Are we the same person today as we were, say 4 years ago?

Having not visited my blog for over a year, I almost forgot that I even had one! Reading back into my past was insightful. It seems like a more creative and articulate penner was at the keyboard that day, at that time. I'm happy that I found myself (the younger, better one with more hair and testosterone).

Cruising, as in Taking a Cruise

If you can live without a broadband Internet connection and no cellphone and no mail and no newspaper and no cable/satellite service and no local restaurant/cafe and no pets and no car and no home and no hobby things for 14 days, then by all means, go. If, on the other hand, you're tethered, stay home and enjoy it. Home sweet home really is true. I think I'm done with cruises, and maybe international travel as a whole. The REALLY scary thing is, what if something really collided with the earth or whatever. There would be no way of getting back home, short of swimming or trekking for two years! Also, like here in the OC, the LAST places in SoCal I would venture to, either day or night, are the same places people from 'round the world are visiting as we speak! Just like me when we travel to the big cities of Europe. We are such suckers of all the travel hype. The romantic and scenic locales of Europe. Yeah, yeah, yeah, already. After two weeks max, please take me home on Business Class!

The Flu

I have been laid low by the second worst flu attack on me ever. It might have been floating around the Lufthansa flight on our return from Barcelona-MUC-LAX flight on 5/4/2014, LH452, MUC-LAX, 11 1/2hr flight. On Monday, 5/7, I had malaise and whole body weakness. Starting on Tuesday, painful pharyngeal symptoms: like shooting pain from dry cracks in my throat, that gradually moved to my nasal areas. I was so desperate for relief I had to stand over a pan of boiling water for some respite from the pain. Then persistent hiccuping began after uncontrollable bouts of coughing. Nothing gave me comfort, and I became fatigued from walking around the house to escape the pain and misery through self distraction. What is the purpose of flu? Why does it exist to torment us? I am pissed! It has ruined my life for almost two weeks now. I certainly hope I haven't passed it on. So far, the only victim seems to be Claudia, bless her soul. She tried everything to avoid breathing in my germs at work, but the flood of aerosolized virus particles finally got to her. Today, Thursday, I noticed she was sneezing and dribbling. Yup, she got it. Damn it! I really hope she doesn't suffer like I have...the intractable coughing and hiccuping is torture. It's exhausting to the point of emotional collapse.

Corey at Stanford U. Med. Ctr. March 30, 2007

Corey with Aunt Jodie on left and Patty
Dad and Corey

Do the French Really Dislike Us?

Patty and Rena, out neighbor at home, at our favorite restaurant in Paris.
New Year's day dinner at Thoumieux.
We prepared dinner at our Marriott time share nightly. Notice our mini wine tasting. It turned into a maxi.
Our timeshare was was situated in the countryside...


We just returned from a week in Paris and another at our Timeshare next to EuroDisney. We had a New Year's Eve cocktail at the Hotel de Crillon: couldn't afford the 800-1400 Euro cost per person for the dinner. Instead, went to the Eiffel Tower and had dinner at a bistro nearby. Without exception, the people were gracious, kind, helpful, and friendly. It helped that we made rudimentary attempts at the basics of conversational french. I think they felt sorry for us. But with sign language, broken English and French, we communicated well. The highs were the brightly lit trees along the Champs d' Elysee, the local bread shops, the intimate cafes, the people we met, and of course, the beauty of the French culture/landmarks/sights/cuisine/countryside. Oh, I forgot. On the curving path up to the Basilique du Sacre Coeur, I wanted to take a photo of an old guy feeding the pidgeons, and he was really incensed. He got up and was ready to chase me down (or up ?) the hill. I ran and threw Patty in front of him. He wouldn't hit a woman, would he?

New Year's Eve 2007

We went to a restaurant with two other couples to Villa Roma. As expected: Crowded, Poor Service, Over priced, Very Poor Food Quality, Noisy. It would have been OK, but it was boring. It was impossible to converse because of the extremely loud music. We found ourselves yelling at each other at the top of our lungs. That didn't last too long (our vocal cords gave out), so we just sat there and telepathically communicated. We danced, but I got nailed by someone's spiked heels, so I was out of service for a while. Can someone please explain why there is so much joy about this ritual? I could understand it if everyone in the restaurant just won the 20 million dollar jack pot in the Lotto.

Next year, I want to celebrate with the New Yorkers.....at 9 PM, PST, at home. The $310 I spent can buy several cases of Charles Shaw Wine and a 15 pound Prime Rib Roast!

Trip to Laughlin

(Dinner at Saltgrass)

Our yearly trip to the River was beset by the usual mechanical problems...dead batteries, shorted out ignition, bad fuel, etc. Nonetheless, it was great fun..

There's Life in Dear Ole Dad

It's really no big deal when you hear about your dad, age 87, has been married to wife number 2 for 38 years. Congrats, Pop. But It's really a jaw dropper when it turns out that he's been living with Mom until she died 3 years ago of a stroke, bless her heart. And nobody knew about wife #2. Nobody knew that mom and dad were split up. It's been just mom and dad as far back as anyone could tell. I guess the pieces are falling together......Dad's long absences in SoCal on "business"......monkey business. Strange, vague reasons why he had to run off to Socal on some imagined business deals.....on Christmas Eve, or Thanksgiving. Of course, he was entertaining Japanese businessmen on those holiday eves because "they" don't celebrate American Holidays.....and he had to be there to grease the wheels of International Business Relations. That makes sense....if you hear it enough times. Oh, then there's the issue of where all of the money was disappearing to over the years. Poor mom worked herself to the bone to keep her tiny travel agency open....only to have the meager, little funds that were in the checking account be raided and used for.....you guessed it, secret wife #2. It DOES get expensive keeping up two households, not to mention the commuting bills, rent or mortgage payments, etc. Maybe that's the reason poor mom was being foreclosed on a few years back because of unpaid bills. Maybe that's why she was wearing the same old tattered clothes and shoes. Maybe that's why she was always stressed, anxious, and prematurely aged. They call that something. I can't remember the term. you know, when you reinforce a bad behavior in someone by not putting your foot down. Like giving lunch money to a kid you KNOW will turn around and spend it on cigarettes or a joint. That was mom: The long suffering, quiet mom. I am guilty of that accommodating behavior, too. Lending money to dad for a short term loans that never seem to get paid back, retrieving the home from bankruptcy, ad nauseum. I don't even want to mention what's happened to my poor older sister when dad has tapped her on the shoulder.

Anyway, that's the National Enquirer segment from our family this week.....