proud to live life #likeagirl

My favorite Super Bowl Sunday ad was not funny, too high-tech, nor did it involve a celebrity.  Instead, my favorite commercial had a simple yet poignant message: Why and when did the phrase " Like a girl" become so derogatory? There is nothing wrong with being a female human, but even now, girls and women are fed negative ideas about what doing things " like a girl" means.


Girls and women are NOT " wimpy"


Our bodies are different than the bodies of boys and men, but that does not mean that we are any less capable of athletic, academic and creative success.


If we work hard enough, we can become just as successful in our business and professional lives as our male colleagues. Gender does not preclude success or failure in ANYTHING.


Also: since when do the same qualities in boys and men that people attribute as ' leadership, become " bossy" when girls and women show the same traits?


Since when are strong-willed, independent women who think for themselves  seen as " less female' than women who are not as strong?


I am really tired of the veiled and not-so-veiled misogyny that I see often.


Get out of the freaking 18th century.




SEM

5 days out.....The ATL airport.

Five days out until  Northern Vacation Trip 2013.

I'm stoked, but also a bit nervous. In order to get anywhere from where I live in Florida, one must go through Atlanta's airport. Four three years in a row---my travel plans have been delayed by flight issues in Atlanta. Now perhaps this trip will be different--but I'm not counting on my connection in Atlanta being easy.

I hate airports. While I love flying " shotgun" in private planes, commercial airports & airplanes freak me out. there are too many people crammed into a small space on those big jets & I almost ALWAYS end up with seatmates with no clue about maintaining one's personal space. Yuck. I'll be sure to pack some of my prescription anti-anxiety pills in my carry-on luggage ---I will probably need to use them.

I hate airports in general & the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in particular.

It is HUGE. Literally, I think that a whole small city can fit inside the main terminal.

The gates' seats are not good for someone with issues regarding personal space. Usually I sit on the floor against a lwall as far away from my sister & fellow travellers as physically possible.

The wi-fi at that terminal is not free! Yes: the tiny Pensacola airport offers free wi-fi to patrons but Hartsfield-Jackson expects travellers to pay to get online. No, thanks.

I'm HOPING to make plans to attend the Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta with some friends while I'm up North this year. This is exciting for me: I have not been to a regatta since I was a child & I am REALLY looking forward to sharing that experience with some good friends from First College.

A friend is a friend forever...until you get " unfriended"

I am getting closer to Vacation 2013. Today I organized my clothing in our spare bedroom, made a " to-do"list of tasks to complete within the next few days and made a phone call to my favorite aunt in Pennsylvania.

On the agenda for this trip is a visit with a long term friend from my First College. We met in church when I was a freshman & we've maintained a very good friendship ever since then. We haven't seen each other in person for 17 years, so I am really looking forward to spending some quality time with him after years of maintaining contact via email, occasional phone calls & now Facebook.

Although I've MANY gripes regarding Facebook, at the same time I'm grateful that this social tool has put me in contact { or in closer contact} with people whom I otherwise would not hear from at all{ or very rarely}

Which brings me to the phenomenon known as **UNFRIENDING**. If you use Facebook at all, there is a good chance that you have been "unfriended" by someone. There is even a better chance that you have "unfriended" someone. Now I know that online " unfriending" is {usually} not one-and-the-same with actually ending a friendship IRL {in real life}. Its especially awkward when someone whom you DO know & see regularly suddenly chooses to end your association online.  Maybe I'm reading too much into this , but if I've offended someone, I generally wish for the chance to make amends. If I am " unfriended" by an associate without an explanation, I am wary of contacting him or her again offline.

Now I know that, in the great scheme of human interactions, that unfriending is not really much of a big deal. But let's be honest for a moment, when one finds out that an associate IRL has " unfriended" one on Facebook, one feels a bit miffed.

Or perhaps it is worse when someone "unfriends" you and you KNOW his or her reason for said unfriending. An example from my own life: I was e-pals with this woman whom I'd met via  Facebook on a Facebook group for socially-progressive Episcopalians. We have a lot in common & emailed/talked regularly. She lives in a northern city & although we'd never met in person i considered her a friend{ you know, sort of like the "pen pals" of old} Anyhow, when Best Dude & I started dating , this e-pal suddenly unfriended me. Although I'm not positive{ she hasn't contacted me since} I'm almost certain that my changing my relationship status from *single* to *in a relationship* bothered her to the point that she wanted to cut off contact.

Whatever.

Just sayin' .

Smile, you are on Instagram!

