Tag Archives: life

TV Times…

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Wow, I haven’t done a post in a while… life happens but here I am making a new post for you to read…

Who remembers TV back before all the reality shows took over? Remember sitting down and watching a tv show that had a story which featured your favourite TV characters? I do.

I have many streaming services and I binge watch a lot of TV shows I remember watching from when I was younger from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and shows that were before my time from the 60’s.

I love escaping into a TV show and being invested with my favourite TV characters from my favourite shows and getting involved with watching them.

A lot of the characters become like family or a friend in the shows I watch as I care for them and take me into their world of TV Show Land.

Even when a character dies, I feel like I’ve lost a family member or a friend.

I don’t enjoy “reality” shows as they have nothing to do with reality as it’s all fake. They are obviously scripted and the people who appear on these shows, they are compartmentalised into stereotypical parts because there’s always the bitch/ass hole, the complainer, the backstabber, the person of colour, someone who is in the lgbtqi community, the crier, etc, depending on what is needed to help make the show more interesting for ratings purposes. Filled with people wanting their 5 minutes of fame.

Reality TV is also cheaper to make than a drama or a comedy series that goes for a half an hour or an hour.

For me, “reality” TV is also too predictable as you can guess what is going to happen before it actually happens as it is all scripted.

Am I the only one who misses good TV shows? You know, like Mission Impossible, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, The Love Boat, Cagney and Lacey, The Rockford Files, Emergency!, CHiP’s, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, ER for example.

I enjoy Law and Order SVU, Chicago Police, Chicago Med and Chicago Fire, Blue Bloods, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Hawaii 5-0 in recent TV show viewing, just to name a few.

I just hope that reality TV doesn’t completely take over and that is all that appears on our TV screens in the future.

I know there are streaming platforms to watch shows that interest me available but I cancelled all the subscription ones as they were costing me a fortune and jacking up their prices, so I only kept the ones that are free, they offer enough of what I’m interested in watching, when I want to watch. I know there are shows I will miss out on watching by not having the paid streaming platforms but that’s okay, the free one’s have enough content to keep me entertained.

Whether you enjoy all the reality shows or not, happy viewing.

Until next time,

Kaye

Generation X, the Awesome Generation…

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Hands up if you were born between the years of 1965 – 1980… you are well and truly my people, the Generation X people. My generation.

As a Gen X myself, born in 1971, I love being a Gen X. I love how we know a lot of things to do with the generations that precedes us, The Greatest Generation – those born between 1901 – 1927, The Silent Generation – those born between 1928 – 1945 and The Baby Boomers – those born between 1965 – 1980 as they are our great grandparents, grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, parents, uncles, aunties but we also know a lot of stuff from the generations that succeeded us as well. We know about things to do with The Millennials or Generation Y – those born between 1981 – 1996, Generation Z – those born between 1997 – 2012 and the latest generation, Generation Alpha – those born between 2013 – 2025, as these are our children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great nieces, great nephews, our friends children.

We just have a lot of cross generational knowledge with being a Gen X.

Generation X was the last generation who played in the streets, we were the last generation to record songs from the radio onto a cassette tape, we were the first generation to play video games, we were the first generation to use personal computers, we could walk over a kilometre without complaining about not being driven to our destination, we were the last generation to go to our friends homes to see them, remember having to be home as soon as the streetlights came on? We learned how to work the VCR before anyone else, we lived without mobile (cell) phones, we were the first generation who had Sony Walkman’s, we were before the internet, we were the last generation to drive in cars without seatbelts, we were the first generation to use chatrooms, we only had 4 TV stations to choose from and TV stations closed at midnight, we didn’t have social media, the music was also the best.

Generation X is absolutely the best generation in my books.

Until next time

Kaye

Happy New Year 2024…

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Goodbye 2023 and hello 2024… what a year 2023 was? 2023 was a tough year for many, including me with many of us facing the storms of life during the year that was but just like any storm, the storm stops raging eventually and the sun comes out again.

Personally, the year was indeed a rough year for me. Life happened in a big way. I learned a lot about myself and a lot about so called friends who ended up being fake friends and not being in my corner at all.

I learned who was in my circle and my circle got smaller as I removed people from my life who weren’t serving my greater good and were draining my energy or creating drama in my life through their own actions and drawing me into their drama.

I also distanced myself from certain people in my life and haven’t removed them completely.

