Last night, I intentionally broke my diet. I binged on an 85% Lindt chocolate bar and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Dairy Free Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream. I’d been planning to have at least one binge during my “down time” while I recovered from hernia surgery. I thought about pizza, Mexican food and ice…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Old Man In The Mirror
A friend has been telling me stories about one of his coworkers for more than 5 years. He traveled the country as a train hopping hobo, he practices polyamory and he works in the movie industry. For years, I’ve had a picture of him in my head. I pictured Zach Galifianakis. I told my friend…
Hand Wringing
I don’t worry about 99% of what the news reports as “important to know”, “what you should be afraid of” or “why you should be concerned”. I live in North Carolina where there was a multiyear brouhaha on bathrooms for trans people. Until recently, I never even knew any trans people. I vaguely remember one…
Nunya
One reason I avoid social media is because it’s full of too many people spouting off uniformed opinions and casting judgement on others. In real life, my friends tell me one thing they like about me is that I don’t judge them. Oh, I do. I just don’t tell them. I judge how others treat…
Entrepreneur Bandwagon
It seems like every twenty-something-year-old on the internet who has a social media presence calls himself an entrepreneur. This includes life coaches, influencers, bloggers, instagram celebrities, Tik Tokers and YouTubers who are trying to make money pitching products and selling clicks. You’re not an entrepreneur- you’re unemployed. If someone on Social Media says their mission…
Why I Won’t Get A Colonoscopy
Every time I’ve visited a doctor in he past 5 years, they’ve urged me to get a colonoscopy. They say it’s important so that if I have colon cancer, it can be “caught” in the early stages and treated. Not a single doctor ever asked if I would be willing to be treated for colon…
Cutting Off Body Parts
Someone who was once a close friend of mine is going to have major surgery to transition from being a man to being a woman. I’ve known this man for 16 years. We got sober together and were part of a small group of like-minded individuals. My friend was smart, successful and dynamic. We hung…
Going Through The Motions
World class athletes often talk about using visualization to help them succeed. You’ll hear NFL players, NBA All Stars and Olympic champions say they do this. This always sounds a bit like the magical thinking promoted by “The Secret” and self-help hucksters to me. But, as I am recovering from hernia surgery, I am doing…
Talkin’ Bout My Generation (and Yours)
Sometime after I hit my thirties, people started calling me Sir. Back then, it cracked me up. I’d tell them, “I’m not Sir, call me Steve” or I’d laugh and say “I’m not that old yet.” Today, everyone calls me sir and I’m not laughing. Now that I’m older, I am recognizing significant differences between…
I Want To Thank You
My recent hernia operation was unexpectedly a breeze. Everything, from my pre-surgical consultation through the surgery through post-op and my current recovery went better than I had expected. Part of this was due to luck. My surgeon said his patients who have 2 hernia like mine always report that one side is better than the…