In a couple of hours, I’ll be on the plane off to another chapter of my life. If you haven’t heard the news yet, where the hell have you been living?!?! Nah just kidding but seriously, if you haven’t, I’ll be moving to China & Hong Kong for 2 months. You must be asking “Davo’s leaving us???”.
Yep, it’s true…I’ll be working in Beijing for my dad’s TV production company as they offered me do to work experience with them and not only that but UK’s BBC offered me to do work experience with them also. Thanks to my dad having contacts with key people, this is a one lifetime opportunity for me to experience what’s it like to work in the TV & film industry.
Anyway, since I’m boarding on the plane now, I’ll have to finish this post and plus, I’m using my iPhone which makes it a bit hard to blog.
For those who are wondering how to contact me, I’ll let you guys know when I arrive in Hong Kong and before I finish, I just wanted to say thanks to all those who have supported me and going to miss you guys a lot!
See ya all in Hong Kong!
Be random but stay safe!
So it’s a new year again and we’re already in May. I can’t believe I manage to survive another year and it seems like that every year but will 2012 be the same or will it be different this time? *thinking*…I don’t know =/ …but I do know that life is full of surprises good and bad. 11 months has gone passed by and I haven’t done any blogging until now. I originally wanted to post this at the beginning of this year but had a lot going on. During that time period, it has been one hell of a ride for me. Let alone, the last time I did a blog before that was back in November 2010. The year that changed my life completely. It was the success of my jaw surgery that made an incredible impact on my life forever. It was like I was reborn with a new life. However, life is still a challenge and it will always be.
By the way, sorry if any of my writing doesn’t make sense. I seem to have trouble expressing myself or explaining things properly because of my…*siGhz*…stupid vocabulary and I always had this speech problem since I was born (another one of my problems -.-“) but anyway, just wanted to let you all know and also, be warned, some of my writings can be REALLY long like this one so just a heads up for those who don’t like to read long posts.
Like I said, 2011 was a big year for me. After having to endure the pain (well, not really in pain but you know what I mean anyway) of going through the jaw treatment for 1½ years which involves preparing for the treatment, wearing braces before and after the surgery, the surgery itself and the long recovery afterwards, I finally had my braces taken off in June last year and completed my treatment. Though I still have to keep on wearing my retainers and still have lil bit of numbness in the lower part of my jaw which can be very annoying, I’m so…happy (hmm…still not used to that “word” =S) with the outcome at the end and I don’t regret one bit.
For those who are wondering what on earth I’m talking about, you guys probably don’t know but long story short, I had a jaw surgery 2 years ago to fix up my bad and I mean really bad underbite and had to get all my 4 wisdom teeth taken out as well. I won’t explain the details as I’ve already blogged about it but if you’re still interested in about my jaw surgery, I have posted more detail posts about it so click on these links to read -> Life Changing Experience & Positive & Negative . I also want to warn you that some bits may be triggering for some people mainly the procedure of the surgery and the anesthesia awareness so read at your own risk but I actually encourage people to read it as it is an amazing story especially with the end result. =D Also, guys, if you know anyone who is thinking of having this jaw surgery or who are interested, please and I mean PLEASE show them my story as this could be a life-changing experience for them. I am living proof that this jaw surgery can change your life forever.
TAFE. What can I say about TAFE? I’ve actually found a course that I absolutely love and it is probably the best one out of all the other courses I have done in the past. At the moment, I’m studying a Multimedia course in Information Technology Certificate IV. For those who don’t know what TAFE is, TAFE is a college/institute in Australia which is sorta like University/College compare to the ones in USA/UK but it’s mainly more practical stuff than theory if that makes sense? =S Originally, I was supposed to be doing full time for 1 year but because of my problems, I couldn’t handle the workload so I had to drop to doing part-time for 2 years instead but I was still able to be in the full-time class and still am. My course involves a variety of modules including Animation, Web Design, Imagery, Audio/Video, Design and Authoring. The last 1½ years, I have been able to create projects that I never thought I could do.
Some of my work samples – one of our teachers set us a project to create our own train animation and for some reason, I had this crazy idea in my head. Everyone knows about the Mario Kart series, right? In Mario Kart 64 (which was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1996 for Japan and 1997 for the rest of the world), there is a train in this level called “Kalimari Desert” circling around (reminds me of Mario Party 2’s Western Land =D) and base on that level, I recreated it using Cinema 4D, Adobe Photoshop and After Effects where you can see down below. Some of the textures were already made and some of them were found on the internet. The train/carriages were already made but did some tweaking on it and the smoke was made by using the emitter tool. I ended up working on the animation for about 2 to 3 months but wasn’t able to finish it on time as I was away from TAFE for most of the time mainly because I had to take time off and was also in America. Other samples of my work down below is a jet that I created using with Cinema 4D yet again.
