Tuesday February 28

It is the last day of the months. a brief day...

I am officially ending the months with a grievances.

I am annoyed and offended by the treatment by M. Rz one of the sup at CNS.

She had no problem in letting me know that she has a lot of personal problems with her boyfriend,  so she picks on us to compensate her frustration.

How do I know this details you might ask.. well she let it go out in public the other day. I am not a deaf person after all. I am hearing when they have casual conversation and I remember.
They do not have any constraints in talking in front of me..
 I am just exchanging the courtesy and attention.


I have done nothing to her on the contrary she is behaving to me  as a real bad person, Briefly I would recommend her for a demotion to a lower rank

Dear M. Rz take a these words  of advice from me  and step back, please back off.


At CNS you are paid to offer a service, the Insurance pays your salary hence you are also at my service not the  other way around.

You have this job because of CNS and hence by extension you are working for me among other things.

 Enough said about M. Rz anyway, she is not worthy any more time or energy.

Oh by the way your NRS using on their cell phone on the job... I guess it is the lessen of the two evil.

However it does not reflect good on the CNS code of conduct. I guess the time for a modern company has come to adapt to the new world.

I am sure when there is an important business meeting all cell phones are off.

Yesterday I have received the a couple of boxes of Knorr Vegetable bouillon cube sent me by my wife  using Amazon Prime. I had requested it a few days back. She has duly delivered.

She is an Amazon prime members and she uses this services to send me on a regular basis what I   can not find locally. Because she lives in La Canada and I am currently recovering  in therapy  in  Bakersfield California.

I cooked a wonderful lentil vegetable minestrone soup.

I use the dry lentil I had at the apartment

I made a soffritto with Organic onion, garlic, celery stalks  and carrots.

I used the  Organic  butternut squash I had purchased last Saturday at Trader Joe's.

I used Coconut Oil to cook it all. This is a good  vegetable Oil for high temperature cooking.

I cut everything in small pieces.  

My cutting knife had been recently sharpened.

I used the Vegetable bouillon cube I just received.

While the soup was cooking I wrote a letter to my kids. In the local lingo it is called THP which stands for Therapeutic  Home Program.

In my own language is called writing to your own family... who has the better  definition between the two of us? THP or family writing...

My head keeps hurting. CNS keeps giving me Tylenol which is obviously a palliative.

I had Tylenol yesterday at 4:50 pm and again this morning...

Until  my liver will give in.

Yesterday evening my back was hurting so bad that I did not go to the gym, this is why I had my pm Tylenol.


There is a guy working at the gym, his name is Matt he is persecuting me everywhere. He  called me at the apartment,  he called me at the AAC he called me on my cell phone.

What he wants? He wants me to purchase his Personal training service at the 24 fitness gym.

Already enough is enough,  I called the 24 fitness gym on Gosford, spoke with Adams. I have been directed to the Rosedale location the manager is Roby Casberger. I called them at 661 325 3600 and I asked them to remove my name and phone number from their marketing list. They are telling I am not on their list and that the guys must be at the other gym. Well  I will have to see trough the situation today. They are chasing me too tightly and beside I told them I am not interested.

I am irritated by their approach.


Space X is announcing plant to go to the moon

A good walking in the morning after getting the newspaper.

I had a good healthy breakfast

While I was having breakfast Martin Flores knocked at my door.

He was looking for patient Francisco C.

Martin Flores is a therapist at the Ashe Rd Clinic.

Apparently at the reception they do not give accurate information.

There should be an improved service at the concierge- reception.

They should keep patients name and apartment number like the registry in a hotel.

It works for larger business establishment. They should copy it as well.

Obviously I went to Mt. Vernon clinic.


As always I read the newspapers at the AAC, obviously among the usual cacophony and the complete indifference of the presents. It is just a futile action dear CNS.

As there was all this noises around, I lowered my voice. They told me they could not hear me today, well as a matter of fact I am lowering the tone of my voice on purpose so that they are being quite.
Rather than screaming it is going in the opposite direction.

You see  like little kids have to learn to follow the teacher's rule of the classroom.

And currently the teacher is very very very displeased by the action of these little children.

It all  lasted until 11am when I came here at the Homes of Hope among people with normal response and brain activity.

I talked with Richard - one of the workers here, he told me he used to leave in Mississippi before moving to California.

I am meeting the boss Mr Kilby. He is always dressed with a tie, perfectly suited for a leading role.


I had my own lunch. I  had  my own food as always. A good vegetable soup with a piece of fruit.

I got a bit of coffee and cleaned my teeth


Here is an interesting link

There are a number of ways to stretch one's piriformis muscle. Two simple ways include:

• Lie on the back with both feet flat on the floor and both knees bent. Pull the right knee up to the chest, grasp the knee with the left hand and pull it towards the left shoulder and hold the stretch. Repeat for each side.
• Lie on the back with both feet flat on the floor and both knees bent. Rest the ankle of the right leg over the knee of the left leg. Pull the left thigh toward the chest and hold the stretch. Repeat for each side.

