Friday Sept 16 2017

Well, I am writing to you from the Homes of Hope. A  foster care Agency that is taking care of foster children in town. It provides services such as homes, lunch, healthcare.

The homes of hope has a nice chapel and space for reception. It is often rented out for wedding and banquet. A nice way to supply a service to the local community.

As the Chapel is in a church setting and within the city of Bakersfield limit there are guidelines that need to be followed.

These are making sure the Catholic church area is respected.

Also it makes sure the city of Bakersfield ordinance for banquet, noise on public order is fulfilled.

The are many people at the homes of hope that take care of preserving the service to the community.

I am coming here every day except Saturday and Sunday as a volunteering placement.


I do help around in the office. Today Brandon gave a stack of paper receipt  to sort in order of date.

I normally work in the office at my best.

Let's go back to the activities of the day.

Simona is always busy with her job at Caltech. She has a very important and critical job to do.

She is fully focused on performing her tasks at her best.

Our kids our busy as always at home. They are going to school, play piano, play soccer and whatever post school activities of the day they have.

Of course they are very focused on their homework.

Our eldest Chicco is studying a lot, he is a very responsible and present student.

His brother Lapo is following suit. Lapo like to spend times playing around.

He is much younger than Chicco. Lapo is 7 while Chicco is 12. There is a clear age difference there.

My day yesterday went along my activity of a normal Thursday.

I first did an accurate grocery list so that I will not double buy on food that I already have at the apartment.

After providing my grocery list at CNS I went to the gym.

I had first Zumba and later Cycle.

Zumba was with Caroline in light blue shirt.

Sira is next to me with sun glasses.

Norman was at the gym as well in dark shirt.

After Zumba I had a cycle class.

The instructor was a new person. Her name is Alma.

This class uses static cycles and the instructor tells us to modulate the resistance of the cycle to simulate a real life condition.

I like it and enjoy my gym time. I am always setting my bike on high as high as my legs so that I can fully extend my legs.

 The instructor has told us a way to measure with our legs  how height  to regulate the saddle.

So here we go I am happily working at the gym.

Finally at 7pm my time at the gym is over, meaning the coverage for me at the gym is out and for me it is time to stretch - always stretching- and to leave.

I am then going back to the apartment, an NRS from CNS is driving back.

At the apartment I normally have a protein shake, a shower and take my night sleep.

I wait until 9pm and then get my ambien (sleeping aid) before turning off the light.

I sleep well and wake up fully rested a bit before 6am.


I normally call home and I found the  boys. Yesterday Anna told me that Lapo was very busy doing his homework. Our youngest Lapo is eager to learn and follow suit is eldest brother Chicco.

Both boys are very diligent in their activities after school.

They are doing their best as homework.

Anyway we are all proud and supportive of their activities.

This morning I had a good breakfast as always

Cereals, blueberry, milk and coffee.

It is time to get some grocery shopping over the weekend as  I see my fridge emptying during  the week.

This is a Rose from Verona, Italy.

Enjoy the reading
Giuseppe

Thursday Sept 15 2016

Walking in the morning at the park near the apartment.

The day looked warmer than it is actually today.

At least I am not wearing shorts. 

I  should have used the long socks today.

I feel cold in my ankle. I used a sweater that I keep here at AAC.

Tomorrow I will be more careful in dressing.

Today I completed money management process.

CNS gives me $75 for grocery and $24 for outing.

I have in additional  personal account I can use provided my requests for money is approved on time  by my IPC.

I am trying hard to stay within my budget.

Historically the money for grocery have been tight for me.


I like to eat well, I do not ever eat outside in addition I do not waste food.

I have been historically spending more than I take in.

I am trying hard though.

Last week my total was $84.05. Two weeks ago it was rather $124.34 and so go on.

Simona is telling me that  I spend as much as she does to feed the whole family.

The difference is that I am alone and that I feed only myself.

Well I like to eat well and I do a lot of gym work. I can only go to buy food once a week on Saturday morning.

Yesterday I came back to the apartment and distributed the latest schedule to everybody.

