Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Summer Camp
My 1st grade art class at summer camp. Sorry I'm so loud. The kids are having fun, so I have to get their attention. :)
I loading a couple more vids of my kids on youtube. www.youtube.com/mmstyleknits
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Thought for the day
Which I may delete later (posting under current conditions=bad idea). Nevertherless:
We change and grow, hopefully, as we get older. We hope that these changes are for the better, although I can personally attest to slowly integrating bad habits that aren't helpful. For example, I procrastinate way more than I ought, and I find that I am not as able to focus as I was, say, 10 years ago. I am learning less, among other things. That may be simply because I am not in school and I am much less likely to read clearly educational materials (as opposed to novels) in my free time. In school, reading materials and what I gleaned from them, were not optional. But, I know I have time to keep learning much more, but do not take proper advantage.
So, my question, after discussing things that I think can change, is this:
Do we hit a point where, assuming we are "average," that we cannot change our moral and ethical leanings, and therefore, the actions that they govern? Or can we only change them minimally? I should put some time into defining average. I am referring to people who are not at the extremes of society. Criminal elements (I know that this comprises at least a siginficant portion of the population of my own country, but many are extreme, and so changes, through rehabilitation are drastic, but in many cases, change will never occur because they are so marginalized).
I guess what I mean to say is, if you long thought certain things were right or wrong, morally, can that change, really change, in your thinking? Can it change the way you would act in relevant situations? Not that long ago, a friend put forth the idea (possibly something that was read) that the personality is formed by the time we hit 30. What if I don't like parts of my personality-even though I know that much of it is based on experiences and reactions to them? What if I were to change the reaction to a situation based on a long held belief? Am I going to be able to look at it from a new perspective and feel like I can accept the change/response I had and move on? Or am I going to regret acting on new ideas that don't mesh with beliefs that are still informing part of who I am?
OK, I know this is not well written or informative, even. Thoughts?
Settling-should you do it to bring a measure of peace that lacks a sense of truth to you, or keep striving when you think (in all honesty) "it" might be beyond your reach? I thought this might be separate (it is, in some ways) but it also has do to with the way I have lived my life to now. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense.
We change and grow, hopefully, as we get older. We hope that these changes are for the better, although I can personally attest to slowly integrating bad habits that aren't helpful. For example, I procrastinate way more than I ought, and I find that I am not as able to focus as I was, say, 10 years ago. I am learning less, among other things. That may be simply because I am not in school and I am much less likely to read clearly educational materials (as opposed to novels) in my free time. In school, reading materials and what I gleaned from them, were not optional. But, I know I have time to keep learning much more, but do not take proper advantage.
So, my question, after discussing things that I think can change, is this:
Do we hit a point where, assuming we are "average," that we cannot change our moral and ethical leanings, and therefore, the actions that they govern? Or can we only change them minimally? I should put some time into defining average. I am referring to people who are not at the extremes of society. Criminal elements (I know that this comprises at least a siginficant portion of the population of my own country, but many are extreme, and so changes, through rehabilitation are drastic, but in many cases, change will never occur because they are so marginalized).
I guess what I mean to say is, if you long thought certain things were right or wrong, morally, can that change, really change, in your thinking? Can it change the way you would act in relevant situations? Not that long ago, a friend put forth the idea (possibly something that was read) that the personality is formed by the time we hit 30. What if I don't like parts of my personality-even though I know that much of it is based on experiences and reactions to them? What if I were to change the reaction to a situation based on a long held belief? Am I going to be able to look at it from a new perspective and feel like I can accept the change/response I had and move on? Or am I going to regret acting on new ideas that don't mesh with beliefs that are still informing part of who I am?
OK, I know this is not well written or informative, even. Thoughts?
Settling-should you do it to bring a measure of peace that lacks a sense of truth to you, or keep striving when you think (in all honesty) "it" might be beyond your reach? I thought this might be separate (it is, in some ways) but it also has do to with the way I have lived my life to now. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Concert
I was at a great concert last night. The main performance was a Korean band called Boom Boom. Drums. Lots of drums. If you know me, you know I am a sucker for drums. It was a blast. Small performance space, big drums-especially the traditional Korean style one. It was great. Because of the nature of the space, I could feel the drums resonating through me. Loved that.
