Day 3376: National Name Yourself Day

Happy National Name Yourself Day!

Here’s the description of this day from the National Days website:

Because my name is constantly misspelled and mispronounced (e.g., “Anne Caplow”), I will take advantage of National Name Yourself Day to try on another name today and maybe a new personality!

I know what I want my first name to be on National Name Yourself Day — Ace. I’ve never had a nickname and I’ve written before that I’d like that one. Why? “Ace” is close enough to “Ann” (starts with “A” and is three letters), it won’t be misspelled, AND it expresses pride in my own abilities (taking a break from any fears of seeming conceited).

For a last name, I’m momentarily stumped. I could choose something like “Writer” or “Blogger” or “Tweeter” or “Therapist” to further brag about myself, but I don’t love those names.

I could convert my real last name “Koplow” (pronounced “Cop-lo”) to something close. As annoyed as I can get with the constant misspellings and mispronunciations, my husband Michael (who might call himself “Mike” today but never “Mickey”) has suggested that I embrace the most common of those: “Kaplow” which is pronounced like a comic book noise (ka-pow!).

I’m ambivalent about that, because I still remember overhearing two female telemarketers years ago laughing hysterically about what they thought was my name.” “Can you believe that this woman’s name is Ka-PLOW?!” they said, before I let them know that I could hear them and they’d lost the sale.

Well, it’s only for one day, so “Ace Ka-plow” it is!

Ace Ka-plow wants to share these images with you on National Name Yourself Day:

Today is also my friend Jeanette’s birthday, whom I cherish and who is no antique, because she’s ten years younger than Ace Ka-plow.

Here’s a song Jeanette and I have heard in concert many times together, performed by a huge name in jazz — Pat Metheny:

How are you going to celebrate National Name Yourself Day?

No matter what our names are today, I’m grateful for all of us, including YOU.

Day 3339: The Past

Some therapists focus on the past; others focus on the present. In group therapy, it can be especially healing to focus on the present — how the authentic interactions among the group members can help transcend and heal old patterns of relating to others that we have learned in the past.

I am thinking about the past in the present for many reasons, including a Facebook post I saw yesterday from a second cousin:

That my maternal grandmother, Etta, was from the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, which is being bombed and besieged by Russian forces in the present, brings this pain even closer to me.

In the present, my heart breaks for the people of Ukraine and for all who love them.

Do you see the past and/or the present in my other images for today?

On National I Want You to be Happy Day, I want you to know that I want you to have all your feelings, no matter what they are. In the past, many of us have squelched, disowned, and judged some of our feelings, which is unhealthy for the present. In the present, I try to notice and acknowledge all my feelings, letting them naturally run through me (like joy does), leaving room for what’s happening in the present.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “The Past.”

I’ve loved Pat Metheny in the past and I love him in the present.

I’m grateful for the past and grateful for you, here and now.

Day 3237: Nourishment

When people talk about food in my therapy groups (and they often do!), I sometimes invite them to expand the discussion to include different kinds of nourishment.

It might be nourishing to include a definition of nourishment here.

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Do you see nourishment in my images for today?

I hope for a day when veterans everywhere get the nourishment they need.

I doubt I’ll get the nourishment of a Sundae today (because I work from 9 – 8 on Thursdays), but there’s always tomorrow!

Part of my recent nourishment has been listening to Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye NYC album, including this nourishing tune:

What types of nourishment have you been getting these days?

Gratitude is one of my favorite kinds of nourishment, so thanks to all who visit this blog, including YOU.

Day 3234: Better Days Ahead

“Better Days Ahead” is a Pat Metheny tune which I have heard many times during better days. Last night, during a Boston concert where we all wore masks and showed proof of being COVID-free, Pat performed “Better Days Ahead” with incredible keyboardist James Francies and fabulous drummer Joe Dyson.

In days ahead, that video might get deleted from YouTube, so I better include this version of “Better Days Ahead.”

Here’s a 1989 version of “Better Days Ahead” with the late, great keyboardist Lyle Mays.

Last night, I was fantasizing that Lyle Mays was present in the Wilbur Theater, even though he’s in a “better place.”

I hope there are better days ahead for all of us. In the meantime, which of my images for the day are better?

I assume there are better November National Days ahead, because I don’t drink Cappuccino or Harvey Wallbangers.

There are better days ahead next week for my son Aaron and me, because we are taking a trip together to New York City.

What are your thoughts and feeling on better days ahead?

Gratitude makes all my days better, so thanks to all who follow this blog, including YOU.

Day 3232: Questions

Is there any question that I love to ask questions?

My Twitter handle is inqdragon2, because

• I’m inquisitive and ask lots of questions,
• I was born in the year of the dragon,
• I used the name “Inquisitive Dragon” when a bunch of my friends chose dragon names as part of a fun experience of seeing lots of Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong movies in the 90s, and
• Somebody else already grabbed the Twitter name “inqdragon.”