This is what setting healthy boundaries is about. Life isn’t a popularity contest, you’re not going to get along with everyone in life. It’s healthy to have boundaries and either remove people out of your life who aren’t in your circle because not everyone is. There’s many people who will call you friend but will talk about you behind your back, or not show you support when you are going through a storm in life, there’s so called friends who are toxic, fake friends, friends will continuously disrespect you or badmouth you… these people are not your friends.

These are the people to release from your life, even on social media. Set healthy boundaries and have people who accept you for who you are and will show up when you need that support when life hits.

Surround yourself with people who get you and what you are about and don’t try to change you but they bring out the best in you.

It’s even okay to remove family members from your life as well. We need to be able to preserve our inner peace and just because someone is family, they can cause more issues for our inner peace than friends.

I’m okay about losing people in life, both in real life and on social media. I want people who bring out the best in me, people who understand me, people who will be there in both the calm days when the boat is in calm water and during the storms. The storms of life, this too shall pass but it’s worth knowing who is next to you in that boat; someone who will help you bail out the water if the boat starts leaking or someone who will go overboard and swim to shore, leaving you to bail out the water alone in that boat.

Yeah, I’m okay with my circle shrinking. I’m more about me and no longer about keeping certain people around in my circle because they simply have the label of family or friend. 2023 was a year of letting go.

2024 is going to be the year of keeping my circle small and making sure everyone who is in my circle is worth having there.

Until next time…

Kaye

True friendships…

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Let me ask a question, what makes a friend and what makes a friendship? To me, to have a friend, first you need to be a friend. It’s a clichéd saying but it is a true saying.

I have a select small group of friends, real friend who I know have my back and are there through all times, the good and the rough times. I also have a lot of friends who are really just acquaintances. Then there are the fickle, fair weather friends who are only there when the going is good but are no where to be seen in the tough times.

As I get older, it’s more about quality over quantity with the friends I have as life isn’t a popularity contest and I just want to surround myself with people who are genuine in there friendship and are always around.

I had friends who would try and buy friendship with giving things to me but they always wanted something in return, it was never anything given because they were true friends who gave something out of the generosity of their heart but only given with an ulterior motive. Then there’s the so called friends who kept score on what they gave me as they felt it proved their friendship but felt as though I wasn’t being a true friend all because they expected something in return and try to guilt me into giving them something by telling me all the times they gave me something .

I give the people I consider friends things all the time but I never expect anything in return. I do it because I want to. I don’t make anyone feel obligated to reciprocate the gift giving, even if it’s just a cup of coffee, I never expect anything in return.

Then there are those who will tell you the things they think you want to hear, or pretend to be something they are not in trying to earn a friendship.

For me, I want friends who will be open and honest with me. I want friends who don’t gossip behind my back because if you have friends who talk with you about their friend behind their back, guess what? those people you call a friend, they are saying things about you to other people.

As I get older, I am in a place where I don’t want to deal with so called friends who are disingenuous, fake, full of drama, selfish, self absorbed, toxic or narcissistic people. I have let go of a lot of friends who fit into those categories as I want to be around kind, caring, nurturing people who are always there, who are real, trustworthy, provide a listening ear or a shoulder I can cry on and those make me laugh.

I want people around me that I don’t have to explain myself to, people who don’t judge, friends I can trust wholeheartedly and be trusted, so because of this, I don’t have a big circle of friends and that suits me fine.

Be true to yourself and surround yourself with the people who will serve your greater good and raise your vibration and not drain your energy by making you feel some kind of way just because you feel it necessary to have certain people as friends. Some people are not for you and are not the right fit for you and it is okay to release them as those people definitely not for you as they will only keep bringing you down to their level.

Until next time

Kaye

The things I do…

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Recently I updated my mobile phone and changed providers, a task easier said than done. The time it took for my previous provider to release the phone number to the new provider took weeks. Usually it only take that long but in this instance all because of a process that wasn’t done when I received the new phone from the new provider, there was that delay.

During the 8 weeks it took to get the phone number released and for me to be able to use my new phone as a phone, I was using both my old mobile phone and the new one as I was using the new phone for everything else using wifi, thank you wifi. I also got used to having 2 phones and I liked it.

My new provider was my original provider but to get my last phone, I had to change providers but with the update, I wanted to go back to my original provider.

My last phone, I promised someone else that I would give it to them before I realised that I enjoyed the luxury of having 2 phones, as they needed a new phone as they had a really old phone which they needed to replace.

