My very funny friend, Dobie Maxwell, says – Today is ‘Star Wars’ day – “May the 4th be with you.” Tomorrow is Alcoholics or ‘Bar Wars’ Day – “May the 5th be with you.”
Starting the blog with a laugh!
Thank You!
Yesterday’s blog was on kind of a serious topic. I wanted to take a minute to thank those of you who left supportive and positive comments, as well as those who emailed my privately. I really do appreciate you.
I have a telemedicine visit with my doc today to discuss this further. I may have to do a medical release so that my doc and therapist can discuss things together and formulate a plan. I will keep you posted.
Update
I guess I am a poor planner. I missed National Library Week and National Librarian’s Day last month. I had mentioned in a past post that my brother, who works as a librarian, will be writing a guest blog soon. If I had looked ahead, I could have had that blog ready to tie in to one of those events. Whoops. It is coming though.
Two Pictures
My daughter came into the living room the other day wearing a pink dress and one of my baseball hats. All I could think of was A League of Their Own –
Andrew loves to help clean. He helps pick up the toys, load the dishwasher and is obsessed with the vacuum. Sam found one that actually works online. It plays some really annoying music at times, but it is fun to watch him vacuum with us.
I cannot believe that we’ve turned the page on the calendar again and it is May! I’m not complaining, because May means nice weather is on the way. I’m looking forward to my neighborhood walks and sunshine.
Those walks and the nice weather will certainly help me. I have been struggling a bit. I noticed it a while back, but thought maybe it was just related to not getting enough sleep. However, after having a discussion with my therapist, I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at things.
I have felt like my temper is a bit shorter than normal lately. My patience level is sort of nonexistent. This is unacceptable to me. The littlest things are setting me off. After some discussion, she asked if I have ever been screened for or diagnosed with ADHD. I haven’t.
She mentioned quite a few things that I felt would apply to me. So I’m going to follow up with my PCP. I did some reading online and some stuff really hit the nail on the head.
“Emotional sensitivity and trouble controlling emotions are more signs of ADHD. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is common in adults with ADHS. RSD is extreme emotional sensitivity that occurs when someone fears they are being criticized or rejected by someone else.“
This is totally me. I tend to be defensive. Part of that is because of my past relationships. Constant criticism and rejection caused me to become very defensive. I hate that.
“Another aspect of emotional control and ADHD can be a quick temper. Someone with ADHD may get extremely irritated but move on from it quickly. ADHD can co-occur with mood disorderslike depression, bipolar and anxiety.”
My wife says that I can go from 0-100 when I get angry. That is so true. The anger is there quickly. I already have anxiety and some depression, so I wonder just how much of this plays into my quick temper.
“Staying organized can be difficult for anyone, but those with ADHD will have a more challenging time keeping track of things and logically completing them. That’s because ADHD is associated with weakened function of the prefrontal cortex, or the part of the brain that controls behavior, emotion, attention and organization.“
Sam can tell you I am NOT organized at all. They joke with me at work about how my work station is set up – its a mess. I can be organized to a point, but I would say I am one of the most unorganized people. “I know it is here – somewhere – I just don’t know where!”
“Someone with ADHD may jump from task to task because they’re excited about those things, not because it’s a logical order.”
I will tend to do the things I WANT to do first, rather than the things I NEED to do. This happens ALL the time.
“Another extremely common symptom of ADHD is difficulty managing time. You may often be late for things or have difficulty sticking to your schedule. It’s not always being late or not showing up, but it can be more subtle, like procrastinating tasks and working on tight deadlines. You also may be regularly forgetful to the point that it causes disruptions in workflow or damages relationships.”
My wife likes to remind me of how I love to put things off. Things I need to do, but just don’t for whatever reason. Some of those things I put of to avoid confrontation.
“Trouble concentrating is one of the best-known ADHD symptoms, thanks to the reduced function of the prefrontal cortex. According to the DSM-5, a diminishing attention span is a core symptom of ADHD. Anything can draw your focus from the task at hand — noises, people talking or daydreaming. Because of this lack of focus, you may overlook important details, lose chunks of conversations and have difficulty completing tasks.“
I often find myself zoning out. My wife has had to call my name three or four times while I get caught up in something on TV. Everything else just fades out and my focus shifts to that.
My therapist thinks that if it truly is ADHD, if those things are treated, everything else will start to get better. More control over my emotions and more patience. I hope she is right.
A few days ago I had an accident with a goose. It flew into my vehicle. It busted up the radiator and my car is in the shop. My co-workers had a field day with my bad luck.
