Welcome to Mental Health Wellness Check

Hey!

How's it going?

Are y'all doing okay? Been feeling down at all? Is it hard to get out of bed?

Have you been feeling great? Have you started a new hobby? Or have you lost interest in things you used to love to do?

Are you distracted easily? Sleeping okay? Having any weird or vivid dreams that you want to share? 

I know I'm having a nightmare when the fluffy pink velociraptors with Valley Girl accents show up. A week ago, I had a dream where my mom gave me a very friendly tiger instead of my very fluffy cat and I didn't know what to do with a very friendly tiger that wanted tons of snuggles.

I have weird dreams.

Have you gone out and seen your friends? Made any new friends? Had a falling out you need to talk to someone about?

Are you obsessing over something?

I'm still thinking about the post I wrote last week.

Instead of taking some time to carefully compose what I wanted to say over the course of a couple of days - I impulsively word vomited some thoughts (that I still don't have a conclusive answer for) into the Interweb. 

Memo to me - don't do that again.

Eventually, I'll get over this angsty obsession and find something else to worry about.

Which reminds me of a saying one of my yoga teachers from New Jersey liked to say: "worrying is just payment for a debt you never owed."

At least I think that's what they used to say. I don't have a perfect memory - no one does. But I remember them encouraging me to let go of my worries and focus on the moment. 

I do find myself feeling happier when I slow down to just live in the moment. Today, I spotted a flowering bush with half a dozen swallowtail butterflies flitting about. I stopped and took a couple of pictures, appreciating their graceful movements and fluttering wings. The air was thick, smelling of campfires and newly blossomed flowers. Though the sun was setting, it had a few rays left to warm my skin. A few paces away, two monarch butterflies played tag in the tall grass.

One of the pictures I took.

That was a moment where I let all the background noise in my head fade away and I felt very happy.

Another picture I took. Does anyone know what kind of flower?

Have you had any moments like that recently?

On Friday, I went to the doctor's for my annual exam. I was nervous going. The pandemic hadn't been kind to my physical and mental health. But it's important to go. So that's what I did.

Part of my visit included a screening for depression. 

That was new. I know that a lot of studies have come out about how the past year and a half has wrecked a lot of people's mental health and depression is on the rise. I answered the questions honestly and had a conversation with my doctor about options to keep my mental health in check. She had a lot of information and happily provided me with resources. 

I'm glad depression, anxiety, and other mental health ailments are being taken seriously. I've been working on my mental health for a few years now, so I've become a bit blasé to my problems. But I remember how difficult it was to take that first step. I almost didn't. It took me crying in the car with my aunt on the phone for me to understand that I had to. My aunt had to help me make the appointment to see the doctor. 

It's okay to be nervous about admitting that you need help. It's intimidating to answer the doctor's questions. But without honesty, doctor's can't (or won't) help you.

So, take a moment. See how you're doing. Don't be ashamed if you're having trouble. It's okay to get help. It's okay to go to therapy.

How are you doing?

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to Changing Times and Literature

7/21/2021 - update. The most I think about this blogpost the more I am dissatisfied by it. I wrote this as more of me "thinking out loud" than trying to make an argument.  I'm not sure that the idea of updating books in the public domain to match modern language necessarily good or bad. I know I've struggled with books that were written 100 years ago because the language is very different from today. If they don't have updated language, then a guide and/or glossary should probably be included (it's the only way that I got through The Prince). If an author is still alive, a book should NOT be modified without their permission, but if they want to update their own books that's up to them (George Lucas has had varying success with the Star Wars movies).

I’ve started reading two books that were written in a very different time than the one that we are currently living in. One is an advice book on how to be an adult that was written in 2013. The other is about a dog parodying Proust’s writing style written in the 1990s (at least I think it was written in the 1990s because the language sometimes feels much older - like 1940s or 50s).

And I can’t help but noticing how dated their language is in places.

