What Was This Week All About? Anxiety, Awareness, Acrimony, And Adjustments

/ Ally Bean
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This has been a ridiculous week.  MY MIND AND SPIRIT ARE WHACKED, ON EDGE.  In fact, so much so that I’m going to write a listicle instead of a proper post To Remember It all. 

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In no particular order…

√  ANXIETY:  Our normal temperature for this time of year would be 39ºF.  However, on Monday morning it was 7ºF here with a wind chill close to 0ºF, a light dusting of snow everywhere.  By Thursday morning, after 65 mph winds on Wednesday night that took down many tree limbs, our temp was 65ºF.  Right now on Saturday morning it’s 35ºF outside with gray skies.

These extreme temperature fluctuations make me nervous– and put a wrinkle [pun intended] in my early morning “what to wear?” decision-making process. 

√  AWARENESS:  I’ve always said that I believe that education is everything.  I was naively referring to learning about language and history and math and science and critical thinking and how to get along with people.  I was not thinking about learning new terms for sexual deviancy, but thanks to our PEOTUS I now know more about said topic.  Unless you’ve been visiting Mars this week you do too, right?  

Perhaps we should change the aforementioned acronym to mean Pervert Elect Of The United States.    

√  ACRIMONY:  I’m disappointed to know that one member of the board at LL Bean, a woman who is a descendent of the founder, has used her vast wealth to fund The Donald’s campaign.  I agree in part with the current LL Bean Executive Chairman’s FB message [instead of a proper press release?] reminding us that this woman is free to do whatever she chooses with her money, but I disagree with him about how her behavior does not reflect upon the company.  

A company’s board of directors, chosen for their acumen, is the brains behind a company, and as such whatever a director values will influence [obviously] his or her input into how the company operates.  Thus any connection to anything or anyone dodgy [Hello Donald] casts doubt on the way the whole company is run. 

Not saying I won’t shop there in the future, but it’ll no longer be the first place I go to when I need clothes, bedding, sporting equipment, outdoor furniture.   

√  ADJUSTMENTS:  My iPad, which by techie standards would be a great-great-grandma, is doing wonky things.  It has taken to tweeting not what I write, but a link to the last article that I read.  Fortunately I’m not ashamed of anything that research and read, so that aspect of this problem isn’t what worries me.  No, it’s the fact that great-great-grandma seems to be on a tweeting bender.  The poor dear just can’t help herself.  Nor can I.

So I deleted my Twitter app from my iPad and this week have lived a life in which I only see Twitter when I’m using my desktop computer, which means not so often.  

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55 thoughts on “What Was This Week All About? Anxiety, Awareness, Acrimony, And Adjustments”

  1. I was on MARS this week and, thus, have no idea what the PEOTUS said.
    I also don’t know who funded his campaign . . . or why.
    Ditto re Twitter . . . I just don’t go there.

    Perhaps, to regain your equilibrium, you should follow my lead and ignore all the news that’s not fit to print?

    Liked by 4 people

    • nancy, writing this post helped me regain my equilibrium. I enjoy understanding things, so by talking about what is wrong and whacked in my world, I feel much more empowered to go forth and live happy. Go figure?

      Liked by 1 person

  2. On those occasions when I’m required to think about him, I prefer to refer to him as ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’ (HWSNBN). Yes, I’ve given him the same status as Voldemort.
    I’m about to enter an official period of mourning for all intelligent people everywhere as HWSNBN is sworn into office.
    I believe you are entering a prolonged period of Anxiety, Awareness, Acrimony, and Adjustment … as are all of us 😦

    Liked by 5 people

    • Joanne, I like your approach to referencing The Donald. I feel as you do that as an intelligent + caring woman these next 4 years are going to be difficult, requiring all the clear thinking I can muster. I imagine this post is just the beginning…

      Liked by 1 person

      • I am trying to stay in a cocoon of denial, but my husband and I are on different pages when it relates to your future President.
        He thinks it’s funny and the next 4 years will be amusing. We argue about his ability to wreck havoc and I believe the damage will be significant and far-felt. He disagrees and think saner heads will prevail limiting his ability to do damage. Now who’s in denial?