At 5pm I also booked for the upcoming movie this Saturday.

I believe I am going to watch the  latest movie by Oliver Stone. It is  about Swoden.

Yesterday evening I went to the gym as always. Going to the gym is part of my therapy activities.

I had static cycle a Good sport activities requires a good dedication.

The static cycle is  a fun sport. The instructor invites the class to modulate the resistance of the cycle in order to simulate a real life condition.

Afterward I had body pump. Sylvia W. is finally back. She had  took time off. 

She is back in full force.

Of course the key for me over there is to work at my core and my legs. I work on repetition, range of motion and stamina. I  learnt not to use too heavy of a weight as otherwise I am hurting my body.

The gym coverage was provide by miss Shaundrieka.

After the gym I felt well. As you can see in this picture.

At the gym I greeted the whole communities. They know me well.

I  am feeling we like all to be there at any time of the day.

Certainly it is true for me.

As always after going to  the gym I had a protein snack. Hemp protein, banana and milk.

Simona will tell I am always eating. So be it, I am always in motion.

I am sure you like the flowers as I do.

In my balcony I am  preparing the ground for  the next season.

I am making sure the ground is being treated according to the best practice to prepare it.

The season is now. 

The boys at home are busy with their own activities, their lives goes on regular rails and on regular activities. Yesterday  Our eldest Chicco was very diligently doing his homework.

Our youngest Lapo was at a play date at Cooper's house.

Lapo is always doing something with his little friends.

Chicco is more independent.

Simona is keeping track of everybody and of the family.

Enjoy the reading

Sincerely

Giuseppe

Wednesday Sept 14 2016

All  the phone numbers  in the area are down. It is a local carrier issue. I can reach home in La Canada. Also I can reach my wife on her cell phone. However the local phone numbers in Bakersfield are unreachable since yesterday..

Yesterday evening I came back at the apartment  from the AAC and cooked a healthy vegetable soup.

I chopped the celery, carrots and onions to make a soffritto.

I used Coconut Oil  to cook the soffritto.  It is good for high temperature cooking.

the broth  cooked for 40 minutes. In the process I added a bouillon vegetable cube from Simona.

When the broth was ready I  added a couple of polpette (meatball) I had prepared before.

This is what it looks like.

After cooking I added Olive Oil and shredded Parmesan Cheese 

Here is the results.

Afterward I went to the gym. As always I had body pump with Ellie and Zumba with Mike,

At Zumba time the gym is really packed. I have my little spot on the far back. I do not dare to go in the front as the ladies over there are very sensitive to the packing order.

At 7pm it was time for me to leave and to come back.

Obviously the phone did not work.

Nobody showed up at the desired time.

It is OK, I came back from the gym by myself by  walking. 

I know the way around this part of town.

Obviously I am respectful of the street sign, I  pay attention to the car directions and always cross the street when  the green light sign come on.

Good pedestrian do pay attention to traffic and yield to traffic.

After my work out I had a protein shake. Hemp protein and milk.

I slept well, got all my meds for sleeping.

I wake up at 6am as always. Got started on my day.

Simona always tells me eat what you like.

So here is a good breakfast.

High Fiber cereal, whole milk, blueberry.

Chia seeds and yogurt.

Simona and the kids are fine. As always Simona took the boys to school.

They were cheerful and happy to start their day.

Today I had the first part of the money management completed.

It is the receipt day 

Enjoy the reading

Giuseppe

Tuesday September 13

A breezy day today. I am wearing jeans and my gap sweater.

It is hard to predict how warm is going to be the weather like.

Anyway I took a good stroll at the nearby park as always.

The peace  and uncontaminated air of the morning is a great feeling.

It only lasts so long as suddenly I am plunged into the mix. This morning I had to wait for the bus at the reception in order to escape the smokers. I  had to devise this trick as I am getting sick by  all second  hand smoke I am subjected to while at CNS in Bakersfield.

As a matter of fact yesterday I was sick to my stomach and nursing gave me some Milanta.

Laree  mentioned that patients have right to smoke. It is hard to argue with this matter.
It is also hard to argue with the nursing medication log as a result of your liberal policies.

