HAPPY FRICKIN' NEW YEAR HODGEPODGE!

     How's the New Year going for you so far? Five days into it, for me it's "so far so good." I didn't make any resolutions this year, however, I am thinking about goals or changes I want/need to make to improve my life and myself. Thanks again to Joyce Daley for this edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. One has to wonder where she gets all these questions every week. Her questions are often akin to a conversation with a neighbor standing at the fence sharing a cup of coffee. So grab a cup of your favorite beverage, make yourself comfortable and enjoy!

1. Are you ready for new? Is 2016 likely to be very different than 2015? Do you want it to be?

     Not really. I have a large RC (Resistance to Change) factor. So I am more comfortable with the status quo. 

2. January 6th is National Technology Day. Currently, what is your single biggest struggle or frustration when it comes to technology?

     I struggle to master all the features of my new iPhone 6s. SWMBO and I upgraded our cellphones last November. She is much more gadget savvy than I am. It is amazing what modern smart phones are capable of. 

3. It's that time again...time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, and general uselessness) in 2016. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's top vote getters are-

So (at the start of every single sentence), conversation (as in hotly debated topics where we're invited to 'join the conversation'), problematic, stakeholder, price point, secret sauce, break the Internet, walk it back, presser, manspreading (common in larger cities where some men take up the entire bus or train seat by sitting wide), vape, giving me life (refers to anything that may excite a person or make them laugh), and physicality

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

     The thing about language is that it tends to change over time. A couple of examples that come to mind is Classical Greek morphing into koine (common) Greek of the first century. Classic Parisian French morphing into Canadian French, etc.  The word "gay" being co-opted from meaning light, joyful or happy to meaning homosexual or lesbian. So I don't wish to see any words banished from use for any reason. I am unalterably opposed to political correctness or any abridgement of our right to free speech. I don't have any words that I would like to add to the list.

4. Share one of your current health related goals.

     I have two, lowering my blood sugar and reducing my weight.

5. Let's talk fifty shades of gray. As in the color. Gray is currently a popular color in home decor, paint, wardrobes, hair, wedding party attire, and more. Are you a fan? Do you have the color in some variation in your home or wardrobe?  Gray hair, the old gray mare, gray matter, gray area...which gray idiom can you most relate to right now?

     I'm okay with gray. My gray right now is Gray Hair. 

6. Certain foods are considered 'lucky' if eaten on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Cooked greens to bring economic fortune, black-eyed peas or lentils also symbolize money, pork which symbolizes progress, fish for good luck, and if you're in Spain 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. Did you eat any lucky foods on the first day of the year? Is that a tradition in your home? Of the foods listed, which most appeals to you?

     SWMBO and I don't have a lucky food. Over the Christmas and New Year holidays we do traditionally enjoy my meat stuffing, egg nog and various pastry items.

7. What's the single biggest time waster in your life and what, if anything, will you do about it this year?

     I guess zoning out in front of the television is my biggest time waster. To deal with this waste of time I hope to watch less television and do something else, that is, replace watching TV with some other more productive activity.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
     SWMBO's cancer continues to be in remission, thank God. We are going for our four month follow up with the transplant director on Thursday. SWMBO's stem cells were harvested a couple of years ago and frozen. Our wish is that they remain frozen and it doesn't ever become necessary for the doctor to give them back to her. We thank everyone for your continued support and prayers.  
     Becke the Wonder Dog had a thorough check up by her Vet after her last siezure episode. According to the Vet none of the tests showed anything remarkable. Her blood work is fine. Her urine test is normal and her heart is beating strong. The Vet is unable to determine the cause of the siezure. So we continue to spoil her as she deserves to be.
     Happy New Year everyone!