Acceptable Lippage

acceptable lippage

This is the moment when I am uncertain, when asked:  “Is this okay?”  And if I am not careful will find myself in a discussion about right or wrong, and what is acceptable.  Is it okay to say:  “Lippage.”  Or.  “Overhang.”  And who will advise me?  About this I am uncertain.  It will be that kind of day.  She points at her midsection and makes a face.  

 “Over-hang.”  “Unacceptable.”  

 

And realize that no matter what I reply, it will not be good for me.  This is when I resort to Stoney-ness.  Is a practiced thing I do.  It is mostly visual.  Some of it catches me and others off-balance.  Not steady and it looks like he might fall over or collapse at any moment.  “What is he on?  Name That Drug.” And for the  moment it is the distraction that works.  Lippage or Overhang, and what is acceptable.  Could be the topic for today’s blog, but if truth be told, it will do no good to get in a long conversation about such things.  “Keep your blog short.  Deal with an 8 second attention span.”  And he finds that acceptable.

 

Seems this is where his best guess is insufficient.  “Best to say nothing.”  He reminds himself.  There are industry standards for such thing, if you are at work.  But on a personal level and with social groups and peer-group consensus, it is a variable situation, wrought with left turns and cul-de-sac stoppage.  It is not in the cards or best to reveal your hand.  Just drop out.  Don’t take a chance.  Let it go, and hope for a different question on another day.  Lippage or Over-hang and maybe it’s the same thing, but its best to let others figure that out.  Take the cowards way out.  

 Fake Stoney-ness.

 

Acceptable Lippage gives way to a more suitable topic.  Seems on this day the keyword will be:  acceptable.  And then he will add a side-thought to it, and staying with good advice, he will keep it short.  Be brief, but don’t let it go to the point where you are exposed.  Midsection and what is acceptable, is not a place you want to be maneuvered into going.  

 

So no matter what, avoid going there.  Just run around the subject, be circuitous if you must resort to that.  Be Stoney and not care what others might be saying or thinking.  Your objective is  to find a more suitable subject to focus on for whatever duration your blog will give to your most recent  8-second-thought, which as we have said,

 “Is a by-product of  a short attention span.”

 

I have some time to kill, but at the same time, will not take the risk of exciting hostility or somebody else’s aggressive stance on what is acceptable and what is not.  Lippage or Overhang and I will not be maneuvered into discussing this.  Won’t consider it, but will spend a few minutes talking about acceptable risk.  Consider this:  Chaos is the norm, and when you can remain calm when staring down a pointed-question, or a barrel of a loaded gun,  that should be considered as defense, regardless of the outcome or what happens next, when she calls you out and asks.   

“Are you avoiding me?”   

Have some time to kill, but do not want to embrace double jeopardy.  So he looks away, and seems to be off-balance and unsteady.  Works every time.  She attends to him, and takes his hand and guides him to a chair.  “Will you be okay.  Let me get you a glass of water.”

The clock indicates a passage of time.  Does it matter how long:  8-second-attention-span, or mind-over-matter-mega-minutes, he has achieved his objective.  Change the subject and don’t talk about her over or under - thang.

 

Acceptable or not, he wants you to be with him.  Cross the line, or not.  Be by his side and be on his side.  Risky.  More than likely yes.  Acceptable risk and he uses body language and eye signals that confuse you.  “Why are we talking about this?”  Lippage or overhang, and it seems going to google and looking for an answer is unacceptable use of technology, at a time like this.  Let your heart guide you.  Be authentic.  Avoid being Stoney when all you have to say is:  “You look good.  There is no overhang.  But if it worries you, we can go to yoga and work things out.”

 

In my line of work we don’t want to look sloppy.  So yes, looks are important, and the general impression of how things should be, is important too.  No reason to dwell on it.  Some days you feel good.  Some days you look good.  And on the days when this is not the case, it is okay to adopt the trademark of that which made Stoney successful in the first place.  Take on the glazed look.  Be unfazed by what others are saying and doing and ask of you.  Do your own thing and go the way that has be successful for you in the past.  

 

You don’t need the big picture, and certainly is best to stay away from The Selfie.  Avoid calling attention to one self.  Blend in and be part of the collective.  Attention to detail at a time like this, should be minimized.  Images and the visual approach have their place, and it is okay to say.  “You look good.  Let’s go out in public.”, but not all the time.  Avoidance is good.  Has its place.  Acceptable risk and acceptable lippage or overhang, and decide the course of today.  Change the subject.

