1129 health news

I read an article (link) this morning on how the body’s fat-splitting enzyme, lipase, just shuts down to 10% of its normal activity rate within hours of just sitting down. For someone like me, who spends as much as 16 hours in a wheelchair, that’s just awful!

I thought it would be a good idea to e-mail the link to all my friends, so I did. In hindsight (pun not intended), I realized that all my friends are skinny with tiny butts, so they’re probably all laughing at me now.

In other news, my morning exercises this week have become much easier now that I have the right equipment. Several weeks ago, my occupational therapist gave me an exercise, where I stand and hold a one-pound weight in my right hand. My right arm is fully-extended down along my side. I then push my arm away from my body about 20 degrees, hold it for about 5 seconds, then return my arm back to my side. I repeat this exercise 10 times for a set, and usually complete 3 sets a day. It helps to build my shoulder muscles correctly.

Up to now, I’ve been using a 1-pound can of Bush’s Pinto Beans (see pic), as it was the only thing around the house that weighed one-pound. On Saturday, I was able to pick up a one-pound vinyl-coated dumbbell (see pic), which is much easier for my right hand to grip. Besides, every time my father cleaned up, I’d have to remind him why the can of beans was not in the kitchen. Now, that’s one less thing on my mind.

1127 ghost?

I awoke this morning to a thumping sound coming from the den. It was about 5am and the light was just beginning to peek through the windows. I looked into the windowless den, which was pitch black except for a greyish tall figure with waving arms and no head. An apparition? A ghost?

I reached to my night stand and located my glasses. After fumbling around a bit, I managed to put them on, and then looked back towards the den. And I saw it .... my father was struggling to put on a sweatshirt.

He has "his way" of doing things. All fathers do. And "his way" of putting on a sweatshirt is to put it all over his head, but not to push his head through the hole. Instead, he reaches up with both arms and "struggles" until he is able to pull his hands through the sleeves. Only then will he reach up and pull his head through.

I should have been able to figure this out, since Jett wasn't barking. But finding a solid black labrador in a pitch black room is no easy task. I should've listened for the snoring.

1126 danny & trisha

Today is the third anniversary of the wedding of two friends of mine, Danny and Trisha. I remember the ceremony at SBCC and it was the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2004.

The traditional gift for the third anniversary is leather. The modern gift is crystal. I like to give friends gifts on their anniversaries and this was no exception.

The first thing that came to mind was a whip (top pic). Though bordering (just slightly) on inappropriate, its use would not be equal. You see, Danny would use it just once and end up in the doghouse. But Trisha would be able to use it multiple times, because Danny .... well, you know.

I ditched the whip idea and settled on a travel photo frame made of leather (second pic), with an imprint by Roy Lessin, which reads “God wants us to move through this day with a quiet heart and a peaceful certainty that our lives are in His hands.”

Roy Lessin co-founded DaySpring with three other ministers and is currently one of its senior writers. Roy’s desire is for his writing to bring glory to God, to be inspired by Christ and to be used by the Holy Spirit in the encouragement of believers throughout the world.

The frame had two spaces for photos, so I dropped in their 2003 baptism pics to start them off (bottom two pics), although they will probably select their own photos to put in the frame. I still think that the whip was a good idea ... oh well.

1125 long day

Today was a long day for me. My father dropped me off at SBCC this morning, in time for the second service. I met up with Sheri and Eric on the patio; Sam was running a bit late and Jennifer had to work.

We entered the sanctuary just at 11am, as guest worship leader Kelby Bruno was starting up the opening worship time. Stephanie joined us and we all sat together in the back row, in order to support Liz on her first weekend as an emcee. Sure enough, as worship ended, Liz walked onstage to make the opening announcements. We cheered her on with cards that spelled out "GO LIZ!" made by Eric (first pic). We caught her by surprise (part of the plan) and she lost her concentration (not part of the plan). Liz recovered quickly and finished the announcements gracefully.

Pastor Gary announced that today's program was to give the congregation some open mic time, in order to express what they are thankful for. Several people walked up to the mic and spoke about what was on their hearts. Sam wanted to say a few words, so he sidestepped across the row. As he passed in front of me, I noticed that the fly on his trousers was open, so I brought that to his attention. He thanked me for it, but Eric gave me a funny look that gave me the impression that he didn't want Sam to know. Fortunately, I later found out that I was mistaken.