The 2010s was a rollercoaster ride for social movements and major events. And reading these books shows how much the United States (at least has changed). It’s not that these are bad books. It’s just that some of their humor and word choices have not aged well. The advice in the book from 2013, for example, is still fairly relevant to people moving away from home for the first time - just not all of it. And I can’t help but cringe at some of the humor. The dog book uses descriptions that may be accurate (like using the female word for a dog that is offensive to human ladies), but stick out like bad haircut in that one selfie you can’t escape. 

I almost wish I could read these books with 2021 language. 

That’s not to say that all books written in the past need to have their language updates. I’ve read plenty of books (even from a hundred plus years ago) that had language that was clearly from the era it was written in. If their language was updated to 2021 standards, it would probably take me out of the story.

However, that doesn’t mean that some language, especially language which is found to be very offensive, shouldn’t be updated. A few years ago, I remember hearing about a controversy about updating Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to include less offensive language. Though it’s true that Mark Twain wrote that book to mimic the way people spoke (at that time in Missouri), I could barely read it and stopped less than half way through.  Between the offensive language and off syntax, I lost interest in one of “the American Classics”.

There are some publishers who have gone a head and updated their books as times have changed. Most notably are the girl detective series Nancy Drew. 

This is the version of the book I am most familiar with.

I grew up reading the Nancy Drew books. In fact, they were what motivated me to improve my reading I the first place. However, the books I read in the late 90s and early 2000s had been revised significantly from their original publication in the 1930s. 

The first major revisions began in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Many of the plots were updated to be less violent, sexist, and even racist (dang! Nancy, not you too!). Modernization has continued, though nothing as dramatic from the first major revisions. Thankfully, modernization hasn't gone too far. Nancy’s original stories mostly take place in a timeless spot somewhere between the American 30s and 60s. I don’t think I would have enjoyed too much modernization in the original novels. 

I don’t know if this is the latest version of the cover or not but it embraces the 30s/40s

However, like Scooby Doo, the Nancy Drew books get a facelift ever decade or so. And I really can’t complain because these are mostly marketed as new stories. I remember the first I’ve I picked up a Nancy Drew book and she was solving a murder in Paris.  To my young mind, Nancy Drew didn’t solve murders - that was Poirot or Ms. Marples. She also didn’t have a cell phone or laptop.

The Nancy Drew games have done a fantastic job keeping up with modernization and even remastering and updating the older games. It doesn’t always work out perfectly, but I’ve been impressed with he effort the Nancy Drew game developers have done to keep the famous girl detective relevant to new audiences.

 Modernization can be hit and miss. Some books pull off timeless story telling. Some books and stories are clearly products of their time. However, if we want to keep certain classics in the public eye, we’ve gotta get rid of the offensive language or be very careful how we teach the material. Certain references and jokes may age poorly, some may become the signifier of a generation.

After all we still read and preform Shakespeare (though my 12th grade class had a lot of trouble with Hamlet before our teacher found a recorded copy for us to listen to).

What are y’all’s thoughts on modernizing literature. If it’s super popular should it be updated every decade or so to make sure language is understood and inoffensive? Should books be products of their time? Who has the final say?

And this just doesn’t apply to books. It can apply to video games (already mention), comics, movies, etc. I’m just using books in this post.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to a Train Wreck Life

For the past few weeks, I have been a spectator to YouTube drama.  Normally, I wouldn’t be interested in this type of “drama” (there are other types of drama I’m more likely to pop popcorn for). This instance peaked my interest for a couple of reasons and since then, I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole trying to understand the whys of the situation.

Basically a YouTuber I had no interest in (let’s call them YouTuber 1), decided to go after a YouTuber I do like (they’ll be YouTuber 2) because YouTuber 1 didn’t like the review YouTuber 2 gave their poetry collections.  Now, I’d watched YouTuber 2’s reviews on these books (I am somewhat invested in the literary side of YouTube - also called “BookTube” - to better understand my writing craft). YouTuber 2 did a fantastic job critiquing the collections and even gave great advice on how YouTuber 1 could improve (one reason I watch YouTuber 2).

YouTuber 1 evidently didn’t like being critiqued. From what I’ve seen seen in the past week, YouTuber 1 can’t handle any kind of criticism. They only like praise. So, about six months after YouTuber 2 posted their videos, YouTuber 1 ranted about the review and sent their fans to harass YouTuber 2. This has set off a whole chain of events that has left me mortified, entertained, and a little terrified.

