The NACHC Conference

It's Halloween tonight, but I all but missed it. Tonight while Johnnie was trick or treating, I was on a flight home from Las Vegas. That's because I was a speaker at the NACHC FOM/IT conference for the 2nd year in a row. This year though I was sort of blase about it. Even waited until Friday to finalize my presentation. It was simply an update of the 2-part webinar I did way back in May so I was very confident with the content. The only trick was logistics with my co-speaker Nick. And we hadn't actually done it in any kind of detail. It seems like he's just like me an hour. Really all I needed was someone to fill in the gaps should they come up when I talk. And make sure the talk lasts as long as it should. Anyway all that was later on in the day. First I had to get to Las Vegas, which meant getting up at 6 AM and getting to Lisa's house at 7 AM to catch an Uber. My plan was to take an Uber back on the return flight and pick up Johnnie right then. It should be before 9 PM. Just in time for his bedtime. And Lisa wouldn't have to do a thing different. <Of course she could have offered to give me a ride to the airport and/or pick me up... but she didn't so there's that>. I got to LAX in plenty of time, got through TSA quick enough and had lots of time to have breakfast, in this case, a breakfast sandwich from Urth Cafe. Yep, Urth Cafe had a presence at LAX. The flight itself was a 40 minute flight and we barely had enough time to ascend and descend and I was in Las Vegas by 10:30 and a $35 taxicab ride later, I was at Caesar's Palance at Speaker Check-In for my conference. Plenty of time to get myself prepared, mentally or otherwise. I was hoping to do another run-through with my co-speaker Nick at lunchtime but he wasn't planning on getting to the room until 2 PM so that's that. I just gotta walk around and hopefully burn off nervous energy. It would have been a perfect opportunity to get some steps in. After all, it was Monday and although I did a fair share of walking at the airport, I was lagging far behind the usual pace. And I had actually resigned myself to simply doing as regular a walking day as I could. I was thinking I'd make it up the rest of the week. I emded up having lunch at the food court. There was a 45-minute wait at the Noodle House I ate at last time I was here. I didn't even know there was a food court. I went to the shortest line, which was the Halal Bros and had a chicken and beef plate. It was enough to tide over the hunger until way later on. I knew I'd be running on adrenaline before I knew it. And that's what happened. The talk wasn't until 3 PM, but Nick did show up for lunch and he and I sort of ran through the presentation and did some timing stuff right there at the food court. It's amazing that I could walk through the casino and not cough out a lung that pervasive smell of smoke seemingly everywhere. Still I managed to keep myself as calm and relaxed as I could. And then before I knew it, it was game time.

I turn into a different person, I think, when I'm doing on of these talks - especially live. Like I turn into an entertainer almost. The "ham" part of me comes out. And really I could have talked about the material without a presentation for at least an hour. Answer questions for another half hour if needed. Anyway I thought the talk was successful and then I turned my thoughts on getting home. Since I left later than I did last year, there was a line everywhere. There was a line waiting for a cab from Caesar's to the airport. A line for TSA of course. A line to get food even though it was just Burger King. I passed up on much better options even though I really did have plenty of time. And so by the time I got done with my chicken sandwich, the adrenaline I was running on during my talk started to wear down. How did I know I was on adrenaline? My heart rate was up. So much so that I must have been over 105 bpm for at least an hour afterwards. It allowed me to catch up on my active minutes count. As in I was already up to 125 by the time I boarded the plane. I would actually finish at 160 AND still managed 15,000 steps. That's because I did almost 2000 of those just getting to the cab AGAIN when I landed at LAX. Needless to say by the time I got to Lisa's I was tired, cranky and it was already 9:05. Lisa was reading Johnnie a book. She seemed oblivious to the fact that I wanted to go home and I was only there to pick up Johnnie and Claire. It was Johnnie that finally "turned her off", stopped listening to her book reading and started goofing with me. THAT finally caught Lisa's attention and shortly thereafter, we were on our way home. It was a long day. And I was tired. But it was a good day. A second really good day in a row.

The Big Boo

Johnnie had so much fun today. I was so tired it felt like that day in Disneyland. We were, of course, at the Big Boo at Mar Vista Elementary. Pictures tell all the story. What a day. And we even got Lisa to leave work before 2 PM and she showed up. Miracles CAN happen LOL. It was a very very VERY good day.

