Resetting the Compass I’m sure that some of you are tired of hearing me talk about turning 70 in a few months, but to say that it is on my mind is an understatement. I have referenced a piece once done thirty years ago by Harry Reasoner of 60 Minutes fame, where he talked about turning 60 and why it was so profound for him because he finally felt that he had an ability to…
Medicare Wellness When I moved here almost four years ago, I found a primary physician in one of the larger medical groups in San Diego (actually affiliated with the top university here). When we started together I was just 65, so I was on Medicare. I know how this works and I knew that after one look at me and my size (I have been characterized medically as morbidly obese forever, since a BMI of…
Stretch-U Not so long ago I threw in the towel on The Perfect Workout, which Kim had been doing and convinced me to do. It is a 20-minute high-intensity weight machine workout that takes you through approximately six weight stations with repetition until muscle failure. The theory is that this is the most efficient form of weight training that is also very time-effective. The problems I had with it were varied. First of all, it…
Riding Into the Sunset Today I decided to take a Sunday ride since Kim is not home and my dance card was wide open. The weather was just about as perfect as it can be, and I took full advantage of it by heading out at 7:30am to catch the best of the clear morning sunshine and cool temperatures. I had a minor snafu in that my BMW R1250 GSA came up with a low…
Barbie That’s right, I went to go see Barbie and I did it all by myself. Gary & Oswaldo recommended it, but the real reason I went had nothing to do with the recommendation, or all the chatter or any sense that I would somehow be left behind at social gatherings where it would be discussed. I went mostly because I couldn’t think of anything else to do today, and that’s a bit of a…
Sushiyama Sushi is, contrary to popular opinion, originally a Chinese dish and not a Japanese dish. The Chinese first discovered the appealing flavors of combining fermented rice and salted (not cooked) fish, which were introduced for practical reasons of keeping the food bacteria-free. They first did this in about 200 B.C. and in another 1,000 years, the concept found its way across the Sea of Japan and onto the menu of the upper class residents…
Better Betty Management Kim is away this week. Betty is confused. Betty is always a little bit confused, but she is especially confused this week. On a normal day when she is not sleeping, she will wander from here to there in the house with a modicum of purpose, seeking something I presume to be Kim’s presence. It reassures her that Kim is nearby. Lots of people, including Kim, anthropomorphize that as Betty’s love for…
Is It Thursday Yet? That is the name of the show Kim and I went to last night at the La Jolla Playhouse. I have no compunction about using someone else’s title for my story title since I do not try to commercialize these stories and am simply following a path that has me telling my readers about things I find interesting. I found this play we went to unexpectedly interesting, and Kim found it…
CostCo to the Rescue As I have previously explained, my hilltop pal Mike is a real devotee of CostCo, along with about 119 million other people on the planet. That all makes CostCo the third largest retailer in America behind Walmart and Amazon. When I think I need something right away, I go online to Amazon and try for the same-day delivery program. I just did that for my favorite shampoo yesterday (false alarm, I…
Our Gypsy Blood I am somewhere in season five of following the travails of Thomas Shelby and his family of Peaky Blinders. I recognize that I am a full decade behind in finding fascination in this series, but I am enjoying it nonetheless. The story covers the fifteen years after WWI in Birmingham, England and follows the rise of a larcenous and unscrupulous family as they work their way through the roaring twenties dealing with…