Allen "the pancake" Yuo

I am in pain....quite a lot of pain!!!

We had Art class right before lunch. Everyone hates it when we have Art class right before lunch. Teacher Lily is a bit of a loose canon, and will often too much time freaking out on the kids for pressing too hard with their markers (the are 4 and 5!!!!). We innevitably go over time. By the time we get back to the classroom I will have enough time to get down to the caffeteria, shovel some food in my gullet and make it to Chinese class on time. No tea today!! As I rush out Allen jumps in front of me and yells, "YOU CANNOT GO!!!"

"Whanna bet?" I was like a steam train with my momentum. Normally I could transfer the momentum to my other leg and step around his body. Today I am wearing a pencil skirt, my legs do not spread that wide today. I stumbled a bit, and realized we were going down...both of us. I pulled him towards me and put my knee and elbow out to try and break his fall. I took most of the fall, but he banged his head on the floor. He was scared. I would be too if I was 4 feet tall and I had fallen on top of me!!! I put some ice on his head, comforted him and left to go to chinese class. By the time I got up from my brief lunch my knee was starting to hurt. By the time I got to chinese class it had swollen to twice its size.

My knee is stiff and swollen, and I am wallowing in the thought that I fell ON a student...I am SUCH A CLUTZ!!

udate: I went into work this morning. I asked Allen how he was feeling, if he had a bump. He said no, and was sweet enough to ask how I was doing. I showed him the bruise and scrape on my elbow, and my bruised and swollen knee. With the utmost concern he looked and me and said "You should look the doctor!"

Jesse's First Hunt

My parents separated when I was 6. My dad hooked up with Vicki when I was 8, and my brother and I moved in with them and her son Jesse. Jesse was an only child, and really was, AN ONLY CHILD! In fact when I met him he was the only grandchild. He is two years younger than me, only 8 months younger than Kev. Dad really did his bit to give the whole blended family thing the old college try. We were encouraged to call Vicki, 'Mom' and Jesse called Dad, 'Dad'. We really bought into it. I had 2 brothers. I had 2 moms...Mom' in Saskatchewan' and 'Mom in BC'. Jesse even called my mom 'Mom' and spent half our summer holidays in Sask with us at her farm.

We weren't what you would call a "functional" family. Life was pretty volatile. Kev was not an easy child, to say the least, and Vicki struggled. Jesse took the brunt of a lot of it. Kev was being punished pretty much everyday, and it all got too much, and Kev moved back with my mom 4 years later. I think that it was good for a little while, but I was going through puberty, and was an UBER bitch. Jesse took the brunt of that one. I can remember not speaking to him for a full 2 weeks. I also remember teaching him to dance, and how to dress, helping with school stuff, but I do have some guilt for how I treated him. I have even more guilt for leaving him though. Two years after Kev moved to Sask with mom, I followed suit. Things weren't great for me socially, nor at home. Kev had got into trouble with drugs and the law, and I felt like I could help him by being there. My dad did not take it so well, and though I am sure that he would deny it, I know that he resented Jesse. Jesse was a bit of a dreamer. He was not quick and funny like Kevin and I are, and he was there while we were not. Things were pretty rough for my dear sweet boy after I left.

Fast forward nearly 20 years....Dad and Vicki have been separated for 15 years, and you realize the difference between real family and forced. Kev and Jess both have had battles with drugs and alcohol. Both have had a rough time with relationships. Jess is at the tail end of a failed marriage with, from my understanding, psycho controlling bitch from hell (no bias here!!). Kev and Jess have had sporadic contact over the years and recently Jess headed out to Sask to go on his first hunting trip with Kev. Kev made this video. The song is one of the many campfire songs that we sang growing up. Now altough this video initially overwhelmed my emotions, I couldn't help but wonder "How is it that I am related to these people?" I am a flippin vegeterian....Then the second part of the video plays out, and I see that at least we have sense of humour in common!! Sodomy with a shotgun is just plain frickin funny!!!

Just a Few More To Go...

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GONE DADDY GONE

I just received the email that he made it home safe and sound. Here I sit, reflecting on the visit where two of my worlds collided. We both made an effort to avoid the known problem areas, and make this visit good, and for the most part it was!! Dad really put his heart into it. He tried any food, went anywhere. He had one of my Chinese books with him, and if he wanted something he just pointed in his book. He had friends in the park by the time he left.

Halloween was a great night out!! I had people over here before we went out, so dad could have a few drinks with us. At about midnight we headed to the club. It is the biggest night of the year here. It is the night when people that don't normally go out, party hard!! It was a great night, I danced my ass off, and crawled into the house about 6:30 am, snuck upstairs just as I heard dad start to rise. I felt like I was in highschool again! Goodtimes!!!

Last week I took a few days off work and Pops and I toured the island. Some highlights and memorable moments:

Boarding the already packed train from the back, and beelining for two empty seats. I set my pack in the one seat and was making my way to the chair as this middle aged biotch slid in, and looked everywhere but at me! I was raging!!! What I should have done was pick up my pack and sit beside her, but I was too pissed to think. I called her a C*nt Face B*tch to her face, and stormed to the back to stand with my dad. Big pet peeve in this country...And sort of transportation. Survival of the fittest! Lots of pushing and eye contact avoidance. AARRGGHH!!
We stopped in a small town south of here to see the alleged 'largest seated Buddha'. He is big, and he is pretty hot!! Dad was snapping pictures like crazy and then slyly said to me "Do you know what we should do?" Being of the same genes, and childish sense of humour, I knew instantly "take pictures picking his nose" So we stood infront angled the camera just right, and picked Buddha's nose. At least we don't have to worry about going to hell!! Our biggest concern is that we may come back as a booger!! So mature, so much fun! Father daughter bonding moments!

We made our way to the East of Taiwan. It is beautiful!! Met up with D and L. D ran in the half marathon in the big gorge!! YAY DAVEY!! He did really well, so proud!! Dad bought a new wallet at the airport on our homeward leg. The four of us were sitting around the departures lounge and dad transfered his shit into his new wallet. We decided to see what would happen if we just set he empty old wallet down on a seat. Not a minute later, this Taiwanese guy circles around it like he has seen a suitcase strewn with wires, ticking like a cheap alarm clock. Without breaking a 10 foot radius, the guy goes and gets the security guard. The security guard picks it up with the tips of two fingers and peers in to see if there is anything in it. He then makes a grandiose show of carrying it across the lounge with arm outstretched as if someone had dropped a steaming log in it. We were trying so hard to keep a straight face, as tears streamed down my face!!

Yeah, overall...Great visit. It has left me a bit sad, and homesick for a home that I don't really have. But also, proud of the life that I have made for myself here. I got to show off my Chinese, and my students. He got to meet my friends, and see that I have a bit of a home away from home going on here. It is good to know that when I do finally leave this place, there are people close to me that have experienced this with me. Make it seem less like the strange dream that it will inevitably feel like.