Selba tagged me quite a while ago and I only found out this week! So, here goes.
In short, I wish to go back to my early 20s when life was good.
Longer Version:
I wish to go back to my early 20s. I was at university, enjoying my studies, living on campus with Vanessa, the best roomie ever and hanging out with Jason and Johnny, to whom I would entrust my life. They were part of my close, adventurous, fun, varied, cosmopolitan, caring group of friends (who are still there). We would go to the opera or the ballet downtown, or to the beach, or for pancakes at midnight. I was emotionally strong and intact, there for my friends, ready to listen to problems, a shoulder to cry on, a voice of comfort, the therapist-to-be. I was also funny and witty, and my father and I were like a stand-up routine.
Finally filling out after being underweight my whole life, I had my hair in its first short cut and was discovering fashion because clothes finally fit without alteration. I was stylish for the first time ever.
I wanted for nothing and had access to more funds than I could ever need. I had my own car and even spent 6 months driving my Dad's sporty car, which is when I properly learned to drive, to corner, to floor it, to feel the feedback of road under wheels, and the round sound it would make at optimum speed which felt like the sweet spot on a tennis racquet.
I was making great grades, a committee chair in Program Council - used to run a coffee cart every Wednesday for the night students. I was President and Treasurer of our uni's chapter of Psi Chi (psychology honor society). I even worked part time in the psychology department and at the student volunteer office.
My parents were still together - they laughed and teased, held hands, kissed in the kitchen; everyone who saw them wanted what they had. We lived in a big four bedroom house in the pine forest north of Houston, part of a close knit community, a beautiful hometown with its own ballets and symphonies, but also the summer home of the Houston Ballet, Grand Opera, and Symphony. Every summer we would go to concerts and festivals; every October to the Greek Festival or International Fest downtown - I had more culture there than I do here.
We had neighbours to share homebaked cookies with, or invite round to use the jacuzzi, floating a bowl of grapes back and forth, or I'd babysit their dogs; the type of neighbours you wave at as you pass, roll down your window or park and walk over for a chat while they wait for the school bus; BBQ on someone's driveway on National Neighbourhood Night Out. Go to the grocery store for 5 minutes and end up taking an hour because you chat with everyone - friends and strangers.
We had a big front yard with roses and flowers for the hummingbirds. A big backyard that produced all manner of flower, herb, tropical fruit and vegetable - and hosted all manner of wildlife, some things we only saw once (like a flying squirrel). Plus I was always rescuing animals like the wren, the baby red cardinal, the wood pigeon, the newly hatched finch. My snuggly bunnies Lulu (the smart dog-cat-rabbit), Dapple (the soft shy velvet one) and Muffet (the white tailed spunky one) were still alive. We had a canary called Romeo who sang to break your heart, and a Society Finch called Lena who loved to watch TV.
Dad and I used to stand on the driveway at 3am watching meteor showers, and the silhouettes of the pine trees against the full moon.
I had the security of a stable home life and love, and that abundant confidence of the undergrad who knows the world is her oyster. I want that oyster back...
I tag (can sisters count as one? Ha!):
1. Um Naief & Jahooni
2. Lotus
3. Beanzzz & Zee
4. Nikki
5. Guyana Gyal
********************Start copy********************
Instructions:
Title: The Age That I Wish To Go Back To
Requirement: Write about the one age that you wish to go back to and why?
Tag Mode: 5 bloggers
1st - You leave blog and post link and add to the list below.
2nd - Let the blogger you want to tag know they had been tagged by commenting in their blog.
The Age that they Wish to Go Back to:
Amidrin wish to go back to age 22 to correct back some mistakes in life.
Lemonjude wish to go back to age 6 to enjoy kid’s life.
Hui Sia wish to go back to age 16 to meet her first lover again.
Giddy Tiger wishes to go back to a childhood life with no worries in the world.
Rinnah wishes she could turn back time to the happiest days of her life.
Ehon doesn't wanna go anywhere.
Chen wanna go back to age 19 to take a different pathway in life.
Selba wishes to go back to the time where she could persuade her parents not to move to Indonesia.
Olivia wishes to go back to her early 20s when the world was her oyster.
********************End copy********************
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Food Tag
Selba tagged me again, which is fine with me because I am just getting over these silly allergies, and becoming very, very bored, which is why I blogged three times yesterday. I have some job applications I am working on, and next week I start a week's booking at an insurance firm in the City.