My accidental deep dive has lead me to the conclusion that YouTuber 1 is a train wreck about to happen. They appear to be trying to take as many people with them as possible, but the people YouTuber 1 is targeting aren’t in really in the wrong. All YouTuber 1 is doing is self destructing and alienating everyone who was ever their friend.  

Holy crap has it been a crazy train…

And I can’t look away.

Why can’t I look away?

These past few weeks, I’ve also been watching the Disney+ show Loki.

I dedicate my life to this version of Loki.

Coincidentally, the show Loki is also about a train wreck of a person blaming everyone but themselves for their problems. Each episode has forced the title character, Loki, to face their bad behavior, realize they aren’t special, and try to become a better version of themselves (which is very much a work in progress).

*Note the following will have some spoilers for the first five episodes of Loki. Additionally, I plan on providing some of my own theories for the sixth and final episode for this run. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

Loki’s journey to understanding themself starts in the first episode when they are confronted with their mother’s death (which they are responsible for), their father’s acceptance and death, and their own death. The second episode has them learning of the future destruction of their home world and the fact that at least one version of themselves is a girl. We find out in episode 3, that the girl version has shed her Loki identity and renamed herself Sylvie. Effectively, Loki is her dead name and from this point on Sylvie is Sylvie (this is an example of a transgender story so I really hope Disney doesn’t mess this up).

So, the first three episodes, Loki is confronted with their lack of uniqueness, their narcissism, and their total lack of self awareness. 

Then we get to episode four and this is where our favorite train wreck God of Mischief finally begins to accept that how they behave is a problem and they need to change. First their new friend, Mobius, gets mad at Loki for lying to and abandoning him. Morpheus calls Loki a “bad friend” and shoves him into a time loop where Loki sees his old…friend (?) - I don’t think Sif and Loki were ever friends, but it’s the closest I’ve got - Sif after they had cut her hair. Sif kicks Loki for the offense, tells them that they’ll always be alone, and stomps away. Loki, at first scoffs, states that they remember this event and that they then had a bath and a glass of wine. Loki feels justified, until Sif shows up again. The whole scene plays out a couple of times, which tells the audience that this is a time loop. Loki is stuck their for a while.

Eventually, Mobius let’s Loki out, but not before Loki confesses to being a narcissist and scared of being alone. Mobius tells Loki he believes them and that they are going to go rescue Sylvie together.  And this is when (SPOILERS) Mobius is disintegrating right in front of Loki. The first person that Loki cares about as a friend (or maybe more than if Disney would have allowed it…grrr) and is cared about in return, is violently “killed” in front of them. Loki is in visible distress, nearly crying.

It is at this point in the episode that I am screaming at the screen for someone to get Loki into therapy. They clearly need it.

The episode ends with Loki getting disintegrated in front of Sylvie. A mid credit scene shows us they’re not actually dead (go figure), just in a place called “the void” surrounded by other Lokis.

Episode five has probably the most needed character development that Loki has long needed. Since Loki is notorious for surviving, this void is filled with Lokis (including an alligator version that is there because they ate the wrong neighbor’s cat and is totally my favorite - someone get me a plushy!). The more of them Loki is confronted with, the more embarrassed Loki is for themselves.

My favorite line from this episode comes from Classic Loki:

“We cannot change. We’re broken, every version of us. Forever. And whenever one of us dares try to fix themselves, they’re sent here to die.“

Loki eventually realizes that every version of themself is capable of great things if they want to. Our Loki and Sylvie go off to finish off the big bad while Mobius (he’s actually still alive by the way), kid Loki, and alligator Loki go to take down Mobius’s old work place. Mobius and Loki share a very emotional hug (which should have been a kiss) and part ways. 

This leads us to episode six and why I’m tying my weird obsession with this YouTube “drama” together.

As of writing and posting this blog, episode six hasn’t aired. I’m sure I’ll be an emotional wreck, seeking out fanfiction once I watch it, but until then I have my own speculations and they loosely tie in with YouTuber 1. 

