NYC Journal

“Maggie” is “Nurse Betty.”

Pretty much I eat too many carbs she says.

I have a follow up visit with a ENT Doctor already before February.

I suspect seeing my PCP will happen soon and a 5-hour Glucose Tolerance Test will be part of my annual physical.

Will likely go to a dietician to learn how to optimize my eating. The advice from over 30 years ago of unprocessed complex carbs no longer applies.

A life without potatoes, rice and bananas isn’t so bad. I mentioned to Maggie that a cut in carbs will likely lead to some weight loss. Pretty much what gets substituted are superfoods. The Japanese Raman noodles will be missed.

Cal
 
I dug in a bit to gain an understanding of the likelihood that Diabetes is the probable cause of my propensity for infections. I have a family history, and for decades I forestalled advancement via diet and exercise. It was in my early 20’s when I had bouts of Hypoglycemia due to poor diet.

Biking began at the age of 32. I quit smoking and basically was a bike bum. I suffered from anxiety and had to learn to relax, a skill I had never learned. Pretty much I was manaic and people were scared of me. It is no lie that Iron Mike saved my life via biking.

Over the decades I remained muscular and lean. I would say skinny, but “Maggie” says lean is a better word. So here I stand with a disease advancing that hopefully is a crossroad where I can further regulate and control this disease with just diet and exercise.

One Glucose reading at the local ER suggests a Pre-Diabetic condition; but a second test/reading at Westchester Medical Center gives a full diabetic reading. Understand that to be confirmed a second test, meaning two Glucose tests with high readings are required to be considered a confirmed Diabetic. These tests that were performed did not involve fasting, but they both indicated too much Glucose in the blood. Hmmm…

My reasoning is that I have been a Pre-Diabetic for many decades. Fact is that my fitness level has deteriorated over the past three years since moving to the burbs. Been sidetracked with the house and grand kids.

I know that Maggie is right that I eat too many carbs. Pretty much I eat like an endurance athlete who is going to run a Marathon. Cutting out potatoes and rice is not a death sentence, but I told “Nurse Betty” (Maggie) that she can expect me to lose some weight if I cut carbs. I weighed 159 pounds fully dressed with shoes, watch and wallet: likely naked 155 pounds. I don’t really have much fat to loose: I figure 148-150 would be my fighting weight.

I believe/think I am still likely just pre-Diabetic and might be able to keep going sideways if I can exercise daily and tighten up my diet.

On a separate note oil prices are esculating…

In looking at housing, Southport does not seem to be enough going on to keep us busy. The initial draw was that it is a place where there is a beach community. I see this as both good and bad. Fraught with storms and flooding.

Wilmington is a city with a downtown and a population of 100K, which is 4 times the population of Peekskill, also a city with a downtown. The big draw for us is the small cottages that are not so different than our Baby-Victorian.

At this stage, we are thinking a move only when and if the grandkids relocate, then it would make sense. Duke has the medical care we might need just 2 hours away. There is a good local hospital also, so pretty much somewhat comparable to what we have in Peekskill.

North Carolina though is not so bike friendly. We saw some people riding Fat Bikes along waters edge on the wet compacted sand. Not sure my Yo Eddy with skinnier tires would float enough with just 2.3/2.5 tires. Swimming when possible is an option. Pretty much a very different life

Oh-well…

Cal
 
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I’m thinking my Baby-Victorian is so unique and special that it could not be replaced. To me it really is a dream house. Bigger homes or more land does not interest me.

That being said, selling the home and running away with mucho equity could be a life changing event. Proceeds could be enough to either have a tiny mortgage or even no mortgage, but this would involve a slight bit of downsizing. To be clear I would cash out of some of my hard assets to have cash to be a cash buyer.

Pretty much streamlining life and a life more open to travel. I would not mind living in various parts of Europe a month or two at a time: living in another country; rather than just touring.

Hmmm…

I just did some simple math and figured out that my memory of paying off all my student loans will occur when I’m 72 years old in 2030 is no delusion. No big deal because the interest rate is 2.125%, the record low if you refi’ed a loan in 2005. How cool is that?

