A Sunday night Spo-reflection

January 19, 2026 in Spo-Reflections | 1 comment

Note: I wrote this yesterday evening. By the time it gets posted it will be Monday morning and I have slept and woke to another day and a much better mood. Spo.

I get rawther pensive on Sunday nights. About 8PM I get the sense of the weekend being over and the tasks accomplished. The bed has new linens on it. I have some tea candles burning and Enya ‘Watermark’ playing. It’s serene in that way I can never determine if it is a ‘good’ quiet or a sad one.

Sunday evening is when I am the most reflective who am I and where I have been and where I am going. There is often the sensation the answer is ‘not much’. Brother #3 was in town for a friend’s funeral; the man died at Christmas time from complications of alcoholism – such an ignominious end for someone in his 50s. I was supposed to die by my mid-thirties and here I am approaching my mid-sixties with developing bad knees and a vague terror of not feeling at all good about myself. I remember one of my professors suggestion whenever one is taking ourselves and Life too seriously, go watch a Marx Brothers movie, to remember Life is absurd and the best thing to do is recognize this and laugh at it.

Mind! I have nothing really to complain about; my blessing are legion. All the same on Sunday night facing another week of the same – which isn’t bad – there is a part of me that feels ‘why bother anymore’. Not to be worrying! This is a philosophical thought, not a sign of going off the deep end.

What I need to do is get some things on the 2026 calendar, things to look forward to- some trips to visit chums perhaps, or to a place unknown. Despite my body image and bad knees I persevere with stretching and exercise. After all, when one doesn’t know where one is going, the worst thing to do is to stop and not move until you have figured it out. Rather, you keep going; The Journey will reveal itself in time.

The blog anniversary of approaches. It is in early February and it celebrates twenty years of blogging, can you imagine? I ought to do something big for the day but what? The fact I have this milestone cheers me mightily. It strengthens me; it stiffens my resolve.

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Sunday Spo-bits

January 18, 2026 in Sunday Spo-bits | 9 comments

Brother #3 came to town along with some chums to attend a friend’s funeral. After the wake, he and one of his neighbors from Michigan stopped by La Casa de Spo and we had a pleasant chat. As Gracious Host, I asked The Neighbor would he like something to drink. He said he liked gin, so I got out our collection. We have heaps; some of them haven’t seen daylight in ages:

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How many have you had?

We settled on gin and tonics using the indigo gin. I got out the swizzle stick collection and both fellows who live in Southeast Michigan had a fun time ‘going down memory lane’ as it were, looking at the swizzle sticks and recalling restaurants and bars of yesteryear, many closed long time ago.* Both got a bit maudlin over some of their favorites, so they were given the swizzle sticks as fabulous parting gifts.

In the middle of it all I suddenly remembered where I hid my rings. There are two of them, one has an emerald and the other a ruby. They were purchased in St. Johns while on a cruise. They have been sitting in the safety despot box at the bank for years until I brought them home other day, on the grounds while at Wells Fargo they are never worn; if they were home I might actually wear them. To thwart thieves I hid them in a clever spot so clever I couldn’t remember where they were. At least in Box #367 I knew where they are. Lo! They were stuffed into the tuxedo shoes, the red one in the left shoe and the green in the right. Happy Joy! Now, where to put them where I will remember? Part of me thinks to just put them in the box on the dresser with the other jewelry and thieves be damned.

Last night I realized I don’t go to work tomorrow; The Overlords have Monday down as a holiday. This surprises me as the previous owners had MJK Day as a working day. Hadn’t The Felon eliminated MJK Day? Apparently not – or not yet. The sudden realization one doesn’t have to go to work tomorrow is a pleasure, particularly as it evokes what would one would do on a sudden day with nothing planned? Darned if I know – or not yet. I have all evening to think about it.

