Time Affluence and Time Makeovers

I've been reading about time management for years: tips and techniques for getting things done. I had never heard the term "time affluence" until yesterday. I read it in The New York Times article I mentioned in yesterday's post.

Today, the concept of time affluence re-appeared in a Huffington Post article. A majority of Americans feel time poor. Feeling time affluent can make you feel happier and help you connect with and become kinder to others.

The author listed four techniques to increase your sense of time affluence. I especially liked "Make A Time Confetti Checklist." Basically, you should take advantage of those little pieces of time between tasks or waiting for a doctor's appointment. 

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These articles are part of the whole make your life over literature that crops up every January. I'm especially receptive to these types of articles this year because I've been making some changes myself. 

Helpful Hints

I enjoyed this article from The New York Times. It's entitled health tips Some are clearly health tips (e.g. minimize your intake of highly processed foods.) Other tips are more like life tips to me. 

One tip came from someone's second grade teacher. If something feels too hard to do, it just means that the first step isn't small enough. This is very good advice for someone writing (or attempting to write) a novel.

Another involves using "soft fascination"--doing simple activities such as washing the dishes or folding laundry--that require little mental effort giving the mind freedom to wander, make connections, and find solutions. Another appropriate tip for a writer.

A third tip involves giving yourself breaks--two to five minutes between tasks--because it gives you the sense of having free time.

I can use all of these tips and will. 

Off to a Good Start

It was a good feeling to walk with Jace today around 4:30 and realize it was nice out. It was 40 degrees which we hadn't seen in a while. More importantly, there was no wind. 

It sets the tone for this positive post. I'm happy with how 2025 has started.

Beginning January 2, I've been writing every day (from 223 to 587 words) for about a half hour to an hour-of-a-half. 

I've exercised every day beginning on the 2nd and gone to the gym six times. 

I've written eight blogposts. 

I've been changing up some routines and habits. The most important thing is writing in the morning. I've also changed Jace's walking schedule around. I'm switching up my gym workouts. I'm not spending as much time in the early morning on The New York Times games. That has been the most difficult routine for me to change. 

I haven't done much thinking about goalsetting. Instead, I'm actually doing things that will help me get to my goals.

I'm adding this following because I thought it was funny. It's a paraphrase from a collection of tweets--probably from the Huffington Post. 

                    I don't want a new year. I would prefer a gently used year. 

Time Management and Prioritizing

I used to think I was good at time management. Either I lost that skill or I was delusional about it. I know I'm not good at time management now. Just one example, I intended to write this post over a week ago. Instead of seizing the day, I'm just living the day passively, letting it pass me by.

This is nothing new--I should have addressed it by now. There's been a few positive steps. I'm getting up earlier. I'm avoiding my phone: i.e. my New York Times word games first thing in the morning. Instead, I've been journaling.

I know it's not nearly enough, but it's something.

NaNoWriMo Review

 I failed miserably, abyssmally. You get the point. In a contest to write 50,000 words, I didn't quite make it to 2,000 words. Pitiful, embarassing. 

Why did I fail? There are myriad reasons.

1.    I expected to fail. It's hard to psych yourself to work when you start off thinking you won't succeed. 

2.    I was too distracted by research: one example is here. I did use some research that I had previously written about the railroad industry in general, but I'm not sure if I put it in the right place.

3.    I did not prioritize my writing. Actually, I do not priortize my writing. Ding, ding, ding. That's the number one reason, and I guess the only real reason for all of my writing failures. I remember mornings when I'd get up to write only to be distracted by emptying the dishwasher and playing New York Times word games.

At the beginning of the year, I had a goal to write for two hours a day, Yeah well, I fucked that up. Think of all the words I would have now. Isn't that's what writing is, words strung together--hopefully beautifully. 

Finally, it dawned on me: I have to think of writing as my job and plan accordingly. At least I've learned something from my failure.

Another good result from this mess: I'm in Merwinsville mode again. I'm remembering why I'm so fascinated by Sylvanus Merwin and his hotel. I'm imagining his relationship with his wife Flora, wondering about his rivalry with his half-brother Peter Gaylord, visualizing the telegraphic courtship of Helen Merwin and Ed Hurd. 

There's more to learn and much more to write. 

Scandoval: The Vanderpump Rules Cheating Scandal

I read about the Tom Sandoval/Ariana Madix breakup on a Google feed last weekend. I was surprised by the news; I expected to see another story or two on TMZ and/or Jezebel, and comments on Primetimer.com. Instead, stories exploded all over the internet; The New York Times ran a story, and it was on the main page of CNN.

I didn't plan to write about it, but if the Times deems it worthy of a story, I'll share my thoughts.

