An effective way to get back on track when you lose your way
How do you lose Pandemic pounds?
My friend Sandra has gained 43 pounds since the start of the Pandemic. Prior to March, she had been going to the gym regularly and eating well.
After the gyms were shut down, Sandra’s habits took a turn for the worse. She never really got into a routine of exercising at home, and her diet also went progressively downhill.
Nowadays, her gym has reopened but they only allow a limited number of people in at one time.
Yesterday, she tried to book an appointment online but the slots were all full. Sandra drove down to the gym, and waited in line for 30 minutes, on ‘stand-by’. …
Sometimes a child has to learn to fly for themselves.
Macaroon dad
At the back of our fridge, behind the milk and the yogurt, but still in plain view, inside a fragile-looking glass jar, were about 10 delicious looking, multi-colored macaroons.
And my 5-year old daughter was obsessing over them.
She had been talking about them all throughout dinner, and I agreed to let her have a few if, and only if, she finished the 3 large pieces of grilled cauliflower that were getting cold on her plate. She did, eventually, but not without a lot of complaining.
After she gobbled down the last bit of cauliflower, she opened her mouth to show me that she had eaten every last bite, and was ready for dessert. …
A lesson about over-reactions, from Seinfeld, Friends and The Crown
What’s the deal with ‘deal-breakers’?
“She eats her peas one at a time”- Jerry Seinfeld explaining the reason he broke up with his girlfriend
What a nightmare it must have been to date Jerry Seinfeld. On the hit TV series “Seinfeld”, the ultra-picky main character couldn’t tolerate the slightest idiosyncrasies in his girlfriends.
He’d ditch you if you finished his sentences. He’d ghost you if you insulted the owner of his favorite soup shop. He’d dump you if you had large hands.
Many of us can be fussy when picking a partner, but Jerry took fussiness to a completely different level. …
And then he will fade away like all politicians and pop icons
Has been president
“It’s better to burn out than fade away” — Neil Young
There are only two outcomes for politicians and pop icons. They either burn out or they fade away.
On January 20th, 2017, when President Barack Obama stepped onto Marine One and waved goodbye to the large gathering outside the White House, he was symbolically handing over all the power and influence of the highest office in the country to Donald Trump. In the years since then, Obama has done what all former presidents do. He’s stayed mostly on the sidelines.
He’s made a few speeches. He’s posted a few tweets. He’s come out in support of his buddy Joe Biden’s presidential run. …
The amazing problem of our faulty memories
A hate/love relationship with America
“I love him to death. He’s a wonderful man.” — Michelle Obama on President George W. Bush
In late 2016, a photo of former First Lady Michelle Obama hugging former President George W. Bush went viral. In it, Bush looked absolutely adorable.
Miraculously, this man who some have described as one of the most destructive Presidents in U.S. history suddenly became charming. It is easy to forget that when Bush left office in 2008, his approval rating with voters was hovering around 33%, which was amongst the lowest in history.
These days, more than a decade later, his ratings have shot up to 61%. …
With office politics, timing is everything
Call him ‘Mr. October’
“He had a way of rising to the occasion” — New York Yankee second baseman Willie Randolph, on teammate Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson had been in a huge slump. Against the Kansas City Royals, in the 1977 American League Championship Series, he had just one hit in 14 attempts. His manager was so disappointed in his play that the high-priced hitter was temporarily ‘benched’ for his lackluster performance.
Only 9 days later, on October 18th of that same playoff year, everything changed. …
Try this on Friday nights, so you can Netflix and Chill.
Sleeping beauty
There were a few fairly awkward points during my early 20’s where I found myself without anything to do on a Friday evening. On those occasions, I would sometimes tag along with my cousin Conrad and his girlfriend to see whatever movie was opening that night. Yes, I was the ‘third wheel’ on their date, but I never felt the least bit guilty.
Why?
Well, when the lights went down in the theater, and the movie started playing, I could guarantee that the nice young lady (who Conrad eventually married) would fall into a deep unwakeable sleep.
Every. Single. Time.
Clearly, the demands of the week had taken a toll on her, and she utilized the darkness of the theatre to catch up on some much-needed shut-eye. …
And what you can learn from the negative feedback
Some people get really angry about things they read on the internet
I guess I should be flattered. Lots of people have been reading my work, and I’ve been getting a lot of love.
On the other hand, many people hate my articles too.
This must be how Nickleback felt in the early 2000s.
Don't misunderstand me. I’m ecstatic that I’ve had several articles go viral in the past few months. It really is a great feeling when someone appreciates the work you’ve been doing.
You know what? It’s also not so bad to have people hate your work too. It means you’re getting a reaction. …
A brilliant psychological trick to calm the hysterical masses
Bill Cosby and a parallel universe
I fear that we were knocked into a parallel universe at some point in the last few years. Too many things seem to have veered dramatically off course. In my opinion, a supernatural explanation isn’t completely unlikely.
American leadership. Racism. Pandemic planning. Bill Cosby.
These things, and so many others, were following along on a positive and predictable trajectory, and then, at some point, they suddenly took an incredible turn for the worse and are now going in a completely opposite direction. In this new universe, almost half the population seems to hold far-right political opinions. The other half seems to be far-left. …
I feel the same, but everything is different
Mistaken identity
My daughter said something to me the other day that surprised me.
“Daddy, do you play sports?”
“Well of course I do”, I replied.
“But I’ve never seen you play sports”, she said.
Since the start of the Pandemic, I haven’t been able to play any organized sports. So, my 5-year-old, with her limited frame of reference, doesn’t recall a time when her father enjoyed sports.
To her, my identity as her dad doesn’t include the 4 decades of hockey or basketball or any of the other team games that I’ve amassed in my sports résumé.
This conversation made me realize that the way in which others perceive us is constantly changing. Nobody, not even my own child, sees me as I see myself. …
