Aphasia-Dysphasia

Hanging by the fingertips and toetips, but having the time of life!



If there is one picture that can sum of what university is all about at the moment, it has to be this one!



I went rock-climbing yesterday...Yeap, me...Rock-climbing...




We did two types. One with someone hoisting you up, and one without. In the above picture, I wore a harness around my waist, but that darn harness was not actually hooked to anything. But at the bottom were of course lots of mattresses (I've not completely lost my marbles, ok, especially since I'm super injury-prone).



The other one, someone helped hoist you up, which meant you could climb much farther up.





But it pretty much is what I'm feeling right now in university. I'm hanging with all I'm worth, I'm grabbing onto all the support I can get, but the main aim was to climb as darn high as you possibly can. But you also know that if you slipped, it was ok, because there was a little something to fall back on. But damn, you still want to climb higher!

And the best feeling of all, is when you reach the top! But as with all highs, there comes a time when it's time to come back down. Darn, that dual-process theory of emotion was right after all...;)





The one where someone hoists you up...

There's an amazing amount of support available, that really, the only thing that's gonna do you in in university, is yourself. Because the system was designed to help people...

Using the rock-climbing as an analogy: If you can't free-climb because your fingers are not strong enough to pull yourself up because you have a medical condition, we'll hoist you up with a harness so we help you support you weight (that's not the reason though, of course). That's like someone with say, ADHD who needs a quiet and/or distraction free environment to write exams.

Phew! We're in February already, and soon, it would be a month since I got back to school...



Somebody wrote 'Let It Snow' in one of the residences, and somebody else added on the 'L': 'It Did'...



It's been a very hectic month, but I'm so glad because I finally finalised my ticket to come home at the end of May, which is soooo looked forward to! First stop after home~~the mamak stall! Woohoo!!!

Lol. I was practically skipping to class once I knew what date I was going home...


It's been an eventful January, so far!

Hey, a purple butterfly on the cake! Perfect or what?

I went to see my first Canadian Ice Hockey match (you're here, have to try it at least once!)...


And then just two nights ago, went to see Hairspray the Musical, courtesy of one of the volunteer organisations I'm attached to. The young girl whom I work with in the program (it's a respite program and I'm paired with a child) surprised me with a belated little birthday cake the same night, which was such a sweet gesture!





Tickle Me Elmo...



And then in between, I've been playing with Elmo, whom I adore...;) *Sheepish grin*

People whom are close to me know my love-affair with Elmo, and while on the way to Bowmanville, my puppet-troupe of two other guys actually sang me Happy Birthday in Elmo's voice (one of them can do an almost perfect imitation of the furry red monster!)...

And again I seem to have disappeared for quite a while!

The new term in university just began and I'm juggling some courses that include a fourth year one, and apparently, when you're in fourth year, you never seem to finish your readings. The professor just expects you to know the material and if you don't, too bad!

Sigh...Gone were the days when we had spoon-fed education (lol)...And interestingly, all the assigned readings don't agree with each other, so yeah, go figure...

Anyway, I digress.



The North American culture, one which I apparently have not gotten used to yet (this part!), is a very self-disclosing culture. I marvel repeatedly at the number of people who go to class, and in the middle of lecture, self-disclose details of their very private life, to illustrate an example. Professors too, do this sometimes...

In the middle of lecture, you will hear details of who is suffering from which chronic disease, who has been dating whom, whose parents don't have a good relationship, who had a fight with their partner, who used drugs, and alot more information you probably will never hear in a Malaysian classroom.

Which is pretty ironic. For a society that is so self-disclosing, they have very, very strict confidentiality rules of conduct. It's all about protecting the right of the individual to privacy...

I volunteer with the Disability Services Office (this I can tell), and the first thing I was trained to say was "I can neither confirm nor deny whether this person is registered with this office".

Which is pretty funny, because the person who is registered usually goes and tells people they meet very loudly they have such-and-such...

I seem to know which person in my class has ADHD, which one has Arthritis, which one has Diabetes, etc. and all was voluntarily self-disclosed! Out of curiousity, would you tell?

Why or why not?

I do my volunteer work because I enjoy it--it's my way of keeping sane...So I never expect anything in return. As long as they're willing to vouch I was there when I said I was there when the need arises, I'm pretty much set.




