Kanyang.
Brapa senang hati kalu cukup makan? hari tu p ruma toing, p cari timadang. tidak basar tu saiz buah, jadi sia ambil 3 biji 4. tu pun angkol yang tulung ambil dan juluk. pas tu sendiri la pigi kupas kulit baldu di blakang dapur. kira mau ambil banyak-banyak..tapi dalam hati mau masak tuk sendiri ja. potong 3 biji, kasi tinggal yang 1 biji tu abis cam buruk suda one side. Gave some sama ninak kasi campur masak sup ayam. yang len sia bawak pulang.
kamarin sia masak sup timadang. ai tel u.. to me, it's the best soup in the world. dadi's cooking style. nasi panas + sup timadang. buli akid banyak kali ni.. tambah gumuk la ni.. suda la teda braces suda.. teda lagi exercise..
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Lamas sofa
hehe...it's actually Lorenzo sofa.. couldn't help but put Lamas for Lorenzo Lamas..the 80's tv series hunk. forgot the title.
A friend from Sandakan called me up last night, asking for help. He had seen this add for Lorenzo sofa selling rm3250 in mudah.com and wanted to buy it. He had called up the owner, did a bargain, got the bargain..but since his brother who's normally here in west coast isn't around, asked moi to help. ok nopo..since it's just at Yakim Jaya. Just a stone's throw from my working place.
So, went to Yakim Jaya just now. Got lost (kici ba yakim jaya, lost juga)looking at house numbers that weren't put up front for easy identification, for a while. Very old money house. Premier property.
Finally I found it. Went down from my car and rang the gate. A white lady came out. Very amiable lady. She and the husband had been in Malaysia for about 9 years now. Used to stay in west malaysia. Moved here a few years ago. Husband works as an English teacher in EIC. British council before that. When I saw the 3 + 2 + 1 sofa set, I was captured. So comfy! Lime green in color. Well maintained lime green and in extremely good condition, considering they have been with them for a number of years. I can see that the sofas are her prized possession. Apparently they were just given to them as gifts from a rich friend. So selling them is just a bonus...(hmm...if i were a friend to them, I might be the one on the receiving end kan?...uuuh...perasan). She lovingly described how she cleaned them, took care of them, how she and hubby very carefully wrapped them in all the duvets and mattress protectors they had and cling-wrapped them when they moved from west to here..just to protect the leather. We chit-chatted a while more. She has two daughters, one of them already married. The daughters will still be living here for quite a bit. One bought a house in Bandar Sierra and the other somewhere in Telipok. Only the lady and the husband will move back to Australia.
We talked about the price on and off. It was an original piece, you see. She even showed the underside of one of sofa to show the Lorenzo logo in the fabric. An original western assembled sofa that would cost somewhere along the price of 14K. And she had set RM3250. My friend bargained and had actually got RM3100. I put on a smiley charity face and got RM3000. I wish I was taking the set!!
Paid 2k first. Tomorrow I'll return to wrap the sofas. If all goes well, the sofa will be on its way to Sandakan tomorrow afternoon. :)
Oh, this is Lulu. A mix-pedigree cat. She is a fixed cat. She used to have kittens but the neighbours dogs got to them. Leanne (the Ozzie lady) says Lulu might have to be put to sleep when they finally move to Australia in September. No.... I hope I can find somebody to take Lulu and care for her.
A friend from Sandakan called me up last night, asking for help. He had seen this add for Lorenzo sofa selling rm3250 in mudah.com and wanted to buy it. He had called up the owner, did a bargain, got the bargain..but since his brother who's normally here in west coast isn't around, asked moi to help. ok nopo..since it's just at Yakim Jaya. Just a stone's throw from my working place.
So, went to Yakim Jaya just now. Got lost (kici ba yakim jaya, lost juga)looking at house numbers that weren't put up front for easy identification, for a while. Very old money house. Premier property.