Pretty much we could be free of all debt and be living well below our means. This encourages saving and creating a slush fund and many possibilities. Again I think I will have to become a “money manager” and return to investing and my speculations.

Understand that the markets respond to the news and world events. Not bad to have a Masters in Journalism. Also not bad either to have a MFA in writing to connect the dots and process mucho information and complexity. A good skill to have is a research background as well as a technical background. Basically I have sharp tools…

I know this is very forward thinking, but I have planned for this for more than a decade, perhaps a decade and a half. In 2007-2008 pretty much I read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal Weekend editions cover to cover as a weekly news summery.

At my boring day job I sent as much time as possible in the Internet reading and doing research. Mucho OCD behavior, while monitoring a margin account that was comprised mostly of Gold ETF’s; miners, Natural Gas tickers; oil drillers; and oil infrastructure and support.

Pretty much I traded the same tickers over and over again to get the vibe and feel of how a stock or ETF forms a trading range and to understand the trading cycles and triggers for big moves. Basically making swing trading into a study comparable to perfecting a deadly Kung-Fu move.

I realized back in 2007-2008 that I rode a bubble, and it burst when oil hit $147.00 a barrel. I got out only a few hours before that peak, and just after that peak the top blew off and the oil crashed…

Understand that my swing trading was like a full time job, and I had learned a way to kill then market and pretty much make mucho profit. I learned how to game the market, but today’s markets are more complex and nuanced. Things are not so simple. IMHO we live within an even bigger bubble than 2007-2008.

Joe Kennedy took his family to Florida to ride out the Great Depression. He basically bunkered down and limited his living expenses, knowing it will take a very long time to recover. He was able to purchase assets cheap, but he knew in advance that his wealth would rise sharply when a recovery happened. A big play…

Loose credit was available in the Roaring Twenties. What a binge, but that was followed by the crash of 1929 and then the Great Depression. Recognize the pattern?

Anyways North Carolina surely las lower expenses than New York.

I will admit I am no survivalist, but I do believe in building bunkers.

Cal
 
Life is funny in how things and possibilities evolve.

One of “Maggie’s” brothers has a son who took some vocational program offered by U-PENN in diesel mechanics. Joe has been working for Catapillar for a while and is likely going eventually transfer from Mass. to North Carolina.

Joe also found a clean 1996 black Suburban, and he installed a new diesel into it. The idea is to use an older chassis so no emission controls would be required. This truck is mucho evil.

Hmmm. What to do with the 1966 C-10 Fleetside longbed? Hmmm.

A diesel truck for long rides? Hmmm

A gas truck for local? Hmmm. 4-speed close ratio, plus 2 overdrives. Tranny rated to 700 foot pounds of torque.

Also know that down south that high test is a dollar a gallon cheaper than New York. I love it. The Audi A4 drinks High Test because it has a turbo.

Don’t forget a diesel could be handy for towing cars around. Could be a cool side hustle. You know how I like to wander around. I could see me wrenching in engines and trannies for fun and profit.

With a diesel truck I can see me wandering around delivering stuff and doing my usual of meeting people. During the lockdown I met a farmer who bought a cargo van and delivered stuff all over the country as his Covid-Pivot.

Of course I don’t need a job, I would do this for fun and adventure: have truck; will travel. Likely great for photography.

Cal
 
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On my MediCare Advantage plan I can get a free gym membership at participating gyms. Pretty much I have 5 gyms to pick from. Unfortunately no local gym in Peekskill in this program, but oh-well its free.

My Concept 2 is a great workout, but understand that these workouts can be just routine and boring. Not bad to go out to a gym and have an elyptical or even weight machines. I have some free weights, but at a gym I would have fresh options…

I have to inquire if some of these gyms have say Yoga for “Maggie.”

Pretty much inspired to survive any difficulty to keep moving forward.

I think some serious long-slow-distance on the bike using the Empire State Trailway. I somehow negotiated with Maggie heading off on my own. I need my own pace.