YouTuber 1 is acting and displaying behavior a lot like Loki from the beginning of his MCU story. It’s not a direct one to one parallel - it can’t be - but part of me wonders what would happen if YouTuber 1 was placed into a situation like we see Loki in at the beginning of their TV series. Would YouTuber 1 learn the same lessons as Loki? I don’t know.

But I can say how cathartic it is to watch Loki get Hulk smashed at the end of the first Avengers movie after being such a terrible person (and fantastic villain) throughout the story.  Now, I don’t want YouTuber 1 to get Hulk smashed, but I do want to find out what the consequences for their actions will be. 

I don’t know YouTuber 1 personally, but so much of their life is online and they don’t hide anything. They just blame their mental illness - which is another major issue I have with them - for their bad behavior. I want to know the end of this story (someone compared it to a Greek tragedy and it really appears to be).

And that’s why I don’t think I can look away. There’s so much that’s unbelievable in this story. I want YouTuber 1 to realize that they are not being a good person…let alone a good friend. I want them to have the character journey that Loki is having in the Loki TV show. I highly doubt that this is going to happen.

Heck, I doubt I’ll get a cathartic ending to the YouTube story at all.

I might get one for Loki.

*HERE’S WHERE I SPECULATE ON THE FINAL LOKI EPISODE*

If I were the writer of the Loki tv show, I would end the series with the big bad being revealed to be…another Loki.

Why?

Because who better to mess up a person’s life than themselves. I should know, I’m really good at messing up my own life.

My theory has been really well set up in the story. The dialogue all points to Loki always messing up his own life and when they try to change, they aren’t allowed to by the mysterious organization…the TVA. They’re also so into themselves that they might fall in love with themselves (granted this could be a metaphor for self love, but I don’t think that’s where this is going). 

Who better to run the TVA than someone who wants total control of the universe than an egotistical narcissist like Loki from the Avengers?

This is the ending I think we need for Loki. They’ve come to understand how awful they’ve been, they want to change for the better, have realized that what they want and what they need are very different things, and are ready to confront the big bad. And it would be awesome if that big bad was another version of themselves. What a perfect ending to a story about personal growth, change, and owning the bad things done.

Is that the ending we’re going to get?

I hope so, but the MCU is big on bringing in other villains to tie into their upcoming movies. So it could be some random person from out of nowhere that will fight Dr. Strange in a few months.

If I’m right about my theory, I will be rejoicing like crazy (because it’s the story the MCU Loki deserves). If it’s not, I’ll be grumbling about it somewhere on the Internet and hoping fanfiction authors write some good “fix it” stories.

I know YouTuber 1 isn’t going to have this story…even if I think they might benefit from it. Hopefully they get off the Internet and get the help they need. I hope that the people hurt by this heal. I may want to know how it all ends, but I don’t need to and it’s really none of my business. It’s just on the Internet.

Let me know you’re Loki theories.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Some extra notes: you guys might be wondering why I use the “they” pronoun this post. For the YouTubers, it’s because I don’t want their names and/or genders known. They don’t know who I am and I’d like to stay far away from them knowing me. 

I chose to use the pronoun “they” for Loki for a couple of reasons, not least of which because I do see Loki the character as gender fluid. The actor who plays Loki, Tom Huddleston, has mentioned that he views Loki as gender fluid. I wanted to acknowledge that in this post.

Welcome to 2021 Pride Month

I realize that this is the last weekend of Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community. To be honest, I thought June was going to last longer than it did - I'm not sure how I came to fall under this assumption as June has always had 30 days in the total of my existence, so...

It felt like June flew by in a blink.

My way of celebrating Pride Month has typically consisted of me watching Angles in America  and picking up a poetry book by one of my favorite LGBTQ+ poets. I'd also watch a bunch of YouTube videos about the history of LGBTQ+ people.

This year I didn't change my habits all that much with one exception. I went to my first Pride Festival.

I honestly never felt a strong desire to go to a Pride Festival or celebration. Between trying to understand my identity, avoidance of large crowds, and having to travel a long distance to even attend, I didn't feel like I was missing out on much.

