Today, Alejandra was born. One month premature, but still healthy at 19 inches and 6 pounds. I'll visit her and her mother tomorrow....her mother works for me. Alejandra's early arrival created a bit of a problem for my office, but we will get through. Being a small office, every person's contributions are highly important and anyone's absence is felt deeply...giving everyone else more to do and more stress on top of an already stressful (sometimes) environment. I'm trying to find a temp now.
What else is new...let's see. Danny, of Danny & Annie Perasa who have been featured more than once on Story Corps on NPR, died today. This morning, before Danny died, a conversation between the two of them was broadcast on NPR. It's very poignant.
I spent time today trying to finish up a 'white paper' for a client. The article is intended to offer a persuasive argument about the value of the services that are provided the client association's members. I actually agree that the services have value, so it was not hard to write from that perspective, but I wasn't 'in the groove' today, so what I wrote was not satisfactory. Another try tomorrow or Monday, perhaps.
The NPR 'This I Believe' series is interesting, even when the commentators are unapologetically religious. It gives me reason to examine my own beliefs...what I feel strongly about. It actually makes me realize that, despite my frequently strong opinions, I often see things from many viewpoints and, consequently, don't have really deep-seated 'beliefs' about very much. I act like I do, but I find myself arguing vehemently against myself when I see more than one viewpoint. "I believe that there is more to belief than simply believing. I believe that belief must be tempered by a recognition that the very word acknowledges that a belief is not necessarily the truth. I believe there is more to truth than belief, and more to belief than truth. I believe I am not sure what I believe."
I have had a godawful pain in the right side of my neck and right shoulder for what seems like an eternity. Tonight, I would gladly pay for a massage to try to mitigate the pain. I'm fairly sure this pain is related to a very similar pain I felt 2 or 3 years ago. Back then, I got MRIs done and was told there were problems with my nerves and they wanted to 'replicate' the pain to see if they could pin it down with another MRI after replicating it. Maybe I should have had it done, but the doctors who wanted me to do it struck me as money-hungry bastards who would use any means necessary to charge me big, big bucks. So, I declined. And here's the pain again. Oh well, I can take it, for the time being.
Sanjay Gupta is a neurosurgeon who somehow turned into a medical reporter for CNN. I'm not sure how that happened. Anyway, he related on an CNN blog a story of a man who had no memory, short-term or long-term...could not even remember his own name. A MRI scan revealed that the man had a huge brain tumor; once removed, his memory returned. Further along in the blog, Gupta asks the question: How many people out there who are homeless and dismissed as mentally ill might in fact have a very treatable brain problem? My question: even if there are homeless people out there who have treatable brain problems, who cares enough to do something about it?
One of my brothers sent me a link to an article on BBC News about Crohn's disease (a disease which I have) and the possibility that a completely different theory explains its cause. The theory is that a weakened immune system (versus an overactive one) may be at the root of Crohn's. Interestingly, Viagra may help treat Crohn's. I haven't tried Viagra...but maybe I should!
According to the Texas AAA magazine, by December 31, 2006, Americans will need a passport for air & sea travel to and from Canada, Central & South America, the Carribean, and Bermuda. By December 31, 2007, a passport will be required for all land border crossings. I'm going to recommend to my brothers and sisters and friends who do not have passports (I don't know who does or doesn't) that they get them. You never know when you might have a reason to get out of the country. With George Bush in power, it's likely to be sooner than later.
Tomorrow (Saturday) evening, my wife and I are getting together with some friends for drinks/hors d'ouevres and/or dinner. They're retired (he's probably 63-64, she's maybe 55) and far too well-off...I envy them. She was a city council member of an upscale town on the northern edge of Dallas and he was, and is, involved in some political stuff, but more involved in arts organizations. Before that, he was an engineer, I believe. She talks alot...a LOT. But they're good to spend time with in small doses. They do have a strange compulsion...it's like pulling teeth to get them to go to a restaurant outside their little town (which is on the way to our office). And they eat like anorexic sparrows, which is another strange thing. We always look like starved Samarai in comparison to them.
I want to ride on a train. I need to remember that I want to do that, so I get it scheduled in the not-too-distant future. Now, where shall I go? I could take the train to San Antonio. Or maybe I could go to Chicago. Maybe New Orleans? That would be good...I could express my support for the rebuilding of the city. Maybe, though, I should just ride the Tarantula Train, which goes from Grapevine to Fort Worth. Or I could take the train from Rusk to Palestine and back...though it may not be operating at the moment. This weekend is not a good time for it. Very cool weather, in the 40s and 50s, with lots of heavy rain.
I just opened a bottle of 2003 Long Neck Merlot, a South African wine. The bottle is interesting, with a graphic of a giraffe prominentaly displayed. The wine is, without doubt, one of the most loathsome, miserable-tasting bottles of swill I have had the misfortune to drink in decades. Yeauucchhh! It's so very rare to have really bad wine. I bought this one at World Market...probably cost about $5. Usually, the cheap wines we buy there are pretty decent. This stuff is poisonous. Do NOT buy Long Neck Merlot. I'm pouring this crap down the sink; it will no doubt kill any creatures that might be trying to sneak up through the sewer system.
Have you ever heard of Frisco, Texas? If you have, you're probably from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. But you probably will hear of Frisco soon. It's a former ranch town, way north of Dallas, that has turned into a godawful expensive place with enormous numbers of people moving there, massive malls, etc. It is replacing Addison as the chi-chi place to be. I hate it. Visiting there is like taking a trip to see consumerism taken to the ultimate excess...overindulgence, massive excess, a place that celebrates grotesquely conspicuous consumption. Huge infusions of money continue to transform the once-sleepy community into a celebration of waste and consumption.
Oh, no...it's 9:21 pm! I have to go become one with nature before 9:23 pm or I'll turn into a langostino in a simple but delicious wine bath imbued with the tastes of just a touch of ginger, habanero, and dill! Bye for now.
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