        Liked by 1 person

        • I think that The Donald’s potential to harm us all is real. He’s a bully who likes to threaten. I rarely care about politics, but this guy worries me like no one’s business. And I’m a mellow person. I hope that your husband is right and that The Donald’s presidency just becomes a clown car full of stupid harmless mistakes, but I dunno…

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          • Ally, I was beyond distraught, as Roxie described in one of her November posts. But then I steeped back and saw the amazing reaction to this debacle and I had a totally different outlook. Many Americans had become complacent and we let Washington legislators become a bunch of rich, old, white egotists. This country needed something as awful as this to appreciate more what we had with Barack and Michelle and to get us shook up enough to start doing something to make sure we don’t end up in Anarchy. I love how people are joining together with positive goals on how to fight this buffoon’s agenda. We live in interesting times! He will not survive. (One of his biggest mistakes was to antagonize women. You don’t ever want to make that mistake!)

            Liked by 1 person

            • I think you are definitely onto a great idea here. You are right, people are beginning to take an interest in politics again. We need to spend more time appreciating how the Obamas showed us the good in the USA, and emulate their example. And you are so right about antagonizing women. Never before have I felt this need to exert influence to stop a man from doing anything. As long as he is vile, I am nasty.

              Liked by 1 person

              • And because I’m older, I’m much nastier – and proud of it. The change is coming and women will be a major part of it this time along with the evolved men who have helped, encouraged and supported them through the years. We really did need this debacle to provoke the change that could have come during the past few years if impediments had not been thrown in the way at every turn. It’s good to chat with you.

                Liked by 2 people

  3. I did not read the details of T’s alleged activities in Russia. The mental image of him fully dressed is bad enough. I don’t need to be imagining him naked.

    As for the LLBean business – a spoiled trust baby gave money to another spoiled trust baby – what a surprise.

    I have avoided Twitter and plan to continue, but sorry your geriatric gizmo is getting tired (I have also resisted getting a smart phone.)

    Liked by 2 people

    • bobcabkings, the news about The Donald’s sexual adventures presented itself to me via CNN. Now that I know it, I dislike him even more.

      As for LL Bean, you’re so right about the trust fund babies, BUT the way the management dismissed this news gives me pause. FB? Not the most professional way to handle the situation.

      I enjoy Twitter, but have never put it on my smart phone. iPad only. However, that might be changing if great-great-grandma doesn’t get sober soon.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Vulnerability. Even though it’s not an “A” word I have to toss that in and perhaps it can be tucked somewhere into the Anxiety category. There’s all the personal stuff in our lives that makes us focus within our own bubbles of concern yet there’s this entire world that we can’t ignore because of the lunatic that will begin to ‘lead’ (HAH!) us in a few days. How not to feel selfish when trying to balance personal vulnerability with our now quite vulnerable place in a world going/gone utterly crazy…
    Much like nrhatch, I can only listen to select items that reference ‘the big picture’ right now and some days everything is just too much anyway and start looking for the nearest large rock to crawl under.

    Like

    • Deb, I like your addition of vulnerability. That sums up so much of what I felt this last week.

      I agree with you and nancy about limiting my exposure to The Donald. Many days I skim over any mention of him, but on the days that I do tune in to him I’m appalled.

      He’s not a leader in the true sense of that word. And as the only man to ever lose the popular vote [by almost 3 million] to a woman, he doesn’t represent the USA as a whole, now does he? For this fact alone I am grateful.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. It’s strange days indeed out there, weather and otherwise. I still find myself shaking my head for a good five minutes every morning, asking, “Is this really happening?”

    Weird about the Twitter app thing!

    Liked by 3 people

  6. I like imagining your iPad with a grey bun and granny glasses perched somewhere on its screen.

    As for the Toddler In Chief, someone else said that she calms her own Anxiety by picturing him being Led Away In Handcuffs. I really like that, especially since I can do that by only imagining it from the back.

    Liked by 1 person

    • nance, if my iPad were a human being then you’ve described exactly how she’d look. Poor old darling.

      Nice image of The Donald. I like it. I wouldn’t mind seeing him do a perp walk or two. *fingers crossed*

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    • Margaret, you said it. I’m usually able to shake off things, but they just kept piling up this week. I suspect that I’ll build up an immunity to reading about all of The Donald’s escapades, but this week he really bugged me. And to have LL Bean involved with him was disheartening. They should know better.

