1231 knott's

My sister, Judi, called me in the morning and said that she and her husband, Mike, were taking their three kids (my one niece and two nephews) to Knott’s Berry Farm for the day, and asked if I wanted to join them. I answered in the affirmative and we made arrangements for them to pick me up in about an hour.

My niece called back about ten minutes later, and told me to wear navy blue and white, Penn State’s colors. I kind of figured I wouldn’t wear USC’s colors, since my sister is a UCLA grad.

On the way to the park, my sister mentioned that Knott’s had a special ticket price for anyone who wore the team colors of this season’s Rose Bowl (USC vs. Penn State).

Mike dropped us off at the front and parked the minivan while my sister and the three kids went to the ticket booth. The kids had different pricing, based on their age, so it was just the three of us (my sister, my brother-in-law, me) who tried for the Rose Bowl special. My sister had on a white top and blue jeans, but the ticket attendant had to get special approval to accept it. I had on a navy sweatshirt, a dark blue shirt, and white shoes, so the attendant said it was acceptable. But Mike was still parking the minivan and could not be seen. The attendant said it was okay and gave the three of us the special pricing.

Judi was a bit miffed by it, as they would accept Mike without seeing him, yet had to get special approval for her, who was right in front of them.

We started out in Camp Snoopy and it was just fun watching the kids running around from ride to ride. I mused to my sister, asking her if we were ever that young. I didn’t expect an answer but I got one anyways.

I watched them pan for gold and dress-up for an old-style portrait. The last time I did that, I looked like an American Indian. It must have been the long hair hanging on my shoulders.

Knott’s really hasn’t changed that much over the years, but I saw a Panda Express and a TGI Fridays. My sister and I both remembered the mission displays along the El Camino Real. It’s not there anymore.

At the end of the day, on the way to the parking lot, Judi commented that I didn’t go on any rides. I said that it was okay, because it was nice to spend time with my niece and nephews. Plus, having my wheelchair pushed and steered by the two boys (ages 5 and 9) was exciting enough. The youngest one only pushed once, saying, “Boy, you’re heavy!”

Even when Mike used the chair for discipline. “Do you want to get hit by the wheelchair again?” He didn’t ask me, even though I was in the chair at the time.

They got me home before 6pm.

1230 food, jazz and friends

Ching picked me up from home and we headed for Downtown Disney, for an annual dinner with friends. The location was the Jazz Kitchen and I was looking forward to seeing an old friend from Fresno, Ken, along with meeting some friends of Ching’s that I haven’t met before.

We arrived about an hour early so we looked at some of the shops, like the pins, and the fragrance of fresh caramel popcorn filled the air. Ching has been doing this for the last nine years.

We ran into Susan and Pat, and sat down to wait in front of the Jazz Kitchen, for our 7:30pm reservation. Ken arrived a few minutes later, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him clean-shaven before. We caught up on what’s been going on, when our table was ready and we went in.

A few minutes after being seated, we were joined by Kari and Chris, and our group was complete. We chatted about a lot of things over the next few hours. Time flew by fast and we soon realized that we were among the last patrons of the restaurant.

For dinner, I had the Creole Onion Soup, the Lobster and Shrimp Ravioli, and a side of Garlic Mashed Potatoes. It was really good! For dessert, I had the Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, complete with White and Dark Chocolate Ganaches. I’m still enjoying the aftertaste, so don’t mind me.

The others made arrangements to meet for a whole day at Disneyland, from about 7:30am Wednesday to 3:00am Thursday, thus being in the park for the New Year’s celebration. I wasn’t ready to resume that activity, so I bowed out until next year.

When the dinner was over, we went our separate ways. Ken and Ching went to the ticket booth to buy their passes for the next day. I made it home around 11:30pm, but not before promising to travel again with Ching in 2012. Someday, let me tell you about Cancun in 2003.

1226 bless you

A recent study released by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine links thoughts of sex with sneezing, which could be caused by triggers within the body’s subconscious nervous system.

Which means that you now have another thing to think about.

When someone sneezes, your options are:
1) maybe they’re coming down with a cold
2) maybe they’re allergic to something
3) maybe something is irritating their sinus
4) maybe they’re thinking about sex.

This offers an explanation as to why there’s so much sneezing going on during Victoria’s Secret runway shows.

Gesundheit.

1224 the night before christmas

My sister and her husband dropped me off at SBCC in time for the Christmas Eve 6pm service. I had Lyle take out one of the chairs in the front row, so that my wheelchair would fit. But I changed my mind and had Mike reposition the chair, then I transferred to it.

Carol asked if I wanted to sit in the second row, but I chose to stay in the front. But when worship started, I had nothing to hold onto so I stayed seated wile the congregation stood. Next time, the second row.

Pastor Gary spoke about how the birth of Christ was prophesied in the Old Testament, much like the coming of a special one in the Star Wars saga. But while Star Wars is fictional, the birth of Christ is not. Up until this time, Pastor Gary was wearing a lightsaber on his right hip.

The service ended with a candlelight prayer. Joel performed “O Holy Night” with the candlelight. And the Hula Ministry performed a dance to “Silent Night”.

I had arranged a ride with Mike and Carol, but was kinda hungry so I joined them on a quest for food, since it was early. But we soon found out that a lot of eateries closed early.

We pulled up to an intersection and I said that I thought that Coco’s was closed. Mike said, “How can you tell? We’re still two blocks away!” That’s when I realized that we were at a different intersection than the one I thought we were at.

After trying a number of places, we ended up at Norm’s on Hawthorne Blvd. Mike said that the place seemed familiar. I commented that Norm’s was where we ended up last year after Christmas Eve service (see he blog post for 12-24-2007). We even had the same table, although the group was much smaller. It was just Mike, Carol, Janice and I.

Mike ordered one of the specials, but was drawn by the dessert. Interesting, because when the dessert came, he only had a couple of bites and the rest was consumed by Janice.

1222 christmas musical

SBCC was putting on a “Christmas Musical”, sort of a cross between the popular “High School Musical” series and the story of Christmas. It was performed by members of SBCC’s Youth Ministries, which cover both the junior high school and high school age groups.

There were four scheduled performances, but a fifth was added, due to increased demand. The fifth one was during the dress rehearsal on Sunday, December 21st.

I had tickets to the 8pm performance tonight and talked Ching into joining me. She came by and picked me up. She got there early, so we went to The Local Place for dinner beforehand.

On the way, the subject changed to music. She mentioned that today’s youth don’t know who Madonna is. I commented that Madonna is two years older than I am. Her response? She said, “But Madonna looks good!” I don’t think she knew why I was laughing.

Before the show started, some of the cast members and advisors were sitting on the stage. Ching said, “He looks older than high school,” and pointed. I told her that it was Garrick, and he was one of the advisors. He’s also a parent. She commented that he looks too young to be a parent. I laughed and she asked me to explain what was so funny.

About five years ago, SBCC had an overnight campout and fishing derby for the kids. One night, we were getting the campfire ready so that the kids could roast marshmallows. I was watching the fire, so that the kids would not play with it until it was ready. After about an hour, I got thirsty, so I asked Garrick to watch the fire so I could get a bottle of water. He said he would, so I went over to where the ice chests were.

As I was getting the water, one of the mothers came up and said, “I thought you were watching the fire. There should be an adult supervising things.”

I told her that I just came over for some water and Garrick was keeping an eye on it.

The mother looked at me and repeated, “Like I said, there should be an adult supervising things.” Suddenly, some leaves were thrown into the fire and it flared up, so I excused myself and returned to it to keep things under control. The leaf thrower? Garrick.

