Posts Tagged With: Halloween

Day 4322: Surprises

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Ann Koplow

Surprise! It’s November.

I hope I am not surprised by the results of the election next week. There have been too many unpleasant surprises (political and otherwise) in my long life.

I wonder if there are any surprises in my blog post today.

There are several surprises on today’s list and I am surprised that the Daily Bitch knew that it was International Scented Candle Day.

Here’s what I find when I search for surprises on YouTube.

I like those kind of surprises.

Thanks to all who show up for surprises here, including YOU!

Categories: 2024 USA elections, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, election models, Halloween, International Scented Candle Day, Jimmy Kimmel Live, November 1 2024, Olivia Rodrigo Surprises Trick-or-Treaters, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 7 Comments

Day 4319: International Internet Day

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Ann Koplow

Today is International Internet Day, everybody!

As is typical of the Internet, some sites are calling this International Internal Day and others are calling it National Internet Day.

Whatever this day is called, I’m celebrating it. If it weren’t for the Internet, I couldn’t be connecting with you, here and now, with these words and images.

Today is also National Cat Day, so I’m sharing a favorite cat picture through the Internet.

Here’s something I find when I search for “International Internet Day” on the Internet:

Thanks to all the wonderful people I’ve met through the Internet, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Elon Musk, favorite animated movies, Halloween, National Cat Day, October 29 2024, SABC News, salmon dish, the Boston area, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the Internet, Twitter | 12 Comments

Day 3956: Difficult conversations

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Ann Koplow

In yesterday’s blog post, I wrote that difficult conversations can be scary. In yesterday’s Coping and Healing Group, members discussed difficult conversations — specifically, setting limits with other people. Somebody suggested using the simple reaction “Ouch!” when they felt hurt and “Oops!” when they felt they had hurt the other person, and everybody committed to trying that method in difficult conversations this week.

Do you see any difficult conversations in my images for today?

Here’s what I find when I search for “difficult conversations” on YouTube.

Thanks to Mel Robbins and all those who help me have difficult conversations, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “Ouch” and “Oops!”, catfish, cats, coping and healing groups, Halloween, How to have a difficult conversation, important relationships, Mel Robbins, November 1 2023, setting limits, The Daily Bitch Calendar | 8 Comments

Day 3955: Scary

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Ann Koplow

Today is Halloween 2023, which is scary.

As I know from my work as a group therapist and from my experience as a human being, life can be very scary, no matter what day it is.

I’m realizing I need to have some scary conversations with people in order to move forward through these scary times.

What makes a conversation scary? To me, a conversation is scary if people might feel insulted, angry, or betrayed.

I guess I’ll just have to use the same technique I’ve used with many scary conversations: (1) Show up, (2) Be gentle, (3) Tell the truth.

Is there anything scary in my images for today?

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

Thanks to all who are helping me get through these scary times, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Andrew Gold, Boston, difficult conversations, group therapy, Halloween, October 31 2023, salmon dish, scary movies, Spooky Scary Skeletons, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Yogi Tea | 12 Comments

Day 3952: Cranky

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Ann Koplow

Many people I know are cranky these days, including me. Maybe that’s why I asked this question last night on Twitter (the name “X” makes me cranky):

People in my Coping and Healing groups also seem less cranky when they realize they are not alone.

I’m too cranky to introduce or explain the rest of my images for today.

This cranky person is glad that today is National Chocolate Day and that she shared this picture on Hug a Sheep and Plush Animal Lovers Day:

Here’s what I find when I look for “cranky” on YouTube.

Feel free to leave a cranky comment, below, and thanks to all who help me when I’m cranky, including YOU.

Categories: group therapy, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Boston Funk Studio and Performance Space, Halloween, InstrumentManiac, National Hug a Sheep Day, October 27 2023, Plush Animal Lovers Day, Stop & Shop, The Daily Bitch Calendar, Thomas & Friends, Twitter | 10 Comments

Day 3939: Universal

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Ann Koplow

Because I facilitate therapy groups with diverse populations, I often wonder (and learn) about what’s universal.

