A thought I had earlier: all 4 of Cal's 2008 losses came on the road to teams that are playing in bowls. 2 of those teams won their bowls (Maryland and Arizona) and the other two (U$C and Oregon State) haven't played yet.
Additionally, Cal beat three other bowl teams: Colorado State, Michigan State, and Oregon, which just ran all over Oklahoma State. That doesn't count Miami, which Cal beat in the Emerald Bowl. Stanford and Arizona State both barely missed bowl eligibility. The only truly terrible teams on Cal's schedule were the Washington schools.
Considering this was supposed to be a "rebuilding" year, that's not too shabby.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
I just broke into my own house.
This week I programmed the HomeLink garage door remote in the car to open the garage at my parents' house (a comedy of errors in itself). So I pull into my driveway after a long week away from hoe, and I hit the button to open the garage door.
And nothing. Evidently I wiped out the command to open my garage door. And being the paranoid type, I locked the gate before I left.
As if the sight of me giving my wife a boost over the fence was not funny enough, her arms were too short to slide the latch over. So she gave me a boost instead.
Well, at least we're home.
And nothing. Evidently I wiped out the command to open my garage door. And being the paranoid type, I locked the gate before I left.
As if the sight of me giving my wife a boost over the fence was not funny enough, her arms were too short to slide the latch over. So she gave me a boost instead.
Well, at least we're home.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
"Heroes", we need to talk.
It's been two-and-a-half years since you came into my life. At first, I wasn't too sure about you. But you grew on me, and we were happy for a while. Sure, I overlooked some of your flaws, but at the end of the day I enjoyed your company, so I stuck with you.
But, I dunno, lately things have changed between us. Actually, not us. YOU. You've changed. Lately it seems like you're not making any sense. You'll say something that totally contradicts something you've said before. Your flaws became more and more glaring. I get the impression your dad doesn't like me: I heard he called me a sap and a dipshit. And, okay, you also put on some weight. I wasn't going to say anything, but you've packed on a lot of dead weight and you're no longer as attractive as you used to be.
I've been trying to give you a chance. But I don't know how many second and third chances are in me. I think I've been pretty patient over the last year-and-a-half, waiting for things to turn around, but now I think it's time to break it off.
Aww, don't cry. Look, I've been really busy with work and stuff. It's just that TiVo only holds twenty hours of high-definition content, and I have to share that with all my other shows. I'm always rushing to watch stuff before it gets deleted, or before TiVo says he won't record anything else. It's not you, it's me.
Here's a tissue. Just because we're taking a break doesn't mean we can't get back together again. Look, deep down inside you're the same show I fell in like with. Maybe someday you'll figure out who you really are. Give me a call and maybe we can start over again.
Huh? What do you mean? I....Okay, fine, I admit. Yeah, I've been seeing "LOST" all this time. And you know what? I love "LOST"! You know what else? "LOST" has met my parents! Have you? No? Didn't think so! You can forget about us getting back together! We are sooo through!
But, I dunno, lately things have changed between us. Actually, not us. YOU. You've changed. Lately it seems like you're not making any sense. You'll say something that totally contradicts something you've said before. Your flaws became more and more glaring. I get the impression your dad doesn't like me: I heard he called me a sap and a dipshit. And, okay, you also put on some weight. I wasn't going to say anything, but you've packed on a lot of dead weight and you're no longer as attractive as you used to be.
I've been trying to give you a chance. But I don't know how many second and third chances are in me. I think I've been pretty patient over the last year-and-a-half, waiting for things to turn around, but now I think it's time to break it off.
Aww, don't cry. Look, I've been really busy with work and stuff. It's just that TiVo only holds twenty hours of high-definition content, and I have to share that with all my other shows. I'm always rushing to watch stuff before it gets deleted, or before TiVo says he won't record anything else. It's not you, it's me.
Here's a tissue. Just because we're taking a break doesn't mean we can't get back together again. Look, deep down inside you're the same show I fell in like with. Maybe someday you'll figure out who you really are. Give me a call and maybe we can start over again.
Huh? What do you mean? I....Okay, fine, I admit. Yeah, I've been seeing "LOST" all this time. And you know what? I love "LOST"! You know what else? "LOST" has met my parents! Have you? No? Didn't think so! You can forget about us getting back together! We are sooo through!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
So as soon as I posted about what a great day I was having, I got some really awful news.
Man killed in officer-involved shooting in south Stockton
I don't know the poor victim, but I do know one of his family members. She probably wouldn't consider me more than an acquaintance, but she is a member of my church and, until recently, active in my old youth group. I am saddened and troubled by her and her family's needless loss.
Man killed in officer-involved shooting in south Stockton
I don't know the poor victim, but I do know one of his family members. She probably wouldn't consider me more than an acquaintance, but she is a member of my church and, until recently, active in my old youth group. I am saddened and troubled by her and her family's needless loss.
Today, I Didn't Even Have To Use My AK.
... I have to say it was a good day.
Kind of an average day today at work, but it was a pretty good night. I had an appointment today with my allergy doctor for an annual visit. I last saw him last Christmas vacation, which means I didn't have to go in for a sinus infection or bronchitis all year. That is pretty phenomenal.
I'm not exactly sure why I had such a good year (which, given my back and cholesterol problems, is sort of ironic). I would attribute it to a couple of factors. One, over-the-counter Zyrtec and Zyrtec-D (and especially their Kirkland generic counterparts) allowed me to better medicate myself without worrying I was swallowing two dollars every time I took one. Two, I have taught myself to be more aware of my allergy symptoms and react with aggressive meds, instead of only taking drugs after it was too late. And third, maybe the shots are working.
Anyway, good news came that since my shots are going so swimmingly, I only have to go every four weeks instead of every three. But wait, there's more: if I make it through another year at that schedule, no more shots! To top it of, I got hooked up with a goodie bag of samples, and after we talked a bit about Rhonda's allergies, I went home with a bag of samples for her too! He might as well have given me a hundred-dollar bill.
Went to Costco, bought some cheap gas, bananas, cookies, and a pizza for dinner. Started reading Google Reader and found out more tickets were made available for the sold-out Emerald Bowl. And guess who ended up with two of those tickets? That's right, this guy!
It's been a rough year for us, but there have been some good days here and there as well. Like last Sunday when we were invited to Auntie Helen's and Grandma made us mole and (made me) tacos. It's pretty important that even as it seems like the world is going to hell in a handbasket, things are not always as bad as they seem, and there are some bright spots behind the clouds.
Kind of an average day today at work, but it was a pretty good night. I had an appointment today with my allergy doctor for an annual visit. I last saw him last Christmas vacation, which means I didn't have to go in for a sinus infection or bronchitis all year. That is pretty phenomenal.
I'm not exactly sure why I had such a good year (which, given my back and cholesterol problems, is sort of ironic). I would attribute it to a couple of factors. One, over-the-counter Zyrtec and Zyrtec-D (and especially their Kirkland generic counterparts) allowed me to better medicate myself without worrying I was swallowing two dollars every time I took one. Two, I have taught myself to be more aware of my allergy symptoms and react with aggressive meds, instead of only taking drugs after it was too late. And third, maybe the shots are working.
Anyway, good news came that since my shots are going so swimmingly, I only have to go every four weeks instead of every three. But wait, there's more: if I make it through another year at that schedule, no more shots! To top it of, I got hooked up with a goodie bag of samples, and after we talked a bit about Rhonda's allergies, I went home with a bag of samples for her too! He might as well have given me a hundred-dollar bill.
Went to Costco, bought some cheap gas, bananas, cookies, and a pizza for dinner. Started reading Google Reader and found out more tickets were made available for the sold-out Emerald Bowl. And guess who ended up with two of those tickets? That's right, this guy!
It's been a rough year for us, but there have been some good days here and there as well. Like last Sunday when we were invited to Auntie Helen's and Grandma made us mole and (made me) tacos. It's pretty important that even as it seems like the world is going to hell in a handbasket, things are not always as bad as they seem, and there are some bright spots behind the clouds.
Friday, December 05, 2008
When the Twit Hits the Fan.
It was brought to my attention today that I'm too contradictory on Twitter in my replies to people. I think it's something that should be addressed. Making people feel uncomfortable about twittering or because of one of my tweets is bad. If that's the case, I apologize because I'm not trying to do that. I'm interested in what my friends have to say, which is the whole point of replying to them.
There are a couple of problems. One is that you can't relay tone very well through written communication. So I'd imagine sometimes things I type that I think are funny or playful come across as arrogant or condescending. I don't really know what to do about that - it just comes with the territory. It isn't intentional.
More often than not, I think I come across like I always have to be right, or like I'm argumentative. This is often true, I'll admit. But most of the time I like to play Devil's advocate or offer contrary ideas. It doesn't mean I am arguing vehemently for my opinion or crapping all over your opinion. I'm just doing it for the sake of conversation, and I don't know I've ticked anyone off until after the fact.
I thought having a dialogue was part of the point of Twitter, or of basic interaction with others, for that matter. If we all have the same opinions, it makes the world a pretty boring place. I'm not asking to be excused for being a dick, I'm saying I'm not trying to be one in the first place.
