Personal

Sometimes when I find a woman's profile is well written and interesting I take the time out to write a longer response because I feel a connection on a few levels. And this is the kind of response that you typically get. Men, don't bother writing long responses as often women will treat you like this one.

neptonia had the following long profile (reproduced here so that you get the full picture):

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My self-summary

Please read this entirely before contacting me. Thanks!

I asked friends for three words and the first response was, "alluring, amusing, and amazing." A close second was, "sassy smart vixen."

I'm not your typical geek. I prefer waking early in the mornings. I prefer real life, and I shower regularly unless I'm in a country without potable water. I believe that technology should be unobtrusive, but beautiful. I also believe technology should be left at home occasionally. And I have a healthy streak of sarcasm.

I love live bands, a science museum, or reading a good book. I'll try just about anything once except for jumping out of a perfectly good plane. And I'll take a campfire, or a morning kayak any day of the week.

Over the years, I've formed some very strong opinions about touchy subjects. I don't believe that politics, religion, and sex should be avoided on a first date, so I'll mention them here and get them out in the open.

- I am monogamous and you should be too. I love my polyamorous friends, but I have a hard enough time finding one guy to date, let alone many.

- If you are under 28, turn back now. I am not a cougar. I am not a notch in your bedpost, and no, you can not come over so you can do your laundry. If I wanted a child, I'd adopt.

- I am a strong-willed, confident, independent woman. I do not need nor want constant hand holding--literally or figuratively. I'm not a big fan of public displays of affection and I don't need to be in constant contact with you physically or electronically. I'll respect that you have a job and are busy and expect you will do the same for me.

- I'm not interested in organized religion. I consider myself a recovering Catholic. It's like being a recovering alcoholic--I'm never not one, I just don't practice. It is hard to get past the brainwashing. I broke up with the Catholic Church because I shouldn't be treated differently because I'm a woman. Neither should gay people for that matter. And sex isn't a sin.

- I don't believe in God or Jesus any more than I believe in Zeus and Hercules. They are stories that ancient people told.

- I get my news from NPR, The NYTimes, The Atlantic, and other online sources. I don't watch network news because of its sensationalism. I definitely never watch Fox News, if you can call it that.

- I am centrist, but am forced to vote on the left because I think the right has gone off the deep end. I'd like to see balanced budgets with cuts made all around--leaving the departments to decide how to implement them--and tax loopholes removed. I'd love it if the government were more efficient, but I think they would have to hire smarter people first.

- Science is something you understand, not something you believe in. I understand the effects humankind has had on global warming and am trying to do my part to stop it.

- I'm a vegetarian. I'm not against people eating meat, but you should understand where meat comes from, the effect it has on the environment and have made your peace with it. I will occasionally eat meat when it is something special.

- Ignorance is never an excuse. I actually don't believe in excuses. I try to own up to things I get wrong. If I'm late, it's because I didn't plan enough time to get where I was going.

- I believe in becoming friends before lovers. In other words, I'm not interested in making out with you or going home with you on a first, second, or third date. I am a long-term, Wall Street investment, not a Vegas slot machine.

- I don't believe in having sex as often as you brush your teeth. I enjoy sex and I don't want to go weeks without it if I'm in a relationship, but if you are unable to go weeks without it, I'll never trust you when we are apart.

- Speaking of brushing your teeth, I go to the dentist every six months and appreciate good teeth. It is hard to kiss someone with bad teeth.

- I never want to be in a situation where I consider getting an abortion, but if I do, I want safe, legal choices.

- I have shot guns before. I don't own any and have no interest in being with someone who does. I'm a firm believer that the pen is mightier than the sword. And the people I know who own guns are usually the most mentally unstable people I know.

- I am a feminist, but I won't balk at a little chivalry like holding the door open for me.

- I don't like country or rap music. I will tolerate it in small doses, but don't expect me to grow to like it.

