What I REALLY want is for Ale to learn how to perform liposuction. Then all my problems would be solved! Eat as much as I want, whenever, stay thin and light as a feather, forever!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
20 years and a few months
My dang shoulder hasn't magically gotten better after months of waiting patiently for the pain to go away. I don't know what I did to it exactly but it feels like it starts coming out of its socket when I reach a certain way. It's obnoxious. I went to an orthopedic specialist and had it x-rayed last week. Looks like I have a little arthritis starting up from the wear and tear - 800 mg ibuprofen 3 x day for a month along with physical therapy. I think the chub needs work too. The thinner I am the less work my shoulder has to perform in the first place. I was hoping to make it to 50 before I landed in a power chair. It may be sooner.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
20 years
I broke my neck 20 years ago. My face and body are starting to show the years but it is hard to believe. Top 5 lessons from the past 20 years:
5. "Repetition is the mother of learning". Hard things take more repetitions.
4. Balance is critical, literally and figuratively.
3. Surround yourself with good people. The people in your life are the most important.
2. Always stay positive and smile as much as possible. Smiles are contagious.
1. Don't dive into shallow water.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sayings
As I work my way through school there are a few sayings that I remember to keep me going for various reasons. This is one my mother clipped for me years ago that I have not forgotten.
- Calvin Coolidge
Another message about persistence I liked was from a book my brother recommended, Outliers. In the book they studied student performance and found students who do the best in school are those who spend the most time studying/working on their coursework. What a surprise!
The next message is one I remembered and looked up the other day as I observed several people working toward an almost identical goal each claiming it was their idea (important in academics), a situation I have encountered myself. Just when I think I have come with something innovative or new I find that it has already been done.
Ecclesiastes 1:9-14
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no anew thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no aremembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is avanity and bvexation of spirit.
And finally, I find it amusing when people criticize the work of others because it does not match up to their imagination. To these people I say:
Ecclesiastes 9:4
...a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Uuuuhh, kind of works...
Friday, June 5, 2009
People say the darnedest things
The other day I was eating lunch and a guy who I have kind of made a special effort to be nice to (because he's an oddball) walked by and said, "At least you can eat. Huh hu hu ..." Being slightly thrown off I realized it was so bad that it cracked me up.
Most of these crack me up because they are so assuming.
Or how about when people want to identify with me and start telling me about all the handicapped people they know. The one that riles me is the one about the guy who never gave up who is now walking, as if I just gave up and all I have to do is try harder. I thought of good retaliatory story. "My friend doesn't have to wear glasses anymore. It turns out he hadn't been trying to see hard enough. When he started opening his eyes every day for a month suddenly ..."
Top 10 handi-slams people say:
10. "You should use an electric chair."
9. "Hey, you have a pen sliding out of your pant leg..." (urine drain)
8. "You could sell tee shirts for me."
7. "Can you dial a telephone? We have a telemarketing position."
6. "She married you after your accident!?"
5. "I have a severely handicapped friend that looks about the same as you."
4. "We have special equipment for crippled people in the back."
3. "Do the police know that you are driving?"
2. "At least you can eat."
1. "What clobbered you?"
Most of these crack me up because they are so assuming.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Arts and Crafts
I have found that painting and other crafts are a good way to relax and recharge. I discovered this in rehab 18 years ago shortly after I had broken my neck at C6. Our recreational therapist provided paint supplies and a bunch of adaptive equipment to help us newly injured folks take ourselves on a new journey. The first picture I produced was a large yellow and orange sun with a little green and blue earth in front of it. It was latex on Masonite/wood. I remember I loved the vivid colors and the colorful potential that lay before me in the pools of paint. The picture itself wasn't anything to brag about but I really enjoyed working on it and I had found a fun new hobby to explore. If I were to try to apply some kind of metaphor to my sun and earth painting it had something to do with significance.
After I went home from the hospital I went out and bought a bunch of painting supplies as well as a desk with an attachable light. My second painting was a skier carving a turn down a hill of powder that was from a magazine cover. I remember painting the sky and the mountain section on the first day and loving how it turned out. I literally put the painting in my bedroom to look at while I was in bed to enjoy and think about how I would bring the rest of it alive.
