Meridith and I just got back from spending a week or two in the land of Arnie. We saw our families and friends back up in NorCal. While it was great to see everyone I was pretty amazed at how things remain frozen in time there-the North Coast is definetly in it’s own little time vortex. So, aside from missing friends and loved ones, do I miss the Golden State?
Nope.
We were driving back thru Palm Springs (along the, heh-heh, Sonny Bono Memorial Freeway) and were checking out all the billboards advertising new planned communities with prices starting in the low $500,000’s.
The LOW $500,000’s???!
Ok, ok I know what you’re thinking….it’s Palm Springs-what do you expect? Well, that would be easy to stomach if that was the only part of California where housing was that expensive, but back up in Sonoma County (where I used to live, and I can assure you is no Palm Springs-I don’t care what anyone says), the median house price is still hovering around $600,000. Oh, and “median house” in Sonoma County is usually translated to “rat infested former crackhouse that will probably cost you at least another half mil to get up to code”. So let me get this straight: I really WANT to spend close to a million bucks in order to live in an overly-congested area where it takes 45 minutes to make a 7 mile commute to my job (I’m not making that figure up-that’s what it used to take me to get to work every day).
No thanks. I’ll take my chances with the Gila Monsters and Rattlesnakes.
Ok, not meaning to completley bash the state, I mean, it’s where my roots are, and there are lots of great things and great people there. And I do miss certain things-buuuut not that much. Southern Arizona works fine for me. And besides, we got the most kickass Mexican food anywhere.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Creaks and Groans
I really don’t have that big a problem with aging. Nobody actually enjoys getting old, but coming to terms with the fact that it is the natural order of things helps me to cope with it a lot better. I’m even ok with my beautiful daughter being pregnant, which will make me an official grandfather-in fact, I’m quite proud. However, there is something that makes me feel old and it’s starting to piss me off:
I have been dealing with high blood pressure for a number of years, and nobody seems to know what the heck is causing it. I don’t have the normal physical and lifestyle problems associated with hypertension: I don’t smoke (never have), I don’t drink (I quit about 6 years ago), I don’t eat fried foods or red meat (I also avoid places like McDonalds, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Death Chicken. Yuck.), I don’t use salt, and as of recently I have almost eliminated sugar from my diet as well. I eat vegetables regularly and aside from coffee (in moderation) the only beverage I drink is water. I try to be active though I could do better in this department, and though I could stand to lose a few more pounds, I am not obese (in fact my doctor says that I have lost 10 pounds since my last round of visits). So if anything my BP should be decreasing a bit, but in fact it has done the opposite-it has increased, and to near-dangerous levels. The doctor has checked my heart, kidneys and pretty much all of my guts and everything seems to be ok, so having run out of options, he has started me on high blood pressure medication.
PHUQUE!!!! THAT makes me feel old!
When was a kid I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, and I helped to take care of them. One of my near-daily chores was to go to the drug store and fetch pills for them. I would come home with bagfuls of medications, which usually consisted of drugs for diabetes, and, you guessed it: high blood pressure. God knows I loved my grandparents, but many of my memories of them was two really old, sick and miserable people. I had pretty much made it up in my mind that having to take those kind of meds automatically indoctrinated you into this elite club of withering humans.
Ok, I’m being over-dramatic and feeling sorry for myself, but it just bugs me. I don’t mind getting old, I just refuse to be sick, miserable and old.
I have been dealing with high blood pressure for a number of years, and nobody seems to know what the heck is causing it. I don’t have the normal physical and lifestyle problems associated with hypertension: I don’t smoke (never have), I don’t drink (I quit about 6 years ago), I don’t eat fried foods or red meat (I also avoid places like McDonalds, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Death Chicken. Yuck.), I don’t use salt, and as of recently I have almost eliminated sugar from my diet as well. I eat vegetables regularly and aside from coffee (in moderation) the only beverage I drink is water. I try to be active though I could do better in this department, and though I could stand to lose a few more pounds, I am not obese (in fact my doctor says that I have lost 10 pounds since my last round of visits). So if anything my BP should be decreasing a bit, but in fact it has done the opposite-it has increased, and to near-dangerous levels. The doctor has checked my heart, kidneys and pretty much all of my guts and everything seems to be ok, so having run out of options, he has started me on high blood pressure medication.
PHUQUE!!!! THAT makes me feel old!
When was a kid I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, and I helped to take care of them. One of my near-daily chores was to go to the drug store and fetch pills for them. I would come home with bagfuls of medications, which usually consisted of drugs for diabetes, and, you guessed it: high blood pressure. God knows I loved my grandparents, but many of my memories of them was two really old, sick and miserable people. I had pretty much made it up in my mind that having to take those kind of meds automatically indoctrinated you into this elite club of withering humans.
Ok, I’m being over-dramatic and feeling sorry for myself, but it just bugs me. I don’t mind getting old, I just refuse to be sick, miserable and old.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Greetings, etc.
Hi. Thanks for reading this, though I don't have a lot to write at the moment. I will have a lot to say though, believe me.
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