Whoever Dances is One with the Universe

Got my Yuletide assignment yesterday. It's pretty cool and I think there is a lot of potential in it, and I think I also can do a good job with it -- certain elements of it weird me out, but the prompter gave me a lot to work with so I think I leave some things out while still giving them what they want. So I am excited!

I go home to-day for Thanksgiving, so I'll be scarce for the next week.

Linkspam!:

A presenter in my cog psych class used this page about art by autistic people in his presentation, and I thought that was pretty neat, so here is the link. It is pretty cool from both an art and a mental shenanigans standpoint. (I also ended up talking about the gender issues surrounding autism with the professor after class, which was pretty neat -- she agreed with mhari and said that autism is generally viewed as a "boy's disorder" and not something girls are supposed to get.)

Octopodes can go on land and that is totally awesome. Plus also super cute.

Although we already knew that, Ann Coulter is a maniac and I don't understaaaand, Jesus. I don't want to live on this planet any more? Liz said I should move to Canada, but I feel it is my duty to model sane Christianity for people in America.

I am currently using this programme to try and manage my issues with computer light = migraines; I've only had it downloaded for a day, so I haven't got a real clear idea of how well it works yet, but it's an interesting idea.

This tumblr exists and it is pretty pro -- Ugly Renaissance Babies.

A really interesting essay/article on why "born this way" is a bad argument for queerness.

This guy is my hero -- a devout Muslim whose faith led him to try to save the man who shot him. I heard an interview with him on NPR on Sunday -- he was really incredible. Warning: Article contains pictures of headshot.

For your webcomic organising needs, piperka is a great site for tracking updates and keeping stuff neat.

Finally, when you have just delivered a good Caruso zinger, the instant CSI. Yeahhhhh!

So... this metaquotes post. I have feelings.

I have worked in nursing homes and had experience with hospice since I was fourteen, and I think -- I think the OP's point is something that I have noticed all the time, which is that people get tired sometimes and run out of emotional resources. All the time I have told folks about respite care by explaining that while it's great that they are taking care of their loved ones, and that it's a beautiful measure of their love, almost everybody gets worn out sometimes, and when that happens, it's okay to take a break. Respite care, for example, is provided by some hospices as the opportunity to let the hospice take over the patient care for a week or a month before you resume it, and it can be such a big deal for patients in helping them avoid resentment or having nervous breakdowns themselves. The same is true of putting folks in nursing homes. Sometimes the emotional burden is just too much, not to mention the degree of specialised care, and that is o. kay.

I have had friends who left me because they couldn't deal with my mental illnesses. I understand why they did, because as incredibly difficult as it was for me, I believe it was pretty hard for them, too, watching me suffer and feeling helpless to do anything. I don't think they're bad people. I think some folks are cut out to provide constant emotional care, and some aren't, and the folks who aren't shouldn't be punished and reviled for that fact. Not everybody is an empath. That's just a fact.

My aunt couldn't take care of my grandparents when they got dementia/Alzheimer's. It wasn't that she didn't love them any more, it was that she was so incredibly broken down at feeling that they weren't her parents any more, that their memories of being her parents were gone. For my mother, she was devastated, but she was still able to care for them. It's really an individual emotional makeup thing, and you can't force yourself to be able to cope with terrible situations if you aren't that kind of person. Also, some people need to mature emotionally before they can handle big stuff -- when I was thirteen I refused to visit my dying grandmother or go to her viewing because I was terrified of death and I wasn't capable of dealing with the reality of it. Now, if I could do it over, I would have done those things, because dying people don't frighten me any more, but I don't think my younger self was a bad person. Just somebody who wasn't ready at that time.

At the same time, I do understand the anger at feeling abandoned when you've gotten sick. The friends I talked about before, at the time I was pretty angry with and hurt by; the zenness has come with time and a better understanding of how people's emotional resources work. ALSO, I think it's okay for me to feel angry and to acknowledge their feelings; there's nothing wrong with feelings, as long as you act on them appropriately (as we taught the kids in our kindergarten conflict management classes last year!); I can feel abandoned and understand why it happened at the same time.

