Today RT and I traveled to L.A. to listen to my mother give a speech at her church, Rissho Kosei-Kai to celebrate the Ullambana Sutra, a practice that is the basis of the Obon ceremony in honor of one's ancestors which is still observed widely in Japan in August. A couple months ago, my mother was sitting at our house, writing out her speech and deep in thought. I was really surprised that my mom was going to participate in public speaking! So, I knew that I didn't want to miss this for anything.
When we got to the church, my mother was very happy to see us. My dad arrived in L.A. about the same time as we did. She didn't seem nervous at all. She introduced us to all her church friends, and they all were very happy and thankful that we made the long drive for my mother's support.
After a very long ceremony of chanting, the three presenters came up. I already knew before my mother started talking that I would be breaking down in tears. I had a feeling that my mom mentioned something about my ordeal with pancreatitis. Here's a clue: One woman, as soon as she was introduced to me asked, "How's your pancreas?"

Mom started out fine, but she looked over at me and her voice started to crack. We have a saying in our house that it is the Aoki (Mom's maiden name) gene that turns on the waterworks! I think her story really impacted a lot of people. She also went on to say how much the teachings of Buddha have really helped her become a better person, more happy, more peaceful, and more giving to others. She also expressed so much gratitude to her church and friends. And, yes, her entire speech was in Japanese but we had headphones to listen to the interpreter.

She did a wonderful job. I am so proud of her accomplishment! Way to go Mom! I even think you had Dad in tears, too!

An oreo cow, of course! When we drive through highway 152 through Pacheco Pass, I'm usually the passenger so I'm often either asleep or checking out the scenery. I have spotted these funny-looking cattle that are black with a wide band of white in the center. As soon as I saw one, I did a double-take because it was such an unusual sight. I mentioned it to RT, and he told me that when he was working on a project with Fish & Game in that area, they came across some ranchers who mentioned their cattle and called 'em oreo cows. These are a rare breed of Scottish beef cattle called Belted Galloways, or "Belties" that were introduced to the US in the '50s.

How appropriate...nothing goes better than oreos and milk (although these are beef cattle, so that's not entirely fitting). Interesting! If you're ever traveling through Pacheco Pass, if you're heading north, look to the left and you just might see an oreo cow!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews came over to visit and have some much needed R & R. This was probably the first, longest road trip for my 6 month-old nephew, and he did such an amazing job! I hope they all had a relaxing time...

On the flip side, RT and I went to Aptos to spend a relaxing 4th of July weekend at the Granlund Bed & Breakfast. We also had to stop in the Bay Area for some errands, which was not fun over the holidays; but once we got back to the B & B, it was nice to just hang out with family!

In the fall of 2007, I was diagnosed with polycystic disease. It came as a complete shock to me because at the time I was diagnosed, I was going through in vitro fertilization, and taking tons of hormone medications for an upcoming egg retrieval. At this particular appointment, RT was out of town for work. I was already high-strung on all these hormones, so when Dr. Cao, my nephrologist, said in his heavily accented Chinese-English that I had PKD, I actually took it quite well. It was when I started making a follow-up appointment at the frantic front desk that I broke down and started crying hysterically. The receptionist looked at me like I was crazy, but was very sympathetic.
But, this is not a story about me. I'm sure my time will come when it comes to this disease. This story is about the most unselfish person that I know, whom I admire and love purely. This is about my mom.
About a year ago, RT and I noticed on some blood work that her kidney function was in the abnormal range. I remembered years ago that Mom had cysts on her kidneys and had had blood in her urine at some point. This prompted me to get her connected with Dr. Cao. I wanted to find out if she had PKD as well, and at the very least, find out why her kidney function was abnormal.
She had the blood work, the ultrasounds, and the appointments every 3 months. They found cysts, but Mom kept telling me everything was fine--until a few days ago.
Mom called me and said she just had her appointment with Dr. Cao. She told me she received "shocking" news. Dr. Cao said her kidney function was declining and that she needed to be put on a donor list right away for a transplant.
This actually did not come as a shock to me. Rather, I wondered, why did it take so long to find out? After talking to my sister who spoke with Dr. Cao to get the information that isn't always correctly disseminated from Mom, her overall kidney funtion from both kidneys is at an astonishing low 23%! I cannot believe how healthy Mom looks and that she doesn't have any physical symptoms like back pain or bloody urine.
Regardless, we go up to San Francisco for a consultation and begin the steps for the donor process. As this is starting to sink in, I just hope that I can be strong for my mom as she always has been for me.
You know when I was really sick, I often thought that I was the "lucky" one. I think it is much harder to be the one who has to worry and agonize over a loved one being sick. I've never had to be in this position, and it scares the hell out of me...

