"Like" a Virgin (or, The Book of Jubilations)

At dinner with my dear friends Alex and Matt last night, it was brought to my attention that for the first time in more years than I care to mention, I seem to have a virgin part on my person.  (Dad, if you're reading this, apologies; Don't worry -- all that money on Catholic school wasn't a total waste, I've been as chaste as possible over the years, except for times when moved by the Holy Spirit).


Anyway, my status a Newly Minted Leftee Virgin (NMLV), comes at a time when some realities about how I typically spend my free time are also coming into clearer focus.  As the percoset haze and general soreness from the surgery last Thursday begins to lift, and I settle into this in-between time while we figure out next steps on treatment, I have a fair amount of free time on my hands.

As it turns out, the bulk of my free time is usually absorbed by one or more of the following:

1. Exercising, 
2. Pursuing men (in that chaste, unless moved by the Holy Spirit, kind of way), and
3. Drinking (usually bourbon, sometimes wine, often in conjunction with pursuing men)

All three of these things are currently off the table for medical reasons for at least the next month (blast!).  

Obviously, these aren't the only things that I do..there's also reading, TV, movies and time with friends (although, as it turns out, most of the conversations I have with friends are about one of the above categories, typically with wine or bourbon in hand).  But...still.

In most of the "Scary Cancer Movies," I've seen over the years, the hero or heroine either dies (I have the most curable cancer there is, my movie won't be like that), or becomes a better, more noble or thoughtful person typically through a montage or musical interlude. 

And so it seems that at 35, whether I wanted it or not, I'm getting a bit of a fresh start.  With NMLV, there is also a new need to find interests, or somehow broaden my horizons even as the immediate ability to explore is somewhat limited in conventional ways.  

Henceforth, the Intrepid Bollocks, in addition to being a space to post updates about the unfolding medical adventure, will also be a place to share music, art, movies and anything else that tickles the fancy (not that I'm letting anyone tickle the NMLV).  

As Josh Ritter, one of my absolute favorites, says: "If there's a book of jubilations, we'll have to write it for ourselves."   And so it goes.