Author: -N-

It’s in the News, and Now It’s Time to Walk

Okay, a bit of a rant, but a timely one as well.

In the news, women are losing rights in all directions, especially in health care choices.  Now, women in power who are being told to shut up, or sneered at by men, or talked over by men, or being “mansplained” to, are making the news.  We have Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren being interrupted or censured by members of the Congress for talking too much.  Harris was labeled “hysterical” while a male counterpart was not, even though both were asking serious questions by someone on the news.  Veronicka Hubeny was mansplaned by Jim Holt until he was finally interrupted by a woman, Marilee Talkington, spoke up out of the audience, “Let her speak!”

Women are to be seen and not heard, as we are not very important.

I guess.

Two months ago, one of our dogs was having issues with an ear and a hotspot.  We went to our normal vet.  While we have gotten good treatment there, I have honestly never liked any of the male vets there.  The one woman vet left shortly after she got there, ostensibly for a move, but I wonder now if she left because of the testosterone.  She was great.  Why?  She explained, she talked, and she took time.  However, when with all the male vets, I am loomed over and interrupted.  This last one made it obvious he really couldn’t give a rat’s ass about any of my concerns.  Finally, he failed to address the initial reason I brought our dog in after the ear was cleared up.  He was some tall, thin guy, standing over me, and, talking through me, interrupting my questions and explaining.

Gosh, I am so stupid!  I am lucky I can put one foot in front of the other without toppling over!

I sat there, pretty pissed, but keeping my nasty mouth shut.  My thoughts, as I listened to the expert, were he just was going to ignore the problem until it got so bad we came back, and he could make more money.

And things did get worse.  And worse.  And then better for a bit.  And finally bad enough we made the choice of finding a new vet.  Just by chance, we chose a practice closer to our home, and where all the vets are women.

We went, we were listened to, we had things explained to us about current treatment, and what may be necessary in the future if our dog has serious allergy problems.

Our questions were answered.

We were treated with respect.

We were assumed to be intelligent.

Our dog was not just a cash machine to pay for the Maserati.

What men, and many doctors and other professionals fail to realize is that anyone I go to is MY EMPLOYEE.  I am hiring them for their expertise.  Got it?  You can be fired.  My money will go elsewhere, and while I doubt you will miss me, trust me, I won’t miss you and your attitude.

 

Columbine

I bought an Olympus OM-1n with the standard kit lens, a 50mm f1.8 OM mount, a few weeks ago.  As with every camera, it has to be tested – especially if listed in “excellent” condition.  As always, KEH comes through with quality used photography equipment!

The 50mm lens is really nice – it does a good job with bokeh and sharpness of detail   Here it is demonstrated on a red columbine at the local botanical garden, using UltraMax 400 and scanned with my Pakon.

I can see why a lot of people like this camera.  It was a total pleasure to use – easy, lightweight, compact, and a perfect fit for my hands.

On the Inside Looking Out

From a walk on the nearby local college campus, using the Olympus Om-1n, OM mount 50mm f1.8, and Ultramax 400 film.  I scanned it with my Pakon 135 and did post in LR and On1.

Interesting use of the words “grab” and “fresh” . . . . I mean “fun”!

Why Write?

 

The benefits of writing . . . .

I think most people who write with any degree of seriousness or purpose are well aware of the benefits of writing.  Even more so, there are benefits of writing with a pen or pencil, rather than sitting at a keyboard.  There are lot of articles and studies which show there are benefits – psychological, physical, emotional, and health – that are produced in writing.

The Huffington Post had this article about writing concerning some ways in which writing can transform your health:

  1. Writing by hand can help you learn better.
  2. Expressing emotions through words may speed healing
  3. It could help the way cancer patients think about their disease
  4. Consider it a fundamental part of your gratitude practice
  5. Writing down what you’re thankful for could help you sleep better
  6. It make your mind and body better

Jordan B. Peterson and Raymond Mar have produced a lovely document in pdf entitled The Benefits of Writing.  What is especially enriching – if you like research – are their cited works at the end of their article.

Another article discusses five benefits of writing everyday.  These include waking up your brain, stream of consciousness purging, recalling dreams, vocabulary maintenance and expansion, and evening contemplation and relaxation.  Writing about traumatic experiences helps, too, especially if you express things you have never expressed before. Stepping back from an experience can be done with writing, and change your perspective; writing also can trigger dopamine!  Much of who we are is chemical, mysterious, and still unknown, but we do know a few things! There are definite health benefits to writing expressively.

A return to writing, with a raison d’etre . . . .

For many years, I kept a journal.  It was really a way to whine, and at one point, after 50 volumes, I was ashamed of my whining.  There was no purpose, and it had become an addiction in a negative sense – I would write about problems, feel better after the writing, but not do anything to change a direction or attitude.  I think it made me more passive and less purposeful.  I’ve shredded and burned those journals.

Today, I find myself not really happy about my life as there is so little mental and emotional room for creativity.  I get up, go to work, come home, clean up, go to bed and return to the pattern the next day.  Half of my life is shot on a weekly basis – 10 and 11 hour days are draining.  Mere existence is a waste of appreciation for the life I have been given, doing a job that has increasingly lost value and meaning.  I plod on as retirement is in the near horizon.

As that horizon approaches, I know I must change my outlook on my remaining time and tune into that core value for my own sense of well-being:  creativity.  Years ago I gave up painting and artwork as I searched and searched for the answer to a seemingly unanswerable question:  what is the purpose and meaning of art?  After years, the answer was clear:  it means what it means to me.

Pretty simple, huh?  But in those intervening years, I stopped.  I lost – and can never regain – 30 years of productivity, of creativity, of growth and exploration.  I did pick up the pen, to whine, but not produce.

So now, I am journalling again, but with a purpose.  I am choosing something to write about, to explore, to consider, to see how something fits into my life or can benefit me – and in turn, benefit those I love.  I am working on short stories, writing about ideas, and being creative in the blotches of time my work schedule permits.  (I am also practicing for my retirement!)

Leaving the meetup group was a good thing – a good trigger for regrouping my perspectives.  What was a traumatic, negative experience helped me realize and focus on what I already knew.  So, thanks to the geezer and needy group leader, I am more focused, and a lot happier as a result!