Did another #lafires trip South, this time to The Dream Center in LA, last time was the Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach. Wow! what a turnout of cars, volunteers, food trucks, and corporate donations 💙🇺🇸
Omw down I heard the above song and how apropos was that 😍
Two of my patients run a thrift store up here and they received a ton of stuff to donate. It's a Mom and daughter and they're the middle of that four generation family at our office 😁
ArizonaMike wife sent $ and I got stuff from Walmart.
Took a Side trip to Santa Monica pier for Beach Therapy and a hike, of course 😆
Just tryna do the best I can with whatever time that I have left. I'm so Blessed to still be here over 10 years after and wanna Spread Aloha whilst I'm still able
between your patients, working clearing out houses, travel , beach vibing and representing for our passed brothers , ….. I Dunno how you have time for anything else , wow. You have a big heart buddy.
Mahalo nui loa Bruddah Kal, ya know how hyper I am, that may be part of why I'm still Standin -Yea, Yea, Yea 😃.
Office open 4 sometimes 5 days/week and I love driving/music, maybe with Road Beers😜 🍻. So with a Friday off, by Sat I can be bored - but #lafires trip was needed and I had so much collected that I couldn't just stay home and NOT take it down.
I combine things into trips, as y'all have noticed. The 1st trip I did a drop off, beach hike, visit to In Laws and Betty's. #2 drop off, SM and 99 Ranch. This Friday, maybe another drop off if needed and a Betty run. No Ventura for a few weekends
well the good news is that they didn’t have to drive to a national park or snow play area. The bad news is they didn’t have to drive too a ……….. Rotflol. 5” of snow at my brothers in law apartment near Houston…. First time. In nearly 100 years . lol. Houston’s minds are blown.
If that ever happened here, it’d kill 69% of all veggies eaten in the rest of the country. Gonna be about 68-70f here today and tomorrow. In jacuzzi right now, trying for the zoo in my echair after lunch.
Woooooo hooooooo great snow video buddy. I’m impressed , love it. Those were big snowflakes …huh …. . We don’t have that up here, that I know of. Playing in the snow is great fun for everyone. Especially when the big soft snowflakes are falling. Late night there, I’ll bet you can almost hear them. You could make “ noir “ movies and be good at it.
I love how serene/peaceful it is in the snow, saw a bunch of people in the local park playing in it. Last night on my walk saw many snowmen in the neighborhoods. Big fat floating flakes, I'd rather hike in falling snow than rain
welp you definitely seem like a guy that appreciates snow alright. Myself , I’ll just hang out down here on the valley floor , in my chaise lounge , sipping my tangy lemonade…… sitting under my banana tree jungle . Rotflol.
I lived in winter snow until I was 12 years old, Cincinnati, S.E. Indiana. When you live out on a distant farm, winters can be harsh.
I dig the fat fluffy flakes and not crazy single digit or negative temps blizzards, still that sun loving Hawaii boy😂
And ya know how I love Beach Therapy, sun, beers, fish tacos and the Pier. I wasn't ever stuck homebound with feet of snow outside, so a lil snow brings me some joy, peace, serenity.
Hadn't been in snow til my teens when I was in LA for college and ventured up to Big Bear
Luckily you have a kinda straight shot to the water from there ( figuratively speaking ). Those basket loads of negative ions off the beach soothes any furrowed brow. It’s an addictive thing of pleasure. I am surprised tho, that you never saw any snow in Hawaii, I would have thought that being so rare in the islands , you and your family would have picnicked up there in the snow many times .
Weather cleared up here , down the valley , very pleasantly…slight chances of “ some “ on the weekend and “ significant “ rain next week. Great “ getting out “ opportunities here.
Maaaan , my world had been coming apart / becoming nasty and unglued last few weeks. Increasing as time passed. About 6 weeks ago I decided to quit benzos and went off my Xanax ….. thinking maybe gummies could substitute for them and give me a break from benzos. I’ve taken Xanax everyday for mostly the last 6 years and 3 months. Panic attacks related to my breathing and my cpap machine , trying to go bed at night , had become overwhelming . Downright scary unpleasant. This stopped me from having rem sleep and put me into benzo withdrawal. Losing rem sleep can rock your world in a bad way.
