0925 lobster

I went to the Redondo Beach Lobster Festival, held at Seaside Lagoon. Ching picked me up and off we went. I ordered online, so I saved a few dollars. The package included admission, t-shirts, and the sensational lobster dinner.

After entering the Festival and getting our t-shirts, Ching and I headed for the lobster. The steamer was so big, it required a trailer of its own.

The dinners were at one tent and “shell-crackers” at another. We had a “pro” shell the lobsters for us before we found a table.

It was very good and very filling. After the dinner, we just strolled thru the booths and listened to a live band at the stage.

A little while later, we headed out, but went past the car for some munchies at Ruby’s Diner, which shared the same parking lot. There, we shared a basket of garlic fries and a banana split. The saltiness of the fries offset the sweetness of the banana split. Mmmmm.

0924 stretch

Today was therapy with Christina. She had me walk to a table without my walker by putting my hands on her shoulders while she sat on a rolling stool. She said that I was putting weight to my feet because she hardly felt any pressure from my hands to her shoulders. She said that it was good that I was only using my hands for balance.

She also gave me a few exercises to work on at home, including Achilles’ stretches and using a bar to keep my forearms raised while rotating my shoulders.

0922 therapy

I met with Calvin for my therapy session. We spent part of the time with evaluations of my balance, followed by exercises that pushed the right knee and right fingers. It was interesting to see how far I’ve come.

0920 pasta, pasta, pasta

I spent the day with Ching. The original plan included a movie after lunch, but we were so engrossed in talking that we lost track of time and missed the movie’s start time. What makes it bad is that we also missed the second start time at a different theater (it was our “Plan B”).

Lunch was at Olive Garden and the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl (probably a contributing factor in missing the movie). I really like Angel Hair pasta and they had a great Roasted Portobello Pomodoro sauce. Mmmmm.

It was during the entree that we checked the time. The first showtime had already passed and it was just five minutes before the second showtime. Even with all the previews, we would have never made it. So we just kept eating and talking. Correction. Ching was talking; I was listening.

After lunch, we adjourned to Red Robin to continue our discussion. It was cooler there but we both ordered milkshakes, and munched on tortilla chips with a con queso dip. The saltiness of the tortilla chips offset the sweetness of the milkshakes (I wish the calories would be offset, too). At one point, because the shake was so thick, I lifted the glass in order to drink it without the straw. But it wouldn’t come out.

Now, any sane person would have used a spoon in order to scoop out the frosty chunks. Not me. Instead, I tilted the glass higher. Suddenly, the mass that was in the bottom of the glass slid down as one piece. My mouth wasn’t big enough to consume all of it, so some ended up on my upper lip.

As I picked up a napkin to wipe my face, I saw a flash. Ching had taken a picture. So that explains the photo.

There was a drawing and some crayons at the table, so Ching started coloring. She asked me how she did. I told her that since the lines were red and she was using a red crayon, I couldn’t tell.

0919 jonathan sperry

After service, on the first and third Saturdays, I usually meet with my Bible study group (we're studying Isaiah now). We met, but instead of the study, we went as a group to see “The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry”, which was showing at the AMC Theatres in Rolling Hills Plaza. It’s a film about Christian values featuring Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing on “Love Boat”), Robert Guillaume (“Benson”), and Jansen Panettiere (the voice of the Shovelmouth Boy in “Ice Age 2” and Hayden’s younger brother).

The film was being promoted by my church, as one of the members had made a contribution to have it shown at the theatre for one weekend. Whether or not the theatre would play it for another week would depend on the amount it made at the box office this weekend.

Although the theatre was small, it was good to see that it was more than half-full. The movie was entertaining and there were plenty of humorous moments when the early-teen kids were interacting. You know, when a young boy likes a young girl and can’t seem to find the right way to tell her that .... now why does that sound so familiar?

Afterwards, we decided to grab a bite at the Norm’s Restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, which was close to the theatre. We ran into others from our church and ate together. It was a lot of fun!

0919 weight shift

Jim Y and I went for our “walk” at Liberty Park. Actually, he walked and I tried to do the same with the walking sticks. Christina wants me to shift my weight over my right leg as I move the left leg, so we worked on that for awhile.

Afterwards, we had lunch at the nearby Subway.

0917 snow on the roof

After the therapy session, my father and I stopped by Jack in the Box to pick up something for lunch, since it about an hour away (lunch was an hour away, not Jack in the Box). After ordering, the voice said to pull up to the window for the total.

