AGE AND HEALTH EPIPHANY

I'm only 31, but I've been feeling old. I was sharing my new Music Revolution CD from Sam with various friends and realized I stopped caring about the names of bands some time ago. Sure, I recognize the sounds and the songs, but name? Who cares? Apparently everyone else but me. I used to be cool! Promise! For most of my life I was always on top of the great new bands - way before anyone else knew who they were. Now? I was asking my friends if they'd heard of this band or that band that Sam included on her mix and they were all like, "Um, Yeah!" Granted I'm not totally clueless - there were several I'd heard of but couldn't have told you what they sing -just that I recognized the names. I really need to pay more attention. Another indicator that I'm getting old is that I was trying to name an actress (Kate Hudson) from a movie I recently watched - I couldn't remember her name, so I referred to her as "Goldie Hawn's daughter". Scary!

I've always been pretty healthy. I rarely get sick and I've never been heavy. I've always been pretty active but to be honest never really payed attention to what I was eating. Mostly because I'm a relatively good eater. By that I mean that I eat a variety of foods, including tons of veggies and fruits. I'm not a huge fan of fast food, but I might grab some Micky D's once or twice a month (I LOVE fast food breakfasts, but rarely get them because Ronald and the King stop serving them too early).

I am in the midst of renewing my passport and looked at my current passport picture, which was taken 10 years ago. I looked great! My face was finely chiseled with my jaw picture perfectly square. My point to all of this is that it really hit me that I've gained weight. I'm certainly not overweight, but the weight I've put on is not hitting me in the parts I would like. This was illustrated a few months ago when I saw my mom for the first time in several months and her first words were "Wow! You look like you've lost some weight! You don't look as heavy as you did back in March." Which in my mom's language translates to "You've been looking a little heavy Brian, but I'm a sweet lady so instead of saying that I'm making up a false comparison to break it to you lightly."

Until this year, I've never taken exersize very seriously but I came to the conclusion that this is necessary to maintain my RETROsexual identity that my ego endulges. Recently I decided to take it a step further and get away from my "I really don't care what I eat - if its killing me, at least I'll die happy" attitude and start making more of an effort to eat healthier. Problem is, I haven't found too many dietitians and nutritionists that can explain things in layman's terms. One doesn't need to look far to see what I'm talking about -a great example is in THIS article from today. WTF is a refined grain?? How the hell do I know a saturated fat from any other type of fat? FOUR servings of whole grains? Lady, I don't eat four servings of ANYTHING in a day!!!! Fuck me running!!!

So I'm at an age where I need to start considering my health more. When did this happen? How? I saw a commercial with Christy Brinkley the other day and she doesn't look a day over 29 - she still gives me wood like she's been doing since I was 8 years old. What is she, like 75?? And trust me, when you are 8 you can get wood by touching a feather - at 31, it's often enough but much less suseptive to whimsical daydreams. At any rate, this has been my stress lately. At least until I warm up to the whole idea. Oh! That reminds me - the ex turns 30 today. I guess I should call or send her a text welcoming her to 'the club'. I'm confident she's freaking the fuck out about now.

Is that a random enough ramble for the day? Good.