Really?

To all the school kids going on ‘strike’ for Climate Change:

You are the first generation who have required air-conditioning in every classroom.

You want TV in every room and your classes are all computerised.

You spend all day and night on electronic devices.

More than ever, you don’t walk or ride bikes to school but arrive in caravans of private cars that choke local roads and worsen rush hour traffic.

You are the biggest consumers of manufactured goods ever and update perfectly good expensive luxury items to stay trendy,

Your entertainment comes from electric devices.

Furthermore, the people driving your protests are the same people who insist on artificially inflating the population growth through immigration, which increases the need for energy, manufacturing and transport.

The more people we have, the more forest and bushland we clear and more of the environment is destroyed.

How about this…

Tell your teachers to switch off the air-con.

Walk or ride to school. Switch off your devices and read a book.

Make a sandwich instead of buying manufactured fast food.

No, none of this will happen because you are selfish, badly educated, virtue signalling little ‘princesses’, inspired by the adults around you who crave a feeling of having a ‘noble cause’ while they indulge themselves in Western luxury and unprecedented quality of life.

Wake up, grow up and learn to research facts and think for yourself and not blindly accept the words and thoughts of others – I don’t think you formulated this action plan all by your self – suspect you may have had some influence and ‘guidance’ from those you trust ….a word of warning, be cautious of the influence of the ‘left’ because there may be a time in the future that you will be the ones left out…

I saw this on Facebook today and this is what I thought of it:

1) Last time I checked it was older adults making policies about school conditions, designing schools, building schools, and technology integration in the classroom. Also, I’m pretty sure baby boomers had busses too…and that bus companies were run by older folks trying to run a Buissnes…and seeing child safety as a means of exploitation to run their companies. If teens are doing these sorts of thing no wonder our school system is a mess! Who’s idea was that?

2) How can you get a generation be both the reason for the death of most corporations because they aren’t buying…and have them be the biggest consumers ruining the environment? Someone explain that to me please? Oh! Because teens are the excuse that manufacturers use to not strive for better and cleaner ways to manufacture! I get it now!

3) There are the same amount of people on the earth weather immigration happens or not, and in the USA younger generations are more frequently opting out of having children because living expenses are too much. So the domestically born population is going down in the USA…and again…why is that an excuse for energy companies, manufacturers, and other organizations to not do more to make the environment cleaner?

4) Literally, kids leaving schools is forcing schools to turn off the AC and turn out the lights. It’s basically asking them to. If the lights are still going and the AC is still on…it’s because the adults stayed at school all day when there was no reason for them to. Also…see point 1.

5) If they are selfish…what older generation adult taught them that? Who didn’t strive to ensure the future generations not only had a better life, but were kind and empathetic? Who taught them to look out for number one? Who build a world with all these luxuries and marketed them to younger generations to get used to?

6) Older generations developed, implemented, marketed, and purchased new developing technologies in which younger generations now enjoy. They introduced it to them. If people complain about us using it now I must ask, who’s fault is that? My parents bought me my first phone when I was in high school if I recall…I assume it’s much the same now.

7) They’re not blindly accepting the thoughts of others…especially not this persons. That’s why they’re out there marching.

Camping

The trees had just begun to turn for the season, and the wildflowers were at their peak of color dusting the meadows with yellows and purples amidst the green. Soy beans were yellowing in brilliant patches and farmers were cutting a third harvest of alfalfa from their fields. Corn was tasseled brilliantly and swayed in the wind in waves that mesmerized. I never wanted to leave.

I hadn’t been camping in years and when my parents presented the opportunity I happily accepted without even asking my husband’s input. Later when I told him about it he had mentioned having never been camping at an actual campsite before, and I was thrilled to have made the decision. We put in our vacation time and excitedly waiting with anticipation.

The weather had kept threatening rain, but it held off all week. It was beautiful, sunny, and just shy of 80 degrees the entire stay. We slept in my parents camper and went out to explore the tiny and old farming towns surrounding the campground. We went antiquing and exploring, walked on paths, wadded in the kettle lake, and overall enjoyed the woodlands and sweeping meadows surrounding us.

The day we left it poured so hard we were all soaked from moving from the camper to the car. When my husband and I arrived home we were stocked to the gills with leftover food and the few treasures we we purchased while on our trip.