The performance was good, especially the choreography of the group dance numbers. Afterwards, I commented to an SBCC friend that I remember when a lot of them were little kids. It’s great (and surprising) to see how they’ve grown and developed. And it reminds me that I’ve been going to SBCC for many years now. It also reminds me of how old I am.

When the show was over, I made my way to the men’s room, but there was a short wait for the stall that my wheelchair could get into. When I was in the stall, I heard someone come into the restroom.

“Jim? Are you in here?” a voice said. It was Eddy.

“Yes, I’m here,” I answered.

“Ching wanted me to come and see if you needed help,” he said.

I responded that everything was okay and that he can tell Ching not to worry. She had done this before (see the post on October 19). I emerged a short time later. If I had taken any longer, she probably would have called 9-1-1.

We had some hot chocolate and pastries before leaving. I ran into Judy and Steve just as Judy was handing a bag to Steve. She said, “Here’s your Christmas present. Keep it upright so it doesn’t spill.”

He looked at me and said, “What’s she giving me? Gravy?”

Ching dropped me off and made a dash for home. She has a fear of driving at night during a rainstorm after a close call several years ago. She didn’t want to take the chance, even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was so clear, I could even see the stars.

1217 therapy

I had a therapy appointment this morning. It was raining, so we stayed inside. My PT, Jenn, decided to have me exercise with two poles, instead of my walker. It’s to help me concentrate on keeping my weight on my legs and to rely less on my arms and hands.

Before we got started, she sad, “Wait a minute, let me get the metrodome.” She went across the room to retrieve it.

Her assistant, Shannon, looked at me and said, “Do you think she meant metronome?”

I said, “Yes.” Either that or she found some way to get the home of the Minnesota Twins into an easy-to-carry size. I figured it was the former, since she often refers to the “Ten Meter Walk” as the “Ten Minute Walk”.

Jenn returned with a metronome in her hands.

While we were walking in the hallway, we stopped and Jenn asked why. Shannon replied, “Because Jim was swaying.”

Jenn said, “Jim was swearing? I didn’t hear anything.” Shannon and I laughed so hard, that I almost hyperventilated. I didn’t hyperventilate; the paperwork’s a pain.

Important note: Shannon's the blonde.

1214 tacos!

We met after the first service at SBCC to travel to Sam’s place for a day of soft tacos and games. Sheri gave me a ride, along with Wendi and Jerome. Jasmine and Liz were behind us.

Upon arrival at Sam’s, we found the front door was open,, but Sam was nowhere around. He had to make a last-minute run to the market, but was a little forgetful. He came back pretty quickly.

We sat at a table in the backyard and browsed thru photo albums and sipped tea, while Jerome tried to burn down the arbor with the grill. Brian came in, followed by Peter, and then Stephanie. Chris joined us soon afterwards and then there was Eric and Jennifer, who brought along the Wii and Justin.

Ed was expected, but he wasn’t able to make it because of a sailing competition in Marina del Rey. Either that or he had another mix-up with the dates (see last Sunday’s blog post). Ginnie had a hula event scheduled, so we knew she wouldn’t be there.

The soft taco lunch was soon ready, so everyone lined up to serve themselves. One of the bowls of salsa had a twist-tie on the handle, as an indicator that the contents were spicy. While I was sitting there, the twist-tie seemed to jump from bowl to bowl, but I think my eyes were playing tricks on me as no one in that group is that devious.

The group clustered to watch competitions on the TV, as the Wii Fit Pad was activated and the group took turns to compete in bowling, tennis, yoga, hula hoop, and ski racing. From where I was sitting, the TV wasn’t visible, but the Wii Fit Pad was, so it was somewhat entertaining. I shot a few videos and they’re funnier with the sound turned off.

I was recruited into playing some card games, and it’s been a few years since I last played Sequence. I can read and play the cards fine. Holding the cards, well, that’s something else. The muscles in my right fingers can grip them, but the muscles in my right wrist are challenged to keep them straight. I found this out one day the hard way, while drinking hot soup. I could pick up a spoonful out of the bowl without any problem, but before I could get to my mouth, the spoon turned and the soup went right into my lap.

Very soon, it was dark outside and we left a bit later. It was fun, it was nice, and we’ll do it again sometime soon. Thanks, Sam!

1211 reducing swelling

After therapy today, I had an evaluation with the Lymphedema section of the hospital. They took some measurements. discussed some treatments for the swelling in my right calf, and applied a compression stocking to help reduce the swelling.

After wearing it for a few hours, I have to say that I don’t know how women live with it everyday. It's kind of like wearing women’s hose.

How do I know what that feels like? Let’s just say that I do, and leave it at that.

1210 seeing john

My parents made arrangements for my brother, John, to come home for a few hours today. Long Beach Transit was having a special for point-to-point transportation of the disabled, so they took advantage of it.

If you didn’t know, John had a stroke in November 2005 (a week before Thanksgiving), and was transferred to nursing homes after his hospital stay. So this was his first time to be “at home” in over three years.

After getting dropped off at the curb, John was wheeled through the gate and was welcomed by Jett, the family black lab. You could tell that Jett remembered John, and although John couldn’t speak, he smiled and reached out to pet Jett on the head.

My father gave John a brief tour of the house, including his room, which generally remains untouched since he left. Even the dust has dust. He was parked at the kitchen table and went through the newspapers.

We “communicated” with John, although it was kind of limited to “one finger means yes, two fingers means no.” We found out then that my father didn’t know, when he asked us what we were doing. My mother explained, but then asked, “How do you ask John if he wants to go outside when you visit?”

My father replied, “I just wheel him outside because it’s a nice day and better than staying indoors.” So when Dad visits, John goes outside whether he wants to or not.

My father took John outside for a look at the yard. We wanted him to stay longer, but he needed to get back to the nursing home for medications. LB Transit picked him up shortly afterwards. It was nice to see him.

1209 stratego

Ching and I had an interesting discussion on Facebook about a “strategically-placed” pillow in one of my photos. Just so you’ll be informed, I’ll post the photo below.

I could understand it if the pillow was the size of a bag of chips, but this is a BIG bed pillow. I guess I should be thankful that someone thinks I need to “strategically place” such a large pillow.

By the way, I’m wearing shorts behind that pillow. I was sleeping peacefully in my single room in Cancun when Ching stopped by for a visit at 4am. She had been out all night and was returning to her own room.

But she had to tell someone about the guy she had met and I was the lucky one. They had “talked” on the beach, underneath the star-filled sky. Every time she moved, she spilled some sand on my hotel room floor. It’s been six years and I think she’s still spilling sand.

As you can see, I’m very attentive, but she snapped the photo while we were talking.

And now she claims that the pillow is “strategically-placed”. LOL!

Your comments are welcomed!

1207 membership christmas

The SBCC Membership Christmas Party/Fellowship was tonight and it was very well put together. Members were greeted at the front, relieved of the sodas and desserts they were bringing, and told to go in to the Worship Center, where they were assigned to teams by color of the ink pen used on their nametags. I say “assigned” since each person was told which colors were available, and couples were intentionally split up.

The colors also told them what room they were assigned to for dinner upstairs. For the first time, they kept the people with limited mobility on the first floor and brought food to them. There were only two of us, but it also meant that we wouldn’t have to participate in the “game”. We were sort of disappointed by the news (I hope our cheers weren’t too loud).

