Social Media Fatigue

I have been thinking a lot about the social media trend which no longer is just mere trend it has become a way of life. I remember 10 years ago in 2002 when everyone was in the midst of terror and being afraid. I was busy taking photos with my then state of the art 2.1MP digital camera.

Who would have thought that I could communicate with people in different countries over the internet. Oh wait I was. But my e-mails, voice calls and instant messages were private, self contained entities controlled solely by us. I had a lot of online chat buddies and thought MSN messenger, Yahoo, AOL and ICQ would be the extent of my communication.

The whole blogging phenomena happened then fast forward a decade and everyone including my 9 year old niece are using Facebook and “liking” my photos from my trip to Berlin before I could tell her about it in person. After becoming obsessed with remembering to update my check in status at the Bank Cash Point I came to a realization a few days ago while at home recovering from an illness.

Not only has our privacy been significantly impaired but we willingly gave it away. In addition to this silent submission, our private thoughts are being used by corporations for profit. Instead of calling my closest friends I Tweet them and comment on this photos. One might see this as more interactive but after some consideration I think this may be incredibly intrusive.

I am a busy Physician and have to take calls in the middle of the night and lately I have noticed the quality of my sleep has fallen tremendously in recent years. I used to blame this on my work schedule but this restlessness occurs even when off duty. So I decided to do an experiment.

I left all my electronics out of my bedroom and turned out all the lights and went to bed. Image I awoke the next day fully rested wondering how I achieved such a thing. It turns out that each of my social media and message caused mobile to lite up or vibrate which caused multiple disruptions to my sleep leaving me exhausted.

But who do I have to blame for this? No one but myself. So I have decided to rethink my whole embrace of all this technology which is supposed to improve life but really has worsened my quality of life. The challenge will be negotiating the terms of my interaction with the world. I suppose my life shouldn’t be that negatively impacted if I am no longer awoken in the middle of night to see photos of Rihanna openly consuming marijuana and cursing.

So I hereby announce my Social Media Fatigue.

I could read some more into the way companies and intelligence agencies are using all this volunteered information to advance less than wholesome or desirable causes but I won’t. I myself am a bit tired of reading conspiracy blogs. I acknowledge there may be forces which want people to surrender all control and freedoms, even their innermost thoughts to create the best weapon of mass destruction.

I don’t care as much about that as I do about my greatest human right, quality sleep.

Moving to London? Kickstart your transition with 1st Contact.

I recently embarked on a journey that I have been planning for some time. After spending some time in Barbados working as a Junior Doctor slave I needed a change so headed to London to take my UK medical council licensing exams.

Although it is still a work in progress things were made much easier by purchasing the Kickstart package from 1st contact. Although I am a British citizen I had lived overseas all my life so in terms of UK banks…I do not exist as I have no history or proof of address. So a bank account can not be offered to me.

In the UK a bank account is the primary mode of proving your address in order to access all other services. So in sort…no bank account means, you can’t get a mobile phone plan, you can’t rent a flat, you can’t pay for items in some shops, excess charges to use international cards at cash points, you can’t even register to use the British Library. Get the idea?

I was determined to find a solution around this and after extensive research on the web I somehow can onto this website called 1st Contact which claimed to give access to a UK bank account without prior proof of address.

I have to admit that at first I was a bit skeptical at first as I saw a big UK bank had an offering which as a big downside had a 12 month contract with a monthly fee. Kickstart was just a one time fee. So I took a big breath and charged the fee to my credit card and provided my UK arrival date.

Watch the video below which explains just how easy the process really can be!

On my arrival to the UK in London I went to the 1st contact offices in Central London. A nice girl welcomed me and told me to have a seat. A few minutes later I was presented with my package which included: a Sim card (micro) for my iPhone, a letter to take to the bank of my choice (one of the big UK high street banks), vouchers for sweet discounts including 5days free at a central London gym. They even gave me a free money transfer to put money into my UK bank account.

So it has been over a month and I have received my first bank statement and now have an official UK presence thanks to 1st Contact. I would really like to thanks guys!!! I highly recommend 1st Contact to anyone moving to the UK for the first time.

Get in Contact today!

http://www.1stcontactkickstart.com

Live like there is no tomorrow…

It is Sunday morning and I am having lovely oats porridge for breakfast. While starting my laundry today my mind came onto an elderly patient I saw the other day. She was at the brink of death due to a massive stroke. She looked death in the eye and said hell no! Kicking and screaming with a voracity I have not seen very often she is making a recovery.

Although the language centers of her brain were most affected and she could not speak or read for months she pushed herself to re-synapse and basically rewire her brain. Now she can speak and read with the occasional cue for a lost word. Sheer will and persistence and a big dose of TLC I must say. She has no recollection of anything after she collapsed or during her ordeal in hospital but said she must write a thank you note to those who saved her life. She looked me in the eye  and said it is very important to say thank you. I have to do it now before I die; we never know then it will happen. Second chances don’t always come around.

Just spending 20 minutes with this lady gave me so much perspective on life and living it is incredible.

So next time you think oh no my day is going horrible and you want to throw in the towel that this bit of perspective. Live life with as much vigor and enthusiasm as possible and treasure the little things like eating oats on a sunday morning. lol Taking a walk, driving out, seeing friends and family, doing that hobby you always wanted. All very important things; and the most important thing I think is leaving the world a little better than you found it.

Happy Sunday!

Smiley puppy

Where have I been?

I have not written in a week now and I am here to get back on the bus so to speak. lol I am visiting my family here in the Virgin Islands (UK) a lovely archipelago 60 miles east of Puerto Rico in the Northeast Caribbean.

