So it's Sunday night, I'm doing my typical at the office, which is a combination of getting a lot done and getting nothing done all at the same time. Oh and Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

Anyway. Let me tell you about Saturday. *takes a deep breath* But first let me remind you that I had knee surgery three and a half weeks ago.

An excursion, if you will, had been arranged for us to go to a beach with someone who had a lot to do with the creation of the program here. It was a beach/hiking day. Now, what we all assumed was that it would be a beach and then hiking for those who chose. I checked in with our contact here and asked if she knew anything, and she said no. What I should have done, of course, was to get the contact info for the person who arranged the trip, but I didn't, assuming that since we were taking a boat to the island, there would be somewhere that I could hang out and read while others hiked. Such was definitely not the case.
We got on the bus at 745am. Arrived at the pier at 815. A group of college JYA students show up (Junior Year Abroad) to go with us. Good times. The boat ride is a good hour and a half, and it was incredible. Islands, wind, sun, etc. A little chilly, but that's a boat for you. It finally pulls up at a concrete pier. No beach or anything remotely akin to it within eyesight. I'm thinking, mmkay, maybe it's a short walk away, I can do that, no big.
It's a 5 km hike up a mountain and down the other side. And I'm not talking about a little hill. I'm talking about a fairly steep incline. And I have to go...because there's nothing else around. Anyway, to spare you the details, some of the other ETAs walked slowly with me and we got there. We got lost and ended up in a rocky trench and a cow field at one point, but we got to the beach and it was beautiful. Goregous day, gorgeous view, wonderful in general. Of course, to get to the right beach, I had to either backtrack (fortyfive minutes probably) or go up another large rocky hill. Did that. Was fun. Reminded me of Bernheim forest, which I like.

Anyway, got there, ate, lay on the beach for a bit and then had to hike the 5k back to catch the boat. But before that, I had a bit of a brush with one of the other students. I believe she was trying to be nice, but it didn't work, whether intentionally or I don't even know what. (I actually had it written out here, but decided not to be petty...I mean, I'm not in college or a small petulant child anymore, so you'll have to take my word that she was rude) Actually, I think I am a small petulant child. But I'm trying to get over that.

All in all, despite the pain, it was a fun day. An adventure. And while my body hates me, I'm still glad that I went. Mostly. Kinda. :)

Totally different but equally important:
I'm looking for a picture book that's easy to read to the little ones (age 5) at the kindergarten. And I was looking online for ideas, and came across all these wonderful wonderful books I read as a kid. We had tons of picture books back home, and I didn't realize how many of them were so widely acclaimed. I think I've settled on "If you give a mouse a cookie" or one of the Curious Georges. I may end up sitting in the library rereading half of them tomorrow. Except, of course, that I have work to do.

I got my glasses, but I have to go back and get them adjusted. They're too loose...I kept trying to tell the person that, and he kept fiddling with the bit that goes behind your ears. But I've worn glasses long enough that I KNOW that on my face, you have to tighten it at the front or it's just going to fall off. *sigh* On the bright side, I can see. I didn't realize how much I actually needed the stronger prescription.

Let me see, what else?
My optional module got approved, so cheers.
Aladdin is going well.
We're going to China in two weeks.
I celebrated Thanksgiving with ETAs at KFC (good except they had no biscuits. What is the point of KFC without biscuits?).
I currently have a ginormous headache from the iced coffee I just drank.
I also have an unfortunately long list of things to be done tonight/tomorrow morning in terms of lesson prep.
I'm back to three times a week for PT. They are now attaching me to a pulley to work on range. I hate them sometimes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything, but sometimes it's really hard to like someone whose job it is to physically hurt you in the name of making you better. But I will reiterate once again that I really like my PT. She has a no-nonsense way about her that is exactly what I need. Now if I only actually did everything that she told me to do, I'm sure life would be better.

**edit**
Hahaha, so I edited the post right here. Why? Because I realize I made the same observation about this being the 3rd Tday away from home. Apparently I have a terrible memory. I could have sneakily deleted evidence of this and you would have been none the wiser. But I think it's funnier this way. Plus, it will amuse me a year from now when I go back and reread parts of this.
**end of edit**

Here I am again, trying to figure out how to end this post and rambling myself off into oblivion.
I guess I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from Lilo&Stitch.
*clears throat*

"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind."

