It doesn’t hurt me. Do you want to feel how it feels? Do you want to know that it doesn’t hurt me? Do you want to hear about the deal that I’m making?
C’mon, baby, c’mon darling, Let us steal these blog moments from us now. C’mon, angel, c’mon, c’mon, darling, Let’s exchange this blog experience, oh
And if I only could, I’d make a deal with the blog Gods, And I’d get them to swap our places, Be running up that blog road, Be running up that blog hill, With no blog problems.
If I only could, Be running up that blog hill If I only could, Be running up that blog hill If I only could, Be running up that blog hill
I hope Kate Bush meant running, like, symbolically, cause I could maybe manage a brisk walk for a few minutes, and not on an incline…unless there was cake involved.
As for running up this blog hill, well, I could break into “The Climb” (Miley Cyrus) cause it’s always gonna be an uphill battle…so I keep remembering, stranger things have happened, but it’s about the climb not getting to the top.
So why do we keep running up this blog hill? Fame? Fortune? Fantasy? Fun? Frustration? Food? Faith? Fear? FOMO? Whatever our reasons, we blog on.
My poor little blog has stalled, no, I can’t blame the blog, it’s me, I’m stalled, again, still, eternally.
My brain races, running up that road, running up that hill, running around and around and around.
I’ve come up with a million ideas, written poems, books, posts, thought about starting a YouTube channel, well, just a a million things…then my body laughs at me, no, not a laugh so much as an evil cackle, mocking me for even trying to try.
I wanted to take this time to thank you, my dear readers for staying with me through all the ups and downs, the roller coaster of the past almost 9 years, yes, soon to be 9 years!!!
I’m glad to be part of this blogging family, so Ohana, dear blogging family, no one gets left behind. Even when we’re far apart, haven’t visited for awhile, are struggling, or get caught up in in the world and it’s wild rumpus. Join me in celebrating blogging, yours and mine, please, leave a link in the comments below to: your blog(s), vlog(s), podcasts, YouTube channel(s), books, etc.
Cheers, Santé, Gānbēi, Prost, Salute, Budmo, L’chaim, Ciyarsa, Na zdrowie, Skål, Kenadz, Biba, Cin-cin, Kāma, Salud, Stinygiasou, Manuia, Kia ora, Cirs, Lechyd da, Ci’arasa, Mabuhay, Kanpai, Gesondheid, Kippis, Cheerio, HipaHipa, Gon bui…Kepp running up with blog hill with me. Ohana. Here’s to you, to your health, to your happiness, to your future. Live long and prosper.
Since life now seems a never-ending soap opera I wondered what would it be like this Christmas,Like sands through the Christmas hourglass, so are the 24 Days of our Christmas lives. On the 24th day of our Christmas lives, adulting gave to me, 24 bills a comin’, endless housework that needs donin’, and not nearly enough funin’.
On the 23rd day of our Christmas lives, fear of scarcity gave to me, 23 Supply Chains a Squeezing. I hope everyone gets their medications, food, medical supplies and equipment, and other important items, but I’m kinda bored hearing about the supply chain issues “ruining” Christmas. If you don’t get all your extras, your wants (not needs, wants) by Christmas and that feels “ruined”, you’re doing Christmas wrong. Also, setting a poor example for children of what Christmas and life should be. It shouldn’t matter if Christmas can or can’t come from a store, the holidays and life in general should mean a whole lot more.
Hmmm, quick math question, how many shipping containers of “Spiderman”; The Mandalorian’s ‘Baby Yoda’/Grogu/The Child (ok, turns out he’s not a baby, he’s like 50, ok, not as cute, but still…); Marvel’; Lego; “Squid Game” merch can they unload per hour? What if you don’t get that new Apple watch? Or a PS5? XBox? Christmas is one day, there are another 364 of them all year. Find a way to help others all the year through…This is the way.
On the 22nd day of our Christmas lives, all-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder gave to me, 22 Ugly Christmas Sweaters – the official charity for this is “Save The Children” so you can do good and look good all at once!
