Monthly Archives: January 2022

Day 3298: Hyper-vigilance

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Hyper-vigilance is well know to me, both as a therapist and as a person diagnosed with PTSD (because of my hospital experiences when I was a child and living with a very rare heart condition for 68 years).

Because of the pandemic, global warming, racism, economic disparities, and many other complex and constant abuses to our psyches and our bodies, there are very few of us who are not hyper-vigilant these days.

Here is a definition of hyper-vigilance from healthline.com:

Yesterday, when I was at a hospital waiting for a bone scan, I tweeted this as I was trying to take deep breaths and slow down some racing thoughts:

Some people on Twitter responded with gratitude for the thought, others pointed out how hyper-vigilance is not a choice. I work on hyper-vigilance every day, and I understand.

Do you see hyper-vigilance in my other images for today?

I think our phones add to our hyper-vigilance, do you?

I want to be vigilant (and not hyper) in wishing a happy birthday to my first husband (and father of our son, Aaron), who reads this blog. Happy birthday, Leon Dave, and many more!

Because of my vigilance in sharing music I love in this blog, here’s one of my favorite Thomas Dolby tunes:

Thanks to all who are vigilant enough to get to the bottom of this “Hyper-vigilance” blog post, including YOU!

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Hyperactive", healthy eating, living with a congenital heart condition, National Days January 2022, PTSD, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Thomas Dolby, trout dish, Tufts Medical Center | 20 Comments

Day 3297: Eye contact

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Ann Koplow

I’ve been thinking a great deal about eye contact lately, and not just because of the Daily Bitch Calendar for today.

Most of the eye contact I’ve been making for almost two years has been through Zoom-like online platforms, and I know I’m not alone in that.

Last night — when my eyes were making contact with many things besides sleep — I was noticing that some of my memories of meetings and groups I was in before the pandemic are being transformed into Zoom meetings in my head. It’s as if I can’t quite remember what it’s like to be in a room with people, and my mind is filling in details based on recent memories.

If we were face to face right now, perhaps you might be avoiding eye contact with me because of that previous paragraph.

Do you notice eye contact in any of my other images for today?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “eye contact”:

Here’s “Eye Contact” by Chrisaunt.

I wish I could make eye contact with you as I thank you for visiting my blog, but this will just have to do:

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “Eye contact has potential to change your life”, Chrisaunt, gratitude, Jessica Leavitt, Nicolas Cage, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter, vegetarian chicken sandwich, Yogi Tea | 13 Comments

Day 3296: Numbers

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Ann Koplow

I’ve written numbers of blog posts about numbers during the last 3,296 days, although I am not sure what that exact number is.

I was thinking about numbers today because of the rising numbers of COVID cases worldwide. Because the Omicron variant is so highly contagious, those numbers seem very scary.

I was also thinking of numbers today because every other Sunday I need to check my INR numbers. I check those numbers every other week because I have a mechanical heart valve, so I need to take a number of anti-coagulant pills every day.

The INR numbers, for me, are supposed to be between 2.5 – 3.5. (The INR number for a typical person is supposed to be 1.) If the numbers are too low, my mechanical heart valve might clog and need to be replaced. If the numbers are too high, I might bruise and even bleed internally.

My numbers are usually pretty steady, but sometimes they are a little too high or low. There are very few numbers that have been really scary. But I still get nervous whenever I’m waiting a number of seconds for my home testing machine to give me those numbers every other Sunday.

Here is the number I got this morning:

That is outside the ideal numbers of 2.5 – 3.5, but not by much. My anticoagulant nurse, Veronica, will call my cell phone number tomorrow and, I assume, tell me to eat higher numbers of spinach leaves this week and/or reduce the numbers of pills I take.

Do you see numbers in my other images for today?

Out of those numbers of National Days, I’ll be celebrating National Sunday Supper Day at home with my husband Michael and my son Aaron.

Here’s “Numbers” by Kraftwerk.

Over the years, I’ve taken countless numbers of photos, just so I can end these blog posts with thanks to YOU.

Categories: heart condition, life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: 1325 Buddhist Ways to Be Happy, Anticoagulants, gratitude, home INR test, INR, January 9 2022 National Days, Kraftwerk, mechanical heart valve, Omicron | 10 Comments

Day 3295: Contagious

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Let’s start this contagious blog post with a definition of “contagious.”

I am surprisingly contagious on Twitter (with more than 20,000 followers there) and I tweeted this yesterday:

The answers included measles, yawning, kindness, hatred, love, Uptown Funk, lies, ignorance, laughter, smiles, misinformation, Kung Fu Fighting, anger, love, stupidity, racism, compliments, rumors, the rockin’ pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu.

I believe that joy is also contagious, which is why I asked this question on Twitter last night:

Do you see anything contagious in my images for today?

I swear that I didn’t know that today was National JoyGerm Day until after I started this contagious blog post. Coincidences and synchronicity are also contagious.

Here’s a contagious song, with dancing:

Here’s another one:

And another one:

Gratitude is also contagious, so catchy thanks to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU!

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “Kung Fu Fighting” on Soul Train, “Rockin’ Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu”, BDPLS, gratitude, Joan the cat, Old Movie Stars Dance to Uptown Funk, Omicron, spaghetti and veggie meat balls, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Twitter | 12 Comments

Day 3294: Speeches

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Last night, after I had listened to President Joe Biden’s excellent speech about the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, I asked this question about speeches on Twitter:

I could make a speech about how great the answers were, including these:

Here is one of the great speeches cited above:

Any speeches about this or my other images for today?

