Calm Down, James

I went to the grocery store at 7:00 to avoid the crowds. When I returned, my special magnet that opens of the door didn’t work. I noticed a sign, in Ukrainian. I could decipher that it said something about pushing the C and doing something to the digit; then, at the same time open with the key (as usual), and don’t stop pushing C. I tried a few things with no success.

Storytelling in Kiev

                February 7. I hosted Storytelling Night at a bar in Kiev. It was fabulous. It’s exactly the kind of thing I want to do. I started out welcoming everyone, and telling a short story about my day. Then I invited the guests to get into groups of three or four. It was Storytelling Night, right. So what should we do? Tell stories! In their groups, they would tell each other a 2-minute story, and then

Swimming

17 July 2019

	Swim 1k min.sec	Swim 750m min.sec	Swim 500m min.sec	Swim 250m min.sec	50m sec.100ths
17-Jul	24.37 (5.55)	18.42 (6.10)	12.32  (6.14)	6.18	49.18

Today was the second day swimming after a few weeks. At first I was not swimming because I have a pain in my groin. I'm afraid it is a hernia. One doctor here gave me an ultrasound, and he said he couldn't find anything. Another doctor said that hernias don't show up on an ultrasound. So...and least

At least you're not carrying extra

This post is dedicated to my brother-in-law, Brad. He probably doesn't remember it, but a couple years ago, he said something that has stuck with me. It was in the summer, and my sons and I had been messing around with the pickup, my prospects weren't all that great, I was having knee problems, and I was in what I thought of as a personally tough situation.

Thirty months of no running is over

25 May 2019

                This morning, I went for my first run since November 11, 2016. It was fabulous! My knees were completely pain-free, the foot which was operated on last October (see:  https://runner12345.blogspot.com/2019/05/hallux-valgus-bunion-surgery.html) was pain-free, and even the strange blisters on my toes did not hurt much. It was great, not only because my body didn’t hurt, but also because I was running around my neighborhood. The thing is that in the past—in Tirana, Panora, Emmetsburg, and Moscow—I got to know the area because I ran around it. I knew all the ways to get places, little connections that aren’t immediately evident, and I knew where things were. Until now, here in Kiev, my neighborhood has been quite small.

Hallux Valgus (bunion surgery)

On October 9, 2018, I had an operation on my right foot. The big toe had been pushing its way to the right, forcing the second toe to move up. It was serious enough that I often had terrible pain walking, and I could not wear some shoes normally. For example, when I put on one particular boot, it felt like a nail or something was sticking into the shoe and then into my foot. When I removed the boot and felt inside, there was nothing. I didn't wear those boots any longer.

Here is the doctor's explanation two days after the surgery. I was still in the hospital.

A new kitty!!

Notice the beautiful Iowa flag in the background. What follows is a great video of Princess being cute.