Hello fellow readers,
As you all know, Doctor Who is one of my favorite shows. I absolutely love it and everything to do with it! It's a great program that I think anyone would benefit from watching. I have seen some very terrible things written about this season and as a fan, I feel like I need to come to defend the show that I love! And, I just want to.
First people are upset that Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor. They are saying he is too old, too mean, and my favorite, too Scottish! People have actually penned letters to complain that his accent is too thick for them to understand! Can you believe that crap! It's like they are reaching for something to be mad about. As far as his age, no one actor has been more prepared or more perfect for the role of a 1200 year old Time Lord. Peter Capaldi is a fan and has been since he was a boy. He grew up on the show and was passionate enough about it to become a member of the fan club when he was a young man. No other actor can bring this unique and amazing portrayal of The Doctor. When the 50th anniversary came out it erased any gap between "New" and "Classic" Who. Peter Caplidi's Doctor is a true reflection of this. He has the edge of the classic Doctors and the love, comedy, and sass of the new Doctors. Peter Caplidi is The Doctor!!
As far as 12's new darker personality, it is very simply a reminder that he is an alien. He is a Time Lord who isn't sure if he killed his entire planet, or if his family is out there waiting for him somewhere to rescue them. Would you be a kind person all of the time when you have all of that going on in the back of your mind? I like seeing this side of the Doctor. David Tennant was a master at showing "the fury of a Time Lord." Those moments were dark and terrifying. Peter Capaldi is showing this fury more than any other Doctor and it's right for this regeneration. This is just another side of a very complex character that has been around for 50 years!!! He can't be the same thing over and over again because that would be boring.
Speaking of change, people are having a very hard time with The Master being played by a female and now being called Missy! People's outrage has made me sick! What is wrong with The Master being a female! It has been established in the history of the show that Time Lords/Ladies can change genders. People are all upset and are returning everything they have ever bought to do with Doctor Who because of Missy. They are worried they are going to see a female Doctor!! My answer to them is, so what? This show is about constant change, and acceptance. Everybody is important no matter how different they are! This has been a theme in the show for years and now a female becoming one of the most important character's of the show is somehow an issue! I don't understand the huge deal.
People keep accusing show runner Steven Moffat of having his own agenda. It has been the gay agenda, the political agenda, the religious agenda, the gender equality agenda. This man must have a lot of time on his hands as much as people are reading into this. Let's make one thing clear, these themes are nothing new at all!! Doctor Who has always had openly gay and bi sexual characters in a time when it wasn't even discussed. They have always taken a hard look at religion and a belief structure because like the Doctor said, he doesn't know if he believes but it's worth searching for an answer. There have always been both males and females in a position of power, including the late and great Vertiy Lambert, the first producer of Doctor Who. As a female producer in 1964 with a gay Asian as the first director, they saw more adversity than most of the characters in the show. These things were unheard of in 1964 yet Doctor Who was ran by a female, and a gay man! There is always room for everyone, because in all of time and space the Doctor has never met anyone who isn't important!
This show is about change, about regeneration. It can't stand still, because like time, things move on. If we were still caught up in the ways of yesteryear then we would never have had some of these amazing stories with diverse characters. It is a show that isn't afraid to tackle hard issues including life and death. It can be amazing and uplifting as well as depressing. It works, and if it was a formula show where at the end of the show the lesson of the day was revealed, it never would have survived 50 years. Things change and I can't wait to see what is going to happen in the future. Maybe we will have a transgender, black Doctor who likes hamburgers. It doesn't matter because what ever the Doctor will be, he or she will always be the Doctor, a Time Lord who travels to see the wonders of the universe no matter how strange, silly, or different they seem to be.
Lisa and her Underdog
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Caregiving: what it's like for me
Hello all,
I have been asked to write about being a caregiver. I know it's not my normal type of blog but it was requested of me. I must admit that I'm a little nervous about it because I am still very actively taking care of two people. I will do my best to honor their privacy so I am not going to go into any real details. Just remember that taking care of the people I am working with is my number one goal. I do the best that I can to make sure they get the care that they need. I am not an expert at all on the subject, but it is my life and something that I have done for most of it. I have been an active caregiver to my parents, grandparents and some of my friends since I was a small child. It is something that is second nature to me, but I am human and like everyone else I get burned out.
First of all, I am not a nurse or a doctor. I have a lot of respect for those wonder and amazing people who have decided to make it their life's work. I do have medical training. I know First Aide, CPR, general things about medication, how to give shots, and some very specific things that go along with the conditions of the people I take care of. I do my research. I spend a lot of time in doctor's offices and any free moment I get, I will be asking questions, making notes, and trying to understand what I need to look for if anything goes wrong. I never sit on the sidelines, I do what I can to learn as much as I can in order to give the best care.