 

He is typing his blog and hits the wrong key.  Lippage becomes slippage and Stonehenge becomes  stoney logic.  See it for what it is.  He is desperate.  You asked him a question and he is meeting resistance in his own mind.  Is one of those times when he doesn’t know what to do or say.  Precarious and catches him by surprise.  Not sure what he said to bring the subject up in the first place. 

 

Cul-de-sac or spiral path, and as a precaution to what could end badly,  in his mind he reviews all his options, and draws a blank.  She can see it in his eyes.  Something wrong.  “Did you forget to take your medicine?”  she asks.  Just hearing this gives him tremendous lift, and he staggers but does not fall down.  Slippage, but not a fatal fall off the cliff or edge.

In all of this is an ancient thought.  If it smells bad, don’t eat it.

And this is how he ends it.  Total silence and he lets her do all the talking.  “Are you okay.  And he nods.  Points towards the sofa.  She understands.  Couch tour and she helps him, after he has had his cup of water.  From chair to couch and they agree.  “Give it a rest.  Tomorrow is another day, and another opportunity to deal with the important things.  

 Like slippage and Lippage and Overhang.  The important stuff.

House Call

House Call

 

He has these thoughts in his head, and is looking for somewhere to put them.  So he blogs, and decides that once written and posted, he is done with it.  But of course, one often has to reckon with the sub-conscious and nightmare-ish dreams that materialize, just when you want to wake up and get started with your day.  He wants to welcome the new day, and welcome himself to the new-normal.  But then comes a conflict in terminology and he knows he needs to choose his words more carefully.  “Whoa Nelly.”  And is not sure if he is talking to his horse, long gone and not really accounted for, as they went from Farm to City, and in the shuffle he could not get a permit for the horse.  So old story,  some things got lost in the shuffle.

 

House Call.  My blog for today.  Who is present and who is not?  Could be the issue for today, if I could get past the word play.  Aberration.  New Normal.  What does it matter when I can’t find the toothbrush, nor the hairbrush.  Quite a tangle and must say, “Its raining.  The grass isn’t quite as green as it will be in a few days, thanks to the abundance of run-off.”  And this is everything you ever wanted to know, and more.  Too much information and what does any of this have to do with me?  Is something I often ask, when I come online and put the google page on center stage.  Look at what is presented, and have doubts about the new normal, but then decide that if I have a cup of tea or coffee and some toast, my blood sugar levels will get where it is easier for me to digest what I see.

Meet and Greet, and gentle myself into a new day, even if it seems like yesterday’s repeat, and I have but one hat to wear, as you webcast me and I am out there, making a first impression to all the new viewers in the world.  Which brings me to my starting point.  Australia and Queensland.  Is wide-lens material that now puts weight on the subject:  House Call.  “Where am I?  Do I have permission to enter, or even knock on the door, that seems to be right in front of me?”  Non-traditional blog when you take it world-wide.  And it’s the new security that intrigues me as I wonder:  “Am I safe.  Do I have to worry about what I drink or eat?”  And with that, his mind wanders.  The attention span without tea or coffee is just 8 seconds.  And it all comes to the point of recognition, when he says, “Aberration.  Alternative Thinking and Outcome. Where is all this taking me, when I post such things online?”

 

Sometimes  I just want to know.  About the horse.  “Was its name really Nelly?”  Tied up and secure, and before I could get back on topic,  Urban Density had increased and we changed places.  Rural and Urban populations changing places, and it happened in my lifetime.  And now, it is as if that is more important than what happen to the horse, and if it really mattered if it was Nelly, or a branded name, like Trigger.  Flash on that thought, and get distracted.  Roy Roger and his horse.  White Hat and for a while it was important to me, that this was the world I woke up to.  Gone now.  I have nightmares.  I don’t like to wake up and immediately dwell on recalling what flashed before me and made me wonder.  “Is any of this real?”

He said it then, knowing it could not be repeated later.  It was that toxic.  “I had this dream and it was scary.  Would like to tell you about it, but more than 2/3rds of it has been forgotten, and I have been awake but 30 minutes, and still no tea or cup of coffee.

