just john

So this has been a little stagnant for a while...at least I am not imprisoned in Eastern Europe, waiting for some wealthy foreigner to pay for the opportunity to kill me. "Hostel" really subdued my interest in visiting those countries, by the way. Just maybe, since I was not a natural blogger at home, I am simply returning to my old self. Possibly I just got tired of it for a while. I was recounting to a very good friend the interests that have come and gone here and I was a little surprised at everything being removed from my former life encouraged me to do.

Not much has changed here, the most notable exception being that Bill tooka 6 month assignment in France that will end in December. I'd found myself getting bitter and homesick over the last several weeks - make that since my last US visit so this seems to be helping tremendously. Travel costs, of course, have sky rocketed. We'll be taking a long weekend to Venice in a couple of weeks and then off to see Madonna in Amsterdam at the beginning of September. Throw in a few back and forths between here and Chateau-Thierry and suddenly everyone is broke. 

They tell me the US economy still sucks and I'm patiently waiting to come home to a country that decided to either continue with a war more unwinnable and expensive than making boat payments or overcome it's tendentially racist inclinations and finally elect a black president. At least the mortgage payments are being made and I am employed.