Once I was back to having one phone again, I was on the lookout for a good, reliable but a cheap phone to use as a second phone, which I found on Amazon as they have refurbished phones in top quality condition and most phones, unless they are the latest, they sell for a cheaper price.

So having updated my Samsung Galaxy S20 to a Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, I went on Amazon and found a refurbished phone I wanted to buy, an iPhone. I have been curious for a long time about the whole iPhone thing and why people love them so much. I had looked at iPhone’s before I had bought a Samsung Galaxy S5… if you can’t tell, I’m a Samsung and Android girl but I’m open to owning other phone’s. The iPhone I found was an iPhone 13 and bought it.

The phone sellers on Amazon sell refurbished phone’s in good condition, screens get replaced and the phone’s are sold in the best condition possible but buyer beware, you do get what you pay for, so doing prior research on the phone you are interested in does pay off as there are people who have received phone’s with dents and scratches on the phone from wear and tear by the previous owners.

The iPhone I received didn’t have a scratch or a dent on it and it looked brand new out of the non original phone box. The battery condition was at 90%, so I knew I wouldn’t have an issue with battery problems either. I was definitely winning with this phone.

The iPhone I used the provider I left as I wanted the second phone to be under a different provider for when one provider has a technical issue, I have the use of the other phone. Both providers use the same phone tower’s though, so that could prove an issue but hey, I’ll deal with that when I have to. I also wanted the second phone to not be on a contract but prepaid.

I used to have a landline phone years ago before just solely using my mobile phone. The landline phone had an answering machine connected to it as well. Anyone I didn’t want to speak to, I used to give them the landline number as a lot of people don’t like leaving messages on an answering machine lol. Same with services who would sell phone numbers on to telemarketers, they would get the landline number as well. Then when I gave up the landline, I then would change a number in my mobile number so I didn’t have to speak with those I didn’t want to hear from lol.

What I use the second mobile phone for now is these callers and keep my primary phone for the people I want to talk to or need to talk with.

Note to self… put the iPhone on the Do Not Call register.

Does anyone else have a second phone and what do you use it for? I don’t want to know about illegal activities though lol as sometimes ignorance can be bliss lol.

Until next time

Kaye

No to bullying or toxic people…

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Anyone who know me knows that I do not tolerate bullying in any kind of way. I do not tolerate the drama started by bullies or toxic people. I will not tolerate any person who enables those people to continue to do what they do by not calling out their bullshit behaviour in turning a blind eye to it in making the bullies and toxic people be accountable for the drama they start.

I do not tolerate those who start dramas and blame others for starting those dramas because they don’t have the ability to accept accountability and be responsible for their actions.

I do not tolerate bullies and toxic people who create drama and blame others for their dramas, then engage others to do their dirty work all because these bullies enjoy gaslighting and then knowing they will have flying monkeys do their dirty work for them as they seek attention.

On Tiktok recently, I have been caught up in the cross hairs of 2 narcissistic, manipulative, passive aggressive bullies who have caused dramas through their lies, their manipulation, their gaslighting, their looking for flying monkies who will side with them and do their dirty work for them because there are those who believe their lies and think these people are good people because they haven’t seen the other side of their personality. One of the people has a “chosen family” of Tiktokkers who turn a blind eye and allow this person to continue bullying others.

Both of these people have sent me direct messages accusing me of creating drama and telling me to stop telling lies to others about them as they do not do drama. These 2 people as narcissists will not see they are the ones who created the dramas they find themselves in and they are the ones who are telling lies all because they refuse to acknowledge they are responsible and need to be accountable and not blame everyone else as they are the ones gaslighting.

I will always stand up to those people who are bullies and who are toxic as I have no time for drama causing attention seekers, nor do I have time or the energy to deal with people who support the bullies and toxic people, so I have ended relationships with these people.

It doesn’t matter who the toxic people are in life, friends, including friends on social media or family even family, as family can be the most toxic people around, you need to put yourself first. You need to protect yourself from the toxic people in life so you can live your best life and be free of toxic people who cause emotional and psychological damage to people they interact with. Just because a toxic person is a family member or a friend, be true to yourself and know that even though you may love these people, you need to be able to set boundaries, or have the strength to walk away.

Until next time

Kaye

Making the most out of it…

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Recently I had to do a sleep study… I had no actual symptoms but the doctor I see thought it would be a good idea after I marked high as a candidate for sleep apnoea on a check list… the questions asked could have covered basically anyone as having sleep apnoea as most people would fit into the categories asked but hey, the questionnaire said I had symptoms of sleep apnoea, so I had to undergo a sleep study.

