Never Miss Twice Twin Fools in the Resort Pool Failing to Fail

Last week I did not get the chance to write a weekly blog post. I don't offer an excuse. Instead, I want to share the opportunity I took instead. I made plans to see my sister visiting from San Francisco while her family was staying at a resort in Ojai. Ojai Valley Inn While I strive to be consistent, I have learned to leave room for other opportunities. Spending time with my sister is a delight. She is intelligent, funny, and loves me madly. Also, she looked on the bright side of me gaining weight, "you look better," she said as we slipped into the resort's empty pool for an after-lunch swim. I am gay fat, for sure. I am sporting an ostomy bag on one side and Semi-permanent picc IV lines on the other. I feel very scary to small children. However, once in the pool, we compared our surgical scares. We both pronounced to be doing better due to our independent procedures. She got new knees, and I've my digestive tract rewired with shortcuts. I hopped around in the pool because some of my medical kit is not waterproof, while my ostomy kit is theoretically waterproof.

We grew up with a pool in Seattle. It did not need to be much above 65°f for my family to spend the day in the pool. We are 60 and have learned to use any excuse to get in the pool. We invited her kids to come along, but at 15 & 18, they could not be bothered—more pool for us. The fool-for-the-pool gene did not pass along to the next generation. It was a glorious afternoon. Writing a blog post every week is a habit I like following through on. But the opportunity to hang out in the pool with my favorite twin. No comparison. Plus, there is a backup option for all my habits. If I miss a routine, the backup plan is not to cut twice. So this week, I am back in the blog habit saddle.

Also, if you go to Ojai, eat at  Yume Japanese Burger Cafe here—super Tasty Japanese Burgers.

What Am I reading?

The New China Playbook | Keyu Jin

This book is current right up to Covid and beyond. The author is positive, upbeat, and pro-China. My takeaway is that China is failing to fail. The cultural cohesiveness of the PRC is a big reason why. If what has gone wrong in modern China were happening in North America, we would not be doing as well as China. The country has progressed from the middle ages to the contemporary world in two generations. The birth rate is falling off a cliff. But productivity is four times greater. The remarkable thing is what would bury the West does not seem to be wrecking China. Playbook is well worth the read for an eye-opening fresh take.