I have to go to the dentist today for two of the most dreaded words in dental work: root canal. Yes, I have to have a root canal this afternoon. I lost a filling in a tooth a while back and the nerve in the tooth has died. While it has not caused any signs of pain, when I went to the dentist a few weeks ago for a cleaning, the x-ray showed that there was the beginning of a small infection near that tooth. The infection has not caused any problems or pain so far, but that might have to do with the nerve in that tooth already being compromised. Anyway, I’ll spend roughly two hours of my afternoon in a dental chair today.
On a brighter note, here’s your Isabella fix for the week. She decided to supervise my cooking the other night:
I don’t think she approved of the ingredient I just added.
Now, she seems just surprised and maybe skeptical of whatever ingredient I’d just added.
Maybe at this point I’m getting at least tacit approval.
Some days are harder to get out of bed than others, but on most of those days, you have to get up anyway. Even if I have certain commitments at work today, Isabella is not a believer in sleeping in. She’s fine if I take a nap later, but she’s not about to let me sleep through her breakfast. So, even though I’d love nothing better than going back to bed right now, I’m awake and need to get ready for work.
National Black Cat Appreciation Day is on August 17 every year. It’s not the same as National Black Cat Day, which falls on October 27. The goal of both holidays is to celebrate these sleek, beautiful creatures.
Of course, I have to include the most beautiful black cat:
I’m awake this morning, but I don’t want to be. This is one day I wish Isabella would have let me sleep a bit longer. I went to bed a little early last night, but I wish I had gone to bed even earlier. I’ve been reading Stranger on the Shore by Josh Lanyon, and I just don’t want to put it down and go to sleep at night. I’ve actually read this book before, and obviously, I really enjoyed it the first time. It’s been a while since I’ve read it, so while I remember the outcome of the book, there are little details I had forgotten about. It’s a mystery, and I find it fun to rediscover the clues leading up to solving the mystery. When I read a mystery the first time, I enjoy trying to solve the mystery before it’s revealed in the book, but on a reread, I enjoy recognizing all the clues along the way.
I have always been fascinated by the 19th century transcendentalists. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s (1803 – 1882) philosophy often aligns with my own. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. My favorite piece of his writing is his 1841 essay “Self-Reliance.” It contains the most thorough statement of one of his recurrent themes: the need for each person to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of his most famous quotations:
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
However, this is not the quote that inspired me to write this post. This one was written in his journal on November 8, 1838:
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
Emerson’s words retain relevance today, particularly in the age of the 24-hour news cycle when outrageous sound bites that command the most attention and elicit the highest amount of clicks is heard over and over. It is especially relevant when we have a presidential candidate who loves to portray himself as a persecuted (and prosecuted) martyr.
In the quote, Emerson condemns those who are so ridiculously devoted to the righteousness of their own ideas that anything which poses a contrary opinion must inherently be dangerous. Republicans, especially Trump, consistently complain that they are being persecuted when anyone disagrees with them, and they have several 24-hour news stations that back these false claims of persecution often with misleading or inaccurate information. They use these tactics because, like the Republicans they prostrate themselves to, want everyone to conform to their way of thinking. They claim they want people to be self-reliant, but they demand everyone conform to their small minded ideas.
Over many years, I have learned that my happiness doesn’t come from conformity but depends on embracing who I am. The world would be a boring place if we all acted and thought the same way. It would be nothing more than mindless drones. I tend to believe that those people who conform to what others think they should are often the most unhappy and often angry. Our country was founded on the ideals communicated in the Declaration of Independence and the belief that all are created equal and are able to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
So those are my thoughts of the day. Now, here is your picture of Isabella for the week:
I’m taking a vacation day, ostensibly to recover from my colonoscopy, but I’m feeling fine. I slept much of the day after I got home yesterday. If you’re wondering, the colonoscopy went great. Nothing was found, and I don’t have to have another one for ten years.
I do have a few things to do today besides taking it easy. I plan to do some laundry this morning, and go to the grocery store this afternoon. I also have an appointment at a local art gallery about possibly teaching a class for them. A little extra money never hurt anyone, and it’s a subject I look forward to teaching.
