Monday October 24 2016

It is already a hot day in Bakersfield. Very unusual temperature for a Fall Weather.

I keep dressing up with long pans and long sleeves as if it were a cold temperature.. which is not.
Temperature is the 80s with rain expected for Thursday and Friday..

We will see how it goes.


My weekend was as good as possible.
Given the boundary condition

I have followed my program to the letter.

Last Friday I went to the gym as I  had Zumba night.

Caroline with a red hut, Lee with a white towel, Salve next to me  and Saira in yellow shirt.

The same picture in a different position. Lee was gone  by then.

Good music and good environment.

I walked to the gym by signing out by myself. It  took 35 minutes by walking over there from the apartment.

I came back and Brandi signed back on my behalf.

Saturday morning was spent as every Saturday morning for taking care of my apartment first.

Local flower

The park next to the apartment is really nice in the morning

A picture from Italy. 

It is of a birch in front of the apartment I used to leave in Verona Italy.

My mother Marta leaves there nowadays. 

In the late morning I went to Trader Joe's

Over there everybody was happy to see me shopping.

She is Jamie - always good with me.

She is confirming that her daughter Delaney is going to be dressed as a Zombie bride.

Her son Logan is too little to dress up for Halloween.

I brought for Delaney a Halloween pin. Jamie appreciated.

My bag of grocery..

The pumpkin outside the store.

I spent $100.44 some might consider it a lot.. I consider it appropriate for my needs.

While at the Store I greeted Jolanta my Case Manager at CNS. 

As always  while I was cooking Basmati rice I have ben writing to my family.

it is a letter for the boys and my family.

Our eldest reads it all, Lapo is still too young to make the effort.

I am addressing to the boys anyway for the future.

In the afternoon I went to see a movie.

Jack Reacher: Never go back with Tom Cruise

the movie made a large success in US.

However here is my personal point of view.

I paid $12 as it was on the large screen MPX and Surround Sound System.

After considering the cost and the movie, my conclusion was that it was not worth the money.

Too expensive for what it is worth, of course this is my own personal opinion.

The movie grossed $218M .

My mother sent me the following pictures of a red cat.

It belongs to my brother Francesco

When our two kids went to visit my mother and Francesco in Italy, they quickly adopted a cat each.

This one was adopted by Lapo. At the time the cat was a little puppy.

Today the cat has become a small lion.

Last Sunday I went to the S. Philippe the Apostle church in Bakersfield.

Monseigneur Salvatore (Sal)  has finally got the responsibility of the church

He read the Gospel of the tax collector and the pharisee.

The attitude each of one approaches God makes the difference in our relationship with Him.

After church I had a quick lunch and went to the gym. I signed out at 1:50pm arrived at the gym at 2:20pm. I have learnt to be extra careful especially when young girls are driving.

 It might  sound stereotypical but I noticed I have to be extra careful with them  since they do not pay  a lot of attention to the pedestrian traffic.

Other more experience drivers are more alert and know how to pay attention to the pedestrian.

Anyway at the gym I  worked on the item  following

-I did 2.5 miles of stair master at level 5. It took me 37 minutes.
-I worked on the multi-mode robe trainer at level 5. This is good for my core and back posture.
This machine helps strengthening my back muscle. Cassie recommended me to work on it. She works at the gym as a Personal Trainer. Whenever I see her I ask her tips regarding what improvement to do to  my routine.
I used this machine for 20 minutes and did 1 mile on the robe.
All working my core and using my arm to pull a rolling robe downward.

I also completed my workout by doing rotary torso: 4 set of 20 rep at  40 lb.

At last I stretched my legs, my back and my arms.

As always light weight and repetition to protect my body and to avoid any possible injury.

While at the gym I took my weight. It is 177lb

I stayed at the gym for 90 minutes.

I left at 3:50pm and walked back to the apartment.

Outside the gym there was a nice Mercedes car parked. I snapped a picture of it for the fun of it.

