Answering emails

It is weird enough that people bother to email me about this blog, what is stranger is that they ask me questions, not only about the stuff that gets tossed up here, but about personal stuff as well.

First, a question that has been asked numerous times over the past week, why no new posts? Busy times right now, I get home from long days working as a dirt farmer and my fingers are sore, my back is in pain and my tiny little brain refuses to function. I have also been trying to celebrate black history month, and since today is the final day of the month, it is time for me to stop focusing on the history of blacks and get back to focusing on important things, like this blog.

On questioner asked me why I put clips on the site from YouTube. Mostly it is out of boredom and laziness. Plus, I have been celebrating black history month and my focus has been dimmed.

I have been asked a few times about Chinese food. I am never quite sure why people bother to email me about chinese food, except for the fact that I am something of an expert on finding the cheapest chinese food in all the land. About two blocks from my house is the cheapest and worst chinese food in America. I never recommend it to anyone. I went there once and was sick for days. There is a certain amount of skill in finding cheap, but good, chinese food. There is a place in Albany that we used to frequent, but I forget what the name is. I know I have its phone number on my cell, so if you are in Albany and want cheap chinese food, write again.

A fat man asked me why I write about fat people with outrage and derision. I don't, well, I do, but I am a fat guy, so I feel like I am speaking to my friends. That and I do believe fat people are like smokers, they are out among us in public committing suicide and no one seems to care. I am a big believer in allowing people to make choices, even stupid unhealthy choices, but that does not mean we should just be silent. I come from a long line of fat smokers and all I can say is the vast majority of fat smokers I have known are gone and sometimes my anger at their leaving boils to the top.

I have a lot of cyclists who stay in touch, read the blog in general and know about my life in details I find upsetting. A couple have asked about my riding. When we moved last summer I was so overwhelmed with the move, the work that needed to be done to our house and trying to stay busy and make some money (I had been ripped off by a fat person and needed cash, quickly) that I kind of put cycling on the back burner. I became a serious cyclist about a decade ago, it made me healthy, cleared my head, allowed me to find some sort of peace and kept me strong on a variety of levels. A few years ago I crashed a bike on some black ice, which led to all sorts of brain troubles and an honest fear or road cycling. When riding on roads I like to ride hard and fast. My new years resolution this year has been to get back into serious cycling shape and when spring is here I plan to be back on the road. Given my history with cycling and speed, if I crash again, I expect to bounce back and smile a lot.

Finally I was asked recently about advice on vacations. I have just started saving for a vacation this summer. I love vacations. I am not good about going to the beach and loafing, I like to go to beautiful cities with a history and spend time getting to know it. My first day in Amsterdam a long time ago was spent hitting thrift stores and smoking pot. Get into the scene, so to speak. So, my advice to people who write, take a vacation that involves doing things you have never done in places you have never visited.

Finally part two, my friend Tony and Vanessa own a great restaurant in Sharon Springs, the Black Cat. I miss them, but I miss their food even more. I am planning to sneak out of here and visit them in the next month or so. So should you.