After the service was over, we found out that Wendi wasn't feeling well and would not be joining us for our Koinonia meeting. We also found a few other ways to use the letters that Eric made (second pic).

We grabbed up some food in the lobby (third pic), then we were able to start our meeting in the Dugout (fourth pic). Since Wendi wasn't present to lead the lesson 8 discussion and Sam had to leave early for flag football, we postponed lesson 8 until next Sunday and instead spent the time sharing our Thanksgiving experiences.

Eric & Jennifer went to Eric's parents' house for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. Sheri cooked Thanksgiving dinner at her house for family and was assisted by Caleb, who handled a lot of the baking chores. Liz met with her cousins for a potluck on Thanksgiving Eve.

The group complimented Liz on the great job she did as emcee for the morning services. Sam also mentioned that she must have lost some weight. Liz seemed puzzled by this; she said that she hasn't lost or gained weight in a long time. She suggested that the heels she wore may have made her legs look longer, thus giving the impression of a thinner frame. My thoughts? The heels plus the form-fitting outfit complements her svelte figure very well; we usually see her in baggy clothes like sweats.

After the lifegroup meeting broke up, Liz took me over to Delthorne Park, where the SBCC Volleyball Ministry was having a fellowship/game on the grass (fifth pic). I met up with Chris, Brian, Cathy, Crystal and Tiffany there. I watched a few games played before it started getting dark and cold. They put away the equipment around 4pm, then we headed out for dinner.

Dinner was at Jin Kook Korean Restaurant at Crenshaw and Redondo Beach Blvd (sixth pic). I was introduced to a new type of Korean cuisine that I never had before. Sul Rung Tang is a beef soup with glass noodles and meat. The soup was bland, but some added salt and green onions brought all the flavor out. My dinner companions were Liz, Chris, Brian, Cathy, Sheri, Caleb and Kyle H; we were joined by Sam once his flag football game was over.

Somehow, the conversation changed to the subject of unusual foods, and that's when we discovered that Chris likes natto, which is best described as "partially-decomposed soybeans". Finally, a food that Chris can keep at home that Liz and Sunny won't get into. I've always wondered .... how can you tell when natto goes bad?

Understandably, Caleb and Kyle were oblivious to our discussion as they were engrossed in a linked game on their Nintendo DS systems (seventh pic).

Liz and Chris dropped me off at home around 6:30pm. My mother commented that they make a nice couple and asked me if they've been married long. lol

1124 a walk in the park

Steve K came by this morning to pick me up for my weekly walk. We anticipated heavy crowds at the mall today, so we opted for a walk at Liberty Park in Cerritos. There is an all-weather track at that park, but we just kept to the sidewalk that encircled the track. I made it about a third of the way around, before stopping for the day. We talked about our respective Thanksgiving dinners and family gatherings.

Since we ended early, we made quick stops at Sports Authority and Target, before heading off to BJ's Brewhouse for some great deep dish pizza. At Sports Authority, I picked some dumbbells to help with my right arm exercises, and looked at some treadmills. I'm thinking of getting one to help me with my walking exercises at home. The slowest speed on them is 0.5 mph, which seems to be slow enough for me. I need to do some more research on them, though.

We expected Target to be a zoo but the parking lot was only a third full and there were no lines at the checkouts. I just needed some frames, so we were in and out in about five minutes.

BJ's wasn't busy either; the wait for a table was just a few minutes. I ordered a large BJ's Special (the Works) deep dish pizza because it's great as leftovers and I'll be having the rest for dinner at home tonight, since I'll be going to church tomorrow.

1124 dream

I had a weird dream last night. Dreaming is generally good because it shows I’m getting REM sleep and the apnea is being treated properly. But dreams like last night’s leave me more puzzled than ever.

