My house looks pretty good. It was painted just before I bought it two years ago. It’s only 20 years old, so it still seems “new” to me. I put new floors in when I bought it. I stained and refinished all the cabinets and my furniture. Still, it is full of imperfections. There are…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Swimming Downhill
I swim about a mile everyday. The first few hundred yards tend to be a little rough – I might be shivering from the cold water, my shoulders are often stiff, my stroke is choppy and I’m thinking about how many laps I have to go before I’m finished. Once I’ve completed 24 laps or…
Call My Husband
From 2009-2010, my wife had chemotherapy every week to treat follicular lymphoma. At first, I drove her to her sessions and sat with her for 4 hours as she received chemo. We’d chat a bit until they got her started. Then I’d read or do work on my computer, while she mostly dozed from the…
Thinking Of Death All The Time
I think about death every day. Sometimes I think about my wife and the awful experiences we shared as she was dying from cancer. Sometimes I think about my Grandpa, my Uncle Bob or my Aunt Es, all who died more than 30 years ago. Sometimes I think about my neighbor who is slowly dying…
Freedom Comes From Not Caring What Others Think About Me
I was talking to a friend who was full of anxiety about a job he had just started. Throughout the conversation he said things like: “I’m not the best worker there many of these guys have 25 years of experience over me.” “I’m sure they look at me and think ‘He’s that stupid new guy who…
Driveways Paved In Gold
During my daily dog walks, I like stroll through the “rich” part of my neighborhood. The rich section has 4+ bedroom 4000 sq. feet mini-mansions. They have landscaped lots, 2 car garages (usually full of crap) and a fleet of vehicles parked in their expansive driveways. I enjoy walking through all the parts of my neighborhood….
Podcasts I’m Listening To
Supposedly there are millions of Podcasts today. it seems like the most popular ones focus on politics, murders, and pop culture. Blech. I prefer listening to Podcasts vs. radio because I like long form discussions and being able to fast-forward past commercials. I also like to listen when I’m on my third and final meandering…
Thinking Of You
I think about myself all of the time (which probably surprises no one who reads this blog.) What might surprise others is how often I think of them. I think about people from my past. I think about friends from my elementary school days 45 years ago. I think about middle school classmates and high school…
Ho Hum
Many years ago, I read that reality TV producers created false “scripted” drama because otherwise they would be filming people’s boring lives 24×7 and nobody would be interested in watching. I’ve thought about that a lot over the past decade. Most of my life would bore other people (as readers of this blog can attest)….
Must Be Nice
When people ask me “What do you do?”, I tell them, “Nothing. I’m retired.” Many people express surprise because I’m younger than traditional retirees. If they ask for details, I’ll tell them I used to be in tech sales and sales management, I saved a lot and I live quite frugally. Sometimes people ask what I’m…