IZEA

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

New Format: New Subtitles, a Synopsis of the Last Few Weeks

I toyed with the idea of separate blogs, and that may be what ends up happening, but for now, I will introduce new features:

FROM THE BOOKSHELF -- where I talk about new and not-so-new inspiring or informative books that would be of interest to anyone who cares about health issues and/or living mindfully.  If you have a relevant book you would like me to talk about, or even want to write a guest post about, let me know in comments or via email

ON THE SCREEN-- I have a serious TV habit and I love to talk about what I'm watching [which is often catch-up binge-watching].  Contact me if you have a show you would like me to check out [or would like to guest-blog about].  From time to time, I will discuss movies too.

GLOBAL GASTRONOMY/FOOD ANTHROPOLOGY -- My goal is to eat cuisine of every country on earth.  I am lucky to live in New York and doubly lucky to live in Queens, the most diverse borough of New York City.  And if I can't get out to eat it, I can always order it online.  I am also lucky to have a few friends who are more than willing to accompany me on my culinary trip around the world.  So far, we have done Brazilian, Somalian and Ethiopian, and I will soon post about those experiences.  If I were to give advice to my younger self, it would be this: "Do what you love and follow your passion, and you will figure out how to make a living at it".  And there was someone who also said something to the effect of "Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life".  I have been lucky to have worked in the airline industry for 20 years and been able to travel to many different countries including Israel, Japan, Mexico and even South Africa.  When I was a junior at SUNY Stony Brook [now called Stony Brook University], I needed to declare a major and I wanted to major in Anthropology; my favorite classes were Anthropoly 101 and Linguistics.  But 1974, the prevailing question was always "How are you going to make a living?" and I couldn't come up with an answer other than "teach in a college", which elicited a response of "Oh, you're going to be a perpetual student" from my parents.  Academia was viewed by the grownups in my world as a way to stay in school permanently [yeah, so?] and a way never to "grow up".  So I majored in French because everybody saw me as a future United Nations translator/interpretor [did they even know how hard that is for an American girl who couldn't afford to move to Paris for at least a few years?].  Then again, I could always do what every Jewish girl was expected to do -- teach in a nice high school ["great job for a wife and mom -- you're off when the kids are off"]  Anyway, there went the passion.  I still haveb my passion for language, culture and food.  And my taste buds will travel around the wotld and to different regions within countries.

DISABILITY ISSUES -- As a person with ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease/ Motor Neuron Disease, it's hard to escape the fact that I am a member of a much-larger community of people with disabilities [PWDs], a minority that still has a long way to go. even 20+ years after the American with Disabilities Act [ADA] was passed in Congress.

ALS/MND NEWS  :Anything related to ALS -- fundraising, research, events, clinical trials, etc.

HEALTHY AND MINDFUL LIVING:  There is no cure or effective treatment -- yet.  It's typical, upon receiving a grim diagnosis of any kind [especially a terminal disease], to give up and just neglect everything you might have been doing to live longer and healthier.  But take it from one who's been there, done that and done a lot of damage.  I was somehow led to believe  that there was nothing I could do to improve my situation, and that I was in danger of losing a ton of weight; and so I interpreted that to mean I should enjoy the limited time I had left and indulge.  So I ate everything I loved -- fatty foods, sweets, fast food. Much to my surprise,  I gained a ton of weight and with it hypertension, high cholesterol, hypothyroidism [aka slow thyroid] and even pre-diabetes and two hospitalizations for blood clots.  I needed to get back on a healthy eating track and I will share all I have learned from a lot of reaearch on nutrition.  I will also review food products.

PRODUCTS AND HACKS FOR DISABLED LIVING:  Anything I come across that can make life better for me, PWDa and even Seniors

MY WORLD:  Finally, I will continue to share what's going on in my world of -- so far -- 13 years living with ALS/Lou Gehrig's/ MND.  I can only tell what I experience. Opinions expressed here are my own and only my own.  What works for me might not work for you; conversely what didn't work for me, might just work for you.  Everybody's experience is different, even within the ALS/MND community.  And because we are talking globally these days, mine is the American experience and I am passionate about knowing what is happening with everyone especially PWDs in all parts of the world.

One last thing:  ads are welcome and also guest blog posts......ads will be paid or I am open to barter.......just contact me at my email