"Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates"

Earlier I was on an errand and near the Bookstore. So I went in the Bookstore to find my textbook for my class. And THERE IT WAS! Finally a shipment came in and there was one used (but good condition) book. I picked it up and a notebook and went downstairs to pay for it.

When I got to the cashier, I realized I was on an errand and left my wallet in my office! They couldn't hold it, so I went back upstairs and hid the book! So I was able to go back later, find the book in my little hiding space (actually - I just put in behind other textbooks in a different place) and was able to purchase it.

Collected Works of Shonin

I have two weeks between class to catch up on readings that I had planned to do but couldn't find the time for all the reading assignments for my class.

I'm reading "The Collected Works of Shinran." Its not easy, and the book is heavy to prop up read in bed. The only thing I have nothing to discuss about what I'm reading because I just started. Its 704 pages of translations.

Its ambitious and more so, since I spend a lot of time watching the Olympics on TV, like handball, wrestling, field hockey, etc.

Anniversary

Tonight we celebrated our 23rd Anniversary by having dinner with some friends at the Vineyard Room at Disney's California Adventure. It was great food, some good wine that went along the Prix Fixe dinner I had. We were able to watch the Pixar Parade from the second level of the Vineyard area.
This is what the place setting looked like.


It started with a Butter Romaine salad. It came with w Riesling from Sonoma.

The second course was a Lamb Shank with pickled cabbage and apricots, over a bed of Seven-vegetable couscous. This was accompanied by a red wine from Malibu. Yes, up in the Santa Monica mountains there is a vineyard and winery.

And the desert was a Panna Cota in blueberries with a pistachio biscotti. This was accompanied with a sparkling wine from France.

Great food and wine.

Besides myself, another friend also had her birthday last week, so it was a triple celebration. As well as welcoming back a returning USC student from Detroit area.

We wanted to go to this restaurant and our minds were made up sooner than we wanted because the restaurant will be closing next month. It took seven years. Disney's California Adventure is undergoing a minor transformation as it becomes WALT Disney's California Adventure, reminding one of the days in the 1930s in California, when Walt Disney actually arrived in California.

Now for some Olympics...

2008 Beijing Olympics

Every four years, I get hooked on Olympics. I watch everything and anything. The swimming has been exciting, not only Michael Phelps but all the swimmers. Rebecca Soni not only beat the champion Leisel Jones but the world record and the Olympic Record of Amanda Beard. Soni is also the first individual gold medalist for USC. Earlier two Trojan alumni men swimmers won gold as part of a relay team, making it the consecutive Olympics since 1912 that a Trojan has won at least a gold medal.

I think it is great that Phelps has now won six gold medals, all new world records.

CERT Certification

Now I am certified as a responder in a disaster situation. We had a real-like situation with volunteers made up as victime and we need to split up and do a seach-and-rescue and triage.
Then we were outside in a firehose drill. The third componed was lifting-and-cribbing.

We have a Safety and Preparedness Fair that the Staff Assembly is organizing in September and prepping for the Southern California Big Shake Up drill in November.

CERT Final

The final for my Campus Emergency Response Team is next Tuesday. We will practice extricating victims and triage, like we've been training for the last 6 weeks.

I could be more nervous about it, but I was the class demonstrator for triage, and I was sweating bullets then...this time it should be a piece of cake.

July 29, 2008 our training ended with an earthquake. A moderate-size one and a real one. About 15 minutes before our class was to end. Our final is also an earthquake, but a fake one.

We learned out to use crow bars and wedges to untrap people. We at least learned how to walk with our goggles, green vests and helmets on.

I do hope my leg gets better by then...

ouch...

oops....I slipped on a palette while in the process of pushing off another palette into the refrigerated trailer we were using for the Obon Carnival. My left leg found the opening and slid through.

Slid all the way through since that palette was on a forklift and off the ground. What stopped me was my thigh...we'll it was only one leg, I wasn't about to go all the way through.

All I could remember afterward was that I was still holding on to the palette that I was trying to push on, so I finally let that go. Then I fell on my butt. It was keeping me balance for whatever reason.

Wood palettes are heavy, so I'm not sure how I managed to hold on to that palette and suspend it in midair.

Kyle helped me off...it took awhile to unwedge myself. I was scraped up but not badly (I thought). Everyone else said it looked bad, its looks red (part of that was sunburn), I could get an infection...did I break anything.

I was more embarrassed than anything...so I walked it off.

Later, I dance Obon dancing but before the half was over, I quit since my leg was hurting...this time it really swelled up. So I thought I better go home, the first time in 12 years that I've left the Obon carnival early.

I rested and iced most of the night...only to wake up at 2am to unlock the temple and social hall for sushi making. But I stayed out the activities, icing my leg, staying off of it most of the rest of day. I snuck in a little nap during Obon Dancing after my little welcome speech by hiding out in the Hondo.

At what was the end of the dance, I could hear Johnny N. let somebody in and saying that there is no one in here...I guess in the darkness I couldn't be seen. So I woke up to be around cleanup and then went home to sleep somemore.

I did go see my doctor on Tuesday. He didn't think anything was broken or fractured, nor signs of infection...but he brought up even more frightening possibilities, like, the artery could be compromised by the swelling of the muscle and cut off circulation, or that a blood clot could be formed and then that is not good.

Ok we ruled out the arterial stuff since the swelling has gone done since Saturday. We did an ultrasound to make sure the veins were flowing as usually and they were. So the result is just one big bruise and a little gimpy.

Just keep it elevated and iced.