Akld Anniversary

On the "Hole in the Rock" ferry where I took this.

Today is a holiday for us Aklders. It is the anniversary for the founding date of this city. So what did I do during time that I was supposed to chill?

I woke up and K was already awaken. She was watching tv, while brushing her teeth at the same time. I saw this and brought my pillow and my throw to lie down on the couch, consuming the tv. It was Al Jazeera reporting on the Egyptian crisis. It was quite terrible there.

She then had cereal and off she went to work. I still laid there, but had a bowl of cereal with me. Ate it, and still in the same position watching tv. Brought the computer with me and I remained in the position for the remainer time that I stayed at home. It is boring to report.

My mum called me around 1 something. She called because the mall that she works in is closing down in one day for the New Year holiday. My aunt is returning so she wanted to know if I wanted something. I said no and I told her that K would be on the same page with me. Mum said she already bought pens and some books for us. So she's sending those.

My sister returned from work at 2.30-ish. She showered and then told me that I should get my butt up away from the computer. I obliged because I wanted to go with her to see her friend. They were going to meet at the park. I tried to calm my fluffy hair down, but to no avail. At 3, we drove to the park.

Once there, SL (my sister's friend) arrived in no time. We walked around the park. She hadn't been there, and remarked on how bare the supposed park is. It is true but the place is more suited to riding your bicycle or for walking. Also, my sister confined in her friend about our news. They talked alot about schooling as a result of telling her that we were going back to school. She looked excited for us.

We went to Uncle K's place so that they could upload movies to SL's external hard drive. It was for thirty or so minutes until my uncle and aunt came back from their shop. We went out to have dinner.

For dinner, we had Taiwanese sausages on rice. It was really good. I enjoyed very much, so were my sister and SL.

We walked alittle bit around Meadowland. Then headed to uncle K's, only to see that the douche was there. Apparently, he was there for dinner and for Aunt E to mend these curtains for him for the old house. Somebody is moving in tomorrow, so he needed it done by tonight. We drove straight to the park to avoid the douche until he leaves.

We sat at the park and admired the surrouding. It was quite cold. We talked and eventually the topic changed to us going on holiday to the Ile De Sud. We have lived here for so many years and yet not been there. It's quite shameful to admit. So we had agreed to travel there for one weekend. IT would be fun, I think.

We arrived at uncle K's place, and the d was still present. SL got in and retrieved her hard drive and she took off. We stayed for a little while. I had Durian rice. It was delicious as usual. We stayed there until 9 and came back to the house.

That is the whole day. It had been half day productive and half day not. I am looking forward to going to CHCH.

One and Half Hour Away Butchery

Photo was taken on the ferry to see "Hole in the Rock" in Bay of Plenty

For the past two weeks or so, my brother and his wife have been looking into this butchery one and an half hour away from where we live. The shop came to him on a listed site and he immediately took us (his wife, me and K) to see it.

There were actually available butcheries in the same area. One was smaller, quite dirtier, more car parks. The other one is more cleaner, larger in size and sits on a busy street. My bro debated with his wife on which is more practical and more profitable for them. In the end the choice was clear, and my brother was more excited about the shop on the main street.

Reasons for him to pick that one, beside situating on a main street, is that it is big and has two sizable coolrooms, something they could potentially improve upon. My sister-in-law was more conversative in stating what she wanted, because it would mean she had to leave her home. A place her family lives. It's understandable.

We have since returned to the butchery many times. We chatted with them on the shop details, and such. On a number of occasions, we even spied on them. When I say spy, I meant sitting in the car counting the number of customers going into the shop. My brother wanted to know how many people each day they serve.

Today, when I called my brother to ask if I could hang with him, he was in there. I think he went to finalise details. They had already negotiated the amount, and some conditions to fix.

I am scared for my sister in law. She hadn't been away from her family. It would be scary for her, I'd imagine. My brother on the other hand has been on his own for all of his adult life. He's very calm about it, which is confirming to her that he really wanted to buy the shop. For her, the shop is more symbolic in that it is her first step to finally come out of her comfort zone. It is sad, in a way, and I suspect she would find it hard for the first year.

The arrangement of the change of hand, if everything is going accordingly, will be finalised by the end of Feb. They would have to move in at that stage. That is the beginning of the journey for the pair.

Pool

I am seeing a counsellor. The depression was too much for me last year. I was sick by the feeling. It was the worst thing one can possess. So I decided that I'd like to see somebody to help me out. My doctor referred to my counsellor whose name is Bridge. Ok, that is not her really name, but that is what I will call her on this blog.