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  8. Man oh man! I love the Pervert Elect of the United States, except that it embarrasses me to think like that. On the other hand, the very thought of him embarrasses me, not to mention irritates me as an intelligent woman when I hear him speak. (My favorite lately was his description of the timeline when the Affordable Care Act was to be repealed – Almostsimultaneouslyshortlythereafteronthesamedayorthesameweekprobablythesamedaycouldbethesamehour? WTH? I don’t tweet (my kids told me I couldn’t and I believed them). They did allow me Facebook and Instagram though. I do agree with you about LLBean. Since I never shopped there, they won’t miss my business. Weather is wonky all over the place. I continue to pray.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janet, I was taken so aback by The Donald this week that I didn’t know where to start this post. I went with the two issues that bothered me the most, but I heard that Almostsimultaneouslyshortlythereafteronthesamedayorthesameweekprobablythesamedaycouldbethesamehour quip and wondered exactly what you did. The man doesn’t understand how our government works.

      I enjoy Twitter because you have to get to the point with your tweets, so it’s fast to scroll through, easy to stay on top of. Plus the people who I follow are smart, polite, funny. I can still get to Twitter via my old desktop computer, so I’m there in a reduced way, which is fine for now.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. I love Twitter, but I just haven’t had the downtime to use it lately. :/ I couldn’t suffer that tweeting glitch in my phone. That’d drive me mad.
    I did not hear about the sexual deviancy of the orange misogynist, but it does explain the increase in golden shower memes on my facebook.
    I did hear about LL Bean though, and I’m sad. I have long been a fan. A woman no less. Really takes the cake.
    We’re inside awaiting the ice storm. So far, it’s slushy. I’m glad our furnace is running 🙂

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    • joey, this Twitter iPad app snafu is funny + stupid. I’ll try putting the app back on the iPad one of these days, but until then I’m old school here using my desktop computer.

      The Donald’s alleged behavior while in Russia has lead to a better informed electorate vis-a-vis sexual deviancy. What a guy, always one to help us peons learn more.

      The whole LL Bean story makes me sad. Everything about it.

      We’re waiting for the ice storm, too. We went out & did errands around town at noon– after the morning’s ice storm warning had ended, before the afternoon’s ice storm warning has started. Oh joy, winter ice!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Yes, I’ve had anxiety lately. Hard to calm it down. He’s a huge embarrassment and I can’t stand reading about him anymore either. It just feeds my bad feelings. I have been scrolling past news feeds I should read. We are having snow right now. It’s pretty but not expected to amount to much. That’s ok with me. I’m ready for spring and 2020.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Kate, I don’t go out of my way to read about the man, but his vile presence is everywhere. Wonder if that’ll stop once The Donald, who hates press conferences, is trapped inside the Oval Office “working” on important things? He’s got to shut up sometime, right? 2020 can’t get here soon enough.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I’m the same way. I don’t read the articles in the paper but I get hit by it. This past week I went to dinner with a group. One guy started bad mouthing Obama’s goodbye speech and I lost it. Made quite a spectacle but my point was cheered by many. It was a celebration we were at, not a political debate. I thought when the election was over, it would be better but it’s not. Funny story, after my outburst, the waitress came over and said “on a positive note we have some nice specials tonight.” I laughed. The rest of the evening was uneventful and the guy didn’t say another word.

        Liked by 2 people

    • Akilah, I’m not dismayed about using Twitter less. These last few months my feed has turned into an echo chamber of Trumpian doom. As such I’m not getting the uplifting vibe that I was enjoying on Twitter before he was elected, so being there less is ok by me.

      Like

  13. I share your outrage and embarrassment. I plan to attend the local Women’s March on Saturday along with – hopefully as many as 10,000+ – of my equally concerned fellow citizens. It won’t change the outcome of the election, but I hope it will be just the first of many demonstrations that will push back against his legitimacy.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Retirementallychallenged, I’ll be interested to read about your experiences at the Women’s March. Considering the man is an embarrassing combination of vulgarity and arrogance, I’m thinking that the visual of thousands of women fighting him by marching in front of him should make him furious– and reveal more of his stupidity. Which is a good thing, you know? 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      • Oh, I’m sure I’ll be posting about it! I know it won’t make a difference (he’ll still be in the White House), but we can’t let up and make it appear that we accept his presidency as “normal” and legitimate. Besides, if it pisses him off, I’m good with that too!

        Liked by 1 person

    • Susan, you’re so right. I’m trying to stay aware, but cannot believe what I’m reading/learning anymore. I’d stick my head in the sand, but I’m not programmed like that, so I keep trying to digest some of it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      Liked by 1 person

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