Looking forward to the warm weather and building base. If I do well in recovering my health a Plan “B” would be doing bi-monthly or even monthly trips to North Carolina when and if the grandkids move. This might or likely will not happen right away anyways… The drive along the coast is the way to go to avoid the Beltway. It’s about a 10 hour drive.

Maggie mention that we need to put ourselves first. Earlier she mirrored my thoughts on having bonded with not only our Baby-Victorian, but also our community in Peekskill. Living where we do in the Hudson Valley is a treasure. We pay a lot for what we get, but then again there is mucho value here.

Say I have to use the free gym or my Concept 2 for about 2 -2 1/2 months of the year. Not a death sentence. Also pretty hard to walk away from a mortgage rate that is less than 3%.

The truth is that I already spent a lot of passion to build out the house and all the restorations. I don’t know if I have it in me to do again. Also the Baby-Victorian is a unique house that was in an ideal state to restore. A very-very lucky-lucky find.

From these few posts you can see the problem solving that happens and evolves rapidly.

Cal
 
As you can see I‘m really good at being agile, coming up with many responses to surprises, and am very creative and adaptable.

No doubt there is a lot of crossover from having a creative art background.

Today we had to pick up the grandson from daycare.

Tomorrow we will have him all day.

Don’t know which bond is stronger: the house and Peekskill; or the grandkids.

If we do the bi-monthly or monthly visits will we miss out on their growing up?

Lots of free thinking going on here.

Cal
 
Cal, we constantly want to move out of Philly and are always reevaluating the pros and cons of a particular place, both now and into the future. We have requirements for areas to move due to need for work, so that really is a guiding factor.
I'd love to move back to southern California but all of the places where I've lived are severely threatened by flooding right now. Add to that the future threat of wildfire and persistent worsening drought which is forecast to cause implementation of water "rationing" (think xeriscaping, no grass lawns, no pools, things we normalized in New Mexico.) The Colorado River doesn't even exist anymore beyond the border. So San Diego, LA and Ventura/Oxnard are out. I already had to evacuate back in 2003 when wildfires were just up the hill from our base; not going to do that again.
There are nice communities I've been to in southern states, but they are small pockets and happen to be places regularly evacuated due to hurricanes, and also experience tornadoes. The prospect of increasing severe weather eliminates much of the Midwest and even the Pacific Northwest to some extent.
New Mexico or the mountainous parts of the southwest have nice temperatures but are persistently in states of drought with high wildfire risk. Most of my family is out there though.
There's New England which is just about perfect right now when it comes to climate, but it's going to get more severe swings. It's still up near the top of the list but expensive. That brings us to the Hudson Valley all the way up to Poughkeepsie. Stable environmental conditions, lower risk of drought, low wildfire risk, good temperature range throughout the year, proximity to major metro areas and a high level of employment availability in our field. All that said, look at how you planned, and kind of fell into a more or less future proof house in a good community, with temperate climate, low risk from climate catastrophes and climate change, very low risk of having to evacuate your home, and you aren't going to find anywhere else in this country that agrees with yours and Lyn's climatic bodily needs through most of the year. You won't be able to find a home which offers all that yours does anywhere else.
Phil
 
Welcome to The Duffers' Club, Cal. As you move on to 70 you will find health matters become more importance. Fortunately you are still at the stage (and you have the good health) to go on with preventative measures. Past the threescore-ten mark it may all change for you, tho' I hope not too quickly or too drastically. Heading on to 80 as I am, I know what I'm writing here...

Phil, southwestern New Mexico may still be a good place for you. Have you thought of Lordsburg-Silver City area? It would put you in a place where you can easily commute to two other states, maybe visit kinfolk further north and escape the worst of the climate change chaos that is now starting to become the way it is in North America (also sadly, here in Australia).

Also Cal has written before about kit homes (aka tiny homes). Would this be an option for you? It will likely mean downsizing and trimming down our life to the essentials (as we did when I hit 70, six years ago). This is always a good plan as we get older, as the Buddha often told his followers, less is better. These portable haciendas also offer you the option of moving quickly if you have to, tho this said, a house move even when the place is portable is not as easy as it may sound when you read this.

