Marathoning with Arthritis
My friend Susan has had rheumatoid arthritis for over 25 years, and a couple of years ago she ran her first marathon. I was there in Dublin in 2004 when she ran her second one, and now she’s running the half-marathon in Amsterdam on October 15th. She solicits charitable donations for the Arthritis Society as part of their [...]
Birthday lunch at Banu
Saturday, I turned 46, and had the good fortune of being surrounded by friends and family who like to feed me. After seeing a review for Banu last week and passing it on to Pat, she and Betty decided to take me out for lunch there. The restaurant bills itself as an Iranian Kebob Vodka [...]
My abs hurt, do I have a six-pack yet?
Yesterday was the first day of lower body workout, which included about a million ab crunches. Now I pretty much hurt all over, and I stepped on the scale to discover that I’ve gained two pounds since Monday. My weight fluctuates by about five pounds normally so this is not unprecedented, but hardly bodes well [...]
Drag Queen Fashion Tips
Personally, I would never give fashion advice to a drag queen, considering that most of the ones that I’ve met have a much better (or at least wildly different) fashion sense than I do. I was at my friend Pat‘s last night and she was showing me the retro/trendy/tacky shoes that she just bought: a kitten-heel [...]
Inspirational friends
I draw inspiration from my friends for all sorts of reasons. Pat, my longest-term friend, does the most amazing photography. Michelle is starting, at age 40, to train in an inter-faith ministry. Barbara makes TV programs. And Susan, after living with rheumatoid arthritis for over 25 years, runs marathons (feel free to make a donation [...]
Introversion or secret TV addiction?
I’ve stopped worrying about why Damir does some things, and just accepted the fact that he’s way more introverted than me, and comes from a much different culture. Today, for example, I have a (male) friend visiting from out of town, and we’re meeting for dinner. I said to Damir, “Hey, I’m going to meet [...]
Obsessing over an OCD
Yesterday, I was going to post something that mentioned my ex (specifically, how good it was to be able to put something back in the fridge after using part of it without him obsessively repacking it into a smaller container), then stopped myself because I didn’t want to appear that I am still thinking about [...]
Long-Distance Relationships
I have a long-distance relationship: 9.2km, according to Yahoo! maps. That may not seem like a great distance, but it keeps us apart during the week, primarily by our choice. We both work more than half the time from our respective homes so have some amount of flexibility, but neither of us can easily pick [...]
Mr. Personality
Although I’m mildly introverted, Damir is really introverted: if he were to take a Myers-Briggs test, he’d be about as far towards “Introversion” as you can get on the Extraversion-Introversion scale. However, he’s very funny and very intelligent, so when he does open his mouth, there’s a greater chance of something interesting coming out. We [...]
Having a wife
All this reconnecting lately, I hooked up with someone who I went to university with over 20 years ago — that’s enough to make me feel old! When I last talked to him, his kids were about 2 and 3 years old, and they’re now 9 and 10. I’ve met his wife a few times, [...]
