Sunday, March 10, 2019

SLEEP -- HEALTH -- TIME ZONES -- SOCIALIZATION


Hope you remembered to turn your clock ahead an hour if you live where daylight savings time alternates with standard time.  California voters passed an initiative last November to make DST permanent year ‘round.   Our state legislature has to approve it by a two-thirds vote, then the federal government has to authorize.  We will join Florida awaiting passage of a Congressional bill followed by Presidential signature with the result being we won’t have to change our clocks any more!

“The majority of Arizona is on permanent standard time, and year-round DST is followed by Hawaii and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Minor Outlying Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.”  The Verge.

There have been studies about how our sleep and health are affected by having to make the DST time changes.  Now that the clock no longer dictates my daily life schedule my arising and retiring to sleep has much more flexibility, perhaps my body is less affected by the changes.

 I was intrigued by some facts revealed in a recent U.S.A. Today article including:

“Though spread over five time zones, China recognizes only one, Beijing time.  It is supposed to promote unity, but for those who live in the far west, the summer sun sets as late as midnight.

If the U.S. observed the one-time-zone policy (Washington, D. C., time, of course), the summer sun in Arizona would set as late as 10:42 p.m.”

* * *

We all are probably aware of the research results that have concluded how important socialization can be for the psychological well-being of older people – especially those who may live alone or don’t have family or friends close-by with whom to interact.  Whatever our situation we make our daily social life with those we encounter on all levels of human interaction.   

I don’t feel compelled to have contact with another person every day.  Some days I find shopping at my local grocery, a visit to my pharmacy or other stores provides all the human contact I want with conversation at a quite sufficient level to nourish me socially.  

Then, there’s the verbal interaction that comes with those scam phone calls.  The latest one I received was a recording allegedly from the prime internet mail order business whose name they used.   I was told my account (what account?) had been “locked” in a city they also named with which I was familiar.   The accented male voice rapidly spewed out all sorts of order and account numbers followed by instructions to respond by choosing one of two phone links for immediate connection with them.   Then finally I was admonished to phone a number they provided for their “Security” Department.   

Of course, I ignored all those instructions.  I did independently phone the real Internet company, confirmed there was no such locked account there in my name.  I was told this was a new scam to them of which they would notify their Security Dept.   Later a friend told me they had received a similar scam allegedly from the same Internet company, but via email.   

Subsequently, my tech guru counseled me there was no need to double check such a call – notification of the account being “locked” would not be given by a phone call -- just ignoring the call whether or not a message is left is sufficient.   A second recorded call alleged to be from that same company was left another day from an unaccented woman speaker.   Do any of these interactions count for socialization minutes?  

Recently, my social life has seemed to center mostly on interaction with various service repair people – the phone calls for appointments, then the calls on service day to learn when they’ll arrive or awaiting a call they’re on their way, re-arranging other appointments.   When these household items on which we’re so dependent malfunction, I’m reminded of how much we take for granted when everything works as it should – whether our appliances, digital devices, or our bodies. 

I do resist looking over the shoulder of the workmen, or engaging them in much conversation when they’re working as don’t want to distract them.   But we do rack up some social gab they often introduce i.e. their experience repairing their house’s plumbing, or their wife is going to have a baby.   My husband used to find talk distracting when he was fixing things.   In later years concentration became more challenging for him with interruptions angering him.   He never really enjoyed being a handyman.   He said he’d rather play a dance job and hire someone else to fix things.   

Finally, and hopefully, my house drains  are all sufficiently open, not only for bathroom but washing machine operations and utility room wash tub emptying.  But...I am considering having the kitchen drain reamed out, just on general principle – am I getting addicted to service person calls?  

Frankly, when it comes to socializing, I must confess  I’d really rather be having discussions with other than my service providers and on topics other than the technicalities of drain pipes, reaming devices, materials causing blockage, aging effects on the old piping in my house’s system.    I’m ready to move on to different topics with other people.