So in the future, I will try to be a little more aware of what I write and more selective in what I reply to. I just wanted to clear the air and explain myself, and explain where I'm coming from. (Trust me, if I fundamentally disagree with what you have to say, I will make that abundantly clear.) But I do feel I have something to contribute, or else I wouldn't use Twitter in the first place (or blog, for that matter).
There are a couple of problems. One is that you can't relay tone very well through written communication. So I'd imagine sometimes things I type that I think are funny or playful come across as arrogant or condescending. I don't really know what to do about that - it just comes with the territory. It isn't intentional.
More often than not, I think I come across like I always have to be right, or like I'm argumentative. This is often true, I'll admit. But most of the time I like to play Devil's advocate or offer contrary ideas. It doesn't mean I am arguing vehemently for my opinion or crapping all over your opinion. I'm just doing it for the sake of conversation, and I don't know I've ticked anyone off until after the fact.
I thought having a dialogue was part of the point of Twitter, or of basic interaction with others, for that matter. If we all have the same opinions, it makes the world a pretty boring place. I'm not asking to be excused for being a dick, I'm saying I'm not trying to be one in the first place.
So in the future, I will try to be a little more aware of what I write and more selective in what I reply to. I just wanted to clear the air and explain myself, and explain where I'm coming from. (Trust me, if I fundamentally disagree with what you have to say, I will make that abundantly clear.) But I do feel I have something to contribute, or else I wouldn't use Twitter in the first place (or blog, for that matter).
I've Got So Much Trouble On My Mind...
Look, today was not a good day.
I don't write much about my job, mostly because I am worried about getting sued out of existence. It's just not the smartest thing to do, even though I love my employer and (for the most part) my job. I certainly love having one.
My company will soon be laying off 5,000-6,000 employees, somewhere between 15 and 20 percent of its worldwide workforce. Our stock price is down over 90% over the last 6 years. So I won't be blowing any trade secrets or violating my NDA by saying morale is low. I have done, I think, a pretty good job of plowing ahead and staying the course given the uncertainty. But today was not one of my best in the morale department.
I also had a half-hour conversation with my wife about a meeting she had at work. I don't have too any details except Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting 7.2 billion dollars from the education budget. Yes, 'billion'. With a 'b'. Like that will improve our craptastic schools.
As a first-year teacher in a new district, she is understandably spooked. That news is on top of the extreme (I would say excessive) amount of work and level of stress this job has brought on for both of us. And on top of all that it is *still* better than if she was at her old job.
She isn't home yet. I haven't decided if we should go out somewhere in a feeble attempt to forget about our problems, or stay home and brood. I vote for brooding. This year cannot end soon enough. Now excuse me while I go look for something to punch or break.
I don't write much about my job, mostly because I am worried about getting sued out of existence. It's just not the smartest thing to do, even though I love my employer and (for the most part) my job. I certainly love having one.
My company will soon be laying off 5,000-6,000 employees, somewhere between 15 and 20 percent of its worldwide workforce. Our stock price is down over 90% over the last 6 years. So I won't be blowing any trade secrets or violating my NDA by saying morale is low. I have done, I think, a pretty good job of plowing ahead and staying the course given the uncertainty. But today was not one of my best in the morale department.
I also had a half-hour conversation with my wife about a meeting she had at work. I don't have too any details except Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting 7.2 billion dollars from the education budget. Yes, 'billion'. With a 'b'. Like that will improve our craptastic schools.
As a first-year teacher in a new district, she is understandably spooked. That news is on top of the extreme (I would say excessive) amount of work and level of stress this job has brought on for both of us. And on top of all that it is *still* better than if she was at her old job.
She isn't home yet. I haven't decided if we should go out somewhere in a feeble attempt to forget about our problems, or stay home and brood. I vote for brooding. This year cannot end soon enough. Now excuse me while I go look for something to punch or break.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Epic Win.
It's amazing, really, that something so trivial as a football game can mean so much.
This time last year, I was in excruciating pain. Not just because my team got beat by their rivals, hitting rock bottom in a season where we were seconds away from being the #1 team in the country. Nope, I was in actual physical agony, squirming in my chair, trying to find a position that would let me stay comfortable for just a few minutes without acute pain shooting down my leg.
Today, I returned to Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for the first time since last season's downpour against USC. That was the day, as I stood in driving rain for three hours, that I started to realize the numbness in my foot and the discomfort in my back was not going away. Four months out of surgery, it was great to be able to walk freely around Berkeley and its cumbersome hills with a minimum of discomfort. We did quite a bit of walking too, because after the game, we walked to get yogurt, we walked to get dinner, we did some shopping at Comic Relief and Half Price Books on Shattuck. And while I am undeniably exhausted, I have confidence that with some rest tomorrow I'm going to be OK and able to do it again next season.
I won't say it didn't matter that we won - of course it mattered. They call it the Big Game for a reason. We lost 3 out of 4 of them when I was in school and 4 more after I graduated to make it 7 straight. But to get out there for a day in beautiful sunny weather, to watch my team run all over our hated rivals, to not have to worry about health or work or whether I'll have a job in two months - that made me happier today than I really deserved to be.
This time last year, I was in excruciating pain. Not just because my team got beat by their rivals, hitting rock bottom in a season where we were seconds away from being the #1 team in the country. Nope, I was in actual physical agony, squirming in my chair, trying to find a position that would let me stay comfortable for just a few minutes without acute pain shooting down my leg.
Today, I returned to Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for the first time since last season's downpour against USC. That was the day, as I stood in driving rain for three hours, that I started to realize the numbness in my foot and the discomfort in my back was not going away. Four months out of surgery, it was great to be able to walk freely around Berkeley and its cumbersome hills with a minimum of discomfort. We did quite a bit of walking too, because after the game, we walked to get yogurt, we walked to get dinner, we did some shopping at Comic Relief and Half Price Books on Shattuck. And while I am undeniably exhausted, I have confidence that with some rest tomorrow I'm going to be OK and able to do it again next season.
I won't say it didn't matter that we won - of course it mattered. They call it the Big Game for a reason. We lost 3 out of 4 of them when I was in school and 4 more after I graduated to make it 7 straight. But to get out there for a day in beautiful sunny weather, to watch my team run all over our hated rivals, to not have to worry about health or work or whether I'll have a job in two months - that made me happier today than I really deserved to be.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Separate but equal, round two.
Whereas the election of Obama helped me feel better about my fellow Americans, the possible (likely? imminent?) passage of Proposition 8 just makes me feel sad about the sorry state of California.
Californians have a history of disappointing me (Prop 187, Prop 209, 8 years of Pete Wilson, the recall election) and, apparently, this will be no different. While the fate of Prop 8 is still up in the air while absentee ballots are counted, it would take nothing short of a miracle to close the 3.8% gap that currently exists.
It's pretty upsetting that Latino and (especially) black voters helped get this discriminatory proposition passed. I really believe the Yes campaign was so well-funded that they could just saturate the airwaves with lies and half-truths that the No campaign was unable to counter them. For example, I received a "robocall" Monday night that implied that Barack Obama was supporting Prop 8, which is not his position. It contained a soundbyte of the first part of that clip, but not the part where he said, "that's not what America is about."
I'm very uneasy about the complicity of the Catholic Church in funding the Yes on 8 campaign. The Knights of Columbus donated a million dollars to Yes on 8. A lot of attention went to the Mormons and their efforts (and with fair reason, you think they, of all people, would sympathize with non-traditional marriage arrangements), but I don't think No on 8 was hard enough on the K of C. Maybe they didn't want to alienate the Catholic voters, I don't know.
What I do know at this point is I'm done with pancake breakfasts. Knights of Columbus will not see another nickel from me, if this is how they spend it. What kept me up last night is that maybe I'm done with church too. Not done with God, mind you. Just done with the people who make decisions in Jesus's name for things I don't think He would have any part of. What happened to, "and they'll know we are Christians by our love"? I've been more than a little apathetic about the Church and its leanings for a while, and this is not helping matters.
So today, I am proud to be an American but ashamed to be a Californian and a Catholic. Again, not for the first time.
Californians have a history of disappointing me (Prop 187, Prop 209, 8 years of Pete Wilson, the recall election) and, apparently, this will be no different. While the fate of Prop 8 is still up in the air while absentee ballots are counted, it would take nothing short of a miracle to close the 3.8% gap that currently exists.
It's pretty upsetting that Latino and (especially) black voters helped get this discriminatory proposition passed. I really believe the Yes campaign was so well-funded that they could just saturate the airwaves with lies and half-truths that the No campaign was unable to counter them. For example, I received a "robocall" Monday night that implied that Barack Obama was supporting Prop 8, which is not his position. It contained a soundbyte of the first part of that clip, but not the part where he said, "that's not what America is about."