After a hearty dinner (from Ladybug, provided by SBCC), the membership congregated in the Worship Center, where each team was called up to play the “game”. Jim Y was serving as Gamemaster, in Pastor Ken’s absence.

Each team had six people as letter-holders, while the rest of the team directed them on unscrambling the word. Teams were graded on how fast they worked, so the audience, made up of the other teams, remained silent during the competition.

After the winning team was decided, they got first pick of the “gifts” brought for the exchange. I had Sheri pick out a gift for me, and it was a snow globe with a nativity scene in it. I found out afterwards that it was brought by Ayako.

Thanks to Steve T for giving me a ride home that night, to Carol for picking up a dessert for me, and to Sheri for picking up a gift from me for the exchange and for getting me the gift during the exchange.

1207 too early for tacos

After second service at SBCC, I ran into Ed and Christine. I asked him how he was feeling, since he had a sore throat last week and couldn’t talk. He smiled and replied, “I’m feeling better and my throat is up for handling tacos.”

I told him that it was good, considering that Koinonia is having a taco luncheon at Sam’s next week.

He said, “Next week? I thought it was this week.”

I confirmed it and told him that it was on the 14th.

He turned to his right and smiled at Christine. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s next week.”

She just smiled back and asked him if it was okay if she could kick him later.

1206 the set-up

My Revelation study group met after the service at SBCC tonight. Our guests were Anjie and Deborah, and maybe they’ll be back. Gary H was making his second appearance with us and I think he’s here to stay. Kiyomi made a great curry dish for dinner.

Tonight we were discussing the verses in Revelation 15, which dealt with the seven angels and the seven plagues. During one question, Carol was asked what she got, so she read her answer. All of the eyes around the table looked at her and someone asked, “Harps? I don’t remember any harps.”

Carol read her sheet and said, “Yeah, it didn’t make any sense to me either. But I was spending all my time with my mother, so I just copied Mike’s answers.” Mike is her husband.

We all turned to look at Mike, and he had the biggest grin on his face. He said, “I got bored, so I wrote down something that sounded good. I didn’t know Carol would copy it.”

Someone said, “So you set her up.”

Mike answered, “Not intentionally.” I don’t think the smile ever left his face. Fortunately, the rest of the study was uneventful.

1127 happy thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Since my readership is down to about a dozen, I think I know who some of you are. But it’s just a guess, since the comments keep throwing me off.

By now, I think I’ll be digging into a Thanksgiving feast, although I kinda lost my appetite while watching the KCAL 9 News on Wednesday night. Jackie Johnson and Christina McLarty were in a kitchen, making a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner. They thought they were cooking a turkey, but acknowledged on the air that what they were cooking didn’t have legs or wings, something I’ll look for when sitting down at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

After that I’ll relax with some holiday TV, since I won’t need to rest up for Black Friday shopping.

I thought about letting my friends know that my handicapped parking placard was considerably under-used this year, but with the down economy, parking at the malls shouldn’t be too stressful.

So Friday should be fairly quiet. Maybe I’ll spend some time on Facebook.

1125 kodak moment

Photobombing is the act of getting in someone else’s photo, whether intentional or not. Usually, an intentional photobomber will get into the background of someone else’s photo, which is easy to do, since the photographer is not usually looking at the background. Only when the photo is reviewed (sometimes just a few seconds later with digital cameras) will the intruder be seen. By then, it is usually too late to retake the photo, especially if the subject or subjects were candid.

Then there’s the unintentional photobomber, who is included in the photo only because the photographer didn’t check his or her field of vision first. After all, the photographer should be aware of what he or she is photographing. Or not?

Take a look at the photo below. Kind of makes you wonder if the couple were aware of the third person, doesn’t it?

1120 how do you get down off an elephant?

It’s the start of a joke that I didn’t get when I was a kid. The punchline? You don’t get down off an elephant, you get down off a duck. My parents had to explain this one to me several times. I finally got it when I received a down jacket for Christmas.

A friend sent me an e-mail today about nuances in the English language and how we abuse it. So let me just share it. Without further ado, here it is ....


Lovers of the English language might enjoy this. It is yet another example of why people learning English have trouble with the language. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language. But then, that's probably true of many languages.

There is a two-letter word in English that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as being used as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this up is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now ........ my time is UP, so time to shut UP!

Oh...one more thing:What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?

U P

Don't screw up. Send this on to everyone you look UP in your address book.Now I'll shut up

PS: UP also means United Parcel. Go figure.
PPS: Thought this was too long? UP yours! LOL!

1118 lifting a weight off my shoulders ... sort of

Okay, not a real weight, but I did get a haircut. Shave is more accurate. I’ll let you be the judge. Check out the “before” and “after” photos.

1117 it’s not rocket science .... is it?

I received an e-mail from a friend about a study by researchers at Oxford University that compiled the ten most irritating phrases in the English language. They are, in order of obnoxiousness:

1) at the end of the day
2) fairly unique
3) I personally
4) at this moment in time
5) with all due respect
6) absolutely
7) it’s a nightmare
8) shouldn’t of
9) 24/7
10) it’s not rocket science

I know that I’m guilty of using all of these phrases in my use of the language. Absolutely!

1113 my new other right foot

Today, I received a new AFO (ankle-to-foot orthotic) that will give me better support without being so containing. It consists of a footbed. a knee strap, and two metal arms that connect the two. I’ll let you know how it works out.

1110 just a thought

I was just thinking about this after a woman friend had some relationship issues. So I just wanted to post it in case I need to repeat it in the future.

This is just my personal opinion. It’s not the result of a scientific or psychological study. It’s just something I thought about after several experiences. It’s not universal, so it won’t apply with every situation or everybody. That’s sort of a disclaimer.

If I bounce around on the tenses, sorry.

When a guy says “I need space” it’s just that. He needs space. It’s not something that someone could put a timeframe on. It may take a couple of days or a couple of weeks. We guys are not wired the same way that women are, so it’s easy to see that women would find this behavior confusing, and many would take it personally.

Generally, women are socially adept. Much of this goes back to early childhood, where young girls were socializing with other young girls, and sharing information about young boys. Young boys, however, were taught strength (personal, emotional, and physical) and individuality, so they kept much to themselves. Sure, they had friends. But only one or two that they could confide in with their deepest secrets.

This behavior (both genders) continued into adulthood. Women found socializing easy, while men were challenged by it (and often confused by it). Women shared secrets with ”gal pals” and exchanged info every time they met. Many times, an “outing” or “brunch” or “spa day” was just an opportunity to exchange information and get feedback on something that was being pondered.

Men, however, are generally socially inept. When they get together in small groups, the conversation involves sports, weather, business, or recent events. They don’t share personal information because they see it as a sign of weakness. That’s where the phrase, “That’s TMI, dude!” came from.

When a woman enters a man’s life and he starts to get strong feelings towards her, he has no one that he feels comfortable with to talk with about these feelings. Women, on the other hand, have already established a support-system with their “gal pals”, so all she needs to do is fill-in the blanks.

A man will tell a woman that “he needs space.” Women can be confused by this because they don’t understand why men can’t talk with other men, the same way that they talk with other women.

What it means is that the woman has become so much a part of his life, that he has to step back and see how much she has impacted his life. Ladies, this is a good thing. Well, usually. You see, it takes time to see how much someone has impacted your life when you see what life is like without the other person around. Many of the things that you did by yourself is now something that feels uncomfortable and/or unnatural when done alone.

