Sometimes, it does seem like the world is stalked by relentless evil.
Speaking of “stalked,” this book …
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… describes how many species world-wide are stalked and endangered into extinction by cats, which puts one my favorite creatures in a somewhat evil light.
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What evil lurks in my other images for today?
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My husband, Michael, who used to be a line cook, has told me a few stories about evil waiters and waitresses.
What I know is that I’ve had to clean out and leave my office of over 10 years. What I don’t know is how it will be working without an office on a different floor of the hospital.
What I know is that I did an Open Mic last night at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge. What I don’t know is the future of my musical aspirations.
What I know is that I found this when I was cleaning out my office yesterday…
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… and what I don’t know is what you think about the synchronicity with today’s Daily Bitch Calendar.
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What I know is that I took a lot of pictures yesterday in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston and in Cambridge’s Central Square. What I don’t know is what kind of story they will tell to you.
In my therapy groups, people often talk about being assertive, including setting limits and saying “no” to things they don’t want to do.
Because I’ve had to be compliant with many medical treatments (including yucky medication and surgery) since I was very young, being assertive can sometimes feel unfamiliar and even dangerous. At the same time, there have been times when not being assertive has been dangerous — like when I informed doctors that I thought my pacemaker was failing and was told that I was just anxious and to forget about it (and my pacemaker was failing).
This week I’ve been being assertive with an anticoagulant nurse and also a music distribution service. I’m also being assertive with myself by telling myself it’s okay to be assertive.
My husband Michael has a bit he does about being assertive. He’ll tell me a story about a situation where he spoke up assertively and when I ask if he really said that, he replies, “No, what I really said was ‘here’s my ass.’”
Is anyone being assertive in my images for today?
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Here’s what I find when I search for “being assertive” on YouTube:
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What does being assertive mean to you?
Thanks to all who help me in being assertive, including YOU!
We all encounter obstacles every day. For me, some obstacles are more upsetting than others.
I particularly struggle with obstacles I believe I should be able to figure out on my own. Of course, shoulds (and other cognitive distortions) are obstacles to peace of mind.
Yesterday, I was stumped, stopped, and stymied by an obstacle when I tried to use a music distribution service for the first time. I got an error message when I answered that the language of my protest song was English.
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Not knowing how to overcome that obstacle, I googled solutions and couldn’t find any. Then, I contacted customer support but haven’t heard back. These kinds of obstacles are an obstacle to my enjoying my weekend.
Why are there so many obstacles to my getting my music out there? Do I have what it takes to overcome these obstacles? How do I overcome the obstacles of my self doubt, my inexperience with the music business, AND my impatience? Who can help me with these obstacles?
What obstacles do you see in my other images for today?
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When I search for obstacles on YouTube, I find this…
I never get tired of other people’s stories. Maybe that’s why I (1) have no plans to retire from my job as a group psychotherapist and (2) have been reading so many biographies and autobiographies lately.
Do you see other people’s stories in my images for today?
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I don’t know where I’ll find the time to explore other people’s stories while also getting my own stories (in song) out there.
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Before I explore other people’s stories, here and now I’m reading Cher’s.
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Cher’s story reminds me of my own story in this way: she listened to the “West Side Story” album alone when she was young and acted out all the parts. She also describes realizing that childhood dream in one of her TV specials.
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Other people’s stories can be so inspiring!
Thanks to all who are here for other people’s stories, including YOU!
I have no excuses for the first music I ever bought, after looking at dozens of albums at a local record store.
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I have no excuses for loving jazz so much when I was very young that I didn’t like the Beatles when I first heard them and saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
I have no excuses for totally changing my mind about the Beatles when I saw A Hard Day’s Night at the local movie theatre with my cousin Amy and for loving their music ever since.
I have no excuses for any of my images for today.
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The Daily Bitch offers no excuses for being herself.
I have no excuses for forgetting to take a picture of my husband Michael’s latest culinary creation yesterday.
I have no excuses for ordering the wrong replacement windshield wipers in the mail TWICE. I have no excuses for living this long and not realizing that the best way to replace windshield wipers is to go to my local auto parts store and to ask for help.
I have no excuses for always repeating my blog post title many times during each post.
Here’s what I find when I search for “no excuses” on YouTube.
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I would have no excuses if I forgot to thank everyone who helps me blog every day, including YOU!
People in my Coping and Healing groups talk about how these groups provide safe spaces to share, to be vulnerable and to learn that they are not alone. They also comment on the lack of other safe spaces.
I am very gratified to provide a safe space six days every week. I also wish more safe spaces were available to all.
Do you see safe spaces in my images for today?
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Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for safe spaces.
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I hope the comment sections in this blog are safe spaces for people to express themselves.
Thanks to all who are here for this safe-spaces post, including YOU!
These days, I’m often wondering “What is going on here?”
I’m guessing that “What is going on here?” is what Joan is thinking about our new cat toy.
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I’m thinking, here and now, that nobody really know what is going on here — we’re doing our best to guess, but there are always hidden factors. So maybe we are all Joan as we try to figure out what is going on here with our inevitably limited perspectives.
What is going on here in my images for today?
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What is going on here in my world includes packing up/throwing away 14 years worth of memories in my office at the hospital, because we are being moved to shared spaces on a different floor. Because I still have a soul (phew!), I have some feelings about what is going on there, but it helps to know that I am not alone.
Here is what AI says about the difference between wants and needs.
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I actually didn’t need AI to tell me that but I thought somebody reading this might want a definition.
As I discussed in yesterday’s blog post, I need to keep my blood coagulation in range because I’m on Warfarin and, much to my surprise, yesterday it was too high.
Does anybody besides me now want to hear the Stevie Wonder song “Too High”?