I saw the sleep specialist a couple of weeks after being referred by the GP and they arranged for me to take an at home sleep study. I booked a date and time to pick up a sleep study kit for the at home sleep study.

The day of the sleep study, I went to the medical centre and picked up the kit and took it home.

That night, I followed the instructions on how to place all the wires and electrodes on my body before going to bed. I looked and felt like a lab rat once all the wires, electrodes and electronic devices were attached and ready to collect the data from my night of sleep.

I am no stranger in doing a sleep study as I’ve done one previously a few years ago, a hospital sleep study, which involved a night sleeping on the narrowest and hardest hospital bed I think that they could find for me to sleep on. There were more wires and electrodes attached that time and the wires were connected to a bigger box I had to wear but the memory is still in my mind like it was yesterday.

The following morning before 9am, I had to return the sleep study kit back to the sleep specialist centre, then wait for the results which were given several days later by the sleep specialist.

At the appointment with the sleep specialist, I was diagnosed with having severe sleep apnoea and I would need to have a CPAP machine. Oh joy… not.

I then had to book another appointment with another person who would help me choose a suitable face mask and CPAP machine for me to use.

I went home with a CPAP machine, an Airsense 10 Autoset and a full face mask. The first night using the face mask, a Resmed Airfit F20, I couldn’t stand it… I couldn’t stand the air blowing straight on my face, the feel of the full face mask on my face. That night was a interrupted night of sleep. In fact, I hated the mask so much, I took it off, turned off the machine in the very early hours of the morning and left it off to sleep.

That first night while struggling to get used to the machine and battling with the full face mask, which was a losing battle, I thought of giving my machine a name as something fun. Since this machine was going to be my new sleeping companion I have to sleep with, I had better get used to it. I also decided that the machine was a He as well as it looks like a male. After much thought, not really, I came up with the name “Colin” for my CPAP machine… call me weird for naming a machine if you must… but Colin is named after the inventor of the CPAP machine, an Australian by the name of Colin Sullivan in 1980, a fitting name I thought. Here’s the funny thing, now I can talk about Colin, my machine and have people think he’s my partner haha.

After having a word with the company I obtained the CPAP machine from, they provided me with 3 other masks to try in the hopes that one of them is more suitable for me.

The face mask I have been using is a nasal pillow which just sits under the nose, which is perfect for me as it’s not a full face mask, I don’t have air blowing on my face and I’m not feeling as though I’m suffocating. I’m also a person who sleeps with their mouth closed, so I don’t need to use a full face mask to cover both my nose and mouth.

It’s early days with using the CPAP machine but I hope the set up I have now with the face mask I am using, I hope I feel the benefits of it soon and get a better night of sleep than I was having after receiving the results from the sleep study.

Until next time

Kaye

Technology… the New Age Frontier…

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As a Gen X who grew up in a world of not having computers, mobile (cell) phones, Google, Alexa/Siri, or none of the technology we have now, I admit I do love new technology and I always have done.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I recently updated my phone and having to still use my old phone due to an issue with activating the sim on the new phone as I had changed carriers as well, so while in the process of doing that, I got to like having 2 phones to use.

For those who read that post, you’ll see that I own both a Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, which is my primary phone and out of curiosity bought a refurbished iPhone 13 from Amazon as a back up second phone just to see what all the hype is about iPhone’s.

Having used the iPhone for around 3 weeks now, I have had it confirmed for me that I am a definite Samsung girl.

For me Samsung phones are more user friendly, more intuitive, easier to initially set up. I also find that the picture quality of the screen is better on my Samsung over the iPhone. The zoom on my Samsung is clearer and more powerful over the iPhone as well. With Samsung it’s easier to go between previously opened apps when going from one app to another when using two or three apps at once when needing to switch between apps… it’s more seamless to go from one app to another.

With the iPhone, I love how I can use the Dark Mode with the phone and all the apps, I love there’s a lot more choices of emoji’s too with the iPhone.

One thing I don’t like about the iPhone, or Apple is that there are a lot more choices of apps in the Google Play App Store on Android than on the Apple App Store. The apps on the Apple Store is limited as it’s not open sourced as Android is. For the record, the apps on the Google play App Store are protected so only apps that have been approved can go into the Google App Store. The Google Play Store apps also have more downloads of the more popular apps over Apple as well.

