0731 manna from heaven

Ahh. The loco moco. My favorite food. Put two mounds of white rice in a bowl and top them with two hamburger patties. Fry up two eggs (leave the yolks intact) and put them on the meat, then smother the whole stack with brown gravy. Mmmm.

But now that I think about it, the loco moco may have contributed to the stroke. I tried making a "healthy" version at home, once. It had brown rice, egg substitute, low-fat low-sodium gravy, and two veggie patties.

The result? Yuck!! I never drove so fast to Gardena Bowl for the real thing! I had to order an extra spam musubi just to get the low-fat gravy aftertaste out of my mouth.

0730 are you carrying?

My mother handed me a message today. It was from someone named “Ken” and a number was left on the answering machine. I recognized the phone number as belonging to my cousin Ken, so I called him and asked when he called. He told me that he called on Saturday! That was four days ago! I apologized for the late return call as I just got the message today. I think he’ll call my cell phone from now on.

My mother came back and asked me, “Who’s Ken?”

“Cousin Ken,” I told her.

She gave me a blank look, and then said, “Kenny?” Ken is a few years older than me but he’ll always be “Kenny” to her. After all, he is her nephew.

Most people just call me “Jim”. An ex-girlfriend called me “James”, a few special friends call me “Jimbo”, and only my close family and high-caliber friends call me “Jimmy”. By “high caliber”, I mean that they carry guns for a living. Most of them are in law enforcement. I don’t argue with someone who’s armed better than I am.

Just don’t call me “Jimmy” then ask me to do something. Unless you’re packing heat, that is.

By the way, I'll see Ken this weekend.

0729 but the ball looks nice ....

My parents were talking about some local redevelopment projects. One is an old bowling alley less than a mile away. I remember Crown Bowl when I was growing up.

One day, they won a local raffle and the prize was a free bowling ball and bag, from Crown Bowl. Both of my parents already had a ball they were comfortable with, so the prize went to my siblings and I. My brother, John, didn’t like to bowl and I already had a ball and a bag, so the prize was given to my sister, Judi. I think she was in junior high at the time.

She came to dinner with the ball and bag, just to show it off. My dad asked to see it, so she pulled it out. It was bright pink with swirls and glitter. But my dad had a question for her.

“Where are the holes?” he asked.

“What holes?” my sister responded. She had picked up the ball and matching bag, but didn’t get it drilled to use it. My mother called the bowling alley and they were still laughing about the little girl that picked up a ball and a bag, but left before they could discuss drilling options (which were included) with her.

She took the ball back the next day and picked it up a few days later after it was drilled. But that didn’t stop John and I from teasing her about it every chance we got.

0729 seismic event or just gas?

Did we just have an earthquake? Or maybe I shouldn't have had that second burrito for lunch ...

0728 chris vs daniel

I’ve received a number of emails about comparing Chris (see the post for July 24) with Daniel Dae Kim. I don’t make it up. I just write what I hear.

So here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two. I don’t see it, but you decide for yourself.

P.S. I’ve also heard that Daniel Dae Kim looks like Mo with hair, but I’ll leave that for another post.

0727 faith or foolishness

My father dropped me off in time for the second service at SBCC.

Pastor Gary finished up his series “Fuel”, with “The Practice of Reflecting”. He talked about the importance of overcoming our fears, in order to develop our faith. He talked about his challenge with acrophobia, the fear of high places. He was challenged recently while at a conference at Hume Lake, in the Sequoia National Forest. It reminded me of something.

I have a couple of friends who vacationed together on the East Coast. He’s acrophobic; she’s claustrophobic (the fear of enclosed places). While staying at a bed and breakfast, they heard about a scenic point on top of a nearby lighthouse, so they drove to it.

A lighthouse is essentially a hollow cone with a stairwell built on the inside walls. As they were climbing the stairs, her claustrophobia kicked in because with each step, the walls were closing in. Remember, it’s a hollow cone. So he talked her through the climb by reassuring her that the view would be worth it.

Finally they reached the top of the stairs and swung the door open. The view was magnificent. Unobstructed, 360-degree views of the seashore and the nearby forest. That’s when his acrophobia kicked in, when he realized he was 300 feet up with just a thin metal railing to hang on to. He said he was frozen at the doorway while she was walking around taking pictures.

Pastor Gary mentioned a book he was reading by Mark Batterson titled “In a Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day”. The title came from the character Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23, who went into the pit and killed the lion. It’s about meeting our fears with faith.

