Posts Tagged With: Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries

Day 5014: Mistakes

Posted on September 23, 2026 by Ann Koplow

Lately, I’ve been trying to correct the mistakes WordPress has made keeping track of my unbroken streak of consecutive days of blogging since January 1 2013.

Because of WordPress counter mistakes that number is way too low: it should be in the 5000s.

In the course of correcting those streak-counting mistakes, I discovered yesterday that I have made mistakes since April 2023 keeping track of the correct numbers in my blog post titles. I am correcting those mistakes today by using Day 5014 in today’s title, even though yesterday’s title is Day 5012.

I don’t plan to correct all the mistakes in the title numbers between April 2023 and now, so I hope you can forgive my many numbering mistakes.

Over the years, I’ve made the mistake of catastrophizing the results of my mistakes and others’. Here and now, I’m realizing that most mistakes are survivable. Make no mistake, I’ve lived a long and productive life despite all the mistakes I’ve made and witnessed.

What mistakes do you see in today’s blog post?

AI makes many mistakes, but I believe it is correct here.

I made the mistake of signing up for this Road Scholar solo trip to Peru, which would have been too strenuous for me

Although my very unusual heart has two major structural mistakes, they kind of cancel each other out.

While I was away on my recent trip to Switzerland, my husband Michael made the mistake of allowing Joan to escape outside at night and then couldn’t find her. She showed up, safe and sound, but he hid this mistake from me until I got home.

I try not to make mistakes keeping my vitamin K consumption consistent from day to day.

I didn’t make the mistake of falling for this scam, which appeared in my calendar when I was away in Switzerland .

I’m not going to make the mistake of captioning all the images in today’s post.

Here’s what I find when I search for mistakes on YouTube:

Thanks to all who make mistakes, including YOU!

Categories: life in the USA, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, correcting mistakes, Mairen Hamilton TED talk, September 23 2026, The Daily Bitch Calendar, The Power of Making Mistakes, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter, Warfarin and Vitamin K | 7 Comments

Day 4984: Hard to Believe

Posted on August 25, 2026 by Ann Koplow

It’s hard to believe that

there are so many stupid people in positions of power,
I’ve been blogging for so long,
I’ve made it to age 73 with my very unusual heart, and
I’ll be traveling to Switzerland by myself in less than a week.

What’s hard to believe in my images for today?

It’s hard to believe how somebody I’ve know all my life isn’t willing to kiss and make up.

Here’s what I find when I search for “hard to believe” on YouTube:

It’s hard to believe that I have so many great followers like YOU!

Categories: life in the USA, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: August 25 2026, Boston Ferry, cats, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, Eraserheads, Kiss and Makeup Day, swordfish dish with homegrown ingredients, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Twitter and Bluesky | 6 Comments

Day 4453: Kludge

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Ann Koplow

I sometimes get the word of the day via email and yesterday’s word was “kludge” (pronounced “kloodj”).

When I saw the word “kludge,”, I thought of my very unusual heart, in which the parts are assorted strangely and are performing tasks different from what they were designed for. But because I am not ill and am living a long life, I decided that wasn’t the best use of kludge.

How about this? From the kludged United States, I am now going to kludge today’s blog.

I’m continuing to kludge this blog post by sharing the first video that pops up for me onYouTube.

Thanks to all who are here for this kludge post, including YOU!

Categories: definition, life in the USA, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, flounder stuffed with salmon mousse, March 12 2025, Musk, recurrent dreams, Stephen Colbert, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter, Villains | 10 Comments

Day 4195: PTSD Awareness Day

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Ann Koplow

Today is PTSD Awareness Day.

Because I work with people who have PTSD and have PTSD myself, I always have some awareness of PTSD.

Because of PTSD, I am hyper vigilant, easily triggered, very sensitive to noise and unwelcome change, and quick to feel isolated and alone. Because I grew up with loving parents and friends, I can recover from those disruptions fairly quickly.

Can you see awareness of PTSD in my images for today?

This is from the online Tarot Card reading I did yesterday. My PTSD probably contributes to these difficult feelings.

PTSD makes it difficult to trust in happy outcomes but hope springs eternal!

Cats have always helped mitigate my symptoms of PTSD, starting after my first heart surgery when I was 10.

I’ve had many hospitalizations and surgeries because of my rare heart condition. When I was very young, I met Dr. Paul Zoll who helped develop cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators. His legacy lives on and so do I!

I have trouble sleeping because of PTSD and, like the Daily Bitch, I hold on to my cats.

Here’s what I find when I search for “PTSD Awareness Day.”

Thanks to all who help me face PTSD every day, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “PTSD Awareness Changes Lives” from Phoenix Australia, Boston, cats, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, Dr. Paul Zoll, June 27 2024, post traumatic stress disorder, Spanish mackerel dish, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Twitter, World Refrigeration Day | 12 Comments

Day 4105: Crazy about cats

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Ann Koplow

I don’t know why I’ve always been so crazy about cats, but I do know that having a cat when was a kid with a crazy heart condition kept me from going crazy.

If you’re not crazy about cats, there are still a few images you might like in today’s blog. If you are crazy about cats, get ready to purr!

Because I’m so crazy about cats, I keep thinking I should write a song about cats. (Is “I Wish I Were More Like My Cat” a great title?) In the meantime, here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “crazy about cats.”