Brooklyn's Party

I should have realized things would be different today. Lisa had a CE class all day and so on her Saturday off, I end up with Johnnie anyway. Not only do I end up with him, today is also Brooklyn's birthday party and of course there was no way Johnnie was going to miss that. From the moment he woke up today Johnnie was already way different from the last 10 days. Maybe there really was something to the Johnnie that was whining about being sick a week ago, or before we went to Disneyland, or last Monday or even yesterday morning. That was all when Silvia, Gayane, and Cecille were here. I don't want to say Johnnie was acting out, but it was like a whole different Johnnie already today. To say he was back to his joking-all-the-time, happy, mischievous, bouncy self was an understatement. We both got cleaned up and then first went to Elysee, where that smile of his got him free cookies, then Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's, really to pick up groceries for Lisa, and then finally off we went to Brooklyn's. Her party started at 11 AM and we got there at 11:10. There were no less than 5 people from Johnnie's class: Penelope and her brother Oliver, Caleb, Frankie, later on James, and of course Brooklyn. I actually got to talk to all the parents and got to know Penelope and Oliver's parents better, and also James' parents. So I turned on my SOCIAL mode and ended up staying until 4:30. Yep, pretty much the entire afternoon. And then when we left, I treated Johnnie to Ginger's ice cream because I didn't feel like he ate enough. That's because he played practically the entire afternoon. Yep, not the listless Johnnie from a week ago for sure. I will let the pictures tell the story of the day. It was a good day. And after Johnnie's party, Disneyland last week, and all the activities with Silvia and Cecille, I was glad today marked the last activity for a week. Until I have to go to Vegas for FOM/IT. Halloween that day too I might add. Been quite the past few weeks to be sure...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y3gNJSXncgFZMdxe9

Disneyland

And so today was Disneyland day. We only had been talking about it for months now. And now it's here. And Dexter got himself a ticket to go. The last thing I said to Cecille and Silvia last night was that they had to help me get Lisa out of the house today at a decent time. I was over at 8:15. They were ready. Lisa and Johnnie were still in bed. Lisa was talking about not going since Johnnie was sick. Or at least claimed he was sick. W-T-F? My gut already told me he was not sick, but was acting like it because everyone else in the house seemed sick, including of course his mom. And I felt like he was just projecting Lisa's energy of not really wanting to go. I KNEW this was going to happen actually. It's just difficult every single time when you have to deal with it and deal with her. Brings me back to golf Sundays when she started not to want to come but would just do her best to waste my time and energy and not actually have to decide one way or another. YES it is a CONTROL thing with her. Just like it is with Johnnie now.  And I was not having it. As it was we waited until the very very last second until everyone finally left the house. It was 9:45. But we DID leave despite all the drama. And we got to Disneyland by 11 AM. The moment we got there, Johnnie already wanted some popcorn. Yeah. Sick alright. Anyway I will just say we all had a pretty good day at the Happiest Place on Earth. And Johnnie's favorite this time? The canoe ride! Yep, we got to ride a canoe! The rest I'll just post pics and let those pics tell the story. We were home by 8 PM. Tired. Very tired. But it was a good day. 

Johnnie + Johnnie & Mom

So Johnnie made it a point to invite me to dinner for tonight, where we would be eating the sustainable fish that we will shop for this morning. I love how he gets these ideas in his head and how he intermingles what he wants to have happen. That invite had an educational component (learning about sustainable fish and where to buy them), it had a routine component (we do shopping on Saturdays) and a family component (dinner). You really gotta love this kid! But before all that, I was supposed to come over for breakfast and though I slept in, he Facetimed me to ask me to come over and make breakfast. Of course all I really cared about was spending any kind of time with him today, either an hour or two or however long Lisa lets me, knowing full well she's got a bunch of agendas going on. But first there would be breakfast. I had already downed my pineapple smoothie this morning so I didn't really care if I got to eat anymore. But as it was Lisa wanted me to make French toast for she and I and Johnnie was perfectly happy with a bowl of cereal. It is amazing to me how little he eats here at Lisa's house compared to how much he eats at mine. And that's ok, since we're looking to do dinner tonight. I always make sure he has plenty to eat. Anyway, Lisa agreed to let Johnnie go with me grocery shopping. And I sweetened the deal by telling Lisa we'd even do her grocery shopping for her. Yes it's probably going to cost me an additional $50, but for more time with Johnnie it is worth the price. And so it was that we first did HER groceries, doing the Mitsuwa (for noodles), Trader Joe's, Ralphs, and Whole Foods circuit (for Lisa's foo-foo yogurt drinks) and got it all done in an hour really. And then after dropping those off at her house, off we went for the 2nd round to do MY groceries. This time of course, we had to go to Sprouts to get my produce. And the was where I was going to get the barramundi that we were planning to eat tonight anyway. By then it was already lunchtime too. I floated the idea of eating at Shakey's which was right by Sprouts to Johnnie. But then again there was also Panda Express in Pavilions down the block. Guess which one Johnnie chose?! As for me, I didn't want to eat Panda Express. And so I took us to Ono Hawaiian BBQ to get me some fried whitefish and chicken katsu. Johnnie ate his food <told ya I'd make sure he ate properly> and I ate mine and by the time we were on the way back he was falling asleep in the backseat. He had the right idea. That was what I wanted to do too. And so I dropped him off and Lisa was, by this time, glad to have him back as she also got her ME time in as well. I told her I'd be back in a couple of hours for dinner and off I went and took a nice hour-long nap. I got the morning that I wanted to have after all :)