Come to think of it, that may be the only quote I know from Lilo&Stitch.

One of our directors for Aladdin had asked if we would be willing to help out a former student (we being me and the other choreographer for Aladdin). She's teaching at a middle school and is directing a play. And we agreed, and so this morning we caught a taxi to somewhere in Tai Po. I don't remember the name of the school, mainly because it was written in Chinese, but it was one of those seven or eight story buildings, staircases interspersed at what seems to be random intervals, bball courts and playgrounds, and a gorgeous view of the ocean. We were on the top floor and looked out and could see the water (it was a really clear day) and the little islands...if that's what they are. So, the play that was being done is a 7-page version of Romeo and Juliet. Hahahahaha. Amaaaazing. Since Shakespearean English is a bit of rough going at, really, any middle school, a narrator was added: a student who is supposed to be reading it for class and then falls asleep and has a dream in which Shakespeare walks her through the play. But! Okay, they show (briefly) the actual ending, you know the whole Romeo and Juliet die and it's sad. And then, the student goes no no! Too sad. And so it's rewritten, and I would like to excerpt from the actual script here:

Tybalt: Romeo, you and your family are crazy. You should go to Tsing Shan Hospital!
Romeo: I'm not crazy. You are crazy. Now go away before I get upset.
Mercutio: You can't talk to Romeo like that! I'll fight you!
Tybalt and Mercutio fight kung fu style. Romeo tries to part them but all three end up hurt. Make it slapstick. Finally, Romeo saves Tybalt as Mercutio is about to kill him. Juliet enters, with her father.
Lord Capulet: What is going on here?
Tybalt: I was just about to be killed when our enemy, Romeo, saved me.
LC: What? A Montague saved you!! This is wonderful. Romeo, is there anything I can do to repay you?
Romeo: You could let me marry your daughter Juliet.
LC: Never. She loves a man named Hilton. I mean Paris.
Juliet: No father. I love Romeo. I have loved him with all my heart for two minutes now so I think it is serious.

~From "Romeo and Juliet Revisited" by (I think) Cora.

Pretty awesome. Anyway, the play ends with a party/dancing. So, there are two 'dances'. The first, of course, is the scene where R&J meet the first time. It's about a minute long to a slow song. I actually drew on my experience when my middle school did R&J (which, for those who saw it, was ridiculous and unfortunate), and used a few moves from the dance sequence there...only this was much shorter and easier. I saw in them the same reluctance and ooh-he/she-has-cooties-I-don't-want-to-dance-with-him/her that affflicted our version. The second dance is the ending. Apparently, our director had suggested the song "Livin La Vida Loca". No. So, we go through my ipod, and come up with (are you ready for this...): Do Wah Diddy. Hahahahahahahaha. It's fantastic. The dance is all of thirty seconds and it's absurd. Love it. So that was a fun start to the weekend.

After that, we left and went back to Tai Po KCR station and bought tickets for The Nutcracker!!! So excited! I'm pretty sure I haven't seen it since I was in it. So actually, I don't know if I've seen the whole thing straight through since before I was in it. We are going to see it on the 19th December, it's the HK Ballet Company, and I'm very excited.

After that, we decided that pizza was the best way to go. So we went to Pizza Hut and had yummy cheesy pizza. And on our way out, we decided to go look at glasses. And I got a pair. :) I don't have them yet, because the lenses have got to be put in, but I'm excited. They're blue, somewhat rectangular, and are awesome. The salesman really wanted the two of us to buy glasses, so he gave us a special discount. Price breakdown: 480 for the frames, 880 for the lenses (which is 400 more than most people would pay but because my eyes are so bad, I have to get special thin lenses so that it doesn't look like I'm wearing Coke bottom glasses), and then a 360 discount. So it came to a thousand even. Which is, what, 130 USD? My last pair of glasses were 99 just for the frames, so I'm quite content with this. I had my newest glasses prescription, which I hadn't gotten filled yet, and they went ahead and gave me an eye test just to verify. So sweet. Should have them Friday.

Then I came home and napped. And then I wandered around my room, read, watched movies, painted my nails, and did my PT exercises. My PT would be proud. Tomorrow is going to be chock full of lesson planning etc.

WooOOOoooOOOoooOOO!

