MB, thanks for your kind wishes. Seems I survived it today, even am home now. It was a pleasant adventure actually once I got into the ring, actually a simple thing like I meant when saying it's "no biggie". And so now to even have mentioned it in the post seems to me like being a big drama queen about it. There are really fine and nice folks in that OR taking care of everyone, almost makes me want to do it again.
And thanks for your comment on philosophical spectrum. I don't know. I'm pretty damn sure the human mind isn't one's enemy, just needs to be exercised well and cleanly to do good work for yourself (and others) - well obviously. Still, whatever the "heart" is, and with whatever is meant by "simplicity", "common sense", "gut feeling", "intuition" and the curious thing called "knowing" ( probably even Lesley's "knowing when you don't know" ), these are all right up there, I think, in the stuffing of fantastic cleverness in the human critter grown through 300,000 years and those prior millions earlier homonidae lines to sapiens.
Uh, reading... The Age of Reason, Harold Nicholson and The Eighth Continent, Peter Tyson about Madagascar which I guess is on my bucket list to explore before the joining great unknown.
Adios-- just for now. Time for one of the nice pain pills.