August Happiness Challenge -- Day 30

Look at my happy kitty

Tuesday's happiness: Kyle Hendricks. This Cub team has lots of big, colorful personalities with charisma to burn. But there's one player I always forget about: Kyle Hendricks.

He's quiet. He doesn't throw very hard. He's not exciting to watch, either on the mound or in front of the microphone.

Except damn, this year he just keeps winning. Tuesday night he led the team to victory, pitching seven scoreless innings. He now has the lowest ERA in the league!

The fact that this unsung hero is being talked about for the Cy Young Award makes me happy.
 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 29

Look at my happy kitty

Monday's happiness: Everyone checked in. I got three chatty little emails from dear old friends today. 

•  My oldest friend is listening to Burt Reynolds' autobiography as she drives to and from work and is enjoying it.

•  My friend in Key West reports that he is still loving his new library job so much.

•  John sent me a photo of JBKO he was sure I'd never seen before.  (Nice try, John.)

Nothing earth-shattering or newsworthy. But the messages made me smile because they remind me that I have vibrant friendships with deep roots. My oldest friend and I have known each other since Kindergarten. John and I have been friends 35 years. I've known my friends in the Keys since 1992.

I am blessed.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

So much sadness!

I'm really glad I still have to do my August Happiness Challenge post, because today I need to be reminded of the joy in my life.

I'm fine. Not delighted. Not delirious. All the physical complaints and money woes that plagued me yesterday are still here. But I'm fine. I'm good. I am, by and large, happy.

But today I have been confronted by sadness all day long and it's weighing on me. What is my responsibility in all this? Should I be doing more?

First, the double-edged sword. The day started with a Big Announcement. After months of intense competition, the agency I work for was awarded a very large piece of very high-profile business. While I'm not directly effected, I can still rejoice because it makes layoffs less likely. Yea! Also, lots of young people at the very beginning of their careers worked so hard and this success must mean the world to them. BUT I can't help thinking about the agency that lost. Our Big Boss warned us all not to "be jerks and assholes on social media." He's so right. At another agency, on the other side of town, people were wondering if they'd be employed come Christmas. This is my (gulp!) 35th year in advertising and I know that this is the way it works. I accept it. But it still makes me sad. Even when the economy is good, there is not enough work to go around.

Then there's Katie. Poor Katie. A dear and sensitive girl, an expectant mother. She's taking this week off to be with her brother. He'd been undergoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic for cancer but they released him. Not because he's better. I worry about Katie and the baby she's carrying.

Then there was the guy on the train. I try to remember the homeless I encounter on street corners. But I hate it when people solicit for funds on the el. It's a confined area and there's something so intrusive and almost hostile about it. Today this man started reciting his tale of woe -- about diabetes and needing cash for gauze and a bandage. I didn't raise my eyes from my book. I didn't hear any of my fellow rush hour passengers reaching into their wallets, either. So I was sure it was a scam. Then he walked in front of me, on his way to the next car. Oh. My. God. His pant leg was rolled up and if I really saw what I thought I saw, part of his calf was missing. Gouged away! And I couldn't be bothered to look up! I'm haunted.

Then there's Pervy Walt at the end of the hall. A box of his belongings is just sitting in front of his door. Looks like linens and clothes. I have no idea what's going on, but I'm sure it's not good. He's 90 and alone, with health problems. My first impulse is to ask him if he needs help, but because of Walt's "issue" with me, that's not a good idea. Still, it makes me desperately sad.

And here I am, a cat by my side, watching Kris Bryant slide into home. I am so lucky to be happy. I feel very guilty about it.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 28

Look at my happy kitty

Sunday's happiness: Afternoon at the movies. I've been so Cubbie obsessed this season that I haven't wanted to miss a single game, and that has cut into my movie going. However the local theater has three movies I wanted to see, and my team was in LA so they had a late start time, so I was able to catch a matinee.

I saw Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. Of course Meryl Streep was impressive, she always is. But Hugh Grant was a revelation. It's so seldom that we see him disappear into a character. Simon Helberg -- he of the Beatle bangs on Big Bang Theory -- is also very, very good.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's Moments Meme, Part Two
 

23. Have you ever gone to the “dark side”? I interpret this as depression, and yes, I have. I call it "going down the Stoney End," from the Barbra Streisand song. That's where I go when it feels like "the fury and the broken thunder come to match my raging soul." Fortunately, it happens less and less now. Thanks to a lot of therapy, soul searching and prayer.

