Perfectly Petersen

Who Have You Become? Don’t Let What Ails You Be Your Identity

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Liz Strauss posed an interesting question the other day that got me thinking. Let’s expand on it here.

If you were on Oprah’s Show today, what would you plug?

I’ll be the first to admit that I started out with a big long diatribe about people who let the problems with their physical bodies get them down and dictate and unnecessarily limit what they can do. I thought it was pretty well-written, but I was going to re-read it with fresh eyes and perspective to see if I was being too harsh.

In the end, I just plain forgot to hit ‘Save’ on my draft and closed the browser tab. All I was left with was that first paragraph, not even the quote. What you, dear readers, get as a result, is a much more powerful message from someone very much like me. Oh, and I was probably too harsh in my original draft.

First off, here is what I left on Liz’s post:

I would plug about how to let your handicaps transform your identity, but not become your identity. Too many people become the diabetic, the one with the limp, you name it, some people ARE their problems in life.

We need to embrace what is wrong with us and overcome them to become someone, something, greater than the handicap that hinders those who dwell on their problems.

Basically, I am of the opinion that there are too many weaklings out there that make their issues the focus of their life and put it in everyone else’s face, too. By the time most people find out that I have cystic fibrosis, they are either amazed that I’m still alive or ticked off at me for “leading them” to think that I had a cold for the last few months. At typical comment from a new friend witnessing their first Jesse-spaz goes like this:

Friend: Wow! Got a touch of something, there? I just got over something last week myself. I know how you feel.
Me: Nah, I’ve had this for 28 years. I’m pretty used to it. I think it’s here to stay.

Notice the complete lack of seeking sympathy? I want to be judged for who I am, what I can do, rather than making provisions for anything related to the knowledge of my CF. The only time that is appropriate is when there are actual trials and suffering, such as another sinus surgery or a couple of nights in the hospital. It just needs to go along with some understanding that I’m having a bit of a rough time, it’s nothing new, and I appreciate your concern. The only special treatment will come from the doctor’s orders, not me.

That said, Mrs. Petersen has found some great information on some forums and a couple of new blogs. I went to a couple of them this weekend and found this gem on Breathe 4 Tomorrow, which sums up my idea as perfectly as I ever could. From Two Types of CFers:

I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of CFers out there. The first group are the patients that really have a negative outlook on their disease and use their disease as a crutch, as an excuse. These are the people who look for sympathy because of their CF. I find that these people are often sick. I believe this could be because of their outlook on their disease.
…
The second group are those people who have the attitude of “This disease does not define me, nor limit me, the only thing this disease does is MAKE ME STRONGER!!” I enjoy talking with these people. This is the energy that BREATHE 4 TOMORROW wants to bring into the CF community. I feel like if we could start showing the little ones with CF that it is NOT a death sentence and that they are going to live long fuller lives, that our community is going to grow older and older and sstronger and stronger… I consider myself one of these people, I have my hard times and I get down sometimes when I am sick or when I have to go home because I have to do my breathing treatments, but I can usually pull myself right out of it… I welcome each new day with a smile and I say “thank you” and I say it out loud… and on top of it… I FEEL IT!!

This leads me to a few questions for you, so please let me (heck… us, for that matter) know what you think of this conclusion. Am I wrong to not tell people upon introductions in a small group or couples outing? What about the workplace? I try to not think of CF if I can at all help it, but some would think that’s not accepting who I am.

What do you say?

Tagged for Scattergories Meme

Charis tagged me on her blog, The Dish, for the completely un-trackable meme: Scattergories. Try as I might, I was unable to see who started the meme to give them credit, but it was probably their fault for not playing by the rules of memes and making sure people back-link you. I went back as far as I could to come up with as accurate of a list as possible. So, sorry creator, you lose!

On with the show… here are the rules:

• Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.
• Your answers have to be real names, places, and things and you can’t use your own name for the boy or girl name.
• If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
• If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers!

My name: Jesse

1. Famous Singer: John Lennon
2. Four letter word: Jerk
3. Street: Jermyn Street
4. Color: Jade
5. Gifts/Presents: Jewels
6. Vehicle: Jaguar
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Junk food
8. Boy’s Name: Jay
9. Girl’s Name: Julie
10. Movie Title: Jaws
11. Drink: Jolt
12. Occupation: Janitor
13. Celebrity: Jeff Foxworthy
14. Magazine: Jet Magazine
15. U.S. City: Jacksonville
16. Pro Sports: Jazz
17. Fruit: Jujube
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Just hit snooze too many times.
19. Something You Throw Away: Junk
20. Things You Shout: Just kidding!
21. Cartoon Character: Johnny Bravo

SOBCon08 Is Coming - Biz School for Bloggers

Many of you may remember that I attended the first ever SOBCon blogging conference in Chicago last year by hitchhiking my way there through various forms of donations and compensated help I did for the preparation of the events. It was a great evening and day, and I’ve looked forward to it all year long, though I’ve admittedly kept it on the down-low in my mind just in case I can’t make the trip this year.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet for you, because I’m sure you’re as busy with the New Year at work as I am:

If you enjoy writing and having your writing read by those on the blogosphere, you need to seriously consider coming to Chicago May2-4. Here is what you will find:

• Passionate, accepting writers.
• Fun, creative entrepreneurs.
• People just like you!