It’s quite pleasant today, with highs near 23C which is lower 70s F. After I post this, I will go for a stroll. My knees are getting bad; they get quite stiff if I sit for long periods of time. Walking is the panacea of all ills, and I hope to have a long one, provided the knees don’t get cranky.

Perhaps tomorrow I will work on more shirts and keep the momentum going. Perhaps I will continue taking bottles out of the pantry and hold an inspection to see what’s in there. There is a collection of hardly-used liqueurs and concoctions purchased to make some cocktail that requires at most a jigger of something and now the bottle sits gathering dust. Perhaps I will do nothing but waste away the day being indolent. It would be good for my character. Just get up from time to time for the sake of the knees.

*The Kingsley Inn; The Hotel Ponchetraine; Joe Muirs; The Fox Inn – to name a few. There were swizzle sticks from Pan-AM and TWA as well.

Sushi Shirt

January 17, 2026 in Sewing | 36 comments

According to my 2025 journal, I made only one shirt last year; that ain’t good! This year I vow to make more than that. Goodness knows I have the fabric, enough to make several shirts, and I owe a few friends some shirts.

This morning Someone cleaned the house, which is something I generally do on Saturday. This left me with a free day, so I got the sewing things and made me a shirt:

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I am calling it The Sushi Shirt. Wearing it I get to play sushi chef.

I don’t think the ersatz-Japanese pattern says anything. If anyone knows otherwise, please tell me before I wear it out in public.

The shirt turned out well and I am pleased as Punch the front side matched up. What a relief! I have a new outfit for my travels next month.

Spo-reflections on not caring what other think

January 15, 2026 in Shrink Stuff, Spo-Reflections | 33 comments

Note: this one was inspired by a day in which I got a negative online review, a shady comment on my blog, and a sneer from a young man at the gym over my looks and athletic abilities. Spo.

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We strive to be our own, but we still care if others approve or disapprove of us. I’d by lying if I said the negative review didn’t upset me or I didn’t care what the young in-shape young man at the gym thought of my physique and efforts. Eons ago when our survival was dependent on each other, ostracism was certain death to be out on your own. Shame is a much older emotion than guilt; it keeps us ‘in tow’ into one coherent band for the sake of the tribe. You do something wrong and you blush to show the recognition of your error and you are contrite and please let me back in. Over time shame and ‘what others think of us’ allowed the development of society. Then a problem arose: there were enough people that a person could be more ‘individual’ and not just a member of a tribe. Since then being part and apart of a tribe is an ongoing conflict for most of us.

I see a lot of patients quite anxious about what others think of them, they are particularly sensitive to rejection. A slight sense of being disapproved of sends them into tail-spins of angst. Some patients are coming in with the self-diagnosis of ‘rejection sensitive dysphoria’, which is something I’ve never heard of, but upon examination it’s about Shame. Shame yanks our chains from the inner parts of our brain, the limbic system probably. The frontal cortex doesn’t give a tosh if some stranger looks upon us in disdain, but this isn’t always the winning vote as it were.

So what helps in those cases where shame is so prevalent? How to we assuage the power of shame?

The goal is not to never care what others think. For one thing, that’s not possible given our wiring, and you would be soon get into trouble. Thems who truly don’t care what others think of them and are without shame are sociopaths or head governments. And there are times when one ought to be ashamed. I remember in my childhood if someone was being rude or uncaring in public, my aunts had no qualms to tell the miscreant to stop that, that’s ugly, and you ought to be ashamed.

Here are a few things that help my patients; perhaps you too if you have Shame issues.

The number one thing is to remember people don’t care, This truth is both a blessing and a disappointment to realize. No one gives a tosh when you walk into a room. People think everyone is looking at them and judging them when in fact nobody is. This cognitive bias is called the ‘spotlight effect’. Even the ones who say nasty things don’t really care about you; they do so to get a rise out of you and they get off on this; it is not from any sense of caring.