http://www.facebook.com/v/10150781424361320
Another thing to mention, I now officially have a part-time job and it is my first job ever. =O Started working at my dad’s cousin’s Chinese take away food shop in the food court and been there for almost 4 months now! My Uncle offered me to do some work experience at his shop because since he was going away for a trip, he asked my dad to look after his shop so that’s how I got the job. Really…happy…that I actually have a job now and earning money for myself. Work can be fun but at the same time, it can be stressful especially during busy hours and really long days and the customers…let’s say you get good ones and not so good ones. =)
So uhh…yer, I’m considering blogging again soon but have been stacks busy this year especially with TAFE and stuff. To tell you the truth, writing or…blogging or whatever you want to call it, it helps me to get my thoughts out which is why I’m reaching out to people especially to the one who really knows me and those who are in a similar situation like I’m in and that was my original goal of creating this blog. Yes I know it’s lame and stupid and it is a little bit risky but that’s just me. People will criticise me about it and hey, I respect that as it is their opinion and I can’t change that so no hard feelings. Though, I do have to be careful what I write on here as I learn that the hard way.
Anyway, I don’t want to take your time any longer so I’m going to finish this post off and before I do that, I just wanted to say a big thanks to all of you guys for your support. With all the struggles I went through last year and these last couple of years and all my life, I can’t believe I’m still here even though there were times I wanted to give up and was actually so close to but I haven’t and I already know it won’t be that easy. Don’t forget, feedback would be much appreciated as I love to hear your comments from my random followers! ^^
Be random but stay safe! *HUGZ* ^_^
Life can be funny sometimes. There can be ups and downs. More than 7 months ago, the jaw surgery I had changed my life in a positive way. And now…I get really confused why I’m still struggling with life yet again. I thought things were going good but I’m not really sure to be honest. Though, I do have things I look forward to – getting my braces off, off to America and getting my Green Ps but yeah.
Trying to stay strong but it’s hard. Let’s hope I can survive and sorry I haven’t been blogging, with other things going on, it doesn’t make things easier.
Be random but stay safe all!
Hello hello.
So it’s now been 2 weeks and 2 days since my surgery and it’s also my 21st tomorrow (hmm…). My recovery is going surprisingly good but it’s a bit hard to cope at the moment (which I will explain later on) but now, I just want to blog about my progress.
Hmm…thinking where to start off. Well, I just saw my doctor earlier this arvo for a checkup and she’s really happy with how the progress of my recovery is going. I don’t need to see her every week now which is good. Basically, I’ll be seeing her 1 week and then 2 weeks and then 3 weeks etc. Next time I will see her will be in 2 weeks time. She will review with my progress and get my picture taken (exciting!). I did saw her last week and she said I had to get some x-ray scans of my jaw done which I did last Friday. Got the result back the next day. Saw the scans myself and it was quite…amazing, scary and interesting I should say. You can see my jaw is now in the correct position where it should be and you can also see the screws connecting to my jaw (that’s the scary part!). Last Monday, I saw my orthodontist for a check-up again and he’s also happy how my surgery was a success. I don’t need to see him until in 2 weeks time (I think?).
Lately, I’ve been struggling a bit. Even though my surgery was a success (which I’m really happy with) I have to say the hardest part of my jaw surgery is the recovery. The surgery itself wasn’t hard but the recovery is.
Not trying to rant or anything but I get frustrated about how long the recovery is going to take. I can’t really eat a lot (obviously) and it can be annoying having to eat a strict soft diet and trust me, you WILL get sick of eating (except for the ice cream and dessert!) the same thing over and over again (like the time when I was in China, dining out at restaurants every day) It’s going to take at least 6 weeks to slowly go back to eat normally again. Sometimes, it ruins your enjoyment of going out and I’ve been pretty much at home most of the time. I also feel bad that people have to take care of you because you can’t really do much about it. Because I have rubber bands in my braces so my teeth won’t move back, I find it difficult to talk and I have to keep repeating what I said. My lower part of my face is still numb because of the damage to my nerves and it’s very scary of not having the feeling. I’m still not used to it and for some reason, I keep thinking my lower lip is my tongue and I can’t tell if I have any food on my face and keep drooling. (eww!)
That’s some of the things have to deal with. But on the positive, it’s not always negative. My swelling has gone down a lot and it’s already been 2 weeks! If you saw my pictures on my Facebook you could see my face was really swollen. Even though I can’t eat a lot, I can still go out and do the things I enjoy doing. Already, I’ve been able to watch Sydney FC home games (soccer aka football) and yes I know, they’re bottom of the table -_-” …Went to the Robin Gibb/Bonnie Tyler concert last night and got myself a new haircut with highlights. And…I have to say, I’m so looking forward to seeing one of my favourite bands Muse performing live here! (yay!) My recovery will get better every day and I have to remind myself even though it takes a long time to recover, it’ll be worth in the end and it won’t stay like this forever.