I was in a dark room with only one light coming from the ceiling. I heard sobbing coming from the darkness behind me. I followed the sound to a group of people standing in a circle. Inside the circle was my friend, Nathan, on his knees, holding a paintbrush in one hand and a steering wheel in the other. He was crying and painting his face brown. A decision was made to call his wife, Nicky, to come and pick him up because he was in no condition to drive. Besides, we didn’t know where the steering wheel came from. I remember Nicky arriving just as I woke up.

Wow. Dream interpreters would have a field day with the symbolism from this one. Why was Nathan kneeling and why was he crying? What does the brown paint represent? What does the steering wheel represent? Why am I asking you?

I’ll leave the psyche-diagnosis to those friends of mine with psychological training (you know who you are) but I’m more likely to hear back from the rest of you amateurs. As for me, I’m blaming it on that slice of pumpkin pie I ate shortly before going to bed.

I can only come up with one time that a steering wheel had some symbolism to me. Back in high school, my Driver’s Training instructor, Mr. Higgins, had a steering wheel for a hall pass.. If you wanted to use the restroom, you were given the steering wheel and instructed to use proper hand signals whenever you made a turn to and from the restroom. One day, my friend, Kevin, borrowed the steering wheel to go to the restroom. When he came back, he had it tucked in the waistband of his pants. Mr. Higgins asked him if he was aware that the steering wheel was in his pants and Kevin replied in his best pirate voice, “Aye, and it’s driving me nuts.” I think I was the only one who laughed.

1123 a quiet Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving is known in retail as "Black Friday", the busiest shopping day of the year. Since I am "disabled", it was a quiet day for me. I watched live news reports on TV from regional shopping centers, where shoppers were circling the parking lots like vultures, looking for an open parking space.

Funny thing. I thought that I would hear from a friend who wanted to take me shopping today, in order to make use of my handicapped placard, but I guess she had to work. In retrospect, I should've sent out an email about it. Not to make any money from it; just to get out of the house. I am thankful for my friends who offer to pick me up and go to places. They save me from what would a very boring existence.

It was a very quiet day and I had very little to do, other than my usual therapy exercises. The placard doesn't expire until June 30, 2009, so I'll plan a little better next year.

1122 happy turkey day!

My family got together at my sister's house for Thanksgiving. In addition to the traditional roast turkey, bread stuffng, mashed potatoes, green salad, and cranberry sauce, we also had broccoli salad, candied yams, creamed corn, Sakae sushi, rice stuffing, steamed rice, and three kinds of pie for dessert (or "desert", if you're playing Pictionary with my sister).

The kids were busy making a picture of the first Thanksgiving, using a sheet of stickers and a base landscape to put them on. Us uncles and aunts (and grandparents) quickly found out that any form of critique resulted in getting a sheet of stickers and a base sheet thrust into our hands with instructions from my sister to "put our hands to work" instead of our mouths. She was wondering what to do with the extras, since the stickers/base sheet came in a pack of 12 and there were just the three kids.

The kids discovered that planning ahead paid off as there were more stickers than places to put them. We (uncles and aunts) chose to be creative instead although we also defied the laws of nature (not a good example for the kids, eh?) by having grapes growing in the trees, turkeys flying in the air and pilgrims walking on water.

We had dessert with our choice of the three pies: apple, pumpkin, and chocolate cream. My niece, Katherine, had assigned herself the task of applying the whipped cream to the pumpkin pie, but soon lost her way as she covered any pie that passed in front of her, including the chocolate cream, which comes with its own whipped cream layer. At one point, the whipped cream outmassed the pumpkin pie that was buried beneath it. No one was really complaining about it, but she did go through two cans in just a matter of minutes.

1121 lotsa worship

For Thanksgiving Eve, SBCC had a Praise Night, featuring SBCC vocalists, backed up by the Kings Harbor Church College Worship Team, for two full hours of musical worship. Pastor Nathan led the worship and they performed several familiar tunes.

There was time for reflection, time for expression, and time for communion. I met Sam at the door and he helped to wheel me into a spot in the front. We talked about a lot of stuff. Michelle sat with us for awhile but rejoined some other friends once the music started.

There was soup and dessert served afterwards in the lobby. I was able to get a ride home with Steve T.

1118 a close shave ....

We were visited by relatives from the San Fernando Valley today. Christine arrived with her father, Willie, and her grandmother, Saachi. Andy and Zoya arrived a bit later with Nancy.

