Dinah Eng's blog

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking on the phone with my friend Jean, who was due to turn 83 shortly. When I asked her what she would be doing on her birthday, she said, “Nothing.”

I’m sitting up straighter these days. A pinched nerve in my neck has caused some tingling and numbness in the extremities on and off. Since I never want to have neck surgery, I’ve been doing more exercises to strengthen the neck, and to relieve the pressure on the disks between the vertebrae.

If store fronts and movies are any indication, the holiday season has started, and it can’t be too soon. With an economic grinch that has stolen the joy out of many pocketbooks this year, we need a reminder of what’s really important in life.

I’ve been on eight planes, flying cross country to somewhere, in the last three weeks, and on every plane, there were passengers coughing and sneezing up a storm. I count myself lucky that I didn’t have to sit next to any of them.

With swine flu being declared a national emergency, it’s time for people who are clearly sick to stay home and concentrate on getting well. But many people don’t.

The autumn leaves have turned color, but are still clinging to the trees in Oshkosh, Wisc., where a business trip has taken me for a few days. I’ve never been to Wisconsin, and am shivering a little as my colleagues and I walk through the campus at the university in town.

Breaking the law isn’t just a matter of right and wrong.

The difference between good guys and bad guys tends to blur a lot on television these days. I suspect it’s because we’ve come to understand that human beings are not purely good or totally evil. We all have the capacity to act both ways.

Most people know that slavery still exists in today’s world, but don’t pay much attention until an Elizabeth Smart gets on the stand to testify about the abuse she suffered at age 14 from a kidnapper and his wife who held her captive for nine months.

We all think we’re the center of the universe. We see things first from our point of view, and do what we can to advance our own interest in most situations. We behave in ways that we think will win us friends and lovers, and rarely realize that no one judges us more than we judge ourselves.

For every woman who’s ever worried about being fat, attracting the right guy, or being recognized for our talent at work, Lifetime’s new series “Drop Dead Diva”(Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern) is a must watch.

“You lie!” shouted Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) during President Obama’s recent speech on health care reform initiatives to Congress.

The heckle that drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle has become a rallying cry for many who are fed up (and frightened) by the pace of change in Washington these days.