Spring

Ode to Boredom

The other day, I got into talking about the busy schedule kids nowadays have, how they attend various courses and activities, before and after school, and how, poor darlings, should already have that registered as work experience. Well, I see a lot of adults that live the same way, plunging into crazy schedules. But the saddest thing is that most brag about being busy. Just like some brag about being able to multitask; I guess we, humans, still need a little time to absorb the information that this is dangerous and leading to burn out.

I do not support total inactivity, but being bored can help. We are so afraid to stop and give a little rest to our bodies and souls as if they would atrophy. And especially, we must not mistake boredom with laziness.

Often, I find inspiration in moments of respite, when my mind wanders and is no longer focusing on finding a solution or when I am sitting on the couch after the working day is done and I watch the show of changing colors on the sky at sunset. Moreover, it’s nothing to be ashamed of to give yourself a break from this race we are on every day, to stop the engine and regroup. Boredom can be a muse, I say to you!

A secret

When I'm haunted by fears, sadness or I simply need to remind myself that there is beauty in the world, I listen to the video below. True music speaks the most beautiful language and we cannot entirely understand it. But it's OK that it is this way.

Fitness

It seems now clear to me that I haven’t got the faintest idea about nutrition or going to the gym. And I realized this recently, when one night I was changing in the locker room and I witnessed how one should actually prepare for physical activity. The image is glued to my retina and I feel that in order to be able to see something else, I must share it with others. And they, in return, will find out about this incredible trick.

 

Before entering the gym, the following must be observed:

• Put on equipment that makes it easy to move about
• Put on shoes that fit correctly and provide good support
• Wear your hair up, in case of long hair
• Preferably, put on antiperspirant
• Take a bottle of water
• Take a towel to dab one’s face, neck, etc.
• And before entering the gym class, to remind yourself that it does not matter what type of sports leggings you wear or if you have on the coolest sports bra because you came there to move and not to receive the best-dressed prize.

 

And that’s it. You would have thought the same, right?

Well, no.

Something is still missing. And this I know from seeing it being done by a lady.

Right before leaving the locker room, you must open a bag of chips. Take as much as you can with your fist, open your mouth wide and put the chips there. And this is not what surprised me. It was the way the chips were thrust, at the root of the tongue. It made me scared that I could also be drawn into this magnetic field.

 

But I survived, and I am here to tell the story of this secret. If something else turns up, I will let you know.

And now, come on, everybody, let’s warm up!

The Waiting Game

They say that on Kafka’s desk there was a plaque on which the word Warten was written (wait, translated from German).

It is hard to play the waiting game. Maybe the hardest of them all. It is hard to let the time pass by when all one wants is to embrace it, use it, and not let it slip away knowing that one has done everything in one’s power in order to find oneself closer to what one wants. But the hardest thing is to wait and do nothing, being aware of the fact that nothing can be done, that it is no longer in one’s power and that, sometimes, it’s better to do nothing than to do something just for the sake of it.

I, for one, never was good at this game. Sometimes, I can make believe that the waiting does not worry me, that it does not exhaust me, disillusion or sadden me.

In the waiting game there are no winners, even though people say that good things come to those who wait. But there is a certain freedom that may equate with a victory, but not quite because the feeling exceeds the limits of expectation.

So, if you find yourself restless or wanting hard for the clarification or resolution of a situation, take a small break. Breathe. And ... wait. Wait! Soon you’ll feel relieved.

When Numbers Mean More than People

Nowadays, in Romania, a lot of employees benefit from a medical subscription to a private clinic. I am also benefiting from that too, and the subscription is paid by my employer. For some time now, money seems to be at the center of things when it comes to private clinics. People are no longer treated as such, but as numbers. Well, this has been visible for some time now around us. And it’s true, maybe I fail to get this being a lady of letters, but I cannot help but wonder, where is the humanity?

When it comes to private clinics, because I tested almost all of them, for some years now I have been feeling like a second hand patient. Let me explain, please.

A while back, if I was to call the call center for an appointment and there was no availability, I was suggested another time. But now, the call center agents don’t even bother to hide why this happens. There is no room for those that have subscriptions, but those that do not and can pay the examination can have an apppointment the very next day.

In this case, the question arises about why should the employer pay for a subscription for an employee, having good intentions at heart, when the provider of services (namely, the private clinic) chooses to treat that employee as less important than a patient with no subscription?!

 

It’s worriesome to learn that the financial interest is being considered more by the professionals that have swore to make good. One morning, while I was waiting to draw blood and there was only one pacient than myself, with appointment, the nurses ignored us for a while until other pacients that did not have subscription (having priority, as one nurse explained to the lady that was waiting with me for more than 30 minutes) arrived and were invited in before us. I felt the bitter taste of humiliation, and it was then that I thought of the abovementioned question. Wouldn’t it be better if the employer allocated a budget to the employees so they can use it whenever they need it and at any private clinic they wish to (or they find appointments at)? This way, the clinics would be more amiable and humane to all pacients going to a clinic. For it seems to me that the subscription does not mean anything for the clinics anymore.

 

And there’s another thing that bothers me. Why is the employer’s money less valuable? If a clinic wishes only to make money, they should target this, without giving employers the facility to make medical subscriptions for their employees. It is absolutely grotesque to realize that this type of clinics have as slogan: we provide care, but if we already got your money, you are less interesting.

 

When I finally got to the pay desk to pay for some blood tests that were not included in my subscription, what I heard made me even furious. Below you can find the excerpt from a dialogue that I heard between an old man and the receptionst.

Old man: But, can’t I see the doctor before?

Receptionist: I’m sorry. There are no available slots. But if you want an appointment outside your subscription, you can come tomorrow. But you must pay.

Old man: How much is it?

Receptionist: 250 RON.

Old man: Oh, I see ... no.

Receptionist: Then, shall I make you an appointment at the end of February?

Old man: Isn’t it possible earlier, please? Or at least, you can call her now and ask her? I just need her advice. Should I stop the treatment or should I wait for the results of the blood tests? You know, this amount of money is too high for me. 250 RON is too expensive, you see?

Receptionist: (maybe a little ashamed that all people waiting in line were looking at her as if she was an executioner) Hm, well, wait a little...

Old man: OK, I will wait right here until you call the doctor and see what she thinks.

 

Humanity. Where has humanity gone? And why we cannot find it in places where it should be by default…