Random Updates and Thoughts about Life
Life is chaotic, and life is messy, but can also be so vibrant, colorful, and beautiful all at the same time.
I was raised in the Catholic church, but quickly fell away from the church after leaving home for college in 1996, and have never attended church as an adult. Despite having been baptized and confirmed and doing all of the things a good young Catholic boy ought to have done (except becoming an altar boy, which I refused), I never established a firm connection with either God or the church during my childhood, but have still largely lived a very moral and Christian life. This is the story of my return to Faith, the Church, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Nine years ago this month, I had just finished 4 brutal rounds of chemotherapy fighting testicular cancer, and was on deck for a highly invasive surgery the next month in June. You might be surprised to learn that this was all the “easy” part of my cancer fight. What was hard was overcoming all of the mental health issues that many cancer survivors experience in the aftermath, such as anxiety, depression, and even PTSD symptoms. Learning to overcome all of this at a younger age has perhaps left me better prepared for other challenges in life, including the COVID-19 pandemic, so here are some mental health pointers for Mental Health Awareness Month.
Steve plays auto journo and offers his thoughts on the latest sheetmetal out of Detroit with the newly announced 2021 Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, as a recent first-time 2018 Suburban owner.
Here’s an in-depth review of our Chevy Suburban at one year and just short of 15,000 miles. We love this thing!
William and I built our first ever Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby car together. We just wanted to build a cool looking car that we could be proud of and would hopefully be fast, but we had no idea that our “Coupe de Will” would be so competitive that it would be in serious contention to win the entire event! Here’s the story of how we built our totally rookie but fiercely competitive Coupe de Will Pinewood Derby car
My review of our new 2018 Chevy Suburban Premier 4x4, how the hell I transitioned to driving one of these from my low-riding 2011 BMW 335i convertible, and comparisons to minivans, larger crossover SUVs, and of course the Ford Expedition Max for our family of five plus dog and occasional add-ons!
Who knew that one day I would get so pissed off at lawn freaking mower manufacturers, that I would feel the need to sound off about all of the shenanigans and totally deceptive and misleading marketing practices going on in the industry. Really? You can’t just walk into a store to look at lawn mowers without being fed a bunch of BS? Good grief!
To celebrate our 40th birthdays on October 27th and January 1st (well, Debbie is turning 28 again!), we ate our way through DC with family and friends. We're a few grand poorer and a couple of pounds heavier, but it was worth it! Here's the story and a ton of photos. :-)
It’s been ages since I’ve done much in the way of writing about my cancer journey here, but it’s time to start writing again.