Born on December 18, 1775.
What is your favorite Jane Austen novel?
Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!
Tag: Writing
Since You’ve Asked
Share five things you’re good at.
Most importantly, I excel at bumping into inanimate objects and asking for forgiveness for my transgressions from said objects. The objects usually accept my apology, but not before inflicting nasty bruises on one of my limbs. Do the objects ever apologize for this bodily harm? Nope.
I am great at singing – in a terrible voice – to my plants, who each have names and who bloom better when they’re spoken to. For example, Chris, Princess Peaches and Penelope are all in bloom right now. They are Christmas cacti. Of course, the blooming has nothing to do with the time of year, it is all due to my singing.
I’m well known for naming my cars and my house appliances. For example, my new refrigerator is named Elizabeth, and directly across from her is Mr. Darcy, the stove. Elizabeth stands there, tall and proud, minding her business. Mr. Darcy stares at her from across the room. He seems frustrated. Maybe that’s because he’s anchored to the wall.
I’m world-renowned for talking too much when I’m nervous, which often gets me into a pickle, which is unfortunate because I don’t like pickles.
Finally, you can ask any of my cat children and they’ll tell you: they each have 10 to 15 nicknames what I prattle off one after the other, whenever the feeling strikes, in that dulcet singing tone I possess.
Gummy Vitamin Addiction
What is one thing you would change about yourself?
The vitamin manufacturers know exactly what they are doing. They are making very expensive candy. It’s an outrage. Fifty dollars for a thirty days’ supply of CoQ10 gummies?! This supplement, as well as others, are recommended for me to take due to my chronic migraines. Vitamin D is necessary and very important for bone and immune system health. Probiotics are essential for gut health. Turmeric is amongst the most beneficial supplements due to its anti-inflammatory actions. Vitamin B12 is recommended for energy, and a host of other essential nerve functioning processes. Biotin is helpful for hair loss and fingernail growth. I could go on, but I will spare you, because I’m going to run out of space to type if I continue extolling the benefits of gummy vitamins (which is a very weak argument, let’s be honest).
Before you believe me to be complaining about all of this, you should know that when I lay out each of my gummies on my morning napkin, I have an order in which I chew them. Some brands are delicious, and some brands are trash. I eat the yucky ones first. I save the two best for last: the turmeric and the vitamin D. I alternate between these two until they are (gasp!) gone. There comes a point every morning where I reach for one more only to find an empty napkin. With a frown I glance at my white napkin with its yellow stain from the turmeric, and I want more gummies.
I am a willing participant in this scam that is known as gummies with a bit of vitamins sprinkled in them. I am an active gummy vitamin addict. And I have news for you: I’m going to do it all again tomorrow morning.
Third Option: Afternoon
Are you more of a night or morning person?
Not even the lure of Santa visiting the night before could get this toddler out of bed. Mommy and Daddy had to come gather a grumpy groggy me to see the presents under the tree in the morning. Me, probably: “This is cool and all, but can I just go back to bed and see these in a couple of hours?”
If left to its own devices – which means not needing to work – my body would wish to be a night person. It has been a night person in the past, especially when I was a teenager. But now…I’m lucky if I see 9 PM. Welcome to adulthood. Sleep is interrupted and brief, something is always broken or needing to be replaced, and you have now become an afternoon *person.
*subjective use of the word. May be substituted for caffeine-fueled skin bag with sputtering, smoke-spitting brain.
Ready? It’s Rafa’s Return
If you’re a tennis fan, you know that Rafael Nadal has been sidelined by injury for the past year.
Today, December 1, 2023, Rafael made the announcement that he will be returning to Brisbane, ahead of the 2024 Australian Open. Anyone who has followed Rafa on social media knows that he has been working hard to come back for one more year before retiring from tennis on his own terms. It’s not a secret that he – and most tennis fans everywhere – knows this is his final year on the pro tour. At 37 years of age, his body has essentially decided that it’s time to do other things. Rafa turned pro at the age of 14, which is a lot of mileage on a body. But, as one would expect from someone of Rafa’s ilk, he’s making one final push to achieve more. On his terms. I don’t blame him, I wouldn’t want to be forced out of my life’s calling, either.
I first became aware of Rafa Nadal during the Davis Cup competition when Rafa was 16 years old. I sat in my chair in my living room and stared in amazement at my television screen. I’ve been a tennis fan since I was 15 (which was 137 years ago), so I know when I see burgeoning greatness. But with Nadal, the greatness was already evident, the burgeoning had already happened, somewhere, somehow, without anyone seeing.
Since then, I have attended several tournaments where I have seen Rafael practice and play – there is a little distinction between the two, the ball is struck just as hard for a seemingly unrelenting amount of time. The quickness Rafa displayed, especially early in his career, was a marvel to witness. The sheer size of a tennis court doesn’t translate on a television. Sitting courtside, you become more aware, and standing on a court with a racket in your hands, you are painfully aware of the ground you must cover, but I digress. And I may be projecting, so please forgive me. I’m not able to chase down all the balls, but Rafael Nadal is otherworldly. He arrives to the court to battle. To chase every ball down, to attempt to hit every shot. When the score line reflects the opponent is winning, he still fights. The belief never leaves him. Never.