Finally I found it. Went down from my car and rang the gate. A white lady came out. Very amiable lady. She and the husband had been in Malaysia for about 9 years now. Used to stay in west malaysia. Moved here a few years ago. Husband works as an English teacher in EIC. British council before that. When I saw the 3 + 2 + 1 sofa set, I was captured. So comfy! Lime green in color. Well maintained lime green and in extremely good condition, considering they have been with them for a number of years. I can see that the sofas are her prized possession. Apparently they were just given to them as gifts from a rich friend. So selling them is just a bonus...(hmm...if i were a friend to them, I might be the one on the receiving end kan?...uuuh...perasan). She lovingly described how she cleaned them, took care of them, how she and hubby very carefully wrapped them in all the duvets and mattress protectors they had and cling-wrapped them when they moved from west to here..just to protect the leather. We chit-chatted a while more. She has two daughters, one of them already married. The daughters will still be living here for quite a bit. One bought a house in Bandar Sierra and the other somewhere in Telipok. Only the lady and the husband will move back to Australia.
We talked about the price on and off. It was an original piece, you see. She even showed the underside of one of sofa to show the Lorenzo logo in the fabric. An original western assembled sofa that would cost somewhere along the price of 14K. And she had set RM3250. My friend bargained and had actually got RM3100. I put on a smiley charity face and got RM3000. I wish I was taking the set!!
Paid 2k first. Tomorrow I'll return to wrap the sofas. If all goes well, the sofa will be on its way to Sandakan tomorrow afternoon. :)
Oh, this is Lulu. A mix-pedigree cat. She is a fixed cat. She used to have kittens but the neighbours dogs got to them. Leanne (the Ozzie lady) says Lulu might have to be put to sleep when they finally move to Australia in September. No.... I hope I can find somebody to take Lulu and care for her.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
'Tis done, 'tis over
my own, outdoor language camp
relief..can smile now.
Not much of a Haiku eh?
The English language camp is over. Years of talk of actually doing one finally came to fruition on Friday. The committee helped make this camp a reality. But kudos really go to Kala for doing the paper chase. Sending the letters, doing follow ups, rounding up the participants..
I do realise that having connection with the Kem helped. Since I was so much familiar with the workings in the Kem, I had no trouble at all organizing the outdoor activities. Being a friend of the caterer was a double bonus. Food was commendable, not at complaint at all from the participants as well as the teachers. Compliments are due to the cooks, and the boss was very generous with the portions too. Ah...bliss..
Small bumps and grinds along the way were easily rectified...(if it weren't pun, kasi boleh saja!)
Out of the 50 selected participants, we finally set off to camp at 2.30pm with just 43. It was slightly drizzling during the drive up to Kiulu. Dyah called me on my cell asking me were I was and prepared me on the possibility of the students setting up tents under the canopy. But I had a good feeling, after sending a quiet prayer for a good weekend, that the weekend would be ours to keep.
About one hour later, the bus and van carrying all participants and some teachers reached Kem. I drove, bringing with me some equipments/stationery and two upper six girls as urusetia. Another school was still in the main hall, not finished yet with their program. Not to worry.. I instructed the students to take all their belongings and go to the rest huts which were along the fences.
The drizzle had cleared up by then. The students of the other school had proceeded to the main field for the flag down ceremony. So I had my students move into the hall. I also formally introduced myself as the Camp Commandant. As I was giving the camp briefing, the drizzle resumed. Poor SMK Tun Said students got showered. Thank goodness it wasn't a downpour. My boys and girls were given their color coded name tags (name and group name printed) and based on their tags, they swiftly moved into their own group.
Next was the Craft Camp. Sites were allocated, tents were handed out and participants worked together to put up their tents. Jafora was there to hand out the tents. I handled the camp craft. I guess the students enjoyed themselves.
Too many details to write here and not enough time..
They regrouped in the main hall after tents were pitched. Each were handed a file which contained a log book, a few pieces of foolscap papers and a pen. I emphasised each of the rules mentioned.
Anyways...a few highlights..
There was Night Walk on the first night. Language activity was about descriptive writing, finding words to describe what they would feel, see, hear during the walk. There was also focus on the element of prediction here. I also briefed them about some safety precautions..mentioning especially the spiritual aspect of it. Better be safe than sorry.
