Will you still love me to-marrow - John Mycroft and Multiple Myeloma

What better way to start my retirement than a trip back home to New Zealand.  The journey was its usual less than fun ordeal featuring a van ride rather than a puddle jumper from Asheville to Charlotte due to "equipment failure" in two PSA planes, a bloody uncomfortable flight from Charlotte to LA in a plane equipped for midgets and a more than decent flight from LA to Auckland. It took quite a bit longer to get out of the airport than it has previously - I had some muddy shoes with me which I decided to declare to the Min of Ag - the inspector took one look and said I was OK but it had taken me 20 minutes to get through the queue.  It would appear that these little darlings are here, too. Georgia gave me a quick guided tour of all the new chunks of motorway that have gone in here.  Pretty impressive - I'd imagine that the committee meetings aren't as many as they are in the US.  After a gargantuan late breakfast / early lunch mostly consisting of bacon & egg ...

Final visit to Wake Forest cancer centre before heading to NZ - they have planned a full day for me.  I got here nearly an hour early and have had an armful of blood sucked out of me pretty promptly.  The rest of my appointments are more precisely scheduled, though, so I think I am destined to sit here for a while. I was surprised when we went to Farm Bureau insurance yesterday, expecting simply to sign some forms - they actually handed us a check for the damage to my car and, if all goes to plan with my man in Swannanoa, I should once again have my trusty Subaru back in more or l ess one piece, albeit as a "salvaged vehicle". I am going to leave the damaged bit in its damaged state so whoever gets it in the future will know what state it was in.  For this they write off a car?  No wonder the world's running out of resources. Good news here at Wake Forest - not only do all my usual numbers look good but I now have "no detectable m-spike" which is really g...

Today is the first real day of my retirement.  Susan and I had a terrific weekend around Asheville, cooking at home, eating out, classical concert Saturday night etc but today was my day to be a gentleman of leisure. Starting with a lie in until shortly after 11, I breakfasted in my slippers and pyjamas on the deck - smoked salmon on Vogel bread, café latte, champagne & orange juice while Carson read the more interesting parts of the New York Times to me.  And then back to bed for a nap. No - hang on.  Not quite like that. I woke up at 4:30 and, as I didn't need a pee, I figured that was probably it for the night.  I buried myself under the duvet until 5:20 when I did need a pee and crept off so as not to wake Susan.  She got up shortly thereafter and headed downstairs to exercise.  Breakfast was homemade granola (by Susan, not by me) and two giant cups of regler coffee, accompanied by the Asheville Citizen-Times which just happened to have one...

I had five great years working at Carolina Day School - two highly supportive and helpful principals (Tinnie Salzano and Ben Topham) and a brilliant mentor (Joanne Bartsch) who answered all my idiot questions about Moodle and ordering textbooks with nary a sigh or rolled eyes.  Not to mention Bill Wolfe who let me "borrow" endless tools, supplies and anything I could get my hands on, knowing full well he'd probably never see them again.  Which takes us up to 2014. Today I retired and, quite honestly, not a day too soon.  My rather precipitate retirement was 100% my idea (with a lot of consultation from my wonderful wife, Susan.)  The robotics class has an instant replacement who knows more about it than I do.  Don't know what's happening about programming.  Shouldn't be hard to find someone with my limited programming experience for $11,000 a year - not my problem. Main task for my classes to day was the demolition of 3 dozen doughnuts and 3 dozen cans ...

Time for a change.  I am feeling much better than I did a year ago, especially as I no longer get the crazy sleep and eating habits from having to take steroids.  Now, I took a lot of grief in my job from my boss which the cancer diagnosis seemed to have calmed down.  But I can't play the sympathy card forever, especially as I look the picture of average health.  So, as of this coming Friday, I am retiring.  I have an idea for a rather nasty sci-fi novel: it could be taken as an allegory of current events but it's not meant that way. Most of all I want to take some time to do some energetic nothing.  Nothing that can get me in trouble (beyond hitting myself on the finger with a hammer - I now have full feeling back in my left index fnger: thanks for asking) but not sitting in a rocking chair watching the cars drive up Avondale Road, either.  Talking of rocking chairs two questions spring to mind.  First, why doesn't anyone make a rocking chair wi...