Anyway , first I thought “ why “ quit if it’s helping so much …. Duhhhh …. Then I realized if I was going to get any rem sleep, I have to get back to Xanax again.
Did that last night for first time in weeks and woke up feeling like a new person, especially mentally. WOW what a difference. Since I could croak anytime / any minute ( years overdue ) , being worried about benzos is misplaced concern and my being - feeling good is the appropriate paramount focus. lol. This is the best morning - start of the day I’ve had in many weeks …. and boy I’m a happy camper this morning. Rotflol. Almost as good as those negative ions at the beach brother.
Oh dear … I could have read your bio huh ? Lol. my apologies for the misstep. Thank goodness for our families/ caregivers…. Without you , our lives would suffer greatly. You look to be very involved in supporting and advocating for your hubby , I know he is so much better with you helping and loving him.
Thank you. That what is family for. I have been married to my man for 30 years and we have been together since my 17 year of life. I can not imagine life differently. Very blessed to have him and kids, very thankful for that. Also I really appreciate guys on this forum with your help and advice I think it is possible to have a great life even with this stupid cancer. Thank you for your positive ways. It means a lot to so many people here.
That does look like flowers , how kewl. Looks like you have enough snow for some overland skiing or snowshoeing snow play. People here spend a lot of money to drive up to local ski resorts or national parks ( 2 …. Yosemite , Kings Canyon… locally ) , you can do it on your street Rotflol. A snowmobile would be fun to play with too. Drive some trails out in your local forests too … every place where it snows enough has them. Lotsa possibilities exist for some fun - exciting outdoors time together, even in winter. QOL time is precious people like us.
Yea, a two-ish hour drive to Ventura, haven't checked the weather this weekend, maybe it'll be a go. Catch those Rays, speaking of them, I sat in car and had lunch in the sun even tho it was 48 outdoors. It's low 20s overnight, so 48 felt warm.
Glad you solved your issue, getting sufficient sleep with us croakers is a MUST. I still do a 1/4 gummy, benadryl and a shot of vodka for bedtime, then another 1/4, bennie and shot if needed. Liver panel is just fine. Vodka is low cal😜
Yea I liked that video too. Those nice flowing flakes in the shimmering light look like what I call a 32 degree snow (fahrenheit). Around the midwest its another sign your coming out of the 20 below zero stuff. Momentarily anyway lol.
Here in the artic (twin cities where I've been for 4 years lol) the snow is melting also. And I am absolutely fine with that lol. Somewhere in history they really took a "if you cant beat it join it" attitude about the winters here. Everyone seems to be dissapointed in mild winters ha, lol.
Living in Iowa and Chicago I don't remember anyone being disappointed in lack of snow and lack of severely cold weather to keep the lakes frozen lol.
This is kinda like 10 or 15 degree snow and of course some wind lol.
Its fun at first. Hunkered down with good food, feelin cozy in the warm house lookin out the window watchin a movie, the excitement of if the weather is going to get worse.
Wow …. Those pictures really show some difference snow days. With a foot of snow on the ground you can do snow play ( skiing, rent some snowmobiles, snow shoeing etc. ) , middle picture ….. but those two just plain cold , yea I don’t know what’d you do there crept …. Like you said …. Cozy up with a mug of hot chocolate ( marshmallows on top of course ) some favorite tunes ( Pink Floyd the wall ) and a bowl of/ or gummies lol. Still, I’ve done that before and enjoyed it a lot.
You guys and all of this snow talk is chilling my old bones.
So far we have missed out on any snow this winter, just nighttime temps in the upper 20's. I always turn into a big kid in the fresh snow. I love frolicking in the snow with the kids, grandkids and dogs. Now days though my balance is sometimes iffy, so best to stay indoors and watch your pics and videos.
Well I guess you learn to love it Rotflol. This looks just like local China Peak Ski resort. I’ll betcha you could run a snowmobile or snowshoes for snow trail hiking. Lots of fun snow play activities to get your heart pumping buddy.
Sorry about my picture , below, from a etrike ride to the university a week ago or so , Rotflol
Oh well …. lol
🌺🌼🌹❤️
Spring roses at the university rose garden last week.