The walk was of course supervised by some trainers in Kem. Without them, this walk would not have been possible. Most of the students had never done this kind of walk at night and I bet the walk through the villages, being growled and barked at by sentry dogs, walking on suspension bridges, through muddy paddy fields, walking pass dark orchards, to name a few, will be a walk to remember. About one hour later, they returned to the campsite tired but being teens, still talkative.
The next day, I also handled the Flying Fox. Did I feel nervous giving the briefing? I guess not. I only hoped I had covered enough necessary information. My other fellow trainers had decided to just let me do the briefing since it was to be done fully in English. So, while they were stationed on the tower and as brakers, I was on the ground level, doing the safety briefings, giving demos on proper gears and putting the lanyard + tandems for participants before going up the tower. Students were mostly excited. A few cried out of fear but all, including later some teachers, went down. I was the last to go down, but I brought along with me a passenger. Bethany, Florah's 10 year old daughter, had gotten a case of the fright just before take-off and adamantly refused to go down. When I reached the top, I casually told her I'd bring her along so that we could go down together. That made her so happy she agreed. So, we were strapped together when we descended the cable. Hurrah..
After this activity ended, I could then breathe a bit. My share of acvities were more of outdoor type. I had left the other language activities for my other colleagues.
Let's see, there was Haiku, HAM Radio, Cooperative games and the managing of the English Night.
I felt relatively well until after lunch. My back started to hurt more than usual. I had pulled a back muscle two weeks ago during a course in Kem. It had hurt a bit when I did certain movements like bending down and I guess (on looking back) did not make time for it to heal. I was so in pain that I decided to go for a lie down at the office sofa. I had taken some panadols a few minutes earlier and I immediately fell asleep seconds after lying down on the sofa. Gosh! I'd never done this before.
I managed to get some rest, felt a bit better, and later rejoined my colleagues and the participants in their activities. I'm glad they were there to conduct the activities.
I enjoyed the students' performances immensely. I laughed so much at their antiques. I was quite amused at how they poked fun at whatever activities that they had gone through and made them into short sketches. I was more amused when I heard a lot of myself incorporated into their dialogues. It showed that at least they were paying attention.
The closing ceremony was done this morning. I think it was the briefest of ceremony ever conducted. The speeches was short and not long-winded. Our VIP? Only among ourselves, the Ketua Bidang only. Wah.. I think it was only about half an hour! Full protocol, speech from students' rep, certs give-away, officiating of closing ceremony, giving of token of appreciation, and that's it. Hahah...my camp, my style.
And then there was group photo. As I sat on the chair with the hullabaloo of boys and girls around, it occured to me..this was my camp. My brain-child, coming to a close. It was all so surreal.
After lunch, the participants went to put away their belongings inside the bus. Before going off, they were allowed a short visit to see the river and play with the water for a while. Water activities was a no-no for them since we had direct orders from the school admin not to do any water activities.
By 1pm everybody had gone back. As I brought my car out from the compound of Kem, up the slope and turned into the main road back to home, I finally allowed myself to laugh and whoop in relief. It is over. It's done. Time to go home.
And it didn't rain...not a-tall. (yea..it showered..but not enough to do any dent in the activities).
my own, outdoor language camp
relief..can smile now.
Not much of a Haiku eh?
The English language camp is over. Years of talk of actually doing one finally came to fruition on Friday. The committee helped make this camp a reality. But kudos really go to Kala for doing the paper chase. Sending the letters, doing follow ups, rounding up the participants..
I do realise that having connection with the Kem helped. Since I was so much familiar with the workings in the Kem, I had no trouble at all organizing the outdoor activities. Being a friend of the caterer was a double bonus. Food was commendable, not at complaint at all from the participants as well as the teachers. Compliments are due to the cooks, and the boss was very generous with the portions too. Ah...bliss..
Small bumps and grinds along the way were easily rectified...(if it weren't pun, kasi boleh saja!)