The rules:
1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you.Include the state and country you’re in.
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.
3. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states)[..and let them know they’ve been tagged]
********
Because I have lived in the US as well and I have favourite restaurants there, I hope Selba will forgive me for listing one or two from over there. The places on the top of my list always send me home with a happy tummy and a warm sense of well-being.
I. Yauatcha - an ultra-trendy and very popular Eastern fusion restaurant and teahouse in Soho, has earned Michelin stars and is rated as one of the top 50 restaurants in the UK. This is where I get my designer dim sum with exotic cocktails or jasmine tea, followed by orchid tea (if available) and a neat little shanghai rose cake. There are literally hundreds of teas to choose from, but orchid is my favourite and typically not always in stock. The attention to detail here is perfect, and I have never been disappointed on any visit. Linen napkins, custom one-armed chairs, fresh flowers on each table, walls lined by aquaria, ceilings dotted with stars, well-timed dishes, helpful recommendations from the staff, and a very Zen slate and granite bathroom with Molton Brown toiletries.
Courtesy of Christianlindholm.com
Courtesy of Christianlindholm.com
**********
II. Bhan Thai - So good, even the Thai recommend it. Small, unimposing, but neat with friendly staff who already know my voice on the phone and remember my favourite orders. I try to introduce every visitor to this place, and sometimes treat myself to a free delivery for dinner. Thai food here is perfectly aromatic and served with enthusiasm and warmth. One time, their new delivery driver got lost, so they sent out a fresh hot batch of food and the manager drove him over!
I always order the glass noodle salad, which is a heavenly mix of lemon grass, coriander leaf, fish sauce, red onion, spicy pork (other restaurants may use seafood), peanuts, mushrooms, fresh tomato, chopped chile.
I also love their tender little spring rolls with sweet chili sauce, hot and sour soup, chili and hot basil pork.
**********
III. Cumin - a nouvelle cuisine Indian up the road from me where I also like to feed my friends. The staff here recognise me, and even my mother since every time she visits she begs me to go there. None of the food is heavy, it is fresh, fragrant, clean, simple, and a good balance of flavours.
Here I enjoy the tal tala jhinga (prawns battered in sesame and chili and lightly fried), and other starters, followed by the salmon tikka with their melt in the mouth garlic naan bread. Apple juice blended with a hint of lime is great for cleansing the palate throughout, and finally I like to finish with a cup of steaming fresh chai tea and a bowl of kala jaman (warm sweet dumplings in rose syrup with vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of pistachio nuts).
Also known as gulab jamun
**********
IV. Los Cucos - founded in Houston and now spread all over the state, you can sit in here and get full on just the free warm tortilla chips, with red chipotle salsa and green tomatillo coriander salsa - which they never stop refilling - and then just take all your dinner home to eat for the next two days! Specially as the menu is like 7 pages long. No special decor, just murals of Mexico and music to match. It's a real family venue.
Whatever you order comes with saffron rice and refried beans on the side, and is nearly always topped with guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. It's hearty, homemade, honest food and always tastes great. I love their enchiladas, beef fajita flautas, shrimp poblano (sauteed in cream sauce with poblano peppers, onions cilantro, mushrooms and parmesan), stuffed deep fried avocadoes, and more. The best thing is you can order a mixed grilled platter which includes a bit of everything you like. When I was being lazy, I would order El Chaparro, which is 1 ground beef crispy taco, 1 cheese enchilada and 1 puff tostada with chile con queso.
It was always nice to round it off with a sopapilla. It seems every culture has its own form of doughnut/pancake in syrup or honey.
**********
V. Saltgrass Steakhouse - although I don't eat steak, I was always stealing bites off my Dad's plate! It is most succulent and perfectly grilled Angus. I chose this over our usual seafood haunts because you can get seafood here, too. The walls are painted with ranching cowboy cattle trail murals and lots of rustic wood, yes you know you are in Texas here. When you sit down they bring you a neat little loaf of Shiner Bock Beer Bread on a board, with a ramekin of honey butter.
