Today Is ...

May 31, 2023

My father called them "go-aheads" because it is difficult to walk backwards while wearing them.

May 31, 2023

I do like macaroons, especially with chocolate on their bottoms.

May 31, 2023

Please do this every day.

Mint Julep & Flowers

May 30, 2023

I have never had a Mint Julep. I don't think I would like it because I dislike the Mojito.

Memorial Day Sweets

May 29, 2023

My terrific mother brought my wife and me this plate of cookies and a cupcake to celebrate Memorial Day today.

Eggplant Parm For Dinner

May 29, 2023

For dinner, my wonderful wife made Eggplant Parmesan. In this photo, there is a stack missing that my terrific mother took home.

Healthy Lunch

May 29, 2023

My wonderful wife created this healthy late lunch for me.

Chicken & Clips

May 29, 2023

Translation from French: chicken with wine ... I have eaten this before. It was OK.

True, Then False

May 28, 2023

When you were a kid, what did you believe that when you got older found out was false? Off the top of my head, I have two.

1. When I was a kid, I thought all members of the House of Representatives were Republicans because of the Rep. before their names. When I got older, I discovered that Rep. stood for Representative. Imagine my disappointment.

2. When I was a kid, I thought that women never died (that they lived forever) and that only men died. Why? When I watched the news on TV about the Vietnam War, I only saw men dying. I thought women were superhuman creatures.

"Stel Og Stem"

May 28, 2023

When my friend Tom and I would go to Shea Stadium several decades ago, we would repeatedly chant, "Stel Og Stem !!!" Do you know why?

National Hamburger Day

May 28, 2023

How do you like your burgers?

I like medium-rare hamburgers with:

1. cheese (Swiss, Provolone or Blue) with mayonnaise and ketchup

2. a fried egg and ketchup (no mayo)

3. just peanut butter

*NEVER with lettuce, raw tomatoes, raw onions*

Monaco Grand Prix

Sunday, May 28, 2023

It's 9 a.m. here in southeastern Florida, and I am watching a live broadcast of the famous Monaco Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1 (on ESPN on ABC). This is the sixth race of the 23-race Formula 1 auto racing season for 2023.

Today's circuit (track) is the Circuit de Monaco, a street track in Monaco, Monte Carlo.

The first five races were in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Azerbaijan, and Miami. This season, there are two races in Italy and three races in the United States. Last Sunday's Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, was postponed because of weather conditions.

Formula 1 racing is the only sport that I actively follow. There are 20 drivers on 10 teams (constructors). One driver is from the United States.

Women Waging War

May 27, 2023

The anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that if we sent women to war, there wouldn't be anybody left alive. She explained that men are much better than women at negotiation.

My Unfortunate Truth

May 27, 2023

Unfortunately, this is true in regard to me.

Doing Nothing

May 27, 2023

Actually, I have preferred doing nothing for my entire life. Ultimately, we are human beings, not human doings. Just be. Just exist. While I have been a Hindu for decades, long ago, I went through a Taoist (pronounced Dowist) phase where I did not have to define myself as anything or anyone. I could exist without labels. I still like that idea.

A Perfect Description

May 27, 2023

Wow. This perfectly describes the man-woman romantic relationship. I have discovered that the feminine mindset in regard to men is: My husband/boyfriend is a jackass, but he's my jackass.

Grapes & Tape

May 27, 2023

Cheesecake & Airplanes

May 26, 2023

While I am not all that fond of cheesecake, I do like blueberries.

Remembering "Pops"

May 25, 2023

I am remembering and honoring my paternal grandfather ("Pops") today on his birthday. He passed away in 1983, close to his 82nd birthday. 

On his birthday in 2020, I decided to search online, using his name and where he lived, to see if there was anything about him that I could find. I am still shocked by what I found, which I purchased back in 2020.

 Someone on eBay was selling a matchbook (without matches) from the 1940s from the Texaco service station that my grandfather owned and operated from the 1940s until the late 1970s on Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York. My father had a bicycle repair business there when he was in his early teens.

My grandfather came to the United States from Porto, Portugal, when he was a teenager. He initially was a construction worker who helped build many of the highways on Long Island. In the 1950s, he established a real estate and house appraisal business. I remember going on appraisals with him as his "helper" when my age was in single digits.

