Month: January 2020

A couple of months ago, while watching my favorite Chinese pop singers, JJ Lin and A-Lin on YouTube, the algorithm inserted into my feed what seemed like a random video of a K-pop South Korean boy group called Astro. I’d never heard of or even seen them before, but I liked their sharp black suits and the stage setting so I watched them perform their hit song, “Baby“, a May 2017 release on their Dream Part 1 mini-album. An obsession was born.

Frankly, up to that point, I had only seen a little of the South Korean group BTS on random shows and thought they are good, but I didn’t think much of them. I knew BTS was a popular K-pop group, indeed they will be at the Grammy’s tonight, but their hard hitting rap and tough guy images weren’t all that attractive to me. Astro was different.

They aren’t tough guys. Instead they project good-looking nice guys with a ton of talent and great personalities. They debuted on February 23, 2016 as school boys and have quickly evolved into men. Their early performances are of cute boys dancing and singing in childish outfits. While their early music appeals to me, the dance moves and outfits are cringe-worthy. That changed in 2017 with their newest mini-albums and especially with their new November 2019 release, “Blue Flame“.

The producers at their production company, Fantagio, know what they are doing. K-pop is big business and serious business with huge pressures on their artists who live together, are in training for a long time before their debut, and who have major restrictions on their behavior and social lives. The producers put together a full sensory package with catchy music, incredible choreography, great visuals in clothes, makeup, hairstyling, production staging, and great effort in promoting the roles and personalities of each group member. The finished product in this case, Astro, is nothing short of amazing and I am a true fan. These six young men work extremely hard as they rehearse, travel, perform, and try to project a positive image 24/7.

My daughters rightly laughed at me this Christmas as I made them watch a few of their video performances. But they liked them too, though not as much as me. Human brains work differently and my responds to their music, dancing, and aesthetics in a way that brings me great pleasure. I’ve even added their arm movements in my favorite videos to my morning treadmill routine. It gets my heart rate up and stimulates my brain and muscle memory. Some of my favorite songs are “Moonwalk”, “All Night”, “Blue Flame” “Always You” and “When the Wind Blows”.

I can talk about each member and his role with ease. There is the beautiful face of the group, Cha Eun-woo, who is an actor as well as a singer and pianist. I’ve enjoyed him in the drama, “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” streaming on Viki and “The Rookie Historian” streaming on Netflix. He’s super handsome, smart, and projects a humble kindness. I enjoy his acting much more than his dancing, although he has mastered all the dance moves, his feet bother me a bit and sometimes he just appears to be going through the motions.

My favorite performer in the group is Moonbin. He is a great singer and incredible dancer whose dancing is always on point and full of feeling. He also plays the piano. He is by far the sexist member in the group and apparently he is also the favorite among fans. In November, he didn’t go on the road with the other members to promote and perform the new release, “Blue Flame” mini-album for health reasons. I sincerely hope he gets better soon.

The most accomplished dancer and choreographer is Rocky. He is amazing. He’s a really good slow rapper and can sing, too, although they don’t promote that much. He has a black belt in Taekwondo which may account for his apparent discipline. He appears to be the most serious of the members personality wise. He has a beautiful smile and I love watching him dance for the passion and precision he brings to every move.

The leader of the group and second in the sexist member category is Jinjin. His deep voice rapping and his true b-boy hip hop lends a great vibe to every song. I love hearing him rap and I enjoy his harder hitting dance moves. He has a nice personality, an easy laugh and he watches over the members, especially Yoon Sanha, the youngest of the group.

Yoon Sanha is the most evolved. He is considered the baby of the group and they don’t seem to want to let him grow up, but I’ve seem his performances evolve from a boy into a more manly performer with all the sexy vibes coming out. His talent extends to the guitar. He is the tallest member now, growing taller than Cha Eun-woo, and he’s very slim and graceful. His dance moves are beautiful to watch and his singing voice is really soothing and pretty. I love listening to him sing. He recently talked about his struggle with depression for which I admire his transparency.

And finally, there’s MJ, the personality of the group who is an incredible belter with the high notes in the songs. I adore MJ. One would never guess that he is the oldest member of the group. He seems to be the most fun-loving and loud. He has the most striking features, especially his mouth and eyes. He’s a good dancer, too, but I especially enjoy his singing.