Christine was able to give me a much-needed haircut. My mother stood a few feet away and kept asking to cut it shorter. We finally stopped as I really didn't want a shaved head (I can't even hold onto my hair if I need to). Check out the before and after pics to decide for yourself.

Afterwards, we had dinner and spent some time catching up. Christine is my age, but she has two grown sons and she is busy running the family hairstyling business.

1118 wine, women and .... where are my clothes?

I'll be missing my Koinonia meeting today as we have relatives coming by for a visit. I was looking forward to the meeting, as we are studying the book of Genesis. We went through Noah and the Great Flood last week, and this week is the aftermath of the Flood.

I sent an email to the other group members, apologizing for missng today's meeting. Unfortunately, I also made a small joke, but in retrospect I may have offended some of them. So let me share an anecdote with you and maybe they'll understand.

Our group is reading from Genesis 9:18 to Genesis 11:26. In Genesis 9:20-21 it reads "Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent." Reading these two verses took me through a flashback, which I will now share with you.

Twenty-something years ago, I attended college at Cal Poly Pomona, and was staying in the dorms. One night, at the end of a quarter, I went to a party in the dorm complex and proceeded to help a friend consume a gallon jug of Gallo Hearty Burgundy (after which, I swore off of any wine with a screw cap, though I later discovered that fine wines from Canada have screw caps, not corks. But I digress). I faintly remember making it back to my room.

As I woke up, I noted that I had a major headache, that the room was unusually bright and there were female voices talking. I slowly opened my eyes to discover that I was lying underneath the folding counter in the laundry room. The two women in the room were using the counter above me to fold their laundry. They must have sensed my stirring as one of them said, "I think it's awake." The other one replied, "I'll go get Mark," and she left the room. She returned a minute later, followed by Mark, my roommate.

Mark knelt by the table and asked me how I felt. I told him that I was tired and confused. I asked him two questions: "Why am I in the laundry room and where are my clothes?" I had gained just enough consciousness to realize that I was only wearing a pair of boxers. I heard giggling from the counter above me and tried to ignore it.

Mark explained that I had stumbled into the room around 3 AM, and disrobed to crawl into bed. But I was feeling a bit sick so I headed for the communal bathroom down the hall. I made it as far as the laundry room (the bathroom was just one more door along the same wall) and proceeded to unload the contents of my stomach into the laundry room sink. Mark said that I was dry-heaving, so he lifted me onto the countertop, with my head hanging over the sink. The two women froze, as they contemplated what they just heard.

Mark said that he left me there but returned ten minutes later to find that I had climbed off the countertop and crawled onto a low shelf underneath the counter (my finely-tuned senses confirmed that I wasn't lying on the cold linoleum floor). By this time, I was sleeping soundly, so Mark decided to let me sleep there. He cleaned the sink and wiped down the countertop; I heard the women breathe a sigh of relief and continue folding. He had put a note of warning on the door to the laundry room and a request to get him when I woke up.

The women mentioned that the note wasn't necessary as they heard me snoring as they came down the stairwell; they were afraid that one of the dryers had broken a drive belt again. They were relieved that it was only a half-naked guy sleeping under the counter. By this time, I recognized their voices and realized that this "incident" would not be easily forgotten. I later discovered that about 20 other people came through while I was sleeping.

Mark asked if I was ready to go back to the room. I nodded and he told me to stay where I was, and he left the room. He came back a minute later with my bathrobe and helped me get into it, then back to my bed. As my head hit the pillow and I started to doze off again, I remember him saying, "By the way, it's 4 in the afternoon."

1117 .... and a root beer float!

Mike & Carol came by to pick me up for church. Carol is still recuperating from her foot surgery, but is semi-mobile with the aid of a cane. We made it to SBCC just as the intro worship was ending.

After Pastor Ken made the opening announcements and prayer, a hip-hop dance crew took over the stage, dressed in black, and sporting all types of bling. Some were hard to identify, although one of them moved in a not-so-graceful manner that only Pastor Gary moves (kinda like C-3PO doing a jive). And when they were finished, we found out that it WAS Pastor Gary.

