The Adventures of The Blind/Low Vision/Visually Impaired (BLOVI) Girl- Volume 24
This week I am talking about people who live their life outside the box and how I find them to be generally happy people who make conscious choices to live differently and have no apologies for it. These are the people I tend to feel the most comfortable with and I am exploring why. But first……………
My WTF of the week is why people love my long hair. I have had many people comment that they like the long hair much better than my short hair. Why are they telling me this now when I have had my hair shorter for years? All this time I thought people liked my hair. Problem is that my hair won’t look that full if I grow it out and I really don’t want to put the extensions in every day. Friends tell me the hair makes me look softer and more relaxed, as well as younger, and that the short hair looks more serious and professional. I know that when I wear my hair long I do feel sexier. Now I get the mullet concept of business in the front and party in the back, but I don’t think sporting a mullet is a good choice. Maybe I could wear long hair out in the evenings and sport the short hair the rest of the time. I also think that if I meet someone out at some point I am going to have to be honest about the hair. Between that and the VS super miraculous bra it is like selling false goods. And you kind of don’t want there to be any surprises. I wonder what I would think if a guy wore a man girdle and stuffed his pants. I would not be too happy about that. I am so glad I am a woman and get to do the hair and bra and makeup. I could just think of it as putting the bow on a decent looking package.
This week I can’t get enough of the fact that my two favorite shows, House and Gray’s Anatomy, both did musical episodes this year. I am calling it the “Glee effect” and I like it. The interesting thing is that both episodes wrung me out emotionally. The House episode had its musical number as part of dream sequences and they looked like they had been directed by Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge). But I got to see Hugh Laurie do the singing and dancing thing and men got to see Lisa Edelstein scantily clad. As a side note my dad thought that seeing her like this was also a good thing, so I informed him that she “swam in the lady pool” (the new Bravo term for lesbian), and has a long tern partner. He was shocked to learn this. So the end of the episode is that Cuddy dumps House because she finds out he has to go back on Vicadin to be able to be emotionally available and be with her as she went through surgery. The whole thing was a huge romantic tragedy (I know because I have been involved in one of those-I think I even said most of what she said to him at the end of the episode) , but the Broadway like scenes were cool. I must also say I was blown away by the Gray’s Anatomy music event episode last week. Who knew so many of the actors could sing and the songs they chose were awesome. I must say I was tearing up during parts of the episode, but during the scene when Meredith and Derek are in the elevator and she breaks down and says why the universe is so mean and why is this happening I was in the ugly cry. That one hit very close to home. The next day I downloaded the CD with the songs and have been singing them since. And I, of course can’t get enough of the fact that my Top Chef crush, Richard Blais, took home the win. Told you so.
This past weekend I went to Charlotte and I had a great evening meeting new people and spending time with old friends, and hanging out at The Evening Muse. After the bar had closed we sat around and had a conversation that ranged from films that will mess you up (The human Centipede-look it up) to what aliens did to people when they came to earth, to the night of 1000 Stevie Nicks (where most were drag queens) to tapping and how it is done and NPR podcasts like The Moth and The Splendid Table. What was really cool was that this particular assortment of people had all made bold and interesting choices in their lives. Some had overcome messed up pasts and current challenges to live lives that were happy and full. There was one couple who decided to buy a unicycle and learn to walk a tightrope, so they strung up a line about a foot off the ground across their backyard to practice. I learned that you get a great core workout from both. The guy in the couple had spent that day doing Parkouur or Urban Jumping (look it up) and had a gash on his finger from his endeavors. Another guy’s son just left Boeing to go to Circus school to become a trapeze artist which led to a discussion about clown school. I also met a guy who is a super talented musician who makes t-shirts out of his house. Their adventures made my voice lessons, salsa and rock climbing sound tame, so I thought maybe I could juggle and I am going back to Charlotte to Zen walk that slack line across the yard.
What was important is not only that everyone was happy living simply and doing what they enjoyed, but also that they were very present and enjoying the moment. There was no discussion about work or material goods or future plans, even what people were doing the next week. It was storytelling and sharing experiences and laughing over shared interests (like how much some of us loved the Princess Bride and if Liz Phair rocked more than Courtney Love). And the people I met were intelligent and interested and involved in the world. They understand that who you are is not defined by what you do or what you possess. And they have the guts to make choices that are outside the so called norm. I admire them and I think I am working toward having the freedom to be able to make those choices. My accident somehow gave me that freedom and the desire to do the things I always wanted to do. Authenticity is an important thing to me and I find people who find joy in their lives while being real about their struggles to be authentic. I will hang with those people any day.
Keep Moving Forward,
Beth (BLOVI) Medlock
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