When I hit 70 I decided (rather we, my partner and myself) I/we had had quite enough of mass consumerism, especially here in Oz where shopping for tat has gained the status of a cult pastime. at the time we were living in Tasmania where my partner had a career post, but we had many discussions about returning to the mainland. That and sadly but true, our neighbors in Launceston were for the most part troglodytes with no sense of civic pride or principles beyond making the next buck. Over the period of a year our situation changed drastically, we had a good offer for our property and my partner took a generous voluntary redundancy package which enabled us to pack up our essentials and return to Victoria.

We now live in a "regional center" (a small town of 9000) in the western part of the state, and have an entirely different situation to that we were suffering in Tassie.

The best part of our move is we were easily able to download about 70% of our garbage acquisitions. I sold the best, donate a lot to the local charities and let the neighbors take what was left we didn't want to their own caves. And we escaped.

Even in this dismal age there are always options. Lateral thinking and forward planning help. Cal seems supremely good at doing both, which iare two (of many other) reasons why I enjoy his off-the-cuff posts so much. Good one, Cal!
 
Phil,

What you say is true: I kinda have a bunker of sorts. The way the world is I have my own private Alamo. I would not mind dying here, and that means I have a bit of a fortress mentality.

You have like minded thinking, and your analysis matches mine. I was very-very lucky with the timing.

In healthcare the market in the Hudson Valley for healthcare workers is pretty high. Just below Peekskill (south) is Montrose, and they have a huge medical center for veterans. In Peekskill there is the Hudson Valley Medical Center that is a branch/extension of New York Columbia Presbyterian.

Westchester Medical Center has a huge campus that might employ 20K-30K. That is located in Valhalla.

My ENT Doctor told me that his specialty is not so abundant north of Westchester Medical Center.

If you and B. Would like to come up for a visit in the spring to survey the area you should come for a day trip.

If you are looking into small homes that are cottages the small towns of Buchanan and Verplank were summer communities that once were summer homes. These homes are small and somewhat affordable. Indian Point is nearby, the realtor is being decommissioned, and the home pricing was suppressesd and in my opinion still are.

These are tiny river towns that are tucked away and undiscovered. The villages are tiny. Use you cargo bike and head into Peekskill for provisions and shopping. I will warn you that it is hilly. For a commute you have Metro North Hudson Line to Poukeepsie.

Also for anyone planning on having a retirement www.SmartAsset.com has a tax calculator that is very useful. The ask age, state and then you plug in the various sources of income. Pretty easy to see and understand how each state taxes you. Pretty easy to creat a spread sheet and do your own financial planning.

Here in New York Social Security is not taxed, and the first $20K of pension or 403B, Traditional IRA is not taxed.

For a guy like you the Empire State Trailway is a huge asset. Also when you investigate the big picture there is a bigger plan to create a huge Tech Valley from Albany to Madhattan.

Cal
 
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DU,

Thanks for the kind words. Your wisdom is welcomed here.

I worry about a friend who is still working. I want him to fully exploit the fruits of his labors and maximize the envelope we are given. It would be sad if he had remorse down the road. I don’t want him to say, “I should of retired earlier when I was more mobile or healthier.”

Pretty much only about a third of Americans have enough assets to really retire, and I am learning that basically retirement is like borrowed time. Mucho surprises, and one should not waste time.

You are right, suddenly health becomes an issue. For me I will need to exercise every day to hopefully continue to forestall Diabetes. Diabetes along with the other associated conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease could easily shorten my life by decades. My saving grace is that I remain thin/skinny/lean and am muscular. Diabetes with obesity is certainly a death sentence. I still have a fighting chance.

Only over this past week did I learn and consider that pretty much I have been fighting a pre-Diabetic condition for decades. A bit of a rude epiphany just happened. On one hand I knew, but in another I thought things were under control. I got the sudden wake up call.

I’m going to hopefully stay in our bunker in Peekskill, but if something happens to me “Maggie” certainly will need to be close to her family. Our house would be too much for her. She really could not do the maintenance like the lawns or shovel snow. Know that she is so anxious that she does not drive. She is kinda dependent already, and in a ways I already am a caregiver, not only for the grandkids, but of “Maggie.”

