Sitting On The Dock of the Bay
PSYCHOVERSE NEWSLETTER SPRING EDITION 2007
This issue’s theme song is Otis Redding’s “Sitting On The Dock of the Bay”
Once again, thanks to all of you new unknowing subscribers. This is the tale of my life basically in blog form.
LAST EPISODE:
Most of you found out that I was recently released from the hospital. 2007 started out bad with a torturous two weeks dealing with a kidney stone and then succumbing to the anguish of a vein bursting near my varicose veins and being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. But before we return to our story…
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Raven Aldrich is engaged
- My first ASB President is engaged
- Johnny Stella, our softball team 1st baseman and youngest teammate is now 21, too bad it came after Lance’s bachelor party….
- Two dear friends, Stephanie and Melissa are both pregnant
- A different Stephanie is now dating a fellow lineman high school buddy of mine, Neal.
- Happy Belated Birthday Karen! I still need to check out your place and you need to go to a Giants game.
- One of our three family cats, Fluffy, the white one, died this week of leukemia
Segment 1 (for you SFSU people, doesn’t this eerily sound like GE requirements)
SO WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO MY LEG?
Surprisingly, I only missed two weeks of work, but I must admit that I probably should have stayed home another week. Yet my workaholic tendencies and my students’ term papers called me back to work.
As of now, I am not completely healed, but I am no longer having to bandage myself up everyday nor is Sheena having to stuff gauze into the cavity under the surface of my skin. Here are some pictures to help you gain an idea of what happened.
This is what the leg looked like before I visited the surgeon. It would constantly fill up with blood that would have to be drained every couple of hours.
Unfortunately, I have no video or pictures of my visit to the wound care surgeon specialist for that was a gruesome 30 minutes. The doctor examined the leg with all the blood drained which looked kinda like this… 
you can somewhat see the white oval where the white blood cells are amassed just to the left of the flash reflection… this is important… here is where the surgeon decided to enjoy himself and suddenly take one of those cotton swab applicators that are about 6-inches long… and stab into the wound… over half the length of the swab entered the cavity below the entire infected area… The surgeon then proceeded to twist it around and open up a hole that looks like an area a bullet may have entered. The he squeezed the entire wounded area and forced out every blood clot he could. Gelatinous globs spewed out and occasionally jettisoned upward like Old Faithful. After a couple of moments he finally stopped to consider the pain I was in and asked if I’d like some kind of anesthesia—I yelled to just finish what the hell he was doing. Once he stopped getting clots to come out, he went back in with the cotton swab and swept out the cavity again. I felt really exhausted after the cleaning. I thought it was over, but then he gave me my options: A) stuff gauze into my leg and wait a couple of months for it to heal naturally from the inside out (I couldn’t let the hole close because the cavity was too large and the chances for infection too great) or B) he makes a 4 inch incision across the entire cavity and open up the entire infected area and let it heal bottom up but fully exposed to the air. He said the safest way to get it all would be to slice me open; however, he recommended the gauze treatment for that would allow me to return to some semblance of normal life much sooner. Minor surgery would keep me out another two weeks minimum, which would have interfered with my upcoming trips to San Diego and Scottsdale. So for the next 6 weeks, either my mother, Sheena, or myself filled my cavity with gauze…
The above gauze picture was taken mid February. This process continued until the end of March when the hole finally sealed itself, but I can still feel a small cavity beneath the region.
if you saw me during this time, this is what you saw… here I am at Scottsdale Arena
anyways, the leg looks almost back to normal. There’s a little indention where the hole was. I still feel the cavity beneath the skin which is a little odd, but I’m used to it now.
SEGMENT 2:
Less than a month after the injury, I had to travel to San Diego for my annual CADA conference. This happened to be one of the best conferences I’ve been to in 10 years. It was important to get some time to work with Ms. O on the advisor handbook project she decided to tackle. Major project, but it could have a big impact on the school’s co-curricular program. Also, I had the opportunity to visit Ms. Macgregor, who taught the past few years at South City as its activities director. The keynote speakers were by the best ever.
Mark Scharenbroich is one of the premier motivational speakers in the country. I first met him when he did an assembly at EC when I was just a senior in high school. Joy Collins and I greeted him when he arrived at the airport. Before the school had link crew, the freshmen used to have to attend an assembly on the first day of school, and here they would see a short video of one of Mark’s speeches which did include clips from a variety of high schools in America—including El Camino.
Scott Greenberg was hilarious. Everything from a song about how unappreciated activities directors are to incorporating leadership lessons from a Motley Crue concert he attended. He spoke to me on just about every level.
