A run for the money

-
It wasn't as big of news as Katie anchoring the evening news or Rosie rejoining daytime TV, but I recently lost my title as CFO of our household. The chairman decided he didn't like how I handled the finances and, without notifying the other shareholders in the family, began a hostile takeover.

Driving home today from a weekend trip to Pasadena to attend an outdoor concert with my sister, I began plotting how I'd shuffle funds to hide certain expenses like my new oldies CD featuring "Bertha Butt Boogie." It's a lot harder when I can't control Quicken and can't make sense of his bookkeeping style. I paid bills every Saturday; he waits until the day before they are all due. I rounded up amounts so the ledger looked "pretty"; he pays to the exact penny. I pulled us into the red by honoring any on-the-spot procurement requests for Stila makeup, Discount Dance shoes, running shoes, cute shorts, jog bras galore, Coolmax socks, Balance bars, ebay and Amazon binges and iTunes to keep the MP3 music "fresh." He got us back in the black with his catchy new slogan: "Oh, hell no."

This could be viewed as proof I was in over my head. But I'm instead planning to head over to The Running Institute to splurge on new running gear soon as I get the green light -- from the doctor, not the dictator. It's the least I can do to show my appreciation.

By the way, congratulations to Yvonne on the birth of future New York City Marathon record-holder Kyla Catherine. I'm sure mom's ready to start coaching her on how to beat Paula's kid when the time comes....

Popular posts from this blog

I Leave You With This

-
Image
There's this social media post some guy put up on Instagram. I almost scrolled past it, but I'm glad I didn't. It asked what question we should ask ourselves when we die. In retrospect, ChatGPT's response was basically pulling from Eastern philosophy, but, still, I couldn't stop thinking about it in the hours and days since I first heard it. Here's a partial transcript I cribbed using -- what else? -- AI. Some guy set up the prompt, which was long and convoluted. The following picks it up from there.  Some guy : I'm assuming most people would ask, 'Where am I going? What's next?' Something like that. Is that a good question?  ChatGPT : No, because they don't matter. Some guy : W hy don't they matter?  ChatGPT : If there's a heaven or hell or some next phase, you're likely already heading there. Asking won't change your destination. It's a wasted question.  Some guy : That's a good point. Um, what about 'Did I do en...
Read more

What's Your Slavery Footprint?

-
I just came across an app that immediately intrigued me because it brings awareness to something way too often overlooked in this country. It's called The Slavery Footprint , and I found out about it this morning courtesy of this post . Living in California, and traveling regularly through the Central Valley where a bulk of everyone's U.S.-bred fruits and nuts are produced, I became keenly aware of how poorly farmhands are treated in this country. I even blogged about it several years ago . Some of us tend to feel morally superior because of the foods and lifestyle choices we make. After taking this "test," perhaps that piety will recede a bit. After you take it, you can share your score if you wish. Personally, I'm embarrassed by mine.
Read more

Do Mom and Dad Make You Run?

-
I know of a lot of middle-aged running friends who are motivated by their parents to run. Their mother or father was in poor health for many years and it ultimately cost them their lives (or at least a higher quality of it), and so one reason they initially put on a pair of running shoes was to avoid the same fate. However, that's not the sort of parental connection outlined in a provacative post about the link between exercise and genetics in this morning's Daily Beast. It reflects a couple of scientific studies that show we may be genetically encoded to favor workouts. That means some of us will never enjoy exercising like others, nor will our children. If this is true, then those of us modeling good behaviors by eating well and exercising in moderation may merely be passing along the endorphin baton to those with our "exercise gene." And that might also explain why some parents who push their kids into sports end up disappointed that their child never "takes...
Read more