Bad News, Bad Health, Good Movie, Fox

I recently learned that a college friend died this past fall. I just found out that it was cancer that took him. He was 33. I didn't know him super well, but I liked him a lot. The last time I saw him was at a mutual friend's wedding a few years ago. I had meant to e-mail him, and keep in touch a bit since then, but I didn't really. It isn't possible to do that with everyone... but still, I feel like I took his existance for granted.

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I haven't been blogging much lately. I haven't been swimming much lately. I haven't been working much lately.

Something is wrong with my stomach. It started bothering me a lot shortly after I got back from Japan. I've had a bunch of tests, and I've been through a course of antibiotics (to get rid of H pylori, the main cause of ulcers). An endoscopy showed that I have inflammation in my stomach, and a hiatal hernia. I'm supposed to avoid eating and drinking certain things: Coffee, chocolate, alcohol, mint, high fat, citrus, tomatoes... Rather challenging to stick to these restrictions over the entire holiday season... especially since I didn't completely believe that I needed to avoid these things. Through some trial and error, I now believe... but it is still hard for someone who loves food as much as I do. Oh, and I've been having lower back pain a lot lately too. Lucky me!

Enough complaining!

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I went to Slumdog Millionaire last night. It was intense. I liked it a lot! It is about a contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" in India, and mixes the game show with flashbacks of his life growing up in the slums of Mumbai. There are some violent/hard to watch moments, but they are important to the plot--not much that you'd call gratuitous. Did I mention I liked it a lot?

On the way home, just as we were turning into our neighborhood, we saw a fox, running down the street ahead of us.