- I have worked hard to get where I am and I expect you to have as well. Ambition is a turn on.

- Decades ago, I took the batteries out of my biological clock and hid it in the closet. If you decide to find it and put fresh batteries in it, you'd better mean it. I'm pretty convinced at this point that I don't want to be chasing toddlers around in my 40's.

If you got this far and laughed because you feel the same way, then keep reading. ;-)
What I'm doing with my life
Working at a job I love. Traveling far and wide. Golfing as the sun rises. Running, although I don't have to do another half marathon to prove anything. Biking to save the environment. Photographing my adventures. Blogging about it all.
I'm really good at
(according to the friends I surveyed)

- Photography (I'm just an amateur)
- Having fun
- Traveling/Vacations (They assure me, if anyone is good at this, it is me)
- "Walking my dog" (I use air quotes because I wish it was a euphemism)
- Innocent-sounding provocations
The first things people usually notice about me
My sparkling personality--that is if they are actually listening to me and not looking at my cleavage.
Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food
I hate picking favorites.
The six things I could never do without
1. My family & friends
2. My pets (although they are getting older)
3. My iPhone (unless I'm on vacation)
4. My Nikon D3200
5. My imagination
6. My sense of humor
I spend a lot of time thinking about
Where to travel to next. What's on your short list?
On a typical Friday night I am
Having dinner with friends, participating in a birthday scavenger hunt in the city, taking an overnight flight somewhere fun, or on the couch with my pets catching up on the TiVo.

The better question is, "What am I doing on Saturday morning?" I could be at the farmer's market, on a run, or on a bike ride. I might take my dog to the beach, play golf, or take a book and a blanket and lay out in the back yard. Or maybe I'll be in another state or country doing touristy things. Sometimes I sleep in because I did too much on Friday night!

What do you do on Saturday mornings?
The most private thing I'm willing to admit
Is written in my blog. Feel free to search the web for it.
You should message me if
You think you can make me laugh. And if you can use spell check, proper grammar, and type complete words.

Tell me about what kind of car you drive and why. Everyone has a story, what is yours?

So I responded in a detailed fashion:

[not proofread, but relatively accurate...]

OK, I read your profile. I will respond, it'll be easy because there are so many interesting things to respond to in your profile. However women have a tendency of not responding at all - perhaps you've noticed... ah, probably not - so spending too much time could easily be a total waste of my time. If nothing else, could you shoot me a response back saying you got my message? I ask because I believe that dating sites like OKCupid often throttle men.

I will not address everything in your profile - I'll leave parts to hopefully be discussed over a glass of wine.

Alrighty, to the profile: Geek eh? Love your job. What is your job? I run a small computer consulting firm so I'm a qualified geek.

Monogamous? Check. Over 28. Check. "If I wanted a child, I'd adopt"? Love it! That's a good line.

I think a public display of affection should be just enough that people realize you're together.

Me, 100% atheist. I'm a member of several atheist groups in fact but I don't always attend any of them as they are often preaching to the choir! Heh, a joke! I don't need to get past the brain washing as I never really believed in the first place. I think the recent SCOTUS decision was great and now can the gays and lesbians frigging stop bitching about things. Yes you now get to enjoy all the lovely benefits of gay divorce! Yes I'm against gay marriage. Then again I'm against straight marriage too. Or, rather, I think that marriage should not be something that the government does nor endorses nor promotes. In short it's just none of their business. Marriage is essentially forming a corp or other contracted agreements. Let the courts handle dissolution of marriages but there shouldn't be any extra benefits for married people.

I get my news from http://news.google.com. Where's your geek cred?

I'm constantly amazed that people think of politics only in two dimensions. Dems or Repubs? Really? The world is not 2 dimensional - why is your politics? There are other parties ya know. I'm libertarian but I can hold a conversation with an anarchist and admit they have very good points. To me freedom is paramount because if you don't have that, nothing else really matters. Government will never be efficient - that's why the Founders stressed so hard in a *limited* government. "Government governs best that which governs least" as has been said.

