by CSLi on August 21, 2008
what is this thing, called “blog”?
KKate is downstairs taking a bath. I had thought, in the health food store where we bought charcoal pills and Primal Strips, to get her some oatmeal bath stuff. I didn’t–it was pricey–but I wish now that I did.
Today we rode rickety touring bikes down Ash Street to another health clinic. They were doing low-cost blood screenings for the underinsured folks of Casper. It always amazes me when people get together to do a good thing. Volunteers at an elephant sanctuary, borderless doctors, men who fight human trafficking rings–these people are tenacious and kind, and I think it’s the combination of the two that really warms my cockles. With so much strife in the world, it’s easy to forget the good people who beat it back.
As for the blood tests, I had the Chem profile, hemogram, hemoglobin A1C, and ferritin tests ordered. These are but gauzy, meaningless terms to me, promising a glimpse of something beautiful. If I am patient. If I am calm. Being adopted burdens one with problems of alienation and loss, some say its own syndrome; I can’t remember a time when I was not sad. Perhaps now, I’ll gain some insight into my bloodline, through–fittingly–my own blood.
by CSLi on August 20, 2008
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Kate's living sculpture, her bike
“The Bike”
WWoke very early today with a dull, persistent pain in my left side. I’d noticed it yesterday but didn’t give it much thought. My brother Andrew says that “Pain is Weakness leaving the Body,” but where it goes, or what is left behind is anyone’s guess. I rather think pain is a sign that there’s something WRONG with the body, so I went to the local emergency clinic and filled out some papers. An x-ray and two ultrasounds later, I was declared healthy, with a mysterious pain that Alleve “might could” manage.
We’re still planning the details of our trip, but are going to wait a little and make sure this newfound demoness in my abdomen leaves, quietly, with the admiring feelings of a graceful lady. oh, I have such a craving for muscat gummies right now.
by CSLi on August 19, 2008
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Chunsoon and Kate in Casper, WY
Chunsoon and Kate in Casper, WY
In planning our road trip to Alaska, Kate and I have decided to make a few checklists. There are the usual ones, of course: camping food, hygiene products, camera equipment, books. But we want to use these 30 days as an opportunity for growth and reflection, not just fun. We want to return home a LITTLE BIT BETTER than when we left. Here is one of those lists (this one pertaining to physical health):
- Every morning before breakfast, 15 minutes of stretching
- After pitching the tent in a good place, and securing the food in a tree, a nice long hike or other vigorous exercise for at least an hour
- No more than three restaurant meals a week! (Kate says even coffee from a gas station counts!)
- Avoid processed and other junk foods
- No meat (we are packing lots of soy jerky for protein–it is highly processed, but protein is necessary)
- Every night after dinner, half an hour of meditation (for Kate) and writing (for Chunsoon)
- 15 minutes of stretching before bed
