One-Liner Wednesday

If you can’t grok this dishy 1961 transformational grammar, golden-ager, just lip-synch to some soul music, take a diazepam, and don’t call me in the morning.

^^^ That was my one line… bolded words courtesy of my birth year neologisms. You can find yours by entering your birth year at this link. Diazepam is Valium, if you didn’t know ~ a great invention, if I do say so myself. Yay science! 😍

Here are more neologisms from 1961, grouped in what I think is an interesting way…

-bionic, computer science, operating system

– chocoholic, fettuccine Alfredo, eating disorder

-gunnery sergeant, military-industrial complex, compassion fatigue

-rocks glass, mai tai, after-party

And my personal favorite… benign paroxysmal positional vertigo! Thanks for that one. 🙄

Written for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Questions from Carol Anne

My lovely friend Carol Anne has given me some questions. They’re associated with her Liebster Award. Congrats on your award, Carol Anne, and thanks for thinking of me! 💖

My 11 questions to you my nominees are:

1. Can you swim?

I know the basics, but I’m not a strong swimmer, and frankly I prefer to stay on land and gaze out at the beautiful waves.

2. Pepsi or coke?

Coke, please.

3. Snail mail or email?

Email is less wasteful.

4. Do you enjoy traveling?

No. Shocking, I realize. Everyone loves to travel, right? Well, I do enjoy experiencing new sights, attractions, nature, etc., but the expense and inconvenience make it a net negative for me. Travel is very costly unless you go by car, split the cost of gas, have people to put you up at your destination, yada. Or go camping, lol. Then there are all the migraine triggers for me that happen from noise, light, discomfort, etc. Also, there is my ongoing back/neck pain. Not to mention I don’t like leaving my kitty for more than a couple nights because I miss him too much! 🐱❤️

5. Snow or rain?

I’m from the East and honestly I miss the idea of snow but not the reality of it. Snow is beautiful and fun, if you don’t have to be anywhere and can bundle up and take a lovely walk. Rain can be romantic if you’re snuggled indoors with your sweetie, or a kitty and a good book, but again not if you have to drive in it. Since I’m in California, land of perpetual drought, I welcome any and all precipitation! Of course, we always get the “wrong” kind, in the “wrong” place, so they tell us the drought goes on…

6. What is one of your favourite quotes?

Life is short; eat dessert first. 🧁

7. Are you a glass half full or glass half empty sorta person?

Depends on the day.

8. What is your favourite flower?

Sunflower. Or tulips!🌷

9. If you could give your younger self some advice what would you say?

Go to Northwestern (in high school)! Stop dating insane men (in the 1980s). Buy tech stocks (in the 1990s)! Sell the tech stocks (before the crash). STOP DATING INSANE MEN. 🙄

10. If you had one superpower what would it be?

Repelling insane men.

11. Favourite book?

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Tied for second place: Where I’m Calling From (short stories by Raymond Carver) and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (short stories by Haruki Murakami).

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

El Camino [review with spoilers]

I was super stoked for El Camino, the Breaking Bad movie. In fact, I rewatched BB in its entirety during the last few weeks, all 62 episodes, to prepare for the movie. God, that was one fantastic show, perhaps the best series ever written.

This review contains spoilers. Get out now! 👻

I watched El Camino last night and was disappointed, maybe because of all the Twitter hype. That happens. The actors were all great, of course, nothing against them, but you know what? Breaking Bad was Walter White (Bryan Cranston), not Jesse. Now, I love Aaron Paul. He could totally star in his own show, and I would watch it, but BB was Walt’s show. Without Walt, I was like, meh, who cares?

This is a different criticism from the one I have about Better Call Saul, which is that the slick, wisecracking, one-dimensional character of Saul Goodman was perfect for BB, and reimagining him as street punk “Slippin’ Jimmy” and then as an idealistic young lawyer who gets shafted by his own brother, was just all too JTS. The Goodman character was not made for this much baggage. I don’t think I made it through S2.

But with all the crazy stuff that happened on BB, I never once went okay that’s it… the show has jumped the shark. Even with the Nazis. Nope. It was still solid. Start to finish. It left a few minor threads hanging, such as what was the deal that Gus had come out of Chile with a fake name? They mentioned that twice, but left the gun on the table.

Back to El Camino. There wasn’t much of a plot. There were some historical revisionist convos, a couple of which looked odd on screen because the actors appear their current age. Jesse is fine because he’s young anyway. Walt in the diner looked sick as he was supposed to, but I thought Jesse was talking to Mike’s ghost for a minute, lol. That was bizarre. And Todd looks older and heavier now than he did during the original filming, so when they shovel in this new scene, right after I just watched the old eps, um… Weird.

