Documentarie and Reports on Television today.

What happened to the days when television documentaries were based on fact and not conjecture? I’ve watched several of these once respectable broadcasts in the last little while and I’ve been amazed at the way the stories are presented.

One documentary on CBC was a report on anxiety which discussed the basis for using medication in some of these situations. It was full of supposition and opinions and there was very little that was factual about it. I noticed one thing they spoke about was that medication was used for the normal condition of shyness. Well, they must have never experienced shyness themselves! I used to be very shy in my teens and it was painful. You are not enjoying life or experiencing good mental health when you are afraid to speak. There may not be any basis for the shyness but if  you can’t overcome it, I see no reason why medication should not be used. Fortunately, for me, I was able to to come out of my self when I started working but I know many others who are still painfully shy adults.

As usual, I find a lot of decumentaries these days are based on sensationalism instead of pure, hard facts. Pick out the worse about something, exagerate it, and show only the one side of the story! Make no wonder, mental illness has such stigma attached to it! Psychiatrists are apparently so plentiful that you can almost pick up the phone and get seen right away. And I am sure that the drug companies are trying to take the business away from them. Of couse, I am being facetious but that seems to be the way these programs are pointed.

If a doctor can assist a mildy affected patient, instead of a psychiatrist, then I see no harm in doing so. Often such treatments are temporary, as it was when I had postpartum depression after the birth of my son. and treatment is discontinued when the condition is under control.

If low dosage meds can control symptoms, a family doctor can assess it without referall to a psychiatrist. Psychiatric care is expensive and time consuming, and still the patient requires medication. Let’s let our specialists take care of the intensely ill patient and our family doctors can take care of the milder ones, be it physical or mental.

This is just one example of today’s journalism but there are many more. You only have to turn on your tv or radio to hear the reports. Let’s not make the mistake of voicing the opinions given on these programs as fact.  We can never know who suggested the story or if there was a hidden agenda behind the scene. We have to stay alert, watch to see if both sides of a story is told, the good and the bad, and determine for ourselves just what the facts are! Lets not be puppets who allow opinions to become our facts!

My website: Canada Shopping Links

Canada Shopping Links, http://www.canadashoppinglinks.com is my personal website. The website was started several years ago while I was still working. Initially, some friends and I, started the site as a business with the hope of generating a healthy income by providing advertising for Canada’s retailing sector. At the time, the internet was in its infancy and there was no reasonable prospect of finding Canadian exclusive content without spending a great deal of time on the search engines. That is exactly what we did to obtain the names of Canadian businesses who wanted to be listed in one central location. It took many hours of research to obtain sufficient information to start the shopping directory. As time went on, however, the retailers came to us with their information and we included it on our site. The income generated was insufficient to maintain the website as a business but there were lots of visitors who simply wanted to know where to shop. We disbanded as a group and I became the sole owner of a “not for profit” site.

I am retired now and often think about closing down Canada Shopping Links as I do not have the interest I once did. However, it is my baby and I just can’t delete it! I do get a check from time to time from the advertisers but never any large amount. Maintaining it, is now one of my hobbies! I refer to it often when I want to do my online shopping with Canada’s online businesses. I feel a connection with their struggle to promote themselves and to get Canadians to shop online.

So, if you are Canadian and you like shopping, please bookmark the website, http://www.canadashoppinglinks.com. I’d love for you to visit!

The Game Of Life

Tonight I played a mindless game. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses and it’s simply a dumb game that requires only that you match at least three same coloured objects. You get extra points if you match more than that and there are other ways of getting points at well. Although there are other people playing the same game, it doesn’t require any thought and your mind is free to wander wherever. I said to myself “why do I bother to play?” It requires you to be quick at hand but your mind is not engaged. I am bored to death of it but yet I still play.

Well, it is actually an analogy to life. We are constantly striving to connect with our inner selves, our families, and other people we meet. It’s the game of Life and we have to play whether we want to or not. I’m very tired of this game and I’ve decided that I am not going to play by the rules anymore. I see people doing this every day and I want to try it. I am going to do the opposite of everyone I meet:

1. If you smile at me, I am going to frown.
2. If you say hello, I will say goodbye
3. If you try to start a conversation with me, I will grunt with offence
4. If you say thank you when I hold the door open, I will let go and it can slam in your face.
5. If you think you know what I am thinking, I will make sure you know what is actually on my mind: e.g. Haven’t you got eyes in your head? Can’t you see me wiggling? I have to go pee!”.
6. If you tell me you have a problem, I will tell you how great my life is.
7. If you ask me to go for coffee, I will look at you as if you don’t have a clue.
8. If you tell me my hair looks good today, I will tell you the truth about your stupid hairdo.
9. If you say you love me, I will tell you to get lost.
10. If, after all this, you can still say you like me and mean it, you win the game and I lose.

