It started out on a beautiful Saturday morning. I just got up from bed and looked at the little courtyard that my dorm room faces. Suddenly my telephone rings.

"Hello." I said picking up the phone.

In Chinese, I heard, "Yang, this is dad. I just drove into KW, and am heading over to your room right now. Oh, and one of my students is travelling with me."

Then the dialtone rang in my ear. Huh?

So, I cleaned up my room, waiting for my father and his student. I had lots of questions though and dreamed up crazy answers. That was a pretty good way of wasting my time.

It didn't take long for them to arrive. Dad's student turned out to be some boy from Montreal who wanted to come to Waterloo, but had forgotten to mail his application on time and was hoping to deliver it in person and beg profusely. I wanted to laugh, but since my Dad took it so seriously, I couldn't. That student had some Chinese name that I don't remember, but I do remember he goes by some name like Icy on the net.

"So where is the administration offices?" My Dad asked.

"Arhh.... Dad, I don't think they are open on a Saturday." I answered. I mean isn't that kinda obvious.

"Well, if they have a drop-off box like McGill or Concordia, then we can just drop these in and make it for the Monday deadline." My Dad spoke.

Well I guess that made sense, so I started taking them over to Needles Hall, but I wasn't entirely thinking and instead of wearing good old boots, I wore a pair of worn-out running shoes. And the revenge on me began...

Along the stream near Health Services, I saw a goose, and Icy told me to look at how current was going to push the goose to the little rapids. Impulsively, I decided to help the poor goose, and ran down the little field separating the path and the pond. My worn-out running shoes couldn't take the frost, and I slipped and headed straight into the pond.

No one bothered to come in after me and rescue me. I suspect it was because their revenge, though knows why, but I want to believe I am so competent in my swimming lessons that I now can fend for myself in the water. Of course, that wasn't true.

So, the current was me along to a shallower part of the stream, and I hit the rocks hard. My right knee took the greatest hit. So I was lying helpless under the bridge crossing from SLC to Renison. Finally, my dad came with help, and I was pulled out of the dirty pond.

At this moment, I was mortified, and hated water, geese, and life in general.

I came down with a fever and recovered late Sunday afternoon. At which time, my Dad and Icy decided to go home. They left his applications with me, and told me it was my responsibility to get it in on time. After they left, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was about to get out of bed and get something to eat.

Then, I promptly discovered that though I can walk, I couldn't bend my right knee. Great. As if the world hasn't had its laugh over me. So, I got back to my room and called Shannon.

Shannon laughed hysterically and told me, "Haha, that's the worst excuse we've heard yet. It beats 'Oh, it's not that you guys are boring, it's that I am antisocial.'"

It took me ten minutes to convince her that I really couldn't get down those stairs and finally she said she'd bring some food up for me. At which time, the entire gang came up. I was pretty glad to see everyone.

I asked what I should do about my knee, and Heather suggested this clinic near campus that can offer some sort of day surgery for knee-related injuries. Not only that, but it didn't even cost much. I was very happy about that so I was going to go the early next morning and Mary said she'd go with me.

The clinic was quite nice, clean, on the fifth floor of some medical office building. It took up the entire fifth floor. There were a few patients but no one was friendly enough to chat with me, so Mary and I talked about how long it would take my knee to recover. We were waiting for a nurse to give us some information.

We were quite surprised when Rebecca, an Applied Health Sciences student I met at swimming, came to greet me.

Rebecca said, "Oh, great! You definitely came to the right place. Here, it's not that expensive because we cut down on the technical costs and do only what is necessary. Also, we integrate the student and his or her family and friends into the healing process."

It sounded cheesy to me, but I didn't care. It was what I could afford. So, I made an appointment for 1 pm and Rebecca had given Mary a lot of instructions about the friends and family part. While I went to eat in the little deli downstairs, Mary went back to campus to tell everyone what was going on.

When Mary came back and took me upstairs, I was kind of sad, that no one else came to be with me during my surgery, minor tho it is. While I was changing, Ailsa came in. I was so touched. I hadn't figure she'd known me long enough to care to walk all this way for me. She asked me about the surgery and what it was going to be like. I felt so reassured because it calmed me to think it was such a simple surgery.

She helped me tie into one of those ugly pink hospital gowns. Just as I lied on the stretcher, she told me, "Oh, you see, my knee's being bugging me, too. That's why I came. I needed some info."

That was a devastating blow.

After being wheeled into the operating room by Rebecca, she set some anesthetic mask over my face. Rebecca smiled calmly over my head. Then, I saw Johnny and Aaron walk in with something that looked like an instruction manual. They were arguing but I couldn't hear them. Just as I was drifting off, I saw Aaron pick up a scalpel and aim for my knee.

I woke up, still foggy from the anesthesia. I saw a huge crowd around me. At the end of my bed, was Johnny and Aaron, looking very proud. Oh, great, so they amputated my legs. Arghhhhh..... Noooooo.... I mean, was it necessary to take such a huge revenge on me for writing up a dream where they might or might not have gotten their knees slashed by me?

I felt something tickling the bottom of my feet, and there was a little bit of pain at my knees when I tried to twitch. Oh, yes. Thank God, I still have my legs. Then I wanted to know what was tickling me, so I looked over towards the right corner of the bed, and somewhere beneath the hospital bed railing, I saw the top of Tien's cap.

He jumped up and down like a very happy leprechaun, and the moments that his face appeared over the bed railing, he said, "Hey.. Hey... Order... Ha! You .. can.. can't .. get out... of this .. bed... and don't mo.. move too .. much... Haha. So I ...can ..have my revenge now."

Heather shot Tien a dirty look. Thank you, Heather.

"So, was I dreaming when I saw you guys with the scalpel?" I asked Johnny and Aaron. Aaron had what could maybe be interpreted as a smile on his face. I couldn't be sure. But Johnny had a toothy grin.

Mary explained, "Well, when they said they cut the cost here, they mean they don't hire doctors. They prepare these easy-to-do packages and have the family or friends of the patient do the surgery themselves. When I went back to campus, I was just going to tell Shannon and Heather, but Johnny and Aaron overheard being at the next table. They eagerly offered to help. Something about 'anything to get a knife to her knees.' Since Shannon and Heather didn't want to do it, I let Johnny and Aaron to sign on."

I wanted to scream, "What kind of insanity is this?" Where is the sensible Mary that couldn't see the problem with those two taking a knife to my knees? But I guess since I still have my legs and they seem to work fine now, I couldn't complain.

Then, I suddenly realized during all this commotion over my leg. I never delivered Icy's application. Oh no. Luckily, Yangyang and people were going to go back to campus, and I gave them the package to take to Needles Hall.

Unluckily, they were too late, so Yangyang came back to give me the package back. I had thought he was successful, so I threw an apple at him as a thank-you gift. But since he was holding the package, the apple hit him square in the forehead, and he collapsed on the ground.

Oh well, guess we are going to use the clinic's services again.