At the Promenade. I drove back to Lisa's around 5 PM. By then I had had a nap and I was ready to cook the barramundi and do whatever it was that Lisa wanted to do for a Saturday night. It turned out to be way different than I had expected. When I drove up, mom and son were just getting home from walking around the block <I guess-Johnnie was on his bike> and Lisa seemed surprised that I was there. We WERE going to do dinner tonight weren't we? Then again, with Lisa you never know. When she gets cooped up in the house as she had been, she simply will want to get out. And tonight, right then she wanted to return the pillows she had bought at Santa Monica Third Street Promenade. I could tell she wanted to buy other things as well. Hey, I was game... in fact, at that point I was thinking maybe we can even eat dinner at the Promenade. I think the last time we were all there together the three of us was the holidays in 2019 before they left for Paris. Of course, I was just here last week returning my cable gear to Spectrum. I parked pretty much the same place I did last week. And then off we went to return her pillows. To Pottery Barn no less. The LAST TIME the 3 of us went in to Pottery Barn was a time period I won't forget. It was the first week of 2017.  Johnnie was 2 years old. And it was the day after we had that horrible fight that made Lisa move out of the bedroom.  Not good memories to be sure. I was thinking it was perhaps the Universe's way of surfacing yet another thing that I needed to clear, another thing I needed to heal. And tonight, it was way, way different. First of all, with Johnnie older, he was looking at furniture in the context of what I told him I wanted to do, which was to replace the couch he sleeps on with a much better couch. Not that it's bad mind you, it does function just fine. But I could upgrade it as well. Maybe not right now, but in the future to be sure. And so we let Lisa return her stuff, looked around a bit, and the difference this time was there was just no negative energy whatsoever. We let Lisa buy her new flip flops at Tilly's on the Promenade. And then these days, at least Johnnie is on my side when I ask him if he's hungry. It isn't just me anymore. And so Lisa is far more agreeable. We didn't know where to eat. And so ending up at this popup eatery called Ugo's Italian cafe was a surprise. The bigger surprise was that the food was actually pretty good. And like in Italy, the portions weren't American super-sized. We had just enough to eat, Lisa with meatballs, me with lasagna, and Johnnie with a pizza. The surprising thing was that Johnnie actually ate some of my lasagna and liked it! Fancy that! And then after dinner, Johnnie had it in his mind to go to Barnes and Noble. Off we went to the only open BN we knew, which was in Marina del Rey. I had already bought Johnnie a book this morning, but he wanted one more simply because his mom promised him they could go. Which was what we did. By the time we got done it was already past 8:30 PM and it was time for me to go home. But we did have a nice family time together this evening. Which would be the 2nd Saturday in a row we did that. I got to have the Saturday I wanted after all :)

A Very UnRoutine Thursday

Right off the bat I made today very un-routine. I did that by cancelling all meetings this morning. No need to meet with the IS Team, already met with them yesterday. No need to meet with the EHR Team, met with them on Tuesday. And so with my morning cleared up all of a sudden, I found myself CLEANING. Specifically, I started cleaning the toilet, then the bathroom floor - mopped and everything. Then the kitchen, then the kitchen floor. In other words, I cleaned what I didn't clean the past week. There was only one problem... I was supposed to go out and meet up with Candace from Match tonight. But yesterday, Lisa sprung on me that she was going to Pasadena for piano lessons and needed to stick around for a while. That took care of leaving Johnnie with her and taking off at 5:30 for a date. And so I texted Candace this morning to cancel. Again. Third time since we started chatting with each other. BUt for some reason I didn't feel like giving up. I suggested lunch. And when she sounded iffy, I suggested the Blue Salt Fish Grill in Redondo Beach where she was. THAT she accepted and in fact, told me she was getting ready to leave (it was 11 AM when I suggested it). Uh-oh. No time for a shower. I was literally scrubbing the kitchen floor when she texted back. I cleaned up as best as I could, hoping I didn't stink that badly. Put on a decent polo and took off. Surprisingly, there was not that much traffic and I got to the place by 12:10, well before our 12:30 meet-up time. She did get there earlier too. First impressions? She was pretty. Mid-50s pretty. But then again I am older than her aren't I? Appearance-wise I was satisfied. WE had some nice fish for lunch, had some nice conversation. It was the kind of conversation that revolved around decisions she needed to make and so my wise-old-sage SELF came out and tried to provide some insight, yoda-style LOL. We ended up moving on to Coffee Bean after and talking some more. In fact, it was almost 2:30 by the time we left. Yes there was a connection. What kind of connection? We will have to wait and see. I'm just focusing on DATE #2 at this time LOL. Still, DATE #1 was pretty good. 

