FPQ56: Drive Me Crazy

Fandango provocatively asks…

What’s something you consider to be terrifying that you have come to accept as a fact of life?

It’s probably not going to surprise anyone who knows me when I say driving. This is not an irrational fear. Let’s begin with some data.

The U.S. leads the way (rah!) on traffic fatalities. We have 12.4 per 100,000 population, about 50% higher than other Western nations. (source) Check that link for some reasons why.

Daily, I see people running red lights. Not once in a while… daily. I never see a cop chase after them, not once. Red light cameras have mostly been taken away due to cost and also there was concern they were causing more accidents (like the way Trump “caused” the Iranians to shoot down their own plane).

People speed and change lanes unsafely because… well, it’s all about them. They assume everyone else is paying close attention to the road. And whatever they have to do is more important than being safe. If they’re late, well, now that becomes our problem. God forbid people learn to leave enough time for appointments.

They tailgate because they are late and they are frustrated. Driving unsafely makes them feel better, I guess. Or they’re just not paying attention because they’re texting, chatting, eating, daydreaming, whatever. Or their judgment is impaired from drugs or stupidity or lack of sleep. Then there are the drivers who are armed, ready to shoot you over who knows what…

So, I “share” the roads with these maniacs and idiots and rage-filled criminals and hope every day not to die or get mangled in a car wreck. In 2018, about 40,000 people died in vehicle crashes ~ forty thousand (source) ~ not to mention all the injuries.

It’s weird how we’re supposed to be scared of molesters hiding behind trees in the park and bad dudes sneaking across the border to steal our lunches, but me… I’m terrified of driving, and yet I accept it as a fact of life here in Southern California. If you live in an area with great public transportation and don’t have to drive, consider yourself lucky!🍀

~*~

Image from Fandango himself.

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

On Our Way [socs]

On our way… to better days. That’s what we say, pumped up with our New Year’s Goals. Like many others, I’ve vowed to get in better shape… and the parking lot at the gym is crowded now. Yes, I drive to the gym, even though it’s in my condo complex, since management can’t seem to program my electronic key to get me through the last walk-thru gate. It’s like the opening sequence to Get Smart, if you’re old enough to remember that show. But whenever I ask about the key, the person who needs to deal with it has just left for the day. 🙄

I’m trying to avoid getting raging angry about so many things (another resolution). So what if I can’t walk through to the gym? It’s not the worst thing in the world. Now, the gate closest to my apartment has quit working from the outside… that’s okay, right? They’ll fix it eventually and it’s fine to take the long way around to a different gate. More exercise! Plus, it’s not like I do everything perfectly myself… I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life too. As long as one gate works, and I can get home… like, whatever. 😜

My three words are from the chapter titled “Worth” in Jennifer Weiner’s book Hungry Heart. I don’t know why I purchased this book, except it has a picture of an upscale looking Hostess cupcake on the cover. I don’t think I’ve read any of her novels. I wanted to enjoy this book, because cupcake and also a smart and funny writer writing smartly and humorously about feeling fat and unloved… that’s so unusual! 🙃

But HH is incredibly tedious and dejavuey… like haven’t a million other smart fat girls written smartly and fatly about being smart and fat? Yawnnnn. And I find myself skimming much of Jennifer’s complaining. I loved her trip to Israel though, and how she finally decided to say eff it regarding other people’s opinions when she returned. Yeah! Who cares what people think! 😎

I thought the story would really take off from there, but no, back to yawwnville. An autobiography doesn’t have to be boring; I’ve read interesting ones. But they need to be edited, and saggy sections should be cut. Am I going to abandon it? No, I’ll probably skim the rest, so I can get credit for it on Goodreads. And I remain hopeful that there is something more to it I can enjoy, since I did get totally immersed in the one section. 🤩

Speaking of saggy things, exercise makes you hungry. If you burn up 100 calories on a bike, your brain will say hello time for a vat of pasta. And you can say no brain we are having a sensible scoop of tuna and some yummy crisp veggies. But our brain is sulking and plotting on how to trip us up. It’s not about being a “good” person or a “bad” person; we all come from a long line of people who avoided starving to death when there was very little food. Yay us and our superhero metabolisms. 😜

I see I forgot to finish this post Friday night and schedule it at 4am Saturday because I’ve been obsessed with watching Jeopardy on Netflix this week (not the GOAT thing, but catching up from last year). When I got home at 10, I turned on the TV, forgetting all about blogging. That’s unusual for me, but these are strange times. 😳

Luckily, I woke up earlier than God… and the first thing I thought of was yikes I didn’t post for SOCS! 😱

~*~

Image credit to Shelley Krupa.

