Who knew?

Because this weekend featured my favorite, FAVORITE weather -- 65º and sunny -- I was going to take Reynaldo to the park. He likes the park, likes watching the plants and squirrels and people from the vantage point of his carrier. (I never let him out because there are always dogs there, too.) Being alert like that chills him out somewhat and helps alleviate the inevitable evening mano-a-feline conflicts.

But Sunday we did not enjoy our little adventure, as planned. When I did a little test run through the park, I discovered a festival going on. Chicagoland's Pagan community was having their annual event. There were incense and crystals, psychic readings, dissertations on prejudice and religious beliefs and a willingness to answer questions about their way of life. They were also doing a wonderful job of collecting canned good for local food pantries -- a cause that's near and dear to my heart.


I am very proud of the fact that they felt welcome in my hometown. We don't have a state religion in this country, and I'm old-school patriotic about that wise and brave stance.* I'm also secure in my Christianity and, while I'm humbled by and grateful for the guidance and comfort my faith reliably provides, I'm not threatened by those who don't worship as I do.

I was surprised that there was such a flourishing pagan community here in Chicagoland. Who knew?

*Especially when watching the burlesque that's going on with that Kentucky county clerk, who exhibits no respect for the heritage of the separation between Church and State.

September Challenge -- Days 12, 13 and 14

Day 12: The computer I use most is:

My MacBook Pro. It's more than 7 years old now and I worry that one day it's just going to go kaput on me. :( It's filthy because Joey loves to rub up against it. I can see fur under the keys and just know the slot for DVDs/CDs must be full of it. Yet he's 20, and I don't have the heart to refuse him anything his feline heart desires. So if he wants to cuddle on the warmth of this computer ...

Day 13: How did you spend your free time today?

Cubs baseball through my headphones as I walked to the other side of town. I got a pair of expensive but environmentally solid lightbulbs (because they last so long, I always forget how they cost -- almost $20 for 2!) at the hardware store and then stopped at the ice cream store for a scoop of cinnamon. The stores on this path tend to be mom and pops (though Starbucks and Subway are still represented) and I always enjoy the vibe. I should head over there more often.

Day 14: Were you stressed today? Why?


My day has barely started and I'm already stressed.  The Big Project and Christine the Mole. Sigh.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

Sunday Stealing

Click here to play along

Can you ever get enough of mac ‘n’ cheese?
 Yes. A little goes a long way with me.

Are you allergic to nuts or diary products?
 No.

Do you think age matters in relationships? Yes, but less and less so if babies aren't part of the equation.

Has anyone ever called the cops on you? No

Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? No

What’s the connection between the last person you texted? We've been friends forever

Are you in a good mood? Sure. I usually am.

Excited for anything? 
The Cubs are leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 5th, so I'm excited for a sweep of the Phillies. (Yea!)

Do you have a hard time controlling your emotions? Good goobies, yes. Controlling and concealing them.

Do you like your height? Not especially. I'm barely 5'2 now and I'm told we shrink with age, which means I may someday be shorter than the average second grader. However, there's nothing I can do about it.

How long have you lived in your current home? 14 years.

Could you go a week without brushing your teeth? EWWW! No!

Have you ever given any amount of money to the homeless? I always carry change in my pocket for this very purpose.

Own anything from Bath & Body Works? I have but do not currently.

Have you ever had your nails so long that they curved down at the ends?
 EWWW! No!

Have you ever swallowed a bunch of salt water by accident? Yes.

Does it take you over an hour to go to sleep sometimes? Yes, but not recently.

When you get home from school/work do you change into your pjs right away? Oh, I love to do this. Feels very decadent and luxurious.

Have you ever stayed up all night and the whole next day without any sleep? Yes, but not recently.

Make it one for my baby ...

Has anyone ever told you that you have pretty feet? Yes.

What is the temperature currently in the town you live in? 60s.

 Do you ever actually drink milk alone? Yes. Why, is drinking  alone a sign of a milk problem? Should I limit myself to only drinking milk socially? 

She defines sui generis

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: That's All (1983)

1) In the lyrics, Phil Collins sings of a time he was wrong when he thought he was right. Tell us about a recent time when you got it wrong. I thought I'd lost my very favorite sunglasses. I love those sunglasses so much I never wear them, for fear I'll lose them. Then I decided that was silly, that there's no point to having them if I never wear them. So I wore them one day and then couldn't find them the next day. It's pathetic how I first searched for, then mourned, those glasses. AND THEN I FOUND THEM IN MY SUNGLASSES DRAWER! YEA! I was wrong. I hadn't lost them at all! I simply put them away.
 
