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| Find the challenge here |
Here are my likes:
1) I am a good writer
2) The gift of empathy
3) My dimples
4) Every day I try to be a good person
Now for the icks:
1) Laziness
2) Pettiness
3) I'm not good with the manual dexterity thing (I'm insanely proud of myself when I replace a screw)
4) Set in my ways
Here's how to play.
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
This is from Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. There are many references to Mike Todd, Taylor's third husband, the one who died in a plane crash who left her a widow at 26. Because their marriage was so short and ended so tragically, she romanticized him for the rest of her life. Here's how the humorist SJ Perelman described Todd in real time:
Todd’s living up to his legend, standing off from himself and admiring this Napoleonic figure he’s created by producing War and Peace and The Life of Toscanini at the same time he’s releasing Oklahoma! and preparing Around the World in 80 Days and sleeping with 16 dames alternately and flying back from Las Vegas and leaving for Paris tomorrow and arriving from London yesterday.
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| Find the challenge here |
This year, at the age of 67, for the very first time, I am working retail on Black Friday.
My former boss Ceecee and current coworker Rose tell me it's nothing to worry about because we have no special Black Friday sales.
My regular shift manager Jen tells me it's important and stressful because shoppers who come in on Black Friday are very serious about their holiday decor, cards and wrapping, so I'd better be ready.
Our new, part-time store manager Katie gave me the shift as a favor -- she is trying to give me as many hours as she can now because come January I'll be down to one day/week. But despite her good intentions, I'm annoyed. I took this job because I expected no stress!
I will be happy when it's November 30 and I'm looking back on this.
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| Find the challenge here |
I'm putting a different spin on this. Here are five words I just enjoy saying.
1. Deuteronomy
2. Gubernatorial
3. Nincompoop
4. Bumbershoot
5. Boondoggle
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Something you miss
Henry and John. John and Henry. My first birthday/Thanksgiving/Christmas without them.
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| Mine had a birthday candle |
Before lunch we zipped through the Christkrindlemarket, the German-themed collection of shops under the Picasso at Daley Plaza. The first day it was open this year was yesterday, Friday, 11/22. My birthday! Tell me that was a mere coincidence.
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1)
Michael Buble sings that his lover doesn't care much about the theater
or new clothes. Which have you done more recently -- attended a play or
movie or added to your wardrobe? Clothes. This is not by design. There are movies -- The Substance, Here, now Conclave -- that I want to see at the theater but just haven't managed to haul my ass over there. This may be a good time to catch Conclave, as I think everyone will be headed to the theater to see Wicked and there won't be any line for Conclave.
2) This song was first performed in 1930, 45 years before Buble was born. What pop song do you love that is far older than you are? "More Than You Know" was published in 1929. This is my favorite version. (I wish this clip ran to the end of the song/scene.)
If you're in a mood to compare/contrast: Here's an earlier version by Sinatra. Except for the corny backup singers, I like this better than the one he recorded decades later.
3) The video for this song features a spinning vinyl record. Do you still have a turntable? Nope.
4) Michael is currently appearing on The Voice. Are you watching this season? Nope.
5)
Of all his albums, Michael Buble's Christmas CD is his top seller. Now
that we're in the month of November it's time for you to weigh in: When
do you think it's appropriate to start playing holiday songs? Thanksgiving Day. (After all, there are no Thanksgiving carols.)
6) He unwinds by fishing, and he's very good at it. Fishing is a sport that requires lots of gear. Is there anyone in your life that has a hobby or passion that makes them easy to shop for? My nephew has inherited my Cubbie love. Here's his Christmas present. It's marketed by a firm that specializes in Yankee merchandise, so I doubt he's even seen it. I am quite sure he'll love it.
7) Michael is a good cook and enjoys whipping up spaghetti bolognese. What's on the menu at your home this weekend? I have a "birthday bonus" from the local Chinese restaurant, and I like their crab rangoon, so I see that in my future.
8) In 2016, when Michael Buble released this song,
the United States Postal Service posthumously honored child star
Shirley Temple with a postage stamp. Decades after leaving Hollywood,
she served as US Ambassador to Ghana. Could you find Ghana on a map or
globe? Nope.