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

Ringlets and Winglets [socs]

I’m closing out 2019 as a single person with no romantic prospects on the horizon. Lately, I’ve been happy to mingle at many social events with no ulterior motive and that’s been nice. In the past, between 2011 and 2016, whenever I went to an event, my nerves were all jingle-jangle with the idea that there could be “someone new” there waiting for me. But slowly I’ve given up on that idea and view these events now strictly on their own merits, such as… how far do I have to drive, will parking be a pain, are peeps going to be playing board games, etc.

For 2020, the things that make my brain go all a-tingle are: healthier habits as far as eating and exercise, finishing some of my WIPs and putting them on my Kindle bookshelf for sale, enjoying my lovely new apartment and surrounding area, spending time with loved ones, reading more books.

If you’re wondering what the title of this post means… I haven’t a clue. Something to do with pigs (tails… curly… ringlets) and chickens (wings… winglets) that I was going to attempt to mash into the part where I talk about healthier habits and not eating fried food except I don’t anyway except for donuts and french fries which are neither pork nor fowl, but idek what I had in mind now so bye.

~*~

Image credit to Shelley Krupa

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

Sadje’s Sunshine Q’s

The lovely Sadje 💖 tagged me to answer these. Thanks for thinking of me! Congrats on your Sunshine Award, Sadje… I don’t post awards here any longer, but I will still answer questions when I have time. 🌻

Why did you start blogging?

-Originally (in 2004) because my writing friends were doing it. Over the years I’ve found blogging to be my favorite form of social media and kept at it even as those original blogger pals faded away.

Do your friends and family support you in blogging?

-They are indifferent.

What would be your dream job?

-Getting paid a lot to write what I want.

What are your ambitions for the coming year?

-To have healthier habits.

How do you think the world is going to cope with the challenges we are facing?

-There will be mass extinction events to restore balance.

What would be your ideal holiday vacation?

-Stay home and chill.

What is the quality you admire in yourself?

-Discipline.

What is the quality you admire in others?

-Spontaneity.

What is your pet peeve?

-Everything.

Are you a book reader? If so how many books you read in a month?

-One to three.

What aspect of your personality you would like to change?

-Overthinking.

~*~

Images from the Bitmoji app.

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

FPQ52: The Good Life

Fandango provocatively asks…

What does living “the good life” mean to you? Do you think that you’re living “the good life”?

I’m going to guess that most people will answer in the affirmative to this question. They’ll say they’re living the good life, since anything else seems like admitting failure. We’re always supposed to upsell ourselves. My life is great! My marriage is fantastic! My new job is a blast! Six months later… divorce and bankruptcy court.

But I’m not most people. Not gonna upsell. (My phone doesn’t even believe that’s a word anyway.) I’m not living a “bad” life ~ obviously these definitions are subjective according to our own definition. In my case, I would say I am living an “okay” life.

To me, a good life would have included a happy long-term marriage. It’s not a whole lot of fun doing everything on my own as a single person… case in point, moving. Ugh! I had some help from friends, for which I am extremely grateful, but that’s not the same as a husband with whom you make mutually beneficial decisions. And it’s sure not making me happy to contemplate my lonely retirement on limited funds. Blah.

But as I said, it could be worse. Much worse. I could have ended up with one of the dating site psychos, gahhh. I could have made even stupider decisions than I did in all sorts of areas. No really! I could have.