I'm very uneasy about the complicity of the Catholic Church in funding the Yes on 8 campaign. The Knights of Columbus donated a million dollars to Yes on 8. A lot of attention went to the Mormons and their efforts (and with fair reason, you think they, of all people, would sympathize with non-traditional marriage arrangements), but I don't think No on 8 was hard enough on the K of C. Maybe they didn't want to alienate the Catholic voters, I don't know.
What I do know at this point is I'm done with pancake breakfasts. Knights of Columbus will not see another nickel from me, if this is how they spend it. What kept me up last night is that maybe I'm done with church too. Not done with God, mind you. Just done with the people who make decisions in Jesus's name for things I don't think He would have any part of. What happened to, "and they'll know we are Christians by our love"? I've been more than a little apathetic about the Church and its leanings for a while, and this is not helping matters.
So today, I am proud to be an American but ashamed to be a Californian and a Catholic. Again, not for the first time.
Yes, we did.
I think Gerald Ford said it best: "Our long national nightmare is over."
Whether you are happy with the outcome or not, this is world history. Not just American history. World. It has been less than fifty years since segregation and discrimination were the norm in this country, and now we've elected a black man President. No country with a white majority has ever been governed by a non-white person. Marinate on that for a while.
This election has helped restore my faith in America - or should I say, Americans. There was no "Bradley Effect." This wasn't your typical Democrat vote - blue in New England and the West Coast with spots here and there in the Midwest. Even in states he lost, Obama did much better than Kerry did in 2004. This said two things to me: many Republican voters are just as dissatisfied with their party as I am, and most white Americans don't have an inherent problem with voting for a person of color.
Can Obama live up to the immense hype that has built up over the past two years? Maybe not. Hell, probably not. But he can begin the process of repairing our damaged reputation with the rest of the world, and I think that is a pretty good start.
Whether you are happy with the outcome or not, this is world history. Not just American history. World. It has been less than fifty years since segregation and discrimination were the norm in this country, and now we've elected a black man President. No country with a white majority has ever been governed by a non-white person. Marinate on that for a while.
This election has helped restore my faith in America - or should I say, Americans. There was no "Bradley Effect." This wasn't your typical Democrat vote - blue in New England and the West Coast with spots here and there in the Midwest. Even in states he lost, Obama did much better than Kerry did in 2004. This said two things to me: many Republican voters are just as dissatisfied with their party as I am, and most white Americans don't have an inherent problem with voting for a person of color.
Can Obama live up to the immense hype that has built up over the past two years? Maybe not. Hell, probably not. But he can begin the process of repairing our damaged reputation with the rest of the world, and I think that is a pretty good start.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
It's "go" time.
Hey folks, it's me again. I've been staying pretty busy, as if that wasn't obvious by the gap since the last time I posted. My back is holding up well. Work is keeping my occupied. My wife is busy and stressed out but still liking her new job better than the last one.
I'm writing today on the offhand chance you will read this, and you are still undecided about the election next week. I don't think it's hyperbole to say this is the most important election of my lifetime, and I wanted to elaborate a little on a couple of issues.
I have been on the Barack Obama bandwagon since March. This is not news. Nothing I say will make you switch your vote if you are in McCain's corner, and I suspect most of my readers are already in Obama's, so I won't get into the rationale.
What I will say is this: we Obama supporters cannot afford to get cocky. The polls have our guy leading, but they are just polls - we have to get out there and vote for the man. If the projections on TV have Obama running away with it, don't be complacent and stay home, because your candidates and propositions in state and local elections will suffer.
Which brings me to my second concern: the controversial Proposition 8. People have strong religious beliefs about homosexuality, and I can understand that. But contrary to what Prop 8 proponents would have you believe, this law is not about protecting marriage or our children. It's about discrimination, plain and simple.
Look, I'm Catholic, so I'll use the Catholic Church as an example. The Catholic Church does not allow gay marriage, even if the state of California does. In the eyes of the Church, any marriage that doesn't take place in the Church doesn't count - whether the couple is gay or not. So Prop 8 is not going to change anything in that respect.
As far as schools go, what happened in Massachusetts (and what is exploited in the television ads) can't happen in California. Sexual education, including talking about marriage, is voluntary. Parents can ask to have their kids excluded from such instruction.
Sure, gay couples have civil unions. Isn't that the same thing as "separate but equal"? Why are people so threatened by civil wedding ceremonies between people in love? I just don't see what the big deal is.
The reason I feel so strongly about voting No on Prop 8 stems from my education at UC Berkeley. As a person of mixed racial heritage, I learned about anti-miscegenation laws used to prevent people of different races from getting married. Throughout history, Americans have created laws to discriminate against people who are different from themselves. In this case, I really don't see a difference. Proposition 8 is about denying basic rights to a group of people based on their sexual orientation, and that is just wrong.
Prior to this year, I had never contributed to a political campaign. But in this important election, I contributed to both these causes, as well as a third: our friend Dillon Delvo, who is running in Stockton as an incumbent on the school board. I have never been this excited about an election, nor as nervous - I've literally been praying for these causes for the last three weeks.
On Tuesday, vote Obama/Biden. No on Prop 8. If you live in his district, Delvo for SUSD. Let's make this happen.
I'm writing today on the offhand chance you will read this, and you are still undecided about the election next week. I don't think it's hyperbole to say this is the most important election of my lifetime, and I wanted to elaborate a little on a couple of issues.
I have been on the Barack Obama bandwagon since March. This is not news. Nothing I say will make you switch your vote if you are in McCain's corner, and I suspect most of my readers are already in Obama's, so I won't get into the rationale.
What I will say is this: we Obama supporters cannot afford to get cocky. The polls have our guy leading, but they are just polls - we have to get out there and vote for the man. If the projections on TV have Obama running away with it, don't be complacent and stay home, because your candidates and propositions in state and local elections will suffer.
Which brings me to my second concern: the controversial Proposition 8. People have strong religious beliefs about homosexuality, and I can understand that. But contrary to what Prop 8 proponents would have you believe, this law is not about protecting marriage or our children. It's about discrimination, plain and simple.
Look, I'm Catholic, so I'll use the Catholic Church as an example. The Catholic Church does not allow gay marriage, even if the state of California does. In the eyes of the Church, any marriage that doesn't take place in the Church doesn't count - whether the couple is gay or not. So Prop 8 is not going to change anything in that respect.
As far as schools go, what happened in Massachusetts (and what is exploited in the television ads) can't happen in California. Sexual education, including talking about marriage, is voluntary. Parents can ask to have their kids excluded from such instruction.
Sure, gay couples have civil unions. Isn't that the same thing as "separate but equal"? Why are people so threatened by civil wedding ceremonies between people in love? I just don't see what the big deal is.
The reason I feel so strongly about voting No on Prop 8 stems from my education at UC Berkeley. As a person of mixed racial heritage, I learned about anti-miscegenation laws used to prevent people of different races from getting married. Throughout history, Americans have created laws to discriminate against people who are different from themselves. In this case, I really don't see a difference. Proposition 8 is about denying basic rights to a group of people based on their sexual orientation, and that is just wrong.
Prior to this year, I had never contributed to a political campaign. But in this important election, I contributed to both these causes, as well as a third: our friend Dillon Delvo, who is running in Stockton as an incumbent on the school board. I have never been this excited about an election, nor as nervous - I've literally been praying for these causes for the last three weeks.
On Tuesday, vote Obama/Biden. No on Prop 8. If you live in his district, Delvo for SUSD. Let's make this happen.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Day 46: Clean Bill O' Health
I had my six-week followup appointment with Dr. Cheng today, and he gave me the all clear. His exact words were that the improvement in strength in my right foot was "encouraging." I have another appointment in six more weeks, but I am free to cancel it if I have no complications. This is great news given the initial forecast was on the cloudy side. Dr. Cheng is a nice guy, but I hope I never see him again.
An interesting side effect of my surgery is that, for the first time, I've hit my out-of-pocket maximum on my insurance. Funny, I always assumed it would be Rhonda.
Now that I am back at work, it's increasingly more difficult to stay in shape. Work, coupled with hot weather, makes it so if I don't go for a walk first thing in the morning, I won't feel like doing it later. Plus, my stamina is increased so it takes a lot longer to squeeze in a walk, or I need to break it up. Luckily, I have been compensating for that by keeping busy around the house, and helping Rhonda move classrooms.
I'm working on a couple of other things. I'm on week two of the One Hundred Pushups challenge. I would be on week three if not for last week's fiasco severely derailing my life. I'm also planning to sign up for a distance walk/run in September. Possibly this one.
I'm having some mixed results in my quest to lose weight and take strain off my discs. The bad news is I've gained about 4.5 pounds since the surgery. The good news is my body fat percentage is down. My Tanita scale can be a bit flaky, but what it is telling me, on average, is that I was around 200 pounds with 30% body fat (stop laughing) before the surgery. Now I am weighing in around 204.5 pounds, but at 27.5% body fat. I've lost almost four pounds of fat, so if you do the math, I've gained 8.5 pounds of muscle.
And that's without dietary changes. In fact, with all the recent drama, I've eaten a lot of McNuggets this month. As I slowly get into more of a routine, including getting to the grocery store with a list, we should both start eating better.