A TV station was filming, and as the only non-asian person there (there was one other foreigner-a Vietnamese fellow who was great sport when they put him on the spot) I stood out. So, the camera man interviewed me and the man I was with translated for both of us. He also translated the jokes that were sung in the at the end in traditional korean style. Boom Boom is 6 performers, including a dancer, and man on a traditional horn and the drummers.
Normally, there are no performances at this time-it's normal vacation period, but I think they made an exception for the TV station and others. My companion at the show, Michael, told me that it was a shorter than usual performance. There was dinner and tea first. I don't usually care for Korean green tea, but this was mild and pleasant. Maybe because I don't usually like most teas here, I was not too surprised to find out it was from a $100 bottle of tea. Dinner beforehand was apparently something new-a spicy chicken stew, with rice and veggies-which are the norm.
Because I had to catch my bus back, I missed the after performance party, unfortunately. I would have loved to find out more about where and when this band plays. Plus, if the tea was $100 a bottle (think the equivalent of paying $4-5 US for coffee, but in a setting that is much more special than Starbucks), then I imagine the Makoli (which I do like) was probably significantly better than the $3 kettles I've had with friends!
Unfortunately, I did not film it with my camera, which would have been a great addition for my class coming up in camp. I will ask Eun Jeong to look at the brochure I brought home to find out if I can get CDs of videos to show my kids. I'm still hunting for good supplemental materials for that.
OK, please don't mind me if I don't check this over before posting. I recently got a pretty good idea of my "usual" readership, and I don't think either of you will mind! (PS, Lurking family members are REQUIRED to comment and leave their name in! I know where you live!)
A TV station was filming, and as the only non-asian person there (there was one other foreigner-a Vietnamese fellow who was great sport when they put him on the spot) I stood out. So, the camera man interviewed me and the man I was with translated for both of us. He also translated the jokes that were sung in the at the end in traditional korean style. Boom Boom is 6 performers, including a dancer, and man on a traditional horn and the drummers.
Normally, there are no performances at this time-it's normal vacation period, but I think they made an exception for the TV station and others. My companion at the show, Michael, told me that it was a shorter than usual performance. There was dinner and tea first. I don't usually care for Korean green tea, but this was mild and pleasant. Maybe because I don't usually like most teas here, I was not too surprised to find out it was from a $100 bottle of tea. Dinner beforehand was apparently something new-a spicy chicken stew, with rice and veggies-which are the norm.
Because I had to catch my bus back, I missed the after performance party, unfortunately. I would have loved to find out more about where and when this band plays. Plus, if the tea was $100 a bottle (think the equivalent of paying $4-5 US for coffee, but in a setting that is much more special than Starbucks), then I imagine the Makoli (which I do like) was probably significantly better than the $3 kettles I've had with friends!
Unfortunately, I did not film it with my camera, which would have been a great addition for my class coming up in camp. I will ask Eun Jeong to look at the brochure I brought home to find out if I can get CDs of videos to show my kids. I'm still hunting for good supplemental materials for that.
OK, please don't mind me if I don't check this over before posting. I recently got a pretty good idea of my "usual" readership, and I don't think either of you will mind! (PS, Lurking family members are REQUIRED to comment and leave their name in! I know where you live!)
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Aww shucks
....Aww, shucks, thanks, Spin, for giving me the rockin' blogger award. Had I known, I would have nominated you first, because you are a great knitty friend and an amazing knitter. Given that you already got one, just make room on your mantel for one more! Also, I'd give one to Sade for interesting posts, and being a helpful, kind fellow knitter, and to Shona because she has been so cool and supportive. I'd give one to Rob, but, well, she doesn't actually blog, she Tweets! But, she has been a great help and a lot of fun, online and off.
A bit pink for me, but......
A bit pink for me, but......