I had to share what my co-worker did to my sticky note book mark –
Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry is itching his nose in the car and the driver next to him thinks he is picking his nose? I can think of a few stand up comedians who have also used the topic of nose picking and boogers to bring laughter from their audience. Today, I read an article about nose picking that is “snot” funny at all …
An article from http://www.sciencealert.com says that a study done last year shows a “plausible link between picking your nose and upping the chances of developing dementia.” Apparently, this happens in “cases where picking at your nose damages internal tissues, critical species of bacteria gain an easier path to the brain, which responds to the bacteria’s presence in ways that resemble signs of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Now, for what it is worth, “the supporting research is based on mice rather than humans, but the findings are definitely worth further investigation.” The scientists in Australia say that the bacteria that can cause pneumonia can actually travel from the nose to the brain and that bacteria has been seen “in the majority of human brains affected by late-onset dementia.”
“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae (the bacteria) can go directly up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” neuroscientist James St John from Griffith University in Australia.We saw this happen in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.“
The scientists were surprised by the speed at which the bacteria took hold in the central nervous system of the mice, with infection happening within 24 to 72 hours. It seems that viruses and bacteria see the nose as a very quick way to get to the brain.
They are unclear if the effects would be the same in humans. They certainly feel that further study should happen as the origins of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are hard to determine and both diseases are extremely complicated. There are many studies happening and with “each piece of research brings us a little bit closer to finding a way to stop” them.
Incidentally, nose picking isn’t such a rare occurrence. Believe it or not, it is believed that 9 out of 10 people are “pickers.”
Today is National Superhero Day! I think every child grows up exposed to superheroes. I know as I look back on my childhood there were plenty of them.
My brother and I would wake up on Saturday mornings and watch The Superfriends!
Batman and Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman were always there. Sometimes the Wonder Twins were part of the team with their ridiculous monkey and sometimes, it was the even more annoying Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog.
My brother and I were introduced to Batman long before this. We always loved the 1966 TV show.
We were also familiar with Wonder Woman. Lynda Carter was one of my first childhood crushes!
I had other superhero cartoon characters I loved just as much –
My love of rhyme may have stemmed from episodes of Underdog!
Underdog had a pretty amazing theme song, which seemed to be common with cartoon superheroes. Case in point:
I loved watching your friendly neighborhood Spiderman – and singing along with the theme song. Another example:
The number one super guy – Hong Kong Phooey! Scatman Crothers provided the perfect personality and voice for this bumbling character.
Speaking of bumbling superheroes, many won’t remember these guys –
Strong Man, Tornado Man, Rope Man, Diaper Man, and Cuckoo Man were about as crazy as they came. It was always a treat to catch them on TV.
I used to love Blue Falcon, because the great Gary Owens provided his voice!
I guess I still love superheroes even as an adult. One particular family is a favorite
I won’t lie – I hope there is a third Incredibles movie!
Today, I salute these heroes and the many real life super heroes!
And now it’s time for another edition of “This Stuff Only Can Happen to Me!”
This is the kind of true story that always made for great stuff when I worked on the radio. It is so ridiculous, but it is true!
I was driving into work last night and I was about 2 miles from my exit minding my own business when it happened. A “Kamikaze Goose” flew directly into my front end. To say that I was freaked out would be an understatement! It happened so fast! There was an explosion of feathers and a God awful sound when it hit my car. According to Google, these birds tend to fly about 40 mph. I am far from a math wizard, but if I had my cruise control set to 75 mph, that had to be one heck of an impact!
There were cars on both sides of me while I was driving, so I couldn’t swerve or anything. After the impact, I got to the right lane and got ready to exit the expressway. The car seemed to be driving ok, but I wanted to pull over and check. This may sound morbid, but I really didn’t know if the goose was still on the front of the car. Once off the expressway, I pulled into a parking lot and took a look at the car.
I was surprised that there seemed to be minimal damage. I saw a decent chunk out of the bumper, the grill looked like it had come apart, and there were a few feathers stuck to the front of the car. That’s when I noticed (and smelled) the antifreeze. It was gushing from the bottom of the car. The radiator is in the front of the car, so it became apparent that there was more damage than I could see.
I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to drive the car, so I called into work. I was 70 miles from home. I didn’t realize that we didn’t have towing on our insurance, so I had to call a wrecker and had to pay out of pocket. My father-in-law’s house is close, so I had it towed there and he drove me home.
When I got home, I called our insurance company and began the claim. I was happy to find out that since it was an animal that caused the damage, it was covered under comprehensive. Our comprehensive carries no deductible, so there will be no further out of pocket costs to us. The $300 towing bill should be all that we have to pay.
