It's Valentine's Day 2018. I wish I could say that the day was filled with love and I wish I could say that love is love every day, but today has been a very interesting emotional roller coaster.
Certainly social media was flooded today with all kinds of messages between couples, handlers in the pup, and alphas and their betas. I enjoyed reading many of the messages earlier in the day and even posted one dedicated to my own husband.
Today was also Ash Wednesday. It kind of sucks that Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday where the same day. Consider how many people say they give up chocolate for Lent, yet today is one of those days when chocolate is given as a gift. Oops. I don't remember seeing any posts today on social media about Ash Wednesday; it's certainly got trumped by all the romantic sentiments.
Today I tried to inspire with my question of the day which was as follows:
When you encourage others, you boost their self-esteem and lift their spirits. Encouragement goes straight to the heart and can be the small help someone really needs.
On the other hand, the smallest of negative comments will break our hearts.
Give someone encouragement this Valentine's Day and it might be the best gift of love you could give. "
Speaking of encouragement and inspiration I find myself stuck in an endless loop of brainstorming about what potential message I could try to share with everyone over the following year. My happy puppy personality and my desire to have more unity in our local communities keeps coming to mind.
I think it's my outwardly portrayal of a happy puppy that always seems to attract random people to ask me questions via direct messages. I've been getting direct questions for many months and it's pretty enjoyable to share what I know about the human puppy fetish with people who are honestly curious.
Every once in a while someone send me a naked photo without asking if I am even interested. I don't normally get upset with those people, I simply ignore them. My point of view is that Facebook and Instagram are not the right platform to be making sexual advances at me. I choose to simply ignore them instead of privately or publicly shaming them. Sometimes I will reply simply telling them that I did not ask for a photo like that.
I've also find it interesting that the people who do start random direct conversations with me often feel they should send me unsolicited photos. Maybe it's because I share so many photos online that people feel they should show me who they are. The biggest request I seem to get is a request to see my face. All of the photos that I post are usually of me with one of my hoods on, everyone seems curious what I look like underneath. Rest assured that you would find out if you meet me in person, but I won't send face pics to anyone anymore. I also never send nude pics.
I think I found a good way to nip those photo requests in the bud. Today when two new people started chatting with me I explained it to them right away that I would gladly answer any questions but please let's not let the conversation wander into any sexual topics. I'm a very sex positive person and very willing to talk about sexual activities once I've known you for a while, but I stay away from those trolling conversations from people who may be looking for some quick way to get off. I also explained to these people today that I prefer if they would not send me any photos of themselves. It is not important for me to know what someone looks like when I am chatting with them online, in fact I explain to one of the guys today that if he really wants to get to know me then we should get to know each other without making any snap judgments from a photograph.
The day seem to normal enough and my daily work as a website developer was progressing slowly. I was looking forward to some mental break time as a DJ this evening at Rockbar in New York City.
Then at about 3:15 this afternoon, Eastern Time, there was a shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 17 people lost their lives. According to the Associated Press, at the time I was writing this, it was said that the shooter was about 18 years old and was not a current student, and is now in custody.
The suspects name is Nikolas Cruz. Last year he was flagged as a campus threat and was not allowed on school grounds with a backpack. His weapon of choice was an AR-15 semi automatic rifle. This is the same weapon used in other mass shootings.
That gun is very popular. In fact sometime back around 1989 or 1990 my best friend in college purchased one of those guns. I went with him to the gun dealer to help him pick the gun out. I'm not even sure if I can say "gun dealer" considering we actually went to the gun dealer's home office where he had several guns on display. Coincidentally that dealer lived less than a half a mile from my mom's house at the time. I do not remember the process that my friend went through before purchasing the gun. But I know we were only 19. I never shot that gun but I was with him when he used to go for shooting practice. I really never thought anything of it.
It's amazing how gun issues have become so prominent in the United States. I've had conversations with my friends in Europe who believe that all Americans have a gun in their house. Many of my European friends do not even understand why someone would want to even own a gun. It is not part of their culture and therefore it is something that is not well understood.
Honestly I don't understand it either. I have never understood the desire to own a gun other than a shotgun that you could use for hunting. The right to own a gun is written into the American Constitution and I doubt it will ever be removed via an amendment. But my personal point of view is that there should be a deep evaluation of someone before they are allowed to buy any gun. The last time there was a major shooting in the United States my husband and I had a very long conversation about it. Ultimately I would love to see gun control laws that require a legitimate psychological evaluation before you are allowed to purchase the gun.
I do get distressed every time there is another shooting in the states. They keep happening and yet the lawmakers do not seem to be taking steps to prevent them. Gun lobbyists have a lot of power and nothing ever seems to change. Meanwhile everyone seems to jump on social media and complain about this every time we have a shooting. I'm not sure if it's common knowledge or not, and yes I'm being facetious, but complaining never get you anywhere. If you want something done you have to take real steps to help get it done. The world only changes because some people are willing to stand up and create change.
If you want gun laws rewritten badly enough then I suggest those who vehemently complain should run for an elected office and work towards that change. I currently have no desire to run for political office. Even if I did it's likely that my human pup personality would prevent me from getting elected.
Back in 1776 there was a legitimate reason for colonists to want the right to bear arms so they could defend themselves against the redcoats and other invading countries. More than 200 years later we find that those gun rights are biting us in the ass.
That's it for my thoughts from today.
Strive to be your own happy puppy. Every small smile throughout your day will help you deal with typical life issues.
International Geared Up Pup 2018