Graduation is today and tomorrow here at IEd. There's crazy madness. I had PT early this morning (a whole story in of itself) and by the time I got back, there were security guards, police, taxis, people running around in robes with flowers and large stuffed animals. Next time I graduate from somewhere, I would like a two foot stuffed animal with a graduation cap...preferably a Hello Kitty or Stitch graduate. Anyway, I didn't actually go to graduation (mine was long enough thank you very much), but I peeked over to where it was being held. It's in the Central Plaza, outside, near the Canteen. And if you've not been to IEd's campus that means nothing, and if you have, then you probably didn't need me to tell you where it was. Anyway, it seemed quite nice. I like their hoods better than the ones I had at graduation...mainly in that they're not made out of rabbit fur. They all look like they could be teachers. When I graduated, I didn't look like I was ready to go out into the workforce. Sometimes, the students here look so young, and yet the graduates looked like they had the confidence I lack. Although this could be because they know they have been trained for the profession they are about to enter, as oppposed to me. So since I didn't see any of the ceremonies, all I can say is that they blocked off the short way to get to the office and my knee locked going the long way and there was no food for lunch, and believe it or not, I think I may need to eat something other than Cup Noodles.

Now then, on to the never-ending-somewhat-amusing-sometimes-depressing saga of my knee.
They came up with a new way to erm help me today. It involves electrical stimuli. They attach electrodes to my thigh and I get 10 seconds of electric waves or something during which I have to hold my leg off the table as straight as I can get it and then 10 seconds of a break. For fifteen minutes. And having electricity run through your leg is weird. It tingles, kinda hurts, and feels odd. And then the pain from having to hold my leg up didn't help. *sigh* Oh well. I got a new expression about pain though. "You have to touch the pain." I like this one. You know, you don't go up and shake pain's hand and say "how the hell are you doing pain?" You get to just poke it, maybe with a spoon? Like a badger, really. :)

Thanksgiving is coming up. How bizarre.

I slipped this afternoon. They were washing the floors on my hall, and I knew they were wet, so I was walking very slowly and carefully with one hand on the wall, and I still slipped. I'm so clumsy sometimes, it's hard to believe I can perform onstage.

We blocked "One Jump Ahead" last night. It pretty much looked a hot mess. But then again, "Prince Ali" looked a good bit worse when we started it, and it's cleaned up quite nicely.

I realize that as I write these entries, I can't figure out how to stop talking/writing, assuming I'll run out of steam sooner or later. So I just keep going. But I have a meeting sooner rather than later, and so I have to end this thing somehow...

je suis venu mais je suis pas venu tu penses

What a long week, especially considering it's only Wednesday. I guess because this is the first week where I've not skipped out on stuff post-second-surgery. Stitches came out yesterday. My surgeon confirmed what the PT (not my normal one) said, that I am about 10 degrees off on the straightening of said knee, and waaaaay off on bending. He said it seemed stable and that there wasn't too much swelling. I saw my PT this morning. She ripped the bandages off my stitches and said they were good to go. She also put a weight on my leg to press my knee to the bed. *sigh* I really like my surgeon and PT...they feel almost like family, even though my interactions with them are infrequent and short (my doctor) or punctuated by their trying to hurt me and vehemently insisting that I can do better (my PT). I mean, where else in HK am I going to get someone to tell me "Off! All four limbs!" or "If it hurts too much you stop. But if it only hurts some or little bit, you push more until it really hurts"? Also, I really appreciate (in that I think it's funny and will laugh about it years from now but right now it just makes me sad) that the last two times I've gone to the hospital, the PTs take my crutches away and hide them and won't give them back until I leave.

So I started a new activity this week...reading to the kindergarten children. So adorable. I read "The Sneetches" and "What was I scared of?" by Dr. Seuss. And next week I get to read "The Hungry Caterpillar" (an old friend of sorts) and then they're going to make their own caterpillars. They were all kinds of shy/energetic/bouncy/adorable. And some of them look eerily like pictures of me when I was little and had a short haircut and chubby cheeks.

Let's see...oh. Last night I got an email from another ETA with a request to help a professor with some French Christmas carol that she was teaching her choir. So I went and read very slowly the French while she recorded it/repeated after me. Thank goodness she didn't make me sing it. *shudders* It amazes me, sometimes, that I've been in musicals considering my incredible inability to sing. So it was good times. And on the note of foreign languages, my HP Spanish came in! And yes, there are many many words I don't know or verb tenses I struggle with, BUT! I understand most of it. I suppose it helps that I read it once, a couple years ago, in English....