I would always order a delicious Caesar salad with homemade garlic croutons. Most American restaurants I used to visit would make a yummy Caesar. Then we might share a few starters, like Range Rattlers (jumbo jalapenos stuffed with whole shrimp, monterey jack cheese, battered and fried. For a main I might order a chicken fried steak with garlic mashed potato, or a platter of grilled jumbo shrimps, or a Texas Cheesesteak Sandwich (a twist on the Philly original using poblano peppers, jack cheese, and smoky chipotle sauce. (Any pepper when roasted becomes chipotle.)
When we ate out in the States we were usually too full for dessert, so we would go home, and an hour or two later have our usual post-dinner treat of tea and cookies. :)
**********
I now tag...(this is hard because everyone is busy or travelling right now...)
1. Lunaliar because she's creative with recipes and lives in Texas too
2. Matt because he claims to be a good cook despite being Welsh
3. Panda-Eyed because she has family in Hong Kong and also experiments in the kitchen
4. Beenzzz
and
5. ML because they are Guyanese, live in America, and I wonder what they like to eat.
P.S. Oops, Pete and Katja, I tagged you on P27 by mistake!
The rules:
1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you.Include the state and country you’re in.
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.
3. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states)[..and let them know they’ve been tagged]
********
Because I have lived in the US as well and I have favourite restaurants there, I hope Selba will forgive me for listing one or two from over there. The places on the top of my list always send me home with a happy tummy and a warm sense of well-being.
I. Yauatcha - an ultra-trendy and very popular Eastern fusion restaurant and teahouse in Soho, has earned Michelin stars and is rated as one of the top 50 restaurants in the UK. This is where I get my designer dim sum with exotic cocktails or jasmine tea, followed by orchid tea (if available) and a neat little shanghai rose cake. There are literally hundreds of teas to choose from, but orchid is my favourite and typically not always in stock. The attention to detail here is perfect, and I have never been disappointed on any visit. Linen napkins, custom one-armed chairs, fresh flowers on each table, walls lined by aquaria, ceilings dotted with stars, well-timed dishes, helpful recommendations from the staff, and a very Zen slate and granite bathroom with Molton Brown toiletries.
Courtesy of Christianlindholm.com
Courtesy of Christianlindholm.com
**********
II. Bhan Thai - So good, even the Thai recommend it. Small, unimposing, but neat with friendly staff who already know my voice on the phone and remember my favourite orders. I try to introduce every visitor to this place, and sometimes treat myself to a free delivery for dinner. Thai food here is perfectly aromatic and served with enthusiasm and warmth. One time, their new delivery driver got lost, so they sent out a fresh hot batch of food and the manager drove him over!
I always order the glass noodle salad, which is a heavenly mix of lemon grass, coriander leaf, fish sauce, red onion, spicy pork (other restaurants may use seafood), peanuts, mushrooms, fresh tomato, chopped chile.
I also love their tender little spring rolls with sweet chili sauce, hot and sour soup, chili and hot basil pork.
**********
III. Cumin - a nouvelle cuisine Indian up the road from me where I also like to feed my friends. The staff here recognise me, and even my mother since every time she visits she begs me to go there. None of the food is heavy, it is fresh, fragrant, clean, simple, and a good balance of flavours.
Here I enjoy the tal tala jhinga (prawns battered in sesame and chili and lightly fried), and other starters, followed by the salmon tikka with their melt in the mouth garlic naan bread. Apple juice blended with a hint of lime is great for cleansing the palate throughout, and finally I like to finish with a cup of steaming fresh chai tea and a bowl of kala jaman (warm sweet dumplings in rose syrup with vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of pistachio nuts).
Also known as gulab jamun
**********
IV. Los Cucos - founded in Houston and now spread all over the state, you can sit in here and get full on just the free warm tortilla chips, with red chipotle salsa and green tomatillo coriander salsa - which they never stop refilling - and then just take all your dinner home to eat for the next two days! Specially as the menu is like 7 pages long. No special decor, just murals of Mexico and music to match. It's a real family venue.
Whatever you order comes with saffron rice and refried beans on the side, and is nearly always topped with guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. It's hearty, homemade, honest food and always tastes great. I love their enchiladas, beef fajita flautas, shrimp poblano (sauteed in cream sauce with poblano peppers, onions cilantro, mushrooms and parmesan), stuffed deep fried avocadoes, and more. The best thing is you can order a mixed grilled platter which includes a bit of everything you like. When I was being lazy, I would order El Chaparro, which is 1 ground beef crispy taco, 1 cheese enchilada and 1 puff tostada with chile con queso.