So aside from a lengthy recovery for the nerves in my right foot and some high cholesterol, things are looking up for me healthwise probably for the first time since I put down the controller and started playing baseball in middle school. It appears my thirties are all about repairing the mistakes, health-related and financial, that I made in my teens and twenties. Here goes nothing.
An interesting side effect of my surgery is that, for the first time, I've hit my out-of-pocket maximum on my insurance. Funny, I always assumed it would be Rhonda.
Now that I am back at work, it's increasingly more difficult to stay in shape. Work, coupled with hot weather, makes it so if I don't go for a walk first thing in the morning, I won't feel like doing it later. Plus, my stamina is increased so it takes a lot longer to squeeze in a walk, or I need to break it up. Luckily, I have been compensating for that by keeping busy around the house, and helping Rhonda move classrooms.
I'm working on a couple of other things. I'm on week two of the One Hundred Pushups challenge. I would be on week three if not for last week's fiasco severely derailing my life. I'm also planning to sign up for a distance walk/run in September. Possibly this one.
I'm having some mixed results in my quest to lose weight and take strain off my discs. The bad news is I've gained about 4.5 pounds since the surgery. The good news is my body fat percentage is down. My Tanita scale can be a bit flaky, but what it is telling me, on average, is that I was around 200 pounds with 30% body fat (stop laughing) before the surgery. Now I am weighing in around 204.5 pounds, but at 27.5% body fat. I've lost almost four pounds of fat, so if you do the math, I've gained 8.5 pounds of muscle.
And that's without dietary changes. In fact, with all the recent drama, I've eaten a lot of McNuggets this month. As I slowly get into more of a routine, including getting to the grocery store with a list, we should both start eating better.
So aside from a lengthy recovery for the nerves in my right foot and some high cholesterol, things are looking up for me healthwise probably for the first time since I put down the controller and started playing baseball in middle school. It appears my thirties are all about repairing the mistakes, health-related and financial, that I made in my teens and twenties. Here goes nothing.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Garlicgate: Part 2
So we had reached an all-time low. We had already discussed that Rhonda would rather wait for her release than go back to work. She would rather be unemployed. In a recession.
That's when I told her my idea.
I had done some reading on the internet - because what else can you do, when your wife is a complete wreck and all you can do is hold her? I told her we should e-mail the superintendent. Because when you can't get something you need, the first thing you do is ask to see a supervisor.
I composed a masterful e-mail to the superintendent, copying the union rep and president. I outlined all the reasons Rhonda needed to be close to home, especially her health issues (and now, mine). I talked about how it would be hypocritical to let Rhonda's former principal out of her contract and not let Rhonda out of hers. And I ripped Rhonda's principal for dragging his feet on hiring a replacement. I told how they said it would take a week, even though they had capable personnel on campus. I emphasized Rhonda's working relationship with her principal was irreparably damaged. I hit "send" at 11:45.
The union really got behind Rhonda at this point. I don't think they had all the information on the severity of her health problems or the situation at the school, and now they were armed with all they needed.
Also, I didn't even get into how Rhonda's principal has turned this into a petty, personal display of power. One of the things he did last year was try to get Rhonda to work on something in violation of union rules, pitting her against her own colleagues. Rhonda got out of that, but learned he was not to be trusted. All this week, he was ratcheting up the pressure, probably hoping she would crack and return to work. After all, she is very good at her job.
So it was no surprise when, a couple hours later, he called Rhonda and threatened her with "repercussions" if she didn't come to work on the first day. He even called her "Miss," which, if I'd have heard that, I would've told her to file sexual harassment charges.
But he had obviously misread Rhonda. As anyone who has known her for a long time is aware, Rhonda is stubborn as a mule, and only becomes more determined when she feels wronged. And it became obvious to us that the superintendent had read our letter and was trying to find out what the hell was going on at her school.
Less than five minutes later, another call, this time from their HR director also telling Rhonda, in a threatening tone, to be at work Thursday. At this point, Rhonda was so upset she threw up. It took a second for me to realize she was having an asthma attack. She got a call from the union president while I searched for her inhaler. The union president was on her way to the school. It was 3:00.
After she could breathe again, I was worried so I told Rhonda that since she needed allergy shots, we would ask the allergy nurses to check her blood pressure and possibly ask for a doctor's note to excuse her from work. Then we would go get the stuff she needed at Staples in case she had to work Thursday.
We drove down there and they wouldn't give her her shots because of the asthma. They took her in the back though, so they could take her blood pressure. I sat nervously in the waiting area. We hadn't eaten all day.
At 3:45, while getting her blood pressure taken, she got the call: she had been released from her contract.
I gave her a big kiss and a hug on the way out (her BP: 138/96). No more need to go to Staples, but I was starving, and we were going to celebrate by getting some Yumi Yogurt. I wanted to get McDonald's first. No less than 10 minutes later, we were in the McDonald's parking lot on Saratoga and Stevens Creek when she got the call from the jubilant San Jose HR director: "I don't know how you did it."
By 4, I was eating McNuggets in the district office parking lot while Rhonda was upstairs inking her contract with San Jose Unified. Seven hours before we were dead in the water, and I was wondering if we could make it a year on one income. Seven hours was all it took for a comeback of Jason Lezak proportions.
If you've read this far, thanks. I know it's verbose, but this was an epic. This was, by far, the biggest trial by fire we've had to face since Rhonda's dad passed away. And for us to battle through it, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, all the while relying on prayers and well-wishes from friends and family to keep us going, made the way this turned out all the more sweeter.
(Some people will say you shouldn't break a contract, but those people don't teach in California. You sign one-year contracts in May. You can break them before June 30, but schools don't hire until their budgets are set, or until they know how many students they have. That's in August. Some teachers are hired around the end of the school year, but usually within their own districts. People break contracts all the time in August - retiring teachers wait so they can have benefits through the summer. If you ever want a new job, you need to break your contract or get released, plain and simple. It's an insane system. Districts rarely resort to the strong-arm tactics we were subjected to.)
Rhonda went to her new school today, where she was greeted with hugs and warm welcomes. She is genuinely excited about work for the first time in years. Just a couple days ago, she was so fed up she was considering never teaching again. I'm just glad my wife is happy, and we can move on with the rest of our lives.
That's when I told her my idea.
I had done some reading on the internet - because what else can you do, when your wife is a complete wreck and all you can do is hold her? I told her we should e-mail the superintendent. Because when you can't get something you need, the first thing you do is ask to see a supervisor.
I composed a masterful e-mail to the superintendent, copying the union rep and president. I outlined all the reasons Rhonda needed to be close to home, especially her health issues (and now, mine). I talked about how it would be hypocritical to let Rhonda's former principal out of her contract and not let Rhonda out of hers. And I ripped Rhonda's principal for dragging his feet on hiring a replacement. I told how they said it would take a week, even though they had capable personnel on campus. I emphasized Rhonda's working relationship with her principal was irreparably damaged. I hit "send" at 11:45.
The union really got behind Rhonda at this point. I don't think they had all the information on the severity of her health problems or the situation at the school, and now they were armed with all they needed.
Also, I didn't even get into how Rhonda's principal has turned this into a petty, personal display of power. One of the things he did last year was try to get Rhonda to work on something in violation of union rules, pitting her against her own colleagues. Rhonda got out of that, but learned he was not to be trusted. All this week, he was ratcheting up the pressure, probably hoping she would crack and return to work. After all, she is very good at her job.
So it was no surprise when, a couple hours later, he called Rhonda and threatened her with "repercussions" if she didn't come to work on the first day. He even called her "Miss," which, if I'd have heard that, I would've told her to file sexual harassment charges.
But he had obviously misread Rhonda. As anyone who has known her for a long time is aware, Rhonda is stubborn as a mule, and only becomes more determined when she feels wronged. And it became obvious to us that the superintendent had read our letter and was trying to find out what the hell was going on at her school.
Less than five minutes later, another call, this time from their HR director also telling Rhonda, in a threatening tone, to be at work Thursday. At this point, Rhonda was so upset she threw up. It took a second for me to realize she was having an asthma attack. She got a call from the union president while I searched for her inhaler. The union president was on her way to the school. It was 3:00.
After she could breathe again, I was worried so I told Rhonda that since she needed allergy shots, we would ask the allergy nurses to check her blood pressure and possibly ask for a doctor's note to excuse her from work. Then we would go get the stuff she needed at Staples in case she had to work Thursday.
We drove down there and they wouldn't give her her shots because of the asthma. They took her in the back though, so they could take her blood pressure. I sat nervously in the waiting area. We hadn't eaten all day.
At 3:45, while getting her blood pressure taken, she got the call: she had been released from her contract.
I gave her a big kiss and a hug on the way out (her BP: 138/96). No more need to go to Staples, but I was starving, and we were going to celebrate by getting some Yumi Yogurt. I wanted to get McDonald's first. No less than 10 minutes later, we were in the McDonald's parking lot on Saratoga and Stevens Creek when she got the call from the jubilant San Jose HR director: "I don't know how you did it."
