The first is a lament: I have never seen the aurora borealis. And I really, really want to. Yeah, I've seen pictures, even movies, but it's not the same. And there have been sightings lately, even as far south as 30 miles north of Houston, according to JD. Although he never actually got to see them, and I'm sorry 'bout that.

The other thing is... well, dammit, it's happened again. Maybe I'll go do something else for a while and that will jog my memory, heh.

Karen is fixing stuffed peppers tonight, using different-colored peppers; really pretty before they are cooked, and I don't know what they're like after, 'cause they're still in the oven. Maybe a picture if they're as pretty as I think that they might be. I *know* that they will be delicious, though, 'cause they always are.

More guitar-playing tonight, I think that I might be figgering some stuff out by myself, like where the notes are, stuff like that. Getting calluses on the tips of my left-hand fingers, but they're still sore. But the more that I play, the more I *like* playing.

I've also resurrected my keyboard that Karen got me for xmas a few years ago, and I'm enjoying doing that, too. It's different, and I know a lot less about playing notes on a piano than I do on a guitar, but maybe I can relate the two and learn more stuff? Worth a try, anyways.

I got up on time by myself this morning, even though I didn't get to bed very early, and I didn't get to sleep until after 23:00, when Karen gave me a back rub. I hate laying there tossing and turning, and I did that for more than an hour.

Tomorrow I will start going in at 08:00 until next Monday, when I'm the early guy again.

Today was kinda fun, I spent from 08:00 until noon in a meeting. The hospital has a new program, Kindness Connects, and I'm really getting enthusiastic about it.

I've been there a long time, and I've seen programs come and go, good ones and bad ones. The good ones always failed because, well, time spent in meetings is unproductive time, and unproductive time is expensive.

But this one is a little bit different, it's not driven from the top, but from the bottom, essentially. And if it doesn't work, it will be because the people who actually *do* the work at the hospital don't *want* it to work. And so far, I've seen nothing but enthusiasm, and I really like that. I like it so much that, yes, in spite of my skeptic self, I'm getting enthusiastic too.

The people at the bottom of the food chain here want it to work because, by golly, it seems that we think that we can solve our problems better than the people at the top can. And this, my friends, is where the rubber meets the road. Now we have to prove that we can.

We have fewer problems than most institutions our size do, and I think that's because we just plain have better people and a better environment.

However, I was afraid that the day was going to be shit at first. There was a woman that sat down beside me and she pulled a flyer out of her purse, something about giving clothes and toys to the needy or something like that. She turned to me and said, "These we scattered all over the church this morning. Did you get one?", making the assumption that I should have, I thought. I didn't reply, I was really afraid to say anything. If I even opened my mouth, it was going to have a bad, bad result. I kept my mouth closed and saved the day, though. I'm getting cautious in my old age, heh. That will let me achieve an even older age, I hope, else all is lost.

And then, of course, the prayer. I was sitting close to the front, and I couldn't help but glance around to see if anyone else was looking around with unbowed heads. There were a couple, but when they saw me looking around they quickly bowed their heads, thinking that I was maybe with the religion police.

Just my luck if the administrator was taping the audience, heh.

So, it's 19:36 now, and I can't think of that other thing. However, the stuffed peppers were wonderful, and right pretty, too. Click on the little picture, of course, to get a bigger one.

I am sore all over from the workout yesterday; Karen and I talked about going back tonight, but I thought that my body needed a little time to heal, y'know? But we will go back tomorrow, we've got to get in that cycle. Besides, if we don't, all of that soreness will have gone for naught. And that would be naughty, heh.

I have been reading about exercise lately, and there is a school of thought that says that the slower you do non-aerobic exercises, the more benefits you get out of it. So yesterday, instead of doing the relatively rapid reps that I have done in the past, I spent at least six seconds going each way, and I do believe that it will make a difference. I'll try it for a month or two, anyway, just to see.

Ah, I get to sleep in until 06:30 tomorrow!