 

Halloween and it occurs now.  That is today.  And tonight.  The children in costumes and out and about, doing The Trick or Treat Routine.   Wonder if any of that influenced me, and was represented by the dream/nightmare that brought me into this day.  Know its  beyond Feminism, and until November 8^th in America, is but still a dream.  First woman president in America.  First Lady of a President becomes First Lady of the position, POTUS.  Have decided its like rural and urban, we have made a change.  For the better, and I am surely not the one to incorporate that into the dream or nightmare I just had.  Halloween and it occurs to me now, it is but one day and it will be over soon.  Almost noon, and it has taken me this long to sort things out, and then just let it go.

House Call and even if you do not open your door to me,  I will leave it on your doorstep.  Words and thoughts and my Halloween Mask.  Don’t need it.  Live in a high rise with good security in downtown Seattle.  Kids stay local and don’t know the elevator codes to get to me.  For this I am thankful.  But still a little sad.  I forgot where I tied my horse, and say, “Whoa Nelly.”  But then realize,  none of that is important now.  Is Halloween and 2016.  That is now.  Urban density and what happens when you turn the kids loose, tracking down some free candy, and it makes me wonder.  Aberration or new normal, and he wants to know.  “How long has this been going on?  Are we safe?”

 

Seems like the day has passed me by.  Waking up at 5 am and at first I thought it was the key to health and happiness, and that if I woke up feeling happy, it would stay with me for most of the day.  Then as it becomes known, I become aware that others celebrate Halloween, and do so by posting a selfie online and on their blog.  Make my way to Blog Space, with the intention of posting the blog I just wrote.  But then something terribly disturbing happens. 

 

A Selfie.  Not Me, but disturbing never-the-less.  Don’t ask what she was wearing at the time the selfie-picture was taken.  Just say, “Whoa Nellie.”  And leave it at that.  Dressed up or dressed down.  These selfie pictures go online and get around.  

Disturbing, but still the alarm has yet to go off in my brain. 

Nightmare on Elm Street and its’ sequels and was able to manage that without any permanent damage.  But now, without warning, am faced with The Selfie, but its not me.  And it is not anybody I really want to get to know.  Paralysis happens.  Freeze Frame and in the moment, and it is really too much.  Pop Up and Images, and it is like nothing I have ever seen before.  But like I said.  “I have forgotten.  But at the time I wanted to tell you about my dream.  I thought it might interest you.”

 

And that’s it.  House Call. Halloween Selfie just showed up.  It was scary, when later on it occurred to me:  “She looks like my first girlfriend and was it not for the draft and VietNam Call Up, we would have been married.”

Replacement Therapy

Replacement Therapy

 

Have some time on my hands and thought I might blog.  Not sure that it will be satisfying, and truth be told, I have to be the one that makes that call.  Early morning and it seems appropriate to have some quiet time and self-indulgence.  Starting off with a warm cup of tea, and solitude.  Have changed a few things around me, much like moving the furniture and putting a few mood altering pictures on the wall.  A change of décor, no matter how minor and it elevates the way I feel.  The title reflects my new sensitivity.  Replacement Therapy and it is like I have been on a year-long 

program of behavior modification.

 

Therapy and it is almost hospital or doctor speak, and that is appropriate as I have been sick for almost 3 weeks now.  Just now recovering, and did not end up in the hospital, nor did I get a second opinion about the condition, “my condition was in.”  Just did the man-cave and solo treatment of a common problem:  The Winter Cold.    But it wasn’t simple like that, and in 10 days I was in a body trance and did only the minimal things to keep the heart beating and the body functioning.  Lost 20 pounds of body weight, and yet at 190 pounds I did have a few pounds to lose. 

 

So I was sick for most of October and now I am feeling good enough to sit and blog.  I count that as a verifiable improvement.  Gradual, but perhaps now that it is Fall and Winter and yes, holiday things to interfere, but if things go as it seems they might, blogging might be one of the new ways for 2017 that I manage my time and my priorities for activity and positive change.

  

Because of my recent illness it came easy to me to start out thinking:  Replacement Therapy.  As if sickness was in the air and spreading.  Common cold and being in public and before you know it, you have a minor sneeze and perhaps sinus problems and perhaps if you smoke,  more coughing and difficult to catch your breath.  So this is one point of reference.  The body and what happens when you are not feeling well.  And to invoke change one must make some changes, and of course when one speaks of the body and natural aging and changes, we all see what happens to our parents over time, and in some small way, prepare.