Now why would I put myself through all this simply to become a loser? Because losing is sometimes the way to really win! By experimenting with the “other me”, I’ve discovered an offensive, miserable and dark side and it’s not the side I want to be on. No, the real “me” can smile, be polite and considerate, and sometimes tell little while lies to spare someone’s feelings. If that is a sin, then so be it! It is who I am and who I want to be.

Garage Sale

Yesterday, I went to a garage sale. Yessireee, the fascinating world of bargains and deals. My friend J. told me about this particular sale and we decided to hit the big time. I picked up J. and we arrived ten minutes before the doors opened. We were the second ones in the lineup and J insisted that we stay right there. No waiting in the car for us! Freeze our buns off, if necessary, but this was the perfect spot to ensure we got to the bargains first. The doors opened and we, a bunch of other ladies, and some men, rushed forward to the best looking table. As we tripped over people in our headlong dash, I  spottted a lovely ceramic clock.  Lovingly, I lifted it up, admired the pretty white flowers, and felt the adrenaline rush. It was mine for the taking! Hm, the price on was $2.00. I offered the lady $1.50. Behind me, I heard a squeaky female voice say, “I’ll give you $3.00 for it.” “Sold’ said the vendor. Now, that got my goat and I turned to give the buyer a piece of my mind. There she was, all 4ft. 6in. of her, smiling broadly, and exclaiming excitedly over her clock as she shuffled away using her walker.  Her 80+ years and her positive attitude stopped me in my tracks.  So ended my jubilant rush for the bargains on that table!

The next table had mostly clothing and it was mobbed by the mass of people. Finally, I got through but I wasn’t interested in buying clothing. But look at the mess! Clothing all over the place! The next thing I knew, I was folding pants, sweaters, shirts and dresses and putting them in neat little piles. The lookers were grabbing the folded items and rushing to pay the vendor. My, I thought, business is great here and the clothes are quickly disappearing. Suddenly, I realized what I was doing and colour rushed to my cheeks as I sneaked a peak at the very, happy seller. Whew, she hadn’t noticed me afterall. I could get away from there with no one the wiser.

Next was a bake table with lots of goodies. Nothing there for me, all made with sugar! I headed to the side and saw a silent auction table. No bids on anything yet so I quickly made the first bid of $2.00.  Off to the next table, which was loaded with good stuff but there was a big red sign “For Auction”.  I asked about it and sure enough, there was an actual auction in about 20 minutes.  Off to the registration table I went, signed in, and received my #4 auction sign. Auctions are a lot more exciting so I was finished with the garage sale. I found J., who was still busy as a bee, scouting out the best deals. She was equally as excited about the acution and she became #5. Off to the snack table for a hot chocolate, back to the silent auction (where I discovered I was outbid by $20.00) and then a quiet, sitdown while awaiting the auction.

There were gift certificates galore up for auction, coca cola, pepsi, beer, barbecue stuff, gift baskets, and much, much more. My particular interest was the gift certificates. While waiting, I daydreamed about food and wine, overnight stays in various hotels, lovely dinners in restaurants, fancy clothes, and abundant food from the grocery stores. I was poised with my #4 in bright orange paddle by my side. I was a little shy at first and I let the first items slip by me. Then, a $10.00 gift certificate for the bake shop! “We’ll start the bed at $2.oo”, the auctioneer said. Up went my #4, $3.00 from the back, up went #4, $4.00 from the side, I kept #4 raised, $5.00, $6.00, $7.00, and then “Sold to #4, the nice lady in the peach shirt for $7.00. Items were displayed, bids were made, and I was often outbid but I kept at it, raising #4 to bid and lowering it to stop. What fun I had! We were there about 4 hours and I ended up with two more gift certificates, a $25.o0 value for flowers, obtained for $7.00, and a $20.00 value for a Chinese Restaurant for $8.00.  What excitement! What fun! What joy! Absolutely loved it!

Did I mention that I returned to the bake table during the auction? No, well let me tell you about that deal. The banana bread was calling me so I decided to buy one at the price of $3.75. Well, the lady told me that she was now selling them for $2.00 each!” Only $2.00, give me 2.”  It’s okay about the sugar! I’ll just have to be careful!

So ended my day! I proudly took my bargains home and enjoyed  a piece of delicious, homemade, banana loaf!