It was always nice to round it off with a sopapilla. It seems every culture has its own form of doughnut/pancake in syrup or honey.
**********
V. Saltgrass Steakhouse - although I don't eat steak, I was always stealing bites off my Dad's plate! It is most succulent and perfectly grilled Angus. I chose this over our usual seafood haunts because you can get seafood here, too. The walls are painted with ranching cowboy cattle trail murals and lots of rustic wood, yes you know you are in Texas here. When you sit down they bring you a neat little loaf of Shiner Bock Beer Bread on a board, with a ramekin of honey butter.
I would always order a delicious Caesar salad with homemade garlic croutons. Most American restaurants I used to visit would make a yummy Caesar. Then we might share a few starters, like Range Rattlers (jumbo jalapenos stuffed with whole shrimp, monterey jack cheese, battered and fried. For a main I might order a chicken fried steak with garlic mashed potato, or a platter of grilled jumbo shrimps, or a Texas Cheesesteak Sandwich (a twist on the Philly original using poblano peppers, jack cheese, and smoky chipotle sauce. (Any pepper when roasted becomes chipotle.)
When we ate out in the States we were usually too full for dessert, so we would go home, and an hour or two later have our usual post-dinner treat of tea and cookies. :)
**********
I now tag...(this is hard because everyone is busy or travelling right now...)
1. Lunaliar because she's creative with recipes and lives in Texas too
2. Matt because he claims to be a good cook despite being Welsh
3. Panda-Eyed because she has family in Hong Kong and also experiments in the kitchen
4. Beenzzz
and
5. ML because they are Guyanese, live in America, and I wonder what they like to eat.
P.S. Oops, Pete and Katja, I tagged you on P27 by mistake!
Friday, March 30, 2007
A Week in the Lone Star State
Back from Texas... Gran is going into a nursing home, not what anyone wanted for her, but she is too much of a handful for home care.
Thankfully, the major part of the family who did travel over had the opportunity to say goodbye, so we have closure before it is too late, I guess. She is ready to go - in fact we had a scare on Monday but she rallied quickly. Her body is still hanging on, and her mouth is back on turbo. Still, she told me wonderful things, I held her hands and kissed her face. That will be my last memory of her I think. Granny smiling up at me from the bed, calling me her pretty little Baby (as I always will be no matter what age), telling me all her lovely prayers for me, and the softness of her skin when I kissed her face.
*********
I am currently having a moment where I can't believe I once lived there. In Texas!
Whilst I was there, I ate seafood galore, queso with salsa and chili and corn chips (made with love by my cousin Charlene), chicken fried steak with mashed potato and white gravy (twice)...but no real Tex Mex or IHOP pancakes.
We went shopping at the Vietnamese and Indian markets and had our fill of exotic fruits and tasty produce. And need I mention the awesome clothes shopping?*
I also bonded with cousins I hadn't spent that much time with before, and others who were sort of too young until recently. It was also great being with aunts and uncles I have always loved.
We cousins enjoyed a big meal together, and a few days later everyone who wanted (14 of us) got together for a seafood feast.
On the way back to London on Thursday evening, we flew out ahead of some destructive storm systems sweeping in from Oklahoma and there was a lot of turbulence. It is tornado season there. But we left behind temps in the low 20s C (low 70s F) and came to 9 C (upper 40s F) so I have felt cold all day with the grey dampness, tiredness, jet lag, and ill-timed hunger. I think I slept for less than an hour on the unusually long 9 hour flight. However, I did watch The Devil Wears Prada and then borrowed the book from my aunt when we got to her place.
**********
I am no fan of cricket but I do keep hearing about the cricket matches being played in Georgetown, Guyana, the [somewhat faded] "Garden City of the Caribbean". So I went to the BBC Venue Guide for the England team tour of the West Indies. Three paragraphs in the middle were written in exactly this order:
Do you detect a contradiction here?
