May 20

Ups and downs, and a day of movies

1965

The parties gave their platforms today. Really, the Go-Gos looked sick next to the Keys. The Keys were serious and to the point. The Go-Gos were ill at ease and unprepared. However, the Go-Gos have had better campaign gimmicks and might have the popularity needed. We'll see. Election tomorrow.

Comment 2023

No wonder I got an F+ in Political Science in college.

1977

Went out to dinner at Sir Walter Raleigh (really, now!). Got all dressed up, etc.

I think we also set a new record for long faculty meetings. 3 hours! Some boring twerp trying to sell video toys wasted the first hour.

I had very little time to deal with my “pursuits” today…only about 45 minutes. I did find some things at the library though. Perhaps if I can find some existing PhD research on the subject, it will show me the direction.

Comment 2023

Remember when video was new and exciting? Also, no wonder I hate meetings.

1989

May Fair: what fun. It was a long, tiring day, but very pleasant and relaxed. Kiddo 2 gets more independent all the time. He really likes playing with “the kids” more than hanging around with us. After Kiddo 1 being so mommy-oriented, it’s a real change.

I’ve been mulling over ideas for feting the August ’89 grad. One idea is to have a reception, another is to give out “care packages” of some sort. (Actually, it would be nice if the whole campus could cook up something nice.)

1997

Best laid plans. The 14^th started out good, but about 4 pm I got a call that Mom had fallen, fracturing her hip, wrist, and shoulder. So I spent the rest of the day in the emergency room or on the road, dealing with lots of waiting and uncertainty. On the 15^th she had surgery, but several hours later lost consciousness and the doctor feared she was suffered a stroke. A CAT scan showed otherwise, but it took days until we were able to have anything like a normal conversation. In the meantime, I went from darkest fears to something like a routine, but more of a holding pattern. Kiddo 1 and I went to the church retreat at Matoaka, which was very good. An excellent idea. Oh, yes, and yesterday was my 48^th birthday. Another of those years when my birthday is just another day, but I can live with it. Some other day will have to do.

Comment 2023

It’s just the beginning, 1997 Jo. 

“Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a decline in cognitive function (especially in memory and executive functions) that may last from 1–12 months after surgery, or longer. In some cases, this disorder may persist for several years after major surgery.” - the interwebs

2006

Maybe I need to arrange my creative life first, and let my other pursuits connect to that (or if they don’t, be candidates for being discarded). I’ve spent too many years trying to make peace for my creative works in the interstices of my “to-do” lists.

Comment 2023

 Here follow two pages of graphic organizers which illustrate that I was trying to do too much. A taste:

2022

A fun (if hot!) continuation of my birthday celebration. Some writing (actually revision) and some exercise (yay!). The article is due in 10 days.

Current status 2023

Excellent birthday dinner with Kiddos, SOs, grandkiddo. Not Sir Walter Raleigh. Now that I think of it, he is a pretty unlikely inspiration for a restaurant. 

Today I make strawberry rhubarb pie and watch three movies (!!!!)

First, I will be previewing potential movies for the foreign film group here at Riderwood. They need movies with “arts” themes. So far they have been slightly resistant to Indian films, which is most of what I watch.

My plan is to see Gully Boy at 10:30 a.m. and Jhanak, Jhanak Payal Baaje at 2 (each one runs just under 2 1/2 hours). 

Gully Boy Trailer:

There's no trailer online for Jhanak, Jhanak Payal Baaje, but here is the plot:

Classical dance guru Mangal puts Neela through rigorous training for a competition, in which she is to be paired with his son, Giridhar. However, Giridhar and Neela fall in love and ignore their dance routine, after which Mangal plans to replace her. 

Dance Example:

Then I plan to see 80 for Brady (Saturday night community movie) for my research on ageism. Yo, are movies about horny old ladies ageist?