Here’s a definition of “universal.”

Here are some universal quotes.

Here are my universal images for today.

National Grouch Day is easily universal, don’t you think?

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

I look forward to your universal comments, below.

Universal thanks to all who are here, now, including YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: Autocorrect, “The Universal”, Blur, cats, group therapy, Halloween, October 15 2023, Rubato, Twitter, universal music, universal quotes | 14 Comments

Day 3592: The scariest

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Ann Koplow

For some people, the scariest month of the year is October because, duh, Halloween. For those people, there’s probably relief that we’re now in November.

For me, the scariest month is November because

duh, Election Day,
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and
on that same day, I underwent my scariest heart surgery at age 10 to get my first cardiac pacemaker, which was scary enormous.

What’s the scariest is a matter of personal experience, perspective, and attitude. What’s the scariest image in today’s blog post?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “the scariest.”

Now I can breathe easier. Thanks to all who helped me create “The Scariest” post, including YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: “What’s the Scariest Thing?”, cats, Halloween, Michael Stevens, Mind Field, National Days November 1 2022, November, Paul Coelho quote, salmon dish, The Daily Bitch Calendar, The Longwood Medical area | 8 Comments

Day 3591: Should I stay or should I go?

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Ann Koplow

“Should I stay or should I go?” is a question I hear on social media and in real life. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’ve been hearing it there.

“Should I stay or should I go?” can be a difficult question to answer because there are pros and cons to doing either. One might say that Hamlet’s soliloquy — “To Be or Not to Be” — is asking the question “Should I stay or should I go?”

Personally, I’ve asked the question “Should I stay or should I go?” about

relationships,
work,
homes,
organizations,
the USA,
Twitter,
and — for a dark moment many years ago — life.

At this point, I’m staying for as long as I can, everywhere.

Here’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by the Clash…

… and by “First Drafts of Rock” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Bacon.

Is anyone asking “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” in my images for today?

Now I have to go to work, but I hope you stay and leave a comment, below.

Thanks to all who give me the courage to stay or go, including YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, First Drafts of Rock with Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Bacon, Halloween, National Days October 31 2022, the Clash, The Daily Bitch Calendar, the South Shore of Boston, trust, Twitter, Veggie Burger, Whole Foods Market | 19 Comments

Day 3590: Trust

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Ann Koplow

In therapy, people work on trust. They ask, Who can I trust? Can I trust myself? What happens if I trust too much or trust too little?

I’ve been working in trust in therapy, too. If I have trouble trusting myself or others, I take a deep breath, slow down, and trust in my ability to move forward.

I trust there are trustworthy quotes about trust I can share with you, here and now.

Is there trust in my images for today?

I trust in young people, including my son Aaron.

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

Thanks to all those I trust, including YOU.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism, quotes | Tags: Anne Boeckler-Raettig, cats, Halloween, National Cat Day, National Days October 30 2022, National Speak Up for Service Day, quotes about trust, The Psychology of Trust, the South Shore of Boston, Twitter | 18 Comments

Day 3589: Hideaway

Posted on October 29, 2022 by Ann Koplow

I’ve been spending many hours thinking about how to remodel our upstairs shower, because I want that to be a hideaway.

I don’t want to hide away why that’s so important to me: When I was a child spending too much time alone in the hospital, the private bathroom with a tub, at the end of the long hallway, was really my only hideaway. The rest of the time, I was under the eyes of doctors and nurses, hooked up to a cardiac monitor that beeped out my unusual heartbeat, day and night.

Years ago in therapy, I gave myself the healing assignment of drawing a floor plan of that Children’s Hospital cardiac unit, and the room with the tub stood out as a precious and safe hideaway.

I’m also thinking of how Jerry Seinfeld described the shower as a hideaway: