Although I have had a very bumpy ride in 2023 in some aspects one area that I absolutely can not complain about is my physical wellness this past year. For the first time in at least a half decade I have managed to do more than slow the descent. Instead I have seen my physical self improve in ways that I did not expect. Take the last 48 hours as an example.
On Tuesday at lunch I did a yoga class followed by two hours of sand volleyball in the evening. Yesterday I played pickleball at lunch and then once again after work and you know what? I feel fine. When I first started playing pickleball I had both of my knees in braces and I only played once a week because it was all I thought my body could tolerate. Now I feel like I could play every day if I wanted to.
Playing sand volleyball for the first time in more than a dozen years was another thing that was never imagined. Again when I started playing the physical impact was harsh but as time has progressed it’s just become another thing I do without worrying much about how it affects me.
At the gym most of my strength numbers have gotten better this year. The debilitating lower back pain that was impacting me in a major way has lessened as well thanks to some additional stretching and strength work targeted in the area. When I used to do several exercises at the gym my back used to creak and crack, it doesn’t anymore. So what changed?
When the year started my weight was low, really low, at times scraping against 170 pounds. I attributed a lot of it to stress although I actually was run through a number of medical tests last year just to make sure it wasn’t something else. Since then I have been forcing myself to eat more, more than what felt normal for me. I have been able to push my nighttime weight up to 180lbs. The additional weight lead to additional strength.
I also think a significant part of my improvement has been mental. Although the way my brain works can be a curse in other aspects of my life, it can be an asset when it comes to other areas like physically challenging myself. For awhile I had sort of just accepted that I was going to continue to decline physically with each passing year. I stopped accepting that as being written in stone. If your mind is open to pushing against the walls of your box the body will do it’s best to follow orders.
Now if I can find a way to harness that determination and drive to clean up other aspects of my life things would be all rainbows and butterflies. I don’t give up easily.
In the past when I would go on a trip or vacation I would take a lot care to try to accurately recall any and all pertinent details of the time. I’m not doing that anymore. We are relying on good old fashioned memory and my ability to go back in and add things later if I forget something.
I took off Wednesday to give me plenty of time to prepare for the trip. I actually spent most of the day doing non-trip related things other than dropping off Elsa at Ali’s place during the afternoon. I even got a lunchtime pickleball session in. Packing was done in less than a half hour and as is the norm, I packed more than necessary, just in case.
My flight was very early Thanksgiving morning, 7AM to be exact, meaning I needed to try to get to the airport a little after 5 which put me on the road from my house around 4:30AM. I used air miles I had banked for this flight. Not only did I use them, I used a lot of them to upgrade my flight to Dallas to first class. I was in the first row of the plane. In retrospect it wasn’t really worth it. Yea I got as nice meal but otherwise I didn’t experience anything better than if I paid $75 more for an exit row seat.
I arrived at the Dallas airport a little after 9AM local time. As I walked towards baggage claim from the corner of my eye I saw people waving against the glass. I laughed when I turned and saw it was Torrin’s family. I gave everyone a hug when I cleared the door. I had to be light with Damon as he apparently sustained a rib injury in jujitsu class that was very painful.
When we got back to their place I was warmly greeted by their dog Ozzy who is a bundle of energy. It didn’t take long until he presented me with his rope to play tug of war with.
Damon showed me his latest project, a covered rear patio. He has the overhead section of the project almost done. I could hardly believe when he said he did everything I was looking at over the course of two weekends. He was a general contractor who built homes for years so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised but I still was. He can build/fix pretty much anything. I feel I am relatively handy but compared to Damon it’s not even close.
We wound up having a very traditional Thanksgiving that was filled with football, food, and family. They prepared a nice piece of salmon for me in lieu of a turkey. The meal was topped off by a massive selection of deserts. I also drank a massive amount of Cayman Jacks along the way. I am almost certain I reached double digits. As last time I was there I slept in the top bedroom which doubles as the kids classroom and video game headquarters. I got some play time in with Griffin and Emily.
On Friday we made a trip the National Video Game museum. Torrin is very familiar with how into video games I was as a kid growing up and the place was only a half hour from their house so it was easy to do.