My question about that is: what are the odds that somebody else would want that name on Twitter?

Here are just some of my questions about questions:

• Are there any stupid questions?
• How do you decide how much you want to reveal in response to a question?
• If you’re a trial lawyer, is it true that you should only ask questions in court that you know the answer to?
• Are there other situations where that’s true?
• Can it help to ask questions that make people uncomfortable?
• Do some questions violate people’s boundaries?
• If you ask a question of others, should you be ready and willing to answer it yourself?
• Is the love of asking questions a good quality for a therapist?
• Are too many questions annoying?
• If you ask a question and nobody answers, is it still worthwhile?
• If you ask a question and lots of people answer, how important is it for you to let people know that you heard their answers?
• Are yes-or-no questions as useful as open-ended questions?
• Can you answer any question with “It depends?”
• Are any of these rhetorical questions?

Is there any question that there will be questions in my images for today?

I love the tune “Question and Answer” by Pat Metheny.

Any questions?

I never question ending my posts with gratitude for YOU.

Day 3174: Nagging questions

I’ve been asking lots of nagging questions lately, including these:

• will you help me do this thing I can’t seem to do on my own?
• can you help me do that now?
• when are you going to replace your missing vaccination card?
• why are technology “improvements” usually so disruptive?
• have you turned on your new phone yet?
• should I go to my high school reunion this Saturday?
• when will people in-person stop looking like germs to me?
• what did so-and-so mean when they said that?
• why does the convection oven never cool down?
• why do I worry so much about stupid things?
• does worry ever help?
• when will I feel safe again?
• what would my late father (born on today’s date) say about the current state of the world if he were alive now?
• why do the cats keep nagging me to feed them when I just fed them?
• what are your plans for today?
• what’s for dinner?

I don’t like being a nag (especially to my son and my husband), but I have all these nagging questions!

I’ve also been asking nagging questions on Twitter. Indeed, one person there called my questions “nosey” (although not about any of these questions):

Here are two more nagging questions: which photo do you like best and why?

Apparently I’m not the only one with nagging questions.

Do you listen to the music I share here on this blog? I don’t mean to nag, but you might really enjoy these two tunes about questions (found here and here on YouTube).

Are you going to comment on this post? When?

No matter what the nagging question, gratitude always seems like a good answer to me, so thanks to all who help me share my nagging questions, including YOU!

Day 3161: Just because

Just because I’m on vacation, I’m just taking my time, just relaxing, and just capturing images like these:

Just because I just took this video on National Just Because Day, I’m going to share it with you.

Just because I love Pat Metheny, I’m going to share this tune I was listening to yesterday.

Just because I created this blog post, I feel ready for the day ahead.

Just because I love to hear from you, please consider leaving a comment, below.

I always end these posts with gratitude, jus because.

Day 3050: Questions and answers

There are many questions and answers in the post, so I recommend you listen to “Question and Answer” by Pat Metheny while reading it.

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Letting go of self consciousness, I asked a question on Twitter that someone in a Coping and Healing group had asked this week, and I got A LOT of answers.

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To answer any questions about my Twitter handle of “@inqdragon2,” the “inq” stands for “inquisitive.”

Are there are any questions or answers in the photos I took yesterday?

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There’s no question that I love it around here.

Feel free to leave any questions and answers in the comments section below.

Q: How do I end my posts?

A: With gratitude.

Day 3039: Personal growth

Every day, no matter what this blog is about, I categorize it as “Personal growth” in the settings (which appear at the end of each post).

Do you see personal growth in today’s images?

I don’t know if the Daily Bitch would agree with this, but I believe that personal growth is mutual — if we witness somebody else’s personal growth, we personally grow too.

Yesterday, in therapy with someone who struggles with confrontation (and dealing effectively with confrontation is part of everyone’s personal growth), I mentioned how David Letterman used to make difficult phone calls for studio audience members.

Do you see personal growth in this 1995 David Letterman segment I was able to find on YouTube?

Here’s something that Pat Metheny (who was sitting in with Dave’s band that night and who has helped me with my personal growth for decades) was playing with his group in 1995:

If you make a comment, that might help everybody’s personal growth.

Gratitude is part of personal growth, so thanks to everyone who accompanies me on this blogging journey, including YOU.

Day 3026: Question and Answer

“Question and Answer” is one of my favorite tunes by Pat Metheny.

One question I have when I watch that video is “Why did Michael Brecker, the wonderful sax player, have to die so young?” but I know there is no answer to that.

Yesterday my son Aaron and I were discussing hallucinogens like LSD and I asked the question, “Should I finally try those, especially because they have so profoundly affected some people I love?”

Because doctors recommend that I neither drink alcohol nor ride a moped these days, I’m thinking the answer is “no.”

If your question is “When is Ann going to share her latest images?” the answer is “now.”

Feel free to share any question or answer in the comments section, below.

No matter what the question, my answer is gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.