The end is near.

Only a week ago, I saw David for what will be my last visit with him.  Yesterday, he called Linda up to say goodbye and we talked for a bit.  His conversation kept dropping off as the fatigue and drugs took their toll.  When it was over, Linda and I noted that it was one of the weirdest conversations we had ever had on the phone.  I felt like I was listening to someone at the bottom of a well, someone a long way away struggling to make himself heard.  He had called to say goodbye.  And we did.  And I wanted him to keep talking but knew that he couldn't.  He finally said that he was tired and was going to close his eyes.  And that was it.

Been crying off and on for days now.  Going to be a hard couple of days.

Here's how my day went

Woke up and had pie.  So good so far.  Then Sophie said she felt bad, and then barfed.  My Mom called and told me that their phones were almost dead and they had no power.  Or heat.  So, I cancel my lunchdate with Rachelle (which I had totally been looking forward to), and drive to Arcadia with a stove, flashlights, and a phone charger.   Trees down everywhere and a general lack of traffic lights make means it takes three times as long to drive anywhere once you leave the freeway.

   I get to my dad's house, he walks out to say hi, and explains that he needs help fixing the toilet...in his apartment...which he was trying to fix earlier that morning...two weeks after getting out of the hospital.  He then mumbles that he's tired, looks kind of odd for a second, and falls straight backwards, his head going into a bush instead of the concrete walkway a foot away.

   He refuses help getting up and lays on the ground for a minute or two before very slowly getting up.  At this point, he lets me talk him into staying home while I go to Home Depot to get the toilet parts.  But before that, I decide to set up a camp stove for them. Cause, you know, hot food.

    As I plug in a brand-new canister of fuel in my previously trusty Coleman Exponent stove, the seal somehow ruptures and a stream of cloudy white butane comes shooting out the top.  Backpacking, burning man, car camping.  I frantically rush it out the back door and watch it slowly spray butane all over the backyard.  Happily, there was one can of gas left that was fine.  I made dad some soup, his first hot food in >24 hours.

   On the way to Home Depot, I find a Donut place open.  They have six donuts left.  That's it.  This will be the last place that has food I find open the rest of the day.  It takes an hour to get to the store and back.

   I drive both of my folks to the apartment  and fix their toilet surprisingly easily (the whole time trying to convince my dad that spending money on a plumber is not wasting money).  Afterwards, we drive around looking for a restaurant that's open.  We find a restaurant and go in.  Well, almost go in, as Dad begins to buckle at the knees again just before we walk in.  At this point, he (amazingly!) suggests that he should probably go home and lay down.

    At home, he feels better and my mom asks if we can go get some windshield wipers.  Because she needs new wipers.  My dad says that he'll drive to the dealer tomorrow to get them.  It's just over in Pasadena.  sigh.  So, I drive to the pep boys nearby and buy wipers in a dark, but open store.  On the way back, my mom and I look for food, get stuck at intersections, and find that about 1 in every 6 blocks is blocked by downed trees.  This takes an hour and a half.

   Then it's off to visit David.  Who was setting up an XBox and looked a tad cranky.  Which, frankly, suited me fine.  We smoked a bowl together, this was the highlight of my day.

    I make it home, and find that Ricky's teacher had given him an essay. On Friday.  Due Tuesday.  And by essay, I mean that she wants Eight Fucking questions answered in "complete" paragraph form.  I've scanned the assignment to give you a complete idea.  Oh yes, this was in addition to the powerpoint presentation due, and the three page homework also due.  This is all in one class.  In sixth grade.  Which essentially means that i) I have to write the paper for him ii) we spend four to five hours a day on the weekend and monday to finish it iii) we tell him to blow it off, which he doesn't want to do.

    Sophie feels better.  My dad says his back is sore but he's OK. I'm going to watch a movie.

Haloween

Dragged my sorry ass off the couch on saturday night.  I had spent the whole day helping out with kid's class at the dojo, then doing the tests, then having the dojo anniversary party, so I was understandably tired.  But I rallied and made it to BootieLA mashup night.  I wore the Samurai Hello Kitty outfit and ended up winning the "mashup" category costume contest.  I paid for dinner with Eric and Noosha with the winnings, and still came out ahead for the night.  It felt great to go dance and be in a nightclub and stay out until 3am.  Though I must admit to being super tired Sunday.