2) The song is addressed to a lover that Phil clearly feels is contrary. When he says, "day," she says, "night." Is there anyone in your life who seems to disagree with you all or most of the time? Ugh. Christine the Mole. She is part of my ongoing problem at work. She's so negative about everything that comes out of my mouth that, when she heard me mention that I'd found my beloved sunglasses, she sneered, "And it's cloudy today."

 
3) This was Genesis' first Top 10 hit in the US. Can you name another Phil Collins or Genesis song? "Against All Odds." I love that song because it reminds me of this scene from the movie of the same name. Sigh. It may be hard for you young folk to believe, but Jeff Bridges was once soooo hot.


4) Phil Collins is a model train enthusiast. Is there anything special that you collect? Books. Especially hardcovers about the 1960s.

  5) Collins was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. At the ceremony, he delivered the commencement address. When did you last give a presentation or deliver a speech? It's been a while. Which is too bad. When I do a presentation and do well, it's a great lift to my spirit and confidence.

 
6) One of Phil Collins' early solo albums was called, Hello, I Must Be Going. He took the title from a song in the 1930 Marx Bros. movie, Animal Crackers. What's the last black and white movie or TV show that you watched? I watch a lot of b&w. Just the other night I saw a cool episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents starring a very, very young Robert Redford.

 
7) In 1983, when this song was popular, the Lotus 1-2-3 program made it easier for PC users to build spreadsheets. Are you answering these questions on a PC or a Mac? Laptop or desktop? Tablet or phone? MacBook Pro

  8) 1983 is also the year when McDonald's introduced McNuggets. What's your favorite chicken recipe (assuming it's not McNuggets)? Nothing fancy. Just  breaded. (I'm a simple gal with simple tastes.)
 

9) In 1983, President Reagan signed the bill making Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday a holiday. What's your favorite holiday? Oh, Christmas! (Unless I can get away with calling my birthday a holiday.)

AARGH!

This is how I feel at work every day.

As part of the Big Project, I have generated a ton of copy. Letters, brochures, web content ... And it feels as though every piece brings an argument. Not from the client, from my internal team. Who question everything.

No, not stuff that needs questioning. That would be welcome.

But, "You say, 'visit our website' here and 'go to our website' there. Make them the same." And other similar shit.

I could post more about this, except that I'm upsetting myself and that serves no purpose. But I want to record this so, in a few years when I look back, I wonder why my posts suddenly became erratic.

I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE.  I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE.

That is all.

That was one in a row

Yesterday my oldest friend began an intensive program of group therapy aimed at helping her cope with her bipolar disorder. 9 to 3, five days a week, for 6-8 weeks. In addition to talk therapy, they will be monitoring her meds intake very closely and counseling her one-on-one about how to cope with her condition. I think this is just terrific!

Except that she didn't go in today. Tummy trouble.

I hope she truly commits to this, for it could provide her with support and social interaction she's sorely missed since moving to Los Angeles. I also like the idea of someone looking at her prescriptions in total and making sure that the drugs she takes for her moods aren't conflicting w

ith the antibiotics or her heart meds. (After just one day they already made a switch.) It's time for her to see progress and feel better about life.

I know it sounds strange to say, but I hope she's really unable to leave her bathroom today. Anything short of that, and I think she should be off the couch and with her group. (The Gal worries.)

Oh well, at least she'll be home when the cake pops arrive. I sent her these six celebratory confections through ProFlowers because I didn't want to introduce flowers or plants into a multicat household.

The anniversary is here again

 I won't be watching the documentaries and commemorations. I can't.

I agree 100% that we must never forget, and that younger Americans must learn. But the day is seared into my soul.

September Challenge -- Days 9 and 10 and 11

Day 9: Does anyone owe me money?

I suppose. My oldest friend and I are going to Las Vegas for my birthday in November, and I've paid for the hotel and the show with my credit card. I know she'll pay me back when we're out there.

Day 10: When is the last time I intentionally wasted a day?

I waste days often, and then feel bad about it. Maybe I should just admit that I'm going to do nothing and spare myself the guilt.

Day 11: What is your favorite gadget?
I'm writing on it.  I love my MacBook Pro.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

This meme is no more. And yet I persist in answering the three questions it asked each week. Stubborn, ain't I?