I probably wouldn't have gone to the Festival this year, except that I stumbled upon the Pride Festival by accident. I didn't even know it was going on until the morning of. And as luck would have it, I was free that day to celebrate. 

The experience started by me going to my local Farmer's Market. As I was about to turn into the parking lot, I saw someone putting up a little sign advertising the event. My curiosity peaked, I checked out the area that was being set up before buying my weekly groceries. In the span of about 10 seconds, I had made up my mind that I was going to return in an hour or so. 

The festival was small compared to what I'd seen on TV for the ones in New York or DC. There was a stage area for a band and music, several dozen booths selling pins and T-shirts, face painting, and free giveaways. There was a huge "LOVE" pop-up with the "O" painted as a rainbow for photo-ops. Restaurants with outdoor seating were packed and had rainbow streamers everywhere. Snacks were available and the brewery was selling white t-shirts for a tie-dye experience along with their usual selection of beer, kombucha, and hops tea.

Free tiny flags were given to anyone who asked. I got one and it now lives on my balcony in the banana pepper plant's pot. 

I arrived in time to catch part of the drag queen show. It was a lot of fun and everyone was dancing. Groups of teenagers wearing Pride flag capes hung out on the edges of the crowd, talking and laughing. Families with kids wove between booths. Dads wore rainbow tutus to match their kids and there were a few people in kilts.

I was quickly drawn to the booth selling books. It had an array of LGBTQ+ books: romances, fantasies, essays, and poems. Some of the books had been on my wish list and I quickly grabbed them. I also grabbed a book of essays about being LGBTQ+ while growing up in the deep south. I haven't started any of them yet and my "too read" pile is ever growing, but I know I'll get to them sooner rather than later.

Afterwards, I mostly sat and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was supposed to storm in the afternoon (and did start raining on my walk home), so I didn't stay too long.

Overall my first experience was great. Most people still had masks, but since I've been vaccinated, I've felt a lot safer going out in crowds. I loved how natural it all felt - no one needed to put on an act, we could all be ourselves. 

I'll likely try to attend other Pride festivals in the coming years - though I don't know if I can handle some of the bigger ones. 

The ability to openly celebrate being LGBTQ+ is a special privilege. Not even a decade ago, gay marriage wasn't legal. It wasn't until 1962 that gay sex began to be decriminalized in the United States. It took until 2009 to have anti-discrimination laws in place for the LGBTQ+ community.

The history of LGBTQ+ people is also constantly being overlooked or erased. LGBTQ+ people didn't just show up out of now where in the mid-20th century. We've always been a part of the human condition. 

Things still aren't ideal and are very far from perfect. There's a lot of open hostility against the transgender community - especially for Black transgender women. There are still plenty of countries that will jail or even execute someone for being LGBTQ+. Being open in America is still a risk, but at least many of us can be open.

But I'm hopeful.

The two generations of LGBTQ+ people before mine were devastated by the AIDs epidemic, but they built the stage that my generation was allowed to dance on. I believe that the next generation will make it go viral.

Happy Pride Month. 

Now, I'm going to finish watching Angles in America.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Welcome to Near Death Experiences

How many of you guys have seen the movie The Mummy Returns (2001)? It’s the sequel to the 1999 Mummy movie (the really good one with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz). I remember when they came out and seeing them in the old movie theater at my local mall before they tore it down and built a huge theater in its place. 

Well, near the end of the movie…

*SPOILERS*

…Eve (Rachel Weisz) is killed in front of her family by the bad guys. 

There’s a brief scene of morning before her husband, Rick (Brendan Fraser), decides he must defeat the bad guys and leaves his newly dead wife with their ten year old son and Eve’s brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). Jonathan tries to comfort his nephew when they realize that they can bring Eve back to life using the Book of the Dead. Jonathan causes a distraction, while his nephew reads the spell that will bring Eve back, humorously paralleling a scene in the first movie.

Eve is saved! 

The bad guys are defeated!

The place where they are has a self destruct button and has started to collapse, but the heroes are saved by the timely arrival of a friend in an airship.

