Life of Wry

Palos Verdes High School’s classy class of 1974 had the first of three events associated with its 40th reunion tonight…  it was an informal gathering held at Nelson’s restaurant located at the site of what was once Marineland of the Pacific, now part of the huge and swanky Terranea resort.

Here’s a shot of Terranea…(uh, not my picture).

It was a pretty view from the restaurant and I did take some shots of that….

Here are a couple couple shots:

Chuck and Lisa:

Rick and Debbie:

And, Jim and me:

High school reunions… I was starting to wonder who needs them what with Facebook–an ongoing, virtual high school reunion.  I mean, what more do we need to know?

But you know what?  It was, actually, a blast.

Will be spending a week here.

It was a good-news, bad-news kinda day….

The bad news: My mom got the dreaded pneumonia bug which, after three weeks of not getting better, landed her in the hospital. You don’t want to get pneumonia if you’re a frail 85-year-old with vital organs in a delicate balance.

The good news: She got out on Monday, after only six days, and spent two hours today sitting on a bench looking at the ocean. I’m heading down to see her tomorrow.

Here’s a great shot, not taken today, but you get the idea. Sheer joy.

The bad news: We haven’t yet built that backyard, stone-sided, very cool raised garden bed.

(See blank spot in upper left corner of picture, just beyond the foot bridge….)

The good news: In the meantime, we planted some vegetables and herbs in the front yard.

The bad news: We committed the classic rookie-gardener error–not keeping an eye on those zucchinis.

Look at these two whales.. way bigger than bananas.. ridiculous:

The good news: Our backyard crape myrtle had a world record, eye-popping bloom this year, hitting a spectacular high note in the first week of July:

The bad news: Something weird happened. What is typically a three-month lavender color fest in our backyard is now this… so sad:

No idea what happened.

The good news: The opening game of the Junior Legion’s post-season playoffs is tomorrow and Peter Frame is on the mound for Davis!

(Please excuse the slightly dated picture of Peter, with braces!)

The bad news: I will miss this game. I think the last time I missed a game, other than that one pre-season scrimmage at the beginning of the JV season, was when I went to Nepal and missed three of Peter’s games in his final season of Little League. Way to go, mom.

The bad news: I thought I had another basel cell carcinoma. I took a picture of it and sent it to my dermatologist and she wanted to see me right away.

The good news: I went in today for the exam and it turned out to be just a broken blood vessel, “come back in a year for your annual scan,” she said.

The good news: I finished all that filing–bills, Peter’s sophomore year, bills, five seasons of baseball, bills, writing projects, bills, travel paraphernalia, bills, photos, and some bills.

The even better news: I’m never letting those things pile up again. Fantastic news, huh?

This being Tuesday, we were walking around the arboretum, as we do, and this happened.

The grey clouds overhead were responsible.  It was a nice development.

In other directions, it looked like this:

I could get used to this little variability in the weather!

Thanks, O-BA-ma. 

I am a lover of psychic space.

Having some, I am able to start my latest editing project–reading a draft of a friend’s manuscript in search of typos, grammatical or spelling mistakes, format inconsistencies, and any other goof ups that appear. Largely proofreading. But she’s also open to hearing about my general impressions of the material, tone, any confusion that may arise… so it’s a bit beyond just proofreading.  Heaven.

I think of myself these days as a freelance writer/editor, free in this case also referring to the fact I do it without pay.

In the editing realm I have no qualms about working for free because I have no formal training as an editor. I think I have a careful eye and do a pretty good job of it, but I can miss stuff, too. I have given thought to becoming more official, whether that means taking some kind of course or getting certified in some way.. not sure. On my list of things to think about.

My writing is small potatoes: blogging, press releases, feature stories, sports write ups, copy for whatever, and… my own personal threat to myself to actually write something real, like… I really can’t bring myself to say it… but something. Someday. Maybe. Or maybe I’ll just keep doing what I do now. Who knows.

Ahem.

I do know this: I love it. And I especially love it when I have the aforementioned psychic space, the decks cleared, and the time to sit in a comfortable, cozy spot–coffee, snacks and a pencil (or, you know, computer or whatever the means) at the ready.

That was today.

What else can I post, after a long weekend of baseball games? Today’s game was the last in the Junior Legion’s regular summer season.

And, oh my, what a challenging summer season this has been. Twenty games… they won four. That’s rough. I think it’s largely because they were playing teams that were fielding varsity rosters. Not absolutely sure about that, but I’ve heard a few people say so.

