... Memory REKINDLED!

... While I was prepping at one of my dojos for my jujitsu-lesson, I recalled

"the H's of Wrestling-DEFENSE":

(There's even a little dance.)

"HANDS,

(Shake OWN hands from side-to-side.)

HEAD,

(Shake OWN head from side-to-side.)

HIPS.

(Shake/Rotate hips.)"

That ... was ... HUGE!

...

"That's what she said."

(--Michael Scott, 'The Office')

Sophomoric joking aside, I "took a MAJOR step" (metaphorically) in my recovery yesterday!

I went to one of my 'dojos' ('training centers for martial arts') to prepare--with my 'Sempais' (Japanese for 'assistant teachers')--my next TEACHING-lesson.

Since I "dropped the ball" regarding SCHEDULING, I ONLY had time to try some moves for DEMONSTRATING the 'jujitsu' ('GROUND-fighting') techniques.

Mainly:

... I actually HELD MYSELF UP--MAINTAINING BALANCE--in a "referee's position" (on HANDS and KNEES) for a good minute or two.

(I had NO PAIN, just fatigue!)

... YAY!

I think NUMERICALLY.

... EVIDENCE:

The best number is 73. 

Why?!

73 is the 21st prime number. Its mirror (37) is the 12th and ITS mirror (21) is the product of multiplying 7 and 3. ...

 In binary, 73 is a "palindrome" --1001001, which backwards is 1001001.

Radio-operators often use "73" as an abbreviation for "Best regards".

Since I ADORE sports: 

The 1940 Bears ("DA Bears!"--'S.N.L.') scored 73 points to win the 1940 NFL Championship game.  That's STILL the highest score EVER in an NFL game.

(IF y'all did NOT realize THIS, then I just pity you.)

(Ah, I do enjoy the humor of sarcasm ... 

NOT condescension.)

SUPPORT

So, I recently had a LONG, CONTINUOUS debate with my best friend about which is GREATER/"STRONGER":

MATH/NUMBERS or SPEECH/LANGUAGE.

... My SPEECH-therapist--biased as she may be--believes I--in support of MATH--won the argument.

She claimed that the WINNING point/argument was that 

"MATH is a UNIVERSAL language."--me

(... NUMBERS are the SAME in EVERY country.)

... You're ALL witnesses to ONE of my "problems".

... PLEASE disregard my titling my last blog-post of "BLOG".

I label my "posts" as thus, when I START a "blog-post", then SAVE it as a "Draft".

(TRANSLATION: My memory tends to be a bit SUB-par.

Ergo, I'll split up my "work", rather than depend on my QUESTIONABLE, UNRELIABLE memory.)

BLOG - " There are GOOD days, and there are BAD ones. "

... Today--August 28, 2013 (... I'm a "NUMERICAL-thinker".  Ergo, it's 8/28/13), is/was a GREAT day!

At my gym ("NeuroFit 360") today, I "walked" for seven minutes and 48 seconds on "phase/level/speed" 25!

(... Ergo, my endurance is IMPROVING!)

THEN, I actually STOOD UP--ON MY OWN--WITHOUT "HOLDING ONTO"/"LEANING ON" anything for assistance!

((Granted, my SOLO-standing was ONLY TWO reps of ~10-15 seconds each.  But, they're "BABY-STEPS"(--'What About Bob?').) --metaphorically.))

In my Speech-Therapy, I ate--via MOUTH--one scrambled egg and cheese AND three THICK-sliced oven-roasted turkey--NOT the country--breast.

NO PROBLEMS!

... SPECTACULAR facility!

... What GOOD are my "name-drops", if I OMIT HALF the name?!

My gym is "NeuroFit 360" in Pembroke in Pembroke Pines, FL.

(Check it out:

   http://neurofit360.com/about/   )

MORE PROGRESS:

...

My WEEKLY recap:

-- I'm doin' GREAT with my EATING, TONGUE-MOVEMENT and SPEAKING!

My Speech-Therapist gave me some VERY BENEFICIAL advice for COGENT/UNDERSTANDABLE talking:

1) Exhale SLOWLY.  (THIS PROCESS helps me RELAX.)

2) Separate the words into STRESSED syllables.

3) Enunciate. 

-- I'm demonstrating my STEADY, GRADUAL improvement in my walking/stepping-pace on the "I-care" at "Neuro-Fit" (my gym).  Every ~wo weeks, my "output"-level/speed has gone:

10 -> 12 -> 13 -> 15 -> 18

OCCASIONALLY, I've found my starting-rate TOO EASY.  I've requested that my set-pace be INCREASED.

