Medea's Memoirs

THE PEERS MENTOR

scott — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:30:33 +0000

Sometimes I worry about my boy, 5un 5u. He’s smart but not competitive. He’s kind, shy, gentle. How long can someone like that make it in this world, before that spirit is crushed, changed, or taken advantage of. I wonder sometimes and worry.

Amy and the kids were at the mall play area when she recognized a child from the special needs class at school. 5un 5u noticed him too, walked over and said, “Hi.” Then he put his fist out slowly and the kids fist bumped in solidarity. (We’d never seen him do that before.)

The child’s mother said to Amy, “That’s really kind the way that 5un 5u is playing with Thomas,” implying that maybe that wasn’t the most common reaction from schoolmates.

“Oh, 5un 5u is good with younger kids.” Later, Amy found out Thomas was actually older.

As they were leaving, Amy commended 5un 5u for his friendliness. He is often more shy than that.

“Is that boy in your class?” she asked.

“No. He’s in special needs.”

“That’s nice that you played with him, 5un 5u.”

Then he answered matter-of-factly, “I’m a peers mentor.”

“…”

Amy was so surprised at his response that she laughed when she told me hours later.

Later that night, as I was tucking the kids in for bed, we talked about the day’s events as we often do at that quiet time.

“Ummah told me you saw one of your schoolmates at the mall and that you’re a … peers mentor?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool. Are you assigned to him?”

“No. There’s four of us doing it. We haven’t started yet.”

“Ah. Well, I’m glad you were so nice to him.” I nose snuggled his little head of hair the way I imagine dogs do when they love you.

“Appah?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s a mentor?”

I smiled at the ironic reveal. “It’s … like a teacher. Or a guide.”

“A guide. Yeah.”

Then my little boy turned over, went to sleep, and started to become a young man. And I worried a little less.

SH!T MY PATIENTS SAY

scott — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:58:37 +0000

Just a few things some of my hospital patients have said lately:

Forty year old woman: “I’m not worried about the cancer coming back. Been through that already. I’m over the fear. I’m lucky; some people never get over it.”

Fifty-year old woman: “BRA-A-I-N surgery tomorrow. They shaved all these patches out of my hair for these weird stickers. My hair just started growing back too.”

Sixty-year old man: “Heh, I love when you guys say that, ‘That’s the LEAST of your problems.’”

Eighty-year old woman: “I was on that boat in New York where all those seniors died. Lost twenty of my friends. Then I had a heart attack while on a cruise ship and I had the sick bay to myself the whole time. God likes kickin’ me around.”

(Or maybe he’s telling you to stay off boats.)

Eighty-year old woman: “We’re retired. We’re taking some time to rest and relax before it’s time for The Big Rest.”

Ninety-year old man: “At my age, if you wake up with vertigo and nausea, that’s a GOOD day.”

——————–

I also got a haircut today (it’s going to be that kind of blog).

This should be an ID badge or drivers license photo, not a blog pic.

INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO

scott — Tue, 31 May 2011 21:06:49 +0000

Warning: Graphic video of a 40-year old half-naked male vlogger who did not use sunscreen (because it’s “too slimey”). You’ve been warned.

Late addendum: This is the video of our day at the beach on Memorial Day (no half-naked me this time, I promise). Mostly the kids playing in the mud to The Killers (one of Amy’s favorite songs), but I had a lot of fun editing it to the song.

MAYBE LATER

scott — Sun, 22 May 2011 16:54:10 +0000

Sorry, it’s been a while.

Wish I could say more, especially to the few who still come around here, but I just spent way too long with this video blog below and I haven’t slept yet since my shift last night (up all night at work, if you know what I mean). I just haven’t been in the journaling mood these past few months. “Social networking killed the blogging star,” blah blah. I do miss writing but I don’t miss worrying about overexposing myself or being exposed to the wrong person in the wrong place. Maybe later. The days of the Alone Rangers are all gone now. Now everyone can be found, for better or for worse.

The video blogging thing is a fun change of pace though. I’ve also started a family album of videos online (the boring kind), to look back on as the kids get older.

Such is the decade of transparency. We can see so much of the world around us but it’s still hard to find our own path. I wonder about people who never do… all the time. I met a guy yesterday who quit his job at fifty and decided to do what he loves – sell wine. Finally, someone who is actually winning.

