Go Rudy!

It has been a while since I have made a contribution to this blog. Frankly, it is hard to write something every day and say something new each time. Now that a week has gone by since my last contribution, there is lots to report. Let me bring you up to date.

Last Sunday morning I played golf in my normal league game. I got up early (6:30 AM) to play and played badly on the front (47) and a little better on the back (45) for a 92. I was so unhappy with my game overall that Chris Maher and I decided to go out again after lunch. On the second 18 I shot 40 on the front and 41 on the back for a total of 81 -- much better. A couple of bad chip shots cost me at least 6 strokes, so I played well the second time around. Maybe my bad morning game is related to being sleepy? Anyway, I was glad to have enough energy to play 36 holes. First time in a while I have felt like playing all day.

I worked a full week this past week. That's actually been pretty rare in the past three months. I was taking off every Friday for chemo and then I had time off during the holidays. It may be the first full week I have worked since September. There is nothing too exciting to report about work, except to say that business is good and the current market volatility is keeping me busy. I expect to have a record (sales) month in January and February is already shaping up to be a pretty good as well. I am lucky to have a job that allows me a flexible schedule. Even better, I have not been hurt financially by only being able to work 4 days a week.

This fall we had a sales meeting set for every Tuesday morning from 9 AM. Of course, while I was undergoing radiation I could not attend, so the meeting kind of fell by the way side. (I have not told people in the office about my diagnosis so all they know is that I had a scheduling conflict.) Anyway, the weekly sales meeting was re-instituted this week for every Tuesday. A week from Tuesday (January 22nd) I have my CT Scan and PET Scan and blood tests. I am planning to take the entire day off, so I will miss the scheduled meeting again. I guess one of these days soon I will have to tell the office out my medical condition or they'll think I am purposely snubbing them!

I have flying ants in my new office that seem to come out of the woodwork as soon as it gets dark. They are into everything after 6 PM, so lately I have not been able to stay late in the office. The ants drove me out of the office on Tuesday evening, so I decided to go home at six. When I got home I changed into pajamas and a bathrobe (which I never do) to spend a leisurely evening reading and writing. As I sat down to check my e-mail I realized that I was suppose to attend a Project Graduation meeting at the high school. I quickly changed back into street cloths and went to the meeting, which did not end until 8:30PM. I was home for dinner by nine.

I was suppose to get up for Rotary on Wednesday morning, but I was too tired to make the 7 AM breakfast meeting, so I slept in and went directly to the office instead. I don't remember what I did on Wednesday evening, but whatever it was, it was not too exciting.

I came home early on Thursday, only to discover that Yoko was out with her friend Kazue Anderson, They went to watch Kazue's son wrestle for Charlotte High. Yoko had a really good time and came home all excited about high school wrestling. Yoko enjoys high school and college sports. This year she marked the calendar with all the college bowl games she wanted to watch. Last year we spent a lot of time going to high school football games, mainly because Yoko knew some of the kids who were playing. I am glad Yoko has developed a taste for spectator sports. I wish she would develop a taste for golf!

On Friday night after work we joined the Mahers and Rowes for drinks at the Maher home and then went together to Harpoon Harry's to listen to Mike Riley's band, the Bogiemen. We haven't been dancing in a while, so it was fun. Riley's band is very large (about 1o people) and has a sound that is a lot like Chicago or Santana. They play hits from the 70's and 80's that are dance tunes. I had four drinks during the night, which is more than I have had in a while. Thankfully, there were no ill after effects.

I was up at eight this morning to play golf at Verandah. I played with Fred Taylor, Jim Mathews and Tom Loop. I played with Taylor last week; Mathews and Loop were people I had not met before. I am glad to report that I shot 40 on the front and 43 on the back for an 83. I was grateful to have played much more like my old self.

Tonight Yoko and I attended a Republican Club dinner in honor of Mayor Rudy Guiliani. He is campaigning hard in Florida and is spending time this week in Charlotte County. I really like Guiliani and his message of lower taxes, smaller government, tort reform, health care reform, victory in Iraq, strong border security, etc. He makes sense and he has executive experience in government. Of all the candidates, I like Guiliani the best.

Tomorrow morning I am planning to play golf in my weekly league event. We tee off at 7:30 AM. In the afternoon we will be watching the NFL playoff games. Tomorrow night I have a Rotary board meeting and then it is back to work on Monday again.

My big complaint these days is that I don't have the time to do things that I want to do. Work and other commitments keep getting in the way. I want to read. I want to write more. I need time to plan travel. These are things I really want to do. Time is flying by and even with the sudden realization of how short life can be, I still don't seem to have the time I want to do the things I want to do. All I can do is keep trying.