9) Random question -- You neglected that soft drink and now it's gone flat. Do you drink it anyway or dump it down the drain? I'd probably swig it down anyway.
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Your academics
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| Find the challenge here |
Now that I'm retired, I hope for more of the same for as long as possible.
• I'm OK financially -- at least for now; Trump's tariffs scare the living shit out of me.
• While I'm achy and creaky, I'm healthy enough.
• In addition to loving my niece and nephew, I like the adults they have become.
• I have a handful of good girlfriends and my movie group.
• My cats are healthy and I can afford to provide them with the care they deserve.
• I'm lucky enough to have my passions: movies, books, the Beatles and baseball. I know people who are rarely enthusiastic and I'm grateful to really love what I love. This has been my salvation when I've been really blue.
• My little job at the card shop gives my weeks structure and keeps me learning new things.
• I just embarked on another dental adventure. By this time next year, I'd like my overall dental health to be good enough that I can put that money and attention into my home. Fingers crossed.
Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Your fears
I have two big ones, and they have just gotten worse with time:
1. Being in a plane crash. Not dying. Dying doesn't bother me. It's those moments before impact that terrifies me. The g-force, hearing the terror of the other passengers ... shudder!
2. Lack of independence. I don't want to have to depend on anyone to take care of me.
Gee, this has been cheery, hasn't it?
WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.
PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.
1. What are you currently reading? Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. This is a re-read for me. I'm suffering post-election blues and I need a dose of passion and glamor. Rome, London, Celigny, Beverly Hills. Private planes and yachts. Paintings and oh! The jewels! Oh yeah, and some really terrific movies.
2. What did you recently finish reading? Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin.
Boston PI Sunny Randall finds herself in what is for her unfamiliar
territory: social media. A hot young influencer, Blake James, is being
stalked and his savvy manager Kris Jenner Bethany Rose hires Sunny to both act as bodyguard and, hopefully, unmask the stalker.
I found this book undeniably entertaining but also frustrating because I often felt I was a step or two ahead of Sunny. I felt like yelling, "C'mon, Girl!" She was so scattered and unfocused!
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Five items you lust after
1. A quality, quiet cordless stick vac
2. A new official Cubs jacket
3. Durable yet cute waterproof outdoor ankle booties that are easy to slip on/off
4. An iron bed frame with head and foot boards
5. A lightweight portable DVD player with good sound
None of these items is that expensive, but I'm trying to be more sensible with my spending as I await the estimates for all village-mandated repairs for this building. If an awesome deal for any of these show up on Black Friday I may act.
Except for the bed. The bed is complicated because I have to get rid of the existing bed frame. I'd like to have the junk guy come and take it and my bedroom TV away first. Then the new bed will have to be delivered and assembled and the cable guy will come over to set up my new living room TV and reprogram the remote for the old living room TV which will now be in the bedroom and oh, hell! I'll just keep this crappy bed frame and TV.
Here's how to play.
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
This is from Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. I love this word portrait of Taylor. Describing her at age 25, it explains the romantic drama that would follow her for life.
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: A problem you have had
Control, responsibility and perspective! People in my life can hurt and confound me, and I have a hard time handling it.
I began therapy in 2019 because I needed help with Henry. His accident and the subsequent TBI caused him to say terrible things to me sometimes, and I cannot emphasize this enough -- that was NOT my darling Henry. Then it morphed into dealing with Henry's husband Reg, and why Reg was refusing to get Henry the help that was available, the help he needed. The former was actually easier to cope with than the latter. Henry did what he did because he couldn't help it. Reg, on the other hand ... My despair over Henry, the helplessness I felt about the situation, my anger at Reg were all mighty and I needed help handling them.
Now Henry is gone and most of my sessions revolve around my oldest friend. Her move to California more than a decade ago has been a disaster. She was evicted and will be homeless in two weeks. Her adult children are no help. There's been some breach with the cousin she moved out there to be near. Her health is precarious. A man she once dated -- they met through a dating service approximately two years ago, slept together exactly once, and he told her quite frankly they could be friends but nothing more -- has offered her a room in his home. Her own entrance, shared bathroom and kitchen privileges. Considering that she has three cats and her FICO score is in the toilet, I think he is a godsend.
