Downton Abbey

Jillypopmusic – an update on Hamlet, Paul, and the afterlife.

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Hello dear followers of Jillypopmusic! I have dearly missed posting regularly and missed reading my favorite blogs and all the commenting and lovely encounters in the bloggosphere with you.

As you know Lucy passed on 2/28 and well it’s a funny thing. I begin writing this post, walk away from the laptop for just a moment. Suddenly the soundtrack to “Chicago: The Musical” begins playing on the laptop media player. I have no explanation for this. Except that I believe that when loved ones depart, they hang around and are able to do friendly things like start an album you like. I’m not going to go too much into it, but it actually makes me feel like Lucy is still here and walked across the keyboard of my laptop and started the music.

Hamlet is doing well. Four days ago he started chemo meds (Chlorambucil) in addition to his regime of prednisolone and B12 begun recently. I found a private small yahoo group for owners of cats with small cell lymphoma, and it’s nice to have some support and additional sources of information.

The last I posted was a picture of Paul and me and really ever since then the relationship has deteriorated and seems to get worse daily. Paul is jealous of everything I do and anyone I spend time with. He has expectations that I can’t meet romantically. He picked a fight as I wrote my Wall challenge post. To complicate matters, Paul helps me give Hamlet his meds. I repeatedly tell him I’m not in the proper frame of mind for a romance and can we be friends. Well he’s one of these guys that doesn’t want a platonic relationship. He wants everything that he needs in one person. I don’t think that’s fair to me. The fact is I have a life, friends, meetups, classes, and I can’t just be his full-time attentive girlfriend. There is a reason I have been single for years. I feel like it’s not going to work out at all, which is sad for us.

I began a computer Front End Web Development class the day Lucy passed. It is so hard and a real challenge. It moves very fast and I need to devote a lot of outside class time to review what we’ve learned.

What’s truly been the most therapeutic during this difficult time has been my Fitbit. It tracks my daily steps and you join challenges where you compete against up to ten others. As a competitive person, it’s very motivating and also makes walking fun. You get trophies, badges, and lots of encouragement during the challenges. I came in 3rd place in my first workweek challenge during which I walked over 62K steps from Monday to Friday last week. Not bad for a person who prefers watching Downton Abbey on the couch. Luckily my friend Connie forced me to go out several times instead of bingeing on ice cream and my 95% full DVR.

Thank you for reading my blog. Now I need to catch up on my favorite blogs and bloggers!

Jillypopmusic day-by-day editorial schedule

Dear readers, January was a very busy month at Jillypopmusic. I posted a lot and it sometimes seemed like there was no method to the madness. Starting this week, I have an editorial schedule that I’m going to follow. That way, if you’re interested in my posts about music, you’ll know when and where to find them. If you enjoy my creative writing or personal blog posts about my love life, those will be scheduled as well.

Monday
Band Spotlight – An in-depth series which includes interviews and videos of a band worth featuring

Tuesday
Personal Blog – Maybe I will chat about Paul (who I am dating) or my struggle with Weight Watchers or depression.

Wednesday
Creative Writing – I participate in both online and in-person writing workshops and will share short pieces.

Thursday
#tbt Throwback Thursday – This could be a video of a song, clip from a film, or embarrassing photo.

Friday
You’re My Inspiration – feature on a motivational or inspirational song or video that pertains to my life.

Saturday
Guest blogger – I plan to ask my fellow excellent bloggers to guest author a post.

Sunday
Awards/TV/Film/Books/Theatre – This will vary. Perhaps a review of the latest episode of Downton Abbey. I also may sometimes accept a blogging award from the WordPress blogging community, which requires a lengthy post.

Happy reading!