrive, we actually window-shopped a few stores. Everyone signed my cast and we took some pictures of the 'signing ceremony'. Thank God that they weren't late; otherwise, I would have tired myself out before the buffet.

The food was indeed great. We ate so much!! And most important of all, we had a great time visiting each other and talking just about anything. Recently I heard on the news that obesity is socially contagious disease. I totally agree, because most of the time when friends get together, we eat. Anyway, I was full until the next day. Even though my wallet was $26 skinnier, it was worth it... =)

Class on Tuesday

There were a few reasons why I went to campus yesterday. For one, I had to pick some cast protecting shields (they are really just bags) from the health center and also to borrow the wraps from Brandon. For two, I was helping Mark's co-worker buy some movie tickets from our ticket office. For three, and finally, I had class that night.

The class only lasted for less than one hour before we were let go, but some of my other friends were also able to sign my cast. Due to such a short session, some students said it was lame to have such a short class. I somewhat agreed, but I also enjoyed the fact that I got out of class and the sky was still bright for once.

You know...using crutches to go anywhere isn't exactly fun nor easy. The weather was very hot, so I was sweating so hard when I arrive at both the health center and the ticket office. I was totally hating it and feeling gross. God, if you are listening to my prayer right now, I want to know when the hell I am going to be able to walk like a normal person?! Just tell me... Give me a sign... Save me... I promise I will be good...

Harry Potter Again

Sunday I had my routine brunch. Due to my injury, getting that brunch by myself requires some creativity. This is also to say that I can no long simply use a big flat plate for all the food I normally get. For example, I had to use plastic containers for my food and a bag for those containers. Gosh, I am trying have hard to be patient with myself; however, time just doesn't seem to pass soon enough. I still have one more week before I can say goodbye to this cast. Ugh!

Mark and I went to see Harry Potter (The Order of the Phoenix) on Sunday afternoon. We got there a little late and all the good seats were gone. So we exchanged our tickets for the next showing. Meanwhile, Mark went to move his car to valet (free, due to my temp disabled parking placard) and then we went to Cheesecake Factory. We had our dinner and chi chatted for about an hour. Like usual, we talked about a lot of random stuff; however, the conversation about Fred's aggressive behavior was once again brought-up (by me). Not sure whether Mark took in what I had to say, but it was the last time I am going to spend time for it (- Okay, one of the last times, Mark.)

It was his first time and my second time watching this movie. I liked it. Somehow I am completely fascinated by the whole magic stuff. Wouldn't it be nice if I had some power like those wizards?! I want to fly like them and do magic like them. Gosh, I cannot imagine how fun it would be!

Hanging Out with Richard

Richard and I went to see Hairspray (3.5 stars out of 5 from me) somewhere in North Hollywood on Saturday. Although the movie theater was a bit 'common and smelly,' the $6 matinee per person made me feel like I was getting a deal. Seriously, one can rarely pay a mere $6 for a movie theater admission - probably not even in the middle of nowhere like Nebraska!

Before the move started, someone tripped over my crutches and fell. At first I apologized and had quite a bit of sympathy for this lady. However, she called me stupid and accused me of putting my crutches in the middle of the walkway. So I turned my head and argue with her. It was indeed unfortunate that she fell, but I had my crutches paralleled next to my chair. When she came in, she was not looking where she was going but so occupied about where she and her friends were going to sit. THAT's how she tripped into my crutches and fell. That stupid bitch...

After the movie, we went for some Pho noodle soup (which I love)! Richard got the movie tickets so I got the noodles. We somehow could not get enough of movie-watching. So we went back to his apartment and watch another move - Bridge to Terabythia (4 starts out of 5 from me). It wasn't until we finished this movie did we feel that we needed a break. Richard took me home and I spent the rest of that evening watching my Tivo.

My Texan Friend - Brian K.

Originally, I thought Friday, July 20th was going to be a quiet/slow day for me since the day before I had to go to the USC University Hospital, USC Health Center, and I also went out with "the Taiwanese bunch" for some sushi buffet in Santa Monica. But then Brain came visit me with some delicious food from CityWok. Mark happened to be home. So we just hung out until 1 or 2ish.

Brian is a very nice, intelligent, good-looking guy. He knows what he wants and he doesn't take crap from people, and he definitely has his shit together. For those hungry singles out there who are reading this post, you may think that he sounds like a perfect husband. And yes, you are right about that; however, he is no longer in the market. =)

So we ate, we chatted, and we joked around. Before we knew it, it was early AM. There were a couple of highlights during our conversation:

First of all, I had no idea that Brian knows so much about animals. And by animals, I do not mean just domesticated pets (dogs - he's had many, cats - he currently has two, etc.) but wild animals.

Second of all, Brian gave my dog-doting/cossetting roommate an eye/mind-opening experience on how and why dogs are to be trained. I had forgotten that Brian has had many dogs before, but I was definitely glad that Mark had someone else to tell him what I have been trying to get him to even 'consider'.

Don't get me wrong though, people; Fred isn't a bad dog. There are just a handful of things about him that needs some corrections (so that Mark can have an easier life and our guests won't have to put up with Fred's aggressive behaviors as well as Mark's interpretation on why his dog behaves certain ways); however, Mark would always try to rationalize/personify Fred's behaviors and let go of those undesirable behaviors because of its small size, his love for Fred, and lack of follow-ups in general. (Mark, if you are reading this, I hope you are just as serious about it as you seemed to be that night during/after Brian was generously sharing his first-hand experience! We have been roommates for more than a year now, what's another 5.5 months of tolerating if I didn't genuinely feel that having Fred trained will do you both good?)

Goodbye Splint, Hello Cast!

I went back to the hospital yesterday to have my sutures removed. On my way to the hospital, the traffic wasn't particularly bad; however, it felt it was taking longer than usual. Perhaps it was simply my urge to get out of that heavy splint that was messing with my head.

When I got there, I had to circle around the hospital a few times before I could find a spot to park. (Yes, I was being a bit cheap about paying $7 to park in the structure.) But then I was thinking that since I have my temporary handicap placard I might as well take advantage of it. Finally, I found a metered spot along a green curb - 30 mins parking. When I saw someone leaving, I thought to myself: "Yoohoo, free parking and I can park here as long as I wish!"

I only had to wait for like a minute before being called. This time they did not instruct me to go to one of those exam rooms; instead, I was in Tony's office/room so that he could remove my sutures and put a cast on my leg. He ran out of green - my favorite color - so I asked my doctor for an opinion. Dr. Charlton said I should choose black (and use silver mark for people to sign). So I chose black. At first, I was very skeptical about his suggestion/my choice. But guess what...it turned out to be rather fashionable. It goes well with whatever I wear and the silver signatures do stand out quite a bit. Who says you can't have style while being physically challenged?! =)

All in all, this post-op visit went well. My tendon is still healing, regardless of that little falling accident. My leg will be in this 'black' cast for two weeks. August 2nd will be when I return to the hospital next.