One of the cards...



So it came as a lovely surprise these two weeks or so when I go in and find a little card or two waiting for me. The first surprise was the hospital, who gave each and every volunteer a card thanking them, and a personal pocket planner for the new year.

Then I went to the Disability Services Office (DSO) on campus and found another card there, with a gift voucher to the cineplex...




Sesame Street! Lol, I love puppets...



And then one of the ladies I help, who knows I love Elmo (and she happens to share a soft spot for the little red muppet) gave me a book-gift on the History of Sesame Street "just for light reading; and it's a selfish buy so don't feel bad--I get to borrow it anytime, ok?"...

Oooh...Chocolates! Definitely the way to my heart...;)



And today, I go in to write my finals (Ergh, Advanced Statistics!), and what do I find? A box of chocolates waiting for me bright and early...




I have had a habit, for quite a while now, of giving out cards to people who've gone out of their way to help me in the year, and I never got it why people are so touched when you give it to them (it's just a card!).

Now I know...It's especially sweet because you didn't expect it, and it's just nice to feel appreciated every once and a while...=)

Happy Holidays, everyone!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about this old lady whose room I passed who was moaning and crying in pain and who kept saying "I promise I won't bug you anymore" everytime I got her something...She was definitely very miserable the last time, and as I held her hand and she eventually went to sleep after about an hour, I whispered a little prayer for her.

Before I left her room, I left her a little note on her bedside table wishing her well.

Apparently, I am a little bit clumsy...

But I didn't know how clumsy I was until today...


I was on my way home yesterday, with my mug of coffee when I tripped, and did a magnificent ballerina splat on the staircase, on the way up...

Yes, I fell going upwards...

Such was my unique way of falling that one ankle was on the sixth step and my knee was on the edge, five steps up. I literally looked like I did a split, on the staircase. The two girls who were outside enjoying the sunshine, after recovering from their shock of me tripping were admiring how I managed to fall so flexibly...and painfully, I might add!


So, of course, I am now limping...again...



Needless to say, people have been asking why the limp...Like I said, I didn't realise I was such a klutz, until I started meeting people...

And just my luck, Wednesday's the day that I spend the entire day within the maze of the Psychology Department offices and labs, so all I do is bump into profs and the like.

Class last night

Super-Nice Prof: "You hurt your foot again?" *Grins* (She calls me Hoppy)


Oww...Usually, people say, "did you hurt yourself?"




Today

Supervisor-Prof: "Which part did you hurt this time?"

Me: "Knee"

She: "What happened?"

Me: "I was trying out for the National Ballet"

She: *SNORT* *Choke on coffee*

Me: "What???"

She: "You?!? You have to find a better more believable cover. You're such a klutz!"

Bumped into TA in the Hallway...

TA: "Oh dear, what happened?"

Me: "Hurt myself trying for the National Ballet!"

TA: "Oh come on, hon. What happened?" *Laughs*

Me: "Why won't anyone believe me?...I fell..." *Rolls eyes*

TA: "Now, that's more likely!"





The coordinator of the Psyc Department

She: "Now what did you do to yourself?"

Me: "National Ballet tryouts!"

She:"No, really, Daphne..."

Me: "You people really don't believe me! Why?"

She: "Because you of all people don't have time for that!"

Me: "You're kind. XYZ said I was a klutz"

She: "No, you're not" *Laughs*

Oh, finally. Somebody who was kind...

LOL...

I know I'm tired when my very small eyes are even smaller than they usually are (see above), and they're puffy...

I know other people know I'm tired when my professor suggests I skip classes so I can have the day to myself...

This is what happens when you don't get a full holiday like everyone else, and just when you were enjoying your break, you have to drag your bum back to classes!

Besides that, it's been a pretty fun semester so far. I'm enjoying my classes (can't say the same about the workload, but well) and even most of the assignment-contents, and heck, I found a job this time around.



It was pretty much the perfect job for me. I get to combine my experience contributing to the newspaper along with my volunteer work experience, as I know am an Outreach Coordinator for a group that does alot of well, outreach work for marginalised groups.