By 4, I was eating McNuggets in the district office parking lot while Rhonda was upstairs inking her contract with San Jose Unified. Seven hours before we were dead in the water, and I was wondering if we could make it a year on one income. Seven hours was all it took for a comeback of Jason Lezak proportions.
If you've read this far, thanks. I know it's verbose, but this was an epic. This was, by far, the biggest trial by fire we've had to face since Rhonda's dad passed away. And for us to battle through it, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, all the while relying on prayers and well-wishes from friends and family to keep us going, made the way this turned out all the more sweeter.
(Some people will say you shouldn't break a contract, but those people don't teach in California. You sign one-year contracts in May. You can break them before June 30, but schools don't hire until their budgets are set, or until they know how many students they have. That's in August. Some teachers are hired around the end of the school year, but usually within their own districts. People break contracts all the time in August - retiring teachers wait so they can have benefits through the summer. If you ever want a new job, you need to break your contract or get released, plain and simple. It's an insane system. Districts rarely resort to the strong-arm tactics we were subjected to.)
Rhonda went to her new school today, where she was greeted with hugs and warm welcomes. She is genuinely excited about work for the first time in years. Just a couple days ago, she was so fed up she was considering never teaching again. I'm just glad my wife is happy, and we can move on with the rest of our lives.
Garlicgate: Part 1
Seven hours. Seven hours is all it took. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This is a long tale of epic win.
My wife, Rhonda, taught kindergarten the last two years in a neighboring city. I won't name the city or district, but I will say it is famous for garlic. Ahem. She took the job there because she (admittedly) blew it on her job search a couple years ago. Her health issues (allergy to garlic amongst them), a lengthy commute, difficult colleagues - all these meant she has been looking for work closer to home ever since.
Last spring, a principal from Santa Clara wanted to interview Rhonda for a position. Her principal told them she was under contract, even though she hadn't signed one yet for the upcoming year. The same principal broke her contract in August and took a job in another district.
No thanks to our governor (or our president, for that matter, for sinking the economy), there weren't many opportunities this June. Most people were losing jobs, not getting them. Rhonda had several interviews, including a couple of good ones at San Jose Unified, but no offers.
Rhonda had pretty much resigned herself to another year at Garlicville, and was considering a career change because she was so unhappy. Then, like a white night, San Jose came calling again last week. After a couple of whirlwind interviews, the good news came on Friday. Rhonda had been offered a position.
We were, of course, very happy. Sunday we made the pilgrimage out to Rhonda's room to clean it out. That's when it all went to hell.
Rhonda was warned by a colleague that her district had, in the past, refused to release teachers from contracts and had even gone through the trouble of revoking credentials. Rhonda spoke to the union president and she confirmed that was a possibility.
Monday, Rhonda was supposed to go to new teacher orientation. However, since she hadn't been released, she was ordered to go to her old school. She stopped by the house on the way to sob uncontrollably because she was too upset to drive.
At the school, Rhonda had to wait until lunchtime to speak to her principal. He told her she would not be released from her contract. Her gave her room keys. Her team was supportive, and they talked about options for replacing Rhonda. One of the new kinder teachers was a long-term sub, and she wanted Rhonda's job. A long-term sub for one of the other teachers was unemployed. They had just interviewed a bunch of candidates.
The head of human resources at Rhonda's old district told her she would be released when a replacement was found. Rhonda frantically tried to get a hold of San Jose HR and her new principal. Her new principal told her she wasn't sure how long she could hold the position, since school starts next Tuesday. Rhonda went through a lot of Kleenex. Neither of us were eating much or at regular intervals.
Tuesday, there was some good news to open the day. Rhonda got a call from the director of San Jose HR. She said to report to work, but that she would be talking to Rhonda's old district, and to Rhonda's new principal to make sure she held the job a little longer. She had once been in Rhonda's old district, so she knew what we were up against.
Lots of nothing happened Tuesday. We began to wonder what was taking so long. Communication was spotty. Uncertainty was wearing us down. Rhonda talked extensively to her union rep, who was supportive. Rhonda said goodbye to her team, hoping it was the last time she would see them.
Wednesday was the day before the first day at the old school. Rhonda stayed home rather than drive and had the union rep fax her the class list. She got a call from San Jose and it was not good news. She had not been released yet, and there was nothing the San Jose director could do. She would try to convince the new principal to hold the job, maybe get a sub for a couple days, to buy time until Rhonda was released. But no promises. It was 8:30 AM.
My wife, Rhonda, taught kindergarten the last two years in a neighboring city. I won't name the city or district, but I will say it is famous for garlic. Ahem. She took the job there because she (admittedly) blew it on her job search a couple years ago. Her health issues (allergy to garlic amongst them), a lengthy commute, difficult colleagues - all these meant she has been looking for work closer to home ever since.
Last spring, a principal from Santa Clara wanted to interview Rhonda for a position. Her principal told them she was under contract, even though she hadn't signed one yet for the upcoming year. The same principal broke her contract in August and took a job in another district.
No thanks to our governor (or our president, for that matter, for sinking the economy), there weren't many opportunities this June. Most people were losing jobs, not getting them. Rhonda had several interviews, including a couple of good ones at San Jose Unified, but no offers.
Rhonda had pretty much resigned herself to another year at Garlicville, and was considering a career change because she was so unhappy. Then, like a white night, San Jose came calling again last week. After a couple of whirlwind interviews, the good news came on Friday. Rhonda had been offered a position.
We were, of course, very happy. Sunday we made the pilgrimage out to Rhonda's room to clean it out. That's when it all went to hell.
Rhonda was warned by a colleague that her district had, in the past, refused to release teachers from contracts and had even gone through the trouble of revoking credentials. Rhonda spoke to the union president and she confirmed that was a possibility.
Monday, Rhonda was supposed to go to new teacher orientation. However, since she hadn't been released, she was ordered to go to her old school. She stopped by the house on the way to sob uncontrollably because she was too upset to drive.
At the school, Rhonda had to wait until lunchtime to speak to her principal. He told her she would not be released from her contract. Her gave her room keys. Her team was supportive, and they talked about options for replacing Rhonda. One of the new kinder teachers was a long-term sub, and she wanted Rhonda's job. A long-term sub for one of the other teachers was unemployed. They had just interviewed a bunch of candidates.
The head of human resources at Rhonda's old district told her she would be released when a replacement was found. Rhonda frantically tried to get a hold of San Jose HR and her new principal. Her new principal told her she wasn't sure how long she could hold the position, since school starts next Tuesday. Rhonda went through a lot of Kleenex. Neither of us were eating much or at regular intervals.
Tuesday, there was some good news to open the day. Rhonda got a call from the director of San Jose HR. She said to report to work, but that she would be talking to Rhonda's old district, and to Rhonda's new principal to make sure she held the job a little longer. She had once been in Rhonda's old district, so she knew what we were up against.
Lots of nothing happened Tuesday. We began to wonder what was taking so long. Communication was spotty. Uncertainty was wearing us down. Rhonda talked extensively to her union rep, who was supportive. Rhonda said goodbye to her team, hoping it was the last time she would see them.
Wednesday was the day before the first day at the old school. Rhonda stayed home rather than drive and had the union rep fax her the class list. She got a call from San Jose and it was not good news. She had not been released yet, and there was nothing the San Jose director could do. She would try to convince the new principal to hold the job, maybe get a sub for a couple days, to buy time until Rhonda was released. But no promises. It was 8:30 AM.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Everything But The Kitchen Sync
I did some browsing yesterday and decided I had lived in chaos long enough.
I have a Treo 650. I have a Sun calendar. I have Yahoo! Mail. None of these things are in sync. I have a calendar appointment to manually duplicate appointments from my Treo to my work calendar. This is stupid.
Having already been curious about using some of the Google apps, I spent most of my day hammering away diligently to get my contacts and calendars in order.
With the dust settled, I have almost everything all synced up and without permanent damage to my data. There are only two wrinkles to the master plan: one is that I have to do two syncs (one with the Sun Communication Sync conduit, and one with the Calendar conduit), and the other is that CompanionLink is not two-way yet due to all the duplicate events in the calendar. That's something to work on another day.
I even set up my Yahoo! Mail with Thunderbird's WebMail add-on, and added GMail's IMAP server, so all my mail, contact, and calendar data is in Thunderbird/Lightning. And all my contact and calendar data from all sources is in my Treo. One device to rule them all.
UPDATE: A couple of wrinkles with Communications Sync. For one, it replaces the Calendar conduit with one of its own. Here are the steps I take weekly:
I have a Treo 650. I have a Sun calendar. I have Yahoo! Mail. None of these things are in sync. I have a calendar appointment to manually duplicate appointments from my Treo to my work calendar. This is stupid.
Having already been curious about using some of the Google apps, I spent most of my day hammering away diligently to get my contacts and calendars in order.
- I already use Thunderbird for my work e-mail and the Lightning add-on for my work calendar needs.
- I signed up for Google Calendar and Gmail.