I remember being at my piano teacher’s house for a recital. The adults were in the living room and her students were in the basement. We were called up one at a time and after our playing we were to walk through the applauding adults, open the door to basement, and return below stairs. I was quite anxious to play, which I did rather poorly I recall, given my performance anxiety. The adults all applauded but I ‘knew’ they were just being polite and were really jeering at me. I walked through them head down in order to avoid eye contact, I opened the door, and walked directly into the hall closet. I could hear behind the closed door their laughter. Part of me just wanted to stay right there but somehow I quickly knew what to do. Rather than coming out red in the face and running downstairs, I came out of the closet with a bang, waved my hand as if I had done a magic trick, and bowed and said something silly to make them laugh even more – but this time with me and not at my error. When you feel shame: own it; turn it into a joke. Laughter neutralizes shame when we share the human foible.

A colleague of mine suggests thems with shame sensitivity to think less judgmental about others, so you start thinking more in an observant mode. Example: someone cutting you off is traffic your thinking goes from ‘he’s a jerk’ to ‘he looks to be in a hurry”. I don’t find this one useful, but he does.

Shaming backfires when the one being shamed doesn’t give a damn if they are condemned or being ejected, but this is not easy.

After the sting of the online comments and the snickering of the young man in the gym, I laughed a little, knowing the online comment was rubbish and the young man will someday be in my place. And I still laugh out loud when caught with my pants down, as it were. As Lily Tomlin said, I realized at an early age people were laughing at me so I thought look I might as well try to be funny.

*Some societies are less open to individualism. Examples: individualism is frowned upon in North Korea and in many religious sects.

World of mine Wednesday’s Ws

January 14, 2026 in World of mine Ws | 34 comments

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What’s top of my mind: A visitor. Brother #3 is coming to town this weekend; he is attending a memorial service for a friend who recently died. It is sad circumstances but I will blithe to see him. Time to get the house tidy; there is nothing like company to get the house clean

Where I’ve been: Under the covers. At Christmas time we purchased flannel sheets and a comforter. Oh so warm and toasty! At this time of year night temperatures can get as low as freezing and the house feels quite cold. I want to crawl under the covers as early at 8PM and just stay there.

Where I’m going: The shoe store (or something like it). I am trying to avoid spending this month, but my shoes are literally falling apart. I don’t have many and they are all wear out at once. I tend to buy oh so practical black ones. I try on a couple and choose one. They are often just the same as the old ones. Don’t go tapping last seasons Pradas at me honey.

How often to you replace your shoes?

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What I’m watching: Scotland PA. I don’t know whether to rejoice or cry that Amazon Prime Video is working on my phone. I am spending time online watching movies, particularly old favorites, Iike ‘Scotland, PA’. For thems unfamiliar with this gem of a movie, it is the story of ‘MacBeth’ set in a diner. What makes is choice is the setting is the early 70s. The decor, the clothes, and the music is worth the price of admission.*

What I’m reading: David Copperfield. The ‘Story time for grownups’ podcast just started it. Being a Dickens fan, I am pleased as Punch. I read it once while on vacation in Key West. I didn’t focus well on the book, being distracted by things, so I hope this time I concentrate better.

Have you read ‘David Copperfield’?

What I’m listening to: An introduction to cognitive therapy. Some years ago I bought a video lecture on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This is the main type of counseling used these days as it has the most evidence of working. I was trained rather in psychoanalysis and interpersonal time therapies, but no one does those types these days. It feels like being a top-notch chef of French Cuisine when the customers want Asian or Mexican fare. My goal isn’t to become a CBT counselor, but I apply some of the techniques.

What I’m eating: Grapefruit. The neighbors’ trees keep putting out these beauties. I wish I could preserve or freeze some for use throughout the year. One year I tried making jelly out of them, but it was a bungle.