I’m never comfortable in new, big situations like conferences, but uncomfortable wasn’t even a word in my vocabulary after I arrived and started meeting people. If you want to improve your blogging, business, or network, you owe it to yourself to come join us.

Sir Edmund Hillary Dead at 88

Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008)

The first man to have climbed to the top of the world died yesterday of heart failure. He had been expected to make a recovery from his hospitalization, but he did not pull through. Let’s take a look at the life of this fascinating man.

Hillary was a small boy, thin and uncoordinated, so he took to books as a refuge. In his teens, he discovered that he had deceiving endurance and strength for boys his age, and when he was 20, he climbed to the summit of Mount Oliver in the Alps.

After successfully reaching the top of Mount Everest, he snapped a photo of his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, but Norgay was unable to return the favor because he did not know how to operate a camera (with something that important, I would have been teaching him along the way, huh?), so the only photo from the top is of Norgay. They both left a small article and started back down after only 15 minutes. Talk about 15 minutes of fame… turned into a lifetime.

That climb gave him the noteriety and experience to also travel to both poles, with the final notch in his belt being a trip to the North Pole with none other than Neil Armstrong. That feat made him the first person to stand at both poles and Mt. Everest.

After being knighted, he is the first and only person to appear on a New Zealand bank note during their lifetime and is the first foreign national to be granted honorary citizenship of Nepal during the 50th anniversaty of his ascension. During that celebration, both is son, Peter, and Norgay’s son, Jamling, reached the summit of Mt. Everest to commemorate their fathers’ expedition.

He devoted most of his life after the climb to building schools and hospitals in Nepal to repay he debt to them for allowing him to bestowed with such priveleges and fame. He will long be remembered for his kindness and humilty and the world mourns Sir Edmund Hillary today.

Weekend at Bernie’s Returns to Manhattan

Police arrested two men, David J. Dalaia and James O’Hare, Wednesday attempting to cash their dead friend’s $355 Social Security check. I’m sure this happens all of the time, but these guys brought the corpse with them… on an office chair. NYP and onlookers originally assumed the body awkwardly sitting on the chair was a mannequin. How wrong they were!

These two geniuses tried to cash the check, but they were told by the clerk at the check-cashing store that Virgilio Cintron had to be present to cash his check. Undeterred, they went back to the apartment they shared with Bernie… I mean Cintron… and dressed his naked body and began wheeling him to the store on the office chair. Having him there but sitting outside wasn’t good enough for the clerk, only when they went to wheel in (stop and think now - dead man sitting on a chair outside a store in Manhattan in broad daylight) their closest friend in the world, the cops were there.

They told them to step away from the body and the paramedics arriving on scene declared Cintron dead.

“Oh my God, he’s gone?” came the reply to that obviously shocking announcement. They are scheduled for court.

What is an appropriate punishment for this vile of a petty crime?

[story from the Miami Herald]

Man Spots His Wife… at a Local Brothel

A Polish man (please, no Pollock jokes around the ladies) took a trip to a nearby brothel in. I guess he wasn’t getting attention at home and was getting some “take out.” He got more than he bargained for when, among the establishment’s employees, he saw his wife of 14 years [ahem] working the crowd.

14 years is all they will be associated with each other, as they are seeking a divorce.

She said she told him she was working on the side (and probably a few other ways) to earn some extra money. Who knows what he’s claiming, except that he doesn’t want to be married to her any more.

My question is, who is in more trouble here?

Clearly, she was commiting adultery long before him, so I put this on her. She wasn’t doing it for lack of working it out. In fact, I’m going to stand on my soapbox and say that she pushed him to a brothel because she was probably “too tired” for weeks or months leading up to his shocking discovery.

I can just imagine the meet-up there.

Man: What are you doing here?
Woman: What are you doing here?

or maybe it was like this:

Woman: What are you doing here?
Man: What are you doing here?

[story from Reuters]

British Literature Is a Relief, After All

I think I’ve struck a goldmine of a professor with my Brit Lit instructor. She is a Ph.D. with a care and concern about keeping people interested in reading. One of her emphases is that we understand the works that we read (which is almost all poetry [gag] and one novella [Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]) and concentrate on the historical significance of the Romanic “proper” and Victorian periods with heavy emphasis on biographical information on the authors themselves.

It appears that there won’t be all too much reading after all, and the exams will be deeper material that builds upon the weekly quizzes about the biographical information from our trusty copies of the Norton Anthology. We’ll see how tomorrow’s Expository Writing class goes.