Saturday, November 8, 2014

but there's a severe drought in California

To tell the truth, if it weren't for Jerry and Tom and Jon and my house being here, I'd probably move out of Minnesota.  I mean, Minnesota isn't so bad, except for the weather and bad sports teams and phony smiles, but I've done it and now it's just repetition.

I'm going to buy a new laptop (any suggestions?) and finally try to do some serious writing.  You see, I'm going to start working a lot less, eventually phasing out, so I'll have some free time to write.  What I'm not sure of is if I'll have inspiration here. Do surroundings provide inspiration?

When we were traveling the Northern California Coast this past summer, I could picture myself being inspired there to write.  But, if I'm going to fantasize, why not a year in Paris?  Or Hamburg, Germany?

Ah yes, Europe inspires me.  But life's choices are limited, especially when you reach a certain age.

Snow is in the forecast.  And the Timberwolves lost another game last night, and Ricky Rubio got hurt.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

the personality of a urologist, part 2

When I wrote the first "personality of a urologist" post (21 June 2011), I was in the hospital, lamenting the fact that all of the prior urologists I had been to had been personality duds but feeling optimistic about my new one, the doctor who had just operated on me.  It turned out that he, Dr. Kern, became my favorite doctor of any kind of my whole life.  He had a way of making me feel comfortable and confident and taken care of.  As I would go for my annual checkup after that, I liked him more all the time.  He was the opposite of the stereotypically cold, personality-less urologist.

Two days ago, I received a letter from the clinic reminding me that it's time for my annual checkup and informing me, to my shock, that Dr. Kern had died suddenly and unexpectedly last December, which would have been not long after my last visit.  I had no idea that he was dead, and I'm still upset that I didn't know.  What a great doctor he was.  I'll miss having him there for me, and I'll miss him as a person.  I bet I won't ever find another one that I'll trust as much.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

hell to the chief

Today, the 4th of November, is the mid-term elections, and we are expecting bad results -- meaning, more Republicans elected to the U.S. Senate and House.  President Obama has become unpopular, and the Republicans have learned to blame Obama for any possible worldwide woe, and somehow that works.

So expect even more gridlock in Washington.  And why does anybody ever want to be President of the United States?

Monday, November 3, 2014

mid-autumn sports update

Basketball:  The NBA season started last week, and Tom and I took in two Minnesota Timberwolves games (We have tickets for all 41 home games).  The Wolves won the first, beating the Detroit Pistons, and lost the second one to the Chicago Bulls by one point with .2 second left to play.  It was traumatic to be that close to a win, only to lose on a last-second foul to my least-favorite NBA team, the Bulls.  And why do I dislike the Bulls?  It has nothing to do with the team itself:  it's their fans that show up at that once-a-year Bulls-Wolves match here on our home court.  They have to be the most obnoxious fans anywhere, and how nice it would have been to shut down those loudmouths with a win.  So I'm still traumatized, and I wonder why I ever watch sports at all if it leads to heartbreak.

Baseball:   The slowest (?) of all sports finally ended its season last week with the San Francisco Giants beating the Kansas City Royals in the World Series.  Most people seemed to be rooting for the Royals, since its been eons since they've been in the Series and the Giants have won 3 of the last 5.  It went down to the wire, the 7th game, in Kansas City, and the Giants pulled out a win.  Royals fans are traumatized too, when they should be happy that they even made it that far -- way farther than my favorite teams, the Phillies and the Twins.

Football:  It's been a weird season so far.  No team seems to be very consistent.  There are upsets and there are blowouts.  It could end up anywhere.  At least, my team, the Philadelphia Eagles are 6-2.

Hockey:  All I know is that the Minnesota Wild are doing pretty well.  Local Wild fans seems happy but cautious.  Go, Wild!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

sweating it out in old san juan

Jerry lived in Puerto Rico for about a year back in the '80s sometime, and he goes back there once in a while to visit his friend Jose, and that's where he is now.  He is Facebooking his friends and texting me about how hot it is there right now -- for instance, this morning he texted "Jesus it's been HOT!!  yesterday it was hotter and more humid than I can ever remember!" -- and getting very little sympathy from those of us left back in a chilly Minnesota.

Old San Juan, January 2014
The last time I was there, back in January, San Juan being one of the cruise stops on that Caribbean cruise, and the weather was quite perfect then.  Here's a pic that I took back then.  After taking the photo, I spent some time in that little coffee shop off there to the right (because it had Wifi).  Old San Juan can be quite charming.  Or not.  Pay attention to the time of year, I guess.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

the time, it is a-changing

That reminds me.  Bob Dylan will be here in town for two concerts this week.  I wonder why I didn't buy tickets.

October came and went.   Unbloggable stuff is going on me -- professional not personal -- but it's coming to a head and a satisfying (I hope) resolution, so I should be sleeping better before long and getting back to the things I like.

October worldwide was pretty annoying:  the mid-term election campaigns, the ebola over-reaction, ISIS (a disaster that we brought on ourselves), etc.

And November starts with an extra hour of sleep tonight, the consolation for early-afternoon darkness from now until Spring.  Together, let's find ways to be cheerful.