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.

Day 3000: Three Thousand Days of Blogging!

To celebrate my 3000th day of blogging, I am going to post a few typical photos.

A seascape near where I live.

A delicious and nutritious meal prepared by my husband Michael.

A cat!

The Daily Bitch Calendar for this momentous and precious day.

Here are links to some blog posts from those 3000 days:

Day 6: The Ascending Coil

Day 38: Reasons why I should move to Charleston, SC

Day 120: A walk down Boylston Street on April 29, 2013

Day 277: Very Unique

Day 377: Free-floating, re-sticking anxiety (The __ Metaphor)

Day 581: Ann’s Beauty Tips

Day 759: We go on

Day 783: Best supporting Oscars

Day 822: April Fools

Day 1000: A Thousand

Day 1358: In the clouds

Day 1367: What does “INR” stand for?

Day 1379: My boyfriend, Michael

Day 1505: The Year of the _______

Day 1818: Children

Day 2000: Two thousand days of blogging

Day 2292: A Year of No Worry

Day 2423: The Greatest Theatrical Event Ever

Day 2553: Why we love weddings

Day 2608: Fun with Phobias, Part 5

Day 2684: Oscar

Here‘s “I Love You 3000” with Stephanie Poetri & Jackson Wang:

No matter what numbered day it is, it is Day 1 of the rest of your life, so here‘s “On Day One” by Pat Metheny:

Three thousand thanks to all who have helped me blog over three thousand days, including YOU!

Day 2999: Narratives

For almost three thousand days in a row, I’ve been sharing personal narratives with you here.

As a practitioner of narrative therapy, I recognize that we each have our own way of telling stories. Narratives can be

• tragic,
• humorous,
• heart-breaking,
• heart-broken,
• hopeful,
• despairing,
• positive,
• negative,
• connected,
• disconnected,
• clear,
• confused,
• thoughtful,
• thoughtless,
• triumphant,
• self-defeating,
• proud,
• humble,
• unresolved,
• closed,
• expansive, and
• inevitably limited by one’s experience and perspective.

What narratives do you see in today’s images?

Here is “The Power of Personal Narrative” — a TED Talk by documentary filmmaker J. Christian Jensen, which I find powerfully inspiring:

Here is one of my musical heroes, Pat Metheny, sharing personal narratives about the album “Secret Story” almost thirty years ago:

I hope you share some narratives in the comments section below.

My narratives here always end with gratitude, so thanks to all who help me construct and share these daily narratives, including YOU.

Day 2949: Messages to friends

Last night, my friends, as the friendly skies sent down messages of snowflakes, I heard “Message to My Friend” from friendly Pat Metheny and John Scofield.

Here is “Message to a Friend” from friends Pat Metheny & Charlie Haden:

Yesterday, in therapy, there were many messages to friends, including “I’m glad you showed up exactly the way you did,” “the pain of a loss is in direct proportion to the importance of the relationship,” “all your feelings are welcome,” “it’s never what you expect,” “all change is anxiety-provoking, even good changes, and especially changes we didn’t choose,” “there’s a huge difference between worry and planning,” “congratulations for not going completely bonkers,” and “what you’re doing is good enough AND you can make it better.”

Today, because of friendly messages I got from the hospital where I work, I’m getting my first vaccine for the coronavirus.

Here are more messages to friends:

I appreciate timely messages from my friend and yours, The Daily Bitch.

Feel free to leave messages to friends in the comments section, below.

All my messages to friends include gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily messages to friends, including YOU.

Day 2854: Red

Yesterday, I wrote about the color blue. My true-blue reader, Maureen, wrote this in a response:

I’m intrigued by how strongly the political parties in the United States are associated with the colors red and blue. Do you think that avid Republicans could ever feel that blue is their favorite color? or do people’s political associations affect their color preferences?

I am an avid Democrat and my favorite color is red, as you can see from the photos I’m sharing today.

If my country doesn’t turn blue this year, I’ll be thinking thoughts like today’s Daily Bitch, turning red in anger and embarrassment.

While I am waiting for the election results, I shall listen to favorite music, including The Red One, featuring some red-hot guitar playing by Pat Metheny and John Scofield.

What are your thoughts and feelings about this red post?

Red thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, read by many, including YOU!

Day 2837: Stranger Danger

Have you ever experienced a stranger time with so much danger? Above all, there is danger because of the stranger in the White House.

Do you see stranger danger in today’s images?

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I am having an echocardiogram today at 3 to discover whether COVID-19 has damaged my heart, which is stranger than yours. Everyone will be wearing masks during this procedure, so that strangers won’t cause danger to each other. Even though masks might make us look and feel stranger, it’s the strangest behavior in the world not to wear one to reduce danger to oneself and others.

The stranger in the White House is endangering countless lives of strangers with his stranger and stranger behavior. If you are voting for him, nothing is stranger to me.

Truth is stranger than fiction, and “Stranger in Town” from Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion showed up in my headphones yesterday when I was taking my “Stranger Danger” photos.

What are your thoughts and feelings about this Stranger Danger post?

Thanks to all the friends and strangers who help me create this daily blog, which reduces my danger during these stranger and stranger times.