As a new person to having an iPhone, I’m never going to be an Apple girl but I do appreciate what an iPhone can do and all the features and functions of the iOS. Both operating systems have their good points and their bad points, so it all comes down to personal preference of which one you feel more comfortable in using.

Question for all of the iPhone users, which apps would you recommend for astronomy, note taking, sport score updates, games and any other “must have” apps for iPhone… drop it into the comments below, please and thank you.

Whichever phone you use, whatever operating system you prefer, mobile (cell) phones are here to stay…

Until next time

Kaye

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When the universe and life throw stuff at you, you had better be prepared for it, good, bad or indifferent.

Life has throw at me some heavy stuff this year, so much for starting 2023 of on a positive note and starting off the year in a good way.

It seems my 2023 is a continuation of my 2022… one steaming hot pile of manure…

2022 started the year of upheaval in all aspects of my life… work, home, health and the stuff that has happened, without going into detail, it’s been huge and I feel broken deep within.

I’m not writing this for a pity party because I’m not. 2022 was a huge year of upheaval for me, which is continuing into 2023. Despite everything that is going on, I’ve strapped myself into the roller-coaster of life and I’m in for the ride… all the twists, the turns, the sharp corners, going upside down, I’m there for it all.

One thing I’m looking forward to though is after all the tough stuff has been dealt with and I’m on the other side of it all, I look forward to being the butterfly I am going to become.

Through the storms of life, as the storm rages, you’ll go through hard stuff, tough stuff but eventually the storm will pass and you will find yourself in calm waters again. It’s not going to happen overnight but it will happen. Have faith and belief that the storm will pass and you will get through to the other side.

The other thing is that the storms of life are often experiences of personal growth and realising how strong and resilient you really are.

Right now in this storm I’m going through in my life, I picture myself as a caterpillar, then in a cocoon but I know that the beautiful butterfly that I’m about to become, that is worth all the tough stuff life and the universe is handing me right now.

Watch out world… that beautiful butterfly is coming… it’s not going to happen overnight but she’s preparing herself and proving how strong and resilient she is in the process.

Until next time

Kaye

New things in life…

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A couple of weeks ago I went to see an optometrist as a suggestion from my doctor who wanted to see if my eyes were being affected by the start of an early medical diagnosis.

I went to the optometrist and was taken into an examination room where she  checked both my eyesight and if my eyes were affected by this medical condition.

The eye test was first, with reading lines and letters on a mirror, first the right eye and then the left, then given a card to read, I was able to easily read the small print with both the right eye and then the left eye, I was told I needed glasses for distance sight and my reading sight was still good.

Then the optometrist put drops in my eyes for her to be able to see the back of my eyes… those drops as they went in, stung a little bit as they did make my sight go blurry as she said it would. I was then informed that the drops will take 10 – 15 minutes to take effect.

So with 15 minutes to wait, I went and was going to get a quote for the glasses. There were a range of glasses frames being sold for half price, so I was directed to them. After trying on several pairs, I found the frame I wanted, with flexible arms and not chunky, or frames that stick out like a dog’s hind leg. Once the frames were chosen, I sat down in the front of the store and the quote was worked out… lenses – magnification with transition tinting and digital glare free. After being told the price and knowing that I’m going to need these glasses, I decided to just get them. Lucky for me as well, I do have optical as an option with my private fund, so they paid for the bulk of the cost of these glasses, I just had to pay for the gap.

Now that the frames were chosen and what I wanted was included as well, the order was put in to be processed.

By this time, the optometrist was ready for me again. I went back into the examination room and sat back down in the chair. A machine was manoeuvred towards me that the optometrist used to look into my eyes, the lights of the room were turned down and the optometrist used this machine and a bright light shining into the parts of the eye she was looking at, she did her thing. First the right eye and then the left.

One thing she did notice, apart from my eyes not being affected by the medical condition but I do have a freckle at the back of my eye, which is something they will keep an eye on yearly.

Today, I picked up my new glasses, or as I refer to them, my new friends.

Am I bothered by the fact that I now have to wear glasses? No because if they help me to see in the distance as they are designed to do, that’s going to be something in my favour, although it is quite humorous seeing people in a particular age group in denial they do need glasses for reading lol.

So for anyone who does wear glasses, I’ve joined you all now… and I can see clearly now, so that is definitely a good thing.

Until next time

Kaye