One last thing, since I haven’t posted an Isabella pic this week (and I think I forgot to last week), here you go:
On Saturday, June 18, 2016, I brought home my faithful companion. She was a bit shy when I’d picked her out. She was the only female kitten the shelter had, and she was hiding under a chair. I coaxed her out and as soon as she was in my arms, there was no doubt that she was coming home with me.
I remember taking the picture above. She was in the bathroom of my first apartment in Vermont, and she looked up at me and gave me one of those “fierce” kitten meows. If you’ve ever had a kitten, you know exactly what I mean.
Two days later, she was still looking up at me, still just as “fierce,” and stealing more of my heart more and more every day.
By that first Friday, she was happily sleeping on my bed. That fierceness and shyness had gone away and she was just a bundle of sweetness. She’s never liked being picked up, nor does she like to cuddle, but she’s happiest if she’s in the same room as me and especially if I’m lying on my side, and she’s perched on my hip.
By the next Saturday, she was queen of her domain, and I was her loyal servant. She’s a demanding, yet benevolent monarch.
Eight years later, she has my whole heart. She’s been with me through some very difficult times and some happy times. I adopted Isabella when I was suffering from depression, the worst I’d ever had. I was lonely and sad, but she brought me love and companionship.
She may wake me up too early to feed her. She may get upset if I don’t go to bed on time. But, she’s there to say goodbye to me in the morning and waiting at the door when I get home.
When I have to be gone for several day, she is beside herself with joy, relief, and love when I get home. I have a neighbor who checks in on her and plays with her while I’m away, but for her, it seems, there is no substitute for me. Some cats act angry when their owner (or subject) is away, but Isabella is always chatting and affectionate when I get home. Maybe she can tell that I’m always just as excited to get home to her.
Over the past eight years, she been my joy every single day. ❤️
I’m hoping today will not be as busy as yesterday. I felt like I was pulled into a dozen different directions at once yesterday. It seemed like every time I had a moment to take a break, an email or phone call came in that had to be dealt with right away. Then, there were all the meetings I had. I don’t think I had a single moment of peace all day. Sometimes, that’s a good thing. The busier I am, the less time I have to pay attention to the migraine I had woken with yesterday. I’m sure I’ll have more emails to deal with today, and I have one meeting, but it supposed to be an easier day. While the meeting I have today is not expected to be a low stress meeting, it’s one that I need to have. It’s something that my old boss failed to deal with, and I’m trying to work with my new director to fix some of those issues to diffuse some of the tensions at the museum.
For various reasons, I have not taken a work from home Friday in over a month. Last week, I took a WFH day on Tuesday, but my last WFH day that fell on a Friday (my usual day) was back in April. I have some things to work on for a class I’ll be teaching on Monday, but this afternoon, I need to do some shopping for work. I need some supplies for this class, and on Sunday, I need to get some snacks for my students. The class is about four hours long, so they will need a break halfway through.
This week has been a good but busy week. My new director started on Monday, and so far so good. It’s only been a week, but it already seems that she is not only what I was hoping for in a new director, but also what we needed. I am feeling optimistic about this new era at the museum.
And, since I did not post an Isabella pic yesterday as I usually do on Thursdays, I thought I’d make up for it today with two pictures. I have a black faux fur throw blanket that I keep at the foot of my bed. I call it “Isabella’s Invisibility Cloak.” It’s the same color she is and if she doesn’t open her eyes or I’m not expecting her to be there, I don’t see her. It has caught me off guard a few times when the blanket suddenly moved as I walked by and two green eyes unexpectedly appeared. If I’d been looking directly at the blanket I’d have seen her there, but when I see it just in the periphery of my vision, I don’t notice her. The first time it happened, it actually made me jump, but I’m used to it now and usually scratch her little head or pet her as I walk by.
A glare showed up in the picture, but imagine that not being there. She’s naturally camouflaged.
And there are those pretty green eyes, though she looks a little peeved that I woke her up.
Joe
The Closet Professor 