No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on June 17, 2017

Sticks and Stones
May break my bones
But words will never hurt me

Warning for frank talk about bullying and mental health.

Yesterday a judge handed down a decision in the case of Michelle Carter who is accused of manslaughter in the death of Conrad Roy who committed suicide. Both individuals had a history of mental problems and both were under a Doctor’s care.

In the ruling the judge said that Ms. Carter’s action of telling over a cell phone for Mr. Roy to get back into his truck and finish what he started after he had a change of heart and had stepped out of the truck was why he convicted her of involuntary manslaughter. That she did nothing knowing what Mr. Roy was doing at the time. Not the text messages as the denizens of Internet have been spreading around.

However the discussion about what you say on the Internet and does it really affect anything or anyone has exploded.

The phrase “first amendment” is getting tossed around a lot. The First Amendment reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That’s the wording of the amendment.

Nowhere is in that amendment does it say that one is not responsible for what one says.

And that to me has been the disconnect on the Internet especially when people can hide behind their avatars and handles. They can say whatever they want and figure that their anonymity will protect them from any consequences from what they said.

Actions and words have consequences and this idea that it is always someone else’s fault just rubs me the wrong way.

I take responsibility for what I say here and in real life. I learned that from my parents. I am trying to teach that to Caroline.

Anything I say here, I would be willing to say in person and that’s my rule of thumb. Would I be willing to say this aloud where others would here it?

Now back to words and I am putting the rest of this behind a cut so as not to trigger some people about bullying and depression.

(more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 16, 2017

It is one thing to ‘know’ you aren’t sleeping well and another to KNOW you are not sleeping well. Since I got a Fitbit, I have been able to track my sleep pattern and correlate that with how I feel when I get up. Last night I didn’t get any deep sleep so this morning my brain feels foggy and bits and pieces of my body ache. I also have found that I tend to get 5 to 6 hours a night rather than 8.

I also can keep track of my heart rate, amount of exercise, and several other things that tell me if I am moving or being a total blob that day.

I haven’t even tried the food and water part of the equation. That’s for next week.

I am feeling tired and cranky which is not optimal since I have a lot to do today.

The bathroom renovation is going. Due to circumstances, it is taking longer than expected but the previous contractor managed to destroy most of everything under the title and in the walls so it had to be gutted and worked back from the ground up. Right now we have the walls up and most of the floor back in. Today they are finishing the tile and then grouting the whole thing. This after we had a major set back with a pipe breaking and water pouring into the closet that is not a closet right now due to mold abatement. It did, however have some boxes in it so that had to be dealt with very quickly. With the exception of some movie posters, we are good.

While they are doing that, the dumpster is being exchanged for a new one and I am continuing my project to get the basement back into shape which is going to take more time that I would like but I am going a little slower and not cutting any corners so this can be done correctly and Peter can have his office back which he hasn’t had since the stroke.

I should go to the gym today and maybe this afternoon I will. But I really need to work while we have the dumpster. I am thinking this afternoon is looking better for what I need to do but we will see.

Part of this depends on the weather.

Peter is having to do some research for work that is having him revisit some stuff he hadn’t encountered since it first appeared. Bring back memories for me too. More on that after it is announced.

So today is going to be tackling what I can of the basement which will go faster after we get the dumpsters swapped out supposedly this morning. But I still have stuff I can do before they get here. Garage is for the weekend between the rain showers. Sunday is Father’s Day and we have several plans in place depending on the weather and our energy levels.

I am grateful for what sleep I do get.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 14, 2017

It is the birthday of my sister Sheila. If you asked me how old she was, I would have to work the formula back from my age to tell you. For my siblings and me, my parents managed some interesting number combinations in both the dates of our births and the number of years between us. Let’s just say that she is younger than Sean and me but older than Patrick.

When my mother was pregnant with Sean, I was aware of what was going on in the simplest of terms. With Sheila, I had a much better idea of what was going on. I can remember sitting on the bed next to Mom and feeling Sheila either kick or punch my hand on my mother’s belly. It was an amazing feeling.

I was informed after she was born that if I wanted to know what I looked like as a baby then just look at her. My parents even dated some of the photos so they would know who was who. There are some photos that are still a toss up as to which one of us it is.