In most cases, the man contacts the woman to find out if he can “fix” what he has done. Because most of the time, the woman takes it personally and blames herself for his saying “I need space.” It’s just something that he needs to do.

Women, the worst thing that you can do is establish a deadline or make an ultimatum. The man needs time and any pressure on the situation can be easily be resolved by ending the relationship. It’s a quick way (and sometimes dangerous) to make the pressure disappear. It doesn’t always happen that way, but it’s easier to do it that way. Sometimes, guys look for the “easy way out”.

However, in very few of the cases, the man finds little impact by the woman on his life and ends the relationship “before it gets messy”. Unfortunately, this man is unaware or oblivious (or both) to the damage he’s caused and it’s already “messy”.

Anyways, that’s my two-bits.

PS. If the “space” thing takes over a month, a deadline might be needed. But be ready for him to look for the exit.

1107 camping

My niece and older nephew came by for a visit today, along with their nanny. I was told that my brother-in-law took my youngest nephew on a weekend camping trip with the Indian Guides. My parents reminded me about my very first camping trip, which I’ll share with you now.

It was about thirty-seven years ago. It was my first weekend camp-out as a new Scout. I had just “graduated” from my Cub Scout pack the month before, so I wasn’t even a Tenderfoot yet. Fortunately, it was at a Scout Reservation in Long Beach, so I wasn’t very far from “civilization”.

My father dropped me off and I headed for the check-in table. There were some senior scouts at the table, giving directions. It was a Camp-o-Ree of about 50 troops, so it was easy to get “lost”.
I saw two friends of mine, Scott and Eddie. I knew both from grade school and we came up through cub scouts together. They looked at me and asked if I was ready. I told them I was, so we went to check-in together.

The scouts at the table asked me if this was my first camp-out. I said that it was, but how did they know. They just laughed and told us to wait, as one of our troop’s leaders was nearby.

Sure enough, our scoutmaster emerged a minute later and asked if we were ready for a fun weekend. We told him we were. He looked at my feet, sighed loudly, and said, “I’ve got to talk to your mother.”

I looked down. At Scott and Eddie’s feet were two fully-loaded backpacks. At my feet was a fully-loaded suitcase.

1106 a different meaning for "chance of showers"

During the campaign, Barack Obama was linked to Weatherman William Ayers, who was a domestic terrorist in the 1970s. It made me think about growing up with the weathermen on the nightly news stations. People like Dr. George Fishbeck and Fritz Coleman.

Those days are gone, since the weather reports today are given by women. The major exception is KABC, which still uses Dallas Raines and Johnny Mountain. I have a friend who lives in Dallas Raines’ neighborhood, and watches him leave for work every day. Sometimes, Dallas has a jacket on a sunny day. That’s when my friend makes sure that there’s a jacket in the car that day.

I didn’t realize the evolution of women doing the weather forecasts until a friend sent me a link for the “Hottest Weathergirls on TV”. It also made me remember that at one time I wanted to be involved in weather prediction.

When I was a teenager, the ABC Saturday evening lineup was “Fantasy Island”, “Love Boat”, and “Love, American Style” “Love, American Style” was a collection of mini-episodes (about 15-20 minutes long) that dealt with mature subject matter. So my parents forbade me to watch it. Which, as a teenager, made it more important to try and see it.

One of the segments I saw involved a single guy in his apartment when he heard a noise outside his door. He opened the door and found a beautiful girl in a silver lame outfit that hugged her curves. He invited her in and offered her a glass of water, which she accepted.

As he was getting the water, she told him that she was from another planet and was sent to explore Earth. He didn’t believe her, but gave her the glass of water.

As she started to drink the water, she started choking. He responded by patting her back to help clear her throat. She demanded to know why he did that, since they hardly knew each other. He said that she was choking and he was helping her to clear her throat. She responded by saying that it was how the people on her planet reproduce.

After the shocked look on his face, she asked how people on Earth reproduce. He whispered something in her ear. She responded by saying, “Oh, that’s how my people predict the weather.”

It was then that I realized that my future was in meteorology.

1031 blast from the past

I went to my physical therapy session today, and my PT was dressed as a tourist, since it was Halloween. She was wearing a blonde wig, glasses, a hat, a floral print shirt, leis, and shorts. She put on makeup to look like she was sunburned. Her co-workers didn’t recognize her and I didn’t either, until she started talking.

Someone asked her about the shirt. She said that she picked it up at a thrift store for a few bucks. This reminded me of a story, which I’d like to share.

About ten years ago, they were celebrating an 80s Day at work, so everyone was encouraged to dress 80s-style. All of the women had Madonna in mind, but the only thing us guys could think of was the TV show “Miami Vice”.

The day came by and I found myself at work with an associate, and both of us were dressed like Sonny Crockett, complete with linen pants, a pastel shirt, an unlined jacket with the sleeves rolled up, and loafers.

My associate (he was about 24 years old) was asked where he got the stuff. He said that he had to go to about four thrift stores to find all the stuff, but it was worth it. My friends turned to me and asked me the same question.

My answer? It all came from the back of my closet. My friends asked what else was in my closet. I told them that they were welcome to look, but I needed an hour to stash the platform shoes and leisure suits.

1028 chili special

I was cleaning up around my exercise area when I came across a flyer for the SBCC Men’s Ministry Chili Cookoff, which was last month. A memory came to mind which I will now share with you (whether you like it or not).

Many, many years ago, my girlfriend invited me over for lunch. When I arrived, she directed me to the dining room table as lunch was almost ready. As I sat down, I noticed three place settings so I asked, “Who’s joining us?”

My girlfriend replied from the kitchen “My little sister.”

As if by cue, the sister bounded into the room and sat down at the table. She picked up a spoon and said, “Smells good! What is it?”

My girlfriend replied, “It’s chili. With Jim’s favorite food.”

The little sister looked at me and asked, “What’s your favorite food?”

I looked blankly at the little sister and said, “It’s boysenberry jam, but she’s not that crazy.”

The little sister looked at me, put down the spoon, and said, “You don’t know my sister. Good luck.” As she left the table, she called out, “I forgot. I have to read a book for school.” Then she left the room.

I sat for a few moments, then went in the kitchen and offered to help. On the counter were three empty cans of chili and an empty jar of Knott’s Boysenberry Jam. My girlfriend said, “Thanks for the offer, but it’s ready.” With that she moved to the dining room and gave me a full bowl of her “chili”.

Did I eat it? Of course I did. I may be stupid, but I’m not that stupid.

Fortunately, the chili taste overpowered the boysenberry, but the seeds were noticeable. It’s the first (and only) time that I had a chili that was crunchy.

1027 eagle eye

I went out to see a movie with my friend, John M, and saw “Eagle Eye”. I was getting some candy at the concession stand, and I pulled out a wad of $1 bills to pay the attendant. While counting out the amount it came to, I thought about the last time so many $1 bills gave me a night of fun.

I was thinking of the bingo booth at the Gardena Obon.

What were you thinking of?

1024 wake-up message

Today I saw that a friend from high school was told by her son that she’s too old to be on Facebook. I wasn’t aware of an age limit.

Kids these days. Geez. Reminds me of a conversation I had with a young friend last Christmas. She wanted to go shopping, but the Internet was down, so she couldn’t find out what time a store opened.

I suggested that she call directory assistance, to get the phone number of the store, then call the store to find out what time they opened.

I thought the solution was simple. But that’s when I found out I was a caveman.

