text:
5km Everyday for November (addendum)

Dear Boys,

I realised that there are some other details I’ve not explain well in my other 2 posts.

Losing Weight

No, I didn’t lose weight, nor was I aiming to when I started this challenge. The strange thing was the weight loss should have come as a sort of given effect, as I am putting more activities on the road, every day, but no, my weight stays on stubbornly.

What actually happened was my blood pressure started dropping. This was more acute when I run in the morning and take the readings after that, evening reading has traditionally for me been a spike, but even that was brought down during my runs at night.

recorded some of my best BP readings during my 30 day challenge, especially morning runs.

That was an encouraging sign as it does indicate that my body is responding positively to the increased cardio-vascular stress and load.

Breaking Mindset

To be frank the challenge was more like an experiment. I wasn’t sure if I can keep to it, as there are many unexpected things that can happen to break my running streak (pun intended). I could fall ill, got hurt, it could rain, and a lot of other events.

More importantly it is a self-commitment to see how far I can take it, before the challenge, I do felt stiffness/pain on my lower back, and instantly the mind came up with this perfect excuse/reason: “Yeah, shouldn’t run so much/long! Give ya back a break!” Or days where I planned it poorly, and ended up exhausted even before I hit the road, I’d tell myself: “Why the heck are you doing this!” Or “At your age?” Or “Hadn’t you got enough? Aikido, Cycling home, and then another 5km?”

Cycled home…
…followed by a run

While there are tonnes of reasons why you will tell yourself not to do it, I always give myself 2 reasons why I do it:

1- It’s only for 30 days, consecutively, so don’t break it.

2- It’s only 30 minutes out, it’ll be over before you know it.

These 2 mantras helped me get through the toughest run, which is always about the mindset. Even during the run, these excuses/reasons never leaves me alone. But action builds traction. I learned that as long as I keep at it, I’ll get through it. Except when it rains.

Plan B

I’ve already mentally prepared that even if it rains, I’d run. Unless it is a massive thunderstorm. Then I’ll have to resort to Plan B, and thankfully I have a treadmill at home for such continencies, which I only used once.

The other time which I had to look for a gym/treadmill, was a Thursday where I have to see Ian off, flying to Japan for your 9-day school trip. I knew then the night will end late for me, so I left work a little early, popped into an ActiveSG gym, ran the 5km, showered and head off to the airport.

complements of AciveSG Gym at Jalan Besar

The mind is a very tenacious mechanism, and we need to be careful where we apply the tenacity, it can work for us or it sure has hell can work against us.

Reality Check

The other thing was a reality check which was closely tied to our mindset. We have to hit the action button constantly to make sure we are who we are, and not who we think we are. I also wanted to see how my body espond to a higher physical tempo, will I break? Will I fall ill? Thakfully my body held up well through the entire 30 days.

Putting 5km every day on the road, helps me constantly check myself. If I can do it, then there is no lying about it. And if I pretend to be fit when I am not, then there is no way I can do what I did. And despite of my physical ability to do it. The lazy me, did thought of cheating, like cycle instead of jogging, or do a quick 3 km and qualify it as an effort. The mind is tricky and sly, it is a constant battle to keep at it, and not stray from the goal.

Habit forming

There is a popular saying that it takes about 3 months for a habit to set in. I think that is bullcrap. It takes a long longer, and it takes commitment, discipline, and constant eye on the target to keep at it. And breaking it? It is just a matter of days. And the body will want to stay at rest, and continue its optimum rest position.

But what I learned was to be kind to myself, while it is a 30day challenge, I walsy give myself a caveat. I am not going to die achieving it. If I need to break it, so be it, I’m fine, and I am not going to be unhappy about it.

Besides, this was my 3rd attempt, as I’ve failed once a long time back, and again in Sept this year, where I must stop due to a bad bike fall.

Lessons learnt

At the end of the day, I took away valuable lessons in exercise, and staying in control. You see, to be able to put on your shoes and run, would mean that you have faculties under your control and influence.

While your world might become crazily out of control, as long as you can run and exercise, you will know deep down inside there’s still a part of you, that you have control and influence over. It is important for us to build our self-confidence over our own effort to shape and work our body, this is one faculty, no one has permission to control, except ourselves.

5km everyday for November (Part 2)

5km everyday for November (Part 2)

Dear Boys,

Running everyday for the past 1 month has taught me a few lessons. As common as the saying goes, ‘life is a marathon’, it is actually more than that, life isn’t just 42.195km, to me, it is 5km spread over a month or more, interspaced with interruption, suprises, determination, positivity, mechanism, injuries and a lot more. But I guess it is about going on, and not stopping, well, at least not that often.

The fatigue is not just about exhaustion immediately after a run, I am talking about a longer expereince of tiredness, knowing that the next day is another 5km to complete. And while there is a finite number of 30days, it seems to be never-ending when you’re at it.

Another fatigue is the risk of injury, putting so much physical activity in 30 days, runs into the risk of getting hurt, even in normal day to day stuff. The body is taking a beating from the increased activity and I really need to pay attention to what I do.

The other issue with fatigue is the lacking of rest between runs. Sometimes, I have to do a late night run, followed by an early morning run the next day, due to Aikido class in the evening, this means that the body is being put through a high tempo with less rest, a recipe for injury, and thankfully, none of that happened, although, it did feel like it is going to happen a couple of times.

November was in a way tumultuous times in Singapore, as there was a uproar of anti-PMD(Personal Mobility Devices) sentiments due to the rising number of PMD and pedestrain related accidents and incdients. Your dad became one of the victims, on the 4th of November, and the government annouced the ban on the 5th.

Since some of my jogs are night runs, I already have a good sense to buy small bicycle blinkers to put on myself, for the sake for visibility, I have one and it is always on my back, but that accident with the PMD was a head on collision. So I bought another one to on my chest, so that I can be seen front and back.

Safety also means that I don’t jog with headphones on, which will reduce my situational awareness, but having music on means that I can have a fast rythmn and tempo, dependent on the song of my choosing.

From my previous running experience, I know that blisters will develop, along with trauma to the toe nails, I have one on each foot. This is quite normal and it is part of the pain package for sustained running.

To save me from this ordeal, I was very fortunate to come across a fantastic anti-blister tape from Decathlon. It was cheap and it was good. The stickiness was just right and it did it’s job protecting my toes from pain and excessive rubbing. You see, despite of that, I’m still going to lose my toenails, but it could be worse.

Blister management is very important to make sure the run is enjoyable and sustain able, and if you miss out this important minor details, your painful little toes can derail your plan.

I’m not a big fan of expensive running shoes. Sure they look good, and comes with a high level of comfort, and some can cost $200 and up. For my run, I did it with this pair, Asics Torrence, a cheap, discontinued basic running shoe that cost me about RM$100… which is about S$30.

It served me well, although it took me a while to get my stride right, but it did the job, gave me good cushioning and there was no major protest from my feet.

This goes to prove the as long as you can run, any decent pair of running shoes will do, and spending more than necessary will not make you a better runner. Unless, you are a performance running athelete, then a pair of high end running shoes will help put that extra speed into your gait. If not, just get a pair and hit the road.

One very important thing though, socks. Invest in a good pair of running socks, which will help brings confidence in your stride.

ekiden-running-socks-3-pack-black.jpgFit to keep fit

One last thing, boys, a minimum level of fitness is important, so you need to have a baseline level of fitness before you start on this endeavour. If you are morbidly unhealthy, never start on this. Always start slow and go low, as in a low mileage, and build it up from there. Always be kind to your body and listen to your body’s reaction to your efforts, if you really feel unwell, stop. You can always recover and try again, it is fruitless, and also stupid to push this just for the sake of your ego.

5km Everyday for November (Part 1)

5km Everyday for November (Part 1)

Dear Boys,

Your dad challenged himself to a 5 km run everyday for the month of November, and this is how he did it.

It is not as simple as just pick up the shoes and run, well it is actually that simple but there is some planning to do. You need to run through a couple of things in your head before you actually put the foot on the ground. It is the simple Franklin Covey’s ‘measure twice, cut once.’ mindset, as he as mentioned in his highly acclaimed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Route planning

I need to know where to jog, that is to measure the distance and not do more than 5km, there is a discipline to it that you don’t over-run which is unnecessary, and will do more harm than good, there must be a good pace to contain fatigue (more on that later…)

To know where I am jogging, I use Mapometer. This website helps me plot my route and work out the areas I can jog to get my mileage. It is quite intuitive although in some places the routes are not updated, so you still need to have some ‘on the ground’ knowledge to make this work better.

Planned Routes

After working out Mapometer, I will list out a few routes, so that I don’t get bored running the same route for 30 days. For where we stay, I’ve listed 5-8 routes which is in the range of 5km.

The 5 primary routes are:

  1. Punggol Central =5.47km
  2. LRT = 5.19km
  3. Kelong Bridge = 5.17km
  4. Triple Bridge = 5.06km
  5. FGS (Fo Guang Shan) = 5.18km

Once these are identified, I’ll work out a day to day plan:

october planning

This is to help me visualise what I need to do, and prepare the night before. I will usually have my ‘run package’ ready, which is top, shorts, socks, blister tape (more on that later as well…) running pouch and blinkers (talk about that, safety aspect too…)

Look, the plan is the plan, when it comes to execution, it often don’t go as planned, but without a framework, it will be no problem to start, but difficult to be consistent.

Having the map routed, and days sort of planned, it is time for the run! After every run, I will record it down in the journal:

While I use a running app to keep track of my running, nothing beats, old school writing it down. It helps me collect my thought and look at my efforts so far, there is a minor satisfaction writing down the accomplishment, and it does help me move day to day, with some level of motivation.