For the score of you who have stuck around for the past one to fourteen years, this is what I look, act and sound like, sort of. (Serious eyebags though, I’ve been staying up late all week.)

My first video blog.

Family album stuff

Wait, my voice doesn’t really sound like that, does it?

Now I should sleep.

Or maybe later.

ONE OF THESE DAYS

scott — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:36:14 +0000

“This is the year I get a girlfriend.”

That was my usual end of summer resolution, my solemn vow before the school year started again and again. Sometimes I’d say it to myself, sometimes to my brother as we contemplated the have-kissed versus the have-not-kissed and why we were still in the latter group. “This year, I am going to talk to that brown-haired girl or that black-haired girl or that blonde-haired girl,” I’d rally myself. Could it really be that much harder than rolling a “natural 20″ on a 20-sided dragon die? Because I’ve done that. Twice in one day, even.

So yeah, one of the most important lessons in high school was that resolutions almost never work. At least, not in a single year much less a really bold but soon deflating first day back in high school.

It’s better to look at all the good things you’ve accomplished for yourself in the past year. The things you want to continue. Or the things you want to start. As for the bad things, I try to focus on what I learned, appreciated, or got out of it, or just the fact that I got out of it at all. Easy for me to say though; I didn’t go through whatever you did.

Most of this year felt like I was in a holding pattern or a holding cell more likely, studying for my medical board exam all fucking year. I passed (19% of people failed it this year, by the way). According to my score breakdown, I am an expert in kidney beans, internal plumbing, and pee-holes but should always ALWAYS consult an oncologist in cancer cases – well, DUH!

Other things I got out of 2010:

Went to Comic Con San Diego for the first time (in July 2010). Fun, hectic, gigantic pain in the ass. (Mostly because I was hitting the treadmill in the morning before the convention.)

Turned 40.

Exercise epiphanies: I quit Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the past year, which I have mixed feelings about, partly due to my board studying but also because the schedule took prime homework time away from me and the kids. I learned to exercise more at home (80% at home, 20% at gym). At Comic Con, oddly enough, I boosted my running to the next level. To stave off boredom now, I bump the speed level up every couple of minutes (4 is walking, 5 is jogging, 6, 7, 8 is running, 9 is trying not to fly backwards off of the treadmill).

I discovered kettlebell weights while in San Diego too. Nice for variety. (Boring for blog entries.)

Reconnected with old friends and/or relatives this year. Word of the year for me: REFRIEND.

I got hemorrhoids. The last time I want to mention this. Promise.

I came to really appreciate the relaxing properties of baths.

Started drawing again. (Those portraits I’ve been posting.)

Started reading for fun again.

Started WRITING! (Just got back on the happy train last night after a 16-month mental block/layoff. Technically this started in the new year, but I’ve been greasing the wheels for a while.)

Started going to Corean church monthly. (Mostly for the kids’ Corean language classes.)

Dusted off my Corean language books a bit.

Came to realize that yes after forty years, I need to wear a warm hat in winter. And gloves. And pajama bottoms. Maybe slippers. (Womanly Wisdom: 1, Manly Machismo: 0 )

Also realized that I may actually like the art of dance choreography as much as fight choreography. (Manly Machismo: -1 ?)

Bonded more with my little boy, through gaming strategies, Calvin & Hobbes insights, and inquisitive heart-to-heart questions.

Bonded more with my little girl, through bad jokes, big laughs, and quiet smiles.

Rediscovered joy from cute/sexy K-pop music for better or for worse. (Still can’t stand the R&B, ballads, rapping, or boy bands though.)

Got a nice car to replace my prematurely busted up one. And in alien girl green too!

Cooked a little (which is a lot for me) – French toast and chocolate chip pancakes! (Not on the same day though.)

As far as resolutions for the coming year, mine are pretty simple:

Draw more – Already started.
Write more – Already started.
Read more – Already started.
Exercise regularly – I’ve got half a mind to overhaul my diet but maybe next year.
Spend more family time.
Um… game … less…. The key to unlocking all of the above.

Amy’s resolutions:

Exercise more
Be more patient.

To which I replied, “Have you beaten the kids yet? No? Then you are as patient as any mother can be.”

As for my perennial high school resolution, I eventually got a girlfriend. Two of them, in fact. Not on the same day, though. Not while I was in high school either.

………………………………….

Portait of Scott Yoong (a.k.a. Shuey).