Category: Life

  • ODDS and ENDS – Stop Drinking Apps, Kids n’ Oysters, and Harry Kane

    “Odds and Ends” is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    Last June, I took a month off from drinking. Not that I felt I was out of control or anything, but more a matter of having a drink everyday isn’t the healthiest. This year I decided to do the same thing, again for health, and also wanting to help lose the Covid weight. Then, yesterday morning, I noticed an ad on my Instagram feed for an app to help you “cut back.” And that was the phrase they kept using; to help you “cut back” on things in your life. Drinking, it’s clearly talking about drinking, but oddly not saying that. Not that I need the app, but the Cloud/Algorithm knew. It knew I was going to stop drinking in June. We’re living in The Matrix, people.

    We went out to eat as a family the other night. It was strange to be inside of a restaurant again, but we are vaxed, and we want to support the local places in the neighborhood. Anyway, the place we went had oysters on the half shell, and the wife and I couldn’t resist. When they came to the table, the kid wanted to try one, which took me by surprise. I told her no, that raw oysters aren’t safe for kids, as their immune systems haven’t developed enough. I didn’t know if that was true, but I felt like it was something I was told a long time ago. (We looked it up, and the FDA says that kids over five are safe to eat raw oysters and fish.) I want my kid to be an adventurous eater, but, even though she is six, she still seems too young to me. Still, I proud she wasn’t icked out by a raw oyster. In fact, she tried to take an oyster shell home.

    And is Harry Kane coming back to Tottenham, or is he going some where else? The last thing I really want to see is him off to Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea. I really hate to see Kane, Son, Bale, and Lucas split up, especially that Dele was worked back into a starting position at the end of the season. The defense does need work, and I understand why Kane said what he said about leaving; he wants to be on a team that wins trophies. I just hope the Spurs Management get their act together and build a proper team.

  • Talking to Friends

    I had a friend come in town the other day (We’re back to doing that again. Awesome!) and we planned on going out to get a drink and talk. “You’re going to sit and talk?” my kid asked. “Pretty much.” “Why?” “That’s what grownups do.” She shook her head at me, “That’s boring.”

    Now, my wife’s birthday is coming up, and you know what she wants more than anything? To go out with friends and talk. Minus a husband and a kid. Our daughter was again disappointed that this is what her mother wanted to do on a birthday. “All you do is talk,” the kid concluded.

    She’s not aware that she does talk a lot, as she talks to me and her mom all the time. Soon, my kid will start talking and communicating with her friends constantly. I’m trying to value the conversation time I have with her, because it’s a cycle; she’ll form those life long important bonds and enjoy just talking to friends.

  • Hiking Review: Rockefeller State Park Preserve – David’s Loop and Swan Lake

    The Summer of Hiking is under way. At least it was on Saturday. We used the AllTrails app to look for a place to go, and though we enjoyed the Old Mine Trail from last week, it did take us over an hour to get there. The idea this week was to find something closer to home, which meant under forty-fine minutes to get there. The wife found a high rated trail, David’s Loop, which is in Rockefeller State Park Preserve.

    We got on the road by 9am, taking the Saw Mill Parkway, which isn’t know for being traffic free on weekends, but at that hour it was an easy drive. Exiting off the parkway, we made our way to Bedford Road where the trailhead was. We did have to park along the road, which wasn’t awful, but with a kid, it did make me a little nervous to walk there.

    The hike went well, even though it was a very hot day. Now, I wouldn’t necessary call David’s Loop a trail, so much as it was a well-maintained gravel path. For that reason, it was easy on us, and never felt too taxing. I did enjoy the fact that the forest made a canopy over the path, so we never felt the direct heat of the day. The Preserve itself was quite beautiful, and peaceful. We crossed at least two streams, which the kid got down and splashed in. It took us about forty-five minutes for us to reach Swan Lake. We had an early lunch picnic on the shore of the lake, and saw several different varieties of bird flying through the trees. We finished the loop back to the car, which was more uphill, and though the kid wasn’t happy about it, this was more of the “workout” part of hiking, which I was looking for. We made it back home in the City by 1pm, so all on all, it took us for four hours for our adventure, which still gave us enough of our day to do other things. Like nap on the sofa.

  • Let’s Talk About Debt

    We paid off a credit card today. It was a victory, but it barely made a blip on our daily routine. One reason is that mornings for us are a little crazy with walking a dog, and getting the kid ready, setting up remote school, and then setting up the wife’s remote work. Lots of moving parts. The other thing is that we just paid off one card of seven. So, we still have a long way to go.

    The reason for our debt is wide and varied, and will be the subject for a blog on another day.

    What I want to engage in is just talking about debt. Ever since I can remember, no one talked about their debt. Not my family, and not my friends. Maybe a joke about credit cards, or the ever-enveloping nature of student loans. Outside of an occasional joke, no one talked about the debt that was amassed.

    Debt has always been treated as a moral failure. That any debt is a sign you have failed in some way. That you are bad with money, or frivolous with planning, or just a person who can’t hack being an adult. Shame was placed on having debt.

    But as I have worked professionally, all companies have debt and use it to their advantage. Either in leveraging  it for lines of credit and loans, or using it as a loss for their taxes. Companies buy and sell each other and use the debt to load on the acquired company. I was sort of surprised at how corporations I worked for, had no intention of paying off their debt.

    I have decided that I will not be ashamed of my debt, and at the same time, I will still actively try to pay it off.

    But at the same time, I know if I pay all my debt off and no longer use my cards, then the banks will close the accounts, and then my credit will dry up. Now, if that happens, then I won’t be able to get the home/car/student loans I will need in the future. So, it’s like I have to keep some debt on the books.

    Funny how that works.

  • The Summer of Hiking 2021

    At the start of Summer 2020, as the pandemic was going strong, our family unit thought it was a good idea to take day trips on most Saturdays, and a few Sundays. The goal was simple, just get out of the City, and at that time the guidance was all good with going out to the woods and taking your mask off. Provided no one was around. This lead us to hike a few trails in New York, and Connecticut. We all enjoyed it and I even wrote about it last year.

    And we have been talking about doing it again. The Spring came, and we were still talking about it. I even got my AllTrails app up and running, and started looking for places we all could go, including the dog. But we just kept talking…

    Well, this weekend, we collectively got off our butts and did something about it!

    We went shopping!

    Down to the REI store at Broadway and Lafayette to get hiking boots and all-weather pants. Hell, throw in some socks while we’re at it. I had a feeling that the shoe salesman was upselling us when we were honest and said we were beginners, but I didn’t want to rock the boat, as everyone else was having a good time with trying the boots on.

    Now, it was a rainy mess up here in the Northeast over Memorial Day, but Monday was clear. We got in the car and headed out to the Old Mine Road Trail, which is rated moderate and good for kids and dogs. We had a good time and felt like we were being active as a family, which really is the point here.

    I also know myself well enough that if I spend money on an activity, I will follow through on it. Hence why I had to buy the boots; I got some skin in the game. Now, hiking is something that I have to do.