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Kitchen Table Kibitzing Friday: horizon on the horizon [1]

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Date: 2023-01-27

“My brain feels bruised with numb surprise.”

Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.

This was a weird week. I’m beginning to miss or forget to check calendars because as I get older, I think I can still hold important dates in my memory. I contracted flu at the beginning of the week fully focused on thinking I would go to jury duty on Thursday fully committed to going on the 25th. Except Wednesday was the 25th, and I have spent many days being neurotic about how I would attend because I am dedicated to serving on juries when called. Then it looked like it would snow and while I was bed-ridden and wobbly when standing, I got even more nervous because I over-prepare for such obligations and wanted to be safe and not contagious. I obsessed over how many extra surgical masks I should bring. Should I pack my laptop or a book because someone might try to ‘jack my data. What a worry wart! Fortunately jury duty got canceled but only after I called into the courthouse to reschedule and because I figured out which day it really was. My current assessment is that my short-term memory is declining.

Damn it’s hard finally realizing that’s the horizon is coming.

I have trouble doing glissandos with cheap cars (it’s like drifting, right?) while acknowledging that considering I’m allergic to sulfates, it’s a wash between wine and Diet Coke.

….here are seven things you can do to age like a fine wine or a great violin, vs. a can of diet coke or a cheap car: 1. Think about yourself. 2. Wear purple. There's a wonderful poem that starts, "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple, with a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me." One of the truly great things about getting old is that you can, in ways subtle and grand, thumb your nose at convention with fewer consequences than when you were younger. 3. Use everything www.imdb.com/... 4. Be a novice. At the same time, one of the most critical ways to stay vital as you get older is to consciously immerse yourself in learning new things. The least interesting and most calcified older people I know are those who find a comfortable spot and burrow in: doing the same things, having the same conversations, expressing the same opinions. Make a commitment to yourself to learn something entirely new on a regular basis. 5. Believe what's true. People assume all kinds of things about people over ___ (fill in the blank). That we can't be powerful. That we don't like social media. That we're not sexy. That we think millennials are lazy and entitled. And on and on. You don't have to buy into this. My italics are intentional: this may be the most important sentence in the entire post. It doesn't matter what anyone else assumes or believes about older people - like any other prejudice, just because these ideas are generally held to be true doesn't mean that they are true. 6. Keep good company. I regularly spend time with people who are my age, older than me, younger than me, and a LOT younger than me. 7. Have a lot of fun. My grandparents were lovely people, and they might possibly have had a lot of fun when I wasn’t looking, but I kind of doubt it. www.forbes.com/...

Aside from infrequent bouts of crippling narcissism, I am selfish enough to question whether I’ve been a good friend. As above, I don’t worry about conventions — I’m in DK, so “weirdos do not cancel out”, like there is no “median voter” in an age of low-information. I use everything, but since I’m a hoarder, saving things doesn’t get them used-— if I didn’t have pdfs, I would be found dead, buried under paper. I regret all my Dunning-Kruger episodes, especially ones foisted off on me by other such folks— incompetence loves company. (Why would you even assume I know how to ice skate?) Because of Hegel— I am closer than I have ever been to Truth, no worries, except did I mention that my body continues to get antithetically older? What younger people? “What part of loner don’t you get?” Unless you consider people in their 50s whippersnappers Fun happens after you realize Forbes Magazine used to be called “The Capitalist’s Tool” and you have already read a Jules Feiffer comic that extolls a heroic anti-capitalism financed by Wall Street. addendum: Be careful how you use your memory/memories

You're more likely to forget things if your home is cluttered or your notes are in disarray. Keep track of tasks, appointments and other events in a notebook, calendar or electronic planner. You might even repeat each entry out loud as you write it down to help keep it in your memory. Keep to-do lists up to date. Check off items you've finished. Keep your wallet, keys, glasses and other essential items in a set place in your home so they are easy to find. [...] Limit distractions. Don't do too many things at once. If you focus on the information that you're trying to remember, you're more likely to recall it later. It also might help to connect what you're trying to remember to a favorite song or a familiar saying or idea. www.mayoclinic.org/... x x YouTube Video

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/27/2148730/-Kitchen-Table-Kibitzing-Friday-horizon-on-the-horizon

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