It’s Wednesday.

Here’s what I’m _____________________.

Good morning and Happy Pride Month. Be unapologetic and proud of whatever makes you you 24/7/365!

As I take inventory of what I’m up to and don’t come up with too much in the usual categories of activity (books-music-tv-food-drink) I’m reminded of how important is to resist the pressure of what you think you should be doing and the subsequent feelings of inadequacy. So I’m going to model that behavior, resist that pressure, and freestyle/feel good about how I’m spending my time.

Gratuitous weekend pic, because…it’s what I was up to!

Anyhow, one thing I’ve spent more time on than I care to admit is look for a remote control battery. The remote for the adjustable bed frame slid off the top of the mattress yesterday morning and hit the floor. Kerri was trying to get to work but she picked it up, gave it to me…and it didn’t work. I asked if anything happened and she said the back had fallen off. I opened it up to find…only one battery. You’d think it would be an easy solution. The bedroom isn’t that big, there’s only about a foot of hardwood between the area rug and the wall. But nothing. The AAA f-cker was nowhere to be found. Flashlights and ceiling lights and nightstand lights and lying on bellies and sweeping the area…nothing. Every time I got up from my desk I hit the floor and eyeballed, every time getting more worried about getting myself back up off the floor than where the battery was. On about the seventh attempt to find it, I almost dislocated my shoulder reaching, feeling…but there it was…hiding under the lip of the rug. It’s crazy how something so small can become so big, and how it’s impossible to let go of until the “problem” is solved.

I’m also working my ass off. After a two-year hiatus our annual Conference & Expo is back on and I’m up to my eyeballs. Yesterday I got an email inquiry that went, essentially, “Hope you’re not too busy dealing with last-minute stuff because I have some last-minute stuff.” And then went on to ask several questions that have already been asked and answered. Repeatedly. The only other thing I’m gonna say about this is that the only people who don’t understand/appreciate how hard it is to run a good 1.5-day meeting have never run a good 1.5-day meeting. I run a good meeting not by luck or by accident, but because I put in the hours of time and work in to plan and practice it. (It also doesn’t help that the aforementioned 1.5-day meeting takes place over the weekend. 🤦🏼‍♀️ But now I’m borderline big whiny baby so I’ll shut up.)

Ok with those two immediate/pressing (though admittedly not important) things out of the way, one thing I’ve really been doing a lot of is following the news and thinking about how absolutely screwed up the world is. I mean, it’s so bad it forced me to go off schedule with this publication and produce an extra piece last week, simply because I needed an outlet. This whole Uvalde thing has me so mad and so sad and so frustrated. Gun violence is a society problem, a political problem, but it is not a political party problem. Follow. The. Money. I’m sick of the response to questions about the problem being “Democrats want/won’t/don’t…” or “Republicans want/won’t/don’t…” THAT WASN’T THE QUESTION TED CRUZ (you moron). When you’re asked about solutions and talk about the Democrats you’re not answering the question. If you like guns so much and don’t mind the collateral damage, grow a set and admit that. Own it. But enough of this blame game. It’s “hard” to get a license to drive a car, to get an abortion, to get married…buying a gun should be hard too. And no private citizen needs a military-grade assault rifle…period. The forefathers were thinking about muskets and lead slugs to keep the Redcoats out. They were not thinking about mass assassinations with high-powered weapons that they couldn’t even remotely imagine. We need the powers that be to take a masterclass in root-cause analysis. Because teaching 10 year olds to hide in closets isn’t a f-cking solution. It’s a shitty, generic-brand adhesive bandage that will fall off the second a drop of water hits it.

I haven’t been doing much reading or watching of late. Busy time of year, the To Watch list is so big it scares me, and there’s always a Sox game on for background TV. But speaking of sports and TV, how about those Celtics? Go Green. Nice to have a dog in the fight! That said, why must the games start after bedtime? Such a grind staying up and watching with one eye! 9PM? ON A WEEKNIGHT‽

Oy.

I’ve been following Jeopardy and have been enjoying the streak of Ryan the ride-share driver from Philly. I also have a strong preference for Ken as host v Mayim. I used to be very anti-Ken, but have completely flipped. As Dr. Houseman famously stated in Dirty Dancing, after he found out that Robbie the Creep and not Johnny Castle had knocked up Penny (who almost died in a botched abortion—deja vu), “When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong.”

I spent some time Monday and Tuesday working on the yard, getting the flower pots in order and the garden beds fenced and planted. We’re ready for another year of trying to live off the land…anything for an excuse to listen to the theme song from Little House on the Prairie. 😂😂😂

Clockwise from top L: stoop pot, stoop, patio planter, garden beds, front deck after, front deck before (pressure washing)

If you’re looking for an emotionally moving read, check out this piece from my friend Tom about being that dad of an autistic twin. Talk about being written from the heart—it’s like the guy turned his body inside out and covered the page with his soul.

Keegan Joe

Anyhow, I admit too being busy working and having fun to pursue those other more cerebral pursuits (as if watching the Real Housewives is cerebral 😂😂😂), but I’m busy 24/7, and happy for a high percentage of those 24/7. So there’s that.

Thanks for stopping by, as it is very much appreciated. Love you too.

Oh wait…before I go can we share a laugh about the person who attacked the Mona Lisa with a pastry? What a waste of a French dessert. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

And speaking of Mona Lisa, have this great one by Sir Elton to start your day.