Joan the cat makes speeches all the time. I don’t speak cat but I can usually catch the gist of her speeches, including this one:

If you want to make a speech about this “Speeches” post, there’s room below.

My speeches always include gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Barbara Jordan, cats, Emma Gonzalez, George Carlin, great speeches, January 2022, Joe Biden, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the Gettysburg address | 12 Comments

Day 3293: January 6

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Certain dates are shorthand for terrible anniversaries.

November 22.

9/11.

January 6.

How should one observe the first anniversary of January 6? Last night, I asked this question on Twitter …

… knowing that some responses would relate to January 6.

Many of the responses did not relate to January 6, including these:

Here are my other images for January 6:

Maybe I’ll also observe National Cuddle Up Day on this January 6.

We sure could use it.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “January 6.”

Also this:

What are your thoughts and feelings about January 6?

Thanks to all who are visiting this January 6 post, including YOU.

Categories: life in the USA, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: anniversaries, Answers we’re waiting for, cats, January 6 insurrection, National Cuddle Up Day, Stephen Colbert, Sunday Morning Show, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter, Yogi Tea | 8 Comments

Day 3292: Pressure

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Ann Koplow

No pressure to figure out why this post is titled “pressure.”

I’ve got two songs about pressure running through my head.

I’m not under pressure to show up in person at the hospital where I work these days, so I’ll probably work only from home for the immediate future.

I don’t want to pressure you to choose your favorite image here, but I am curious.

Any pressure from that Daily Bitch calendar?

No pressure to leave a comment, below.

Thanks to all who are dealing with the inevitable pressure of daily life with grace and resilience, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Pressure Drop", “Under Pressure”, cats, David Bowie, staying safe, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Toots & the Maytals, Twitter, Yogi Tea | 17 Comments

Day 3291: Predicting the future

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Predicting the future is difficult for us humans to resist.

In my therapy groups, we talk about recognizing and letting go of the common cognitive distortion of fortune-telling. When we catch ourselves predicting the future (which happens every group), we remind ourselves that we are NOT psychic.

And yet, every person I know predicts the future in one way or another. It’s as if uncertainty is more uncomfortable than deciding what’s going to happen like we know for certain. Which we don’t.

Since the beginning of this New Year, my husband Michael and I have been trying not to predict the future. Ha! My prediction is that we will keep predicting, no matter how we consciously try not to.

Last night, we watched a movie that seemed very good, I thought, at predicting the future — Don’t Look Up.

After we watched it, I, of course, tried predicting the future, by saying this to Michael:

I think that movie might help people realize what’s going on and make things better for the future.

Would anybody like to predict what Michael said or did in response to that?

He rolled his eyes.

Because certain things always happen in this blog, it’s safe predicting the future if you predict the appearance of my latest images.

I’m predicting a future where somebody on Twitter will bitch about my posting the National Days there, which I do every day.

Sometimes our experience of the past leads to better predictions, but not always! For example, I’m holding out hope that the U.S. midterms elections won’t follow the patterns of the past. If they do, I’ll be trying hard not to predict a very bleak future ahead.

I’m predicting that some of you will leave comments below.

Did anybody predict what song I’m going to include today?

Whether or not you predicted it, there’s gratitude in your immediate future.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", cats, cognitive distortions, coping and healing groups, Don’t Look Up, entropy, fortune telling, Judy Garland, National Days, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Twitter | 15 Comments

Day 3290: The story of us

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Ann Koplow

The story of today’s blog post starts with this photo that I snapped yesterday at the supermarket:

I took that when my husband Michael and I (who recently had our second wedding anniversary) were doing our weekly food shopping. The story of us at that supermarket was our wearing N95 masks because of the Omnicron variant while many people (including those who worked at the supermarket) were not wearing any masks at all .

The story of us human beings has to include our working together to survive pandemics and global warming without destroying the stories of too many other species.

The story of us is a very anxiety-provoking story these days.

Do you see the story of us in my other images for today?

The story of us often includes our trying to read each other’s minds (a common human cognitive distortion, described here), but I cannot even try to read the minds of people who don’t wear masks in supermarkets.

Here’s “The Story of Us” by Taylor Swift.

The story of me today includes my going in to the hospital to listen to other people’s stories in therapy sessions. I’ll be doing my best to stay safe so I can continue the story of us in this daily blog.

The story of us always includes my gratitude for all who follow my story here, including YOU.

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, cognitive distortions, January 2022, mind reading, Stop & Shop, survival, Taylor Swift, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 27 Comments

Day 3289: How new is it really?

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Ann Koplow

It’s a new year and how new is it really? Is there anything really new under the sun or, for that matter, under the moon?

How new is it, really, when I ask a question like this one?

How new is it really that I would share a great answer to a question I ask?

How new is it really that I go for walks and take these kinds of photos?

How new is it really that Joan would do this when the late Oscar did this too?

How new is it really that Michael would make a delicious tuna noodle casserole for me?

How new is it really — that Yogi Tea saying?

How new is it really that I would ask a last question for the day on Twitter or share today’s National Days? How new is it really that I’m thinking of buying cream puffs when we go food shopping later?

This new-to-me (but perhaps not new to you) video comes up when I search YouTube for “how new is it really?” …