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Party wit' da coworkers

Friday night was my first social gathering with the winery crew. They are a pretty fun lot. Not everyone was there, but many were. We were toasting La'akea, the guy who has worked there the longest of any but who is leaving next week to attend school full time. He's a very smart guy with a great sense of humor and probably the chattiest man I've ever met. He actually makes me seem quiet and reserved. I'm sure he will do well with school. He's a born academic.

Saturday it continued to rain, so we vegged. Today, the sun came out and the wind whipped up, helping to dry things out. The strong breeze also kept the poochies cool. We didn't need the fans; just a few open windows. Ron and I alternated mowing sections of the lawn. I went to town to pick up $100 worth of overpriced groceries.

I'm applying for yet another job for which I am under-qualified. Actually, the last one had me over qualified. This one is pie-in-the-sky and it's on another island, but what the hecksters. It's only postage.

I've developed this weird, intermittent tapping sound in my right ear. I may have to turn the iPod down a smidge. It is pretty irritating.

Ron got smacked in the knee today by a stick flying out of the tractor as I was mowing. It left a pretty gnarly mark. Good thing he was wearing jeans. He moaned and writhed on the ground as though he'd been shot with a bazooka. Ah, but who am I to judge anyone else's reaction to pain. It did shoot out of the tractor like a bullet. We now know never to stand on the shoot side of the tractor when another is mowing, no matter how far away you think you are. It could just as easily have been a small stone. Worse, it could have been a dog turd. Splat. Peeee-eeeew! Still, it wouldn't have hurt so much as the stick.

It did make me worry a bit, what with today's front page article in the paper telling the story of a serious physician shortage on the island. It has actually reached what people are calling crisis stage. Most doctors who are here are taking no new patients and it doesn't look like there's a boatload of doctors waiting to disembark at the docks to start up practices here. Apparently, the high cost of living, office space, doing business and insurance is keeping them away from all the outer islands. So, we are all SOL. The story told of one young couple who just bought a house and are looking to start a family. They went to buy life insurance but were denied because they don't have a primary care physician. They've called every doctor listed in the yellow pages and were rejected, despite the fact that they are well insured. Literally, none of the doctors are taking new patients. So, I guess I'll be flying to O'ahu if I need to see a doctor other than my allergist.

I picked up a new camera chip at Long's today. The old chip died. At least, I think that's what's wrong. Hope it's that simple. With luck, I'll be able to post new pictures soon.

A hui hou. Aloha!

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