BS: journalling for disabled

Subject: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Claire M
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 10:29 AM

Hiya,

I used to keep a journal as a young child, & write stories etc. in it. 1 of the books I read suggests writing to angels, the Goddess etc. then disposing of the letter in some way so it's "sent" to them. I love this idea.

I also formed imaginary bonds w/ bands, TV characters, even song characters/mythical creatures, using language full of archaic words, writing about/to them. I always knew the bonds w/ said people/creatures were just in my imagination, but it seemed to comfort me when I needed it. I realised this when I had a bout of depression a couple of yrs ago. I refer to it as the Black Cloud.

When/if there's a complaint in the care home I live (not that there's been anything that serious) conflict, people not getting on etc., we're sort of thrown together but don't actually *like* each other all that much, sadly we're far too different) we're always told our conflicts'll be sorted but they aren't. I like most of the staff, as I said the place is good, so I dislike the idea of leaving -- but sometimes I feel like I'll have ♥ failure from all the repeated conversations/sudden shouting
When one of the staff was helping me I happened to say how I'd love it if the others who live here were a bit different, & she jokingly mentioned something along the lines of what I said in my 2nd paragraph ☻

I'd love to start journalling again so I am not seen as someone who likes to complain, & so the Cloud doesn't come, but how do I do this w/o it being seen (& w/o help) ??

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 11:26 AM

Would anybody see it if you just wrote it as a text file on your laptop? - I presume that's what you're using to post here?

1 of the books I read suggests writing to angels, the Goddess etc. then disposing of the letter in some way so it's "sent" to them. I love this idea.

That's what posts to Mudcat are for. You don't suppose we really exist, do you?

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 11:40 AM

Your writing is good Clair and your perspective is interesting. I think you ought to keep your journal entries rather than "sending them to the angels."

You may want to read them again.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 12:39 PM

Hello Clair!!...ever tried turning your writings into lyrics? You might just have a treasure trove of insights that have afflicted many!

..and Warmest Regards!!

GfS

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 05:05 PM

Journaling is a good idea, whether meant for other readers, for rereading, or just for the moment ("the angels"). It can help us greatly to form our ideas. As Jack Campin writes (and you probably know quite well), posting to Mudcat can serve similar purposes.

Secrecy is of course vital. If you fear others to spy on your computer - your flatmates, the staff, etc. -, ask us for help with encryption. (It won't help against the NSA, I'm afraid, but you can hope they are not too interested.)

We can benefit most when we ask ourselves questions that we would normally not have considered in such detail and precision. For example, we can search for clues about other people's behaviour and mindset. Another good question is what effect we believe to have made with out recent actions. Sometimes I wish Mudcat posters (not you!) ponder more about the question "Do I really appear as witty/educated/rational/civilized/well-meaning/compassionate as I would like?"

On a computer, we can edit a journal entry until we are sure that it represents the result of our thorough consideration. Of course, if we change our opinion later, on another day, we should not revise the old entry, but start a new one, explaining why. Purely fictional entries profit from good proofreading as well.

Understanding other people and ourselves best we can, is the elementary key to social success and personal comfort. All morals and philosophy rely on it. Go on with the journal/diary, and please keep us informed from time to time. We wish you the best!

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 07:23 PM

Flash drives are fairly inexpensive these days, and they're small. Some even come with a strap you can wear around your neck, but most can be put on something you can wear, so it's always with you. You can save your writing to that.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 07:30 PM

Use this... or something like it. (A search on ROT-47 will get many examples) You can make your writing be incomprehensible to anyone trying to look at it.

There is even a program you can download to your own computer here.

ROT-13 is included with many standard programs. It 'might' be all you need.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 08:02 PM

But, I have to say, Jeri's idea is possibly all you'd need... bearing in mind you 'could' scramble the words on a flash drive, also.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Jeri
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 08:47 PM

Some software lets you save files with a password. The more furtive you get though, the more chance you'll forget how to access the files. At least that's what I do. If I want to lose something forever, I put it in a Safe Place.