The first two weeks of February are the explosions time of spring here. All the white bloom nut orchards will be flush with blooms, my entire street will be exploding in flowers and blooms. All our countryside covered with green and flowers.
Whenever my business trips took me to California I almost instantaneously relaxed, stress would melt away. I would have to slap myself to remind myself I had to snap out of it and get the job done I was brought to do lol.
Think I've told you before I had 2 or 3 trips to Fresno. Despite the work and hours was able to drive around a little anyway. Remember some meticulous farm homesteads and land.
So dont give away where you live of course but since I was just visiting and can tell you where I was and you might say huugh campsoups was there lol.
I stayed at the Holiday Inn across from the airport but I looked now on gmaps and its a Wyndham Garden Hotel. And stayed up north on 99 at a Hampton Inn and Suites too, basically Herndon Ave and 99 Hwy. The customer was alway the same one. Kinda way south on 99. Couple miles east of 99 on E. North Ave.
Being Mr. printing press tech. service lol, and the customer being in Fresno wonder what they printed?
Well gazillion tiny fruit and vegetable labels printed and diecut of course lol. You probably guessed that lol.
Another beautiful day here. 52 degrees yesterday set a new record I think 28 degrees above average. Today 37 still 18 degrees above average.
Really nice pics brother Kal. I'm glad your gettin out a bit from time to time. That place "something town" you took a pic of a week or so ago is my kind of vibe.
I gotta say wont see anything resembling a flower here until maybe late April, actually early May lol.
I lived in s.e. Indiana for my first 12 years, I really know ( and miss tbh ) those late April days weather, the gentle fragrant spring breezes and warm sunshine. All of Mother Nature waking up with a vengeance, fragrances in the air you have waited a whole year to enjoy. Sitting on a grass hillside , dandelionflowers literally everywhere… an overdose orgasm of natures beauty never experienced in places like the low desert here. ( Fresno would be a tumbleweed low desert if not for the snow melt irrigation. ) I’ve known and still appreciate the environment you live in, it’s easy to see why you love it so much.
That sidewalk restaurant picture you mentioned is in the Tower District, hippy town, near downtown Fresno. It’s big and VERY busy, lotsa hippies still here We have the brewpub district / tour , all of downtown , and the upscale , ritzy, huge River Park district on the north end of town along the river bluff. Better bring your Amex gold card to buy coffee beverages there. Rotflol.
Brother I think you said something about started writing and trying to upload a pic and got exhausted and had to go to bed. I might wish I didn’t have a clue what that’s like but you described my experiences to a T rotflol.
Man you went to Kaiser. You kinda snuck that in lol. Getting there and back is usually challenging for ya. I can see that knocking you out.
You know I musta been in and out of Fresno or long hours. I know it was about 5 days each trip and long hours and my biggest regret was that I didn’t just go ahead and take some vacation time and get hotel on my dime when the job was done and make a trip to Yosemite. I was lucky to have a few trips from/to, to/from Seattle-Iowa when I was a kid coming in from the west thru Montana, Idaho and Eastern Washington. Spectacular mountain views. And that business trip back to Seattle got to get up in the mountains. Well too I forget sometimes my 45 minute to some great mountain locations in Japan when I lived there.
When I was on google maps couple days ago zooming in looking for where my hotels etc. were in Fresno your not kidding bro. When I zoomed in the amount of widely varied ethnic eateries’ popping up was amazing.
Widlely diverse in our 23 years in Chicago and we dived in gladly. I don’t or didn’t know of Hmong culture in Chicago but its quite prevalent here in twin cities. Gotta dive in. Been here 4 years.
I know what you mean about mega supermarket. Along with stores that more or less were special to one or the other culture some Safeway sized stores would have every ethnic food you could think of in Chicago. But wow Fresno is a breadbasket and of course with the produce and cultures and peoples there to get it from seed, tree, etc. to market it gives the place a real melting pot vibe with the goodies from the cultures that reside there.. And usually bread baskets aren’t so darn close to the ocean. That’s the icing on the cake lol.
Hey brother seaweed snacks that’s high on my wife(Japanese) and my list of snack lol.
