What's She Up to Now? Jody's Life Blog

DOH, 30 in 30 Goal, Thank You's, PTSD Song "Still in Saigon"

Howdy!

I thought I'd try something different--adding headings for interest. lol

DOH!

My biggest to date! At least here on WdC... I meant to send a Thank You badge to someone who had done an exceptionally thorough and thoughtful review for me. Instead I sent them a Secret Admirer badge. DOH! And it wasn't even someone I sort of know here. It was a total stranger. I REALLY hope he doesn't have a jealous wife!!! lol

30 in 30

So, being prone to doing ridiculous things without any thought as to why or how (part of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), yesterday I decided to try to get to 30 Community Recognitions before my 30th day on WdC. It seemed easy enough. After all, I was already at 21 without even trying and I still had 3 days left. But then, after several hours online today, I realized it might not happen. (Cue impending doom music...)

I had to think fast. And since I can't do that, I decided to cough up a WHOLE lot of GPs to buy...er...get thanked by a bunch of groups through MBs. Then I discovered, not only did some folks not respond immediately. (The nerve of folks who work, or even worse, SLEEP while I'm trying to bleed them dry for MBs! lol) Anyway, it turns out a lot of folks don't even send them out within a week. Hmmm...who knew? Well, probably everyone on WdC but me.

Well, to solve this impending disaster, I posted on my newsfeed and MBs started pouring in! Well, maybe not POURING, but still, a steady trickle. And, I'm proud to say that all but one were earned-ish one way or another. (All ways were done with my clothes on, just to be clear.) Well, I'm also proud to say that Jellyfish Merry In Morocco! was kind enough to donate one just out of the goodness of her heart! (At least I don't think she runs anything I donated to.) What a sweetheart! I sent her one back. FYI, I made my 30 CR in my 1st 30 days here on WdC goal.

Thank You Badges--We Need to Give Out More!

I'd also like to give a special thanks to 🌖 HuntersMoon for giving me my first (and still only) Thank You badge. I thought that was a great badge and when I started trying to hand out badges, I decided to look to see what folks didn't have, naturally. Well, it turns out a LOT of folks didn't have the Thank You badge! I mean a LOT of folks! WHAT A SHAME! We all (or very mostly) do things that deserve a thanks. I've now given out 17.5 of them. I say .5 because one was accidentally a Secret Admirer badge. And I just erased the rest of that whole story because I realized I'd already told you. I swear this forgetfulness can cause some entertainment malfunctions if I'm not careful! Anyway, so I MEANT to send out 18.

For anyone who is interested, I have 28 days here...wait, 29 because there are 31 days in May. Huh. Anyway, 29 days here and I have given out 19 badges, written 30 things for my portfolio, done 111 reviews (not counting product reviews...not sure how many but maybe 5-6 tops), and have 34 Community Recognitions. Not bad for a newbie! I just realized I've not given out ANY awardicons and I've certainly read some stuff that deserved them. I should focus more on that in the future. Shame on me! And I've received several, myself!

My PTSD

For anyone who hasn't put the pieces together yet, I'm getting medically retired from the Army with, among other things, PTSD. I'd like to share a song with you that pretty accurately describes what was going on when I first came back from war and for a couple of years after. It's getting better now thanks to a lot of treatment and medication. FYI, I was in Iraq, not Vietnam, but the principle is the same. Thanks for taking the time to listen to this song.

"Still in Saigon" by Charlie Daniels Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qV4IVBWjnI

The song ends before "Taps" starts playing, but I really liked that link with the Vietnam photos. Thankfully, no one has had reason to call me a killer like in the song, but I did get booed in NYC, of all places, when I'd just gotten back. One of the most accurate lines of the song, at least for me, is "Damned if I know who I am. There was only one place I was sure."

It's been 5 years and I still prefer to sleep with a knife by me. Though I no longer need it hidden under my pillow and need to practice opening it secretly several times before going to sleep. I now will wear civilian clothes and go off the military instillation (thankfully, since I'm getting the boot). I also no longer answer the door with my knife opened and hidden behind the door. There's been a lot of improvements. But I still have a long way to go... Thanks for being here with me for part of the journey.

TTFN!