Favorite Things - 2008

It's a snowy, snowy weekend here in Boston.  We are digging out of 16 + inches of snow.  I've been fortunate enough that my brother, Paul, has been here and he has taken over the majority of the shoveling duties.  I am so grateful for that.  Thanks, Paul!

So, while being in the house for long periods of time, I got to thinking.  Some of us are preparing for the beautiful holiday this week.  And we are all preparing for the close of another year and the welcoming of 2009.  I am not a fan of re-caps, and countdowns and 'looking back' programs.  I like to focus on what's ahead.  But I am breaking a bit with my usual m.o., and wanted to share a couple of favorites of mine in 2008. Here's my list, based on the five senses:

1.) Sound

I attended a few concerts this past year that I truly enjoyed and loved every sound I heard. I loved hearing the sounds of summer.  I was aware of and comforted on many occasions by the whistle of the commuter train as it rode through town.  But there was one particular sound that keeps coming back to me.  When I was visiting Betsy and her family in November, she and I took a long ride one afternoon, checking out the neighborhood and the ocean beach.  Wil of course was with us, and while Betsy and I chatted away in the front seat, Wil was holding court with his legion of angels in the back seat.  So cute.  He wasn't looking for his mother's attention and he wasn't looking for mine either.  He was just looking out the window and reporting to his friends about...um, well...whatever it is that babies report back to the angels.  Gabbing away.  I loved hearing his baby-speak and have chosen it as my favorite sound of 2008.

2.) Sight

This past summer I traveled a bit more than I usually do.  It was great.  I hadn't been on an airplane in years and it was cool to get back into it.  Flying across America is such a treat.  I had a window seat on one of my flights, and flying into Denver, CO, on a beautiful summer day provided many nice sights from the window.   Seeing the patches of land that make up the Midwest was a memorable sight for me.  And even flying back into Logan Airport in Boston at 11:00 at night provided a wonderful light show as we landed.  Seeing the Midwest and Boston from the window seat, (11E), American Airlines, ranks as my favorite sight of 2008.

3.) Taste

Okay - this choice even to me is a little off - I mean over an entire year??  I can't help but choose a meal I had about a month ago at a local restaurant.  I met a dear friend of mine for dinner, a woman I used to work with years ago.  She and I keep in touch and are sure we have dinner often.  We went to The Chateau restaurant in Norwood and we each had the Chef's Special.  It consisted of bread to start, a salad, and the main meal - grilled shrimp, steak tips, chicken strips with rice and squash.  We could barely talk about anything but the meal!  We've been sharing the experience with everyone. I rank the Chef's Special at The Chateau in Norwood as my favorite taste of 2008.

4.) Smell

This one was hard to come up with.  But I've decided on the smell of fresh, crisp, cool air. That's not too easy to come by when you are living in the city.  But I truly love that first crisp fall day and that first crisp, cool - cold - winter day.  Stepping outside and breathing in that air brings with it the smell of those seasons.  Change is good.  And when both seasons make their appearances, I am hopeful.  I rank the first crisp, cool, cold days of fall and winter as my favorite smell(s) of 2008.

5.) Touch/Feel 

5a) Touch:  a co-worker of mine brought her three-month old baby to work the other day. When Mac was born, he and his Mom came by work to visit.  I missed that visit and was bummed.  Last week she had daycare issues and in came Mac with his Mom to work.  She came upstairs to my office and introduced me to him.  Laura held him first, then passed him off to me.  He smiled, giggled, & laughed as I took hold of him.  He nuzzled his head into my shoulder, gnawed at my shoulder, drooled all over my shoulder.  It was so sweet to hold him, rub his little back and watch him alternately laugh at Laura and his Mom.  Holding Mac was a plus for 2008.

5b.) Feel: technically not a sense, but I was "touched" in this way as well. My favorite feeling in 2008 has been the warmth of friendships, new or renewed, virtual or otherwise.  It's been a wonderful year for friendships.  I am grateful I had the opportunities to make new friends, and I have loved continuing the cultivation and warmth of old ones.  Thank you all.  Lets spread the love in 2009!

Merry Christmas to everyone!  And may all your New Years bring many favorites to you.

Love & Peace,

It's The Little Things

I get excited by little things.  Tonite, I discovered a little something about my blog.  It's Italian! That's right - Italian.  

I started the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert today and haven't been able to put it down.  It's really good so far, and just 61 pages into it, I am going to go ahead and recommend it. She has a great sense of humor and a style that's easy to read.  

Her journey in this book first takes her to Italy. In talking with a new friend, she writes about the American inability to do nothing. Her friend observes that Americans are overworked, but that we actually seem to enjoy it and like it that way.  Italians, on the other hand, are "...masters of il bel far niente."  Translated : the beauty of doing nothing.  The conversation goes on to reveal the Italian ability to make something out of nothing. Gilbert writes: "There's another wonderful Italian expression: l'arte d'arrangiarsi - the art of making something out of nothing.  The art of turning a few simple ingredients into a feast, or a few gathered friends into a festival."  