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Off for more PT. Yesterday they had to stop the black monster early. Usually it doesn't hurt a whole heck of a lot, but it "pulled" further than usual-strtching my back. Stretching the back feels good, but the chiro saw the look on my face due to the ache that starts up in the hip area. Ugh. It's weird, the pain isn't extreme or anything, just persistent. I hope that this heals up soon. I have no idea how long I'll be doing this.
I met the doctor's wife yesterday, my student's mom. She was nice, but it was one of those awkward moments of obligatory talk when you don't know someone at all and have no idea what you have in common (besides Anna, of course). So, it was the usual how are you's, Anna says she like's Mallory Teacher, Anna's a great student, blah blah until an appropriate amount of time has passed that makes it OK to beat a hasty retreat. Sounds worse than it is, but these meetings are often awkward for me. I can never think of the right things to say to parents. It's easier when it's a student I really enjoy and who does well, like Anna. Ideas appreciated to help me with future awkward moments!
I met the doctor's wife yesterday, my student's mom. She was nice, but it was one of those awkward moments of obligatory talk when you don't know someone at all and have no idea what you have in common (besides Anna, of course). So, it was the usual how are you's, Anna says she like's Mallory Teacher, Anna's a great student, blah blah until an appropriate amount of time has passed that makes it OK to beat a hasty retreat. Sounds worse than it is, but these meetings are often awkward for me. I can never think of the right things to say to parents. It's easier when it's a student I really enjoy and who does well, like Anna. Ideas appreciated to help me with future awkward moments!
Friday, July 13, 2007
The A.C. was finally installed last Sunday. YES! What a difference. Of course, my !@#?!! landlord made the installer drill the hole in my wall over a meter below the ac unit, so it doesn't look pretty. And it's running from my 2nd floor apartment to the compressor on the ground. Need some spray foam for around the hoses, but I don't know if they have that sort of thing here. Probably, but I've no clue how to ask for it, and Amy looked at me like she had no clue when I asked. I also don't know if the hoses should be packed away in the winter. Will they have water in them? If so, I figure that can't be good. I know nothing about AC. I've actually never had it before, except in other people's places.
On another note, I have started physical therapy. X-rays showed that I have a compressed disc between the L4 and L5. It's a long process here-at least for me. The doctor is the father of one of my students. He must have written that I am not to be charged any out of pocket fees. The first time, Amy translated, as she was kind enough to come with me. Second time, the women at the front desk kindly signalled no charge-saying as much, but not that I can understand. So, I don't know if they've said, no charge at all. Thrd time they laughed and waved me off with a scrip for pain meds I don't fill. They don't do anything. Yesterday, the fourth time, they had my scrip ready as I walked out and were saying goodbye before I had it in my hands in order to avoid the whole bit entirely. Not that I mind-they can have a laugh at my expense-because the doctor is not charging his daughter's teacher! Cool. Granted, co-pays here are much less than in the US, but still, nice benefit of being a teacher.
The whole PT set up is rather assembly line, unlike the limited experience I have had back home. Many people are in line and in various points of treatment. I start with heat on the spine, then electrical stim, then some sort of traction machine that is more like a long black torture device. I lay down on it. It has seprate pieces fitted together to support the different parts of the body. The part that my pelvic region is on isn't full wiidth. I lay flat, and one of the nice staff people-usually one particular woman, screws two curved peices onto the machine. She lines me up until my hips are in the right place to have these curved vices tightend on the side of either hip, holding me quite firmly in one spot. Velco straps are criss-crossed over my midsection. Something that sounds like a blood pressure monitor is pumped, and under my back I feel the pressure change slightly.
I should note that all electronic medical equipment that I have seen is labeled in English, sometimes with Korean overlay, but more often not. So this efficient woman who straps me in swings the monitor over that has a time graph, many buttons and notes regarding the pounds of pressure, and various other things all only in English, in front of me. The first two times she explained the whole thing to me in Korean while I waited patiently, grinning inwardly.
At this point, the slow torture begins, lasting 30 minutes. She turns the machine on and leaves. It begins to slowly apply pressure, which I can only just feel, while it slowly stretches me down the table with each round. One minute on, thirty seconds off. The first time the pressure was too high and my whole lower back/pelvic area hurt by the time I was out of the machine. When it finally finishes, it releases me, and when I am not prepared, my streched body, held in the vice, is forcibly brought back to the starting position. Let me tell you, if I haven't raised my back and feet to sort of slide with it, it HURTS. Ugh.
