FPQ74: The Reopening

Fandango provocatively asks…

Which pre-pandemic activities are you ready to resume (or have you already resumed)? Which, if any, pre-virus activities are you likely to continue to avoid?

I have been going into my office a couple times per week and am totally fine with resuming a full-time schedule. There are only a few of us in a large suite and we hardly get any visitors. I will likely bring my own lunch so as not to deal with the cafe.

I’ve already been to my dentist for a normal cleaning and X-rays. I felt perfectly safe. They took my temperature as I came in and everyone was masked. I would also be okay with going to a regular doctor, if necessary.

When I grocery shop or go into other crowded public places, I wear a mask, even if it’s not required. I plan to continue doing this indefinitely. It’s uncomfortable, but I think it’s worth it. 😷

As I mentioned, I’ve visited my family in LA and have had a socially distant BYO picnic with friends. I’d probably be okay with outdoor dining at a regular restaurant. But maybe not… can’t predict how crowded it might get.

I want to get my hair cut and colored, but my daughter talked me out of it. I guess I can wait or figure out some DIY alternative.

I want to visit my older daughter in NorCal, but I’m definitely not ready to deal with either airports or flying. I could drive, but that’s a huge PITA. We shall see… 😞

While I find it enjoyable to hear the sounds of people having fun at our community pool, I’m not ready to join them. Not that I was a pool person in the first place. We also have a great gym though, but I’m not eager to go back there either. I’ll be passing up all peopley events for the foreseeable future, such as fairs or festivals or concerts or movies or even (my favorite) game nights with a bunch of people touching stuff.

Not worth the risk.

~*~

Images from Fandango and Pexels.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Flavorful Share

Starting my Tuesday with questions from Melanie! 🙂

1. What do you think of professional motivational speakers?  Do you think they motivate?

I don’t like to listen to jabber, period. I don’t seek out speakers and in fact avoid audio like the… you know. Videos are for music. 🎶 That said, I don’t mind reading some motivational jibber, depending on my mood. I enjoy short, profound philosophy that can make me go ahhhh and leave me thoughtful and/or calm. And I enjoy humor mixed with inspiration, a la Mark Manson. I don’t find motivation in everything he writes because a lot of it is geared toward much younger folks beginning careers and relationships. But there is still some stuff applicable to me. I don’t know if these speakers motivate people in general, but I’ve gotten value from reading other ideas, especially MM’s.

2. Do you have a favorite flavor?

Yes, several… coconut, cinnamon, lemon, and vanilla.

3. While out walking, you hear a rustling in some bushes.  What do you think of?

Kitty!

4. What’s your ideal temperature (nature-wise)?   Hot, cold, temperate and mild, humid or bone dry?

I like it pretty warm, 80ish. But I prefer an overcast day, as bright sun is a migraine trigger. Rain is also a trigger, as are any big changes in weather or extremes generally. Hate wind!

Alrighty! Got a post done and now on with the day… 🎉

~*~

Images from Melanie and Pexels.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Exhausting Week…

Nice that the block editor keeps the alt text of previous images unlike the classic editor. I’m always forgetting to add it and Ashley says we should. If we copypasta an entire post, of course, the alt text is kept, but (1) I haven’t found the copy button yet on Blocky, and (2) sometimes that’s annoying anyway because you have to delete so much. Ideally, my saved pieces will have All The Things.

This is my first post today (Friday, June 5)… though I realize for some of you it’s already Saturday and you’re onto the Stream of Con thingie. I’ll do that next if I don’t collapse here at the table as I do sometimes. Fan. Fan fan fan. Lots of ways to go there. Again, I failed to do the flashback… maybe that won’t be a regular feechur here any longer, idk. I’m pretty bored with it, plus I like to write new things. I did do a brief search yesterday, but only one year came up and I didn’t like anything. Remember that, even though this blog is a decade old, there were times I didn’t post much and other times I went through and hosed vast amounts of jabber off the sidewalk. That was because (1) I like getting rid of old, negative vibes, and (2) I kept restarting the dating stupidity and thought men might go back and read it and get the (correct) idea that I’m a big crab. I should have been searching for a lobster, or someone relatively crunchy.