Vanderpump Rules just entered its 10th season. Cheating has been part of its storylines starting with Scheana's affair with Eddie Cibrian (married to Brandy of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills at the time.) 

Later there were cheating stories about Jax and Kristen, Stassi and Frank, Jax and Faith, the Toms and miscellaneous Vegas/Miami women, James and Kristen, James and Lala, James and miscellaneous Sur staff members. I don't know the length of the Scheana/Eddie liaison, but the others were short-term--one (or two) night stands.

In contrast, the current affair between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss has been going on for several months. They allegedly want to be together. Lisa Vanderpump's theory is that they were waiting until after the reunion to reveal their relationship, giving Ariana and the others a chance to get used to the idea before the show started filming again. 

Tom and Ariana were the longest term couple in the cast after Katie and Tom Schwartz divorced. They bought a house together. They probably would have been married except for Ariana's reluctance. 

I'm mad about it because I liked Tom Sandoval. Let me explain. When I say I like a reality show character, I mean the person is entertaining and makes good TV. I think all the cast members are pretentious assholes who I couldn't stand in real-life situations. Sandoval was over the top in his clothing choices--he loved any excuse to wear a costume and in his plans (ironically he helped finance Rachella when James proposed to Raquel.) While Sandoval was always an asshole by definition, he got worse in recent years: a nasty, middle-of-the-night email to Stassi, a ridiculous band in which he pays the other bandmembers, his stupidity--along with Schwartz--in opening their second bar/restaurant without understanding the business.

I'm also mad that Raquel fooled me. I even thought of defending her when Lala said she would win if she and Raquel were in competition for a man. I thought Raquel was the nice person Brittany pretended to be. No. Raquel was fooling around with Tom Sandoval while pretending to be a close friend of Arianna. She may have used Tom Schwartz as a decoy (or he may have been a willing beard) which also hurt Tom's ex  Katie.

So, here we are a week later. Everyone on the cast is pro-Ariana except possibly for Schwartz. Raquel has taken legal action against her cast members. The story has been called Shakespearean. 

I'll keep watching.

Self Sabotage?

In my last entry (Friday) I suggested that I could get morning writing done by getting up and writing first thing.  So what did I do Saturday morning? I slept until 8. Jace wasn't ready to go out until 9:30. Did I spend that hour-and-a-half writing? No, I read some emails and played New York Times word games.

I did work for about two hours after walking Jace on my story for tomorrow's class and finished the story this afternoon. Ironically, I've been writing shorter, "tight" stories until this one--it's 815 words and four pages. Our limit is usually 850 words. This week the limit is two pages. I'm confused about how many words that is. Oh well, I'm not going to edit out half of the story. 

As for working on my book, as Scarlett O'Hara says, "tomorrow is another day."

Book 23: Dreamland by Kevin Baker

I remember reading a review of this 1999 book in The New York Times, thinking that it sounded good, and that I would like to read it. What can I say? Better late than never. Last spring I had to write a story about Coney Island, and our instructor Kim mentioned the book. It was also last year when I read Paradise Alley, and learned it was the second book of Baker's The City of Fire Trilogy. Dreamland was the first. 

Dreamland, named for a great Coney Island amusement park, is a jam-packed story of factory workers, gangsters, labor organizers, prostitutes, carnival folk, and politicians in New York City at the turn of the 20th Century. 

I was fascinated with Esther "Esse" Abramowitz a sewing machine operator and union organizer. Her story includes her rebellion against her strict rabbi father, her role in the Uprising of the 20,000 in 1909, and her romance with a gangster in hiding from her gangster brother.

Baker skillfully weaves historical figures including Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (the least interesting characters in the book) union organizer Clara Lemlich (I learned about her in Triangle) and Big Tim "Dry Dollar" Sullivan with his own characters.

Some reviewers compared Dreamland to Ragtime which I read in May. I thought Dreamland was much better. 

A Word for the Year

I was intrigued by this recent newsletter in The New York Times about selecting a word to capture your values and intentions for the new year. The idea is to focus on the things most meaningful to you and the positive changes you'd like to make in your life. 

My first thought was the word "create." Then I looked at synonyms for create and came up with "acutalize." Now I wonder if that's just a fancy and/or pompous way of saying "create."

I'll sleep on it. 

Transition to 2022

A few final numbers for 2021: 

Gym Visits: 87 from June 17 to December 31. I went to the gym four times a week 11 times; three visits a week ten times; two weekly visits three times; and I made one visit a week four times. I didn't make specific goals for the year since the gym was closed in early 2021. I'm returning to the goal of 150 gym visits for 2022

New Books Read: 33 versus a goal of 30. I'd like to read 35 books this year. 

