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I normally try to keep things positive and apolitical around here, because I want everyone, no matter where they fit on the political spectrum, to feel welcome. But I just came across an article from Yahoo! News (thanks Twitter) about two men who decided to have their doctor euthanize them after they found out that along with being deaf, they were also going blind and would never see each other again. I heard something about this story earlier this week, but didn’t go looking for it. After reading this article, I’m shocked. I would never dream of having myself euthanized if I found myself in a position where I was going to lose my hearing, although I depend heavily on it. Yes, it would be devastating, but I’d learn to adapt. But I also recognize that, in Belgium, where this took place, euthanasia is legal, and individuals who are over eighteen, and mentally competent, have the option of doctor-assisted suicide if they’re suffering. But what really shocked me was the last line in the article:

Belgian lawmakers are considering a law that would extend euthanasia to dementia patients and children, whose families and doctors consented.

That’s taking this entirely too far, in my oppinion. I can see where this is going. A couple has a baby, learns that the child will be disabled, and then decides to have the child euthanized. The child has no say because he or she is too young. That’s crossing the line and would be murder. Same thing with the elderly. Family decides they don’t want to take care of Grandpa anymore, so let’s just put him out of his misery. And I can see all kinds of “quality-of-life” arguments being bandied around.

Personally, I think the two gentlemen who committed suicide rather than become blind and then learn to adapt made a tragic decision. But I can also understand that they had the choice, and maybe they weren’t aware of any resources that could help them, and they figured they were in for a lot of unbearable suffering. And so they exercised their right of free choice, and took the option they did. I don’t agree with it, but I can understand it. But according to the last line of that article, consent by the victim goes out the window, and it becomes another person’s choice. And that’s completely evil.

So what do you all think? Am I just foaming at the mouth, or does my position have merit? Leave a comment and let me know.

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It’s a new week, and that means more writing. I missed Thursday and Friday, (with the exception of little bits), and I’m hoping this doesn’t disqualify me for this month’s National Blog Post Month. I’ll catch up on the prompts I missed for last week, because I think they were good ones and I would like to write about those subjects.

Today we deal with the subject of music, and which songs are good for helping with the get-up-and-go that is so important for getting stuff done and making sure I don’t spend the entire day in front of the TV engrossedin the ID channel. (For those who aren’t familiar with it, that’s Investigation Discovery, and it’s all crime, all the time, and they never run infomercials. If your cable provider doesn’t carry it, call them and threaten to get a bunch of your friends and other interested parties together and start rioting outside their offices until they do. 馃槢 ).

Anyway, back to the music.

Music has always been a huge part of my ife. I normally listen to jazz or soul, especially when I’m working. Jazz and other instrumental music helps me to concentrate on what I’m doing and avoid distractions. But when the need for energy arises, that’s an entirely different story. This is the point at whitch I will either listen to some of the stuff I grew up, or listen to certain alternative tracks. And speaking of the music I grew up with …

When I was a teenager, my all-time favorite group was Color Me Badd. I bought all their albums, saved newspaper clippings, had videos, and even annoyed my local radio station with requests just so I could make sure their music got played. I bought their second album after spending two days singing at an Exceptional Children’s Conference. I stopped at a record store (remember those?) in Greensborough, North Carolina, on the way back home to the Fayetteville area to pick it up, and had the chance to listen to it (or at least part of it) before my mom and brother and sisters got home, which meant I could play it as loud as I wanted. The eighth track on that album, (Time And Chance), is a song called “In The Sunshine”. I thought it was cool and catchy then, and I still find it catchy now. It has an upbeat, happy sound. Unfortunately, I don’t know of an official video that I can link to, but if I find one, I’ll update this post. Of course, since I was thirteen, the content of the lyrics went right over my head. When I listened to the song again as an adult, and knew what was going on, I found that the lyrics weren’t exactly a work of art. But the beat and melody were still catchy. So if I’m doing housework, I’ll through that one in the playlist.

Some of the other songs I like to through in my energetic playlist are:

  • Bad Habbit, by the Offspring
  • Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
  • Several songs by Alanis Morisette
  • I Love Your Smile, by Shanice

There are several others, and if anyone’s really interested, I can add the whole playlist to this post. For now though, I think that’s a pretty good sample. And as I come across other music that’s upbeat, catchy and just generally sounds good, I’ll add tha ttoo, regardless of the format.

This ;post is part of a series I’m writing for National Blog Post Month. For more information, or to see others’ posts, go here.

Until tomorrow.

