Stress Release
I’ve got to find a better way to deal with stress.
The past week has been a stressful one. Interestingly, it’s been a combination of issues that appear on my "not to blog about" list. Work items, home issues, financials, etc. So without my blog (or social media) venting ability, I relied on Old Faithful: Hold It All In And Suppress The Stress. That worked beautifully. If by beautifully you mean I woke up Sunday morning unable to get out of bed due to a horrible spasm in my upper back.
I took some ibuprofen, but that only turned the sharp pain into a dull, persistent ache. I hoped that, as the day went on, it would vanish, but it didn’t. The pain stuck around and expanded into my shoulders, neck, and even my right arm.
Monday, I woke up and I could hardly move my neck due to tight muscles. As I write this, on Monday night, the pain remains and is currently shooting down the length of my arm again.
I need some stress-free time or, failing that, a better way of dealing with stress. Because dealing with this back pain is stressing me out and you know what happens to me when I stress out… It’s a vicious cycle!
How do you deal with stress?
State of Summer Denial
I’ve been averting my eyes and trying to shut out the truth, but I don’t think I can do it anymore. The leaves are already starting to change. The temperatures have dropped, meaning that pants are worn instead of shorts. I’ve even had to get out my (*gasp*) jacket. And, as the final nail in the coffin, it will soon be time to switch the calendar from September to October. It’s time to face the facts: Summer is over and Fall is here.
While the pool-time fun might be over for the next eight or nine months, and while I can’t sit outside anymore in shorts and a T-shirt, basking in the sun’s rays – at least without shivering in the chilly breeze, autumn fun is just around the corner.
Soon the leaves will fall off the trees making for fun walks. (I’m not sure why, but I’ve always loves the crunching sound of fall leaves under my feet.) Halloween is coming up as well. (NHL might go as Harry Potter this year.) Best of all, though, is the fact that the Oven Ban has been lifted.
During the summer months, when we’re fighting to keep the temperature in the house under 80, the last thing we want is a 400 degree oven pumping heat into our rooms. So from about mid-May through September, the oven goes mostly unused. We will bake occasionally, but that’s the exception, not the rule.
During the fall (and winter) months, though, I get free reign to use the oven. When it is 70 (or less) in the house, pumping in more heat isn’t as big of a deal. In fact, on some days, it’s downright desirable. (Everyone knows the adage "A watched pot never boils", but few know "An oven that is constantly opened to ‘check the temperature’ when the person is really trying to warm up won’t preheat quickly." I guess it doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily even if it is true.)
With the oven ready to use, I’m chomping at the bit to use it to it’s fullest. Here come the homemade pizzas, the roasted veggies, the baked lasagnas, and more.
What do you like cooking in your oven?
NOTE: The leaf image above is "Fall Leaves" from Gerald_G. It is available via OpenClipArt.org.
Aloha Friday: Apologies and NickMom
On Tuesday, after Rosh Hashana services, NHL and I began having a discussion. As our talk wandered from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur, I told NHL that the purpose of Yom Kippur was to apologize for our transgressions. However, I informed him that saying you are sorry wasn’t enough. If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t repeat your misdeeds.
I gave him the example of a bully I had back in middle school. This bully claimed to be my best friend. He even acted the part much of the time. Then, he would begin to mock me, stab me in the back (literally, he used a sharpened pencil), and would torment me in various ways. After awhile, he apologized. He claimed that someone had told him that I had said nasty things about him.
Being extremely naïve, I took him back as a friend and everything was fine for awhile until he tormented me again. The pattern repeated itself over and over. Tormenting, apology, naive-younger-me refusing to believe that his one friend was really not a friend at all. Finally, I couldn’t deny it any longer and I refused to accept any more apologies from him. I finally realized how worthless his apologies were.
Recently, NickMom has raised some folks’ ire. Amy, aka ResourcefulMommy, has a good summary of what happened. Short version: NickMom rips off HowToBeADad. NickMom is caught and apologizes. Then, NickMom is found to be stealing more content. Including photos of peoples’ kids. Including photos of peoples’ kids with the watermarks covered over by NickMom. They apologize again and take it down. They even issue a blanket statement that they’ll take down any content that the creators complain about.
Here’s the problem, though. Their apology means nothing. Of course, they’ll take down the stolen content when people complain about it. If they don’t, they face copyright infringement fees of $750 – $150,000 per incident. However, they have shown absolutely no willingness to stop the copying in the first place. They know that their editors are lifting content and yet they just stay the course. Without even the slightest bit of effort to change their ways, their apologies mean nothing at all.
My Aloha Friday question for today is: How do you handle an insincere apology?
P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.
Disclaimer: The "burglar" image above is by tzunghaor and is available through OpenClipArt.org.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #157
Distractions
As I sit here trying to come up with a blog post, I find myself fending off distraction after distraction. First, there was my Google Reader – flush with blog posts that I didn’t check over Rosh Hashana. There were hundreds of blog posts, deals, comic strips, and more to check out.
After I put that aside, Twitter beckoned. I suddenly felt the need to see what everyone else was doing. Were people still talking about NickMoms and copyright? Did someone post a funny link or an insightful article? I was offline for two days for Rosh Hashana and then was very busy during the day catching up with work so I needed my social media fix. (Hey, I’m not an addict. I can quit any time I want… I just don’t want to.)
With my inner social media junkie satisfied, I got down to the serious business of a blog post. That is, until I felt the lure of my smartphone. Specifically, Where’s My Water – my new Smartphone gaming addiction. How could I blog when Swampy just needed me to guide water into his tub. Just one more level and I’ll write my post. Ok, that was kind of easy so maybe that didn’t count. One more level. Ooh, I wonder what level comes next…. What? Oh, right. The blog post.
So here I am. All my distractions have been shaken off and I can finally get down to the serious business of writing my blog po… Oooh. Doctor Who on Netflix!
What tends to distract you?