I know where meat comes from and I know it has ecological effects. So does eating plants.

I agree ignorance is not an excuse. I also say sure you are entitled to your opinion - but it must be an informed and thoughtfully considered opinion.

As for making out, attraction and sex, sorry but I have a 3 date rule. Why? Well in my mind if you don't have a serious interest in exploring the other person and a close, intimate level by the 3rd date then you don't have any chemistry and the chances are high that you never will. At that point your just wasting your time and missing out on a great possibility with somebody else. I believe in cutting your loses. And no, you should never trust that a man will go weeks on end without sex. It's like asking somebody not to eat.

If you believe in chivalry at all then you're no feminist. Speaking of which, how exactly do you define chivalry and more importantly, what is the role of the female in this? Because to me it's totally lopsided and I refuse to participate in unfair institution. Make fair and I'll play along.

To me rap is music for the tone deaf!

OK, I think you can agree that read your profile. Now can you return the favor and respond to me. I'll be waiting, but not for too long. Limited time offer.

Please present your coupons before ordering.

Thanks

Since sometimes I sense time period where OKCupid seems to throttle men and I get no messages nor even a visit or like for a month or so I decided since this chick's into technology and speaks about her blog that I'd check it out. Found her on Twitter (neptonia) I'd tweet here to tell her that I sent her a message on OKCupid. I was traveling at the time and when I touched down at SFO I decided to check to see if she responded to me on Twitter only to find out she simply blocked me! So I responded to her with:

This is usually where everybody asks in anticipation "Well what did she say?". She said nothing. My money's on she will say nothing and she will block me on OKCupid and curse guys as having anger issues or needing validation. Really? No honey, what I need is for you to act normal!

Never ceases to amaze me how women don't understand that ignoring people is rude. I've had them say such things as "Well if I don't respond then you should get the message". Oh I get the message alright. You're just another rude bitch who disrespects others by ignoring them. Let's face facts: Nobody likes being ignored. Nobody like hanging on waiting for a response nor getting their hopes up. You're responsibility girls is to fucking communicate!!! You say you're better communicators. Great. Then fucking announce it! I've been know to say that if women want men to know that "no" means "no" then it's incumbent on them to fucking at least say it!

Look, I'm not saying you have to field requests from every asshole out there. But if a guy comes along and politely expresses interest to ignore him is the same as being a conceited bitch. The polite response is to say "Sorry but I'm not interested". It takes less than 30 seconds to do so. You can't even spend 30 seconds to let somebody who just stuck his neck out and is waiting for a response? If not then the message you are sending is not one you think you are sending. The message that is being received is you're one fucking stuck up bitch!

Here's a nice example of this and my response: On POF.com, I sent my standard polite request to Minenotyours (Perhaps the username should have tipped me off):

Hi....yea..I don't typically responded if I'm not interested. ..kinda the good thing about "online"....saves the while rejection/guilt ...but since you requested, thank you very much but I'm not interested :( sorry and good luck out there!

And here's my response:

I see so normally you're just rude. Got it.

You see nobody likes to be ignored and while it may feel guilty to you to say that you're not interested in somebody, it is indeed your polite responsibility to do so. That's how the man/woman relationship works, sweetheart. I'd much rather be told there's no interest than to be ignored! Most guys I talk to agree. I can only hope that you are ignored for the rest of your life so that you can learn this important lesson. To hide behind the internet and ignore people disrespects the other person. It's amazing to me why women don't know this. Apparently your mom never done taught you no manners! Look, I stick my neck out every day, many times a day, and you hide behind the internet ignoring polite requests. What does that make me? (Considering I do so politely - a gentleman) And what does that make you? Think about it.

It doesn't make me mad that you rejected me rather it makes me mad that you think it's OK to rudely ignore people!