Hit the road!

Once all the planning is done, it boils down to the execution of the plan. If planning is strategic, the execution is tactical. In order to be successful, you need both, and with all the planning done, without proper execution, you will fizzle.

I know I can run, the issue is running consistently, and finding the time to do it. The running itself will take typically 30 odd minutes, the warming down, taking a shower and settling down at my journal, takes up another 20 odd minutes, so it’ll take me about an hour to end the whole exercise. Once you get the timing the first few times, you’ll know how much time you need to get it done.

While it is all about putting on the shoes to run, your mind will play tricks on you to drag it out, during the weekends, where you have the entire day to do your stuff and you will tend to procrastinate the run till almost the end of the day. This is even more acute during the weekdays, where a huge chunk of the time is taken up by work and commute. which left my running fighting for time with sleeping.

On top of that I have Aikido lessons in some weekday evenings, so in the most ideal situation, I’d like to jog in the morning, so that I have time for Aikido in the evening, but in reality, I’d ended up doing Aikido and jogging after class, which totally exhausts me.

I’ll talk more about fatigue, blisters, safety blinkers and other more nitty gritty details in the part 2.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Science Says this Oil is the Best for Our Skin

by Georgia

Do you remember back in the day when facial oils first made their way into our skincare regimes?

I remember it being over a decade ago when it was popularised in K-beauty to create a dewy complexion. The main hurdle for facial oil being implemented into our everyday skincare routine was breaking the stigma that ‘oils will make you oilier’ – a myth that has well and truly been busted over the years. Now, facial oils have gained so much traction that nearly every skincare brand has released a facial oil touting their formula is best. The only problem is, how do we actually know which one is the best for our skin?

From a scientific standpoint, our skin responds to chemicals and the results are dependent on how well the formula can communicate with our skin cells and accommodate the nutrition that it’s lacking in. We talk to Biologi Founder and Cosmetic Chemist Ross Macdougald to find out once and for all, which facial oil rises above the rest.

Marula, cacay and kukui seed – exotic oils are all the rage at the moment but in reality, every oil contains the same fatty acids, just at different percentages. It’s simply deciding how the omega 3, 6, and 9 are in proportion to each other. Our skin is made up of linoleic and alpha linoleic acid and responds best to topical oils that are high in these two but with low-fat content.

“In my opinion, the oil that is best for lipid dry skin is Rosehip oil. Ideally, you would go for a light oil that contains good percentages of oleic, linoleic and alpha-linoleic acid and funnily enough- that is rosehip oil which is the most common oil in this market and is well priced,” Ross says.

Rosehip Oil delivers a potent synergy of oil-soluble actives required for skin health. It’s gentle enough to use on sensitised skin types but powerful enough to achieve maximum results. “It harnesses the pure power of Rosa canina, which is rich in natural oil soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids that promote the skin’s internal hydration and protective processes to support healthy cellular turnover,” Ross explains. “Rosa canina seed has regenerative botanical activity which most closely resembles the skin’s fatty acid profile. The potent combination of fatty acids in Rosehip oil provides undiluted and unaltered goodness for your skin, straight from the seed of the plant,” he praises.

How do I choose the best rosehip oil?

You would assume that rosehip oil is just rosehip oil, but in fact, not all rosehip oil is made equal. There are several types that are available on the market. The colour of unrefined rosehip oil is orange and the smell is quite earthy, and can sometimes smell a bit fishy. If there’s no smell or if it’s fragranced, then the oil has been refined, meaning the potency will be reduced and the results will prove to be not as effective.

The orange hue shows that the rosehip oil is rich in vitamin A (carotene) which is essential as an anti-aging ingredient. “It plays a role in ceramide formation – a substance that keeps the walls of skin cells strong so they can better retain moisture… It can also help reduce the signs of ageing by smoothing fine lines and thickening the dermis (deeper skin layers), making the skin feel firmer and tighter,” Ross claims. Rosehip oil works wonders as a moisturiser and also has the ability to improve the appearance and texture of scars due to the fatty acid content and how they can rebuild skin cells post-injury.

Here are our top facial oil picks that harness the power of pure rosehip oils:

Words: Sophie Chung
Images: Supplied

Featured Articles

Stay In The Loop

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2020-45
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for October 2020
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-128.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.17 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
Open Blockchain Networks & Cryptocurrencies

Open blockchain networks are a catalyst for change in digital services, including financial services and applications, because they enable the direct transfer of value on the internet. Cryptocurrencies are the fuel that powers these networks.

Open blockchain networks eliminate the need for middlemen

Financial and data middlemen are necessary intermediaries for financial transactions and online services

Users can conduct financial transactions and share data directly

Open blockchain networks decentralize infrastructure

  1. Company runs digital services using a central server and proprietary software
  1. Network of connected computers runs digital service using open-source software

Open blockchain networks address shortcomings of centralized systems

SECURITY PRIVACY COMPETITION Single point of failure makes the system vulnerable to attack Business model often based on collecting and selling consumer data Economies of scale and massive proprietary data sets encourage monopoly power
shortcomings-decentralized SECURITY PRIVACY COMPETITION Encryption and decentralization of data makes cyber attacks extremely difficult Allows for individual control and ownership of personal data Personal ownership of data allows for portability between services and encourages competition

Cryptocurrencies fuel open blockchain networks

Service Integrity

Cryptocurrencies interact with network software to ensure that the service is correctly administered

Enhanced Payments

Cryptocurrencies enable fast, programmable, and always accessible payments

Cryptocurrencies reward individuals and businesses for contributing to the operation of the network


text:
OPP cracking down on distracted driving this March Break

The OPP is set to launch its Distracted Driving Campaign this March Break (March 11-17) and those caught driving distracted will face the tougher penalties that took effect at the beginning of the year.

The new penalties for distracted driving include a fine increase up to $1,000, three demerit points and a three-day licence suspension. The penalties increase with subsequent offences. For novice drivers in the graduated licencing system, there is no fine or additional demerit points but longer licence suspensions now apply.

The deaths of 55 people and more than 9,115 collisions were linked to an inattentive driver on OPP-patrolled roads in 2018. The OPP laid 13,529 Distracted Driving charges last year against drivers who chose to make roads unsafe by dividing their attention between driving and using a hand-held electronic device.

“Among the most dangerous drivers are those who continue to ignore the facts and convince themselves that using a cell phone while driving is not dangerous and forms part of today’s driving culture,” says Interim Commissioner Gary Couture.

“Never let a driver use this, or any other justification for using a hand-held device while driving. It is as dangerous a driving behaviour today as it was when Ontario’s Distracted Driving laws came into force ten years ago.”

Sylvia Jones, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, echoes Couture’s message of driving safely.

“Not only is it illegal to use your phone or any other hand-held device while driving, stopped in traffic or at a red light, it can be fatal,” says Jones.

“Distracted driving is still a major cause of collisions and drivers will now face tougher penalties, including automatic driver’s licence suspensions. Don’t risk your life and the lives of others, put down the phone.”

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Hello and welcome to Friday Favorites! This week, the links that Prasanta Verma and I chose take us from prayer and reflection through silence, a bit of church history, and the redeeming power of art. A few of these are on the long side, longer than what we usually share — one is a full-length film! But they’re worth a deep dive to bring some beauty, wonder, and joy to your day.

Enjoy, and be blessed.

Praying: An Invitation to Silence via Andō (Andō shares a meditative poem from Mary Oliver)

In Pursuit of Silence via Patrick Shen (this film on silence is screening free during this pandemic time — so restorative for the soul)

Reading Hope in Trying Times, with Parker Palmer via Writing For Your Life (Parker Palmer shares about the lessons of depression and hope)

Permission to Ponder via Chris Alford and Tracy Balzer (Balzer encourages us with the beauty of creation as seen through the lens of Celtic Christianity)

The Nuns Who Wrote Poems via Nick Ripatrazone (get a taste of some divine poetry from literary nuns)

The Soul in Paraphrase via Joy Clarkson and Matthew Rothaus Moser (in this podcast episode, Moser explores transforming love in the poetry of Dante, a wonderful guide for our pilgrimage through life)


text:
fbpx ;

Listen on:

#781 – Legal Advice For Startups With LUNA’s Ronen Heine/

#781 – Legal Advice For Startups With LUNA’s Ronen Heine/

  • July 5, 2020

Ronen Heine – Founder & CEO of LUNA

Ronen is the founder and CEO of LUNA, a one-stop shop for legal, accounting and strategy services for startups and entrepreneurs.

After four years working as a corporate lawyer, Ronen discovered that entrepreneurs and startups struggled to get their legal and financial affairs in order whilst trying to make their dream a reality.

Ronen now leads a team that helps over 500 startups launch, scale, pitch for investment, and much more.

On today’s episode of The Daily Talk Show, we discuss:

– Reinventing the legal space
– Open source contracts and legal documents
– Lawyers in Australia and the US
– Intellectual Property protection
– Release forms and podcasting
– Understanding a legal document
– Copyright in contracts
– Content creation and responsibility
– Applying advice to your own situation
– Trademarking
– Setting up brands under a company
– How Luna has changed
– Internships, work experience and contractors
– Different ways of paying employees
– Owner and sweat equity
– Gronksquad copyright

LUNA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luna_startups

LUNA’s website: https://www.weareluna.co/

Email us: hi@bigmediacompany.com.au

Send us mail: PO BOX 400, Abbotsford VIC 3067

The Daily Talk Show is an Australian talk show and daily podcast by Tommy Jackett and Josh Janssen. Tommy and Josh chat about life, creativity, business, and relationships — big questions and banter. Regularly visited by guests and gronks! If you watch the show or listen to the podcast, you’re part of the Gronk Squad.

