There have been some changes in my life recently. Some very good, some….well some I’m still waiting to see how they’ll turn out, but I’m hoping for the best, which says a lot coming from a true pessimist.
Lately I’ve started taking 6 a.m. walks with a friend from my apartment complex with our dogs. It’s been surprisingly easy to get out of bed for and we have had a great time being early morning chatters together. It’s quite therapeutic! A weird thing happened today though right after we reached Rushton Park and turned around to walk back: a white work truck hit the concrete median on Highland Avenue and totally flipped over! It was craziness. The two guys in the truck were totally unharmed, thankfully, but all of the morning walkers and runners formed a big circle around them and were all abuzz.
Another new thing I’ve taken up is playing tennis with Clint. I know: me… tennis…(or Clint and tennis for that matter) doesn’t really seem like a likely pair but you know, it’s really pretty fun and something that Clint and I can do together. And good exercise too! Let’s just hope I don’t turn into the female version of John McEnroe “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS?!”, although so far I have been able to keep my overbearing, competitive side under wraps since I pretty much suck. Not to mention the fact that Clint’s tireless and unceasing praise for my bumbling efforts is very encouraging. I think he actually used the word “hustle” during one game though…
Gardening has also fast become one of my favorite new things to do. It all started with some drama though…the middle of last month all of the inhabitants of the Virginian Court received letters in the mail saying that because the courtyard had been demolished by the dogs, they were giving us 30 days to find new owners for them or to vacate the premises. Well, since we love our dog and we also just spent a shitload of money moving into this place in January, I have made it my mission to ‘beautify’ the courtyard in hopes that my efforts will appease the management at JH Berry and maybe they’ll leave us alone. So far it’s working. A week and a half ago, me and two of my upstairs neighbors, Liz & Van, actually tilled one half of the courtyard by hand using a shovel and a rake and threw down some tall fescue mixed with some shady lawn mix seed and said our prayers. By Thursday of that same week we had achieved greenery. Bright greenery. One half of the courtyard actually bears a striking resemblance to a chia pet at this point…
Man, what is it about making things grow that just makes you feel so damn good about yourself?
So yeah. That’s what going on with me. In between all that, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the implications of a new FDA amendment that re-established the drug user fee (an act originally established in the 1990’s that essentially put the FDA on the payroll of the industry it supposedly regulates). The amendment renewed the act which would have expired later this year and increased fees paid by drug companies in order to give the government program “sweeping new powers” in keeping the public safe, but contained another amendment that got tacked on at the last minute that would also restrict the importation of drugs from other countries – countries that get prescription drugs at a strikingly discounted price from what Americans pay for theirs. I am deeply troubled that the Congress is citing a tainted cough syrup distributed in China that poisoned 300+ people and killed over 100 as a reason for not allowing imported drugs when Vioxx (an FDA approved drug) alone caused over 55,000 drug related heart complications and upwards of 28,00 deaths. What is that story about the speck and the plank again…?
Here’s to sunshine, rain, exercise, cool dogs, and ethics reform. Peace.
Lately I’ve started taking 6 a.m. walks with a friend from my apartment complex with our dogs. It’s been surprisingly easy to get out of bed for and we have had a great time being early morning chatters together. It’s quite therapeutic! A weird thing happened today though right after we reached Rushton Park and turned around to walk back: a white work truck hit the concrete median on Highland Avenue and totally flipped over! It was craziness. The two guys in the truck were totally unharmed, thankfully, but all of the morning walkers and runners formed a big circle around them and were all abuzz.
Another new thing I’ve taken up is playing tennis with Clint. I know: me… tennis…(or Clint and tennis for that matter) doesn’t really seem like a likely pair but you know, it’s really pretty fun and something that Clint and I can do together. And good exercise too! Let’s just hope I don’t turn into the female version of John McEnroe “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS?!”, although so far I have been able to keep my overbearing, competitive side under wraps since I pretty much suck. Not to mention the fact that Clint’s tireless and unceasing praise for my bumbling efforts is very encouraging. I think he actually used the word “hustle” during one game though…
Gardening has also fast become one of my favorite new things to do. It all started with some drama though…the middle of last month all of the inhabitants of the Virginian Court received letters in the mail saying that because the courtyard had been demolished by the dogs, they were giving us 30 days to find new owners for them or to vacate the premises. Well, since we love our dog and we also just spent a shitload of money moving into this place in January, I have made it my mission to ‘beautify’ the courtyard in hopes that my efforts will appease the management at JH Berry and maybe they’ll leave us alone. So far it’s working. A week and a half ago, me and two of my upstairs neighbors, Liz & Van, actually tilled one half of the courtyard by hand using a shovel and a rake and threw down some tall fescue mixed with some shady lawn mix seed and said our prayers. By Thursday of that same week we had achieved greenery. Bright greenery. One half of the courtyard actually bears a striking resemblance to a chia pet at this point…
Man, what is it about making things grow that just makes you feel so damn good about yourself?
So yeah. That’s what going on with me. In between all that, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the implications of a new FDA amendment that re-established the drug user fee (an act originally established in the 1990’s that essentially put the FDA on the payroll of the industry it supposedly regulates). The amendment renewed the act which would have expired later this year and increased fees paid by drug companies in order to give the government program “sweeping new powers” in keeping the public safe, but contained another amendment that got tacked on at the last minute that would also restrict the importation of drugs from other countries – countries that get prescription drugs at a strikingly discounted price from what Americans pay for theirs. I am deeply troubled that the Congress is citing a tainted cough syrup distributed in China that poisoned 300+ people and killed over 100 as a reason for not allowing imported drugs when Vioxx (an FDA approved drug) alone caused over 55,000 drug related heart complications and upwards of 28,00 deaths. What is that story about the speck and the plank again…?
Here’s to sunshine, rain, exercise, cool dogs, and ethics reform. Peace.
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