Evening Edition - 5/16/08

Sis Makes Me Proud
Although many would say that I am the hard-edged strong child of our sibling bunch, my sister Evelyn has proven time-and-again otherwise. After suffering some devastating blows in her personal life in the last two years, she mustered the strength to put her problems aside and climb up the corporate ladder to a very prestigious executive position at her firm, finished-up her degree (graduation is May 28th!) and just bought her second home in the suburbs of upstate New York. My chest swells with pride as I see the true measure of her strength and resolve. While I consistently talk a good game and appear to conquer the world, my sister quietly sits at the head of her table, a woman who speaks less and does more. Congratulations sis. You are truly to be admired, respected and looked-to as the doer of our bunch.

Give Me Body
At 160 lbs. I’m hardly obese, yet I’m not exactly in that svelte summer shape I believed I would be in by late May. One week ago I injured a ligament on top of my right foot. The excruciating pain left me unable to run, jog or even walk properly. One week of serious Ibuprofen and rest and voila! I’m almost fully recovered. Tomorrow I am scheduled to hit the gym for an extended weekend workout. Starting Monday I’m reducing my caloric intake and removing some unmentionables from my diet. The objective is to be at 150 lbs. by mid June. Ten pounds in one month doesn’t seem like an unreasonable goal, but the key is to do it right. The consensus – well, at least here in NYC – is that I look better at my current weight than at my thinner goal. Go figure…

One Year Later
Exactly one year ago today, I signed the lease on my apartment. Since then I’ve furnished my bedroom and living room and even received a few pricey gifts along the way. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I really love my place. Yes, there’s the issue of living on the ground floor in the ghetto that can have your nerves shot the first three months, but I’ve adjusted. The voices and sounds that, at first, sounded like they were coming from inside my apartment are now correctly identified as just outside banter. The panic induced by the occasional roach visiting from outside or a not-so-clean neighbor is now obliterated with a simple call to the exterminator; heck I probably see one every six months…I know, one too many. So, it can be said that I’ve settled in. I love the layout of my apartment and it really is the perfect size for me. What has been a persistent annoyance is that one year later it doesn’t have the “homey” feel I know is characteristic of the way I like to live. The simple reason is I haven’t invested much time in organizing, setting up or decorating any room in my house. Right now it is a fully furnished apartment that looks as though all the deliveries were made today and I haven’t arranged and set-up the furnishings. This weekend, I’m doing my wash, thoroughly cleaning – hands-and-knees in bathroom; hard brush scrub of the kitchen floor; arranging my living room furniture and buying a level to assist my not-so-handy ass in hanging my artwork. I’m also considering taking a few photos in the coming weeks that I will have blown up to poster size and used around my apartment – narcissistic maybe – but I want to be surrounded by happy pictures me surrounded by the folks I love. All-in-all, I have about five weeks before mom and dad visit me for their yearly 2-3 week stay. Since a sofa bed is now part of my living room set-up, this year should be a cinch cohabitating with the folks. I’ll keep you posted.

On Blast
The strength to look adversity in the face and use the momentum of life’s blows to propel you forward – rather than to shrivel and curl into a ball – is an amazing quality. Is there someone you have the highest admiration for after witnessing their incredible struggle to arrive where they are?

Keep passin’ the open windows…