On the 21th day of our Christmas lives, still more things to recharge gave to me, 21 Rechargeable hand warmers, or as we used to call it, rubbing your cold hands together and your breath blowing on your own hands. Also, gloves and mittens, those are good too, I was born in Northern Ontario, “Frozen” meant something different then.Let it snow, let it snow…
On the 20th day of our Christmas lives, the neverending gift of IBS gave to me, 20 Alternative Milk Makers – should I go with the cow joke, or the dirty joke, or combine them? I’m udderly at a loss.Don’t unfollow me. 😉
On the 19th day of our Christmas lives, hunger gave to me, 19 Protein bowls, umm, are we eating the bowls and how is that protein?
On the 18th day of our Christmas lives, the Sandman gave to me, 18 Shredded memory foam pillows – wait, are the pillows shredded? Or are my memories shredded? Does this involve exercising your abs? I’m so in the weeds here.
On the 17th day of our Christmas lives, #booklove gave to me, 17 Books to read while cuddled up with a cup of tea. Just read what you wanna read, forget lists, awards, how many copies it’s sold, and marketing, just read what you want to read.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/05/21/how-i-met-your-author/
On the 16th day of our Christmas lives, eye-rolling gave to me, 16 Cashmere beanies (cause some folks need to look like a pretentious poser, unironically).
On the 15th day of our Christmas lives, products of Christmas Past gave to me, 15 Gucci Belt Bags, aka, a fanny pack. Call it what it is. Raid your parents or grandparents’ closet, the Goodwill, or the bargain bin at Walmart, but call it what it is. Wear it with pride, be your inner “Stranger Things” character roll, come on, wear your ’80s nerd flag proudly – it’s a fanny pack no matter how much you pay for it.
On the 14th day of our Christmas lives, Hallmark gave to me, 14 “New” Hallmark Christmas movies. They say like 40 “new movies”, but I’m being generous by even saying 14 “new” – I do not think that word means what you think it means. Hallmark, did you really start the “Countdown to Christmas” on October 22nd? Son of a nutcracker, what the actual fudge!
Let me see if I can make completely random predictions having never watched dozens of Hallmark movies, so again, totally random predictions of some things that could possibly be in some Hallmark movies in 2021.
Spontaneous snowball fights with totally real snow.
Finding the right Christmas tree.
Decorating “homemade” cookies that are clearly store-bought.
A misunderstanding and/or a “crisis”; insurmountable odds that become suddenly surmountable.
Love at first sight, well, unless it’s hate at first sight that turns to love after hate at first sight.None of that sounds right.
A sudden proposal, cause why not marry someone you just met and barely know?
Really new, expensive cars often driven by folks who are allegedly poor (I do not think that word means what they think it means). Same goes for their wardrobes (you need 4 expensive winter coats for a 3-day weekend?) and houses worth a cool 1.5 million and in a small town.
A mysterious guy who may or may not be Santa.
Actors and actresses that are refugees from 80s, 90s and 2000s TV shows, look vaguely like other people, or were almost famous at some point in time. They’re smart Christmas cookies though, as they know Christmas movies are played way more often than other movies…except maybe “Independence Day”, but hey, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum do,uh, uh, uh, save the world from aliens in that classic documentary.
Canada Post mail boxes in American towns, which may explain why our mail is so slow, hmmm.
Possibly a Prince, or Princess, secret millionaire, incognito actor, singer, writer and/or or long-lost relative who could be royalty or rich, or all of the above.
Christmas events that are planned, funded, and executed about a week before Christmas. Cause that’s totally how event planning works, right?
Mistletoe versus holly debates – whoever wins, we lose.
Gazebos, so many gazebos, tiny ice rinks, and Christmas markets/fairs.