I took today off too in anticipation for some recharging. My husband had an appointment and offered to take me out to brunch afterward, which left me an entire morning to attend to a few errands. I managed to take a huge bag of items to the thrift store, get some information from Subway for catering for the Masquerade Ball we were planning in October with friends, and cleaned the living room in anticipation for book club at my house on Thursday. Later this afternoon I intend to go to tea with a friend and see the Downton Abby film.

It feels really good to have a week day off to actually get things done. It feels even better to have paid vacation time to go camping.

Work

I sipped my Lady Grey tea and wished over and over again that I didn’t have to go to work. Yesterday had not been good. One of my particularly problem coworkers was abrasive and I couldn’t take it anymore. I spoke to HR about him, but still, I dread going to work.

Pretties

I made some jewelry this week that I’m really proud of. Wanted to share them here.

Books Glorious Books

I never thought I’d be a Kindle person. I always love books. Their weight. Their smell. Their artwork and spine decorations. I love those things about them. Book cover design is something that has always appealed to me a great deal. I judge books by their covers. Shamelessly.

I got a basic Kindle from a boyfriend in college. He had been afraid that I wouldn’t like it. Though I was hesitant to use it I found that many of my textbooks were less expensive digitally and found I got a great deal of use out of it in that manner. It wasn’t until I discovered the many classic and public domain books were available for free, that I really began to appreciate the Kindle for how much more access it gave me.

I still love books. I still carry them around in my huge purse that I keep in order to carry around a bunch of books and journals as well as my medical supplies. But these days I find that I’d rather look up books on my Kindle while I’m at work and take that with me for a little something to have on hand in waiting rooms and while waiting for huge files to upload to the server at work.

This switch from books to Kindle, while I feel it is natural, still surprises me. I had once been so hellbent against Kindles, Nooks, and the like, and I wondered how subtlety the switch had snuck up on me.

Recently my boss got me into Goodreads. A social media platform in which to share, record, and recommend the books you have read, want to read, and the progress of those you are reading. Since becoming involved I took up the challenge to read 14 books this year. Thus far I have read 5. I am reading 5 more. And have found about 500 I would like to read and recorded and rated around 300 or so that I read in the past.

My love of reading has now taken a drastic change from enjoyment to obsession. I’m currently reading 11 books at one time. Yep. 11. I’m grateful that this week I have a camping trip planned because I’m hoping on the couple of rainy days we’re supposed to have that I’ll get a chance to read and get through some of these books I have going.

It’ll be the most relaxing vacation I’ve had in a long time. I cannot wait.

Cupcakes 🧁

Every damn cupcake in the grocery store was either patriotic or NFL themed. I just wanted some freaking birthday cupcakes. It was bad enough my boss’s birthday was on 9/11 but worse that I couldn’t seem to find any cupcakes that were just birthday or could be birthday themed. I opened the bakery fridge and reached towards the back, finding only a half-dozen set of confetti cupcakes with sprinkles. I considered myself lucky and bought them, hoping they didn’t suck.

Next time I’ll plan better and just make the damn things myself.

While I appreciate the affinity for the NFL and the patriotism, I was disappointed that there wasn’t more than just that as options at the grocery store. Sure, football is a big deal when your team is publicly owned, and 9/11 was tragic and historic, but life still goes on. It doesn’t stop at tragedy or football. Birthdays still happen. Weddings still happen. Surely those occasions were worth something too especially this long after the events of 9/11 and with more of the season of football still to go?

I recalled where I was on 9/11. I’m sure most people do. Many people thought the world was ending. Many people were one extreme or another After the fact. The nation divided into ultra patriotic, or unleash anger at the way things unfolded and brought up conspiracy after conspiracy. It was a strange dynamic for my 6th grade self to see. My view of my country was tainted that day forward, and there has been a war going on ever since.

Then again many people thought the same thing the day Trump was elected. They thought the world had ended. The nation divided between two extremes, ultra patriotic, or unleashed anger at the way things unfolded and brought up conspiracy after conspiracy. It was a strange dynamic for my 25 year-old self to see. My view of my country was tainted that day forward, and there has been a civil war going on ever since. What is truth? What really matters?

What matters is it’s my boss’s birthday, and I found him cupcakes to help him celebrate and hoped they didn’t suck. All I wanted to do was bring a little happiness into someone’s life on a day that ought to be special for him instead of remind him of a tragedy. Plus he only owned one car which left his wife at home without any ability to make or buy him a cake, and so had to buy his own birthday cake on his way home. There is nothing worse than planning your own birthday because your significant other won’t or can’t. Someone has to make you feel appreciated right?Plus, when I like people I want them to know I like them.

