Day 2944: The Love

I love seeing the love our new leaders have for each other, for my country, and for the world.

Do you see the love in my images today?

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Here’s “The Love” — a Joe Biden for President 2020 video from Jennifer Hudson and Black Eyed Peas.

I look forward to the love in the comments section, below.

Thanks to all who spread the love, including YOU.

Day 2910: Problems to ignore

There are so many problems these days we cannot ignore, that I think it might be helpful to focus on the problems we can ignore, here and now.

For example, I can ignore the problem that I forgot to stop recording on ZOOM last night at the remote Open Mic, so this video includes much of the next performance:

I can also ignore the problem that when I was performing last night I was not on my screen, because I AM on screen in that recorded video.

Here are other problems to ignore:

• I still struggle with some aspects of the new editor here, so creating a bulleted list is harder for me than with the old editor.
• I had to use bitcoin to get my winnings out of a betting site on the results of the U.S. Presidential election and now I have no idea how to safely convert bitcoin to cash.
• I’m off on vacation for a week, so I’ll miss doing my Coping and Healing groups.
• My son is returning to Scotland next month to live with his girlfriend and be closer to the University of Edinburgh for his last semester there, so I’ll miss him when he leaves.
• I immodestly think my original songs are awesome and have no idea how to reach a wider audience.
• My likes here on WordPress are half of what they were a year ago.
• Almost every time I tweet on twitter, I get no response.
• I’ve gained four pounds in the last month even though I’m eating really heathy and going for long walks.
• My INR has been lower than I expected the last two times I’ve tested it.
• Three people over the last few years have stopped talking to me.
• I’m turning 68 in two months, and I don’t look as great as I did when I was younger.
• I have no idea how much to inflate my new wobble cushion for optimal results.

Even though those are problems to ignore, I have trouble ignoring them. As I tell others, the human brain is for focusing on problems, even those it should ignore.

Are there problems to ignore in these recent images?

I cannot ignore the fact that Michael’s delicious cooking MIGHT be the reason I’ve gained four pounds recently. He tells me to ignore that problem of weight gain every winter.

If you leave a comment below, it will not be ignored.

If gratitude is a problem for you, please ignore the ending of this post.

Day 2906: Today is a special day

Today is a special day because I’m alive, against all odds, and so are you.

Today is a special day because I have special images to share.

Today is a special day because I swear that I don’t care if I f*ck shit up today. I have spent far too many of my special days worrying about f*cking shit up and, believe me, I am not the one who is f*cking shit up now.

Today is a special day because I found an open spot on the crowded list for a remote Open Mic this Friday evening. If you want to join the audience for my special performance of “People Who Hate People,” you have three special days to sign up using this link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b4eadaa23a2f49-jamn17

Here is Mr. Rogers with “Today is a Very Special Day.”

Today is a special day because I get to facilitate a “Coping and Healing” group and I get to see your comments on this blog.

As always, I am grateful for every special day I spend with you!

Day 2900: UP

Now that I’m UP, it’s UP to me to decide how I want to start UP today’s blog post.

Cases of COVID-19 are going UP, UP, UP.

People still haven’t given UP gathering inside and going maskless. It’s UPsetting how stUPid this is.

The number of failed lawsuits in trUmP’s attempts to foul UP the Presidential election is now UP to 50, at least.

Yesterday, I was informed that my stats here were going UP.

I am always UP for a walk, no matter the time or the weather, and yesterday I noticed that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is now standing UP…

… after being hung UP like this a few days ago:

Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and Santa are now all UP for Christmas. Are you?

Yesterday, in my Coping and Healing group, people wanted to make UP a new name for themselves. I held UP this sign with a suggested name:

They were definitely UP for that reframe.

Now it’s time for me to put UP (or shut UP) my other pictures for today. What’s UP in these photos?

The Daily Bitch Calendar always gets me UP.

Today, I feel UP to calling the IRS about my long-delayed tax refund. I looked UP what might happen if identity thieves have stolen it. Cases of identity theft are going UP, and apparently the IRS is still UP to the task of fixing these UPsetting experiences. Also, it’s UP in the air exactly why my refund has been held UP for so long.

I will give you an UPdate about this tomorrow.

When I’m UP and out for a walk, I often listen to “The Way UP” by the Pat Metheny Group.

As always, I am UP for your comments, if you feel UP to leaving one.

I like to end UP every post with gratitude, so thanks to all who help me keep UP this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 2896: Sounds we hate

I hate the sounds of

• pain,
• misery,
• madness,
• lies,
• narcissism,
• grandiosity,
• greed,
• ignorance,
• violence,
• nails on a blackboard,
• babies crying,
• cats crying,
• human screams,
• racism,
• sexism,
• ageism,
• homophobia, and
• other forms of hate.

According to a study described in Medical News Today, the most hated sounds include three of the sounds I hate plus

• an electric drill,
• brakes on a cycle squealing,
• a knife scraping against a bottle,
• a ruler on a bottle,
• a fork on a glass, and
• chalk on a blackboard.

What sound do you think was the most hated sound? Please sound off in the comments section below about that and also about sounds you hate.

Are there any sounds we hate in my latest images?

I love the sound of Rick Wilson responding to sounds of hate with “You seem nice.”

Here’s “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel …

… and “The Sweetest Sounds” from the musical No Strings, sung by Diahann Carroll.

I love the sounds of gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily blogs, including YOU.

Day 2895: Ways to cope with people who drive you mad

I don’t know about you, but people are driving me mad these days, including:

• anti-maskers,
• election deniers,
• conspiracy theorists,
• white supremacists,
• all who abuse power, and
• many others too numerous to mention.