24. What shirt are you wearing right now? A Beatles nightshirt.

emblazoned across my chest as I answer these questions

25. What’s important about a bed to you? Like type of sheets, size or whatever. I like clean sheets. And I'm in love with my new Wamsutta pillow.

26. Can you sing? Not well. At all.

27. What is something about you that would surprise us? It seems to surprise people that I'm religious. Maybe it's because I consider this an extremely personal topic and don't proselytize  Or because I so seriously believe government should be secular. Or because I say "fuck" so often. At any rate, I am a Christian and I do work at being a good one.

28. Have you been a pirate, Renaissance Fair, or other costumed event? If not, would you for the right event or say cause? No, I haven't but yes, I would.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever comes on the radio. Saturday morning I serenaded myself with "That's All" along with Phil Collins. "I should leave but I won't go. It'd be easier I know. I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes ..."

30. Favorite girl's name? Mary. No one seems to name their kid Mary anymore.

31. Favorite boy's name? Michael. So many nicknames! Mike, Mickey, Mikey, Mick ...

32. What’s in your pocket or purse right now? An Epipen. Don't get me started ...

33. Last thing that made you laugh? The woman in line in front of me at Walgreen's. She was asked if she wanted to use her points to pay for her purchase of sanitary items and she said, "No, I'm hoarding them to pay for my Epipen."

34. Best toy as a child? My plush Lassie dog and I went everywhere together.

35. Worst injury you have ever had? When I was very young, I broke my collarbone. I remember little about it.

36. Where would you love to live?  I love Chicago and would never leave. But if I could live

anywhere in this city, I'd choose the Palmolive Building. It's a beautiful art deco building from the 1930s. It's historic -- the light you see is The Lindbergh Beacon, added way back when to help aviators navigate over Lake Michigan, and it was also the headquarters of Playboy back in its heyday. And my view would either be Michigan Avenue or the Oak Street Beach! Now all I need is $14 million for a condo unit.

37. What type of TV do you have? Would you like an upgrade? In the living room I have a 20" flatscreen. And yes, I would like an upgrade. I watched the Cubs/Cards series on a massive big screen TV in our hotel room and it was life altering. I used to say I was against a TV that was bigger than my sofa, but that was before I saw Kris Bryant hit a homer on one.

39. How many dogs do you have? None.

 40. Do most folks trust you? Yes. And they shouldn't. I'm very blabby.

41. What book are you reading? Book, Line and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay. It's a rather formulaic little mystery, but I'm enjoying it.

42. What’s your favorite classic TV show? Saturday night I watched a Law and Order marathon and enjoyed it thoroughly.
 
43. What’s your favorite sports team? Gee, you don't visit this blog often, do you?

44. Favorite month and why? November. My birthday and The World Series.

Something is wrong ... I think

All I did Saturday was go to the eye doctor, stop at Walgreens and then go back to bed.

Walking to eye doctor -- a matter of blocks -- made me feel hot and irritable and literally weighed down by the humidity.

I slept intermittently and watched the Cubs in a rare loss to the Dodgers.* But I'm starting to be concerned by this fatigue.

Saturday is Day 6 of my cold, and I'm familiar with the old saying that a cold lasts 9 days. Maybe that's all it is. I'm not coughing much anymore and I'm breathing better, but I'm still so tired.

I've been to the optometrist three times this summer and we still can't arrive on a prescription. Every time he gives me the exam, it's different! He says it's nothing "sinister" -- thank God! -- just a likely combination of menopause/hormones changing the shape of my eye, the advent of chronic dryness, and my lazy contact lens habits. OK, but it's still a drag. I've been wearing my glasses with their old prescription for a month now, and it'll be another month or more before I get new glasses and contacts and ... oh, I'm sorry, I bored myself just writing this.

But here's the thing: My eyes are messed up. My cold is exhausting. My hair is thinning. I wonder if something isn't wrong.

I've never been this old before. Is this just part of aging?

My doctor wants to do followup blood work -- after my c diff -- in November. I think I'll move that up to October, which is really just weeks away. I'll keep track of my symptoms and let her know so we can do a complete panel and see if anything is up.