He was grateful and pleasantly surprised. I was thankful for that….also, I was glad the cupcakes didn’t suck.

Asking You all For Advice and Book Recommendations…

“Be the energy you want to attract.”

That’ll get you nowhere. Trust me.

I used to live by this quote. Not always a good thing. I often attract really unsure and insecure people. Not because I am one, but because I’m the opposite. I’m usually decisive, I know myself, I’m in touch with what is going on around me because of my empathic nature, and I find that I’m usually pretty calm and cool until well after a crisis is over when the panic attacks ensue.

Overall I probably look like I have it all together. I’m functional on the outside. I have a pretty good job. I have a house, two cars, two cats, and a loving husband. My life is wonderful considering all the struggles I have had to endure, and my attitude reflects that…and attracts people who’s lives are not so wonderful or who struggle to attain that kind of wonderful.

This means many of my friends, while I love them dearly, drain every ounce of my being out of me. They create drama around them that I often have to dodge and avoid. They’re needy and don’t understand how much space I require to breath and recharge. More often than not they only seem to call when their lives are in some kind of crisis…and they’re almost always in some kind of crisis….because they’re causing it.

Not all my friends are like this of course. Some, while having their own drama, shield me from it. Some know I need lots of space to recharge. Some know I’d rather be home reading than out and about, and some know I like adventure occasionally and include me instead of obligating me.

Those few are the ones I find I try to spend the most time with. The ones you don’t have to walk on eggshells for who don’t search you for answers and energy. The ones who are willing to share their struggles, but not require you to share the burden or fix it for them.

Being an empath is really difficult though. Sometimes people draw you into it, like it or not. People are really good at being manipulative. With this struggle, I find others try to use their toxicity to their advantage, and while I have been good at reading people and avoiding those kinds of situations, I have found that I want to learn more about warding off toxicity and how to address those who try to obligate or force their problems on me rather than resorting to avoidance. Mainly because I want to effectively love on my friends while protecting their autonomy and my own.

I fear for friends like this though. Mainly because I see their reliance on other people becoming so toxic that they themselves can become easily manipulated if they encounter a strong enough personality. Ever since listening to the podcast “Cults” I’ve begun to worry about those who are insecure and gullible. I worry more about them finding themselves in abusive situations, but worse still, getting involved in cults or the like. People taking advantage of them financially and all sorts of other things I’m sure I’m not thinking of. I want them to be free. Free of the guilt, shame, or insecurities enough to know when they’re controlling their own lives, or knowing when those dark little lies in their heads…or someone else…is taking over.

Is there literature out there for that sort of thing? If anyone has any book recommendations feel free to comment them below. I’d really like to know what has worked for you if you’ve dealt with this kind of struggle in your own life.

Thank you.

Wednesday

It had been over 30 minutes and the file still hadn’t uploaded to the server yet. Exasperated I sighed. I could do nothing else until it loaded because of course, it would slow the loading time more. Plus the server I was loading to couldn’t handle multiple tasks and I needed to download a die line from the server to start my package design.

The little green bar slowly crept across the screen as Wasabi attempted to upload. My boss peeked at my computer and in his quiet manner said “Do you have a book with you? Just read and let it go.”

I felt terrible for pulling out a book, but if my boss said it was okay I supposed it was. It reminded me of quiet reading time in school, when you were done with your school work or test early and were waiting on everyone else to be done or class to be over. In other words, it felt childish to sit and wait while others were working hard. My hands were tied.

So I read.

In total it took 40 min for the file to upload, and only 3 seconds for me to download the die line I needed. The stress was overwhelming as the projects came pouring in. It was one thing after another and nearly all of it had to be done on or before Friday. Of course. Especially after a short week, and having only heard about it later that morning.

My task was to have an entire package layout done by the end of the day and in Basecamp for review. I had spent most of the morning finishing and uploading the Care and Use guide for the same product. Everything was a rush. As usual. Which meant that most of what we were going to generate was probably going to be subpar at best. Not that we wanted it to be, but rush jobs always meant not spending as much time on something which means no one else will either, so resources and answers are reduced making content and design minimal.

In other words, this was going to be crap.

