There are days when I’ll work for hours working on a post only to delete it without ever publishing it. When I write an essay that reads as disjointed, mean-spirited or arrogant I’ll save it as a draft to review the next day. Many times, by the next day, I’ve processed through my thoughts on…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Opinions Of Random Strangers
Over the past few months, I’ve made a few changes. I started growing my beard and mustache. I updated my wardrobe to include more form fitting clothing. I made an attempt to draw comics. And I’ve been writing essays on a blog with a more direct, and sometimes acerbic, tone. After making these changes, do…
36 Degrees Of Insanity
My regular pool was closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. In desperation to get my daily swim in, I considered every backup option. There was only one – the outdoor pool in Cary, 30 miles away. I have used this facility a dozen times in the past year. It’s a phenomenal aquatic center…
Pointless Grocery Store Coupon Spam
I have been buying groceries for nearly 50 years. As a preschooler, my mom would send me down the block to Johnny’s market to pickup a loaf of bread, milk & cigarettes. If I had enough change, I’d get some penny candy. After we moved to Pittsburgh. my sister and I had full grocery shopping…
You Don’t Know?
My parents getting divorced when I was 5, remarried a year later, and divorced a 2nd (and final) time within a year of remarrying marked the beginning of what was to become the most chaotic decade of my life. I remember how horrible it was after the first divorce. My father had moved a short…
Embracing My Age
In a few months I’ll turning 55. That is officially old as far as I’m concerned. I will never forget when I was around 5 year old and sitting on Aunt Essie’s back porch looking down into the backyards below. I saw my neighbor’s dad walking towards his garage when suddenly, he sneezed and his…
Schadenfreude
Someone I once knew long ago has recently fallen upon hard times. He had launched a business venture which was now failing (publically). From what I heard, the person’s unethical business practices and incompetence finally caught up to him. I never liked this guy. He was a liar, a cheat and a self-serving back stabber….
Tiger Stripes
A long time ago I “inherited” an employee I was assured was an “All Star”. I remember the first time I met him. He was young, very self-assured and confident. If anything, I thought he was a little too much “in my face” when we met, but I chalked it up to him being young…
Meet The New Boss
I have been reading a collection of essays in the book “Consider The Lobster” written by David Foster Wallace. I remember reading an essay by him many years ago that struck a deep chord within me so I was thrilled to find this book at my library. The book itself however, has been less the…
Doing The Math
The pools where regularly I swim are managed by the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. I’m a big fan of these pools, the staff, the hours and the facilities. Unfortunately for me, as a daily swimmer, the pools close for many Federal and State Holidays. Adding in scheduled maintenance closures, kid’s swim meets and occasional…