I will take as much Milanta as necessary in order to settle my stomach.

Whenever I was going to Japan for business people were heavy smokers as as well over there.
At the time it was OK, it was my work that was taking me over there.
Here it is a different kind of environment all together let leave it to that.

Anyway yesterday the usual activities of a  Monday
 I cooked my dinner by first steaming  broccoli in water. Then I I cooked it by mix it with two eggs. I  added milk, spices and salt.

It cooked on the stove with Olive Oil for a while until ready. As it contains eggs it has to be well cooked.

After dinner I went to the gym. My real place to be.

Yoga with  Lilli and then static  Cycle with Lolita.

At the gym the usual familiar people. I would say they are all good and respectful people.
Let's leave it to that.

Yesterday the boys went to Taekwondo.

It is a long time I have not seen any pictures of them dressed for sport.

In Bakersfield I  am being left  in a  complete bubble.

You see it is something I should accept but hey there is something I  can  not get over.

My  wife Simona has a very important and demanding job.

She can not focus on the small facts that would make me feel connected to the family

I am frustrated by being left out from many things.


My wife is keeping track of me on her own time scale and priority.

She  is calling me on the phone, when she wishes in the morning when she is taking the kids to school. I pick up make a mental note of their life.

At time she moves on without waiting for me as they are on a timeline for school



O yes myself I survived my brain injury, I went back walking again, I can not yet run or jump perhaps I will be never be able to to it again.

My legs are permanently crooked. The way I walk the way I  put one feet after the other is permanently a reminder of the deficits I have acquired.

Let's stop here ...

I call this picture eat what you like... it is made by me eaten by me and cleaned by myself..
It is most definitely eat what you like

Enjoy the reading

Tuesday Sept 13

A breezy day today. I am wearing jeans and a gap sweater.

It is hard to predict how warm is going to be the weather like.

Anyway this morning I took a good stroll at the nearby park as always.

The peace  and uncontaminated air of the morning is a great feeling.

It only lasts so long as suddenly I am plunged into the mix.
This morning I had to wait for the bus at the reception in order to escape the smokers. There is no place to seat away from the patient that smoke at transpo. They smoke with proud, they smoke without any respect of us normal people who do not smoke.

CNS is happy that way, despite the many reassuring message that there should be a non smoking area as a matter of fact it has not been enforced.

 I  had to devise an alternative location  as I am getting sick by  all second  hand smoke I am subjected to while In Bakersfield.

As a matter of fact yesterday I was sick to my stomach and nursing gave me some Milanta.

Laree  mentioned that patients have right to smoke. It is hard to argue with this matter.
It is also hard to argue with the nursing medication log as a result of your liberal policies dear whoever is in charge at CNS.

I will take as much Milanta as necessary in order to settle my stomach.

Whenever I was going to Japan for my work the business people were heavy smokers as as well .
At the time it was OK, it was my work that was taking me over there.
Here it is a different kind of environment all together.

Here the reactions are far different from the real world. This makes it a very artificial and a very different place.

Anyway yesterday the usual activities of a  Monday
 I first steamed  broccoli in water. When cooked I mix it with two eggs, I  added milk, spices and salt.

It cooked on the stove with Olive Oil for a while until ready. As it contains eggs it has to be well cooked.

After the clinic I went to the gym.

Yoga with  Lilli and then static  Cycle with Lolita.

At the gym the usual familiar people. I would say they are all good and respectful people.
Let's leave it to that.

Yesterday the boys went to Taekwondo.

It is a long time I have not seen any pictures of them dressed for sport.

In Bakersfield I  am leaving in a  complete bubble.

You see it is something I should accept but hey there is something you can  not get over.

My  wife Simona has a very important and demanding job.

She can not focus on the small facts that would make me feel connected to the family

Somebody long time ago told me think a bit about your family.

Now I am expecting too much from them all.


To tell the truth my wife is keeping track of me on her own time scale and priority,

She  is calling me on the phone, when she has time in the morning. I pick up make a mental note of their life.

