Melissa Roth -- Freespeak Blog

So many thoughts swirling around in my head.   I am finding it increasingly difficult to sleep.   I have to express.   I have to start sharing the words tumbling through my brain.   I have made notes and probably processed a trillion thoughts and ideas in the last few weeks, but alas no blog has emerged. The thing is I have been busy.   I know, I know … old excuse.   It was easy to put off blogging about things that have been going on in deference to more pressing deadlines. After all, this is self-directed and I have no deadline other than my own.   Choices.   Life can be so annoying sometimes.   Always boils down to choices.    What am I choosing and what criteria am I using to choose.    That is the question.   I choose.    I have been choosing to respond to external deadlines – deadlines imposed by other people's needs and expectations.   I have chosen to ignore my internal deadl...

Heartbleed is making my brain bleed.  We have 151 separate accounts, emails, and websites that require a password.  In the past, I admit, I have used the same password for more than one.  But come on, 150 different passwords was just impossible.  I had 37 different passwords but along came Heartbleed and now I have to come up with more than 150 different passwords with 8 characters, capital and small case letters, a symbol and a number, and wait there's more – I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO REMEMBER THEM! What?  Okay.  So we spent 5 hours yesterday trying to come up with new passwords and figuring out which ones needed to be changed first.   We tried to follow the advice of the experts and come up with an easy to remember phrase and adapt it or use an anagram but really 150 of them?  We have a list of passwords that need to be changed and changed 3 before I gave up in brain fatigue.  It is an unbelievable task.  Of course, the very mass ...

Making friends.  I have been thinking lately about my sparse social life in my new home.  I know as an introvert it is more challenging to make friends.  After all, when you don't go out as much, it is difficult to meet people.  I have made a couple of friends and I am going out a little.  I have been doing more in the last few months.  I am not trying to copy the social experience I had in my old home.  I lived there 26 years and had a pretty solid circle.  I am trying to open my horizons a littler wider here and to be able to enjoy some things I am interested in with other like-minded individuals. I have sort of been dipping toes here and there and believing it was only a matter of time.  I know I am slow to develop friendships and make a connection, but once made it is damn near unbreakable.  I have been friendly when I go anywhere and keeping as aware as possible of people who seem simpatico.  It didn't seem to be working. ...