The place was super cool, filled with tons of games, consoles and computers that I owned or used before. They had tons of working units that you could hop on and play various retro titles. At the end of it all was a large arcade again filled with the classics, each only costing on 25 cent token to play, like the good old days. It was very much a throwback experience that I enjoyed along with everyone else.
During the afternoon I offered to help Damon with putting up more outdoor Christmas lights. He had already put a bunch up himself but he had a lot more lights to get up there. Our biggest task was setting up the largest hanging tree you see in the picture. That took some careful engineering and beanbag tossing to make happen. When I was there two years ago I think I helped with some lights as well. It was cool to pitch in.
We got to do a little PEV riding during the afternoon as well. I hopped on my old One Wheel XR which I gave to the kids last year. Damon rode his V11 EUC he bought from me and the kids were both on their e-bikes. We rode around the nearby park which also has a couple pickleball courts. It was a fun little ride.
Saturday was Emily’s birthday, the first one that I was actually present for. She turned 17 which seems impossible as I can clearly holding her in my arms as a little baby what seems like not so long ago. We went to the movies around noon, we saw “Next Goal Wins”, a feel good type movie about the American Samoa soccer team.
For dinner Emily wanted to go to a hibachi restaurant where they prepare the food right in front of you utilizing a lot of Japanese flair. I had not been to one of these style places in a very long time. It was entertaining with good food to boot. Everyone seemed to enjoy the experience.
When we got home Emily’s last wish was we play more video games, one of her favorite hobbies. I played a bunch over the three days I was there with the kids. Of course they killed me in pretty much everything we tried but it was still fun to bond with them in that way.
My flight out was a little after 8AM Sunday. I felt bad having to get dropped off there a little after 6. The whole family crawled out of bed to see me off at the airport though which was very sweet. I thanked them for everything and gave everyone one last hug. Hopefully the Earth doesn’t need to go around the sun another two times before I see them again. It’s amazing how much 14 year old Griffin had grown since I saw him last. I swear it looked like he popped up almost a foot.
My flight back had a gate change and a minor 30 minute delay but otherwise was smooth sailing. I had the front bulkhead seat behind first class this time so comfort was still not a problem. The roughly 3 hour flight passed by pretty quickly as I half napped through a lot of it.
After grabbing my truck it was off to pick up Elsa. She only got to see Ali this time since Shugs was out of town which was unfortunate for both Shugs and Elsa. Elsa got a good report card and as usual was reluctant to get in the truck to get home.
Once home I started laundry and shot to the grocery store to get the few items I needed for the week. I tended to various small things during the afternoon before the Eagles/Bills game came on. That game was insane.
The Bills were controlling things for the majority of the game, running the ball at will with their QB making the Eagles look bad. However in the second half the Eagles came back from another 10 point halftime deficit and had a late lead, that they again gave up. They got the ball back with little time and managed to get to the Bills side of the field in makeable FG range until they took a couple penalties that pushed them back to the point where Jake Elliot had to try a 60 yard attempt. The conditions were bad, it had been raining the entire game. I thought there was no way he could make it. He did. He drilled the ball low and fast, it cleared the crossbar with room to spare, sending the game into OT.
In OT the Bills won the toss and drove straight down the field, threatening to get a game winning TD. The defense manages to force a field goal instead which put the pressure on the offense. The had to either kick a FG or get a TD for the game to continue. They went the latter route. When Jalen Hurts ran in for the game winning TD I yelled out loud in a house where only Elsa could hear me. I could not believe they found a way to win that game. Maybe the have the magic again this year, just maybe.
I took today off as well. I normally like to have the day after a trip clear although in reality my new living situation hardly requires it. In the past I would be scrambling to do yardwork, clean the pool, and handle the myriad of other tasks my old life demanded of me. Instead I came home to mowed grass, a clean house and very little resistance to inserting myself back into normal life.
I had said that my hope was the trip would help shake me from some of the dark thoughts that were floating around and it did. Seeing family is a good reminder of what it’s like to be with people that just have your back because they love you, always. I need to keep making the effort to focus on future success instead of past failure.
