Kung Fu Panda

My friend Betty and I went to see Kung Fu Panda this evening and I'm exhausted. I noted an amazing example of absorbing the opponent's energy and turning it around against the opponent. It was a very good movie. Thanks for the recommendation.

Saw the doctor this afternoon. I only have to use the sling to rest my shoulder and should take it off as much as possible. I was even told I could sleep on my new shoulder, if it doesn't hurt too much. Yeah, right. The instruction to wear the sling at night is because some people sleep very heavily and toss and turn and end up with their arm in positions it's not ready for yet. I can't imagine surviving the pain that would cause. I start physical therapy on the 9th. I only will need 4-6 visits but I know I'll have "homework."

All in all, I'm pleased. I still feel pain (duh, after only 2 weeks, of course I feel pain) but I have the good stuff for night to sleep with and ibuprofen and ice during the day. I guess I'll be ready to drive in and work a full day or 4 next week. In the meantime, I'm still working from home. I have some of my work downloaded to my hard drive and discovered if I disconnect from vpn my computer works much faster. So if anyone from work reads this, that's why I'm not always on top of my Notes e-mail.

Remember, there is no secret ingredient.

I guess I've fallen off the blog

I've been working my little fingers to the bone at work. We are in the middle of a huge project to prepare for database publishing of our catalog. The last catalog was almost 1300 pages. This one will be comparable. The new software should make life easier once it's set up.

In the meantime, I still go to tai chi. That really helps me stay centered and helps me stay calm. This is my 15th anniversary. I joined Sifu Calph in early March, 1993, and haven't left yet.

When I'm not working, I knit. I just frogged a pair of socks I was knitting for the second time. I totally underestimated how much yarn I had. I'd run out the first time, so I started again, this time toe-up, on smaller needles. But I still couldn't get past the top of the gussets. Pooh. So I figured I'd let the yarn age a while in little balls.

Now I'm working on Lorna's Laces Spring Forward '08 colorway from Jimmy Beans Wool on a long size 2 (US) flexible needle. As you can see, I'm working both socks at the same time. The pattern is pretty much made up. Once I got to the body of the sock, I started the top side (32 stitches) k4, p2, *k1, p2* to the last 4 stitches, then k4.


It makes a rather nice pattern. I hope it isn't too lumpy when I'm wearing shoes. Here it is a little closer.


Well, back to them. Would you believe I started these last weekend. I'm making great progress for someone with no time.

BLOG used to mean something else

I find it interesting that I BLOG. I know it means weblog but it used to mean something else. Like now, while I'm fighting off the effects of a cold, just 3 days from getting on a plane to fly to Jamaica. BLOG is the word I would say back in the 1900s.

We used a few other strange acronyms. IGAS meant "I Give A Sh#$" and was usually said in a bland sort of way.

BLOG is how I got up this morning after essentially no sleep last night. I took a sudafed. I don't know if it kept me awake. It kept me breathing. That's important. But today was the tai chi demonstration for my Sifu's boss: the US Government. Someone from Washington DC was in town and the Colonel decided to have "events" in her honor. So we spent an hour demonstrating what we do at the school. Dave, Warren, Sifu, and I had a great deal of fun. Sifu performed all the forms: cane, fan, 40-form, sword, broadsword (saber), 2-person form, applications. She's amazing, which is why I have stayed with her for 14+ years.

I'm busy planning what to take to Jamaica. I'm knitting an alpaca and sparkles scarf. It may end up with the sparkles on the ends and plain "Ruby" in the middle. Ruby is the animal it came from. I'm also bringing socks, er, not socks but sock stuff. I have one and a half pair already done to take along. Unfortunately, it is going to be a bit loose. I used US3 needles for the first completed pair and they are too big. Panda bamboo and cotton does not, repeat, not shrink, no matter how hard I try.