I signed back in on time for my Metagenics meds.

Coming back I expressly asked to see management as I wanted to access my personal account.

It is Personal and it is there for me to access it.

Deidra came by and I filled in the cash req for $50.

She asked me what I need the money for.

The matter is that  I felt I needed money for Grocery.. as every time I go to Trader Joe's I spend more than CNS gives me which is $75.

As it is a Personal Account set up for me  I got what I wanted to have.

She was kind enough to do it on a heart bit.

She told me that there are only $5 left on it.

I had a good lunch: Pesto Spaghetti, a polpetta and grapes 

All good 

It is time to leave in a bit.

Today the boys have Taekwondo.

They are going directly from School.

Simona will be busy to be at Caltech at her office.

She is pushing hard for her to get through her tenure package.

It will be in a few months.

Sincerely

Giuseppe

Friday October 21

This morning I went to Dr Jue medical appointment for taking the negative prints of the night retainer.

The nurse took my teeth print by using a pink paste. She got top and bottom jaw print.

The taste of these pink paste is awful ... It tastes like a bad toothpaste.

Additionally I bite on a soft gel to get the  mold of my over bite or so I believe.


The night guard is going to be ready  by November the 9th. The day after the upcoming Presidential Election.
We will see which way the country is going to swing we will have a lot to talk about on that day.

 I frankly hope  it will be swinging toward the blue  side.

I have been observing and reading a lot about both sides.
I had fun watching yesterday evening charity dinner where both parties pocked fun at each other.

 It was a nice  and a break showing a bit of graceful behavior.

Here are the roses today at the apartment. Always doing well

Yesterday evening I did not go to the gym.

Rather I accurately prepared my grocery list for Saturday morning.

I stayed back to write to the kids and cook

I cooked chicken broth 

I sliced some  celery, onion and carrot for the soffritto.

I cut into small cubes a couple of  Russell  potatoes.

I used Coconut Oil for cooking soffritto.

It is a good vegetable Oil that has a very  high smoking point.

Afterward I lightly browned the chicken drumsticks.

Also I added a bouillon chicken cube and let the soup cook gently for 40 minutes.

Alexis came by to check on me, she was graceful to snap a picture of me with my white apron.

Here is the soup cooking in a large pot. Cooking slowly and gently. 

In a separate pot I cooked the brown Basmati rice in plain water. It takes 20 minutes to cook as it is pre-cooked.  It is healthier than white rice as  it has more fiber. 

A higher fiber content translates into a fuller feeling after eating and as well a healthier way of eating.

Whenever I choose I am always going for whole grain and unrefined starch.

While the broth was cooking I wrote to my kids. 

In the  local lingo it is called THP (Therapeutic Home Program)

I believe that writing using my hand enhances my hand coordination. This is particularly true as far as small movements are  concerned. This is the main reason I like to write a lot whenever I have time. Beside  it makes me feeling well about myself. 

Our eldest son Chicco always reads my letters. Our youngest son Lapo has not come to the point of reading it. Whenever our youngest Lapo will feel like he will have time to catch up and to read as well. This is the reason I am addressing the whole family: Chicco, Lapo and Simona (mon amour)

There will be a time when even little Lapo will have the wish to read these letters. As it stands I am writing in English and block letters to the boys.

After cooking I cleaned the whole kitchen and had my soup with Parmesan Cheese and Olive Oil.

As a result I had no time to go to the gym.

It will be for later today.

Recently the iphone speaker in my apartment stopped working.

It is a Bluetooth speaker connected to the phone. I like to lessening NPR whenever I have time. And right how I have a lot of time available.

 I asked my wife Simona to kindly sent me a new one.

I found the following  one from Amazon.
It is a water proof one, it has a several hours rechargeable battery.

