Day 2245: Desperation

There’s been a lot of desperation around here lately. Are you noticing desperation where you are?

Here’s one source of my desperation: I’m wondering if I control the universe with my anxiety.    When I am anxious about something (like planning a dinner in Los Angeles, for example), things seem to go wrong.

I also have desperation about my inability to write something on this blog without using the word “thing.”

Michael has been experiencing desperation about charging his laptop — for days, he has had to anchor the charging cord in intricate ways to  get any charge.

Yesterday, a replacement charging cord came in the mail and Michael said, “I’m going to keep that as an art installation called “Desperation.'”

Do you see desperation in my other photos from yesterday?

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to make a peep about desperation or anything else, please comment below.

Also, Dr. Matthew Salzler at Tufts Medical Center dispersed any desperation I might have about my healing rotator cuff,  a year after my falling and tearing it.

Out of desperation about not having any new ideas of how to celebrate my son’s birthday (he’s turning 21 today!) on this blog, I’m sharing, again,  his misheard lyrics of “Louie Louie” on YouTube.

Here’s a comment from somebody who might have had some desperation looking for my son’s video until finally finding it:

Deku Tree
8 months ago
I finally found you this is a weird story so sit tight

I was in a music class in elementary school and the teacher there wanted our next song we sang to be Louie Louie he then told us a story about how the song had weird misheard lyrics and showed the class this very video to show us what the misheard lyrics were and I finally found it when I was watching a video on YouTube for weird misheard lyrics throughout history and my mind thought about this video and I thought “I know the in’s and out’s of YouTube now I’ll try to find it.” and I did yes! It wasn’t even that hard to find I was just lazy back when I was a kid and didn’t look very hard now I have liked the video from my memory’s finally.

No desperation at the end of this blog post, just gratitude for all who helped me create it and — of course! — YOU.

 

Day 1538: Location, location, location

“Location, location, location” is something people say in the real estate biz.

“Location, location, location” is the answer to the question

What’s important to consider when you’re buying a property?

“Location, location, location” is something I said, yesterday, in the location of my office on what I call “the busiest street in America.”

“Location, location, location” was a topic in a therapy, therapy, therapy  group, yesterday.

The location, location, location of these photos are (1) on my iPhone, (2) in my blog, and (3) now appearing on a screen near you.

The location, location, location for banana peels was that trash receptacle in the Tufts Medical Center garage.

The location, location, location for that sign was a wall of Tufts Medical Center, where I went to get my INR blood levels tested yesterday morning.  In the location, location, location of the United States it’s been difficult, difficult, difficult lately to separate myth from fact, but the fact is that my INR levels were in the perfect location, location, location yesterday.

 

The location, location, location for defibrillators include (1)  the wall of Tufts Medical Center, (2) many places where people might need to be resuscitated, and (3)   my body.

The  location, location, location of that snow, snow, snow is near Fenway Park, Boston, USA.

The location, location, location of that white board is in my office, where I do individual therapy, group therapy, and crisis intervention. Note all the location, location, locations on that board, including Ithaca, the woods, and the suburbs.

Those are two important location, location, locations for me — the ocean and the busiest street in America.

The location, location, location of that amazing St. Patrick’s Day hat is on Anthony’s head.

The location, location, location of that sign is in the fax room at work.

The location, location, location of those gel letters is outside the nurses, nurses, nurses office where I work.

The location, location, location of that helpful, helpful, helpful saying is the white board in my office.

The location, location, location of that caterpillar roll was on my plate, at Genki Ya, our favorite Sushi Restaurant.

The location, location, location for that St. Patrick’s Day cake was Whole Foods Market.

The location, location, location of that saying was on a Yogi tea bag, in my mug, at home.

Since one of the location, location, locations on my white board yesterday was the woods, here‘s my favorite, favorite, favorite song from Into the Woods.

Please, please, please leave a comment in the location, location, location below.

The location, location, location of my gratitude for you, you, and you is always, always, always at the bottom of my posts.

 

Day 1098: Apricity

Yesterday, after appreciating the warmth of the sun on a winter’s day, I learned the definition of the word “apricity” at a taping of the National Public Radio show Says You! in Weston, Massachusetts.

Says You!, according to the show’s official website, is …

…a simple game with words played by two teams in front of live, enthusiastic audiences from coast to coast.  For two decades, we’ve offered our listeners the best quips, quotes and questions that public radio has to offer, all scored to the rhythms of our musical guest performers.

