Lacessit

There is no reason why the journey cannot be improved. Six years ago, I was taking four different medications for sleep disorder, gastric reflux, chronic osteoarthritis, and high blood pressure. My body mass was 100 kg, blood pressure without medication 180/100, pulse rate 80 bpm. I said goodbye to the last of those medications a week ago. My body mass is now 83 kg. My blood pressure is normal, swimming and stretching keeps my osteoarthritis under control, gastric reflux is gone due to changes in my eating patterns. I sleep as well as I want to. My pulse rate averages 54 bpm, which for my age is close to elite athlete level. Not that I look like one. I have broken my age on a golf course. If there is one lesson I have learned during my almost 80 years here, it is that one gets out of life what they are prepared to put into it.

Because the man is a slimeball. A guy who was billing the American taxpayer about $900,000 every time he played a round of golf during a pandemic, you are coming the raw prawn. AFAIK during a criminal trial, the character of the defendant is questioned. The committee is just laying the foundations. You may be right, it comes to nothing. Which will be a sad commentary on how thoroughly Trump has corrupted everything he touches in America.

The question to me is why you would think I am treading the same path as him.

AFAIK Clinton etc. did not incite their supporters to march on the Capitol to overturn the result. See the difference?

I was not aware Trump had any character to attack.

Not really, I have slowed down considerably. About twice a month is enough. I assume you are familiar with the aphorism use it or lose it?

My GF has been left in no doubt if she borrows money, legally or with a loan shark, I will not be repaying the debt, and it's the end of the relationship.

What constraints? If one lives under the radar, IMO there are none. Certainly I do not feel any. The choice is there, when one is old either wear out or rust out. Becoming a couch potato posting lengthy musings on ASEAN has no appeal to me, I think I have a better quality of life being active.

Statistically, celibate men are much more likely to develop prostate cancer, that is all the excuse I need. I already know I am not normal, thank you.

It’s been a year like no other. The oil price went negative, airlines were grounded, some forever. A single meat market in Wuhan, specializing in exotic meats for conspicuous consumption by wealthy Chinese, generated a virus which spread like wildfire. Countries went into lockdown, some stringently, some half-heartedly. The results are there for everyone to see. Millions became employed overnight. Some countries responded with support, others opted for benign neglect. Vaccines were developed at unprecedented speed. A would-be tyrant was rejected at the polls. Most if not all of us will say goodbye and good riddance to 2020. I’m in Thailand by choice and some good luck. Two weeks later in February, and I would still be locked down in Australia, contemplating slashing my wrists. A much more enjoyable life for me here. Having said that, there are some things I miss about my home country. I miss the wind. In Thailand, it seems the wind can’t get much above a gentle zephyr. I would rug up with about four layers of clothing in winter, go down to Gunnamatta beach with an offshore wind of 50-60 km/hr, and watch 10 metre waves pound the coast. Nature at its most primeval. I miss the wineries that dot the Mornington Peninsula, where one could have a light lunch and a couple of glasses of the local product, which most of the time was very good. Apart from Thai wine quality, I don’t believe Thais know what a cellar door is, or what it’s for. I miss my 2004 Mitsubishi Magna AWD sedan, IMO one of the most underrated vehicles ever produced. Balanced like a cat on dirt roads and wet bitumen. About a third the new car price of a comparable Mercedes. My son has it now, still plugging along with 300,000 km on the odometer. I miss the golf competitions I used to play. Par, foursomes, match play, Canadian foursomes. Here, it’s just stroke and Stableford. Boring. I miss the camaraderie of the Wednesday Boys. 15 – 20 of us, some real characters and nicknames. The Poet, The Farmer, The Whippet, Pistol Pete, Triple Treat. Best net score got a two-dollar coin from every other player, with an appropriate obeisance. Some really acid sledging during play, one of the best at my expense. A day when I was spraying my tee shots all over the course, but making pars because I’m holing putts from everywhere on the greens. Our group gets to the seventeenth tee, par 3, and I’m fretting about club selection, is it a 6 or 7 iron? One of my mates says “ Why don’t you tee off with your putter? It’s the only club you’ve hit straight all day”. I miss a Gippsland eye fillet steak, medium, with a Warby Ranges Shiraz. Followed by a King Island blue brie on water crackers. I miss grilled flake and chips,with a pickled onion on the side. Flake is also known as shark to non-Australians, very sweet fish, and filling. All the best to everyone on TV over Christmas, and may 2021 be better. What do you miss?