Yesterday I left work early to get stuff done. First off was getting a haircut for the holiday travel. I shot over to Sport Clips and got that taken care of quickly. I then stopped at Home Depot to grab some tree ornaments and two strings of icicle lights for outside. When I got home I wanted to get the new Christmas tree I have had in a box for a couple months set up. To make room for the tree I moved the dining room table to the open space I have in the kitchen. This was a very tight fit. I had to actually turn the table on it’s side to be able to barely navigate the somewhat narrow entrance to the kitchen.
This is a Mr Christmas tree that has Alexa integration. Setting the tree up was easy enough. I had the tree upright in 10 minutes or less. Getting the tree connected to Alexa was a little more challenging but I got it figured out and was soon able to change the color and patterns via voice control which I really like.
From the start of the tree process I was not in good spirits. I realized that this potentially will be my first truly solo Christmas in a very, very long time. Cindy and I split in September of 2021 but that Christmas I still celebrated with her daughter and DJ. Last year I was in a relationship over the holidays and at the time thought it was the launching point for something good. This year there is nothing really on the horizon and it pulled me down.
I tried to kickstart a festive and happy holiday mood by playing Christmas music but I shut it off after a few minutes. I had the trashcan nearby as I tossed out ornaments that were tied to past relationships which of course is not going to evoke happy feelings either. I wound up taking a task based approach where I just wanted to get it done instead of enjoying what historically is a fun thing. It sucked.
I went and grabbed dinner at the bar at Bruninas. Hanging and talking with some other people helped lighten the mental load a bit.
Today I will get the outside lights up, play pickleball, drop off Elsa at Ali’s and then figure out what I need to pack for Texas. The weather there appears to be on the chilly side for most of my visit. My flight takes off bright and early tomorrow at 7AM. The good news it gets me to Dallas before 10AM local time so I will be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with Torrin’s family.
I am hoping the trip serves as a good mental shot in the arm. I didn’t really think much about how the holidays could hit me this year, until they hit me. I need to keep busy, engaged and drunk.
The cleaning crew was at my place yesterday. They always take the time to do little decorations here and there. A lot of times they do it with tissues, making little cool designs. Yesterday they targeted the paper towels instead. It’s a simple thing they do but I always appreciate it.
Last night I attended my first HOA meeting. It was held at the home of the current president. Ironically his wife was the realtor for the sellers of the house I bought. They already had their beautiful home decorated for Christmas, it was very nice. I knew about a third of the 15 or so people present. I was the only single home owner present as far as I could tell. The topics covered were rather mundane as you would expect. The funniest thing I got out of it was the one woman who knitted during the majority of the meeting. It felt a bit surreal. I spoke only a little bit, introducing myself to the group. I’ll try to attend these in the future but if I miss one I won’t be upset.
I got home from the meeting in time for the Eagles/Chiefs game. The first half was pretty ugly, the defense was getting run over and Jalen was getting constant pressure from the Chiefs defense. Even after the Eagles scored their second TD in the 3rd quarter I thought it was a lost cause, so much so that I fell asleep. When I checked the score this morning and saw the Birds actually shut the Chiefs out in the second half and scored another TD to win the game I was very, very surprised. Too bad I didn’t get to see it. Beating the Chiefs on the road is a big deal. The schedule doesn’t get any easier from here on out. The team is going to be tested by fire in a very large way.
Tonight I am considering going to Home Depot to get a couple Xmas things for both the tree and the front of the house. When I moved I threw out EVERYTHING except the tree decorations. I plan to get rid of a bunch of them as well when I open the box. Up until now I have kept every decoration I ever had more or less including those that were part of prior relationships. I feel like I am ready to dispose of those just like everything else that no longer serves me. In the past day or so my mindset has flipped more to the dark side, not exactly a great mix with supposedly festive holiday preparations on the schedule.
I am off tomorrow which will give me time to prep for my flight to Texas Thanksgiving morning as well as dropping off Elsa to Ali and Shuggs where she will have a great visit. I might try to put the new Xmas tree up before I leave for Texas so it’s done when I get back on Sunday. This is going to be one humdinger of a holiday season. Yes that is dripping with sarcasm.
Yesterday was a very wet one around here with an all day rain event that soaked our area. It was needed as the rainy season in SW Florida was significantly drier than normal. Unfortunately for Elsa that meant a day of hiding under my workbench. Her lifelong fear of rain has not dissipated over time.