In the following days I pushed myself to try to draw the skier. The sky was a good start but really only required large sweeping motions with a brush. The skier would require a lot more detailed lines and shapes and with my arms and hands recently becoming severely paralyzed I had to think about drawing in a new and different way. I had to use different muscles and assistive devices to attach pencils and brushes to my hand. As I swept my arm in various motions I discovered new ways to draw shapes and lines. I drew and painted the skier the best I could and all things considered, it turned out great. It was still pretty remedial in terms of art but that was not at all the point. The point was I loved it. I loved it so much that I would totally lose track of time as I got lost in the colors, the drawing, and my imagination.
I had my wife dig it up ...
I later learned that there is a technique that is taught that has the student look at and draw things in unfamiliar ways, which was exactly what I had to do by necessity. The book that teaches how is called, "Drawing on the right side of the brain". The idea is not to look at and identify the object you are drawing as what it is called, look only at the lines, the colors, the color transitions, and reproduce those. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested.
Since the skier I have painted several other paintings, taken art classes, done some chalk drawings, and have immensely enjoyed arts and crafts. As I look back in my past I have always loved playing with colors. I remember making a discovery in our family basement when I was probably about 4 as I played with my collection of plastic colored nuts and bolts. I remember identifying which colors I liked together. Red and blue was my favorite combo while I was a little disappointed with the yellow and red combination, the blue and the orange, and so on (what a fun thing to remember, I have always remembered this little discovery but I don't think I have ever told the story). Too bad it took me so long to rediscover that I like mixing and comparing colors. Arts and crafts are a great way to explore one's imagination.
After I went home from the hospital I went out and bought a bunch of painting supplies as well as a desk with an attachable light. My second painting was a skier carving a turn down a hill of powder that was from a magazine cover. I remember painting the sky and the mountain section on the first day and loving how it turned out. I literally put the painting in my bedroom to look at while I was in bed to enjoy and think about how I would bring the rest of it alive.
In the following days I pushed myself to try to draw the skier. The sky was a good start but really only required large sweeping motions with a brush. The skier would require a lot more detailed lines and shapes and with my arms and hands recently becoming severely paralyzed I had to think about drawing in a new and different way. I had to use different muscles and assistive devices to attach pencils and brushes to my hand. As I swept my arm in various motions I discovered new ways to draw shapes and lines. I drew and painted the skier the best I could and all things considered, it turned out great. It was still pretty remedial in terms of art but that was not at all the point. The point was I loved it. I loved it so much that I would totally lose track of time as I got lost in the colors, the drawing, and my imagination.
I had my wife dig it up ...
I later learned that there is a technique that is taught that has the student look at and draw things in unfamiliar ways, which was exactly what I had to do by necessity. The book that teaches how is called, "Drawing on the right side of the brain". The idea is not to look at and identify the object you are drawing as what it is called, look only at the lines, the colors, the color transitions, and reproduce those. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested.Since the skier I have painted several other paintings, taken art classes, done some chalk drawings, and have immensely enjoyed arts and crafts. As I look back in my past I have always loved playing with colors. I remember making a discovery in our family basement when I was probably about 4 as I played with my collection of plastic colored nuts and bolts. I remember identifying which colors I liked together. Red and blue was my favorite combo while I was a little disappointed with the yellow and red combination, the blue and the orange, and so on (what a fun thing to remember, I have always remembered this little discovery but I don't think I have ever told the story). Too bad it took me so long to rediscover that I like mixing and comparing colors. Arts and crafts are a great way to explore one's imagination.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Freedom
I recently started a new job. I left my old job primarily because I had lost faith in the leadership and I didn't sense there was adequate growth potential without going and working on a project that I am not at all interested in working on.
My new job is a more senior position even though my previous job was a "senior" position as well. The thing that I love the most about my job, so far, is the freedom I have. There isn't anyone standing in my way except me, myself, and I. There is something huge about this for me, no excuses other than my own incompetence, which somehow challenges me more.
The other thing that motivates me about my new position is the relevancy of my success. The project I am in charge of designing has a very large and important end goal. It is also very challenging and many are speculating we will not succeed. So part of my challenge is to manage expectations while keeping a positive outlook. The "mojo" of a project is everything I have learned.
My old boss was excellent at managing the higher-ups; the one that just left the project; the one who actually sought after me to hire me. I am certainly going to miss him. He has been a friend and leader for me to learn from for many years, but, it adds to my freedom level to some extent. He is really the only other person I currently know who I feel like can add value to what we are doing, but at the end of the day I was hired to figure out the solution. With him gone I will design and create this new system primarily. How fun!
