Today’s Beef: The Behaviour of Animal Lovers on Forums and Facebook Groups

I’m one of the world’s biggest animal welfare advocates (not to blow my own trumpet… 😛 ) and also volunteer at my local *amazing* rescue centre, but it does irritate me when people ask an innocent question on a forum or Facebook group and are met with responses basically amounting to “You’re cruel!”, “You’re an idiot!” or “You don’t deserve to have pets!”

I’m sure there are many many people out there that ARE cruel, but these generally aren’t the people posting about their pets on message boards or asking for advice.

An example of this is when someone posted a picture of their chihuahua having had its hair cut around the belly and sides. This was cut for the summer to keep the dog cool, but the post was quickly inundated with comments such as “That’s cruel!”, “It won’t grow back the same!” and “The hair protects from the sun and prevents ticks! It’s not supposed to be cut!”

These type of comments, in my humble opinion, are misinformed and prejudgemental.

I am a human. I not only cut my hair short on a regular basis but also shave my legs and underarms. No, Mother Nature did not intend me to do this! But I still manage just fine, and actually it makes me feel more hygienic and is more practical for me.

If you don’t accept the human comparison, many many dog breeds have short hair and manage just fine. So why is it so wrong to cut the hair of another breed?

The mind boggles. Please feel free to educate me on this topic in the comments, as I am open-minded and willing to admit if I make a mistake.

Please also feel free to comment about your own experiences of this type of behaviour on pet forums and the like. 🙂

Pansexuals Vs. Asexuals: A Response

This is a response to the video linked below, which compares pansexuality with asexuality. This is why I think the video portrays both of these sexualities in a negative light.

I’m fine with oversimplification, but this flat out makes both sides look bad.
Pansexuality doesn’t mean that the person wants a lot of sex, it just means the person can theoretically be attracted to anyone of any gender (or lack of gender). So that in itself means pansexuals and asexuals can’t be directly compared.
Asexuality is concerned only with sex itself; not with the gender of the person the asexual may want to date.

And yes, asexuals can date. Asexuality is a spectrum. On one end of the spectrum is demisexuality. Demisexuals can experience a desire for sex, and can enjoy sex, with the right person. It’s just that their feelings of emotional and sexual intimacy are more intertwined than the average person. Demisexuals are unlikely to experience sexual desire towards a person they don’t know; for example in porn or seeing a celebrity on TV (unless, perhaps, they have developed a ‘connection’ with the celebrity by reading about them or watching interviews, etc). They are also unlikely to feel sexual attraction towards a person they have met in real life, but don’t know anything about. (However demisexuality is, in itself, a spectrum, but I won’t go into that here.)

On the other end of the asexuality spectrum is the aromantic asexual. They don’t experience either emotional or physical feelings of attraction towards others. But, being a spectrum, most asexuals will fall somewhere in between.

I don’t claim to be an expert on this, and my knowledge is based only on what I have read about or watched on YouTube. Please feel free correct me in the comments if you think I’ve made a mistake. 🙂

US Visa Application and undiagnosed neuro symptoms?!

Ok… so it’s been a while since I posted on here… Sorry about that! I was discharged from the hospital care a while ago in terms of my VS and other neuro symptoms (all of which remain undiagnosed) and I’ve been caught up with my (hopefully) upcoming move to the US to marry my beautful fiancee ❤ Please visit our blog (http://www.katieandjen.wordpress.com for more information, or follow us @katieandjen 😀 )

Thankfully I don’t have anything new to report in terms of symptoms, but I have found myself in a new situation that has led me to post here again. Before I have my Visa interview in London, I have to attend a medical examination by the US Embassy’s designated doctors’ surgery.

The purpose of this is to assess your physical and psychological state to determine if you’re fully functional and able to work, and therefore unlikely to become a burden to US taxpayers, as well as to ensure you’re not going to bring any communicable disease with you. This is fairly straightforward; but before you attend the medical exam, you’re required to fill out a questionnaire about your health.

One of the questions is “Have you ever been investigated or treated for a serious illness?” (Wording may not be exactly the same but essentially the same meaning.)

Well, April 2012 is when my blind spots first developed. I was investigated for all sorts that year, and was also admitted into hospital for several days at one point for further testing. (I want to point out that to this day I have no idea whether or not the blind spots are related to my VS, which I developed as a teenager.)

At that time, I had no idea my future self would be applying for a US Visa, and naturally a diagnosis was at the forefront of my mind. However, it now leaves me trying to explain a fat wodge of medical notes (well actually a lack of them, as it is too expensive to get them all printed!) that do not lead to a diagnosis. It is great, of course, that the doctors dug as deep as they reasonably could into my health and didn’t find anything serious; however they did, at the time, find scotoma in my vision, which was never explained.

This leaves me with the only option of trying to prove that my undiagnosed symptoms will not prevent me from working in the US. As I have no diagnosis to give them an estimate of my future health, I can only get a letter from my doctor stating that I am fit and able to work, and perhaps also my employer stating that the only extended sick leave I have taken was during my stay in hospital.

I will keep you posted with how it goes and any new information that comes to light. Bye for now.