Something's Gotta Give

As if all the STUFF going on in the world weren't enough.

The coronavirus is starting to surge again, and things like toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies are becoming scarce, and my foraging trips are getting longer and longer.  Protests over social justice have been ongoing for over two months now and the social media are uglier and uglier.  The church denomination I belong to is getting ready to split, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that.  The economy is unsettled.  There is so much uncertainty in all facets of life that we're all kind of walking on the edge.

So I've had a frustrating week.  After days of rain, the weather has finally cleared up, but then That Man and I had a "discussion" about the financials of removing the buckeye tree that snapped off.  And the next day, his cell phone bit the dust - the battery wouldn't hold a charge more than a couple of hours on standby, and it's a phone with a battery that couldn't be replaced, of course.  He's been back at work for nearly three weeks, and working third shift, he sleeps during the day so I was left with the fabulous job of securing a new phone.  When That Girl was here at the beginning of July, we drove to the Verizon store where she stood in line outside and waited her turn to buy a new phone.  It took some time, but she got it done. 

Well, things have changed since then!

You can't just show up and buy a phone anymore.  I had to go online, figure out what phones were acceptable, then figure out what phones were actually available nearby (he wanted it ASAP), then order one and pick it up curbside.

Easy, right?

Well, it SHOULD have been, but...!  When I'd click on a specific phone, a different one would come up.  When I finally got a phone and a case into the online shopping cart and agreed to this that and the other, I clicked on "Proceed to Secure Checkout," and wound up on the same page.  I checked and checked, but I hadn't missed filling in any fields or checking any boxes.  So how come I couldn't Proceed to the Secure Checkout? 

I started working on this project at 9:00 in the morning.  By noon, I hadn't been able to even get a phone into the cart!  I was working on a laptop, and I was to the point of pounding the keyboard with my fist (NOT my typical solution to computer troubles) and almost throwing it across the room and against the wall.  I was so frustrated and angry I couldn't stop tears from coming.

Finally, I gave up and called Verizon.  The nice lady on the phone said three-quarters of the calls she'd gotten that day were about trouble with the website.  She placed my order and we crossed our fingers - it went through!

The hard part was over!  HA.

 In about an hour, the email arrived - come get the phone.  I drove to the store, got the phone, drove home, and started activating the beast.  During the activation, you can copy your setting and apps just by having the old phone and the new phone next to each other.  Things were going according to plan, but then the new phone tried to pull the settings and apps from MY phone!  GREAT.  More frustration and tears until I figured out how to back out of the activation mode and start over. 

When it was all over, it was 5:00, and I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.  The next day, I felt like I had a hangover!  I was completely worthless.

So why did it affect me so strongly? 

Well, like I said at the beginning of this post, we're all walking on the edge. The stress that's become the white-noise background of our lives and keeps us on the edge.  I'd found a precarious balance on the tightrope, and the phone fiasco was just enough to push me over that edge. 

Oh, it was definitely annoying and way too time consuming, but was it something to cry over?  No, but when you're overwhelmed,something's gotta give, and it did.

Breaking the Silence

I've kept quiet about the things that have happened in our country in the past couple of weeks, which is by design. It's been an upsetting time.

I decided when I started this blog that its purpose wasn't to comment on social or political issues.  This space is meant to be a place where you can come and get some ideas for dinner, travel vicariously with me (and my sister sometimes!), share in the simple joys and frustrations and ridiculousness of everyday life, and maybe escape from your own troubles for a little while.  That's why I write it.

If you know me at all, you know I don't do the hashtag thing associated with social movements and events.  I support some of these in my heart, but their focus and meaning and associations so often rapidly change and then have to be re-explained or understanding corrected, it's no longer effective.  Social media posting trends are generally too simplistic to express my thoughts on such complex subjects, so I'm not participating, but others do, that's okay by me.

For the record, I'm all for peaceful protests and free speech for ALL sides.  Everybody should be able to speak his mind without fear of being ridiculed, shamed, or silenced.  But shouting and rioting are the quickest ways to lose my respect.  In these times, I'm probably considered an oddball for saying so.

I believe in the Pledge of Allegiance - ONE nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.  That's the ideal we all as Americans should strive for.  Compassion and justice for everybody, from everybody.  And the rule of law is part of that justice.  Justice is supposed to be blind, so nobody is favored.  I think everyone needs to be reminded of that.

It's easy to become overwhelmed by all that's happened and is still happening.  All the emotions that come are legitimate:  sadness, fear, anger, disappointment, shock, depression, uncertainty, shame.  The important thing is to listen.  Don't make assumptions about people on any side of the issues.  Remember we all have one mouth and two ears.  It may be a good time to keep our ears open and our mouths shut.  Silence may at times be golden, but I don't believe it's ever violence, contrary to some signs I've seen paraded at a couple of local protests.

What else is golden?  How about the Golden Rule?  Treat others the way you'd want to be treated.  If we all followed THAT rule, there probably wouldn't be any problem.

There.  I've said my piece.

Comments on this post have been disabled.  If you choose to comment on Facebook or Twitter, that's up to you, but I probably won't look at them.

That's all, folks.

We will return to our regular program in the following post, comments and all.