The torture device is followed by a session of chiropractic. The chriropractor usually does more electric stim first. From the point that I am on the black bed, I am in his area, and he sees at least one patient every ten minutes or so, usually more. The whole PT area is one large room, with 3/4 walls, so that from beginning to end you can hear ubiquitous cell phones ringing, fans whirring, the chirpractors table kirchunking with each hapless victim...er, patient. Actually, he is a very nice man and we manage to communicate sufficiently with my mangled Korean and his basic English. He knows more medical terminolgy than everyday conversational words. But, it works. Depending on wait time before treatment, and various points in between, the whole thing takes at least two hours.
Thus far this is no change with the treatment, but I have hurt for well over a year, so I think it could take a while for my body to get back to "normal." I am headed back for more torture today after school. Yippee.
On another note, I have started physical therapy. X-rays showed that I have a compressed disc between the L4 and L5. It's a long process here-at least for me. The doctor is the father of one of my students. He must have written that I am not to be charged any out of pocket fees. The first time, Amy translated, as she was kind enough to come with me. Second time, the women at the front desk kindly signalled no charge-saying as much, but not that I can understand. So, I don't know if they've said, no charge at all. Thrd time they laughed and waved me off with a scrip for pain meds I don't fill. They don't do anything. Yesterday, the fourth time, they had my scrip ready as I walked out and were saying goodbye before I had it in my hands in order to avoid the whole bit entirely. Not that I mind-they can have a laugh at my expense-because the doctor is not charging his daughter's teacher! Cool. Granted, co-pays here are much less than in the US, but still, nice benefit of being a teacher.
The whole PT set up is rather assembly line, unlike the limited experience I have had back home. Many people are in line and in various points of treatment. I start with heat on the spine, then electrical stim, then some sort of traction machine that is more like a long black torture device. I lay down on it. It has seprate pieces fitted together to support the different parts of the body. The part that my pelvic region is on isn't full wiidth. I lay flat, and one of the nice staff people-usually one particular woman, screws two curved peices onto the machine. She lines me up until my hips are in the right place to have these curved vices tightend on the side of either hip, holding me quite firmly in one spot. Velco straps are criss-crossed over my midsection. Something that sounds like a blood pressure monitor is pumped, and under my back I feel the pressure change slightly.
I should note that all electronic medical equipment that I have seen is labeled in English, sometimes with Korean overlay, but more often not. So this efficient woman who straps me in swings the monitor over that has a time graph, many buttons and notes regarding the pounds of pressure, and various other things all only in English, in front of me. The first two times she explained the whole thing to me in Korean while I waited patiently, grinning inwardly.
At this point, the slow torture begins, lasting 30 minutes. She turns the machine on and leaves. It begins to slowly apply pressure, which I can only just feel, while it slowly stretches me down the table with each round. One minute on, thirty seconds off. The first time the pressure was too high and my whole lower back/pelvic area hurt by the time I was out of the machine. When it finally finishes, it releases me, and when I am not prepared, my streched body, held in the vice, is forcibly brought back to the starting position. Let me tell you, if I haven't raised my back and feet to sort of slide with it, it HURTS. Ugh.
The torture device is followed by a session of chiropractic. The chriropractor usually does more electric stim first. From the point that I am on the black bed, I am in his area, and he sees at least one patient every ten minutes or so, usually more. The whole PT area is one large room, with 3/4 walls, so that from beginning to end you can hear ubiquitous cell phones ringing, fans whirring, the chirpractors table kirchunking with each hapless victim...er, patient. Actually, he is a very nice man and we manage to communicate sufficiently with my mangled Korean and his basic English. He knows more medical terminolgy than everyday conversational words. But, it works. Depending on wait time before treatment, and various points in between, the whole thing takes at least two hours.
Thus far this is no change with the treatment, but I have hurt for well over a year, so I think it could take a while for my body to get back to "normal." I am headed back for more torture today after school. Yippee.
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