So, what are your thoughts about socialization in your life and/or DST?

30 comments:

  1. Partly due to maintaining homes in two states, I don't have a social network either place. I do still have my husband, occasionally a neighbor here or there, but most of my socialization is through social media. Commenting here or having someone comment on my blog and Facebook, where I keep a narrow base of others interested in writing and friends from years gone by. I worry some that that's not enough and would love to have a friend to drink coffee (or tea) and talk about everything. I miss that. I have such a friend in Oregon but nobody down here at this point. Social media does let me hear how others are thinking but it's not the same as face to face. On the other hand, as an introvert, I don't do well with friends who need a lot of time; so some of this is my own doing.

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    1. Can appreciate the challenge you face to have opportunities to make that friend(s), to have coffee with on occasion. I’ve experienced that, too, as my friends moved away or died, I was needing to focus more time on my ailing husband and my work, so didn’t cultivate new friends. Then, when he suddenly died I was missing those type friends for the first time in my adult life.

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  2. I love daylight savings time and would be thrilled with it full time, but the people with young children would not because that puts the kids out in the dark waiting for school buses. Then change the time they start school, I'd say to that.

    I don't talk to plumbers because they charge by the five minutes. With other service people it's easy to pick up on the ones who can work and talk at that same time and who find it either annoying or who enjoy talking to homeowners. I usually talk to them when they first get started, then I leave them alone. I want to get a feel for the kind of stranger who is inside my house.

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    1. Changing school start times can be an approach, but that also affects many working parents who need to see their children off to school and to get to work at a prescribed time — many ripple effects.

      Always wise to have some sense of who we’re letting in our homes.

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  3. Changing clocks back and forth seems so silly and backward. I cannot believe that in the 21st century, we still do this antiquated dance. It should be shelved back there with Outhouses, Hoopskirts, and Sundials.

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    1. I agree, this clock changing back and forth is outdated.

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  4. Ooh, thanks for the reminder. I am usually on top of the time change but was thinking yesterday was Friday. Yes I still have a few clocks that need personal attention. I would be content if we never changed but am OK with it. Now it will take a while for Callie to get used to the new meal times.

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    1. Why not just keep feeding her at the old time, but probably other issues with your own schedule.

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  5. We in the UK are still arguing over whether to have the same time all year round or keep changing the clocks. Sunset on our longest day this summer (June 21) is due at 10.04 pm. I love it when it stays light so long into the evening.

    My socialising mainly involves the neighbours, the baristas at our favourite local coffee shop, the members of my book club, and the friends and relatives we meet up with from time to time. That's quite enough for me, a little socialising goes a very long way.

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    1. Didn’t realize those outside the U.S. did the DST changes, too. As a child I recall having an 8 p.m. bedtime and how hard it was having to go to bed when it was still daylight outside.

      Socializing took on a somewhat different perspective for me when I no longer had my companion, husband, at home with whom to interact. Then, with aging and increasing death of family and friends, others moving away, it made a difference.

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  6. I would prefer not changing from standard to daylight to standard, but stay on one time year round. We no longer answer our phone unless it is from one of our children. Others can leave a message. Blocking numbers does not do much good because most of these callers have an unlimited number of phone numbers to use. The one I hate worst always comes at 6 am and caller ID says it is from MY OWN PHONE NUMBER! For a while I thought perhaps someone was "gas-lighting" me. The phone company cannot figure it out. There is never a message left.

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    1. Oh, those calls that come but leave no message I tend to think are just checking to see if number rings through, then number is added to list distributed to those who make their scam or sales pitch calls. I don’t know this to be true, so am just speculating.

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  7. I'm so distrusting of phone numbers that I sometimes don't answer thinking it's a scam call. Then it turns out I was supposed to have answered. Sigh... I love that Hawaii doesn't have to worry about DST. In Illinois, it got so dark in the afternoon and I really didn't enjoy going home in the dark after school.