BTW Maggie’s daughter, grand kids and son in law are not really prepared to leave dodge yet. I am a clever guy, and I might be able to swing a tiny Pie-D-tare that might be suitable for Maggie if something ever happened to me.

Cal
 
“Maggie” has a monthly column in our local newspaper. So far she knows of at least 3 people living in Peekskill that are 100 years old or older. There are likely more.

Hmmm.

The median age in Peekskill is 42, so we have an aging population, and our population is about 25K.

I speculate if Peekskill has what it takes to be a “Blue-Zone.” There certainly is a sense of community here, the outdoors, and good healthcare. Many of our friends though are hipsters.

Already I have modified my diet. “Nurse-Betty” (Maggie) tells me Quinoia has a lower Glycemic index. Rice and pasta no longer serve me, and I have to limit bread. Problem is I crave the carbs still and suffer from hunger.

Been eating unsalted nuts as a snack, and perhaps in too big a quantity. Pretty much protein and fat.

6 more days of antibiotics…

Two doctor’s appointments next week, and then another in the following week.

I am reminded of Piezography Pro and how I was a BETA tester. I wonder how I would do my dream of contact wet printing digital negatives. Devil Dan’s idea of building a studio in my back backyard would be an ultimate dream. The purpose of this would be to print limited editions. Basically a turnkey system exists that would allow me to pretty much do a Salgado without the best lab in Paris.

How Crazy is that? Don’t tell Maggie.

Cal
 
I dug in a bit into the 5 closest gyms where I can get a free membership.

The closest is 6.9 miles away in Croton, a NY Sport Club.

”Maggie” pretty much says she would never use a gym which translates into being great for me.

Sometime this week I’ll be signing up. I’m going to rest and fully recover before starting any training.

Kinda funny how fitness and health will kinda be my job. I likely will set up a web-site and or sub-stack. Pretty much about a lifestyle… I expect that some form of exercise every day. Know that Peekskill also has a pool.

Looks like March will be a mucho crazy month. Some odd opportunities are also filtering in: a casting call; another free cruise vacation.

“Moo,” said the Pig.

Cal
 
Looking into the B-21 being developed/built by Northrop Grumman.

Pretty much at this point a really invisible undetectable plane. “Has a radar signature of an insect,” they say.

How do you defend against a invisible opponent.

Pretty much also can loiter to gain intelligence and targeting for other aircraft. Some say this is a sixth generation plane.

The F-35 is mucho crazy. To me the problem in a real conflict is having enough of not only these planes, but also enough of the bombs and missles. The best weapons mean little if you don’t have enough of them or enough ammo.

Also I kinda love the idea of the F-15 EX which can carry 30K pounds of payload and be used as a pickup truck that a F-35 can be used to secure targets and fire weapons on other aircraft.

Expensive weapons, but do we have enough of them?

All this is kinda crazy.

Cal
 
My blood pressure has returned to normal levels. My readings were very elevated in the hospital. Normally when fit and with a base my blood pressure measured in the 110/70 range because I am lean and have a small body.

No matter what though I tend to have a low BPM (pulse), again because I have a small body, but also because I have a strong heart. Resting BPM below 60 and at times below 50. When younger not uncommon to be in the 40’s.

Diabetes usually leads to high blood pressure and heart disease…

I think I’m luckily still within the envelope of regulating my pre-diabetic condition with just diet and exercise. I have to eat carbs that have a lesser glycemic load, and perhaps I might loose some weight.

Around 25 years ago I kinda had a Keith Richards look of a serious drug addict. That’s how “Maggie” would describe my look and build. I guess this was a reason why people were fearful and scared of me. I also was kinda jumpy and hyper, and that also reinforced that I was a drug user, but pretty much that was my normal. During that time I weighed under 145 pounds about 10 pounds less than now/today.

Back then though I was less muscular. Today I have a serious amount of upper body strength and a 38 inch cheast, pretty much I gained an inch.

