Random Access Memories

It appears the Supreme Court of the USA is headed to strike down Roe v. Wade this summer.

Now, I am a firm supporter of a woman’s right to do what she wants to do with her own body, let’s be clear about that. But Roe was always on shakey ground in my opinion. What we need is a firm right to body privacy enshrined in law. To make that happen it has to come from Congress. And to do that we need to have Democrats in office willing to make it happen. To do that we need a huge groundswell of angry Democrats, willing to pound their fists on the table for better representation. This is exactly what i hope happens this year. That the overturning of Roe activates enough anger that it solidifies a Democratic majority in Congress.

Let’s make the Republicans very unhappy to finally get what they have been wanting.

So, I’ve mentioned this a few times and some people give me the “WTF?!” reply. They don’t grasp how an extrovert can be shy.

Being an extrovert just means you don’t like being alone. It doesn’t mean you have good social skills or you lack anxiety. It doesn’t mean you’re “good” at getting along with people.

I’ll give you an example.

Tonight I went out to a bit of a party. I dressed up, and when I left I thought that I looked really nice. Didn’t have any worries on the walk all the way there.

I arrived and there were about 40 people in the space. Some soft music was being played. Tons of conversations were already going on.

And as I looked around the realization hit me in the face like a cold fish, “I know none of these people”.

Suddenly they were all far prettier than me, happier than me, more self-confident than me, or on the arm of someone to support them. My overwhelming feeling? I didn’t belong there. I was old, ugly, and not looking happy. (The last one I know was true, the first two were anxiety.) I tried to talk to someone and it ended up extremely awkward, which threw more gasoline on the fire. Normally I can actually handle a decent conversation. I’m sure nobody there thought I was crazy.

So after a few minutes trying to see if there was some way to feel more “in place” and failing, I left. I spent all of ten minutes there.

On the walk home I was upset, ashamed, scared.

And that my friends, is what happens when you’re an anxious and shy extrovert. You end up back home where you don’t want to be because while it sucks to be alone, it’s not terrifying.

You wait and try to find people that understand and can put up with the little quirks, and you rarely if ever jump in the pool without them.

It’s no secret I’m totally against the flood of prescription drug commercials targeting the consumer, asking them to go to their doctor and say “I need this pill”.

But it’s gone overboard. Last night I noticed one of these commercials on TV:

Which clearly act like doing your doctor’s job is a bad idea, yet what exactly is it if you go to your doctor and say “I want Nexium”, IT’S DOING YOUR DOCTOR’S JOB!

I know, I know, consumers are idiots. But I can dream…

From Kitmous:

I came here from the “Stumbling toward Ecstasy” post at Shapely Prose. I was reading about your struggles with diminished smell/taste, and thought I would come offer a suggestion.

I was in a car accident more than a decade ago that resulted in cranial nerve injuries. I have diminished smell and taste, and ‘sweet’ (because it’s on the tongue and not reliant on smell for intensity) is also the one that for me is strongest and most reliable. What I’ve taken to doing is pursuing REALLY strong-flavored foods–sharp English cheddar cheese instead of mild American cheddar, dijon mustard instead of yellow mustard, “everything” bagels instead of plain bagels, filet mignon instead of cheaper/less tasty cuts of beef, that sort of thing. Foods (for me, anyway) that actually have flavor. I don’t need to eat as much of them because I can taste them, so my body/brain is satisfied with less.

I’m just some random human on the internet, but I thought I’d pop over and offer a suggestion. 🙂

I do tend more towards VERY sweet things (IE. I like a little tea with my sugar in the morning) and I adore extremely sharp cheddar.

Sometimes tho a taste will completely overpower everything (Shitake mushrooms are a good example of this, coffee is another).

If I want a mild flavor I have to eat ONLY that thing (Shrimp, crab legs, steak fit that catagory)

Some flavors are powerful, but fade quickly for me (Mustard, horseradish fall here)

I also like to make a huge pot of soup with lots of veggies and lean meat, I can eat lots of this and it’s both low in calories and very good for me. Compared to snacking on other foods.

I appreciate the info, I never knew that certain tastes were not at all nose-dependent.

I ran across this in a recent article:

Dr. Barbara Yawn, director of research at the Olmsted Medical Center, University of Minnesota said: “Visits are now so short and for primary care … that there is not time to spend the five, 10, 15 or 20 minutes that are required to explain why an antibiotic is not a good treatment for a viral respiratory infection”

I find this highly disturbing.

If I see a doctor i’m paying for time. The idea that I cannot get a doctor to explain something to me for 10-20 minutes means that I am overpaying for my doctors time.

I think Healthcare has turned completely to maximizing profits, rather than quality of care and educating the patient on what is good for them.