Author: Steve Ainslie

There were four unrelated shootings in the news this week. And, of course, Chicago had at least 10 people shot and 1 killed over the weekend – just like every weekend. This is the America. We have decided that this is OK. Regardless of the reasons behind the shootings (a misanthrope, a known criminal, a…

I was thinking about my first house I bought in Raleigh back in 2012. It was perfect. It was on a cut-de-sac just 2 blocks from a park with a lake. We put in hardwood floors, new windows, removed the popcorn ceilings, updated the appliances, painted the entire interior and replaced the AC and hot…

When my parents were married and bought their first house, I got a real bedroom of my own with 2 bunkbeds, my own dresser and a toy chest. It was awesome. I loved that house. But after my parents divorced we moved far away to Pittsburgh and things went downhill. In Pittsburgh, I had to…

I hate playing baseball and always have for several great reasons: The good news is that I don’t have to play baseball. So I don’t. Throughout my life, I’ve intentionally opted out from other things like baseball: Clearly, all of these all personal preferences that matter to nobody but me. I’m didn’t opt out to…

Lately, I have been running into a woman at my pool whose swims coincide with mine. Sometimes I’ll see her as she’s on the way in and I’m leaving. Other times, I’ll see her walk to an empty lane while I’m in mid workout. She’s got curly gray hair so I assume she’s around my…

Even though I am intentionally not dating or seeking a romantic relationship, that doesn’t mean I’m disinterested in women. It seems like every week I run into attractive women throughout the day. The latest is a woman I’ll call the Pool Hottie. I’ve seen her once or twice before but this week our schedules are…

This past weekend I visited Duke Gardens with a friend. We got to stroll around the grounds admiring the flowers and plants, the Gothic architecture and the Duke University campus. It was more crowded than I had anticipated. I’d estimate there were a thousand visitors – including many multigenerational families, middle aged alumni accompanied by…

When I began dating back in the dark ages of the mid 1980’s, being “stood up” was such a rare occurrence that it was used as a plot twist on TV. In real life, it almost never happened to anyone I knew. Back then, a guy usually knew the girl he asked on a date…

On a podcast the other day, an author and psychology expert was promoting her book about “relationships in the digital age.” She had worked for one of the big tech companies as an in-house therapist (Facebook or Google, I can’t remember) for a decade before launching her own private practice. She spoke about texting. A…

For the past four years since I started swimming laps I have been tracking my total workout time. I don’t pay any attention to how fast I swim each lap. I set my stopwatch at the beginning of my workout and then check the total time at the end. I swim the exact same number…