Why do Westerners seem, (in a generalization based on every one of them here this morning at Hong Kong Airport, well, besides himself and me), head for the safe restaurant/food option.
Burger King, (Hungry Jacks in Adelaide) : packed with tourists, mainly Western
Nifty little eatery where they don’t speak English : packed with Chinese – and us.
Result : almost too full to fly!
The airplane staff have been, without exception, absolutely marvellous. Ernest, our cabin staffer, was so smiling friendly and intent on my well being. We ended up on a runway far far from the biggest acreage of airport I could have imagined, so a bus, and stairs, due to distance from terminals, was announced. Tired and in pain, I was defeated and upset, but trying to hold on, while himself was bound to ensure my well being – he was exhausted, but he had the forceful look he gets when his family needs something Implacable I believe it would be. Yet no, Ernest et al had organised a special hoist for myself, and a lovely woman in her 80s travelling back to Scotland. She was an old hand at this, and she was very reassuring. The young lady assigned to us was very determined to keep me safe and take charge. We got hoisted down but remained in this lift taxi thing until we reached the airport. Our temperatures taken (a device to the forehead for a few seconds), our young lady headed us to customs.
This incredibly lovely but amazingly forceful young lady took absolute charge of us last night. She was not to be satisfied until she had us organised into a taxi for our hotel. She made enquiries at various hotel counters until she found the chain managing this one and handed us into a taxi personally with the address card (in Chinese) to the taxi driver, with what sounded like admonishments and demands for our well being. She spoke almost zero English, but managed to communicate her intentions to any and all staff who dared to cross her path. She must have been the age of our eldest daughter, but was so self contained and self assured, she made me feel young and inadequate! Himself was magnanimously allowed to push the luggage cart, while she took determined possession of me in my wheelchair.
The taxi driver spoke zero English, but decided I should at least know all the place names we were passing, determined to correct my woeful pronunciations. He seemed to delight in me finally getting one right, before moving to the next. Hong Kong was hot, like walking into a thick dense wall of heat, almost but not quite muggy. Heavy air weighs you down.
Taking lots of photos to share. Have been working on the Serval presentation quite a lot, refining, and listening to meetings I recorded prior to travel, trying to capture everything.
And now, to Hong Kong Airport, thence Okinawa and Naha Airport.
I am presenting at : http://arinex.com.au/ieee2011/
I am nervous about this pretty important presentation – more about this next post. This is being done with the support and encouragement of many projects besides ours, so I feel a lot of weight on shoulders. I want to represent everybody as well as i can.
I am nervous about the flight, i loathe flying, and with a disability, for this distance, how will evil back hold up? And how will the trip erode my ability to cope with in, away from the support i have set up for myself?
Have we organised enough money in foreign currency? How hard will taxis etc be with wheelchair – i can’t ust do the hop on a bus thing. How about my heavy medications, will all the supporting documentation be sufficient? Thieves, a real problem, how to avoid? SO a mix of normal traveller apprehension mixed with disability concerns.
But i am going with my spouse, my joy knows no limits there. He and i know each other so well, and he is so supportive and encouraging, his excitement lifts me when my nerves threaten me. We are calling this the honeymoon we never have, a seal on the new life we are thoroughly committed to, to each other. I am old married and new married to him, and it, along with kids and project, is a delightful consumption:)
Ahh well, an adventure i am going on, and i will be all the better for it. The kids are excited for some grandpa and big sister time. And souvenirs, thre is definitely souvenirs requesting going on:) I will take many pictures, ads will himself, and it will be wonderful. I will live blog as i find access.
When i get back, it is UI revamp major release, and writing my thesis proposal for uni. And putting the next draft of my Linux Conf Au 2012 presentation together – January is exciting trip for many Serval types, as we all head to th conference, where Corey and I wll be presenting, but all of us will be interacting and demonstrating. Serval Roadtrip!!!!
I was asked by a very nice lady to blog about this. I had a look, and thought it was really interesting and hugely informative. This disease is so damn tragic in it’s living nightmare of slipping away, and the ongoing effect on families, the anguish of those watching their loved ones see them as strangers.
Generation Alzheimer’s – The Defining Disease Of The Baby Boomers.
Heyho.