I would say "good luck" but instead I'm thinking it'd be great if you got ignored by 1/2 of the people that routinely and rudely ignore men! Most women are misandrists and they wonder why men, in utter frustration, resort to misogyny. This is one reason why girls...

Gawd forbid I ask how you came up with the determination that you weren't interested in me considering you didn't even bother to visit my profile! Yeah I know because otherwise POF would have showed me that you visited. Nah you just looked at the pictures and made the same judgement call that you probably **** that men make and rejected me based on looks alone. Wonderful. Bam, I just proved that you are as bad as the men you complain about. How does that make you feel sweetie? Well honey, you just live with that. I know I'm much better than you deserve!

'Tis quite amazing how women complain about men just basing things off of looks when it's clear that I just busted this chick doing exactly the same thing!

Online dating it weird, and like many things the best way to handle it sometimes is with a script. For a man, online dating is a game of numbers, much like it is in life. Woman rarely make the first move so men have to. You can respond to many postings from women and you will get the same response rate, on average, that every other marketing campaign gets - 1%. Yes guys that means if you respond to 100 women on online dating you may get 10 women who respond to your message. But worse yet, your chances for a correspondence that will lead to meeting face to face is also about 1%. So respond to 100 women, you might meet one.

So respond to 1000 women, 100 will respond, you'll date 10 and maybe 1 on a second date. Liking online dating yet? Respond to 10000 women, 1000 will respond, 100 dates (over time), about 10 on second dates and you may get into 1 or 2 relationships. Anybody ever hear a guy saying that it's all about the numbers?

So ladies that's one reason why men don't read your profiles thoroughly - quite simply because it's a total waste of time reading 10000 profiles, that all pretty much say the same things, when you're only gonna be meeting a handful of women. No instead you develop a system. Here's mine...

Let me stress that as soon as a woman breaks out of the cycle or the script I immediately return to a very focused and personal connection with the person. Liken this to going fishing. You sit on the bank and cast your rod. You watch the bobber bop and only then do you give personal attention to your pole. You get nothing, re-bait, cast your line. This time a little less thinking a bite will come soon. After a while you learn to ignore the false signals but give your undivided attention to those signals you should pay attention to. It's really no different here.

So my first message out to women is canned. I have a 3 step program. It's not designed to fool or trick women, or to treat them badly. It's designed to limit the amount of hopes that get high when I respond to a new woman. It's designed to lesson my hurt and to cut my losses early when I can recognize that this will not work out or there just isn't interest here. It's also designed to make it so I don't bother the lady anymore with my requests.

The first message is:

Really liked your profile and pics. I like to keep it short here and allow the woman to check me out and respond if she's interested. I also ask if you would be so kind as to also let me know if you are not. You'd be surprised how many fail to...

The design of this message is to politely express my interest in them, to have them check me out and to determine whether or not there is any interest on their side. I ask specifically to let me know if they are not interested because if they are not I don't want to waste my time or their time on this. However here are some of the responses that I get to my first message:

From RockerHeart on OKCupid:

You wrote me loser, not the other way around. How's that for a reply, you creep!​

From ocdesign66 on OKCupid:

Well, that certainly sets u to the top of rudeness

From akaSabrina

Insecure and needy people need validation. You messaged me. If I was interested in you, I would have messaged you. Words do not need to be written as actions speak louder than words. Nothing to do with being polite or rude just as I do not choose to engage in conversation with strangers on the train. Now that you have a reply, I hope you feel better.

However, "I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine." Bruce Lee

A reply won't be necessary as you'll be blocked and I won't see it.
Good luck on your approach.

From italy123456

Guess youre alone cause your an ugly asshole who can't take a polite rejection ​

From Mixalusa

Sorry, but I must have missed that part of the message. Though I think you might be a tad rude jumping to conclusions that people don't have other things going on in life. But to comply with your request, I am not interested, especially after you felt the need to call me out. Anyway...good luck.​

To which I responded:

Really? So a man politely expresses interest in you and also politely asks you to indicate if you are interested in him and you think him a "tad rude" for doing so? That people have "other things going on in life" and therefore their non-response should not be taken as a "Well hell I have more other things going on in life that I don't need to respond to your sorry ass" and you somehow see that as polite? Really? You should be ashamed of yourself as you are stuck up and conceded!