Yea that’s it the tower district. I’m lucky. Sorry keep sayin that. Seems like I’m many times in a good mood and lighter on my feet after I see my MO. I’ve been driving by this place on my way home from appointments for 4 years finally felt so good I stopped in for coffee and walked around the inside of the building. Lots of COOP creative ventures, tool rentals, and a machining shop! I found it. It wasn’t doing a COOP thing but the owner and I talked for about an hour. For me kinda like “glory days” talkin shop talk with him reminiscing about the equipment (he had some of the recognized tried and true equipment that’s been still used in machine shops since 1940’s). Anyway a really cool outing for me. Usual route, hydrocodone, a bowl in the car before I went in to the coffee shop and carried my cup of dark roast with 4 shots espresso around with me scoping out the building. I don’t know but one of those really feelin alive and part of the world things that day. Put a pic of the coffee shop menu here and a link to description of the building.
Sucks about your blood labs. Luckily seem you can set the straight when they freak lol.
It seems like the majority of my blood labs except for the occasional extremes went to borderline 3 or 4 years ago and have rested there despite throwin different treatments at the bear.
Totally enjoyed readin what you wrote. No noddin off here rotflol. Noddin off here has other causes lol.
Yea I know what you say Kal about agony of a Keto diet in midst of what we got on our mind. Its not a daily, even, thought for me but when it comes its kinda “well, I know how this is gonna probably play out” and with that in mind I don’t want anything to take away from the things I really want to do, want to enjoy so yea no big changes, in fact at diagnosis that was one of my biggest anxieties big time. Change. It was kinda like the diagnosis in writing if you want was enough change. I wanted everything else to stay the same. Even though that’s not exactly how things turned out everythings cool rotflol.
So my turn to fear I gave you some food for nodding off lol. I started to try and proof read what I wrote but started getting dizzy roflol. So just sendin it. Launching it lol
Ryte on ….ryte on ….. my bruddha lol. Wow, your info about that conversion factory / business space revealed a misconception I’ve had since my time in the Army. I always thought the name of that bombsight was the “ Norton “ , but it’s actually Norden Rotflol. I had classes which part of included different info about dropping bombs out of aircraft, the Norden was mentioned as some backstory. Kinda a facepalm thing.
This has been a fun thread . Your mention of looking at a Fresno map and restaurants popping up made me think to ask my AI (chatGTP ) about it. You have around 1200 restaurants in your 3.7 million metro. We have over 622 restaurants here ( in 2023 ) in a 1.2 million metro. Your metro looks like a great foodie paradise. It’d probably take years to DoorDash even part of those Rotflol.
Google says Minneapolis - Saint Paul has the largest Hmong population ( 74,400 in 2010 ) of any urban enclave in the world . I’ll bet you have a “ lot “ of Hmong eateries up there to check out too. Kewl ….
Went out on the etrike today, it was 72f and beautiful. Ima gonna try to get out tomorrow if it doesn’t rain. Supposed to be 70f again. I envy you guys that can walk , I can get out and around but it’s not the same. Struggling to get up into the truck, even with a step stool is an exhausting and embarrassing mess. Lol the hammer has learned to load up my echair and etrike on the lift by herself ( I am woman , hear me roar lol ) , which makes it dramatically easier for me.
Alright buddy , you don’t have to respond to this diatribe …. the endless ( windy ) thread that never dies Rotflol. It’s been fun and interesting, have a good one .
Brother I think of ya often when I am vertical, wobbly, but vertical.
Think of ya when I come up with a hack to make things easier on me but the need palls in compare.
Was thinking of apologizing to Randy but he's been hittin the love button on our replies lol. In self defense he started it with that beautiful video of the gently falling flakes rotflol.
Yea ….thats right… it’s all Randy’s fault. Rotflol He’s a QOL instigator…. that’s a fact …jack. “ thanks Randy “ from me too.
“ I’m Ok, you’re Ok “ as the saying goes buddy. We might be a little worse for wear, here and there. Dent there, paint scrape here , stain on our upholstery …and all. But “ hey “ we’ve got lotsa miles left in our tired ole engines Rotflol. A can of STP motor magic and we’re good to go …aren’t we. Rotflol. Dang right we are.
We’ll have to keep our eye on Randy to see where else he hangs out at night Rotflol. Hummmmmmm …..
