Because I never learned how to swim, perhaps it’s easy for me to feel like I’m drowning in seas, sometimes.
Because, in four days, I’m having surgery — which could prevent my very unusual heart from drowning in the sea of heart failure — I could be drowning, now, in the sea of:
anxiety,
fear,
worry, and
other uncomfortable feelings.
However, I am staying bouyant, well enough, to notice the many different seas all around me.
… trees, in the Longwood Medical area of Boston, Massachusetts.
Then, I did a therapy group at work, where people talked about drowning in the seas of
financial worries,
medical problems,
confusion,
isolation,
troubled minds,
judgmental people,
self-doubt,
guilt,
shame, and
other overwhelming problems.
However, the mutual support of the group kept everybody afloat for a good while.
Later that day, I was drowning in the sea of Starbucks
where I said goodbye to the wonderful barrista, Erin.
Mosham
— who also works at Starbucks and who was trying not to drown in the sea of beverage orders — helped me not drown in the sea of sadness about Erin’s leaving by giving me this:
It’s a new chocolate cookie straw at Starbucks, which was soon
drowning in the sea of chai tea misto, in my office.
Those flyers — on my desk, next to the tea misto — are for a Group Therapy Conference in June, where I’ll be drowning in the sea of other group therapists and amazing learning. I will be giving a workshop there on June 6 about my therapy groups, so I hope I won’t be drowning in the sea of presentation jitters.
Yesterday, I was also drowning in the sea of
construction work,
cups,
cupcakes, and
pet supplies.
Don’t these guinea pigs
look like they’re drowning in a sea of colored paper?
Here’s to everybody staying above water for another day!
I am drowning in the sea of gratitude for everything I witnessed yesterday and for you — of course! — for drowning in the sea of this blog post, here and now.
in the movie Buckaroo Banzai (which has a longer official title, which I’m not going to look up right now, because I have other places to go).
Let’s see if I can find that quote from Buckaroo Banzai on YouTube:
Not only did I find that clip on YouTube, I discovered that lots of other people around the world love that quote and that movie. That clip also includes other quotes I like:
Is someone out there not having a good time?
Is somebody crying, out there, in the darkness?
What’s your name? Who cares? I care.
Don’t be mean. We don’t have to be mean.
Anyway, it’s time for us rejoin the adventures of Ann Koplow across the nth dimension (where “n” = how many dimensions you think there are, in this universe).
No matter when I go to the Hanover Theater, there I am.
Yesterday, I went some other places, and there I was.
I was stuck in traffic as I tried to make my way to Fenway Studios to say goodbye to my long-time friend and artist extraordinaire, Paul Nagano, who is leaving the Boston area to move to Hawaii.
I finally found a legal, free parking space (!!!!) and there I was, at Fenway Studios:
… where I saw my old, beloved business partner (and longer-time friend), Jonathan Stark, and his lovely wife, Jen.
Before I took this picture, I told Jen that I loved her jacket. When I asked if I could include their picture in this blog, Jonathan said, “Yes, but only if you say that my jacket is fabulous, too.” (Jonathan and I worked together, for many years in the 1980’s and 1990’s, creating marketing and advertising materials, including print ads and promotional videos. One of the secrets to our success was to listen to and respect each other’s wishes.) (So there you go, Jonathan.)
I took a few more photos at Fenway Studios, yesterday:
… but I didn’t get to spend much time with Paul and his amazing artwork. Therefore, I am going back there, today, before I head out to Worcester later.
Now, let’s see if everybody has been paying attention. How would you complete this sentence? “No matter where you go ….”
?
And here’s another question. Are you going with me?
(You can go here to find Pat Metheny and The Metropole Orchestra playing “Are You Going With Me?” in the Netherlands. No matter where Pat goes, there he is.)
Thanks to Buckaroo, Penny, Peggy, Pat, Antonio, Paul, Jonathan, Jen, Birdmen, cats, musicians, artists, and everybody else who ever goes anywhere, including you (of course!).
Several years ago, I went into a store in the Boston area and noticed that people from a local radio station were there. One of the DJs announced to the shoppers:
A prize to the first person who can come up with eight musical groups with a color in the band’s name!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this in any of my previous colorful or non-colorful blog posts, but I love
CONTESTS and
WINNING.
