Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Start Me Up (1981)

... because Kwizgiver recommended The Rolling Stones

1) That's a goat wearing a high heel. What's on your feet as you answer these questions? Just toenail polish.

2) More fashion: In the video for this song, Mick is wearing white pants with an elastic waistband. Are you wearing a belt as you answer these questions? Nope
 

3) In this song, Mick pleads, "Don't make a grown man cry." When is the last time you shed a tear? I don't remember

4) Keith Richard has said this is a song he could play "forever and ever." What in your life doesn't get old, no matter how often you do it? I'm watching a TLC documentary on Princess Diana. It occurs to me that I've been reading about Diana and the boys for more than 30 years now. So I'd say, for me, royal watching doesn't get old.

5) While The Rolling Stones enjoy performing songs, like this one, from Tattoo You, Mick Jagger has dismissed the songs from their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request as "rubbish." Do you have a favorite Rolling Stones song? I'm not much of a Stones fan, but I do enjoy this one, also from Tattoo You.


 
6) This recording of "Start Me Up" features a cowbell. Do you remember which Saturday Night Live host made, "More cowbell!" a catchphrase? Christopher Walken. I can't get over how often I still the meme and this t-shirt, even after more than 15 years.

7) Bassist Bill Wyman once said he thought he should have been a archivist because he loved to make lists. Do you have a to-do list? No

8) Mick finds it hard to stand still when he sings, not only on stage but also in the studio. The engineer for this song reports that Mick would have to run across the room to get back to the microphone for his vocal. Are you more fidgety, or still? I'm a fidgeter.

9) Random question: Do you believe men are inherently more sensible than women? No.

 

August Happiness Challenge: Day 11

Rizz is refreshed

On Day Eleven, I'm happy I took a nap. Our office closes early on Friday afternoons. These days always feel delicious and somehow stolen. 

Today I used the time to take a nap. Sprawled out on the sofa, I snoozed and snored for nearly two hours. Bliss!

Then I went grocery shopping, ticking one of the "must-do's" off my list.

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 Cub. 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 10

Rizz is happy for me

On Day Ten, I'm happy I got high five'd. For the last three weeks, I've been in this Second City storytelling workshop sponsored by employer. Monday I wrote this story, recounting a true story from my childhood. The praise from my two instructors was universal, and I didn't really trust it.

Let's face it: this is a business for them. My agency paid them to run this three-session workshop and hosted a pizza/wine/beer party Thursday to celebrate the results. They needed us to participate and share our stories or it wouldn't look like the agency got what it paid for.

So before I committed to reading this in open forum, I shared the story with John, Kathy and Henry. All three of them are writers. None of them has read my personal writing -- just my professional, marketing-based stuff. When all three of them assured me that it was good and I wouldn't embarrass myself, I committed to reading it at the party.

The reception I received was positive! People actually laughed out loud, and at the right places. As I made my way back to my seat, I received applause and high fives. It was very encouraging, and I'm glad I did it.

Praise feels good.

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 Cub. 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.

Hi, I'm Fatty McFatterson

Twenty years ago, I was worried about my mom, her finances, and what would happen to her if something happened to me. Yes, I already had a group life insurance plan through work, but advertising can be an insecure industry, so I wanted a policy independent of my job. So, just a month  before my 40th birthday, I got a $50,000 level term life insurance policy.

That policy expires on October 15. Now I need a new one.

Now I'm worried about the debts I'll leave behind, the expense of laying me to rest, and cost incurred in selling my condo and disposing of my stuff. By the time that happens, I'll likely be retired and there won't be a group plan anymore. I still want that $50,000 level term policy. I found a company willing to give me one -- at a higher price than I expected but, after I did a little homework, is competitive with the marketplace.

But first I have to pass the physical.

Gulp.

I know my gut is OK. I have photographic evidence of my colonoscopy. My weight is a big problem, but there's not a lot I can do about that before next week's physical. Then there's my cholesterol. I've got make sure that's down, or this policy will be difficult to afford.

So for the next week it's oatmeal and salad and fruit. The heavy, fatty foods I love so much will be consumed only sparingly (if at all).