As I mentioned, I have attended several tournaments and have seen Rafa play firsthand. A most fortunate occasion occurred in 2006 at the Cincinnati Masters (as it was called then). I was given the opportunity to interview Rafa Nadal. He is intelligent, humble, funny, clumsy, and gracious. He has the heart of a warrior and his body that is now battle-proven (forget about tested – been there, done that) – is testament to his warrior spirit. But in 2006, Rafael Nadal was a youthful 20 years old, was not yet fluent in English, and I couldn’t speak much Spanish. More on that later.
I’ll leave you with this, for now. If you’ve ever shaken a professional tennis player’s hand, you’ll immediately notice the calluses. The blisters. The evidence of how hard they work every single day is just at your own perhaps smooth fingertips. The feel of hand of a warrior is a bit alarming. At the same time, as a tennis fan and as a less-than-mediocre tennis player myself, the feel of a hand of a warrior is exhilarating. To be able to sense with your own touch the mind, body and soul that goes into being a professional athlete is awe-inspiring.
I’m still in awe, but not about the calluses. I’m in awe at how long and successful a career Rafael has had, and how fortunate I have been to see it evolve. I am in awe of how time flies without realizing it even does. In his final year on the ATP tour, and in all endeavors to follow, I wish Rafael the very best.
In the next few days, I will be posting the interview that I conducted with Rafa back in 2006. It will be my contribution to the celebration of Rafa’s hugely successful tennis career. I’ll take you back to the beginning, as we look now to the end, with a smile on my face, and yes, a few tears. ¡Vamos, Rafa!
©️2023 Amy J. Bates, itsamyisaid.com, All Rights Reserved.
Did My Cat Write This?
What are your feelings about eating meat?
I think she did. I’ve told her to stay off the laptop numerous times. Usually she types something like, “bfnthrhfbdvrkihgdbd,” but I see this time she’s given it some thought
Well, it looks like she’s conducting a poll, and will be utilizing this information to convince me to buy the larger size of beef treats.
(She doesn’t know I bought the large bag of chicken-flavored treats, so I hope you understand that your answer to the question will be recorded and used at a later date.)
©️2023 itsamyisaid.com, All Rights Reserved.
Cat Hair and a Robe
What are your two favorite things to wear?
Cat owners (“staff”) will understand what I mean about the cat hair thing. I not only wear it, I eat it. It also regularly gets into my eyes, where it lives for days at a time, hugging my eyeball until it decides to release its grasp. Eyedrops don’t help loosen the grip, but they do add more tears to the already tearful eye.
Working from home affords the luxury of wearing a robe most of the day – OK, all of the day. Robe is the new sweater. Cat owners (“staff”) will also understand that you can’t wear a robe without wearing cat hair on your robe.
Cat hair is the new black.
You Don’t Know Jack
He’s a bit singed around the edges
Eyes like burnt Tennessee whiskey too
His cloak of black
Matches his soul
He’s destructive, destruction, deconstruction
You know the deal
He might have been the devil himself
Yet all I could see
Then
Was how well his scarlet skin
Contrasted with his fine black cape.
©️2023 itsamyisaid.com, All Rights Reserved.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Name your top three pet peeves.
I used to have more than a handful of pet peeves. But over time, and most likely since the passing of my mother three years ago, combined with the daymare that was the pandemic, and so many changes overall within and without, my pet peeves have dropped off significantly.
I wouldn’t say they’ve disappeared altogether. For example, people not returning shopping carts to the shopping cart bay, or to the front of the store is irritating, but it’s a small speck in the landscape. I’d rather return it to the bay or give it to an elderly person as I’m on my way back to the bay, than to stew about people not returning shopping carts.
I still notice when people ding my car with theirs and seemingly don’t care, but that really says more about them than it does about me. And it’s not something I can control. Thinking about things you can’t control is a waste of time. Others’ behaviors such as lying or cheating would still have the ability to overwhelmingly cause me to see red, but that is their behavior not mine. And it reflects on them not me. All I can do is not lie and not cheat and put my cart back in the bay and help the older person and shrug off the ding on my car. There are other things that I want to do with my days, and they don’t include throwing attention at things I cannot control. I believe that love and loss teach you what is important in life, and having experienced overwhelming loss of love and loss of the way life was at precisely the same moment in time, I can assure you from my standpoint, nothing else really matters. Let the peeves go, Jeeves.
Jane Austen
If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
I want to know why her sister Cassandra destroyed all of their letters to each other, and if Jane’s novels were based on true stories. I want to know if she was proposed to, and if she denied her suitor because she was fiercely independent, or for another reason. I also want to know how she died. Was it Addison’s disease? Lymphoma? I would like to sit down and have a cup of tea, a scone, and a chat with Jane. I’d like her opinion on the casting of Mr. Darcy over the years. I kind of think that she would agree with me that Colin Firth is the only true Mr. Darcy, but I need definitive confirmation on that from Ms. Austen.
“It's Amy,” I said. 