I’ve downloaded at least three songs from each of their six-mini albums. Besides the dancing videos, they do have a several ballads that I love, including, “I’ll be There” , “Innocent Love” (features Cha Eun-woo accompanying on piano), “Bloom”, “Because it’s You” and “Run”. All I can say is that I’m a true fan girl and that for now they are my brain’s happy place.

Few people believe the Republican led Senate will remove Donald Trump from office even though the emerging evidence clearly points toward his guilt.  I feel like I’m watching a movie unfold that depicts the blatant corruption of powerful government officials. This week called into question the behavior of Attorney General William Barr, Congressman Devin Nunez, former governor Rick Perry, and even Vice President Mike Pence. And to think that these men were elected by Americans to protect and defend the Constitution.  The members of Trump’s circle implicated in multiple corruption scandals since 2016 is nothing short of a betrayal of the public trust. But why is this happening?  Can anyone do anything to stop this train wreck from happening in the next few weeks?

I believe the answer lies in the loud and determined demands of the American people.  We the people are responsible for whether the Senate does its job in a fair and impartial way during this trial.  Yeah, they took an oath, but it means nothing.  Over the years, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly shown us who they are.  It’s our good fortune that journalist have uncovered the fact that they are willing to lie and cheat and overlook sexual harassment and all manner of wrongdoing for the sake of remaining in power so that they can stack the courts.  These Republicans know Trump has broken many laws and has violated the trust of his office and the American people, but none of that matters if they can remain in office. Can it really be that simple and that bad? Maybe.

Whether it is or isn’t that simple, I say we remind them that they will not be re-elected to office if they betray our country and the rule of law by denying us a legitimate trial that brings forth relevant witnesses and documents that either exonerate or convict the president.  Let both sides expose the facts of the case.  No covering up the truth.  No withholding of facts.  No distractions. No moves to dismiss the allegations just to make the whole thing go away because you have a majority. 

This past week, I wrote to Mitch McConnell several times, demanding witnesses and documents and a legitimate trial.  I’ve seen several news reports that polls show that 70% of Americans want to hear from witnesses.  I’m grateful for the relentless journalist who keep digging for information, and for pollsters who keep polling, and for reporters who keep reporting the actual news. The legitimate news outlets (not Facebook; not Fox; not conservative talk radio) are helping to inform us during this crucial time in our nation’s history. We have to support them financially with subscriptions and by watching so that they can continue the important work. With the information they provide, we have a job to do, too.

We, the people have a voice.  We must use it to demand a fair trial so that we are sending a clear message to our government that blatant corruption and criminal behavior will not be tolerated.  Our voice is expressed in marches, letters, emails, phone calls, protests, blogs, and voting. Whichever way makes sense, each American should use her voice to demand what is right.  Silence is a friend of the corrupt.

I don’t understand how a person like Donald Trump got elected. I only know that there are criminal and corrupt elements undergirding his presidency and working diligently to deceive the electorate every minute of every day.  It is evident that he has surrounded himself with criminals.  Even those who turn on him have credibility issues because of their own criminal behavior. But think about the role Trump himself gave to those people are who turned on him? These were people engaged in his schemes. This week Lev Parnas became the newest person to turn over evidence of Trump’s bribery scheme. We know that Trump lies, cheats, steals, bullies and kills innocents with his policies without morality.  He has no regard for people who don’t swear loyalty to him.  How is this man still president of the United States?  I know the world is wondering the same thing.

It is time for we the people to demand that the Senate do the right thing and seriously consider the facts as to whether Trump truly deserves to be our president. 

If I remain healthy enough, I plan to retire in four years at the end of June, 2024.  The days seem to fly by and so I realize that four years will be here in the blink of an eye. On some days, it seems like many of my friends and family members have already retired and that I’m a lone holdout.  But I’m not yet ready. However, I’m seriously thinking about how to spend these last four working years.

There are three high priorities on my list.  They could be considered the three-legged stool upon which my successful and happy retirement will depend.  The first is good health, the second is adequate savings, and the third is a satisfying lifestyle plan. 

It’s only to be expected that aging brings health concerns because these bodies were not designed to last forever.  Everything about this body seems to wear out and to become less effective over time.  Move the wrong way and parts tear, sprang, or break.  Eat and more is stored as fat.  Less muscle, less stamina, slower memory recall.  It becomes harder to see and harder to hear.  These are all the norm.  I’ve heard people ponder how “young me got stuck in this old body”. I can relate. The reality is that we can’t stop the aging process, but we can slow it down with a healthy diet and greatly reduced calorie intake, moderate daily exercise for at least 45 minutes that includes stretching and weights as well as aerobics, adequate sleep, and an active brain.  I’m working to modify my health habits to match these best recommendations.  The challenge will be to find brain activity after I retire that matches the rigorous workout my brain gets every day at work, both socially and intellectually.