I’ve been posting more from my laptop instead of my phone. That’s because my hand hurts. Idk if it’s arthritis or what. It seems like it probably is. In any case, normal typing on a keyboard is much more comfortable for my hand than poking at the phone buttons. That’s why, if anyone wondered, I’ve been using fewer emoticons… sometimes I save a post and then open it on my phone and “decorate” it before publishing, but not always. I told my doctor about my hand on our tele-visit and asked if it was okay to use ICYHOT. He said sure but it didn’t do anything except excite my nerves to distract me from the pain for a bit. Ever since then, the ICYHOT has lost its appeal, lol. Which is great because I have a multipack of the stuff from Amazon that I ordered to get a great bargain. [insert eyeroll]

I had trouble sleeping this week. All the chaos in the streets/media just got to me (again). Worry for myself, my work, my family, their work, health, safety, finances, all of it, circles and ripples and spirals of worry. I haven’t been able to fall asleep for real until way after midnight (sometimes I have a crash nap for a few minutes here & there)… sometimes not until 2AM. And I don’t sleep that much later to make up for it… I am usually awake by 6:30 at the latest, though I will try to doze off and on for another hour, if I can. I get up tired, which I hate, and muddle through the day, sometimes finding energy in the afternoon, depending on the day. It’s just an exhausting cycle. I’m hoping to get it under control this weekend with some good self-care.

Needless to say, I’ve had to focus what little mental sharpness I’ve had on work and there was nothing left for my writing projects. That’s just how it is and I refuse to beat myself up over it. I didn’t go outside and exercise, even though things are opening up, because of the protests and random weird stuff going on. I absolutely do not want to get involved in anything. That’s just how I am, and if anyone has a problem with it, please go rant on your own blog about the joys of activism. I’m in chronic pain and can’t fix the world, sorry. Marching/yelling/being in a glob of people would certainly give me migraines and back pain for days. I was glad to see that the protests in Orange County, California stayed peaceful and purposeful however. That didn’t interest the major news media, since they only want to show violence to get more shares and clicks.

Facebook is a drag. I was happy to return during the pandemic to reconnect with peeps… it was wonderful to be so warmly welcomed back. I totally dug that. It was easy enough to steer clear of most of the ranting politics and instead chat with peeps about their pets and recipes and what-all, but then along came this latest round of screaming. Peeps are diligently reposting links and memes and lecturing everyone else on the exact way to say things and do things and yada yada boo. I do feel proud that I received a “bless your heart” from a Texas conservative. I must be doing something right, eh? Mostly though I tiptoe around now because I don’t need someone to messily explode at me for not wording my feels in the prescribed manner. I hesitate to post anything myself in fear of starting a massive war of words in my comments, since I have friends from all over the political spectrum. Meh.

Twitter is nuts. I keep losing followers, though I don’t say a damn thing. How could I offend anyone? Maybe they die, idk. Yesterday I complained about my sinking stats and a few returned. Who even knows what is up with that place. I shouldn’t care about the numbers, and I wouldn’t except they’re right on the splash page of your profile. At least here on WP, I have to click somewhere to look at my pathetic stats. Yes, I know they are bad because I did look. Pffft. Don’t care. WHY don’t I care about my WP stats, when I’m writing here, but I care about my number of Twitter followers, when I barely tweet? There is a mystery…

Okay, this is long. I should go make some tea and write the fan thing now.

~*~

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Image originally found on Pixabay.

Pandemic Posts? Pshaw…

Dr. Tanya asks about posting in the pandemic…

1. How frequently do you post about the pandemic?

Not a lot. At first, I thought I would do some funny “coping” posts, but they weren’t funny and I wasn’t coping all that well, so I stopped. I had planned to walk in interesting new places, but then Governor Newsom closed the beaches and parks, so pffft.

2. What kind of “post about the pandemic” to you like to read?

None. I mean, I like reading about bloggers’ thoughts and experiences, so of course when the pandemic is part of that, sure. But I don’t want to see links to news articles or copypastas of other people’s writing from CNN or FOX or Medium or Slate or GOD FORBID tweets from you-know-who.

3. How have you and your blog adapted to “the new normal?”

I simply float through the days waiting to return to my office full-time and see my family when I want to. There is nothing good about this and I see no reason to pretend there is.

4. Have you seen any change in your blog stats during the pandemic. Also, are you posting more or less than you used to?

I don’t pay attention to stats. I used to have a sitemeter to track who was visiting and put labels on them, but I quit doing that and deleted it. Enough obsessions already! Every day, when I look at notifications in order to reply to comments, I notice that I have new followers (2 or 3). Usually, these are what I call “professional” bloggers, meaning they are trying to sell me something without participating in our community of chit-chatters. I don’t follow them back. Occasionally, a new follower interests me and I follow back… in most cases, they are fellow writers. Not always.

