On this Christmas Day, as 2022 ends, I find myself focused on the future and not so much the past. I’m talking near-term future as so much potentially is going to change. It’s not like this year wasn’t full of change. Oh boy, was it. It’s just that what I expect to unfold in 2023 has me super excited, and I must admit, a bit unnerved. Before I get into what’s ahead in 2023, a brief retrospective seems important to set the stage.
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NOTE: The links below have been temporarily turned off. I plan to reactivate them later in 2021.
It’s been a long time since I have posted on this blog. I want to get back to it, but I’ve been focused on another project. I recently launched a new blog called Town’s End Comics, and its supporting social media accounts, including YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. My goal is to set up my large comic book collection to sell on eBay. Continue reading
We’re back in the gym together. My 16-year-old son and I have been lifting partners before, but it’s a little different this time. (And, by the way, that’s why I’m writing this. But I also know you’re dying to hear how I’ve been doing since I wrote, “A Slave to the Scale.”)
Being a journalist has always been about being fair and writing without letting my opinion into the message. Editorial writing is something I’m not comfortable with since it puts YOU out there as much as the facts and details. This blog has been my attempt to move past my reluctance, but if you read the posts here you’ll see most, if not all, of the subject matter is unique to me and my experiences. I’m really not taking any chances talking about myself, in other words.
In addition to that, I have been suffering through a period of forced social silence. I have been keeping a low profile while events and circumstances in my life settle down. That is finally happening. The big news is my family is moving back to the Seattle area and leaving NYC behind. It’s been a long five years. Continue reading
Don’t be.
That’s me telling myself that. I just stepped on the bathroom scale and while I anticipated a drop of two pounds, I saw instead a gain of more than three.
I couldn’t help feel bad initially, but I quickly ran through this list of achievements:
1) I’m comfortably wearing size 33×34 jeans, which is one size better than when I wrote this: “When your waist is equal to or less than your inseam.”.
3) I enjoyed a huge fajita last night that was made mostly of veggies. And damn it was satisfying to eat, but it is probably sitting like a 2-pound rock in my gut right now.
4) I have lost 30 lbs. since last October. *mic drop*
If you never wished for equality or better between waist and inseam measurements than you probably won’t get much out of this post. This has been my holy grail for decades. It’s a milestone I’ve reached on a few occasions and I’m grateful now is one of them.
I fit very nicely into a pair of 34W x 34L Lucky Brand Men’s 361 Vintage Straight Leg Jeans. (See Amazon’s listing here.) I slipped them on for the first time today after buying them over a month ago. Now I’m not falling victim to vanity sizing. (See Esquire’s expose “Are Your Pants Lying to You? An Investigation.”)
Would you believe I’m being bullied? Me. Now.
I’m decades past being that fat kid with the big smile pictured on the left, but it happened. And I figure if it’s happening to me – now standing six feet, six inches tall and at a very healthy weight – then I may always have to deal with it.
I know I’m overreacting. The incident that has me writing really is just a small matter. I was working out at the local gym. It’s usually pretty crowded in the free weight room. There’s usually a good mix of ages. Among them was a trio of men training together. They’re about 5 years older than me. I’ve seen them before. They’re loud and seem to always have a good time. One guy looks like a grey haired Fred Flintstone. Continue reading
I’m no saint on the road. I’ve made my own dumb moves and paid the price. But when I saw this I experienced a visceral response.
I watched this guy pictured on the left for almost 3 minutes. Most of the time he had both hands on the phone, with the occasional grab at the wheel. This happened at the start of the evening rush hour on the I-5 southbound on-ramp in South Lake Union, Seattle. I was recording with my iPhone while riding in a shuttle bus leaving the city during a visit.
Watch the video:
If you’ve never driven in New York City, it’s hard to convey the absolute utter disregard many drivers have for the rules of the road, let alone common courtesy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve slowed then stopped for a yellow light then to have some driver blow around me from behind and run the red. Multiple times I’ve seen drivers back up after missing a turn off despite disrupting traffic behind them. My jaw is getting tired of dropping after seeing drivers go the wrong way on a 4-lane street to get to where they wanted to go. Or turning across all lanes of traffic even though it blocks EVERYONE. And don’t get me started about driving in the right lane of the street, or should I say NOT driving there, since you come across car after car double parked. Apparently hanging out in the right lane of a street is fine here as long as you turn your emergency blinkers on (or not). Oh and the honking. You would not believe the constant honking. Continue reading
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