One of the vendors had a machine that had pictures in which you insert your face. You know, like those old ones you’d see in Circus Circus or Carnivals and our face replaces an athlete or wrestler. Here’s one of me trying to regain my youth. Incidentally, I still have a baby tooth in my mouth that was never pushed out. Keeps me young.
However, the conference came to a crashing halt when Nadia and I arrived at the airport. Our flight was delayed. We arrived at the airport at 7:30 AM. The plane had technical difficulties and Alaska Airlines kept giving us 30 minute updates with little progress. Apparently, it got to 5 PM and they did final tests for the new parts that were flown in (when they should have just flown in another plane)… the tests failed. Finally, after the first passenger blew up at about 6PM, which they should be thankful for that it took that long, they rebook our flight and transfer us to a United Flight that would depart at 8 PM, roughly 12 hours after we arrived at the airport. All I could think about was that I would have to fly again the next weekend to Arizona… speaking of which
SEGMENT 3:
SPRING TRAINING
Lance’s bachelor party weekend was something I had never done. This was my first trip to Giants Spring Training and it was HOT! I can’t handle heat. My flight left SFO at 7AM on Friday and by 1PM that day we were baking in the outfield lawn. I lasted 2 innings before I retreated to some shade behind the school board.
Friday night we all went dancing at a nearby club. And it had to happen… I bumped into someone I knew… actually a former student I taught in the spring of 1998. I had no idea Candace moved to Arizona to pursue a Master’s Degree, but there she was at the club. She wasn’t exactly hard to spot, since her group was the only other Asian group of people in there. Here’s a snapshot that she took…
One of the best moments of the trip was my brother getting to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday. But really, even better, I was able to see my cousin Brandon and his wife Guerrie. Special thanks to you two for coming to hang out and for bringing us to that Brazilian restaurant for dinner…. It was so good….
now Lance has a picture of his name on the scoreboard… but mine still happened at Pac Bell Park… but to do it again with that huge new HDTV in centerfield would be so much nicer.
SEGMENT 4:
So really, it felt like I missed a month of work. I was practically never there for all of February. So the weekend after AZ, May and Greg come to town to visit for a day and a group of us had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Town Hall. I got to meet some cool new people who are involved in the film industry. Anyone notice how I’m always surrounded by beautiful women… I just need to appreciate my life more…
SEGMENT 5:
In the midst of all this traveling in early March, my cousin Christine calls me and invites me to a meeting the following night with State Senator Leland Yee. Lo and behold when I arrive there that many of the Leaders of various Filipino Community Organizations are also in attendance. Seriously, I felt like I was attending a clandestine meeting of the rebel forces (although who were rebelling against I have no idea). It took place in the back of a health organization’s office on Mission. What exactly was I getting myself into?
Christine, who works for Congressman Tom Lantos, told me in her phone call that she had heard my name being mentioned around lately. I asked why. And here’s the part that floors me. As a possible candidate for the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Trustees. Rachel P. Juliana was about to resign from her position to move back east, which would leave her seat vacant, though she did have a successor in mind. The objective of the meeting was to find a viable candidate, particularly one that’s Filipino since Rachel is.
Admittedly, I thought I might pursue politics one day when I was closer to retiring from teaching. But apparently, I have some doors opening for me right now. But not completely open, for last Friday the 13th the Jefferson District’s office officially confirmed that I am not eligible for the position because the boundary ends at the bottom of my hill/street. This disappoints many of the people I’ve recently met. I didn’t realize at first what an ideal candidate I would make being of Filipino heritage and in the teaching profession. I have to admit that it’s very gratifying, flattering, and humbling to think other people who really don’t know me wanted me to represent them.
The crazy thing is I really wanted to do it. I have no idea where I would have found the time amongst all the other responsibilities I possess, but the thought thrilled me. In reality, I need to take my time and not rush into this. This enables me to slowly network and build a foundation for future political positions. People in the meeting are now asking me what positions I would consider since I do qualify for a Daly City city position, such as city council. Now I feel like I’ll be letting myself down, Senator Yee, Congressman Lantos, my cousin (who should be moving up this political ladder moreso than me), Larry Formalejo (vice-mayor of Colma) and my new club: the Filipino Democrats of San Mateo County.
Now to address those of you who are still reading this long… State Senator Yee is making a call out for younger representation of our community in the political arena. He remarked how his position and many others need fresh blood particularly because they will be all termed out due to term limits. Please make sure all of you are registered to vote. Not only will I be needing it one day, but also because of the lack of numbers who vote in the Filipino/Asian communities, the larger political groups don’t take us seriously. The example shared was how the Democratic Central Committee basically ignored all Filipino/Asian candidates for any office in San Mateo County and endorsed none of them. Now that’s partly our fault because we don’t represent ourselves well. Me becoming involved is only a small step.