A note from Johnnie's teacher: Thank you for adopting him, taking wonderful care of him, and including me in his journey. He is such a happy and friendly kid, an attestment to your love and parenting. He enjoys learning, making connections, and is kind to his peers. I'm so grateful we get to work together this year. This was the email she wrote back after I sent her an email explaining the whole "I have my heart on the right side thing" that Johnnie sprung on his class LOL. I told her about Johnnie's genetics, how extremely rare and special he really is, how he was adopted. And her response almost made me cry. IT REMINDED ME OF WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT. And it totally validated my feeling that my primary job now is to be Johnnie's DAD. The more I get to do that, the desire to do that full time is an outcome I am going for now more than ever. Then again, here is a pic of Johnnie doing his ninja thing in front of the TV with Ninjago showing in the background and I'm laughing as I'm thinking this is the kind, happy, playful kid his teacher wrote about. Tonight is hand-off night of course and I made up the story that Johnnie and I were going downtown and coming back late. I don't know why I felt like making up that story other than perhaps propping up the other story that I was heading downtown tonight anyway. THAT was so I wouldn't have to tell her I was supposed to be out on a date. Anyway the anticipation was for a late hand-off. Instead no call from Lisa and it was already Johnnie's bedtime. Turned out Lisa had been sleeping at home all this time. I woke her up with my phone call and she seemed confused about why I was dropping Johnnie off. And so I just told her I'd keep him for the night too and take him to school in the morning. And so I ended up with one more thing that was very unroutine. Johnnie spent a Thursday night with me. He was glad about that too. And so was I. Didn't feel any different than most weeknights really except that I reminded myself I still had to get up at 6 AM to lock in a golf tee time tomorrow morning. Everything was all good. The whole day, unroutine as it turned out to be, was VERY Very GOOD.

A Family Day

So my day with Johnnie yesterday didn't go exactly as planned. But today Lisa planned a morning at the California Science Center to see the Angkor Wat exhibit. I was skeptical that she would actually go because of how late she got in last night, but she did ask me to come by early for breakfast before we went to catch the 10 AM entrance.  When I got to her house at 8 AM, Johnnie was already ready to go so I knew it was on. We even got to USC on time, and found parking a couple of blocks from campus so we thought we'd just walk on over across the street to the place right next to the Coliseum. Of course, I didn't realize that today is Saturday game day, and the first USC game of the season at that. Still, the game must not have been until later on in the afternoon because we did find that parking spot. Of course, it seemed closer than it actually was. Because when we started walking it became apparent that it was going to be a long, hot walk. We went through the USC campus simply to find shade. And we walked through the paths I would normally take going to my office at USC Stevens. Same Taco Bell in the corner, same Supercuts where I had many a haircut. Same old parking structure I used to park at. And when walking through the campus, the tailgaters had already started putting up their tents. Anyway, Johnnie was a trooper walking in the heat and we finally got to the Cali Science Center. And then it was on to the exhibit. I will say this: the last time we went to an exhibit all together, it was for the Dead Sea Scrolls when Johnnie was still a baby, and it was disappointing. This was actually more than I expected. Amazing how Angkor Wat had some parallels to other advanced civilizations like the Mayans, Aztecs, and Egyptians.  I thought Johnnie had a lot of fun building temples and putting scrolls together. And then when we got done with the exhibit, Johnnie took me to his other favorite exhibits like the island exhibit, and the Space Shuttle. By the time we got through I actually had gotten energized. At least, that was what walking through the air-conditioned areas did because it was really really hot outside. Anyway we had pizza for Johnnie, a beef/mushroom/cheese sandwich for Lisa and an Impossible burger for me. And then when we got done, we braved the hot walk back to the car. We had to stop a couple of times in the shade to allow Johnnie to rest. But the rest was good for all of us too. And at least we were hydrated. Anyway the morning excursion was a success. And I was already satisfied that we all got to spend the morning together and actually had fun. Wjen we got back to Lisa's house, all I wanted to do was take a nap. And I decided I'd stick around for as long as tolerable. Maybe I was trying to set a new personal record for how long I could be around Lisa. She did promise to make it through the day without getting mad at me. I thought she had done just fine already. She played the piano while I took a nap an when I woke up she kept on playing while Johnnie and I played balloon badminton in the backyard. And we had so much fun. We went through at least half a dozen balloons that popped and we kept on playing until we had no more balloons. Finally dinner time came around but Lisa had to do some talking to Johnnie. He had gotten irritated because she had made him wash the dishes. He felt like he was being overworked. He even wrote her a note telling her not to go into his room. Awww. Hey, I had gotten one of those notes from him before too. While they talked I went back to my apartment and picked up cabbage, apples, and carrots from my fridge. Lisa did not feel like eating much and quite frankly neither did I. I had eaten so much at lunctime. The cabbage apple carrot salad with balsamic vinegarette was perfectly fine and perfectly adequate.  Johnnie had his penne and chicken broth, which was really the only time all day that Lisa would lose it. That's because she couldn't stand me mixing up the old penne with the noodles in the can. I was 100% sure Johnnie didn't care, heck I gave that same meal to him many a time. So of course she had to cook new penne for him. And he waited another hour before he ate. But that little incident was a mere blip in the course of the entire day. By then Lisa had started to complain again about her throat and her cough. Johnnie had already mostly recovered from yesterday. Maybe there is something about Lisa having a damaged immune system. How can I help her with all this knowledge I have gotten? How could I help anyone that doesn't want my help? It was 9 PM by the time I went home. I had spent the entire day with Johnnie and Lisa, probably the most time I had spent with both of them.in years. Or at least as long as I can remember after I left the Maplewood house. And it was a very good day. 