I have been posting less in 2020 because I’ve been writing Ghosted, though honestly I find it hard to focus lately and just end up playing solitaire or doing my “happy coloring.” I read the news way too much and have vowed yet again to cut back. Nothing really has motivated me to get back into writing flash fiction or poetry, though I see a couple prompts this morning that look good. Maybe June 1 is a good day to get going on those again!

~*~

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Image credited to Bitmoji.

Not A Flashback #PoiMe

Yep, it’s Friday. And yep I did a search for May 29th posts last night, but nothing grabbed me. I had a One-Line Wednesday that came up about migraine tigers (triggers), but if I’m going to post about head pain, I’d prefer to ramble on about it anew. Oh! Did I tell you… I’m sloooowly going off one of my meds? Yep, my doc and I discussed it in a virtual visit last week and I’ve now cut Topamax 25% and am okay so far. It’s a good time to try this when I don’t have so much going on and can lie down if I need to. The drug was a lifesaver at a time when I was super-stressed, but things are pretty chill now and I don’t like all the side effects, especially feeling so blah. I can always go back on if my migraines get too horrible to bear, but my hope is that I can cope without it and I’ll have more energy again and can start to exercise more (i.e., at all). The goal is to be completely done by June 30. Since my head gets really bad toward the end of August through September, whatever I do, this will be a good way to make sure I don’t confuse that inevitable badness with going off the drug. I’m determined to be optimistic even though I did this a couple years ago and it was a big fail. I had more stressors then though.

Not that things aren’t stressful in the world now. Right? I mean gah! But I feel lucky that I’m able to stay pretty isolated from it all and I’m also the kind of person who doesn’t mind being isolated. My personal life (knock wood) is calm, even while the world is falling apart. I’m sorry world, but there isn’t much I can do about the things out there except try not to make them worse. Perhaps staying in here, as I do, helps a little. At least I’m not using much gas anyway. But things are “opening up” again, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me as the virus numbers are climbing, but what do I know, eh? Maybe they felt more and more people were going to take to the streets in protest so they’d better let them start going to the Cheesecake Factory (just an example ~ I don’t actually know if the Cheesecake Factory is open). Nothing is perfect. Personally, I am not going to sit in a restaurant, or anywhere else, among a giant glob of people, anytime soon. I just don’t see why I should take that risk. I’m fine at home by myself, going out to get groceries once a week, and stopping at my office (alone) to pick up the mail and water the plants. I understand that some people are going out of their minds without actual physical companionship, but I’m not one of them. The only thing I truly miss is not being able to see my family and the routine of going to the office 9-5 daily. I’m one of those weirdos who likes doing that. There are very few of us apparently… most people prefer blobbing around the house in sweatpants. Bleh.

I don’t really have interesting thoughts about current events. My view is likely the typical “liberal” one on most things, except I don’t allow disgust for a leader to create my reaction to every issue. One thing I differ on from many is my view about social media. I’ve already mentioned my unpopular idea that I do think there is something wrong with the idea of providing a platform for people to be utterly horrible to each other, even to the point of ganging up on someone and driving them to suicide, in order to make money from ads, and then shrugging off all responsibility for it. I’ve said that one possible solution is to disallow anonymity. One account, one person, and it trails you forever like a fingerprint. Well, no one likes that because it’s as scary as a microchip in a vaccine. What about forcing the companies to enforce their own TOS and not selectively as they do but consistently and fairly? Maybe they’d make less money, boo hoo. I don’t think children should be on social media at all. It’s bad. But if “everyone else is” and that’s how teachers are giving out lesson plans, well, whaddayagonnado?

One thing I really dislike about this new block editor is that I don’t see my word count as I type. Where is it? Last time I copypasta’d my writing into a Word document to obtain it, but that’s just dumb. There should be a word counter somewhere! It’s probably here in some menu that makes no sense off to the side and I’m just not finding it. I know, what a weird thing to get annoyed about, but hey that’s me! Weird things annoy me. I need to know my word count, grrrr. Otherwise, there’s literally nothing wrong with typing in blocks and I don’t know what people are so fussed about unless you have some huge complicated page with moving parts you need to paste in. I’m just straight up typing and it’s fine. I don’t know if I can add my photo here (but that was the case with the old editor as well) ~ if I can’t, I’ll save the post and add the photo from the app. (Added the photo!)

Today I need a stamp. Why can’t we pay the water bill online? I don’t think that’s enough for a whole Monday Peeve, so I’ll just leave it right here. Maybe something will annoy me when I walk over to the Post Office and it can be my Monday Peeve, but it’s just a stamp. What could go wrong?

I FOUND THE WORD COUNTER! It’s the little “i”. Why wouldn’t you know that? Who wouldn’t think to click the little “i”…

~*~

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Image originally found on Pixabay.