There are lots of positives happening: good job, good friends, reasonable-ish health, adorable kitty, wonderful daughters, great sons-in-law, sweetest grand daughter, nice new place to live, etc.💖

But I’m plagued with chronic pain (yes, despite being in decent health otherwise). It keeps me from exercising and enjoying some of the good things around me. That gets me down a lot, and I don’t have one of those naturally bubbly type of personalities that goes wheeeeee it’s fine that my neck is all stabby… I’ll still go for a 5 mile joggeroo and smell the flowers cuz life is beautiful! Eff that. 😛

If I’d known I was going to be single at the end of the game, I would have focused more intently on education and career in my 20s. I had every opportunity, but wasn’t thinking about the big picture at that point. I could have done so much more… and made so much more money. You say money isn’t important? Try looking for a place to live in Southern California!😳

On the other hand, it’s gorgeous here. And there’s a lot to do, plus it’s still free to watch the sunsets over the ocean (not to park at the beach however). I’m glad I didn’t stay in Chicago, despite the pizza.🍕

There you have it. Again, not everything has to be extreme, good/bad, love/hate. My life is okay. Not great. Not terrible.

~*~

Image credits to Fandango and me and idk about the orange scissors one so whatever.

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

Holiday Share

Melanie has questions…

What’s your remedy for the Holiday blues?

I don’t get the holiday blues… I just get cold. Yep, even in Southern California. Due to a mix of meds, genetics, and lack of exercise, I am almost always freezing 🥶 to death. This is depressing because I sit around my apartment huddled in layers of blankets and feel too emotionally paralyzed to get up and move around, which would make me feel better. When I am forced to go out, I do okay, but it’s hard to move around much when you’re already bundled up. Thanks in advance for the advice I know is coming in comments… I’m sure I haven’t thought of any of it before. 🙄

Your favorite beverage (if it differs) during the holiday season?  If it doesn’t differ, just answer the ‘what’s your favorite beverage” part. 

I love eggnog, especially with booze, but it’s cold and alcohol triggers migraines. 😢 So, the next best drink is delicious hot black tea with orange spice and a dash of milk. This is my favorite drink all year long, btw.

This one has been asked before, but what’s your take on pumpkin spice?

Indifference. Don’t particularly care for it as a beverage, but in muffins it’s yummy… and pie with graham cracker crust! 🥧 I do like the scent of anything pumpkin or apple mixed with ginger/cinnamon/cloves. Not sure why everything is love/hate these days; there are loads of things I mildly like but don’t love, and others I prefer to pass up but won’t freak out about if they end up on my plate. Dial it down. Same goes for politics, music, movies, etc. Not everything has to be so extreme.

Is there is a person or god connected with your holiday? 

I am a Jewish atheist, so yes we have the sky guy novel… and no I don’t believe he is real. I am math/science all the way… those are my “faiths.” That doesn’t mean humans know everything or ever will; it just means I don’t feel the need to leap to supernatural explanations for stuff we haven’t been able to figure out (yet). And when it turns out we’ve been wrong about something, we can revise our ideas, unlike some religionists…

• Who are they and do you believe in them?

I don’t believe in any supernatural beings, though they are good material for poetry and fiction. I lump all gods, ghosts, genies, vampires, etc. in the same category. Once you admit one, why not all? Why a god and not a werewolf? 👹

That said, I find militant atheists irritating. It doesn’t bother me that peeps believe in the supernatural as long as they don’t try to convert me or tell me I’m “lesser than” or immoral or whatever. To each their own. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong and there is a god, or a bunch of ’em. But people telling me so won’t convince me. What would? My own direct experience. That’s right. I would need Mr. Big to appear and say hey his own self.

• If you do not believe in these people or gods, does the celebration/honoring of that being, bother you in any way (e.g., ignored, dismissed, angry, etc.)?

Only a few people I know celebrate the Jewish holidays. Mostly I see those around me celebrating Christmas, etc… I think there should be more of that. I love having days off work for other people’s holidays when I don’t have to do anything but laze around. I especially enjoy Christmas lights and cookies and sales, along with the fact that I’m not expected to cook a goose or buy anyone gifts.

Gratitude:

Share a song that you enjoy during this Winter season (whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, The Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa and so forth.

