First off, thanks very much to G & S who kindly suggested options for the whole privacy issue in the previous entry - I'm taking a look at some options myself and I'll be in contact with you two in the next few days. Thank you both!
This is mostly a catch-up entry. I've been running pretty ragged lately and just haven't had time to relax. This is something I'm remedying posthaste now that I'm aware of it.
So, what's happened lately? Well, I've been pretty absorbed with my job which is taking up a very large portion of my time and consciousness. On the personal side, there's a few very significant things happening. For one, I've been voted into a expanded role with one of the local non-profits here, which means that I can now influence policy at the provincial (state) level. Sounds heady, doesn't it? Not really - it just means I'm now working during my non-office, personal hours as an unpaid paper-pusher...but even bureaucrats can do real good for the community, I hope.
Let's see...I've already touched on the whole medical thingy. Oh yes, I'm also rethinking how I'm relating to my family. I've realized that I've swung too far in the opposite end of the scale in involving my family's needs in my thinking. I need to find a healthy balance between taking care of my family *and* myself instead of placing either one above the other. I need to find some alone time for myself so I continue my delicate tap-dance on that razor edge dividing unhealthy self-sacrifice and selfishness...
...which brings me to my latest toy: a satellite radio receiver. Yes, I did finally find a use for that money I mentioned in Desiring nothing. I've been looking at those for quite some time now but never took the plunge because of the very steep costs involved. First you have to get a satellite radio, which isn't cheap. Then you need to buy the subscription, which *definitely* expensive. All for what appears to be programming that you can get for free with broadcast radio. To complicate matters, there's two competing companies in that marketspace. Yes, I know they're trying to merge but until the Feds allow it, they're still two separate companies with two separate offerings.
Traditionally, the choice between the two companies (Sirius and XM) depends on what kind of a sports fan you are, which is completely useless to me given that I don't watch sports at all. Eventually, what swayed me was access to NPR, the Beeb and dedicated Old Time Radio and opera channels. Once I started using satellite radio, I was hooked - it's not just the lack of commercials (you don't really realize how annoying those are until you use satellite radio) but the quality of programming.
I was pleasantly surprised by two aspects of satellite radio: because they display the singer/composer and title of the song playing, I'm delightfully finding out the details of songs I've heard for years but didn't have a clue about. Yes, I know that broadcast radio has something similar with the Radio Data System but most receivers don't support it. The other aspect was bittersweet: I've got deteriorating vision and my primary source of news, data and entertainment has always been visual...until now. It's *soooooo* relaxing to be able to turn on my satellite radio, close my eyes and still get my hit of news or stories.
Well, that's pretty much about it and I think I've caught up. Bored yet? :)
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Finding that balance between family responsibilities and your personal identity (and sanity) has always been a difficult call for us ladies. We are so strongly conditioned to look after everyone else first that sacrificing ourselves becomes almost an expected status quo. It is one that is both frustrating and disapointing. But it can be easy to swing too far in the other direction when we are full of the heady joy that comes with indulging and realizing ourselves. Finding and maintaining that balance requires a continous monitoring and observation for the rest of your life - but it does get easier.
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