Memorial Day Sharing

Melanie asks some topical questions for today’s SYW…

1. In your opinion, does patriotism require the belief that one’s country is the greatest on earth?

Absolutely not. That’s jingoism. Patriotism is supporting your country to help all of its citizens live good lives with quality education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. It also means helping to protect your country’s natural resources and wildlife. You can love something without denigrating everything else. You can also love something despite its flaws, while hoping they will be repaired.

2. Why is patriotism considered by some to be the highest of virtues? What is so important about love of country? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about humankind, or the planet as a whole, rather than a single country?

I don’t know why some people think that. I’m not gonna get into the weeds with a big lecture on what other people should do. Personally, my values are to first support my family and myself, pay my bills, take care of my pets, and just generally not be a jerk or a burden to others.

3. What is the relationship between decisions and consequences?

It depends on the context. Bad decisions often have bad consequences, but good decisions don’t always show good results, at least not immediately. For example, I could spend the weekend overeating and see an immediate gain of three pounds on my scale, plus feel bloated and gross on Tuesday. Bad decision = bad result. But I might spend the weekend eating only nutritious foods and taking walks, yet three days later nothing changes because good results take so long to show up. Bleh!

4. What is social justice?

Well, my knee-jerk response was to say that this is a term used on social media to mock people who earnestly stand up for things such as gay rights by calling out those who violate the earnest peeps’ principles. But apparently there is an actual definition, or a few variations thereof, which is the movement toward a society where the distribution of resources is more equitable and all people have the the right to live in physical and psychological safety. Sounds nice, in theory…

5. What’s one body part you wouldn’t mind losing? (told you.  Silly).

I don’t need my uterus any longer, lol…

6. What is something that made you smile during the past week?

Pictures of my adorable granddaughter! 💖

~*~

Images from Bitmoji.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

20 Questions

These are from Melanie, who got them from Fandango, in two separate posts, but she reworded some, and then added more to make a better number, as you do, so are they her questions or his questions?

Let me know what you decide, okay? In the meantime, imma answer the questions…

1. Okay, you write a blog, so do you also play word games of any kind?

Yes, all of them. Not at the same time, of course, but if it’s a word game, I’ve likely tried it, or some variation. Right now, on my phone, I have Wordscapes, which has pretty backgrounds and relaxing sounds. It’s too easy though.

2. Do you have any other type of creative outlet besides writing? Art, sewing, photography, jewelry making, etc.?

I’ve done all of that. I used to love baking and cake decorating. I also did lots of needlework pictures and pillows. I tried to start a tee shirt painting biz but got a hurty wrist and had to stop. My hands are achy lately, so I haven’t been doing any crafts at all. 😢

3. Do you listen to anything while you write or does it need to be quiet?

I prefer quiet.

4. Are you an avid book reader?

I go in phases. This year I’ve only read 19 books so far.

5. Name a country you would love to visit if the world wasn’t shut down because of the virus.

England.

6. Have you ever written a poem about someone and gave it to them?

Yes, as jokes and seriously. I’ve also written loads of poems about people that I haven’t shown them. Here’s my favorite one.

7. Is there an author (living or dead) that you would love to sit down and talk to for an hour?

Margaret Atwood.

8. Have you ever met a fellow blogger or interacted off WordPress?

I’ve met a few.

9. Cake or pie?

Yes, please… coconut cake / cherry pie.

10. Coffee or tea?

Coffee in the morning / tea the rest of the day.

11. What is the strangest movie you have ever seen?

When I was 11, my parents took me to see Greaser’s Palace in NYC, which traumatized me. I still think about it occasionally.

12.  What lessons have you learnt from C-19?

Nothing, except to double down on what I was already inclined to do.

13. What values do you live by?

Family first. Prioritize work and my peace of mind. Try to tune out the negativity and craziness of other people.

14. What is your favorite movie?

Doctor Zhivago.

15. Whom have you loved unconditionally?

Only my children.

16. Your dreams in life?

Happy, healthy children. Being financially secure. Writing a lot!

17.   Do you like citrus flavoring?

Yes to lemon and lime. Not a fan of orange usually. Pineapple is good with coconut.

18.   What is your remedy for the hiccups?

Holding my breath.

19.   Are you lucky?

I think “luck” happens when I’m careful to avoid doing stupid things. So, it depends on the day… 🤣🍀

20.   Barefoot or wearing something on your feet?

I like socks!

~*~

Images from Bitmoji.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Sadje’s Questions

The lovely Sadje tagged me for some Q’s. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about one of my favorite subjects! 🤣

What is your favorite time of the day?

