Wednesday, August 3, 2016

I'm still here.

Brian and me, unplugged at Chevy Chase Beach Cabins July 2016
Wow, it's been almost two months since i last wrote on this blog. Funny how i gave up doing so many things i never had time for when i was working now that i have time for them. I am going to try and get through this whole blog post without making any political references. Let's see if i can do it.

I don't want to leave this blog entirely so i'm just going to start numbering and writing and see what comes out of me, like a speedwriting exercise. and if i don't like it i will just save it as a draft instead. (I actually have done that quite often.)

1. Recently i couldn't help myself and took some of those stupid tests going around Facebook. I found out i am only 20% Hippie; I have a 22,000 word vocabulary, (which doesn't sound like enough words to me, given that Sarah's mom who is i think 88 or 96 years old (I get her age mixed up with my friend Dick's mom because they are both so sharp) tested at 33,000, though to be fair, she is a really smart person, but at 88 or 96 years old you would think she might forget a few words); i thought i would pass the Pulp Fiction movie test but i got 6 out of 30 wrong. I think i am remembering that correctly, or maybe that was the M*A*S*H TV test. And though it was not a test i found out i am a "social introvert" because i hit every single one of those criteria!

2. I don't even attempt those geography or history tests on FB.

3. Recently my husband and i went on a vacation and for four days unplugged even though the place had wireless. I was amazed at how easy it was. Brian would check his phone once in the morning and i would check mine before bed, ONLY to make sure there were no emergencies. It was GREAT!!!! I didn't miss Facebook or email or texting at all. We played more Scrabble and cards than normally because of it. There was no cable either so we didn't watch news. I am going to try that every time we go away. I highly recommend it.

4. I don't think i am an addictive personality but i believe because i am slightly OCD and like all things familiar and therefore i tend to settle most comfortably into habits. And i lam finding that it's a good thing to mix those habits up. Like running a different route while exercising; not always pouring  a glass of wine while cooking or blogging - make hot tea instead;  not rummaging around for a cracker or snack the minute i walk in the door; shutting down the iPad for Facebook and email.  Also I have started leaving my phone at home when i run quick errands and today i put it in the trunk of my car when i was gone most of the day and never checked it. (The phone is the easiest habit since i've not had a phone that long anyway.)  It's been liberating to know that i can do this.

5. Hahaha.. Though i am NOT having hot tea right now!

6. Today i noticed that our row of maple trees was starting to turn colors. AND it is pitch black outside and only 9:14 as i type and that always makes me a little bit sad when i realize that autumn is on its way.

7. The upside is that our Seahawks play soon!

OK. I got nothing really. Just gonna hit send and let it go. Retirement is fun, but it has made me less creative i am afraid! ;)

4 comments:

pearl said...

I admire your un-pluggedness, even as I question your sanity! ;-) I'm the one who pays almost as much for my onboard wifi as my bar bill...

Trying to ignore the clickbait "quizzes" - especially after one said that my Inner Rock Goddess was Madonna. :-P Everybody knows I'm Stevie Nicks!!

Not ready for fall - mostly because...what's fall? Now that I don't have to go to AK, I truly only have one season now. But also because I have an enormous (10,000 attendees!!) event coming up in Sept and I'm responsible for securing and deploying 150+ volunteers for 4.5 days!

We've booked our next cruise -- San Diego to Ft Lauderdale through the Panama Canal, in early 2017. Another bucket list item for us. I'm looking forward to it.

jojo cucina cucina said...

pearl, i am so glad YOU are still here too!

Ha! Madonna????? Well at least you didn't get Courtney Love!

Autumn is nice. Especially since it's Seahawk season! Our summers for the past four years have been decent too. We used to have only one season too: Cloudy.

I saw that boat you posted for your next cruise. I think that was what it was. It's huge!

Where is your big event? Responsibility for volunteers is difficult. Mainly because you can't fire volunteers! Hope yours are super dependable. That was not always so when i worked in the union office.

B said...

You'll have to show me your cell phone, Jo! I can't believe you've finally given in. I thought you would be the lone holdout until 2025. ;)

I've thought more about unplugging since we walked last week. For the most part, I don't find it a burden (other than work). It's a hard adjustment for me since so many of my activities require being plugged in or are very inconvenient not to be. Like I enjoy reading tremendously, and the Kindle is so nifty...but then I get FB notifications pop up and then I go to FB... So a weekend of where I just have paper books and no Netflix & Facebook might be a good change of pace. Hello, 2003!!

Someday I hope someone can explain football to me so that I can understand why people spend so much time watching football!

jojo cucina cucina said...

My cellphone is Brian's old iPhone 4 that was in the drawer. We activated it for me when I was commuting to Headquarters and considering you and I have gotten together a few times and you have never seen me ever take it out is a good thing! One thing about reading on kindles and iPads... I do not have the FB app so I don't get the notifications. I also find it is easier to not check in as much when I log all the way out of FB since I tend to be lazy about putting in passwords. So that helps.

I love to watch football and have since the 70's but then didn't care about it for a long time until One time I saw Richard Sherman at a press conference. I need to be invested in the players too. I know we don't REALLY know them but it is nice to feel like you do once you start reading up on them. It started with Sherman, but now I am invested in so many of them that is fun, like rooting for family members. I didn't miss seeing one game last year and have only had to miss just a few in the past four years. It does help knowing we have Seahawks to watch after the co do pool closes and gets all covered up for the colder gray seasons.