YESTERDAY, I reached a new HIGH-pace: 30 units/"allotted time".

YAY!

WOW! "PROPS to 'Neurofit' (my gym)!"

...

The staff there EMPHASIZE to me the IMPORTANCE of "breaking-down" the standing-process into "steps".

For example:

1) Be calm.  BREATHE.

2) Look around to make sure I have SUFFICIENT room.

3) "NOSE over TOES"  

(Lean forward and bend down, before I use my LEGS to push myself to a standing-position.  (... "It's ALL physics."--ongoing joke with my trainer) (... = ANGULAR MOMENTUM)

... 

... Now, EVERY TIME I have to GET INTO or GET OUT OF my wheelchair, I INSIST on doing the MAJORITY of the work MYSELF--using the above HELPFUL tips!

He is "wise BEYOND his years".

... So, I got frustrated--MOMENTARILY, 'cuz my left hand kept slipping/"losing its grip" from/on the "handle" on the "I-care" stepping/walking-machine at "Neuro-Fit" (my PHENOMENAL gym).

Seeing my uneasiness, the owner remarked: "It's okay.  Just BREATHE, calm down and focus.  Rome was NOT built in a day."

...

GREAT week last week!

... 

1) I ATE--via MOUTH--THREE times with NO PROBLEMS!

2) I got down on the mat--on the floor--ON MY BACK--and DEMONSTRATED the three 'jujitsu' ('ground-fighting') techniques I TAUGHT to my/A martial arts class.

3) My training at "NeuroFit"--my gym--is REALLY showing some POSITIVE results/affects!

...

... FURTHER evidence/proof that I am--IN FACT--an ANOMALY:

... Due to various medical-operations/procedures--MAINLY with my LEFT knee and LEFT hip, I actually

DON'T "put my pants on ONE leg at a time, just like everybody else".

(... Ergo, the BROAD, generalized term, "everybody" does NOT include me.

... I must consult Master Yoda to CLARIFY.)  

...

... "It's ALL angles", Part II

... Quantifiable PROOF/EVIDENCE of my IMPROVED "range-of-motion":

(This is "trigonometry".)

(FYI: I ACED the class "Algebra 2/Trig HONORS" as a sophomore in high school.

THEN, "Survey SAYS" I was TOO ADVANCED for "PRE-Cal."

So, I just skipped DIRECTLY into my FIRST year--of two distinct/different classes/courses--of Calculus.

Lying flat on my back in bed, with my arms at my sides--THAT will be my "resting/starting position".  Or. THAT is my "0 degree position".

SIMULTANEOUSLY, I can raise my STRAIGHTENED LEFT (INJURED/WEAKENED/LIMITED) arm to ~110 degrees.  I can raise/lift my STRAIGHTENED LEFT (INJURED/WEAKENED/LIMITED) leg to ~60 degrees.

KEEP GOIN', A.J.!

PHYSICAL-fitness UPDATE:

...

Being the LOMG-TIME "folkstyle"--NOT "freestyle"--wrestler that I am (ALL eight years of high school and college), I was curious as to what my weight was/is.

(... OR, you could just INFER that I'm KINDA feminine in that I link my self-worth to my "numerical output on a scale".)

REGARDLESS!  Interpret this as you see "fit":

(Pun intended.)

LAST TIME I checked my weight (I have NO IDEA WHEN!  I'll just estimate at ~four months ago.):

153.8 pounds = ~69.45 kilograms 

CURRENTLY, I "tipped the scale" at 

147.0 pounds = ~66.80 kilograms

(... So, YES, I'm losing weight.  BUT, muscle weighs 2.2 times MORE than fat.)

(... MY analysis:

My FOUR times per week workouts are helping me convert SOME of my FAT into MUSCLE-fiber.  "SHOUT-OUT" to "NeuroFit"!)

...

"It's ALL angles."

... (It's an inside-joke between my MAIN-trainer and me about how I--LOGICALLY--use my knowledge of trigonometry and physics to AID me in my workouts.) 

MORE later ...

... "MIND over MATTER."

... In lieu of yesterday's workout-cancellation, I kept--INTERNALLY--telling myself:

"Work TWICE as HARD today."

Apparently--STRANGELY, my muscles ACTUALLY "listened" to me (my brain).

... Over the last FIVE PLUS years, my "brain-muscle coordination" just doesN'T happen.