On a much less happy note, my dad had his kidney taken out today.  It should treat the cancer, but the recovery seems a bit unpleasant.

Still sick

I got a flu last week after drinking with shady at the york in eagle rock.  My hangover kept getting worse until I finally admitted it was a flu.  Which went away and became a lingering cough coupled with fatigue.  Which has lasted a week.  And then I got a migraine in the morning yesterday.

Make the weekend come now.

Welcome Back!

    I had my welcome back day at work, where the staff get together and meet before the students arrive.  We had a seriously dismal budget projection.  As in the worst I've ever seen.  As is laying off part-timers and closing some departments.  My job is super-secure, but it was a real gut-punch of a talk.
   Then the chief of police gave a presentation on the new emergency preparedness systems and what we can do in the event of an "active shooter" on campus.  Including videos of how to conduct a lockdown.  Which involves making a fort out of desks and hiding in the dark.
   My co-worker turned to me and said, "so the message is 'we have no money and are going to get killed'".

   It'll be an interesting year.

at least you have two kidneys

My dad found he has a 5cm lump in his kidney, meaning he'll have to have surgery to have it removed.  With luck, it'll be local and he'll be fine.  If not, chemo and radiation are generally useless.  On the plus side, it explains why he's been having so many problems related to his blood sugar and mood swings.
    He's getting a scan (SPECT?) monday, they'll know more after that.

   I just finished reading "the emperor of all maladies", a biography of cancer.  It was a tough read, though very well written and really engaging.  I wish it wasn't so pertinent.

Backpacking

Went out for three days and two nights to Lone Pine and the Cottonwood Lakes area.  I handled the altitude quite well this time, my knee felt crappy the second day, probably the result of going off-trail and hopping over rocks, roots and branches for hours.  I went with Kris, the second time we've gone out backpacking.  A fine travelling companion, not too fast, flexible, good company.

It's nice to be home, I've only got a few days off before I have to go back to work!

hectic august

so many things to do, so few days left.  I'm going to go backpacking in two days, then a few days at home taking care of the kids before spending a week at Camarillo training. Then a few more days at home before heading back to work.  Then the playa.

I'm awaiting a check for editing a manuscript this summer.  I'm planning on blowing most of it on a nice new mountain bike.  mmm, shiny, shiny bike

Just picked up a new computer...

Made an impulse buy of a new laptop at Staples, a $350 16" HP laptop.  $350! crazy good value.  But it's a nice fast office machine.  I suppose I'll put off the iPad purchase for awhile longer.

Went off to Ojai for the day, hanging out in the lovely hotel, shopping at thrift stores and eating.  I picked up a little desk that had a vintage sewing machine.  I've finally got a little workspace at home!  The tablet PC will now become a full-time lecture/powerpoint aid.

Riding

Splat and I went out for a mid-day ride at China Camp. The trail has several lovely views of the bay, and some sections with lovely redwood trees.  A fun 11 mile ride with nice up and downs, nothing too steep or technical.  We're probably going to do it again today, and then I'll probably head back home.

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WTF?

Woke up to find my car had been paintballed 5 times.  Which is the second time this has happened, (and it's been egged once).  Have I pissed some neighbor off?  Random minor vandalism?  Why only every six months or so?  Anyone else's car?
Thinking seriously of getting a nightime camera system.

Mostly fun

Went to the Benton Hot Springs with a smaller group this year.  Pleasant road trip up, stopped in Fossil falls and mostly hung out in camp.  A tad warm but lovely at night.  Noosha had gotten a migraine at night, so I gave her my Relpax and rubbed her head until she felt better.  On the way down, stopped in Whitney Portal, where I got a migraine.  A mild one, but it made the drive down in the light unpleasant.  Stupid head.  At least my migraines are a sign of my genius.  and Noosha's genius.

I can't see what could go wrong....

Motorized!