This podcast is produced by BIG MEDIA COMPANY. Find out more at https://bigmediacompany.com/

Show episode transcript

Become an official Gronk Squad member.

The Daily Talk Show audience (AKA The Gronk Squad) are an interesting bunch. What we all have in common is that we’re curious, imperfect — but seek self-improvement. We’re open to new ideas, we can have a laugh at ourselves and love pushing against the status quo. We know we’re Gronks and we embrace it.

Learn How To Make a Podcast through our resources at Making Podcasts

We’re an Australian Podcast produced by
Branded Content Production Company, BIG MEDIA COMPANY.

Audio-Technica is one of the world’s leading providers in the audio industry and is the official audio partner of The Daily Talk Show.


text:
Welcome to The Dwell Shop!

The Dwell Shop is the online store for all of Maddie Rey’s merchandise and product along with her line “Dwell”. The "Dwell" line is based off of Maddie Rey’s message from Psalms 27:4 - “One thing I desire this only do I seek is to Dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life…”. Maddie uses the message “Dwell” to encourage young people to stay in the church and use their gifts and talents to glorify God. Maddie Rey says, “the greatest testimony is when a young person can say i’ve grown up in the church, I’ve been raised in the church, and I’m not leaving the church. I’m staying in the house of the Lord to use my gifts to honor him and serve him all the days of my life”.

Maddie wants to spread that message to more young people and what greater way to share it than through what we wear! Maddie is gathering young people to become “dwellers”, where they commit to serve God in his house all the days of their life. Maddie has a heart for this generation and feels God has called her to be a voice to them. Be encouraged through her message and through her music ministry.

Share this post


text:
The embodiment Conference

14th - 25th October 2020, Online

We've emailed you a ticket. Check your inbox in a couple of minutes.
Thank you for Registering, here are your FREE rewards
Don't forget to check in a few weeks before the conference

£50 off coupon to use on anything in the Embodied Facilitator Shop

Mark Walsh
Embodiment - Moving beyond mindfulness
Download E-Book
Spirituality & Health
The Mindfulness Tollbox - Practice, Tips and Inspiration
Download E-Book
Brooke McNamara, Rachel Blackman and Dave Rock
Community Call Creative Courage
Enjoy this recording of our TEC Community call diving deep into Creative Courage, discovering our gifts and just generally generating a little bit of magic. It gives you a bit of an idea of what you can learn in the channel Dance and Creativity within the conference.
Watch Webinar
Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Don hanlon Johnson
Interview with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Don Hanlon Johnson - Part 1
This is the first part of the Interview with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Don Hanlon Johnson, recorded for the Embodiment Conference. The second part will be aired during the conference in October 2020
Watch Video
Tom Myers
Anatomy Trains
Tom Myer is a legend in his field with over 40 years working with myofascia. He also founded anatomy trains, which this session is an introduction to.
Watch Session
Betsy Polatin
Trauma and quick Embodiment wins
In this very colourful interview from TEC2018, Betsy takes you into the joy of working with the body in a broad field, especially with actors, musicians and dancers.
Watch Session
Christopher Wallis
Embodiment in Tantrik Yoga
Christopher Wallis, also known as Hareesh, is a real scholar-practitioner with thirty years of experience, having been initiated into the practice of yogic meditation at sixteen

Watch Session
Dance Business Weekly
Subscribe for free today!


text:
Today marks the beginning of Invisible Illness Week. To help raise awareness of this excellent cause I have completed their #30things meme with reference to my endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Endo 1 in 10

Image credit: Monash University

1. The illnesses I live with are… endometriosis and adenomyosis. These illnesses can cause chronic pain and fatigue, as well as a wide range of other nasty symptoms such as gastrointestinal upsets, painful urination, headaches, and infertility. You can read more about my chronic illness journey on the Endometriosis UK website here.

2. I was diagnosed with these in… August 2014.

3.  But I had symptoms since… I started my periods in 1998. That’s 14 years seeking a diagnosis. It was really difficult to cope, particularly in the five years leading up to my diagnosis as I started to feel ill on a daily basis.

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is… planning, planning and more planning before I do any social or work activity. I used to be able to ‘live in the moment’. Now each event or goal must be planned and executed with military precision to ensure that pain and fatigue don’t get in the way.

5. Most people assume… I’m in pain all the time. In reality, while pain is a big and unwelcome part of my life I find that my chronic fatigue, stomach upsets, and the anxiety/depression caused by my illnesses much more difficult to cope with and work around. Thanks to the oral contraceptive pill I currently have many pain free days each week.

6. The hardest part about mornings is… dragging myself of bed when I have awful, debilitating fatigue. It is really demoralising knowing that I have to face an entire day feeling unwell and exhausted. Most people don’t realise the bravery of this simple act of getting out of bed each morning when you have a chronic invisible illness.

7. My favourite medical TV show is… Scrubs (does that count?!). I love how effectively it captures how vulnerable patients feel, and the different ways they try to cope. I also think it’s a great reminder that doctors are only real people with hopes, dreams, fears, and flaws too. We can forget that sometimes.

8.  A gadget I couldn’t live without is… my laptop computer. It has enabled me to blog about my invisible illness experiences which has been a lifesaver, and to connect with other chronically ill people- both in my community and on Twitter from all over the world. I don’t know how I would have managed without this.

9. The hardest part about nights is… trying to fall asleep. Painsomnia is a very real thing. I meet 3am way more often than I would like too. A lack of sleep also makes dealing with day to day life even more challenging.

10. Each day I take two pills and vitamins… my oral contraceptive pill and a vitamin D tablet. On a bad day this might rise to 10 pills if I need to take pain medication.

11. Regarding alternative treatments I… have tried acupuncture to help manage my pain, but I have really mixed feeling about it. However, I do strala yoga and circuit training which I love. It helps to clear my mind and strengthen my body. I believe that a strong body is better able to cope with pain and illness.

12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or a visible one I would choose… an invisible one. As hard as it is to live with at least I can just pretend to be my old self sometimes. I can also reveal my illness to people at my own choosing and pace.

13. Regarding working and my career… it’s all gone a bit titanic. I work as an academic researcher and having severe fatigue, brain fog, chronic pain, and cognitive difficulties has been a huge problem. I am thinking of changing track in my career to better suit my new health priorities and physical capabilities, but I haven’t worked out what I’d like to do yet.

14. People would be surprised to know… I have cried about my illnesses every day since being diagnosed. They have broken my heart. At the moment I am seeing a therapist to try and help with this, but I know the sadness will never completely go away.

15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been… the fact my my illnesses have no cure and are here to stay. I somehow have to find a way to live with these illnesses for the rest of my life and can never go back to my life the way it was before I got sick. Nobody trains or prepares you for this stuff. It’s a super scary minefield, but I am determined to rise to the challenge and live my life the best I can.

chronic illness forever

16. Something that I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was… put myself first by taking four months off work to have and recover from excision surgery. I knew I needed this operation for so long, but kept putting it off as I was worried about the impact this would have on my family and career. However, one month into my recovery I haven’t regretted the decision for a second and am doing as much as I can to ‘heal’ myself physically and mentally so that, hopefully someday soon, I can get my life back on track.

17. The commercials about my illness… are non-existent. I wish they weren’t as there is very low awareness among the general public about endometriosis and adenomyosis, despite up to 1 in 10 women being affected.

18. Something I really miss doing since being diagnosed is… going on epic adventures- climbing mountains, sky diving, traveling to remote places. I wouldn’t do such risky things now, knowing what I do about the state and unpredictability of my health. I can’t be too far from good healthcare, pain medicationss, and bathrooms at any given time.

19. It was really hard to have to give up… gluten, caffeine, alcohol, and red meat (for the anti inflammatory endo diet) so I stopped trying to. I figure I have enough to deal with without having to live a life of complete culinary deprivation. However, I have drastically reduced my consumption of these foods overall and am more mindful about what I am putting into my body. You can read about my endo-diet experiences here.

20.  A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is… blogging and tweeting. Give me a cheeky follow and say hello. I’d love to hear your invisible illness story too.

21.  If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would… bask in every glorious second, and laugh as much as I could while totally meaning it and not faking the smile.

22. My illness has taught me… that the old adage that ‘you are nothing without your health’ is totally true and tragically under appreciated. Health enables every aspect of your life- fun, friendships, family, work, etc. Unfortunately, health is had to truly appreciate until it is taken away from you.

23. Want to know a secret? One thing that people say that really gets under my skin is… ”just think positive”. If people had any understanding of or empathy about endometriosis and/or adenomyosis they simply would not say this. While trying to stay positive is important for survival and emotional well-being, it is incredibly difficult to when facing a daily battle with chronic pain, fatigue, and infertility. Since these invisible illnesses are incurable, sufferers face years of painful and ineffective treatments which come with a free side of complications and side effects. There is also the threat of my illnesses getting worse and having to face the consequences of this. Faced with these things, it is very difficult to ‘stay positive.’

24. But I love it when people… are interested enough to ask questions about my health difficulties and how they impact on my life. For me, this is the main way that people can show me that they care and want to help me (and our friendship) to move forward positively.

25. My favourite quote that gets me through tough times is… this picture (I know that isn’t a quote, but a picture paints a thousand words right?!). It helps to calm my panic and steady my focus when my hopes for ‘recovery’ (whatever that means with a chronic illness) go slightly off plan.