Boasting some of the most beautiful islands, finest sailing, snorkeling, diving anywhere on earth the British Virgin Islands is certainly the place to be. The capital Road Town on the island of Tortola is the business hub of this financial services centre.

Road Town, Tortola, BVI http://www.dexterpenn.com

I was born and grew up on the eastern end of Tortola and always find it quite lovely each time I visit. This certainly is an oasis and over the better part of a decade have dared to capture the beauty all around me in photographs. I spent most of my life on these islands but I still get chills every time I see the islands in the distance on final approach when flying back. Heaven awaits below the clouds on a beach in the BVI.

Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda

In honour of my birthplace here is a photo montage I put together set to Giazotto’s Adagio in G minor. All photos courtesy www.dexterpenn.com AKA ME. lol Watch in HD it is stunning!

Cheers!

Learn Sexy CPR Today!

I did my Basic Life Support (BLS)refresher course today. I came across this website sent to me by my friend Dionne. Super Sexy CPR aims to attract young people into learning the life saving skill. These videos take the BLS skill set to a new level with sexy results. 😉

It is almost comical how these lingerie clad models straddle each other while giving mouth to mouth. But nothing comes close to the Abdominal Thrusts. This Male/Female couple are in their underwear. The tall black guy with a visible bulge in his striped trunk underwear stands behind the sexy blond girl who is supposed to be choking manages to leave her mouth suggestively open.

After delivering several sensual thrusts from behind the guy finally frees a chocolate shaped heart from the blond girl’s mouth. Hmmm I wonder how she choked in the first place possibly on his chocolate love? You choose.

Although I was quite sweaty at the end, unfortunately, my BLS course did not quite go like that. But maybe my ALS (Adult…I mean Advanced Life Support) will have sexier results. On a serious note learning this skill enables you to save a life which makes me proud to say I am certified.  Learn how you can get CPR certified here!

Chris Brown cries…crocodile tears?

So I woke up this morning and saw all this talk about Chris Brown on Mario’s AKA Perez Hilton’s website and on the Yahoo homepage. So I decided to have a look at the video posted of Mr. Brown’s performance at the BET Awards. My first thought was who did Chris Brown or his management team have to sleep with or pay off to get him to do this Michael Jackson Tribute.

It starts off with the now iconic silhouette of a figure on stage similar to that of Michael Jackson behind a screen. Then the screen falls away and then the crowd is somewhat apprehensive when they realise that it is Chris Brown on stage but applauds anyway. He does some MJ moves and sings briefly. Then they show some images of the Haiti quake and BP oil spill with the intro to “Man in the MIrror” playing.

Then Chris Brown attempts to sing with a shaky voice then is completely useless and begins to sob uncontrollably. Watch the Video below…

In my honest opinion this was a staged attempt at winning public support for Chris Brown after his career was ravaged by the Rihanna domestic violence scandal. This comes after Mr. Brown was denied entry into the UK earlier this month to tour the British Isles.

Not to negate from his talent but I don’t think Chris Brown ought to be put up on a pedestal honouring the greatest entertainer of our time the late Michael Jackson. I just think that this is a blatant endorsement of domestic violence. What kind of message is being sent to young men out there? It is okay to beat your wife or girlfriend because you will get a slap on the wrist because that is what community service really is.

Not to say Michael Jackson did not have his problems but since his death MJ has undergone apotheosis which in music industry terms makes Chris Brown like a ex-convict turned preacher.  A sinner born again through the power of God or in this case dancing like Michael Jackson and crying at all the money he lost.

It would seem that it does not matter what crime you committed, you can cry in public then everyone will like you again. 14 months ago Chris Brown, music’s golden boy was the most hated man in music. It is alarming how soon people forget. I know people can change and learn from their mistakes but I still feel there was no justice in the Rihanna case. Basically I think he should have gone to prison for a few months to think about what he did wrong, not pick up trash in a park.

We’ll just see how far Chris Brown’s people will take this redeemed man in repair thing.

Life: All things to all people…

Lesson learned…Trying to be all things to all people, makes you become nothing to yourself.

What kind of selfish, self-serving, self-affirming statement is this? It is not a disclaimer for bad behaviour or a rationalisation for one’s lack of personality. I suppose this is well…the truth. The thought came to me while driving, as many of my thoughts come.

We have been socialized to be agreeable, cooperative and to play by the rules; all going against man’s innately selfish nature. This realisation has made me believe that most bad, often successful, people are not really bad, just selfish, give or take the odd sociopath.

Furthermore, as good as society-building strategies like the golden rule may be they somehow diminish the sense of self required to reach one’s full potential. I know this sounds crazy, selfishness as a means of reaching enlightenment. But think about it for a bit. How will one ever know what one truly enjoys and excels at if this is never explored?

In real terms, I can use the example of my life. I was a community oriented honour student that always played by rules set by others. It is surprisingly easy to follow a path already set out for you. But that path began to seem less fulfilling when my mind was opened to my potential greatness. In hindsight I think a greater challenge to develop a stronger sense of self, not captive by a fear of disappointing others, would have added a new dimension of strength to my character.

But I suppose one cannot be effectively challenged when one is being advised by people completely paralysed by Fear.

Which leads me to quote none other than Ms. Lily Rose Allen.

“The Fear”

“I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore

And I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore

When do you think it will all become clear?

Cause I’m being taken over by the fear “

Clever and insightful eh? Lily really needs to get more credit for her insightful lyrics and me I need another drink! 😉

Here is Lily performing “The Fear” live! Support her music and purchase her fantastic album It’s Not Me, It’s You on iTunes today!