A-Z Challenge - L is For LIFE - I Swear, The Internet Is All About Me

Sometimes I have to admit that I get stressed. You would think that a man living in so glorious a place as the 'Cave of Cool' wouldn't have a worry or a care in the world but I do. Sure I have a cat who keeps my days busy with his thousands of tiny demands and I love writing and interacting with the followers of my little blog. The A-Z Challenge has brought many interesting people into my Internet life and have only complimented the ones who have stuck with me for so long. My unlimited love to you all of course.

Like anyone who has friends (and they are real friends) in far away places I wish I had more personal real life contact with you. I am sure (well pretty sure - okay mostly sure - maybe sure?) that you would like me in person. I miss those times when I would solve the world's problems with my friends over vodka drinks and chicken wings. That seems like a hundred years ago.

I worry about my health although in the past two weeks I have not had a blood glucose reading above 10 (8-10 is normal after a big meal). This is down from numbers higher than 17 for weeks after I was diagnosed last December. I have terrific results from my lab tests with all my other numbers going in the right direction.

I eat better (except for a binge of timbit donut holes a few days ago that I still feel guilty about) and I go to the pool at least three times a week. The real draw is the sauna (damn those Scandinavians for getting it right) but I do my laps too. I love the smell of chlorine in the morning - smells like, "Victory".

I worry about my 70 year old mother (who has the iron will and constitution of a young Winston Churchill if he has a Ukrainian accent) travelling all the way to the Gold Coast of Australia in a few weeks time to visit her grandchildren. She has done this expedition several times before but it still worries me.


Australia has had a bad year, weather wise, and still has all those venomous things that can kill you. I shouldn't worry because they should be more afraid of her than she is of them (serious, all you snakes and frogs stay back unless you want to get strangled - Mom is old school - as she said when we were kids, 'Flick of the wrist and it's done'.)

I also watched a story on 'Sixty Minutes Australia' that told about a Quantus flight that had to make an emergency landing when one of it's engines fell off the wing (???). Plus with those Southwest airplanes turning into convertibles lately, I am worried for her 17 hour flight.


For the first time before these trips she has been telling me that all the papers I need to handle things if she doesn't make it or passes in Australia are in 'THE BOX'. I don't want to hear about these things. I know it's just prudent planning on her part and just like her to go all practical on me but...wow...I never think of her not being around. Her health is excellent. In fact I like to think she is like Aunt Zora from my favorite episode of 'Frasier'.

Niles - "Remember the family legend that says that Aunt Zora joined the partisans so that she could strangle Nazis?"

Frasier - "Oh, come on Niles. She must have been five years old during the war."

Niles - "Well that's why the legend says they were strangled with jump ropes"

So as I was sitting her pondering all this, several movies I have been wanting to download for her trip suddenly showed up on Demonoid. One is a three hour documentary about a group of French Monks called 'Into Great Silence'. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Those monks don't rush anything.


Now for me, this is not something I would enjoy. No car chases, swear words or gun battles and I would be going crazy about ten minutes in. But on her little lap top with DVD player that I bought her for Christmas (and took three months showing her how to work it) it will be perfect for her.

I also downloaded several Australian travelogues and will add a week's worth of 'Young and the Restless' just before she leaves.

So that is my life. Worries on top of worries. Can you imagine if I had a girlfriend or a wife or children. My damn head would explode.

BUT, just when I needed some cheering up, what do I see. THIS LINK that talks about 9 record attempts that ended in death. I swear Internet, you DO love me because like me you know that records are stupid.