*sigh*

1021 sins and the family

Liz picked me up for the Biola seminar and we were on our way. We arrived a little early so we stopped by the Common Grounds cafe so that she could grab a mocha. I didn’t have one as I needed a plausible alibi, in case I nodded off during the speaker, since I don't have a column to hide behind, like the one at SBCC.

She gave me a brief tour of the visible campus (mainly the buildings we saw between the auditorium and the cafe) and I shared a story, which I would like to share with you now.

Years ago (okay, early 80s) I attended Cal Poly Pomona. About fifteen years later, I returned there for a two-day conference. On the second day, I ran into a guy who instructed several of my classes. When I was a student, he was a part-time lecturer. But now he was a full-time professor.

He asked me if I had a chance to look at the campus. I told him I did, but nothing changed much except for a new building in the quad. He smiled and told me that was the faculty office building, and his office was in there. I asked him if he liked it. He replied “yes and no”.

Yes and no? I asked for clarification. He said that the building was much nicer than the trailer he had been in for seven years. Then, he smiled and told me the rest.

Apparently, Cal Poly wanted it known that they were on the cutting edge of environmental design, so they had an open design competition for an “environmentally-friendly” building. At the time, that was a new concept.

The winning design used a lot of “new” ideas to incorporate solar energy, natural lighting, natural heating and recycled building materials. The result was a building that was tall and sat on a square base.

During the initial phase of the construction, the administration didn’t like the way the building was orientated, so they had the contractor turn the building around 180 degrees. This was possible because the base was square. But they didn’t consult the architect or the design team.

That’s why the solar panels were facing north. The completed building had to be retrofitted with heating, lighting, and standard electrical power. The end-cost was higher than the original budget and the building could not be used by the Cal Poly publicity office. It was the joke of the environmental design community for many years.

Tonight’s guest speaker was Judy TenElshof, PhD, a Professor of Spirituality and Marriage and Family, and she spoke on “Transforming Family Experience In The Family Of God”. One of the concepts she raised was that the problem today in family relationships is not only that we are tempted by sins in the same way that Eve was, rather where she was tempted, we now live. She concluded her talk with the four characteristics of a spiritually disciplined family: covenant commitment, grace, empowerment, and intimacy.

I found it interesting that Judy and her husband founded the Hilltop Renewal Center for Christian Leaders.

1019 a day with ching

Ching and I spent some time together today to just talk. We included breakfast in our plans as I haven’t had anything other than cereal for the past several months. I was looking forward to eggs, bacon, and pancakes (soaking in maple syrup). It must be all those IHOP commercials.

We ended up at Denny’s, one of our old hang-outs. I ordered the Lumberjack Slam and she got the All-American Slam. But I waited for the inevitable substitutions. Sure enough, she subbed some of the items for other stuff.

It reminded me of the time we were out late but she had a craving for a chocolate sundae. The place we stopped at didn’t have it, but they did have banana splits. So she ordered a banana split but asked them to hold the banana. Also, could they change the scoops of strawberry and chocolate ice creams to vanilla ice cream? And instead of the strawberry and pineapple syrups, could they just make it all chocolate syrup? Can you believe that they actually did it?

After breakfast (brunch?) we headed to the Town Center and caught a matinee of “W”. It was an interesting story of the life of George W. Bush, as told by Oliver Stone. The portrayal by Thandie Newton of Condoleezza Rice was uncanny, and there was a moment when Josh Brolin looked in a mirror, and I thought I saw James Brolin looking back.

When the movie was over, I wheeled into a restroom (the movie was over two hours). I must have been taking a long time because she was organizing a search and rescue team when I came out.

We adjourned to a nearby Starbucks for some liquid refreshment. As we were sitting at a table on the patio, Ching told me that a guy was staring at her. “Quick,” she said, “act like we’re married.”

My response was “I’m already not touching you. Do you want me to ignore you too?” She just laughed and said that maybe she should be appreciative that someone was looking at her. The alternative would be that no one would pay any attention to her. She asked me what it was like.

We called it a day around 4pm.

1014 clam discipleship

Liz came by to pick me up for the speaker series at Biola, but she was earlier than I expected. We made arrangements to go early, so we could get something to eat. I asked her to come by around 4:30pm. Imagine my surprise when she rang the doorbell at 3:00pm! I was in the bathroom at the time.

We left the house at 4:00pm and drove around (literally!) La Mirada. We had gone too far when we realized that the shopping center we were heading for was actually a park. We ended up at a Sizzler. I was reminded of a story, which I will now share with you.

Many years ago (ok, thirty-four, give or take a month or two) I was involved in a weekend campout with some younger scouts (yes, hard to believe, I was a Boy Scout) to help them train for their Camping and Cooking merit badges. The campout was at a Scout Reservation in Long Beach, so we weren’t backcountry or far from civilization.

We (there were about a half-dozen of us “senior” scouts) coached them on how to set-up their tents and campfires. When it came time to cook dinner, each one of them created a menu and we judged them on how they accomplished their tasks, including clean-up.

Once everything was squared away and the campsite was cleaned up, we dismissed them for a few hours while we had our own dinner. It was mid-summer, it was still light out, and the younger scouts wanted to chase the squirrels around the reservation property. So we told them to run around and have fun.

That’s when we “senior” scouts hiked about four blocks to have dinner at the nearby Sizzler. We thought we got away with it until the scoutmaster found out and gave us a verbal disciplining. Something about not setting a good example. But all I could think about was how good the shrimp lagostino was.

I had ordered the Fisherman’s Platter, which came with fish, shrimp, and clam. As I ate it, Liz asked me what clam tastes like. I took a bite, thought for a moment, and told her that “it takes like clam”. She just rolled her eyes. What did I say?

We made it to the lecture hall. The guest speaker was supposed to be Bruce Demarest, Professor of Christian Theology and Spiritual Formation at the Denver Seminary. But he was unable to make it for health reasons. Replacing him was Bill Hull, author and a former pastor who now runs the website “ChooseTheLife.com”, and he spoke about exploring a faith that embraces discipleship.

Jesus gave us the Great Commission (in Matthew 28:19) that reads “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

We have no problems with baptizing people, but churches fail to make disciples in the world.

What do you think? And what do you think clam tastes like? Please feel free to comment.

1007 the catastrophe of following jesus

Liz invited me to attend a speaker series at Biola (Bible Institute Of Los Angeles). The guest speaker tonight was Steve Porter, an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology, and he talked about “The Catastrophe of Following Jesus”. This was the third in a series of six from the Institute of Spiritual Formation, but I missed the first two.

The talk was about the complacency of Christ followers and the misconception of our self-identity. We feel that we’re more peaceful and that our lives are in order, but that’s part of the misconception. Actually, we should be viewed by others as more challenged in our daily lives, as we are all sinners trying our best to live our lives according to Christ. None of us are perfect, and we shouldn’t be in the eyes of those around us.

1006 keeping the flu away

A friend sent me a joke today and I’d like to share it.

The church organist was in her eighties and had never been married. She was admired for her sweetness and kindness to all.

One afternoon the pastor came to call on her and she showed him into her quaint sitting room. She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea. As he sat facing her old Hammond organ, the young minister noticed a cut-glass bowl sitting on top of it. The bowl was filled with water, and in the water floated, of all things, a condom!

When she returned with tea and scones, they began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could no longer resist.

'Miss Beatrice', he said, 'I wonder if you would tell me about this?' pointing to the bowl.

'Oh, yes,' she replied, 'Isn't it wonderful? I was walking through the park a few months ago and I found this little package on the ground. The directions said to place it on the organ, keep it wet and that it would prevent the spread of disease."

