Spring has sprung

I hear the weather's been rather inclement in England lately? Such a shame. Over here the temperature's hit seventy degrees every day since Saturday and not a drop of rain either. Marvelous. Yesterday lunchtime I accompanied Mr Bunszel to the local driving range for a spot of indiscriminate violence to golf balls, and, in my case, the very sport of golf itself. Having never really taken up arms on the fairway with anything other than a putter, I was more than delighted to simply displace the ball from terra firma with some regularity. Of course, the old targeting will require a bit more work. Still, at $5 for a large bucket of ammunition it's just a matter of time I think. An English accent is already something of a head-start in the golfing world as I understand it.

Rachel and I have been trying to make the most of the sunshine. On Sunday we took a bike ride around the city via the 12-mile long riverfront loop; it's flat, there are no cars, the views are pleasant and there are at least two places to stop for ice cream. Leon joined us on his brand new $1200 Cannondale 'Bad Boy' (you couldn't make this stuff up, could you?). It's a tidy piece of kit to be sure, a matt black superlight hardtail with disc brakes etc. As you can tell, I'm not at all jealous.

My recent adventures to the local dentist have lacked hilarity unfortunately. Actually the dentist himself was fine, replacing all three of my fillings with gusto and some artistry; indeed so confident was I in his skill that I opted to have one of them drilled without anesthetic and didn't feel a thing. I should have asked for a carry-over for the hygienist. What is a dental hygienist anyway, you're probably asking (or more likely not, but bear with me here)? In short, a sadist. A pick-wielding sociopath. I was thinking "gentle polishing", like an aged manservant might buff the Rolls with an old chamois prior to a trip to the lake. What I got was more akin to a US Marine warming up for a tour at Abu Ghraib. It was a bloodbath, I tell you, even before she brought out the dental floss. Cheese-wire more like. I always had my suspicions re hygiene and this has sealed it for me, I'm afraid.

Returned to Doug Fir on Friday night with Bart and Patricia and Troy and Santi; saw Helio Sequence - technically proficient but not really our cup of tea. The drummer appeared to be a disturbing amalgam of James Nesbitt off Cold Feet and Animal off The Muppet Show - one couldn't bear to look. On the plus side we were there early enough to grab a table. Made the tragic mistake of leaving my credit card behind the bar. Rachel finally emerged from the establishment some eight Lemon Drops later, making good use of yours truly for support. Another week in Paradise.