I was told that since the car can’t be driven that they were sending me a link to an app to download. Once I got to my in-law’s today, I opened the app and the adjuster pops up on the screen and it is like Facetime. He said, “It looks like you hit an animal.” I asked if that could be the way it is worded and he laughed and asked why. “Believe it or not, a goose flew into my car!” He got a chuckle out of that.
He asked if the air bags deployed. I never even thought about that. I’m sure that if that happened, they probably would have totaled the car. Anyway, using my phone, I showed him the damage. He took pictures as I walked around the vehicle and then sent the estimate. All I had to do was tell him where I wanted the vehicle taken for repairs. The whole thing took like 10 minutes tops.
Later, I got a call from the tow truck who was taking the vehicle to the repair shop. The driver says, “Oh that’s a Chevy dealer, they won’t take your Hyundai there. Do you want me to take it to the Hyundai dealer?” I figured this guy knew what he was talking about, so I said he could. I sent off an email to the insurance company to say that it was going to a different place and they said ok.
I picked up the phone to call the Hyundai place to tell them to expect the vehicle. They guy tells me that they don’t have a body shop there and that all of that kind of work happens at the Chevy dealer. So I call the tow truck driver back and tell him they didn’t have a body shop at the Hyundai dealer (which he is pulling into as I call). He assures me it is no problem to turn around and take it back to the Chevy place.
I had to work tonight, so I went and napped after dealing with all of that stuff. When I woke up, there was a message from the body shop saying that the car was there, but the insurance company had cancelled it going there. He did some legwork and I guess he was waiting for new paperwork to arrive so he could start the work.
Long story short – I will be without a car for probably 2 or 3 weeks. I hope that the damage isn’t anything that will cause it to be there longer than that.
Not too long ago I posted about two books by Anthony Horowitz (Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders) which were truly unique in that there was a book within a book in each one. The whole idea of a murder mystery connecting with another murder mystery story was such an interesting concept. The stories were very intriguing and enjoyable at the same time.
I love your typical whodunit mystery stories where somebody gets killed and a detective, private investigator, or some innocent person gathers clues and finds out who did it in the end. The formula has worked for some of the great mystery writers like Agatha Christie, Earl Stanley Gardner, and others.
I remember reading a book about the TV series Columbo. One of the things that TV networks were concerned about was the fact that they show who the murderer is right from the get-go. They didn’t think anyone would want to watch a detective try to figure out who did it, when the audiences would already know the guilty party. That changed up the presentation of the murder mystery format.
The book that I just finished reading changes it up even more so. In all honesty, it goes against all mystery logic, but that’s what made it a fun read. Let me tell you a little bit about Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
“Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
Late October. After midnight. You’re waiting up for your eighteen-year-old son. He’s past curfew. As you watch from the window, he emerges, and you realize he isn’t alone: he’s walking toward a man, and he’s armed.
You can’t believe it when you see him do it: your funny, happy teenage son, he kills a stranger, right there on the street outside your house. You don’t know who. You don’t know why. You only know your son is now in custody, his future shattered.
That night you fall asleep in despair. All is lost.
Until you wake . . .
. . . and it is yesterday.
And then you wake again . . .
. . . and it is the day before yesterday.
Every morning you wake up a day earlier, another day before the murder. With another chance to stop it. Somewhere in the past lies an answer. The trigger for this crime–and you don’t have a choice but to find it . . .“
What an interesting way to solve a crime! Each time she wakes up the main character finds a different piece to the puzzle. Along the way she finds out things aren’t as the seem in the present. As she continues to go back day by day, week by week, she discovers more of the events, characters, and clues that led to the murder.
The fact that I enjoy time travel stories is known to anyone who reads this blog. Using the “forced” time travel aspect in this story brought about some extra suspense. The character has no idea how long she will travel back in time OR for how long. She also has no idea if she will ever make it back to the present or just go back so far that she stops existing.
There were times during the story that my jaw actually dropped open because of something I didn’t see coming. It was a great story that at times caused me to pause and reflect on things the main character was feeling. There were things that really made me think about how I approach each day as well.
Does she figure it out? Does she stop the murder? Does she save her son? Does she ever make it back to the present? I highly recommend this book!!
Ah, Saturday! A day of rest and relaxation, right? The weekend is here and there is nothing to do, right? Well, not for me. It’s gonna be a pretty busy weekend.
This week was full of events for our family. Big changes and some stress (no need to talk about my wallet anymore!).