I'm slowly teaching myself the myriad the new features of my mobile device.

Last evening I made two { unsuccessful} Face Time calls. But I did see how that application works, even though **both** individuals whom I contacted via Face Time did not respond.

Anyhow, since my Ipod Touch 5 came with the Instagram app already installed, I finally bit the proverbial bullet & signed up for an Instagram account. In case any of my readers want to " follow" me here on Instagram, my handle there is: springermamma12.  But I warn you, you will not see anything salacious on my Instagram, I have this hunch that almost all of my posts will be of our English Springer Spaniel, Seamus. :O)

My Ipod is not data-compatible, so I'll not post pix on Instagram from every minute of every day---like one of the people whom I " follow". :O) But I try to embrace " new{ and Instagram is new to me} technology so we'll see how often I post to this particular social media platform.

Happy snapping, y'all.

Upgrade to an Ipod Touch 5 #Firstworldproblems #bestBoyfriendEver

Best Dude gave me my birthday present early===he bought me an Ipod Touch 5.

Although I admit to being a total Windows devotee I am learning the Apple operating system slowly but surely on my new Ipod.

For those of you who do not know---the Ipod Touch is pretty much a mini-tablet computer. As a matter of fact, the ONLY trouble that I've found with the unit thus far is getting most of my music files transferred to the device. Naturally the music that i listen to the most is the music that will not transfer. :o/

The only music files that have successfully transferred to my new Ipod so far are the ones that i actually purchased from Itunes. { most of my digital music library is comprised of music I had transposed into digital form} Best Dude told me he thinks the problem is the anti-piracy software that might be built into the new IOS operating system. A friend of mine who is a BIG fan of Apple products said that I *shouldn't* need to deal with the problems with the transfer of my music that I'm experiencing.

Other than that, the Ipod Touch 5 is awesome! I am, as a photographer, particularly impressed with the quality of the " mobile" camera found on this unit. I've taken two photos thus far with my Ipod & even Best Dude is impressed with the clarity of the mobile photos. :O)

Bullies....as seen from a victim's perspective

 April is Autism Awareness Month & I feel moved to discuss bullying. Many people with autism experience bullying in school and { Sadly} this behavior towards those of us with ANY " difference" can continue into adulthood.

I was severely bullied as a child & teen. In retrospect, I know now that my tormentors didn't know how to approach my { at the time unknown but obvious} "difference" & therefore my behavior made me a target for verbal cruelty.

It took me YEARS of therapy & soul-searching, but I am at a place in my life now where I can forgive those who tormented me in school. However, to forgive does not mean that I should FORGET the pain such taunting has caused for me. 

Bullies do not realize the painful memories that their actions impose on victims... we grow up with a distorted self-image. For instance even now I am very sensitive to criticism { even constructive criticism} from others. My autism makes it almost impossible for me to deduce social cues, so I am suspicious of motives of people whom I do not know well.  As I've matured I've grown a bit more aware of social cues{is this REALLY a good thing after all---humans are such emotional creatures!} & am better at recognizing bullies & attempts to bully others.

I hope that my experience with bullying has helped me grow as the person I am & still am becoming. Yet when I see others being bullied or manipulated it " raises my hackles" . There should be no excuse for bullies to continue their cruel behavior into adult life. Yet sadly I have known several such adults in my life & I struggle with accepting them as they are...memories of my school days surface & I get angry.

I've read studies that say that some people who are severely tormented by bullies become bullies later in life but I am living proof that this statistic need not be the norm.  As someone who experienced bullying firsthand how bullying affects some one's life I make a point to encourage ACCEPTANCE of people who are " not like us".

Amen.

Picasa Picasa

Currently I am uploading my photos from #Diocgc13 onto Picasa, per the request of the person who is overseeing communications for my diocese. I informed her that I will have all the photos to her by the end of tomorrow & I SHALL meet my deadline. Once I am accustomed to using Picasa I hope that the upload & email distribution will be less tedious than it is for me today.


I did not realize how SLOW Picasa is in uploading photos to a particular album for distribution. Thankfully, I've done all the basic editing  prior to uploading the event photos---the uploads are huge { after all, I do use a brand new Nikon 3100}

Pittsburgh, PA urban hike

Two years ago I spent the day with Cousin J in the City of Bridges: PITTSBURGH. We took a two-and-a-half-mile  urban hikes around The Golden Triangle.

Here is one of the suspension bridges that cross Pittsburgh's three rivers. Although I am not sure: I believe this bridge to be the very one that is featured on the movie _Flashdance_

 This is the view from Point State Park of Mount Washington.