My grandfather was also in the Merchant Marines.

When I was young, I often heard him say, "When I came to this country, they called me 'Spic.' Now, they call me 'Mister.'" He was very proud of that.

It's nice to have this Texaco memory and my many other memories of Pops.

1st Anniversary Of Surgery

May 25, 2023

First Anniversary of Third Surgery !!!

COMPOSITE PHOTO:
1. my chest: after my first surgery
2. my chest: after my third surgery
3. my chest: healed externally

To see the composite photo that I made (below), just click/tap on "Learn more," then on "See photo," and you will be able to see it.

Today is the first anniversary of my third of three surgeries in 2022.

1st (March 9, 2022): I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. As usual, a section of a vein in my left thigh was removed to be used in my open-heart surgery. I had two drains installed in my belly. When I arrived home from the hospital, I engaged in physical therapy and occupational therapy (at home), followed by cardiac rehabilitation at a nearby facility.

2nd (May 19, 2022): A second surgeon removed the sternal plates from the first surgery that were holding my broken breastbone pieces together from within my chest. The screws became loose. He also cleaned out much of a staph infection also from within my chest. A wound vacuum was then attached to my chest, sucking out the remaining infection and discharge, running 24 hours per day. My chest remained open for about a week with the wound vacuum constantly sucking.

3rd (May 25, 2022): A third surgeon closed my chest by attaching seven sutures, leaving me with eight holes in my body from my lower neck to my upper belly. The wound vacuum was reattached and continued to suck on my chest for many more weeks.

***I entered the emergency room of the hospital on May 13, 2022, with severe chest pain, and I would not return home until July 21, 2022, the day before my wife's birthday. I spent a total of seventy (70) days in the hospital and at a physical rehabilitation facility, the latter of which I entered on June 3, 2022.***

Spikes

May 25, 2023

My blood-glucose levels are crazy this morning. Both of these levels are bad. (I check my levels four times per day using the finger-prick method.)

Between readings, I injected myself in my belly with two types of insulin. Every day, I inject myself with insulin four times a day: long-acting and fast-acting before breakfast; and fast-acting before lunch and again before dinner.

Wine & Geeks

May 25, 2023

I prefer Austrian (not Australian) white wine and Italian red wine, specifically Chianti Classico.

May 25, 2023

I celebrate being a nerd, not a geek.

What's Going On Today?

May 24, 2023

I never ate it, but I would like to try it.

May 24, 2023

I never liked escargot, but we liked the sauce, right Mom? 🙂

May 24, 2023

I have a stepsister, but no brothers ... except ... for ... my fraternity brothers. Here's a tribute to the Gamma Zeta chapter (Villanova University) of Alpha Phi Delta fraternity. ... love you guys !!!

Taffy & Pennies

May 23, 2023

I grew up eating saltwater taffy on the beaches of south-central Long Island, New York, in the 1960s and 1970s.

What's Doin' Today?

May 22, 2023

I prefer chocolate pudding mixed with pistachio pudding.

Women As Butterflies

May 22, 2023

A man looks at beautiful women in the same way he looks at butterflies. A beautiful woman will catch a man's attention for a few seconds; the man thinks, "she looks nice"; and then the man is immediately thinking about getting something to eat.

Today Is ...

May 21, 2023

I like Darjeeling tea. Earl Grey tea is nice, too; I like its bergamot flavour.

May 21, 2023

This is definitely not my thing. I dislike whipped cream, and I REALLY dislike strawberries, although I sometimes force myself to eat them because they are healthy.

Lots Going On Today

May 20, 2023

I would like to take this opportunity to promote my YouTube channel:

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel: "Bill Santos: Piano & More." At the time of this post (May 20, 2023), I have 38 subscribers, and I would like to have more. If you are already a subscriber, thank you. Subscribing is FREE, and it only means that you will receive a simple notification whenever I upload a new video onto my channel. Also, tell your friends, family members, and co-workers to subscribe.

