lost my hearing

In a strange turn of events, I have a double ear infection and I can't hear. It started off pretty innocently, just a little runny nose. I kept up with my training. I remember doing my 10-mile training run and wondering if it was the right thing to do or not. That was Sunday, November 10th (10 days ago). I did do two 2-mile runs the following week, but it was a taper week and it got pretty cold. Later on Thursday, November 14th, I started to lose hearing in my left ear. By Friday, November 15th, I couldn't hear in the right ear either. I tried to rest all day Saturday, thinking it would clear up. But after sleeping most of the day, both ears were still plugged up late Saturday afternoon. We went to urgent care around 4:30pm and returned home at 8:30pm with antibiotics. People have been telling me that it should resolve after a couple of days. So now we're on day 4 of taking amoxicillin, and I still can't hear. 

This semester came in so challenging. I got a change to my teaching schedule on August 9th. That was the Friday before my kiddo's first day of TK. Within a few days, he came down with COVID. Then my husband and I got it too. I was behind from the first week of classes all the way until about week 4 or 5 (end of September). After things settled down, I got a bit sad because we had low participation for RunClub. Just when I thought that was canceled, it was back on!

Being without hearing for a week has been odd. I feel like I'm forced into a meditative state. I can't be entertained by podcasts or music right now. It's a lot of work to have a conversation or watch TV because I have to read the subtitles or people's lips and really strain to pick up what they're saying. So I'm really in my head. What's nice is I've found a bit of gratitude there. It's the lead-up to Thanksgiving now. I'm in the home stretch of the semester. I don't have to hear the students ask me what each piece of glassware is. I don't have to listen to my kid whining. I can't hear the brakes on our minivan squeaking. It's all diminished. And what remains is an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the people in my life.

It's that time of year where we trim the tree and send out holiday greetings. I did get to send a few care packages to loved ones in advance of the holiday break. I bought holiday stamps at the post office. I cut up photos of kiddo to include in the cards. There are just so many steps to sending these out, but I'm ready this year. I'm ready for the end of this year. I'm looking forward to the Holiday Half Marathon. I'm looking forward to the Rose Bowl Half Marathon. I'm taking these setbacks (like this double ear infection) in stride because my training has been strong up until this point. I'm on track to submit grades early. Amazingly enough!

I've been working on my holiday bucket list. Or should I say, a list of holiday traditions that are meaningful to me. Given that we only have a few weekends to plan stuff, I want to make sure we're prioritizing things that are meaningful and not just "staying busy."

Nov 23 - Birthday Party 10am - noon
Nov 24 - Grand opening of Boeckmann park 11930 Mason Ave Porter Ranch 2-6pm (11 miles)

Nov 28 - Thanksgiving
Nov 30 - Holiday Train / Downtown Disney
Dec 1 - Pick up Fitlicious / Hot Chocolate Run (13 miles)

Dec 7 - Discovery Cube?
Dec 8 - CicLAvia + GH Holiday Parade 1:30pm - 4pm (14 miles)

Dec 14 - kids race
Dec 15 - Half Marathon + Chatsworth Holiday Parade noon-5pm

Dec 22 - Discovery Cube?
Dec 23 - 15 miles

Iceoplex Winter Wonderland 
Dec 23-Jan 5 
three sessions (9am-noon, 1pm-5pm, 6pm-10pm)

ALL ABOARD! We got our tickets for
Saturday, November 30 - Anaheim (A.M.)

Welcome Event: 8:30 a.m. at Anaheim Station. Train Departs: 10:00 a.m.

Discovery Cube

🍪Cookie Decorating – Guests will learn about primary and secondary colors and decorate a cookie to take home

🎅Visit Santa Claus: November 23-24, 29-30, December 1, 7-8, 14-24. Appearances from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm.

👨‍🍳Meet a Pastry Chef! Gingerbread demonstrations on November 23-24, 40, December 1, 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29, January 4-5. Demo times: 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Westfield Topanga Village Snow falls Friday-Sunday evening Dec 3-23. 6, 7, 8pm.

Other ideas for the holiday list:

Yolanda Lights FREE

Baking gingerbread house

Sending holiday cards

White elephant @ CSUN

Holiday lights bike ride

Boat Parade Newport Beach

Rose Parade Bike Ride

September to Remember

I am running a bit tired today and I thought... what could cheer me up? So I came to write a quick blog post about September and thought of this song~~~~


I really need to go rollerskating. I miss my rollerdiscoboogielife.