The writing was great. All the characters were in top form. Jesse natch, Badger, Skinny Pete, Jesse’s clueless parents, etc. But without Walt… I just didn’t care. I knew Jesse would end up escaping this time. You could just tell that the whole point of the movie was to give fans of Jesse a reason to cheer. Yay, he got to start a new life! He’ll meet a cute Alaskan girl in about 5 minutes after the credits roll as he does…

Anyway. This reinforces my idea not to watch either the prequel series to Game of Thrones or The Many Saints of Newark. The appeal of GOT to me hinged on the specific characters played by the specific actors and their relationships. I dgaf about Martin’s pretend world, except for the dragons. The dragons are cool. And The Sopranos was Tony Soprano. (RIP Jim G) That’s it. I’m not interested in his lookalike son playing a younger Tony. Why should I care what made Tony into Tony via not-Tony when I already had all that real Tony?

Okay, so yeah… I’m behind on all the blogadoo things. Regular prompts, picture fiction, my continuing chapters with Lexi and Liana and whoever else (are there more?)… and now a new week relentlessly begins with Laura’s music and Fandango’s flashing and omg I’ve missed like a million days of the October challenge already… AUUGGGHHHH!!!

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

A POP of Perception

Angie (aka King Ben’s Grandma) tagged me in Beckie’s positivity prompt. The theme this round is graciousness. Please pop over to Angie’s to read about the origins of the prompt along with her wonderful take on gracious greetings.

My idea of graciousness is rooted in being considerate. This probably comes from my years in administrative support. I’m always aware of people’s moods and when it’s a good time to stop and chitchat, and when a simple “good morning” will suffice. I try to be constantly aware of others’ moods. This is something that only works in person, of course.

Now that I’m noodling on it, this awareness of mood goes beyond my working life and back to my childhood (doesn’t everything?). My parents often argued bitterly, and this was scary to me, so I was forever “taking the temperature” of the room and adjusting my behavior accordingly. I needed to know if it was time to be funny or quiet or what.

I’m a person who says “good morning” with a smile, but I don’t go beyond that unless I perceive it will be welcomed. And I would rather err on the side of too little than too much. I don’t tell people to smile; honestly, I hate when people do that. It’s just so… selfish. An unsmiling face makes us feel bad, which is why we exhort people to smile.

But how do we know why someone isn’t smiling? Maybe they’re in pain. Maybe a family member is desperately sick. Maybe they just got walloped with a bill they can’t afford. Leave them alone! Let them look sad and deal with your own discomfort over it. Unless you’re actively prepared to help them with their problem, don’t mouth off with a meaningless comment. K?

Thank you for coming to my rant. Now go be less annoying and more gracious in your greetings.

If you would like to participate in Beckie’s prompt, please visit Angie’s blog for the rules. I graciously decline to tag anyone.

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

One-Liner Wednesday

I’ve always felt that autumn is for fresh starts, not endings, probably because of the school year. But also I get so lazy in the summer and fall revs me up. I’m already more productive. Plus, early September is horrible for my migraines and then they suddenly and mysteriously taper off during the last week or so.

Looking forward to a good October!

~*~

Written for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday and Laura’s October Challenge (Day 2)

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Fan of… Brie

I am a huge fan of brie ~ it is my favorite cheese! I’m perfectly happy nomming on a chunk of brie all by itself, but there are a lot of delicious foods to pair it with as well. It works with every type of cracker and chip, but also fruit, from grapes to pears to crisp green apples. 🍏

Here’s something you may not have known: brie is fabulous as a melt. Yep, you can top your burger with a piece of brie, melt it for 30 seconds… mmm! I will make a confession… I deveganize veggie burgers by melting brie on them. Sacrilege! But this transcends yumminess, especially on the spicy ones. 🌶

I’m a happy camper right now because there was leftover brie from game night, and it is ensconced in my fridge as we speak, er write. Trent says even the littlest moments count as weekly smiles, so I’m using this as mine. 😻

It’s a wonder I don’t waddle through this world, given my food preferences, but here is a secret ~ I don’t eat everything in the same day. I make choices, and I’m not afraid to throw things in the garbage. I can buy more later. Otherwise, I’m the garbage can and that’s gross. Like the warnings about texting and driving say: “It can wait.”

I include the above paragraph, not to engage in a verbose lecture, but because someone inevitably asks in comments.

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Four Go RAWR

Welcome to The Daily Four!

Today’s Questions to the Readers are….

What are you truly passionate about?

Everything, just like everyone else! I go into raptures of ecstasy while tying my shoes! The smell of copy paper transports me into a cloud of bliss! When I see an ant on the sidewalk I’m thrilled anew at the wonder of all creation! 🙄🙄🙄

Have you ever experienced or suffered from writer’s block?

🤣🤣🤣

Are you happy?

No! Wtf? Have you read the news? Only the most oblivious, self-absorbed idiot could be happy right now, or ever really, considering all the suffering in this world. No offense to the mindless, of course. Do your thing.

Do you ever experience stress?

These questions are stressing me out!

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Four on Friday

From Rory’s Question Fun Directory!