Blogposts: 192 versus a goal of 200. I want to keep the goal of 200. 

Today I'm going to focus on short term goals for today. 

I already missed a goal of getting up with the alarm at 6:30 (I got up at 7 instead.) I had some trouble sleeping due to a sore neck and right before the alarm went off, I dreamed that a woman burned me with a curling iron. 

I'm not going to beat myself up too much about it. Many people give up on their goals and resolutions at the first setback. I once read an article that most people abandon resolutions by January 21. That's why I prefer the term goal to resolution. 

I will take Lola out of course for a good walk. I'll exercise here (my neck is still sore.) I'll make a grocery list. I'll finish packing up the Christmas decorations (I boxed the ornaments yesterday.) 

I got my first email from The New York Times Eat Well Challenge about mindful eating. I'm supposed to choose one eating habit I'd like to change. I'm choosing later at night deserts and snacks. I think it's fine to have a cookie or two, candy, or a mini ice cream bar after dinner, but if I make it to say 9 PM without a snack, I don't want to eat then. 

More importantly, I need to write today. I'm wavering if I want to make goals based on time (e.g. write for an hour) or production (write 500 words or three pages.) Today I'll write for one hour on my time travel book and research for one hour on my Merwinsville book. 

Thursday Thoughts

Thursday night feels like the end of the week even though I'm not working, and if you think of the week as running from Monday to Sunday, it's really mid-week. 

Whatever. I'm feeling like another week went by with minimal accomplishments on my part. For one thing, I'm committed to driving Jeff for treatments for his foot twice a week. While he can drive himself, we feel more comfortable with me driving. Sometimes his foot burns afterward and it's a 45 minute drive. I use the 45 minute appointment time reading, playing Spelling Bee, doing New York Times crossword puzzles, and occasionally journaling. 

Lola still has toxins in her kidneys, so she is getting fluid injections three times a week. Usually Jeff and I both take her, although either of us can do it alone. For the past week, we've scheduled Lola's appointments at 9 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and Jeff's for 10:45 on Tuesday and Thursday. It's easier to plan around the appointments when they are consistent. This is still a work in progress. Jeff's been on this schedule for two weeks, and Lola for one.

I'm doing most of the walking with Lola (sometimes both Jeff and I go.) It's frustrating because she no longer will walk around the neighborhood--I can't explain it. It's also frustrating to take her somewhere such as the Norwalk River Valley Trail--a 30 to 40 minute roundtrip--and she walks for barely 20-25 minutes. I've been trying to enjoy our walks more while the weather is nice. We've had a string of beautiful, unseasonably warm days, and I know they won't last. I'm letting Lola off-leash more. So far, so good. She runs a bit and seems to enjoy herself more. I just realized that I can now take her to Westport beaches (as of October 1.)

I've really fallen behind in cleaning and writing. Both areas will require more planning and scheduling to get back on track. I can't wait for convenient times or moods. One good thing is I've gotten back into a gym routine the last two weeks. 

I'm continuing to try new recipes usually from the New York Times. Last night it was Skillet Chicken with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles. It got rave reviews. We were disappointed. I was also annoyed that it was billed as a one-pot dish, when you needed two. It took about an hour to cook, which can be too much on a weeknight for most. 

Throwback Thursday. I finally backed up my computer and looked through some old photos. I found this of Spike from our New Year's visit to Daufuskie Island around 2005? He is in his element with a favorite squeaky ball, taking a rest from chasing it down the beach. As much as I love Lola, I still miss Spike.

Re-reads

Sometimes I just want to read something, but I don't know what to read next or I'm not in the mood to start a new book. So I'll pick up a book that I've already read before. 

When I did that recently, I completely re-read two books: Straight Up and Dirty by Stephanie Klein and Driving Lessons by J.M. Gleckler. 

Straight Up and Dirty is basically Stephanie Klein's memoir about the break-up of her marriage and her return to the dating world and healthier relationships. The story is not linear but weaves between scenes from her marriage and of her new relationships. Stephanie is a good writer, but can be a little too cutesy with her made-up words (e.g. wasband.) I learned about Stephanie through a Sunday Styles New York Times story in 2005 and read her blog for some time. I liked it enough to get her book.

Driving Lessons subtitled: The Adventures of Matt & Marty McCly  by Joan (aka J.M.) Gleckler is about a married couple who become long-distance truck drivers. Each chapter details a person they meet or a place they visit on the road. I met Joan at the first writing retreat I attended about 30 years ago and heard parts of the novel  in progress. I enjoyed re-reading the book, but it wasn't as funny as I remembered. 

