Last month at a Christmas party, Susan handed me a small glass containing a mysterious alcoholic beverage and told me to try it. I did. The drink was fruity, super sweet, and super, super strong. These Irish lips have tasted their fair share of booze, and I’ve never tasted anything like that! Later in the evening we tracked down the gentleman who had brought the homemade-looking jar of alcohol to the party. The man was Swedish, and the concoction he had brought was called “Rumtopf.” According to Wikipedia, Rumtopf (which translates to “rum pot”) is a “German and Danish dessert,… (read more)

There was a time not so many years ago when my work friends and I used to go lunch together almost every single day. Increased job duties, the introduction of teleworking, and conflicting meeting schedules have mostly put an end to those frequent outings. These days, getting three or four of us together for lunch involves blocking out time on calendars, coordinating schedules, and a lot of finger-crossing. I really miss those days when we could all just hop in a car and go somewhere for lunch. One of our frequent lunch destinations was the Pizza Inn on the corner… (read more)

I have had many conversations with doctors in regards to my weight throughout the years. Some were lighthearted, like the short chats I used to have with my fellow morbidly-obese doctor back in the early 2000s. “You need to lose some weight,” he would say. “You first!” I would counter, and then we would both share a good belly laugh. Conversations with other doctors were more awkward. My last doctor regularly competed in Iron Man competitions. Googling his name turns up hits of marathon photos. Every conversation I had with him about my weight ended with a condescending “tsk.” Last… (read more)