One thousand, five hundred, and fifty-three days ago (but who’s counting?), I published Day 1005: What is success?Because I’m feeling self-confident today, I think it’s time to revisit success.
When things are challenging at work and elsewhere, I like to share my personal epic stories with my fiancé, Michael.
Michael (who until recently was just my boyfriend) used to respond — after I had finished weaving my latest saga of ups and downs, twists and turns, backs and forths, and tos and fros — like so:
Maybe because we’re all sadder and wiser these days (as we realize that not EVERYBODY loves us), Michael’s go-to response to my personal stories is now this:
It all worked out.
“It all worked out” as a response to my stories evokes ups and downs, twists and turns, backs and forths, and tos and fros in me, including:
laughter,
annoyance,
calm,
mind-reading,
agreement,
worry that my story might not have been as riveting in the telling as I had hoped,
acceptance,
sarcasm,
epiphanies, and
often a resolution to tell the same story to somebody who was there or who knows the people who were there (because, as they say, “you had to be there”).
Yesterday, I told Michael that my next blog post was going to be titled “It all worked out.” We’ll see how that works out.
Last night, I went to the 25th anniversary of Cam Neely‘s huge charity event, Comics Come Home, at the Boston Garden. I had some anxiety and worry about parking and getting to the venue, where I was meeting Julie, one of my co-workers.
This anxiety and worry seemed well founded when I encountered troubling signs at the parking garage where I had pre-paid for a space through the app Park Whiz.
It appeared that I was going to have to pay $36 – $48 to get my car out, after paying $17 last week to Park Whiz to reserve a space at this garage. I called the phone number in the Park Whiz app and reached a nice human being who told me that, when I returned from the event at the Garden, I should buzz the attendant who should let me out. SHOULD, I thought, wondering how this was going to work out.
I then worked my way over to the Boston Garden through twists and turns, backs and forths, and tos and fros, as Google Maps gave me confusing and sometimes incorrect information. (I am thankful there were minimal ups and downs, because I do not like working out on hills.) When Google Maps was telling me that I was still a five-minute walk away from the Garden, I asked two nearby policeman, “This may be a stupid question, but where’s The Garden?” As I expected, they pointed and replied, “It’s right here.” Then, when I told the security people at the doors that I had a pacemaker, they worked it out so I could avoid the metal detectors, which can make pacemakers stop working correctly. Soon I was back inside the Garden, where I had seen Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and the other Boston Celtics work out so many wins during the 1980s.
After the amazing show, my co-worker Julie accompanied me back to the parking garage because neither of us were sure how this was going to work out. We buzzed the attendant, who said he could NOT let me out and that I was going to have to pay full price and settle up with Park Whiz. When we argued with him, he hung up on us. I called Park Whiz again and when I started to explain the situation, a different nice human being on the other end asked, “Is this Ann?” She apologized for the hassle and told me that they had spoken to management of the garage and that they were supposed to let me out. Then I lost phone reception with her. Julie contacted the attendant again and the nice Park Whiz person called me back and asked if she could somehow talk to the attendant. As I was trying to work this out, I heard the parking attendant say this to Julie through the intercomm:
You know what? I’m sick of this! People are telling me different things. I’ll just let you out. Okay? Bring your car around. I’ll recognize you.
I got into my little yellow car, drove to the exit, and, after a few moments, the unseen parking attendant lifted the gate so I could work my way out. After driving into better phone reception, I called Park Whiz again. It was after midnight, past the time the first nice Park Whiz person had said they would still be answering the phones. However, I easily reached more nice people, who apologized for the confusion and the miscommunications and who gave me a credit for future Park Whiz bookings.
Julie insisted on working her way home via an Uber, refusing my offers to drive her there. Later, I texted her this:
Thank you so much! You are my hero!
She replied:
Thanks for a fun night!
I look forward to seeing her tomorrow, back at work.
When I got home to Michael last night, the first thing I said to him was, “It all worked out.”
Here‘s Denis Leary working it out in a song he performed last night with The Enablers.
That’s how they work things out in Boston.
Thanks to all who help me work things out at this daily blog, including YOU.
two retreats about group therapy on Saturday and Sunday.
While looking forward to events in the future can help one feel hope, it can also trigger worry and fears about that future, like “Is this too much?” “Will all these activities next week interfere in my self care?” “Will the absence of the late Walter Becker get in the way of my really enjoying the Steely Dan concert?” “What’s the weather going to be like?” “Am I ready for November?” and “Where the hell am I going to park?”
The cure for future-oriented fears is refocusing on the present moment. And in this moment, I have several new photos to share with you.
To make this my day, my way, I’d like to revisit and clarify one difficult-to-read photo above:
History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.
tickets for the last pre-Broadway performance of American Utopia,
a reasonable parking space in Boston,
sushi at our favorite sushi restaurant,
time at a Halloween pop-up store near the theater, and
the chance to witness and enjoy an incredible show with amazing musicians in a miraculous theater.