You see this is a little example of my current frustration

I call this picture eat what you like... it is made by me eaten by me and cleaned by me..
It is most definitely eat what you like

Perhaps you do  not know what it feels like to be confined to these guidelines and life.

I am sure you have my times though about what would have happen had it be a different situation.

Well as a matter of fact it is a different situation. As I am stuck to these current population while you are free to deal with the real and actual world of the life.



Stop here not worthy of the energy and time it entails.



Today there is a lot of work going on at the Homes of Hopes.
Lowes is working on the floor and adding brand new artwood to the  first floor of the Homes of Hope.
They are all working hard. As a result of this work today there was a restricted mobility down the kitchen area.

After a few trial I was able to reach the microwave and to have a quick warm lunch standing.

I have a quick healthy one and then quickly back to ...

Monday Sept 12

Lets' review as always the activities for the past weekend.
Here are the salients facts.

Obviously I like the gym. Last Friday I  enjoyed  Zumba at the 24 fitness club on Gosford.
Caroline the teacher is at my right and  and   Salve at my left.

Caroline is always courteous to stop and snap a picture with me.
She is normally checking the picture and  approves it.

When she does  not like it she let me know and we delete it from my phone.

The picture I take are then texted to both  Caroline and Salve.

I then add it to Facebook. She likes to make sure that it is approved whatever goes on the public domain.

As a matter of fact I enjoy the gym very much.

I  am there as much as I can than means every day of the week.

As always I spent my Saturday morning doing my  cleaning routine activities of the weekend

Washing all my apartment items: bed sheet,  towels and  bathrobe. Also all my sport attire

Matching the endless number of socks I have. 

My Saturday morning is normally spent  in doing some extra cleaning.

I am doing my own cleaning on a regular basis yet on Saturday I take care of big ticket items. 

For instance cleaning carefully the  whole apartment 

I cleaned  the bathroom, Also the bathroom carpet had been washed in the washing machine.

I  carefully swept the living room, afterward I washed it with the swifter.

I took the opportunity for washing  the plastic  ivy plant as it was very dusty.

It is made of 100% plastic so it is OK.

I put it under the running water.

As always I went to do grocery shopping at Trader Joe's at 10:30 am.

I really made an effort to control my buying habit.

I checked my supply of food and made an accurate list.

My total was $84.05 better than usual. As the insurance gives me $75.

Thus far the extra amount has come from my wife Simona and the Personal money I have at the apartment.

After shopping at Trader Joe's 

Jamie is always available to stop by and to snap a picture with me.

She mentioned that her daughter Logan enjoyed  their day at Disneyland.

She also told me the park was packed on that day.

Josh showed me the picture of his baby girl.

He is a proud father of a little girl.

At the store I am a very popular person, I like to get the human contact with the people working over there. 

As I am bringing back my recyclable bags I have a ticket for the raffle. It is Simona's name and number that I put. I also get a new supply of stickers that I normally bring at the kids of the Homes of Hope. They enjoy it. I know they cherish the moment. They right away get on the stickers. They play with it.

When I came back to the apartment I  labelled all the produce. I put in the fridge the ones that needed to get in the fridge and left a few fresh vegetables outside on the top of  the counter.

They are tasting better in that way. Of course I have my eyes on their status to make sure they stay well were they are.

In the evening I went to see a nice movie.

A true story happened in NY state

It is the story of a brave airplane captain and of its crew.

The captain's name is Sully and it is played by Tom Hanks

It is the story of an emergency landing on the Huston river.

After taking off from JFK the plane strikes a flock of geese and looses both engines.

The plane  makes an emergency water landing   in the Hudson river. The incredible successful story is that they all survived.   Nobody sustained  any injuries.

I liked the plot and the story line. 

It is truly  the Miracle of the Hudson movie.

In the movie  Sully suffers of PTSD  (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). 

He  has some trouble  rebuilding himself.

At the end of the movie they showed the real persons involved with the plane.

On Sunday morning I went to church at the S.Philippe the Apostle church in town.

At church the second reading was the parable of the prodigal son.