I adore this version of “Silent Night”…

~*~

Images from Bitmoji

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

Pop pop fizz fizz…

I thought we had longevity, but our time together expired long ago. Why didn’t you tell me we were over? I didn’t even know! Guess I took you for granted, expecting to reach for you in the night when I needed you, but you wouldn’t have done it for me, would you? Not for years apparently. What a cruel way to find out, reading it like this as if I’d meant nothing to you at all…

~*~

Written for Sammi’s Scribbles

Images from Sammi and Paula

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

One-Liner Wednesday

This is somewhat true for me. I’m still missing my mom 11 years on, and she was definitely someone I “had,” a huge part of my life, but otherwise… yeah. It’s pretty easy for me to dump material possessions as I downsize (again) for moving. But it was difficult for me to let the “soul mate” dream go. I’ve never had a soul mate, which may seem ironic for a romance writer, so when my 20-year marriage ended, I became more determined than ever to find this person. It took 5 years of increasingly frustrating and depressing situations for me to realize I had to let the dream go for my own mental and emotional health. I talk about this a lot because it helps me reinforce it to myself. I just today posted in comments to 2 blogs how much happier I am without the wings of this dream beating in my brain.

But it was a struggle to lug the thing to the trash bin and leave it there.

~*~

One-Liner Wednesday

Image found on Google

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

FPQ48: Like A Surgeon

Fandango provocatively asks…

“Do you believe the government of a country has a responsibility to provide universal, affordable (if not “free”) healthcare for its citizens? If you live in the United States, would you favor a Medicare for all/single-payer health plan? If you live outside of the U.S., does your government provide universal healthcare? If so, how do you feel about it? If not, what kind of healthcare coverage do you have?”

Okay, first, this type of healthcare is not “free” ~ nothing is free. It is paid for from the monies collected from taxes, as are all government programs, benefits, military spending, foreign aid, etc. I’m an American, btw. Rah. 🎉

Second, I don’t believe that what we have now is good. I don’t think that our health insurance should be tied to our jobs. I realize it’s a “tradition,” like turkey, and Americans hate giving up anything that’s traditional, but it makes no sense. We don’t get auto insurance through our employer, so why should our employer have info about our medical coverage/needs? Why are they involved at all? This is my “big thing.”

Third, relating to the above, when we leave a job or are an independent contractor, we’re usually stuck with some expensive medical insurance plan, since we must be doubly punished for not having that traditional paycheck. Yeah, that makes sense… our income has declined, so now we have to pay more for healthcare. The American Way. 🙄

Fourth, I used to be on board for single payer, but now I’m not so sure. Competition is healthy, though it doesn’t always make sense in the context of medical care, does it? If I need new tires, I can shop around, but if I break my leg, I kind of am at the mercy of the first hospital an ambulance dumps me off at. If they charge $5,000 or $25,000… welp, what can I do? Not to even mention what the ambulance charges…

So, to ramble back to my own argument that I just defeated… maybe competition isn’t the best thing for healthcare? There should possibly be some oversight and enforced limits. Who should be in charge of that? Our corrupt gobblement? Lol! 🤣

Fifth, Fandango was careful to use the word “residents” in his post, but I’m not PC and will go right ahead and use the word “citizens.” Yep, I do believe that whatever healthcare benefits we give out to those who can’t pay and don’t have insurance should be reserved for our own citizens. It would of course be lovely to give everyone medical care and housing and all the things, kumbaya, but as I said at first… none of that is actually “free.” Taxpayers pay for it all.

On the otter hand… it seems really wrong to pretend that our country as a whole doesn’t benefit greatly from the labor of the “residents” here illegally, who work for less than minimum wage and no benefits. There’s a reason why illegal immigration never ends and it’s because there are jobs waiting for these peeps… if there weren’t, they wouldn’t come. If someone gets sick after working in a meat-processing plant for 10 years so we can enjoy cheap wings while watching the big game… who should pay for his hospital stay?

See, no one has to argue with me in comments; I do it all here upfront. Just another service from Light Motifs and you don’t even have to buy me a coffee. ☕️

So, to sum up: I don’t have a fucking clue what we should do about healthcare in our screwed up country… and neither does anyone else, no matter how loudly they screech about it, nor how many trillions (trillions!) of dollars they want to throw at it. There ya go.

~*~

Image credit Fandango himself.

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

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

~*~

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