Here's a shot of the aftermath...  The music synced up oddly well, we used "thus sprach zarathustra" and the benny hill theme music "yakity sax".

Next year, two wheels!

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I'm so very old

I'm a ball of injuries, all resulting from stupid non-heroic actions.  My wrist is sprained from hammering the shed, my back is tweaked from lifting a piece of pegboard overhead, and now, my knee popped while goofing around with the kids.  Hopping across a line.  I'm hoping it gets better quickly, but it's freaky to feel the same injury in the same spot in the same knee as before.  If my summer biking season is ruined, I'll be ever so pissed.

Shed building

Spent the last few days tearing the roof off the shed, then the walls, then fuck it, rebuilt the whole foundation.  It's been five or six days of work, but almost done with the interior at least.  A few more days and I'll have a much better work area!

Last Kyu test

I passed my first kyu test yesterday.  Which, confusingly, is the last one before the "black belt" test.  It went well enough, though I felt a bit under the weather the day before.  After the test, I rode over to Frosty Queen for a milkshake.   Ice creamy goodness.

That and getting grades turned in were my last two "must do" things before I felt like I was really on break.  Now, it's mostly goofing around. hurray!

Desert weekend

A lovely weekend with my friends.  Fireworks, high winds, drinking, driving, hanging out.
David and Fuzzy took lots of great pictures.  Like these...

Makes me want to go out again before it gets too hot.  

Marie

This is my friend Marie Panec.  I've worked with her for fourteen years now.  She died yesterday suddenly of a stroke.  She was the chair of the bio dept., a great colleague, and great fun to be around.  I've been walking around in a state of shock all morning.  Lots of us are cancelling classes and mostly just standing around trying to figure out whether they can make it through a lecture without losing focus or crying.

  The last time I saw her was Saturday at Gene's party, holding a tray of cheesecake she had made.  We talked about the right way to make cheesecake, without too much sugar and a slightly crunchy crust.
I'll miss you.

Last big task of the year

My co-worker in the office next to me is retiring after 40 years of teaching.  40 years.  (Actually, he's going to be a part-time instructor next year, but still)  So we had a party for him, which had a budget about 1% of the Grilled Cheese Invitational, and made me appreciate how much of a hassle the GCI must be.  Things I learned:  Never share planning with anyone.  Shared decision making equals someone (me) getting annoyed.  2)  Folding chairs get very heavy  3)  When someone's grown son talks about how he went into teaching because his dad was his hero, I get choked up and almost cry.  almost.   4)  Everybody loves gift iPads.

Best of luck Gene!

EASTER EGG BODY CHECK!

Easter lunch at my mom's place.  It was also her birthday.  Linda and I summoned all the energy we had post-GCI.  Which meant we almost fell asleep at the table.

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Grilled Cheese

This was the first year I've ever worked the stage, and acted as a runner for the GCI.  It turns out that you actually get to eat if you're a runner.  Maybe eat a bit too much.  Especially if you add 10 hours of sun and a few beers, you get really really tired after it's all over.

My student who decided to enter the competition without knowing that I was at all involved with the event won first place!  She made a soup-in-the-sandwich sandwich which was weird and fun and actually tasty.

Great fun seeing everyone, especially XTC.  Unless she doesn't read this, in which case I find her remote and low-energy.

Finals, and...

I'm getting down to the last few weeks of school.  Just past the drop w/a "W" deadline.  Last week was a bunch of panic about student's grades, and a lot of stress of G. Berg's retirement party and how much to charge.  Then the Grilled Cheese Invitational is tomorrow, I'll be spending the whole day helping out.  And then Easter is sunday, along with my mom's birthday.  It seems every day is filled with something to do, somewhere to take the kids, a stack of paper to grade, or a something I have to attend.

Next weekend is the retirement part, then the weekend after is finals, and the Cuddeback trip with Mike L.  Summer break, here I come! 