 

Think perhaps I could come up with a better set of words to explain what is unconsciously on my mind.  Starts with the idea that for the last 3 years I have been bombarded by a presence that seems to be media-controlled.  Like somebody got the idea that it would be okay to start talking about change and perhaps in the same context, talk about all those things that might not be good for you.  Like, lifestyle and ways of being. 

 

And before it became obvious to me,  each day had a section in the Sports and News and Weather part of my mind, that had nothing to do with me.  Quietly, it was more about somebody else’s agenda and now its all becoming clear to me.  3 years ago and they were planting seeds and hoping for a beneficial harvest .  Elections 2016 in America and now that is all but 15 days away.  But it all started 3 years ago and it seems, its part of the conditions that have left me sick.  Sick in October of 2016, and finally I took a home cure and my DIY (do-it-yourself ) method of caring for me.

 

Switch gears.  Noticed what others were doing and saying, but made up my mind:  This would not work for me.  And so I have had an up-hill struggle, but it seems to have served as a test pattern and space for gradual improvement in the way I am and the way I live.  Ignore the things that do not directly apply to the quality of life, you are working towards.  Say it this way, because it is an on-going effort and event.  Quality of Life, and behavior modification as the world changes around you, and you are determined to maintain some control on what happens next.

 

Comes down to choosing the right words and examples in story or blog form to explain myself.  Instead of saying, Replacement Therapy, I will simplify by saying: “Replacement.   Substitutes.  Alternative.”  And remind myself this is my blog and my body and in my man-cave a world of my own making, based on the thoughts within.  As if early morning invites eggless-everything and breakfast scrambles include new ingredients, and much different than during the time of my youth, which was in my case, The 1950’s.  The Dark Ages.

 

And here I am.  2016 and in 15 days or less, will be voting for a new set of leaders in the community where I live, and in the nation, a new President of the United States will be selected by a voting process that on the surface, seems appropriate and done with fairness.  15 days and all those things that seemed to be nipping at my heels, and setting up the conditions for my general well-being, that in October of 2016, culminated in a major sickness and condition of not-being-well, and barely functioning for me. 

 

Nice to report, it is but 3 weeks later and I am getting use to the idea that all this external activity around me, did contribute to the very condition:  Not feeling well.  Really sick.  And now I am in recovery.  Each day and I find myself feeling better.  Well enough to sit and blog.

Not saying that life for me is a basket full of peaches and cherries, but  can say, “Regardless Of my personal involvement with Walking Pneumonia and just making due, my life and situation is improving and I can see a positive outcome, for all that has occurred.”   In reflection I can see back 3 years or more, and put things in its proper place.  The people around me have contributed to the way I feel, and the sickness recently experienced.  Not in a position to take this issue  or my findings to court, and prove in official terms that none of this has been for my betterment.   

 

Rather, I have settled on an alternative course of action.  Will go vote on November 8^th or sooner, if I do it by mail.  Will let my vote speak for me.  And then I am done.  3 years of effort of the part of others to influence me, and I can say without hesitation, “I am still me.  Your years of media influence did reach me, but in the end I blocked it out.  Found a better way to deal with this Replacement and substitute and alternative world you put in front of me.  I survived.”

 

And it pleases me that indeed, this is true for me.  I am still here.  Ignoring you.  And soon it will be over.  Elections and big money influence and persuasion reaching down to get me in your camp.  And in the end, I am still me.  Doing what is good for me.  Like blogging.  Airing my opinion in a folksy way.  Home spun.  Man-Cave practical.  And now I’m done.  Its time to get on with things that are about me.  Eating.  Sleeping.  Quality of Life.  Find something that works for me, and ignore the media-driven advice and opinions of others.  Be Local.  Think Wide.

 

But then realize it is no fun being degraded or made sick by the presence and influence of others, not you.  Replacement of the generational flock and let youth and middle age have their way.  Enjoy where I am today.  Retired.  Out of Circulation.  Equally misunderstood and replaced.  But in the end, its Replacement Therapy that keeps me in my place and helps me cope with the changing ways and times of the world I find myself in.  America and 2016.  And it pleases me to say, “I was sick.  But now I am in recovery and doing quite well, considering the past 3 years and how it contributed to the condition, my condition was in.”