Hip out … and back in!

Woke up yesterday and my leg felt strange. Tried to straighten it and it ached. Then I tried to bend it and it hurt … really hurt! I ended up going to the hospital because my hip had dislocated. Luckily, the doctors were able to put it back – they sedated me and pulled on it hard until it was back in where it was supposed to be.

Two pics: one while dislocated and one after it was put back.

Somehow, my left hip came out of joint

Doctors pulled my leg and the hip went back in joint

The Mutt is Gone

The Mutt passed away yesterday – February 19, 2011.

It was sudden. She had a brain aneurysm that burst, leading to a hemorrhagic stroke. It happened at 8:25 on Friday night. 12 hours later, she was gone.

The Mutt was the most loving mother in the whole world. Her family was her life – she would do anything for us.

I am at my father’s home now to help him with taking care of things. He is in shock and disbelief (my parents were married for 49 years), but so far, he is doing ok. My two brothers and sister will be coming in the next couple of days.

We will miss The Mutt very, very much.

Note: “The Mutt” is what many people (especially me and my siblings) call my mother. It comes from “mutter” in German, which means “mother”.

Fun Drawing Site

Can make artistic faces … like Picasso 🙂

http://www.picassohead.com/

Hip Revision

Well … less than 6 hours until I have to head to the hospital for my hip revision surgery. A bit anxious, but not too nervous. My doctor (Dr. Henry Finn) is a great hip specialist, so I am sure he will do a good job.

Two weeks ago, I had a CT scan done of my hip and pelvis region.  From that, an exact model of my hip/pelvis was created (I am serious … I saw it … I held the model in my hands).  So, the doctor already knows what he will see when he gets inside.

Hopefully, I will only need to stay in the hospital a couple days.

Wish me luck!!

 

New Google Voice Phone Number

1–818-538-6368

Can call it, and it will ring at my home and on my iPad.  And you can text/SMS to it too!!

Gotta love Google 🙂

Better Relationships

Quote of the day:

"Relationships and marriage are hard work. The No. 1 indicator of divorce is not conflict. The No. 1
indicator of divorce is the AVOIDANCE of conflict."  – Doyle Hamilton (a
pastoral counselor)

Hamilton said relationship skill-building is a major movement. The theory is that if people explore topics
such as communication, relationship balance, family origins, expectations and
life goals, then they can learn to better relate and
communicate their issues.

Meaning in our lives

Reading this very interesting book: "Tuesdays with Morrie". 

It is about this old man, who is dying. He knows his time is short and he spends many of his last days talking to one of his students from years ago (Morrie used to be a teacher).  Because of his life experiences and because he knows he does not have much time left, he provides many insightful thoughts and comments on life.

One quote:

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

I think there is much truth in what this old man said.

Saying Goodbye

A good friend was telling me a story about his parents from his childhood.

When he was little, his grandmother (father’s mother) lived together with him and his parents. His grandmother was this little lady, maybe 1.6 meters tall.  One day, my friend’s father (a large man) and mother got into an argument. They were both upset and the father said he was leaving (he had to go on a business trip and he didn’t want to keep arguing).  Well, my friend’s grandmother blocked the door and told him, "You are not leaving yet. You have to go kiss your wife goodbye."  At first, the father did not agree and just wanted to leave, but the grandmother (this little old lady) would not get out of the way and insisted, saying "You will be gone for many days.  You must say goodbye to your wife and give her a kiss".  So, my friend’s father listened to his mother and kissed his wife goodbye.  FYI, my friend’s parents have now been married for 50 years.

Two important things …

1) Take the time to say good bye. You never know if it is the last time you will see the person.

2) Show affection. We humans need it. Each time you touch someone you care about, hug them, give a small kiss … it strengthens and reinforces the "connection" between two people.  The stronger the connection, the better we feel. And the better we deal with the bad things (that sometimes come up).

Sorry and Thank You

Sorry and Thank You ….. Two things that people should say more (and learn more about) in life and in relationships.

Too many problems occur with family/friends and and even too many relationships fail these days. And I think one of the main reasons … ok two main reasons … are 1) communication, and 2) ability to see the other person point of view.  Basically, these two are related.  People are so busy ONLY seeing their own point of view that they are incapable of communicating.

For example, you have a long day at work. lots of pressure, many bad things.  You go home.  Someone (your spouse, friend, etc)  is worried about their mother being sick and mentions this.  You are busy in your own thoughts, so only say "oh .. that’s sounds bad".   Because you seem disinterested and uncaring, the other person gets upset with you.   You don’t really understand what is going on and have had a long day, so you get upset back.   Now, both people have had a bad day, have bad things to deal with,  and  because of lack of communication, are upset at each other!   Then, the other person can only see their side of the situation and decides to ignore you and be cold to you.  You realize this and feel bad, but also feels upset.  You are torn between wanting to say "i am sorry" to make the other person happy   and   wondering WHY should I say I am sorry … they are the one who is wrong.   So  neither says i am sorry because both are so busy thinking they are the RIGHT person.   Then,    after a few hours or even a few days, both people feel worse!!   All because both had a bad day, there was a misunderstanding, both blamed the OTHER person, and nobody could say SORRY.  

Why waste 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day    having these negative (and stupid) feelings?   Why not take 5 minutes to realize that most of the time, things are nice and good, so there must be a good reason for this unhappiness (fight).  Wouldn’t it be better to say "sorry for getting upset .. what is going on? … I have had a bad day, but I care about you and I want to make things better"

Seems simple doesn’t it???  But why are too many people too selfish?  to full of pride?  too influenced by society? to stop trying to WIN the fight??  Because of course, the OTHER person is wrong, right?? 

We all need to realize that most of the time both persons probably are at some level of fault and the best solution is to talk about it.   Say Sorry.  and say  Thank you for listening.

One Day in Xi’an

Spent Saturday in Xi’an — my Indian colleague wanted to go there and see the terracotta warriors.  And since I had never seen them, decided to go with him.  To make it an adventure, we left Friday night, arrived early Saturday, saw as much as we could on Saturday, and then the night train back to Beijing … haha.  We wanted to be back so we could watch the World Cup final (Holland vs Spain).  While in Xi’an, we saw the Terracotta warriors (兵马俑), Bell tower (钟楼), Drum Tower (鼓楼), Pagodas, and the City Wall (城墙).