You can e-mail your writing to an address, as e-mail programs require passwords. Google lets you take out more than one account. You could also start a blog that only you have access to, although you may end up wanting to share your writing with people who have similar interests. There might not be anyone local, but I bet there are loads of people on the internet.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 10:45 PM

The basic question is, do YOU have full control of the relevant computer? If so, it would be fairly easy to hide, scramble and protect your file(s). Of course, some of that would depend on your ability to download & install programs. (scrambling them between uses with ROT-47 or 13 using an online service would NOT require having new programs.)

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 20 Jan 14 - 01:46 PM

Quit obviously, one would think, you must have the doecument you're creating visible on your computer while writing it, if you use a computer.

With a "paper" document, when it's finished you could "send it to the angels" by just dropping it into a shredder, but you might want it to continue to "be somewhere" even if only the angels know where it is(?).

Nearly all reasonably recent programs, and especially those you might use for text documents, allow you to "encrypt" the file. Usually, it's simple to use a new password for each file. Although the encryption used by various programs is of variable "strength" it is unlikely that anyone (except the angels) would ever be able to see what you have written without the password.

If you write down a long password on a scrap of paper before you enter it as the password for the new document, when it's done you can tear up the scrap, forget the password, and the document will be "with the angels."

Unfortunately, an encrypted file can also be difficult to delete without the password, so eventually the place where you put your "sent messages" may be "full of angel dust" and will stop letting you save anything new. Text/word processor files aren't usually enormous so it should take quite a while to fill up most hard drives, but it might be best to put the encrypted stuff all on a separate drive (or flash drive or CD?) so that you can replace that drive without just replacing the whole computer.

An alternative, if you might want to look at what you've sent later**, would be to use the same password for all of your writings (and make sure you make a record of the password in some safe place in case you forget what it was).

** Do the angels ever ask you to explain something your wrote? (I had one for a while who argued with almost everything I wrote, and sometimes misquoted me to try to confuse the issue, although I'm not too sure that one was on the side he claimed.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 21 Jan 14 - 12:12 AM

I sort of thought you were talking about saving stuff to "The Cloud".

I use Evernote, which is basically a journalling program that stores on the cloud. I have it on my home computers, iTouch/iPad, and Android, and can access it on the web--it allows me to read and write to the same files anywhere, but also lets me restrict access with a password, so no one sees anything but me.

At one point, I had a boss who used to sneak in and read people's personal computer files after hours--she could never read any of my stuff because I had nothing stored on my computer.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Bill D
Date: 21 Jan 14 - 11:08 AM

hmmm... good idea, Stim

http://evernote.com/webclipper/

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: Claire M
Date: 22 Jan 14 - 09:43 AM

Hiya,

I was worried re 1 returning staff member – the manager's daughter – cos her & I never saw eye-to-eye; I thought she was a bit of a bully & inappropriate for her job, she thought I was a bit odd. So I wrote to 1 of said band members (Tim ♥) No problems w/ said staff member.

I still think the same way & can't see it changing, but now I've lived here for 1yr I can see why, as I've found out most, if not all, the other residents are not my type of people – you just can't have a conversation w/ ½ of them. Apart from the Consort of course – he doesn't like them either. I went to sit down so I could have a cup of tea & 1 woman growled "get away from me! Don't come near me!" I'd only said "morning". Later on she crashed her own wheelchair into mine, w/o apology.

Subject: RE: BS: journalling for disabled
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 22 Jan 14 - 01:51 PM

Claire, ½ is not too bad a proportion. Everybody has her or his own abilities and limits. We cannot expect to live in perfect understanding with all other people, but we can improve it with each one. You can ask us and others for advice, but in the end you must solve your problems yourself. Start with your journal or diary!

If you need technical advice, please tell us more about the equipment you have available, and who else uses it. Encryption can be much easier than suggested in the above posts.