It’s good to be eating again. RV and I grabbed a quick dinner at Banana Island before heading back to the house. We’d been there before, but both of the dishes we ordered were not what we remembered, so sort of a surprise for the palate.

Just showing off the pictures that the new camera is taking. It’s probably not too much different from the iPhone pictures I used in previous entries since I have them at such small sizes. The larger photos are noticeably better. It arrived much earlier than expected, and I’m loving it so far! My other point-and-shoot was about a handful of years old, so it was time to replace it.

I can’t wait to take it up to Sonoma tomorrow! A bunch of us are heading up for Russian River Wine Road’s 32nd Annual Barrel Tasting. Poor RV has been dubbed the DD though, so he won’t be tasting the wines. From looking at tweets about the barrel tasting, DDs aren’t left out at all – some wineries provide lemonade and snacks! It should still be a lot of fun for everyone.

I love wandering into a random [somewhat, as I'd searched online for reviews first] place and finding something that just triggers happy feelings. Ian and RV were meeting up for their monthly [every-so-often, but should be more often than that] drinks. I tagged along after suggesting the place and fell in like. It’s not love yet because I haven’t seen it at other hours, but for a Sunday afternoon, it was nice.

My friend, Kara, recently started a blog called “I Love It, SF.” In it, she explores the great things about San Francisco and documents with brilliant photos and of course, writing. I’d really like to get back into that as well, capturing the moments that truly make life fantastic [superduperly so]. I recently replaced my point-and-shoot camera with the assistance of some friends on which one to pick out. This Canon SD780 IS is on its way to me now, so I’ll have photos to go along with stories!

Yes, it’s RED!

The splint is out! What a relief. That piece of plastic was getting pretty gnarly from seven weeks of just sitting in my mouth. Yuck and definitely TMI! So now I’m splint-free, but sadly still on the liquid diet. I’m in a much better mood though now that the surgeon has had the chance to see me. It was just not knowing how everything was healing up that was bothering me and adding to my overall impatience.

PLUS, I can talk again!

On Friday night, we went to the Chabot Space Center to see Festizio [@festizioband] perform in the planetarium. YES, IN the planetarium. How cool is that? The sound was fine from where I was standing, but I think the dome didn’t help carry the sound properly to the rest of the space. No matter – it was still a great time! AND for the first time in a long time, I could actually introduce myself to people and roam around without keeping RV or Keane or the sister by my side. Those three were my interpreters for the longest time – poor things!

It was a good show overall. They played some new songs, one of which I am a huge fan of. I found myself humming along to the recording Keane did for me the next morning. Listen to it here!

In July 2008, I wrote the following:

True love is an idea. A dynamic idea that changes over time and as one’s perception is influenced by those one encounters.

And I think that once one’s accepted this, falling in love or meeting someone doesn’t seem as impossible or as distant. I meet a person. I don’t seek perfection. It’s more of finding someone I can trust, want to trust, and want to be trusted by. It’s someone I want loyal to me and I want to be loyal to. It’s a mutual understanding that hey, we’re not perfect, but we get along, and we want to live and grow old together. Mutual tolerance of flaws and differences, while at the same time, learning and growing together, one not allowing the other to remain stagnant.

I still believe it to be true.

And while we did not specifically celebrate Valentine’s Day with a romantically planned evening [we laid floor tile and had Chinese New Year dinner with my family], I think my sentiment on the day is the same that I have for Thanksgiving: It doesn’t matter what the designated day is; you should express love and good thoughts to family, friends, and lovers as often as you’re comfortable with.

Here’s another sneak peak at the house if you haven’t visited already.

One of the few “cons” to the house – an ugly kitchen.

Of course, it no longer looks like this. It functions as a kitchen, but I think it is also the source of a wiring problem in the house. We’ve had more than a handful of electrical trips over the last month. I’m hoping that gets resolved SOON. I LOVE gas stoves, so that was a saving grace, but we had to replace the one in the photo. For some reason, the digital part controlling the oven fell off, and you couldn’t tell what temperature or whether the oven was on or not. Not particularly safe. The fridge was a little on the small side, so we moved it downstairs for RV’s fishing supplies.

Anyway, RV’s having a blast, ripping it to shreds. In the meantime, we are either microwaving or eating at my parents’ house. All dishes are being done in the bathroom. The living room looks like the kitchen exploded all over it – dishes, pots, pans, appliances from the kitchen scattered about.

Spent night two here. The hum of the traffic is quite soothing. It keeps me in bed longer than I should be, but it’s so comfortable. If only I could sleep in more than once a week.

Ever since I downloaded a dream interpretation app to my phone [DreamBook - $2.99], I’ve been better about at least looking up the significance of objects/creatures that appear in my dreams. I still don’t remember everything in the dream to document it, but I remember bits and pieces.

The dream interpretation app seems to point at my hesitation on moving into the new house. I think the idea of it being my permanent residence is what brings about those feelings the most. I mean, I shouldn’t mind it so much. It’s close to the parents’ house, and my stuff will all be in one place. On the one hand, I am excited about all this. On the other, I am not certain why I would mind this at all. RV and I get to play house in a house that’s more convenient than my parents’. It’s right off the freeway, walking distance to the market, and definitely easy to get to in terms of public transportation.