Much Better Outcomes Today

This morning I decided to do something different. I decided that Johnnie would scooter to school and I would walk. I get to have my steps done and Johnnie gets to ride his scooter. And we got there before 8 AM even. Look at the pic of him on the scooter. So cute is that! Already a great start for the day. So last week I dealt with that snafu with the Frontier installation. Maybe it was the fact that I had to go to Westlake that I didn't want to do and then had to come back blah-blah-blah that caused what ended up being an unproductive day. Today the Frontier guy came back and it was 100% different. Even when the Leasing office providing little help with getting the electrical room open for the Tech guy, I chance ran into Hugo our maintenance guy who DID open the electrical room. Bottom line was that he did his thing inside of 8 minutes and within the hour my NEW internet connection was completed! He got done by 10 AM. He got done so early I even had time to walk the dog, have my IS Team Meeting, AND catch up with my journal entries before leaving for Westlake North. I committed to going there for the afternoon at least. What I did forget was that Laker tickets went on sale today but even then I managed to snag 3 tix for the Knicks game in March. I am sure Johnnie will enjoy the seats behind the basket. Last week I had such a terrible time with the Internet at Westlake North. No such issues today. It was like the day was a complete 360 of what went on Monday. All the outcomes I wanted, I got. And with ease too. Tells me that I am in much better alignment with the Universe. 

So I stuck around WN for the aftrnoon and then went home in time to change and walk over to the Mar Vista Back to School Night. And then afterwards, we all went to Pitfire Pizza for dinner. Of course Lisa would have her ounce of drama, this time a salad that she ordered but forgot to ask for the dressing on the side. And then I had to be the one to ask for a replacement salad, and she didn't like that one either LOL. On the drive back she did give me a glimpse of where her thinking was when she mentioned having been first diagnosed with MS in 2013. The doctor told her then that she was likely to develop a disability in 10 years. Guess what? It's almost been 10 years since. Could it be that she is anticipating developing some disability? And when nothing is forthcoming she is creating dis-ease in her own body to fulfill her own shitty prophecy? Power of the mind I say.  How can I help her with this if she continues to negate her own Power? I remind myself that you must first BE the example if you're going to get others to follow. I have to focus on MY thinking. In the meantime, we did manage to have a dinner night out and Johnnie simply ignored whatever Lisa was doing by wolfing down his cheese pizza. I must admit I ate way too much. Much more than when we were here last in the spring. Back then I ate a mushroom pizza and Brussel sprouts. Today I ate linguini bolognese like I used to. And most of Lisa's salad that she didn't want to eat. And then off we went home. Another early night tonight. I'm going to take advantage of Johnnie being in the house so I get some decent sleep. Besides, I felt tired tonight. And anxious. No doubt a projection of Lisa's energy. I do know how to release all that now. Because looking at the day, I had a really REALLY good day.

