Day 2858: Dead End

I grew up on a dead end and I live on a dead end now. Some people don’t like the term “dead end” — they prefer “cul de sac,” which translates from the French to “bottom of the sack. “

I believe that if the current, bottom-of-the-sack leaders in the USA get another term in office, it’s a dead end for the future, hope, civilization, and the survival of the human race.

Maybe that’s why I captured these images yesterday.

“Dead End” from the Quincy Jones album Walking in Space coincidentally showed up in my random Spotify playlist as I was walking by dead ends last night. Here is “Dead End,” which I’ve been listening to for most of my life.

I don’t know how this election is going to end and when it is going to end. I’m already dead with dread and exhaustion, and there are miles to go before I sleep.

Do you see dead ends in these other images?

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I’ve had fun before. And worrying about whether the world is approaching a dead end is not it.

Gratitude is the living end, so thanks to all who help me write these posts, including YOU!

Day 2470: Things organized neatly

Yesterday, after doing neat things  at a Food Truck and Music Festival  organized neatly by Quincy, Massachusetts, my boyfriend Michael and I noticed this neat book at a nearby coffee shop:

Here’s one of the neat photos in that book:

When I organize my photographs as neatly as possible for this daily blog, I often have pictures of hearts (as well as other things that are meaningful to me).  Today’s neatly organized things include an homage to my late mother, who was well known for organizing things neatly and whom I  especially miss during this time of the year.

What are people thinking about those things organized neatly?

Phillip Alexander & the Wild Things (which included a musician from my neatly organized hometown of Swampscott) played this neatly organized song:

That neatly organized building in the background is the Thomas Crane Public Library, by the amazingly neat architect H.H. Richardson.

Here are a few more things organized neatly:

1. My boyfriend Michael is now my fiancé Michael (which I’ve been hinting at with some neatly organized clues in recent posts).
2. I wish that my neatly organized mother and my neatly hilarious father could have met my neat and hilarious fiancé.
3. Michael meets two of the criteria I neatly organized for a husband when I was ten years old: he loves cats and tuna noodle casserole.
4. Actually, Michael might like rather than love tuna noodle casserole, but he makes a neatly organized tuna noodle casserole that’s at least as good  as the tuna noodle casserole made by my neatly organized mother.

I look forward to some neatly organized comments, below.

As always, I end with some neatly organized gratitude to all who help me create these daily blogs, including YOU.

Day 2106: I’m Mad About You

Yesterday, when I was mad/angry/furious, I wrote a new song entitled “I’m Mad About You.”

I’m mad/crazy/nuts about jazz standards and I hope I have the mad/superior/unexpected skills to evoke that musical sound in my latest original tune.

Are you mad about my opening and ending lyrics?

I’m mad about you.

You make me feel blue.

You make me so angry.

And that isn’t new.

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I’m wish I could disappear you.

Never hear or be near you.

Oy, oh boy, the joy to be rid of you.

Because I’m mad, not glad, not sad, just mad about you.

© Ann Koplow 2018

 

Are you mad about any of my many photos from yesterday, when my madly loved Michael and I visited the Adams National Historical Park and downtown Quincy, Massachusetts, USA?

If you were particularly mad about any of those smaller photos, please click to enlarge.

Did you notice any of the mad connections among those photos, like this one?

 

I’m mad about the music and singer of this jazz standard and I’m madly thinking about the lyrics.

 

I’m mad about my readers and hope to get some mad comments on this post.

Mad gratitude to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2085: Do your best

Yesterday morning, when I was doing my best to create another daily blog post, I included this poem I had written and shared in a therapy group about second guessing:

When I second guess

I make a mess

I feel I’m less

It causes stress

When I obsess!

I like to guess.

I will express

That more or less

I do my best

Then, when I was doing my best taking photos for today’s blog, I saw this:

Please do your best to look at all the other photos I took yesterday.

Do your best to wait patiently for all those photos to load and to click on any photos you’d like to enlarge.

Usually, I do my best to save the gratitude photos for the end and to make sure that all the photos are easy to read. However, today I’m assuming that we can all do our best together to make this blog post work.

Also, I am going to do my best to explain that my little yellow car was washed yesterday by members of the Quincy High School Choral Society and that Michael and I saw Senator Elizabeth Warren, the senior U.S. senator from Massachusetts, who does her best to challenge the current U.S. President.

Now, do your best to read all the words on this sign:

Please do your best to watch all these “Do Your Best” videos:

Do your best to comment and I will do my best to express my gratitude for all those who helped me create this “Do your best” post and — of course! — my readers, who are the best.

Day 2078: Preparing for the worst-case scenario

Yesterday, as I was preparing for several worst-case scenarios, I noticed this headline in a local newspaper:

I captured that image, preparing for the worst-case scenario of people getting confused, angry, or annoyed that I was inexplicably snapping a photo of a folded newspaper in a busy restaurant, perhaps momentarily inconveniencing people going about their business.

I wanted to photograph that “Preparing for the Worst-Case Scenario” headline — despite the worst-case scenario of bothering other people — because  I believe that I am not alone in preparing for the worst-case scenario, consciously and unconsciously, every day.

Preparing for the worst-case scenario that the previous paragraph was either confusing or otherwise inadequate, I will now redirect you to many blog posts about the cognitive distortion of catastrophizing (here, here, here, here, here, here, here,  here, and here).