26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them… to reach out to other people with chronic illnesses in their own community (and the ‘#spoonies’ online). Tough times lie ahead so having some support from people who really understand will make a huge difference to your happiness and ability to cope. Also, people further down their chronic illness journey are an invaluable source of information and advice to help ensure you get the best care possible from your healthcare providers.

27. Something that has surprised me about living with an invisible illness is… how it has made me reassess every aspect of my life and cut out all of the crap.  I think over time this will improve both my overall quality of life as well as my health

28. The nicest thing that somebody did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was… approach me and say ”I can see you aren’t OK. What can I do to help?”

29. I’m involved in Invisible Illness Week because… this cause has been overlooked for too long. Any little thing I can do to raise awareness through sharing my experiences I try to do.

30. The fact that you read this just makes me feel…a little bit better understood 🙂 Thanks for reading.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on living with an invisible illness. I’m particularly interested to know what’s the biggest life lesson you have learned since becoming ill. Bloggers, why don’t you complete this quiz too to help raise awareness of your condition. Take care of yourselves!

17 thoughts on “30 things about my invisible illness(es): Endometriosis and Adenomyosis.

  1. Very interesting reading as part of invisible illness week; I am a little under a year diagnosed and am still getting used to it all. I didn’t realise pain could become an almost daily occurrence. I’ve kept pretty quiet about my illness with colleagues, friends etc, in fact I’ve only mentioned the E-word to a few and even then I’ve spared the details. I am considering writing a small blog about this on my personal art blog. We’ll see.

    • Hi,
      Thanks for reading and for your comment. I too have found the first year post-diagnosis very difficult, it’s a lot to come to terms with. I really recommend joining a local support group if there is one in your area! Sounds like you are taking it at your own pace though and doing what is right for you. I definitely think you should do the blog post- it might help. Let me know if you do, I’d love to read it. Take care and keep in touch.

  2. So glad I came across your blog. I am seeing my obgyn Jan 5th to discuss doing the laproscopy to finally diagnose endometriosis. I am grateful to be reading your blog posts, they are very informational and helpful.

  3. Hello…I haven’t been diagnosed with adenomyosis, but it is a possibility. I’m scheduled to have a lap assisted tvh Jan. 30th. For the past few years, maybe 3-5 years, I’ve put things off. My GP just kept adding more antidepressants, which makes me feel even more crazy!!! So anyway the past I’ll say 4 yrs my period started becoming way more painful. It seemed every 3 to 4 months I would have a “Bad One.” Over the past year every period has become bad. The 28 day cycle has become whatever it wants! The pain is like having contractions or like I just had a DNC. I also refer to it as someone taking a dull knife and carving my uterus and cervix. I don’t have a lot of bleeding, but when I do its clots. Color ranges from grey, red, to brown. I’ve had multiple gyno issues since the age of 8. I’m excited about the surgery as I’m hoping that it helps me. For the past few months I’ve been really struggling with fatigue…I don’t mean just tired either. I mean I sleep all the time. My moods go from mad to sad almost at the same time. I feel like a failure as I can’t even keep up with housework. Will I truly feel better? Will I be more alive? Thanks.

    • Hi Christina,
      Thanks for getting in touch. I’m really sorry to hear what you’ve been going through! I can relate to much of it and know how miserable it feels 😦
      I really hope your surgery brings you relief. Maybe focus on having it and recovering from it for now and try not to beat yourself up about things too much. Keep me posted on how it all goes, and keep looking after yourself.
      Best wishes,

  4. Everything u stated and labeled is everything I have preached and cried about….and still cry about…each and every day i feel alone in regards to my dual diagnosis of endo and adeno…18 diagnosed w endo and 36 w adeno….i would say its a lonely road, but its a battered road w all who have an opionion that im full oc shit, or i need to suck it up…Sad! but true

    • Hi Elizabeth,
      Thanks for getting in touch. So sorry to hear you can relate to my experiences. It’s really tough.
      Take care and look after yourself, and do keep in touch.

  5. This I the first time I’ve commented on any site since I’ve been searching. I was diagnosed with adenomyosis last month and I’m 33, 2 kids, and getting g a hysterectomy on de 28th. The pain I e been in constantly for the past 3 years has been unbelievable. I’ve absolutely refused to tell anyone, I mean what good does that do,right ! Like you said it’s an invisible illness, and honestly no one who hasn’t suffered from it can begin to take you serious, I told my husband it’s so b hard to feel like I do and look whole. I feel like **** most days and although I’ve done a great job of hiding it, the irritation of my condition gets out more than I’d like, I’ve taken it out on my husband most of all, I know I’ve been hard to live with, I don’t like me some days lol, so here is too parting with my uterus, I’m still having feelings about that but relief is welcomed, thank you for stories!

    • Hi Brittney.
      Thank you for getting in touch. Really sorry to hear what you’ve been going though. Adenomyosis really is awful and a pain to live with. Wishing you the best for your surgery and recovery. Keep me posted on how’re you’re doing- I’d be interested to know.
      Best wishes,

  6. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am so sorry you have to go through this everyday. I have also been living with these symptoms for 28 years. It became really pronounced after I had my son. I was 22 and had to drag myself out of the bed every morning. The pain, the fatigue, the brain fog – all these debilitating conditions I have learned to live with successfully over these years and that too without any meds. The main reason was I never got diagnosed until recently and I was told it was all in my head. So I just thought I would live an organized life with good physical, mental and spiritual hygiene, taking it slow etc. Until last two months, bleeding has gotten out of hand and I had to see a doc and she finally diagnosed me. It is a huge relief to know what it is. But also sad. I wil continue my regimen and hope that things don’t deteriorate. It is nice to talk to someone who can understand. Finally I know why I can’t figure out if I have a fever or not based on how my body feels because it hurts all the time. Thank u once again to u n all those who are spreading awareness about this..

  7. I wanted to thank you for posting this. I can relate to almost everything you have mentioned but I think the most heartbreaking for me is the constant exhaustion and the impact it has had on me especially at work. It’s just that feeling that you will never be the same, that, I can’t accept just yet. And this involves every area of life. At the same time, because this has happened, I have become more assertive in what I want and need in my life. It’s precisely because you don’t know when you will be feeling bad that this makes you act!I guess this has been the most positive consequence for me!So never give up on yourself, at the end of the day, you are your best supporter:)

  8. I have the same diagnosis and Pcos. I will be 35 this year and have been going through this since I was 12/13. I had not been diagnosed until about 3 years ago. I haven’t had the surgery yet because I am scared after being informed of the risks. I was also told it might not relieve all my pain. What has your experience been?

Leave a Reply to Monica B. Cancel reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
The First Year

We are now a 3….

My first day of mum life was not exactly as I expected. I was bed ridden after my emergecy section so daddy day care started on day one. Nappy changing, lifting up and down, cuddling, feeding (I had to bottle feed as 1, my milk never came in and 2, I was too I’ll).

I felt in absolute awe of my amazing man and how he just took everything in his stride. Not only did I think that I could never love another human as much as our little baby girl, I also absolutely fell utterly head over heels for her dad. I mean I loved him an unimaginable amount before but righting that day I just fell all over again.

Frustration soon kicked in. I’d barely held my little girl all day due to an array of canulas and that fact that I was super weak. I felt like I was failing her as a mum. I know I wasn’t well and absolutely nobody would judge me at the time but I felt useless and helpless. Nothing got my out of this self criticism quicker than my other half having to go home. Now it was just me and my baby girl.

I sucked up how weak I felt and took care of my little girl. I got moved out of HDU and into a normal ward so no more one to one midwife. I just had to get on with it. That night was prpproba the hardest night of my life,I’m sure I never slept a wink and by the morning I was begging my other half to get back as soon as he could, but I did it. By the time he got in to see us I was out of bed and so happy. Right at that moment we became a family of 3.

The exhausted mummy and her eye bags ❤

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


text:
The First Year

Get me home…..

The first hurdle was getting little P in the car seat. We had both extensively researched how it fitted in the car and it’s safety ratings etc but neither of us had consider how we got her in it. So we casually stood in the ward and googled it til we worked out how to do it 🙈.

Secondly, I actually had no idea where about in the hospital I was. I had been magically wheeled about for two days while quite frankly not entirely on this planet so I had absolutely no concept of where I was in relation to exits or anything.

Thirdly, I’d never tried to walk any further than about 2 to 3 metres in the last 4 days. I didn’t even know if I had the stength to make it to the ward exit never mind the car.

Lastly, how on earth do you get in the car. So from struggling in late pregnancy I had some ways and means of getting in and out of the car. However, with now no abdominal strength,let alone physical strength (thanks to an iron count was in my boots) or mental capacity to work how to do it, getting in the car was definitely the most difficult challenge yet. I thought quite merrily that I would ride in the back like you see in films with the mom looking all happy and glowy at there beautiful sleeping baby. I could not get in the back of the car, it was far to squished up and painful. Trying to get in the front wasn’t much better but I had to get home so I somehow contorted myself in. Luckily our journey wasn’t very long.

I literally didn’t think this whole post would be about getting out the hospital but I suppose that sums life up now. Things that would have taken no time and seemed insignificant before are now more difficult. Baby literally changes everything.

From the exhausted mummy and her eye bags

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira

Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira rum review by the fat rum pirateMaria Joao Cachaca Brasileira Amburana. This cachaca producer hails from Santa Rosa in Rio Grande du Sol state.

Maria Joao cachaca is named rather simply after the owner Joao and his wife Maria. The brand was introduced in order to make the family farm ran by João Adalberto dos Santos, more profitable and less reliant on the local markets.