- I used fbCal to import my Facebook birthdays and events into Google Calendar.
- Sun has something called Sun Java System Communications Sync to sync Sun Java System Calendar Server with Outlook, Palm or Pocket PC. I had no idea this existed. After some tinkering, I set it so the Treo calendar would overwrite the Sun calendar, and it would not sync contacts or tasks.
- I installed CompanionLink for Google to sync my Palm Desktop contacts and calendars with Google. This is the only software that costs anything; it is $30 after the 14-day trial. Unfortunately, I ran into a hiccup because the Sun software turned off the Calendar Hotsync conduit. After much tinkering and cursing, I found out you could restore the Calendar conduit by clicking the PDA icon in Communications Sync, clicking Configure, and unchecking "Calendar / Date Book" in the "Manage the following Hotsync conduits" section.
- Some duplication issues made me decide, as with the Sun calendar, to make the sync one-way from Palm Desktop to Google. I plan to get this back to synchronized at some point.
- Next, I set up GCALDaemon to set-up two-way sync between Google Calendar and Lightning. It also let me set up those contacts I had synced over as an LDAP address book in Thunderbird.
- Lastly, I installed Yahoo! AutoSync to sync up my Yahoo! Mail and Palm Desktop address books.
With the dust settled, I have almost everything all synced up and without permanent damage to my data. There are only two wrinkles to the master plan: one is that I have to do two syncs (one with the Sun Communication Sync conduit, and one with the Calendar conduit), and the other is that CompanionLink is not two-way yet due to all the duplicate events in the calendar. That's something to work on another day.
I even set up my Yahoo! Mail with Thunderbird's WebMail add-on, and added GMail's IMAP server, so all my mail, contact, and calendar data is in Thunderbird/Lightning. And all my contact and calendar data from all sources is in my Treo. One device to rule them all.
UPDATE: A couple of wrinkles with Communications Sync. For one, it replaces the Calendar conduit with one of its own. Here are the steps I take weekly:
- Sync as normal, making sure Hotsync Manager has the Calendar conduit.
- Launch Communications Sync.
- In the Current Profile box, I click the Palm icon and choose "Configure." Under "Manage the following HotSync conduits", I check "Calendar/Date Book" and click "OK."
- From the File menu, I choose "Force Full Synchronization", then "Calendar".
- Click "Synchronize" and confirm I want a full sync in the next dialog.
- I hotsync the Treo.
- When it asks, I tell it to overwrite the Sun calendar records with Palm records.
- Almost every time it fails with an "Unknown Error." I just repeat Steps 5 & 6. The second or third time it will work. I think it may be a network issue with my calendar server.
- After the sync is successful, I click the Palm icon and choose "Configure." Under "Manage the following HotSync conduits", I UNcheck "Calendar/Date Book" and click "OK." This restores the Calendar conduit, so the Treo will resume syncing with Palm Desktop.
Day 12: The Itchy and Scratchy Show
My recovery is going pretty well. I go back to work on Monday. I'm a little skeptical about how long I can sit up in a chair. I guess I will be alright as long as I take frequent breaks.
My sutures itch like no tomorrow. They are aggravated when I go for a walk. Nothing a little ice can't solve. The recliner I sit in most of the time is mesh, but sitting in a chair traps heat on my back and itches like crazy. The doctors tell me itching is normal and I don't have an infection. I am down to taking Tylenol as needed and Aleve three times a day as an anti-inflammatory.
I am walking about a mile-and-a-half a day, sometimes more. It takes me twenty-five to thirty minutes.
Saw "The Dark Knight" on opening day - one goal met. Was pretty uncomfortable, not so much because of pain but itchiness. It hasn't been as itchy this week as last. Watched about half of season one of Battlestar.
Now that pain is controllable and steadiness has improved, boredom is starting to set in. I'm starting to get restless. At least I've been out of the house a few times, and I even drove yesterday to get some tacos. What I really look forward to is these stitches closing so I can return to normal activities.
My sutures itch like no tomorrow. They are aggravated when I go for a walk. Nothing a little ice can't solve. The recliner I sit in most of the time is mesh, but sitting in a chair traps heat on my back and itches like crazy. The doctors tell me itching is normal and I don't have an infection. I am down to taking Tylenol as needed and Aleve three times a day as an anti-inflammatory.
I am walking about a mile-and-a-half a day, sometimes more. It takes me twenty-five to thirty minutes.
Saw "The Dark Knight" on opening day - one goal met. Was pretty uncomfortable, not so much because of pain but itchiness. It hasn't been as itchy this week as last. Watched about half of season one of Battlestar.
Now that pain is controllable and steadiness has improved, boredom is starting to set in. I'm starting to get restless. At least I've been out of the house a few times, and I even drove yesterday to get some tacos. What I really look forward to is these stitches closing so I can return to normal activities.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Day 6: I Get Around
Haven't checked in for a while, so I decided to give a status report. It's been almost a week since my microdiscectomy, and so far, so good.
I have been taking a walk every morning (two, yesterday - I was bored) and increasing the distance by a couple of blocks every day. The goal is for me to walk to the Hillsdale Starbucks tomorrow morning and have Rhonda meet me there in the car for breakfast, then ride back home. That will be the first meal I eat away from home since last week.
I went off the Vicodin Saturday night, less than 48 hours after surgery. Currently I am taking both Advil and Tylenol. Aleve wasn't doing much for me since you can only take it every 8 hours, although maybe I will switch back now that the pain has diminished. Other than that, lots of ice, especially right after I talk a walk.
I feel pretty good, although I have to say psychologically it's tough when everyone treats you like an invalid. Still can't (and shouldn't) left more than five pounds, bend over, or twist, so to some extent that's true. I've been kind of irritable as a result. Owe my wife huge.
Finally got to take a shower Monday. I had really been taking the ability to shower for granted.
Still haven't watched Battlestar. Maybe tonight since there is no Giants game.
I have been taking a walk every morning (two, yesterday - I was bored) and increasing the distance by a couple of blocks every day. The goal is for me to walk to the Hillsdale Starbucks tomorrow morning and have Rhonda meet me there in the car for breakfast, then ride back home. That will be the first meal I eat away from home since last week.
I went off the Vicodin Saturday night, less than 48 hours after surgery. Currently I am taking both Advil and Tylenol. Aleve wasn't doing much for me since you can only take it every 8 hours, although maybe I will switch back now that the pain has diminished. Other than that, lots of ice, especially right after I talk a walk.
I feel pretty good, although I have to say psychologically it's tough when everyone treats you like an invalid. Still can't (and shouldn't) left more than five pounds, bend over, or twist, so to some extent that's true. I've been kind of irritable as a result. Owe my wife huge.
Finally got to take a shower Monday. I had really been taking the ability to shower for granted.
Still haven't watched Battlestar. Maybe tonight since there is no Giants game.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life
As I type this in my zero-gravity recliner from my living room, I'm happy to report I'm not in the horrible, excruciating pain I feared I might be.
Surgery was yesterday at the crack of dawn. I was, understandably, pretty nervous. Say what you will about Stanford, they really have their stuff together at the Ambulatory Surgery Center. My surgeons wisely gave my wife my prescriptions before surgery, and there is a Walgreens in the building. I had Vicodin waiting for me when I woke up.
I didn't speak to the surgeon, but my wife did. It turns out the disk extrusion had calcified, it had been there so long. Ewww. And it turns out I may be in a for a lifetime of back problems due to my genealogical bone structure. Just peachy. At least I know it's not entirely my fault. I'll know more in six weeks at my follow-up.
I slept a lot of yesterday off. My back feels like someone ripped it open and jabbed a bunch of instruments in there, probably because that's what happened. On the other hand, I was not expecting so much pain in my throat and sinuses. While I was out, they stuck a breathing tube down my throat. The result is a raspy voice, pain while swallowing, and coughing up blood.
All in all, not doing too bad. The sciatic nerve is irritated, but that's to be expected. It feels like I already have some strength back in my right foot, which is really encouraging considering it hasn't been very long, and the chances for recovery were not that high. Icing my back for twenty minutes regularly, as that should reduce inflammation as well as force blood to rush into the area to repair the damage.
Standing feels best. I stupidly laid on my back on a foam wedge at first, before realizing it was a lot less painful to lay face down while putting on the ice. Lying in bed on my left side results in virtually no pain, but it's pretty boring unless I'm sleeping. The couch is too soft to lie on. The zero-grav chair I bought is fine as long as I stay in one place, and since I can use the laptop and watch HDTV from there, that's where I've set up camp.
This morning, I made a bowl of cereal, made coffee, and even ventured outside to get the paper (with my grabber, no bending over). So I already feel like I'm making some progress. Things could be better, but they certainly could be a lot worse.
Surgery was yesterday at the crack of dawn. I was, understandably, pretty nervous. Say what you will about Stanford, they really have their stuff together at the Ambulatory Surgery Center. My surgeons wisely gave my wife my prescriptions before surgery, and there is a Walgreens in the building. I had Vicodin waiting for me when I woke up.