Who needs a good slap: A.I. generated anything. The Tube of Yous is flooded with AI-generated contents and it is 100% rubbish. I’m told AI-generated emails and music are legion, as is ‘slop’ on social media. Last week on The Book of Faces I foolishly clicked on a recipe. I am now inundated with similar – why on earth is someone bothering to do this? I am being proactive on social media sights telling them I am not interested and do not show me these things. As soon as some is curtailed, more pops up. Oh the pain

On my 1-5 scale, I give ‘slop’ 3 slaps.

Who gets a fist-bump: Richard at Uncle Albertsons. There is a check-out clerk at Uncle Alberstons who is well over four feet and radiates sunshine. He’s always amiable and fun to interact with. I am not the only one who will wait in his line rather than a shorter one, just to talk with him. Uncle A is fortunate to have him.

What I’m planning: Vacation plans in 2026. There is a medical conference in Lost Vegas next month and soon afterwards a week in Puerto Rico. There are no plans for the year otherwise, but I have lots of ideas. Friends and blogger buddies sent open invitations to visit them (the dears!) and I would like to do as many as possible. I have to convince Someone our work-worlds can spin without us and let’s go. Candidates so far:

Prince Edward Island

Washington DC area/Mt. Vernon

Provincetown

Spokane WA (to see the cousins)
Frankenmuth MI (for Christmas ho ho ho in summer)

Utah (Shakespeare)

Santa Fe (opera)

The Board of Directors Here at Spo-reflections has graciously offered us a long weekend in the northwest tower of Heorot Johnsons III. It is best done in summer time as the tower is quite drafty and exposed to the elements. The outhouse is thirty steps down and out through the back and over the moat past the displacer beasts, so it is hardly luxury living. Sometimes they forget to let me back in.

What’s making me smile: No Christmas things. Finally! The tree is down and the trimmings are boxed up and away in the garage. This leaves the house with a vacant quiet uncluttered look. Lovely!

*Despite the groovy 70s setting it still ends badly.

99 questions to ask your grandparents #62

January 13, 2026 in 99 Questions | 25 comments

62. Who was your biggest role model, and why?

Tut! This question can be better worded. I go with ‘who were your biggest role models, and why?’ Most of us are made from several role modals. I took bits here and bits there from all sorts to make me the man I am today. Also, role models continue throughout life, if you are mindful and allow for such. New situations call for new guides. Here’s a list of some of my role models and what I got from them:

My father: Dad’s sense of humor and how to act around others shaped me similar. I don’t recall doing this consciously, but there it is. Nearly all my jokes and interactions have some of him in them.

Dr. Raftery: He was one of my psychiatry professors. There were many but he gets the main shout-out. Not only do I think like him, my office is sort of decorated similar to his own.

Both of these father figures bring up the Freudian notion we become our parents. Oh the horror.

My mother: She installed in me her love of the arts, whether symphony, opera, or chamber music. Going to live music events was an integral part of our lives. Later in life I realized many folks don’t do this. It came as a bit of a shock, as music was as natural to me as breathing.

Mark Chase: He was my biology T.A. in college. Later on I got back to him as I sensed he could help me with a certain something. In time Mark and his partner Jim became my big brothers/mentors that I needed to realize there were others like me and this was OK.

Dr. Nutting: My pediatrician. It was she who inspired me to go into Medicine. I thought her so cool; I want to be a doctor too. I don’t know too many men who can say it was a woman who inspired them go into something.

Mr. Harchick. My high school English literature teacher. He was so enthused about literature I keep reading the stuff to this day.

Dale Simmerman: He was a counselor I worked with in Michigan.Dale was always patient and he always saw the ‘good’ in someone, no matter how difficult they were. When I deal with a difficult patient I try to channel Dale to help keep me calm and kind.

I look back on this list and I see a common thread. These were ‘good’ people who were kind, patient, and they didn’t lose their tempers. They were providers viz. they helped others. I can’t tell if I was that way to start with, and sought out role models to enhance my character, or they nurtured these traits in me that I became this way. Truth be told, I am not always patient and I get frustrated easily. When I need help I think of them. They comfort me; the stiffen my spine.