I wonder if people who are reading this know that about me, or whether they are finding this out for the first time, much like I discovered, just now, that I can use colored letters in WordPress.
Anyway, the radio guy in the store announced that contest, and my mind went to work.
I now interrupt this story to bring you this question:
What band names, with colors in them, can you think of, right now?
While you’re thinking of those, here’s some mood music, brought to you this morning from high (or medium) atop the Koplow Family & Friends Building in beautiful suburban Boston:
Okay, ladies and gentleman! For my listening and viewing pleasure, please place your colorful, musical names in the comment section, directly below this post.
For your listening and viewing pleasure, here are the band names I came up with, back then:
I remember the radio D.J. doubting “Blue Cheer” as a real band name, but I must have convinced him (without anybody having access to the internet, back then), because:
Like I said, I love winning.
And I love colorful things, including these:
and these:
… which are the “Coping and Healing” group handout folders, that people get to choose from, before they join my therapy groups.
I like to point out the ever-present box of tissues to people in individual and group therapy, to let them know that all feelings are welcome. I like to point out that clock, too.
Speaking of feelings, time, color, and art, yesterday I got this email from my long-time friend and amazing artist Paul Nagano (previously appearing in posts here and here):
Dear Friends:
THE FINAL
OPEN STUDIO
of PAUL NAGANO in Boston
Saturday and Sunday — Nov. 15 and 16 — 11am to 5pm
This is a
CLEARANCE SALE
because I will be leaving Boston and moving to Honolulu on December 19.
Almost EVERYTHING —
art, frames, books, art materials, objects, kitchen utensils, tools,
even a few pieces of furniture — will be available for sale.
You will also be able to view the original of my magnum opus from this past summer–
“PARINIRVANA in the Great Garden” —
I look forward to seeing you for a fond farewell.
Please, as always, bring some canned goods or other non-perishable food items
to benefit our Annual Food Drive for the GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK.
Thanks.
lovanaloha,
P a u l — (after 47 years, leaving Boston on Dec. 19, to live in Hawaii
…..and……. arriving there on Dec. 22)
.
In response, I sent Paul this one-word email (even though I knew this move was coming):
No!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
and Paul replied:
.
Remember, Ann, CHANGE is GOOD! –even when it’s bad, and a little sad.
lovanaloha,
.
I’m going to let Paul have the last words, today, except for these:
Yesterday, I gave and received many looks throughout the day, including some Goodbye Looks (although, I certainly hope, NOT the kind Donald Fagen is singing about in that song).
Why were there so many Goodbye Looks yesterday?
Two people I know are leaving the hospital where I work. One of them is Melvin (looking like this in yesterday’s post):
Here’s another look from Melvin, when he and I were talking about saying “Goodbye.”
Also, there was a farewell party for a very talented, skilled, committed, and friendly co-worker, named Brigitte. I didn’t get a shot of Brigitte, but I captured these Goodbye Looks on other people:
In the first picture, you’re looking at Kathy, Mark, and Terry (left to right). I was especially glad to look at Mona (in the second picture), since she and I had exchanged Goodbye Looks a while ago. Isn’t that great that Mona’s outfit says “Hello”?
Something else I looked at, yesterday, was a message from WordPress, in response to my question to support people here:
An easy way to free up storage space for my photos in the media library?
That plea, from me, was a reflection of concerns that:
readers might give The Goodbye Look to my posts if they take too long to read and
there might be goodbye looks regarding my storage in various locations, because of how much friggin’ space my photos take up.
Give a look to WordPress’s return message (which I inadvertently gave The Goodbye Look to yesterday) (in other words, I mistakenly put it in The Trash):
Hi Ann,
There isn’t a bulk action to adjust those photos. Changing your photo sizes is a good idea, however. I did take a look at the first few photos in your library and noticed that they had files sizes and dimensions in common:
File size: 2 MB Dimensions: 2448 × 3264px
This is far larger than you’ll need on your site.
Your theme, Adventure Journal, has a main column constraint of 690px in the 2-column layout you’re using. If you can adjust your photos accordingly from now on, you’ll extend the usage of your space upgrade greatly.
