Boomer Randomness

My new doctor strongly suggested I lose another 10 or 15 pounds. I am not overweight in the classic sense, but I guess I’m 10 to 15 pounds above what I should be for my height. My blood pressure was a little higher than it should be and he says those two factors could be related. OK, OK, I get it and that last 10 has been on my goals list for two years. Sadly, I am trying to expand my cooking horizons at the same time I am supposed to lose weight. Timing apparently is everything. I had a sandwich for lunch today. Made it myself. Whole wheat bread, sliced turkey breast, one slice of cheddar cheese and a dab (a large dab) of mustard. Snacked on some cashews. Did NOT hit the vending machine. Actually, I DID hit it, literally, while muttering something about wanting the contents as I walked past it to get yet another cup of water. I’m planning to take a drive-west-till-I’m-tired adventure soon, just to change up my patterns. I really need it. Not sure where I’m going yet. I have a firs...

One of the most important elements that make up the spectrum of friendship characteristics is ‘helping each other out’. This is on my mind today because I saw one of the saddest sights of my life this afternoon. D, the friend who died last week, was in many ways a very private person, even to her closest friends. I am a friend by association so I was not very close to her, although we did have some deep conversations over the years. M, who I am closer to, was D’s best friend and until today was the only person in D’s entire circle of friends who had ever been inside her house; and that had only happened during D’s last weeks when it was obvious that the end was near. D claimed the house was messy and she was embarrassed to let anyone see it, even M. I accepted that explanation for a long time and wrote it off to the possibility that D was just easily embarrassed by things. This situation, however, is far more complicated than that. The only house I have ever seen that was in more d...

I took the day off work today. That was not my original plan but it turns out I really needed the relief. The decision was actually based on a suggestion by my boss. I told her some of the issues I was dealing with this morning (the short version: my car wouldn’t start again AND I also had to run a long, convoluted series of errands to fix a different problem that should not have even been mine to begin with) and I explained how I would handle my work till I could get into the office. She suggested that I just not come in today if necessary, as long as the critical work stuff was handled in some way. Best thing I heard all morning, up to that point. I was able to do some of my timely work remotely while waiting for the tow truck. They arrived just as I reached a stopping point. One by one I was able to handle today’s issues. By 2 PM things settled down, critical issues were addressed and I was safely in my house just as a severe wind storm rolled in. I checked work email again, sa...

Do you have a doctor? Your very own primary care physician? One whose name you can correctly spell when filling out a form that asks for the name of your doctor? Or do you go to a clinic for checkups or when there is some kind of non-emergency medical problem? I am a healthy guy who believes strongly in preventative medicine and I generally live a healthy lifestyle. But it has been several years since my last annual physical. Part of that delay is the result of wanting to change docs. Have you ever tried to find a new one? My specific search involved geography, my health insurance plan and some other factors such as education, experience and patient ratings. I narrowed my search to two and learned as I tried to schedule an appointment that neither was taking new patients. One of the practices offered two other choices and I picked one at random, which leads me to two important questions: 1) am I stupid? And 2) is the whole health care system stupid? There is no clear answer to ei...

I'm sure I've heard this song a few hunded times but I never get tired of it. Smoking hot video too! Enjoy.

I knew the day would come that I would forget my Dad's birthday. He died ten years ago so his birthday is no longer a calendar event leading to the purchase of a card or present, but I usually still think about him on his birthday and I acknowledge the date. But not this year. Or at least not consciously. I was thinking about Dad yesterday as I searched through the old tool boxes I inherited from him, looking for a wrench to help a tow truck driver figure out something on my car. We were talking about how much simpler cars were decades ago and I had even told this guy about my Dad's ability to fix cars. Hours later something triggered the memory of his February birthday and that is when it occurred to me I had missed it. However, I did not totally miss it. As I spent time with a dying friend in a hospital last weekend I mentally flashed back to my Dad's dying days and that lead to memories of earlier times with him when he was still able to communicate. What hit me as I...

I am a creature of habit and ritual and I make no apologies for that, but changing the patterns occasionally can make life more interesting. Recently I’ve written about the last days of a dying friend and about how her situation has reminded me of the ‘seize the day’ concept … life is short so live in the moment, take charge of and enjoy each day. A more complete explanation, courtesy of Wikipedia, is that the whole phrase from Roman poet Horace is Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future." I am trying to embrace that idea in a more direct way by actually seeking out one or more specific pattern-changing actions each day and then documenting them, possibly publicly in this blog. Making note of my successes, or at least my attempts, helps me mark progress and enables me to be a bit more accountable for sticking to the goal. The actions I speak of could be little things … ordering a different coffee at St...