1. What are you currently reading? Calico Joe. This Grisham baseball novel was a surprise giftie from my aunt, who knows how I love my Cubs (who are -- knock wood -- headed for the playoffs this season!). Grisham also loves the Cubs and the game. It's a leisurely paced, lovely little book. Bonus: some of it is set in Arkansas, a part of the country I developed affection for during my spa trips to Hot Springs.

2. What did you just finish reading? Being Nixon by Evan Thomas. Far more emotionally engaging, and emotionally taxing, than I expected. Yes, he was paranoid and vindictive and opportunistic and very comfortable spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric. But he was also patriotic, committed to creating a peaceful global community and touchingly, unexpectedly optimistic. My favorite moment is the one Thomas quotes more than once. As guests would slip out of a White House screening because they'd given up on the movie, Nixon would stop them and encourage them to stay. "Wait! It'll get better!" That was his attitude after every setback (even and especially the tragic ones he engineered). I expected to be repulsed by him, and frequently I was. I didn't expect to be touched by him, and frequently I was.

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

Well, whaddaya know

So tonight I'm in front of the TV, just spinning the dial, and look who I come upon: Robert Redford at age 25. He has a pivotal but still supporting role in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, billed after Gig Young and Martha Hyer.

Considering the time I spent taking A Walk in the Woods with him this past Sunday, it was fascinating to see him at the beginning of his career, 53 years ago.

In 1962, Gig Young was a star who moved smoothly back and forth between movies and TV. At the time of this episode, he was married to a promising actress named Elizabeth Montgomery (yes, Samantha from Bewitched). In a few years he would win an Oscar for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? -- the film that paired him with one of Redford's frequent leading ladies (Jane Fonda) and favorite directors (Sydney Pollack). Then he drank himself out of a career and died of his own hand in a hideous murder-suicide when in his 60s. Today Gig Young isn't relevant at all, and this past weekend, 78-year-old Redford scored at the box office.

I wonder why some people succeed and others don't. Yes, Redford was gorgeous. But he's also obviously short (Gig Young towers over him in this show) and he has that cluster of moles on his cheek. I'm sure that in 1962 Los Angeles you could find boys who were as good looking. Yes, the camera loves him. But he's an unassuming actor who specializes in small moments, not showy ones. (Richard Burton was relieved that Redford dropped out of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf because he considered Redford quite dull.)

A lot of it has to be luck and timing. But I think it's also think it's intelligence, taste and stubbornness. There are so many Hollywood tragedies, like Gig Young. It must take serious tenacity and drive to survive and thrive.

Good for you, Sundance. Good for you.

September Challenge -- Day 8

My life would be easier if ... 

I had staff. I wish I had people. Someone to make my dinner, handle my bills and other paperwork, and clean my house.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

September Challenge -- Day 7

The last thing I felt guilty about ... 

How enthusiastically I tore into this issue of People. For if the term, "rest in peace" means anything, it should apply to poor Rosemary Kennedy. Yet Kennedys still sell, and I'm a dedicated Kennedy consumer. So I consumed. At least I'm a subscriber, so I didn't contribute to incremental sales.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

Good News, Bad News

Good News: I saw A Walk in the Woods and not only enjoyed it, I was pleased to see the theater was full. According to box office reports, it's a hit. It's a quiet movie and, like Redford's best films, it's light but also has a message. I'm happy to see there's an audience for this kind of film. I enjoy car chases and explosions as much as the next moviegoer, but diversity is important in any pop culture diet.

Bad News: I knew going in that Redford is now 78 years old. I was happy that he finally got to make this movie, as I'd been reading for years that he related so to the character of Bill Bryson and had dreamed of Paul Newman playing Katz. Newman was interested but at first, their schedules didn't allow. Then Newman's health began to fail. So it was lovely to see the realization of his dream project.

But I wasn't emotionally prepared to see Sundance, "Hubba-Hubba-Hubbell" of The Way We Were, as a very old man. The hair is the same, the voice is the same, the body is remarkably the same, but the FACE! To say it's heavily lined is an understatement. I read in Peter Biskind's biography of Warren Beatty, Star, that the uber-vain Beatty enjoyed hearing how increasingly hard it was to light and photograph Redford. Because so much of Walk in the Woods takes place outdoors, and because he's knocking on 80, I suspect the filmmakers (and Redford himself is a producer) just gave up on making him look like a leading man.


I hate this.

And not just because that face was once able to stop my heart. Because I don't like the passage of time. His face is a reminder that I'm no longer a girl. That one day I'm going to turn on the TV and hear (as I did about Cub Ron Santo in 2010) that he's dead.

I hate this.

My girlhood is slipping away.