We started teaching the last dance to our dancers on Monday. They have expressed the sentiment that they like this one and that it's cute. *yay* It's to "Friend Like Me" which is a great song, although this version, being's as it's in Aladdin, Jr., is cheesetastic.

PS is still alive, although I am somewhat worried about him. He's starting to look not quite like he did when he arrived. I may have to take the pink bow off...

Thanksgiving is next week. How weird is that? This won't be the first time I haven't had Thanksgiving dinner...actually, it'll be the third year in a row. But it still feels weird. Especially as I have to work on Thursday. *gasp*

Ummmmm, what else? Ohhh, I got "Black Skin White Masks" by Fanon from one of the other ETAs...I've been meaning to read it since I was introduced to Fanon with "The Wretched of the Earth," so I'm interested to see what this much lauded book will say. Speaking of books, when I was in the little kids' section of our library picking out stories to read to the kindergarten, I came across "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Wind in the Willows." I haven't read either of them in so long. I checked both of them out...I read most of TWitW (wow that pretty much spells twit) in the forty-five minutes while I was waiting for the surgeon to see me on Tuesday. I love finding old books that I read back in the day and that are buried somewhere in my collection of novels back home. A few weeks ago, I came across "Island of the Blue Dolphins" in the LLC, and read that while I sat at help desk (which only one person came to in two hours...oh Saturday work shifts). Good times.

I had ramen and deep-fried-boneless-chicken for dinner. Serious yum. And then I bought a lip gloss and a small bottle of eau de parfum...Bulgari (spelling?). I love that store...they have a whole bin of samples of parfums, and they cost anywhere between 30 and 40 HKD. So far, I have treated myself to Escada, Estee Lauder, Marc Jacobs, and the one I got tonight.

Anyway, now that I'm talking nonsense, I should go to bed. I've been having bad dreams again and then my knee will wake me up if I stretch inadvertently in my sleep. I'd like to end with something inspiring, but unfortunately the only thing that comes to mind is: *cough cough*

Jasmine: Where are we going?
Aladdin: Where would you like?
Jasmine: Anywhere. Everywhere.
Aladdin: Funny, that's just what I had in mind.

(please read that in the most exaggerated and ridiculous middle-school-drama fashion possible)

I just realized I've lost feeling in part of my leg. The surgeon warned me of this before the surgery...he said sometimes people get a sort of numbness in their leg, and that sometimes it takes months to go away, and sometimes it never does. I noticed it last week when they were cleaning my stitches. The sanitizer they were using was cold, but on certain parts of my leg, I couldn't feel that it was cold or wet. I didn't get a chance to investigate then, but as I was rewrapping it after my shower today, I realized that it's kind of numb and tingles a little bit if I touch it. *meep*

I just want to be better. I just want it to all be over, to not have to do PT, to not spend the nights tossing and turning to find a way to sleep where it doesn't hurt, to not ache all the time. I just want the pain to be done.

The weather has been gorgeous the last few days. Sunny, no humidity to speak of, breezy, in the upper seventies. I had my windows open and the fan going today and it was wonderful.

Let's see...since Wednesday, I've gone to rehearsal, gone to class/workshops, been to a couple meetings, etc. I think next week is the photo shoot for Aladdin. Which is kinda exciting. I'm interested to see how the costumes actually look, after so much discussion on what they should be.

The stitches come out on Tuesday (I think...it's when I see the doctor again anyway)!!

And so it's Wednesday morning. I 'slept in' after going to bed late last night. Woke up several times in the middle of the night, and was pretty much awake by 8 something anyway. It's cool outside, there's a bit of breeze coming through the window, and I don't have to be anywhere today until 2:30.

So yesterday one of the professors at IEd invited some of us to a dinner at her apartment in JC. I've seen the student apartments there, but this was really nice. And she had it decorated with all sorts of collectibles, paintings, and embroidered squares of cloth that she had gotten in China. They were so pretty. I wish I could embroider like that. Anyway, she's Australian and the dinner was in honor of the Melbourne Cup, a horse race. Maybe I should make my birthday something in honor of Derby. Because we ALL know how COMPLETELY into Derby I am. *scowls* Anyway, the meal was delicious. We started out with a drink, because apparently a beer or a bundy (spelling? Rum and coke, leastwise) is how you should start a meal in honor of the race. And then there was roast lamb, a plethora or vegetables, and cake. And then we had a mock race. It was really fun. I had to leave early to go to my JC hours, but still. A good time, good company, wonderful food. My first real meal in a couple days.