• ULTRA PORTABLE Under 10 ounces, 5 inches long, 2.8 inches tall; High capacity rechargeable 2200 mAh battery for up to 7 hours of playtime; designed to be comfortable to carry with no square edges, so much better for travel & hiking, superlight and easy to fit in your backpack, baggage
• CONNECT IN SECONDS to Bluetooth devices including: iPhone, iPad, iPod, 

Today's lunch was a delightful chicken minestrone soup. Easy to eat and very nutritious of course.

I had it with Basmati rice and some grape.

I talked to my mother back in Italy.

Regarding my teeth she commented that her experience back there was very expensive.

In Italy she has a medical insurance but the dentist is fully at her charge.

She got a couple of teeth implanted and the bill was  more that $10k out of her own personal pocket.

Well it is a different system over there.

I am sure that  in US the medical services are as well very expensive.

 Medical doctors do negotiate prices with the Insurance Providers. 

After proving services the negotiation of the billing might be going on for a while.

Simona is the main Insurance holder for the family.  I remember that once Simona got trapped in a ping-pong between herself and the Insurance for some extra charges. 

The Insurance was suggesting she was responsible for certain charges while her point of view was that no charges were pending. The situation went on for a while.

Finally she was able to get the situation corrected and these charges dropped.

Today I had no newspapers at the apartment as the kiosk stolen my money without opening.

The distribution system based on the kiosk belong to an ancient time. 

My personal experience is that the kiosk are very unreliable machine.

At time they steal money without opening and providing the newspapers other they fail to do a good job and are unreliable with the change.

In my opinion and experience this is a very antiquate distribution system in Bakersfield.

Enjoy the reading

Sincerely

Thursday October 20

Today I had first of all money management completed as every Thursday

$24 +$75 as every two weeks, same story and same event.


In the morning Chaney came in the apartment for a routine cleaning of the carpet.

This is the shampoo machine he is using to shampoo the whole apartment's carpet.

It would  be easier to maintain had I  had been given a  hardwood floor. As my actual house in La Canada  has hardwood floor.

I had a quick and easy breakfast something small and easy on my teeth.

Yesterday I did cycle and then body pump.

Activity that I like very much.

I am taking care of my body at the gym without overdoing my work out.

I slept very little as yesterday evening I was taken back from the gym at a very very late time.

CNS came to pick me up at  7:18pm while the contract I have says 7pm.

Next time I am going to take off by myself at 7pm as they told me yesterday... we will see how well it goes.

If you want to have my opinion dear CNS here it is. I was let  waiting outside the gym with another patient of CNS. He  brings his own clothes by holding in his arm  without carrying a bag. Additionally he puts the pile of his clothes on the top of  a trash can..  and tells me to watch it for him. Am I a chaperon for him, am I his servant ?

Witnessing all this  is priceless dear CNS. 

It is a very fulfilling experience...as you can imagine.

Additionally dear CNS you are late on you pick up. I felt crossed and taken advantage by  CNS.

In a short sentence feeling held hostage at CNS.. let's call the way it is:  hostage of your service provider.

When I commented about it  to the Sup he  slammed the phone on my face...

In my opinion he is a nasty nasty person, whenever I ask him to connect me to nursing he says don't you remember the number .. it is 2703.

Dear Supervisor you have to learn about service providing skills.

I am sure Somebody over there will make your pay hard for your nastiness.

You see dear Super visor  I know why you have   not got  a  job that requires a higher level of skill set than yours.

Here is what people think about this job.

The CNS's  job  requires very little brain as you have no customer to  satisfy nor higher person to respond to. Let call him/her a boss and of course you take full advantage of the situation.

They are all about money and they are totally against everything they stand for. The pay is under wage and they let patients fall all the time and cover it up, they are always short staff , and super management from Human resource on down to the supervisors talk to you like.

A person of your limited skills should try a night job at the  closest Walmart center.

At night so that as at CNS your interaction with real people would be limited.

Here is a link you might want to try.

By the way I just checked for you,  it pays about $10/hours.

