Yeah, yeah. Here I am home again with a pot of coffee on (Don’t drink that! But I have to!). The internet connection at the lake was too slow to take an online prep course that I need to take before tomorrow, so I have a long night ahead of me. I am procrastinating by writing this.

The Canna went crazy while I was away. I have two beds planted and one of them has forty-five shoots coming up. I’d show you a picture, but the digital camera that J & D bought me has fried itself somehow so tomorrow I will make with the exchange (this happened before the vacation so don’t go thinking that I dropped it in the lake or anything). As a result, there are no pictures from the weekend, which is probably for the best.

We did a little boating, fishing, and played eighteen holes of golf over two days. We got rained on quite a bit, ate brats and steaks, played lots of cards (poker, hearts and spades). I tried not to be too much of a wallflower, but I am at times naturally aloof and pensive so the expected “crazy Karl” was not in attendance for any of the festivities; remove the social lubricant and the gears wind down.

Ten days in - I am discovering that it is not very hard not to drink. What can be hard is spending time with people who are used to you as a drinker. I like gregarious me too, but I wouldn’t expect it from me anymore. Not for nine months at least, and perhaps much longer. The breaker has been flipped and the ballpark is closed for the season. Anyway, I hope you all will cut me some slack in this regard and not take it too personally if I am unable to meet your expectations for funster antics.

My ex Stephanie S. had to cope with a liver problem a few years back and she couldn’t drink for a year and a half. She called me the other night and was commiserating with me about how it can be when you’re at a bar with friends. She said she went through a pretty bad depression over that and I should call her when it hits. I am not really depressed as of now, but the watchtower tells me that we have spotted icebergs. The engineers claim my ship is unsinkable, but I am always wary of hubris.

On the upside of things my appeal for an increase in summer aid was approved so I am borrowing to the hilt and should have all my financial needs met for some time even though I will be repaying loans well into retirement. It’s exciting to know that I will never have any money and will live pitifully from check to check until they day that I die in some Tolstoy prophesied Ivan Illich haze bemoaning the mediocrity of my wallpaper.

Captain. We do seem to be approaching a flow. Send the ice cutters aft and prepare for rough seas.