This and that

 Sometimes I hate being right.  My favorite YouTuber/podcaster, MrBallen, has a pattern: a new video on YouTube every Saturday.  New material on the podcast every Monday.  And on Thursdays he does a podcast that recycles material from YouTube.  But during the last few weeks he hasn’t published anything new on YouTube or on the podcast, just recycled stories. I speculated that he might be seriously ill.  Sure enough, a few days ago he posted to instagram from his hospital bed, where he is recovering from cardiac surgery; I really like this guy and I hope he fully recovers soon.

Another favorite YouTuber is Charlotte Dobre, who seems to have made a career out of reading and reacting  to Reddit posts and TikTok.  Pure mind candy.  And I have a “sweet tooth”.

My other favorite time suck …Wordle.  I’m actually getting pretty good at it.  Starting to tackle the Connections puzzle, too.  I subscribe to The NY Times for the insightful journalism, but the puzzles are fun, too …

Looking at that photo from 7 years ago really shook me.  I’m remembering all the slights and humiliation I accepted because of my weight … asking for a seatbelt extender on the airplane …not being able to ride the latest attraction at Disney because I didn’t fit into the seat … no souvenir t shirts in my size … and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

 Ack in December 2022, you may recall, Drew and I took a Caribbean cruise.  We had an absolutely wonderful time.  But …

What I didn’t say at the time … I’d already started to take weight loss medication, I was starting to lose weight, but I was feeling incredibly frumpy the whole time I was on that ship.

Most people take photos of themselves visiting all the tourist sites.  I didn’t pose for any photos that trip, except for one. When we traversed the Panama Canal, Drew insisted I pose for the professional photographer. I didn’t want to … but I’m glad I did.

Proof that my adventurous spirit outweighed my insecurities.

I lost 125 pounds.  As Becca says, that’s an entire person.  I’m still about 30 pounds over my ideal weight,  I can live with that.  

Maybe it’s time to plan our next adventure.