I don’t like being mad, so I just googled “people who drive you mad” and found this quote:

” People can’t drive you mad unless you give them the keys.”

Also, I found this 2014 online article “4 Ways to Cope With the People Who Drive You Mad” by Thomas G. Plante at psychologytoday.com. Far fewer people were driving me mad in 2014 than are driving me mad today, but Dr. Plante’s suggestions might still be helpful:

1. Maintain realistic expectations.
2. While you can’t control the behaviors of others, you can control your responses to it.
3. Let go, while keeping the big picture in mind.
4. Ask yourself if you’re just being too demanding.

If it’s driving you mad that I’m not giving more details about those four ways to cope, you can find the full article here.

Can you find any people who drive you mad in these recent images?

Many people drive Harley mad, and there he is maintaining realistic expectations and controlling his responses to the behaviors of others.

Did it drive you mad to notice that my top song of the year, according to Spotify, was “School Days” by Stanley Clarke, during a year when school days drove people mad?

It could drive me mad that I don’t agree with Spotify that “School Days” was my most played song of 2020, but I am not going to give Spotify the keys.

What are your ways to cope with people who drive you mad?

One of my ways to cope is to focus on gratitude, so thanks to all people and cats who helped me create today’s post, including YOU.

Day 2894: One Thing That Frightens You

These days, it’s difficult to identify one thing that frightens me, because there are so many frightening things out there.

What frightens me on this day includes

• the increase in COVID cases and death,
• COVID deniers,
• anti-maskers,
• large gatherings of people,
• systemic racism,
• climate change,
• the state of the world,
• the state of my country,
• crazy conspiracy theories,
• the number of people who believe crazy conspiracy theories,
• Trump’s increasingly outrageous behaviors, and
• people who do not call out outrageous behaviors.

Is there one thing that frightens you in my latest photos?

Has that cow been frightened off of its base?

Things that frighten you, me, and others have inspired my new song, entitled “What’s Your Fear, My Dear?” for my frighteningly ambitious new project, Therapy: The Musical. I plan to work on my first musical during the dark and frightening weeks of the New England winter.

One thing that does NOT frighten me is sharing my ideas here, so here are some lyrics from “What’s Your Fear, My Dear?”

What’s Your Fear, My Dear?

by Ann Koplow

What’s your fear, my dear?

I really want to hear, my dear.

Do not fear sharing that

Now and here.

Flying?

It’s not so much a fear of flying

As it is a fear of dying

or falling too far,

Or of the danger of how high up you are.

Public speaking?

That’s a fear of your voice squeaking

Of your confidence leaking

In front of them all,

As your dignity suffers a fall.

Dying?

Well, my dear, I would be lying

If I said I wasn’t afraid of that too.

Does it help if I join that with you?

© Ann Koplow, 2020

Here’s “Why I do something everyday that scares me,” a 2016 TED talk by Emma Van Der Merwe at the University of Edinburgh.

I fear you will miss out if you don’t watch that video.

I assume gratitude is one thing that doesn’t frighten you, so thanks to all who help me do one blogging thing each day, including YOU!

Day 2893: Cleaning up

During transitions, especially messy ones, there’s always cleaning up to do.

Let’s see if today’s Daily Bitch Calendar offers any support for cleaning up during these messy transition times in the USA.

Actually, my husband Michael is the one in this home who cleans it up, but I can still do my part, as you can see here:

Over the last four years I’ve had many urges to throw and break things in my home. However, I’ve been thoughtful enough of Michael’s labors to scream into pillows, punch pillows, and kick imaginary people instead.

It’s going to be very interesting watching the new administration cleaning it up in the White House, after years of somebody throwing and breaking things.

Do you see any evidence of cleaning up in today’s other photos?

Michael cooks the meals in this house and cleans up after them, too. Yes, my dear readers, I’ve certainly cleaned up in the sweepstakes of life.

And as I walk near the ocean these days, I’m so happy that people who prioritize cleaning up the environment will be back in power.

There are lots of “cleaning up” songs on YouTube. Here’s my favorite one — “Clean Up Woman” performed by the late, great Betty Wright:

You don’t need to do any cleaning up to leave a comment, below.

I like cleaning up the end of every post with gratitude, so thanks to all who help me blog every day, including YOU.

Day 2892: Transitions

As we experience the transition from November 2020 into December, transitions are on my mind, as you can see from today’s images.

It looks like the pink elliptical is transitioning into a towel rack.

Personally, I’m glad that the White House will be transitioning into a home for dogs and a cat next month.

As Bette Midler transitions today into her mid-70’s, here’s the song she sang to Johnny Carson twenty-eight years ago when he was making the transition to retirement.

What transitions are you dealing with, here and now?

Now it’s time for me to transition to gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.

Day 2889: What are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for to follow your dreams, live better, makes the changes you want to see in the world, and love others and yourself more?

Are you waiting for

• the end of the pandemic?
• more self-confidence?
• permission from others?
• more skills and knowledge?
• more money?
• more security?
• more support?
• true love?
• a perfect state of readiness?
• a change in the weather?
• different leaders?
• world peace?
• things you cannot control?

What are you waiting for? Photos?

I’m waiting for a dog AND a cat in the White House, very soon.

What are you waiting for? Music about waiting? Here’s “Everybody’s Waiting for Someone to Come Home” by Indigo Girls.

What are waiting for? Please leave a comment, below. If you’re waiting for my gratitude, wait no more.