life in the old lane

Rainy and chilly today. Really not complaining about either condition however. Plenty of time for hot humid sticky weather over the next 3 months. No problem wearing my winter sweatshirt after Memorial Day.

I announced that I had gotten my “GoodShot” keyword coded photos all fixed. I was wrong. But, this isn’t a real problem. Just an Old Woman Problem. And, if I want the keywords back, then I must root around my 77,817 photos library. And that is actually fun.

This is a bad photo. It shouldn’t have been saved. It was so bad that I hadn’t even put a Carlton keyword on it. But, today, 22 years after I took the photo, 11 years after Carlton died – this photo grabbed me.

It is so very Carlton. He is coming out of the ocean at Hapuna after body surfing, pulling up his Birdies.. He loved body surfing. You can see how tan he is. No wonder he died of skin cancer. But, he wouldn’t have changed a thing. Maybe he would have worn a rashie, but I doubt it. He didn’t wear a bike helmet either. 

a hui hou my friend a hui hou

The May 28 header is from last winter – Kailua Pier.

Today has been one of those days when my internal battery feels critically low. My brain, it seems, decided to take an extra-long holiday, leaving me feeling unfocused and fatigued. The evidence? Last night, after dinner, I sent the elevator to the incorrect floor, disembarked, and then, in a moment of utter confusion, questioned a resident of that floor about their presence on “my” floor. A hasty retreat to the stairwell followed, and I walked the remainder of the way home. Getting old ain’t pretty.

But, today, I managed to get to the correct floor on the first try every time. And, I stopped a chubby CD from renewing itself for a long time at a low rate. Also made it to and from yoga. Treated myself to Uber, both ways. No judging people. Aside: WiFi keeps cutting out. Time to switch to the phone’s hotspot.

And, I have worn the tread off my running walking shoes. Have a new pair in the closet. For some reason, I was saving the new pair. Put the new pair into service today. Pitched the old pair. What exactly was I saving the new pair for? 

Not only is The Asylum home. It’s obviously where I am supposed to be. Perhaps I should be on the locked unit as well. 

I got all my “GoodShot” keywords back. But I enjoyed looking at my old photos. And what was a “GoodShot” in 1995 might not be a “GoodShot” in 2025. Most of the 77,800 shots can/should be deleted. At the very least, I should identify the “BestShots” and limit them to 100. Maybe print a book of them. For my pleasure, not because I think anyone except me cares. I am not Ansel Adams.

A couple that amused me from the archives.

These are over 10 years old, but seem relevant.

Did a little remedial “death cleaning” this morning. I still have a tablecloth and some napkins. Haven’t used them since COVID. Don’t imagine I will ever use them again. I saved two napkins and added the rest to my growing stack for Goodwill.

Ran into Lulu on my morning walkabout.

No worries today. Nice weekend day.

I got a box of mac and cheese for a fine takeout lunch. The Asylum makes good mac and cheese. I haven’t a clue why they serve it so infrequently. Some of this week’s menu items include Citrus Banana, Nutmeg and Greek Yogurt Soup, and Parsnip Cashew Cream Soup. I’ll not be having soup for lunch this week. Carlton would call this “Contempt Prior to Investigation.” I call it common sense.

 

Took the day off from wandering around my 77,000+ photos.

Across the street the pool opens for the season today. But, it’s pretty chilly.

I was supposed to meet a friend for dinner at 4:30, He wants to  look at planes at Gravely Point. Before dinner. I can do that.

Logged 5.22 miles today. All good.

I wandered off into old photo land again today. Well, I took a few laps around finance land, too. I am not very well-positioned to survive inflation, but I don’t know what to do about it. Stagflation is also a possibility.  If your financial survival plan is hope, you are in trouble. 

Old photo Time:

It gets worse every day.

Most of today was spent rummaging around my 77,000+ images looking for my “good shots”. Through 2011, I was serious about backing up just my good shots. After 2011, I don’t seem to have done anything. So, I get the chance to decide what’s good and what isn’t all over again.

Wandering through the photo library – neither of these are good shots. But they are thought-provoking. 

This snapshot sums up old age. Everyone in this photo, including the photographer, except me, is dead. Cliff, the photographer, and his wife, Lorraine, died last year. Flo, Stu, and Carlton have missed more than a few Xmas Dinners. The older you get, the more photos of dead people you have.

This Halloween-themed political yard sign from 2008  serves as a reminder not to be surprised by 47. The Republicans have been on a path of dumb and dumber for quite some time. Meanwhile, the Democrats have spent the intervening years engaged in a circular firing squad, so I’m not cutting them any slack either.

OK. That was unpleasant. My meticulously organized 77,000+ photo library, residing safely on an external drive and cataloged in Lightroom with keywords galore, lost a keyword. 

Sometime in the last year or two, my “goodshot” keyword decided to pull a disappearing act. Now, out of 77,000 photos, I’d estimate a maximum of 300 truly earned the “goodshot” designation. Lightroom, bless its heart, said it had about 100 goodshots. That seemed plausible, given I often have multiple versions of the same shot. But when I actually asked Lightroom to retrieve them? Two. A grand total of two photos – one from this year, one from a couple of years back.

Not good. Not good at all.

The photos themselves are still there, perfectly safe. It’s just the one keyword that seems to have vanished into the ether. And while I have plenty of Lightroom library backups, the thought of rolling back my entire catalog to recover a single missing keyword feels like an unnecessary risk. What if I mess up something else? What if I destroy all the edits? No, thank you.

So, my assignment is to find my old “goodshots”. Started this afternoon. 

This is one of my “goodshots”. On August 23, 2011, an earthquake damaged the Washington Monument.  Somebody had to look for cracks. 

This isn’t a real problem. This is “an old woman problem”. I know that. There are plenty of real problems out there.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. Too bad it isn’t a beautiful day in the US of A.

I went to my yoga class in person today. And had a lovely walk after class.

That improved my mood.

And the orchids are mostly happy.

Tired today for no apparent reason. That just happens when you are old. You can do anything you must do, but you really want to just chill, with a side order of nap.

Also, today I was overwhelmed with my stuff. For years, I limited my wardrobe to 30 hangers. There has been creepage. I culled it back to 32 hangers. And I tossed some knick-knacks. It takes constant vigilance. Stuff just happens. I think that’s one of the reasons I like to travel. I can escape from my stuff.

Took a nice walk, about 4 miles, and a nicer nap, maybe 40 minutes max.

Gratitude

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I have had a great life. I am still having a great life. As long as I keep focused on what I can do. The real question is: How did I get so lucky?

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Now, if only we can LXXXVI XLVII

I haven’t killed anyone today. More importantly, I didn’t kill my friend’s Windows 11 laptop. I didn’t fix it either. But, at least when I left, it was still operational.

I consider this a successful day. But, I still have to get through dinner without a major faux pas.

Also, ruthlessly disposed of some old origami models. I asked myself The Question: What happens to the old origami models when I am dead? Or when I am carted off to the dementia unit? So, dispose of your own junk, woman!