Sunday, August 22, 2021

2021 Project 365 – Week Thirty-four

This week is the Dr. M show! You can tell it’s high summer – it’s just too dang hot to be taking pictures outside.

Sunday, August 15th
I was listening to Lonely Girls by Lucinda Williams the other day & had an epiphany. I have always struggled with my weight, and I realized that I’ve thought this song was about girls who also struggle with their weight. It’s not. I just read that into the song. What kind of messed up world is it when a person would think that fat = lonely? But also, I do like a heavy blanket, so there’s that.
 

We were menaced by a goldfish!
 

Monday, August 16th   
Dr. M’s t-shirts have been getting more & more raggedy, so he’s been replacing them with new ones (and his wife said glory hallelujah!). This week he got shirts from some of his alma maters. This one is Western Carolina University where he got his master’s degree.
 

Tuesday, August 17th      
Dr. M’s weather command center – keeping an eye on Not Dead Fred. We got a LOT of rain and some thunderstorms from Fred, but were otherwise not inconvenienced.
 

Here’s Dr. M’s next alma mater – University of Cincinnati where he got his Ph.D. You’ll have to wait until next week to see the Wake Forest University one (undergrad degree).
 

Wednesday, August 18th     
I decided to use my glasses as a headband. I don’t know why they look better than an actual headband, but they do.
 

Thursday, August 19th  
The Braves weren’t playing, so Dr. M & I had a personal space evening. I have no memory of what I did (Crochet? Instagram? Played a game on my iPad? Listened to a podcast?), but he had a Star Trek marathon.
 

Friday, August 20th    
No photo.
 
Saturday, August 21st    
Temperature blanket update. I’m almost out of red and autumn red. This is the same problem I had with the orange temperature range in my last blanket. There are just long stretches of hot right now.   
 
 
Did you notice that the world got much better and less crazy this past week? Me either. Sometimes it feels like we’re circling the drain, but my own personal life is so comfortable that there’s a disconnect for me. I used to just not read the news so I didn’t have to worry about stuff. Now I obsessively check the news and feel helpless and depressed. How do you keep from living in despair?
 

13 comments:

  1. If you want to feel helpless and depressed, obsessively checking the news (and social media) will get you there, particularly since their business model is based on making you feel anxious and fearful so you'll keep coming back. I don't have the time or the inclination for it. I keep up with the news, but I'm selective in who and what I read. I have little time for opinion pieces, and even less for online arguments among people who've never met one another.

    As an old, wise man once told me: Do what you can do, not what you can't -- and tend to your own garden before telling someone how to tend theirs. That's a lot of wisdom, right there.

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    1. I do try to only get my news from actual news sources (not opinion). But I've been trying to give myself breaks from even those (maybe just checking in every other day).

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    2. One thing that's different these days is the 24/7 news cycle. We used to read the newspaper once or twice a day, and watch a 30 minute newscast. Now, we're bombarded with what's happening all around the world, all the time. It's too much. The mind isn't meant to be constantly stimulated. Those breaks are important!

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  2. I agree that there seems to be no shortage of negative world events out there to keep me concerned, but I can't wallow in it. I read the news rather than listen to frenzied reports of it.

    Your disconnect isn't really that, it's your life! You're striking a balance of being informed with living your life. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's a dangerous one and a cruel one, I think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes - as I said to Shoreacres above, I'm trying to cut back on my news consumption, but only to every other day so I still have an idea of what's going on.

      And I NEVER watch the news - I could never handle that anyway.

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  3. That goldfish!!!! LOL That's hilarious

    I read your sentence "Did you notice that the world got much better and less crazy this past week?: & I was like, what? & reread it 3 times... then read your next words after that - LOL ... I am SINKING in the craziness of the world. The people i thought I knew - I obviously didnt because the things they say & decisions they make, I'm just stunned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know - it's just a mystery how I thought I knew what a person would do & they totally don't. And for the weirdest reasons. On the other hand, I have some relatives that I thought would be mask/vaccine resistant & they are more strict than I am!

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  4. Nice T's Dr. M!

    I also feel the disconnect- my comfortable life and the suffering, even martyrdom of brothers and sisters in Afghanistan.
    I am encouraged by the good stories of courage, like the girls' robotic team from Afghanistan who got out!!!
    Even the supernatural boldness experienced by the church people in Kabul as they met their Maker.
    "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world." Jesus

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    Replies
    1. Yes - I loved the story about the robotics team!

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  5. Not to sound too despairing but the world and national situation is just something I given up on, for right now.
    For me it all boils down to an overabundance of stupid.

    I've got to say most of the stupid comes from Americans who have forgotten we remade the world in our image twice, once after WW2 and at the end of the Cold War.
    Being in change of the world means responsibilities and duties. You fall down on them and things start to fall apart.

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  6. There's such a thing as too much news. I read it every day, but I also think we have to enjoy our own lives while being aware of the world, and there's nothing wrong with that.

    I remember that Star Trek episode!

    Is there really a town called "Polkadot"?

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    Replies
    1. No it's not a real town - we're not sure how it ended up on the map. Mike says it's actually Massapoag, which is so much better, right?

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Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear what you have to say!

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