CycLAvia

I had a totally fun afternoon at the cycLAvia event.  I went by Rachelle's place and fixed up her fixie (mostly pumped up her tires, and diagnosed a broken spoke).  There was an amazing contrast between riding on Wilshire with buses, cars and general downtown craziness; and the arrival at the suddenly empty side streets feeding into the route.  And then, totally cycling bliss!  I laughed out loud so many times as I was surrounded by traffic jams of riders at the crossing points, at the sea of riders around, at blowing past stop signs in front of police, legally.  We rode to the bicycle kitchen, and had an awesome pizza and beer.  I haven't seen so many bikes outside of the playa.  wonderful!

back from my conference

Went to my annual chemistry teacher's conference this weekend.  It was an hour drive, last year was in SF.  It was also a bit smaller, but had some nice stuff.  A good talk on the value of on-line homework systems and how they actually do work.  A good presentation on the OWL system of on-line homework, and a chance to chat with more faculty I met last year, including the trio from East LA college, the fellow from Cabrillo college, the CCSF crew, the LA city college folks.

Spring Break

Just finished up spring break, a pretty uneventful one.  I cleaned all my bikes, gardened, went to a party at Patrick's.  Went skiing twice at mountain high, both times it was really slushy and warm.  Of course, as soon as vacation ends, they have the biggest storm of the year!  Back to the grind today, six more weeks until summer!

Nashbar touring frame build...

Everytime I build a bike, there that moment where you realize you need to order yet another part. This time, I found that the frame doesn't accommodate road brakes. Well, I could try and put long reach calipers on it, but I don't have any. So, I ordered some cheap v-brakes, and, after talking to forbes st the dojo, I ordered some new brake levers as my old ones won't be compatible with linear pull brakes.
I also had to order a front derailleur, as the frame doesn't have a braze point, and I don't have the right clamp.
So, I'm back to waiting for the ups man. I think I'll be able to build the whole thing in one swoop on the weekend. So long to wait.

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And so it begins

Building a new bike, here are the boxes! Nashbar touring frame and fork and crank. More to come...

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Birfday

I had a small gathering at the house for my birthday.  Linda got me the espresso maker I had been saving up for; yeah, espresso!  I was a nice time, I ate about 4 cupcakes, which were even better after a month of no sweets.  Speaking of which, I'll never not eat cake again.  But, not eating cake did make me realize that I had fallen into the trap of eating sweets at nearly every meal.  or instead of a meal.  After the initial indulgence, I'm trying to taper into a more reasonable carb intake.

Food!

Behind the chex mix is the valentines candy, still uneaten.

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Today's buffet

Try one, they're good!

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your cheating heart

This happened awhile ago, but I came across the paper while cleaning, and it still makes me laugh. As backstory, the test involved trying to identify common Labs equipment: beakers, Bunsen burner, and some forceps & crucible tongs.The last two items are what caused the trouble for this pair. The small tweezers (or forceps) were identified as... well see for yourself.. . And the larger crucible tongs... so much delight...

21.28mph

This is ricky rolling down the pathway at o'melvany park. It's a nice half-mile long strip with a steady steep drop. It was nice to see him actually enjoying biking more; he ended up doing the run three times. On one of the runs, he carried the phone and recorded his speed with MyTracks, just like dad.

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One Week!

Well, except for finishing a bar of chocolate last week, I haven't had any cakes or sweets for a week.  I haven't been craving them, but I certainly don't feel any better either.  I have been having my usual toast and jam for breakfast, so I think I'll switch that to toast and eggs next week.

Toxic work environment

    I decided to stop eating pastries for February.  Probably the best thing about growing up Catholic is a fondness for self-denial.  And the delight of giving in to temptation.

   One problem is my work serves as a dumping ground for desserts.  Literally every day is a new pile of food, usually brought in by my very nice lab techs who delight in seeing everyone eat.  Eat!  It's Good!  Try it!  Today was Chinese New Year leftovers, and a bucket of chocolate chip cookies, valentine chalky candies, and pretzels.  It makes me sympathize with those who diet more seriously; you can say no nineteen times, but the one yes a day can ruin it all.

   And on another note, our campus wireless network is either 1) slow (1mbs) and you have to keep logging in every time you wake up your phone, or 2) faster (8 mbs, with 19 mbs upload!) but impossible to stay logged into.  I then realized that my T-mobile connection was rated at 7.5 mbs, which means I'm almost at the point that I don't need IT at all.  The only service they provide is the ethernet connection, which is more reliable than the 3G network.