He continued his "Transform" series with tonight's installment of "Making Change", and how we can change ourselves by renewing our minds and accepting help. He emphasized this through Proverbs 11:14, which reads "Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory."

After the service was over, the last meeting of the "Walk With Jesus" group study began at 7pm, and my small group was all there. We discussed The Parable of the Ten Virgins and how we need to be prepared for Christ's return at any time. Note to self: You meet more virgins if you sell oil.

We ended this study with a group prayer and root beer floats. I chatted awhile with Liz before heading home. I miss hanging out with her and the rest of the Koinonia group.

1117 grease stains on styrofoam

Instead of my usual "mall therapy" today, I decided to meet with a group of friends, loosely-organized under the moniker "Eater's Ink". The original intent of the group would be to meet periodically to dine and then review eating establishments. I think that we devolved into a social group that eats, and the reviews take a backseat.

John M picked me up this morning and we drove out to Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken in Culver City (they have a location in Compton, but this one was more centralized ... or so I was told). We were the last to arrive as Akiko, Walt, Cheryl, Shonn, and Neil were already there. Neil made the drive in from Ventura, but he had other stops to make in the area. He was going to surprise his parents but they surprised him first by calling him from Carpinteria when he was already down here.

We decided to order as a group so we got the Party Pac, which consisted of 16 pieces of chicken, 8 biscuits, a pint of coleslaw, a pint of potato salad, 2 orders of steak-cut kettle fries, and a large cup of honey. Plus, some sides of pancakes were added on. A plate of extra biscuits and Sweet 'n Krispy peppers were setup as starters.

The food was good but so was the conversation. We discussed Cheryl's iPhone, John and Akiko's differing tastes in TV programs (and sharing one TV), and comparisons of housecleaning techniques between the married couples and the single guys. I liked Shonn's statement about dust and how it's not causing any problems if you leave it alone. Once you try to clean it, the dust gets kicked up into the air, where it starts circulating around and then causes breathing problems.

We almost finished off the meal. There were a few leftovers so it was packed up and offered to me. I declined it and I think that Walt was taking it home.

After the long lunch (the counter service was really slow), the group headed off to Walt's, to play with Akiko's new Wii system. She worked hard to create avatars for each of us; she says that she came really close to everyone's appearance. Neil went off to make his visits. On the way to Walt's the traffic was so bad that I asked John to take me home instead, since I have to attend church tonight. I'll have to wait until later to see my avatar.

1114 belated birthday dinner

Ching and I went out for her birthday (see 10/01 blog). She works in Santa Monica and had to drive to my house during rush hour, so we got started late. I originally thought about heading down to The Pike, but we opted instead for Olive Garden in Cerritos, with a brief stop at a scrapbooking store (just like old times).

The wait at Olive Garden was 20-25 minutes, so we passed the time by catching up. She's still dating the same faceless guy (Tony) since before my stroke, but I can tell that this relationship is about to go the same way as the previous three, although she has managed to realize it in less than the 3-5 years the other ones took.

Dinner was good. She had her usual angelhair pasta with marinara sauce and I had the seafood alfredo. That, plus the garden salad and breadsticks, and we were stuffed to capacity. No room for dessert this time, although the tiramisu and gelato looked very good.

1110 I am what I am ...

My parents dropped me off at church tonight. Mike wasn't feeling well so he stayed at home with Carol. I arrived just as Pastor Gary was starting his sermon, with a video clip from the movie "Popeye". He quoted Popeye by saying "I am what I am", indicating that Popeye was limited by his own preconception of his identity.

Apparently, we are all challenged by barriers and God needs us to break through them, so that we can transform ourselves. The status quo is no longer acceptable. Romans 12:2 reads, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

After the service was over, I decided to skip the church supper and reviewed for the Walk With Jesus group study, which began promptly at 7pm. Most of my small group was present, so we discussed The Parable of the Budding Fig Tree. Lyle was upstairs, helping out with the guitar class so it was just Alice, Orlando, Arnold, Liz and myself.

When it was over, I was able to get a ride home from Steve T.

1110 walkin'

Steve K came by this morning to pick me up for our Saturday walk. We went to Lakewood Center again, and started off next to Bed Bath and Beyond. We walked towards the center of the mall and made it well past the carousel before turning around.