It probably has to do with a fear of growing up and getting old. And when I get older, everyone around me does too – family included. It’s been several years since the passing of the last of my grandparents’ generation. As time goes by and as my generation grows up, the generation of the parents also continues to move forward. Not too long from now, my parents will reach retirement, and so on and so forth…

:/

Hi there, it’s been about one month after surgery. I have been back at work for a week and a half. The liquid diet is definitely taking its toll, and I am on power-save mode. Luckily, that’s been okay at work. We don’t have any major deadlines that require overtime or anything, so I have been slowly getting back into gear. Aside from low energy, I am feeling pretty good. My face hurts now and then, but not to the point of being unbearable. At night, if my jaw feels clenched and uncomfortable, I take a little pain medicine, so I can fall asleep. I have read on some forums that some experience pain below the ears, and I haven’t had that. *phew* Still feeling numbness in the lower left lip + chin in that area.

Total weight loss has been around seven pounds. My clothing is loose, and I refuse to buy anything tighter because I can only assume that I will gain it all back as soon as the chompers are working. One more week until I may possibility be free of the splint/bands. Not free completely because they will replace them with removeable bands, but that opens a lot of doors in terms of what I can consume! *fingers crossed that I hear good news next week* It’s hard to smile when you’ve got a splint and bands in place. I’m hoping all the smiling and laughing is good exercise for the jaw because I’m doing a lot of it these days. My friends are hilarious, what can I say?

In the meantime, I have gone on select outings. As seen in the last entry, a Gaga-themed party. Also the birthdays of a few friends, along with a soup party this past weekend. It was hosted at the new house since we didn’t really have another venue. RV and Keane moved the couch in, so there was seating for all. It was a good time, and I can see the house being a great spot to host gatherings in the future. The kitchen needs some work though, so I have to get on that soon.

The parents are back from vacation, so RV is relieved of food duty for the time being. One more week, so excited!

It was a Gaga-themed party.

I had no idea what to wear the morning of and really only came up with something once I got home from work. I know at some point or other, she donned a wig of a color other than blonde, so I suppose the purple works. It’s got the obligatory bangs. The mini hat, bracelets, and necklace were purchased the day of the party. Since I wasn’t about to sew some outrageous outfit together, I decided on accessories that fit her “style.” As I couldn’t speak anyway, I took the opportunity to cover half of my face up with random lace/glitter I found in the house. In many photos I’ve seen, half of her face is covered in SOMETHING or other. It served the purpose of hiding any drool that might slip past these still-puffy lips.

Somewhere along the way, I smudged my eye make-up. Oh well.

BTW, I am totally going to have a costume closet in the new house.

I thought this photo might be amusing to some. It was taken five days post-surgery. As you can see, SWOLLEN.

For the first week or so, I was eating from these giant syringes from the hospital. Basically, I was so swollen that I couldn’t really suck liquids through my teeth, so I had to put the food into syringes and just squirt them into the back of my mouth. It was a very tedious process, and eating a meal took way longer than it was worth.

And of course, here’s a photo of what it means to be “banded shut.” The orthodontist put in some hooks before surgery, so that once everything was in place, the surgeon and his team could simply wrap rubberbands in the appropriate places to keep my jaw from moving.

I soon upgraded to spoons that were not so big that I’d get soup all over my face, but they were small enough to push the liquids right into my mouth. Then, I started eating out of certain small cups that wouldn’t allow liquids to dribble down my face. Finally, bowls were included in the list of drinkable dishes. I could finally say goodbye to the syringe diet and consume mass quantities of soup and blended rice porridge.

Thank goodness! I think so far I’ve lost 5 pounds max. I’ve regained some of it too. Sorry for the quality of the photos! We took everything with the iPhone. And for those wondering, straws are impossible with the splint in. :( I’ll have to save the bendy straws for when there’s more room in my mouth.

I’m doing it. I’m posting a before and after photo.

The before photo was taken in the pre-op area. I was obviously goofing off with the free time between changing into the gown and getting hooked up onto the anesthesia. Poor RV was holding his eyelids open since it was so early in the morning.

The after photo was taken after the bandage holding the ice pack to my face was removed from my head. I don’t actually look too bad [which is why I'm feeling okay about posting the photo].

It’s not easy to compare the two because in one I’m smiling. I will have to wait until the bands are removed for the smiling photos!

I subsequently ballooned up in the face and was left with bunch of bruises of many different colors. I think there’s still some yellow fading from the neck area. My skin was stretched so taut that it was all shiny. It was not attractive at all. Since then, I’ve lost the puffy face. I’m now willing to go out in public.

The only parts that I’m self-conscious about are eating and talking in public. All I can do is slurp liquids, and that’s not exactly very polite. Plus, if there are any particles in the soups that don’t fit through the gaps in my teeth, I can’t really eat anything until I’ve cleaned up that mess. And talking in public? Still a bunch of muffled mumbling that is understandable to most if they just listen close enough.