Just last week, I got to see the workings of the food cupboard, which I must say is a really swell idea. The cupboard feeds about, on average, 200 people in the community a month, and everyone is welcome. Some families get a weekly supply, while for everyone else, they are welcomed to drop by whenever the cupboard is open.

University events too sometimes support the program. For example, instead of charging a cover-entry to the bar, they might decide to one night do a 'bring-two-cans-of-food-in-exchange-for-entry'.

Looks like I'll have my hands full this year. But that's the point of an education right? To gain as much experience as possible! And staying busy's just the way I like it...;)

I was tagged by Aunty Maria of Tok Mummy to Save Yvonne's Sight. I have been ridiculously busy for the past two weeks; this will be a short post-the only reason I'm doing this is because I think everyone deserve's their vision and hearing! So people, feel free to pass this along, ok?




Yvonne Foong (go read her blog for the full story) has the very rare condition called Neurofibromatosis Type II (NF II), which should not be confused with NF I. NF II is an autosomal dominant condition that causes benign tumours to grow in her brain, spine and peripheral nerves, and is distinguish from NF I by the presence of bilateral acoustic neuromas (among others). Yvonne was diagnosed at the age of 16.



"Yvonne, who runs a blog www.yvonnefoong.com is the author of I’m Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell, (picture), has been raising money on her own to pay for her operations, is losing her eyesight. The operation is due in December and once again she needs to raise funds for it. The cost of the surgery is USD44,000 (RM154,770) and the cost of her hospital stay for two weeks is USD915 or RM3219."

"She has already raised RM10,000 of this but obviously still has a long way to go. She's hoping to raise the rest by republishing her book I'm Not Sick, Just A Little Bit Unwell in English and Chinese.The books are now available in Malaysian bookshops and from her website store. She is also selling T-shirts at bazaars and via her web site store. You can read about her surgery and donate to her fund here."



You can also help by sending on this meme. If you do, please follow these meme rules:

1. Create a blog entry titled "Meme: Save Yvonne's Sight"

2. List three things you love to see. Add in the picture of Yvonne's book cover. The URL is http://www.yvonnefoong.com/images/banner/my-story.jpg

3. End with the line, "Yvonne Foong is in danger of losing her eyesight thanks to neurofibromatosis (NF).


Please find out how you can help her by visiting her blog at http://www.yvonnefoong.com."

4. Tag 5 blog friends. Be sure to copy the rules, OK?


5. If you have a Facebook account, please check out Ellen's new invention, a "feme" pronounced FEEM, a meme designed for Facebook here. And if you want to blog about NF, that would be great too!





The 3 things I would love to see are:

1) My family...

2) The smile on a baby, especially my dear Chee Keong...

3) A cure for movement disorders (a research interest of mine)...

The 5 People I Tag are:

1) The Razzler

2) Akmal

3) Kak Pi

4) Ae Mi

5) NightWing

Ok, done!

Ok, so I guess once again my blog was lying dormant for quite a while...I guess I was just too busy being lazy and watching Everybody Loves Raymond and all the other sitcoms!

It's nice doing that once in a while, you know?

From left: Marabeth, Ken, Me and Ee Lynn, aboard the ferry to Centre Island...



We spent the day walking and cycling round the island, and it was altogether a beautiful day, although I got quite a tan! Not my intention, I tell you...It took me a whole Fall and Winter to get rid of it!




Posing in front of Centre Island's Fire Station, while waiting for the QuadruCycle to catch up...

How do we move this thing? What? We ALL have to paddle?



There was even a rather hilarious moment when my cousin and I thought we were being chased by a flock of approximately 30 geese, and proceeded to run helter-skelter (eh, they can pinch, ok?), before we realised they were heading for the water! Oh, what a sight!




Same flock of geese, now dispersed, waddling calmly...

Look ma, ladder! Lol...I love things that hang from trees!

Look, ma! Handsome man, 2 o' clock!




The tour of Toronto was awesome, actually. It was a hop-on-and-off tour, again, courtesy of my aunt.



Home of CP-24, a news channel, based in Toronto...



I seem to remember a similar advert in KL? Near a roundabout near University Hospital?





A pink cement truck!



Among the sights caught in Toronto, perhaps the most heart-warming was this pink-cement-truck. The city's cement trucks have been painted pink, in support of breast-cancer awareness! I mean I've seen tote-bags, and pens, and the whole paraphernalia, and even cooking pans and furniture, but a cement-truck?!?!?