As the sun sets, the two leads lean in to kiss (much to the immature disgust of their son and brother/brother-in-law) when Eve asks Rick…

*END OF SPOILERS*

“Would you like to know what heaven looks like?”

I don’t necessarily want to categorize what happened to Eve as a Near Death Experience (NDE for short), but on the surface it’s pretty close. Eve was clinically dead, she came back to life, and remembers the time in between. 

Near Death Experiences are a phenomena that happen to real people. They have real psychological consequences. And they are not well understood.

I recently read a book called "After: A Doctor Explains What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond" by Bruce Greyson, M.D. It's pretty good and honestly hopeful. Some might find it a little repetitive, but I found that it reinforced the idea that this was something that needed to be taken seriously. 

Dr. Greyson shares a lot of stories from many different people who experienced NDEs. Some of these stories involve meeting diseased family members, others of meeting a deity, and many have a bright light at the end of a tunnel like structure. People reported feeling at peace or enveloped in love. A few simply floated above their bodies. 

Amongst the many beautiful stories of peace and love were a few terrifying events were people reportedly felt like they were falling into an abyss. Others had their religious beliefs challenged. 

I appreciated that Dr. Greyson took a skeptical and scientific approach to NDEs. His first experience with someone reporting an NDE was very personal for him and it sparked his interest in the phenomena. He isn't affiliated with any religious or spiritual organization. 

I've been curious about Near Death Experiences. Part of me wonders what it would be like to experience one. On the other hand, I have no desire to nearly die.

Dr. Greyson suggests that the brain could possibly be a filter for the mind, that the mind may not be a manifestation of the brain, but something the brain interprets. He sites that many people who have NDEs feel that they are thinking with a clarity that they've never experienced while conscious. They also don't show the same signals of someone recalling a fabricated memory or dream. It is a very real thing that has happened. 

The idea of Near Death Experiences does exist in literature, movies, and pop culture. It has caused some misconceptions about the phenomena and how it impacts the people who experience it. The majority of people who have NDEs become unafraid of death...and living life. They tend to be less materialistic and focus on interpersonal relationships. Some face a backlash when they try to tell others what they experienced, which can lead to depression and anxiety because they don't have the support they need. However, with the right support, NDE experiencers feel like they have a new purpose in life. They are more likely to live in the moment and appreciate the now. 

Dr. Greyson suspects that most people know at least one person who has had a Near Death Experience. He says that if someone wants to share their experience with you, to listen and not be dismissive. People who have had an NDE have already gone through one traumatic experience. 

Near Death Experiences may never be explained (I'm not holding my breath for an explanation in my lifetime). They are real. People experience them. And I find that it gives me hope. Lots of religions claim to have the answer for the next life. I wonder if some of them were inspired by members of their community having NDEs. It's certainly possible.

There are a lot of things in life we still don't understand. That's okay. I don't think all the mysteries are meant to be solved. But if you're interested in NDEs, I recommend picking up a copy of "After". You might find it at your local library.

And if you haven't seen either the Mummy or the Mummy Returns, totally check that out too. Those movies are amazing.

So, Eve, what was heaven like?

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like share and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to Two Weeks After the Vaccine

 Roughly two weeks ago, I got my second COVID-19 vaccine shot. Life already feels a little less stressful. 

For those of you who don't know. I'm terrible when it comes to shots (well needles piercing my skin in general...I have a terrible history giving blood too). It's not that they hurt or anything. I can handle a prick of pain. It's that something is going into or coming out of my body that freaks me out.

Thankfully the people administering the vaccine did a wonderful job, listened to me, and took what I had to say seriously. They made sure that I couldn't watch at all while they injected me - though I did find the spring return for the needle really cool.

The experience was fantastic - better than I expected. There were volunteers available to direct people and answer questions. Everyone was nice and smiling. We did have the National Guard out directing traffic at the location I went to - which worried me about any trouble that might happen - but over all I felt safe and welcomed.

There was even a baby Yoda happily thanking everyone for getting the vaccine.

My side affects were minimal. Other than my arm aching for a couple of days and being a little sleepier than normal, I was fine. Other members of my family experienced chills, trouble sleeping, and flu like symptoms, but they weren't as bad as actually getting COVID.

