I have this friend who was never religious and believed in freedom of choice for women. Over the past several years she’s changed because her son and daughter in law apparently became evangelicals and when their daughter got pregnant really young she had to get married, and now she’s got 3 kids and she’s not even 21. I can’t pretend to be happy for them, I just can’t. This kid doesn’t even have a fully grown frontal cortex yet so she has no idea of the impact on her this will have. I can’t celebrate babies raising babies. Of course the kids are cute and yes people can choose what they want to believe, but this kid has been completely indoctrinated so in reality this couldn’t have been an informed decision.

Years after online movements, and a bazillion posters on my post secondary referring to positive spaces and feminism have done jack shit. Even white knighting/faux feminists have learned it takes less effort to pretend you're a progressive male than actually being one.

That's terrifying all by itself. But the idea of actually making a phone call or walking into an office is a bridge too far.

Watching old reruns of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I couldn’t decide whether I liked the red ranger or the green ranger. They were both some of the coolest superheroes I grew up with. Zoran was this year big weird assed giant floating head. The series could be so hokey yet so funny I loved it.

I confess that the biggest reason that I’ve lost respect for partners in my past is entirely due to courage. If they showed it, to be precise. So many of them believed that all they had to do was be physically strong or have money and that was enough to earn my respect. But all of them failed when it came to the courage it takes to be real. To be vulnerable and honest about your feelings and who you truly are. All the rest of it means nothing if you can’t do that. So I don’t care if you can lift the biggest log in the forest if you don’t have the courage to be real.

Full disclosure, I’ve been guilty of doing this myself before I saw the error of my ways. But when it happens now I see the motive behind it so clearly. When you don’t know all the circumstances of someone else’s life or especially, their medical situation, you’re not in any position to judge what they can or cannot do. Telling me about someone else that you think has the same medical condition as I do but is capable of doing “so much more” is just cruel. If you think it’s going to inspire the person you’re speaking to, think again. It’s not. It’s going to make them even more convinced that you have no idea of what they’re dealing with. No two people are alike. Especially when it comes to medical situations. Unless they have exactly the same physiological makeup and medical history, they are NOT the same. Even if they have the same diagnosis, they don’t share the same body! Please stop doing this to people, even if you think you’re being helpful or especially if you’re trying to do the “tough love” approach. What people who are trying to cope with difficult medical issues need the most is compassion and empathy, not judgment and condescension. Take your own ego out of the equation and stop assuming that you have all the answers.

I find that all this negative energy I've had is getting too much. It's alienated me from family members, coworkers and even a few friends. From here on out, I'm going to re-evaluate myself and step back, not make a huge mountain out of a mole. I think it's about time I start working towards a more positive mindset. I need to see the glass half full. Negative is not only mentally and emotionally exhausting, but physically. It's literally draining and can really suck the life out of you.

Is it just me, or does anyone else get annoyed at the overwhelming amount of errors in so-called news stories? I’m talking about things like glaring spelling mistakes and even worse, glaring content errors. I just read a news story where it started off by saying “the man” and ended with “she” and “her”. Which is it? It’s just so unprofessional and it’s obvious that no one is proofing any of this drivel. I miss the days of decent journalism.

The most prevalent theme for me this past year: Love or Death. But death seems to be winning out for it's realistic and appealing quality. I don't see it as negative. The prospect of finding, acquiring, keeping, and nurturing love not just for another person but also myself? Daunting. 0+

I was recently blown away by a conversation with a good friend who went bankrupt last year. They were content winning arguments online with people than having their business continue. They had had a successful or moderately successful business. In doing so, somehow they got very invested in their online view of themselves and that became most important. I'm blown away because they had a choice. Log off and continue their business, go bankrupt and continue their online presence. They're still my friend, but man what a weird trip.