She Gives Me the Creeps
By: Conny Manero
Tags: Stress, Stress Relief, Women, Stress Management, Writer

Oh, what a shame it is that we as writers cannot mention the actual names of fellow writers we have a problem with. We have to change their name for the sake of their privacy. Oh, a real shame it is because I would like nothing better than to question this particular writer’s abilities to write.

I saw her name on Medium’s homepage and nearly fell off my chair. What was she doing here? I was even more surprised when I noticed that she had written an 8-minute story and that she already had thousands of followers.

Her husband, a ‘singer’ is a minor celebrity and she briefly appeared on his show as a … I’m at loss for words here because I’m not clear on what her role was. She didn’t actually do anything. She showed up in skimpy outfits, showing off her boobs, her butt, and her legs. She did a lot of hair tossing, wiggling her hips, and generally being silly. In other words, she is the typical dumb blond.

Then she had a baby and appeared online bare-breasted, feeding a baby. Say what you want about breastfeeding, but I don’t think it’s acceptable to be photographed and have the pictures published online. Most women have more modesty than that. Approach any woman and ask if you can photograph her naked breasts or you’ll most likely get a slap in the face, or accused of sexual harassment. Let a baby hang off one of the nipples though, and suddenly it’s all systems go. For some, and certainly for the writer in question, it was the perfect excuse to show off her boobs. Not that they were particularly attractive, quite the contrary.

When her husband’s show got canceled, they both disappeared off the media scene. Now, by joining Medium, it appears she has once again found her way into the spotlight.

I was surprised to see her as a Medium writer because the woman doesn’t have a thought in her head. Really, if you were to see her, or know who I’m referring to, you would agree. She’s as thick as two planks. The idea that she wrote an 8 minute story is totally ridiculous. My guess is that someone else wrote the piece and she published it under her name. Ghostwriters have to eat too, you know.

I wanted to leave a comment on ‘her’ story but this is not possible as she turned off the comment section. Probably scared of getting too many bad reviews. What bothers me even more though is that I can’t block her.

Ever since Medium allowed blocking writers I’ve blocked quite a few. I’m not interested in their stories, or past stories got on my nerves, so I got rid of the writers. I can’t do that with her, I looked for the ‘block’ button, but there isn’t one. So my guess is, since Medium already put her on the homepage, I will get pestered with more of ‘her’ stories on a regular basis.

I actually took a break from Medium for this very reason. I saw too many stories that annoyed me or made me downright mad. When I mentioned this, in passing, to a doctor she said “Avoid all social media”. I followed her advice. No more TV news, no more newspapers, no more Facebook, Instagram, no more anything. “Even Medium?” I asked the doctor. “Especially Medium,” she said. “If a website causes you to stress, cut it from your life.”

In general, it’s not easy, or even possible to cut stress for life, everyone is stressed about something, but in this case, I could cut out the stress causers. The results were amazing. As soon as I avoided social media my nerves got a break. I felt better during the day and slept better at night. I had less to write about because nothing provided inspiration, but that was a small price to pay.

Today, after four weeks of being social media free, I decided to pay Medium a visit, and boom … there she was, the nitwit who supposedly had written a story. My blood pressure instantly surged. Even her name gives me the creeps. It’s not a grown-up name like Betty, Linda, or Margaret, no it’s a silly little girl's name.

So once again my peace of mind is gone. Maybe I should retreat to the mountains of Nepal and live in total seclusion.