*Hey, it happens. We're still cool. This season is still magic!

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 27

Look at my happy kitty

Saturday's happiness: New pillow. I noticed while changing my sheets that there was no really no difference anymore between my "good" pillow -- the one I favor -- and my "old" pillow. So Friday I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond with one of their ubiquitous coupons and picked up a new "good" pillow for just $10.99 (incl. tax). I love it. It's both firm and fluffy.

Now the "old" pillow has been relegated to the armoire, which means that's what I'll stick guests with if they insist on staying me with me.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

Saturday 9

Hello

1) This video for this song begins with Adele and her flip phone. Is your cell phone a simple or a smart phone? It's a smartie. An LG Leon with a cracked screen. I kinda like the spiderweb effect.

2) As soon as her cell is fully charged, Sam disconnects the adapter from the outlet to save electricity. Are you careful about conserving energy? I'm a good little recycler, but I'm bad with electricity and dripping faucets.

3) Adele sings that she must have a called a thousand times but her former lover never picked up. Think about the last call you made. Did you get through? Did you leave a voice mail? Or did you just hang up? The last call I made was to check my home voicemail. Yes, I got through. I listened to a message from my optometrist. 

4) Adele brews a cup of tea in the video. How often do you drink tea? Year round? Only in winter? Never? Only when I'm chilled.

5) Adele told Glamour magazine she like two sugars in her tea. Do you watch your sugar intake? Not at all. Though I should.

6) This song is about reaching out to someone and extending an apology. When is the last time you said, "I'm sorry?" Friday to a guy at work. Only it wasn't an apology. He was telling me his girlfriend spent Thursday in the hospital having tests.

7) Adele was a heavy smoker who enjoyed the habit and didn't quit until 2015, after  doctors convinced her it contributed to her chronic throat problems. What's something you know you should do for your health? Eat less sugar and fat. Exercise more. Drink more water.
 
8) Even though she is one of the world's highest-earning entertainers, she recently had her credit card rejected while shopping at H and M. She admits she was "mortified." Have you ever experienced that moment at the counter when your card was rejected? Not in decades. 

9) Random question: When you were a kid, did you keep a neat or messy bedroom? It was messy then, just as it's messy now.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 26

Look at my happy kitty

Friday's happiness: Sweet Pea! She's our neighborhood dog. Everyone loves her. A friendly little black ball of fluff.

I used to see her just about every morning on my way to the train, but she's been absent for weeks. I feared the worst. After all, she's 12 years old. Time has turned her muzzle white. She has such severe back problems that when the pavement is wet, her human has to carry her. 

But this evening I saw her! And even better, she saw me, pulling on her leash and waddling on over to give me kisses. 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 25

Look at my happy kitty

Thursday's happiness: He's fine. Today I had lunch with one of the coworkers who was let go on June 30. I'm happy to report he's happy.

Of the three who were laid off, he's the one I worried about the most. He'd been with the agency for (gulp!) 22 years, which is an amazingly long time to go without interviewing. He has a speech impediment -- a stutter -- and that makes it uncomfortable to meet new people in high stress situations.

He doesn't yet have a job, but he seems happy and peaceful. His daughter -- who just began her senior year in high school -- had surgery for a sports injury in the spring and he was glad to be home with her this summer to oversee her rehab. He's ridden his bike every day and lost a little weight.

His family has money. His father and brothers are all in "the family business," a chain of high-profile car dealerships around Chicagoland. I know from previous conversations that he wanted to go his own way, defy expectations and become an art director. However, now that he's in his mid-50s, with a daughter ready to enter college, it might be time to see if there isn't anything he can do for the family firm. He's also looking at freelance work.

I realized today he's going to be OK. Not everyone in his situation is. It makes me happy.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 24

Look at my happy kitty

Wednesday's happiness: Clean pajamas. OK, so this cold is miserable.

I got up this morning as I always do -- Reynaldo insists on breakfast -- and was just weary down into my bone marrow. I looked out at the gray and clouds and remembered that today was the all-agency picnic and the office would be closing at 12:30 anyway. So I called in, left an "I'm sick" message for my boss and my art director, and crawled back into bed.

And slept and slept until nearly 2:00! I wish I could say I felt 100% better, but I didn't. I felt icky and ooky. So I took a shower, scrubbed myself head to toe, and switched to a fresh nightshirt and clean undies. Yea!