Since school has started, I've been reading "Becoming Nicole" and I was really looking forward to attending the "New Student Convocation" because Nicole Maines was the keynote speaker.

The event was slightly ruined by a group protesting EO1100. There are reasons why the CSU is having difficulty graduating 100% of incoming students. Some people believe that our students are taking unnecessary courses. Some of those courses include remedial math and remedial writing classes. Some of those courses include Africana studies, American Indian studies, Asian-American studies, Central American studies and gender and women’s studies. The instructors who teach those courses would see their enrollment drop (and job cuts) if students are no longer required to take those courses.

I'm sad that people don't graduate. I'm sad that Nicole's keynote was overshadowed by a group of angry people. I'm sad that students are coming to a university that is not able to eliminate opportunity and achievement gaps. I'm sad that people are going to be losing their part-time teaching jobs. It's a complicated issue.

EO1110 retires the placement tests in math and English, instead focusing on offering non-remedial courses only. Our department is filling our classes to the fire code limit to balance the budget because our department gets a certain amount of money per enrolled student, but... How does a packed and uncomfortable classroom support student retention and success? Sometimes I feel like the CSU-level initiatives and what our department does are in direct conflict.

Someone mentioned that their son is studying GIS. I got jealous. I have to get ready for class now. I'm trying lots of new ways to use technology in the classroom. I can't say if any of it is working yet.

trans*

In the Web of Science you can use a star as a wildcard.  Therefore trans* would return articles about any of the following topics:

• Transportation, transect
• Transformation, transmutation
• Transcription, transmission
• Transparency, translucent
• Transient, transition
• Transpiration, transplants
• Transcendental, transfixed
• Transference, transfusion
• Transnational, translation
• Transformers: The Last Knight (in theaters June 23)

When I get a theme in my head, I want to flush it out by writing.  I have a lot about transportation on my mind right now.  It's bike month.  I didn't go to the "ride of silence" this year, but I think I'll go to the placement of a ghost bike on 6530 Winnetka St.  It's shameful that cyclists are being hit by cars on such wide roads as we have here in the valley.  It's like cyclists are transparent (invisible).

Summer is here and the cacti are flowering.  Other plants are transpiring a lot of water and I'm not sure if they'll survive the summer without being transplanted into a different container or being transported to a different location.  We're surviving our transition to living in Northridge.  It's easier to get to campus, for sure.  But harder to get to Walk Bike Glendale meetings and events in LA.

I'm hoping people can get more transnational.  The science march was almost pointless, the rest of the world saw us carrying signs with "nerd jokes" that only other science people would understand.  The new acronym now is STEAM'D which stands for Science Technology Engineering Art Math and Design.  We need a transfusion of political will to deal with the current reality.

Ready for #marchforscience #earthday2017 #STEAM pic.twitter.com/NQAGbnWE1Q

— Kayla A. Kaiser (@hamerk02) April 22, 2017

The summer classrooms where I'll be teaching have gender-neutral restrooms near them.  I went in there to scope it out.  Transgender people are welcome at CSUN.  I have transcripts from my CHEM 101 lectures that still need to be edited and uploaded to the videos on YouTube.  Why do I have 55 cycling videos on my YouTube channel?  Nobody really watches them.  Hopeless transmission.



I had transformers (toys) as a child.  That was my favorite toy.  I've always wished I were a boy.  I feel it's hard to be taken seriously as a girl.  But I do love biking in a dress.  In my new free time, I feel like I should do some more meditation.  Go transcendental.  Become transfixed.  But so far, the only way I can really clear my head is rollerskating or cycling.

Goodbye tiny house

Home gym and shoe rack

There were many things we learned by living in less than 400 square feet for almost 6 years. The (lack of) space will help you realize what is really important in your life (and what you can live without).

I wanted to make a video touring our tiny house, but it was so messy that I was too ashamed to let anyone see how we actually lived.

There were at least two huge piles of clothes on the floor. Usually the oversized dining room table was covered with junk (and stuffed with junk below it in bins). There was no way to clean up because we had nowhere to put things away. 

Every year we gave more and more items away, and didn't buy anything new (except bicycles) but we still couldn't fit all our stuff in that house. We had a storage unit 1/2 mile away for $177 per month, which complicated planning for trips.

If you are considering tiny house living, here are a few photos that show items that made our lives in the tiny house more bearable.

