My Day

A good day yesterday. Ben was up from U.C. San Diego. Gabe was here as well. So for once we had the entire family for dinner. I made spicy chili with oregano, cumin, paprika, chili powder, coriander, and garlic. It turned out surprisingly well. The secret ingredient was unsweetened chocolate which made it taste a bit like chicken mole. We spent most of the dinner talking about the movie, "Life of Pi." Holly and Gabe had seen it and Ben had read the book. As happens not infrequently, I was the  only one without a clue.

Russo the Pup inspecting a tree on my patio where the cat is hiding (or tormenting him).



I went down to the VA Health Center on Temple Street in downtown LA to have my eyes checked and my blood analyzed.  I won't say it's the most fantastic building I've ever been in or that it's scrubbed to within an inch of its life. But they do seem pretty efficient down there. It seems at least more efficient than my current HMO which takes forever to get anything done. Also, there are no fees or co-pays. I could get used to this. Socialized medicine for veterans is at least as good, it seems, as the HMO variety.

The technician who took 5 vials of blood from me managed to find the vein easily and painlessly and without much ado. When I told her she was pretty good at her job she seemed quite pleased. Well, it was the truth.