Tell me about one of your role models.

Spo-reflections too much efficiency.

January 12, 2026 in Spo-Reflections | 25 comments


  

“The reward for lots of work seemed to be lots more. If you dug the biggest hole, they just gave you a bigger shovel.” Terry Prachtett.

I learned a new ‘law’ the other day. A podcast pundit talked about something called ‘The Jevons Paradox’. The Jevons Paradox states as technology makes a resource more efficient to use the overall consumption of that resource often increases not decreases, because the efficiency lowers the cost, in turn boosting demand and leading to more widespread application. This seemed related to a phenomena I have experience all the time: so-called labor saving devices do not create free time but more labor. I call it the “Lucy on the chocolate wrapping line phenomena.* I remember being more proficient than my colleagues when I worked at a state hospital. Discharging patients faster opened up beds and got me more admissions; I often worked far more than my colleagues who purposely held onto patients to avoid getting new ones.

Why humans reward each other for good efficiency with more work is a psychological mystery. Maybe it gets down to greed viz. bosses see their minions can do more/work faster and speed things up hoping for more product, more profit, more everything. Thanks to dictation services and computer cutting and pasting at work I write better and more detailed medical notes, but it seems more is now demanded in a note, everything from the time the session began to all sorts of CYA inserts. I see patients for med-checks at twenty minutes per appointment; I sense if there was a way to speed things up The Overlords would do it. Mercifully this hasn’t happened – yet.

Someone and I subscribe to meal kits. They are often pitched as ‘high protein’ or ‘high fiber’ but what is first and foremost now is ‘easy to make’ viz. done in twenty minutes or less. Make meals quick, gobble it down, and get on to more work. They say thems in Europe take time to prepare and better yet eat a meal. I wonder if this is true. If it is, I envy them.

There is a lot of talk about the value of time taking precedence over other things like money. I would edit this: it is more about how to spend the time you have. Resist the urge to hurry! I take comfort in the thought that when one goes to an area bereft of labor saving devices there is plenty of Time on one’s hands.

*For thems unfamiliar with what I am referencing: In an episode of “I love Lucy” Lucy and Ethel are hired to wrap chocolates on a moving conveyor belt. They do their best which isn’t good. When their supervisor admires their apparent industry she shouts to someone to speed up the conveyor belt.

Sunday Spo-bits

January 11, 2026 in Sunday Spo-bits | 9 comments

Patience above! I am still taking down the Christmas things. My journals remind me the latest day doing this is 11 January, so if I don’t have it all packed away by day’s end I set a new record. In my defense there’s been little time and I am doing this myself and I am trying to be careful putting things away, not willy-nilly. This is what I call ‘Doing my Future Self a solid’. December when I unpack it all things all will be labeled and in their proper place. I am writing my Future Self notes like “this is the bottom branch to the tree and this one is the next one up’ and ‘four strands was quite ample so don’t try to put on five’ that sort of thing. I am packing separately the ties, towels, and tea cups so I can get to them right after Thanksgiving. In 2025 I had to wait until 22 December to use them. Oh the pain.

Yesterday I went to the opera and saw the live from the MET production of ‘I Puritani’. It is set in Cromwell England so the singers were dressed in stereotypical Puritan attire. The protagonist was a soprano who misinterpreted her fiancee is running off with another woman, whom he has dressed in her wedding veil to disguise her while on the run.* She goes instantly to pieces and for some hours sings some crazy-mad arias. As a psychiatric case she was a wash, probably ‘psychosis NOS (not otherwise specified) given the repressed society she lived in. Truth be told we all can go off the deep-end given too much push and not enough sleep. When her fiancee returns she returns to sanity for a while but it doesn’t last and the opera ends badly, no surprise there.**

Provided the Christmas things don’t do me in I plan to have a quiet Sunday. If the Puritans got anything right it is the idea of Sunday being a day of rest. The poor dat tends to get as much heaped onto it as any weekday. I am doing good with my new year resolution making something new for dinner every Sunday, and today is a crockpot recipe I got from Lori (the dear!) for chicken marsala. There are some egg noodles in the panty purchased for some recipe long ago forgotten, so this makes a good ‘food push’. While that is cooking I will visit blogs and see what people are doing, hopefully something more entertaining than housekeeping and packing away ornaments.