Me and Marabeth, with Downtown Toronto as backdrop...

I went on it for all 3-days, and got to see quite a bit, everything from Chinatown, to Greektown, to Italytown, to Gay Village (yes, you heard me right; gay marriages are legal here) to the movie industry area, the Distillery area, and loads more. It was indeed eye-opening!


For example, I know where to go when I need to write my assignment on homosexuality and bisexuality in the winter.

The adverts are tailored to the needs of the community. Beer advert in the Church-Wellesley area, also known as Gay Village...

In between, I caught up with a friend from university who was in the city, the only friend I managed to see...

Me and Andrew...

And then I attended the Busker Fest 2009, a 4-day event in support of Epilepsy Toronto. There were fire-eaters, contortionists, puppeteers, vaudeville performers etc. My favourite was Dado from Germany. He was funny, and generous. He actually paid a kid who volunteered from the crowd, which I thought was swell, since he's a street performer.

Elvis Impersonator dancing with a child, at the BuskerFest...

The puppet troupe I volunteer with, well, they performed too! Not the team I volunteer with, but the Toronto division. I wanted to catch them, just to see how the Toronto-troupe do their acts, but the timing wasn't right...

All I know is we reach about 27 000 child yearly in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) alone!

Rainforest Cafe! It even comes with thunderstorms at regular intervals...

And I'm sure you know by now how much this little piggy loves to eat, right? Well, this short holiday alone, my aunts and uncles have taken me to eat just about everything. I've had everything from Malaysian, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Afghan, Indian, Italian, French, to 'Western', so my palate has been satisfied.


And what we couldn't get, we cooked.

Pineappple Pie!

Tried my hand at baking pineapple-pie (fatter version of jam-tart), pulut-inti, ang-ku (less colouring, so they're peachy-ku's), and also re-did my chocoloate-chip cookies, but added almonds and peanut butter chips!

I have a pair of river terrapins at home in Malaysia, named Ding and Dong...I miss them! I wanted a set of three (so I could call them Ding Dong Bell!!!), so when I made the ang-ku's, I made one with a head, legs and a tail, and called 'her' Bell...

Lol...

Introducing, Bell, the Peachy-ku (pre-steamed)...

Sigh...School starts soon...

Boohoo...

At least I had a good holiday (Thanks, Ah Ee's, Uncles and Cousins!)! I'm looking forward to seeing the rats anyhow...Lol...;)

Note: This blog will not tolerate homophobic, anti-homosexual etc comments...

PS: Next post! What Daphne's done to her hair! Muahaha...

Me and Christine...(We even have similar glasses!)

It is now the holidays! And I am enjoying it...

I said goodbye to my friend, Christine, just last week. Christine and I worked together in the Rat-Room, as we call it. We both were initially apprehensive about having to work with each other, but it turns out leng-chai-prof's (LCP) instinct's about our personalities were spot on, when he paired us together.

Amazing how he got it right, because we are surprisingly similar. We like the same types of food, we have similar pet-peeves, our social interests are similar, we coo over the same things, and we even like the same types of names. And we both love chocolate.

Christine's moving to Kingston--I'm gonna miss her.

In the meantime, the holidays are superb...How wonderful is it not to have deadlines or work? This is the life!

Jersey Boys!

My aunts took me to see the Jersey Boys, a Broadway production staged in the Toronto Centre for the Arts, last night. The Jersey Boys is based on the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. For those going huh, who? Think of the song, 'Walk like a Man'...


Now, before anybody starts making comments that these singers are not from my generation, remember, I watched Johnny Mathis ;)

This time, no trouble getting in! No hassle about having to show ID...

My cousin and I are waiting for The Sound of Music to have student discounts (now the seats are still hot, so no students prices). Those Student Cards university students hold can get you places here in Canada!

Oh my gosh! In exactly a week from today, I will have been in Canada for a year...Yeah, you heard it right...A year!


My summer classes are coming to an end in a week, and as much as I look forward to it being over because I want a break, I know that every week that passes is one step closer to the cold returning. Summer is just perfect, because although hot, it's not as hot as Malaysia!