1. Have you ever been afraid of the dark?

Yes, at various times. From age 11, when I comprehended my own death and nothingness, I spent a year or so utterly terrified and unable to sleep. I tried to talk to my parents, but they didn’t understand. Eventually, the thoughts just settled within me and I went on, but occasionally they surge up. When my ex moved out in 2009, I became afraid again and had to sleep with the TV on for a while. Sometimes now I have to keep a light on, just randomly.

2. Have you ever been arrested?

No.

3. What were your first thoughts this morning when you awoke?

My back hurts. It’s still so dark. Winter is coming. What horribleness is in the news? Did anyone like my twitter poem from last night? (Yes!)

4. If you could have witnessed anything around the world in whatever time zone, what would you have loved to have seen first hand?

All of the world without people on it yet.

~*~

© 2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

People Are Like Cookies

Beckie @ Beckie’s Mental Mess has a wonderful continuing series on various mental/emotional issues, and this week her focus is on introversion, a topic I apparently suggested (not that I have any memory of doing so). Soon, she’ll tackle amnesia, I hope! 😂

I’m going to answer the prompt questions that Beckie posted.

1. Are you more Isolated or Introverted?

I’m an introvert. I prefer to be alone or in small groups of close friends/family where we can have meaningful conversation. I also enjoy lots of online interaction. But I’m not isolated ~ most days I interact a little with actual people face to face and that’s fine.

2. Do you feel that there is a difference between the two?

Absolutely. You can be an introvert in the middle of a city, preferring not to talk to others while surrounded by people; while another person might be isolated due to circumstances, but not be introverted and love big parties.

3. What are the causes of being Isolated or Introverted?

Isolated can be by choice or circumstances. Introversion/extroversion traits are hardwired. I have always been exactly how I am.

4. Does your family/friends/co-workers question your behavior when you crave alone time and/or do not want to be bothered?

They don’t generally get fussed about my need for alone time. Some people have a bit of trouble understanding why I don’t wish to attend massive gatherings. A dozen or so people in a room is about the extent of my comfort level. More than that increases the noise to a point where the sound is just a wall crushing my head. There’s no way to have a real conversation either and I can’t stand nodding and smiling at BS.

I’m not talking about big open spaces like fairs or even restaurants that are designed for a lot of people. I’m talking about large social events where people are mashed together in rooms to be with each other. I just hate that. Why would I choose to go to such a thing when I could stay home with my boo kitty?🐱

5. Have you spoken to a therapist/psychiatrist in regards to being Isolated/Introverted?

No. Why would I? I’m fine!

6. What is a normal day being in your shoes?

I commute to work alone in my car to a small office where there is a moderate amount of talking, depending on the day and what needs to be done. Some days I’ll have a phone chat with one or both of my daughters for 20 minutes or so. Generally, I don’t socialize much with friends during the workweek. At night, I’ll do extra work, read, blog, etc.

7. If you were ever asked to go to dinner/party, would you go?  If not, what kind of excuses have you made up to get out of going?

Most weekends I do some sort of social thing that includes dinner, usually a potluck, followed by board games. But it’s with a reasonable number of people, like 10, not 100. Sometimes I’ll go to lunch with one friend, or to the movies with a few, or drive up to Los Angeles to hang with my family and whoever else might be at their place. I am not opposed to people! But they do need to be rationed, like cookies. Too many at once and I’ll just barf.🤮

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

FPQ40: Control Freak

Fandango provocatively asks…

“How much control do you believe you have over your own life?”

Not much!

Now, that might strike some as a strange response, given that I’m sort of a control freak, but I think some of us CF types are that way precisely as a reaction to how little control we actually do have.

I mean, there’s really nothing I can do about so many things. Natural disasters come when they will, and sure I can have some bottled water and flashlights on hand, but I doubt those will help me in a real crisis. I don’t have the resources to create an underground bunker, assuming you can get to one in time and can last out whatever thing. What do you do in said bunker if you have a heart attack and need a doctor? Do you kidnap one and bring him with you just in case? How about surgery and meds?

Unnatural disasters are pretty much the same thing. I drive defensively, but there’s always some idiot blasting out of nowhere ~ and indeed one hit me and sped off three years ago. You try to plan for the “black swan,” but the one that appears is often not the one you modeled. I stay home a lot to avoid people and accidents, but a while back I fell in my bathroom and cracked my head on the tub.

Shit happens, and it keeps coming. I was contentedly living in my cozy apartment when the owner decided to switch things up, brought in a management company, and raised the rent 25%. Nothing I could do. Moving is expensive; housing in SoCal is insane. Leaving the area for a cheaper one… and hope to get a new job in my late 50s? Umm. I do feel trapped like a mouse.

How do I cope? Obsessively arrange my paper clips and shoes. Make sure all my socks are folded the same way. Keep items at right angles. Create lots of lists so I can cross things off. This all gives me the illusion of control in a chaotic world. But I know nothing is really in my control and that sucks.

(I am not seeking advice. Thank you!)

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.