My ARM-trainer said that my strength, control, core AND range-of-motion have "DEFINITELY IMPROVED".

P.S. My nurse told me to "take it easy" to NOT "aggravate" my ALREADY "upset" stomach.

But, THANKFULLY, I know my limits.

...

... What's Step 2?!

... 

So, my best friend's step-dad SOMEWHAT recently stopped by my house for a short visit.  Naturally, I was playing the computer-game, "Minesweeper".  He--VERY ASTUTELY--remarked: "This game can be ADDICTIVE!"

... Yes, I admit.  "Field-PUZZLES" are my (METAPHORICAL) "DRUG".

(If "the first step" in recovery "is admitting you have a problem", then see subject.)

P.S. While typing my parenthetical remark, I JUST typed "iD" instead of "iF".  CLASSIC "Freudian-slip"!  (id, ego, superego)

... Or, was it SIMPLY/JUST a typo?)

... But, WHERE are my (adamantium) claws?

... 

So, recently my nurse commented:

"WOW!  The tube-site looks GREAT!  That's some QUICK healing!"

Also, my mom has commented on my "RIDICULOUS, SUPERSONIC hearing".

Finally, for the past several weeks, I've been becoming MORE INDEPENDENT.  

(YAY!)

I've--by myself--been applying my Axe deodorant--under BOTH arms!

Ergo, I'm a member of the "AXE Men".

(... For those of you who couldn't "put two and two together", I'm describing "Wolverine"--a member of the "X men".)

I'm hanging my head in SHAME.

...

( :( )

This afternoon I did NOT attend my workout at "NeuroFit", simply because I suffered from a SEVERE stomachache.

(That's the FIRST--hopefully, ONLY--time I've cancelled a training-"appointment".

(I'll just HAVE TO go TWICE as HARD tomorrow.)  

GREAT week last week!

... 

1) I ATE--via MOUTH--THREE times with NO PROBLEMS!

2) I got down on the mat--on the floor--ON MY BACK--and DEMONSTRATED the three 'jujitsu' ('ground-fighting') techniques I TAUGHT to my/A martial arts class.

3) My training at "NeuroFit"--my gym--is REALLY showing some POSITIVE results/affects!

(I'll go into GREATER detail later.

...)

Inevitability:

... So, EARLY this morning I went into the HOSPITAL to get my "G-tube" ("gastronomic-tube") (small plastic tube protruding from my stomach; used to "FEED" ME various nutriments and medications) REPLACED.  (A "G-tube" is  TYPICALLY "good" for ONLY ~ six months.  However, my LAST "G-tube" lasted ~ONE YEAR.)

Doctor's orders:

I just have to "take it easy for the next few days".

(NO swift, violent movements of my "trunk" for THREE days.)

((... THIS "throws a wrench" into my plans, 'cuz I was PLANNING ON demonstrating some jiujitsu (GROUND-fighting) techniques in my Karate-class teaching this Thursday evening (the THIRD day).))

...

(SIGH) Isn't it OBVIOUS?!

... 

The English LANGUAGE "bears" SO MANY contradictions!

... "I feel like I'm taking CRAZY-pills!"

--Mugatu, 'Zoolander'

So, I was prepping for my MATH-tutoring service, when I noted:

IF "two WRONGS don't make a RIGHT", HOW CAN "a double-NEGATIVE equal a POSITIVE?!

It seems as though only MATHEMATICS can UNSCRAMBLE this "MESS"!

Key 

"wrong" = NEGATIVE #

"right" = POSITIVE #

You see, it's VERY CIRCUMSTANTIAL, but ONLY in terms of the GIVEN/SPECIFIED/DESIGNATED "OPERATION".

In multiplication AND division, 

a NEGATIVE # ("WRONG") multiplied/divided by another NEGATIVE # ("WRONG") = a POSITIVE # ("RIGHT")

Math is a UNIVERSAL language.  Although the SPOKEN translation may differ, there's ONLY ONE WAY to interpret NUMBERS--which are written THE SAME WAY IN EVERY LANGUAGE (EVEN "pig-Latin")!

Ergo--Hence--Thus--Therefore--Concordantly--Conclusively--Obviously--Finally,

MATH/NUMBERS > speech.

... ALAS, I suffer from a "Traumatic Brain-Injury", so WHAT DO I KNOW?! 

Answer: A LOT!

"Tooting my own horn" aside, take ALL I say/post "with a grain of salt".

These are PURELY/ONLY my observations of/on LIFE.

(I am, admittedly, BIASED.)