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 1907: A grain of salt

People I love keep telling me to take things with a grain of salt, even though I should be restricting my salt intake.

If you don’t know the meaning of the idiom “a grain of salt,” take this!

“(With) a grain of salt”, (or “a pinch of salt”) is an idiom of the English language, which means to view something with skepticism or not to interpret something literally.

In a pinch, here are more grains of wisdom from that Wikipedia page:

Hypotheses of the phrase’s origin include Pliny the Elder‘s Naturalis Historia, regarding the discovery of a recipe for an antidote to a poison.^[2] In the antidote, one of the ingredients was a grain of salt. Threats involving the poison were thus to be taken “with a grain of salt”, and therefore less seriously.

The phrase cum grano salis (“with a grain of salt”) is not what Pliny wrote. It is constructed according to the grammar of modern European languages rather than Classical Latin. Pliny’s actual words were addito salis grano (“after having added a grain of salt”).

An alternative account says that the Roman general Pompey believed he could make himself immune to poison by ingesting small amounts of various poisons, and he took this treatment with a grain of salt to help him swallow the poison. In this version, the salt is not the antidote. It was taken merely to assist in swallowing the poison.

The Latin word salis means both “salt” and “wit”, so that the Latin phrase “cum grano salis” could be translated as both “with a grain of salt” and “with a grain (small amount) of wit”. The phrase is said “with a pinch of salt” in British English and said “with a grain of salt” in American English.

 

These days, we could all use grains of wit, salt, and other antidotes to poisons.

Lately, I’ve been encouraged to take gloomier forecasts about my rotator cuff injury with  grains of salt. Those grains of salt are more helpful than rubbing salt in that wound.

Also, I should have taken yesterday’s forecasts about a “four-easter” in Boston with a grain of salt. I woke up early to find very little snow on the ground, which means fewer grains of salt on the highways and byways today.

Michael, who sometimes tells me to take things with a BIG grain of salt, just said, “I don’t think there’s going to be anything to shovel, baby. If you need any help with your car, wake me up.”

What do you take with a grain (or a pinch)  of salt?  Any of these photos?

You may take this with a grain of salt, but I think New England ducks have fun in the salt water.

There are at least three “Grain of Salt” songs on YouTube (here,  here, and here).

I look forward to the grains of comments about today’s post.

Grainy thanks to all who helped me write today’s salty post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 1870: What does CGP stand for?

In my Continuously Generated Posts, I Commonly Get Pleasure out of asking what Certain Generically Positioned initials stand for (like here and here).

For Creative Good Purposes, I’m Collecting General Paraphernalia in Comfortably Graduated Paragraphs of what CGP stands for, including:

#1.  Certified Group Psychotherapist.

#2: Cats Generating Peace.

#3: Cartoons Generously Posted.

#4: Calmingly Great Philosophy.

#5: Cuff Grounded Pictures.

I Completely Grabbed Photographs of the Concrete Ground Passageway where I tripped and tore my rotator cuff two weeks ago, which Caused Great Pain.

#6.  Charming Group Poster.

I’m happy I made it to Certified Group Psychotherapist and I’m happy you made it here (and so is Matt Heaton and the Outside Toys):

Comments, Gentle People?

Citing Gratitude Personally, I’d like to thank everybody who helped me Complete a Genuine Post about CGP today.

 

Day 1869: A painful process

Since I fell and tore my rotator cuff, life has been a painful process. Yesterday, when I was processing with other group therapists, somebody with true wisdom showed me this cartoon:

That painful couch reminds me of the shoulder pain that’s been waking me up in the middle of the night ever since I tore my rotator cuff.

To deal with this painful process, I’m writing a new set of lyrics to “The Lion Sleeps at Night.”

Ann Can’t Sleep at Night

“Wimmaway” chorus:

It hurts so bad, it makes me sad, it make me mad, and not too glad.

It hurts so bad, it makes me sad, it makes me mad, and not too glad.

EEEE-EEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEE-EEEE-EEEEEK ! (or any painful cry)

Verse 1:

Tear your rotator cuff and it will be hard to sleep at night.

With her rotator cuff-related pain, Ann can’t sleep at night.

It hurts so bad, it makes her sad, it makes her mad, and not so glad.

It hurts so bad, it makes her sad, it makes her mad, and not so glad.

EEEE-EEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEE-EEEE-EEEEEK !

Verse 2:

In the bedroom, the quiet bedroom, Ann can’t sleep at night.

In the bedroom, the quiet bedroom, she doesn’t feel all right.

It hurts so bad, it makes her sad, it makes her mad, and not so glad.

It hurts so bad, it makes her sad, it makes her mad, and not so glad.

EEEE-EEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEEE-EEEE-EEEE-EEEEEK !

Verse 3:

Hush that yelling, with all that yelling, the cats can’t sleep at night.

Hush that yelling and grab a laptop, and do your best to write.

EEEEK-EEEEK-EEEEEEK, EEEEEEK-EEEEEK-EEEEEK,EEEEEEk-EEEEEK-EEEEK-EEEEK-EEEEEEK.

If you want to join in this painful process,  you can sing along here.

 

Taking photos is more of a painful process, but that’s not stopping me.

Despite the painful process of life, I’ve had at least 40 years of fun.

Now it’s your turn to deal with the painful process of leaving a comment.

Thanks to all who are supporting me through this painful process, including YOU.