If you don’t have photo editing software on your computer, you could use a free one such as BeFunky.com. You’d simply upload your image, select Resize, make sure you have “constrain proportions” selected, change the width to 690px, and save the image to your desktop. Then you can upload it to WordPress.com. Your photo sizes will much smaller.
Unfortunately, you will have to adjust those older photos manually.
I took the liberty of opening this one by opening the photo from your Media Library, and clicking Edit Image: https://annkoplow.wpcomstaging.com/wp-admin/upload.php?item=43116
The file was originially 2 MB and 2448 x 3264. I scaled the image to 690 x 920px. Now the image takes up 171 KB space.
I hope this helps. If I can address any other concerns or questions, please let me know. Cheers!
Words I liked looking at there included:
“Hi Ann,”
“free”
“simply””
“If I can address other concerns or questions, please let me know,” and
“Cheers!”
Words in that message I’d prefer unseeing included “unfortunately” and all the other ones implying I have a lot of work ahead of me, resizing all the kashmillion photos I’ve posted here since January 1, 2013.
Well, at least I’m looking at a three-day weekend, starting tomorrow.
Speaking of my photos taking up too much space, sometimes I fear I’ll get The Goodbye Look from people if I, personally, take up too much space. Coincidentally, somebody in one of my therapy groups yesterday was looking at something similar:
As you give whatever look you’re giving to that photo (which is taking up lots of space), you might assume the word “frggin” came from me. It didn’t!
What that woman said yesterday, in yesterday’s therapy group, is giving me the courage to post more photos (taking too much space) of other recent goodbye (and other) looks.
After all, we’ve all survived my photos taking up too much space here (so far)!
Preparing to give The Goodbye Look to this post just now, I said “Goodbye” to my 16-year-old son, Aaron (who’ll be spending the three-day weekend away, with his father):
Me: I’m giving you “The Goodbye Look.”
Aaron: The Goodbye Look?
Me: Remember that song by Donald Fagen? It’s not that kind of look, obviously.
Aaron: That’s good.
Thanks to Aaron, Donald Fagen, Melvin, Brigitte, Kathy, Mark, Terry, Mona, Mohammed and Winston (who work at the place I park my car), cupcakes and pets waiting to get The Hello Look, the construction guy (who said, “I hope I didn’t break your camera”), Jackie, Ted Williams, David Ortiz, people working in groups, and everybody, everywhere, giving looks and taking up space today — including you!
Here’s a definition of the word “reflection,” (according to Merriam-Webster.com):
re·flec·tion
noun
\ri-ˈflek-shən\
: an image that is seen in a mirror or on a shiny surface
: something that shows the effect, existence, or character of something else
: something that causes people to disapprove of a person or thing
WHAT?!?! I will reflect something with you now: I disapprove of that last definition. I have never heard such a judgmental, negative description of “reflection” before!
My understanding of “reflection” is that it’s a neutral word. If we reflect negatively or disapprovingly, that’s our choice (and not intrinsic in the word itself).
Rather than reflect further on what Merriam Webster could possibly have been thinking there, I shall try another dictionary site. How about dictionary.com?
reflection
[ri-flek-shuh n]
Synonyms Examples Word Origin
noun
1. the act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.
2. an image; representation; counterpart.
3. a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.
4. a thought occurring in consideration or meditation.
5. an unfavorable remark or observation.
6. the casting of some imputation or reproach.
7. Physics, Optics.
the return of light, heat, sound, etc., after striking a surface.
something so reflected, as heat or especially light.
O.M.G.
#5 and #6, at dictionary.com, are negative, too!
Honestly, I am shocked. Throughout my life, I have been assuming that “reflection” does not imply anything negative, by itself.
I’m reflecting, now, whether I’ve been naive and in denial, all this time.
Or, perhaps, the definition of “reflection” has changed in my lifetime. That can happen, you know. Any language, including English, can shift and change (even though we may not want it to).
If the definition of “reflection” has changed — since I first learned it — to a more judgmental one, I’m reflecting that might have happened during the time I’ve been working on letting go of judgment (here and elsewhere).
Another reflection, from me: that would be ironic.
I am going to re-reflect a definition, one more time, to see if it reflects my own experience of “reflection.”
Here’s the definition reflecting from Google, right now:
re·flec·tion
rəˈflekSH(ə)n/
noun
1. the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.
