Recirculating Cheese

blk reminded me that this thing is still on. LJ is where I used to post actual thoughts, that I might not want to share with relatives, distant school friends, distant cow-orkers, Zuckerberg, etc. In fact, I haven't posted since importing everything from LJ to DW. (I still have my LJ account, as do, it appears most of you. Is that something I should do something about? I decided not to cross-post this to LJ; does anyone still do that?)

Anyway, the topic of the day is Dry July. Francie mentioned last week that she wanted to try not drinking this month, and, y'know, I'm sick enough of my own shit to give it a try. Alcohol has been my Problematic Friend since I was a teenager, and while I'm not physically addicted, it's a strong habit of long standing. And it's had some undesirable side-effects in the last several years. Sure, I can titrate it so that I'm rarely significantly impaired (at least by my own judgement), and it's been ages since I've been barfing drunk. But even at lower levels, it interferes with long-term memory formation, so that e.g. I can have a perfectly lucid conversation, but not remember that it even took place the next morning. And that's some shit that should scare me more than it apparently does, because I keep doing it. I've also had low (for me) sexual function, e.g. with new partners, where I should be horny as fuck. This could just be me being a middle-aged dude, but it seems worth trying to separate the effects. There's also the thought that this might help me lose a peristent 15lb, which would make me faster, having less ass to haul. (Appeal to my vanity and competitiveness, if it will help.)

The problem is that the first drink makes the second seem like SUCH a good idea. And the second drink makes the third seem like an excellent idea. After that, you're just topping off the third drink...

Anyway, it's a strong habit, but Precision Nutrition taught me about changing habits, specifically interrupting the mindless action. I just want to drink more mindfully, but it starts with delaying taking that first drink until August. Actually, I carved out an exception for July 4th, and noticed (mindfully) that it really wasn't doing much for me. Hopefully I can keep that in mind going forward.

Thing I never thought I'd care about:
1) running
b) Dancing With The Stars

Also, the Massachusetts Unemployment website is closed from 10pm to 5am. I could cry, scream, and laugh derisively at the same time. Mostly I just sigh and get another drink (and try to remember to log in a little earlier tomorrow).

And I completely forgot that today (2/7) is my father's 86th birthday. Which means that he's outlived his father, who died of his first heart attack, a bit short of 86. And unlike his father (who was also a pediatrician), my dad has actually retired, as of the end of 2013. Whereas my father-in-law (age 88 or so) has been retired for 20 years or so, and is "one of those old guys who reads the newspaper in the library". Although it gets him out of the house.

Kylie in Francie's prom dress. It's really quite lovely, and fits her perfectly, save for being about two inches too long.



The backstory is that she's packing up to go to college*, so rooting in closets long untouched.

*We drive down tomorrow, move in Thursday, and classes start Monday. This is it!

**Ursinus College is abbreviated UC, and their sports teams are the Bears (naturally). University of Cincinnati is also UC, and their teams are the Bearcats. Probably no one else has a problem with this juxtaposition, but my parents grew up in Cincinnati, and are both UC alumni.