"Do you know I haven't had the flu all winter'

1004 son of a ditch

My father dropped me off at SBCC in time for the evening service. Tyler was the guest worship leader again, but this time he was backed up by the Legacy (high school ministry) worship team. It was great to watch them play.

Pastor Gary continued his “Man vs Wild” series, with this week’s episode of “Surviving the Blahs”. He talked about a story from 2 Kings 3, about a trip by the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom (along with their armies), to attack the king and country of Moab.. At one point, they became lost and ran out of water. They sought advice from the prophet Elisha, who instructed them to dig ditches throughout the valley.

Pastor Gary said “valley full of ditches” but my friend, Carol, wasn’t feeling well and was medicated, so she heard something else instead of “ditches”. For her, it changed the whole context of the message. It took us a few minutes to understand her confusion and make the necessary corrections.

After the service, I met with my Bible study group and we discussed the second half of Revelation 13, where the second beast rises out of the land. This is also the part where “666” is identified as the mark of the beast. It was an interesting and fruitful discussion.

1004 cub fan for a day

Go Cubs!

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a lifelong Dodgers fan. But I’m rooting for the Cubs for Game #3 only. Why? Because my mother has a chance to go to Game #4 on Sunday, but only if the Dodgers lose today.

I really do want her to go. Even if it means rooting for the Cubs for a day.

1003 news flash

My father came over and told me that he had a job for me. After spending most of the afternoon on exercises, I was looking for a distraction. He told me that he was going out for a walk, but the news was coming up with a report and maybe I could get the info for him. I told him I would, thinking that it had to do with the economy or the upcoming presidential election. As he was heading out of the house, he turned and said that it had something to do with Asian Americans and breast cancer.

What?? As if I don’t have any other interests in the world today. Many (read: 20+) years ago, I was demonstrating the proper methods of self-examination techniques for women, in the privacy of their own backseats. But that has changed, along with my focus.

So I watched the news (KABC) and learned something new. Japanese-American women have a higher incidence rate, but Filipino-American women have the highest mortality rate because they don’t get tested. The report said that the reason is mostly cultural. Informational programs this month will target both ethnic groups.

What did my father say when he came back in the house? Nothing. He just sat down and changed the channel to a ballgame.

(sigh)

1001 HB2U Ching!

Ching may be more than ten years younger than me (yes, I’m THAT old!), but she seems to understand me better than anyone. That’s why she’s my best friend. She isn’t afraid of telling me the truth, even if she knows it will be painful, because I prefer hearing the truth over sugar-coated lies anytime.

I found this out one day when I tried dyeing my hair. She was the only one of my friends to tell me I missed a spot on the back of my head. Everyone saw it, but no one said anything. The others thought I wouldn’t want to hear about it.

Today is Ching’s birthday. I remember the first time I met her. A buddy and I were running a weekend bus trip to Mammoth. While my buddy was checking people in, I was filling the coolers at the back of the bus when I saw this giant pillow coming down the aisle. Ching was carrying the pillow in front of her and planned to sleep on the ride up.

Some friends and I were chatting near the front of the bus as we were passing through Bishop. Ching introduced herself and joined in the conversation. She left her boyfriend (there have been many since .... I’ve lost track) asleep in the back. On the pillow, I assume.

We told her what we were planning for future trips. She just sighed, told us it wasn’t rocket science (funny, a few of them were Rockwell engineers), and pointed out the flaws in our plans. She hasn’t changed that way of thinking in the years I’ve known her. I guess that’s what I like about her.

Nowadays, she’s busy in the scrapbooking world. She even got me interested in it for a little while (I think I still have all the stuff), and all I have is an unfinished Jackson Hole album. Maybe I should do that as part of my therapy.

Wherever you are today, Happy Birthday, Ching!

0930 word up

The nice thing about Facebook is that I’ve found a bunch of friends from high school and college, plus people I used to work with. I’ve also found some people that share the same common interests with me. One of these is playing the game of Scrabble.

There’s an application on Facebook that utilizes the same tiles, gameboard, scoring and turn-based play. The only difference is that sometimes a game will be played over several days.

Right now, I’m participating in about five separate games and my friends play whenever they log in. I get a notification when it’s my turn, so I don’t need to wait for them. I just check-in every now and then. It helps pass the day to check-in between exercise sets and it helps to keep my mind (and vocabulary) active.

0927 wedding day

I went to the wedding of some good friends of mine, Grace and Bobby. I knew Grace from a lifegroup we were in several years ago, before it broke up and I joined WTBA. Bobby was a member (and still is) of WTBA. When my work schedule changed in 2006, I left WTBA and joined Koinonia, where I met Bobby’s sister, Wendi.

The ceremony was in the courtyard of Grand Newport Plaza in Costa Mesa, a beautiful setting with a fountain. The wedding party was large and a lot of people were at the ceremony. But I knew many of them and it was a very special day.

Liz picked me up in the morning (the ceremony was at 10:30am!) and after a bit of creative driving, we found the parking structure. I should mention that Liz looked great. We found the courtyard and sat down. We were soon joined by Scott, Mari, Kendra, and Chris (aka Daniel). They were followed by Ken, Natsuko, Michelle, Tricia, and Sheri. Then there was Mo and Sherilyn. I even saw Darin and Vivian come in.

The procession and ceremony was magnificent and full of splendor. Wendi looked great as a bridesmaid. There were a few humorous moments, but it was a nice ceremony. Pastor Gary (of SBCC) presided. The recessional was warm and happy. Okay, it was very happy.

The reception was a lot of fun. When they wanted to give away the table centerpieces, the MC asked for a volunteer from each table. Ken volunteered Don, and talked him into going up front. He explained that it was easy to do, since Don doesn’t hear very well.

At the time that they had the bouquet toss, I noticed that Liz wasn’t joining the other single women on the dance floor. When I asked her about it, she told me to drop it. I thought that I found a compatriot in wedding-reception-routine-avoidance. Boy, was I wrong.

Very soon, it was time for the groom to toss the garter. I figured if I didn’t make any eye contact, I would be overlooked. Not so. Not only could I feel Rome standing behind me, but Liz was directing traffic. Fortunately, my wheelchair has brakes and I kept them in place by holding them. They soon gave up and left me at the table. I’m kind of glad that they didn’t think it through. If 2 or 3 of the guys picked up my wheelchair, there was nothing I could’ve done, brakes or no brakes.

The highlight of the reception was a live performance by members of the USC Trojan Marching Band. I remember when Bobby announced the engagement many months ago, he mentioned that they were looking for a Saturday that USC wasn’t playing a home game. I guess this was why.

When the dancing started, I made my way to the restroom. I guess I was in there quite awhile because when I came out, only the wedding party and a couple dozen guests were left. Liz and I left soon after that.

0922 autumnal equinox

As I understand it, today is the autumnal equinox. There is the summer solstice, where the day is the longest and the night is the shortest. Opposite of that is the winter solstice, where the day is the shortest and the night is the longest. Between them are the vernal (spring) and autumnal (fall) equinoxes, where the day and the night are equal in length.

So the length of the day today is equal to the length of the night. It brings to mind a memory, which I would like to share.

When I was in college, I had a friend named Julie. She was Caucasian, but had a great tan. There was a big party one weekend and she decided to wear a sleeveless dress that showed off her tan. But she wasn’t satisfied, so the afternoon of the event, she decided to darken her tan by lying out by the pool with her friends. This was in the 80s, when we didn’t know much about skin cancer.