A Spontaneous Playdate

So Johnnie already told me yesterday he wanted to go to the office with me today. Not that I planned on going in really, but if Johnnie is coming with, then today would be nice because there won't be any one in the office, except my team actually. I could do all my morning meetings from there and then hang out with Johnnie for a leisurely lunch downtown. The last time I took him to the office, he was just 4 years old, well before the pandemic. That was more than 3 years ago. I doubt if he even remembers what the office looks like, although I was actually surprised he remembered the lunch we had at the cafeteria. Those were the days of Mark the cook of course. And so here we are headed downtown right after breakfast and in the pic here we were at the FRB Conference room. I did my full meeting that turned out to be in person because all my team was there in the new IS Room. Johnnie was in the corner cubicle watching his videos. After the meeting I got a text from Lisa. Apparently, Brooklyn and Bailey were at Playa Vista Sports Park and Blair wanted to know if we were free to go over there. I was planning on having a nice, leisurely lunch with Johnnie right here downtown, and knowing me probably doing the cafeteria thing all over again. Having Johnnie and Brooklyn see each other again after not having seen one another for a couple of months is DEFINITELY the better idea, albeit it's just a couple of days before school starts again. And so we packed up after my EHR Team Meeting and headed off to Playa Vista Park. You should have seen the look on Brooklyn's face when she saw Johnnie. No one had told her he was coming and so it was a total surprise. And so the two of them spent the next few hours playing together and hanging out. Since I hadn't done anything about lunch, I went to Whole Foods and got us both a pizza and got the kids chocolate chip cookies, and lemonade and water. After all it IS a hot day out there. But it was actually pleasant in the shade. It was almost 3 PM by the time we headed home and I only did that because I thought I had a phone call at 3 PM. Turned out I didn't. But at least the kids got to spend a whole lot of time together today. And we're all ready to start school next week. At least we were already home for Johnnie's Spanish class. And while he was doing class, I did the BACK To SCHOOL Zoom videoconference with Principal Choe of Mar Vista. Mostly newbies were on the call and they had questions that reminded me of Lisa and I when Johnnie was starting TK 3 years ago. Anyway Johnnie and I had a full evening after his class. We went to Panda Express to get dinner, and we ate over there for a change. And then we went home and Johnnie wanted to jump in the hot tub. Especially after he discovered I actually kept the bath tub toys he had since he was 3-4 years old. He could then play sink-or-float all over again. And while he was in the tub, I did my steps routine. I must have looked funny waving my arms vigorously in place, just so I could bring my heart rate up. I was barely at 10 active minutes when I got to 5000 steps. But laugh all you want about me waving my arms vigorously but it did the trick. I ended up with almost 12000 steps aNd 78 active minutes. That meant that I did more than an hour active minutes simply walking around the hot tub while Johnnie was playing his games. By the time he was ready to get out of the tub he was nice, clean, relaxed, and as far as I was concerned, ready to get picked up by Lisa. She didn't come until it was 8:45 PM tonight and that was ok. We didn't chic chat much since I already agreed to come to her house tomorrow before 8 AM so I could drop Johnnie off for the last day of camp. AND go to my own dental appointment right after it at 8:30 AM. Anyway it turned out to be a long day. And I was tired. And I fell asleep on the couch. But it was a pretty good day too. For both Johnnie and I. 

Town Hall Wednesday

So in almost 9 years working at QueensCare, I can remember maybe once or twice that I had ever gone in to work earlier than 8 AM. What possesse me to come in by 7:50 today I asked myself. It is TOWN HALL Wednesday but it's the webinar format one and I'm not coming on until way later, past 9 AM. AND the host practice session wasn't until 8:15. AND I didn't have Johnnie to drop off at 8 AM, which was my big concern. Things around these Town Halls always seem to work themselves out though. I have never been late to one in more than a year, despite having to drop off Johnnie in the middle of the school year. Today I got here so early I had to go to the cafeteria to get some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Yep, bacon. Remember, just a tad more fat in my diet so I don't burn muscle. AND I brought my own tea from home. Kept me from being hungry. Funny how I take a lot of selfies when Johnnie isn't around LOL. This one showing a mostly empty FRB when I got there and made myself some tea. I remember getting to the office around 9:20ish AM and then heading right up to the cafeteria to get breakfast LOL.  As far as the town hall itself, it was uneventful really. We had had a successful year, or at least the Health Centers did. They met their visit goal, which to me was symbolic in a positive way since we NEVER usually meet the visit goal and that number the leaders put out there seemed arbitrary in the past. As in do we really care if we know we're not going to hit it? This year we did hit it. So there's that. I stuck around the FRB after the meeting got done. I think I'm going to come in on Wednesdays anyway and treat it like a change-of-scenery day. I mean even downtown has changed some in 2 years. And so the rest of this post I'm simply going to do pictures to highlight what turned out to be a pretty good day. 

