Hooray for Hollywood

 

Hooray for Hollywood

 Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week to get you thinking, talking, blogging and making new friends.

According to the late Jordan Maxwell,  Hollywood is named for the fact that the holly was used for magic wants by the Druids. This is where term "Hollywood Magic" comes from. People are under it's 'spell'.    Another story says that  H.J. Whitley the father of Hollywood saw a Chinese man hauling wood on the hills overlooking the future site  and asked him what he was doing.  "I holly wood" he said meaning hauling wood.   It occurred to Whitley that holly wood was a great name for his new town. 

1  During WW2 Marilyn Monroe was an aircraft factory inspector.  She was no dumb blonde but had an above average IQ.     Do you know some Hollywood or record industry trivia? - I got into What's My Line - and discovered that Dorothy Killgalen's last child was not her husband's? Very interesting stuff. Oh and Arlene Francis was Armenian!

2. Would you share with us the funniest movie you have ever seen? - Oh I am not a huge comedy fan per se, but Rush Hour is a funny set of films, and folks were just discussing it on my Twitter!      

   How about the most dramatic? - The Secret in Their Eyes is pretty dramatic.

3.  Has a movie ever really moved you or changed the way you see things? I love Love is All You Need with Pierce Brosnan, and The Lunchbox with Irfaan Khan. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was also my fav to watch when I felt down - and I picked up something different every time I re-watched it. These are my go-to movies when I want to feel happier or feel my feelings.

4. Do you have movie nights at your house with special snacks, treats  etc.?  If not movies, was there something else around which you created a  special family night? No - if a movie is chosen now we do some popcorn or special food. We didn't really do anything for special family nights beyond birthdays and holidays etc. Now with divorced parents it's 10x more difficult.

Blowing off The Dust

 I'm still here! I am reading everyone's blogs, and just taking it day by day. I did my last shift for the vaccine clinic on Friday. They renewed everyone to end of 2022, but I have No Guaranteed Hours so ... may get no shifts until the end of summer. On the plus side, it helped my resume and I made almost 5k from it, so can't complain there. Work has picked up, we have surgery dates so I am back to dealing with people and all their ways. 

I have patients who have little to no support at home, but still want surgery. I tell them I can try and get them somewhere to stay after surgery but there is NO guarantee about anything. They say yes, then freak out and call me saying I promised them something which I NEVER did. I have one patient in particular who I feel so sorry for. She lives with family but they give her no help. We can't deny her the surgery but she also struggles to take accountability for anything. She does not read or write English, and when I give suggestions on how she can read the information provided she makes excuses. I asked her to see her family doctor for help, she makes excuses. Just super tough. 

Otherwise I just also had a very stressful time mediating between my two sisters. They were once very close but now they are experiencing some friction. I was very upset last weekend, crying all over the place. I hope they can get to a better place now. It wore me OUT! Big families are so tough to be a part of!

When the Older Folks Start Getting Older

 When I was younger, I always wanted to be older. I naively thought things would magically be better. Little did I realize I was the one in control of my life ! So now I am older, wiser, but everyone around me is aging too. My parents, my step dad, siblings, etc. I have one grandparent left - my grandfather. He is over 92, and has lived a long life. We celebrated his 90th in 2019! It was wonderful. He got taken into hospital on Tuesday, he's recovering now. But watching my aunts and uncles fight over everything to do with him, and his health, and his $$ makes me sad. My mom is not his favourite, but I think as he got older he realized what playing favourites did and he made some amends. Now, every single thing is picked apart and fought over - behind his back mostly. 

My mom and I were discussing the two items I want - a painting and my grandad's London Fog coat. I told her it's sad that I could very well not get those items because her siblings are indeed just so selfish and self absorbed, ugh. I don't think my grandmother would have approved of how they all behave, so maybe better she is not around to witness it !

Tuesday 4: Your Life

 

Your Life

In keeping with our theme of looking at the past, maybe we can talk about your past life and what it might have been like?

1. What was life like for you as a child of elementary school age? Friends, games, TV, music, food, interests?  Tell us about it won't you? - For the first part of this time, I was living in Trinidad. I had a couple of good friends then, one who passed at 19 - the other I am still friends with today (thanks Facebook)! In Trinidad we had no cable, so I watched a lot of sesame street, and I ate whatever I was given - etc. When we moved to Canada, I made new friends and got to watch North American TV! I love Arthur to this day. I am still friends with a few girls from elementary school too :) I also listened to a lot of radio, I loved it at this age and through high school.

