January: My Birthday postponed
My friend, Ninfa forwarded an article yesterday (Jan. 20th). Here is excerpt; ..“I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that “I was only on the first hole” and the “back nine” was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.
But, here it is…my friends are retired and getting gray…they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me…but, I see the great change…Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant…but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we’d become.”
Here is my 68 B-day Rant:
This article really resonated with me. I hate to admit it but I have been dwelling on this for a some time. AGING SUCKS! AGING really SUCKS! AGING is “beauty’s archenemy”. What I hate and worry about aging could be loss of physical attractiveness and strength. Another is dementia. (ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE makes cancer look like a more attractive way to leave this life.)
*** Write about my goals for this year
♥ Lose 35 lbs. in first 100 days Starting in February (so I can wear my clothes and shoes, prevent heart disease & diabetes )
♥ Strength/flexibility training next 100 days (in May, Jun, Jul.)
*** Write about strategies
♥ Join Fitness club – my health insurance under Silver&Fit will pay for monthly fees
♥ Join Overeaters Anonymous meeting (??? Why? My eating is affecting my health and the way I live my life.) I may not, because too much preaching of “god” and “surrender”.
♥ Raw food diet, Juicing (??? Need to reduce intake calories)
♥ Annual Wellness Check-up & discuss with my primary physician
Photo Gallery – January 2014
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- 1/19/2014: SF Civic Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert. . . Performance in an intimate setting with a beautiful room. I particularly enjoyed string instruments – violin solo part was almost heaven.
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- Music Director Mancho Gonzales stood between string and wind section instead of podium. Then conducted “Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 7“ with wind-brass group. He conducted “Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a” with full orchestra
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- Thomas Alexander is the concertmaster as well as associate conductor. He conducted “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” with string orchestra.
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- I’m definitely coming back for Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert, March 23, 2014, 1p, Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Empire Ballroom *** Rossini: The Barber of Seville: Overture *** Bizet: Carmen Suite #2 *** Dvorak: Symphony #5
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- Love the PET-friendly hotel
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- Each year, uniform heart sculptures are painted by different artists and installed at locations throughout San Francisco including Union Square. The heart sculptures are auctioned off at the end of each year’s installation with the proceeds going to the foundation.
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- Starbucks Corp bought La Boulange. Starbucks is replacing its current lineup early 2014, starting with French pastries such as the croissant. Products will start appearing in Bay Area stores first then roll out nationally.
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- Coffee came in a soup bowl! . . . I enjoyed “Passion fruit Mango” macarons de Paris. $1:50 each. . . . In Japantown, I go to “Cako” for macarons $2 each. . . . At Chantal Guillon Macarons, $1.80 each . . . I don’t care for plastic cutlery, demanded silverware.
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- bronze Buddha * Buddha hand gestures, the energy of No Fear. is made with the open palm of the right hand extending outwards at the chest level or slightly higher. * Compassion, Sincerity & Wish Granting is made with the left hand.
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- gate it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred… Vermilion is a brilliant red or scarlet pigment.
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- Five-story pagoda, the tiers can represent the five elements, earth, water, fire, wind, and void, sky, or in some cases, heaven.
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- Space/Center/Zenith . . . Air / Wind / East . . . Fire / South . . . Water / West . . . Earth / North . . .
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- Disowned by family members, no matter how much I want to pray for the repose of my parents, I cannot visit there.
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- Drum Bridge and koi ponds. Beautiful, artful landscapes. In April, many flowers and plants. Your eye will be pleased. You’d stop by for a sip of tea
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- At the gate, I told her I am senior and gave $5 entry fee. She couldn’t believe me even I repeated to her. She pointed out 65+. I showed her my ID. Finally, I was able to enter.
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- January 20, 2014 (Monday) @ 1:00 pm For centuries in Japan, there has been a tradition of pounding rice in celebration of New Year. This ceremony is called Mochi-tsuki. Rice is sacred to the Japanese people, being basic food, and especially during New Years, mochi is made, displayed and eaten in every home.
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- The Music Concourse, a landscaped basin between the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum, is a vital civic and cultural space within Golden Gate Park, hosting free concerts on Sundays during the summer and serving as a respite and picnic spot year-round for visitors to nearby cultural facilities.
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- Please, you don’t have to remind me how fat I am… I am fully aware of that. I am disgusted about myself.
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- de Young museum Exhibition: The Art of Bulgari . . . The de Young, is one of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco along with the Legion of Honor. The de Young is named for its founder, early San Francisco newspaperman M. H. de Young
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- Pier 39 Carousel . . . Handcrafted in Italy.
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- Sea Lions 24th Anniversary: Walking Tours . . . Each winter, the population can increase up to 900 sea lions, most of which are male. During the summer months, the sea lions migrate south to the Channel Islands for breeding season, but in recent years a small group stays year-round at PIER 39′s K-Dock.
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- Bay Bridge Lights – a cutting-edge lighting system . . . 1.8 miles (2.9 km) of the cables on the north side of the suspension span of the bridge between Yerba Buena Island and San Francisco. The installation is controlled via a computer and displays changing patterns that are not meant to repeat.
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- 1/26/2014: at Berkeley Public Library. I was very disappointed. Shakespeare On Tour: “Julius Caesar” . . Mark Antony’s stirring and powerful ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen’ speech, Brutus’ struggle with his conscience, and the thrilling final battle scenes have enthralled audiences for centuries.
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- 1/26/2014: UC Berkeley: Sather Tower (The Campanile), is a 307-foot tower. Visitors ride an elevator to the top observation deck. The Campanile’s carillon consists of 61 massive bells that play brief concerts. $2 general, $1 seniors.
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- 1/26/2014: U.C. Berkeley, South Gate. Sather Gate was the terminus of Telegraph Avenue and was Cal’s south entrance.
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- 1/26/2014: U.C. Berkeley, Sather gate
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- Ok, I’m 68 years old. 68 is a composite number. 68 = 2 * 2 * 17. It is a happy number, meaning that repeatedly summing the squares of its digits eventually leads to 1: 68 is to 6^2+8^2=100 is to 1^2+0^2+0^2=1.
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- Feb. 7, 2014 My own Google Birthday doodle – Birthday wishes from the Google gang. (18 days past due) . . . It was changed to Olympic doodle in the evening, after that, around 11:30 pm back to the standard Google logo.
