Random October Musings

OK, I know it’s now November, but I had a busy October and got a little behind in my blogging. 

The highlight of my October was a long weekend in Asheville NC, one of my favorite towns.  I spent this time with two of my favorite people, two women who mean the world to me.  One is an incredible friend who lives there and the other is an incredible friend (and more) who lives here.  There is so much more to say about the latter, but it’ll have to wait till next year.  Think about that a minute and you’ll understand.

My Nikon got a nice workout during a visit to the Biltmore Mansion.  This was my second time there and the first time for my travel companion.  The house and grounds are a living shrine to the rich and famous of a bygone era.  Even today’s wealthiest people don’t live like this.  The house has more than 200 rooms, 43 bathrooms, and is surrounded by 8000 acres of beautiful grounds.  Here are a few of the 165 pictures I took.

                                                                                                                                                        

I’m feeling old this month, mostly because of some unexplained medical issues.  Abdominal pains led me to two doctor visits and even a 7-hour ‘visit’ to the emergency room.  No specific diagnosis resulted; only referrals to more doctors.  The pains are minimal now (a month after the first incident), but something is still wrong.  In addition, a weak leg issue has crept back into my life, partly something lingering from an accident more than twenty years ago and partly from an unexplained neurological issue two years ago.  The problem now is that sometimes I trip and almost fall.  While in Asheville, I tripped and DID fall.  Fortunately I only bruised my hands a little but it could have been a lot worse.

Meanwhile, the final stages of my divorce are ramping up.  I can’t say anything about it here, other than to tell you it is ridiculously unfair to me.  Yuck.

I’ve been thinking a lot about retirement lately.  My main thought: I’ll never be able to retire, even if I wanted to.  I love my job but I wish I could cut back the quantity a little.  And there are a few other things I’d like to explore in my career, and within my current company, but I just don’t have any time.  My biggest fear is that at some point I won’t be able to keep up.  The pace is crazy and many people who do my job are half my age.  An observation about aging: the body and mind do start to slow down a little.  No secret there, but it’s an often-ignored observation.

OK, that’s it for tonight.  Here are a couple more pictures.  Thanks for visiting.