The only theme for any party or festival is “Winter Wonderland” apparently and there’san unhealthy obsession with candy canes; eggnog; gingerbread cookies and gingerbread houses; Christmas lights; tiny trains; big trains; wreaths; S’mores; caroling; bows; ornaments (especially, surprise surprise Hallmark ornaments, wow, who saw that coming?), Christmas cards (guess who again?), nutcrackers and hot stuff – hot apple cider, hot cocoa, hot chocolate…
A Christmas ghost, or Christmas angel, or Christmas angel ghost, or Christmas ghost angel (beware the weeping Christmas angels? You know I had to slide a “Doctor Who” reference in there, but not “Doctor Who Flux”, wait, is that cause The Doctor is female now, whoa…).
The almost kiss and then finally, “The Kiss”, usually out in totally real snow.
On the 13th day of our Christmas lives, olfactory sensitivities gave to me, 13 Eau de parfum or is it perfume, fragrances, eau de toilet (perfect name, it smells like a toilet to me), cologne, or whatever the heck people are smelling themselves up with these days. Suggestion: Shower for you, mask (not just for COVID) for me.
On the 12th day of our Christmas lives, a constant need to get stuff sent mailed to me, 12 Monthly subscriptions…cake, tea, streaming, fruit, coffee, jam, cookies, popcorn, pasta, cheese, meat, spices, candy, cupcakes, wine, beer, cocktails, toys, games, puzzles, beauty products, socks, books, eBooks, audiobooks, weed, seeds, music, clothes, meals, crafts, jewelry, tech, candles, art, survival gear/prepper stuff (not looking so crazy now, huh?), plants, stamps, flowers – if you can dream it, it can be sent, streamed or downloaded to you!
A Christmas Stuff Story.
On the 11th day of our Christmas lives, portability gave to me, 11 portable campfires to make 11 portable S’mores and drinking tea from 11 portable smart mugs. Wow, that’s a lot!
On the 10th day of our Christmas lives, Marvel Cinematic Universe gave to me, 10 Rings of Shang-Chi (seriously awesome Marvel movie, let’s pretend “The Eternals” never happened).
On the 9th day of our Christmas lives, the need to connect gave to me, 9 Friendship lamps! You can glow together no matter how far apart you are…I can’t even, why not call, text, email, write a letter. What’s for Christmas 2022, Aldis lamps? Morse code?
On the 8th day of our Christmas lives, toxic advertising-induced anxiety over body image gave to me, 8 (00000) Chemicals that illuminate, exfoliate, and eventually exterminate? At least we’ll be all aglow for the holidays.
On the 7th day of our Christmas lives, marketing madness gave to me, 7 Santoku Knives – can I just write Santoku on a piece of masking tape over my Ginsu knife and feel justified?
On the 6th day of our Christmas lives, pandemic rules (and common sense) gave to me, 6 Feet A-part!!!Seriously, do people even know how far 6 feet apart is and also, follow the arrows, they’re arrows you can’t possibly pretend you don’t know what they mean…really.
On the 5th day of our Christmas lives, hype gave to me, 5 PS5 consoles (1st it was hard to find them, still hard to afford them).Remember board games, card games, Pacman…indulge me as I wander down nostalgia lane.
On the 4th day of our Christmas lives, the horror of migraines gave to me, 4 of a nifty little creation called The Wand, a handheld filter designed to remove the histamines and Sulfites in alcohol that may trigger headaches and hangovers.The Wand picks the wizard?
On the 3rd day of our Christmas lives, brandwashing annoyed me with 3 Disney Princess Ultimate Celebration Castles – 3 floors, 6 rooms and you have to turn the swing into your couch, what, are your jewels, furs, gowns, and shoes taking up too much room you need to covert things? And why a Princess? “Dolls don’t stand on their own”, sadly, neither do most Princesses. You may need to be royalty to afford the hefty price tag on this plastic palace.
On the 2nd day of our Christmas lives, temptation approved for me, 2 Credit cards (don’t let the cha-ching fool you, Christmas isn’t about who can spend the most).
And Fairtrade Christmas chocolates in a reforestration tree!!!
Christmas is an ideal time to slow down, not speed up.
and where we are (or aren’t), and where we’re going.