If you do not wish to subscribe, you can click on this link and then click on the "VIDEOS" tab for a complete list of my 181 videos (at the time of this posting). You can then watch whatever you want. You can also click on the "SHORTS" tab to watch shorter videos (each less than one minute long).

https://youtube.com/channel/UC_K6Ge5R1VZnmni4HRt1sZg

Here is the official description of my channel. If it does not appeal to you, then please do not subscribe.

"My YouTube channel includes songs and improvisations that I play on my digital piano. I have expanded the scope of my channel to include more than just piano videos. There are already several videos of myself singing in Italian, German, and English. I am creating and uploading videos of myself reciting poetry (self-written and by others); personal cooking; food reviews; music reviews; my lip-syncing; my activities; my likes; my philosophies; my Hindu spirituality; and more. I am really going for a mixture of subjectively interesting stuff, ranging from humorous and frivolous to informative and lightly serious. Enjoy."

May 20, 2023

I like apples in all forms, except raw. I like apple cider, apple juice, apple sauce, baked apples, apple strudel, apple pie, apple crumb cake, apple crisp, apple butter, apple rugelach, Apple Jacks cereal, even dried apples, but give me a raw apple, and I will see how far I can throw it. It's probably because I hate the texture of a raw apple, and it's definitely because I absolutely HATE that "CRUNCH" sound when eating it. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. So, if you eat an apple near me, don't be offended when I run away. LOL ... I do like eating raw pears. Go figure.

My favorite apple is the Granny Smith because it is sour and more importantly, it adorns many Beatles records.

May 20, 2023

I do like Quiche Lorraine.

May 20, 2023

While I really dislike the taste and texture of strawberries, I do sometimes force myself to eat them because they are healthy. My LEAST favorite dessert is strawberry shortcake. I dislike strawberries; I dislike yellow cake; and I dislike whipped cream.

May 20, 2023

My father served 22 years in the Navy on active duty and in the reserves, retiring at the rank of Commander. My mother worked for the Navy as a civilian.

Anniversary Of 2nd Surgery

May 19, 2023

PHOTO: two photos of myself (taken by my wife on May 19, 2022) after my second of three heart-related surgeries last year at Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca Raton, Florida.

On this date last year (May 19, 2022), a surgeon removed the sternal plates from within my chest and also cleaned out much of a staph infection also from within my chest. A wound vacuum was attached to my chest, sucking out the remaining infection and discharge, running 24 hours per day. My chest remained open for about a week.

I entered the emergency room of the hospital on May 13, 2022, and I would not return home until July 21, 2022, spending a total of seventy (70) days in the hospital and at a physical rehabilitation facility.

It started on March 9, 2022, when I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. When I arrived home from the hospital, I engaged in physical therapy and occupational therapy (at home), followed by cardiac rehabilitation at a nearby facility.

On May 13, 2022, I would enter the hospital with severe chest pains. It was determined that the screws in the sternal plates holding my broken breastbone together had come loose, and I had developed a staph infection within my chest. I would require the aforementioned surgery on May 19, 2022.

On May 25, 2022, another surgeon closed my chest by attaching seven sutures, leaving me with eight holes in my body from my lower neck to my upper belly, plus two drains in my belly.

On June 3, 2022, I was transferred from the hospital to a physical rehabilitation facility, where I engaged in daily physical therapy and occupational therapy. The wound vacuum was still attached to my chest, still running 24 hours per day, to aid in my healing. I received many painful bandage changes that involved the reattachment of the wound vacuum each time.

I returned home on July 21, 2022, a day before my wife's birthday.

NOTE: This came up as a memory listed on Facebook, which I rewrote for this post, and included the composite photo below. How did I have the strength to write the post, make the composite photo, and then post it on Facebook on the same day after such a surgery? I noticed that I used the wrong date on the composite photo in last year's post, so I corrected it (from 2002 to 2022) in this post.

What's Doin' Today?

May 19, 2023

I only eat cake for the frosting. Chocolate is my preference.

Sports Observation

May 18, 2023

When an MLB umpire extends his arms horizontally, it means safe. When an NHL referee does the same thing, it means no goal. When an NFL referee extends his arms vertically, it means touchdown. Just an observation.

Today Is ...

May 18, 2023

I have eaten cheese soufflé.