*Fat chance of that. The protagonist was as thin as a rack and the mezzo playing Queen Charlotte was a big as a house. A flimsy see-through veil will fool no one but as Anna Russell said: that’s the beauty of opera you can do anything as long as you sing it.

**The composer Mr. Bellini didn’t do his research as it ends in 1651 with the so-called victory of the Cromwellians. Mr. Cromwell had died years before (good thing too) and Charles II was on the throne by then.

Friday frets and features

January 9, 2026 in Spo-Reflections | 11 comments

Patience above, what a week. It seems the whole time online talking to a vague and mercurial IT person types, trying to get laptops and such to work. At-work shenanigans have kept me busy and little time for anything else, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The borrowed laptop at MESA allowed me to do my work and by mid-week the official king-size titanic unsinkable-Molly-Brown Overlord-approved replacement arrived. Another vague and mercurial IT person got that up and running; there is hope I can use it at home/on weekends and not just in the office. It’s a work in progress which I hope settles down soon.

It’s been quite cold by Arizona standards. This weekend we may see frost warnings. When that happens people cover the tips of their cacti with white Styrofoam cups and lay winding sheets on the flowerbeds, making the place look as if they are locking up the summer cabin for the season. La Casa de Spo feels quite chilly especially in the morning. When I wake I turn on the space heater, which drives Someone to distraction via later-on doubts did I turn it off. I mostly do but one can never be sure.

Tomorrow’s depraved agenda is the taking down the Christmas tree. Alas, Babylon, it is still standing; there hasn’t been time to disassemble it. I’ve been hoping for a night when Someone is around and not too tired to help, but that never happens, so tomorrow whether he’s home or not I am determined to get rid of the thing. There are a lot tasks I’d like to do otherwise, but this is paramount.

Brother #4 needs $500 dollars for my share of the February bourbon adventure, which gets me six bottles of Spo-whisky no rubbish.* I promised one to Travel Penguin (the dear!) and another to a friend in Washington who would appreciate such. This leaves me with four which should last me a lifetime as it were.

That’s about all the news around these parts. I lead a dull life. Maybe by weekend something interesting will happen to me worthy to write upon, like the Christmas tree falls on me and I am trapped there until Someone comes home and rescues me. Oh the embarrassment.

*I need more bottles of booze like a hole in the head. The ones I purchased last February remain unopened. I am turning into one of those collector types who hoard cupboards full of delicious hooch but never consume them and what’s the point of that? I am doing the ‘dry January’ thing and really not much missing the stuff, other than this week when I came home from work frazzled and ready for a good snort and couldn’t have one, worse luck.

World of mine Wednesday’s Ws

January 7, 2026 in World of mine Ws | 14 comments

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What’s top of my mind:  At-work shenanigans. Patience above! My work computer at the MESA office gave up the ghost and hours have been spent on calls and texts trying to get help what to do. There is no one at the office with whom to consult and IT assistance is something out of the movie ‘Brazil’ It is hard to do my job. On top of this it’s that time of year when The Overlords demand all patients redo the consent forms, another source of confusion how this gets done. I trust in time these matters will settle down but until then life (at least work) has been a headache.

Where I’ve been:  UPS Store. Just a mile away is the local UPS store; I go there for all my shipping needs. I surmise I would save money if I went to the USPS, but that means a longer drive and a wait in a long line, usually next to people quite vocal in their unhappiness about things especially the USPS. The UPS store is staffed with courteous people who take care of me right away. I am in and out and home quick as a quarter note. This all is worth the high price of UPS shipping.