I had PT yesterday morning. I didn't meet with my normal PT, as she's still on vacay. But the one I met with told me that they're going to take it easy on me for the first two or three weeks after surgery (how considerate of them), and then after that the recovery process for the ACL reconstruction surgery is much more aggressive. Much more? I mean, he took my crutches away from me and made me walk the length of the room, telling me to stretch my leg and not hold it in a bent position, then he made me get on the little bike pedaling thing. He checked the angle of my knee, it's at 75 degrees, and said that for this week my goal should be to get it to 90 degrees. Last time I couldn't get my leg to like 50 degrees for weeks after the arthroscopy. He did, however, say that my surgeon had done a good job. Apparently there is very little swelling or bruising...I mean, I didn't notice any at all. Which is indicative of a masterful job done on behalf of my surgeon. So well done him. Anyway, I go back on Tuesday to see the doctor and then on Wednesday to see the PT.

Work has gone as well as work can go when moving hurts as much as sitting and standing still hurts twice as much as that. PS is doing well. :) I think. My room is a mess because I haven't put things away for almost a week, and I have about twenty books scattered within easy reach of my bed. On the bright side, I'm allowed to take off the wrapping to shower, which means that I only have to wear like two bags instead of four. *beams* It really is the little things, sometimes, that make getting up easier.

Off to do that getting up and ready thing, office work perhaps, help desk, Spanish class, and then a meeting...at McDonalds. Weeeee foooooooood!!

I'm back. Wrapped from toes to hip on the right side. On crutches, but at least able to put weight on the leg. Hurts, all the time. More than last time. Sometimes the pain is okay, just a sort of in-the-background type thing. And other times it's a lot worse. But hey! I can just focus on recovering now. :) And I'm just glad it's over. I'm so glad it was early. I'd have been quite the bundle of nerves right now if it was still looming on next Tuesday. I suppose my only regret is that I didn't get to go to Page One and buy a bunch of American magazines for when I'm too out of it to focus on books.

I met with a teacher today who told me two interesting things. First, that she couldn't tell that I wasn't Chinese. And was surprised, as everyone seems to be, that I can't speak Cantonese or Mandarin...wondered if my parents spoke it back home. Which of course led to a brief discussion of how I was adopted, so no. Second, she told me I was gaining weight, and that I should be careful how much I eat. *sigh* Maybe I just never noticed this back home, but people are very much interested in weight issues. And now I get to be all worried about how fat I look again. *taps self on the nose* No, I'm not fat.

Anyway, this weekend will probably be spent in my room. The weather has gotten a lot cooler though, almost chilly, and there's a breeze. So much nicer than the last time when I came out of surgery and got sick from the heat. I have my window open and the fan going, and it's almost too breezy. I have work work to do this weekend, and if I thought I could sit in the office, I would go there. But sitting with my leg down hurts a lot...needs to be up, so I should probably stick to my room where I can prop it up on the bed. Sadly, I am using my pillow to cushion my leg, and thus have no pillow to cushion my head. *sad face* Ah well, there are greater hardships and tragedies in the world.

I'm off! To...continue sitting on my bed...maybe I should read all those African literature books I checked out of the library. Or I could just reread my friend's copy of Harry Potter 7 for the third time since I've been here. I think I want to try reading HP in Spanish. I've read the first three and a half books in French, which was actually really hard for me (even then, when I was taking French) because it's written using the passe simple, which I never really had a grasp on because you don't use it in speech and the level of writing I was doing at the time. But I think I know my past tenses well enough in Spanish to make a go of it. Perhaps I'll get HP 5 in Spanish (if I can find it), and then eventually I can own 1-7 in Franish! And own only 1-3 and 7 in English! I suppose I could get it in Chinese. But besides making me feel cool, it wouldn't really do all that much for me, since I can't read characters.
Right. I'm rambling and delusional. As Karen says, "Oh come on honey, we've got to, there's a, something's happening, I don't know what."