All things considered I’m pleased with my year of chronic change challenge. Life has thrown very large lemons at me, so I’m drinking a lot…of lemonade.
Is Christmas really the most wonderful time of the year? Can’t we make the most wonderful time of the year any old time of the year? Does it have to be scheduled? Does it have to be a certain day? Why not wish each other well and treat each other well every single day in each and every single way?
The message is drummed into us in every seasonal day, in every seasonal way, that if you’re not involved in a holiday social barrage then you’ll be unhappy, that you’ll be sad, that you’ll be lonely, you’ll miss out on the perfect Christmas. It’s CFOMO – Christmas Fear of Missing Out.
Catastrophe will strike if your days and nights aren’t stuffed with: family dinners, parties, drinks with friends, hugging, skating in pairs, Secret Santa/gift exchanges, and of course, people running into the arms of loved ones at airports, etc. Shiny, sparkly images of happy people enjoying the holidays together, shimmering like a holiday mirage.
It can be overwhelming, yet it’s one day, sure it’s been stretched into like, months because of the hype, the marketing as we’re viciously bombarded with images of physical and social wealth that are unattainable for many. Blink. Relax. Enjoy it your way.
1. Marathon your way through the season, which apparently now begins in January with brief visits from other holidays before bouncing back to Christmas again. Don’t limit yourself to Christmassy viewing, though if you’re in the mood…
“Get Back” to Let It be and Let it snow and Let it go, yeah yeah yeah, The Beatles won’t let you down as they wanna hold your hand down this long and winding road; spend some time back in time at “Downton Abbey”; go anywhere or anywhen with The Doctor in classic or modern “Doctor Who” (not “Doctor Who Flux”, flux, wait, is that because The Doctor is female now, hmmm, weird…);
don’t be sheepish, pop over to “Shetland”; immerse yourself in the Marvel Universe, or the Star Wars galaxy, or anywhere else you can imagine; revisit some “Friends”; fear the future of “The Handmaid’s Tale”; hope “Vera” only calls you “love” or “pet”, not “sunshine”(Dear Santa and Vera, I can explain…); see what is the deal with “Seinfeld” (It’s Festivus for the rest of us); be glad you’re not invited to a“Game of Thrones”Christmas party (you know nothing, Jon Let It Snow);
put on your Walkman, pull on your neon spandex and fanny packs to take a tour of the Upside Down in “Stranger Things”; watch cooking shows, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay (are you blaming the fish?!?), “Baking It” with Andy Samberg (can Lonely Island all host?), or “Breaking Bad“; or drop by “Yellowstone”; find out “What We Do in the Shadows” or in the “Shadow and Bone”; and/or see who survived on “The Walking Dead“. Or read your way through the snow, ho, ho, ho…
2. Use this as a time to catch up with family, friends, or new friends (just haven’t met you yet) who also are looking to hide away from the holidays, enjoy the holidays in a less commercial way…
3. Be bold, be brave, go on a holiday dating/companionship spree, even if it’s on Zoom. Eggnog your way through stories about his/her ex, mom, ex’s mom, work, football, baseball, hockey, fashion, cars…Who knows, maybe you’ll find a Christmas miracle, or become comfortably numb.
4. Adjust your expectations. Social media is not reality. Say that to yourself every time you go online. This is not life, it’s one long high school reunion. Everyone is wearing their best outfit, just lost weight, and sharing the highlights of their life.
5. Fill your time, don’t just kill that time. Do something you wanted or needed to do but hadn’t quite gotten around to it yet. Read, write, craft, draw, paint, bake, blog, sing, play games, cook, knit, go to a museum or art gallery, walk, work, declutter (unclutter?), exercise, sleep, stream, meme, clean, dream…It’s all good.
6. Have a Single Christmas Party (not for singles, just you, be your own party). If you can’t enjoy your own company how do you expect others to enjoy it? This year, like last, we have some restrictions, but enjoy your time anyway.
7. It’s never too late (or early) to start a new tradition with yourself or others, hopefully one that doesn’t involve eating your feelings, spending future rent/mortgage payments, insulting others, and/or anything illegal.