I guess it fits your current demand.

However final pay  and benefit is up to your negotiations skills.

I am sure you can demonstrate your inner negotiation capabilities.

I guess you have a bright  future...as a  Walmart associate.

but enough about you. To  me you are a sad sad person always with buggy clothes. Your dressing  appearance is the one of being a rather destitute individual. I guess you are who you are.. 

A quick lunch to finish my food.. of course.

Without any pleasure nor appetite.., I had to consume it so I just consume it.

Afterward I applied a cold compress to my left part of the mouth.

It alleviates the pain on my tooth. I have been told to do so.. obviously at the forefront of the medical treatment. Because the  use of  cold and hot compress  alleviates the inflammation.

Slowly it works.

Obviously I cleaned my teeth.

Today we signed a Card for Marina. His son Alexander Junior was born last night.

Mother and baby are resting. I am expecting her to take three month of leave. 

So she is going to be back at the end of January.

Tomorrow I have another dentist appointment. It is for the impression for the night guard I was given yesterday. 

Simona tells me I will never use it.. well you know mon amour it hurts enough so that I am going to use it this time around.

Enjoy

Giuseppe

Wednesday October 19

Today I went to Dr Jue's office for a visit and a routine cleaning.

I have been reporting pain in chewing my food and at night pain in my left top side of the mouth.

The doctor checked my teeth.. I had a panoramic X ray this morning.

He concluded that as I have a deep byte I need a night byte to rest my mouth in a natural position

I will need to go back to get the print for the night byte.

As I had tine at the apartment this morning I took care of a few things.

I wrote to the boys

I have been washing a few item in the washer.

I was able to put it in the dryer before leaving en route the dentist.

Yesterday evening in the afternoon I had a quick dinner then signed out and walked to the gym by myself. It takes me about 25 minutes to walk to the gym by paying attention to the street.

I have to say that while some people do pay attention to the pedestrian, others do not really care much. I see it while crossing the street on protected place.

Anyway at the gym I had body pump and zumba with mike.

As it was late I came back with a van from CNS, Jennifer was at the gym with another patient.

I gladly waited for them to be done..

My body needs to warm up every time. Particularly after my last fall the other day in the stairs at the Homes of Hope.

Simona recommended me to always be using the rail while on  the stairs.

The good things is that my body is transferring one body pain in a location to a different one.

I wrote and send a letter to my mother back home, I wrote it in Italian.

This time it went smoothly as this language is coming back to me while using it.

This morning I had the first part of money management completed.

Time for receipt and everything  else

Tomorrow I will have a fresh amount of money.

Tuesday October 18

This morning I have received a letter from my mom back in Italy.

I still needs to read it and I have left in at the apartment.

The flowers at the apartment are too beautiful to remaining unnoticed.

Simona and the boys are fine.

Chicco was eating Nutella spread on a slice of bread, Lapo was eating his cereal with milk.

The boys are at school.

Today they have homework and piano practice with Liz.

I had a good and light breakfast easy to chew as I am having a toothache.

 For dinner yesterday I had meatloaf (polpettone)  with potatoes.

I made the polpettone the other day.

After cleaning the apartment I went to the gym

Yesterday Yoga with Lilli and cycle with Cassie.

Yoga is soft stretching gym with a lot of good balancing move.

As always I did my best given my current physical limitations.

Yoga practice is such that focus on the good things in life.

My program is such that I can stay at the gym until 7pm afterward it is time for me to get back. 

Get a final protein snack (Hemp protein, banana and milk). Yesterday I added some peanut butter, it was the last spoon I had at the apartment, I need to  buy more next Saturday. It gives a good flavor to my post gym shake. 

I had a good lunch at Homes of Hope courtesy of Mr Dr Kilby

beans, pulled pork and nachos.

I enjoyed my food 

I am OK, Simona is fine.

She is recommending me always to pay attention to what I am doing.

Let me look into work that I have been given here.