Out of the 50 selected participants, we finally set off to camp at 2.30pm with just 43. It was slightly drizzling during the drive up to Kiulu. Dyah called me on my cell asking me were I was and prepared me on the possibility of the students setting up tents under the canopy. But I had a good feeling, after sending a quiet prayer for a good weekend, that the weekend would be ours to keep.
About one hour later, the bus and van carrying all participants and some teachers reached Kem. I drove, bringing with me some equipments/stationery and two upper six girls as urusetia. Another school was still in the main hall, not finished yet with their program. Not to worry.. I instructed the students to take all their belongings and go to the rest huts which were along the fences.
The drizzle had cleared up by then. The students of the other school had proceeded to the main field for the flag down ceremony. So I had my students move into the hall. I also formally introduced myself as the Camp Commandant. As I was giving the camp briefing, the drizzle resumed. Poor SMK Tun Said students got showered. Thank goodness it wasn't a downpour. My boys and girls were given their color coded name tags (name and group name printed) and based on their tags, they swiftly moved into their own group.
Next was the Craft Camp. Sites were allocated, tents were handed out and participants worked together to put up their tents. Jafora was there to hand out the tents. I handled the camp craft. I guess the students enjoyed themselves.
Too many details to write here and not enough time..
They regrouped in the main hall after tents were pitched. Each were handed a file which contained a log book, a few pieces of foolscap papers and a pen. I emphasised each of the rules mentioned.
Anyways...a few highlights..
There was Night Walk on the first night. Language activity was about descriptive writing, finding words to describe what they would feel, see, hear during the walk. There was also focus on the element of prediction here. I also briefed them about some safety precautions..mentioning especially the spiritual aspect of it. Better be safe than sorry.
The walk was of course supervised by some trainers in Kem. Without them, this walk would not have been possible. Most of the students had never done this kind of walk at night and I bet the walk through the villages, being growled and barked at by sentry dogs, walking on suspension bridges, through muddy paddy fields, walking pass dark orchards, to name a few, will be a walk to remember. About one hour later, they returned to the campsite tired but being teens, still talkative.
The next day, I also handled the Flying Fox. Did I feel nervous giving the briefing? I guess not. I only hoped I had covered enough necessary information. My other fellow trainers had decided to just let me do the briefing since it was to be done fully in English. So, while they were stationed on the tower and as brakers, I was on the ground level, doing the safety briefings, giving demos on proper gears and putting the lanyard + tandems for participants before going up the tower. Students were mostly excited. A few cried out of fear but all, including later some teachers, went down. I was the last to go down, but I brought along with me a passenger. Bethany, Florah's 10 year old daughter, had gotten a case of the fright just before take-off and adamantly refused to go down. When I reached the top, I casually told her I'd bring her along so that we could go down together. That made her so happy she agreed. So, we were strapped together when we descended the cable. Hurrah..
After this activity ended, I could then breathe a bit. My share of acvities were more of outdoor type. I had left the other language activities for my other colleagues.
Let's see, there was Haiku, HAM Radio, Cooperative games and the managing of the English Night.
I felt relatively well until after lunch. My back started to hurt more than usual. I had pulled a back muscle two weeks ago during a course in Kem. It had hurt a bit when I did certain movements like bending down and I guess (on looking back) did not make time for it to heal. I was so in pain that I decided to go for a lie down at the office sofa. I had taken some panadols a few minutes earlier and I immediately fell asleep seconds after lying down on the sofa. Gosh! I'd never done this before.
I managed to get some rest, felt a bit better, and later rejoined my colleagues and the participants in their activities. I'm glad they were there to conduct the activities.
I enjoyed the students' performances immensely. I laughed so much at their antiques. I was quite amused at how they poked fun at whatever activities that they had gone through and made them into short sketches. I was more amused when I heard a lot of myself incorporated into their dialogues. It showed that at least they were paying attention.
The closing ceremony was done this morning. I think it was the briefest of ceremony ever conducted. The speeches was short and not long-winded. Our VIP? Only among ourselves, the Ketua Bidang only. Wah.. I think it was only about half an hour! Full protocol, speech from students' rep, certs give-away, officiating of closing ceremony, giving of token of appreciation, and that's it. Hahah...my camp, my style.