No, she responded angrily, he is a narcissistic, cheating bastard and she needs me to support her on this. She has shared texts she has sent him, berating him for not taking her more seriously now that he was a new girlfriend. (She will be 68 next month and he's over 70; I can't believe how Archie-and-Veronica this all sounds.) She is going to do everything she can to ruin this living arrangement before it starts on December 1. She literally has nowhere else to go!
She also wants to come "home" to Chicagoland. I texted her back that I will help her, but she can't live with me. My condo has two bedrooms and a tiny bathroom. I don't have room for her, plus we'd have five cats between us. PLUS she has no car and I don't drive. How would she get even here? I pointed out that I wasn't sure her California benefits would be easily transferable to Illinois but I would do any legwork for her, researching what I can.
I won't go into all the ways she has let me down since moved to California. But here are the high, hard ones: She was going to come in to help me recover from my surgery, but cancelled at the last minute; she's owed me money for seven years from our last trip to Las Vegas; when my dear friend John was dying last spring, all she wanted to talk about was this man she once dated and his "mistreatment" of her ... Really, the list is endless. But I try to hang on.
Because of her diagnosed bipolar condition, she is unable to be there for me. I get it. But I wrestle with how much I am expected to be there for her. How much I can be there for her. How little I get in return. I hate how angry I am at her.
Some of it is very deja Henry and Reg. So I guess this is my struggle:
Where are the boundaries? What are the limits? When does being a good friend and a good Christian slide into masochism?
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Something you're proud of
When I adopted these cats, they each had special problems. Connie (left) began life with a hoarder and had years of a bad diet. She arrived at the shelter pregnant with a dead litter, emaciated, and suffering from an upper respiratory infection, runny eyes and bloody gums. By the time I adopted her, she was stronger but her eyes were still very light sensitive and her gums were still a mushy mess.
Roy Hobbs (right) suffered abuse in his last home. The other cat in that household died. He was skittish and frightened when I adopted him.
Today they're both fine. Connie still has ongoing dental problems, but look at those wide-open, bright eyes! Roy Hobbs fears certain men on sight. But on the whole, they're relaxed, content and enjoying their lives. I made that happen. I'm proud of it.
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Something you always think "what if ..." about
After high school, I had two very positive interviews. The first was set up by my guidance counselor at the suburban Loyola medical campus not that far from my parents' home, where I was still living. I'd have to drive, but I had a car then (an old beater given me by my family). I'd be working as a receptionist for a dentist.
The second was with Sears, Roebuck and Co. in Sears Tower. I'd take the train every day and work in The Loop. I'd be a secretary to one of the men who placed local newspaper advertising for neighborhood Sears stores all over the country.
I took the second job. I hated it. No, really, I hated it. There were days when the train pulled into Union Station and I was literally the last one to get off. I fantasized about just riding back and forth all day, rather than get off and go to that job.
However I loved the city. Madly. I felt a sense of belonging there among that diverse, bustling populace I never had in the white-bread town I grew up in.
Eventually I was offered the copywriter test and became a writer for the Sears Catalog. That was the beginning of my advertising career -- which, let's face, I was totally unqualified for -- and I am grateful.
But I never go past the Loyola medical campus without wondering what happened to her, the me I would have been if I'd taken that job in the dentist's office. Would I have stayed suburban? Remained on the clerical path? Gotten married, quit and had the more conventional life my mom envisioned for me? I hope I wouldn't end up as unhappily married as my parents were.
Saturday 9: My Girl (1965)
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1) Temptations' lead singer David Ruffin sings that he has sunshine on a cloudy day. How does the sky look where you are today? Right now, the sky is very dark because it's nighttime. But Saturday it will be overcast. I prefer blue skies, but gray ones have their own beauty.