Not so much a problem now as we have both grown into our individual selves. I’m taller and she is skinnier. She can still wear clothing from high school. When we went shopping for our bridesmaid’s outfits for my brother’s wedding, his fiancé (now wife of almost 20 years) asked to switch Sheila’s body with hers just to try on some dresses. Sheila declined because she knew if she had, she wouldn’t get her body back. Of course the entire conversation was absurd from the get go but it sounded very serious in tone and content.

Shelia is always willing to pitch in where needed. Sometimes I think she sublimates her wishes/wants to make others happy but she is happy when she can help. I have tossed her up on stage with me and others for both plays and masquerade entries with little to no prep and she had done splendidly. She is a born performer.

I love her very much and am proud of her and her accomplishments.

Happy Birthday Sheila! or, as I use to write it before the advent of auto correct, Happy Brithday. Hope the day is extra nice to you.

love your sister,
Kath

I am grateful that Sheila is my sister.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 12, 2017

Today is going to be a busy one. I have about half a dozen errands to run and I want to get to the gym. Errands then Gym. Plus I want to get the AC up and running since it is going to be miserable without it. So I have to get the filters in place and the main unit uncovered before firing it up.

Also since we have a dumpster right now due to the renovations, I am getting rid of a lot of stuff that we have needed to toss for a while. There is a time limit on that.

This is the beginning of a week were I have a lot I need to get done and some stuff I want to get done. I am hoping by the end of the week to have a functioning bathroom that will lead to next weeks work.

There is also the matter of the end of Caroline’s School Year being her last days in middle school. There are functions that we need to attend. Last week was the awards ceremony where she received several awards for academic excellence. I know she is close to the top of her class because her GPA was not far off from the 3rd highest GPA. I am very proud of her self-discipline to get her homework done in a timely fashion and seeking help when she is confused.

So a lot to do and only so many hours in the day to do it in.

I am very motivated.

I am grateful for what has been done for the bathroom so far.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 11, 2017

Haven’t done one of these in a while but then haven’t had much to talk about either since I wasn’t having many issues of getting to the equipment when I needed it.

I did get a compliment the other day. I was finishing up my workout when one of the regulars came over and said in a humorous tone, “You are done for the week. We have been watching you and we are tired.”

I have been pushing it a bit because I hit a plateau and needed to mix it up to make progress again. So some exercises went out and others came in. I also added 5 to 10 pounds to most of the routine.

Results have been mixed. Some days I can complete at a certain weight and others I have to drop it a bit for the last set to keep good form.

Nothing pulled but the usual pains are still there. Did drop a weight I had a hand spasm and scaring a group of women who were on the newest machine.

I have been explaining more why I do the exercises I do in the order that I do them in. Taught a couple of people about how if you use a different foot position you can work out different sets of muscles on the same machine.

There are a number of ‘new’ regulars now. People who started at the beginning of the year and have kept it up and people who are worried about how they are going to look during swim suit season. I expect that most of the swimsuit folks will be gone before the end of the summer.

I can still tell when various exercise magazines come out as I am watching people do new things with the equipment and not always what it was built for as we have a large sign on one of them now that says ‘Do not use backwards’ since it has broken twice in the last month for people trying something that catches the cable and jams it.

I have been spotting for people more, which is a nice feeling that they figure I am strong enough to keep them from injuring themselves.

I am still dealing with some machine/weight hogs. If they would just add some weight, they would do themselves more good than the 500 reps of next to no weight which is not really helping them. Adding weight if you are a woman is not going to give you manly muscles because you don’t have the testosterone in your system to do that. And the rest of us are tired of waiting half an hour for you to finished your workout and various text conversations on the phone. Also an empty bench that you are not using is not your towel/water bottle/gym bag storage unit. There are lockers in the front of the room that you can use.

My Fitbit is keeping me honest about the length of my workouts. It is nice to have a record of it that I can consult.

Over all I know I have more energy and I just feel better when I consistently exercise.

Next step is to clean up my eating habits, which I am working on this week.

I am grateful for any positive that come out of regular exercise.

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