We don’t want to look foolish, so we don’t do the things we should. Noah looked foolish when he built an ark in the desert. David looked foolish when he attacked Goliath with a slingshot. Benaiah looked foolish when he chased a lion into a pit. But they all had faith. Looking foolish never entered their minds.

Noah was saved when the flood came. David defeated Goliath. Benaiah killed the lion. They all accomplished greatness because they had faith. They were willing to look foolish for God’s will.

After the service ended, I went off to look for my lifegroup. I enjoy spending time with Sam, because he has a lot of faith.

0726 are you watching?

The problem about this blog is I never know who’s reading it until I say something that jolts someone’s memory. Case in point, the entry on July 24 about Chris.

I was reminded that I used to hang out with two attractive women, but the three of us were just friends. There wasn’t any romance between me and each of them (though I don’t know about between the two of them .... I wasn’t that curious).

One year, on Valentine’s Day, the three of us didn’t have any plans, so we met for dinner. While consoling each other, we made a pact. If any of us were without a date on the next year’s Valentine’s Day, we would get together for dinner to console each other again.

Fast forward fifty-one weeks. It’s a few days before Valentine’s Day the following year and I don’t have a date (no surprise there). So I called one of them up and asked if she had any plans for Valentine’s Day. She said, “Yes. I’m having dinner.”

Cool, I thought. She was able to get a date. At least one of us was lucky enough. Curiosity got the better of me, so I asked, “With who?”

She replied, “With YOU!” We laughed about it.

A few hours later, the third member of our trio called and asked, “Are we still on for the dinner?”

I wonder if we’re still meeting in 2009 ....

0725 just a note

Just to clarify my position on emasculating activities like shopping, let me just say that I’ve been there.

0724 HB2U Chris!

Today is Chris’ birthday. Who? You know .... Chris. Tall Korean guy. About 5’11”. Yeah. Him. I’ve heard a comparison to “Lost” actor Daniel Dae Kim, but I don’t know .... maybe earlier in his career (remember “The Jackal” with Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Potier?). The top pic is from his MySpace page.

He has it better than he realizes. He’s always in the company of two beautiful women, but he’s not their type. Or is it the other way around? I don’t know. I just watch.

He doesn’t know how good he has it. He can get shopping tips and learn how to treat the girl of his dreams. The rest of us have to rely on what we learn from the guys at Maxim.

Anyways, today’s his birthday. I wish I was that laid back when I was his age.

Huh? What do you mean .... “you were!”?

Oh yeah .... that.

I forgot about .... that.

0722 running in place

Today was my first day in a long time back at physical therapy. The PT, Jenn, had me harnessed on a support mechanism above a treadmill, She ramped up the speed to 2.0 mph, just to see if my leg could maneuver on it.

Up to now, my best speed on a treadmill is 0.6 mph, but I walk (unassisted with the walker) around 0.25 mph. Imagine covering a distance of six feet in twelve seconds and you’ll know my comfort zone. At 2.0 mph, I’d be lying on the floor if it wasn’t for the harness. I lasted about 7 minutes.

Jenn said that her goal for me was to make it past 20 minutes. Wish me luck!!

0721 pass the watermelon

There was a buzz on the morning shows a couple of weeks ago, about how watermelon has viagra-like effects. That’s because it contains citrulline, which is converted by the body into arginine, a precursor for nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide enlarges the blood vessels to allow for better blood flow. But expecting it to have an effect on ED is like tossing a beer bottle in the Mississippi River where it begins and expecting it to have an effect on someone downstream in New Orleans.

I’m not that wishful, but I do like watermelon. If it helps to stiffen my right foot in the process, so much the better. With my luck, however, it’ll probably stiffen my left foot. I’ve noticed, though, that my fingers are stiffening up while I type this post on the keyboard.

(sigh)

I remember when waking up stiff in the morning was a good thing ....

0720 koinonia

My lifegroup met in the Dugout after second service. Since we also clean up every third Sunday, we also go through the hospitality remnants. Sam found some bagels so he created a snack with bagel pieces drizzled with some chile con queso that Sheri brought. Pastor Gary stopped by to see what we were doing. He was getting ready for lunch but said that he lost his appetite when he saw Sam’s concoction.

There were just five of us (Sheri, Sam, Wendi, Steph and I) but we used the speakerphones on our cells to include Liz, Eric and Jen. It was a bit surrealistic to witness a bodiless conversation between Liz and Eric via our cellphones.