We talked about Hawaii, airlines, and L.A. Mayor Villalraigosa's comment on the Al-Qaida threat against LA-area shopping malls. What did the mayor say? Well, after discrediting the threats he said that L.A. residents can be safe, comforted and "shop till they drop". We shared a good laugh about that one.

We walked for about 70 minutes, stopping briefly in front of Victoria's Secret to read the sign in the window announcing "$10 off pink bottoms". It made me think of about 9 friends with pink bottoms (you know who you are) until I realized that it might be a lingerie sale. Sure enough, the fine print on the sign read "with the purchase of any pink top". Hmmm.

After the walk, we had lunch at the Ohana Hawaian BBQ, where I had the BBQ Mix Plate. It was definitely better than L&L.

1109 this week in therapy ....

I had a speech evaluation today. Speech therapy also includes swallow therapy, so we had lots to go over. I met with Anita, since Amanda is no longer working at LBMMC. We reviewed the results of my last swallow study and I'm to stick with nectar-thick liquids for now.

She continued with the VitalStim treatments (electrodes on my throat) and gave me a new set of exercises to work on at home, in front of a mirror. If you see me and it looks like I'm making faces at you, give me some leeway; I might be doing my exercises at that moment (and three of the exercises involve sticking my tongue out). LOL

One of the exercises had me making sounds at varying pitches. Anita asked my if I liked to sing. I told her that I used to perform with my church's worship team, before the stroke, but I no longer do because I can't carry a tune anymore. She asked if I was a tenor; I replied that my church is non-denominational. She just smiled and explained that she serves a choir director for her synagogue, and that we can include singing in my therapy sessions. Cool.

On Wednesday, I had an OT session with Jenny. I made the mistake of mentioning to her that I like to bake, because she had me standing in the therapy kitchen, spooning cookie dough with my right hand, then putting them in the oven. We only had an hour, so the cookies were a little underdone. But it was fun.

I also met with Charro, my PT, and we reviewed my decline in walking, since I'm not doing my daily walking exercises anymore since my father's collapse (see 10/26 blog). I'm now shopping around for a treadmill, as that may help me to pick up the slack.

1106 life and the atomic wedgie

First of all, let me say that I love my parents no matter what. That said, I do have something on my mind.

I'm currently restricted to a wheelchair, due to weakness in my right leg. I can stand up for short periods of time, and I can walk around with the aid of a walker for support. But most of my waking hours are spent either in the wheelchair, or transferring to and from it.

The transfers are easy. I can get into most vehicles with a standing-pivot transfer, and can move between the chair and the tub or toilet the same way. Transfers to and from my bed are more of a lateral transfer, and I can do it quite well by myself.

My parents feel that they need to assist me when I move to and from my bed. My father understands that he just needs to supervise and stands ready to catch me should I start to fall, which is okay with me. But my mother is more "hands-on". She refuses to grasp a belt around my chest, after a fall I had SEVEN MONTHS ago when she tried to support me right after I came home from the hospital. I've become much stronger and I haven't fallen since then.

Instead, she stands behind me and grabs onto the waistband of whatever I'm wearing. Despite my pleas, she pulls upward with all of her strength, even though it is not necessary. As a result, I get a super wedgie that is not easy to recover from. I sometimes feel like my waistband is digging into my armpits.

Ching, it's just like those life vests we wore while floating along the underground river at Xcaret.

If I transfer to my bed, I can straighten out myself quite easily. But if I'm transferring from the bed to the chair .... well, have you ever tried to get rid of a wedgie while sitting down? STOP LAUGHING!! IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY!!

Sometimes, I try to finish the transfer before she comes into the room. Sometimes, I'll tell her I want to sleep another five minutes, then make the transfer after she leaves the room. She wakes up earlier than I do, so she's always hovering around when I wake up. I've tried to explain it, but she doesn't wear her hearing aids all the time. I'll figure something out ..... *sigh*

1105 back to therapy

Today I had back-to-back outpatient therapy sessions at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

I met Charro for physical therapy, and after a review of my status, I was given a test drive of a Q600 powered wheelchair. We headed outside to the open sidewalks, as I "sped" along at a clip of 1.3 mph. We crossed a couple of roadways and I was full of questions like ... how long does it take to recharge the chair and how long will the charge last? .... how steep of a grade will the chair climb? .... how much does the chair weigh? .... why is there an image of a cellphone on the display panel with a red crossout over it? Too many questions, not enough answers.