First tracks

Worth waking up early for...

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Friday skiing

Went up early to mountain high again yesterday. I only skied until noon ish this time, I started to feel kind of tired. I did manage to do 45mph this time, along with a few wrecks.
I'm currently surrounded by 148 exams. I really should have spent friday working...

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Dinner

This time I tried the rapid riser yeast, with better for bread flour, ice cubes for steam in the oven, and egg white wash for color.
Came out great with nice crust.

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Getting organized

I decided to get more organized this year.  So, in honor of Elmo, my smite list or organization.

   1)  changes to passwords:  I'm kind of freaked out by how many passwords I can't remember that are stored on my machine.  I need to sit down and switch to a three to five tier security system of passwords.

   2)  School:  I put my grades online at dropbox, so the students can see them at any time.  All labs grades are automatically entered and updated.  DONE!


   3)  Evernote:  I've started experimenting with Evernote to organize my school projects and writing.  I think I may actually upgrade to the PRO version to store my docs there as well.  I've already noticed that I love being able to mix handwritten notes (or phone pics of them), and research articles.  I think I may have finally found a way to organize my lab manuals! 

   4)  Music:  I want to cleanup and retag lots of my iTunes library so i can actually make genre playlists.

   5)  School: create exam keys at the same time I create the exams.  Let's face it, I'm going to do the work anyway, I might as well do it early.

  6)  Bookmarks:  I'll be moving to a new laptop soon, so it's a good time to rethink my browser and bookmarks choices.  Switch to chrome?  Anyway, I need to clear out my old bookmarks and only put it the ones I actually need.

   7)  Ricky's closet:  There's a big closet in there, I need to get banker boxes and get my stuff put away, and to make it easy for him to store his increasingly large collection of crap.

    8)  Garage:  Do the annual "take a bunch of boxes down, relabel, and put them back up" afternoon.

More from ricky..."the end is beer"

Sometimes I need him to explain what's going on in his comics, and sometimes I don't. This is one that I figured out on my own.
I really killed the expressions on their faces.

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Ricky's comics

In this comic, the ninja is going to steal gold from this machine which powers the factory owned by "Keil Enterprises". You can see the name on the factory guards helmet.

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A day of skiing

Went to Mountain High yesterday.  Woke up at 6:30am; took about 1 h and 15 minutes to get to the East Side.  Lovely morning, about 48oF.  Hardly anyone was there at the 8:30 opening.  I was able to ski all day without any lines at all, just run after run on the groomed snow.  I had my phone running MyTracks on all day, collecting statistics about my runs.  Assuming a 50:50 split between lift chair distance and skiing distance, I skied 27 miles.  According to the phone, I hit a peak speed of 52.0 mph, with most peak speeds in the 40-45 mph range.  Max grade was 60%.

   At some point during the day, I looked at the data and saw the 52mph stat.  Which seemed great, but then I spent the rest of the day thinking, "52mph?  that's crazy, you know what happens if you crash at 52 mph?!"  It felt great to get back on harder terrain after skiing with Ricky last time. 

    Here's a picture of the horrible crowds.  Most of the day, people wouldn't even double up on the quads, the waits were so short.

  Anyway, a lovely day.   Sunny skies, no lines, listening to music, good snow, $30 lift ticket.  Afterwards, Linda took me out to the Foundry on Melrose for awesome food.  

My year at the dojo

At the end of each class, you're supposed to record your hours; when you' ve gotten enough accumulated, you're allowed to test for your next rank.
When I look at the while year of little x marks, I realized that i' ve had a pretty consistent year, no giant gaps from bad colds, or bouts of "screw it, i'm staying home and having a beer tonight"

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Vacation stuff

Winter break is almost over. Here's Sophie at limekiln canyon park, which we renamed in-n-out burger adventure park, as it's one block from the local burger place. We often go to play in the.creek after eating a pile of beef.

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New year's resolutions

Buy one of these. Right? It's not I like am going to stop drinking espresso anytime soon.

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