The Starting Line

Well, here goes nothing.

I used to hate flying, but recently have found it to not be so bad. I used to fly a lot when I was younger, flying every summer to visit my Dad in Pittsburgh. I never really thought about flying then, I guess I was more concerned about leaving my Mom for a length of time and being with relatives that I only knew for a month at a time. I can't really remember the first time I got scared of flying, but I know I can recall being really anxious on a flight home one time when I was in my teens. I can remember having a stomach ache and hoping that I would get sick, so I wouldn't have to fly. What was I thinking? I would be sick forever and never have to go home? I told my Dad about it while we where having a lunch at a restuarant before I left, and he told me to walk down the block to a drug store and get some Tums or Rolaids. Needless to say, I don't think they helped. Then there was the time I actually went to the doctor and got a prescription for a couple Valium. That didn't help either. It got so bad that I actually went across the country a couple times on a train (that'll be an entry for another day). But, recently, I've had to fly more often for work, and it hasn't bothered me as much. My wife asked why, and I replied that maybe it was because I had to fly for work to keep my job (which I love, more later). While all these other flights were elective trips that could be begged off one way or another.


I just got a text message on my phone, while folding laundry, that the Steelers lost their final preseason game. Oh well. In past seasons I would have been a little scared that a winless preseason might mean bad things for the regular season. But not this year. After winning the Super Bowl last year, I feel very confident about this season, and can't wait for the season to start next Thursday.

While I was folding laundry, I noticed I had many types of underwear. I had some regular cotton boxers from Gap, some t-shirt type cotton boxers (what's that material called, I also have some sheets made of it), some boxer briefs from Hanes and the old standby tighty whiteys. It's funny that I wear them with different clothes, some for working out, some for my tight pants, some when I don't want a pattern showing through light pants. I actually think about when I'm in the bathroom at work in the public stall, and my pants are around my ankles and wonder if anyone can see my boxers. Some of the boxers from Gap have weird patterns on them, and I try to tuck them in my pants out of sight while I sit there. I guess I'm thinking of what I would think if I saw someone else's boxers and they were a bright color or had a girly pattern on them, and I would be thinking "what a fruitcake".