My mom, RT, and I took a little hike to Montaňa de Oro State Park, which is located a few miles south of Los Osos. The name comes from the spring wildflowers that bloom a golden color. I had actually been there before when I took a field trip with one of my college Science and Math programs. I remember its beauty from 10 years ago, and it's still just as beautiful today. I think the highlight for my mom was that she was able to ride in RT's bus! We sat in the back and felt like we were on a real tour, complete with tour guide. If you come visit, we'll be sure to take you to this scenic hotspot!

Jannu really is a smart dog...BUT, I don't know why she insists on holding the cookie in her mouth that way! The flat way would be so much easier; although not as funny-looking!

I have been struggling with some numbness and muscle atrophy in my right leg from my ordeal with pancreatitis. Here it is, almost 4 years later, and I have yet to resolve my problem. Since last year, I have been to 2 different neurologists and 3 different internists. Having to change all my doctors since moving, and changing insurance has been such a huge hassle. I was getting nowhere fast. The latest theory that my recent neurologist said was that I suffered a stroke while I was in ICU, and that could be the cause of my "partial paralysis". What???

Getting fed up and frustrated, I got a harebrained idea. I decided to visit my oldest sister (MD)and her husband (I'll call him El Trainer), who live in Orlando, Florida. El Trainer is a personal trainer so I thought, I could go there and have a place to stay. I decided to do this for one whole month because I heard that in order to get into a habit, you have to do something for 30 days straight. I shared this idea with MD, and she was thrilled as well as El Trainer. I presented the idea to RT. He, of course, was fully supportive. Now, many of you may say, how could we be apart for so long? Remember, last year, we lived apart for quite a few months; although, we saw each other on the weekends. We knew the time would go by fast.

I bought my plane tickets. Now I am committed...no turning back...

I noted my daily workouts and thoughts about this whole personal training journey in a blog called http://theritetobarearms.blogspot.com/. It is not completely finished yet; so stay tuned.

Here are some highlights from my Florida journey. Now remember, this was not a vacation, so no trips to Gatorland, Walt Disney World, etc. I did meet some of MD's and El Trainer's friends and hung out with them a few times---such nice, giving people!

Before I came out, my sister got laid off from a company that she's been with for about 10 years. It was very bad timing, but I feel that it was meant to happen. The bonus for all my training was that I got to spend a lot of time with MD. We giggled, we cried, we reminisced, and really spent a lot of quality time together. It was so good to get to know each other as adults. MD and I hardly get to spend time with each other because everytime she visits, it's usually for 10 days at a time and the whole family is involved. One of things that I encouraged her to do was to really go after her passion. Did she want to be in the rat race again in terms of a job? She's been in the banking industry all her adult life and the latest job was as a Benefits Coordinator. She didn't love her job and couldn't see herself doing it again. MD loves to bake, and she is always giving her desserts away since she and El Trainer aren't going to eat it! Everyone always says that she should go into business. Easier said than done, right? I started digging around for some culinary schools in the area, and voila! Right in Orlando, there is Le Cordon Bleu patisserie and baking program at Orlando Culinary Adacemy. We toured the school, talked to an admissions couselor, she applied, and she was accepted and begins this fall! I am so excited for her!

One of El Trainer's passions is to work with Akita rescue. MD and El Trainer have 2 Akita dogs, Nakita and Kenji. Kenji they adopted last year at the rescue. El Trainer loves to work with these dogs and their hope is to start fostering Akitas. If you're not familiar with Akitas, they are a Japanese breed of dog from the Akita prefecture in Japan. They are a very willful creatures and have predator instincts--meaning, this breed isn't for everyone. I was privileged to visit the Akita rescue in Jacksonville, here is a link to the organization http://www.arsf.org/. It was an amazing experience.

Besides training, which was 3 days on, 1 day off, there was a lot of down time. I spent the bulk of it helping MD organize a lot of files, running errands, shopping, and talking. There was a lot of rain, which turned out ok since it kept the heat at bay. Central Florida is the lightening capital of the world, and I definitely got my fill of lightening and thunder! The day after I left, there was 100% humidty, so I lucked out! The time passed quickly and I was very saddened to leave. I will treasure the time I spent with MD and El Trainer. They were such gracious hosts, and thought of everything for my stay there. I hope when I go back it will be for MD's graduation from the Culinary Academy. Go Gators!