Anyways I’m gauging my starting point, I can kinda predict that it is reasonable that when I shed my winter weight that I will be about 150 pounds, mighty lean for someone 5’10”. My BMI already is a low 21.5, and any lower starts to get into or borders the unhealthy range. Somehow I have to stay above 145 I figure, but I might start looking like a drug addict again and look kinda scary.

Pretty much a cat like build that is lean and built for speed, all muscle and no fat. How at the age of 66 to have the body of a UFC fighter. Part of this is my genes. I’m Cantonese, and I’m from a small mountainous province in China that had feudalism for almost a thousand years, while the rest of China was unified. The Cantonese were considered ungovernable.

Then China tried to limit western influence and restrict cultural contamination to only Canton. Of course this only made the Cantonese, more Cantonese.

Kinda funny the parallels when comparing New York and Canton: the geography is similar; Madhattan and Hong Kong are natural deep harbors at the mouth of great rivers; New York was key in our revolutionary war; In the Communist Revolution Canton played a similar role.

NYC and Hong Kong are on opposite sides of the world and the difference in time zones is 12 hours.

The Cantonese are kinda like how New Yorkers are a different breed of Americans that stand apart. The cultures are also similar between New Yorkers and Cantonese. Most of the greatest writers and artists from China historically come from Canton, a big disproportionate amount. Like New Yorkers we are known to be aggressive, rude, impolite, and rather annoying. LOL.

So a lot of my behavior is really about breeding. I think of myself as being like a pit bull breed for fighting. My art and creativity is also part of my breeding. My dad was a thug, the son of a murderer that was executed in China for killing a loan shark that burnt down his store. I am in turn the grandson of a murderer, but half of me has my mother’s great looks, and my mother was an educated woman from Hong Kong. This is why I believe I have Bankster-Blood in me.

In a way I am in a ways inbreed being Cantonese, but also know that in another ways I am crossbred because of the mix in my gene pool. I come from the merchant class which in China is considered lower than peasant, but my mother being educated means I also come from the upper crust. Anyways an interesting mix, and know out of all of my siblings, 5 of us, that I seemed to be the pick of the litter.

My sister is very pretty, but she had jealousy and envy because I got away with a lot being cute and having more than my share of attention. Some serious and one-sided sibling rivalry. Pretty bad: we don’t speak and decades have past…

Anyways I annoyed my sister in almost everything I did. I realized there was no love between us. Very sad, but she was stuck. Oh-well.

So you don’t have to be from New Jersey to have a dysfunctional family. LOL.

Cal
 
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The mason from the empty house stopped by to see if I wanted a truckload of slabs of concrete as clean fill. 30, 40 and 50 pound slabs of what I suspect was a sidewalk.

”Maggie” was kinda annoyed, but pretty much only 5 more days of antibiotics and I feel kinda normal. I dragged my dump cart and garden cart and unloaded them on the “table” before the slope to deal with later. I left the two carts filled as a donation to my neighbor, the Monster, since his wife mentioned how i was being a bit of a hog with all the clean fill.

”Put on your oxygen mask before assisting others,” they say…

Some serious land filling occurred, and pretty much a cliff is forming. While not the Great Wall still an engineering feat, especially when performed by a 155 pound skinny bitch. That amount of concrete is mucho heavy.

I did some simple math and even if I ever did get down to 135 pounds, unlikely, I would still have a BMI of 19.4 and still be in a healthy range. I might look like someone suffering from a dose of chemo though. My thinking is with a reduction in carbs I will likely fit into 140-145 pounds.

We went shopping at Trader Joe’s. Nurse Betty reminded me that oranges have a high glycemic value, and I put them back. Oh-well… Usually I eat two of them after my egg breakfast. I decided to add tomatoes to my eggs for vitamin C. Without carbs or with less carbs I kinda miss that full feeling. I now have a second breakfast of hot oatmeal with berries, no bananas anymore.

So far little changes. For snacks I have a selection of Cashews, Walnuts, and Almonds. Nuts are a superfood that is high in fat and protien; and they are associated with the Blue Zones.

The grandson remains sick, and we likely will have him again Monday. Pretty much on Friday he was hitting and pushing his 9 year old sister away. Pretty much he acts as if our home is his house and he does not like when his sister invades.