Every day that I took each of these previously unshared photos was a miracle.
Every one of those photos is a miracle.
Every moment of American Utopiawas a miracle, including “Every Day is a Miracle.” Here‘s a miraculously clear recording of a 2018 performance of that song in Houston.
Every comment you leave is a miracle, for me.
Thanks to all who make my every day a miracle, including YOU.
Yesterday, when I was helping people feel safer in a Coping and Healing group, I wrote and shared this:
I helped myself feel safer yesterday by changing how I visualize a judgmental and critical person. I used to call them my personal dragon. Which is scary! I imagined them as a little yappy dog. And that helped!
I helped myself feel safer, after the group, by walking around Boston during a beeoootiful day and then going to see a play with my friend and real estate agent, Jane (not pictured, because my phone was running out of juice and I wanted to conserve some power so I could feel safer when I walked back to my car). Do any of my photos from yesterday help you feel safer?
Knowing that this is “Thinking of You Week” helps me feel safer, as does Boston’s Christian Science Center, book stores, cakes, animals, friends, and people trying to solve world problems.
I helped myself feel safer yesterday while I was waiting for Jane at a restaurant by starting a new original song, called “Who Cares?”
… and so are all these other things I photographed recently, including Michael making a hot tub disappear.
Michael, who really doesn’t like tilapia, magically transformed that fish into something even he totally liked last night. The magic ingredients included coconut, ginger, cream, and mango.
I believe that magic is totally real because I’ll be doing a show at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 19. Here’s the totally real front and back of my flyer:
Here and here are what I magically find on YouTube when I totally search for “Magic is totally real”:
I’m really looking forward to the magic you totally create in the comments section, below.
My gratitude is totally real, so thanks to all who helped me magically create today’s daily blog post and — of course! — to YOU, for being totally here, before you disappear.
We have been looking at the database of shows who still want something, either runs or infills.
We would like to offer you the slot(s) below:
Show number 306 provisional title Group “Therapy” with Ann
Mo 19 13:00-14:00 Natural Food Kafe Basement Room
If you accept, please email this address immediately.
If these are extra performances, you will already have sent a picture and blurb. If you have not sent a picture and blurb, please immediately send one via the form. Full instructions are attached.
If you don’t want what’s offered but want something else, please email back saying what. Be as precise as you can.
If you don’t want this at all, please email back and say so. Make things as clear as possible. For example, if you’ve asked for extras but now don’t want extras, but want to keep your main run, say that. We don’t want any mistakes.
All offers are immediately void if you have breached the Ethos and Rules by applying to any other free-admission promoter, including pay-what-you-want and pay-for-priority-admission-otherwise-free. Or breached them in any other way.
Please reply as soon as you can so that we can fill the spaces as well as we can, and get your show in the Wee Blue Book.
Thank you
Free Fringe Team
I didn’t expect that! I expect that email means that I will have a show at the Free Fringe in Edinburgh on August 19 at 1 PM, unless my responding back six hours later wasn’t immediately enough. I expect it was, but I never seem to expect anything for sure.
With my life (see as many posts in this blog as possible), I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. I expect good things will come my way and they often do! I also expect I’ll have trouble sleeping trying to anticipate and plan for the unexpected.
I expect I’ll have to market the hell out of this Edinburgh Fringe Festival opportunity, especially because of the time and location of my show. Expect to read more about this, here, in the month ahead.
I just posted this unexpected news on my Facebook page:
I GOT A SHOW AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE! August 19th, 1 PM, The Natural Food Kafe. Consider making this part of your vacation plans.
Unexpectedly, somebody already has replied that they’ll be going.
Expect the unexpected photos.
Expect an explanation of at least one unexpected photo. That little fishing dude, directly above, reminds me of the old saying “Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” I expect you’ve heard that one before.
To keep my readers fear free, I will share that both our cats are okay.
My fear free friend Deb (who gave me the art-from-the-heart cat pin) (which my fear free boyfriend thought looked exactly like our fear-filled cat Harley) and I saw “Echo in the Canyon” at the Coolidge Corner Cinema yesterday. Here’s a favorite song featured in that fear free film:
I look forward to your fear free comments, below.
Fear free thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.
Yesterday, as I was in the process of leaving my home town of Boston and traveling to the great town of Chicago, I took these photos:
Ah ha! There I am in Chicago.
Here and here are today’s songs about leaving town:
Last night, I was feeling kind of shy in Chi-town when I was having dinner with some people I didn’t know,, but when the group organizer asked me to sing, I stood up, found my voice, and sang my latest song — “Everybody’s Somebody’s Asshole.”
People seemed to like my new song but even if they didn’t, I’ll be leaving town tomorrow.
No matter what town I’m in, I see gratitude everywhere. Thanks to all who helped me create this out-of-town post and — of course! — to YOU.