The controls were easy to operate and the "stick" only required fingertip pressure to make turns or to just go straight. Charro wants me to be more mobile and to get out of the house more often than just Saturdays. She sent me some info on Adaptive Programs through UCLA Recreation. Apparently, UCLA offers adaptive programs in cycling, kayaking, and sailing.

That brought back memories of when Walt, Linda and I took a beginning sailing course at the UCLA Marine Aquatic Center back in 2003. One day, Walt and I capsized our boat by accident (we discovered that if we both sat on the same side of the boat, it tipped over). I remember the instructor coming up in a motorboat, shaking his head. He said that we were ahead of the class, since he wasn't going to teach capsize recovery until the following week. He gave us a choice: we could either stay in the water with the boat for a week or we could listen to his instructions very, very carefully. We chose the latter and were sailing again about 30 minutes later. I'm not sure about doing that all over again. I'll look into the cycling and the kayaking.

Jenny met with me for my occupational therapy. We started out with a check on my handwriting with my right hand, followed by shuffling, cutting and manipulating a deck of playing cards. I described the game of Sequence to her, and how my friends at SBCC want me to play a game with them. There's only one way to find out if I'm ready for it.

We finished off the session with a game of Jenga, using my right hand only, and standing at a table for about 15 minutes. We didn't finish the game, but it was a good way to exercise my right arm and hand. And standing for that long was not as much a strain as I thought it would be.

1103 Saturday night

Mike picked me up from home and we heaed for SBCC. Carol is recovering well in her third week since surgery on her feet. She is still at home, but busy making cards and working on her laptop.

We arrived at SBCC just as the evening servicw was starting. Pastor Gary started his new series titled "Transform" and the Design Ministry had decorated the stage in such a way that a giant robotic hand was breaking through one wall, while a large blue "eye" was looking through another wall. Pastor Gary commented on the summer blockbuster movie, "Transformers", which was made to attract today's youth, but contained so much sexual innuendo that he limited himself to watching it only a half-dozen times or so.

He pointed out the God is The Transformer and He wants us to change by realizing that we have the power within ourselves to bring about our own transformation to becoming more Christ-like. I missed a few of the points, as I was kept busy trying to keep Mike awake in the back. Once he starts snoring, he's hard to stop.

At the end of the service, Rod Sugiyama, chairman of the elder board, stepped up to present gifts to Senior Pastor Gary, Worship Pastor Nathan, and Youth Pastor James, for Pastor Appreciation Month.

After the service, Mike and I headed off to the kitchen for dinner. It was weiners, soup, and pretzels dipped in dark chocolate. Mmmm.

The Walk With Jesus goup study began right at 7pm, but my notes were in Mike's car, and Mike was taking dinner home to Carol. Most of my small group was there, so we discussed The Parable Of The Wedding Banquet, which appears in both Matthew 22 and Luke 14. The two versions were similar, but there were notable differences.

Afterwards, I had a chat with Liz and we caught up, since I only see her once a week. Mike came back for me, and we went to visit Carol. We were joined by Janice, John, Judy, Lillian, and Kiyomi. We shared the apple pie and some more of the chocolate-dipped pretzels. Mike dropped me off at home around 10:45pm.

1103 walking

It's Saturday and time to walk! Steve K came by today to pick me up for walking. We headed off to Lakewood Center but my exercises this past week were limited so my walk was only for about 45 minutes this time. We completed a half circuit of the Penneys wing.

Afterward, we had lunch at the Corner Bakery Cafe. I had the chopped salad, while Steve had both a bowl of chili and a caesar salad. The food was very good, and so was the bread.

On the way home, we stopped at Marie Callendar's to pick up a couple of apple pies. Steve dropped me off at home before 1pm. Thanks, Steve, for the walking assist and for lunch!