And then there was group photo. As I sat on the chair with the hullabaloo of boys and girls around, it occured to me..this was my camp. My brain-child, coming to a close. It was all so surreal.
After lunch, the participants went to put away their belongings inside the bus. Before going off, they were allowed a short visit to see the river and play with the water for a while. Water activities was a no-no for them since we had direct orders from the school admin not to do any water activities.
By 1pm everybody had gone back. As I brought my car out from the compound of Kem, up the slope and turned into the main road back to home, I finally allowed myself to laugh and whoop in relief. It is over. It's done. Time to go home.
And it didn't rain...not a-tall. (yea..it showered..but not enough to do any dent in the activities).
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
English out in the open..
Yea... hurdles after hurdles..finally got the okay to go ahead with the camping at the end of this week. Will be at Malangang. Moi...as the herr commandant.. I'm kind of excited for the students..but apprehensive at the same time. I did a briefing session with the other members of the committee this afternoon regarding the activities and job allocation during the camp. Not exactly an excited bunch of people this group. I get the feeling that only a select few among us who're really willing to do this camp. I had left some slots empty you see, the simple slot of being the teacher-in-charge for the day..a simple duty of assembling the kids, getting them to come on time, reminding what needs to be reminded.. and I had to wait for the crickets to chirp till one volunteered. That was the slot for Saturday. The same thing happened when I asked about Sunday. Matai la...
Sigh..
And I as the Camp Commandant already volunteered to do most of the activity on Friday.
Sigh...
Sigh..
And I as the Camp Commandant already volunteered to do most of the activity on Friday.
Sigh...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Of Apples and chewing gums
Yeah. Ate my dream apples after the debanding. Bought them at Yong Fruit Shop, KK. It's at the same row as TongHing KK. Trully juicy. South African mari. Took the smaller ones at rm1.20 per apple. I had planned to have a quiet sit at home and take slow languorous bites of the apple. Apa tunggu, on the way home driving, I bit into one apple. Kkkruunchhh!!... Dang it felt so good. My teeth felt a bit sore biting into the apple but... dang it tasted good.
The apple.
The apple.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Donkey's Grin
This entry should be in the other blog but what the hey. It's news.
By 8am today I was already at the clinic. Didn't have time to have breakfast. Parked my ride at Heritage, singgah at the kedai runcit for a kotak of Yeo's soya milk (that was the only palatable drink i could see inside the fridge) and Daily Express newspaper, and walked across the street to the already crowded clinic. Made my way to the number counter to get my nombor giliran. After getting the little strip of nombor giliran, walked up the stairs to the dental section and gave my number to the nurse there. ( yada yada yada.. my typical procedure..done this hundreds of times already)
I wasn't quite sure how/what I was feeling as I sat down, waiting for my number to be called by the automatic, pre-recorded, disembodied, female voice. I wasn't that excited. I think I kept my emotions checked. It ain't over till it's over sort of thing. I continued slurping my Soya milk, unconsciously working my lips and mouth over the metal brackets that were lining my teeth. Meanwhile, my eyes were scanning the pages of the Daily Express for interesting snippets of information. The front page showed the news of the bitch(the exact term for the gender of the dog, mind you) which had its head stuck inside the plastic canister, being tended by Dr. Sen and Dr. Mark. I already knew the story yesterday, a relative of Dr. Sen had told me the story. Poor dog. Kind of heartening to know SPCA is getting its voice heard over the news.
Anyways, after a while my number was called and the digits were also displayed on the electronic board hanging down the ceiling in front of the waiting hall. So I cleared my things and went into room 44. The doctors (doctors?) and nurses were going about their duties. When they saw me at the door, they motioned for me to sit down on the dentist's chair. I still hadn't felt anything much this time except for a little bit of anticipation. I had read some other blog entries the previous nights about other people's debanding experience and some said it was pain-free, some otherwise. So, there I was, reclining on the chair, just waiting for what will happen.
