More Than a Drop in the Bucket

If you haven’t heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge that’s sweeping the country, you either live under a rock or don’t belong to any social media platforms. In that case, you won’t see this post either.

As I watched my Facebook wall fill up with videos from this challenge, I kept my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t be called out. Not because I didn’t think it was for a good cause, but because I’m a sissy with cold water. I can barely get in a pool if the water temperature is below 85 degrees. Just sticking my toe in the cold Atlantic gives me frostbite. Even in the summer I still take a scorching hot shower. Yep...a bit of a cold water sissy.

Anyway, Jason was the first in our house to be challenged. I feared he would call my name, but he knew I didn’t want to, so being the thoughtful (or fearful) husband that he is, he didn’t do it. Then Abby was called out by a friend. She wanted to nominate me, but I was sly and convinced her to choose her friends. But then my luck ran out. I was nominated by my friend, Jill. I completed the challenge and screamed as that icy water dripped down my back, causing instant hypothermia. After a hot shower and a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee to warm up my shivery bones, I made my donation to www.alsa.org. Simple.

Like with most everything today, some people have tried to put a negative light on this. I’ve come across a number of articles that try to put an unfavorable spin on the whole thing. Really? What’s the point? If someone truly doesn’t want to do the challenge, they are not required to do so. If they don’t complete the challenge they are supposed to donate $100. However, there are no ice bucket police going around arresting those who don’t donate. The challenge and donating are done by choice.

There really isn’t a negative to this event. For those who weren’t familiar with the neurodegenerative disease known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, there is now more awareness. Also, as of today, the ALS Association has surpassed $10 million in “ice bucket” donations. This provides funds to help fight this incurable disease that usually takes the life of a person within 2 to 5 years of being diagnosed. In addition to these important reasons, it seems people are having fun doing it. Awareness, raising money, and fun...hmmm...don’t see the issue.

If ALS isn’t what you’re interested in supporting, choose something that is meaningful to you. Run a 5K to raise money for cancer research. Join a walk to support the National Kidney Foundation. Or just make a cash donation to another foundation that is important to you or someone in your life. It’s up to you!

So while I didn’t necessarily love the icy water pouring down my body, I did like the overall premise of this challenge. It was started with good intentions and it appears to have made a positive impact for the ALS Association. Laughing along with these videos and having fun with friends and family seems like a pretty good side effect to the cause.

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say...

I haven’t written a blog entry for awhile. For one, I’ve been pretty busy. And two, not much that is blog worthy has happened or come to mind...even for a blog called “A Whole Lot of Nothing.”

However, there’s something that has bugged me for awhile and what better way to address that issue than through my blog. I mean, I must have an audience of about two who will read this and see my viewpoint. And I’ll feel better getting it off my chest.

Social media has become part of our lives. We are always connected to people or news with our computers, tablets, or phones. While this has its benefits, I have also seen how it can bring the worst out in people.

If you read my Facebook posts or have seen my other blog entries, you know I like to write with some humor (at least I try). I’m all for a good joke or sarcasm. I don’t even mind making fun of myself. Yet what I find as I read through news stories, Facebook posts, or well-intended human interest stories, is that we’re living in a cruel, judgmental world. People take this forum to “speak” and go for it. Thoughtless, hurtful comments and all.

While I recognize people have the freedom to give their thoughts, I’m not trying to mess with the first amendment, I do feel people might want to think before they hit post. Why do people feel that it is acceptable to be so unkind? Does the “anonymity” of writing the words rather than saying them directly to the person make it seem more okay? Do people think the written word hurts less than the spoken word? Do they even care?

I’m always amazed at how people can take a story and turn it into something ugly. If a news station posts a story about a deadly car accident, before the details are even released, people are blaming the driver for drinking or texting and commenting that they got what they deserved. Then other people will comment that they should wait for details before judging the situation. Then they go back and forth with hateful words at each other. Meanwhile, a family has lost a loved one, but that takes a backseat to people being thoughtless.

Other times a media outlet might share a light-hearted story that is meant to be for entertainment purposes. Yet people find it necessary to make rude comments or criticize the author. Sometimes simple stories become political issues with lots of nasty remarks. People are also very quick to remark on someone’s looks or what they’re wearing. People can be downright mean.

While I’m not naive enough to think that these behaviors are going to change, I do wish people would stop and think before they write something. There just seems to be an abundance of insensitive people out there.  If the article is not of interest, just scroll on by. Resist the urge to pass judgment on someone or something when details are not known. If it’s going to he hurtful, don’t write it. Can’t we all just get along?

Simply put, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

In my last post I shared my minor obsession with being connected by technology. Whether it’s by text, e-mail, or social media, I like communicating with people or being able to read about the news going on in the world around me. For social media I mainly use Facebook. It’s been fun connecting with people I haven’t seen since childhood or high school, but also just with people I see on a regular basis. I go on Pinterest occasionally, but it’s not something I do everyday. Twitter is also one I only view once in awhile. I actually just signed up for Twitter a few months ago so I could see what it was all about since it seemed everyone from politicians to celebrities tweeted. From time to time I’ll scroll through and do a quick read, but I haven’t found the thrill of it. I’ve never actually sent my own tweet. Yet, since so many people use Twitter, I feel like I must be missing something.