I have, for as long as I can remember, a deep love for all things Italian.  I studied the language for a year in college (beautiful language), and Italian Renaissance art is absolutely one of my most favorite art history studies in high school and college.  Moonstruck is still one of my favorite movies to this day.  And the scene in Lady & the Tramp when they eat the spaghetti & meatballs behind the restaurant?  Yeah, gets me every time.  It is one of my goals - to travel to Italy one day.  And I will.  

But until that day, I am just happy to know that a little of the Italian culture must have been well within my bones when I launched my blog under the name "Nothing is Something". Indeed, there is always something happening! I admit it was more of a Zen influence I thought I was tapping into, but to recognize that the Italian was also well within my psyche regarding Nothing makes me smile just a little.  

I look forward to following Elizabeth Gilbert's journey through Italy, then to India and on to Indonesia.  Let me know if you've read the book or get into it one day.  Give me a holler and we'll discuss.  

Va bene, Ciao.  Buona Notte.  

It Wasn't A Dream...

Last week I had to go to the local CVS pharmacy to pick up a prescription for my Mom.  The doc supposedly called it in and off I went to pick it up, while my sis and Dad stayed behind at the homestead.  

I used to work as a teenager at this CVS and even back then the pharmacy was BUSY and therefore, a little obnoxious.  Obnoxious because it was just SO busy and obnoxious because of the poor sick public, trying to get their medicines. The bins bulge over with prescription bags. All this to say, I was not really looking forward to the visit.  Typically my parents use another pharmacy but it was closed by now and my Mom needed the medicine that night.

6:05 pm

I arrive to find a line at the back of the store, people waiting for their prescriptions. I finally get to the front:

"I'm here to pick up my prescription..." and I give her the name.  

Blank stare.

"You know, my prescription.  The doctor called it in".  

Blank stare.  Finally "ehhhh, how you spell?"  and she writes it down.  She approaches one of three Pharmacists workings FEVERISHLY at computer terminals within vision and ear shot of the registers.  I have always known these people to be ANNOYED when interrupted.  I suppose that does not bother me since they are making prescriptions and need to know the difference between, say - oxicodone and oxymoron, right?? And they should be focused on the task at hand.  So, that's all good.  The CVS pharmacy associate comes back to me and says "no, no in."  

"Excuse me?"

"No in" and I get a shoulder shrug.

I call home and decide I will go back, eat dinner, hope the doc really did call it in, and return later for the pills.   

8:36pm

I arrive back at the counter (keep in mind that this is also a drive-through pharmacy and every five minutes a woman's voice dings overhead and states "customer at pharmacy window").  It's not as crowded now, and as I am standing in line I realize there is a small flat-screen TV in the ceiling corner - and it was Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving show.  CUTE.  Charlie Brown in bare feet.  It was very educational and I found myself mesmerized by the show.  Good time kill.

I reach the front. A new pharmacy associate is working the counter - in fact, I think he was a pharmacy school student.  Three teenage girls were off to my right, sitting & waiting for a prescription, texting, talking and being girls.  New pharmacy associate was TOTALLY enthralled by said girls and couldn't take his attention away from them.  In a little bit of a creepy manner.  Fast forward and he had one of their numbers by the end of the 1/2 hour that I waited for the pills.  I watched them all flirt - eeew - and moved on to watching "Dancing With the Stars" on the tube.

When I had asked him about my pills, he couldn't find it in the computer etc., etc......"Aaahhh - you need to register her with her insurance card. Over there".  Luckily I had that card with me. I step under the sign "DROP-OFF" and a 'pleasant' pharmacist came over to help register my Mom's name (remember: she's annoyed).  We proceeded to register my mother's info while the pharmacist pleasantly dragged & dragged her nose through it all with a cold!  Again, eeew. Result:  Fifteen minute wait.

There is also a "CONSULTATION" sign next to "DROP-OFF", where people can chat it up about their health with the available Pharmacist.  I have used this window at times, and have seen others use it as well.  No matter how softly the person on this side of the window tries to discuss their private issue, the CVS pharmacist insists on amplifying their answers in a theatrical sing-song voice that rivals a bull-horned rabble-rouser at the local VFW Post during a political rally.  It's totally uncool.   

Eventually, after Lance Bass & his partner twirled on the big screen, I accomplished my mission and picked up the pills.  Yes - it felt like midnight but it was about 9:20pm.  The elated pharmacy student (elated cuz he had the girrrrlz digits on his cellie now) rang in my order and off I went - after picking up some of my own meds for my suddenly surprisingly pounding headache!   

I guess these are my points to the story: 

1.)  It's tough getting sick.  And it can be even tougher trying to get to the medicine that is supposed to make you not feel sick anymore.  Oy. 

2.) What language do we need to know to talk with the front-line associates at registers?  Just tell me and I am happy to learn it. Especially for those times when you are feeling icky, it would be nice for the public to be able to converse easily and avoid developing an ulcer from frustration.  Cuz that would mean more meds.  aaaaand maybe that's their method....TO THIS MADNESS. 

3.)  If you are sick, stay home.  And don't drag your nose (did your mother not teach you that?!).

4.)  Next trip, bring your bullhorn - you may need it for the consultation process.

 

5.)   To this day, Charlie Brown still ROCKS.

Be well and stay healthy!!