Yvonne Foong

I finally finished packing my luggage for tomorrow’s trip. *gosh* 21 hours flight to New York, stopping by at Stockholm. Yippie! That means I can buy some yumilicious candy. But 21 hours!! Well, have to go through that if I want to enjoy myself at DISNEY WORLD!! YAY!! I am going to be a child again. *dance around* Disney, here I come!!

So if you don’t see me posting for the next few weeks, don’t worry about me. That simply means I am enjoying myself. hehehe… okay I’m bragging but c’mon after so many surgeries, I do deserve some real fun right? ok gtg now.. bye bye!!

This is one of those sleepless nights again. I want to sleep. I am in fact a little worn out after a long day. Most people think I am tough, but its not true. I have my fears, just as everyone else has. And my fears are greater by the presence of NF. Tonight, I woke up in the middle of my sleep being bothered by the slightly greater tinnitus. In an instant, I am being reminded of my partial hearing impairment. Keisha have always been positive that a cure is underway, in the very near future. But how soon can that be? Will it be soon enough before my hearing is totally gone?

I was deaf for more than two weeks in early February so I seriously know how it feels like to be unable to hear. It’s not just the sounds that we’re deprived of, but also the sense of security. I was suppressed by the communication barrier and felt annoyed that people cannot understand me. Worse still, people cannot accept the possibility that a young girl like me is deaf. Even now that I can hear, the problem already exist. But how can I blame other people when not even my own parents understand my needs? Until today, they are still not sensible enough to speak at my direction and quit mumbling. I really don’t understand this. Do they think I am pretending? No, they certainly don’t think so but if they understood what I am feeling, they will probably respond better. People are only aware of the physical aspect of hearing impairment. We have feelings too, you know!

Until today, I am still waiting for my welfare aid to be approved so I can put on that biCROS of mine that has been in the possession of its manufacturer. Life is like this. When you truly need it, you get it difficultly. I really pray that I won’t have to loose my hearing. As an auditory learner and a music lover, I cannot imagine having to live without sounds. I want to listen to Lee Hom forever.

‘Under-sized’ men do not despair for there is hope and fair. Technology is advancing every now and then. Soon, they will be able to bring back the dead and we can all see other dimensions. In another part of the world, comes a new medical advancement…

A Russian man born with genitals so small that he was unable to have sex has been given the chance to lead a normal love life after a new penis was “grown” on his arm during pioneering surgery.

In an 11-hour operation, plastic surgeons in Moscow removed the 28-year-old’s undersized penis and stitched it on to his left forearm, where they grafted on additional flesh and tissue taken from his inner arm. The newly enlarged organ, which had grown from less than 2ins to nearly 7ins, was then reattached to his groin.

His surgeon, Professor Mikhail Sokolshchik, of the National Medical Surgical Centre, hopes that the patient will eventually be able to have sexual relations and father children. -Telegraph More

親愛的網�們, (Dear Internet Friends,)

I appreciate all the discussion over the past few days about my album, “心中的日月” (Shangri-La). It is so different from anything I’ve done in the past, and as I have repeatedly stated, is a new beginning, the attempt to create a clearer sonic identity for Chinese hip-hop music, the “Chinked-out” style. Whether I succeeded or not in this goal, only time will tell. I definitely don’t expect everyone to “get it” right away…and that’s ok!

To me, making music is not about winning awards. Creating songs that I believe in and sharing them with the world is my greatest joy and I feel blessed to be able to do what I love. That to me, is where all the success is. If I win awards, if my album sells well, that’s just a bonus.

I know my supporters feel strongly about this album, and so do I. But I don’t care if it doesn’t win an award, so please don’t feel bad! In fact many of the most important musical works in history were critically denounced at the time.

I’d rather spend my time and energy moving forward, helping to create, not destroy, what so many young Chinese composer/artists like myself are devoting our lives to: the best music we can make. If you’d rather hear music that is more “輕鬆”(relax), there’s plenty out there! But I believe that our music is our culture, and someday soon the whole world will listen to Chinese pop music, and thru it, understand more about Chinese people. I hope my positive energy spreads to you all as well. Don’t be angry, it’s not worth it!

