Reflecting

Getting to my yellow belt

2009-06-04T09:21:00.002-07:00

After 8 months at one school and traveling what I thought was a difficult road, I changed Kung Fu schools at the beginning of April. After being at the new school only 2 months, I fretted and decided after a couple of epiphany moments to decide to test a week ago.

I went to practice hour that night. Didn't get there for the whole hour. Took my time getting changed. I get out there and stretch alittle. Then Jake set me up with a Black Belt to go over what I was to test on. Class was good. Sparring was a bit different. Jake was actually showing us different techniques to try. Also, the person I was sparring with was being helpful, explaining things a bit differently and being very encouraging. After class, I went out with another Black Belt and went over things I wasn't sure about one more time. I went in after that and tested. Jake had me do the Lohan form first. That was the one thing that was a big deal for me and I was just beside myself trying to do that one. (To keep focused and calm I had to do it with my eyes closed!) Then I did the sparring techniques which I thought I had a grasped on and got stuck on the last three and needed hints on. The Chi'na (self defense moves) I guess I did okay on. Once I was done, Jake asked me how I felt about it. I guess relieved and glad it was done. I told him the hardest part for me was getting the Lohan form. He told me that was the part I did the best and without a pause in it. I am now officially a YELLOW BELT! Now I get to look forward to learning more stuff and try to remember the stuff I just learned.

Now that I've gone through one class as a yellow belt, I think my challenge will be getting the hang of the long staff. Now I wish I still had the wrist flexibility I use to have a long time ago!

I Cannot Pray

2008-11-14T11:40:00.003-07:00

I cannot pray the Lord's Prayer and even once say "I."

I cannot pray the Lord's Prayer and even once say "my."

Nor can I pray the Lord's Prayer and not pray for another,

And when I ask for daily bread, I must include my brother.

For others are included in each and every plea,

From the beginning to the end of it, it does not once say "me."

(From Prayers for the Twelve Steps)

"Love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor"

--Romans 12:10

Ila Sowins-Dunmire

2008-11-09T15:15:00.001-07:00

Ila Sowins-Dunmire
Originally uploaded by speakingoffaith.

Nurses, Reality check.....

2008-03-18T17:56:00.001-07:00

Too funny not to post...courtesy of my friend Nicole!
Nurses
Ah, such mysterious, wondrous creatures are nurses. What treasures lurk beneath those crisp, white uniforms....What young man doesn't have fantasies of discovering those secrets for himself? SCREEEEEECH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reality check! I've been married to a nurse for a quarter of a century, and let me tell you, nurses are not what you expect (and I don't even care what you expect, because you are wrong!). Let's begin by tearing down some of the more famous assumptions about nurses right off the top: The Nurse as Sex Kitten: Any man who lived through the early seventies or has made it a point to rent such famous videos as "Night Duty Nurses" or "Student Nurses" or "Night Duty Student Nurses" or any one of several dozen nurse-centric skin flicks will immediately believe that all nurses have heaving bosoms, just millimeters away from popping out of skin tight white uniforms. You will also believe that nurses always wear white garters, fish-net hose, and stilettos. This, of course, is a handy dress code because movie nurses spend *a lot* of time hopping in and out of patent's beds. The reality is that most nurses wear scrubs - shapeless, draping hunks of cotton that could cause you to breeze past Pamela Anderson without a second look. Shoes are white and chunky with blobs of things on them better left unexplored. Socks replace white hose and garters, and when is the last time anyone saw a nursing cap? Graduation, perhaps? The Nurse as an Angel: If you want to hear the latest gross jokes, just find a nurse. Some uninformed males seem to think of nurses as angelic creatures: demure and loving, a cross between a nun and their mom. Well, hate to bust your bubble, guy, but as a group, nurses are some of the rawest folks you'll ever run into. I don't care how sweet and demure they may look on the outside inside is someone who has seen things that would gag a maggot, break your heart, or drive a normal person nuts. So most nurses develop a very wicked sense of humor squarely lodged in the black-to-sick side of the scale. Also, in case you are looking for angelic sympathy for the little boo-boo you had in the shop, forget it! Let's say as a typical male klutz, you manage to saw your finger off. You go running to your nurse wife who is on the phone with a nurse friend of hers. As she continues to talk to her friend, she gives the stub a good eyeballing, slaps a towel on it, takes out a baggie to put the severed digit in, and tells you to get some ice while she is explaining to her friend that her dummy husband just sawed his finger off. As you stand there bleeding profusely for 15 minutes she calmly finishes her conversation as though nothing is going on until finally she says, "well I guess I better get him to the hospital."She hangs up the phone, looks at you, sighs and calmly says, "let's go." You have just learned an important lesson. On the nurse scale of emergencies, yours is about a minus 9! As my wife has told me, "when you are on a ventilator, with six drips running, your head down and your feet up, then you're sick. Anything less than that isn't worth getting excited over! The Nurses Mutual Benefit Network: As a male either dating or married to a nurse, you should realize one important thing. There are nurses everywhere. That, in itself, is no big deal. The fact is, every nurse knows other nurses who know more nurses, so that by the time you are finished, a nurse on the Island Nation of Chuuk who observes you doing something you shouldn't has the immediate capability of getting word to your wife. This system is way more reliable and efficient than the Internet and has existed for a much longer time. Take it for granted that your nurse wife will know about anything you have done, good or bad, before you get home! Your Social Life with Nurses: Nurses hang out with other nurses and soon you may find that all your friends are married to nurses. The reason this happens is because in situations where nurses mingle with non-medical folks things can get ugly. For example, you are out to dinner with your nurse wife, another nurse couple, and two civilian couples. The nurses sit and chat, discussing fun things like bleeding bowels, open sores, how much fat was sucked out of some patient, projectile vomiting, traumatic amputations, etc., all over a nice pasta dinner. The nurses carry on talking as the civilian couples turn funny colors, make faces and suppress their gag reflexes (and this is if the nurses don't have any really gross things to share like the homeless guy with maggots in his bleeding sores!) After several dinners and gatherings like this, you will soon find your circle of friends has shrunk significantly. The key to avoiding this is to do the following: Never go out in mixed groups with more than one nurse. A lone nurse is ok. The trouble starts when you have more than one, and when that happens, keep the regular folks away. Also get used to the idea that some friends and neighbors will take advantage of the fact that your wife is a nurse by calling at all hours of the day and night for advice. This may include male friends "dropping by" to show your sweetie his rash. The best advice I can give is to just deal with it and hope it isn't contagious.