Anyhoo, it’s my 21st tomorrow. It’s kinda scary and exciting (?)…hmm…I have mixed feelings. I have to delay my party because of my surgery which sucks! =( But at least I’m gonna watch Paranormal Activity 2 tomorrow with one of my best mates. Dunno if it’ll be good or not but the first one was kinda…not that good to be honest and not THAT scary f you ask me.
It’s been an up and down ride for me but I guess I have to try and stay positive. Well, I’m off and I will try to keep blogging more here ^^
Be random but stay safe! ^_____________^
Wow, I haven’t written here in ages. I don’t know why I stopped but maybe I should keep on writing…
It’s been exactly one week since I had my jaw surgery and surprisingly I’m starting to handle it very well. I don’t know if most of you know but I just recently had a jaw surgery (Orthognathic surgery) last Monday. The reason why I had it was because I had a really bad severe underbite (Class III malocclusion ) that has been affecting me my whole life. I wasn’t able to eat properly, it made me difficult to talk and was self-conscious about my appearance. When you look at the front view of my face, my jaw looks normal but if you look at me by sideways, you could see the lower jaw is more forward than the upper jaw (if that make senses?).
I did use to wear braces back in Year 7 to straighten up my teeth and to fix my underbite but because I didn’t wear the headgear (which I was supposed to but hated it), it didn’t really help but at least my teeth were straighten. =D I also forgot that I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed so I didn’t have to do two surgeries. (yay!)
For those who are wondering how I’m feeling after one week, I’m feeling fine. Even tho, I know I can’t eat properly and my annoying swelling, I’m actually feeling fine. There’s no pain at all which I was surprised as I was expecting pain. But at the moment, I have some numbness in my lower face which is a bit scary because I can’t feel anything except when I put pressure on it. Apparently, it takes at least three months to get the feeling back (yes, three months I think?)
What was it like to have the surgery? Well, I wanted to answer this question because I get these type of questions a lot but before the surgery…I was stressing out about it because this surgery was a major one and you know how much I hate operations (it’s like my sixth one now). Even had a breakdown just right before I got wheeled into theatre. Ever heard of anesthesia awareness? That was on my mind for a bit. I don’t want to scare people but anesthesia awareness is where they put you to sleep but they didn’t put enough dosage of anesthesia and so you wake up during the operation, like you can feel and hear but you can’t move as the medication has paralyzed you and the doctors/nurses think you’re unconscious. Basically, that’s it if my explanation made any sense but yeah. =/
*trigger* (procedure of the surgery)
Okay, I had to put a trigger sign because I don’t want people to freak out with the procedure of the surgery. So anyway,, they had to cut off both the bone and carefully align the two jaws together and once it was set, they inserted the bolts and plates so it won’t move and it is put permanently so it won’t move. I find it very complicated even for myself!
My doctor was really pleased how my surgery went and even surprise as she thought the surgery would take four to five hours but it only took three and a half hours. After the operation, I was wheel into ICU and stay there overnight. They had to wait for me to recover from the anesthesia.
The first few days of my recovery were the hardest. My face was all swollen up, had to get an ice pack around it, had all these drips attached to my arm/hand, threw up three times because of the anesthesia and the internal bleeding inside. I also had this pain relief pump attached to my drip which is called patient-controlled analgesia. Whenever I was in pain, I could press the button to get morphine instead of the nurses giving you painkillers. Hmm…seems weird saying that to get morphine. But yer, the funny thing I find is I was so out of it…sorta like high on the morphine. I thought I broke my jaw for some reason coz I heard this crack noise and I was in pain. People couldn’t understand what I was saying most of the time so I had to keep writing all these words that made no sense at all and it was all over the place. It was pretty funny but scary as well!
Well, I want to keep writing more on my surgery but I will continue on later in my next entry. Before I finish off, I wanted to say thanks for all the people supporting me during this tough time and I appreciated your comments. I also want to say thanks to my awesome family who’ve supported me all my life and even though they have to deal with my issues, they still keep supporting me. I also want to say thanks to all the professionals involved with my treatment and without them, I wouldn’t be in this position. I know this is so cheesy but I want to say thanks to Oscar, my polar bear for being with me all the time in the operation room and for never leaving my side. I feel like I’m a kid now. -.-” Anyway, this has been a life changing experience for me and I’m starting to enjoy life more and that’s the truth.
Hope all is well with you guys and as I always say, be random but stay safe people! ^_^
*hugz*
Kawika In Sight 