September Challenge -- Day 6

Six things I didn't do today

Three things I should have done today ... 

1) Scrub the tub
2) Vacuum the living room
3) Flip the pad on the futon

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

Sunday Stealing

Making a List Meme

1. Do you like making lists? Not especially

2. Do/did you play sports with your siblings? Nope

3. Would you rather go to a University or a community college? At this late stage of my life, neither

4. What’s your favorite kind of bread? Wheat for breakfast toast, white for sandwiches

5. What toppings do you like on your pizza? Sausage, spinach or pepperoni (but only one at a time)

6. What color or design does your shower curtain have? A rather intricate vertical pattern on white fabric.

7. What kind of car does/did your mom drive? My mom once drove a light blue Corvair

8. What’s on your cell phone’s home screen? The icons for all the apps I could use if I knew how

9. Do you like to watch the National Geographic channel? Nope

10. Are you the type of person to correct a survey maker’s grammar and/or spelling? Well, I did change the capitalization on the headline ...

11. What color is your microwave? White

12. Do you have a fan in your bedroom? Two, one in the window and one on the ceiling

13. Mountain Dew or Sprite? I'd prefer to do the Dew. (I like caffeine.)

14. Does it rain a lot where you live? Not a lot

15. Do you shop at Walmart regularly? Seldom, if ever. Not once this year.

16. Does it bother you when animals lick themselves? No

17. Have you ever been to a Trader Joe’s? I go there a couple times a month

18. What’s the longest time you’ve ever been stuck in traffic? I've never clocked it

19. Do you wear black a lot? Not that often. (Cat fur really shows up on black.)

20. Are there stairs in your house? There are stairs leading to and from my condo, but none in my condo.

21. Have you ever held $500 in cash? Yes.

22. Do you like onions on your burger? No.

23. Could you ever give yourself a shot? You mean like a Jägerbomb?

 

24. Do you wear shoes in the house? Not often

25. Have you ever worked as a cashier? Very briefly, when I was in high school.

September Challenge -- Day 5

The last doctor's appoint I made was for ... 

My annual physical. Unfortunately I had to cancel it because of jury duty and I never got around to rescheduling it because of The Big Project.

But I must reschedule it next week because, well, this old gray mare just ain't what she used to be. I tire so easily. I'm so much more short-tempered than I should be. I think a lot of this is that I don't get the exercise I need. But it could be something more, either something more serious or (hopefully) something very easily treated. I'd like to get my quality of life back.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

I miss the sumbitch

I used to love the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. The plate spinners, the ventriloquists, the lounge singers performing "Guantanamera" ... it was a smorgasbord of tacky and I adored it. Especially Jerry himself.

I was hypnotized by the greasy hair, the tux and pinky ring. Jerry mugged and wept and insulted people. (I remember the year I heard him call a cameraman a "fag" and wondered if anyone else caught it.) He laughed at his own gauche hilarity. And he sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" to kids who will never walk at all.

Oh, and the crazy bastard raised more than $2 billion. He deserves more credit for that than he gets. He's nearly 90 now and has suffered a litany of health problems himself. Wherever he is this weekend, God bless him.

Time flies

I can't believe it's 6:30 already! Where has the day gone?

I slept in. I wasn't ready to start moving until after noon, which means I was unable to drop off those groceries at the food pantry. (It's only open till noon.) Then I wandered over to Flat Top Grill, where I haven't eaten since there was still snow on the ground. It seemed like a nice way to spoil myself this Labor Day weekend.

I got so wrapped up in my book (Calico Joe, a gift from my aunt) and my lunch and my drink (Rumcata Colada) that I lost track of time. Got home and watched the middle/last innings of the Cubs-Diamondback game (our ace, Jake Arrieta, was on the mound). Then I took a nap and here we are.

It was a nice day, I guess, but there are so many things I wanted to/needed to get done. There's someone using the washers downstairs so I can't do laundry. Maybe I can attack the paperwork in the dining room (on the floor, to protect it from Reynaldo; I've discovered he only attacks papers on the table).

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Working My Way Back to You (1966)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
 
1) We're celebrating the last holiday of summer with The Four Seasons. Which season is your favorite? I enjoy autumn. I like to go out in a sweatshirt but no jacket. I'm happy to see my sweaters again. I like the colors.
 
2) Before they settled on The Four Seasons, they called themselves The Four Lovers, The Romans and The Village Voices. If you were/are in a band, please share the name. Or just make up a cool name for your pretend band. Channel D. "Open Channel D, please" is what Napoleon and Ilya used to say when calling UNCLE headquarters. 
 
