2017 – by the numbers!

From whence I was a wee laddie, t’was a counter … marbles (steelies, favs – clearies), number of cars/makes) passed, scores and averages in my elaborate mini games pencil/marble baseball, pencil/paperclip/eraser hockey and ping pong/can top basketball games. I counted each interminable lap during my first waterlogged mile at age 10. So … here I go again. Surely obsessive but my attempt to account for how I spent my inaugural retirement year. And nothing is as reassuring as data in a counterfactual world.

First, the kids and grand ones
Jack is a 1st grader, math hound who moved from Legos to cards, now a Pokemon fiend and Uno shark where he beats the Depends off his grandpa. Naomi (same school) is a K4’er and despite being the youngest raised her hand to be a guinea pig in front of the entire school assembly – where did this forward behavior come from? Rachel began group coaching on health, diet, and fitness for BeachBody and continues triathlons where she is often a top three female finisher. John is integrating Capsugel into its new Lonza family which necessitates back and forths to Basel CH.

Ben is a 3rd (of 4) grader in his Emergency Medicine residency in Denver and, based upon extra shifts, an extra year and higher through put, encounters 3X’s as many patients as the average. He was selected to serve as one of next year’s chief residents and, stumbling close to the family tree, is deferring a real job to complete a 2-year research fellowship with a master’s in epidemiology focusing on gun violence. Theresa continues to work for two high tech firms in Shanghai (Glow fertility app) and SF and is the chief barnyard manager of 3 rescue dogs and 6 eggy chickens.

Now the numbers …

My year – in travels

Air miles 75,000+ frequent flyer miles (higher than actual)
Car miles 5692
Days out of town 205 = 29.6 weeks
Modes – plane, train, shinkansen (high speed), subway, elevated train, bus, car, ferry, motorcycle side car, auto, bicycle, 2 feet …

In order of places I visited/stayed overnight with single trips listed on one line (* work)
Mendham NJ
Baltimore* / Mendham
Richmond, Vancouver CANADA
Peoria* IL
NYC
Mendham / NYC / Lovango Cay / St. Johns USVI
Chicago
Madison*
Chicago
Boston*
Chicago
Lawrence KS / Columbia MO / Iowa City (a road trip!)
Madison
Boston* / Delphi NY ® Mendham
Chicago
Beijing* CHINA / Osaka JAPAN / Okayama / Kurashiki* / Naoshima Is / Teshima Is / Yokoyama / Soja City / Osaka / Beijing
Richmond / Vancouver / Surrey / Victoria CANADA
Madison
Manhasset / NYC / Brooklyn* / Flushing
LA/Westwood* / Palo Alto* / San Francisco / Walnut Creek CA
Las Vegas* / Richmond / Surrey / Vancouver CANADA / Mendham
Houston / Galveston
Chicago
Denver

Comment: Interestingly, the total is no different (by airline miles) from the two prior years. The biggest difference was the nearly 60% time spent elsewhere. Each trip was lengthened and combined with seeing old friends, parents’ friends, former colleagues and interesting places. This year’s highlight was Naoshima, a bucolic Japanese island suffused with contemporary art installations. The sojourns outside the country in this polarized time provided perspective and refreshed me. My 3 months in Vancouver means Tai Chi boot camp, all biking/no driving, speaking Mandarin, eating all Chinese/Japanese. And a rolling stone gathers no poop.

-in people
Social events 147
Dinner partners 446 includes family and a few large parties
Blog posts 3
Grandkids 6X
Ben/Theresa 2X one family reunion

Comment: Although I lead a mostly solitary life, I was quite surprised to learn how many friend and family dinners kept me company. Sometimes it feels a bit awkward to be the 3rd wheel amongst duos but … so be it. A few dates were sprinkled in ... it has been 45 years out of practice!

-in academic work
Talks given 16 I gave more than one in several places
Conferences attended 5
Articles published 2
Articles submitted 1
UptoDate chapters reviewed 31
Papers reviewed 11
Letters of promotion written 3 for Harvard, Penn faculty
Letters of recommendation 3
Grants reviewed 1
Committees attended 2 for mentoring

Comment: I did a surprising amount of academic work for a retiree but at least it was the more fun part of academic medicine – giving invited talks (Johns Hopkins, Harvard/Boston Children’s, and Beijing Children’s), reviewing and editing. All of it was completed without an assistant (other than me, myself and I), which was a pain. With strong urging from the kids, I also survived the transition from a PC to MacBook.