“the reflection of light”
synonyms: sending back, throwing back, casting back
“the reflection of light”
2. serious thought or consideration.
“he doesn’t get much time for reflection”
synonyms: thought, thinking, consideration, contemplation, deliberation, pondering, meditation, musing, rumination; formal cogitation
“after some reflection, he turned it down”
I’ll reflect this: I like that definition MUCH better. The last line DOES reflect somebody responding in the negative. However, as I’ve discussed with people many times, turning down something — saying “NO!” — is often a healthy expression of setting limits and honoring the importance of your own needs and preferences.
Okay! Now that I’ve found a definition that reflects my preferences, what else can this post reflect back at you?
Here are some recent photos that reflect today’s topic (in order of their reflections in my retina and my iPhone).
That last photo shows a reflection of Melvin, who is leaving Starbucks and the state of Massachusetts today. I’ve been reflecting this to him, since I found out he was leaving: I’m going to miss him.
Melvin may not like that reflection when he sees it, and he might ask me to remove that photo from this post.
Why? Because nobody seems to like the photos I take of them! Do you think that’s a reflection of
my photos or
something else?
I
*
Melvin lets me keep that photo in this post.
Because, if he does, that’s
.
Thanks to all reflections in this post and — of course! — to you, for reflecting with me, here today.
* Last week, I wrote about that pink sign on a door at work, and we reflected here that it might say “hope” OR “nope.” I promised I would check the other side, and reflect that back to you in a future post.
Ooops! I could have sworn I reflected the other side of that sign onto my iPhone camera, but I can’t find it anywhere.
You’ll just have to trust this reflection: The other side was blank.
Is that a particularly American way people say “Goodbye”? Is it a sarcastic way? Is it a cool way? Is it a way to — even unconsciously — acknowledge that being real with each other, during any encounter, seems important?
Sometimes I wonder whether my personal interpretations and experiences match other people’s. Therefore, I just googled “It’s Been Real” and found this:
it’s been real
A farewell greeting, but with a negative connotation. The speaker is usually disappointed or annoyed at the person to whom (s)he is speaking. It’s been real. Have a nice life.
Aha! Urban Dictionary thinks that it’s a particularly negative way to say “Goodbye.” However, I’m not sure if I want Urban Dictionary to be the final authority. After all, Urban Dictionary also says that “It’s been real” is “a farewell greeting,” which seems like an oxymoron, to me.
Let’s see what Yahoo Answers has to say about “It’s been real.”
What does “It’s Been Real” mean? When you hang out with someone and they say this to you as you’re saying goodbye, what does this mean? Positive/negative connotation?
While that reminds me of All-or-Nothing thinking (judging something as either all positive OR all negative, with no shadings in between) … I still think it’s a good question.
And here is the “best answer”:
It’s positive. It means the time you spent together was genuine, without pretentiousness or egoism.
Wow. That’s confusing. The first two definitions I find, through Google, are completely contradictory.
I’ll try a third definition, as a tie-breaker.
Hmmmm. I don’t know if Slang Dictionary — which is the third and final entry coming up for me in Google — is really going to help much. That says:
It’s been fun, nice
… with no other explanation or connotation, except for this mysterious line:
See also: I don’t know who is fucking skinning this cat, but I’m getting scratched.
Okay. Now my mind is totally blown, and I’m not sure HOW I’m going to finish this post.
There ARE some things I want to tell you, this morning:
Today is the last day of my son Aaron’s appearances as John Wilkes Booth in the Sondheim musical Assassins. (For more about that, see yesterday’s post.)
In less than a week, Aaron and I are boarding a plane to Edinburgh, Scotland, for wee-bit-less-than-a-complete-week of fun at the Fringe Festival.
I love a good pun as much as anybody, and I remember seeing a great pun in Edinburgh, when my son and I were at the Fringe Festival last August.
So what’s the connection? What’s my point, if I do have one?
Just this. I see a lot of farewell greetings coming up, in the near future.
Thanks to Michael Brecker (for “Itsbynne Reel“), to Edinburgh Scotland, to anyone I’ve ever greeted or farewelled, to those who do their best to define terms, to people who make a real effort to say hello or goodbye, and — of course! — to you, for reeling by here today. It’s been real.
pet supplies.