I need all of you to vote and maybe consider being a bit more active, especially if the teachers in the South City District end up striking later this year. You may be hearing the strike talk about the Hayward district in the news as of late. We teachers in South City are getting closer to that outcome. I haven’t had an incremental raise, experience raise (which are supposed to be standard) since 2002. The only raise we got then was a bare minimum cost of living (COLA) increase. This negotiations don’t appear to be moving well and I fear teachers will not hold fast together and we will give in because none of us can survive a strike… I know how much we all make and I really don’t know how many can do to have shelter and food.
SEGMENT 6:
Sports Page—Giants baseball and the Teacher EC softball team
That was a horrible first week to watch at the Ballpark (I went to all 6 games), but it was very cool to see the former Giants all-stars to be introduced for the opening day ceremonies. Plus, my family came prepared…
Now for the staff softball team—I have to admit that at the beginning of the year I was so excited for a chance to hang out with my co-workers outside of the school. Unfortunately, many of us work in our classrooms inundated by students, meetings, and other responsibilities. It bothered me that I hated it but never did anything to change it. The staff climate seems to be adjusting somewhat now that there are Friday potluck luncheons in the teacher’s lounge, which really has been a ghost town for a couple of years now. Honestly, I’m almost never there because there is usually a Friday event to supervise in the courtyard.
I must admit I was jealous that Jodi played on the Alta Loma softball team in an adult co-ed league in South San Francisco. Why didn’t we have that kind of camaraderie? So, the bid idea to announce last August that we would form a team.
Despite the fact that almost all of us are beginners and have only a few clues as to what to do on the field, I am only now realizing again that the big issue here is not necessarily to win, but to hangout and maybe hit Molloy’s after the game every Tuesday night. I was disappointed that many of us are too busy to practice, but that’s the reality, right? I remember my Sunday night team took a couple seasons to gel before the championship game became an annual event in our lives.
I suppose it took the Sunday practice on April 1st to bring this all to mind. Seeing people playing together with a BBQ pit blazing on the sides just made sense. I want to see these people more like friends bonded by our career and impending impasse in negotiations with the district. I wanted to be a Board member in Jefferson to help me understand how our own Board works and to see if they’re lying to us at all.
Our first game is April 24 and I can’t wait to take the field with my teammates. We’ll slowly learn the nuances once we have a season of learning the basics. The joy of the journey and even a night together after the school year is over. Hopefully, this will be an outlet for us all to relax and not think about students (except the ones heckling us in the stands until they remember we still have to give them a final grade).
SEGMENT 7:
You former co-workers and leadership students will recognize this. Here I am with my ASB President preparing for the lip sync rally…
This is why I need softball to recollect my bearings…
SEGMENT 8:
Spring Break
I spent it working way more than I should have. I walked into my classroom everyday of the break. I had to supervise commissioner interviews for next year’s leadership class. I’m thinking of adding new commissions. I’m also considering no longer producing a DVD yearbook. This year will be the 20th edition. Realistically, it never should have been part of this class. Common sense leads me to believe it should be a Video Arts/Yearbook collaboration. I would prefer my focus to be on putting on the events. I always recommended that the DVD yearbook should be its own class and that ‘s closer to happening with the new Video Art elective.
I finally saw the film The Namesake directed my Mira Nair. It was a fairly faithful adaptation and it pleased me. You actually get to see Kal Penn play a very dramatic role. The author, Jhumpa Lahiri, even made a cameo appearance. You should all read this novel or her short story collection that won the Pulitzer, Interpreter of Maladies.
Last Saturday, my brother and Mary Anne had the family bridal shower at which the two families could get to know another. I was also notified that I would be the MC at the bay area reception and would have to write a poem for the program. C’mon, you know me, I don’t do love poems… maybe morbid poems… Oh well, if I screw up anything, I can always get it right at Jim’s and Joy’s reception… assuming there’s an opportunity…
Thanks for reading about my journey. I hoped no one was mortified by any pictures above. “My heart’s like an open book/ For the whole world to read”
(SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY
- written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
- lyrics as recorded by Otis Redding December 7, 1967, just three
days before his death in a plane crash outside Madison, Wisconsin
- #1 for 4 weeks in 1968
Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the 'Frisco bay
'Cause I've had nothing to live for
And look like nothin's gonna come my way
So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes
Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home
Now, I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Oooo-wee, sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
(whistle)
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