A forgiving father celebrates the return of his prodigal son.

 The message is that God answers  the prayers of the humble.

At church it was conveyed that  the message of this reading  is the one of reconciliation.

The new pastor introduced himself after the celebration was over.

He is father Salvatore Gonzales

You can see him at my far left with  a white vest.

He served at the Fresno dioceses before coming to Bakersfield.

As it was Sept the 11 recurrence I thought it was good to give some extra money to charity at church. It is a small gesture that made me feel well.

After church I had a great  lunch

Rice, Salad a and brown bread.

Afterward I went to the gym

Jose took me to the 24 fitness gym.

On Sunday I typically  I work on my own program

I do a lot of stepper work because it makes  me walking better.

I did a lot of abdominal and legs.

I also focused on my upper torso: chest press and shoulder press.

I learnt that my body responds well when I do a lot of repetition and stay light.

At the gym I greeted Leon and his wife Suzy. 

I shared with them the fact that I noticed it was the recurrence of September the 11th.

Suzy smiled and said: don't get stuck in the past.. 

A good advice to remember for the future.

On Sept 11  I also check my weight at my apartment's.
It is 176 lb steadily getting there. I feel well. I am gaining some muscle right now.

At 4pm it was time for me to leave the gym. I called the apartment and let them know I was coming back by myself. They agreed. It took me about 30 minutes to walk back from the gym by myself.

Of course once back at the apartment I signed back in  

After my gym I had a protein shake as always. It is better this way rather than having something  heavy  to eat again.

Simona  and the kids are well.

She took the kids to school this morning.

At Caltech University she is working hard.

Today she gave a four hours long qualifying exam to a student.

She is always working hard.

I like the park, the peaceful time and the fresh hair.

No bad hair, no people that smoke next to me like this morning.

I know exactly his name but CNS preference is that his right of privacy prevails over my right of being in a smoke free environment.

Hence I am complying. Are you complying as well by making sure the smokers are segregated.

Monday Sept 12

Lets' review as always the activities for the past weekend.
As I take picture to remember here are the salients activities.

Obviously I like the gym and enjoy Zumba a lot.
Caroline is at my right and   Salve at my left.

Caroline is always courteous to stop and snap a picture with me.
She is normally checking the pictures and  approves it always.

I then text it  to both  her and Salve.

I enjoy the gym very much.

I  am there as much as I can.

As always I spent my Saturday morning doing the usual cleaning activities of the weekend

Washing all my apartment items: bed sheet,  towels and  bathrobe. Also all my sport attire

This is the normal activity of cleaning on the Saturday morning.

I also  cleaned the whole apartment 

I cleaned  the bathroom, Also the carpet had been washed in the washing machine.

I  carefully swept the living room, afterward I washed it with the swifter.

I took the opportunity for washing  the plastic  ivy plant

It is 100% plastic and once in a while needs to get  dusted.

I put it under the running water.

As always I went to do grocery shopping at Trader Joe's at 10:30 am.

I really made an effort to control my buying habit.

I checked my supply of food and made an accurate list.

My total was $84.05 better than usual. As the insurance gives me $75.

Thus far the extra amount has come from my wife Simona and the Personal money I have at the apartment.

After shopping at Trader Joe's 

Jamie is always available to stop by and to snap a picture with me.

She mentioned that her daughter Logan enjoyed  their day at Disneyland.

She also told me the park was packed on that day.

Josh showed me the picture of her baby girl.

He is a proud father of a little girl.

I came back to the apartment labelled all the produce. Put in the fridge the things that needed to get in the fridge. Left a few fresh vegetable outside in the counter.

They are testing better in that way. Of course I have my eyes on their status to make sure they stay well were they are.

In the evening I went to see a nice movie.

A true story happens in NY state

It is the story of a brave captain and of its crew.

They landed safely a plane in the Hudson river without sustaining any injuries.

I like the plot and the story line. 

It is the Miracle of the Hudson movie.

In the movie  Sully suffers of PTSD  (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and he has some trouble to rebuild himself.

At the end of the movie they showed the real persons that inspired the movie.