One of the segments of Says You! is similar to the game you might know as Dictionary or Balderdash — that is, people try to choose the right definition of a word among phony-baloney, made-up definitions. Yesterday, one of those words was apricity. 

I’m not going to make up phony definitions for apricity in this post, but I am going to ask you to guess its meaning.  I’ll give you a hint: I’ve already included the definition of apricity, above.

I’m also going to use “apricity” in a real-time, real-world paragraph, as follows:

Up until today, the combination of apricity and the malfunction of a heating system (or any other machine) would cause me significant stress and despair. (For more about that, see this previous post.)

Which of these photos, taken yesterday, are good-enough representations of apricity?

Do you think that the following two photos — which I took earlier this morning before I called for help with our heating system — are  visual representations of apricity?

In conclusion, I’d like to express apricity  — ooops!  I mean appreciation to my son Aaron and my ex-sister-in-law (ESIL) Deborah, who both accompanied me to yesterday’s taping of Says You!; to the witty, wise, and wonderful panel members of Says You!; to the late and greatly missed creator and host of Says You!, Richard Sher; to yesterday’s terrific host, Barry Nolan (who used to be a clinical social worker, like me);  to the New England Gilbert and Sullivan Society (who provided the enjoyable musical interludes during the taping of Says You!);  to the awesomely responsive and reliable Tom Prendergast of Prendergast Oil Company; to Oscar the laptop cat; and to you — of course! — for any winter warmth you bring here, no matter how you define this post.

Day 893: Mood Changes

I wonder if this post will change your mood, or mine?

Here’s something that changed my mood yesterday, at Tufts Medical Center.

It was not that sign that changed  my mood. What changed my mood was Bob —

the great guy who has been checking my pacemakers for many years — and Dr. Mark Estes (not pictured), telling me that everything is good with my new Implantable Cardiac Device.

Here is some dialog, from yesterday, that changed my mood:

Dr. Estes: Ann, you look better than you have in years.
Me: Maybe that’s because of this (gesturing to my new blue hair extension).

Last night, at the Coping and Healing therapy group I facilitated, the group members chose “Mood Changes” as the the topic. Here’s something I created, at that group session:

Here are some other mood changers, from yesterday:

                  

 

               

Here are some potential mood changers, in my near future:

1. Today, before noon, I will find out whether I’ve been called back for the Concord Massachusetts Players production of the Sondheim musical “Follies.”
2. Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting fellow WordPresser Mark Bialczak and his lovely wife Karen.
3. In August, my 17-year-old son Aaron and I (and, perhaps, my excellente ex-sister-in-law Deborah) will be attending the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland.
4. In September, I’ll be going to my 45th high school reunion.

What mood changers are in your life, today?

Here‘s a mood-changing tune:

“Mood Indigo” by Duke Ellington is changing moods on YouTube, right now.

Thanks to all things that change my mood, including the people, creatures, places, and apparel in this post. And thanks to you — of course! — no matter what mood you’re in, today.

Day 880: Art (Not Art)

It’s often difficult for us to tell the difference between Art and Not Art.

I just asked my artful boyfriend, Michael, to describe that difference, and he said:

That’s an age-old question, baby. I’m not sure if I can answer that. Oh! I know what art is. It’s stuff  I like.

Because Art (Not Art) is such a subjective experience, I probably can’t really describe that difference in my blog (which, by the way, I’ve described to others as “my art.”) However, I can show you some things I saw yesterday that might be considered  Art, by Michael and other people:

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I also saw Not Art yesterday:

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I included the people shown above because none of them are named Art, as far as I know. The names I do know include Cameron,  Clark, and Aaron.

Here’s my Art (Not Art) song for today:  “Somewhere in America There’s a Street Named After My Dad,” by Was (Not Was).

Somewhere in America, there’s a boy named after my dad:

That’s my son, Aaron David Fairbanks.

Art (Not Art) thanks to Aaron, to my late father Aaron Koplow, to Michael, to Cameron (who wrote and directed “Serious Economics” with Aaron), to Clark (who played Satan in “Serious Economics”), to Was (Not Was), to the woman painting Fenway Park yesterday, to the patient who made a cake pop likeness of her doctor, to the person who drew the cover art for my high school yearbook, to all the other high school (not high school) artists who helped me create this post, to defibrillators everywhere, to Emack & Bolio’s and  Rancatore’s Ice Cream,  and to you — of course! — for the art of observing, here and now.