2) He maintains that even when it's cold outside, to him it feels like the month of May. What's your favorite month? I like November because of Thanksgiving and my birthday. I also like May because it's more dependably warmish and sunny.
3)
In addition to their vocals, The Temptations were known for their
stylish suits and choreography. Are you a better dancer or dresser? Dresser. And I'm not that great a dresser.
4) Today, nearly 60 years since it's release, "My Girl" is one of the most popular karaoke songs. Do you know the words? Yes.
5)
The Temptations delighted Mets fans when they performed "My Girl" live
at Citi Field during the playoffs last month. The World Series is now
over and the 2024 season is on the books. How did your baseball team do? What insensitive monster asked this question? Oh yeah, it was me. I desperately wanted Anthony Rizzo to get a second ring and so that meant I was cheering for the Yankees. I'm heartsick for him. By the way, if you're curious why I'm so slavishly devoted to this man, read this post. He's done so much good for so many, and shows no sign of stopping.
PPS This is not the time to talk to me about baseball. I alternately cry and rant. Obviously right now I'm in rant mode. In a half hour, maybe I'll start thinking about Rizz playing through the ALCS and the World Series with two fractured fingers and I'll tear up. Healing is gonna take some time. (For both his fingers and my heart.)
6)
"My Girl" was written by Ronald White and Smokey Robinson. Smokey grew
up with Aretha Franklin, and he's said they played together in the
sandbox. When you were little, which playground activity was your
favorite: sandbox, jungle gym, swings or slide? The swings.
7)
In 1965, when "My Girl" topped the charts, Winston Churchill died. One
of his favorite sayings was, "I am always ready to learn but I do not
always like to be taught." What's something you learned recently? How to reach my local and state legislators. I've got their emails loaded and ready to go. Post election, I want to make sure they support my vision for my community, my county and my state. So far, led by Governor Pritzker, they are. When they do good, I want to applaud. When they don't, I want an explanation. As a resident of a (Cubbie) blue state, the way to protect what I hold dear is to stay focused on the change I can effect. Right here.
8) British-born
comedian Stan Laurel also died in 1965. He's been cited as an influence
on Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke and Matt LeBlanc. Without looking it up,
do you know who Stan Laurel's famous partner was? Oliver Hardy. As in, "I'm sorry, Ollie."
9) Random question: Imagine we Sat 9-ers are taking you to a restaurant for your birthday. Do you find servers who sing "Happy Birthday" cute or annoying? Annoying, to both me and them. Have you ever been to a restaurant where the servers seemed happy to be doing this? BTW, I notice this practice seems to be dying away, and I don't lament it.
Grumpily yours,
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: Your zodiac/horoscope and if you think it fits your personality
I admit I don't read my horoscope anymore, haven't since Covid when I stopped commuting everyday and read a printed newspaper on the train. But for this prompt I looked up Georgia Nicols, the astrologer I used to read. Her daughter Kelly Benson wrote the outlook for Sag in November:
I should:
• Embrace opportunities for solitude as I consider what to "release" before the beginning of my personal new year (my birthday)
• Not feel the need to be "on" all the time
• Review my financial affairs (I have been wondering what to do with my retirement savings with Trump's fakakta tariffs on the horizon)
• Reassess my habits (stretch more often, Gal!) and declutter my space
It all does sound relevant, so it fits my life if not my personality.
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| Find the challenge here |
November Challenge: What you wore today
I checked the work schedule and saw that today at the card shop I would be working with Rose, not Jen. Rose is very young and her style is rather funky and Bohemian. Therefore I felt under no obligation to dress like a nice grown up. So I wore my faded jeans and a crew neck baseball sweater. No team in particular, just a lilac and cream sweater. It's very comfortable and I was happy to see it for the first time this fall. Oh yeah, white Nikes.
I've noticed that Jen and Lainie dress up for work. Rose and Kamilah dress to express themselves. Our new, temp manager, Katie, is very casual, as was Ceecee. I adapt my ensemble to mimic theirs, as best I can. I'll never be the fashion plate Lainie is, or dress with Jen's expensive eye to accessories, but I do put more thought into it when I'm on the floor with them.
Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.
