I keep hearing reports about an “epidemic of anxiety” that is sweeping across America. This conveniently mirrors the “epidemic of drug overdoses”, “epidemic of violence”, “epidemic of partisanship” and other headlines from the past two years. In a podcast I was listening to, an author was discussing how social media (especially Instagram) has exacerbated this…
Goldilocks
Someone’s been pooping in my front yard. Or, to be more precise, someone has been letting their dog poop in my yard on a daily basis. The culprit is a mystery to me. Despite being outside for 2-3 hours a day and having clear view of my yard from house, I have never seen the…
Voting No
As I mentioned in my my last post/rant, I was summoned for Jury Duty next month. I researched how they picked names. In my county, names are selected from the registered voters lists. So even though it won’t help me this time, I decided it was time to cancel my voter registration. I’ve been thinking…
Jury Duty
I received a summons to Jury Duty in the mail yesterday. After having a small conniption fit for about an hour, I calmed down enough to read the details and think it through. I’ve been called for Jury Duty twice before. The first time, was in Pittsburgh. I was on summer break from college and…
Scent Of A Woman
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been extremely sensitive to smells. Ironically, I have a deviated septum and suffer from year round sinus clogging allergies. You’d think with my strong sense of smell that I’d have wide-open sinuses and a nose like Cyrano de Begerac. Nonetheless, a strong sense of smell is the…
My First Date After 32 Years
I had my first date with a new woman in 32 years last night after 29 years of marriage and then 3 years of being single. It was unlike any date I’d been on before. It all began with an invitation from a former neighbor for “a walk or a steak sometime”. A few emails…
Incremental Progress
When I first began practicing yoga twelve years ago, I was frustrated by my lack of progress in flexibility, strength and coordination. With time and practice, all of these improved. Today, I’m no yogi by any stretch (haha) but I’ve transformed from the Tin Man into a relatively strong, flexible and coordinated practitioner. One yoga…
I Just Need One
It took 3 months to sell my home in Pittsburgh in 2006. I had sold my previous two homes in less than 30 days. The 2006 home had a dismal open house and few showings compared to the others. I wasn’t worried. I knew the house would eventually sell. I told my agent, we just…
Cult Of Personality
A new friend used the word “introverted” to describe herself to me in several conversations. My initial reaction was, cool – I’m introverted too! When I first read “Quiet”, by Susan Cain, it was an eye opener for me. I learned that I wasn’t the only one like this. Other introverts were a lot like…
Enjoying The Process
I am going on a date this week and I am so excited I could burst! She’s hot, charming, eloquent and intriguing. She has a sense of humor and a directness I appreciate that come across even in emails. I won’t get into details here about how our date came about. That’s a funny story…