Love, peace and music,
王力� (Leehom Wang)

I am not as good as Ed at writing these stuffs so I hope I won’t confuse anyone. There have been so many things evolving in my life for the past few years. Circumstances kept changing and my path keeps getting diverted. Maybe for this reason, my soul becomes plain numb. I could almost say for certain that I am not attached to anything and I can loose them all anytime. But then, I’d just be lying to myself. But who can blame me? I am only human and its our nature to be this way.

Eventhough I could hardly remember the details, but the footprints are still pretty vivid. There’s nothing we can do to change what we are. Just as a broken vase cannot be made to its original condition. This is not to say I am broken, but for this, I can never be the same. As circumstances get tougher and work gets loaded, it’s easy for me to defy my inner voice. But it takes only the little things to wake me up and get in touch with that spot, the footsteps my past made. The big things like seing Alicia, browsing in Friendster, speaking to his friends, or the small things like listening to music he likes, reading a book he reads, dining at a restaurant he eats at, and even the smaller things like saying a phrase he used to say or doing things he thought me are the times that I am reminded of him.

I may not be as before- the 15-year-old-Doey who would go nuts at the sight of him and be crazily overjoyed. I must say, I am already grown-up. But still, some things during childhood still remains.. and it will remain forever. Like a treasure box and its key.

I am mostly aimless nowadays. The only thing to look forward to is a long vacation in less than 2 weeks time. I was in the midst of clearing things up when I passed my PC and decided to have a sit. I’ve just received my SP2 CD from Microsoft but it says ‘a product key is absent’ so I can’t install. Ed says I have to reformat again for it to work. *sigh* not again!! There are really a lot of things I haven’t done since I lost my last job.

1. I’ve abondoned my sign language course for ages
2. I stopped reading Sophie’s World midway
3. I should read up Philosophy, the Basics
4. I should get started with my SAT preparation kit.
5. I’ve to read up the 2003 World Youth Report
6. I’ve to make use of the toolkit to evaluate national youth policy.
7. I should remember to submit a few contest entries
8. I’ve to get SP2 running
9. I’ve to get a haircut before I leave the country.
10. I should get started in my efforts for the Malaysian NF support group
11. I should finalise my book a.s.a.p!!

There you go, such a long list of things. They do not vary in the level of importance. Seems like I’m still floating about, unable to set my priorities. But I guess the most important now is my book, my story. The readings won’t dissapear even if I postpone them for another year, right? Afterall, we do not stop learning so what’s the hurry?

*sigh* tired.. tired..

I received my homaniacs T-shirt today. (Homaniacs is the Malaysian Lee Hom Fan Club) It came as a registered mail. Mom says the cloth quality is good and I am glad this baby-T fits me well. Behind, is printed a drawing by Lee Hom himself for the club with his signature alongside. I think it’s a good idea to incoporate his English name in his chinese signature. Perhaps, I shall try creating one like that but my name is so long.

Unfortunately, Lee Hom’s KL showcase falls on the 25th April while I will be spending my vacation in Disney World, Florida. Isn’t it ironic? Lee Hom’s home is a few hours away from where I’ll be but he’s few minutes away from my home. Yes, his showcase will be held at the Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach. But nevermind.. July will always come when he will be here again for a concert. yippie!! But I would love to go to him personally for an autograph. Well, can always do that in the years to come, right? For this time, good ol’ buddy Alan’s gonna get the signature for me. How sweet of him!

Today was my first time swimming after 3 whole years since my spine surgery in the year 2002. I had a challenging rehabilation period and there were complications so I didn’t want to injure my spine further. I have longed to swim again and I finally did it today. With my doctor’s agreement, I swam for 2 whole hours using the frog style. To avoid straining my spine, I didn’t come up for air but only stopped mid-way to breathe.

There weren’t many people in an olympic-sized pool guarded by 3 life guards. Maybe its a weekday afternoon and most people were at work. The entrance fee during this time is RM2 for three hours. It costs an extra dollar during the weekends and another dollar at night.

People were shocked to find me frantically catching my breath but I have a long way in training up my stamina. But the best thing is to feel free and weightless under water. I hate to realise how heavy I actually am when I emerge from the waters.