I remember how pretty Grand Hope Park is during spring and summer.

For lunch I walked to 7th and Fig to Pizza Studio and got a cauliflower crust pizza with sausage onion and pineapple. How many of these did I eat 2+ years ago!! <but not with cauliflower crust LOL LOL>

And then after lunch I got a treat. Johnnie called me on FaceTIME from Santa Barbara and we had a nice little chat. Aww, my Little Bug wanted to see me! So happy was I to talk to him and see all the rocks he was about to take home to add to his collection LOL LOL.

Finally at the end of the day I realized that this day turned into a pretty good day actually. And I think it was because I had a high vibration since yesterday. And I remember feeling that day when I took an evening walk. And so I did it again tonight. Walked around the neighborhood. Earlier than yesterday so it was a little warmer. it IS summer after all. Still very much pleasant, it was almost meditative. Listening to the rustling of the leaves, being present. Doesn't get much more present than that. It WAS a very good day.

First Summer Tuesday Johnnie At Home

A distant memory I woke up this morning and for some reason I had a memory of my first year at Nogales High School. I had tried out for the JV Basketball team, and I thought I was doing pretty well and holding my own. But I also realized that my fundamentals were not up to par. And so when I asked the coach when the next practices were he practically told me I could come but there was very little chance I would make the team because there were so many other guys coming back that had already played on the team. I was disappointed of course but I simply brushed it off. Or maybe repressed it. Otherwise why would it come up now? Did it set me up for future patterns of less-than-optimal choices and behaviors? If that were Johnnie I would tell him, you gotta work harder, not give up and your opportunity will come. Just not that day and perhaps not with that team. And I know he would have tried harder and worked at making a team. I know this because I would push him. Alas, I had no one to push me then, no parent with an encouraging word. But I did try. And I would end up getting better. Just was a late bloomer was all. And so I would tell ME now... whatever you want to do, get up off your ass and get to work. You will be just fine. 

So today I had Johnnie at home all day. I lined up stuff for him to do in 45 minute blocks as if he were still in school, not that I knew the stuff he did in class or in what order. The point was I wanted to make sure I aligned the activities with the times I was going to be in meetings. Although, it IS Tuesday and really I needed a far larger block of time than 45 minutes to get done with my content for tomorrow's meetings. But I also didn't need to do all of that content in one sitting either. And so for the first meeting, which was the IS Team Meeting, Johnnie was doing karate online with DojoGo, which he had done a year ago. I was also intentional in making sure he was moving around even if he was in front of a computer doing so. Once done with that, it was on to Math. I remembered last summer he had actually progressed quite significantly with just the stuff I was showing him on YouTube. He was already doing first grade stuff well before starting first grade. And this time around he will be done with 2nd grade stuff too. Once done with that, it was on to Spanish class before lunch. I needed him locked in for an hour because I had that Shared Services Meeting with Eloisa and the other Directors about the meeting schedule for next year. Looks like I wouldn't be doing Tech Council Meeting anymore every month which is just fine by me. Just one long meeting every couple of months. Of course it is now on Tuesdays and it is now starting at 8:00 AM and likely in person AND starting in August when Johnnie's starts school again. When did I say I was on track to retire? Anyway starting this brand new routine even though it is just for this week, means I have to make Johnnie lunch. Hey at least I can monitor what he eats and that he eats at all! Today it was spaghetti for home, a hot dog with no bun, and a banana. For me it was spaghetti with turkey bolognese. Yes, I moved away from the usual vegan stuff but hey considering the weight I lost I think an off-day wouldn't hurt. Besides it's just one meal. I feel good that I'm getting muscly in my arms again. That used to be my calling card! Besides, Johnnie needed the energy for what I had in store after lunch. We're off to the pool! Again, for just a 30-minute chunk this time, I had him swimming. It had gotten warmer and there were a lot of women sun bathing in fact LOL. I managed to chill too. I call it a break from content creation the rest of the afternoon, which is what I ended up doing. By 3 PM, Johnnie was doing his usual Prodigy stuff and shortly after, my learning/activity school simulation regimen was done. I know, I know, it IS summer. But it got Johnnie occupied didn't it? And I think he had fun in the process too. Finally I did let him watch his Pokemon episodes on TV. And then we took another break at 5 PM as if it was a regular school Tuesday. That meant we went to Panda Express to get his dinner. I got me some veggies too, to go with a nice tuna sandwich and the eggplant Indian side dish. See? I'm back to the eating regimen. And managed to finish my 11,000 steps and 67 active minutes. What I didn't get to do today, was internal stuff. At least not after early morning meditation. And I think that's still ok. I could have done it at night actually but instead, I watched the Season Finale of Mayans. Man, gone was the innocent Ezekiel from Season 1. Every character's arc had changed significantly. All bait for the next season I'm sure.  Still before I drifted to sleep I managed to get to a space of gratitude for today. It was a Johnnie summer Tuesday at home and I think we both did really really good.

