I feel bad that I have not posted since early June, and am in danger of going "0 for July", so let me just update you on what I've been up to, since I'm sure you're all dying to know.
July was, quite unintentionally, "Mark's Surgery Month", or "Mark's Hernia Month". In late June, I went in for my annual physical, and my doctor discovered a hernia. On her recommendation, I went to a specialist and he recommended--or more accurately, commanded--surgery. So on July 17, I had the hernia repaired. I had never been under general anesthesia before, so I was nervous beforehand, but it really was a piece of cake. I remember absolutely nothing about the surgery: one minute I was pulling myself from the gurney to the operating table, and what felt like two seconds later, I was waking up in recovery. The whole thing has made we wonder about the nature of time. Does time really exist or is it merely a human construct. It's like the whole "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" conundrum. If a human is not conscious to witness/experience time, does it really exist?
Well, the existence of time notwithstanding, the surgery was pretty easy, and it was back home to recover. My wife took great care of me, and I had great pain meds to dull my sore abdomen. The first few days were uncomfortable, but I improved a little bit with each passing day and right now, I feel just about normal.
It was great having a full week off work. I re-read The Great Gatsby, which continues to reveal new insights and beauty for me each time I read it--and I have read it about five times now, beginning when I was 13 years old back in 1981. (Back then, I thought Gatsby was about as cool as a protagonist could be. Now, I see him as a tragic and somewhat pathetic figure). Besides reading, I wrote quite a bit in my actual writing journal, and finished building a paper model of the RMS Titanic (for my younger son). Oh yeah, I also watched a little TV (mainly Netflix streaming). All in all, a relaxing sick leave. Maybe I should have hernias more often.
It's late now, so I had better get to bed. Now that I'm back at work, my alarm goes off at 5:40 AM.
