Family Come, Family Gone...

Two aunts and two cousins visited me from Taiwan for a total of 8 days. They finally left on Friday. I believe everyone had a great time during these 8 days; however, it was a very tiring 8 days for me. First of all, I planned awful lot of things to do and places to visit during their visit, because I wanted them to get the most out of this expensive trip. But then my injury was in the way a lot of the times. For example, my foot would swell up at the end of the day - everyday! So I had to prop it up and ice it every single night when I sleep.

The turning leg caddy definitely had made my life a lot easier, because using crutches along certainly would have been that much more difficult to go through 3 theme parks (Disneyland, Universal Studio, and Sea World) in three days plus all the tourist must-sees in the Greater Los Angeles area. Additionally, this caddy had made me almost like a star wherever I go. People would stare or even come up to me to express their opinions on how clever this gadget is! I swear...using it all over the place made me feel like a celebrity. =)

Tomorrow is my third time going in for physical therapy, but the first week where I will be doing three times a week like Dr. Charlton ordered. For the past two weeks, I had only went in for one therapy a week because my family was visiting and I simply could not find time to do two more therapies a week without sacrificing the daily activities that I had planned for my family. Let's see how I do this week with three time of P.T. a week.

Oh, finally, I received the bill from the hospital for my surgery. THANK GOD THAT I HAVE INSURANCE! I only owe the hospital (after insurance) a total of $322; instead of the pre-insurance charge of $22,500. What a difference my insurance made, right?! So people, learn from my example and do get yourself some sort of insurance somehow!! It's worth it, to say the least.

Cast Off, Cam Walker On

My cast was finally taken off yesterday. Now I am in this thing called Cam Walker. Every week I am supposed to adjust 7.5 degrees upward so that my tendon is stretched back to neutral position (from my foot pointing downward at 30 degrees til my foot is parallel to the ground).

Yesterday those hospital people were not being efficient at all. It took them a long time to do everything. It seemed that they were in a slow mode because... it was a Thursday?? However, I was very excited about getting rid of the cast. Boy, it felt soooo good when the nurse used that vibration saw to get that annoying cast off my leg.

Dr. Charlton said I am doing very well with my recovery. Two more weeks of no weight bearing. And the protected weight bearing. As for physical therapy, the doctor ordered 3 times a week for 6 weeks. So I scrambled to call the physical therapy center at USC. The earliest they could schedule me in is next Wednesday. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect, except that I hope my hot P.T. knows what "he" is doing.

Oh, another thing for meanwhile is that I can take off this cam walker to do some small, very gentle motion of toe/ankle rotation sitting down. Dr. Charlton specifically told me NOT to fall, because at this stage it will be very bad to re-injure the tendon. Wish me luck and pray for me, people.

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.