Our Junior Legion team this summer has consisted of, at one time or another, thirty players, about half of whom came from last year’s Freshman team and half from the Junior Varsity team. A handful of our Junior Varsity players were called up by Coach Arioloa at the beginning of the summer to play with the Varsity’s summer squad, so they were not in the mix. On the Junior Legion team, Coach Watts (the Freshman coach) has been carrying a regular roster of about twenty-ish players, which is a lot, and moving them all over the place. That is exactly what summer ball is about for Davis High–testing players at different positions, moving them in and out, getting a good look at them in various configurations. It’s all about figuring out who will go up to Varsity next year, who will play Junior Varsity (only freshman and sophomores are eligible), who will sit out. Every day feels like a tryout. It’s a bit of a pressure cooker for the older classmen (the juniors, in this case), who, if they don’t make the Varsity team next year, are suddenly at loose ends. As Coach Watts so brutally put it at a team meeting a couple years ago, “every baseball player’s career comes to an end sometime.”

Anyway…chaotic, un-cohesive, messy, and a bit of a morale buster… that is Junior Legion.  Nobody’s fault, that’s just what summer ball with thirty players is. Still: twenty whole baseball games! I’m not complaining!

And, next week, playoffs begin! I’ll see Wednesday’s opener, but will miss the others (since I’m going for a long overdue trip south to see mom). It’s a double elimination tournament, so they’ll get at least two games in. Hoping, against hope, for more. Stay tuned.

And then the Fall season, which starts on the first day of school (August 27), another version of Summer ball. And then Spring tryouts for Varsity. Wheeeee.

So, with that, here are some photos from the weekend (three games in which we were outscored by Vacaville 39-14).

My favorite is, again, not mine–it’s Wes Young’s… here are Ray and Peter, following yesterday’s double header. They have become such good friends:

Here are a couple photos I messed with of Peter at the plate:

This could very well be the last at-bat I see of Peter’s this summer (in the event he pitches-only on Wednesday), so, you know.. had to capture it in faded, romantic tones:

And here’s a shot of Coach Ariola and Coach Watts before today’s game, undoubtedly exchanging intel on the boys… oh, if only the blades of grass could talk…

Our garage takes my breath away, and not in a good way. Being the obsessively organized person that I am, and critter-averse, I can barely walk through the garage, let alone hang out in there. It’s Jim’s space. I’ve learned to let it go.

But, as I wrote a couple days ago, I’ve discovered, in the last six months or so, that time spent on Jim’s Stairmaster, which is in the garage, is well worth the clutter shock.

For Jim, the Stairmaster has been a daily ritual for maybe 25-30 years, but, until recently, I’d never even set foot on it.  Part of it was I stubbornly insisted on alternative forms of exercise (better forms…I’m snobby that way). And part of it was the garage.

But earlier in the year, I was largely homebound because of that skin chemo treatment; I didn’t want to freak everybody out at Davis Swim and Fitness… so, in desperation, I decided to try the Stairmaster. It wasn’t all that bad..  Jim’s got it  set up with NPR and a powerful fan trained right on the machine.  After a few sessions, I figured out how to mount my iPad so I can now guiltlessly play all the games of Spider Solitare that fit into a 45-60 minute workout. The garage Stairmaster has now become something I actually look forward to. It’s good-enough-in-fact-great aerobic exercise that I don’t even notice because: NPR and Spider. It actually feels like downtime… very efficient, cardio-enhancing downtime

And it’s ten feet from the kitchen.. which is to say, I don’t have to drive to south Davis.

Heaven.

• My mom’s turned a corner and feels a whole lot better. She is out of the woods and could be out of the hospital by Sunday.

• I’m sorer than hell. Thanks Igor. Also? Triceps.

• The great summer filing project’s begun and is tedious as all get out, but, you know, gotta be done.

• The Peter Frame Responsibility Tour’s added a new stop. It needs a new name, too, but the point is, he’s now picking his clothes up off the floor. Maybe.

• Our former favorite neighbors, the philosophy professors, moved back to town five years ago (to a different neighborhood, unfortunately) and after running into them periodically over those last five years and saying, “Let’s have dinner soon!,” we finally had dinner tonight.

• No picture today. Instead, here’s a sunset from Wednesday, following the junior legion’s crushing mercy-decision loss to TC Legion of Fairfield. Not Peter’s most shining moment on the mound. Though this mom thought he looked great anyway. But hey,  the sunset was truly spectacular.

I’m pretty excited about this. Please do not read on if other people’s exercise regimens are not on your list of interesting reading. (As with so many blog posts, I wrote this for my own record.)

Tuesday, and again today, Igor, the fitness phenom who leads classes and does personal training over at Hideshi’s Fitness Garage, came over. I had hoped that he could help me design a weight routine that would be:

a. manageable (not too crazy rigorous, not too time consuming)
b. doable on an ongoing basis (like, 3xs/week,forever)
c. comprehensive in terms of a full body work out, in order to be toned and strong overall and avoid injury

Backing up for a moment, here’s the deal: For optimal body health and fitness, we need to make sure we deal with four major areas:  1) get regular aerobic workouts for cardio, 2) maintain muscle tone and strength by doing some kind of weight training , 3) maintain flexibility and range of motion, through stretching and/or yoga, and 4)  do something to preserve balance, I guess by challenging ourselves with balancing exercises to maintain corrective muscle memory. And, you know, eat right, drink a bunch of water, get tons of sleep, and I even like to include regular bodywork to keep things all aligned…but for this summary, I’m focusing on just the fitness stuff.