**********
Some pics from the past week:
Cousins Dinner - The Grill at The Galleria, Dallas
Clockwise L to R: Evadney and her longtime partner Stan (both personal trainers; they have kids). Nick (grew up in the UK and moved to Tx over 10 years ago, and now sounds halfway like a Texan). Charlene (Evadney's younger sister, very Texan though born in Boston). Elizabeth (one of my British cousins and my godmother). Me. Amber (on her last year of high school and wants to be a kinesiologist). Rachel (wife of Charlene and Evadney's brother Eddie, who is not there - he went out with the uncles). Sabrina (a bank manager at the WTC in the first bombing, worked nearby on 9/11, and now lives safely in Florida).
1994 Lamborghini Diablo:
Charlene's neighbour is an exotic car dealer who borrows the other half of her garage to store his latest acquisitions. Every couple of days there is a new surprise. This one is purple and we girl cousins got the keys and played around with it. He allows her drive them, but she wouldn't dare.
Liv (Nearly At) the Wheel:
I got in and could barely reach the pedals or the wheel. It was awkward fun getting the door open, though.
Gran's daughters stayed in her apartment; Elizabeth, being a director and all, got to stay in her own luxurious hotel room with adjustable air beds; I stayed with Charlene, though Liz said I could have stayed with her the whole time.
Charlene works for a financial software company, has a big new SUV, parked at her own two bedroom/two bathroom home in a quiet neighbourhood. She redecorated the place herself in really cozy velvets and suedes in warm neutrals with wood and wrought iron furniture in a sort of Spanish/ranch/prairie style. She has endless rooms and doors and storage closets, a deck built for entertaining with a bar, refrigerator, benches, jacuzzi, gazebo...very cute. It would have felt average to us coming from our place in The Woodlands, but after living in London, it looked like luxury. We never really liked the town they all live in, and yet after landing and finding myself appalled at the mess of everything in England on the drive from the airport, I found myself reevaluating my entire reasoning for continuing the struggle here...
Coincidentally, in the car this morning we were listening to the stories of other expats who, returning to England from Tanzania, Australia or the US, are never really settled in either place as they go back and forth over the years. I know what they mean. It almost makes you want to give up both and try another place, as if three makes a balance.
P.S. If you want to know how so many relatives ended up in Tx, I would be glad to share the story.
* Great brands for less than half the price you would pay in Europe.
Thankfully, the major part of the family who did travel over had the opportunity to say goodbye, so we have closure before it is too late, I guess. She is ready to go - in fact we had a scare on Monday but she rallied quickly. Her body is still hanging on, and her mouth is back on turbo. Still, she told me wonderful things, I held her hands and kissed her face. That will be my last memory of her I think. Granny smiling up at me from the bed, calling me her pretty little Baby (as I always will be no matter what age), telling me all her lovely prayers for me, and the softness of her skin when I kissed her face.
*********
I am currently having a moment where I can't believe I once lived there. In Texas!
Whilst I was there, I ate seafood galore, queso with salsa and chili and corn chips (made with love by my cousin Charlene), chicken fried steak with mashed potato and white gravy (twice)...but no real Tex Mex or IHOP pancakes.
We went shopping at the Vietnamese and Indian markets and had our fill of exotic fruits and tasty produce. And need I mention the awesome clothes shopping?*
I also bonded with cousins I hadn't spent that much time with before, and others who were sort of too young until recently. It was also great being with aunts and uncles I have always loved.
We cousins enjoyed a big meal together, and a few days later everyone who wanted (14 of us) got together for a seafood feast.
On the way back to London on Thursday evening, we flew out ahead of some destructive storm systems sweeping in from Oklahoma and there was a lot of turbulence. It is tornado season there. But we left behind temps in the low 20s C (low 70s F) and came to 9 C (upper 40s F) so I have felt cold all day with the grey dampness, tiredness, jet lag, and ill-timed hunger. I think I slept for less than an hour on the unusually long 9 hour flight. However, I did watch The Devil Wears Prada and then borrowed the book from my aunt when we got to her place.
**********
I am no fan of cricket but I do keep hearing about the cricket matches being played in Georgetown, Guyana, the [somewhat faded] "Garden City of the Caribbean". So I went to the BBC Venue Guide for the England team tour of the West Indies. Three paragraphs in the middle were written in exactly this order:
Despite its beauty, don't be fooled into lowering your security precautions whilst you're in the city.
Never walk the streets of the city at night and always avoid the Tiger Bay area just west of Main Street and Albouystown south of the centre.
One thing you definitely should do in the city is join what appears to be most of Georgetown and take an early evening stroll on the seawall as the sun sets.