Freedom is even bigger for me than I would have anticipated even 1 year ago. Strap on your seat belt, we are going for a ride and I'm driving. The appropriate question is, "Do the police know you [I] are driving?". More on that one later ...
My new job is a more senior position even though my previous job was a "senior" position as well. The thing that I love the most about my job, so far, is the freedom I have. There isn't anyone standing in my way except me, myself, and I. There is something huge about this for me, no excuses other than my own incompetence, which somehow challenges me more.
The other thing that motivates me about my new position is the relevancy of my success. The project I am in charge of designing has a very large and important end goal. It is also very challenging and many are speculating we will not succeed. So part of my challenge is to manage expectations while keeping a positive outlook. The "mojo" of a project is everything I have learned.
My old boss was excellent at managing the higher-ups; the one that just left the project; the one who actually sought after me to hire me. I am certainly going to miss him. He has been a friend and leader for me to learn from for many years, but, it adds to my freedom level to some extent. He is really the only other person I currently know who I feel like can add value to what we are doing, but at the end of the day I was hired to figure out the solution. With him gone I will design and create this new system primarily. How fun!
Freedom is even bigger for me than I would have anticipated even 1 year ago. Strap on your seat belt, we are going for a ride and I'm driving. The appropriate question is, "Do the police know you [I] are driving?". More on that one later ...
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Sitting and waiting ... nice?
I read an old journal the other day, one that ended just before I broke my neck. It was interesting to read about what I had on my mind at the time. There were a bunch of frustrated thoughts about girls, thoughts about college, descriptions of some partying, guilt for not studying, guilt for not being an active church member; they were my invincible days. Anyway, I have had a lot of heavy thoughts on my mind so I thought it might be a good time to write.
It is Memorial Day weekend of 2008 and we are spending the weekend in St. George with Ale's parents and friends Elsa and Bettie. Today was frustrating for me because everyone wants to go out and do everything and I feel like I am the one that forces everyone else to be at the quadriplegic-level for entertainment. I really just wanted to stay at the house and enjoy everything there, but no, we all have to go and do something. So I agree knowing exactly what is going to happen before we leave hoping that maybe I am wrong and we can get lucky and there will actually be an accessible hike or something. Well, I wasn't wrong and frankly it was really lame to sit in the car for nearly two hours waiting for everyone to go on a hike while I sat there and waited. Luckily I took my iPod with some pod casts loaded. This is pretty common, I am being some kind of disabling non-believer if I don't want to go, and then I sit in the car and wait instead at least having the freedom to move about the house. I really need to be more firm and just say no from now on and stop trying to be nice and/or please everyone else.
The preferable way is to let (tell) the people go and come back to say, "It was prefect for you", and then go wherever they went next time rather than wait in the car ... waiting in the car drives me a little nuts and it takes time for me to cool down my frustration level after it happens. It feels inconsiderate when I say "go ahead" and then I sit there for almost two hours when I thought I was agreeing to wait for 30 minutes (which was stated). Time is important to me. I did my best to stay mellow but I let it ruin most of my day.
It is Memorial Day weekend of 2008 and we are spending the weekend in St. George with Ale's parents and friends Elsa and Bettie. Today was frustrating for me because everyone wants to go out and do everything and I feel like I am the one that forces everyone else to be at the quadriplegic-level for entertainment. I really just wanted to stay at the house and enjoy everything there, but no, we all have to go and do something. So I agree knowing exactly what is going to happen before we leave hoping that maybe I am wrong and we can get lucky and there will actually be an accessible hike or something. Well, I wasn't wrong and frankly it was really lame to sit in the car for nearly two hours waiting for everyone to go on a hike while I sat there and waited. Luckily I took my iPod with some pod casts loaded. This is pretty common, I am being some kind of disabling non-believer if I don't want to go, and then I sit in the car and wait instead at least having the freedom to move about the house. I really need to be more firm and just say no from now on and stop trying to be nice and/or please everyone else.
The preferable way is to let (tell) the people go and come back to say, "It was prefect for you", and then go wherever they went next time rather than wait in the car ... waiting in the car drives me a little nuts and it takes time for me to cool down my frustration level after it happens. It feels inconsiderate when I say "go ahead" and then I sit there for almost two hours when I thought I was agreeing to wait for 30 minutes (which was stated). Time is important to me. I did my best to stay mellow but I let it ruin most of my day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)