I didn’t see her until I was at the party. I saw her talking with some others across the room and remarked to a friend, “Boy, Julie sure look good!” My friend laughed and responded, “Yeah, but wait until she turns around.”

A minute later, she turned and I noticed a shade of difference. I crossed the room for a better look. Her back was lighter than her front. We chatted a little and I asked her what happened. She told me that she was so engrossed in the conversation with her friends at the pool, that she forgot to turn over.

She ended up tanning the front more than the back. A faint line could be seen on the sides of her arms and legs. She said that the dress was so nice, that she decided to wear it anyhow.

She evened it out the following weekend. I remember her joking (to others who were not at the party) that she showed off her tan lines.

0919 HB2U Glenn!

Glenn is the friend that I’ve known the longest. We met at an outing for the old LA Asian Ski Club (now it’s the Asian Ski & Board Club of LA) when we were both in our early thirties. At the time, he was a sous chef at the Annandale Country Club near Pasadena. Today, he’s an instructor at the Southern California School of Culinary Arts. Now, he’s celebrating his fiftieth birthday and there’s a party tomorrow (which I won’t be able to attend).

One day, he went skiing locally at Big Bear. He had his boots custom fit so that they were comfortable. But not that day. They were so painful that he stopped by a friend’s ski shop in San Dimas to have them looked at.

The outside of the boots were undamaged, so the shop owner looked inside. He pulled the right boot liner out of the left boot, and did a double-take. He also pulled the left boot liner out of the right boot. And then he laughed. Glenn had pulled the boot liners to clean them, but put them back in the wrong boots.

The shop owner was amazed that Glenn skied a whole day like that. So were we when we heard about it later.

Wait a minute. Glenn can’t be fifty. If he’s fifty, that means I’m ..... I’m .....

Never mind.

0216 walking again

This was my first PT session since the knee injury about six weeks ago. Jenn had me walk through the hallways and we set up a project to keep me busy. I am to plan a hiking trip for sometime in January 2009. That’s only five months away!

Okay, so it’s a little over four months. Hiking brings back a flood of memories from the times I spent with friends in the Santa Monica Mountains. The last time was a morning trek through Temescal Canyon a couple of years ago with Bobby and Liz.

Temescal Canyon is a loop of about five and a half miles and an elevation change of about 850 feet. Right now, I can barely make it across my flat, paved driveway in five minutes.

More on the therapy (and hike) later.

0914 koinonia

My lifegroup met after second service today. When he dropped me off at the church, my father asked me when I wanted to be picked up. I told him “3pm” and he said that he’d be there.

We have a running joke about him because sometimes he forgets and shows up early. One time, he poked his head in at 1pm, and we were just getting started.

The group study finished around 2:30pm, and there was no sign of him. My fellow group members commented that he’s getting better. There was still another group meeting at the church, so I waited in the lobby (which was cooler).

Around 3:05pm, I called home. My mother answered. I asked her, “Where’s Dad?” Through the phone, I heard a conversation that went like this:

Mom: “Were you supposed to pick up Jim?”

Dad: “Yes, but not until three.”

Then I heard running and a door slamming. My mother came back on the line. “He’s on his way,” she said. I tried not to laugh.

He picked me up around 3:40pm. We’ll try better next Sunday.

0910 drunk dialing

A friend sent me a message on Facebook recently and made mention of “drunk dialing”. I don’t think this friend understands the term but I realize the problem. You see, this term is outmoded and should have been removed from our vernacular. It represents a technology that is no longer being used.

Let me explain. Telephone calls used to be made with a rotary dial. This is unfamiliar to anyone born after 1990 because push button phones were introduced in the 1980s. But to illustrate the problem, let me tell you a story, from 1984.

I was partying with my softball team from work. I remember getting drunk one night (after my fifth beer) and I tried to call a friend to let me sleep it off at his place. My fingers kept missing the fingerholes in the dial. But even when I got them in the dial, it was the wrong numbers. Instead of reaching my friend, I called Kentucky Fried Chicken. That was a colorful conversation (“What do you mean he’s not there?”).

Nowadays, it's different with preset speed dial options and push-buttons. "Drunk dial" just isn't as funny anymore. In fact, it's harder.

When was the last time you dialed a wrong number? See?

0907 koinonia lunch

My lifegroup got together today for lunch at Moo’s Chinese Restaurant in Torrance. We played a few games to pass the time and break the ice. One of the games was “Two Truths and a Lie”, where you tell three things about yourself, but one has to be untrue and the others have to guess what it is. The problem was, two of our members couldn’t lie so they ended up telling three truths about themselves. It was funny and entertaining.

The problem I had is that I’ve used my past experiences with this group so much that they know what I’ve done. Fortunately, one person in our group has short-term memory, so I was able to get away (just barely) with my lie.

When I got home, my parents had an early dinner waiting for me. It was Chinese! But it was either eat or not have dinner, so I ate.

0906 going vertical

Jim Y (osam) came by today to help me get up on the walker for the first time since the August 3rd injury. I was able to move around the den, with his assistance, and it felt good to get up. We only walked for about 15 minutes, but it was good and I look forward to more!

0903 a typical day - part 3 of 3

Lunch depends on who’s at home each day. I can put together a sandwich by myself but it’s hard to do it with either of my parents around, as they will make their own lunch and make something for me while they’re at it (whether I want lunch or not). I once tried to tell them I wasn’t hungry, but that almost ended up with me being dragged to see the doctor because it “wasn’t normal”

The afternoon is mainly leg and foot exercises. Leg curls and extensions, leg lifts, ankle lifts, Achilles stretches, and short walks (with the walker) are a few of the exercises I’ll do. I perform several sets during the day, with breaks in-between to keep it from getting too tiring.

Dinner is around 5pm, but a lot depends on how my parents feel. Mother will make dinner or pick something up.

After dinner used to be treadmill time, but since the knee injury I just do some leg stretches. I usually catch up on my emails at this time.

This is what a normal weekday is like. Sometimes it differs because of therapy or doctor’s appointments. Sometimes I have visitors.

I usually bathe in the evening, but depending on the schedule, will sometimes do it in the morning or the afternoon. The whole process takes about an hour and I usually do most of it by myself. I sometimes need assistance with my back or left arm (my right hand cannot grip the washcloth completely) but I transfer to and from the bath bench without assistance.

The weekends vary from the routine, depending on what I’ve got scheduled. Sometimes a friend will help me walk on Saturday mornings. I’ll go to church service at SBCC on Saturday evenings and/or Sunday mornings. My sister likes to have family gatherings on Sunday afternoons. I have a twice-a-month Bible study that meets on Saturday nights after service. I also have a church lifegroup that meets every Sunday afternoon.

I keep busy with the logistics for all these activities. Arranging transportation is important, since I’m not able to drive and I don’t like my parents to drive after dark.

0830 a typical day - part 2 of 3

Then I head off to the bathroom for my morning ritual, which includes shaving with both hands, brushing my teeth and washing my face. I also use the support bar on the wall for my first standing exercise of the day. This includes shifting the weight back and forth to test the strength of the right knee after the injury. Sometimes, I’ll also use the toilet, but not every morning.

After the bathroom is breakfast. Before the injury, I would walk to the kitchen (with the walker) through the den doorway, but now I’ll either wheel the long way around through the front room (my wheelchair is too wide for the doorway by the den) or, if my parents are in a rush or have an appointment, I’ll find a tray in the den.