Each piriformis stretch should be held for 5 seconds to start, and gradually increased to hold for 30 seconds, and repeated three times each day.

Enjoy the  reading

Giuseppe

Monday February 27

I had a very busy weekend with many activity as always.

Last Friday February 24 I signed  out at 4:35 pm on  my way to the gym. I arrived at 5:05 pm.

I had my scheduled Zumba class.

As Caroline was not available Mike subbed for her and was teaching the class.

Mike is a nice person, he  works full time  at Kaiser. In the afternoon he is an instructor at the gym.

He mentioned I made some incredible progress since he saw me the first  time at the gym.

I  learned a stretch for my Pereform legs muscle that has been hurting 

Anyway I came back with the staff at 7pm.

Last Saturday February 25  I cleaned the whole apartment taking care of the most important things.

I washed all my  clothing, making sure the sport one were cleaned and ready for this week.

I changed the bedding sheet, washed my bathrobe and  towels.

Also the small utility carpet in the apartment were washed.

As usual it takes me a while to pair the endless number of socks that I have.

Because I wanted to and  I had time,  I took care of cleaning the whole apartment.

I run the carpet cleaner on the tile of the kitchen and on the carpet of the living room.

Carpet of the living room

I run it as well on both the bedrooms of my apartment.

Moving from my bedroom to the second one.

I took care of removing the dust from all surfaces.

I then cleaned the bathroom very accurately.

The faucet area with the toilet was carefully cleaned

I carefully scrubbed the tub with a sponge using the Clorox detergent 

At last I carefully washed the bathroom floor with a swifter

It all looked and smelled great

Here is a picture of my work for the day.

My mother in Italy said that it looks like a picture of a home magazine.

I  tend to agree with her because this is my current home and it is the place where I am currently staying.

Here we go it is all perfectly done.

I  later went to do Grocery Shopping at Trader Joe's .

I walked by myself over there and came back with CNS.

I followed my Grocery Shopping list. I had plenty of healthy and Organic food.

The final bill was $87.91 which is fine by me.

I greeted Jamie - here at my right hand side.

She is always happy to see me.

She mentioned that on Saturday she is back to work after her weekend 

Over there they were so nice that they let me spin the wheel.

Associated with each case there were prizes.

I span the wheel and had a box of  chocolate chip cookies for me.

Since I had this win, I decided to bring it to AAC for everybody to enjoy.

- and so I did it today -

Afterward I started cooking.

As planned I made Zucchini float. Next time I would like to make Eggplant float. My mother made be consider the fact that the Eggplant has a thicker skin than the Zucchini.

I tend to agree with her point.

The procedure is the same I believe.

I curved the Zucchini into a boat like shape by removing the pulp

I finally minced the pulp  and saved it  for later.

I cooed  Quinoa on a separate pot.

I let it cool down

I mixed ground turkey with spices and with the Zucchini hearts.

On a large skillet I carefully cooked the ground meat and seasoned with Soy sauce.

I then started filling the zucchini float with it.

I sprinkled the Zucchini with Parsley and some shredded mozzarella and  Monterrey jack cheese

It was then ready to be cooked in the oven.

I let it stand for 30 minutes and 350 F

Toward the end I set the grill going for a few minutes to brown the top of the zucchini.

Here is the results.

Yummy and healthy cooking.

While I was cooking I wrote a letter to my family.

It is written in Block letters and in English for the boys to read.

In the CNS lingo this activity is also known as THP (Therapeutic Home Program)

I had a lot of time last Saturday because I did not want to go to the movie.

I figure out there was nothing of interest to watch.

Simona and the boys are fine.

She told me they will be vising me next weekend in a day to be determined.

On Sunday February 26 I went to church as St Philips on Stockdale Hwy.

Because I did not spend any money for the outing last Saturday, I gave the whole $24 as offering for charity at church. They are certainly able to use it in a good way.

The sermon was about trusting God and detaching oneself from the material items of this world.

No one can serve two masters at the same time.

Trust in God and above all keep the Sabbath for God.

Jesus walked willingly into his passion.

The church was filled with people sneezing and coughing, it was a big pot of germs..

There were a few cell phones ringing going off in the wrong time of the celebration.

I believe people attending church are not aware of the way one is expected to  conduct while inside the building. Or it is just a matter of the times.

After church it was time for me to head to the gym

I signed out at 2:15pm and reached the gym at 2:50pm.

At the gym I have been doing a lot of cardio.

I worked on the elliptical trainer for 60 minute covering a distance equivalent to 5 miles.

I used the elliptical trainer.

After this machine I used the VMX robe pulling machine at level 5.