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    1. Really frustrating isn’t it. Our phones have really become tools used by crooks to abuse us. Seems to me with all this tech our providers should be able to be protect us from such invasion given what we pay them.

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  8. I do not answer the phone unless the caller is someone or an entity known to me. Sometimes I even skip those. I have, however had several 2-3 hour conversations with FB friends and I find those interesting and fun. A couple of times old HS contacts that I did not really know well at all back in those days have jump started real frienbdships.

    Interesting commentary re service men/women - my daughter is on them like white on rice. Jamie really likes to watch and learn how to fix stuff and the service people we have encountered seem to relish the interest.

    Otherwise, my social interactions are in the blogging world. I have made real friends there around the world. Some are more argumentative than others and I find that refreshing. I rarely refuse a debate and am usually comfortable on either side of an issue.

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    1. Sometimes I have periods of time when I let all calls go to my answering machine, Other times, if sales people, I may chastise them for not respecting the National Do Not Call list, and tell them we’ll never do business with them, so never call again. Probably doesn’t do any good. Right now those calls mostly seem to be from all the construction companies.

      Can be fun catching up on lives of old classmates — just seeing who’s still alive as we get older. Internet has been a boon offering the opportunity to socialize from our own homes and even with people we’ve never met in person. Sounds like you’ve really benefitted from it too, as have I.

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  9. True.... notification of any sort would not be given by a phone call. A mail would be little more convincing.

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    1. Thanks for reaffirming the information I received about the type phone scam I received. Appreciate your stopping by. Your blog looks interesting with photos and history of where you live in India.

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  10. I need a while to adjust with daylight savings time.
    nice post.
    have a great day

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  11. I'd be all right with going the way of Arizona, to be honest. I don't think DST is really all that neccessary in today's world.

    I'm a fairly social person. Having the foot issue has really put on a damper on things. I can make it out to the coffee shop, but that usually sees me sitting alone trying to finish the Monday crossword.

    Navigating well scam calls is certainly a good skill to have. I suppose they could be counted as 'socializing'.

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    1. Standard time for me would be fine, too — just consistency 12 months a year is what I’d like.
      I seem to go through periods of socializing, and then circumstances such as people moving away or dying, can result in my being less involved.
      A few years ago a group formed at local coffee shop which I enjoyed, but eventually gradually dispersed. Went to a different place not long ago, but time when most active there doesn’t fit my life style now. Can be fun interesting way to meet new people in our community.
      I think I’d be stretching things a bit to consider the scam talk as socializing.

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  12. 1. The last time we had a plumber out, he gave us a discount because he found me so entertaining - or, so he said. 2. Why we change standard times is beyond me. Businesses/services can change their start/stop times any way they please; but, we should all be going by Universal Time (GMT) at all times. 3. I set my phone so that it goes straight to voicemail if it doesn't recognize the number that is calling (from my contacts listing). If my phone rings, I at least know it is someone I put into my listing!
    Cop Car

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    1. Sounds like a good deal with plumber -- GMT would work -- your calls well under control.

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  13. I have a variety of ways that I socialize and they suit me. I work twice a week at our Free Care Clinic and that keeps me up to date on the medical stuff and then I attend 2 AA meetings a week too and that pairs me up with younger people and is always an eye opener. But I must admit I live solitude too … am a voracious reader.

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    1. Sounds like you have a variety of of social interactions. I really enjoy contact with different age groups, too. I read erratically -- voraciously for a period of time, then take a break from it.

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  14. This blog policy does not publish comments with links embedded from individuals sneakily attempting to get free advertising or promotion.

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    1. The policy above continues to apply so a comment repeated twice that isn't even related to the topics of this blog post is not published.

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    2. Another rude effort with a comment attempting to seek free advertising/promotion for their site/business is screened from being published here.

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    3. Blog policy remains unchanged so comments with links embedded are not published, including those to youtube sites.

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