We also gave Sam a birthday surprise before beginning the second half of Lesson Two in our study of Luke.

0719 dragon time

My bible study group met and we discussed Revelation 12, The Woman and The Dragon. I made a joke about The Captain and Tennille, and received a bunch of blank looks. Am I the only one who remembers that The Captain’s real name was Daryl Dragon, son of classical conductor Carmen Dragon?

(sigh)

We got down to the part where the dragon becomes a serpent and pursues the woman. The woman is given wings of eagles and flies to the desert. The serpent (aka Satan) is unable to catch her, so he spews forth a flood of water to try and drown her. Kiyomi offered some insight saying, “Maybe the serpent couldn’t catch her because he had a mouthful of water.”

I actually thought about this observation. Remarkable.

0719 connecting

My parents dropped me off for Saturday evening service at SBCC. Kelby Bruno was the guest worship leader as Pastor Nathan was on vacation. Saxophonist Mark Allen Felton was also there and played a wonderful duet with keyboardist Joel Gaines of “Amazing Grace”. There’s a great recording of it on the service CD. I’ve already transferred it to my iPod.

Pastor Gary continued his series of “Fuel”, talking about “The Practice of Connecting”. He mentioned the importance of small groups within the church family. At SBCC, we call them LifeGroups because we do life with each other. I’m in Koinonia, which meets every Sunday afternoon.

Pastor Gary talked about the importance of humor in life as it has refreshing properties. It’s good to laugh. His wife, Cheryl, is full of laughter. She’s always giggling about something. She wasn’t a the service, but I ran into her afterwards in the kitchen. We chatted a bit and somehow got on the subject of Tigger, her favorite character. She asked how I knew about that. I didn’t know what to say, but someone else in the kitchen said, “You’ll find out tomorrow.” She just rolled her eyes.

Oops. Sorry Gary.

0718 the universe

I was going to pass on looking at the Miss Universe results when two things caught my attention (two other things ... get your mind out of the gutter!). First, I read in a blog that the girl representing Korea in the pageant was named Sunny Lee. That piqued my curiosity. The other thing was the fall made by Miss USA. So I looked.

Some sites list the Korean contestant as “Sunny”, while others identify her as “Sun”. Either way, she doesn’t compare to the one that I know. However, I don’t have a swimwear shot to make the comparison, but that’s beside the point.

Miss USA 2008, Crystle Stewart, made the nightly news because of the fall she made during the evening gown competition. Her predecessor, Rachel Smith. did the same thing in the 2007 pageant. Asked if she had any suggestions for next year’s Miss USA, she said, “Wear a shorter evening gown!”

The winner of this year’s pageant was Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza. The winner in 2007 was Miss Japan, Riyo Mori (see 5/29/07 blog).

If you missed the fall. here it is

0717 summer sun, part two

Before I get chastised by my lifegroup, this is the other part of the photo from earlier today. Enjoy.

0717 summer sun

I sent out an email to a group of friends about the dangers of getting melanoma through overexposure to the summer sun. Here’s the link. I got back an assortment of responses. Most were thanks for the info, but some of them only looked at the article title “Melanoma Rates Increase Among Younger Women” and decided that it didn’t apply to them.

Actually, the article applies to everyone. The title is a bit misleading, though. Remember, skin cancer is usually found at a later stage in life.

As long as you spend time outside, you’re susceptible to UV radiation. Whether you’re kayaking on quiet waters, swimming in the ocean, hiking in the mountains, fishing in the rivers, or skiing/snowboarding in the Sierras, you’re in danger. UV rays are reflected (not absorbed) by snow and water.

Wearing sunscreen? Read the article.

0716 HB2U Sam!

Today is Sam’s birthday. Sam is a good friend to me and he’s always been there when I needed him. He’s got a great sense of humor and always makes me laugh, especially when I not supposed to laugh. It’s hard to keep a straight face around him, but I try. He keeps me accountable in my difficult walk with God and he always sees things a bit differently. I like his point-of-view and he has a healthy attitude on life. He struggles like I do, but he always holds his head up and knows how to survive.

Happy birthday to you, Sam!!

(Hey ladies! He’s still single, he’s over 40, and he still drives at night.)

0711 yoga, part two

I somehow managed to upset a small but vocal group with yesterday’s post. Much like GEICO offended cavemen, I seemed to do the same thing with my faithful zombie readers. You see, I didn’t realize the difficulty in attaining an asana (like the adho mukha svanasana) without losing a limb in the process, like a leg or an arm (or both).