As we pulled up, the girl at the window was about to give us the total when she looked up and said, “One sec. There’s a senior discount.” She pushed some buttons, then gave my father a total. He paid her and she handed him the receipt with his change.

While he was putting away his change, I looked at the receipt and saw the senior discount on there twice. I asked her what the second one was for. She said, ”For you.”

I wonder if they’ll ask me for my I.D. at Denny’s.

0917 therapy

This morning, I met Christina for therapy at Cal State Long Beach. She gave me a bunch of exercises to work on, including finger stretches, weight shifting, and posture improvement. We walked the hallway, using my walking sticks, and she gave me stuff to work on and think about, so that I could increase my speed.

0913 taking a dip

In the afternoon, my church was having its Annual Baptism Celebration at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach. Ed was able to give me a ride from SBCC to the Lagoon, as he wasn’t able to make it to Las Vegas for the Chinchilla Day party.

After picking up Brian, Ed drove to find a Popeye’s Fried Chicken location, based on Brian’s directions. We finally made it, after driving thru a strip mall and not finding one. It was just something for the two of them to take to the potluck, since I made other plans with someone else.

Once we had the chicken, we picked up Sunny and headed off towards the Lagoon. The parking lot was half-empty, but the handicapped spaces were full, so we parked a few aisles away and made our way to the gate.

After going through the entrance, we found the church group in a private party area. Canopies were set up in the area, but one was completely empty, although there were people sitting in the sun around it. We soon found out why. When the wind picked up, the shaded areas were chilly.

The potluck lunch began soon afterwards, followed by Legacy worship, and then a couple of dances by the Hula Team. Joey, our worship leader, led the gathering in a few songs to get them on their feet, which was a good preventative for after-lunch naps.

The baptism candidates were given time on the microphone to tell their stories of what led them to God. There were thirteen of them. When the last of them spoke, the group moved en masse to the water’s edge. There, in the water of the Lagoon, they were each immersed by Pastor Gary.

Soon after that, the group broke up and made their way to the parking lot.

0912 Saturday in the Park

I went walking with Jim Y again today. Liberty Park was very busy, so we had to park on the west side of the track. It was a little different, but just as challenging.

We walked along a sidewalk and I overheard some conversations by others sitting on the grass. Relax, they were talking about me. At one point, I almost turned to a lady to ask her to whisper louder.

We finished up and had lunch at a nearby Subway.

0910 therapy again (so to speak)

Today was my first day as a “patient” for the physical therapy students at Cal State Long Beach for the spring semester (see the posts for 3/10/09 and 2/12/08). The students assigned to me (actually, I’m assigned to them) are Christina and Calvin. I’ll be meeting with Christina on Thursdays and Calvin on Tuesdays, but I’ll see both of them now for evaluations and again at the end of the program to see how much progress I’ve made.

0906 tomb raider

Okay, I know it’s an “old” movie, but I watched “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001) and listened to the commentary by the director. I found out that the leads had to deliver their lines in accents foreign to themselves. Angelina Jolie and Jon Voight were American actors playing English characters. Iain Glen was Scottish, but playing English. And Daniel Craig was English, but playing American.

The director also commented that camera angles on Angelina had to be done in a way that obscured her many tattoos. In one shower scene, graphic artists had to go frame-by-frame in post-production and paint over tattoos so they wouldn’t show.

The game designers of “Tomb Raider” were interviewed and mentioned that the game was originally designed with a male character. But this was right at the same time that “Indiana Jones” was popular, so they were looking for something different, because someone else had come out with an “Indiana Jones” video game. So they changed the character into a female ... curvy to attract the men, but type-A to attract the women (many women wanted to be like her).

I remember when the game came out. It caused quite a stir. Video game magazines were inundated with requests for photo layouts ... of a fictional character who was only seen as a graphic image. Months after the video game release were articles that said although “Lara’s” wardrobe could not be changed, the color of her outfits could. Many gamers admitted to changing the color of her clothes to match her skin tone. That way, she appeared naked.

Nowadays, anything is possible.

0902 psalms

Mike stopped by as we are starting a new Bible study of the Book of Psalms. Mike came up with the idea, since he wanted to study the book, but felt inundated with evening studies and lifegroups. He thought about studying it during the day, since his daytime hours are spent at the house. Then he thought of me, since my daytime hours are spent at my house. So he’s coming over every Wednesday morning (with a few exceptions) for our study, then we’ll go someplace for lunch.

We looked at a few study guides, and chose one by Kay Arthur and Pete DeLacy, titled “Praising God Through Prayer And Worship”. We’ll be starting off this week and our first official meeting will be next Wednesday.