The equivalent distance of the robe was 0.6 miles this time because I was short in time and I had to be back to take my Metagenics.

At the gym as always I meet Britney and Keythlan

As I was short on time I had to leave. 

It will be better another time.

I left the gym at 4:30 pm and walked back to the apartment to check back in at 5pm  on time for taking my vitamin meds.

I had my evening shower, got my dinner and prepared the lunch for today.

I had a good evening, watched the evening news and relaxed.

Over the weekend I felt pressure   in the region of  my shunt, I had several time Tylenol provided to me by nursing.

It is fine, there is nothing knew under the sky

I slept well. I woke up at 6:30am and got ready for my day

Breakfast first: healthy oatmeal, cereal, high fiber fruit and Nut Multigrain medley cereal

A bit of coffee with frothed milk.

Off to get the newspaper of the day. I stretched my legs by looping the park a few times and by enjoying the day before checking back at the apartment.

I then took care of  taking the bus to the AAC 

At the AAC I read the news of the day among the morning confusion.

Frankly this is in my experience a rather frustrating and futile operation. Nobody really seems interested , they all talk  aloud and think above all about their own needs.

In doing so no in following, body is really interested in  lessening the newspaper news.

I find it a quite sterile, empty and frustrating experience.

 I am  telling  worlds that nobody is interested in following. 

I guess the audience is what it is. no false expectation on this matter.  The actual  reality of the clinic.

I suppose the shame is on me for  expecting anything different or any different consideration.

Anyway I got a bag full of lemon today.

I guess I will need to make a lot of tea to use it all.

Buon Appetito time

Enjoy the reading

Giuseppe

Friday February 24

It is a crispy, dry and cold day. I prefer the cold temperature as I can not handle well the heat.
It makes my head hurting a lot. It is a double sword.  If it is too cold I get sick with a cold, when it is too hot my blood pressure goes high and my head feels heavy.

Right now I am  bringing with me only my Patagonia jacket.

The sun is up in the sky and it looks like it is going to be a great weather for today.

Last night I slept well, my morning went fine. I woke up at 6am. As I am going to bed by 9:30pm is it is more than enough sleeping. I never sleep in during the weekend, so my sleeping habits is good.

Earlier today  I already had a couple of Tylenol  for my head which was feeling heavy.

On a regular basis it is hurting.

Sometime I have the feeling of it about to explode, other time  something within is  pounding on my brain.
This morning I had a simple and complete good breakfast

Oatmeal, Cereal with Blueberry and mixed fruit and nuts.

A lot of Organic Milk and some good coffee with Organic cane sugar.

I started making Oatmeal ahead of time and I keep it  in the fridge. So the in the morning this is done.

I called the boys and they were all doing well.

Lapo was telling me all about his preferred activities.

His brother Chicco leads him toward many skills.

Lapo is younger and of different opinions.

For instance he mentioned that he does not like to play the piano that much.

On the other hand Chicco is playing the piano with a lot of attention.

Both the boys play it very well. 

Chicco is more proficient right now, Lapo is following suit on his brother's step.

It is going to be just a matter of time for Lapo to catch up on his skills.

My wife Simona is encouraging Lapo to play as much as possible. Right now he only  needs a bit of encouragement to do so.

Here is the park near the apartment, a magnificent day is showing from a magnificent morning.

Today in Italy is Friday "gnoccolaro".

In the Italian tradition it is the day when people celebrate Carnival by eating gnocchi (potato dumpling).

My mother is going to eat gnocchi with her friends (I signori Ongaro)

Last night I compiled my Grocery Shopping list for Tomorrow.

I carefully reviewed my food supply.

Then I  had a quick dinner. I signed out at 5:25pm  and walked to the gym. I arrived at 5:54pm on time for my class.

I had cycle with Misty. She is the instructor behind me in the picture at the bottom of this post.

I noticed she  was keeping  above the stereo a set of glass.

 I asked her to wear it for this picture. She kindly accepted.

So here is Misty with glass.

I had fun riding the static bike at the gym. 

The  class follows her recommendation regarding modulating the static cycle resistance.

At 7 pm it was time for me to leave the gym and to get ready to go back to the apartment.

I stretched accurately and got ready to leave.

I was back at the apartment by 7:15pm  by CNS transportation.

In order of succession: night showers, a snack and my meds and by 9pm sleeping in bed.

I slept soundly and wake up at 6:15 am

I am unable to stay in bed for longer, even during the weekend when I am up, my body is fully awaken.

Enjoy the reading time for my break.

 had a quick and fulfilling lunch. I was not expecting any lunch as  I had brought mine.

The other people at the clinic had lunch over there it is Friday for everybody.

 I know I am in a different category so I am taking care of myself very well.

I had brought with me a rich lentil minestrone soup, a couple of slices of rye bread and an orange.

