Daily Report: Enjoying The Links

One of the cool things about coming back to America after a 3-year absence is that I get to see all the new car models at one time. Some of them really are nice to look at... and even the ones that aren't as good looking are still interesting.

I talked to Pui today on the phone, and she told me that her brother is coming down to work in Pattaya, and will be staying with us for a week or two until they can find him a place to live. Pui knows my opinion of her brother: He's not a completely bad guy, but he is trouble-prone, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he doesn't learn from his mistakes. So I have that to look forward to when I get home.

I've got a bit of a cold or some kind of upper respiratory infection. I made the stupid mistake of not stocking up on some antibiotics before leaving Thailand, as they are available without a prescription there, so now I'll probably have to fork over $100 for a doctor visit and prescription instead of just 80 cents to a pharmacy. I'm definitely not going to be able to last another week with my throat the way it is.


"That's muh ball,"
says Rob, of his
approach shot to
within 10 feet
on the first hole.Today was golf day. I played with Vinnie's father, my brother-in-law, Dan, and Dan's best friend, Vinnie's godfather, Rob. I haven't swung a golf club in 15 years, and was anticipating 4 hours of pain, sweat, frustration, and embarrassment as a result. Neither Dan nor Rob had played in a long time either, however, so I was in good company. Trying not to kill myself, I started things off easily, with gentle swings, using a whole lot of extra club, and just focusing on a nice easy stroke.

However, as the holes went by, I got limbered up, and started hitting the ball a little better. Before long, I realized that most of the problems I was experiencing were due to slow club head speed, so I went back to my old style from 20 years ago of "ball-crusher Jil", and in short order, I was hitting them pretty well. I used to be a 6-handicap, while today I came in at just over 100 for 18 holes. My distance is only 75% of what it used to be, but I walked away pretty satisfied, considering that was my first round of golf since the early 1990's. However, my low back was a little sore, and I have a blister on my index finger as a memento. Like I told my father later on though, I'm pretty sure that with another 72 holes under my belt, I could probably make it back to bogey golf... although I'm pretty sure that at least for the time being, my days of golfing in the mid-to-high-70s are not going to return.

After golf, it was back to Dad's house, where myself, Dan, Nancy, and Vinnie, Rob and his wife Alexa, Dad and wife Judy, Dr. and Mrs. Molden (Dan's parents) sat down for a dinner of bar-be-que chicken, cucumber salad, 3-bean salad, baby potatoes, Finger Lakes wine, and an ice cream sandwich cake for dessert. Then, dad showed us all photos of his recent trips to Antarctica and Moscow.

About 10:00, I was feeling pretty whipped from my throat and the day golfing, and drove back over to Mom's house and went to bed.

And now, Mike's Thousand Words: Bath Country Club, Noontime.