When weather is wet, dark and cool grilled cheese and tomato soup has always been a favorite go to meal for whatever reason. There is one catch, I always had someone else making the grilled cheese. Last night I decided I was going to make my own.
From watching others I picked up the general gist. I made sure the pan I was using was already warm. I then buttered both slices of bread generously before I put the sandwich in the pan that also had additional butter melted in it. I then slapped the cheese in the middle and crossed my fingers.
The end result was actually really, really good. I had no tomato soup to dunk the sandwich in but I substituted a blob of ketchup which was fine. To up my calorie intake I also nuked some keto lasagna and finished off with ice cream. It was the best meal I have prepared for myself in quite a long time.
I had two guys show up on my Ring doorbell yesterday morning. They said that they were there to install my hurricane shutters. I had it in my head that they were coming Tuesday and I told them as much. I said “I show the install was supposed to be done November 13th”. After a pause the guy says, today is November 13th… Whoops. I apologized and asked if they needed me for anything, they did not.
The normal windows get a channel system with lightweight metal inserts that slide into the top and are secured at the bottom with bolts/wingnuts. The installer showed me the process to install them, it’s very easy compared to the plywood mess I used to deal with at the old house. I would guess I could have the house totally buttoned up in an hour or less.
The front door is protected by a roll down shutter with a hand crank. I again got a demonstration of the process. The door can go from open to sealed in a minute or so. The install looks cleaner than I expected and does not really stand out like a sore thumb which I was glad to see.
Finally he showed me the back lanai which was the most expensive part of this project, by far. There are two huge sliders back there that go into the main bedroom and the great room as well as a small window for the kitchen.
Instead of covering these individually my sales rep recommended installing accordion style protection that would seal off the entire lanai. I was hesitant at first about the idea and remained somewhat hesitant right up until yesterday. I was worried they would be overly obtrusive and that the rail along the floor would be a trip hazard. However, it’s all good.
The rail that actually goes right past the door is rounded and low profile. You would almost have to try to trip yourself on it, it just isn’t an issue. The shutters fold up nicely, tight to the walls leaving the views out the back largely unimpacted. The shutters even have two clear portals that allow you to get a peek outside even when the full force of a hurricane is upon you. Even though it was a very pricey option I value having the lanai sealed off in a rather bulletproof manner. The only negative was the pull down shades that were on the lanai to block late day sun had to come down. I didn’t really use them though anyway.
The install took the entire day, as I arrived home from work they were just finishing up. This concludes the last significant home improvement I have planned for the near future. At some point the carpet in the bedrooms will need to go and the master bathroom will get updating but that is as time, patience and money allows. I have dropped quite the wad of cash on this place since moving in. The good news is all of it is an investment in the property that will pay dividends down the road.
I am hoping to get a little bit of the chunk of money I spent on these shutters back via a reduced homeowners insurance rate. I need to see what my options are there.
It’s been a number of days since you have seen a post. I have not been standing still during that time period, just the opposite actually. On Wednesday I had my relationship end. I prefer to not go into detail about it other than my overarching goal is to ultimately be happy and feel at peace. I have sadness but also move forward knowing I did everything I possibly could.
I took Thursday off to get some loose ends connected to ending things taken care of. I played some pickleball at lunch and then AGAIN after work. Playing twice in one day is a rarity in my world but it was fun. During the evening session I played doubles with my buddy Rich. We played some higher skilled teams and did surprisingly well holding our own. On the way home from there I grabbed some dinner at the bar of Brunina’s.
My Friday was pretty unstructured. I went for a ride, got some chores done that I normally would do on Saturday and then went to dinner later with my buddy Don. I had told Don about my new reality and as is normally the case he primarily listened without being overly opinionated. Don has basically cut women out of his life for over a decade.
On Saturday I met up with Jason to get another ride in, this time at the Naples Greenway which he had never been to before. He didn’t even bring his wheel as he much prefers riding my suspension wheels. He loved the location with all of the diverse terrain and scenery. He did his first ever ride down a set of stairs which was a big deal. It’s been different and enjoyable having a riding buddy.
Yesterday I did something that I have not done in forever, went out on a personal boat. One of the guys that I play pickleball with owns a nice 26 footer. He had a free day and asked who wanted to come out of our group, I was the only person that said yes.
