I have to fill out a visitors form when I swim at my backup pool that asks for the name and number of my emergency contact. This has been a bit of a challenge. It used to be a no brainer – my emergency contact was my wife. Before her, it was my mom. What…
All You Can Eat
When I was a teenager, I loved going to the “All You Can Eat” midnight buffet at Eat’n’Park, the unlimited salad bar Ponderosa Steak House and Rax’s taco/salad bar. I was in awe of the smorgasbord of foods, toppings and sides that each offered. The prices were cheap. And I could eat a lot. As…
Pseudo-Intellectual
From a young age, I always considered myself an intellectual. I read more than almost anyone I knew. I got straight A’s in school. I excelled in Math and Science. I’m quiet and introverted. I have an aptitude for grasping complex technical concepts and applying them in real-world solutions. Lately, I’ve been questioning whether I’m…
Orders Of Magnitude
For most of my adult life I have heard how great it would be to live in countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand. They have outstanding free public health care, pension plans, community support, low cost higher education, employment benefits, social safety nets, and more. Now that I’m finally in a place…
Rant Delete
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…
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…