Shirley Chisholm, first woman to run for president I guess we have to be grateful to not have elections as often as some other countries do but I truly hate this "democratic process". Over fifty years of watching politics, little has changed. The most important part of a office seeker is not their promises and I seem to be in a minority on this aspect. Do you remember Herbert Hoover's campaign in 1928? His real…
I'm no optimist but my pessimist side stays in the background more and more. Recently, it's been hard to maintain an even keel due to physical issues and then I suddenly realized something yesterday. I am survivor. In that I keep going no matter what happens. I find it hard to believe life has to be this hard forever, but I'm not optimistic that it won't either. So really not an optimistic or pessimist. I…
(all quotes are from an article in the Harvard Business Review called Overcoming Imposter Sydrome) Medical Impostor Syndrome. Yup, that's me. I've never reached enough success to claim I have the impostor syndrome where one may have "a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success". But I do have it in a way that's impacted how I proceed in my medical journey. I have medical impostor syndrome (with kinks). There are four…
Be careful what you wish for! I've had experience with medical insurance that encompasses most all options. From military to no insurance, from an HMO to a PPO, from the ACA to Medicare. None have been satisfactory but medicare is a major problem for me now. It is not insurance. It is a government-run mess of insane rules and surprises. My medical coverage path has been erratic over the years, with different employers to self-employment.…
Just recently I moved into a new category of disabled. For many years I've been part of the invisibly disabled. Struggling everywhere - whether in a store, in a crowd, in a parking lot. I started asking young people to help me - playing the little ole woman thing. But I so often had to ask. And sometimes it's just easier to go home, stop shopping, stop looking for a parking place. I've had some…
Recently I was asked to write up something in honor of a cousin who I've gotten to know in the last few years. I finally got around to writing it up this morning, a bit ahead of the deadline (meaning I can't post this until after August 23!) Here's the core of the piece I wrote but expanded into a look at today's society. Today on Facebook my cousin, Dan, posted a bit about finding…
I had a great day yesterday at the Maine Highland Games. It's not a fantasy organization but immersion in all things Scottish is fun and speaks to my multiply Scottish ancestors. But then that was yesterday. This day of the week, Sunday, tends to start out as a low news day with folks posting religious messages on Facebook and a true lack of US based news. I started off the day tussling with a friend…