My “crazy about cats” search also found this crazy cat:

Thanks to all the cool cats that helped me create this crazy-about-cats post, including YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “Cat answers the most googled questions about cats”, cats, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, Crazy about Cats?, Good Mews, i Film Heroes, March 29 2024, spaghetti and meatballs, The Daily Bitch Calendar, The Dodo, Twitter | 11 Comments

Day 3548: Still alive

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Ann Koplow

Despite the many close calls I’ve had since I was born in 1953 with a very unusual heart, I’m still alive to blog another day and to share my latest images with you.

Tomorrow (which is National Talk Like a Pirate and National Butterscotch Day), this wife will be working from home providing psychotherapy for people who are still alive. (Usually I’m in-person at the hospital on Mondays, but since I’m still alive after my T.I.A. last week, staying home seems like the smart thing to do.) Because my love of group therapy is still alive, my plan is to keep doing this work for as long as I’m still alive.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “still alive.“

As long as I’m still alive, I’ll be expressing gratitude for YOU.

Categories: adult congenital heart, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: close calls, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, Dorchester, Jonathan Coulton with Sara Quin and Dorit Chrysler, National Days September 18 and September 19, psychotherapy, self-care, T.I.A., the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 20 Comments

Day 3286: Hearts

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Ann Koplow

For some reason, I woke up with a heavy heart today. As I connect with other hearts, though, my heart lightens.

What hearts can you see in my images for today?

If you have heartburn from bacon (or anything else), Happy Bicarbonate of Soda Day!

Here is “Hearts” by Marty Balin.

Heartfelt thanks to all who help me create this blog every day, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: bicarbonate of soda day, cats, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, end of year 2021, Godiva chocolates, Marty Balin, resilience, salmon and cous cous, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 12 Comments

Day 3218: What’s a good title?

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Ann Koplow

What’s a good title for this post?

What’s a good title for your autobiography?

People shared many good titles for their autobiographies in response to my question, last night, on Twitter. At this point, my good titles for my autobiography include

A Very Unusual Heart
The Backwards Heart
It Takes One To Know One
Assault and Batteries
That Must Have Been Scary

I reserve the right to come up with more good titles before I actually write it.

What’s a good title for today’s collection of images?

What’s a good title for this precious day?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “What’s a good title?”

What’s a good ending for this “What’s a Good Title?” blog post?

Categories: heart condition, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: autobiography, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, dumdum, Fuji Restaurant, October 23 2021, Quincy Center, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, titles, Twitter | 20 Comments

Day 3095: It’s never what you expect

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Ann Koplow

My husband Michael, who exceeds my expectations, often says “It’s never what you expect.”

It’s never what you expect on Twitter.

It’s never what you expect, and based on that last tweet, you wouldn’t expect that one of my most important posts of the last eight-and-a-half years (and I never expected I would blog for more than a year) is titled “Very Unique.”

Is it never what you expect when I share my photos from the day before?

It’s never what you expect, and I expected to see a photo of the amazing meal Michael prepared last night — delicious vegetarian meat loaf with mushroom sauce, couscous, and vegetables — but apparently I fucked that up.

Here’s what I find when I search YouTube for “it’s never what you expect”:

If you were expecting some music here today, it’s never what you expect.

When I taught at Boston University over thirty years ago, I never expected that one of my students from back then would ask to have lunch with me today. Just a few months ago, I never expected that I would be dining out in a restaurant again.

It’s never what you expect and who knows what comments I’ll find when I check back later?

It’s never what you expect and how do people expect me to end my posts?

Categories: life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “If you want to be happy expect nothing”, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, gratitude, Jon Cowan, letting go of expectations, living with a congenital heart condition, Rahul Upadhyay, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 23 Comments

Day 2874: I know things ordinary people don’t know

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Ann Koplow

I know things ordinary people don’t know because I

was born with a very unusual heart,
grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household,
had an incredibly funny, creative, and kind father, who loved to make people laugh,
had an incredibly caring, kind, clean and neat mother, who loved to laugh,
realized I had a connection with cats when I was very young,
had my first major heart surgery when I was 10 on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated,
have relied on cardiac pacemakers to keep me alive since that day,
spent a lot of time in hospitals where I met many different types of people,
danced in our basement to musicals when nobody was watching,
read voraciously when I was young,
learned to play the piano, guitar, and ukulele,
attended three schools where everyone there knew I had a heart condition,
travelled across the USA by bus when I was 21,
visited many different countries,
danced, danced, danced in the 1970s even though my heart rate was fixed at 72 beats per minute,
majored in English literature at college,
worked as a technical writer, marketing writer, teacher, manager, and psychotherapist,
volunteered for several years at a suicide hotline,
attended graduate schools for film studies and social work,
love hearing other people’s stories,
married two extraordinary men,
gave birth to an extraordinary son when I was 45 years old,
saw people behave at their best and their worst and everything in between (including me),
survived the coronavirus,
have kept learning from all the people I have encountered in my long life, and
have the Daily Bitch calendar, which knows a lot.

Can you tell that I know things ordinary people don’t know from the rest of today’s photos?

Harley knows things that ordinary cats don’t know, but he’s not telling.

It’s a good thing I know things that ordinary people don’t know, because I’ll be teaching several interns about my Coping and Healing groups this morning at 9.

Here is “I Know Things Now” from Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, whom I’ve known I’ve loved for a long, long time.

I also know gratitude that ordinary people don’t know, every day, so thanks to to all the extraordinary people I’ve known, including YOU!

Categories: group psychotherapy, heart condition, heart surgery, life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: "Into The Woods", “I Know Things Now”, cats, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, coping and healing groups, lasagna, Stephen Sondheim, The Daily Bitch Calendar | 32 Comments