Then I went back to bed for another round of sleeping. 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

WWW.WEDNESDAY

To participate, and to see how others responded, click here. 

1. What are you currently reading? Book, Line and Sinker by Jenn McKinlay. This is book #3 in the "Library Lover's Mystery" series, but it's my first and so far, so good. I'm finding it slow going to start, but that could be because 1) I've got a cold and 2) this is my introduction to established characters and I'm having a little trouble keeping everyone straight.

The feeling I get from this is "cozy." Very Jessica Fletcher/Cabot Cove. Since the prolific author has also written "Cupcake Mysteries," I'm expecting this vibe to continue. (And I'm good with that. If I wanted graphic, I'd reach for the latest Cornwell/Scarpetta.)

2. What did you recently finish reading? Barbara Stanwyck by Al Diorio. I had a strong, negative reaction to this book, one I'm trying to shake so I can go back to enjoying Stanwyck's work.

The book itself isn't the problem, really, though it's superficial and highly apologetic, as if written from a series of press releases. But there's an audience for this sort of glossy biography and, since I knew so little about Stanwyck's personal life when I picked it up, it served as a decent primer about her life and put her work in some context.

It's one of the critical relationships in Stanwyck's life that has upset me. She was a dreadful mother. This woman who I knew first as warm and sacrificing Stella Dallas and then on TV as wise matriarch Victoria Barkley was cold and selfish with her own son.

Once she was ensconced in her second marriage to Robert Taylor, she sent the boy to military or boarding schools. Even though the institutions were nearby, he was never invited home for holidays and summers, instead staying with relatives or -- I'm not kidding -- employees. After her divorce from Taylor, she saw her son once to say goodbye to him before he was inducted into the service. It was an awkward lunch, and they never saw one another again.

What the hell? Stanwyck had a dreadful childhood herself, raised in foster homes and working full time at age 14. I suppose we could say that since she never had a mother, she didn't know how to be one. OK. I understand that, philosophically. But it doesn't excuse/alleviate the pain she inflicted on her son.

Yet this book tries to portray the mother-son breach as 50%/50%. No. The kid had no power in this relationship, at least not in those formative years when he was sent away. So I was appalled by Diorio's attitude. The awesome two-volume bio of Frank Sinatra by James Kaplan shows a good writer can be both clear-eyed and compassionate about his subject. Diorio was neither.

3.  What will you read next? I don't know.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 23

Look at my happy kitty

Tuesday's happiness: Oh, this Cub Team! I cannot believe how good these kids are.

•  The best record in baseball. Again. Still.

•  Kris Bryant is tied at the top of the league with 33 home runs.*

•  Jake Arrieta leads the league in wins.

•  Kyle Hendricks -- you know, the quiet one I always forget about when I count off the starters -- has the league's lowest ERA.

•  And Joe Maddon, of course, the is the coolest manager in the history of ... people.

I come from a long line of Cub fans. How I wish my father and grandma could see this team.

The only team in baseball over .600

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

*He hit #33 as I was writing this!

If there was an August Annoyance Challenge ...

Little stuff, really. Trying to keep it all in perspective ...

•  I have a cold. It hit me that I didn't feel well as I walked around on a perfectly lovely sunny summer Monday. All I want to do is sleep, and I think longingly about the days when I could breathe easily. (Yes, I'm a big baby.)

•  The credit card I've used a lot this summer was hacked, and now I'm without it. Chase says they should get a replacement to me this week. I'm glad they caught the suspicious activity and that I'm not responsible for the charges. But this is the third hack -- and the second card/bank -- and it's such a drag.  (I know, it happens to everyone sooner or later.)

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 22

Look at my happy kitty

Monday's happiness: That I can give. Crayola crayons and markers, Ticonderoga #2 pencils and folders in a variety of colors. I dropped them all in the collection box in the lobby of this office building. "Help Chicago Public Schools start the new year right," the sign said. And so I did.

It came to less than $10 -- everything was on sale at Walgreens -- but it did wonders for my heart.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find. 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 21

Look at my happy kitty

Sunday's happiness: Today I saved 37%. I went to CVS with a trio of coupons and at checkout watched my bill go down ... and down ... and down. Yea, me!

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the happy cat. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with August Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.