Thwarted

It’s been a hectic couple of days combined with recovering from intense granddaughter exposure, always physically draining while emotionally fulfilling. I think I’ve finally made it through changing all the automatic pay situations I had for the compromised credit card. I’m sure there’s a couple outliers out there but I was struck by how many security layers have been installed since the last time I had to do this. It was so difficult to prove I was who I said I was, God forbid trying to talk with a life person. I think AI is showing definite signs of bias against real humans. I had my latest follow-up with the dermatologist (or he who likes to delve as he is known around here) on Monday where I hoped to get cleared for swimming. He described the skin graft as “healing wonderfully” so my hopes were high. They came crashing down when he said no swimming until June. I was bummed but then realized we’re only a couple weeks from June (how is that even possible!).

The Birthday Girl

Yesterday was BR3’s 4^th birthday. We get to celebrate it this weekend up in New Hampshire. My Favorite Panamanian and I got her on Facetime last evening and sang her happy birthday. I consider it definite progress that she didn’t run shrieking from the room this time when she heard our singing. Last week when she heard she would have to give up her nighttime “binky” (pacifier) since she would be a “big girl”, she boldly declared that she didn’t want to grow up and wanted to cancel her birthday. Ahh, if it was only that easy. She remains a definite character with an abundance of personality. Since she can’t stop the growing progress, I’m so excited to see the young lady I’m sure she’ll develop into. It should be dramatic, to say the least.

The lack of swimming definitely puts a crimp in my weight loss effort. I was counting on adding that to my repertoire this week to assist with the final ten pounds. Now it looks like the stationary bike will pay the price. Outside of my bike time I’ve devoted a lot of time to the Man Cave and not only because of the movie library residing there. Both the Bruins and the Celtics are in the playoffs and the Sox aren’t as dismally bad as predicted. Most of the time has been spent in the office annex of the cave though as I endeavored to renew my passport along with the credit card quest. The passport expires when I’m down in Panama next year and we also have some other international traveling this year in which I’ll need it. High adventure.

Today’s weigh-in, 16 pounds lost towards 25-pound goal. As predicted, the last ten will be a lot slower.

In my A-Z watch, four fell since I last posted, all keepers, Insidious, second scariest movie ever made, red demon sudden appearance still freaks me out (see photo) even though I know it’s coming; The Intern, DeNiro’s best movie in a long while, great chemistry with Hathaway; The Internship, Vaughn and Wilson together, always a hoot, funny send up of generation gap; and Interstellar, so good, hard science fiction with immense heart.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course