My Ex's Crappy Cars
My ex had some of the lousiest luck with cars. He had a Corvair, which was horrible at any speed but spent more time stopped. He then bought a brand new Vega, drove it a year and the motor mounts failed causing the engine to fall out. But he never learned the lesson that you don't buy crappy cars with horrible reviews. The last I heard he was driving an ancient American-built van. I seem to recall him with a rodeo of rolling scrap iron.
I only had one bout of bad idiotic car buying. Back in college I scored a job delivering air freight for one of the bigger air freight carriers, making a munificent twelve bucks an hour, when minimum wage was three bucks and ended up strolling into the European car dealer to buy an Italian made convertible. Stupidest. Decision. Ever. Well, maybe second stupidest. First stupidest was getting married young to a much older guy.
That stupid car was in the shop more during the one year I owned it than I was able to drive it. In the shop, in the shop. Transmission failed when I had it 6 months. My dad used to tell me that Fiat stood for 'Fix It Again, Tony'. When I moved to Germany the German mechanic used to say "Fier Im Ala Tala" (likely spelled wrong as my German is extremely rusty) A mistake in every part.
After a year I sold the car at a pretty big loss and continued to drive my trusty old VW bug that ran like a bomb. I'd learned my lesson.
If I am thankful for anything this week it's my ability to learn, to more forward and for the fact that I've started to have strict boundaries. I have learned to say no more often.
I'm going to have to say "No" much more often. I got the business on a number of transactions this week.
Some of it could not be avoided. Mike, a friend of mine, is stewing over having pastors and ministers prosecuted for promoting child abuse. He's having some pretty significant PTSD. He's reacting, and it's been rather difficult to watch and deal with. But I get what he's up to and why he's struggling. It's understandable.
One of my closest friends shared with me some pretty damning facts about her husband taking overseas sex tourism trips. Not reacting has been hard, because that's one of my triggers, cheating husbands.
I don't mind it as much if the person is a friend and I can talk to them and help them deal with whatever is going on for them. Where I hate it is with manipulative weasel like people. This week with its Duggar gossip has been revealing in that it showed me exactly who is greedily exploiting the news for themselves to the point of trying to pick my brain and then ordering me not to share things we both know from different sources. I lost a lot of respect for this gal who is a former Patheos author.
She's the reason I'm ignoring the speculations now, I just don't want to hear any more gossip on it, and I've had to block her. She's stressing me out over it, demanding I come on her podcast. This afternoon she started firing questions at me about my sources, and I had to just shut it down and flee.
The clamoring voices of those demanding to know what my faith is. Those that want to know what I know about various subjects. The demands, the questions. It's just too much when I'm not well.
All of this is combining to make me think I am just about done with online. I owe no one anything.
I had a lot of time to think about the toxic nature of online groups this morning after my friend Heather finally told the whole story of her being gaslight by Libby Anne of Love, Joy, Feminism. Heather is not the only one, Libby and pals have come after and tormented at least ten others I know of, including me. Cindy Kunsman, The Naked Pastor, some folks connected with Homeschoolers Anonymous, and other people in the recovery groups.
Heather, like me, has had enough shit from users and is learning to stand up for herself and those others harmed by others.
I'm not sharing Libby's real name here, but Heather ha.s in her blog post. I gave someone at Patheos my word I would not out Libby Anne, even as she was lying and attacking me. But I have to say it feels good to see someone else stand up to her.
Libby Anne is a flaming rattled old rusty Pinto in my opinion, harmful for everyone she interacts with. Bet you didn't know she also writes a Christian blog under another name? I've heard it said she's the author of four different, sometimes contradictory blogs. Who has time for that?
I am reminded of this new video by Switchfoot and Lindsey Stirling.
I only had one bout of bad idiotic car buying. Back in college I scored a job delivering air freight for one of the bigger air freight carriers, making a munificent twelve bucks an hour, when minimum wage was three bucks and ended up strolling into the European car dealer to buy an Italian made convertible. Stupidest. Decision. Ever. Well, maybe second stupidest. First stupidest was getting married young to a much older guy.
That stupid car was in the shop more during the one year I owned it than I was able to drive it. In the shop, in the shop. Transmission failed when I had it 6 months. My dad used to tell me that Fiat stood for 'Fix It Again, Tony'. When I moved to Germany the German mechanic used to say "Fier Im Ala Tala" (likely spelled wrong as my German is extremely rusty) A mistake in every part.
After a year I sold the car at a pretty big loss and continued to drive my trusty old VW bug that ran like a bomb. I'd learned my lesson.
If I am thankful for anything this week it's my ability to learn, to more forward and for the fact that I've started to have strict boundaries. I have learned to say no more often.
I'm going to have to say "No" much more often. I got the business on a number of transactions this week.
Some of it could not be avoided. Mike, a friend of mine, is stewing over having pastors and ministers prosecuted for promoting child abuse. He's having some pretty significant PTSD. He's reacting, and it's been rather difficult to watch and deal with. But I get what he's up to and why he's struggling. It's understandable.
One of my closest friends shared with me some pretty damning facts about her husband taking overseas sex tourism trips. Not reacting has been hard, because that's one of my triggers, cheating husbands.
I don't mind it as much if the person is a friend and I can talk to them and help them deal with whatever is going on for them. Where I hate it is with manipulative weasel like people. This week with its Duggar gossip has been revealing in that it showed me exactly who is greedily exploiting the news for themselves to the point of trying to pick my brain and then ordering me not to share things we both know from different sources. I lost a lot of respect for this gal who is a former Patheos author.
She's the reason I'm ignoring the speculations now, I just don't want to hear any more gossip on it, and I've had to block her. She's stressing me out over it, demanding I come on her podcast. This afternoon she started firing questions at me about my sources, and I had to just shut it down and flee.
The clamoring voices of those demanding to know what my faith is. Those that want to know what I know about various subjects. The demands, the questions. It's just too much when I'm not well.
All of this is combining to make me think I am just about done with online. I owe no one anything.
I had a lot of time to think about the toxic nature of online groups this morning after my friend Heather finally told the whole story of her being gaslight by Libby Anne of Love, Joy, Feminism. Heather is not the only one, Libby and pals have come after and tormented at least ten others I know of, including me. Cindy Kunsman, The Naked Pastor, some folks connected with Homeschoolers Anonymous, and other people in the recovery groups.
Heather, like me, has had enough shit from users and is learning to stand up for herself and those others harmed by others.
I'm not sharing Libby's real name here, but Heather ha.s in her blog post. I gave someone at Patheos my word I would not out Libby Anne, even as she was lying and attacking me. But I have to say it feels good to see someone else stand up to her.
Libby Anne is a flaming rattled old rusty Pinto in my opinion, harmful for everyone she interacts with. Bet you didn't know she also writes a Christian blog under another name? I've heard it said she's the author of four different, sometimes contradictory blogs. Who has time for that?
I am reminded of this new video by Switchfoot and Lindsey Stirling.
Comments