A key rack, mounted to a bookshelf

The spice rack

The coffee cup rack

The vanity bench added extra storage

The hat and coat rack

The lipstick rack + tiny wall-mounted shelf

The sunglass rack

Rink Rat

Skating is my new addiction.  It came to me this summer that I wanted a reward, and what better way to feel good than to go zooming around on 8 wheels?  I live 0.6 miles from Moonlight Rollerway, so it's crazy I didn't start frequenting it sooner.

Remembering the days of my childhood, I knew what I had to do: Find a "play it again sports" and get a pair of used skates.  I went to the location in Sherman Oaks first.  Although they had a bunch of great fitness equipment, I didn't see or try on any skates that got me excited.  Then I tried the location in Pasadena.  I found the skates pictured above in perfect condition.  They're a size 10 and I generally wear a size 9 in shoes, but hey I could wear thicker socks.  Or just tighten the laces.

Skate rental at Moonlight is $5 and I got the skates for $50 so I only needed to use them 10 times for the purchase to make up for itself.  I'm proud to say I've skated 11 times already.

The boots of my skates are Riedell, which has been making figure, speed, in-line and roller skates since the 1940s. The wheels are Powell, a Stanford-educated engineer who started making his own wheels in the 1970s.  He's associated with skateboarding more than rollerskating.  But I think it's cool that the skates I eventually settled on are so infused with skating history.  Also, I might put a pom-pom on there (that's what the chain is there for).

From Bloglovin' The nostalgic building that houses Moonlight Rollerway was built in the 1940’s and before Harry’s Roller Rink opened there in 1956, it was used to make airplane parts for the great war. The skating floor is the original Harry’s maple flooring, “with no nails all tongue and groove”– it’s basically a living artifact of 20th century American leisure.

I'm getting my skating muscles back, practicing starts and stops by doing "Red Light, Green Light" and practicing turns by doing the "Hokey Pokey" and practicing skating backwards during the "Beginner and Intermediate Backwards Skate."  I might eventually try this type of skate dancing.  There's so much talent at Moonlight.

Monday - adult night - [not yet]

Tuesday - adult class + live organ music - 9/13, 9/20, 9/27

Wednesday - skate dancing class + rainbow night - 8/17, 10/19

Thursday - roller derby practice + throwback music - 8/25

Friday - all ages afternoon - 9/9, 10/21

Saturday - all ages afternoon + evening session - 9/24

Sunday - all ages afternoon + family night - 7/31, 10/2

Clearly, live organ music is my favorite night~!  It's not crowded.  The video above shows the ambiance of that night.  Really good skaters come out, too.  Someday I want to go skating in Northridge.  Rainbow Night is so indescribably amazing, you have to experience it for yourself.  It's like an aerobics class, where everyone's REALLY INTO IT.  At some point, the fog machines start blowing and the lights dim and people really let go of their inhibitions.

I don't remember too much about Thursday, except to say that the derby girls scare me.  They train hard, skate low to the ground, and circle for hours.  Maybe it scares me because I'm interested in it, but maybe it scares me because I hear that they get pretty severe life-changing injuries.  Friday (all ages) skate is mostly kids.  But as long as you don't run them over, it's fun.  The kiddos had a meltdown when the Jacob Sartorius - Sweatshirt song came on.  It was like the Beatles!

Our neighbor offered to sew me something one time, and the pattern I picked out was for a skating dress.  She said "I don't need a pattern to make you a circle skirt."  Well, she never sewed the skirt, but now that I have my sewing machine out, I can make it for myself!  I can see why people like skating in dresses or short skirts, skating really gets your muscles working.  I've noticed my booty has lifted in the past several months.  I attribute it to skating.

I was walking home from the rink last night and snapped the shadow picture above.  The sun was setting and it struck me that I could see a cool shadow of me and my skates.  A few blocks later, a Jeep slowed down next to me and yelled something out the window.  I pretended not to hear it, but the driver was so persistent.  He didn't pull forward to the stop sign, instead yelling again: "It's hot that you skate."

I don't particularly love being yelled at by passing cars, it makes me feel unsafe, but I think the truth is that active transportation is hot.  It's awesome to walk around, take the bus, skate through CicLAvia, bike LA, it's all hot.  I will definitely get my skates on for Glendale meets Atwater Village (Spring 2017).  I'll make a follow-up post about CicLAvia-Heart of LA in October.  But what I want to say is that getting active is attractive.  Moving gets you feeling good, and that's hot!