Preparing for the worst-case scenario that nobody will look at those previous posts I’ve written, I shall now prepare a list of my current thoughts and feelings about preparing for the worst-case scenario, as follows:

• People who want to sell you something often do so by seemingly preparing you for the worst-case scenario.
• Action movies, like the latest Mission Impossible film (which I saw yesterday), are built on worst-case scenarios (e.g., the destruction of the world)  being thwarted, at the last possible second,  by super human actions performed by people who are much stronger and smarter than anybody I know.  My mind then goes to this worst-case scenario: what chance do actual human beings have in averting disaster in real time and real life?
• Some reader might chastise me with this: why can’t you just enjoy a great action movie without all this thinking about worst-case scenarios?
• It’s difficult to prepare for the worst-case scenario when so many seem possible in the moment. How do we even  choose what the worst-case scenario is, from moment to moment and day to day?  And then, how do we prepare for it amid all these shifting sands and different opinions out there?
• Whenever I listen to or watch the news, I notice people preparing for worst-case scenarios that are often diametrically opposed from each other.
• A nation (and world!)  so polarized and conflicted is — according to Abraham Lincoln —  a worst-case scenario: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
• I’m preparing for the worst-case scenario that my readers might think I haven’t done my homework in preparing this post by pointing out that “A house divided against itself cannot stand” originally appeared in the New Testament.
• Preparing for worst-case scenarios in our daily lives (e.g., my health is declining,  my money is running out, I won’t be able to survive this latest loss, I may fail miserably in this venture, people will judge and/or abandon me) may seem to prepare and arm us for difficulties, but it also depletes and sometimes defeats us, even before we’ve tried.

Should I be preparing you for any worst-case scenarios in my other photos from yesterday?

Last night, as I watched the fabulous fireworks celebrating the opening of the new Hancock Adams Park in historic Quincy, Massachusetts, USA, I was preparing myself for the worst-case scenario that I wouldn’t capture any of the wonderful smiley-face fireworks that were a part of the display. Despite preparing for that worst-case scenario, I loved every moment of those fireworks.

So I guess that’s the best I can do, these days: realize that my mind is going to naturally be preparing for the worst-case scenario but also getting as much as I can from every moment I’m still alive.

I’m now preparing for the worst-case scenario that people will notice all the flaws I see in this performance of my second original song “Catatrophizing” from two months ago …

… and this more recent performance, listed under the title “How not to be a busker, by Ann Koplow” on YouTube (and starting at 4:04):

How are you preparing for the worst-case scenario, these days?

As always, I’m preparing for the worst-case scenario by focusing on gratitude for what I do have. Thanks to all who helped me prepare this worst-case scenario post and — of course! — YOU, from the bottom of my catastrophizing heart.

Day 1602: Millions of Ideas

I have millions of ideas about this one-in-a-million picture I took yesterday.

How could one city have millions of ideas? Do you have any ideas about that?

Actually, I believe that one PERSON could have millions of ideas — some more helpful than others —  so it’s likely that any place in the world would have millions of ideas.

Let’s see if we can find millions of ideas in my other photos from yesterday.

I may have millions of ideas, but I have no idea how that last photo got on my phone.

Here‘s a song with millions of ideas and millions of miracles.

Feel free to express any of your millions of ideas in a comment below.

Millions of thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and to my less than a million readers, including the one-in-a-kashmillion YOU.

Day 1585: Excellence

If you came to this blog today looking for excellence, you’re in luck.

My social work intern, Justine …

… has shown excellence in individual and group psychotherapy this entire year. Justine is so excellent that I recently acknowledged her excellence with a list titled “Reasons Why Justine is Awesome.”  When we said goodbye yesterday, Justine demonstrated more excellence.

 

Justine shared the excellence of that ant quote during the therapy group we both facilitated yesterday. Because of that ant, we all sang this excellent song:

At that same excellent therapy group, as we were saying goodbye to Justine, we all acknowledged Justine’s excellence as well as the excellence of this helpful thought:

The pain of the loss is directly proportional to the importance of the connection.

Do you see excellence in my other photos from yesterday?

 

 

 

Please share the excellence of your own thoughts and feelings in a comment, below.

Thanks to Justine, our therapy group, Frank Sinatra,  Greg Stones, and everybody else who contributed to the excellence of today’s post. Also, thanks for the excellence of your visit to this blog, here and now.

Day 1580: Bitch, Bitch, Bitch

Sometimes, life is a bitch.

Sometimes, life is a different kind of bitch.

Sometimes, life is a beach.

 

Here‘s a bitch of a video at YouTube:

 

Feel free to bitch, bitch, bitch in a comment, below.

This bitch is grateful for all the bitches and beaches who helped her create this post and — of course! — she’s very grateful for you.

Day 1575: Books

Yesterday, not knowing  it was World Book Day, 2017, I took several photos of books,.

When I was younger, I was constantly reading  books. These days, I read more blogs than books. Is there  a World Blog Day on the books? There was one, five years ago, according to Face Book.

Here are some quotes about books from books:

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”  — Jane Austen

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” — Lemony Snicket

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” — Haruki Murakami

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.” — J.D. Salinger

There are 3,000 quotes about books at goodreads.com. I am stopping at five quotes about books from books, because I don’t want today’s blog to be a book.

Here are other photos I took on World Book Day:

Here‘s a previous blog post on the books, where I wrote new lyrics for “You’ve Got it Bad, Girl” from Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book.

This girl could write a book about how thankful I am for all who help me blog every day and — of course! — for you. Rather than wait for that book, though,  I’ll end with two more pictures from World Book Day.

 

Day 1568: Oasis

Oasis is

1. a small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well.
2. something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult, etc.:
   The library was an oasis of calm in the hectic city.

Every day, I look for and find a refuge, relief or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult, etc. Did you know that’s key for great happiness and renewal?

Here are some oases I found yesterday.

 

I do believe that sharing music together is an oasis which keeps our planet humming , so here‘s Wonderwall by Oasis:

Sharing my thoughts, feelings, photos, and music every day is an oasis for me. So is getting in touch with my gratitude to all, including you!