It is all enough for me to get through my day for the level of activity that I am doing here.

Of course I sip of coffee and then off I went brushing my teeth.

While at lunch I called my mother in Italy using Skype.

She is doing great. She was having dinner with friends of hers.

She told me about the dinner they had tonight. It is a clearly very unique experience eating food in Italy.

I believe every body was in charge of bringing a  part of the dinner. It is a pool effort and a shared happy time.

The result is the usual magnificent gathering of people and they are eating together.

For Italian people eating food together is part of a ritual. It belongs to the fabric of the Italian society and culture.

One of the Italian Proverb is "A tavola non si invecchia" which means " you do not age while being around the table"
From the web:
There is an expression in Italy, “A tavola non si invecchia” which is, “At the table one does not age.” It goes right to the heart of the notion that the Italian meal is meant to be an experience of good feelings enjoyed with others. It is to be a source of pleasure and relaxation.

Here are some pictures of the Ongaro's family, that is the host of tonight's dinner.

This is a silent participant for the evening event.

this afternoon my wife is teaching at Caltech. She is normally a very very busy.
She has asked me - and I am complying with it- not to call her on her phone while she is teaching.
I will be distracting her and stressing her out for nothing.

She has to keep her focus and her attention to her busy day.

Simona is going to call me when she has time. I will be fine.

Thursday February 23

I finally decided to leave my heavy jacket back at the apartment, bringing with me my Patagonia pile.
Hopefully it is going to be fine and it will not be raining today.

The family is well.
Simona is very busy with many meetings and attending a thesis defense.
Both the boys are already at school. I had the chance of greeting them this morning.

They were having breakfast with Oreo biscuits they purchased from the girl scouts.
So here we go they are all well.

It is a nice and col day in Bakersfield.

I had my money management completed. As expected I received  $75 for Grocery and $24 for Outing.

I have enough money to get by throughout my time here.
Historically  my Grocery shopping bills has been the largest for me.

For instance here is a time series starting last Saturday February 18  and  for each Saturday going back to January 7th.

It has data starting from Saturday January the 7th  for the past seven weeks. It is all data from my latest memory book

Total amount

• $86.55 
• $110.29
• $95.77
• $118.98
• $60.69
• $91.20
• $91.35

The average  for 7 weeks is  $93.54

This means that I had spent an extra $130 from my Personal Account on grocery shopping.

My wife has come to term with this reality of mine  and she is taking good care of this matter.

Yesterday evening I distributed the new schedule to the whole apartment complex.. nothing new or major to report.

At  5pm I then booked for movie a for next Saturday. Just in case to be sure there is something interesting at the movie  Theater.

I am personally quite puzzled by the recent string of movies available.
 I am still waiting for the ones I like.

Last week there was  "The Lego Batman movie" which is fine. A kid movie.

The previous week I saw "John Wick chapter 2" which in my opinion was a mediocre action movie.

Three weeks ago I saw "The space between us" I enjoyed it very much.

Last month I saw "Gold" which was a good one.

End of January my family came to Bakersfield for a day.

We will see how it goes in a few days.

This is the park this morning a nice and crisp day in town.
No rain is in view here in town.

Yesterday I wanted to cook in peace.

I  did not go to the gym and  started cooking.

I made a great chicken soup.
First I finely chopped a whole yellow sweet onion.

Then I smashed a few garlic cloves with the knife blade.

Of course I used Coconut Oil to cook, this is a healthy Oil for high temperature  cooking.

I cleaned and sliced a few carrots.

 I washed and cut into small pieces some celery stalks and a few  golden potatoes 

From the garden around the apartment I collected a good portion of fresh Rosemary

I washed it and added to the soup.

I seasoned the soup with Pyramid salt and a few Bay leaves. 

As I was cooking  a soup I sorted and cleaned a good amount of lentils.

It all  cooked very gently on the stove for a long time.

Toward the last hour I added Dried Porcini Boletus Mushroom that I had purchased at Trader Joe's.

This Porcini gave the Umami flavor to the soup  

It all cooked slowly and gently.

Today  I went to the AC read the usual news of the day, endured the environment and came to Homes of Hope, I had a good lunch with my soup and an apple.

Finally a bit of coffee and teeth brushing

Flipping trough my memory book I found out the name of the managers at the gym before Adam.
The previous one was Frank -I have been searching for his name for so long. I remember the name of the person before Frank. She was Naomi a very kind and gentle lady.
I found that Acer make a spill proof laptop. You can find more at this link.


Today my plan is to take it easy, there is always time for doing things for me.

I am worrying about the kids and my wife, I know they are well and she is going fine.

About me.. I am struggling but getting there. By back is what is currently is afflicting me.
The sciatic nerve is better, however at time it is still painful.
Enjoy the reading
Giuseppe