A Day In The Life

I decided to try out the open share your world that sparksfromacombustiblemind posted… so here goes.

The Questions:

Q: What would you say was a normal status for you?

Status? Like on social media? Like in social standing in the world? Just a plain old girl, getting up everyday to go to work, keeping in touch with friends, and I would say trying to keep things positive, smile and say hello to the people I work with whom I see in the halls, even though they rarely say hello back, hence the trying to keep it positive, and appreciating the sun and blue sky when it’s shining. Sound trite? Maybe, my status: Keep it real.

Q: Is there anything you’ve allowed yourself to do more of which has shifted your experience of yourself?

What came to mind after reading this question was the 8 years I volunteered in hospitals visiting patients. It completely changed my way of thinking, and how I saw the world. It exposed me to what people have to go through in their lives, illness, death, suffering, and changed my perspective. I no longer have patience for people complaining about stupidity like their cleaning woman didn’t show up, I used to tell them to come on 1 day of rounds with me and they’d see how unimportant it was.

Q: Has aging actually been a bonus rather than a minus for you?

BONUS. At 40 I found freedom in not caring about what people thought about me. At 50 that became even more so- don’t like me, bye-bye, not changing for anyone, and at 60 that freedom became even more pronounced, and I really embraced staying away from Debbie Downers. The fact that my face is falling and jowls have appeared, well that’s kind of a minus, and my eyelids are heavy, but then I think of 2 of my friends gone already and 6 feet under and realize how inconsequential the sagging really is.

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Q: What does a powercut mean for you, metaphorically or otherwise?

Don’t know what that means. Like when the electricity goes out? A good haircut?

Q: Have you ever thought/felt that you were broken (or had finally fractured after an extended period of too much stress) and that this was actually a good thing?

Hurricane Sandy greeted us here in NJ in September 2012. I had broken my elbow a week before and was in a cast, we lost power for a week and had no heat, and my dog was dying. A friend with lung cancer who I had been taking care of for 2 years died a month before. I completely lost it. I remember going to stay with a friend who had power and completely breaking down uncontrollably. Never in my life had I felt that way. It surely wasn’t a good thing. I was glad to move on from that time and not ever look back.

Q: What have you recently watched and do you know why you watched it? Did you learn anything from it?

I binge watch Showtime and HBO series. Right now I am watching The Deuce about NYC and 42nd Street in the 70’s, and the porn industry and prostitutes before the area was cleaned up. I worked in NY during those years so love seeing the period clothes and cars and I remember when 42nd Street was awash in garbage and nothing but XXX movie theatres. I had to walk past them on my way to the bus terminal everyday. Today it is a family friendly destination.

Q: What do you think I mean by a ‘social must’?

I know what I think “social must” means- and it’s basic decency toward one another and respect for opinions that may differ from your own, and being polite! I feel politeness has gone the way of the dinosaurs. It is all about what people are entitled to and what’s coming to them.

Q: Have you ever forced yourself to read a must-read book? Which one and why?

Way back in 2003 when The Davinci Code was published, EVERYONE was reading it. I figured it must be so amazing because EVERYONE was raving about it. I forced myself to read it and found it hard to believe it had sold millions of copies.

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