So I'm waiting for my Jimmy Beans Wool order to arrive. The tracking says UPS will get it to me tomorrow, Thursday. We leave at Oh Dark Thirty Saturday, so I should be fine. I ordered a couple 40" US2 circular needles to do the magic loop sock knitting trick. It'll be my first but I have a book in case I forget due to lack of sleep or something.

Watch this blog for vacation posts. If we have a decent internet connection, that is. I'll try to get one photo up Sunday.

Tai Chi

Fall is officially here. The weekend after labor day, David hosted a lovely dinner party at the campground. There were two other couples with whom we hadn't socialized much over the years. It was fun to get to know them.

This is the meat he cooked on his grill. It is in the process of being seared here. I didn't get a photo of the finished meat. We were too busy eating and making "yummy" sounds.





Another harbinger of fall is Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong's annual visit to Chinatown Tai Chi Center. That's me in the upper left corner with my head cut off. The next photo is Grandmaster demonstrating Fair Lady Works the Shuttle on Jerry.





This is a photo of Grandmaster holding the snuff bottle I gave to him. He really liked it. He went into great detail telling how these bottles are painted on the inside with tiny little brushes that have a bend in them.
















I want to thank my "co-mother-in-law" for finding and acquiring this snuff bottle for me. She collects them and knows several good sources.

Tai Chi is something I really enjoy. I credit tai chi with keeping my joints moving. I'm developing osteoarthritis and have already gotten one shoulder joint replaced. I have full range of motion in that shoulder because of tai chi. When I can, I'll get the other replaced as well. And I know I'll attain full motion in that one, too.

"Drunken Sots" = 0 "Martial Artist" = 1

While at the Xcel Energy Center to see the Blue Man show, I was trying to listen to and understand the opening act. Unfortunately, there were two women sitting behind us who were talking/shouting.

This was rude/distracting so I turned around and asked if they would please be quiet. The blonde sitting closest to me leaned forward and yelled that the show hadn't started yet. I said that this was the opening act and that I had paid for it and wanted to hear it. She leaned even closer to me (I could smell the beer) and started swearing/yelling: "If you had asked nicely, I would have been fxxxxxx happy to be fxxxxxx quiet."

I don't really remember everything that was said. Her blonde hair was up against my forehead and she was screaming and pretty incoherent. I yelled something back and raised my right arm in a tai chi chuan Ward Off position and pushed her back. She began to scream "She hit me! She hit me!" Her companion began to pull her away and suggest they go see an usher. The blonde screamed that that was a good idea.

I and my companions were relieved that she was gone and my companions all said they would speak up for me to the usher if necessary. I had obviously not hit this person but gently and slowly pushed her out of my face.

When the usher did finally come down to talk to us, he looked abashed and said simply, "We need this to go away" and shook his head. I'm a gray-haired 60-year-old woman. My equally old guyfriend and I both told the usher that this would be perfectly fine with us.

By the way, the Blue Man show was very good. And yes, the two women did return to their seats. They continued to talk but not louder than the show.

Live like you were dying...

There's a tune on the radio (Delilah's show actually) about a guy who gets bad news from his doctor. His friend asks him what he did when he found out and he listed the many things he did because he "lived like he was dying."

I went to a memorial gathering for the husband of a good friend. He was only 60 but because he'd smoked for years and chewed tobacco, he got esophageal cancer. It took a lot of months of chemo and radiation, and they thought they'd beat it. His esophagus was clear; he could eat again. But then the cancer turned up in his brain. The chemo is poison and supposed to kill the cancer. It's also hard on the body. He lost ground so thoroughly that, once he actually "gave up" it only took a few days for him to die.

So, let it be a lesson to us all, live like you were dying. Be the friend/sibling/child/parent/spouse you always thought you should be. Resentments are really meaningless to the person you resent and serve mostly to waste your time and energy. Forgive and live. Love everyone you know. Go where you've always wanted to go. Do things you've only thought of doing. Try something new and don't worry about whether you can or not. Just try it.