Joao looked at various different ventures but eventially decided he would produce an 100% natural artisanal cachaca on a Copper Alembic Pot Stills. Feasability studies on the property began in 2011. The first harvest of sugar cane for the cachaca took place in 2013 following two years of intensive training on how to distill and produce a quality cachaca.

Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira is one of the three cachacas currently in the Maria Joao portfolio. As well as a white cachaca they also have a Ouro cachaca, which like this expression is aged in native Amburana wood often called Brasilian Oak. It also goes by a great variety of other names in its native Brasil. Cachaca producers have largely stuck on Amburana as the spelling.

Maria Joao is a family run business with 6 members of the Adalberto dos Santos family working for the brand – Joao and his wife Maria along with their daughters Vanessa and Fernanda with their husbands Rodrigo and Vinícius respectively.

Information (which is sadly cannot date) notes that Maria Joao is produced from just 2 hectares of sugar cane with around 100 litres of cachaca produced per day. Sales are mostly to the south and south east of Brasil.

Maria Joao Cachaca Brasileira Premium is distilled in small batches on a Copper Alembic Pot Still, it is then rested for 1 year in stainless steel vats. The cachaca is then aged for 2 years in Amburana casks. It is bottled in a stubby 700ml sized bottle at 40% ABV.

Presentation is modern particularly the stubby bottle and the card sleeve for the cachaca. It’s clean and nicely done without any of the usual “flair” associated with some cachaca. It’s far from being gaudy or over the top. Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira retails at R$147 (£23), which is fairly pricy. It would cost a fair bit more than £23 were it to come to the UK and Europe. The Real McCoy Aged 10 Years Limited Edition Rum review by the fat rum pirate

Maria Joao have a website but it doesn’t show this particular cachaca. A little bit more infromation on the production of their cachaca would be welcome but it’s not a badly presented site at all. Likewise with their Facebook page – it all looks very modern and professional. They also have a few different videos on Youtube. Sadly, all in Portuguese so no use to ignoramuses like me. That said the area this cachaca is situated in looks very nice!

In the glass the Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira is a golden/dark brown colour. The nose is pretty strong for a spirit at just 40% ABV. Quite heavy. The Amburana influence is immediately apparent. There is a soapy/pine aroma coming from very prominently from the glass. It smells a little like disinfectant.

This I admit probably doesn’t sound to inviting but it is balanced by a creamy, milky note along with some nicely intergrated ginger and some less sharp herbal notes – pine cone and a touch of Pot Pourri. A slightly perfumed note that ensures this has balance to it’s heavier elements.

This is heavier and more intense than a lot of cachaca at this age.

Sipped Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira is much fruitier than I expected. Quite a lof of citrus zest on the initial couple of sips. Especially on the initial entry. The mid palate quicky evolves into more of the notes I got when nosing. Ginger comes through pretty quickly, along with the pine and a touch of carbolic soap. Again this might not sound to pleasant but once you acquire the taste for Amburana aged cachaca, it becomes something you enjoy about them.Maria Joao Premium Cachaca Brasileira rum review by the fat rum pirate

Despite the quite “fiery” and intense nature of the nose the cachaca makes a lighter sipper than I expected. The finish is nicely done and beautifully balanced with vanilla and ginger balancing the notes of citrus, soap and pine cones. It is pretty long and the burn is just right.

As a sipping cachaca this is really pretty good. As long as you like Amburana aged cachaca. Price wise it’s certainly pretty expensive if you look at it solely on its age.

I enjoyed this and didn’t mix any of my sample.

This post may contain affiliate links. As a result I may receive commission based on sales generated from links on this page. Review scores are not affected by or influenced by this.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © 2020 All Rights Reserved.  Premium WordPress Plugins


text:
Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt, a wheelchair user, commissioned the Indiana State Fair’s historic Coliseum. In 2014, The Fehribach Group provided essential consultation on the renovation of the multipurpose facility, making the iconic WPA project fully accessible for the first time in 75 years. Guests with disabilities can now enjoy excellent sightlines for everything from basketball to rodeo. This project demonstrated how historical buildings can be made fully accessible.


text:
Runway on the Rapids, Year 2

Friday night I was able to attend Runway on the Rapids which “benefit[s] the Multiple Sclerosis Program at Mercy Health Hauenstein Neurosciences.” This was my second year going, and I had a wonderful going again! Check out my look from last year, here. I was able to see some very stylish pieces for the season, and get ideas, all supporting a cause!

For my look, I began with a simple black jumpsuit I bought from Old Navy a few years ago! Black items can be dressed casually, or classy. Similar black jumpsuits can be found here, and here.

To make my simple jumpsuit a little more “extra,” I wore a faux fur coat I purchased from JustFab on Black Friday, last year. I do have to say this coat is extremely warm. I wore this on a cold, 30 degree day in the winter and I was actually warm. Similar coats can be found from Amazon here, and here.

Since my clothing pieces were monotone, I wanted to add a color to it, and I chose a fuchsia velour pair of blocked heels from

I wore a pair of large Nickel & Suede earrings in merlot to match parts of my shoes.

To match my earrings, I wore L’Oreal Paris pro-matte lip gloss in forbidden kiss.


text:
The Financial Express

Experts push for strict safeguard measures

'Masks alone can give 70 per cent protection'

| Updated: September 28, 2020 13:49:56

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malik speaking at a programme organised by Bangladesh Society of Medicine at a city hotel on Sunday — PID Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malik speaking at a programme organised by Bangladesh Society of Medicine at a city hotel on Sunday — PID

Health experts advised the people again on Sunday to strictly follow the safeguard measures such as wearing of masks, frequent washing of hands and social distancing to protect themselves from novel coronavirus infection.

They found the situation with the development of vaccines and their effectiveness against the virus uncertain and suggested all to adhere to health safety measures.

The experts felt that the country's health sector and health workforce are efficient enough to deal with the 'second wave' of the Covid-19 infection if all the necessary equipment are available.

There could be increased incidence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) during the winter as the virus acts differently in different temperature, they said.

Experts were speaking at a national seminar on 'Pandemic of the Century: Reality and us', organised by Bangladesh Society of Medicine (BSM) at a city hotel.

Health minister Zahid Maleque was present as the chief guest at the seminar, where BSM secretary general Professor Ahmedul Kabir deliverred the keynote presentation. Prof Kabir said masks can ensure 75 per cent protection against the virus.

He said there are 200 vaccine projects currently are in progress across the world, of which 20 were in advanced stage. As many as 10 of them are now undergoing human trial, but the chances of success are only 10 to 20 per cent, he added. "We do not know which one is going to work."

He suggested several steps to fight the pandemic instead of depending on vaccine only. These are widespread community masking, physical distancing, continuing rapid identification of cases, isolating cases, tracing of contacts and, quarantining and providing proper treatment at proper time.

Chairman of the National Technical Advisory Committee Professor Dr Md Shahidulla said that the vaccine would come, but it is not sure when it would be ready.

Besides, there is a risks. There are uncertainties over the effectiveness, safety of the vaccines. The issues relating the cost of vaccines and the duration of protection are also important, he said.

"I want to lay emphasis that hand washing , wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing can protect us from virus. The health measures are the mainstay at this moment. There should be month-long campaign to disseminate the messages," he said.

Bangladesh Medical Association secretary general Dr Ehteshamul Haque Chowdhury suggested taking ledssons from the previous pandemics like Dengue.

The Health DG should take initiatives for several surveillance project to present the actual scenario of the pandemic. There should be research-based information and proper safety of the health workforce who are engaged in fighting Covid-19, he added.

SWACHIP secretary general MA Aziz said that the physicians are now well equipped along with equipped hospitals that can give proper treatment to the patients.

SWACHIP president Professor Dr Iqbal Arslan said that Bangladesh is on the right track in its fight against the pandemic. Research showed that the virus behaves differently in different temperature.

Director general of health services Professor ABM Khurshid Alam said that there is no scope to undermine the achievement of Bangladesh compared to the neighbouring and other developed countries, considering the population density and health workforce.

He said a section of people are not at all conscious about the pandemic. Everyone should collectively work on the health measures to fight the pandemic, he added.

Health services division secretary Abdul Mannan said that social distancing is impossible in Bangladesh, but it needs to be termed as physical distancing. The Western countries also could not ensure social distancing.

"The situation in the villages (in Bangladesh) is very good. There should be no reason to be worried," he said.

Minister Zahid Maleque said the Covid-19 treatment protocol has been updated eight times making it a world class one.

The death rate due to Covid-19 is low, only 1.4 per cent, in Bangladesh due to the treatment protocol. But in the UK, the death rate is 9.0 per cent with 42,000 people succumbing to the virus, in the USA and in India the virus has claimed lives of 0.2 million and 94,000 people respectively.

sepnil-desktop-ad-the-financial-express sepnil-mobile-ad-the-financial-express

Share if you like


text:
It’s no secret that we throw away tons of perfectly good food every day.

And while many restaurants want to find a good home for their leftovers, it can be a logistical nightmare trying to get food donated in a timely and hygienic manner.

But New York startup Transfernation thinks they have a solution: cargo bikes.

The company removes a lot of the difficulty of finding a vehicle that can be expensive and wasteful if the car is sitting in New York traffic for hours.

Instead, the company sends cargo bikes around to pick up the food and move it considerably quicker. It’s likely you have seen a similar concept roaring around the streets of your city delivering everything from fresh meals to Amazon packages, but this new spin on how to make sure rescue food makes it to a worthy home is a new innovation and one we’re excited to see.

