Monday. No overcast early this morning when I got up with the alarm. Be interesting to see how warm it gets later. Up, to breakfast and back at eight, the pulmonary doctor's appointment ahead. Nice to get it out of the way, nice to come back for a nap. Nice, nice. We start our day nicely and without yesterday's large word count. Fewer words, better written. But enough of that, we're already in trouble.

Later. Well, that was fast and relatively easy. We're good for another three months. I did agree to start back on two of the medications and stick with them over the course of the coming year. He felt, although the symptoms were better, they still needed one last shot. OK. I'm easy. Too easy. Life may not end. Well, it will, but one hopes not encouraged by these allergy medicines. Drugs.

Again, a sunny morning, the temperatures still well within line. We'll go out later, I have not doubt, but not right now. Nap time now.

Later still. I really was/am tired. A nap, of sorts. I did fall asleep for a while and spent an hour or two lying down, but got up feeling rocky. OK. A walk down to the local convenience store for an ice cream cone and two bottles of diet Coke. I like to keep a diet Coke or two in the refrigerator. It takes me a week to go through a one liter bottle. I tell myself I do it for the bubbles, as the taste is of, well, diet Coke bubbles.

So we'll play guitar (it went well yesterday) and keep the head down, no sake this evening. Yes, I went out last night and picked up some minor things at the supermarket - orange juice, instant noodles, crackers, cheddar cheese and sake - and drank the sake over cheese and crackers, again just the two glasses, not all that much cheese and not all that many crackers, while wading through the Korean soap that came on at ten.

A little iffy, last night's chapter, but it still swims in a wonderful full bore ears pinned against the skull river of unadulterated treachery. Being king or queen, prince or princess, soldier or member of the court had its downside, let me tell you. Sons kill fathers, fathers kill sons, next door neighbors raise armies and foment rebellion, it's one big come one, come all and dance 'til one last man is standing.

And you like this kind of stuff?

It's a bit refreshing. It makes so much sense, even with the cultural differences and various sops to the audience like adding out of place slap stick characters and such. Not something you'd want for a full time diet, but watching these two chapters playing on the weekends has led me along. Which is good, as the earlier shows (soaps) I first found and talked about are no longer of interest. The plot mechanism, essentially the same in every series, is too culturally stretched to swallow. They do have their moments, but I've burned out now after the first few.

Each of them with how many chapters? Fifty chapters, each an hour long? How long did this "temporary" interest of your's go on?

We don't need to emphasize how long. We tested the genre, we were encouraged, now we've graduated to more advanced dramas filled with treachery and colorful costumes.

Have you ever heard of any of the dramas also set in historical times by another foreign writer named Shakespeare?

Evening. I do feel better finally. Strange day, not sure why.