Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Road Trip

So how many days would it take to drive cross country .... comfortably?

As an update to my summer / fall schedule, here's the add-on:

May: Alamosa, Colorado

Then, I'm driving across country to Barre, Vermont. It's a town just outside of Monpelier, the capital of Vermont.

June, July, August, September: Barre, Vermont.

Then we have to see. If I have enough money saved ... man, the temptation to go out of the country is just itching. Now that I have my passport again! Wait till you hear that story!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Where I'm going to be

Occasionally I'll be posting titles called: Where I'm going to be. It outlines where I'm going to be in the foreseeable future. Just because people ask me what my long term plans are.

April: King City, CA
May: Alamosa, CO [Pending Confirmation]
May10-16: Loma Linda, Speaking
June: Negotiating
July: Negotiating
August: Negotiating
Aug26 to Sept6: San Diego Campmeeting (Speaking)
September: Negotiating, Board Review Course
October: Negotiating, Board Exam
November: Taking a Break!

Somewhere soon, I'd like to visit a friend in Texas. Maybe June.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Gourmet Dinner


Some of you would be proud, I actually ate something tonight. And I didn't buy it from a place that offers supersizing or upsizing or dollar menus. I put it together myself (can't you tell?)

So usually, I have some Veggie Chicken patties from Morning Star Farms. But it's late, and I get these severe abdominal pain if I eat heavy before bedtime. Which might not be smart in case a little baby decides he can't wait to join the current world, and I have to catch him and make sure he's breathing ok, and help him if he needs it.

But back to my dinner. It's easy, and everyone makes fun of bachelors for cooking funny things or not at all, eating soup out of a can, or Top Ramen, but I paint with colors. I guess the yellow acrylic is missing but what could you do, I didn't want the the Veggie Chicken stuff. The tomatoes and spinach are tasty and fresh, and easy to eat.

Ok, so I don't have my menus planned for the week, so if any my current readers would mind making one for me (remember, I'm vegan in terms of diet, not philosophy), I'd really appreciate it if you put it in the comments. For now, all I do is try to get all the colors onto the plate.

It's kind of like a workout for the next six weeks, you plan it and then do it. I'll leave that for a later post.

But for all of you who worry about simple things like this, I do eat, and I do eat healthy. Some times it's elaborate like in the photo, sometimes it's just water and raisin bread. Truth be told, I'm almost up to my High School weight, but my goal is 165 lbs. And still no beer belly ;-)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Long drive to Pinnacles East


I decided to take a ride this afternoon. Around the corner is a National Park, but even with that there, the drive is really pretty. (See the slide show for all the photos.)

So I called the Emergency Room (ER) and Labor & Delivery (L&D) and asked them if there was anything that might get me called in. After they reassured me everything was quiet, I let them know I was going to take a drive out to the Pinnacles, about 30 minutes east of King City. It's a National Park, with unusual rock formations in the middle of Salinas Valley.

It was the drive that I wanted. I have a friend who is a Health Evangelist, and when he gets his website up and running, I'll add a jump to it. But he sent some Audio CDs for me to review his content. It was about the Book of Revelation, it's power and purpose. He's quite a good speaker, and more of a friend. We occasionally speak on the phone, and just put thoughts out on the table, so it was unusual for me to listen to him give a formal presentation. In any case, this was what was in my CD changer.

The drive included some straight and winding roads through the hills and the weather reminded you why real estate is so much in demand in California. The sunroof was open, and I stopped occasionally to talk to the local goats, and a couple of friendly horses. The horses were nice enough to come by and talk to me when walked up to the fence. They seemed friendlier than most, and I reached over and touched their heads and necks as they leaned over the fence. Animals have this revitalizing energy. All of nature does really.

The hills were green, and the cows were out, though they left their usually odor behind. The trees spotted on the green hills and it looked like there was no city for miles, and definitely no traffic. One of the best ways to spend a Sabbath afternoon, if you're on-call and there are no friends around.

At the Pinnacles East entrance, I took my mandatory picture to give my family and friends proof that I was there, and looked at my watch and turned around again. I didn't have a National Parks pass, introduced to me by a good friend of mine, so maybe another time.

The Pinnacles didn't interest me (this time) as much as the drive to clear my head, and lungs.

I'm on my 3rd day of Zithromax (it's cheap at Rite-Aid if you have no health insurance like me), which I caved in to after 2 weeks of hacking up phlegm, and having a stridorous cough. I'm little by little acknowledging the fact that I may have some kind of atopic process going on in my lungs.

But the drive was good, and the air, and the sun.

Here's a Pano of the drive:

That 1000 mile journey begins...

...with a single step. I didn't think I'd ever be putting up a blog about my own life. It's just life. That first step starts right here.

When you're used to sharing your thoughts and dreams with someone and now they've decided to share their life with someone else, it leaves you feeling a little empty handed, or left out to dry. Or better yet holding a bag of groceries and no where to put it down.

I tried really hard for a long time, to keep to myself. I was used to coming and going, touching bases with old friends, and then off again on my travels. It was good at the time, and I thought it would always be that way. Until something happens, and despite your very best efforts, someone special convinces you to open up to them. Vulnerability is displayed when disclosure happens, and a sort of freedom comes albeit little by little. But what occurs then is not dissimilar to expanding one's mind. Never again will my mind shrink bank to the small proportions it once was some time ago. Like learning to read, initially those angular markings become familiar letters, which group together to form words, and ideas, and meaning. And once this happens, you'll never be able to look at certain markings without automatically formulating a words, such as cat, and seeing a thought come into your head. It's not something you forget like a fact. It is a formulation of familiarity that gives meaning.

Disclosure and vulnerability become, not a fact of memory, but a familiar pattern of habit that brings comfort and order out of situations that aren't comfortable or familiar. That's why we like to talk things out, or talk with someone about things going on in our lives.

But since the repository has now moved on, being vulnerable can no longer be safe. For why would I open up to someone who is emotionally with someone else?

"But I want to know how you are doing?"

So now the reason for this blog, and consequently the web address: How I am doing. If you want to know how I am doing, come to see: HowIamdoing.blogspot.com - if you want more, drop me a comment.