The biggest news was the addition of our dog, Maizy. If you missed that blog – here it is:
I’m happy to say that she is fitting in quite well. She’s making the place her own, and getting up on the furniture …
She loves to cuddle up to us. She and Sam seem to be getting along nicely.
And Ella loves that Maizy will sleep in her room with her at “quiet time”.
Andrew just gets really excited to be around her. Especially when we’re outside. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure who is harder to get to come in – Maizy or Andrew.
Maizy loves to run around in the yard. She especially loves to play fetch with a ball.
She waits with baited breath for me to chuck it out in the backyard.
I don’t mind being outside with her. The baseball team has been outside practicing and getting ready for the season. One of the best things about our backyard is the free admission to watch a good game –
Of course, Maizy LOVES when the kids are eating. There is NO shortage of food that falls on the floor, unless it is peanut butter. That peanut butter pretty much gets worn by the kids….
Maizy became a member of our family from the onset. What a blessing she is to our home.
The rest of the weekend is loaded with some projects. I’m hoping to finish painting the nook we built and then we’re grabbing one of those playscapes from a friend of Sam’s and moving it to our yard. In between all of that, we’ve got people coming to give us estimates on what a fence is going to cost. Busy Busy!!
My dad sent a photo to me and my brother this week of my Great Grandma (Grandpa’s mom) that I’d never seen before. That got me to thinking about the last time I saw my Great Grandma. It was at my high school graduation party where today’s photo was taken.
This is a truly amazing photo, as it marked one of the few times all of these family members were together.
In the front row from left to right – me, my Great Grandma, and my brother (sporting the pink Miami Vice jacket). In the back row from left to right – Grandpa P, his sister Marietta, Grandma D, Mom, Dad, Grandma P, and my Great Aunt Rose.
This photo was probably taken close to the end of the part, as my dad and grandpa have their suit jackets off. My grandpa came wearing what we called his Century 21 coat. For those who don’t remember, the real estate agents from century 21 used to always wear these gold colored jackets.
Here is a story about my Great Grandma that still makes me laugh. We used to call her “Light Finger Louie” because she had a very bad habit of swiping things from people and then giving then to my Grandpa. They weren’t necessarily big or expensive things (most of the time), but there were watches, Zippo lighters, cuff links, and such that would miraculously appear in my grandfather’s hands (or pockets) as he was leaving his visits from Great Grandma!
I think the saddest thing about finding old photos like these is the realization that those people are no longer with us physically. The only ones still around in that photo are my brother, my dad, and me.
I get ribbed a lot about all the photos I take of the kids. This week on Facebook, when I posted about my grandpa, I stated that the reason I take so many pictures is “because one day those pictures, and the memories from them, are all we have left.”
Remember yesterday when I was talking about how stupid I was for losing my wallet? Well, the continuation of the story proves that I am even more stupid that previously stated.
I decided that on my way home this morning I would stop again at Walmart to see if someone had turned it in. The guy at the service desk went to the back and as he came back out he had a wallet in his hand. “Is this it?” he asked. My heart jumped for a minute and then the disappointment returned as I realized that it was not my wallet.
As I walked back to my car, a breeze caught the top of my head. It was then that I realized I wasn’t wearing my hat. It was warm when I left for work yesterday, so I never grabbed it. However, the day before I had been wearing it. I remembered wearing it that morning I stopped at Walmart.
When I walked in the door a few minutes later than usual, Sam asked if I had stopped at Walmart. I told her I had and asked if she had seen my hat. She said she hadn’t, so I started looking for it.
The shoe rack outside our bedroom door serves many purposes. Yes, it has about 12-16 cubbies for pairs of shoes. It also is where we set the un opened boxes of diapers, pull ups, and baby wipes. Recently, Sam had pulled a bunch of the clothes that were too small for the kids and placed them in a box and set the box on top of the shoe rack. Also on top of the shoe rack, was my hat.
Lo and behold – under my hat ….
To say I was relieved is an understatement! At the same time, I also felt like a bigger dummy than I did yesterday!!
The first thing I did was go into the various banking and credit card apps on my phone and unlocked all the cards. Then I started looking online for those AirLink things that people were telling me about. I will definitely be looking to get one of those things just in case something like this ever happens again!
The story ends with a chuckle –
My birthday and Sam’s birthday are within a month of each other. We got our “birthday cards” from the Secretary of State saying we were due. Sam gave me the debit card from our savings account and told me to take care of them on my way to work or on my way home. As she handed it to me, she says, “Put this in your wallet … and try not to lose it before you get home tomorrow!”
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 