Rush projects always come back as rework later. Without fail. Already having been lectured at about rework earlier the week prior I found myself rolling my eyes a lot and being generally miffed. My attitude wasn’t helping my day get better, but it did file me to get through things quickly. I did what I could to make it better.

My boss then told me about a meeting for a rebrand that I had worked on. Originally they hadn’t really liked my design fully, but then they thought on it and my rationale and decided to go with it, only to take liberties and change it so dramatically that they were straying away from the direction of the rationale and the connection it made to the logo design. I wanted to roll my eyes even harder when he realized that I was not invited to the meeting. He felt badly. I didn’t. I was running out of love for the projects.

I was running out of love for all of it. I was burned out.

I spent the first hour after work at Walgreens getting prescriptions straightened out. Then came home to a quiet house. My husband was working the late shift. I was alone. I laid in bed. Answered a couple messages about jewelry I sold and updated everyone on their shipping stuff. Then…I just laid there in my bed.

It felt good to just lay there.

The Problems With Modern Advertising…

It’s all fucking static.

Not because it’s boring. On the contrary, there are plenty of clever and gimmicky ad campaigns out there, but that is also the problem…there are plenty.

I have so many advertisements vying for my attention in a day. So many things trying to get me to buy, see, do…and by the end of a long night at work I find myself stuck in the zombie scroll. All advertising becomes pretty static, because I’m finding I’m getting really good at tuning it out.

It seems like it takes a lot to get my attention. I feel it’s the same for my generation. With so much trying to get our attention, nothing is getting our attention, and because of this the perception of advertising is changing…in that is feels like traditional ads are becoming quite useless.

The kind of advertising I find I pay attention to are the ones for causes. Anything trying to develop a product where proceeds go for developing some kind of social change really catches me, but it has to catch me in two seconds and not be annoying. I also find that I still look at clothing ads, but ones with very non traditional appeal and often involved with subcultures like Lolita, goth, and steampunk. Yes those are things that I’m targeted with because they are obvious interests, but oddly enough they are few and far between on my usual social media feeds.

I think myself and my generation agree that we are so overstimulated with advertising that it’s becoming harder to get our attention. We’re in advertising burnout.

So what does modern advertising have to do to get our attention? Leave some personal comments below on how you feel about the methods of modern advertising and what you’ve observed.

Journaling

I used to write in physical journals when I was younger. I carried them in my purse to help me cope with life and express emotions on the spot if I had to. Not that I had a very interesting life, but I had a lot of sudden poetic inspiration and tons of feelings during middle school, and it just sort of became a habit.

There were very few days I didn’t write in my journal. Even in college there were random moments so hilarious that I started putting down silly quotes from my friends. I added pretty leaves to pages, and ticket stubs. Pressed flowers and poems. Nothing formal, all very random.

After college my journaling declined. Mainly because my Senior year I was taking 22 credit hours to graduate and juggling an internship. I didn’t have much time to write for pleasure. All my creative writing would flow into work in some way, and it felt like I would never have anything left to give outside of academia.

When I graduated I started this blog, which was very necessary for my emotional health at that point in my life. I had moved back in with my parents and didn’t have many friends left around home. All I pretty much had time for was work and writing at home. So I worked and wrote.

When I moved out I found even more time to write with fewer distractions. So I continued to write, but a little less so because my sole internet connection happened to be on my phone, and it wasn’t always reliable or easy to write on. Still I persisted.

These days I don’t keep a physical journal. Which makes me a little sad. It used to be easy to whip it out and write it all down free hand. There was something very human and kinetic about it. Something natural. Now, though I’m practically glued to my phone and the web, I find I don’t write all that much anymore. Here or otherwise.

Things have certainly come a long way since then. I hardly have time to write anything since getting married and owning a home. Plus I often feel like my life is fairly boring. Not to me, I keep myself busy enough, but to tell others of what I do and how life is, feels like it’s not all that interesting to talk about. It’s more interesting when you’re passionate about it or in the moment with fresh eyes and emotions then it is to tell someone about it later without more context. The experience is necessary to the whole of the event, and therefore I find much of what I do and enjoy hard to describe to others.

Now as I write my cat is rubbing his head on the corner of my phone and my husband is snoring next to me. Sound asleep. So many distractions, and yet, I find time to write this in the darkness of my bedroom. Why? I cannot say, only to relive the nostalgia of once creative and glorious days, and perhaps, to mourn them a little.