The second leg on the stool is having adequate savings.  Thankfully, I’ve been saving for retirement since my twenties.  And according to the financial planner, I’ve met the goal.  However, I’m determined to exceed it by far only because I don’t want to be scrapped for cash and who knows what healthcare costs will be.  So, I’m somewhat obsessed with saving and investing.  I made a decision to stop spending on unnecessary things, trips, restaurant meals and entertainment, and to put that money into additional savings and investments for the next four years.  I love to shop, so this will be difficult for me.  However, I acknowledge that I have more than enough clothes, shoes, and accessories stockpiled to get me to retirement without purchasing one more item. 

And that last stool, lifestyle is the most exciting prospect of what I’ll want retirement to be.  I know a few things.  First, I want to be close to family members so we can reach each other quickly.  Second, I want to trade in my professional wardrobe for a simple, leisurely and comfortable one.  Third, I want to be more active in my sorority, not as an officer, but as a supporter of our activities.  I’ll enjoy what I’ve always enjoyed, writing, reading, gardening, puzzles, good television, and decorating.  And the next house will need a really big kitchen because I plan to cook every day.     

Four years will come quickly and it’s nice to have implemented a plan to help me retire the way I hope to.

It’s not very comforting to hear your doctor say that medicine isn’t a perfect science and sometimes a prescription that is good for one ailment can cause another.  At least he’s honest rather than arrogant.  But that is the situation I found myself in this past week when I visited my doctor’s office for severe intermittent stomach pains.  Thanks to WebMD, I knew my diagnosis and treatment before the words came out of his mouth and I had already taken steps to mitigate the problem. 

Of course, the doctor berated me for my proactive behavior.  After all, I hadn’t gone to medical school.  However, in my defense, I was in real pain and the earliest appointment I could get was three weeks out. I can read and I have the internet, so I did some research and diagnosed my problem as a stomach ulcer and took the proscribed steps to begin the healing process. By the time I made it to the doctor’s appointment, 80% of the intermittent pain was gone and I’d even considered cancelling the appointment.  Thankfully, my husband vehemently objected to that idea and so did the doctor.

The doctor confirmed my own diagnosis as being peptic ulcer disease. He officially took me off of my daily baby aspirin, something I had stopped taking two weeks before.  My bad kidneys already demanded that I leave other NSAIDs like Ibuprofen alone.  I changed my eating habits, giving up spicy foods, eating much smaller meals, and adding oatmeal in my morning shake along with my plain Greek yogurt and berries.  Since I don’t smoke or drink, I was halfway there. 

The doctor’s appointment wasn’t totally a waste, though.  I learned that stress doesn’t cause ulcers. Stress can exacerbate the problem. I also learned that apparently 80-90% are caused by an infection of H. pylori bacteria. I was given a breath test to determine if I need antibiotics.  True to form, the doctor ordered a battery of other tests to rule out a host of other potential problems for which I had no symptoms and which he admitted were highly unlikely.  I wanted to object, but having already been berated for my lack of an MD, I compiled with tests that will likely contribute to the skyrocketing cost of medical insurance. That was time and money down the drain, but I wasn’t bold nor confident enough to refuse.

The unsettling part of it all was that the baby aspirin I was taking for years is no longer recommended for most women because it causes bleeding and will worsen my ulcer if it wasn’t the actual cause.  However, I am a female exception to this newest medical finding because of my strong family history of stroke and having had a mini-stroke several years back.  For women like me, aspirin is recommended.  But for women like me with a peptic ulcer, aspirin is a big problem.  My doctor was at least humble enough to admit that he didn’t know what to do. The best he could do for now was see if I needed antibiotics, recommend Pepcid, keep me on the lookout for blood in my stool, and rule out other problems.

I’ve decided to do more.  I left the doctor’s office with a renewed commitment to get more serious about losing weight, eating healthier, getting enough sleep, restarting a lunch walk to my exercise regime, moving more through gardening and housekeeping (not shopping), and keeping my stress levels down.  My most important goal for 2020 is to develop a healthier lifestyle. Pain from a sore in my stomach was the best motivation I needed to do better.