Anyway, I'm posting this here because the comments to that post are kind of a clusterfuck and there's a fair amount of blame being thrown around, but. Everybody suffers, and they deal with it in different ways. You have to expect that.

The dying process is often much more difficult and complicated than the actual occurrence of death. That's why I want to be a hospice pastor; I want to be able to help families deal with their reactions, as well as to be spiritually available for the folks who are dying.

Oh, kittens. I swear I am going to respond to the comments left on my two previous posts, I am just terribly distractable and tired right now. So have a collection of diverting things that I have made from the internets:

1. A meme.

Pick one of my current rp characters and I will:

(a) Three facts about them from my personal fanon.
(b) A reason they're amazing.
(c) Five things that I'd like to see happen to them.
(d) Three people that I might ship that character with and why.

I'll probably do old characters, too, if you ask; I am pliable that way.

2. A tumblr.

Fuck Yeah, Benedict Cumberbatch. Oooh yeah.

3. A game.

I had sex with Oprah.

4. Photography.

Hummingbirds, it turns out, are as derpy as the rest of us.

5. A Polyvore.

This always makes me happy.

6. A fanfiction.

Raj/Howard, Big Bang Theory. Yesssss.

7. A request.

I'm almost done with a Holmes/Watson Sherlock fanfic, would anyone mind beta-reading it for me?

If you haven't seen it, Choose a Cat, Draw a Girl 2010 is still taking submissions and it looks super cool this year.

Pretty sure I did disastrously on my ConRes exam, but at the moment I'm almost too tired to care.

GO WATCH THIS. It is Deep Space 9, Alexander Siddig-as-Bashir, "I Wish I Were James Bond" songvid. GO WATCH IT WHY ARE YOU STILL READING MY POAST.

I kind of adore the British. "Untoward mental effects of cannabis" indeed. (That's here if anyone's interested.)

Also: turns out sometimes migraines do make me light sensitive. This is what I look like right now: . Only I don't have the adorable Beelzenef hand puppet/voodoo doll/god. YET. >:D Dohohoho my winter break sewing project.

Seriously, someone can feel free to come give me a hug any time now. >_> I am in "passive-aggressive hiding in my room waiting for someone to PROVE THEY LOVE ME by VISITING ME IN MY pretty princess canopy FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE" mode. I hate that. It's so counterproductive.

People I am participating in the fictional love meme please do this for me I will love you for-ever.

Seriously. This meme is amazing and I will shower you with squids.

mhari showed me this, and right now I really want to curl up there on the bed and stay there for-ever.

Here are some great links that I found to-day, and by "found" I mean "picked up off Go Fug Yourself". But hey. They're pretty rad.

A to Z, which is hilarious. It's drawings from A to Z of random nerdy stuff. Many Star Trek and Marvel references. Yessss.

Heartwarming father-daughter times! coffeeandpoly is very fond of this one. This is your Faith in Humanity link.

Worst 13 songs recorded by professional athletes. This delights me. A great, great deal.

Finally, here is something that happened to me to-day. I bought some stuff that I didn't have money for, so Matt paid for it with his credit card. Then when I renewed my med scrip I withdrew money and paid him back; about fifteen dollars. Then we went to the choir concert, and they asked for donations, but I had no money again. Obviously.

And then this conversation took place:

Matt: Does anyone have three dollars I can borrow?
Everyone: Nope.
Me: No, but--Matt, why don't you have any money? I gave you money!
Matt: Oh, well, I donated it.
Me: ...
Me: *gets up, goes over to him, and kisses him*
Everyone: ...
Matt: ...
Phil: Did you--did you just get kissed by a lesbian?
Me: He deserved it!
Phil: Oh, my God.

On a better note, check out this awesome article that nowgoesquickly sent to me!