Do you detect a contradiction here?
**********
Some pics from the past week:
Cousins Dinner - The Grill at The Galleria, Dallas
Clockwise L to R: Evadney and her longtime partner Stan (both personal trainers; they have kids). Nick (grew up in the UK and moved to Tx over 10 years ago, and now sounds halfway like a Texan). Charlene (Evadney's younger sister, very Texan though born in Boston). Elizabeth (one of my British cousins and my godmother). Me. Amber (on her last year of high school and wants to be a kinesiologist). Rachel (wife of Charlene and Evadney's brother Eddie, who is not there - he went out with the uncles). Sabrina (a bank manager at the WTC in the first bombing, worked nearby on 9/11, and now lives safely in Florida).
1994 Lamborghini Diablo:
Charlene's neighbour is an exotic car dealer who borrows the other half of her garage to store his latest acquisitions. Every couple of days there is a new surprise. This one is purple and we girl cousins got the keys and played around with it. He allows her drive them, but she wouldn't dare.
Liv (Nearly At) the Wheel:
I got in and could barely reach the pedals or the wheel. It was awkward fun getting the door open, though.
Gran's daughters stayed in her apartment; Elizabeth, being a director and all, got to stay in her own luxurious hotel room with adjustable air beds; I stayed with Charlene, though Liz said I could have stayed with her the whole time.
Charlene works for a financial software company, has a big new SUV, parked at her own two bedroom/two bathroom home in a quiet neighbourhood. She redecorated the place herself in really cozy velvets and suedes in warm neutrals with wood and wrought iron furniture in a sort of Spanish/ranch/prairie style. She has endless rooms and doors and storage closets, a deck built for entertaining with a bar, refrigerator, benches, jacuzzi, gazebo...very cute. It would have felt average to us coming from our place in The Woodlands, but after living in London, it looked like luxury. We never really liked the town they all live in, and yet after landing and finding myself appalled at the mess of everything in England on the drive from the airport, I found myself reevaluating my entire reasoning for continuing the struggle here...
Coincidentally, in the car this morning we were listening to the stories of other expats who, returning to England from Tanzania, Australia or the US, are never really settled in either place as they go back and forth over the years. I know what they mean. It almost makes you want to give up both and try another place, as if three makes a balance.
P.S. If you want to know how so many relatives ended up in Tx, I would be glad to share the story.
* Great brands for less than half the price you would pay in Europe.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Letter from Texas
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for all your good wishes, thoughts and prayers.
Just an update:
My gran has improved a great deal. Monday she came out of the coma/delerium and started teasing everyone, but is refusing food and remains on IV drips for nutrition and antibiotics (to prevent infections). There are moments when she doesn't see us, or thinks we are other people, but then she figures it out later; she is also advising and encouraging us all for the future, telling a lot of childhood stories and seeing relatives that she will join on the other side.
It was touching that she declared my Mum was keeping her back - thinking that since my parents split up, she needed her mother.
We had a scare yesterday and we all gathered at the hospital, but she pulled out of that too.
This could go on for days or weeks. (I may have to come back...)
We are arranging for hospice care at home in preparation for when the hospital releases her. So yesterday we stripped the walls, wiped everything down, threw things away and gave away furniture in preparation for the hospital bed being delivered today.
**********
In better news, 14 of us gathered at Red Lobster for a feast last night - my cousin Elizabeth paid and we teased her because she is director of London charities, but she said it was OK since paying dollars makes it half price.
Last Saturday, most of the cousins in town got together for dinner as well, at a fancy Grill at the Galleria. That was expensive but we split it.
**********
I haven't been able to see my friends in the area because our car is the day taxi and my mother can't drive well at night. I don't know Dallas and am not allowed to drive her rental car - I've never been stopped by police in my life, but she won't relent. This sucks because you'd think there would be enough time in the day, but there isn't. Someone always needs to be driven somewhere, or there's shopping and cooking to do, or hospital visits, or something...I can't ask Gigi to come and get me because she can't drive outside of her familiar area, plus I am afraid of the disability controls she uses. It's not fair to ask my other friends to come here either...anyway, I leave tomorrow...