Doc Fatimah siddled over on her roller chair and said her greetings, asking me how I was doing, was I satisfied with the condition of my braced teeth or not. Yeah? Giving me doubts now? (not going to happen, take them off silvousplait). I replied short affirmative replies..hmmm-ed and yes-ed and said I was ok with the occlusion of teeth, just not ok with the numbness that was still happening at the left chin region. Doc said that will take some time. I said ok. In my mind I begged to differ. On with the procedure. She was holding an equipment in her right hand. It looked like a cutter of sorts and began explaining the procedure not to me, but to another doctor, on how to go about detaching the brackets from the teeth. She started to detach the top bands starting from the front tooth. I could feel a mild pressure as she applied pressure while squeezing the handle of the cutter to the base of the bracket, separating the bracket from the hardened glue base. I could hear the click of the separation. Click, click, click. No heart-stopping sensation there. But a stronger pressure was felt when she unloosened the bands encircling the molars. That hurt a bit. I remember telling myself to be calm and relaxed my grip on my own hands. After the upper left and right bands of the molars were released, she gently eased them off and away from my mouth. Wah, halfway there now.
She did the same thing on the lower bands. No tightening sensation on the four front teeth, but a tolerable pressure on the back molars. Snip, snip and they're off! Freedom!
Next, Doc Fatimah started explaining to the other doc what to do next. Which was to grind away the glue residue on the surface of the teeth. I guess she needed to attend to other patients and left the rest of the cleaning job to this other doc. Doc Fatimah got up and went to the other adjoining room and this other doc took over. I managed a sigh of relief before she started with the grinding work. I was wearing googles which was a normal procedure during such procedure. The grinding of the teeth was such that my face and neck was soon covered with a fine mist of water spray. Things were going well until she reached my lower left back molar. When she touched the tip of the grinder to that particular tooth, I was buzzed with such a pain that I jolted from my seat. Aahh...the doc said, ada lubang ni.. ngilu ka? You think??! She asked me to gargle. So I sat up, turned to the paper cup that was perched next to the small basin for that gargling purposes, took a swig of water and gargled. I felt this pain shoot up from the tooth and automatically my left hand came up to massage the left side of my face. Owww! The pain left when I spat the water out.
She was about to continue with the scaling but I wanted to be excused for a while. I needed to go to the loo. So up I sat, stood up and went out to find the washroom. On the way to the loo, finally I allowed myself a smile as my tongue automatically felt around the teeth. No more braces. Looked at the reflection in the washroom mirror and saw a strange sight of just teeth with no braces. Surreal.
Sigh.
Well, some scaling was done. A mould of my new set of teeth were taken for the retainers to be made which I later came back for in the afternoon. Apples, here I come.
By 8am today I was already at the clinic. Didn't have time to have breakfast. Parked my ride at Heritage, singgah at the kedai runcit for a kotak of Yeo's soya milk (that was the only palatable drink i could see inside the fridge) and Daily Express newspaper, and walked across the street to the already crowded clinic. Made my way to the number counter to get my nombor giliran. After getting the little strip of nombor giliran, walked up the stairs to the dental section and gave my number to the nurse there. ( yada yada yada.. my typical procedure..done this hundreds of times already)
I wasn't quite sure how/what I was feeling as I sat down, waiting for my number to be called by the automatic, pre-recorded, disembodied, female voice. I wasn't that excited. I think I kept my emotions checked. It ain't over till it's over sort of thing. I continued slurping my Soya milk, unconsciously working my lips and mouth over the metal brackets that were lining my teeth. Meanwhile, my eyes were scanning the pages of the Daily Express for interesting snippets of information. The front page showed the news of the bitch(the exact term for the gender of the dog, mind you) which had its head stuck inside the plastic canister, being tended by Dr. Sen and Dr. Mark. I already knew the story yesterday, a relative of Dr. Sen had told me the story. Poor dog. Kind of heartening to know SPCA is getting its voice heard over the news.