Serval – epic huge meeting – with much work for rest of week. Assigned myself development time, which i really haven’t done for a while (in set times). Now, i am saying thursday & friday is MINE. Coding is as much about headspace as anything – you need that headspace to be focus time, not diverted to business activities. So, tomorrow, many business tasks. Things are really ramping up, and i am having to go back into project mode. Which will make our project manager happy (she doesn’t read this, so i am safe i suspect!)
Quilting – nada. Thought about it. That is something, no?
Kids – play date day for ms 9, she & friend & mr 7 had a blast inside and outside all day. Cubby house, sandpit, inside fort, trampoline, swings, xbox360, wii, and tv. Not a lot of the tv based stuff, but enough for the down moments:) Ms 18 off for a break at her dad’s for the rest of the week – some non noisy family, second part of family (my eldest, ms 24, and their magic dad,aka one of my most valued friends:) ) Ms 16 in a10 days gone into caretaker mode (must nurture family mode). She is a darling one, but they all are:) Naturally, had to watch The Goodies with wee ones before bed was contemplated.
Dad – looking tired, worrying me a lot. The verdict on his radiation treatment for prostate cancer will be in next month. As the interim result wasn’t the best,his ongoing tiredness worries me. I am hoping it means radiation still working, but, well…
Activities – besides all else, some shopping. A surprisingly mammoth task, shopping for a few days when it is just me and wheelchair against the world. Meeting took up a great amount of time and energy, so between the two, plus kidlets – well, bye day. Oh, air yet another colour. Yes, i have low attention span. Aimed for blue black, have black with red purple blue streaks. Really dig it:) Think darkness is mine now, (darkling, i listen….?). Gave Tux the Linux penguin, who had many adventures with me, to Dr Paul’s eldest daughter, a sweet little magic princess. I have been reliably informed that he is being utterly adored – which is good for him, and me to know:)
Status – odd day, was some stuff to deal with at meeting i was dreading. Ended up doing usual coping mechanism, which is not the wisest, but my body deals with stress by getting nauseous. Wish it wouldn’t! At least pain is settled down a lot. Rest days so needed, but the medication is definitely settling into place better. Which makes management better – one restricted day where two or three utter helpless in agony days once were. Hoping i can maintain this trend! Tattoo healing nicely, too.
Mindset – relieved meeting went off okay eventually Feeling really excited about the project. Also feeling cautiously optimistic as more data to confirm feeling pain is getting better managed. The higher dosage + lesser interval seems key, side effects still a bitch, but that management, while tricky, seems to be working too. Restrictive, but hey, not as much as pain is!
Score – today we have a 7. Was climbing post meeting, of course, but rest is settling it. Tired after sleep issues, but they were based on me worrying about meeting.
For anyone interested, pain is rated on a scale of 1-10. 1 is pretty well 0, for these purposes, 10 is utterly crippling, and have only been there a few times. Ended up being carted away in an ambulance the last occasion, when back had epic sudden deterioration, and i went from limping and occasional walking stick,t o needing a wheelchair overnight. So, 9 is pretty well it, 9.5 means i am crying and waiting for uber drugs to kick in, but the .5 at this end of pain scale is quantum scale, as opposed to the .5 between a 1 and 1.5, say….every tiny increment over 7 is really noticed. I haven’t been below a five in the last year, (since that last incident), and rarely am below 6, as that would require a few days of immobility and massive medication, so ain’t gonna happen, peeps (unless i have no choice, i have learnt any other attitude is bravado…).
Is anyone reading these, btw? I had complaints not enough personal info, is this too much? Am i just using my blog as a chance to life sample? And who gives a pair of fetid dingoes kidneys for anyone’s opinion on my blog, anyway?:)
Heyho.
Serval – chat tonight, then weekly meet tomorrow.
Quilting – welcome to the evening, where my guilt at just lying here overcomes the pain (so that means pain is improving yeah?). So hand sewing and watching podcasts. Must put up my current list at some point again:) Yesterday, otoh, we (nej, nejmum, susan, bev) wrapped up the quiltfest for Queensland floods (now we have Victoria, NSW, and some of my own SA!) with 11 quilts all ready to – well, quilt:) baby, singles, couple of big sized ones up to a queen. Photos to come. One of the best bits has been working with friends, continuing long running friendships, adding to existing, and enhancing old ones into something new and richer. Very glad. And all this while helping people!