Breakfast is usually cold cereal and fresh fruit, which is fine for me and requires very little prep and clean-up. But I find that I actually miss eggs, bacon and pancakes. Maybe it’s all the IHOP commercials on the TV. Even that loco moco I talked about in the July 31 post is sounding real good right now.

The time between breakfast and lunch is spent on arm and hand exercises. I mix them up so they don’t become too routine. Exercises include stretching, curls with weights, rolling golf balls, typing on Word and writing practice.

I remember I used to laugh when I saw small weights at a sporting goods store as I used to curl with 15-lb. weights in both hands. Now, it’s a good day if I can successfully curl a 2-lb. weight in my right hand. Some friends and I used to joke about doing 12 ounce curls (the weight of a can of beer).

To be continued ....

0826 a typical day - part 1 of 3

A few of my friends wanted to know what a typical day for me went like. So I wrote it out but it was so long that I’ll post it in parts. If you click on the “typical day” label, you’ll see all the parts together.

I usually wake up around 7am and it takes me a few minutes to take off the CPAP mask and disconnect the hose. I just lie there for a few minutes to think about the day ahead.

Getting up is another story. First, I roll onto my left side and try to kick out my knees and feet. Unless I can get them over the edge of the mattress, I’m not getting up. A combination of shimmies and slides is needed, but the whole process takes about 10 minutes.

Once my knees and feet are over the edge, then I can use my arms to move me up to a sitting position. I sit still for a few minutes, just thinking about my posture and making subtle corrections to straighten my back.

I reach for my shoes and socks. The left foot is easy. I just cross my left calf over my right knee, and use my hands to put on the sock and shoe. The right foot is harder. I reach down to get a firm grasp of my right ankle and slowly pull my right calf to cross over my left knee. Since the injury a few weeks ago, this step takes a little longer to do. I slowly (by fractions of an inch) pull it so it rests on the knee unassisted.

I take a few minutes to massage and stretch the foot and toes. One of the problems I have is that I cannot lift my right ankle. Sometimes I can curl the toes, sometimes I can’t. If I can curl them and uncurl them, the uncurling action will help trigger the muscle that lifts the ankle. Massaging and stretching helps to loosen the muscles and tendons.

Once the foot is massaged and the leg is comfortably crossed, I can then put the sock and shoe on my right foot.

I then reach out to pull the wheelchair to the side of the bed. I release the brakes and move it back and forth until it’s in the right position for the transfer. Once it’s set, I lock the brakes, lift the armrest and place my hands and feet in the proper position. Then I shift my weight over my feet and transfer into the wheelchair. I can then check the brakes, adjust my positioning and secure the armrest.

To be continued ....

0825 it's what is underneath that counts

A few days ago, a friend sent me an email discussing a comparison of Penelope Cruz and Rosario Dawson. Part of the comparison involved Rosario Dawson’s breasts, particularly in a scene with Colin Farrell in the movie “Alexander”, which I did not see.

It struck me as funny that a few years ago, I would have gone out of my way to rent the video, just to see the scene. But now, I’m no longer motivated in that way. My priorities have changed.

During the Olympics, in a commercial for “The Office”, Steve Carrell put it, “I like to watch the women’s beach volleyball competitions, but not because of the attractive young women and not because of their skimpy bikinis. It’s because of what’s inside.

After all, it’s what’s under the bikinis that matters.”

0822 study hard

What does four hours signify? You’ve seen the commercials for Viagra and Cialis. Have you heard the cautionary statement to “contact your doctor if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours”?

How did they determine that four hours was bad? Apparently, three-and-a-half hours is okay. So is three hours, forty-five minutes. I’d like to see the documentation on that clinical study, as long as there aren’t any pictures.

It reminds me of the joke about a burglary at a pharmacy. The only thing that was taken was a jar of Viagra.

The punchline? The police issued a warning to be on the lookout for a bunch of hardened criminals.

0820 good friends

Like I said, I never know who’s reading this blog until I say something that makes someone remember something else. I was just reminded of a stunt in my senior year in high school (yeah, a long time ago in a galaxy not so far, far away). Some of you weren’t born yet so let me explain.

It was a few days before graduation. A good friend and I decided (foolishly) to toilet paper the quad at the school. In order to be as mobile as possible, I stuffed some rolls of TP into a backpack and met my friend at the campus just after midnight.

We looked over our supplies and realized that we needed more. My friend had some extra stuff at his house, so we stashed the stuff we brought into the bushes and hopped into his truck, then drove to his house.

The resupply activity was uneventful, but when he pulled his truck into the school parking lot, there were three police cars there. He calmly made a U-turn and drove down the street three blocks until the police pulled us over. They asked what we were doing and asked to see our IDs. When we complied, they looked at our IDs and started laughing.

One of them told me, “The next time you decide to do something stupid, don’t leave evidence behind with your name on it!” He opened his trunk and pulled my backpack out, which, unfortunately, had my name printed on it.

They told us that we could pick up our IDs and my backpack at the principal’s office in the morning. My friend was laughing too. He just smiled and shook his head, saying, “Only you. Only you.”

What happened at the principal’s office? He laughed too, but we were suspended for the day. It was a light sentence, but we were both honor students and we didn’t complete the vandalism attempt.

I don’t know which hurt more ... the unsuccessful attempt at TPing the quad or that our mothers had to call the school to verify our suspensions, because they thought we were ditching classes.

0818 friendship

I was bothered by something I said at Koinonia today, so I got up around 2am to clarify it. I soon found myself in an online discussion with Liz regarding it. We soon got around to talking about our friendship. I was reminded of a sticker that Ching recently sent to me in Facebook that said, “Good friends don’t let you do stupid things .... alone”. I wasn’t thinking about the general subject, but of the underlying tone. That good friends will stand with you no matter what happens.

I finished up around 4am and went to sleep. No sooner than the head hit the pillow, I could hear my father getting up to start the day. Fortunately, he left me alone but woke me up around 7am, to get ready for a doctor’s appointment.

I reminded him that the appointment wasn’t until tomorrow and it was only for lab tests. He verified this but had me get up anyways, in order to prepare for it.

This is the first time I had to study for a blood test.

0816 walking cancelled

I was supposed to go walking with osam today, but my right leg wasn’t up to it, so I cancelled the session. So far, though, I can put all my weight on my left leg and my right leg will handle a little of it. I test it a few times each day by supporting my weight on stationary bars, then I shift back and forth from leg to leg. It’s safe and it’s been encouraging. Each day, I get a little closer to using the walker again.

0815 ticket special

I was watching and listening to the Dodger–Brewers game on TV when Vin Scully announced a special ticket offer that’s available at dodgers.com only, compliments of Cacique.

Cacique? That’s the place that osam and I loiter around at the mall, just to see the clientele that goes in. If you check their website, you’ll know why.

Interesting that they’re a sponsor of major league baseball. I guess they’re giving back after the successes of Morganna, the “Kissing Bandit”.

Did I just age myself there?

0814 eyedrops

After his last vet appointment, Jett was given eyedrops that he needs to have every night. My parents discussed amongst themselves and determined that it was a good time to get it done, so they walked to the porch and called Jett to follow them.

A few minutes later, Jett comes strolling out, so I assumed that they had finished. He sat a few feet from me and gave a look of exasperation. He sighed audibly and just looked at me.

Another minute passed, then my father poked his head in and asked, “Have you seen Jett?” I nodded in his direction, so my father just called him, and Jett got up and walked to the other room.

What were they doing all this time? I don’t know and I didn’t ask. I’ve got enough to worry about all by myself.