An outline for the prudent parents law of California.

Sincerely

Giuseppe

Monday October 17

It is a good day in Bakersfield.

The air is getting cooler and cooler,

I had a very busy weekend.

For instance last Friday I wrote a nice letter for my boys

On Friday evening I went to the gym by myself.

I signed off at 5:30 pm  and reached the gym at 6pm

I did work on leg curl and then I did 10 minutes of multimode rope training at level 5. This machine helps building my core..

I did Zumba and cycle 

I came back with CNS- Jamie picked me up- as it was too late to walk back at that time of the evening.

Last Saturday morning October 15 I took my time to clean the whole apartment.

Leaving room

Bathroom

Kitchen

Baseboard

Cleaning the carpet on the whole apartment.

Washing the floor tiles.

It is all clean.

Of course I changed my bed, washed all my clothes and my bathrobe

In the morning I also went to do grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.

She is Jamie always making sure I have a good experience.

I had the usual good time over there.

I spent $106.64

Got stickers and all good food. 

I purchased ground meat to make a meatloaf (polpettone)

Jamie mentioned that her daughter Delaney is dressing as a Zombie bride while her son Logan has no costume.

As I have learned within the community a Zombie  bride is a some how popular costume for Halloween.

Our kids have selected the following Halloween dress: Chicco a Taco while Lapo a SWAT officer.

In the evening I went to see a nice movie.

It is the Accountant with Ben Afleck

It is the story of a highly functioning autistic person that makes his living  with two activity:

accounting and executing people for a pay.

A high adrenaline story. With a sweet side as it shows the vulnerable nature of the main character.

On Sunday morning I went to the S. Philips the Apostle church.

It is a nice community.

At church I balanced my outing money by giving $4.25. 

In the parking lot Caroline came to say hi to me.

At church the knights of Columbus are always active.

After church it is gym time finally!

I signed out at 2:05pm and arrived at 2:35pm

The gym is only one mile away from the apartment.

At the gym I worked on 

- multi mode robe trainer  level 5 distance 1 mile in 15 minutes

- rotary torso 4x20  40lb

-chest press 4x20 54lb

shoulder press 4x20 45lb

While at the gym I took my weight. I am 176lb on  the analog scale.

I worked out until 4:10pm.

Icalled CNS and let them know I was coming back at the apartment.

I walked back and reached the apartment at 4:42pm when I signed back in.

My day was not completed so for the evening I cooked Polpettone (meatloaf)

I had purchased both turkey and beef ground meat.

In  a separate pan I made some light  soffritto by chopping onions, celery and carrots and cooking it with Coconut Oil.

I let the soffritto cooling down a bit.

I mixed it with the meat, added bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, seasoning and a couple of eggs.

I mixed it all with a spoon and later I used my hands to mix it better.

I cut some wedge potatoes to add on the side to the polpettone.

It cooked for 40 minutes at 350 F in the oven.

Once done,  I turned on the broil on only for a few minutes to brown the top.

Here is the result. Beautiful isn't?

I let the polpettone cooling down.

I organized the food this way.

I sliced the first polpettone, separately put it with aluminum foil in a large plastic container.

Dated and store it in the freezer.

The second polpettone instead is going to be kept in the fridge. It will be providing food for this week.

Last night it has been raining.

It is a rare view having the local flowers covered  with water droplets 

My Nurse and Simona managed to get me at the dentist at 11 am the day after tomorrow.

Besides the yearly cleaning, the pain at my teeth will be carefully screened.

I received the following recommendations:

-Use Ibuprofen for lessen the pain

-3 to 4 times a day apply a cold hold cloth to the affected area for 20 minutes

-eat soft food

- do not open the mount beyond 2 inches.

Regarding the food my mother has recommended me to cook all the vegetable as well.

Cook the carrot and celery first as the green leaf needs less time to cook.

We will see 

Enjoy

Giuseppe