Posts Tagged With: Patti Smith

Day 4680: What I’m Going To Do Today

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Ann Koplow

This is what I’m going to do today:

Talk to people I love.
Solve word puzzles.
Take Joan our cat out for a walk.
Let Joan take me for a walk.
Go food shopping with my husband Michael.
Watch a Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie that was on Turner Classic Movies (!) last week.
Fill out the form for my appearance on the Therapist Uncensored podcast.
Read the book Secure Relating: Holding Your Own in an Insecure World.
Listen to Patti Smith’s audiobook Just Kids.
Work on my new song “What’s Wrong With Looking Older.”
Eat more chocolates from the Godiva Collection given to me by a patient.
Ask some questions on social media.
Try to promote my music.
Have a wonderful meal at a local Vietnamese Restaurant
Watch an episode of Supervet or Murderbot with Michael.
Take photos for tomorrow’s blog.

This is what I’m NOT going to do today;

Watch the news.
Worry.

What I’m going to do today also includes

Blogging!

What I’m going to do on World Pasta Day is eat one of the all-time great noodle dishes at that Vietnamese restaurant.

What I’m going to do today also includes sharing one of my songs on social media. Because I’m going to leave the house before I feel ready, I’ll share this one:

Thanks to all who actually care about what I’m going to do today, including YOU!

Categories: original song, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: cats, crushes, Le Madeline, October 25 3025, Patti Smith, The Daily Bitch Calendar, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., the White House, Therapist Uncensored podcast, Twitter | 12 Comments

Day 2644: The rules

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Ann Koplow

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been thinking about rules. The rules keep changing, but certain rules are clear:

Practice social distancing.
Wash your hands.
Avoid touching your face.
Stay home as much as possible.
Connect with others remotely.

Here are the rules for somebody like me — who was almost definitely infected by the coronavirus but who could never get tested because of the scarcity of test kits — according to this email from my Primary Care Physician:

In terms of when you can end YOUR isolation (again, I am assuming you had COVID-19), according to the CDC (as of today – I just verified) you can leave your home once you have been fever-free without fever-reducing medication for 72 hours AND your cough has improved AND at least 7 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared. If you are still fever-free after 72 hours (tomorrow? Thurs?) and your cough is improving, I think you can leave your home but if you are still coughing it would be best to wear a mask.

Because my rules include “first, do no harm” I waited a couple of extra days and first ventured out of my home yesterday. My rules include staying away from people and using gloves whenever I touch anything. As I wrote to a friend this morning:

I shall do my best to continue flattening the curve while not getting flattened by all this.

The rules at this blog include sharing photos that rule:

The rules for me, because I have a mechanical heart valve and take Warfarin daily, include my checking my INR at home. Because my INR was so high yesterday (it’s supposed to be between 2.5 and 3.5), my medical team’s rules included my skipping a dose of Warfarin last night and eating more greens. New rules: We think the coronavirus and my taking antibiotics have probably disrupted my INR temporarily. The rules of common sense tell us that this number will stabilize again soon.

The rules of this blog also include

sharing great music (here and here on YouTube)

inviting you to share your rules, thoughts, and feelings in a comment, below, and
expressing gratitude for all who help me figure out the rules, every day.