Cutting the apron strings
She took her final exam today, the very last exam for her very last class in a journey that consumed five years (two in community college) and three at Virginia Commonwealth University. “She” would be...
View ArticleThe plate of brownies diet test
The worst thing about going to the doctor is not when they tell you that you have incurable cancer. It’s when they put you on the scale. I don’t want to know how much I weigh so I don’t peek, but...
View ArticleFull steamed vegetables ahead!
So how’s that Ideal Protein Diet going, Mark? I just finished day ten of the diet and what a strange diet it is! It consists of a mixture of healthy food (you better learn to love carbohydrate-free...
View ArticleI’ve grown accustomed to her face
I’ve grown accustomed to the tune that She whistles night and noon. Her smiles, her frowns, Her ups, her downs Are second nature to me now; Like breathing out and breathing in. Henry Higgins “My Fair...
View ArticleThirty pounds and two months later
One of the curious things about dieting is that no matter how fast weight comes off it can never come off quickly enough. I’ve been on the Ideal Protein diet for a bit over two months and I have lost...
View ArticleKeeping off the weight
I officially start the maintenance phase of my diet tomorrow. Thirty pounds of my body has been converted, principally from fat to energy. Curiously, in the process of losing those thirty pounds, I...
View ArticlePlanning for the best time in life
New retirees seem to be flocking to cheap retirement communities like rednecks to a Waffle House. For a long time retirees moved to Florida, but not so much anymore. The Sunshine State has a malodorous...
View ArticleIn a comic frame of mind
Since retirement is on my mind, what to do next is also on my mind. Here’s what I won’t be doing: Playing golf. I never tried, but it’s expensive and since it requires agility then I am likely to do as...
View ArticleLeap of faith
This blog scratches my writing itch, but most of us writers would rather be published than place our writings in a blog. Being published still means something. Today it means one or more authorities...
View ArticleDucks in a row
The government may be shutting down on Tuesday, but this near retiree is still not too panicked. Shutdowns don’t last forever, although this latest group of Tea Party Republicans doesn’t seem very...
View ArticleFurlough Diary, Day 3
Our bathtub is looking real nice after its caulking yesterday. With time to spare and prohibited from even touching a government-owned device, this currently “non-excepted” i.e. furloughed federal...
View ArticleFurlough Diary, Day 13
I’m running out of places inside my house to paint and patch. The lower level is now completely repainted. I finished that project last week when I repainted the back of one door that I had neglected...
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A short walk on Fairfax County’s Cross-County Trail
I live in Fairfax County, Virginia. It’s known for having a million people, being nestled up to the capital beltway (and partly inside it), beltway bandits, clean industries, great schools and...
View ArticleInterview with a porn star
I am a sinner, apparently. I am making money from porn. Granted I am not producing porn. Viewing the stuff is not that interesting either, mostly because so little of it is actually worth viewing. You...
View ArticleAll the lonely offices
In February I will celebrate my tenth year of working at my agency. As I near that milestone, it’s hard not to see that a lot has changed. Some things have not changed at all. My building is still the...
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