There’s no doubt that with meal delivery services continuing to get popular, the ability to move food quicker (and greener!) is going to be seen as a welcome solution.


text:
Should I Wait to Rush

I want to join a Fraternity, but none of my friends do.  There are rush events going on all the time, but I would have to go to them by myself.  I also am somewhat shy, once I know people I’m fine, but I am bad at meeting new people. Especially when they all know each other, and I am there alone not knowing anyone.  Should I rush now, or wait until I find someone else who also would want to rush with me?

Rush Now!

I’ll be the first to admit, I completely understand, and have no idea what you are going through.

By completely understand – I was a military brat growing up. I went to 10 different schools in 12 years. I was always the new kid forced to make friends. I know exactly how you feel about being alone.

However, because I have had that life experience, I no longer fear what you describe. That is why I have no idea what you are going through. I could make friends with a rock.

Putting yourself out there is part of life. You can choose to wait and let life pass you by, or you can stick your neck out and try new things.

And I’ll tell you something, the fear of trying something new is ALWAYS the worst part. After that awkward couple minutes you will be over it, and you will be experiencing life.

Don’t be the guy who is afraid to experience life. Don’t wait on your friends – especially considering the friends you have now probably won’t be as important to you over the course of your college career.

Also – don’t forget what rush is. It is fraternities trying to recruit you for membership. They want to take the awkwardness out of it. They want you to be comfortable. They want you to have the time of your life. It will be a hell of a lot of fun. It would be a crap recruitment if you didn’t…

The first step though is reading my book – How to Join a Fraternity. It will teach you everything you need to know to make sure you make a sound choice. It will explain how to reach out to the fraternities that appeal to you and what will happen during rush. It is a quick read, and available on Amazon and Kindle. I wrote it exactly for people like you.

So buck up young man. There is a big world out there that is a hell of a lot of fun if you are willing to venture out of your comfort zone. Rush now – you will be happy you did.

This question was submitted by one of our readers. If you have a question you want me to answer go here to submit it: Fraternity Advice.
To learn more, check out our most in-depth article on fraternity recruitment: The Complete Guide to Fraternity Recruitment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
Dungeons and Daddies: 8 Reasons You Should Be Listening (And One Reason You Shouldn’t)

dungeons and daddies

Dungeons and Daddies is not a BDSM podcast, usually a Dungeons & Dragons podcast, where four dads from Earth get lost in a fantasy world and have to battle monsters and misfortune to find their missing sons. It’s got laughs, it’s got tears – and you should absolutely be listening to it.

Dungeons and Daddies is an improvised Dungeons & Dragons podcast that’s been going since January 2019 and at the time of writing, we’re 43 episodes in. Fans of fantasy blended with comedy will have an absolute ball listening to it; if you enjoy The Adventure Zone, Mission to Zyxx, Hello From the Magic Tavern, or Not Another D&D Podcast, this baby is right up your street. Here are 8 reasons you should definitely binge it – followed by one reason you really, really shouldn’t.

1. It Doesn’t Matter How Much You Know About Dungeons & Dragons

The podcast doesn’t require any knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons to enjoy it. Never played before in your life? No problem. You can dive right in and pick it up as the story goes along. Played a couple of times before, and want to familiarize yourself with how it all works a bit more by listening to a podcast? Perfect, you got it. Experienced D&D player? … OK, to level with you, you will be waiting a very long time for a sneak attack that may never come. It’s a fairly significant amount of time before the bard realizes he can give other characters inspiration. The way they play the game focuses on story more than rules and strict D&D mechanics – but when the story’s this good, it’s worth it.

2. The Daddies Are Magnificently Dad-ish

The party consists of a barbarian sports dad, a rock’n’roll bard dad, a granola-munching hippie nature druid dad, and an emotionally-detached stepfather (and rogue). Each of these player characters manage to be amazingly, frustratingly, intensely dad-like in their own separate ways. When I heard the concept of the podcast, I was kind of put off by the idea of listening to a show that had an all-male main character line-up – and I totally get why that might be a stumbling block for a lot of people. All I’ll say is that the show is aware of itself and asks questions about fatherhood and what it means to be a dad all the way through, sometimes poking fun and satirizing patriarchal ideas, and other times letting the characters have moments of sincere battle against toxic masculinity.

3. The Humor Will Have You Laughing to Yourself Hours After You Finished an Episode

Here is a list of places I’ve received strange looks because I couldn’t hold in my laughter at Dungeons and Daddies: literally anywhere I’ve listened to an episode of Dungeons and Daddies within earshot of another human being. I don’t want to spoil any of the jokes with a garbled retelling, so I’ll just tell you that I look back with particular fondness on the time the answer to a puzzle was the ultimate dad joke, the time Beth May sang Silent Night, and the time I first heard the concept of a Reverse Ratatouille.

4. The Podcast Sounds Great, Right from the Start

If you’re a fan of podcasts in general, you’ll know that it’s common for an otherwise awesome show to suffer from audio issues, especially when it’s still young – sometimes it’s that one person with a worse microphone than the rest, or it could be that everyone’s talking over each other so things get lost, or just that everything is a bit fuzzy and scratchy. Not so with Dungeons and Daddies! Seriously, the podcast just sounds absolutely amazing right from the start. When they use music, it’s always so well done – the remix of See You Again really stands out for me – but each episode is always produced to a ridiculously high quality.

5. The Non-Player Characters are People You Just Have to Meet

I am going to tell you something that, on its own, should be enough of a reason to listen: one of the non-player characters is called Yeet Bigly. Honestly, if that isn’t enough, nothing will be. I should’ve led with it. And yes, there’s also a kickass witch, a scammer called Scam Likely, and a tiny child who will tug on your heartstrings and cut your Achilles tendon. But, first and foremost, I repeat: Yeet Bigly.

6. There are Moments that Will Have You Legitimately Emotional

The podcast is mainly light-hearted, but this is Dungeons & Dragons, so there are moments here and there where genuine emotion sneaks in. Some of the non-player characters’ relationships with the dads get tangled and messy and interesting and bittersweet as the podcast goes on. And the relationships between the fathers and their sons have a lot of depth to them – in particular, as someone who’s struggled with my mental health, the way that one character’s depression is portrayed has really meant a lot to me. In amongst all the laughs, there’s room for some things to be said that have stuck with me, things that are truly heartfelt. The voice acting from the podcasters is just so, so good when the story calls for it. Which leads me neatly right on to…

7. The Dedication to the Show is Noticeably Awesome

Only some of us in this world know what it’s like to really commit to a project, to throw yourself completely into a creative endeavor and see it thrive on the love you’re giving it. The folks behind Dungeons and Daddies must know just exactly how it feels. Anthony Burch as Dungeon Master crafts game mechanics, plot points, and character moments with obvious skill and care. Freddie Wong, Beth May, Will Campos, and Matt Arnold each have a commitment to their characters that shows in different ways. I love the podcast for a lot of reasons, but I think the first time I knew I was really and truly locked in was when the whole gang left their recording set-up to go find a stairwell so that they could drop a bag of dice down it, to properly simulate a similar event in the world of the podcast – their yells and laughter as the dice fell put the biggest smile on my face. But it’s not just that they’ll go the extra mile to accurately replicate dropping a bag: the improv, the emotional scenes, the characterization – I could go on and on, every part of this show feels like it matters to the people making it.

8. The Story Itself is Meaningful, Mysterious, and Twistier than Chekov’s Snake

Every time I think I have a handle on the show and I know what’s going to happen, it zigs and then zags on me. I finished listening to the latest episode about half an hour ago, and I’m still having to pause every couple of minutes just to stare at my ceiling and think, oh my god, what are they going to do? I did not see that coming. There are some stories where, after a key plot point is dealt with, everything starts to feel a bit vague and directionless; Dungeons and Daddies has hurdled every one of these moments beautifully, each time deepening the mystery and leaving me with more questions than before. And Anthony Burch just excels at the twists that leave me mouth agape, wishing I had a way to skip ahead two weeks to the next episode.

dungeons and daddies
The folks behind the podcast, from left to right: Will Campos, Freddie Wong, Beth May, Matt Arnold, and Anthony Burch

Each one of these reasons has been pretty much just me rhapsodizing about the podcast – I regret nothing, and stand by everything I’ve said. However, in the interests of fairness and transparency, here at the end I feel as though I should also mention something else: the reason why you really, really shouldn’t listen to Dungeons and Daddies.

1. You Will Really Want to Recommend It, and It’s Called Dungeons and Daddies

Once you’ve listened to the podcast, you will feel the urge to share your love for it with others. You’ll want to spread the word of its hilarity to your nearest and dearest. The thing is, what you’re trying to recommend is called Dungeons and Daddies, which won’t seem like much of a problem until you are saying the name out loud, with your human mouth, to another person who hasn’t heard of it yet. But you’ll power on through, because you know. You know. Once they get to the problematic vampire, or the Pyramid, or Anthony’s truly stupendous attempt at a French accent, it will all be worth it.

You can find Dungeons and Daddies here on Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. For more Geekiary podcast recommendations, you can check out our tag, or our list of podcasts and other media to help get you through 2020!

Author: Em Rowntree

I’m a non-binary writer, teacher, and cat-lover from the UK.

