The Internet is a wonderful thing.  Sitting here in a quiet house miles away from anywhere there is a peace and quietness that is calming.  We have exchanged Christmas greetings with the neighbors and now relax in the safe harbor of our own home.

The only lights on are those on the Christmas tree.  It is cold outside but cozy here under a nice down blanket.

In this quiet moment I turn off my phone and turn on my laptop and sit here on the couch – marvelling at the technology that allows me to sit here or anywhere in my house and tap into information from all around the world.

In my high school and college days I kept in touch with alot of friends but you had to pick up a phone or write a letter and then wait for their reply.  Now I can pick up my laptop and check out blogs from friends around the world.  Some friends would really only be considered aquaintances but I still really enjoy reading their blogs and hearing about what they are doing and how events in their lives are very similar to my own.

Christmas was yesterday and New Years is just a few days away and it makes me think of friends that have made me smile and laugh over this past year.  There are a few of these friends that I have not heard from in a while and so I checked out their blogs to see what is new in their lives.  On one friends blog I see a picture of his chest with a large bandage taped just under his shoulder.  The short description on the page tells me that what I am looking at is the place on his body where the chemotherapy line is attached when he goes in for chemo.  Cancer?  What kind of Cancer?  This friend of mine who is clearly not that close to me – not close enough for me to have known that he is dealing with cancer.  For how long?  How long has he known?  When was the last time we exchanged silly banter on a social website?  I’m not sure.  I don’t have any of these answers.

So I read on – there really aren’t any answers to any of my questions anywhere on his blog.  Clearly that is not what he wants to focus on.  Further down on his blog his only thought is one of seeking out humor in all of this mess.  His only request is for tips on funny movies that will make him laugh.

My kids make me laugh every day.  So, I make a list of their most recent favorite videos on the internet and send him a quick note that we are thinking about him.

What does all this mean?  Is anyone thinking about me on this chilly December evening?  What about some of my friends from high school who I have totally lost touch with?

Somehow we are all connected.  Sometimes these pathways cross and we have moments where we touch each others lives.  I truly hope that I was able to extend a proper message of hope and laughter to my friend with cancer.  At the same time, he has helped me remember that everything we do online is all about our connections.  Connecting with friends, connecting with like minds, connecting with potential clients,  and connecting with the most unlikely people too.

By making these connections we help each other grow in peace and understanding.  My New Years prayer is one for greater understanding and stronger connections.  And of course I pray for all of my current friends and family and for their good health and prosperity in this New Year.

The one good thing about the climate is that it is always changing and always gives people something to talk about.   You can always start a conversation by talking about the weather.  Lately, everyone I have talked to is either too cold, too hot, or just right.  But I guess that’s how it goes with the weather.

I found the weather channel at about the same time as weather.com.   I visit both routinely.  I even like watching the weather on tv for my neighborhood even though I have great windows.

Before that there was the weather radio.  I loved that too.

It is sort of funny hearing the stats on the number of limosines and private jets partked outside of the Climate change conference going on right now.  It would seem if we were truly concerned about the human impact on the climate we would webcast this meeting out to all participants and let them participate from home.  But there is probably a downside to that too – like lack of tourist money in the host city and an end to limo services.

On a recent trip to Chicago I had to arrange for a driver for one of our VIPS and we were able to get him into a lovely toyota camry – the driver was exceedingly polite and the car was very clean.  That worked out great*.  Our Climate Change VIPs have to learn to put their money where their mouths are and hop into a more fuel efficient and less conspicuous mode of transportation.

* If you need to hire a driver when you are travelling I highly recommend Carey. This car service was very easy to use and only slightly more than getting a taxi. The advantages for us were that the car was waiting for our VIP when he left the meeting, the driver was very polite, and the car was very clean. He got from his meeting out to the airport with no headaches. On an administrative perspective the customer service people were very polite, professional and very calm. I had a sense of ease just talking with them and was given a tracking number, a license plate number, and a cell phone number for the particular driver assigned to my VIP. There was absolutely ZERO hassle. Before we go to a new city I will check if their service is available. I wish we had known about this company for his inbound trip. We will definitely be using this company again!!