Well guys, I made it! I was in Europe for 12 days and lived to tell the tale. I wouldn't go so far as to say "I came, I saw, I conquered," but how about "I laughed, I cried, I ate all the baked goods"? We'll go with that.
I hate that this is the thing that sticks out at me about the trip, because it seems completely stupid, but my phone broke on Day 4. One minute I was scrolling through Instagram, and the next, the screen went black and I was never able to get it to reboot. I'm ashamed to say I freaked out, because I try not to be tethered to my phone, but I did freak out a bit. How was I going to contact my AirBnB hosts? Or look at maps? Or research and plan a day's activities? OR TAKE A GODDAMN PICTURE? I didn't really need it for making calls, but I definitely needed its other capabilities.
I thought it over and decided to buy a tablet to get me through the rest of the trip. I didn't want to spend money on a phone that might not work when I got back home, and I figured a tablet would do what I needed it to do and be more affordable. So I took the tram to the mall and luckily spotted a Samsung sign in a store window right next to the stop.
After asking around for an English-speaking salesperson, I ended up just pointing and pantomiming my way through the purchase, and I left with this. The camera pretty much sucks (no flash and 2 MP) and it's far slower than my phone, but for $72, I made it work and tried to move on with my life. In the grand scheme of things, it was a minor hiccup in an otherwise enjoyable trip. And way better than having food poisoning on a long-haul flight.
I might be extra salty about it because I still don't have a phone, three weeks after mine broke. I ordered a new one within 24 hours of its death, but apparently the replacement was just released and Google is behind on shipping them out, so ... tablet it is. I will say, it's much easier to use the tablet here, where I know where I'm going and have generally the same schedule every day. But I do look forward to the day when I can (for example) text someone that I'm running late, or call my doctor to schedule my annual physical. One day, friends. One day.
(Don't worry, I'll write more about the actual trip in another post. Because it was dope.)
Friday, October 27, 2017
Monday, October 2, 2017
It gets me real pissed off, and it makes me wanna say ...
FUUUUUUUCK. All of the fucks. Sunday morning I woke up, read about Trump ridiculing the mayor of San Juan, and went back to sleep. But this morning, I woke up to much worse news. Another mass shooting. The worst one yet (in America).
I am of course saddened by the loss of life here. I'm not dead inside. But since I didn't personally know anyone affected by the shooting, my grief is outweighed by anger. When does it end?
I've seen lots of fun people on Facebook telling my friends not to "make it about politics." Newsflash, people, IT IS ABOUT POLITICS. Gun laws are political. Lately, health care (and thus mental health benefits/coverage) is political.These are things our government regulates, and these are two big factors in tragedies like Vegas. So how exactly do we expect things to change if we don't make it political? We're gonna pray all the bad away?
That was rude. I'm not a big prayer person, but no disrespect if that's your thing. Please continue to pray for people's minds and hearts to change if you choose to. But I think we've got to take tangible action to prevent more of this shit going down.
That means better gun control laws. Sorry I'm not sorry that it makes it harder for Joe Blow to get a gun. It SHOULD be hard to get a gun, friend. Perhaps as hard as it is to get an abortion? Just sayin. And even if tightening up gun regulations doesn't stop ALL mass shootings, I'm guessing it would stop some. Isn't it worth a try? So, call and write to your congresspeople. I have Sen. Gardner's number saved in my phone, because 2017. Support organizations that are working to end gun violence and the influence of the NRA, like Everytown for Gun Safety.
It also means more accessible mental health care. I'm lucky, I can go to therapy for $15 a visit, because I have really good insurance. Even with that, it took me months to find a therapist who A) takes said insurance and B) was accepting new patients. Relatively few hoops to jump through, but like I said, I'm lucky. But someone who is struggling won't want to deal with hoops; it will seem like an insurmountable task that will never get done. We also need to address the stigma surrounding mental health care (this org seems to be working on it - I'm not familiar with it, but Aisha Tyler posted about it and she generally knows what she's talking about). It's absolutely not a sign of weakness to seek help. Honestly, I feel like recognizing you have some shit to deal with and attempting to address it is brave. Tamping it down or masking it by distracting yourself is the easier option, because you don't have to leave your comfort zone. But taking care of yourself makes you better able to take care of others, and if we all took better care of people, there just might be fewer people resorting to gun violence. Or any violence. Whoa.
So that's my three-pronged plan. Gun control, more access to mental health care, and love. Easy-peasy.
I am of course saddened by the loss of life here. I'm not dead inside. But since I didn't personally know anyone affected by the shooting, my grief is outweighed by anger. When does it end?
I've seen lots of fun people on Facebook telling my friends not to "make it about politics." Newsflash, people, IT IS ABOUT POLITICS. Gun laws are political. Lately, health care (and thus mental health benefits/coverage) is political.These are things our government regulates, and these are two big factors in tragedies like Vegas. So how exactly do we expect things to change if we don't make it political? We're gonna pray all the bad away?
That was rude. I'm not a big prayer person, but no disrespect if that's your thing. Please continue to pray for people's minds and hearts to change if you choose to. But I think we've got to take tangible action to prevent more of this shit going down.
That means better gun control laws. Sorry I'm not sorry that it makes it harder for Joe Blow to get a gun. It SHOULD be hard to get a gun, friend. Perhaps as hard as it is to get an abortion? Just sayin. And even if tightening up gun regulations doesn't stop ALL mass shootings, I'm guessing it would stop some. Isn't it worth a try? So, call and write to your congresspeople. I have Sen. Gardner's number saved in my phone, because 2017. Support organizations that are working to end gun violence and the influence of the NRA, like Everytown for Gun Safety.
It also means more accessible mental health care. I'm lucky, I can go to therapy for $15 a visit, because I have really good insurance. Even with that, it took me months to find a therapist who A) takes said insurance and B) was accepting new patients. Relatively few hoops to jump through, but like I said, I'm lucky. But someone who is struggling won't want to deal with hoops; it will seem like an insurmountable task that will never get done. We also need to address the stigma surrounding mental health care (this org seems to be working on it - I'm not familiar with it, but Aisha Tyler posted about it and she generally knows what she's talking about). It's absolutely not a sign of weakness to seek help. Honestly, I feel like recognizing you have some shit to deal with and attempting to address it is brave. Tamping it down or masking it by distracting yourself is the easier option, because you don't have to leave your comfort zone. But taking care of yourself makes you better able to take care of others, and if we all took better care of people, there just might be fewer people resorting to gun violence. Or any violence. Whoa.
So that's my three-pronged plan. Gun control, more access to mental health care, and love. Easy-peasy.
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