So on the 10th of February I turned 59; I have no idea where the time has gone, but the next really huge zero-ending birthday will be here before you know it, and I thought I would make up a necessary list of everything I always wanted to do before... well, you know. I mean, I went a bit nuts on my 50th; had a lot of fun, lovers, topless sunbathing in a beach in Barcelona, tango dancing... and then it was all right, and I spent the last seven years, practically, in all sorts of political unrest, ha ha, including arrests for civil disobedience (which was not all that civil... although I have tried very hard to embrace the concept of peaceful protest... but my Cuban genes frequently get the best of me... more training for that one!)
Earlier in January I had gone to a regular MD, found out that I was the heaviest I had been in a very looong time, and was confirmed as having high blood pressure (actually, the scale scared me into the hbp!), and so I went looking for a chiropractor and an acupuncturist. The acupuncturist is a wonderful Chinese practitioner, who gave me perhaps the best treatment (acupuncture, accupressure, electrical stimulation) I have had, combining the best of many disciplines, and talked me into a nasty 'cleansing diet' which involved drinking lots of Aloe Vera... The taste was so putrid I decided I might kill myself and then I would have no more hbp or weight problems... but I persevered! Here it is a month later, and on the 13th day of the Year of Silvia I have, quite fittingly, lost my first 13 1/2 pounds and I am walking! I don't just mean walking up and down the stairs, but walking around a beautiful park around Lake Chabot... The last day, before it started raining again, I walked six miles...
I am feeling much healthier... I had medical insurance for a very very brief period, it was a poor excuse for medical insurance and it is cancelled effective the end of the month, but it did inspire me to find these various medical experts. I go to the chiropractor and to the acupuncturist every two weeks, and pay for the services, insurance be damned.
The loss of the first 9 lbs. on week 2 gave me impetus to start walking (hard at first!) and exercising.
I can certainly afford $110 every couple of weeks (he charges $65, she $45 cash price for people
without insurance...
The first day I went to the park I walked like a very old person and had no lung power... I now take
any excuse to walk; walk to the library, the store... walk home from interpreting for a client... a mile here,
a mile there...
So here is the 'list of must-do things before I reach 60.'
skydiving
learning Mandarin and/or Farsi
painting lessons
learning Tai Chi/ Qi Gong (also and/or)
taking piano lessons
recording my first CD
going back to tango and dancing professionally (senior competition?)
getting Laser surgery for my vision (a very big MAYBE...I am not sure about this...),
going to France to live for a month
going to China/Japan/India/Africa (all and/or depending on finances...)
learning to ride a motorcycle...
publishing my first novel...
moving somewhere, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Cuba...
Any suggestions, anyone?
(One which is not up there is losing seventy or so pounds... even if it takes a year)
Love ya!