I apologize for the insensitivity of the comments I made. In other words ... uhrrrr ... aarrrr ... mmmrrrhhhh ....

0710 yoga

A friend suggested that I look into yoga as a way to build strength in my legs. Yoga is good, but one of the problems I have is that my right ankle is non-responsive. You see, I can’t flex the ankle or lift it up. I wear a leg brace that serves as an ankle orthotic to keep the right foot parallel to the ground. This prevents it from folding under when I walk, so that I don’t trip over my own feet.

I do daily therapy exercises that will someday allow the right ankle to respond normally. Until then, though, I can’t sit on the floor unless I fall first. Getting back up is a whole different story.

But I researched yoga and found an interesting video.


After all, if the undead can do it .....

0709 ford mustang

I sent out an email to a bunch of friends. It had a link to a website that asked just twelve questions. The results of the answers told you what kind of car you are and why. I’m a Ford Mustang, because “You’re an American classic -- fast, strong, and bold. You're not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.”

My friends responded that they took the quiz and found out that they were Chevrolet Corvettes, Dodge Vipers, Mazda Miatas, Ferrari 360 Modenas, Porshe 911s, Honda S2000s and Mazda RX-8s. One friend took the test and was told he was a Honda S2000. He didn’t like it, so he changed some of his answers and became a Ferrari.

What are you? Here’s the link

0708 bath

Jett got a bath today! Instead of doing it ourselves, we usually just take him down to the local Petco, where their grooming center is equipped for giving baths to dogs. It’s easier that way.

My father dropped Jett off this morning about 9am, and he was told to pick Jett up around 11:30am, so he came home and did some work around the yard. About 10:15am, he came inside and asked where the dog was. I said, “Didn’t you drop him off at Petco?”

He just smiled, looked at his watch and said, “That’s right. I was just testing you.” He picked up Jett right at 11:30am.

Fast-forward to dinner. My parents are sitting across from each other and I’m at the end of the table. Jett is lying on the floor behind me. My mother asks my father, “How long does it take to give him a bath?”

He answered, “About thirty minutes.”

She replied, ”Thirty minutes? It only takes thirty minutes to give the dog a bath?”

My father looked up. “The dog? You were pointing at Jim.”

My mother said, “I was pointing at Jett.” Remember, Jett’s lying on the floor behind me.

My father said, “Oh Jett? About two hours.” My mother looked at me, smiled and rolled her eyes.

I smiled back and told her, “You were pointing at me.”

0705 HB2U Eric!

Happy birthday, Eric! Sometimes I wish I was a little more like Eric in my early-thirties, as he is ... wait a minute .... some of you knew me in my early-thirties ... never mind.

Eric has a view of the world that is refreshing, and his knowledge of tech-stuff is awesome. He’s the little brother that I never had, although he does get caught up, like me. One day, we were in our small group at church. His wife, Jen, was showing off some shoes that she was wearing. He asked, “When did you get those shoes?”

Jen didn’t reply, but another female chimed in, “When you were at Fry’s.” He didn’t have a comeback.

0704 fireworks

My parents and I were watching one of the televised Fourth of July celebrations and they were shooting off dozens of fireworks. Every five minutes or so, my father would get up out of his chair and go to the window and look around. About the third time he did this, I asked him what he was looking for.

He said, “I’m wondering why I can’t see the fireworks myself. I guess it must be pre-recorded or something.”

I told him that there are two possible explanations why he can’t see the fireworks himself. First, fireworks are illegal in Long Beach, so he needs to look in the direction of Lakewood or Paramount, where they are legal. Second, the television special we’re watching is taking place in Boston Harbor.

0704 fourth of july bbq

We had a family gathering in the backyard. We were barbecuing hot dogs and hamburgers, and my sister had some new recipes for us to try. The first was Root Beer Baked Beans. If you asked my niece and nephews, it was a waste of good root beer. But it was just delicious! I like baked beans and the root beer added a level of sweetness and a kick to the flavor. We tried barbecued beans one year, but they kept falling thru the grate ...

My sister asked me if I wanted to try some Lavender Lemonade, so I said that I would. After all, the “lavender” could be the color and not the taste. Fat chance. A cup was passed to me and I looked inside. It was yellow. So I tasted it. Imagine drinking lavender tea with LOTSA lemons added to it. It was okay, but the Lavender taste was a bit strong. Seeing that I finished the drink, my sister asked if I was ready to try the Hummingbird Cake.

I was afraid to ask.