The insecurity and virtuousness which women lash out speaks more to their loneliness and frustration than anything else. Go ahead girls, try to sue me.

From Eveline8

Nice attitude early in the morning, good luck with that :) you should change the"respond if she interested" to you better respond because my fragile ego can't handle anything less. Have a good week! :)

To which I responded:

Nah I got it. "you better respond if you don't want to be considered a condescending bitch". Yeah I like that, bitch!

I would ask you exactly why you consider me politely asking whether or not (yeah that or not part) you are interested in me as if I have no fucking ego. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I asked you a question, politely and this is how you respond?!? Shame on you! Shame on you bitch!

Later!

Really! More to come...

I usually wait for a couple of weeks and to all the women who don't respond (remember averaging about 99%) in the last couple of weeks I send them a message of "Well I guess you're just another rude woman who ignores a man's polite request." which is 100% true, then I unlike them and "hide" them. Again, I'm trying to make it so that I don't stumble upon them again. That's also so that I don't bother them again.

Sometimes people respond, albeit passive aggressively by visiting but still saying nothing. I then send them:

I hope you enjoyed your stay at my profile but it's closing time. Please make your way to the back gates which is just through the gift shop!

Come again, come often and be sure to tell all your friends about me...

And no lingering in the lingerie department! We haven installed special close circuit cameras to monitor that situation!

:-)

Which is intended to be a "poke" but also to be funny and slightly playful in a male/female perspective. I'm flirting here - this is supposed to be dating right? This is a dating site isn't it? Still some women get the creepies from this. I've been known to respond "No I don't send this message to the all the girls - I usually send it to women, who know the difference between creepy and flirtatious!".

Finally if in 3 attempts I get nothing I simply write them off on the "three strikes and you're out" rule. Really, if there's no interest after 3 messages and many weeks, the cause is lost and there's no sense of continuing right?

Man I haven't posted here in a while. I've been doing some serious attempts at online dating and I decided to write about some of my experiences here. Last time I did online dating was back when match.com started. I had a free account. In fact I had a few free accounts and I used to do some social experiments there. Why? Well because online dating worked so badly back then. Alas, it has really not gotten much better and I'm convinced the reason for this is that people, human nature, hasn't changed.

So far my results seem to mimic this guy's analysis. And while he seems sad he's right on. And yes, facing constant rejection and constantly being ignored makes you sad.

But girls here's a few tips from guys, or at least this guy:

1. Please don't post only pictures of sunsets and skies and puppies, etc. We know you like them but guys are visual and what we are interested in is you, not your puppy or your last trip to the Grand Canyon. The question we are trying to answer is can we envision ourselves making love to you for the next few years and not anybody else. If we can't look at you and feel aroused at all then chances are a relationship will never blossom. And girls, you feel the same way too but you will never admit it.
2. Short profiles or profiles that say just about nothing. I've seen many profiles of women with 3-7 pictures of them looking sexy, showing cleavage and leg and the like with the profile saying "I'm not into looks" or "not looking to hook up". Really? And that's the way you advertise yourself? Honestly? All we have to go by are a bunch of sexy photos so that's the image we see. And you know this.
3. Saying "Not looking to hook up" or "Not into friends with benefits". All men know this. All men know that's what you want to believe and yet many men "hook up" and have FWB. And many men are looking for long term relationships and are not looking just to "hook up" but to "hook up" often, repeatedly and do other things (sometimes called dating) and will respond positively. If you really want a man who is not into sex might I suggest trying the gay online dating...
4. Serial dating: Women will say "if you're a serial dater then move along". Hmmm... I'd think you'd be more concerned with the parallel daters not the serial daters. But women have confused the term, the phrase, and have taken it over to mean somebody who is not serious about dating or dates for a few, like until he gets laid, then breaks up and finds somebody else. Women, do you truly think that if a man has sex with you and your as gorgeous as you claim to be, good in the sack, etc. that the man will say "Well that was fantastic but I must break up with you now. I wouldn't want to have all that good sex with a beautiful woman who has her act together and is kind, nice, etc.". I mean what man would want that?!?
6. What's up with the pictures of you shooting a gun? Do you think that men find that attractive? "Ya know Buck, she was gorgeous, nice personality, great body and all but I can't be with her because she doesn't shoot guns!".
7. Here's a clue girls - if you say you don't like it when a man messages you "Hey, what's up" or other short messages that say really nothing then you can bet that if you do the same thing - send a one word message like "Hey" - we won't like it either. Note to self, if a woman does this more than two times she's not communicative and not ready to date. She'll probably fade away from you too. Cut your losses and move on!