But we have to remember this is not a pleasure trip. Mum and I were arguing about that, on the way to Gigi's house because we were halfway there when Mum remembered that some family friends who had been keeping boxes from our house in their giant garage had finally allowed her to go there in the afternoon and pick up what she wanted. We argued because I had promised Gigi I'd see her, but I got blamed for an arrangement I had made the day before with her approval simply because she had found out later that we could get our stuff.
She had also given them a lot of things...It is weird going into people's houses and seeing your own furniture and decor integrated into every room. It happens all over the family now - reminders of our former life have been dispersed into all their homes in Texas, Canada, and England. Most weird to see my old Peter Rabbit keyring hanging out of my uncle's pocket...
So yesterday I was taking family photos out of frames and putting them in a folder so I can easily bring them with me to London. Some were specially mounted and framed, so those my mother will take to Canada and store under the bed.
Life is full of changes, isn't it? Sometimes we have no choice but to go along with it, no matter how much you must lose.
Thanks for all your good wishes, thoughts and prayers.
Just an update:
My gran has improved a great deal. Monday she came out of the coma/delerium and started teasing everyone, but is refusing food and remains on IV drips for nutrition and antibiotics (to prevent infections). There are moments when she doesn't see us, or thinks we are other people, but then she figures it out later; she is also advising and encouraging us all for the future, telling a lot of childhood stories and seeing relatives that she will join on the other side.
It was touching that she declared my Mum was keeping her back - thinking that since my parents split up, she needed her mother.
We had a scare yesterday and we all gathered at the hospital, but she pulled out of that too.
This could go on for days or weeks. (I may have to come back...)
We are arranging for hospice care at home in preparation for when the hospital releases her. So yesterday we stripped the walls, wiped everything down, threw things away and gave away furniture in preparation for the hospital bed being delivered today.
**********
In better news, 14 of us gathered at Red Lobster for a feast last night - my cousin Elizabeth paid and we teased her because she is director of London charities, but she said it was OK since paying dollars makes it half price.
Last Saturday, most of the cousins in town got together for dinner as well, at a fancy Grill at the Galleria. That was expensive but we split it.
**********
I haven't been able to see my friends in the area because our car is the day taxi and my mother can't drive well at night. I don't know Dallas and am not allowed to drive her rental car - I've never been stopped by police in my life, but she won't relent. This sucks because you'd think there would be enough time in the day, but there isn't. Someone always needs to be driven somewhere, or there's shopping and cooking to do, or hospital visits, or something...I can't ask Gigi to come and get me because she can't drive outside of her familiar area, plus I am afraid of the disability controls she uses. It's not fair to ask my other friends to come here either...anyway, I leave tomorrow...
But we have to remember this is not a pleasure trip. Mum and I were arguing about that, on the way to Gigi's house because we were halfway there when Mum remembered that some family friends who had been keeping boxes from our house in their giant garage had finally allowed her to go there in the afternoon and pick up what she wanted. We argued because I had promised Gigi I'd see her, but I got blamed for an arrangement I had made the day before with her approval simply because she had found out later that we could get our stuff.
She had also given them a lot of things...It is weird going into people's houses and seeing your own furniture and decor integrated into every room. It happens all over the family now - reminders of our former life have been dispersed into all their homes in Texas, Canada, and England. Most weird to see my old Peter Rabbit keyring hanging out of my uncle's pocket...
So yesterday I was taking family photos out of frames and putting them in a folder so I can easily bring them with me to London. Some were specially mounted and framed, so those my mother will take to Canada and store under the bed.
Life is full of changes, isn't it? Sometimes we have no choice but to go along with it, no matter how much you must lose.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Rant-a-Meme
A quick rant on something that bothered me:
I went to the grocery store this afternoon. At the end of my checkout, because it was near the exit, was a great conglomeration of 8 or 10 trolleys. I couldn't push mine out while I waited for the woman from the next till over to pick her bags out of her trolley. Predictably, she added another set of wheels to the mix. While I was waiting for her to leave, the woman behind me nodded her hijab at me and said "Excuse me, can I get out?". Well, I had nowhere to go; we still had to wait till the first lady left the store - that's how crowded it was.
I reached for my bags and thought, "I can't leave those trolleys in such a ridiculous state." I could barely reach the exit anyway, and the hijab lady wouldn't have a chance, specially with her baby stroller. So I pushed about 3 trolleys into each other to open a walkway, and as I was doing so, Mrs Hijab waggles at me again, "Excuse me, my baby is sleeping!"