Being a caregiver is beyond a full time job, it is a life. I admire others who are in the same position that I am. I know some people give more time than I do, and others who only have to be a caregiver on a part time basis. Either way, it is not a traditional job but it takes so much out of you. No two days are similar and what may have worked for you a week ago won't work today. You must be adaptable and you must have patience. A caregiver can be up all night with their patient, or trying to catch up on things with their own lives only to have to get up again at the crack of dawn for a full day of appointments.
I know it's the number one rule when you are in this type of field that you need to take care of yourself first. I'm here to tell you while that is a great idea, it's damn near impossible at times. There are days where this is no issue at all but others, your life will need to be put on hold. It's different for every single person but I know from the small group of people who are in the same boat as I am that caring of yourself is something that is pushed aside a lot. It's a daily battle and sometimes you get to have a good day, and other days or even weeks go by before you realize that you haven't done a single thing for yourself beyond basic measures.
I have also found that being a caregiver is something of a stigma. Even thought it is a very hard job many people will point out that "it's not a real job." I admire those people for their blissful ignorance. There isn't much assistance out there for a person who is a caregiver and with society being ultra harsh on those looking for help it becomes a vicious cycle. There isn't much room to do anything else when you are a caregiver including working an outside job. If you look for help then you are automatically deemed as weak or a drain on society. I see it all the time on social networks how people are so angry that their hardworking dollars are going to the slums on food stamps and welfare. Well, I am an extremely hardworking person with days that can last 20 hours or longer. I am working all of the time but I qualify for very little help. I work odd jobs during my "off hours" to survive. The point I'm trying to make here is people are very quick to judge because they think a caregiver is someone who gets to sit around and does nothing all day. This couldn't be further from the truth. It is a job that becomes a life of it's own and society thumbs their noses at people who don't go to an office and put in an 8 hour day. The government doesn't understand caregiving and with the society aging they aren't prepared for the amount of help that is going to be needed. They aren't prepared now.
It is hard taking care of someone when they are sick and in pain. All you want to do is ease their suffering. It isn't unusual for you to get stressed to the point where you get a bit snappy at the person you are taking care of. Lack of sleep and highly stressful situations play a big part of this. So does hope. It is easy to fall into a habit of getting hopeful any time you see your client having a good day, but a moment later it ends. You always want that person to be well and be in a place where they can have more good days than bad. The bad days take their tolls. The good days that turn bad are worse. It's like you take 10 steps forward and then something happens and you are pushed back 20. It's a process and it takes a very strong person to get through it. You have to make sure you are doing your best to help your client feel good on their good days, and okay on their bad days, and learn when you need to let them be. It is an ongoing process. Since no two days are the same, no two emotions are the same either and what was a clue to you before may mean something completely different the next time.
The person asking me to write this asked if I have had people die on me. The answer to that is yes, I have. As a caregiver you may be left in the dark. What I mean by this is other people are going to be very upset and completely forget that you were the one taking care of everything. You will get those really fun people who say they were the ones who dropped everything to help out him or her when you know they haven't been through the door for at least a year. Or, they will forget that you are human and you are feeling a loss yourself. I have no real advice on how to deal with this. My Dad's motto was to pick your head up and keep going. I think that has gotten me through a lot in my life, especially being a caregiver to so many different people with vastly different needs.
So, that's what it is like for me. I don't know how it is for other people. I know that there may be people ready to tell me how I should or shouldn't do something. Thank you for your concern. I just know that caregivers are a bunch of very underrated people who get the short end of the stick. They must be strong when others are weak, must know when to react, and how to take care of anything that comes up during the day. It's something that takes up a lot of time, effort, and money. Everyone will have a point in their life where they will need this level of help. I hope when the times comes for me that I will be able to be kind and understanding because I've been in those well worn shoes. I don't have the answers for other people, but I'd love to open up a dialog for those who are interested in sharing there experiences. If not, then I hope if you read this blog maybe you felt less alone and know that someone else out there knows what you are going through.
I have been asked to write about being a caregiver. I know it's not my normal type of blog but it was requested of me. I must admit that I'm a little nervous about it because I am still very actively taking care of two people. I will do my best to honor their privacy so I am not going to go into any real details. Just remember that taking care of the people I am working with is my number one goal. I do the best that I can to make sure they get the care that they need. I am not an expert at all on the subject, but it is my life and something that I have done for most of it. I have been an active caregiver to my parents, grandparents and some of my friends since I was a small child. It is something that is second nature to me, but I am human and like everyone else I get burned out.