I didn't speak to the surgeon, but my wife did. It turns out the disk extrusion had calcified, it had been there so long. Ewww. And it turns out I may be in a for a lifetime of back problems due to my genealogical bone structure. Just peachy. At least I know it's not entirely my fault. I'll know more in six weeks at my follow-up.
I slept a lot of yesterday off. My back feels like someone ripped it open and jabbed a bunch of instruments in there, probably because that's what happened. On the other hand, I was not expecting so much pain in my throat and sinuses. While I was out, they stuck a breathing tube down my throat. The result is a raspy voice, pain while swallowing, and coughing up blood.
All in all, not doing too bad. The sciatic nerve is irritated, but that's to be expected. It feels like I already have some strength back in my right foot, which is really encouraging considering it hasn't been very long, and the chances for recovery were not that high. Icing my back for twenty minutes regularly, as that should reduce inflammation as well as force blood to rush into the area to repair the damage.
Standing feels best. I stupidly laid on my back on a foam wedge at first, before realizing it was a lot less painful to lay face down while putting on the ice. Lying in bed on my left side results in virtually no pain, but it's pretty boring unless I'm sleeping. The couch is too soft to lie on. The zero-grav chair I bought is fine as long as I stay in one place, and since I can use the laptop and watch HDTV from there, that's where I've set up camp.
This morning, I made a bowl of cereal, made coffee, and even ventured outside to get the paper (with my grabber, no bending over). So I already feel like I'm making some progress. Things could be better, but they certainly could be a lot worse.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
My Post-Op Playlist
If you're interested in the playlist I built to keep me positive, you can check that out from my last.fm journal.
Under the Knife
June went by without a single blog post. I would say I haven't had the time, but as the people who follow me on Twitter can attest, that isn't true.
The largest reason is I have had back issues, alluded to previously on this blog. I finally decided to get that checked out after it flared up again in early June.
A rather unpleasant procedure called an electromyography (EMG) and a new MRI confirmed I have three, not one, herniated discs. My first consult with a neurosurgeon said I not only needed surgery, but emergency surgery.
I had a second opinion with the Stanford Orthopaedic Spine Center. Yes, that Stanford - which I hate with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. Seeing as how the weakness began during Cal football season and the first episode of pain hit on the day of the Big Game, this is only fitting.
Luckily, my surgeon is a Cal alum.
Anyway, I had a difficult choice to make. The first surgeon said I absolutely needed surgery to avoid permanent nerve damage. He recommended an open lumbar laminectomy. Dr. Ivan Cheng at Stanford recommended a microscope surgery, called a microdecompression/microdiscectomy.
The two surgeries are basically the same - cut away a piece of the lamina of the vertebrae to relive pressure, then temporary move the nerve out of the way to cut off the disc herniations. The open surgery meant a much longer recovery, but the micro surgery presents a higher risk of recurrence. Both surgeries might only give me about a 50/50 chance to regain strength in my right foot.
I decided to go with the micro surgery. When the chances of full recovery are that low, I don't see the point in getting the more invasive surgery. If I re-herniate, I'm not even sure I'd go back in for a second surgery. But I figure I have to give my 30-year-old body at least a coin flip at repairing itself.
So I go under the knife in less than twelve hours. I'm not extremely nervous, but I've never had major surgery or been in a hospital, so I've been anxious about this for weeks. Luckily, if all goes well, the micro surgery is outpatient and I could be writhing in pain in my own bed by lunchtime tomorrow.
I've decided to look at this as a wake-up call. I can't just sit at a desk all day, eating junk food and staying sedentary. I really can't do that if I expect to stay away from an operating table for a second time.
These are the steps I have taken:
These are my goals, in descending order of importance:
I'm sure I will be spending a lot of time online, in between episodes of Battlestar. If you want to keep tabs on my recovery (and I don't post anything here), try the following sources:
Thanks everyone for their well wishes and concerns. I don't plan on being down for long.
The largest reason is I have had back issues, alluded to previously on this blog. I finally decided to get that checked out after it flared up again in early June.
A rather unpleasant procedure called an electromyography (EMG) and a new MRI confirmed I have three, not one, herniated discs. My first consult with a neurosurgeon said I not only needed surgery, but emergency surgery.
I had a second opinion with the Stanford Orthopaedic Spine Center. Yes, that Stanford - which I hate with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. Seeing as how the weakness began during Cal football season and the first episode of pain hit on the day of the Big Game, this is only fitting.
Luckily, my surgeon is a Cal alum.
Anyway, I had a difficult choice to make. The first surgeon said I absolutely needed surgery to avoid permanent nerve damage. He recommended an open lumbar laminectomy. Dr. Ivan Cheng at Stanford recommended a microscope surgery, called a microdecompression/microdiscectomy.
The two surgeries are basically the same - cut away a piece of the lamina of the vertebrae to relive pressure, then temporary move the nerve out of the way to cut off the disc herniations. The open surgery meant a much longer recovery, but the micro surgery presents a higher risk of recurrence. Both surgeries might only give me about a 50/50 chance to regain strength in my right foot.
I decided to go with the micro surgery. When the chances of full recovery are that low, I don't see the point in getting the more invasive surgery. If I re-herniate, I'm not even sure I'd go back in for a second surgery. But I figure I have to give my 30-year-old body at least a coin flip at repairing itself.
So I go under the knife in less than twelve hours. I'm not extremely nervous, but I've never had major surgery or been in a hospital, so I've been anxious about this for weeks. Luckily, if all goes well, the micro surgery is outpatient and I could be writhing in pain in my own bed by lunchtime tomorrow.
I've decided to look at this as a wake-up call. I can't just sit at a desk all day, eating junk food and staying sedentary. I really can't do that if I expect to stay away from an operating table for a second time.
These are the steps I have taken:
- I have built a playlist of music to motivate me and keep me focused.
- I bought Giants Crocs so I won't slip and kill myself.
- I bought a PikStik Pro. This is my favorite new toy in months.
- I bought a
These are my goals, in descending order of importance:
- Re-gain strength in my right leg and foot.
- After six months, don't be worse off than when I started.
- Make it to my cousin's wedding in three weeks. I bought a plane ticket, so I fully intend to be there.
- Get down to a reasonable weight by Christmas.
- Try to be able to set comfortably enough to see "The Dark Knight". This is totally beyond my control.
- Watch Battlestar Galactica, season one.
I'm sure I will be spending a lot of time online, in between episodes of Battlestar. If you want to keep tabs on my recovery (and I don't post anything here), try the following sources:
- My Facebook profile
- Follow me on Twitter
- FriendFeed - I'm new to this, but it should aggregate all the other sources.
Thanks everyone for their well wishes and concerns. I don't plan on being down for long.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The fruits of my labor.
I just burned an entire afternoon and evening trying to get my home network file sharing working. Since I finally figured it out, I decided to post about what worked for me in the slight chance someone with the same problem will read this.
I have two Windows XP machines, a desktop and a laptop. They both connect to the Internet fine, and can ping each other. The problem was that the laptop could access the shares on the desktop, but the desktop could not access the shared resources on the laptop.
After many hours, I figured out the problem, at least for me. Here's the solution:
1) On each computer, click Start->Run, and enter "regedit".
2) Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters.
3) See if there is a NodeType or DhcpNodeType parameter (for more info, see this site.
In my case, the desktop didn't have either parameter (the default is 1), but the laptop had DhcpNodeType = 8. To make them match, I deleted the DhcpNodeType value on the laptop.
4) Reboot the PC that you made the changes on.
Worked like a charm for me. As we learned on LOST a couple weeks ago, destiny is a fickle bitch, and apparently so is Windows networking.
I have two Windows XP machines, a desktop and a laptop. They both connect to the Internet fine, and can ping each other. The problem was that the laptop could access the shares on the desktop, but the desktop could not access the shared resources on the laptop.
After many hours, I figured out the problem, at least for me. Here's the solution:
1) On each computer, click Start->Run, and enter "regedit".
2) Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters.
3) See if there is a NodeType or DhcpNodeType parameter (for more info, see this site.
In my case, the desktop didn't have either parameter (the default is 1), but the laptop had DhcpNodeType = 8. To make them match, I deleted the DhcpNodeType value on the laptop.
4) Reboot the PC that you made the changes on.
Worked like a charm for me. As we learned on LOST a couple weeks ago, destiny is a fickle bitch, and apparently so is Windows networking.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
JavaOne 2008!
If you're reading this, I am hopefully already at JavaOne 2008 in San Francisco's Moscone Center, drinking some coffee and waiting comfortably for the keynote to begin.
Hopefully, I am not still asleep in San Jose. Nor am I waiting in some interminable line for my pass. Nor am I wandering the streets of San Francisco, because I was somehow unable to get into the keynote address and the Pavilion isn't open yet.
Why wonder what I'm doing when you can find out? I will be live blogging my first trip to JavaOne (after eight long years looking from the outside in) on my Twitter feed.
Hopefully, I am not still asleep in San Jose. Nor am I waiting in some interminable line for my pass. Nor am I wandering the streets of San Francisco, because I was somehow unable to get into the keynote address and the Pavilion isn't open yet.
