Dad tells me I never update the blog. This would be less embarrassing, except that I think that every single member of my family has a blog now, and my mother updates hers every day and has a small but dedicated readership. There is something disconcerting about this.

Nevertheless, an update is in order, particularly since I've disabled the comments to stop the spam (thereby killing the teenie titans thread, which is sad but would have died from spam attacks in any case).

The last couple of posts were heavy. July was not a fun month for me, and except for spending a much needed weekend in Seattle seeing friends, there was not much I could point to that I enjoyed. I was going to the gym every week with a personal trainer, and halfway through the month I found myself getting weaker and more exhausted with every session because I was so rundown. My personal trainer decided to go easy on me and "not push it."

Things are much better this month. I'm dating a woman I really like, and I am trying out the words "girlfriend" and "boyfriend" in my mouth to see how they feel when I say them. I've been experimenting with wearing cargo pants and sneakers instead of jeans and boots. I've been waking up before the alarm clock goes off, and hiking in the morning. And just today my personal trainer told me that my reps and weights have shot up, and I'm at the level I would have been if he'd been working me normally. I not only recovered from the exhaustion I felt last month, but I'm actually better.

Will see giant robots breathe fire this Friday. Wish me luck.