What a year. I knew, going into 2020, that it was going to be a tense, traumatic year. After all, it was an election year, and the thought that Donald Trump – the sleaziest, slimiest, most vile and corrupt president in the history of this nation – could be re-elected already guaranteed a high level of stress. Little did I…
Regular readers of my blog know that even though I retired from veterinary practice three years ago, I’ve remained active in the veterinary community. I still author the bimonthly “The Vet Is In” column for Catster magazine, and I still pop into Dr. Soboroff’s practice, New York Cat Hospital, every now and then to visit him and Dr. Sheheri and…
Arden Moore has been a long-time friend and has devoted her life to animals. I was recently on her podcast, “Oh Behave!” Make sure to catch the episode: https://www.petliferadio.com/behaveep398.html (click the play button on her site) Here’s here SOCIAL to follow along for future episodes and updates from Arden and Pet Life Radio: Twitter Facebook YouTube
Here in New York City, it seems as if everyone hails from somewhere else. In my social circle, native New Yorkers are a rare breed, but I’m proud to say that I’m the real thing. A Brooklynite, born and raised. I entered the world at Caledonian Hospital, in 1960. (Caledonian Hospital closed in 2003. It’s now a bunch of luxury…
In 2015, I sold my cat hospital, Manhattan Cat Specialists, to a corporation that owns and manages several veterinary clinics. I continued to work at my hospital, however, in June of 2017, I decided to retire from veterinary practice. My hospital continued on, in the very capable hands of Dr. Victoria Sheheri, and my faithful technician Hiromi Karagiannis, who started…
One of the great joys of retirement is to be able to pursue interests that you’ve always had to put on the back burner. I’ve always liked and have had a great appreciation for photography, but all of the technical details – ISO, shutter speeds, aperture, f-stop, the different lenses, etc. – made my head spin. It felt to me…
One of the things I had to get used to when I retired was not having a regular routine. My workday used to be pretty structured. When I retired, it took me a while to formulate a new routine. The fact that Mark had to still wake up every morning at 5:20 a.m. dictated the start of my day. I…
I’m sure we’re in for more stock market volatility. For example, I checked the MSNBC app last night, and stock market futures were plunging. The Dow was down 900 points. As I type this, however, the Dow is up over 400 points. That’s a huge swing. If the market closed with a 1000 point gain today, or a 1000 point…
Like everybody else, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around our crazy new world. Every day brings more dire news, increased fears, and new adjustments into our lives. I’m trying to avoid the television except for an hour in the morning (Today on NBC), and a half hour in the evening (NBC news with Lester Holt). The rest…
Amongst the many news stories about the Coronavirus and how it has changed and affected everyone’s lives, there is no shortage of financial news. The economy is effectively shut down. Most white collar workers have comfortably shifted to working from home. Blue collar workers and gig workers, however, are feeling the financial strain. They’re waiting for their government checks while…
Everyone is affected by this pandemic in one way or another. As I mentioned in my last post, I am fortunate that the impact on my life has so far been minimal. As a retiree, I was already used to being home most of the time. I have been the author of the veterinary advice column for Catster magazine for…
I debated about writing some clichéd blog post about the coronavirus pandemic, given that we’re all rapidly reaching the saturation point. But this is a lifestyle blog, and everyone’s lifestyle has been altered by it. Plus, like everyone stuck at home, I’m bored as hell and I might as well write. I am fortunate. So far, the impact of this…
In March of last year, I visited the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam. I had purchased a MuseumCard which gave me access to a slew of museums in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands, and I had been methodically going down the list and visiting each one. The Allard Pierson is an archaeological museum with a permanent collection that contains…
This was a really good, practical book. I go through phases where I meditate regularly, and when I do, my life is much better. But I sometimes let my travel schedule distract me from the practice, and I forget to do it on the weekends, and before I realize it, I’ve let the practice of meditation fall by the wayside. …