Why wonder what I'm doing when you can find out? I will be live blogging my first trip to JavaOne (after eight long years looking from the outside in) on my Twitter feed.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Playing Catch-Up
Almost two months since my last post. I suck at this.
Let's hit the high/lowlights of March and April:
That's all for now. See you in ...July?
Let's hit the high/lowlights of March and April:
- I started Twittering (Twitting? Tweeting? Damn Web 2.0 doublespeak). Well, in any case, Twitter is sort of like a mini-blog, where you can post short entries about anything, no matter how mundane. My three most recent "tweets" are in the sidebar on the right of this page, or you can sign up and "follow" me. I have been spending a lot of time on this lately, probably slowing down my blog output.
- In sports, out with college hoops season. Out with Ben Braun. In with Mike Montgomery. In with baseball season. Out with Giants' playoff hopes, then back in. (Same for entertainment value of 2008 Giants.) Out with Warriors' playoff hopes. In with Cal NFL prospects, out with little remaining faith in the 49ers' front office. Lastly, out with Sharks hockey.
- Democrats still haven't picked a player. Starting to wonder if an election seemingly ripe for the taking will go by the wayside. Hilary doing McCain's work for him. Obama unable to close the deal. Sigh.
- Back flare-up two weekends ago. Using leaf blower and doing actual work apparently through me all out of whack. That's all gone now but still some nerve impingement in my leg, and I think that is still causing me some weakness (although the pain is mostly gone). I am convinced the extra thirty pounds I put on after my wedding is causing all this, and I need to lose at least twenty. So all-you-can-eat ribs tonight were probably a bad idea.
- Layoffs on the way at Sun. What else is new? Seriously, I love working at Sun so I'm hoping that I (again) will make it through unscathed. I think they are on the right track and were just stung by the sluggish U.S. economy. I put full blame for our current stock price on the guy in the white house on Pennsylvania Ave.
- I have four (yes, four) fantasy baseball teams this season, including two in 20-team leagues. That is taking up far too much of my time.
That's all for now. See you in ...July?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Cal 68, New Mexico 66
Cal squeaked one out in the opener of the NIT tonight. They were beneficiaries (for once) of a questionable foul and were able to capitalize at the stripe, whereas New Mexico could not hit a free throw to save their 2008 lives.
It's been fashionable in Berkeley to call for Ben Braun's head on a pike after The team's disappointing run in the Pac-10, but I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Cal's core of players is still very young, and truthfully, I don't think they've learned how to put away an opponent yet. It doesn't help they play in the toughest conference in the NCAA (yes, I said it). They are going to be much better next season, and a run through the NIT is going to give them some much needed experience.
It's been fashionable in Berkeley to call for Ben Braun's head on a pike after The team's disappointing run in the Pac-10, but I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Cal's core of players is still very young, and truthfully, I don't think they've learned how to put away an opponent yet. It doesn't help they play in the toughest conference in the NCAA (yes, I said it). They are going to be much better next season, and a run through the NIT is going to give them some much needed experience.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
A More Perfect Union.
Video, Audio, Transcript: Barack Obama On 'A More Perfect Union'
I voted for Barack Obama in California's primary. It came down to the last day, and was more or less a toss up between him and Hillary. I figured it didn't matter much, since I'd vote for whichever one was still standing in November.
Today, I'm more convinced more than ever I made the right decision. In an age where the spoken word is boiled down to the ten-second soundbyte, I feel today may stand in history as one of the best and most important speeches of my life to date.
When Rev. Jeremiah Wright's inflammatory comments about white people came out a couple days ago, I started getting that sinking feeling that he would drag Obama down with him. I felt it was enough to give people pause about Obama's judgment, especially after he inevitably to distance himself from Wright and denounce what the man had said.
But then something else happened. Obama decided to confront the issue of race in America head-on. He did so honestly and intelligently, without pinning the blame on whites or blacks, and elegantly explaining the point of view of both. In doing so, Obama's words rang with a truth refreshing in the polished and safe world of politics, and in doing so exposed race relations in America for the unhealed wound it really is.
The underlying message I see in Obama's speech is that before we can all get along, we need to understand each other. Trying to believe we are all the same was and is a mistake. In actuality, we are all different, and understanding those differences and embracing diversity is the only way that wound can heal. Part of that is to stop blaming each other for our problems and to start looking inward.
I'm only thirty-one, but I am Chinese and Mexican and, firstly, American. I have friends from many cultures and walks of life, and I have seen and heard a lot that has made my cynical and apathetic about the country I live in. Today I began to understand that I want Obama as President because his candidacy makes me believe this country can be as great as I have been told in school. I need to believe this country isn't what it has been for the last eight years.
Today's speech was a big risk for Obama. After all, he's in the lead. He didn't have to do this. I'm hoping he is rewarded because of it. If he loses the nomination or the election because of this speech, it will be because he told Americans the truth but they did not want to listen.
I voted for Barack Obama in California's primary. It came down to the last day, and was more or less a toss up between him and Hillary. I figured it didn't matter much, since I'd vote for whichever one was still standing in November.
Today, I'm more convinced more than ever I made the right decision. In an age where the spoken word is boiled down to the ten-second soundbyte, I feel today may stand in history as one of the best and most important speeches of my life to date.
When Rev. Jeremiah Wright's inflammatory comments about white people came out a couple days ago, I started getting that sinking feeling that he would drag Obama down with him. I felt it was enough to give people pause about Obama's judgment, especially after he inevitably to distance himself from Wright and denounce what the man had said.
But then something else happened. Obama decided to confront the issue of race in America head-on. He did so honestly and intelligently, without pinning the blame on whites or blacks, and elegantly explaining the point of view of both. In doing so, Obama's words rang with a truth refreshing in the polished and safe world of politics, and in doing so exposed race relations in America for the unhealed wound it really is.
The underlying message I see in Obama's speech is that before we can all get along, we need to understand each other. Trying to believe we are all the same was and is a mistake. In actuality, we are all different, and understanding those differences and embracing diversity is the only way that wound can heal. Part of that is to stop blaming each other for our problems and to start looking inward.
I'm only thirty-one, but I am Chinese and Mexican and, firstly, American. I have friends from many cultures and walks of life, and I have seen and heard a lot that has made my cynical and apathetic about the country I live in. Today I began to understand that I want Obama as President because his candidacy makes me believe this country can be as great as I have been told in school. I need to believe this country isn't what it has been for the last eight years.
Today's speech was a big risk for Obama. After all, he's in the lead. He didn't have to do this. I'm hoping he is rewarded because of it. If he loses the nomination or the election because of this speech, it will be because he told Americans the truth but they did not want to listen.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Might as well make them out of glass.
The right shift key on my Treo 650 is stuck...AGAIN. This makes twice in the last 4 months. I smell design flaw, you can search for "right shift key" and find a horde of Treo users in the same boat. Luckily I'm still under warranty, because as much as I love the Palm and its apps, I wouldn't pay again to have it replaced.
It's not surprising Palm has been almost beaten into extinction. Like TiVo, it seems Palm and all the other technology companies I love tend to rest on their laurels and fall behind the pack. Then they are replaced by inferior but more technologically-advanced competitors.
Replacement phone is coming Monday. When you have an expensive phone, yay for the insurance!
It's not surprising Palm has been almost beaten into extinction. Like TiVo, it seems Palm and all the other technology companies I love tend to rest on their laurels and fall behind the pack. Then they are replaced by inferior but more technologically-advanced competitors.
Replacement phone is coming Monday. When you have an expensive phone, yay for the insurance!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Disaster averted.
Just fixed the hissing noise that developed in the toilet around 11 (we only have one bathroom). It looks like some sediment or other garbage got in the fill valve and it just needed to be flushed out. Thank God for the internet, without which I would've been screwed, as usual.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Gung Hay Fat Choy
My first post of 2008 comes a month-and-a-half into the year. It is, however, only a few days into Chinese New Year. And since I'm half-Chinese, I'll use that as an excuse for not posting lately.
We have been on an exceptionally busy stretch that will continue into March. Bachelor parties, showers, houseguests, comic conventions, dance performances - you name it, we've been there or will be there.
I do feel like I accomplished something today. Not just because I blogged, but also because I got some long-overdue documents in the mail. Stuff I've been putting off since last fall. I always like that feeling of crossing stuff off my list.
Well, don't expect to hear too much from me before mid-March. The only reason I have time to blog tonight is because my teacher wife knocked out at 9 tonight like an octogenarian.
We have been on an exceptionally busy stretch that will continue into March. Bachelor parties, showers, houseguests, comic conventions, dance performances - you name it, we've been there or will be there.
I do feel like I accomplished something today. Not just because I blogged, but also because I got some long-overdue documents in the mail. Stuff I've been putting off since last fall. I always like that feeling of crossing stuff off my list.
Well, don't expect to hear too much from me before mid-March. The only reason I have time to blog tonight is because my teacher wife knocked out at 9 tonight like an octogenarian.
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