Lately I’ve become an afternoon person. I don’t mean since The Thing, but gradually over the last decade or so. I used to love mornings, but I’m pretty achy when I first wake up now and it takes me a while to feel okay and be productive.

How strict are you with yourself, regarding health?

I’m good about not overeating, but I’m terrible at exercising. I’m good about eating veggies and not subsisting on Snickers bars like I used to, and I rarely touch alcohol.

Do you follow back a blogger who follows your blog?

Mostly not, unless they comment and their blog interests me. If they simply follow and like posts, I may not even notice them.

How do you deal with criticism in real life?

Depends who it’s from. If it’s from someone who is signing my paycheck or someone I gave birth to, I’ll take it seriously. Anyone else, probably not so much. This is different from writing critique when I’ve requested it, of course. 🙂

How do you deal with criticism in the blogging world?

Usually they get thrown in the trash. I am not obligated to provide a forum for jerks and meanies. They can post their crap on their own blogs. Way back in the day, I thought I should allow all comments to pass through, but why? This is my space. Anyone can get their own.

Any ideas about how we can turn the current situation to our advantage?

Yes. The auto insurance companies have reported a decline in claims during the past couple months since people have been staying home. This is obvious, right? Fewer miles driven = fewer accidents = fewer injuries and deaths. But really think about that every time you get in a car. It’s one of the most dangerous things we do. 😬

Are you a dessert person?

I used to be. I used to crave sweets and make a dessert my whole meal. I’m sure I still would if it was available. But I seem to have lost the intense cravings I once had, and I’m much more satisfied with healthy choices. 🥑

What colors do you like to wear?

I like a bunch of neutrals in browns, black, beige, white, etc. and then one thing in a bright color like pink or turquoise. Or on the weekend I might put the brighter colors together if I’m feeling whimsical.

What color decor you like around you, in your home?

Browns and animal print things. 🐯

What is your favorite place to write from?

Probably my kitchen table on my iPhone.

Do you like getting Blogging awards?

Sure! It’s nice when someone thinks of me. I hope people don’t mind if I only answer the questions though and don’t tag anyone.

~*~

Image from Bitmoji.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Seven and Seven

Rory wants to know 7 things that make me happy & 7 things that make me unhappy. Then he wants me to define happiness, save the whales, and cure cancer. Let’s get started, shall we? 😀

Happy Things. Here I’m going to put stuff that makes me personally happy, not stuff I might read about regarding others. Like I love when I see stories of firemen rescuing kitties from trees! Nuh-uh. That doesn’t count here. It’s not direct. We gotta narrow this thing down. Same goes for the next list, or else it’ll be full of all the bad news in the world and nothing about me.

1. When someone pays me for my writing or spends their money to read something I wrote. 🎉

2. When someone leaves a public positive review of something I wrote or my writing in general. ❤️

3. When someone says I’m funny (without hoping to get laid or anything like that).

4. When I spend time with my children. Meant to put this one first, oopsy! 🤣

5. When I have a productive day at work.

6. When I have a productive writing day.

7. When I write something particularly good (either poetic or funny or profound or whatever). 😎

Unhappy Things.

1. When I get nothing done. 😡

2. When there’s a lot of noise. 😱

3. When someone is a jerk on the road.

4. When people demand things of me (who aren’t related to me or paying me).

5. When I have a big f*cking migraine. 🤯

6. Spam, fraud, robocalls, and all that sh!t.

7. Things that don’t work right especially when they interfere with work or writing. Rawr!

So, I think we can sum this up by saying that Paula is happy when she can write and Paula is unhappy when things interfere with writing.

Not complicated.

~*~

Images from Google and Bitmoji.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Comfort Food

I posted (yesterday, I think) in reply to a Q that I enjoy cheesy scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms on the side, and ever since I’ve been craving that. Tonight I made them both with a mini salad.

Yes, the mushrooms dominate the plate. I haven’t had any for a while and my plan to save half for tomorrow didn’t work out. 🤣

I need to buy more spices. I tossed almost all of mine when I moved last December because they were so ancient, and all I had for flavoring was S&P and ginger. Since then, I haven’t cooked much. But now I’m in the mood.

It was fun! I thought I had set off the smoke alarm at one point, but it was only an Amber Alert coming in on my phone. This was probably the first alert in lockdown, and I’d forgotten about them. At least now I’ve figured out where my kitchen fan button is located. 🙄

Tune in again in a few hours for Thursday Inspiration!

~*~

Image is mine.

©️2020 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.