Well when you consider the first few frames where he morphs from an alien to a human …. then the sounds, later, make a lot of sense. I think it just makes him more interesting if that’s possible. Rotflol. Randy is our guy . It’s all good, just showing off . lol
Yea kinda like a movie plot. One minute I'm a little bit uncomfortable.did I dose ahead of schedule?, surreal, lol. Then transported to a winter wonder land ha, ha, lol. Indeed pretty cool video when you think about it.
My wife and I had a intruder one night in Japan (the odds of violence there in robberies is about nil) and I wasn't feeling very tough in my underwear so I let out the lowest loud big sounding dude sound I could muster. The guy ran away. I think I said oui or something rotflol.
I always thought "oi" was casual japanese language and there might be a "hey you"connotation.
This is cool. First time I actually looked it up on the internet:
What does "oi" mean in Japanese slang?
hey
Downward piched with stressed "o" oi means "hey" and so oi oi "hey, hey". Oi is a dishonarable expression used basically only by men and only to inferiors or close friends, similarly to "hey" in its origin at least.
LoL, All good and You're Welcome😁. I enjoy this banter and as they say in Hawaii the "Talk story". This is a wonderful forum to post and communicate, and share our lives and sagas.
Definitely a lion out there …. that’s was a seriously kewl video clip, I think I’ve already said you have video chops . Good enough that I wanna be that too brother. You are so kewl at it, you may have missed one of your callings. Drew me right in for sure. You can really project some headspace. Dang …. 😁😁👁️👁️👁️😁😁😁
Yikes …. Twin cities …. You absolutely do know about snow. lol. I dunno, back when I lived in snow / cold weather I liked it. I welcomed the changing seasons. You really learn to appreciate seasons . Here it’s never really cold , we have the hot season and the warm season. Days , sometimes, can be chilly here in winter , nights can approach freezing , but it warms up 30-35 degrees in the daytime.
Now that I’m old, my bonz work better in the warm weather Rotflol. Plus can’t risk falling down too. lol I can go see 12’ deep snow , 45 minutes east of here and play in it if I want. The hammer and I still have cross country skis out in the garage.
I’m past that type of snow fun nowadays , but I enjoyed it and wish I had done more of it when I was able.
Well yeah. What's that saying "I kid". No actually its "I josh" I was thinking.
I actually like the snow, the changing seasons, mother nature, seriously do love it all. I've always been into maybe we could say weather phenomena too. Its like I have a problem. I often no matter the weather open the garage door often and step out on the driveway, lean against the house and just listen and look for minutes and minutes. I do that several times during the day and a few times at night.
The farm we moved to in the middle of Iowa from Seattle in the early 60's was a kid like me panathura of all things weather and nature. My mom too. Always the artist at heart would point out and comment on the views on drives and around. Its funny I see interest, beauty in some bits of nature here or there that my wife doesnt see as special. I dont know what to think about that rotflol, ha,ha.
My parents were quite the contemporaries in Seattle. Listened to Dave Brubeck Quartet and etc. Skiing trips part of the life too. They would go up to Steven's Pass, Snoqualmie pass and brought me 2 or 3 times. But anyway thankfully had all that ski wear when we moved to the middle of Iowa in the 1960's and 70's cold and blizzards. Those times were highlights for me. Snow drifts that created a ramp off the peak of a 18 foot high shed roof and could just walk up the drift to the roof. I digress though. Lotsa stuff to say.
I know what you mean about falling down. I really cant take that off my mind. Or rather I remind myself. I'm lucky to be mobile but it's a weak,wobbly,unstable, feelin fragile mobile usually lol.
We got a mean ass incline driveway at the townhouse here we moved into. Getting some cleats for an old pair of shoes was a priority ha, ha. Its been a wild 5 years. There have been times for a month or two when my wife had to bring the garbage to the curb. The medical stool thing for the shower/tub has sat outside for maybe 7 months. Haven't needed it.
Brother Kal hope you've been doin ok. Or as I say for myself often, good enough ha, lol. Seriously hopin the estrogen is doin some good things.