3) Lead singer Frankie Valli has occasionally fudged the year of his birth. Have you ever lied about your age? Not intentionally. But sometimes I forget how old I am. It amuses that when I was young I knew my age to the moment ("I'm 7 1/2") but now that I'm an adult, I forget.
 
4) Frankie Valli, Frank Sinatra, Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen ... New Jersey has given us many music superstars. What is your state known for?  Unfortunately, Illinois is known for jailing our governors.

5) In 1965, Frankie was arrested in Columbus, Ohio. But it wasn't his fault! The bandmate he trusted to pay the group's hotel bill neglected to do so. Tell us about a time when your trusting nature got you in trouble. I let a financially strapped coworker use my credit card so she could pay for airfare to Iowa to see her son graduate. I wish I could tell you she repaid my kindness by repaying the debt in a timely manner. But I cannot.
 
6) Clint Eastwood directed the movie version of the Four Seasons biography, Jersey Boys. What's your favorite Clint Eastwood movie? I think Eastwood is a rather silly actor, but I enjoy the movies he directs. Mystic River with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins was fantastic.
 

Since Labor Day is the holiday established to celebrate the American worker …

7) According to the U.S. Census, more and more Americans are working from home. Are you one of them? Nope

8) Of those of us who work outside the home, 75% travel to work alone. 15% take public transportation and the remaining 10% carpool. How do you get to your job? I take public transportation. Every day, twice a day.

9) Do you have any big plans for this holiday weekend? Nope. Mostly I want to not think about work and The Big Project. I'm fried and really need to relax and let it go.

September Challenge -- Day 4

Where would you like to go? I have two answers to this question ...

First, what I thought this morning when I first read it. I want to get away! I want to wake up in a hotel room. I want to eat a big breakfast someone else made. I want to wander streets where no one knows me. I want to have an adventure. I want to learn something. I'm thinking of going Presidential. Maybe to the Lincoln Library in Springfield. Or the Truman Library in Independence. Whatever's cheapest.

Then, what I thought of when I sat down to answer. I want some peanuts and Crack-er Jack. I don't care if ever get back! So if I'm going to escape, I better wait until after the season is over. I can't be away from this Cub team for a moment.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

September Challenge -- Day 3

What's the most recent thing you have learned? I knew that Watergate had a huge impact on my world view, but I didn't realize how it effected my vocabulary. Two phrases I use all the time at work were introduced during the Watergate scandal.

Plausible deniability. The term used in the Executive Branch when wanting to distance themselves from an action taken by underlings. They may have clearly wanted the dirty trick or break-in to occur, but they didn't want any evidence that they knew about it in advance. I use this at work, when people around me want to rewrite copy that's already been approved by the client and their attorneys. I tell my coworkers I don't want to know about it so I can maintain my plausible deniability.

Twisting in the wind. When Patrick Gray had been nominated for the head of the FBI, John Ehrlichman, Nixon's White House Counsel, intentionally let the confirmation hearings go on ... and on ... and on ... even though everyone in the Executive Branch knew Gray would never be confirmed. According to the infamous tapes, Ehrlichman felt it would be better to let Gray "twist slowly, slowly in the wind," like a body at the end of a hangman's noose, because at least while the hearings were going on, no one was talking about Watergate. When I feel vulnerable and completely without support, I say I've been left twisting in the wind.

I learned this stuff while reading Evan Thomas' riveting, and so sad, biography Being Nixon.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

September Challenge -- Day 2

What are you questioning? The care my oldest friend is receiving, 2000 miles away in Los Angeles. Her shrink has diagnosed her as bipolar and resistant to medication. An MD with a prescription pad, this doctor has her on a cocktail of at least three medications. This is in addition to the pills she takes for her heart and the antibiotics she takes for the tenacious infection she contracted when hospitalized a few years back.

Here's the thing: she's not doing any better. In fact, she's worse. With all those drugs coursing through her veins, she's no better.

I've told her I think she needs a new team. She needs a GP with balls, who can oversee her treatment in its entirety. She needs a second opinion on the bipolar diagnosis. She needs hope. She needs to know every morning when she wakes up depressed that this isn't the way the rest of her life will be.

I know this may sound presumptuous from someone who has no letters after her name, but I have known her since we were in Kindergarten and I REFUSE to let her go under. My instinct is powerful, and it's telling me she needs more and better than she's getting. I'm going to keep questioning and keep challenging until I see improvement.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.