Graceland was interesting. It's not as big or majestic of a house as I would have expected. Additionally one must remember the 70's styling. Some places had shag carpet on the walls and floor. Shortly after entering my camera, of course, ran out of battery juice so I didn't get that many pictures.

Oh he did add on to the house and there were like 13 acres of property. There was a room that they converted and added all of his gold and platinum records and his jump suits. I was struck by how hard of a worker he was throughout his life and how he had so many awards from not only Rock but Country and Gospel too.

I guess another thing about the house that was a little disappointing was that it wasn't really in an area that would might consider majestic. All around the house was just regular and poorer neighborhoods.

I also say his auto collection and took a tour of his two airplanes. There were also interesting. One must bear in mind however that these were the 70's - not the 21st century! His jet, the Lisa Marie had two phones, both chorded. One rang up the pilot and the other allowed him to call anybody on the ground. Also they had the then state of the art quadraphonic system and, of course, eight tracks!

I hear stories that one day Lisa Marie said that she never saw snow, so Elvis fired up the jet and they fly to Colorado just to play in the snow then flew back.

I also bought a CD, The 68 Comeback Special. I liked that one because of the "unplugged" section. I was struck, as a musician of just how much of just a plain singer Elvis was. He was first and foremost a singer. I also learned that he didn't write many, if any of his hits or other songs, opting instead for other, professional, song writers to write for him. Regardless he always added his touch, had a very good vocal range and dexterity singing anywhere from gritty to ballad like. I wondered if he didn't die then how would he have adapted. It would have been interesting.

There was a memorial garden where Elvis, his mom, Gladys, dad, Vernon, his grandmother, Minnie and his stillborn twin brother. I didn't know he was 1/2 of a set of twins.

It was also interesting to know that Elvis, worldwide known, didn't do tours around the world. According to All About Elvis:

International Acclaim

Elvis Presley's trophy room at Graceland is filled with gold and platinum records and awards of all kinds from around the world. Some of the countries represented are: Norway, Yugoslavia, Japan, Australia, South Africa, England, Sweden, Germany, France, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

It is interesting to note that, except for a handful of movie soundtrack songs, Elvis did not record in other languages, and, except for five shows in three Canadian cities in 1957, he did not perform in concert outside the United States. Still, his recordings and films enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, popularity all over the globe, and he is known throughout the world by his first name.

I also learned that he was a very charitable man.

The 70's were known as the Concert Years where Elvis toured extensively until his death in '77. At the time of his death they say he weighed in at 350 lbs! I've looked at some youtube.com footage from his '77 tour and he didn't look that fat.

Nelson, Bill wrote:

Andrew,

Been a few days and I thought I would drop you a line. How are things going? Are you enjoying the weather? I have been down with a cold - still coming into to work but it is dragging me down. Luckily I have not had to get too close to anyone. A number of other people have been staying ome.