We did two laps on the pavement at Blue Mountain. Just enough to stretch the legs and get some fresh air.

Cal
 
“Maggie” is repairing a pair of Lee vintage carpenter pants that I gave her. They might be 30 years old. Paint stains, holes in both knees and worn down into basically a soft rag. These pants are hammered from work around the Baby-Victorian. I used these as my work pants.

20 years or so ago Maggie hated these pants, but as I wore holes in them and they gained a patina she kinda grew to love them.

They are at a point where they would tear when I put them on, and instead of throwing them out she is doing some kind of Japanese patching to restore the carpenter pants.

The waist is a size 28, but pretty much since I’m a skinny bitch my pant size also fits Maggie. Anyways these pants being rescued are looking mighty hip. Embroidery is performed on the patches, and the reclaimed jeans have a look of their own. They look really-really cool.

New/old jeans… What I loved about them when they were mine is that I owned them for decades, and as time went on they just got more and more comfortable. Now I’m glad they are being recycled and restored. I mention to.Maggie how delicate they have become, but she says that is the beauty that I can keep repairing them.

Cal
 
I have my face back, meaning I no longer look like a monster with swollen features.

The diet change leaves me hungry, and it seems like I’m loosing weight even without exercising. My ability to eat a lot and stay thin annoys many people, but you would not want to pay my food bills.

I remember this engineer at Grumman telling me, “You are so skinny,” and I replied, “Mike, you are short, fat and bald.”

”I didn’t mean to offend you,” Mike said,

”Neither did I,” and we both laughed.

Anyways my ability is a blessing and a curse.

Know that I’m the kinda guy who can eat a full pizza pie, meaning 8 slices in one sitting. I can make other people sick from just watching me eat. I don’t do this all the time, but know I can binge eat.

It’s 10:30 and I’m eating my third breakfast. Had 4 eggs ( only one yoke) with tomatoes and scallions; then a smoked salmon sandwich on toast; and now 1/3rd of a quart of yogurt with fresh blueberries and some wheat germ.

I can see the six-pack emerging from the four-pack today, as my winter weight is shedding. I could be 150 ponds by the end of February.

So the curse part is that I’m kinda high maintenance. I can’t eat junk food without ill effects. Seems like I have to eat 4-5 times a day.

BTW I eat fattening foods like nuts, olive oil, and cheeses. I use a lot of dairy.

Anyways, I’m a bit of a medical mystery. My small build is built for speed and acceleration, I’m not really an endurance athlete, even though I have the small build, I’m more like a kinetic weapon that uses speed and acceleration as an advantage. Mostly quick twitch muscles and not a lot of body mass.

Growing up I often was mistaken as a girl from behind. Also when walking holding a girl’s hand we would get mistaken as two lesbians.

Then there is that story where I was mistaken as a tall thin girl in Williamsburg by a serial rapist. I wore my hair down, I had on shoe boots so clicking of my heels reinforced that notion, I have narrow shoulders and a skinny waist, and then I had a bag slung acroos my shoulders that held a video camera that was mistaken as a womens bag in the dead of the night.

I had gotten off the “L” train in the Italian section of Williamsburg when I heard someone running towards me. I did not turn around and kept walking hiding the heavy duty monopod that collapsed was the size of a cop’s nightstick. The sidewalks were empty because it was about 4:00 AM, so a surprise attack would be an ambush on my part.

At the appropriate time I turned and swung for the fences. I was expecting a guy around my height, but my attacker was short and my swing was a miss. He kept on running, but before he turned the corner he apologized.

”Sorry,” he said.

About a month to 6-weeks later he was apprehended. He was a guy who grew up in the nearby projects, and because he knew the neighborhood well it helped him elude capture. He robbed and rapped about a dozen white hipster girls. He was a Latino.

I’m pretty sure if I disabled him I would of dosed out a really complete beating that would of left him crippled and maimed for life. I know the 1970’s and that is the culture I grew up with. No mercy and street justice would have been served.

Pretty rude when a guy mistakes me for a girl and then sees the moustach and chin beard. LOL.

Cal
 
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