Please Tip Always
If you're at a fundraiser or grand opening or another special event where the bar is either free or subsidized, still tip! A dollar a drink is good, even if you're having club soda. Club soda is my standard drink. Even though you're not paying for your own drink, the...
Menstrual Cups: Cheaper and Safer
The one I use is in the middle. (With this post I contribute towards the effort to normalize the topic of menstruation and the word "vagina.") The Atlantic recently published a history of the tampon, which mentioned the controversy over how safe they...
I’d Rather Ride a Bicycle
Used bicycle, new helmet. I'm not a confident driver. In fact, I dislike driving, especially on freeways, at night, in rain or snow or when traffic is heavy. I dread changing lanes. I totaled a car once, which taught me what it's like to be in a car when it's upside...
I Keep My Promises
I've been using the OK Cupid dating website and part of the profile consists of a series of multiple choice questions. Some of the questions make sense ("Are you looking for someone to settle down with and marry?"). Some make less sense ("Do you drink milk and juice...
One-Month Hiatus
For May 2015, I'm on a one-month hiatus from my blog, but I'll be back in June 2015. (I'm one of those people who keeps her promises.)
Fed Up: Sugar Is the New Cigarette
Released last May 2014 Katie Couric produced and narrates the documentary Fed Up, which might seem like just another film about the effects of the standard American diet on our health, but this one has a very specific and heartbreaking focus: the effects of sugar on...
The Selfishness of Having Children
Pope Francis has made it clear that he believes couples who choose not to have children are selfish. A recently published book gives insight into why choosing not to have children isn't selfish. Today I'm blogging about neither. I say let's look at the reasons people...
Hooray for Fat Yoga!
Previous post on weight & health: I love my glucose level When I put on 50 pounds (23 kilos) between the fall of 2012 and the summer of 2013, I didn't know if that weight was here to stay or not, but now it's starting to come off. It's probably similar to a woman...
I Love My Glucose Level
Previous post on weight & health: Trying to eat well to avoid pain Yesterday I attended the Asian Human Services Spring Health Fair where I got "my numbers" checked. That refers to my blood glucose level, cholesterol level, blood pressure and weight. The one I'm...
Don’t Respond to Phone Calls from the IRS
This morning I received a call on my cell phone. The incoming call had a 347 area code. A young-sounding woman asked for Regina Martin and told me she was calling from the Internal Revenue Service. For a few seconds I started to sweat, but then I remembered that the...
“I Am Old.” Say it
The other night I was at the meeting of a non-profit that works with refugees that have recently come to Chicago. The room contained about three people in their 20s, maybe three people in their 30s and three of us who were over 45. One of the young women in her 20s...
Thank You, Friends
I'm very grateful to my friends. I had a bout of depression in the past week and they responded in just the right ways. They asked how they could help and offered to talk, but they didn't give me a pep talk or keep asking why I was depressed. They just let me know...