It’s a little insane what it takes to keep it all working. Like, who’s got that kind of time?

Nevertheless….am I forgetting anything?

I pretty much do most of that, especially lately, since leaving full time work.  But it’s not a perfectly sustainable program.. so I’ve been fine tuning the whole regimen–for years–simplifying, getting real, modifying here and there. It’s a work in progress, but I may have taken a great step this week in perfecting it.  Here’s how it currently breaks down.

Aerobic: For years, I’ve been walking around the arboretum (approx four miles) twice a week. Totally sustainable because it’s also about talking with Vicki and a luxurious post-walk au lait and muffin at Mishka’s. Not hugely aerobic, but it’s over an hour of walking. Also on those days, for the last few years, I’ve gone to the Fitness Garage for hour-long Core & Balance classes, which include a fair amount of aerobic exercise. Though I’m mostly a fair-weather bike rider, which in Davis is a lot of the year, biking somewhere gives me pretty good bursts of aerobic exercise, so I count it. We walk downtown at least once per day, most days, so that’s another mile at least and oughta count for something. Finally, I recently traded in the elliptical at Davis Swim & Fitness for Jim’s garage Stairmaster, which is the most perfect 45-60-minutes-of-seriously-sweaty-and-breathy-aerobic-exercise-that-goes-by-so-fast-because-I-play-Spider-while-I’m-doing-it-and-listen-to-NPR.  Kind of kicking myself for ignoring this option for the last 20 years out of a weird aversion to working out in our messy garage, but I’m over it. Have discovered in the last six months what Jim’s known forever: the garage Stairmaster is incredibly aerobic, is ridiculously efficient and effective, and it’s right here. Saves a ton of time and money not having to go to some club to work out. It can be done just about daily, which is Jim’s practice, and now mine, which is awesome.

Muscle tone and strength: So, over the years, I’ve had a variety of hodge podge workouts, some better than others, that I’ve designed and which I’ve done in my office. I’ve acquired tons of weights, balls, rollers, pads, bands, bars, etc and have had mixed success using them. A year ago, I decided to join DSF to use their machines.. far simpler: show up, do the circuit, be done. A rotation through the machines takes about thirty minutes and has felt reasonably comprehensive. But, I’ve had to drive there, and it costs a bunch of money which has seemed silly since I have so much stuff at home. Recently, Peter got a huge weight system that lives on our back porch, but it was way too intimidating to use.. plus it was his, plus I had DSF. But… then I got this great idea: Invite Igor over to assess the machine and all my weight lifting paraphernalia and design a comprehensive full body workout that meets my old lady needs. And that’s what we did this week. Jury’s out as to whether this time the home system remains doable and enjoyable (like the Stairmaster thing). But wow, I am encouraged. The difference this time is that Igor created this set of exercises, divided by body parts in a much smarter way than I had in the past, with weight choices and reps that are better suited to my objectives than what I may have come up with… because, you know, this is what he does. Gotta do it a few times, make some adjustments and then institutionalize it. Then, like the Stairmaster, do it regularly. I’m hopeful.

Stretching: Yes.. just have to do it. Have the routine (about 30 minutes), have the stuff right here at home (pads, bands, etc). Can do it in my office. Should do it most days.

Balance: Well, I don’t go to great lengths on this one, since we do a lot in the Tuesday/Thursday Core & Balance workouts at Fitness Garage, but I do have one thing I do at home: Stand on an inflated disk for two minutes twice a day while brushing my teeth. Sometimes on one foot, sometimes with eyes closed. Yup.

Sound good?

Here’s the weight machine.  Now that I’ve personally straightened the area and cleaned all the equipment, it feels less abstract and far less intimidating. Since taking this picture, I’ve done more to organize it. I can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow.

Here’s Igor. Amazing athlete, extremely fitness-savvy, and a super patient, kind fellow.

Look who got his braces off!

Nah…. this guy!

Sure there will be many braces-free photos from here on out, but here are the most important ones.. the first couple, taken on the day of…

Peter called from the parking lot of Dr. Molitor’s office, so we suggested he drive (yes, drive) right downtown to Crepeville, where Jim and I were having lunch… and so he did. He even let me snap a couple photos. Getting one’s braces off makes one very agreeable!

So… moving right along here in the greatest month ever: turning sixteen, getting a drivers license, pitching for varsity, getting to the end of the six-month accutane treatment (omg), getting the braces off after two years…

wOOt wOOt!