8. Help others this season – the best way to keep your mind off your problems is to help others with their problems. It can also give you perspective if you’re in a woe-is-me-kinda-place.
9. Under no circumstances drink too heavily, that could lead to calling, texting, or emailing an ex, or blogging under the influence, or doing something else you may otherwise regret.
Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas, but generally, on all the days of the year, make a life for yourself that isn’t an escape room. A life where you’re not trying to get away, not trying to immerse yourself in the latest holiday…where each and every single day holds some tidings of simple comfort and joys, and some jolly.
This season is simple. It’s days, weeks, months like any other. It’s filled with what you want it to be filled with, well, mostly. Winston Churchill famously said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going”. Churchill means, when you’re struggling, push through, or you’ll get stuck in the struggle. I triple dog dare you, keep going, you never know what’s on the other side, isn’t that exciting?
And have yourself a Merry Little Christmas…and be kind, to yourself and others. Please. Thank you kindly.
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ~Charles Dickens
I’m haunted. Maybe haunted isn’t the right word, um, spooked, creeped out, ok, maybe just confused. I’ve tried to lead a normal life, really I have, but I’m afraid my attempts have been astonishingly less than successful.
Everywhere I turn, so-called supernatural forces invade my peace and quiet.
Ghouls, goblins, trolls, clowns, demons, ghosts, poltergeist (Theeeeey’rrrre here!), killers (#JFKFiles, or a version of them are being ‘released’, but my conspiracy theory stands – it was aliens, so in love with Marilyn Monroe they took her to their planet and they also took John F. Kennedy because he was having her death investigated…and now you also know my theory on how Monroe ‘died’)…Serial killers, serials killers who kill serial killers (Thank you?), vampires, zombies, dragons, zombie dragons, monsters, witches, warlocks, werewolves, wizards, whatchamacallits (why am I suddenly craving chocolate?)…I admit, I’m no Stephen King, but I’m not blameless in this, I’ve invited some of them in, even if metaphysically, er, unwittingly?
How was I to know it would be an ongoing supernatural thing?
Something wicked this way comes, really, kinda busy double double toiling and troubling here…
Rapping, rapping, rapping at my door? Let me guess, the government wanting more, more, more.
No, it’s not what goes bump in the night that terrifies me, but those in the light, pretending they want my thoughts to be free.
It’s not a corpse risen from its grave, nor a black cat (look how cute they are, how could something that cute be bad luck, oh wait, just had a flashback of some past dates, cute can equal creepy)…
What scares me the most doesn’t claw from the ground, nor fly down and drag me to its lair – no, it’s the lies, the lies, oh the lies, lies, lies! We’re spending our precious time on this planet…listening, worse, accepting lies – from politicians, corporations, anyone – we want to believe (ok, lapsed into X-Files there, who am I kidding, it’s playing in my brain right now). How can we trust if we’ve become toilet paper, waiting to be used or always taking crap from folks?
I feel like shouting, Beware! Beware! there and everywhere, Grim Reapers Heffalump or Woozle, I’m very confusel. And it isn’t honey they’re after, they’d have to let the bees live for that, no, Winnie the Pooh and all of us should know, it’s all been very sly-sly-sly…Power and money is what they covet and if they so love it, they’ll guzzle up and muzzle up everything you prize.
Who needs horror movies anymore? https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/03/20/25-ways-to-stay-alive-in-a-horror-movie/ This is where the magic happens. Online. They put a spell on us and now we’re theirs. It’s all a bunch of hocus pocus. We need to cut through, maybe with a jigsaw…or break through, open our minds – Aparecium! Reveal the truth (yes, it’s still alive, just been badly wounded). I’m should drown my sorrows in Butterbeer, yup, you guessed it, I’m rereading the Harry Potter series for Halloween.
