Because I want to turn off the news and turn up the music, I’ve been taking some turns with GarageBand to create a single of my original song “Artificial Intelligence.”
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So far, I’ve turned out two vocal tracks with harmony, a ukulele track, and a clapping track. Because this is my first time turning to GarageBand, I sometimes turn into a nervous wreck as I try to use this new-to-me music technology.
A great way to relax on my vacation is to spend time with people I love, like my long-time friend Barbara. As a matter of fact, four thousand and eighty-four days ago (but who’s counting?) I wrote a blog post titled “It’s Time to Relax” which was about spending a day with Barbara.
Barbara knows that one way I relax is to take pictures I can use in this blog, so she brought me to a great store just for that reason.
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Barbara and I did our best yesterday to relax and accept the crazy in this country and the world (including our reliance on non-intuitive and crazy-making technology).
Please relax while I share my other images for today.
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Today, I’m going to try to relax while I lay down tracks for my song “Artificial Intelligence” and then return to the furniture store where we bought our new sofa to try to resolve this problem:
Even though I try to go for it every day, sometimes I get peeved.
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People in my therapy groups vent about being peeved, annoyed, irritated, miffed, nettled, riled, roiled, steamed, and stung about many things, including medical systems these days.
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Sometimes, I’m not even sure what I’m peeved about, but chances are it includes technology.
I hope nobody’s peeved that I like sharing my songs here, including this one:
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Can you tell I was peeved as I captured images yesterday?
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I’m grateful to wake up everyday, but some days (like today) I wake up peeved.
What helps me when I’m peeved? Naming it. Sharing it (like in this blog). Realizing I’m not alone. Recognizing that I’ve been peeved before and this too shall pass.
Right now, I’m peeved that I have to drive a long distance, again, to deal with the fact that I can’t see well out of my new glasses. I’m peeved that I know so little about getting my songs out there. I’m peeved that I get stymied by technology when I try to do many things online. I’m peeved that the current administration is hell bent on taking away fundamental rights from the kind of people who attend my therapy groups. I’m peeved that so many people voted (again!) for an obviously toxic narcissist.
I’m peeved there are so many things to be peeved about these days.
What are you peeved about?
Thanks to everyone who is here for this peeved post, including YOU!
For want of a nail is an ancient proverb illustrating how one small loss can result in disaster.
For Want of a Nail For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
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Sometimes I notice that my life/daily routine is hanging too precariously on one small item and that it’s only a matter of time when so much more will be lost.
Right now, it’s my iPhone, which powers SO MUCH in my life — including my blogging, taking photos, and (most importantly) my ability to log into work from home. It’s been very obvious to me for a while that I NEED MY PHONE to log into work. There’s just no way around it. And today, my iPhone charging slot isn’t working. For want of an iPhone charging slot, my kingdom seems lost.
That’s probably catastrophizing but I am so used to my phone that being without it, right now, seems terrifying. I’ve blogged before how this sense of danger is magnified for me because I’ve been dependent on devices (specifically, cardiac pacemakers) in order to stay alive since I was 10 years old. However, I assume that I’m not the only one who would panic about the want of a phone.
Right now, I’m blogging on my laptop and everything is different and difficult to do. For example, no matter what I do, I can’t get rid of this weird formatting. Also, I don’t even know if I can add an image to this post.
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Yay!
I didn’t do a screen capture on my phone before it died, so let’s see if I can figure out how to add a screen capture here without my phone.
Okay! I think I figured out to do it, let’s see …
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Okay! That took much longer than on my phone, but I did figure it out.
In the meantime, I have ordered a charger that doesn’t depend on the charging slot in my phone and I have reasons to believe that will work. And, if the charging slot IS dead, I can finally upgrade my iPhone 8 to a newer version.
So all is not lost. It just felt like it was, for a little while.
Here’s another variation of that proverb that’s been running through my head: For want of a vacation when I was healthy, my sanity was lost. That’s probably not true, but my answer to my own question of “What’s something we can all agree on?” was this:
(Now I have to remember how to do that damn screen capture again. Hold on …)
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Well, it took some trial and error, but I did it again!
I’m thinking of another variation of that proverb: For want of confidence in my own ability to learn/relearn new things, the kingdom SEEMED lost.
Okay, I need to do another screen capture now.
Not perfect, but it’ll do. Also, I love that I’m figuring out all this on National CanDo Day.
Can do!
Here‘s what I find on YouTube when I search for “For want of a nail.”
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For want of Todd Rundgren, my life would be less beautiful.
I want to thank everyone who is here for this for-the-want-of-a-nail post, including YOU!!
In the midst of what seemed like global confusion yesterday, I found this interesting quote about confusion.
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What helps me deal with confusion is spending time with those I love, including my dear, life-long friend, Barbara.
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Among many topics we discussed yesterday, Barbara and I shared our confusion about online technology, which inspired me to write another verse for my latest song:
Do you see confusion in my other images for today?
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Even though I’m pretty familiar with YouTube, I still had to deal with false starts and confusion when I posted this live performance there:
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In case there’s any confusion about the meaning of that song, let’s try to let go of caring what other people are thinking about us. Who needs that kind of confusion?
Thanks to all who help me deal with confusion every day, including YOU!
Everyday I look around, wondering if something terrible is about to happen.
Here’s what today’s Daily Bitch Calendar has to say about that:
Something terrible might include floods …
or technology disasters.
How do we enjoy the good times if something terrible is probably about to happen? Is it possible that knowing that something terrible (like injustice, pain, sickness, and death) is probably about to happen might HELP us enjoy the good times?
In both of my Coping and Healing groups yesterday, people talked about good times AND somethings terrible, which I wrote up on The Board of Importance.
Somebody who had been away from the group for a long time shared that listening to this song on YouTube had helped them get through something terrible:
Good times!
Feel free to share good times, something terrible, or anything else in the comments section, below.
