0329 curbs, not curves

I made it to the third service at SBCC and sat in the back. Pastor Gary continued his “Celebrate!” series with a message about celebrating that we have a home in Heaven. We know that despite the loss of homes on Earth, we can rejoice in the knowledge that we have a home with God in Heaven.

After the service, I met with Koinonia, my lifegroup, for our continuing study through the book of Luke. It was my turn to lead the study and our discussion focused on the Parable of the Ten Minas, which were covered in Luke 19, verses 11 to 27.

During our sharing time, I told them that my therapy included working on curbs. That’s when I found out that I need to work on my enunciation. Someone heard “curves”.

0328 fellowship

I wasn’t able to make the evening service at SBCC, but arrived in time for the quarterly member’s fellowship. After having a name tag made and applied, I found a seat.

At 7pm, the meeting started. Associate Pastor Ken got up and said that he was not going to do the “game” that he usually does, in order to save time. There was only one or two groans of disappointment, but I could barely hear them because of the loud cheering.

Senior Pastor Gary introduced the new members and talked to each one of them, about what brought them to SBCC and why they decided to become a member. I think there were about ten new members. He then talked about the business and management end of SBCC, with updates on the finances and the lease on the church office ending soon.

He finished our time with updates on some of the ministries, and a time for communion. Afterwards, there was dessert and beverages in the lobby.

Since we ended early enough, some of us went to The Local Place for some munchies. I was kinda hungry so I had a mix plate, but I saw others eating saimin, chicken, and pastries. We chatted and fellowshipped a lot. I think we were the last ones to leave.

0328 ching

I spent the day with Ching, my best friend. We’ve been through a lot together and I’vee known her for over 13 years.

We started off with lunch at Sam Woo’s in Cerritos. It was either that or In-N-Out. After waiting for a few minutes we sat down at a table. I had the Honey Walnut Shrimp lunch special. It’s made with mayonnaise, not honey. But the cooking process makes the mayo clear and shiny, hence the name. Ching ordered another kind of shrimp and some soup.

After the lunch, we made our way to the UA Galaxy Theatres. We had some time before our showing of “Duplicity”, so Ching went to window-shop. She returned a short while later and said that she was sad because she could only look and not buy.

The movie was entertaining, but so were the previews. I think I may have committed myself to seeing some of them, but I can’t remember.

After the movie, I went to the restroom, but not before making Ching promise that she won’t send in anyone to look for me (see the posts on 10/19 and 12/22).

It was getting late, so I had Ching drop me off at SBCC for the membership meeting.

0327 cookies

Cousin Robert and his wife, Melissa, stopped by to drop off some Girl Scout cookies that I ordered. They were accompanied by their kids, Jeffrey and Jennifer.

I found out after I placed the order that my niece, Katherine, was also selling Girl Scout cookies. I’m not looking forward to telling my sister about this.

0326 curbs

During my PT therapy today, Casey had me “walking” around outside with the sticks. After negotiating a couple of downhill ramps, we crossed a small street and went up a curb. It was a little difficult, but not impossible.

We sat in a courtyard in front of the Vivian Engineering Center for just a few minutes, then down a curb, across a street, up a curb, and then up a few steps. We finished the session inside the Engineering Technology building, where we began.

It was quite a workout!

0325 placard

Today, I received the renewal of my handicapped placard. Due to my walking disability, this allows family and friends to drive me where I need to go, and then to park in a designated space so my access is easier to accomplish. The new one expires in 2011.

I read the permit that accompanies the placard. It was the same as the one I received with the first placard, but this time I actually read it. In addition to parking in designated handicapped spaces, a properly displayed placard also allows parking in metered spaces without paying and parking in green zones without a time limit. It’s interesting to know that.

0324 sticks

I went to therapy today and Karina realized I brought my walking sticks along. So we spent some time in the hallway, and she wanted me to move my sticks with my feet.

I did this before, with Jenn, but didn’t realize what was happening. You see, I’d move the right-hand stick first, followed by the left foot. By moving them together, I kept my weight forward and didn’t feel any imbalance due to shifting my weight backwards.

Hmmm.

0323 HB2U Liz!

What can I say? .... hmmm .... Liz is a good friend and helps to keep me on the path. I don’t know where I’d be without her. She is wise and has a different view of the world, which gives me info from a different perspective. Although I think I frustrate her A LOT! The other day, while we were IMing, she went silent after one of my comments. I asked her if she was okay. She replied that she was looking for an emoticon of slapping me upside the head. LOLl!

Sorry, guys, you missed out. She may be very attractive but she’s in a relationship with a great guy (I’d better get this right, ‘cause he reads this blog and he’s bigger than I am). She’s in her early thirties and knows a lot about psychology. I have to watch out for those long silences where she’s just staring blankly. For all I know, I might be a case study in progress.

Wherever you are, Happy Birthday, Liz!

0322 kathy

Kathy came by this afternoon to help me with my exercises. Kathy has training in kinesiology and has worked as a massage therapist and in a chiropractor’s office.

We started off with some leg exercises but she prompted me to raise the bar and soon she was helping me walk with the walker and the walking sticks. The time was finished off on the treadmill.

Thanks, Kathy!

0321 gary? gary?

After service, I met with my bible study group. We’re finishing up our study of Revelation and it’s taken us about four years to get here. We started when the Davis family was still attending SBCC. They moved up north in 2006.

Mike and Carol were not able to make it and they had let us know. Same with John and Reiko. We were counting heads and noticed that Gary H was missing. Someone suggested, “Maybe he has a date.”

I said, “Gary? We are talking about Gary, right?” The response I got suggested that I missed the mark!

Go Gary!