I think you inherited some of your mothers genes for the “ golden mean “ , … that tree is very interesting as a photo , or painting subject. Gracefully proportioned., starkly contrasted , the white and dark contrasting… it’s beautiful. Just say’in
Well thanks brother. Yeah I think I might have hinted at that deviously looking for some confirmation lol. Thanks for that.
I'll just send one here. One of my mom's I found after she passed. For others this wont be that impressive of a painting because they wont have the personal connection but for me hits me in the gut because when I look at it I go directly to my childhood looking at that view across the lane on the pasture hill. Somehow she perfectly captured it.
Wow, imho, your mother was very talented. I love this painting. Almost surrealism , with that asymmetric bent that enhances the mood … That with a winter element , bits of snow, bare trees … winter sky colors. Hits it out of the park .
There is as much to be said for having 4 actual seasons …. Each and every one of them packed with beauty and fun. I lived in the 4 season world all my childhood and loved it. I really loved seeing the changes and all the beauty they brought. I could go on for hours about about farm life, hunting eggs in the ( really big ) barn. Making forts in the bales of hay. Looking up in the rafters at night to see the impressive collection of birds in there in the winter. Feeding the horse, Helping calling in the cows for evening milking …. Freshly mowed fields of fragrant alfalfa , running my trap line in the winter. Etc. lol Pretty lonely, tho, no nearby children to play with , not for miles.
Now that I’m old and trashed , living in a warm climate is best for me , generally speaking. Plus living where I’m located is a bonus with world class nature in every direction. Next is finding fun where wheelchairs can go. There is more than enough if you just look around with an open mind. At this point I need two things to get out and have fun. I need to be able to wake up feeling well enough to actually go out and I need to summon up the willpower to go out. “ a body at rest tends to stay at rest , unless acted upon by an external force “ ( the hammer lol ). Newtons law of motion. Rotflol I’m so depleted, ADT having taken it toll , it’s tough .
Seems like a group of us are kinda in the same basic condition and head space. You , me, Randy, tree , Carlos, others …. We’re taking a beating but keep on ticking Rotflol. Hanging in there , but …... If anything , we’re a bunch of shoe leather tough old farts not willing to just lay down and let this mess have it’s way with us …. Not without fighting. All of us want a little more out of life too , especially with our loved ones. Hell no we won’t go , ….right ? Misery loves company .
My wife and I are lovin our current life. (the townhouse and environment here is like being on the farm vs. our apartment of 23 years in Chicago. And were just lovin each other and life. Wierd stuff in light of the lot we're in. It seems the longer I live the stronger the hope I'll get even more time. Or something.
Yea I have the "downs" lasting for days sometimes this past I think year or so and dont get here on the forum. My need to rub shoulders with you and the gang who you mentioned gets bottled up so finally when I'm feeling good I let out a bunch of myself here with ya all. Its a great thing! Appreciate you. I dig the company.
Omg …. I just spent 30 minutes replying to you and went to look at a picture I wanted to attach and lost everything. Rotflol. Now I’m too exhausted to do it again. I told about some lab work results , Fresno, seasons etc. I’ll do it again in the morning buddy, have a good night.
Randy, you are a resounding success at spreading Aloha. We all love you here, you are such a ray of sunshine and a real inspiration. Keep on keepin' on!❤️
Awww Malaho nui loa Sista HW💙. Life's too short to be bitter, angry, ungrateful or to stay home😜
As I drove up to the Dream Center dreamcenter.org/?utm_source... and queued up amidst all the other cars, I was elated to be able to help. Then as I turned and saw the dozens of volunteers, my heart skipped a lil. What a glorious sight it was to see how the Community came out.
Thank goodness not much happened with this new weather. Those poor souls have been thru and continue to be living in hell. It wasn’t just their home of 4-5 generations, in places the whole neighborhood is totally gone. Nothing you remember about it exists anymore. No land marks, businesses , nothing at all. It’s mind boggling to say the least. Yikes …
Thank you! We are in a great mood this week, hubby is slowly feeling better. Also we got first granddaughter born on Jan.20. So we have grandson and granddaughter now. It is great, very blessed.
Awww, how wonderful. I'm middle of 3 boys, had 4 boys, then a girl, then 3 grand daughters. My baby girl is preggers with a boy, she had Penelope in 2023.
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