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: I picked up the book again to write this post about scents in writing. I didn't re-read it as much as re-skim it. Someday I'll write a complete post about the book and the film. 

Musical Musings: Blue

The New York Times has this great article on Joni Mitchell's Blue with comments from 25 musicians on the groundbreaking album on its 50th anniversary. It's a fascinating read.

My first Joni album was Court and Spark which came out in 1974. Just Like This Train remains one of my favorite songs. 

I did get Blue later--there are so many wonderful songs on that album. I appreciated them, even if I didn't understand Joni's musical innovations.  

I saw Joni once in concert for her Both Sides Now tour. She included A Case of You from Blue as part of her set. 

Paul Simon was the first singer-songwriter whose work played a big part in my life. Then it was Joni Mitchell. Her lyrics flow throw my mind often. 

I just got out my Blue CD to listen to again.

A Century Ago...

Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment recognizing women's right to vote. Despite Abigail Adams' plea to her husband to "remember the ladies"  in 1776, women were forgotten when suffrage was concerned. The organized fight for womens' suffrage began at the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. (Remember Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall?)

In 1917, suffragists' signs asked Woodrow Wilson, "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?"

Here's a visual history from The New York Times.

Here's a description of the Night of Terror--something you'll never learn in school. I only learned about it in a TV movie.

Remember. Vote!

Dogs of New York

Enjoyed this article about dogs and real estate in The New York Times. 

On a personal note, I was glad to see beagles were in the top ten of New York City dog breeds.This is similar to other lists of popular breeds in the United States. I've seen beagles ranked as high as fourth.

The article included a list of popular dog names. Lola ranked second only to Bella among the girls. I've seen Bella on several lists, but this was the first time I saw Lola. We can't take credit for our Lola's name, but it's nice to see it among the in-crowd.

Back to Winning Ways

I'm happy to update my results with the Spelling Bee puzzle in the Sunday Magazine of The New York Times. I'm back--genius two weeks in a row. Today I took the magazine with me to the gym and worked on it as I rode the stationary bike.

I look forward to this puzzle every Saturday.

The Streak is Over

I've written before about my love of Spelling Bee, a game published in The New York Times Magazine. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I usually reach genius level.

When I first look at the puzzle, I find many words that don't count because they don't include the center letter. Then I'll find several words in spurts. I'll often put down the puzzle or hours or even days before I get to genius level.

I started last week's puzzle last Saturday. I picked it up a few more times over the week. One day I suddenly saw "mantilla." This morning (my last chance to increase my score) I found "inimical." Then I looked at the answers; I can't believe I missed mammal, mammy and llama. For the record: I scored 30 if "manana" counts. I needed 34 to be a genius.

This week's puzzle is waiting for me outside our front door. Time to start a new streak.

What I've Been Reading

The Sunday New York Times is the only newspaper I consistently read. I enjoyed two articles in The Magazine last weekend.

The first is on anxiety dreams, or what I call frustration dreaming. I've had a variety of them. I'm not fearful in these dreams--just annoyed and (of course) frustrated. I'll have to wait until my next frustration dream to see if I feel like a champion the next day as the article's author suggested.

The second article discusses the importance of frequent activity to offset prolonged sitting.The gist of it is that occasional workouts aren't enough. Being more active generally--walking and moving around often--seems to be most helpful.

When I track my exercise, I only count sessions when I exercise for at least 30 minutes. I only count hikes of an hour or longer. I don't include my visits to dog park with Lola, which take place most days. Ironically, these may be the most beneficial for me.

 

More on Summer (and Other) Songs

Sunday's Times has a summer song article here. I didn't realize that the Lovin Spoonful's Summer in the City was the New York summer song. I have my own memories of that song described in this post. Funny, the time when my dad first heard Summer in the City was when he was driving down to Florida with my brother, aunt and cousin. This was the same summer when I had gone to Florida with my aunt, uncle and cousin that I recently mentioned here. My father, brother and I returned home a few weeks later.

I have other music memories of that Florida trip. We didn't like my cousin Barbara's album selections. My cousin David bought two albums in Florida when we were there: Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence, and a Paul Revere and the Raiders album. I think it was Midnight Ride. The timing is right, even if I don't remember all the songs. We listened to them over and over. We even dedicated A Most Peculiar Man to Barbara's boyfriend Andy.

The Times article inspired me to play a few summer songs, Roger Miller's In the Summertime and my favorite, Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone. Soon, I'll be singing this.

Oh, Sweet Mystery of Pi

It takes me a few days (or more) to work my way through The Sunday New York Times. This morning I read this. "We should celebrate pi's combination of utility and enigma."