Today marks Week 1 of the official marathon training program! It’s been more than a year since we have run a full marathon, and I this is going to be the year for the follow up.

We have our plan in order, and the training schedule is starting to fall into place! Thanks to my wonderfully sporadic work schedule, it is a bit complicated to plan more than a couple of weeks in advance, but I am taking it one day at a time.

I will post some details from the plan as soon as I get a chance, and hope to have details on more musings on life as a running lighting tech, and some other exciting plans as well!

Since I will be pinned here in New York for my grandfather’s funeral, I was asked to write some words to be read.  This is what came to me.

:::

“Work harder,” he would say.  “You’ve got to let everyone see how hard you are working.  Never let anyone see you sitting down or wasting time… keep it up.”

For some strange reason these are the enduring words of my Grandfather.  Maybe it’s because of the timeless wisdom, the straightforward, tough-love encouragement.  Or maybe it’s because when he told me this I was ten years old.  Digging trenches to put a sprinkler system in somebody’s front yard.  In the summer.  Ten years old.

Some of you may know him as Shig, John, maybe even Juan.  But to me, he was “Gichan.”  Gichan wouldn’t want me to make this sappy, or dreary, and if my father has shown me anything by example, he certainly wouldn’t have wanted it to be lengthy.  Tears and sad words are outright.

Allow me then to speak for a minute about what Gichan taught me.  He taught me many lessons, though like all good lessons, I would have no idea at the time what he was talking about.  Only recently have I been able to realize what he was telling me, or rather the example that he set for me.

I’ll never know exactly what happened up at the base of Mt. Whitney over sixty years ago.  I was never able to truly gain a vivid picture of what life was like there, of what they went through, or what was going through his mind those years.  The stories I heard were mostly of the years after the camps… of the successes and struggles of making a new life, and climbing back to the top. Starting from scratch.

Perhaps because of this, Gichan was and always had been a hard worker.  I don’t think that he was ever trained in anything he did, yet he was a welder, a carpenter, a plumber, a painter, a mechanic, a gardener, and a proficient master of the ancient Japanese art of KA-RA-O-KE.  The latter, perhaps we could have done without, though the karaoke machines and video cameras did have an important place in my formative years as a wee-young-sound technician.   What I am trying to say is that my Grandfather taught me how to hustle.  If anyone ever asked him, “Do you know how to…” the answer was always a reassuring, “YES.”  He would figure out how to ACTUALLY do it as he went.

Whether I was mowing a lawn, sweeping, or operating a leaf blower (again, I was probably much too young to be doing any of these things…) he made sure I was always working hard.  Back then I didn’t really care… I just wanted to make him happy.  But today, I know that he was teaching me to be proud of myself.  To take pride in what I do.  He was teaching me that life is more than just a set of tasks.  Life is NOT a bitch.  Or maybe for some it is, because LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE OF IT.  That is what Gichan would have wanted you to hear today.  YOU ARE NOT A PASSENGER.  It is not enough to stop and smell the roses.  Turn the earth, plant a seed, water it, watch it grow, and THEN, when you have done the work, you can of your labor.  THAT is what he taught me.

“Scotty the great,” he would call me.  As if I was some kind of child-superhero.  “Boy, you’re the greatest…” he would tell me.  I didn’t believe him at the time… but I know what he was trying to tell me.  He was telling me this:

Never TRY to be your best.  He would never have said that.  BE the best. And if you believe that you are the greatest, and that you are all you can be, then you are.  Period.

Gichan…. thank you.

So, I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone on the internets’s tubes know that Lucy and I are officially engaged.  Since Facebook has decided that pictures aren’t really worth much, let alone a thousand words, I am posting pictures of the ring here.

Isometric View

Top View

So today, I had my final follow-up visit with the Orthopedic surgeon to talk about the results of my MRI.  I appreciate everyone who has prayed and followed this ordeal…

In any case, the results are kind of vague.  I have a class II indication in the anterior portion of my medial meniscus.  What does that mean, exactly?  Well, it’s complicated.  Essentially, there has been some degeneration (wearing away) of my meniscus, but not enough to warrant surgery.  In fact, removing any tissue would likely make things worse, because the tissue can not be replaced.  The tissue is slightly worn away on the inside of the meniscus, but there is no visible tearing on the outside of the meniscus.

So what does it mean for me?  Well, basically, I just have to take things easy, and try to slowly build myself back up to the point I was at before I started noticing the injury.  Ultimately, I would like to do another marathon; Lucy and I have our eyes on the San Diego Marathon again in June.  Before that, I hope to do at least one triathlon… Gotta test out that wetsuit!  The key is just going to be to take things easy and go slow with getting back into the running.

I’ll post up the best-of the MRI images when I get a chance… Doug has noticed that the old place isn’t working anymore, and he’s right.  That’s because I have to move the folder (I upgraded the blogging software, which does funny things with the files on the server) back to its original location.  However, I can’t do that right now because I am in Biology class, so I will Edit the post soon.

Thanks again for everyone who has supported and prayed for me… I would have gone crazy without you…

Ok, well, an update in the never-ending saga of my stupid left knee…

I am scheduled to have an MRI done on Thursday to see if there are any problems.  Overall, I am feeling good about it, but I am a bit apprehensive knowing that there is a chance that things could be going wacky.

For now, I’ll just have to wait and hope that the Doctor doesn’t decide to cancel on me as seems to be the ‘in’ thing to do when you they are treating me.