Sorry, I saw you're message this morning but I had cardiac rehab today then went out for lunch with my brother. Then I got sleepy...;-)

Hell, I get to take naps now so I took advantage of that!

I'm still doing good. Like I said I'm doing cardiac rehab. Did a 2 hour walk at Whiterock Lake Tuesday. I think that might have been a bit much though as I got a cramping like pain under my left rib cage. The pain has been moving around my chest a little bit. The nurses at cardiac rehab said I may have done just a little to much and to take it a little easier so I am. They said there's a lot of nerves and tissue that are banged around and traumatized from the surgery and sometimes people feel such pains for a while.

Did you get to see your doctor this week? Did he give you a “go back to work” pass? A week from next Monday is 6^th. Will be good to have you back.

I saw the surgeon last Monday. He just checked out his handiwork and asked how I was doing. I asked him what he saw when he was in there. He didn't seem to have a very good "bedside manner" nor was he that talkative. He said they just went straight to the heart to do what was necessary. I asked him if my arteries were constricted. He said yes, as he expected. He told me to keep cleaning the incision and applying the cream they gave me. I asked him if it were true that bypasses last only 10-15 years and is my best shot to just try to be as healthy as I could. He said yes that was the best I can do and didn't really put a length on how long a bypass will last.

All in all I got the impression that surgeons only care and know much about the surgery itself. Sorta like asking the break repairmen if my car will perform better and him answering "Well you'll stop better!".

I see my cardiologist on Monday. I'm getting the impression that the cardiologist is the man when it comes to after surgery advice. For example, I haven't had my cholesterol checked and I'm curious what it has come down to with me taking cholesterol medicine for a month now. I suspect also that the cardiologist is also the man with both the back to work pass and the now you can drive pass. I don't know what I'm gonna do when my brother leaves Saturday and I need to go to say the grocery store if I'm still not allowed to drive.

Home Recovery Continues

Cindy arrived and as usual the girls started to gab more and more. Meantime I continue to recover. It's great to have good home cooking and people to take care of me. But I concentrate on getting better, doing my walks. Being on the 3rd floor here means my walks are confined to the 3rd floor level. Back and forth, back and forth and getting boring. Slowly I added a flight of steps occasionally. Eventually I am able to go down and up all 3 flights of steps.

Now I can go down to the bottom and walk to the apartment office, check my mail, etc. Tomorrow I'm gonna try the treadmill in the workout gym by the office. My initial goal will be simple - 3 1/2 minutes at least. I gotta be doing better than before the operation! Maybe I can work that up a little to 5 or 10 minutes eventually.

Meantime I've caught a little cold - a sore throat - which sucks because coughing is still very difficult. Slowly my pains have been getting smaller and confiding themselves to my chest incision. Immediately after the operation I felt like my chest was in three separate places at once. Now I feel a lot more whole in my chest than before. Still they much break the breastbone to get in there and they tell me I have metal rods and screws holding things back together. I guess getting through airport security will be problematic for me from now on

Went out to White Rock Lake Park the other day and it was nice to get outside. I can walk pretty good and pretty far on flat levels - good thing Texas' is largely flat! - but I still get winded going up the stairs. Additionally, with this chest cold my lung capacity is diminished somewhat. I try to keep doing my breathing exercises to keep my lungs going well. Hopefully this cold will pass soon. A lot of Texas right now is getting the flu and I have not had flu shots (generally I don't get them) as flu shots were not a good idea to do with surgery. Hopefully I will not get the flu.

Work's still not an option and I haven not seen my surgeon nor cardiologist yet - that's next week. Texas Instruments requires that I'm out at least 4 weeks and, like a little kid, I have to return with a note from the doctor. It's interesting because TI actually deactivates my login ID to prevent me from working. I guess it's all for the best. Jeff, my boss, says that they've extended me until May, which is good but what happens after that? I mean I just got a couple of large bills to pay.