Days Like This

When it's not always raining
there'll be days like this
When there's no one complaining
there'll be days like this
When everything falls into place
like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me, there'll be days like this

-Van Morrison

The calendar shows new numbers. The old one lies in the bin. The sky shows great promise of warming the ground and the air for us to continue to harvest its bounties. Christmas and New Years have come and gone once again, like they will. An inconspicuous ex-president, a Middle East Frankenstein and the Godfather of Soul all pass away to deal with whatever they need to deal with...
So begins 2007.

Kiwis love to flock to the outdoors, and boats are showing up in all the bays, tents in the parks and a general push outside to embrace a reluctant summer. I know it must be the holiday season when I see joggers on Waiheke. Still, as the water slowly warms , I can slip effortlessly amongst the elements. I Step into Liquid, as the film says, along with my family of Paradise Ducks, soon to be off on their own, but still braving the increased human and dog presence on the foreshore. Won't be long now.

I trust many will be enjoying what nature has to offer at this time of year, even if it is in the Northern Hemisphere, where the days are shorter. Down here, if you are still spending too much time at the keyboard and monitor when the beach and bush beckon, you might want to check out this New Scientist article on modern cyber-maladies that threaten your well-being. There, amongst the confessions of a wikipediholic, a MySpacer, and cyberchondriac, are yet a few more social cues to give us a pause for concern. Or not.

Whilst still on the cyber theme, it is said in this article, there are two types of people: those who backup their PCs, and those who will. If you have ever lost any valuable info, you know what I mean. Fortunately, the geeks have come up with lots of great new easy ways to keep stuff from disappearing forever. If you have been too lazy to work them out or actually take the time to do it(like I was), this NYTimes article spells out the myriad of choices (which is half the problem), and makes recommendations. Well worth a read.

Feeling good this New Year? Excellent. Apparently many are not, and when a doctor comes out and writes an essay declaring the epidemic of diagnoses is part of the problem, well, I might have to agree. How about a wellness index? I'd love to hear how many of us are managing to stay away from the health care system. Anything is possible, and some things happen.

If you like hero stories, this one is a burner for you: seconds to spare in the subway, and a young man suffers a collapse, when Mr Joe Average New Yorker jumps in and rolls him to safety as the trains roll over them with inches to spare. They are already calling him the Subway Superman. Well done, Clark!

"One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things" wrote Henry Miller, who was an avid fan of the Big Sur area south of San Francisco. Also one of my favourite areas, the author of this travel piece samples some of the local scenery and accomodation, including that New Age mecca, The Esalen institute. Apparently it opens its famed hot sulphur pools overhanging the Pacific Coast to the public only from 1am to 3am every morning.
Gotta love it!