Kids – having a glorious lazy day, that involves playing dress ups, hiding, shrieking, and giggling (noise now abated by icecream fix post dinner). Ms 18 helped pa fix toilet and cubby house, Ms 16 helped make jam, much drawing:)
Activities – Despite crappy day pain wise, managed to push myself to take Ms 18 to her Centerlink appointment, then to shops, where she grabbed stuff™ for feeding the horde, cleaning the horde, etc etc..:) Also made the apricot jam (glorious, 14 large jars!).
Status – Pain. A lot. Slept badly, so got up late. Medication night. Todays score got to a 9, but managed to bring things down to an 8 atm. Dropping also, if i don’t move…so, overall well being of 8.5, not ideal:(
Mindset – flat and low after battling pain, but feeling mentally better than i have in a while. Being busy for others helps. i think. Trying to keep black dog from lurking at fringes of mind. Eating in spite of pain, which is a nice thing for me to manage. Makes kids happy…
Heyho. slept in, after not sleeping until 5am. So technically, 6 ½ hours sleep.
Serval meeting today – big things afoot. I would tell you but i would have to kill you, and i am too apathetic.
Quilting in evening, to make quilts for those affected by floods. One top made, a second one half made. Susan and nej managed the finished top. i was the slack one…Thai food and happy family accordingly;) Having a quilting bee weekend, to make more quilts – invited lots of peeps, will see who makes it.
Todays score is a 6.5, discovered wet wheelchair wheels + no gloves = not able to push damn wheels. Annoying. Still, overall well being of 6.5:)
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Recovered from taking the kidlets to the show. First time since wheelchair. An – interesting experience! Points go to Ms nearly 16 for accompanying and being amazing:) The 2 little ones were great. They had a swag of showbags, loved the baby animals and the bouncy castle a lot. Rides were just too hard to get on, so a say at Victor Harbor, where such things still persist, is looming. (Also means the utterly loved joy of the horse drawn tram, but with wheelchair? Nervous…but will give it a shot!)
Yesterday the little ones and i got down and floury – blood orange scones. Over 2 dozen, slowly disappearing as we speak. They had their own rolling pin and cutting board, and we made many odd and fun shapes.
Scrapheap Challenge on iView – the kidlets and i curl up in the evening on my big bed, draw the curtains (yay four poster), and watch it on my 24″ Mac screen. Bliss curled up giggling with them. Confessions of naughty showbag goodies being polished off during;)
Taught Ms almost 16 how to make a fruity apple and plum casserole, with leftover roast pork and veges. Love cooking with the horde.
I put a light polish of makeup on Ms 9 this morning – you know, the first time i have put makeup on one of my kids! Weird. Calisthenic photos (her team won their competitions, i am so damn proud!!!). Home via groceries acquisition (a perennial non fave;) ) Must remember custom bag i made for Kermit the wonder chair. I am my own shopping trolley!
Ms 18 next month (gasp shock horror really!) was away yesterday post a sleepover with a dear friend. Came home with a resurgence of her not so dear cold. She suffers not in silence;)
Ms 24 has had a full on week. Love that amazing young woman. She is handling things with foresight and determination to try to do the right thing. Love her courage.
Dad is doing well, he likes the weekends and the break from his daily cancer treatment. Loves having the noise and chaos of the horde around him:)
The dogs are delighting in the weekend too – kids! Crumbs! Running around the backyard with them!
More snuggly scrapheap fun later. The kidlets are turning into almost as much of a Robert Llewellyn fan as their mum:)
School tomorrow, much paperwork for Serval for me. The week ran away, and I don’t wheel that fast;)
Perhaps mundane to anyone else, but my quiet joys are deep and true. I also dreamt and wrote and yearned and pined and was outraged. That is a whole other story:)
… and was content to be so.
My friend had a hell of a good photos exhibition, and a group of magic friends had a good dinner.
But I hurt, and am so very tired, just sitting in a corner, wanting to go home. They are still enjoying. I am driving some home. So I wait.
Not much more, of course. The spark I can muster has diminished, and I need to hide in my den. Safe.
Run, roll away.
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