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When it comes to replenishing the energy supply, I’m not too sophisticated. Right now, my biggest energy source is caffeine in its various forms: coffee, tea, and my absolute favorite, Coke. Personally, I believe Coke is the elyxir of life. This is problematic though, because Coke is extremely unhealthy, (twelve ounces of the stuff equals about 140 calories, all of which are empty), and it has the potential to sabotage all of my goals relating to becoming more healthy. But it tastes so good. There’s nothing like that first swallow. The shock to your taste buds is the best. I’ve tried other versions, (diet Coke, Coke Zero), but while I can stand these and will drink them, they don’t quite do the trick. I’m sure almost all of my love for Coke is purely psychological. But it’s a tough monkey, and I don’t think I’ll ever completely give it up. Good thing Weight Watchers doesn’t demand I give it up completely, because I’d be out the door real fast.

In the past, I used to draw energy from spiritual persuits: contemplation, prayer, Torah study. I’ve been very lax when it comes to the area of spirituality in my life, and one of my goals for 2013 is to increase the amount of spirituality in my life. I know that prayer goes hand in hand with my goal of becoming healthier, and that I will never become healthier if I don’t make it a point to look inside and discover what keeps me from doing the right things as far as my body and mind are concerned.

I’m also planning to add more exercise. I know that I will have to take this slowly because of the Lupus, and that’s a hard thing to deal with for me. I find it discouraging when there’s something I want to do, and I can’t because I’m either sick or physically fatigued. Lupus sucks. But it’s something I have to deal with, and I will have to give myself constant reminders that I can’t overdo it, not without serious consequences.

I think if I incorporate the steps I’ve mentioned above into my life this year, I will see progress. Maybe not the outward progress I’d like to see, (at least at first), but definitely progress. And progress is always good.

This post is part of a serious for National Blog Writing Month (NaBloPoMo). If you would like to participate, or read other posts by other participants, go to NaBloPoMo.

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It’s 03:34, and it looks like I’m starting off the secular new year with a weird sleep schedule. But I’m not going to let that get in the way. I’ve decided that I need to fix my routine problem, and that means getting up and doing things at a set time. I still plan to get up like a human later this morning. The laundry’s done, and all I pretty much have to do today is some writing. I’m participating in NaBloPoMo this month, and am looking forward to writing with the prompts provided. Hopefully this will get me blogging more substantively. I would like to get to a point where I’m writing at least one post a day, with some really great content at least once a week, and the big goal with my site this year is to participate in NaNoWraMo, or National Novel Writing Month, in November. And these goals go along with my goals of finding a job, becoming healthier, finding my own place, ETC.

You should expect the first NaBloPoMo post later on today. I’m excited to start writing it. The only part I really have no clue about is a title for it, but practice makes perfect, and I’m sure by the end of the month I’ll get to a point where coming up with titles isn’t so hard for me.

Happy New Year everyone, and may the coming year be prosperous for all of you.

Amanda

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Last week was a “come eat some chemicals with me” kind of week. By last Saturday night, I managed to come down with some variant of the plague, so I spent last week gobbling musinex like it was candy, sleeping, and having very little appetite. I spent most of the week so sick that I tried to get Denise to just smother me and get it over with, but all I got out of her was an offer to put me in the shed and deliver bread and water to me on a daily basis, which was jokingly delivered of course. As a consequence of all this sickness, I didn’t attend Rosh Hashanah prayers, although I do remember contemplating part of the Unetaneh Tokef prayer, specifically the part about who will live and who will die. Yeah, I know, it was a morbid thought, but for most of the week, I have coughed so much and so forcefully that my diafram and lungs have been on fire, which has made it very difficult to breathe. I’m still sick, so I probably won’t be attending Yom Kippur prayers either, and I can’t fast for health reasons, but I will pray at home and observe the other afflictions, and do my best to repent, although every year I always feel as though I haven’t done enough on that score. I’m glad we have a merciful God, because if we didn’t, I’d be totally screwed.

I started reading The Stand by Stephen King, which was all the more creepy because of my being sick. It’s the uncut edition, so I still have quite a few pages to go. I also read a little of Rav Schwob On Prayer, and Praying With Fire. I spent some time praying for a better year than this last one has been, because God knows I could use it. On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, I didn’t eat apples and honey, but I did eat a chocolate-filled, chocolate-iced Crispy Cream doughnut to accompany my prayer for a good and sweet year for all my loved ones and myself. And speaking of apples, it appears as though the apple tree in the backyard has started producing ripe fruit. We haven’t tasted the apples yet, but they’re yellow, and according to Sister T, (Denise’s sister Theresa), that means they’re ripe. The weather has started cooling down in the evenings, and we have the windows open, so it feels very nice in and outside the house once the sun sets. We’re hoping that this measure will lower the utility bills, because we could sure use that.

I’ll end by wishing all my readers a good and sweet new year of 5773, and with wishes that you all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.