I promise to upload scans of any sort of images that they give me.

So, I was going over my old blog, and I came across this post that I wrote about my experience at the Anaheim Gateway 24 Hour Fitness….  I’m reposting it here in its entirety.  Enjoy!

The smell of urine. Wet paper towels on the floor. More random debris than the aftermath of a frat party. No… I am not describing a gas station bathroom, or a rest stop 300 miles out of town. I am describing the locker room I pay a monthly fee to have access to. Each night when I walk into the 24-Hour Fitness in Anaheim, California I am confronted with a level of cleanliness on-par with such fine establishments as Arco, and Valero. I carefully weave my way past the abandoned paper products, and try desparately to find a dry spot where I can change my clothes. I dare not let my feet touch the floor because, while I am pretty sure it’s not urine…. well, let’s just say that with the smell in there, you’d never know one way or the other. On most nights, I will stay as far away from the bathroom as possible, simply changing and heading for the treadmill. I’ll then spend the next 30-50 minutes ponder what kinds of diseases one can contract from poor hygiene. Did I get ringworm? Psoriasis? Athletes foot? So far, no, but I’m crossing my fingers next time. I’m hoping for impetigo.

Some nights, I opt out of the run, and go for a swim instead. In that case, I get into my shorts (although a Hazmat suit would seem more appropriate) and head for the pool. Towel and goggles in-hand, I carefully thread my way past the wet toilet paper, lint, and unidentifiable muck of the shower area. I crazily twist and contort my feet in a futile attempt to make as little contact with the floor as possible. If I survive the sludge, I make it to the prize! My prize is the single shower required for pre-swim washing. I don’t know why I rinse off before I get into the pool, as clearly I am the only one. After rinsing-off whatever I might have contracted in the locker room, I get in to the wonderful, cold salt-water pool. What’s that? It’s not salt water? Chlorine, you say? Oh…. Well, it tastes like salt. I mean… shit. So… that must be other people’s sweat then. Great.

And with that, I head home. I would take a shower, but I am pretty sure that I wouldn’t walk out of the shower any “cleaner” than I walked into it. Besides, I am pretty sure that the burning sensation I am feeling is completely normal.

After all this, I get a call today informing me that “The Doctor won’t be coming into the office today”.  This, an hour before my appointment.  Really?  And the next available is, when?  Next Monday?  Really?  No priority for prior appointments, no attempt to re-schedule me sooner…  Thanks, Doc.

I’ll stick with my original appointment with Dr. Katzman (thankfully I hadn’t cancelled it yet).  It’s on the 15th.  Geez.  To think I went through all this work to get an appointment sooner, and now we’re back to square one.

American Healthcare System 1, Scott 0.

So, today, a week and a half after my original visit with the doctor I got a call.  And, a very disturbing one, at that.  Now, it wasn’t disturbing because of anything bad, but it was disturbing because of how horribly irrelevant it was.

You see, I went to see the Physician’s Assistant for what I fear may be a torn medial meniscus in my left knee.  Not a good thing… So, they referred me to an orthopedic surgeon and ordered x-rays.  I went that same day to get the x-rays done.

Now, much later a nurse gave me a call to inform me of some very obvious, and strange news.  “The results of your X-Rays are IN, and we want to let you know the good news that your knee is not broken or dislocated.” Oh gee, thanks!  Because, I was wondering when I was walking into the gym this morning to go swimming if my leg might be BROKEN OR DISLOCATED!  WTF?

Did I mention that I left THREE messages asking them to call me back about my referral?  Still no word from them on that (thankfully, I was able to talk to the orthopedist who is MUCH more helpful) but at least I know my leg is not broken.

Thanks A LOT, Dr. Morinishi.

UPDATE: I got a call this afternoon (around 3pm) from Dr. Morinishi’s office, “Hi, I was just calling to let you know that your referral was sent to the Orthopedist on the 31st.”  Ok, first of all, BULLSHIT, because I called them on the 31st, and they said they hadn’t received it.  And, I called on the 2nd, and they hadn’t received it.  Second of all, thanks for taking 3 business days (I’m not counting holidays) to even return my call!  3 DAYS TO RETURN MY CALL!  Did I mention that there is supposedly an ENTIRE DEPARTMENT at this Doctor’s office to deal with referrals?  I said; “Yeah, I figured as much, since I have an appointment with them tomorrow.”  AWKWARD SILENCE… “Ok, well we just wanted to let you know… Thought you would be wondering about that…” To which I replied, “Yeah, I was wondering about that 8 days ago… not anymore, thanks.”

Well, it’s December 18th, 2007.  That means it’s my birthday!  So, in the next few days expect to see some birthday related pictures here.  Outings, shopping, etc… and don’t forget the long awaited December 22nd Paola/Scott Birthday bash!  It’s going to kick some major ass, so make sure to come!

So, about two weeks ago, my hard drive failed.  I mean, complete total mechanical failure.   There was really no way to recover the data, and believe me… I tried.  I had several people take a look at it, and nothing would work.  The thing is the mechanism that reads data was dislodged.  Apparently a common problem with this particular lot of drives.  Thanks for telling me!!!

In any case, I will not be posting more pictures of this year’s trip to Mexico.  What I can promise is some good pictures to come from the holidays.  And, I’m not referring to Christmas as “the holidays” either…. I mean, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years… everything.  I’ll get those pictures up!

If you have any cool pictures to share, or want to check out the ones that I have uploaded from our parties, you can check out my Photo Page.