Anyways, after a while my number was called and the digits were also displayed on the electronic board hanging down the ceiling in front of the waiting hall. So I cleared my things and went into room 44. The doctors (doctors?) and nurses were going about their duties. When they saw me at the door, they motioned for me to sit down on the dentist's chair. I still hadn't felt anything much this time except for a little bit of anticipation. I had read some other blog entries the previous nights about other people's debanding experience and some said it was pain-free, some otherwise. So, there I was, reclining on the chair, just waiting for what will happen.
Doc Fatimah siddled over on her roller chair and said her greetings, asking me how I was doing, was I satisfied with the condition of my braced teeth or not. Yeah? Giving me doubts now? (not going to happen, take them off silvousplait). I replied short affirmative replies..hmmm-ed and yes-ed and said I was ok with the occlusion of teeth, just not ok with the numbness that was still happening at the left chin region. Doc said that will take some time. I said ok. In my mind I begged to differ. On with the procedure. She was holding an equipment in her right hand. It looked like a cutter of sorts and began explaining the procedure not to me, but to another doctor, on how to go about detaching the brackets from the teeth. She started to detach the top bands starting from the front tooth. I could feel a mild pressure as she applied pressure while squeezing the handle of the cutter to the base of the bracket, separating the bracket from the hardened glue base. I could hear the click of the separation. Click, click, click. No heart-stopping sensation there. But a stronger pressure was felt when she unloosened the bands encircling the molars. That hurt a bit. I remember telling myself to be calm and relaxed my grip on my own hands. After the upper left and right bands of the molars were released, she gently eased them off and away from my mouth. Wah, halfway there now.
She did the same thing on the lower bands. No tightening sensation on the four front teeth, but a tolerable pressure on the back molars. Snip, snip and they're off! Freedom!
Next, Doc Fatimah started explaining to the other doc what to do next. Which was to grind away the glue residue on the surface of the teeth. I guess she needed to attend to other patients and left the rest of the cleaning job to this other doc. Doc Fatimah got up and went to the other adjoining room and this other doc took over. I managed a sigh of relief before she started with the grinding work. I was wearing googles which was a normal procedure during such procedure. The grinding of the teeth was such that my face and neck was soon covered with a fine mist of water spray. Things were going well until she reached my lower left back molar. When she touched the tip of the grinder to that particular tooth, I was buzzed with such a pain that I jolted from my seat. Aahh...the doc said, ada lubang ni.. ngilu ka? You think??! She asked me to gargle. So I sat up, turned to the paper cup that was perched next to the small basin for that gargling purposes, took a swig of water and gargled. I felt this pain shoot up from the tooth and automatically my left hand came up to massage the left side of my face. Owww! The pain left when I spat the water out.
She was about to continue with the scaling but I wanted to be excused for a while. I needed to go to the loo. So up I sat, stood up and went out to find the washroom. On the way to the loo, finally I allowed myself a smile as my tongue automatically felt around the teeth. No more braces. Looked at the reflection in the washroom mirror and saw a strange sight of just teeth with no braces. Surreal.
Sigh.
Well, some scaling was done. A mould of my new set of teeth were taken for the retainers to be made which I later came back for in the afternoon. Apples, here I come.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
buhbye braces
The much awaited day is at hand.
plenty of memories ..
the good, the bad and the ugly.
'tis coming out soon.
out with the old.
in with the new.
plenty of memories ..
the good, the bad and the ugly.
'tis coming out soon.
out with the old.
in with the new.
Friday, May 21, 2010
An apple, for a bite, for bliss..
I have Bell's Palsy. Just a partial palsy. I have been trying to console myself that I'm much better off than those who are in a lot worse medical condition. You know...the ever positive encouragement most Malaysian have of saying 'nasib baik you are like this...kalau tidak..?' or 'nasib baik bukan begitu...kalau tidak..?'. Yea...on some days when I feel ok, I feel ok. On some days when I'm particularly having a crappy day..the palsy gets to me. Admitting to having Bell's Palsy isn't easy. I guess admitting to having a defect, disfigurement that you can't quite downplay with humor... is never easy. But I'll get there...someday.