-in culture
Books read 49
Pages read 17,036
Movies seen 45 mostly on airplanes
Shows seen 89 mostly museums
TV series watched Fresh off the Boat, Dr. Ken
TV serials watched Mozart in Jungle 3, Bosch 3, Westwood, Girls, Ken Burns Vietnam series
Sports watched all OSU football and basketball games my handle ‘bukleye’

Most interesting books:
Little fires everywhere Celeste Ng top 50 2017 book set in Shaker Heights
Do not say we have nothing Madeleine Thein multigenerational saga from China to Canada
The China Study T. Colin Campbell role of animal protein in chronic diseases
Tea girl of Hummingbird Lane Lisa See Chinese adoptee from China to US and back
The Gene Siddartha Mukerjee history of genetic advances
A tale for the time being Ruth Ozeki Vancouver to Japan tale
The sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen Pulitzer fiction on human costs of Viet War
Fire in the lake Frances Fitzgerald Pulitzer account of missteps in Vietnam War
Hamilton Ron Chernow The genius who jump started the union & gov’t
The girl - an eye for an eye David Langerkrantz Continuation of Lisbeth Salander’s story

Most interesting movies:
Loving Vincent (van Gogh) Florida Project

Comment: My deeper and enjoyable immersion into culture continues, but actually read only 1/3 more books than last year’s 36. However, I did tackle several monster books including Hamilton, The Gene, and Beatles All These Years v1. I read three authors I know including Dad,
a residency mentor Cathy DeAngelis who became Editor of JAMA, and college roommate Rob Slocum. That was cool. And, I now get antsy if I have to wait somewhere and I don’t have a book in hand.

-in health
Clinic visits 19
Surgeries 2
Weight 133.6 (stable X2 years) was 148.4 before beginning intermittent fasting
Cholesterol 214 = Decent, good cholesterol 82 (excellent)
HgbA1C 5.7 = Good, holding off type 2 diabetes
Glucose 96 = Good, holding off type 2 diabetes
Fasted 19 days = Below target of 1X/week

Exercise 343X = 6.6X/week
Tai Chi 155X 2-2.5 hours/day in Vancouver
Biking/spinning 97X = 808 road miles up to 18 mph; 31 miles longest, up to 75 miles/week in summer
Running/elliptical 29X = 21 road miles
Swimming 41X = 25,000 yards
Yoga 23X
Steps 2,190,000 extrapolated from estimated average 6000/day, 17,160/d max

Comment: I’m in better health than I was at age 50 due to ramped up Tai Chi and intermittent fasting. I am finally feeling it – the internal machinations the master describes but which I couldn’t appreciate before. Although the biking and running are declining, I took up swimming again, my high school sport, after rehabbing my shoulder – less overall bodily wear and tear. However Tai Chi is not all benign as I tore my right hip adductors during a butterfly stretch and just finished rehab. This lower weight maintained for 2 years on intermittent fasting has produced more energy, less weight borne wear and tear, and improvement in biochemical parameters! I’m an aficionado!!

-in errands
Total 343+ many combined 3-5 together
Days spent on Dads stuff 22 papers to Taiwan Nat’l U, books to ASU ...
Days spent on Teri’s stuff 4
Days spent on Ben’s stuff 2

Comment. This is an underestimate as I didn’t consistently record errands at the beginning of the year. That number raises a conundrum – how did I ever work, travel for work, take care of Teri and/or my father, and manage four properties with their attendant hiccups before? I cannot fathom …

-in new or renewed activities this year
Took Chinese art history course from Prof. Ying Wang
Taught Tai Chi to Al Liu
Took Mandarin tutoring in Vancouver by Mary Ngai
Collected contemporary Chinese ink paintings extending Dad’s collection
Resumed swimming laps

-in new habits
Qigong – Ba Duan Jin 8 exercises every morning
Drink cocoa bean tea antioxidant superdrink
Drink p’u er tea from Yunnan tea with digestive benefits

Goals for 2018
Finish sorting through Mom and Dad’s papers
Finish sorting through Teri and my (personal and work) stuff
Downsize/move from Milwaukee
Begin teleconsultation with patients and consultation with pharma
Begin creative non-fiction writing

Last thoughts – and less about the numbers.
I am in good health and fit.
My 2017 accounting may be an attempt to prove just that and – competing with those of last year’s self – to stave off the notion that I’m fading.
I’m having a stimulating sabbatical, even with substantial unpaid work.
I love to travel.
I miss Teri.
I’m a better person today because of her, more mindful, more relational and more at peace, I believe.
I experience moments of profound happiness, beauty and adventure.
I laugh.
I love the kids and grandkids, and we have great relationships.
I am much more at peace with Dad as I’ve now read hundreds of his letters revealing him to be as prolific and thoughtful a letter writer in Chinese & English/typer/carbon copier as he was taciturn with me. He churned out gazillions of letters of recommendations, articles, books and catalog introductions, and creative ideas into his 90s for the greater good of classical and modern Chinese art history, many graduate students and modern Chinese artists.
I accept him as he was with fond son-father memories of his last declining years.
I will be moving, but I don’t know where yet. My ideal would be to spend 3-4 months in Vancouver (nearly there), 3 months in NYC close to the grandkids, and 5-6 months at a base camp … where to be determined.
I am thankful.
I am still growing, learning, evolving …
I am whole, not just a fraction, not just an isolated prime.

Happy New Year and Chinese New Year (Feb 16 – dog) to you and your family! For those with children bearing after Feb 16, your grandchildren will be persistent, attentive and wealthy (eventually).

Keep in touch

B