I replied, "But I am trying to make some space here."
She said, "I see that."
And the cashier and the people in the queue looked over at me and shrugged their shoulders.
I would have like to see her try to get out with bags and a stroller if I hadn't done that.
Sometimes I hate being thoughtful. It would have been so EASY for me to pick up my bags and leave my trolley right where it stood. Of course, if I try that next time, some old lady is liable to look at me and shake her head and proclaim something about the youth of today. You cannot win...
**********
OK, Blue tagged me with this a week ago and Leilouta did today.
Five Things About Me:
1) I am shy around other people's children, but not their dogs.
2) The only fruit I crave is apples, even if I enjoy others
3) When I was 3, I stole a toy from Nursery School. It was a small orange cube with no known function.
4) I used to hate my first name! I wanted my middle name first.
5) Sometimes I like to put condensed milk on my buttered toast, mmmm.
**********
I also decided to do the Book Meme:
1. Find the nearest book.
2. Name the book & the author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page. Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
5. Tag three more folks.
So it is the book I am reading at the moment:
Theatre of the Mind: Raising the Curtain on Consciousness by Jay Ingram
p. 123, sentences 6, 7 and 8 read:
No favouritism here - I tag YOU!
In the tradition of ending each post with a photo, I have discovered The Woodlands College Park High School, home of the Cavaliers. Oooh! I am so envious! I went to a big square brown school built in the 70s. McCullough was the first high school in the Woodlands, back when it was young. Home of the Highlanders.
Now look at this! A high school!
I went to the grocery store this afternoon. At the end of my checkout, because it was near the exit, was a great conglomeration of 8 or 10 trolleys. I couldn't push mine out while I waited for the woman from the next till over to pick her bags out of her trolley. Predictably, she added another set of wheels to the mix. While I was waiting for her to leave, the woman behind me nodded her hijab at me and said "Excuse me, can I get out?". Well, I had nowhere to go; we still had to wait till the first lady left the store - that's how crowded it was.
I reached for my bags and thought, "I can't leave those trolleys in such a ridiculous state." I could barely reach the exit anyway, and the hijab lady wouldn't have a chance, specially with her baby stroller. So I pushed about 3 trolleys into each other to open a walkway, and as I was doing so, Mrs Hijab waggles at me again, "Excuse me, my baby is sleeping!"
I replied, "But I am trying to make some space here."
She said, "I see that."
And the cashier and the people in the queue looked over at me and shrugged their shoulders.
I would have like to see her try to get out with bags and a stroller if I hadn't done that.
Sometimes I hate being thoughtful. It would have been so EASY for me to pick up my bags and leave my trolley right where it stood. Of course, if I try that next time, some old lady is liable to look at me and shake her head and proclaim something about the youth of today. You cannot win...
**********
OK, Blue tagged me with this a week ago and Leilouta did today.
Five Things About Me:
1) I am shy around other people's children, but not their dogs.
2) The only fruit I crave is apples, even if I enjoy others
3) When I was 3, I stole a toy from Nursery School. It was a small orange cube with no known function.
4) I used to hate my first name! I wanted my middle name first.
5) Sometimes I like to put condensed milk on my buttered toast, mmmm.
**********
I also decided to do the Book Meme:
1. Find the nearest book.
2. Name the book & the author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page. Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
5. Tag three more folks.
So it is the book I am reading at the moment:
Theatre of the Mind: Raising the Curtain on Consciousness by Jay Ingram
p. 123, sentences 6, 7 and 8 read:
Some even argue that this experiment doesn't explore free will at all, because the participants know they have to make several of these "spontaneous" movements over the course of the experiment and that the movement will be exactly the same (or essentially so) each time. In fact, when the experiment was first described to participants, they were conscious of the instructions and the procedure - somewhere in their minds they "knew" what they were doing. Yet to take the results at face value you'd have to believe that this background awareness was suspended each and every time they flicked their wrist.
No favouritism here - I tag YOU!
In the tradition of ending each post with a photo, I have discovered The Woodlands College Park High School, home of the Cavaliers. Oooh! I am so envious! I went to a big square brown school built in the 70s. McCullough was the first high school in the Woodlands, back when it was young. Home of the Highlanders.
Now look at this! A high school!
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