We spent the entire afternoon hanging out. We went out to a nice beach on the edge of the Everglades where it touches the ocean. We sat there and just chilled as we ate some sandwiches and drank A LOT. It was great.
When it was time to head out he did a quick spin into the ocean but suddenly the motor shut off. When he popped the hatch he got a salt water shower as water was flowing out of a hose, the clamp securing it had broken. Of course, I was concerned.
Luckily he carries a full set of tools as well as potential needed parts, like hose clamps. In less than 10 minutes he was able to secure the hose and we were good to go. During the ride back in he let me take the wheel for probably 15-20 minutes. It was my first time behind the wheel of a vessel, it was cool. I also got some familiarity with the ins and outs when we returned to dock and did the post ride clean up/securing that is required with boats. It was a great time and I hope to be able to repeat the experience more often in the future.
Two other things came to be over these 4 days. I booked two trips. I am going to fly to my sisters for Thanksgiving, something I last did two years ago. I also booked a trip to LA to hang with my EUC gang out there around my birthday.
Last night when I got home I was sandy, tired and a little sun burned but feeling my life now moves forward without a rear view mirror.
Yesterday after work I met my buddy/co-worker at the nearby East Naples pickleball courts to get some games in. Rich is a better player than I am so I thought it would be cool to team up with him to see how we would do. We first played a couple guys close to my age. While warming up I thought they may give us a decent challenge but we would up beating them two games rather easily, the second by 11-0, known in the sport as “A Pickle”.
We then played four games against some much higher skilled, younger players. Rich plays regularly with one of them. At first I thought we were going to get smoked, the game was moving in fast forward compared to what I am used to. However we slowly adjusted and got things stabilized. All of the games were close and we managed to even win one. It felt good to at least be competitive against higher level and younger opponents. I hope to get out there more regularly during some evenings.
The raised bed that was set up a couple weeks ago is working out well so far. Everything that was planted seems to have taken hold. I’m looking forward to starting to enjoy the result in the upcoming months.
On Sunday I got the urge to go watch the Eagles/Cowboys at a bar. I have watched football games at bars before but my choice of bars this time was unexpected, Foxboro. Yes as the name suggests this is a Patriots fan hang out but it also is around a mile from my house so it was convenient. The game wasn’t until 4:25 and the Patriots played early so I knew it shouldn’t be too bad.
I ate at the bar. My tuna melt, fries and chips were greasy but good comfort food. I washed it down with a couple Shock Tops. After I finished eating I started feeling cold, I think they had the AC cranked way down. I wound up heading home after half time to watch the rest of the game. Even when I got home the chill persisted. I threw on a sweatshirt and watched the rest of the game under the blanket on my bed.
Unfortunately that location is not ideal for football watching. I wound up falling asleep late third quarter but thankfully woke up for the last 60 seconds of the game where the Eagles defense almost blew it, allowing the Cowboys to drive the field with no time outs, aided by several defensive penalties. The D came up big at the end however, saving a win. It was tight game for it’s entirety. I feel lucky that we escaped with a W.
I had the first somewhat significant issue with my Tesla Model Y yesterday. When I went to to leave work a persistent message popped up on the screen indicating that the 12 volt battery was low and that certain features were being disabled to preserve power. Many people are surprised to find out that Tesla’s have a conventional 12 volt battery under the hood in addition to the massive battery that covers the entire belly of the car. My car is just over two years old so I am a bit surprised the 12 volt battery is bad already.
The good news is Tesla makes this stupid easy to address. When I went into the app on my phone it automatically directed me to initiate a service call. It told me the cost, which is nothing since the car is still under warranty and based on my address I got signed up for a remote tech which is great. If things go as planned the tech will drive to my car next week, swap the battery out and be out of there without me doing so much as lifting a finger. I am familiar with where the 12 volt battery is and I would be perfectly capable of swapping it out myself but if it’s covered under warranty obviously there is no need.
Our new tax roll has gone live recently. This is the second year I have overseen the process which was the most daunting thing I had to assume responsibility for when my buddy and old boss retired. In the past he pretty much handled everything. I changed it to more of a team effort so the knowledge and ability to get things complete is spread among multiple people. There were more challenges in year two but we got it done.
