Proverbial Wisdom, Pithy Thoughts, And My Perfect 2016 One Word

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 / Ally Bean / 23 Comments

I found this proverb while researching something else and I think it is charming. Obvious wisdom, of course– but delightful nonetheless.

I like it.

And inexplicably this proverb has reminded me that I need to decide what my 2016 one word will be.

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[Pepper comes to mind, but I think that might be a bit too literal for the uplifting abstract nature of the one word concept.]

[Besides if I used pepper this year I’d feel obligated to use Sneeze next year– and that would never do at all.]

[Unless I wanted to commit to Tissue the year after that. 😉 But I digress…]

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Last year my word was RECLUSE and I’m all the better for it.

Using it as my catalyst, I politely detached from most of my social obligations, then used the time I gained to reflect upon how people in my life, real and virtual, were treating me.

The result? Users + negative people everywhere are no longer welcome in my life. Sincere + friendly people, whose actions showed them to be on Team Ally, are now my sole focus.

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This year I’m confounded about what word to pick. 2011 was SMOOTH. 2012 was NURTURE so that’s out. 2013 was BALANCE. 2014 I didn’t even have a word.

So far this year I’ve thought about: harmony, rejuvenation, dream, plan— but those words sound pretentious to me, too vague, too much like what the smarmy voiceover says in a prescription medicine TV commercial.

No, what I need is a word that gets me focused on getting things done and enjoying that which I accomplish. A word that is easy to remember and implement in all situations. A way to know I’m on track to achieving my goals.

A word, perhaps, such as FORWARD??!

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[Why yes, that would do nicely. Why didn’t I think of that before?]

[Because it is only through the process of writing that you, Ms. Bean, figure out your life. Don’t you know that by now?]

[It would seem that I’m learning.]

~ ~ • ~ ~

So there we have it, my gentle readers. A scintillating thought process explained. An encouraging word chosen. And a pithy blog post written.

Oh, ’tis a happy day– forward I go into 2016!

3 Simple Rules To Make Your Yuletide Joyful

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015 / Ally Bean / 41 Comments

I’M A CHEERFUL CYNIC about this time of the year. Not really a fan of all the seasonal hoopla, but I can see the positive in it.

So as my last blog post of the year, I’ll leave you, gentle readers, with 3 simple rules.

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1) PLAY NICE WITH OTHERS.

2) BE GOOD TO YOUR FAMILY.

3) MAKE THINGS PRETTY.

~ ~ • ~ ~

AND WITH THAT, I say to you an Irish toast:

“Merry met and merry part, I drink to thee with all my heart.”

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, everyone.

See you next year.

Hello Red Heart Emoji, Bye-Bye Mary Jane

November 4, 2015February 11, 2016 / Ally Bean / 28 Comments

YESTERDAY PEOPLE IN MY WORLD talked about two diverse topics: 1) Twitter icon, acceptance of new “like” paradigm and subsequent “heart” emoji; & 2) marijuana, legalization for all uses of said within our state.

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Screenshot from my Twitter feed.

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ALL DAY WHEREVER I WENT, online or in real life, I read or heard a variety of points of view about the above two issues. Everybody had a strong opinion, sometimes logic-based, often loudly stated, but freely given.

Thus in the spirit of being a transparent blogger, and a pleasant real life human being, I’ll tell you what I think about these two topics. That followed me like a lost puppy everywhere I went yesterday.

I don’t really care.

I have no strong opinion about either of these issues.

# # #

WHICH IS NOT TO SAY that I’m ignorant nor waffling under the strain of deciding what I think. No, it’s just saying that because something happens in my world, does not mean that I have a strong opinion about it.

I have preferences, but being an introvert I often keep them to myself. Or only share them with people close to me. Like you, my gentle readers.

To wit, here are my preferences about yesterday’s topics: 1) I’m not thrilled to be an adult using a cutesy emoji to communicate that I like something a fellow adult has said on Twitter; & 2) I’m not for the carte blanche legalization of marijuana sold through ten monopolies.

# # #

Story here.

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I GET THAT PEOPLE ARE frustrated by intractable problems in this world, so they overreact to smaller issues believing they have control over them. But yesterday, y’all outdid yourself dithering and worrying about icons and pot.

Kind of gave me a headache, if you want to know the truth of it all.

And I have to wonder, once again, why I bothered to pay attention to the people spouting off about these issues. Will I never learn to ignore the babble?

A Little Vacation: Went To Texas, Got Wet, Came Home

October 26, 2015July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

:: Late last week we went to Texas to visit Austin, TX, but our little extended weekend vacay took a different turn, and we ended up in Dallas, TX.

Perhaps you heard about Hurricane Patricia?

While both cities were soaked by this unprecedented storm, after getting to Texas, driving to Austin & finding ourselves in the moldiest suburban Hilton Garden Inn room ever, we reconsidered our plans & decided to focus on Dallas instead of messing around with Austin, which was more directly in the path of the storm.

And had unbelievably expensive hotel rooms. [$200.00 per night for a downtown budget Motel 6 room. That’s without taxes. And, of course, no room service available in the place.]

Photo of bleak wet world as seen from room window in Marriott Hotel at Legacy Town Center in Plano, TX, October 2015.

:: I’m glad that we made a change in our plans and chose to goof-off in Dallas, even though the whole region had the most amazingly consistent gray sky that I’ve ever seen.

A sky that some might be tempted to say was gloomy and foreboding.

A sky that seemed to hover over us as we drove around Dallas on about seventy hundred thousand different highways, toll roads, expressways + freeways, in the rain, while Siri told us how to reroute ourselves to avoid flash flooding.

:: So what did we do? Activities that kept us dry, of course.

We visited the Dallas Museum of Art [fascinating American silver collection, Islamic art + Inca artifacts].
We visited the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art [art displayed partly in museum and partly in law firm that shares the building with the museum].
We drove to, but were unable to see, the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano, TX, because it was closed due to flooding.
Then, despite my dislike of malls, we went to NorthPark Center, an upscale 50-year-old mall, incredibly clean– and about as soulless as a mall can get.
Continuing on went to another mall, The Shops at Willow Bend, which for a mall wasn’t so bad. I guess. Zen-Den bought a few shirts at Dillard’s, so not a total waste of time.

:: Do I have a conclusion? Well, I don’t know. Sort of.

All I can tell you, gentle readers, is that I am not unfamiliar with vacations not going as planned. I am nothing if not adaptable. Meaning that while I didn’t return from our vacation rejuvenated by local cuisine, music and artsy-fartsy Austin stuff, I’m happy that I got to see a little bit of Dallas, TX.

Which is massive, affluent, with lots of new buildings, friendly people and, in my experience, incredibly wet. 😉