Read our policies before commenting.
Do not copy our content in whole to other websites. Linkbacks are encouraged.
Copyright © The Geekiary

About the author

I'm a non-binary writer, teacher, and cat-lover from the UK.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


text:
October 12, 2020 The Lychway

CHRISTENSEN, William George

William George:
Passed away peacefully at Arohanui Hospice on Thursday 8 October 2020. Aged 64 years. Dearly loved husband of the late Cherie. Much loved Dad of Willy, Debbie, Zena, Gene and the late Nyree and Dawn. Loved Poppy of Jay, Kathini, Cheyanne, Paris, Jayden, Bella, Ivy and Marlee. A service for Bill will be held at The Lychway Chapel, 5 Roy Street, Palmerston North, on Tuesday 13 October 2020 at 11.00am, followed by burial at Kelvin Grove Lawn Cemetery, James Line, Palmerston North. Messages can be sent to the Christensen family, c/- PO Box 1014, Palmerston North.


text:
Is it bad to mix alcohol and energy drink

Health related question in topics Food Drink Diet Nutrition .We found some answers as below for this question “Is it bad to mix alcohol and energy drink”,you can compare them.

Energy drinks are also used as mixers with alcohol but the combination of effects may be dangerous w/ the stimulants. [ Source: ]
More Answers to “Is it bad to mix alcohol and energy drink
What happens when you mix energy drinks with alcohol??
The stimulants counteract alcohol’s tendency to cause drowsiness, which would otherwise make you stop drinking. Some younger adults deliberately use energy drinks to bypass this natural inhibition so they can party longer. Some manufacturer…
Is Mixing Alcohol and Energy Drinks Deadly?
Few People Realize the Risks of Mixing Energy Drinks and Alcohol “Energy” drinks are all the rage. They are available everywhere, and are often target marketed to college aged students. A new study has found that when these energy…
What happens when you mix alcohol and energy drinks?
Even as last call approaches on Lower Greenville Avenue, the streets are packed, the crowds are loud and most bar patrons don’t seem ready for bed. Some rely on the groove of the music or the shake of the dance floor to keep them up for t…

Related Questions Answered on Y!Answers

why is it bad to mix energy drinks with alcohol?
Q: if i mixed say a rockstar with absolut, would it be dangerous?
A: alcohol is a Depressant and energy drinks are a Stimulant both together is straining on the heart and can give you a heart attack.
is it ok to mix alcohol and energy drinks?
Q: like if you mixed vodka and rockstar? or whisky and monster? is that bad like will it make you sick?
A: If you are going to mix alcohol with energy drinks you will definitely have to try CRUNK!!! energy drink. Check out recipes here:!!! Energy Drink embodies the lifestyle of letting loose, feeling free and expressing yourself!If you want to know how to get Crunk!!! Energy Drink, check out the Store Locator:…or Online Store…
Are energy drinks and Alcohol a bad combination?
Q: Someone told me that this combination is bad for you health long term. I know alcohol isn’t good for you but can an energy drink mixed in make it that much worse?
A: One of the reasons this combination is bad is that energy drinks like Red Bull have high concentrations of caffeine in them and caffeine is a diuretic (makes you lose water through urination and sweating). Red Bull has a much higher caffeine concentration compared to soda. Alcohol is also a diuretic, so combining two diuretics together is a bad idea. Also, energy drinks act as stimulants, so you keep your energy up and you might keep drinking beyond the point where you should have stopped.
People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
The Jordan Thomas Foundation

Helping Young Amputees Thrive Into Adulthood

Prostheses and Plan Bs: .ORG Helps Young Amputees Thrive Into Adulthood

Jordan Thomas encountered his “Plan B” during what was meant to be a relaxing day of scuba diving with his family. In a convergence of ocean waves, sharp propellers, and a strong wake, Thomas was badly injured. Multiple surgeries and the amputation of his lower legs could have dragged this straight-A student and talented golfer down, drowning in self-pity. Instead, once fitted for his top-of-the-line prostheses, he immediately made rounds in the hospital, visiting other child amputees.

“I saw the demand and I couldn’t afford to wait,” says Thomas, who founded the Jordan Thomas Foundation (JTF) nine days after his accident. He was 16. What made him think about others at such a challenging time in his own life? “My parents raised their children in an atmosphere to never forget their privileges. They didn’t just say that, they walked it. I’m purely a product of that [upbringing].”

“I knew I’d never have to financially worry about having the best quality prostheses,” Thomas explains. Once he learned they carry a price tag in the tens of thousands, and that most kids need new ones as they grow—about every 12-24 months—Thomas decided to fund life-changing prostheses for children in need. He created the Jordan Thomas Foundation (JTF) in his home state of Tennessee; but for the organization’s online home, he chose .ORG. “For me it’s all about validity. We’re fiduciaries. We’re responsible for the generous donations of thousands of people,” he says. “Being a .ORG means being an authentic, genuine organization that will use its donations wisely for maximum impact on the communities it serves.”

JTF uses its online presence to garner donations, share stories, and connect with disadvantaged children who need prostheses. A doctor or parent can apply on behalf of a child right on the organization’s site. The foundation will furnish not just one set of prostheses, but follow the child into adulthood, funding equipment updates. In addition, JTF provides advocacy, mental health and wellness programs, summer camp experiences, and physical therapy.

“I just remember seeing so many kids who didn’t have parents, didn’t have health care. I knew the future was grim for them.”

JTF also supports the interests and goals of the kids they serve. “For me, I don’t ever want my disability to define me or prohibit me from doing things I am passionate about. That applies to ‘my kids’ as well, and I do think of them that way,” Thomas says.

Meet some of Thomas’ kids: Mei Mei’s passion is swimming. Accepted as a beneficiary of the Foundation in 2016, she took gold in the Parapan American Games, and is currently training for Tokyo. As for Noah, who lost his leg as a complication of heart surgery as an infant, hip-hop dancing is what keeps him going. That, and a prosthetic foot with a split toe, so he can rock sandals in the summer months. Eight-year-old Lulu loves playing softball. While Luna, a nine-year-old, gets her kicks—and pliés—in ballet.

Golf is one of Founder Jordan Thomas’ biggest passions, so naturally the foundation holds a fundraising tournament, which has net more than $100,000 in donations in a year, enough money to help and support “a ton of kids,” says Thomas. For his work, Thomas was honored at the inaugural .ORG Awards as runner up in the Best Social Media Campaign category, has received the National Courage Award, the International Youth in Philanthropy Award, and has been named a CNN’s Top 10 Hero.

More important than any recognition he might receive, Thomas, who also serves as president of the foundation’s board of directors, says helping young amputees embrace their own Plan B is what brings him the greatest reward. He has expanded his work to support advocacy within the healthcare industry and on the congressional level focusing on the importance of funding prostheses, which he considers a basic human right. He’s working to serve more kids around the world, including those injured by land mines. What began in the southeast United States has expanded to Haiti and Russia and continues to grow globally.

“Ultimately, my goal is to put myself out of business,” Thomas says. “I don’t want there to be a need for my foundation, and I have a clear strategy to do that. We’re talking about a small population. Our goal is so attainable and specific.”

Access to affordable prostheses should be Plan A for any child’s Plan B, and Jordan Thomas is committed to providing that.  “We don’t care what flag you’re under or god you pray to. If you need a prosthesis, we’re going to hook you up,” he says.


text:
Gate motor Constantia Upper: what are the benefits of gate motor

Gate Motor Constantia Upper is attracting a lot of people. Many people are getting information about the centurion gate motor, as they want a gate motor installation. On the other hand, many people are still not convinced about the advantages of electric gate motors. Here we are discussing some key benefits which a gate motor offers.

Invest in Centurion gate motor for safety

The rate of crime is increasing all over the world, and Constantia Upper is not an exception. People are taking measures to ensure safety and security. CCTV cameras, intercom, and Burglar bars are some common ones. Centurion gate motor is essential equipment that plays a vital role in the security of your home. It minimizes the risk of getting intruders inside your home.

Gate Motor Constantia Upper

Gate motor installation brings ease in life

You can install centurion D5 Evo, ET gate motor, Centurion D5 gate motor, DTS gate motor, D5 Evo, Centurion D10, Centurion D3 gate motor, Centurion A10, or centurion D2 turbo. Other than that, a wide range of options is available. No matter what is the motor of your choice, it brings ease in your life.

There is no need to come to the gate every time you need to open it. You can use the remote inside your car or inside your home to operate the gate. Researches show that most people are attached by the criminals when they leave their cars to open or close the gate of their home. A Gemini gate motor enables you to close and open the gate without getting out of the car.

Make sure the professionals do gate motor installation if you want to work it properly.

Get the gate motor for sale in every budget

Electric gate motors are available in every budget. Centurion gate motor prices are mentioned on their website, and you can ask your local vendors. Centsays offer all kinds of gate motors, so you can easily choose one from their collection.

Prices are different for different motors like swing gate motor, sliding gate motor, dance gate motor, and wing arm gate motor. The gate motor price varies with the type of gate as well. The driveway gate motor will cost you less as compared to the main gate door motor. Hansa gate motor is another good option; you can get nice Hansa gate motor at an economical price. Et 500 gate motor or Et 600 gate motor prices are affordable.

Gate Motor Constantia Upper

If you feel that gate motor for sale is expansive for your budget, you can go for gate motor repairs. Buya used motor in good condition and get it repaired. It is a good alternative if electric gate motor prices are not within your budget.

These are the few advantages of gate motors. You can experience many more if you get them installed. If security is a severe issue in your area, you can take some other measures like electric fencing, CCTV camera installation, security gate, intercom, boom gates, and Burglar bars. It will give you more access control.

These jobs appear simple but get them done by the professionals. TV mounting, Wi-Fi installations, garage door repair, garage door motor, and gate automation ask for skilled and professional companies who know their job.


text:
Now Reading
Body-Related Feminist Art – Interview with Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo

Body-Related Feminist Art – Interview with Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo The Collector Series

I first saw Klára Petra Szabó’s works at her exhibition with Austrian artist Florian Lang in June this year. I was very intrigued by the strong feminist messages of her watercolour works and installations. Many contemporary artworks need explanation so that we can understand what they stand for. But even without knowing about their background, Klara’s works were so captivating.