A little wisdom from Blessed Angela of Foligno

2008-03-11T19:56:00.004-07:00

The first degree to be attained, or step that the soul must take when it enters the way of love, through which it desires to reach God, is to know God in truth.
By “to know God in truth” I mean to know him not just from the externals -- such as the tone conveyed by writing, words, images, or resemblances to anything created -- for this way of knowing something according to the way we speak about it gives a kind of simple knowledge about God. To know God in truth is to know him as he is in himself, to understand his worth, beauty, sweetness, sublimity, power, and goodness, and the supreme Good inherent in him who is the supreme Good. For the way in which a wise person knows something in truth differs from the way a simple person knows only the appearance of truth. To illustrate this, perhaps the following example or comparison might be useful. Suppose two florins, one of gold and one of lead, were lying in the road. A simple person might pick up the gold florin because it was beautiful and shiny, but would not know about the value of gold. The wise person, knowing the truth about gold and lead, would avidly go for the gold florin and pay little attention to the lead one. Similarly, the soul, knowing God in truth, is aware and understands him as good, and not only as good, but as the supreme and perfect Good.
When the first degree of love has been attained, the others will follow, the greatest being the degree of transforming love.
Discovering that God is good, the soul loves him for his goodness. Loving him, it desires to possess him; desiring him, it gives all that it has and can have, even its own self, in order to possess him; and in possessing him, the soul experiences and tastes his sweetness. Possessing, experiencing, tasting God himself, the supreme and infinite sweetness, it enjoys him with the greatest delight.
Then, enamored with the sweetness of the Beloved, the soul desires to hold him; desiring to hold him, it embraces him; embracing him, it binds and weds itself to God, and finds God bound and wedded to itself in the sweetest form of love. Then the power of love transforms the lover into the Beloved and the Beloved into the lover.

-- Blessed Angela of Foligno

2008-02-20T16:17:00.004-07:00

My term on council being done, there are things I will miss and things I will not miss. The first year with a new pastor and a lot of angry parishioners, won't miss that at all. How we got through that first year, I haven't a clue! And the newbies don't get why we won't talk about it. It's over, it's passed. Like our pastor told us, It's time to move forward. So, we are all moving forward. I will miss seeing certain people as often as I did. To my new friends, just know that I love you very much.

2007-03-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Kachina!
Aka Cheena
Our sweet lovable dog!
Prick eared, rough coat, black and white Border Collie!

PAC Party

2007-02-20T23:41:00.001-07:00

PAC Party
Originally uploaded by iasowins.

Christmas time. What a wonderful happy time of year. To spend with friends. Thank you for being there!

Subjects for Daily Meditation

2007-02-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Remember, Christian Soul, that you have this day and every day of your life:

God to glorify,

Jesus to imitate,

The Angels and Saints to invoke,

A soul to save,

A body to mortify,

Sins to expiate,

Virtues to acquire,

Hell to avoid,

Heaven to gain,

Eternity to prepare for,

Time to profit by,

Neighbors to edify,

The world to despise,

Devils to combat,

Passions to subdue,

Death perhaps to suffer, and Judgment to undergo.

-From the Manual of Prayers

Dogs

2006-07-09T02:55:00.000-07:00

Finally have a dog. Got a Border Collie. We've named her Kachina. It's a native american name that means Sacred Dancer.She's sweet and shy.

First morning i went to feed her and the cats at the same time. Wrong! One and only time she's barked the whole time we've had her. My one cat that is part siamese ended up 3 feet from her dish with her tail puffed up! (that's called a stupid human trick)

Dogs and cats

2006-05-27T01:31:00.000-07:00

What does one do when one has 3 cats and wants a dog?
We have been looking at border collies. found the sweetest dog. Had him over for a test with the cats. Went over like a lead balloon. Two hid under the bed and one howled the whole time the dog was at the house.

Now we're looking at other dogs. May even try the same dog with us bringing him home instead of the foster.

May not even be time to get a dog.

who knows....

First Impressions of Arizona

2005-12-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

The favorite comment of Arizonians to people who have just moved here is: "We have beach, plenty of sand, just no water." Me, cynical Californian that I am, smile, nod, chuckle, and walk away shaking my head. A friend of mine's favorite joke about Arizona: Why won't California fall in the ocean? Because Arizona Sucks. Actually I have come to love it here. It's home. I wandered off six years ago. "Ran away from home." Wandered on a walk I thought God sent me on. Found my way here. Met the nicest man. Had to wait a long time for him. Now it's like I've known him all my life. Couldn't imagine life without him