One of my patients told me once that the biggest thing she appreciates about me is that I am always so calm, no matter what she says. It’s true – I don’t like to get too worked up about things, and this swine flu hysteria brings out the best of me. The annoyed, “Would you [...]

I noticed it a few weeks ago – every time I opened my computer, I’d have to swat some gnat away. And when I walked into the kitchen. And occasionally I’d find one around the bathroom sink, easily squashed against the white tile. But soon I had Facebook posts that were saying: Marlene Merritt is [...]

This morning in the New York Times, I saw this article: Advances Elusive In The Long Drive to Cure Cancer Apparently, the death rates for cancer have only improved 5% since 1950. FIVE PERCENT. For flu and pneumonia? 58%. And why is this? What seems to be the most obvious reason is that the research [...]

You know what a lemming is? Let me just say that my mother would NEVER let me be a lemming – she’d always say, “If your friends were all jumping off the Empire State Building, would you jump, too?” Lemmings wouldn’t hesitate. It’s actually a myth, but the myth says that if all the other [...]

OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, since there’s such a thing as gluten-free beer (and it doesn’t suck, actually) but when Will found out he basically has celiac disease and can’t have wheat ever again without seriously messing up his gut, all I could think about was how I was, am I going to have to [...]

I’ve walked through most of my life feeling like the rules didn’t completely apply to me. I’ll jaywalk without even pausing, try to find a way around lines if I can, ask for exceptions whenever possible – whatever it takes. I learned most of this from my mom, who gets defensive when I say that [...]

I just spent a day lounging around a hot tub, a pool, and world-class amenities for a mere $25 for a day pass, including lunch at The Crossings here in Austin. See, I do what everyone else does, which is that on my day off, I catch up on errands and appointments and all the [...]

I had a whole other post planned for today and then I saw this in the NY Times and was completely derailed. Dog Yoga, also known as “Doga” Is nothing sacred?

(*Abandonment, or something like that) Despite what people think, I don’t actually get everything right (although I’d certainly like to wish ;-) ) or achieve everything I set out to. And finishing Paris-Brest-Paris was one of them. Someone once asked how you end up doing ultra-long distance events (although I think the same could be [...]

Listen. Do me, and yourself, a favor, and take the word “try” out of your vocabulary. As Yoda said, (and I suspect I’m paraphrasing) “There is either “Do” or “Not Do” – there is no “Try”. Right – just to be clear, you’re either doing a thing, or you’re not doing a thing. There is [...]