0320 kiyomi

Kiyomi came by today for a visit. We discussed my progress on the treadmill and had some sushi for lunch.

After lunch, I did some treadmill walking and we talked to distract my mind off the exercise. It was good. Thanks Kiyomi!

0317 stumbling along

I went for my physical therapy today at Long Beach State, to participate in the class with soon-to-be PTs Karina and Casey. They are students but their eyes and smiles are reminiscent. I’ve linked Karina’s to Eva Mendes, but Casey’s is stumping me. They’re familiar but I can’t place them. Yet.

Both of them were there today because I knew in advance that I would miss Thursday’s session, because of an appointment.

The therapy involved suspending me in a harness above a treadmill and having me ‘walk’ at about 1.2 mph. Did I say ‘walk’? I meant ‘stumble’. It told me that my balance needs improving.

0314 you want cheese with that?

Osam (Jim Y) came by to help with my walking, so we went to Liberty Park. During the week, he spoke with Jenn, my physical therapist, on strategies and targets for us to work on.

One of them was timing. As Jim was putting a stopwatch around his neck, I said that he didn’t have a use for the seconds or anything faster. A sundial will work just as good. He countered that since it was overcast and the other option, carbon dating, would take too long, the fallback plan was the stopwatch.

Since there wasn’t a curb to navigate, I “walked” with the walking sticks from the van. We worked on lengthening my stride and worked on my balance issues. The longer the stride, the more off-balance I feel.

We worked for about an hour before breaking for lunch. We headed over to a nearby Subway. Jim ordered a Cheddar & Bacon Sandwich. The girl on the other side of the counter asked, “What kind of cheese do you want with that?”

Let me know if you can explain that one.

0312 time out?

I was early for the therapy program at Long Beach State, so I read some of the reports and studies that were posted on the wall. I was so engrossed in the reading that I didn’t hear the instructor come in.

She said, “You don’t have to be turned to the wall like that. It looks like you’re in ‘Time Out’!”

0310 it only hurts when i laugh

I started on a short program that trained physical therapy students at Cal State Long Beach. The class is supervised by a licensed PT. I met Karina, who is in her last year of PT training and will be working with me on Tuesdays. Her partner, Casey, will be working with me on Thursdays.

0307 looking ahead

After the service at SBCC, my Revelation study group (I call it that, but it’s just bible study, even though we’ve been in Revelation since 2005) met for our bimonthly meeting. Kiyomi made dinner for us, but Steve T was supposed to be facilitating our discussion. Instead, he was in the worship center working on the spotlights. They had a problem with the spots during the service. So we sent Judy to go looking for him.

Easily solved? Not really. After about ten minutes, we sent Mike to go look for Judy. Fifteen minutes later. we were debating whether or not to send someone after Mike, when he came back, followed quickly by Judy and Steve.

Soon, we began reviewing our study of Revelation 19. verses 1 thru 10. We were joined by Anjie, Janice, Valerie, and Ken. Ken had nothing to do, since he came with Janie, who was working on the CD recording of the evening’s service.

At one point, a discovery was made regarding one of the questions, but it was from a verse we hadn’t studied yet. Yep, someone looked ahead.

0307 glenn

Glenn stopped by for a visit. He was in the area so he just popped in for a little while. Okay, okay, Glenn doesn’t “pop”. He spent a few hours at the Fred Hall Fishing Show at the Long Beach Convention Center and stopped by on his way home. Okay? Is that better? Sheesh!

We talked about changes in our lives and the great times we used to have in our thirties. He just hit 50 a few months ago, but I’m still under 50 (less than a year away still counts as “under”).

Then he spotted my CPAP machine. If you have to ask, then you don’t know what it’s for. I use it to treat my sleep apnea. I used to be tired during the daytime and awake at night. He reminisced about a memory, which I shall now share (whether you like it or not).

About twenty years ago, I went on a ski trip with my club (the old LAASC), to the ski areas around Lake Tahoe. We stayed in Reno and hooked up with friends from the Nisei Ski Club (NSC is from the Bay Area).

One day, we were at lunch at Northstar. The group I was with (about seven of us) decided to ski down a set of runs that were only accessible by one lift. So when lunch was over, we broke away from the others and made our way toward the runs on the backside.

The top of the lift was where three runs began, and although they had different terrain, all three ended at the bottom of the same lift. My group headed down one of the runs and ran into a mogul field a third of the way down. At the time, I hadn’t figured moguls out (now I like them), so I fell several times while my friends made their way through them. Soon, they disappeared from sight and I slowly made my way through the field.

Halfway through the mogul field was a traverse that looked like an access road on the trail map. I decided that I’d find an easier way down on one of the other two runs and meet up with my group at the top of the lift.

The runs were not immediately adjacent or visible from each other and there were parts of the traverse that were flat and had no slope, so I had to push myself along part of the way. At one point, I stopped to rest, so I put the tops of my poles on my chest and leaned forward.

When I caught my breath and felt rested, I straightened up. I looked around. The shadows looked different. I looked at my watch. The lifts closed in about forty-five minutes. Somehow, two hours had passed!

I quickly finished the traverse and skied down the next run. Fortunately, it didn’t have any moguls. At the bottom of the lift, I didn’t see anyone from my group, so I got in line and took the lift to the top.

It was at the top of the lift that I ran into my group. They were about to contact the Ski Patrol and report me as missing. They told me that when they realized that I didn’t make it down, a couple of them waited at the bottom while the rest of the group went up the lift and then down each of the three runs to look for me. It was after they did this a few times when I showed up.

I told them what had happened and we all had a laugh about it. As we were skiing a couple of runs to finish off the day, a friend said to me, “I guess it’s a good thing that bears hibernate in the winter!”

Hmmm. I hadn’t thought about that.