We talked about my fear of going out in public. She recommended me to go to the swimming pool and get a lesson. She and her husband, too, are getting lessons. So she told us to go and get a lesson to swim as I don't know how. I am now made in this contract that by the time I see her next, which is one and a half week from now, I will already have had a lesson.

She said she's pushy but I think I need that. I wanted my mum to push into developing some hobby or something that I could say my own interest. Bridge was quite gentle in that she wanted me to email the people to make the appointment and constantly backing her claim that it is not hard to do that. I still haven't done it.

We also talked about the family. It's the yoosh.

There was another topic that made me feel really depressed. I won't mention it here, but what she said was logical. She made me realised that we have to deal with the facts as they are, not as how I would like them to be. Sometimes things happen for a reason, even they are bad things, they still have a purpose. It is only our choices and how we react and think about them that made them not as scary. It was quite enlightening but I still feel a little unsatisfied. Not with her, but with reality itself.

So the task to do this week is to enroll myself into a swimming lesson. We'll see that we will go.

Good News

Today, there was an important phone call. Kim was the one who made the call. To whom? It was to the lawyer and he finally said those words that we have been wanting to hear for the last eleven years- that our case has been approved!

Kim returned to the car (she called them on the public paid phone) and she tried to trick moi when she said that we had to buy plane tickets. I knew she was lying because I had this feeling that we would be approved. Why else did they tell us to get medical checks? She was smiling too, so that was a dead giveaway.

My sister was happy by the expression on her face. She smiled and couldn't stop. She then informed my brother and his wife of the news, which made him stop the car as we were driving back home from Hamilton. L congratulated us and she was quite happy for us. Ken was too happy for us, and he made the further step by calling people over the other side of the world to let them informed of our newly found news.

Now it seems, everyone knows. From my mum and dad to my grandma, my aunts, and the douche got in on it as well. My second uncle came to uncle K's house, and he, too, learned about it from my small aunt who lives on the far side of the planet from me. The news traveled like the speed of light in our family.

Everyone congratulated us. They are happy for us and asking us what we would like to do? We said that we'd like to continue studying if the university could permit late comers. Also they all suggested we'd go back for a holiday. OR maybe visit my brother in Sydney. I am only happy to oblige.

As for my own feeling, I don't exactly know. I don't to whether enjoy the new found freedom or not. I mean I have many reasons to celebrate, but at the same time, I don't know what is the next step. I don't how to go on from here, since for majority of my energy was more directed toward wanting to get the news quickly. How does one in a coma for years, suddenly awoken, deals with the reality that they have not lived for all those years?

On the other side, I am happy that now I can get a bank account. I know it sounds lame to be delighted about getting a bank card, but it is something I want since my sister got hers years ago. I can go online, buy whatever. Sh*t, the god of saving ain't happy when I got the account set up.

The Worst Call

I took this photo while on the Paihia boat trip.

I called the immibitch (a name I am now calling referring to the bitch whose name I won't mention because she is a bitch) on the fifth of this month. I tried to contact 30 days earlier but apparently she was on leave. I called her in hope to let her see my point of view but she was still absent on the day. The phone operator said she's be back on the 10th.

So what did I do? I let the operator emailed to the immibitch. Shit. Now I have to wait until the bitch herself received it and return the call.

Did she? Yep. On Wednesday last week, when I was waiting for my brother when he was in the dentist's room, around 2.30pm.

What did she say? Before I could manage to say anything, she let my hope down. The first thing she said was that she will only do the case according to when they come to her hands, not through other means. In someway, I felt insulted by this remark. I think she meant that I was begging somehow. Bitch. This presumptious and ignorant bitch is assuming my calling her was begging. Yes, it's kinda true, but still she didn't needed to sound absolutely condescending.

As I was asking her for favour, I couldn't say the nasty things in my head. Names that can't be used I wanted to yell at her. It was up there, in the way that my temper was reaching.

In the end the phone ended in unsatisfactory. I couldn't convey my message to her, nor did I find out about specific dates as to when I could expect the case to be finalised.

Internet Finally!

Yes, I have internet access. Not sure what happened since the last time I tried with the wireless modem that my internet provider gave me. They said that the new location is where there is no internet access as it is a new area. I tried with my old modem and it proved them right. Tonight I tried again, not thinking much of it. It worked!!!

Finally I don't need to go to my uncle's house to use the internet. It is finally here. In the suburb.