 Our view of "Dahntahn" as seen from Point State Park.

Pittsburgh Plate Glass, also known as PPG Place.

We saw the huge statue of Fred Rogers { _Mr Roger's Neighborhood_}

I miss the old Three Rivers' Stadium. We walked by both the new Pirates' baseball stadium & Heinz Field.

The scales don't lie....I am too thin.

This week I've switched from drinking Muscle Milk as a nutritional supplement to drinking the Ensure  weight-gain formula.  After more than 12 months of trying to gain weight & build muscle I've { albeit slow-ly}  done the former but still struggle with the latter.

Anyhow, the Ensure formula that I now use to supplement my diet post-workout has 100 more calories than the Muscle Milk. I've also discovered that this Ensure formula taste MUCH better than even the Muscle Milk & is also MUCH easier on my sensitive stomach than the latter.

Best Dude & I cannot figure out why I cannot seem to add pounds. I work out hard & I've even cut running  one mile three days per week from my routine. My new cardio exercise is now WALKING on a treadmill set to an INCLINE---so I can increase my heart rate wile working on strengthening my legs.

I WILL gain weight ...I will gain weight.

Ensuring health

I've been a bit sick these past two days & I hate illness.

Anyhow, when I did my weekly weigh-in this morning, I realized that I lost two pounds of my already slender fame. We're concerned , so Best Dude &  went to the local Wal-Mart {YUCKY} and bought some Ensure to supplement my meals.

Until now, my post-workout drink of choice has been Muscle Milk.   Someone told me that drinking Ensure post-workout is better: this product as 100 more carefully-formulated calories than does Muscle Milk.  I am not sure yet if I'll like the taste of this new supplement, but I am committed to drinking all of it. If it is not condusive to my taste buds I will find another supplement.

Part of autism for many people includes various gastrointestinal problems. I am not an exception to this fate: my intestinal tract is sensitive , as is my stomach. When I  over-eat in one sitting, I feel ill. Certain foods also adversely affect my lower intestines. Some people with autism follow special diets, but I choose to eat a sensible, healthy diet.

My metabolism makes gaining wight difficult & I hate when people judge me { they think I am anorexic!} based on my Body Mass Index.

Shopping , with someone with Autism

Best Dude & I are on a quest to find a tablet computer for him. Last year for Christmas  he bought me a NOOK Color tablet , and I love it. He, on the other hand , is searching for a tablet that is a lot less " e-reader" & more "professional".

Anyhow , today we went on our second search for a tablet for Best Dude. he pretty much knows which brand & style of tablet hat he wants , but the only place we've been able to find the particular tablet is ...WalMart

Yup.

Anyhow, today's journey took us to not one,but TWO different WalMarts.

One of the ways that autism manifests itself is those of us with the condition is issues with sensory "input". Many of us live with  either under-stimulated  sensory input or { more common & part of what I deal with daily} over-stimulation.

Bright lights literally hurt my eyes. Often, these stores are not acoustically-designed, so the noise comes to my ears simultaneously { I am extremely sensitive to auditory stimulation} Also, crows tend to make me fee like cortisone is flooding out my arteries & veins.

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

Shopping all day overwhelms me.  But, I've noticed that I cope with the over-stimulation of First World mega-stores better now than I've *ever*done in the past.  Shopping is not my forte, but in our society we cannot hunt, grow or manually create the goods we need.

I still cannot enter a Sams' Club or Costco without wanting to give into a " meltdown", but WalMart, Lowe's & other such " big box" establishments are now do-able.  Even if  I no longer experience actual " meltdowns", there are certain behaviors  that are indicative of my sensory stress. For example, I  twirl my hair.


I am, unlike many women, not a recreational shopper. My shopping methodology , if I had my dithers, would be
1. Make a specific list of what I need to buy.
2. Go to just the stores that might or do carry items sought.
3. Go directly to the department/aisle
4.Get what I need ,pay for it  get the heck out of the store.

Most people, unless they live with someone of autism, cannot comprehend the reality of sensory issues.  I know some people with autism who SEEK sensory stimulation & I am sure they also deal with issues similar to mine. But I can speak firsthand as someone who is sensory-AVOIDANT & our sensory-saturated society is challenging. However, the blessing I enjoy as a result of my autism far outweigh the struggles I deal with daily.

I am, as Temple Grandin's Mom said " DIFFERENT, NOT LESS."

Amen.