Kicking off Summer Break

I think I was focused on making it up to Johnnie today for being so tough on him last night, albeit it was a brief lapse. It's just that there was absolutely no need for it and no excuse for me getting into that state. I gave in to the dark side LOL. And I'm determined to scrub that clean. I had already thought about taking Johnnie to the movies today, the new Jurassic World Dominion having opened yesterday. Even though Lisa scheduled Johnnie for a cleaning at 11 AM and then I had an acupuncture appointment scheduled at 4:30, there is still that time slot in between where we could go to the movies. But first things first was breakfast. And Saturday routine also meant getting my car washed. It is a Lisa work Saturday after all. And so I'm at her house at 7:45, Johnnie was already dressed and of course I had already showered him last night so he was good to go. We dropped off Claire at the apartment, and off we went to start the day. Car wash done? Check. Off to Elysee for breakfast. I almost forgot that yesterday's was UCLA's commencement and the village was a lot busier than normal this morning. We went in anyway and got our usual all done. And then afterwards we made the stop at Target, mainly to get Johnnie's art supplies but we ended up getting him a cheao lego toy. Something for him to do when I drop him off at Lisa's later. But also I was able to pick up a chin-up bar, which is now going to be the resistance exercise of choice since I am determined to get myself back up to 10 chin-ups without stopping/resting as soon as possible. So eager was I to use that I spent the rest of the morning putting it together and putting it up on the doorway and testing it and when I looked up it was already time to drop Johnnie off at Lisa's office for his cleaning. I took the time and went back home to take Claire out for a walk, knowing that we were going to be mostly gone for the afternoon. When I got back to Lisa's office 40 minutes later, Johnnie was already done and playing with another Lego set waiting for me. Off we went to Century City mall for lunch and movie. Johnnie got his Panda Express and I got my Big Fish Little Fish poke lunch. Our movie started at 1 PM and Johnnie picked our seats on the very first row. I didn't know about that. I hate being that close. We will see how Johnnie does. Of course we had to get a bucket of popcorn didn't we. Almost negated the healthy lunch I just had but I didn't care really. By 1 PM we were settle in our seats and of course we had to go through the sheer volume of previews for the next 20+ minutes. It kicked in my impatience response yet again. But at least I wasn't lashing out at anyone. Or maybe I hadn't fully released yesterday's episode. Finally the movie got started and I must say this Jurassic World version was cool in that it brought in elements from the original Jurassic Park movie including the original actors, and the Jurassic World reboot, with Claire and Owen. Not lost on me was that Johnnie named the dog after this same Claire character LOL. As far as how he did watching from the very first row, he started complaining after 10 minutes but I think he settled in and settled down once the exciting scenes got going. And so we managed to sit through the entire 2+ hours of the movie. And he enjoyed it I think. I know I did. Hey merely getting to watch a movie was a nice way to start his summer break I thought. We did get done later than I thought. It was already 3:45 and I still had to pick up Claire and drop them off at Lisa's before I headed off to my acupuncture appointment. It was tight, but I managed to make it to the appointment minutes before it started. This was supposed to be a follow-up appointment from last week. I saw a different practitioner but the session was the same. It's like I don't think they think anything is wrong with me LOL. And when I see other patients in the waiting room I can see I am different. Like I am actually relatively healthy. But I just did the session and just relaxed for 20 minutes or so with needles on my feet and my abdomen and my hands and I felt really good afterwards.  And then I went across the street to Rainbow Acres Health Food Store and picked up some corn silk tea, which is supposed to help with bladder issues. I felt like I could simply chill at home the rest of the evening. But not quite yet. I'm supposed to pick up Johnnie at Lisa's office and look after him until she is done with work. Would it be like last night when she stayed in her office until 9:30 PM? You can never tell with her. Tonight I got an out. Apparently Joy and family from Maui are already here in SoCal and were having a barbecue in Downey at Kalani's sister's house. And invited Lisa and Johnnie. Well of course they are going. I'm not going to lie I wished I was invited too, but it's also ok that I wasn't because I felt like chilling alone tonight. Joy and Fam can never do anything wrong in my eyes the way they put us up all those years. I simply wished them a great evening and mentally hugged them and saw in my mind Johnnie having fun with with Kavena and Makahinu. That was plenty good. Turned out to be a pretty good day for Johnnie didn't it? I love you Dad I heard him say as he hugged me goodbye. That was plenty good. I had a good day too.