Filed under: just life | Tags: flower on left ear, JoyKin IV, obi, sock monkey
The reemergence of JoyKin II reminded me of the custom I once practiced, and since I have a friend moving away next week, what perfect timing it is to restore the good tradition. I got crafty this past week with JoyKin IV, a girl monkey (monkette?) this time. 
Realizing that she has no real womanly attributes other than my deeming it to be female, I gave her what girls love most–accessories. Since her guardian-t0-be is part Japanese who has lived in Hawaii and is engaged to be married, I reflected those traits on JoyKin IV with a plumeria on the left ear (signifying that she’s taken) and an obi around her body. 
I had so much fun creating JoyKin IV that I want to make another, but I don’t want another good friend to move away…it’s a dilemma.
Filed under: just life | Tags: 6@6 Club, Garmin Forerunner 305, GPS watch, Jerry, must try lasagna, risotto primavera
On a more uplifting note, there have been lots of new additions and creations in the last month and a half.
6@6 Club has inducted a new runner since February. Jerry, who is in the US Army Reserve, has started running with us regularly since January to train for his physical exam, for which he needs to meet an 8-something minute mile pace. His exam has been postponed once and again, and he’s still with us, so now he’s a member of the 6@6 Club. He may not know that yet. Go, Jerry, go! (Photo of Jerry to be taken and posted later.)
I finally have a GPS watch! I have been wanting one since July of last year, and for good reasons! (See post gadgets, gadgets, gadgets) Yet with my current running slump, I still have yet to try it out! Instead of the Garmin Forerunner 405, which I had hoped for back then, I got the 305, which actually has better reviews for a fraction of the price.
Almost every runner has one of these. I know I am way behind in the gadget wave, but nonetheless very proud of my ownership.
As for new creations, I have invented many new dishes, with some better than others. I have also collaborated with fellow food-loving friends in trying out exciting recipes. Here are a few highlights.
My version of a risotto primavera with carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, and haricot verts.
Smoked shrimp with veggies and sun dried tomatoes pasta garnished with goat cheese
A GREAT and highly recommended Lasagna all’Emiliana recipe my friend found on the Food Network site. We made our own lasagna pasta from scratch, and it was worth the work (more fun than work, really). The veal ragu took nearly four hours to simmer, and it is layered with a bechamel sauce and parmesan cheese. It is a must try. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
It has been a pretty good month, I’d say!
Sights and smell of the holiday season which has just begun.
Thanksgiving brunch with Ivy, lots of good coffee, cooking with Amy and Nevo and Tosca (who is camera shy), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole–Alton Brown style, Thanksgiving Dinner at Jackie’s (forgot my camera), more cooking the next day with Amy, cranberry orange relish, orange glazed yams, brussels sprouts, tree lighting–all done with spritely christmas music. I love this time of the year.
“The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.” –Hans Hofmann
Sometimes I wish I was one of those cool people who can say “oh, I don’t watch TV, I don’t even have one.” The fact is that even though I don’t watch that much TV, it’s on most of the time when I’m home. I like the sound, I like the moving picture. When I do pay attention to the screen, I watch a fair amount of live sports, news, and a few guilty pleasure shows.
I discovered that my TV has contracted jaundice one weekday morning back in September when I turned it on to watch my morning news shows, and everyone’s face was yellowish green. I instantly reacted with denial–something’s wrong with the cable. I waited until the afternoon, believing that many customers must have called in to the cable company by then to complain, and the problem must be resolved soon, if not already. With one click, I entered the acceptance stage–my TV is sick, and it, like me, has no insurance to get medical help.
Since yellowish green is not very pleasant to the eye, I turned the color down as if turning back time to an old-fashioned black & white television. The novelty of old times wore off in about two weeks. Cooking and fashion shows were uninspiring for obvious reasons, I couldn’t even watch one of the movies because an important detail is supposedly the heroine’s changes in hair color.
We finally got a new used TV last night! We went from a 21″ to 27″, which is huge for our matchbox living room. It almost feels like sitting in the front row of a movie theater. Size, however, does not matter to me (really). What matters is, like a certain automotive commercial says, “when you turn it on, does it return the favor?” It did today.
Filed under: just life
I met a new friend, a friend of a friend who visited this mystical island from a far away land.
The new friend summoned the healing power of a Tiki god on my behalf…
Kanaloa-God of Eternity
As I lifted Kanaloa high towards the heavens, praying to the god for speedy healing, my answer came in a vision:
“Keep waiting.”
Filed under: just life
My wound is so painful today that I’ve been weepy all day.
It’s the worst since my surgery last Wednesday. I’m taking my pain med
and have to wait another 6 hrs to take another. It feels like someone
is taking a shovel and digging in my wound. I’m in so much pain
right now that I’m just crying and don’t know what else I can do.
I am not allowed to run for six weeks. The Honolulu Marathon this year is on December 14, which is five weeks away. My nurse said running after six weeks, yes, strenuous running, no. 26.2 is strenuous, I suppose.
It’s only been three days after my surgery. I have done nothing but eat, sleep, watch movies, read, and pop pain killers–I feel like a glutton.
Despite my usual dislikes for sedentary lifestyles, I much enjoy my present gluttonous state. I resumed to minimal work for the last two days, and found that minimal work is the maximum amount I can handle for now. I come home to sleep for hours at a time, and still crave for more. Social engagements do not interest me one bit. Comatose is enticing. Sounds like the onset of an addiction, I am fully aware. Thus I am weaning off of my pain meds to take regular Tylenol instead.
Please find me help if I don’t write again soon. I am probably sleeping.
It’s been so long since I have had the clarity of thought to write.
Life has not been easy for the last couple of months. My month-long trip was the best thing that has happened to me all year, (well, actually something else was the best thing that has happened to me all year until it had to end…) but I had to come back to real life.
My training has since gotten back on track for the December marathon, but it looks like it will be halted for a few weeks for a minor surgery. I have a (until proven otherwise with a a biopsy) fibroadenoma (a benign tumor) in my right breast. My doctor suggested no running for a few weeks after my surgery, meaning I will have to miss the crucial long runs building up to the race. I don’t know what to do yet. A friend suggested that I start cycling to keep up my cardio and leg strength. Not a bad idea. Now I have to look for a road bike.
