LIVING WITH MCL

Received a call from a friend the other day. He was concerned because he had just read my blog, and got the impression I wasn't doing so good. I didn't think I was conveying that in my latest posts, most of which I thought were political in nature, but if I was, I am here to set the record straight. I am doing better. Mostly that is. I still have some chest discomfort, but it's not restrictive like it has been. I'm finally able to sleep in any position. I've still got some to go though, as my endurance has been, to put it mildly, pitiful. :) The worst part is I keep gaining weight. A trend I'm finding difficult to reverse. Oh, and I've decided to go back to work. At least on a trial basis. I got a release from my doctor, to work a max of 20 hours a week. I'm still not sure it's the right decision, but I have committed, and they do need me, so at the very least I will give it a try, and see how it goes. On a final note, some of you might have already ...

I'm sure everyone has been asked this question sometime in their life, if a tree falls in the forest, and nobody's around to see it fall, does it make a sound? My usual response to that question is, if nobody's around to see it fall, how do you even know the tree actually fell? I know this philosophical question is of little value to most of us, considering everything else going on in the world, but I bring it up today, because this morning, I over slept, for the first time in a long while, and was about 40 minutes late getting to work. But when I arrived at work, I discovered no one was in the office yet. The plant was working, but they don't usually pay attention to the comings and goings of those in the front office. Now I didn't tell anybody [up until now that is], that I was late, so my question is, since no one was around to see me arrive late, was I really late?

The end of our vacation is finally close at hand. In just under 3 hours we should be heading home. I am a little disappointed, as well as being happy. You know what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, there's no place like home Anywaze, as a continuation on my last post, and since I have lots of time on my hands right now, I thought I would take the time to reflect a little further on our trip, and provide some more thoughts and impressions from New Zealand. New Zealander's love Americans. The don't love some of the things are country stands for now (at least our government), but they definitely love American culture, especially American oldies, and country western music. In fact on the south island that's all you heard from the one station that broadcast on all the air waves, in ever city, as we traveled through the south island. It varies a little more on the north island, but at the most popular bars in Auckland, that's pretty much all you hear. If you...

Well this is it, Auckland, New Zealand, the last leg in our tour of New Zealand. We turned in the rental car, and checked into the Westin Hotel, were we plan on spending our last 3 days, before returning home. And as I was sitting in my room after a hearty dinner, I starting contemplating the last two weeks, thinking about the similarities and differences between the US and New Zealand, all the experiences we've had, and what if anything I would have done differently. One thing that stood out was the lack of Americans in New Zealand, and the abundance of Europeans. Contrary to popular belief, the US is no longer the dominate force in the world, it once was. The other thing that stood out, and which I commented on previously , was how different the two islands are. The most notable thing being how sparsely populated the south island compared to the north. The towns are smaller, and the roads are far less congested. Prices are typically more expensive as well in the south, especially...