The Cascade Effect of Self-Improvement

For a long time , I was pretty down.  I was seeing my lifestyle fall apart around me, watching from the sidelines as I kept losing and losing...family members and friends, jobs, possessions, confidence...  

I comforted myself with cigarettes, sleep, and generally attempting to hide from myself and life in general.  

Then, I quit smoking.  To fill the time and distract myself from the cravings, I began taking on new challenges. I tried all sorts of things, from a daily gratitude practice, to clearing out my to-do list, to cultivating an active lifestyle and beginning to exercise regularly.

Wobbly Wednesday

Nystagmus

Today is the first-ever International Nystagmus Awareness Day! I am incredibly glad that this condition is receiving some attention, as it is thanks to a doctor knowing about nystagmus that we were able to find out about the J-Rex's eye conditions as early as we did. You see, when the J-Rex was four months old, her pediatrician noticed the movement of her eyes and suggested we see a pediatric opthamologist. After that first specialist visit, the rest is history - a history blessed with us having been able to take advantage of all kinds of early intervention resources and education that we might not have had access to, had our doctor not been aware of nystagmus.

So, in honor of the first Nystagmus Awareness Day, I'm going to throw some awareness your way with a brief FAQ about nystagmus and our family's experience with it:

Vision and the Education of a J-Rex, Part 1

Recently, I talked about the importance of access to good literature in multiple formats for the visually impaired and explained that I'm invested in this issue because of the J-Rex.  As a way of facing some issues I loathe to face, I want to talk a little bit more about her condition and where we are at in terms of her learning and the physical difficulties she is beginning to face.

Generations of Geeks, A Reflection

I am a second-generation geek, raised on a steady diet of comic books, Dr. Who, and Star Trek.  While my parents were playing Zork, I was working my way through it's kid-friendly equivalent, The Never-ending Story, and still remember the hours I put into translating my east and west text commands into a workable map to reference as I moved further into the game. I was the only girl in the comic shop, starting with the Archie universe and graduating to superheroes with Perez's re-vamp of Wonder Woman.  I was an equal-opportunity fan-girl, obsessed with both Marvel and DC, and a collector's nightmare because I would read those books until they started to fall apart. I attended Dr. Who fan club meetings and Trek conventions before I even knew more about them than Daleks were evil and Wil Wheaton was dreamy.

Mid-thirties Existentialism

Entering into my thirty-fifth year, I was undergoing a transformation and seeing the emergence of a creative surge I had long awaited. I felt a lightness of being and a freedom of spirit I had forgotten I was capable of. For the first time in years, I was beginning to see a future vision of where and who I want to be again, as well as the path to get there. I began to feel like I was walking on air. I felt ready to face my fears, my challenges. I felt good - very good - maybe too good...