Where I’m going: Namaste. Namaste is an Indian restaurant a couple of miles west of us in Scottsdale. The kitchen and wait staff appear to be one large family, running around and shouting orders at each other, talking in heathen tongues as my father used to say. What they make is beyond scrumptious; my soul swoons at the dishes. I like mine hot to Indian hot but I pay for it later. Oh the pain. But it is worth it.

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Avoid curried snacks

What I’m watching:  Movies (bits). Apparently we subscribe to six streaming services (names upon request). I don’t watch movies or TV so I’ve not bothered to learn about them until recently. Someone gave me their names and passwords and I downloaded them onto my laptop and phone. This is a mistake, as I have added six new time-sucks onto my devices. Rather than social media, I catch myself scrolling through Hulu et. al. curious if my favorites are there.*

What I’m reading:  The New Yorker Magazine anthology of short stories 1925-2025. Last year I bought a hefty tome of The Magazine’s collection of top short stories. In the table of contents I recognize a few like ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson and “The Secret life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber. The majority of stories I do not know. I will read about one per week until done. I love short stories!

Do you have a favorite short story?

What I’m listening to: Mental Illness and Violence: Myths vs Facts. This is one of the best lectures I’ve heard in while. Thems with mentally ill are NOT more prone to violence. There are three things that are correlated to acts of violence. They are: anger; intoxication; access to firearms. Even when someone with mental illness does commit a crime, it is usually not from their mental illness per se, but from drugs, anger, and having a gun – just like everyone else.

When we hear of a mass shooting, we want to think the shooter must have done so out of mental illness as this delusion comforts us since we don’t have mental illness we could never be violent . But we can.

What I’m eating: Bourbon Chicken. One of my new year resolutions is to get cracking on all the saved recipes to ‘some day make’. The first one is done: bourbon chicken. It is sautéed chicken bits in a sauce composed of soy sauce, stock, brown sugar, ginger, onion powder and of course some bourbon. Stir in some chopped scallions. It was good and worth repeating – but next time with less sugar and more bourbon.

Who needs a good slap:  The System of The Overlords. Not only for all the hassle of trying to fix or find a replacement for my at-work defunct computer, but their Rx mail order service. I recently received a text a Rx was coming out, only to later receive another text the order was on hold. I called and in time got a person. Apart from the co-pay issue there was the point I didn’t need this prescription for some months. Don’t send it now A few days later I got a text saying it is being processed with the high co-pay. The next day I got yet another text saying again the order is on hold. When the at-work computer fiasco has a moment I have to call them again and tell them to stop this texting nonsense.

On my 1-5 scale, I give large corporations with no easy access to human-based help four slaps.

Who gets a fist bump:  The Triple Goddess (work). Despite all the shenanigans at work, The Clinical supervisor, The House Manager, and The Medical Assistant have all done their best to help with the mentioned crisis and impediments. Bless them! One of them got The Overlords to ship me ASAP an Overlord-approved portable laptop to use – like what everyone else has.

What I’m planning: Spending as little as possible. Patience above! December saw some hefty bills, what with Christmas, property taxes, and professional membership renewals. Oh the pain. January (it is hoped) will be a parsimonious month with minimum spending.

What’s making me smile:  Stick pins. Last year I purchased a handful of stick pins of the gods and goddesses of Greek and Norse culture. I am rotating them on my sport jacket labels with a different one for each work day. It is a sort of Theo-therapy for me. Jolly good fun !

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Can you identify them?

*Mostly no. Despite six streaming services my inquires come up with ‘not available’. It resembles Monty Python “Cheese Shoppe sketch”. Most of what I want to see appear be on Amazon Prime, which is the one streaming service we do NOT have. Oh the pain.

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