This isn’t your Grinch’s consumerism, it’s so much worse.I don’t even enjoy entertainment (as much), I’m getting (more?) grossed out: books, TV, music, phones, video games, apps, sports, fashion, movies – what we spend on entertainment could be feeding people, giving them healthcare, education, shelter, security – the budget of the new Star Wars movie alone could feed a nation or six (The Last Jedi? Nothing like spoilers – now release the fans!).
We’re so afraid of being alone or being left out, we’re so desperate to be accepted, to get approval, we’re willing to believe just about anything – we believe gossip is real, innuendo is truth, and rumour is fact. Who says we don’t get enough exercise, have you been on the internet, we get plenty of exercise, jumping to conclusions. Instead of feeling connected and informed, I’m feeling tortured (and not in a starving artist kind of way). Smoke and mirrors, why bother, just plop whatever BS on the internet and suddenly, for many people, it’s magically true. Getting news from Facebook and Twitter? Really? That drives me batty! Seriously, the internet, enter at your own risk https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/10/28/enter-at-your-own-risk/
In a world of choices, we have less and less choice every single day. You think zombies, Negan, and The Saviors are scary in The Walking Dead?Ple-eeease, that’s nothing, you want to get terrified, look up: child pornography,sexual harassment, rape culture (#MeToo isn’t just a hashtag, it’s past time – listen), child abuse, racism (clowns now emboldened to wash off their make-up and take their show on the road), poverty,net neutrality https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/06/02/net-neutrality-i-hardly-knew-you/, opioid epidemic (let me guess, this crisis will now be ‘fixed’, for profit, by those who caused the problems, for profit)…cashless society (some folks must really love having their everything tracked), stock market manipulation, business amalgamation, human trafficking, scams, women’s (real) equality, chemicals (everywhere) in our environment, war profiteering, civil (and not so civil) rights, human (and not so human) rights, multi-level marketing, tax loopholes/evasion, sponsored reviews, wealth abyss, or want to get freaky, gasp, food waste.
The real darkness seems to be oozing from deep inside us as we hyper-focus on the trivial and ignore anything of consequence – arguing, fussing, fighting, whining, name-calling, complaining – we’ve become mentally Pennywise and pound foolish. We wear wireless masks, hiding in costumes of anonymity and anger, our candy the pain we can inflict or watch or both. We all float down here in the internet sewer because here, everything you’re afraid of, every nightmare you ever had can be found with the click of a button, and I guess, we want more of Wi-Fi IT.
It’s all so devilishly clever – we’re snapping selfies while they charge us hidden fees for digging our own graves.
If only we could focus on kindness instead anger, helping instead of hurting, and sticking together instead of tearing each other apart. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but stranger things (2)… https://yadadarcyyada.com/2016/10/14/the-glorious-chaos/
Education, formal or otherwise is the answer, the more you learn the less you’ll be burned. Click on learn, not Clickbait. Who cares what celebrities are doing? Care about those who need, not those who greed. Seriously, what are we looking for anyway?
Maybe this year for Halloween, Rick Ghastly can sing an updated version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, because even if we find out cellphones are causing cancer or controlling our minds, they’ll have to pry these smartphones out of our cold, dead hands!!!
So I’ll try to rise up above the noise and confusion, carry on to see past all illusions. I’ll lay my weary head to rest (only 3 days without sleep, I’m fine) and wait for Halloween candy to go sale…because, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore...
Even Dean and Sam Winchester boys couldn’t help us out of the hellish pit of petulance we’ve fallen into, but I’d love to see them try. The Fall of the House of Us…sure. Happy Halloween!
listening, worse, accepting lies – from politicians, corporations, anyone – we want to believe (ok, lapsed into X-Files there, who am I kidding, it’s playing in my brain right now). How can we trust if we’ve become toilet paper, waiting to be used or always taking crap from folks?
Instead of feeling connected and informed, I’m feeling tortured (and not in a starving artist kind of way). Smoke and mirrors, why bother, just plop whatever BS on the internet and suddenly, for many people, it’s magically true. Getting news from Facebook and Twitter? Really? That drives me batty! Seriously, the internet, enter at your own risk 
yadadarcyyada 