Doubting Thomas Blog

Archive for the ‘me’ Category

Instead of making resolutions, I’m writing down plans…well, not plans exactly, but stuff that I want to do.

I think most of these ideas are feasible. What do you think?

1. Finish the house we started in 2009. I’d like to incorporate green technology, but we’ll see.
2. Get back to running my favorite seasonal business, The Buffalo Bike Taxi Co.
3. Go to more pro baseball games than we did in 2009. I’d like to see my first major league game. In Toronto. I know what you’re saying…someone my age has never seen the MLB in person? Nope.
4. This one is related to #2 above. I will lose a little weight and continue to improve my cardiovascular health. Riding The Buffalo Bike Taxi Co, it would be nearly impossible to gain weight.
5. Do more writing, even if it just more-frequent posts on this blog. I do want to get back to real writing, though.
6. I’d like to learn to speak another language. I studied French in high school and college, so I remember some of that, but “Quiero aprender a hablar español de este año.” (Without having to use Google Translate.)
7. I have a bunch of audio cassettes that I want to convert into digital files, so that I can actually listen to that music. (Younger readers may want to ask their parents if they have any audio cassettes in the basement that they could look at.)
8. I say this every year, but this year is different (partly because of the divorce). I want to spend more time with old friends. I have not ever visited my friends Jesse, Rich, Craig, or Greg at their houses.
9. I’d like to buy an electric car. A Tesla Roadster would be nice, but I would “settle” for a a hybrid Fusion.
10. We live near a lot of water, so I’d like to make sure we get the canoe wet a lot this summer. The Buffalo River is a lot more scenic than you’d expect.
11. Another thing I’ve wanted to do for years, but somehow haven’t found the time to do, is ride my bicycle across New York State. The Erie Canal is a great way to go.
12. I want to take the boys camping, somewhere that they’ll never forget. I think the Adirondacks would be great.
13. We’ve been attending church more regularly, but this year, I would like to make it such a standard part of our life that the boys don’t resist going, when they are at my house on a Sunday. But here’s a problem I haven’t figured out how to resolve: I like three different churches, but I can’t go to all three on the same Sunday morning. Ultimately, I think it will be better if I am more actively involved with one of those three churches, doing things besides just attending morning church services.
14. Many of these things can be done, and some should be done, with family. Baseball, bicycling, and church, for example. This year, I would like to have time to visit my family members at their houses, but also to make the house we’re working on large enough for everyone to gather here for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

What about you? Will you be doing any of these activities?

I am glad I’m not a “normal weight” person, because, apparently, being a little overweight means I’m going to live a little longer.

A few extra pounds can add years to your life: study
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Carrying a little extra weight may actually be good for you, according to a Canadian study that showed a few pounds appear to protect people from an early death.

Researchers found that while underweight and extremely obese people die earlier than people of a normal weight, people who are slightly overweight actually live longer than those of a normal weight.

Normally about this time of year, I’ve already brought the bike taxi out of its winter hibernation, dusted it off, checked the brakes, tires, axles and everything, and brought it downtown to give people rides, but so far this year, I haven’t done that. NOT having a Sabres post-season (AGAIN!) has a little to do with that, but in general, I feel like April FLEW by this year.

At least we made it to one Bisons game so far, which last year… I hate to admit it!… but we didn’t get to a game all summer! And yes, it was a beautiful day, and despite the sunburn I got on my arms, my new tattoos, and my knees, and despite the Bisons LOST again! we had a great day.

I’d like to make it to at least one game every month this summer, but you know how it goes, when you’ve got your work schedule, the boys both have different baseball schedules, etc., it makes it hard. Plus we need to plan in a weekend to visit my parents out-of-state, go see my brother, my older sister, and my younger sister, none of whom have the common sense or kindness to move to Buffalo so that I don’t have to do all that driving!

Here comes May!

These are my first “outside the shirt” tattoos, one on each forearm, just below the elbow crease.

Because this Latin is shot with camera-phone quality, I’ll translate for you. On the right, it says “faith and/therefore family” and on the left, it says “family therefore faith”, and those are oak leaves and acorns, for the dendrochronologically challenged.

Divine Machine is on Elmwood, just south of Allen. divinemachinetattoo.com