One of my professors, Dr. Liana Brown, treated us (her lab members) to lunch just before the weekend. It was nice meeting the other people in the lab. As much as I am looking forward to break, I know I will miss the labs for some peculiar reason, lol. And because this world is just sooo small ;), it turns out one of the lab members, Davood, happens to have studied in Malaysia for a couple of years (and he gives the thumbs-up for Malaysian food!)!

Clockwise from left: Davood, Andrew, Meaghan, Dr. Liana Brown and me...




Up close!




Sigh...As much as I miss family, home (my doggies, bed and Scooby-Doo pillow!), friends and food, I must say I am happy here--it's just a different world altogether...Thank heavens for that, otherwise I will be very miserable throughout the year!

Canada is really beautiful (except when they have garbage strikes!), and here's just a few snapshots to take you through the different seasons. Who will believe it's the same country?!?

Spring! In the park...




Summer! Otonabee houses the Psychology Department...

Autumn! Gorgeous view, ain't it? It's the West Bank of the university...

Winter! Brrrr...Canadian winters are brutal! The building in front of you is Otonabee, the same building shown in the Summer picture...




Wow, four seasons captured in picture...

In the meantime, my exams are this week, so I'll disappear for a while. After that, it will be a short break before I return to another 8 months of full-time study (whoa, talk about testing my stamina)...Thankfully, my courses next year sound interesting enough. Heck, one of them is the study and analysis of dreams (Let's see if I can lucid dream... ;))!

And I'm looking forward to Mother-Goose and puppeting again, that's for sure!

So what has Daphne been up to? Trying to be a housewife, that's what!

And am very proud to say there's been no disaster, yet...Lol...

Let's just say 3 people have been extraordinarily kind to me (2 of which happen to be my professors), and went out of their way to show their kindness (which I never expected at all). Touched by their gesture, and after discussing with mum about the appropriateness, I have decided to reciprocate by sending them a tiny 'Thank You' gift...

So what can a broke college student do, that is nice, and yet will work nicely for the pocket?

Bake! That's what...Lol...




Chocolate batter...Needless to say we found excuses left-and-right to eat the batter!



Eh, not bad lar ok? Our (me and a friend) first real attempt at baking from scratch, and we came up with a nice set of cookies, so not bad lar, ok?





Super-sinfully-chocolatey chocolate-chip cookies!




And the final product!



In the end, we had enough left-over for me and my friend to enjoy among ourselves. And heck, each 'pot' of cookies (see above) came up to like $4-5, which is great! All thanks to Dollarama, where you can get the pots, ribbons and and plastic wrap for like a dollar (highest would be $2) each!






And a tired Daphne goes to sleep on the floor...;)




And what do we do at the end of the day? Laze like a cat lor...Lol!

People who know me well know there are 3 things which tug at my heartstrings, and which I have a very soft-spot for...

1) Children, especially the exceptional ones...

2) Animals...

3) Old people...

Today was hospital-volunteering day, and today, after I was done with most of my work, one nurse approached me and asked if I was busy because she needed a favour. When I told her no, she replied that she had a 'super-duper' job for me, if I was willing.

Sure, but what was it?

I had to feed a lady who was about 90 years-old, who was terrily miserable because she could not guide her spoon to her mouth and had made a mess all over herself and the floors when she spilled all her water and juice...

Uh-oh...

The moment I saw her, I could feel myself getting all sad.

Uh-oh...

We spent over an hour just to finish 3/4 of a muffin, and half a cup of yoghurt because it was mountain of an effort for her just to swallow...

The poor old dear kept saying thank you and saying how stupid she was that she couldn't feed herself because her tremors were so advanced (her hands were constantly shaking even when her hands were resting on the bed)...

And she held onto my free hand practically throughout...

Haih...I guess I always spend time in hospitals where I get teary-eyed. In Ipoh Hospital, it was all the special needs kids, over here, where more than half of the patients I come into contact with are very old, it's people like her who make me feel all teary-eyed.

But as much as I used to feel it was a liability, one nurse put things into perspective a while back: She said the one thing which makes me actually sit there is because I actually feel. So maybe my tears make me more effective.

I think she may be right, after all...

Cos I surely wouldn't have sat there for over an hour if I didn't feel sorry for that nice old lady...