First of all, I am not a nurse or a doctor. I have a lot of respect for those wonder and amazing people who have decided to make it their life's work. I do have medical training. I know First Aide, CPR, general things about medication, how to give shots, and some very specific things that go along with the conditions of the people I take care of. I do my research. I spend a lot of time in doctor's offices and any free moment I get, I will be asking questions, making notes, and trying to understand what I need to look for if anything goes wrong. I never sit on the sidelines, I do what I can to learn as much as I can in order to give the best care.
Being a caregiver is beyond a full time job, it is a life. I admire others who are in the same position that I am. I know some people give more time than I do, and others who only have to be a caregiver on a part time basis. Either way, it is not a traditional job but it takes so much out of you. No two days are similar and what may have worked for you a week ago won't work today. You must be adaptable and you must have patience. A caregiver can be up all night with their patient, or trying to catch up on things with their own lives only to have to get up again at the crack of dawn for a full day of appointments.
I know it's the number one rule when you are in this type of field that you need to take care of yourself first. I'm here to tell you while that is a great idea, it's damn near impossible at times. There are days where this is no issue at all but others, your life will need to be put on hold. It's different for every single person but I know from the small group of people who are in the same boat as I am that caring of yourself is something that is pushed aside a lot. It's a daily battle and sometimes you get to have a good day, and other days or even weeks go by before you realize that you haven't done a single thing for yourself beyond basic measures.
I have also found that being a caregiver is something of a stigma. Even thought it is a very hard job many people will point out that "it's not a real job." I admire those people for their blissful ignorance. There isn't much assistance out there for a person who is a caregiver and with society being ultra harsh on those looking for help it becomes a vicious cycle. There isn't much room to do anything else when you are a caregiver including working an outside job. If you look for help then you are automatically deemed as weak or a drain on society. I see it all the time on social networks how people are so angry that their hardworking dollars are going to the slums on food stamps and welfare. Well, I am an extremely hardworking person with days that can last 20 hours or longer. I am working all of the time but I qualify for very little help. I work odd jobs during my "off hours" to survive. The point I'm trying to make here is people are very quick to judge because they think a caregiver is someone who gets to sit around and does nothing all day. This couldn't be further from the truth. It is a job that becomes a life of it's own and society thumbs their noses at people who don't go to an office and put in an 8 hour day. The government doesn't understand caregiving and with the society aging they aren't prepared for the amount of help that is going to be needed. They aren't prepared now.
It is hard taking care of someone when they are sick and in pain. All you want to do is ease their suffering. It isn't unusual for you to get stressed to the point where you get a bit snappy at the person you are taking care of. Lack of sleep and highly stressful situations play a big part of this. So does hope. It is easy to fall into a habit of getting hopeful any time you see your client having a good day, but a moment later it ends. You always want that person to be well and be in a place where they can have more good days than bad. The bad days take their tolls. The good days that turn bad are worse. It's like you take 10 steps forward and then something happens and you are pushed back 20. It's a process and it takes a very strong person to get through it. You have to make sure you are doing your best to help your client feel good on their good days, and okay on their bad days, and learn when you need to let them be. It is an ongoing process. Since no two days are the same, no two emotions are the same either and what was a clue to you before may mean something completely different the next time.
The person asking me to write this asked if I have had people die on me. The answer to that is yes, I have. As a caregiver you may be left in the dark. What I mean by this is other people are going to be very upset and completely forget that you were the one taking care of everything. You will get those really fun people who say they were the ones who dropped everything to help out him or her when you know they haven't been through the door for at least a year. Or, they will forget that you are human and you are feeling a loss yourself. I have no real advice on how to deal with this. My Dad's motto was to pick your head up and keep going. I think that has gotten me through a lot in my life, especially being a caregiver to so many different people with vastly different needs.
So, that's what it is like for me. I don't know how it is for other people. I know that there may be people ready to tell me how I should or shouldn't do something. Thank you for your concern. I just know that caregivers are a bunch of very underrated people who get the short end of the stick. They must be strong when others are weak, must know when to react, and how to take care of anything that comes up during the day. It's something that takes up a lot of time, effort, and money. Everyone will have a point in their life where they will need this level of help. I hope when the times comes for me that I will be able to be kind and understanding because I've been in those well worn shoes. I don't have the answers for other people, but I'd love to open up a dialog for those who are interested in sharing there experiences. If not, then I hope if you read this blog maybe you felt less alone and know that someone else out there knows what you are going through.
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