Now that it's been two weeks and I'm "fully covered", I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm still wearing a mask around other people and when I go into buildings, but I no longer worry that every interaction might cause me to get sick.

This week was the first time I started using the gym and pool at my apartment complex. Prior to getting the vaccine, I didn't even feel safe going to these locations. Very few people are at these places and I'm still weary of going somewhere with a large crowd, but I'm getting out of my apartment. I even feel comfortable enough to get into an elevator with other people.

No the vaccine hasn't turned me into an X-man (not that I would complain if it did). I've seen those hilarious videos of people claiming keys and other metal objects are sticking to them and I can't help but roll my eyes. If anything these claims might encourage the younger and more adventurous of us to get the vaccine.

Tis a shame. I was looking forward to having spare change fly at me in all directions.

I encourage everyone who is eligible to get the COVID vaccine as soon as possible. Yes, there are side affects. Yes, getting a shot sucks. 

But getting COVID is so much worse.

Seeing someone you love suffer from COVID is the last thing anyone should experience. 

So, make an appointment. The shot is free. 

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Summer Camp

My little cousin is going on his first big camping excision this summer. For three weeks, they'll be backpacking, hiking, and doing all the awesome things that kids get to do at summer camp. Not only will my cousin be at summer camp for the first time, this is the first time that they'll be far from home for an extended period of time. 

I was around the same age when I went away from home for the first time. When I was eight, I went to overnight camp for a week. One of my good friends also went to this camp and we were able to hang out together (in fact we were in the same cabin). Having my friend with me eased my homesickness. 

I don't know if my little cousin will also have a friend or two going with them, but I can bet they'll have a fantastic time. I shared with them a few stories of my camping experience...and there were a few stories their mom asked I not share because she didn't want her kid to repeat my silliness.

So here are some of the things I remember learning while at summer camp: 

1) You need to send a letter home: this seems obvious, but eight year old me didn't fully understand stamps. I had stationary to write letters home, but I didn't have stamps. In fact, I thought the stickers keeping the stationary together were stamps (thinking that stamps were like old fashioned wax seals). Not that my letters had anything interesting in them. I sent one of these letters to one of my aunts who kept it on her fridge for years. For years I cringed seeing my sloppy handwriting with the words "Love you! Miss you! Having fun at camp!" when I would go and visit her. 

2) Wear bug spray! Lots and lots of bug spray! I came home from camp with dozens of mosquito bites - mostly on my face (yikes!). I was sure to tell my little cousin to have lots of bug spray.

3) Sleeping under the stars is amazing: We had one night were we slept under the stars instead of in a cabin. We still had mosquito netting hanging over our heads, but it didn't hamper our view of millions of stars. I remember thinking that it was one of the most amazing ways to fall asleep. 

4) Always have a buddy: The buddy system is a must for safety. There are a lot of ways things can go wrong when you don't have someone with you - even when you use the biffy (what we called the outhouse  bathrooms).

5) Thunderstorms in the woods are terrifying: I didn't tell my little cousin this story, but one night we had a huge thunderstorm. The cabin next to ours at one point all called out in distress for one of the counselors. Our cabin freaked out and we screamed our heads off. Thankfully another counselor came quickly to calm us down. It was so much louder than any thunderstorm I'd been in up to that point in my life. My cabin mostly sat huddled around a flashlight in the middle of the cabin until the counselor managed to coax us into our beds.

And finally....

6) Change your socks every day: This should be another obvious one, but not to eight year old me. For some reason, I decided to wear the same pair of socks for my entire week in the woods. I tried to tell my mom that of course I changed my socks, I just happened to be wearing the same ones I left in. She didn't buy it - especially when she opened my backpack and saw all the clean socks I hadn't worn. My little cousin's mom asked me not to tell that story as they would take it as a challenge and try to do the same thing...but for three weeks.

Summer camp is a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to go. It can be expensive or bad timing for some families. I wish that everyone could have the opportunity to go to summer camp.

If you're thinking of writing stories about summer camp, you can use my stories to help you with your prompts.  

Until next week.

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