I started following Klára on Instagram over the following weeks. Online she allows her followers a sneak peek behind the scenes and I decided to just sent her a message and ask if she was interested in giving me an interview for The Pink Lookbook. The result was a very interesting talk about her path as an artist, feminist messages and how the Hungarian artist juggles being cosmopolitan and being close to her roots.

Klára Petra Szabó was born in 1981 and grew up in Hódmezővásárhely, a Hungarian town close to the Romanian-Serbian border. In the German speaking countries, the long name of this town is often related to the novel and 1950s movie “I often think of Piroska” which depicts a romantic view of the Hungarian Puszta. What a lot of people do not know is the rich cultural heritage of Hódmezővásárhely.

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo All Lies
All Lies

After Catholic school, she went to art high school and later on studied design at art university. Klára always wanted to be a painter. In contrast to many others, her parents were totally supportive of her career choice. Klára assumes that their support may also relate to the fact that she only has one kidney, which affect her every day’s life. “I think they just wanted me to be happy.”

Klára has always been exposed to art. Her hometown has a long history of art – it used to be an art centre 100 years ago and there still are annual art exhibitions. At the age of four, Klára won a drawing competition – her talent and passion for art were already very obvious.

Body-Related Art

Klára herself describes her art as body-related: “It is about how we represent ourselves and our body.” In the beginning, she focused on fashion-related topics, such as fashion as representation of time periods. When we see a picture of the 1970s, for example, we immediately know it is from the 1970s because of the clothes. Year after year, Klara’s work became what she describes as “simpler” – I understood it as an increasing focus on the body itself rather than the clothes we use to cover it up.

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo Ophelia
The artist works with various media – as seen in the work Ophelia

One really interesting project was her work with prostitutes in the Netherlands in 2011. Her conversations with the women revealed that they see the body like a work tool, therefore, distancing themselves from their own bodies. Klára was intrigued by that perspective and worked on the work “Untitled” which was comprised of big boxes. She scanned the bodies of four prostitutes and covered the body with thermo paint. Visitors can then touch the black paint and see the female body through your hands.

These conversations and the resulting work were a big milestone for Klára’s work. She started to think more and more about the body and started to work with her own body. “I think it’s just more honest if it’s myself.” Furthermore, this strategy allows her to be independent of finding the right nude models.

A Wide Range of Techniques and Media

Klára’s work spans over a wide range of techniques and media: from paintings to (animated) installations and videos.

“I am not able to express myself in a single painting. It naturally evolved that I started using multiple techniques.”

For her animations, she paints everything first, then scans it and later on manipulates the drawings to turn them into digital animations. This process is quite intense. It takes about three months from start to finish of a short animations (mostly the loops). There are more than 150 frames involved – all of them are handpainted.

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo Pieces of Me
Piece of Me

When she paints, Klára works with water colours. She mainly started working with them due to technical reasons: this technique allowed her to paint in her small dorm room. When she met with her later husband, she could just bring the watercolours and immediately start working. For most of the works, Klára does not make any pencil drafts, she mostly starts painting immediately.

Feminist Messages

I was mostly drawn to Klára’s work because of their strong feminist messages. When I visited her exhibition, the first thing I noticed was her focus on female body parts – hands, legs, the upper body etc. Her collages use a black background and I feel that they had a strong movement. “Piece of Me”, for example, shows two hands revealing a kidney and a woman’s body. At first I thought it was a depiction of Klara. “Actually that’s my twin sister.”, Klára says. “I have two of my sisters’ remnants in my body (in small embryo shape). One of them in my kidney’s place. That’s why I have one kidney.”

Similar to my experience, many women immediately connect with her works while men very often do not understand it. “They might say ‘Ah, nice boobs.’ and move on.”, Klára laughs but we both agreed that a lot still needs to be done when it comes to the understanding of feminist art by the largely male-dominated art industry.

When I asked her why she chose to deal with strong feminist messages, her answer is simple:

“I come from the Hungarian countryside, and usually the countryside is more conservative and sexist. Furthermore, the whole art industry has still a long way to go to achieve gender equality.”

It confirmed what other women in the arts have told me before: Female artists are gaining more recognition. Nevertheless, the art scene is far from being an equal space.

This year, Klára received the “Tornyai- plakett”, a reputable art award of her hometown. She was the 13th woman ever to receive it in the almost 70 years of the award. 53 winners were male.  Klára told me that she sees the difference how she is treated compared to the male artists. But this also made her reflect on what she can do differently to be seen: “It’s not enough that I’m talented. I have been criticized that in contrast to my former husband who holds a fine art degree, I ‘only’ have one in applied art.”

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo And Everything Will Shatter 2018
At Klára’s exhibition in Eisensatd this year, I was immediately drawn to “And Everything Will Shatter”.

The artist refers to a common view in the art industry that applied arts (such as design) is inferior to fine arts.

“There will always be excuses or criticism if people want to use them. But I learned that I have to get out there and socialize within the art scene. I socialize with peers and curators. And I learned how important it is to attend openings: One day I complained to my gallerist that I didn’t get many invites to art events. She looked at me and said: ‘Are you surprised? You never go there anyways and people don’t expect you to come then.’ I think women in general underestimate the power of socializing and networking. It’s good if you’re talented but there is so much more.”

Klára realized that she was so focused on her work only that she did not think consider socializing as crucial. Since then she has made an active effort and saw it pay off: she started to become an active member of the Hungarian art scene and also uses international residencies to broaden her network. She did agree with me that socialising for women can be a slippery slope: When men head out for drinks, is it appropriate for women to join? Would they be judged? Men never even have to think twice about this.

“But I do see that something is changing, very slowly, even in the countryside.”

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo Ineffable
Ineffable Strong feminist messages are a crucial part of Klára Petra Szabó’s work.

A Citizen of the World with a Strong Connection to Her Roots

Even though Klára has strong ties to her roots in Hungary, she is a citizen of the world. When I first looked at the list of all her residences and exhibitions across the globe, I was amazed with the sheer amount of countries in which she has worked. Given my passion for Asia, I was very interested to hear how Klára ended up in South Korea: “I always wanted to go to Japan and won a residency programme. In Japan I heard a lot about Korea and thought I would just try and apply to go to Korea. I think in a lot of ways, Korea and Hungary are very similar: the food and the culture, especially. I made friends there and I ended up spending more than a year in Korea. I’m fascinated how the country evolved in so many ways. On the one hand, it is such a high-tech country, on the other, traditions still play a big part in everyday life. Given the high-tech focus of the country, digital art is very advanced and also heavily influenced my work.”

Klára realized very early on the power of social media for the visibility of young artists. Furthermore, social media allows her to not only keep in touch with her friends all over the world but also facilitate a life between travels and working in Hungary. Klára uses Instagram as a tool to connect with her followers all over the world. Naturally, a big portion of her followers are based in Asia and she uses the platform to keep them up-to-date with her life. On her account she allows us to see the work in progress but also very personal stories. “I use Facebook mostly for friends, Instagram is where I’m in touch with people and what I use for my work. Otherwise I’m invisible.”

Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo Black Box
Black Box

I asked Klara if she agreed with the view of Croatian artist Igor Eskinja’s that today it is possible to work internationally while still keeping a strong focus on your region and even live in the periphery (ie. outside of the big art hubs). (You can read Igor’s interview here.) She agreed and attributes this fact mainly to the internet and social media.

“I need the slow life for my mind. I still work from my hometown where I have a big studio, my friends and family. If I need more inspiration, I just travel. International residencies give me freedom but the travel makes me tired as well. Hence, I will come back to my ‘safe castle’ to put my mind at ease.”

The artist plans further residences abroad, such as the Artist in Residence Progame at Q21/Museum Quartier in Vienna (Q21/MQ AIR).I am excited to see the further development of Klara’s art. She is definitely an artist to watch.

Body Related Feminist Art Interview Hungarian Artist Klara Petra Szabo Portrait

Klára Petra Szabó studied at the University of West-Hungary in Sopron, Hungary and the Folk Academy of Helnaes, Denmark.

See Also
Interview Andrea Strohmayer Kirschengenussquelle Breitenbrunn

In addition to exhibitions in her home country, the artist has participated in residencies and exhibitions in South Korea, Sweden, Austria, Estonia, Serbia, France and Dubai, amongst others.

She lives and works in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary.

More Women in the Arts to Watch

Imperial Heritage, Contemporary Art and Digital Technologies – A Talk with Ivana Novoselac of the Albertina Museum Vienna

A Modern Interpretation of Traditional Indian Art – Interview with Artist Neerja Tata

Curating in the Digital Age – Interview with Alexandra Schantl

Interview with Regina Rusz, Director Austrian Cultural Forum Budapest

More Art-Related Articles

Interview with Erwin Wurm and Brigitte Kowanz

The Importance of Curiosity – Interview with Croatian Artist Igor Eskinja

Spotlight on Austrian Artist Florian Lang

Street Art in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Zagreb

Jugendstil Art: Residential Jugendstil Street in Brunn am GebirgeSteinhof Jugendstil Church and Sanatorium and Klimt @ Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

Streifen Website

Pictures courtesy of Klára Petra Szabó.

All information as of the date of publishing/updating . We cannot accept responsibility for the correctness or completeness of the data, or for ensuring that it is up to date. Based on the personal experience of Elisabeth Steiger, no fees were received.

View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Scroll To Top