When I’m talking to my mother, she’ll often say, “That must have been really scary” or “That must make you feel very afraid”. She’s wrong. Every time. I am afraid of nothing. I used to be afraid. Afraid of losing what I had. Afraid of not being able to take care of my wife. Afraid…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Want Not Waste Not
When visited the Apple Store at the local mall for a laptop repair, I planned to check out the North Face store. Since most of my clothing is “survival, hiking and climbing” gear, I thought I might find something I liked. Nope. The store was fine. It had shoes, pants, jackets, coats, shirts and gear….
Mall-content
I visited a mall for the first time in 3 years this week. The last time I visited a mall was when I needed to go to the Apple store in Tucson after my iPhone died when I was living on the road. Coincidentally, this week’s mall visit was to go to the Apple store…
Putting Your Best Text Forward
Recently I read a message from a friend I met online several years ago. My friend said that he considered me family. As flattered as I am for his kind words, I disagree. We are not family. In fact, through my dating misadventures, I’ve come to realize that communicating through online messaging, reading blogs, dating…
TikTok
Over the past two weeks while I was recovering from my foot injury, I spent more time messing around on the Internet. What I’ve seen is that news sites now report on TikTok videos – much in the same way they report on tweets from Twitter. As if either is news. They are not. Often…
Talking To Strangers
During most of the first dates I had with women I met on the dating apps we had good conversations. Even during the dates that were somewhat like interrogations, our conversations flowed freely. We laughed and smiled a lot. We shared both casual and deep experiences. I was never at a loss for words and…
Expert Advice
Fearing I had torn a tendon in my foot, I saw an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in foot and ankle injuries last week. He did 3 xrays, spent a solid 10 minutes listening as I described my injury, what I suspected led up to it and my activity levels. Then he looked at my foot…
Stuck
I have been wearing Merrell shoes for 20 years. I fell in love with them because they were impervious to the sloppy, wet winter conditions in Pittsburgh, they had super sticky traction on mud, ice and snow, and they fit great. Over the years, I noticed some changes. The cushioning, while never super soft, got…
Lovely…Not
There are certain words and phrases that people use when they are conveying a message that means the entire opposite. A perfect example is the compliment sandwich (aka the shit sandwich). Another case is when someone begins a sentence, “With all due respect…”, before immediately discounting your idea, action or person. I have added to…
Disappearing Women
When I began dating women I met on dating apps, my friend, the Dating Veteran, told me that he often would mix up details and stories from the women he met online. He would forget names, family members, dating histories and so on. I had no concerns this would happen to me. First, I planned…