On another note, my days of wearing these braces are numbered. I'll have them off on the 24th next month to be exact. After that it's on to the next step which is wearing retainers. I've been wearing these braces for far too long. My gnashers are yellowed, I can see the unsightly tartars or carries draped along the feet of the front teeth, I'm almost sick of brushing/picking on my teeth after every meal. Every meal mean every meal, be it a simple kuih or main meal. This compulsory cleaning regime is one reason i've managed to keep my weight relatively steady for the past 4 years. How to eat in between meals if berus gigi ja kerja? Cari washroom lagi, cari mirror lagi...
All the same, this debanding (term used to describe taking off of braces) is bittersweet. I finally have nice looking teeth that will enable me to bite well but.. with Bell's Palsy as a life-long companion. I read somewhere that it's non-permanent, but i doubt it. So, que sera sera...
Anyway, I promised myself that I'll have a juicy, crunchy red apple when I finally deband. And I'm going to get one.
On another note, my days of wearing these braces are numbered. I'll have them off on the 24th next month to be exact. After that it's on to the next step which is wearing retainers. I've been wearing these braces for far too long. My gnashers are yellowed, I can see the unsightly tartars or carries draped along the feet of the front teeth, I'm almost sick of brushing/picking on my teeth after every meal. Every meal mean every meal, be it a simple kuih or main meal. This compulsory cleaning regime is one reason i've managed to keep my weight relatively steady for the past 4 years. How to eat in between meals if berus gigi ja kerja? Cari washroom lagi, cari mirror lagi...
All the same, this debanding (term used to describe taking off of braces) is bittersweet. I finally have nice looking teeth that will enable me to bite well but.. with Bell's Palsy as a life-long companion. I read somewhere that it's non-permanent, but i doubt it. So, que sera sera...
Anyway, I promised myself that I'll have a juicy, crunchy red apple when I finally deband. And I'm going to get one.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Teacher's Pets
Just less than a couple of months from now will be my 10th working with students, with young pliable minds, with a multitude of characters and attitudes. 10th?...oh i say... has it been that long? Seems like it was only yesterday I was still wandering around Central Market in KL..during the weekends away from classes..
But I am not regretting or missing the past. But I digress, as usual.
I have met students of all sorts. The good ones, the shy ones, the funny ones, the emotional ones, the angsty ones, the laser-mouthed ones, the grateful ones, the thoughtful ones...all with stories of their own.
I am sure not how mindful students are of how hard some teachers work to give them the best. I know that I appreciate the teachers that I have had all these years. I only wish the best for all of them. It's a tough world out there. and I wish the best also for all the ones who have decided to come into the teaching profession.
But I am not regretting or missing the past. But I digress, as usual.
I have met students of all sorts. The good ones, the shy ones, the funny ones, the emotional ones, the angsty ones, the laser-mouthed ones, the grateful ones, the thoughtful ones...all with stories of their own.
I am sure not how mindful students are of how hard some teachers work to give them the best. I know that I appreciate the teachers that I have had all these years. I only wish the best for all of them. It's a tough world out there. and I wish the best also for all the ones who have decided to come into the teaching profession.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Woke up past 9 in the morning today. It has been a while since i've slept in on a saturday. Had my plate removal surgery more than two weeks ago. Wish I didn't have to.
First day of the month. The start of the Kaamatan Month. Keningau must be a hot spot today. Grand opening of the Harvest month.
So dern hot is the weather.
I need to upgrade my wardrobe..somehow. I have altogether been too negligent in that department. Some of my baju kurungs/ bajus are ages old. Not to highlight the fact that I can still fit into them.. I just had other things that I thought needed attention like eating. I do so like to eat a variety of foodstuff.
First day of the month. The start of the Kaamatan Month. Keningau must be a hot spot today. Grand opening of the Harvest month.
So dern hot is the weather.
I need to upgrade my wardrobe..somehow. I have altogether been too negligent in that department. Some of my baju kurungs/ bajus are ages old. Not to highlight the fact that I can still fit into them.. I just had other things that I thought needed attention like eating. I do so like to eat a variety of foodstuff.
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