2. Moving along to the teen years would you mind sharing some of the same things with us? What were you interested in?  What did you watch on TV or listen to on the radio?  Tell us all about you as a teenager.  I had an ok high school experience. I listened to whatever was on the radio, and watched whatever I was allowed to watch - ER? I really cannot recall what I was watching, CSI? I still loved the radio, and chatting with my friends on MSN. During March break, I'd go down to the Eaton Centre and we got poutine or cookies (cause it was usually Lent and a Friday) I have one friend from highschool, my high school bf and I dated into college but we are not friends anymore.

3. Would you share your college or young working years with us?  Did your interests change or grow in

your late teens or early 20s?  Did your friend come or go?  Did you live at school or home or have a place of your own?  So many questions only you can answer. 

I lived at home, my friends stayed the same but then I turned 19 and I got to go OUT! I was studious from Sept to April, and working and partying in the summer. I took a gap year to save for my 1st year's tuition, and then I worked every summer until I got a job in my 2nd year that I kept until after graduation. I really got into soca fetes- they saved my life. I think I would be a different person now IF I had not been dating same high school boyfriend, sigh! But still it was a good time, I graduated and all :)

4. And lately... what are the topics occupying your mind right now?   How have things changed in your life in the not to distant past. Are you okay with the changes?

I am facing the decision to get a new job quickly, or wait until my boss semi retires - I hate change. I cannot afford to buy a home or rent anywhere, it's pretty sad. Personally I have grown a lot since my post university years, and I think I am cool but, who knows? 

Snow Snow and More Snow

 We had a big snow storm the 3rd Monday in January. The snow has not really melted, and this past week we got, MORE snow. Not as much, but still very annoying. I luckily cleared my car off Thursday, so for my drive to the pt job yesterday, I only had to clear off snow (and not ice)! The clinics are all slow, so yesterday was another nice and quiet shift. Unfortunately I had a guy come in with his kid (who had been advised was exposed to a positive classmate)! I don't blame the dad, but really, public health. They said monitor for symptoms, not stay inside so obviously you're bringing him to get the vaccine! He has to wait however, my supervisor advised up to two weeks. 

Meanwhile, the convoy is big news over here. I ordered an item to a mall far away from me (for free shipping) and I got a WhatsApp message saying the convoy was rolling through today. So I grabbed it yesterday. They're causing havoc in Ottawa - setting off fireworks at midnight, setting up camp (in a city where the unhoused have no ability to do the same) defacing statues (when black and brown people do that it's a problem) and walking around with Nazi and Confederate flags?! Systemic racsim is a TRIP. What would they know about that though. It hits a sore spot for me, but it really is too complex to blog out; and it really doesn't matter to some people, they're thinking one thing and one thing only. 

My nieces are coming over to spend some time, it's their mom's birthday soon so my sister and bro in law are getting some quality time together! So I am going to tidy my room and my car, which needs to be taken in to the carwash at this rate (I'm getting my mom to do it - it gives me the creeps!)

Tuesday 4 - Music!!

 

Music Music Music!

 Welcome friends!  Good to see you back for another Tuesday 4 where we keep Toni Taddeo's weekly blog post alive.  I hope you are enjoying them.  This week let's talk about music and entertainment shall we?

1. What kind of music do you like the best?

I like a little bit of almost everything - except maybe electronic music, punk rock?? Love me some Motown, oldies, pop, soca etc 

2. Does the radio play in your car and if so what station or kind of music plays?  Does music play in your home often? - I loveeeee the radio! I love talk radio when I drive though - OR I play spotify which is usually a random chosen playlist OR a podcast. My mom and step dad loooovveee music, so it plays here a lot. I also love to sing.

3. What do you think of the music played in restaurants or stores? Do you find it relaxing or annoying? - restaurants should play background music so folks can talk. stores should choose like a 90s hits or pop hits (imo) or always a best of something!

4. What part has music played in your life? What kind of music played at your wedding or at parties you have been to? Oh my god, music is my everything. I am always singing, love listening to it when I drive or clean. Just today as I walked to work, I replayed the same song a couple times. It just is such an integral part of my life. I love to go out and dance, so tend to end up at soca fetes. I have never been married, but it would range from oldies, to pop, to soca and dancehall!

Snow Day!

 We have over a foot of snow, and it keeps going! I have a snow day, my boss advised me not to go in. Normally I would, but this is how I know it is BAD - I can usually walk to work in 10 minutes! So we are not in the office today - my voicemail is changed, email being monitored etc. I cannot even see my car anymore! I hope everyone continues to stay safe.