Occasionally I have several thoughts I want to share. but each is not enough for a blog post. Some are lighthearted, others are more serious.
First of all, I want to apologize if you see a pop-up box when you comment asking you to subscribe. I *hate* when a pop-up comes up in the middle of the screen and you can't read any further without dealing with it. I have not seen this on my own blog, but I have on other WordPress blogs, so I assume it happens on mine as well. I just spent some time scouting around to see if there was a way to turn this off, and I couldn't find it (if you know of a way, please let me know).
I also dislike when I follow someone's link to a blog or article where I am asked first thing to create an account (even a free account) in order to read further. Honestly, if the first thing I encounter on any blog is a pop-up, whether it's for subscribing, creating an account, buying a book, getting a free download, or turning off ads, I'm likely to just close the site and move on. How do I know if I want to subscribe or create an account when I have not even had a chance to read anything there yet?
For sites that want you to pay to subscribe, I think those site owners are wise who allow a certain number of free reads per month. I might be more likely to subscribe if I read there and find a lot I like. But not if I can never get past the first pop-up.
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From the time I first learned what an introvert was, I knew I was one. Reading about introversion, like Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, helped me understand myself a great deal.
I've run across some Instagram accounts for introverts, but I find I can't read them regularly. Reading them occasionally, I'll nod my head and appreciate that someone else knows how I think and feel. Some have comics that are funny and apt. But if I read them all the time, I find myself resenting the demands of life that draw me out of my introversion. I think the point of learning about introversion (or extroversion, if that's you) is not to make the people who know us or the world around us conform to our preferences. Every source I've read on introversion says we need to step out of our comfort zone sometimes. Understanding my bent and needs helps me do that. But if I was constantly filling my head with cute memes about wanting alone time, that would be my focus.
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Sometimes I'll read that blogging is considered dead (often, ironically, in a blog post). I have not found that to be the case. There are scores of good blogs out there that I would like to keep up with but can't.
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Sometimes I see a writer attribute our tendency to be over-busy as pride--as if that's how we "keep up with the Joneses" these days, or as if it's the trendy thing to talk about how busy we are. But I don't know anyone who truly feels that way. Most super-busy people that I know would desperately like not to be that way, but they don't know what to cut out. As we've developed labor- and time-saving devices, we've added more and more things to be done.
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I have not seen any Christmas items in stores yet (though I have seen Halloween things), but they seem to be displayed earlier each year. Early last fall I stopped by Cracker Barrel because I had seen something in the beachy section that I decided I wanted to get. But when I went back, the whole beachy section was gone and Christmas items were out. I wonder if retailers ever consider that they might lose sales because their Christmas decor edges out other things a shopper would be more likely to buy in the late summer or early fall.
I also wonder if anyone really buys Christmas stuff in August? I admit, if I needed something, I might look early in order to benefit from a greater selection. I like to buy Christmas cards early, but otherwise I try to avoid the temptation of the Christmas aisles. I have more Christmas decorations than I have room for--I don't need to add any more.
One exception was when our church used to send presents to our overseas missionaries by way of surface mail. We'd have to send packages to some countries in October in order for them to arrive by Christmas. So it was nice to get wrapping paper and such then. After the Post Office did away with that rate, it was too expensive to send packages, so we just sent cash offerings to the missionaries' accounts. That was more efficient, but I missed the personalized packages.
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Do you ever do this? A while back, I was intrigued with the word "adorn" in Titus 2:10, which speaks of adorning the doctrine of God our Savior. I pondered how we do that. Isn't God's doctrine perfect as is? How do we adorn it? As I began to study and thought about writing a post about the topic, I found I already had. 🙂
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I've gotten frustrated lately with Facebook removing a couple of my posts. I'll receive a notification that they removed a post with a note to "Click here to see why." I've clicked there, but then I am taken to a page that says everything looks good with no problems. There's no explanation and nothing to click to appeal. One post had photos of teenagers I wasn't related to, so perhaps that was a privacy protection thing. But the other contained two reviews of study books on Isaiah. All I can figure is that their sensor bot picked up on the name of a certain country not popular in the news media (which I am avoiding naming in case that was the problem), even though the subject was thousands of years ago.
I wouldn't mind so much if there was an explanation and an opportunity to appeal. They really need to not let these things be done by AI.
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Since my husband retired at the end of last year, we went on Medicare in January. I am not a fan so far. For one thing, a blood thinner I am on for atrial fibrillation (since afib can cause blood clots) jumped from $10 for a 90-day supply to over $500. What sense does that make, that when your income goes down, your prescriptions go up? I talked to the cardiologist about alternatives, and we found one that was *only* $150 for 90 days--and it's at a different pharmacy than we usually use because it's cheaper there.
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Since I've been sharing some frustrations, I'll end with some things that made me smile recently:
Our gastroenterologist's office was decorated for summer in a luau theme, with this sign on the bathroom door:
This was from a restaurant we went to a few months ago:
I was looking at the evening reading of Daily Light on the Daily Path a while back, and thought it ironic to see an ad about cremation after a verse about being made from dust . . .
And lastly, this text exchange with my husband:
To be fair, there were only two left, and I had one the night before. So technically this one was his. But I thought it was still in the refrigerator and he might not want it. 🙂
And yes, sometimes we do text each other from different rooms in the house . . . 🙂
And that's probably enough stray thoughts for one day.
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