My most recent find and latest interest--Instagram. Last fall I signed on to Instagram just to see what it was. I saw you could take pictures and use a few enhancements. No big deal. I basically just ignored that app and really never thought about it again. Well, a couple months ago, the topic of Instagram came up with my friend Lisa. I think I had tried Instagram again and posted the picture on Facebook. Lisa often posts some of her Instagram pics, so she told me a bit about it, and it piqued my interest. I didn’t know there was this little Instagram world going on! It was much more than I realized.

I have actually had an interest in photography for awhile. I’m always amazed by the wonderful pictures some people take. They have just the right angle and colors. A couple of years ago, Jason bought me a “real” camera; however, I never really learned how to use it appropriately. I basically keep it on AUTO rather than use all of the options it has available. Jason suggested I read a photography book or the manual, but I really didn’t have time for that. I also got my iPhone a few years ago and found myself using that camera a lot simply because of the convenience of it. It certainly doesn’t have the same quality or the ability to zoom the same way, but it does the job most of the time.

My forgotten Instagram account was private and I assumed that’s how I’d want it, just as I do with Facebook. After Lisa shared how she uses Instagram, however, I made my account public and started viewing other people’s work and then even attempted some of my own photos. There are forums on Instagram where you can submit your photos and moderators of these sites will choose certain pictures to be featured. Some of these forums are for pictures of flowers, doors, children, or just random images, to name a few. At first I had a lot of questions about how it all worked. I was sending regular texts to Lisa asking questions. At one point I told her she could send me a bill for all of her tutorial time. Lisa has an excellent photo gallery (@lisaeinme) and is also the co-founder of Wicked Good Shots, which is a forum devoted to photos taken of New England.

Once I posted my first couple of pictures and hashtagged them into a particular forum, I started getting likes and comments from people all over the world. And then, when I got my first picture featured, it kind of hooked me. In the last couple months since being part of Instagram, I’ve had multiple pictures selected. So along with the feedback from others and the positive reinforcement from having pictures chosen, it makes me want to keep submitting pictures. Instagram is quite unique in the fact that everyone is so supportive and polite. People write kind comments and send congratulations for a photo well-done or for a picture that has been chosen for a feature.

Like writing, I think I enjoy Instagram because it lets me use the creative side of my brain. While I’m not terribly creative, it is different from my regular job which has me doing paperwork, meeting state and federally regulated deadlines, and doing evaluations and writing reports. No creativity needed there. I think the right side of my brain is a little happier now that it’s getting exercised a little.

I feel like everywhere I go now, I look around me and wonder if something would make a good picture. I certainly don’t have the talent and editing skills that many of the photographers do, but it’s still quite fun. If anything, it’s making me take notice of life around me. I notice sunsets, flowers, and interesting architecture. Rather than rushing through life, I’m actually taking time to smell the roses (and photograph them!).

Visit me on Instagram: @khuchel

My Name is Kim...

They say admitting it is the first step. Well, envision me sitting in a circle, surrounded by others holding cell phones and tablets, madly typing away. It’s my turn to speak. I nervously confess, “My name is Kim and I am a smartphone, technology, social media loving-aholic.”

After reluctantly joining the world of social media almost 5 years ago, I have become, well, a little addicted to it. First it was Facebook, then Pinterest, then Twitter (which I still don’t really see the point of), and most recently Instagram. I don't really think that I am addicted--I could quit if I had to (I think...maybe...I’m not sure). However, it could be worse. I’ve seen some people on TLC’s show My Strange Addiction and those people eat ashes from their deceased spouse’s urn, toilet paper, or human blood. Some are addicted to inflatable animals, licking their cat, or bathing in urine. See, social media not so bad, huh?

Since writing can be like therapy, let’s delve into my childhood to see where this all stems from. For whatever reason, I loved getting mail as a kid. I couldn’t wait for the mailman (or woman) to arrive at my mailbox. I would rush down the driveway and hope for a letter. Back then, I really did get actual snail mail letters because we didn’t have the technology of today. It would usually be from my grandparents or a pen pal. I had over 100 pen pals and I did my best to keep up with all of them, but at some point I really just focused on my few favorites. And believe it or not, I recently found all those letters that I’ve had stored in boxes in our eaves.

Why did I like getting mail so much? I’m not really sure. It was fun and exciting to hear from people. I liked reading about their lives and I liked writing to them about my life. This really translates to the technology of today. Emails, texts, and Facebook allow me to keep in touch with people. I’m no longer waiting for letters in the mail, but I hear the ding on my phone or the little red flag indicating some type of correspondence and I quickly see who it is. I all too frequently find myself picking up my phone, iPad, or laptop to check and see what is going on in the world around me. Today’s electronic communication also provides that instant gratification I didn’t have when I was waiting for letters to come in the mail. If a letter didn’t come one day, I never had to check the mailbox the rest of the day because mail only comes once a day. Now communication can come 24 hours a day. Is that too much?? Are we overdoing it? Are our brains becoming too saturated with “stuff”? There are times I feel like I have ADHD with my technology. I go from Facebook, to clicking on Pinterest, to clicking on Instagram, to checking my texts, and then e-mails. Why do I do it? I have no idea. Even as I sat here writing this, I paused to read Facebook and then I had to go check the texts that I heard chime in on my phone. It’s distracting and time consuming, yet I keep doing it. It also makes me wonder what will come next in our lives. As a kid while I was handwriting a letter on pretty stationery, I never imagined that one day there would be some other way to write to others. I guess only time will tell what the next 20 years will bring.

And, if you ever feel like writing a letter or sending a card, I still get excited when something other than a bill arrives in my mailbox.