About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
1. PiC had the opportunity to do a fun social active thing both days this weekend with friends. Since it’s the safest thing he can do by nature of the activity that forces them to be something like ten feet or more apart, it seemed like a great idea for him to do both days instead of just picking one as he normally would have. He had fun!
2. JB and I had a little less fun but I very deliberately set my expectations incredibly low. Gauging how I felt Saturday when I woke up, I proactively decided we’d do chores half the morning and watch TV for half the morning. Normally that’s not on the menu at all, it’s just a treat. But it was good. JB got their chores done in record time without whining. I got a bunch of administrative crap out of the way and that felt good. PiC got much wanted social time.
Lest that seem unfair, there’s really no one super local I can safely and easily hang out with so I keep in touch with my people via text, tweet, or email. I’m pretty set on the socializing front.
Sunday was similar, I destressed the day from the get go by planning for it to be a “lazy” day. I ended up knocking off a whole list of things I had to do because I was too achy to be up and about doing chores, JB was instructed to do some quiet activities and they did so, and mostly things went well.
3. Spendy but good. Our toaster oven called it quits on us this week and we use that thing 3 or 4 times every day, so we had to replace it. I picked a digital combo air fryer and toaster oven because I’ve been yearning to do air frying but adamantly against adding yet another appliance to our countertops. A combo situation was the only way I’d be willing to get myself a fryer. We’re giving it a test run, I hope this is the one!
4. Little treats: I adored these Fairydrop mushroom cards from Redbubble. The quality was great and I am really feeling like that angry mushroom these days. As I’m not black I can’t use them myself, but I could (and did) gift them to a friend who can. I’m swooning from the cuteness of Pikaole’s Redbubble shop but given Seamus’s emergency and our other purchases this month, I will have to wait a bit before I shop again.
Challenges this week: The school district’s reopening plan was a steaming pile of terrible. And then we were told to decide what we’re going to do in a week with very little information. We have the WORST President and Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. We spent a whole day this week tending to Seamus’s almost-emergency situation that was, thankfully, not quite at the emergency level we thought it could have reached. I’m glad we spent the day working on that because it can very easily tip over to the Actual Emergency and Serious Consequences zone, still can if he doesn’t respond to this treatment plan, but at least we have a chance.
5. I feel bad that I couldn’t make the time to spread the net wider but a group of us pitched in to support the vaunted Sandy (of Yes, I am Cheap fame) as she moves the Elevate Conference online and I’m really happy that we were able to come together this way for her and members of our PF community. The conference looks like it’s going to be fantastic and I’m so excited to sit in on some of the sessions.
6. Sera finally stopped vomiting after 3 days, thankfully. It was just a run of the mill bug because absolutely everything else was fine and she most definitely had an appetite the entire time. I was grateful that if she had to be nauseated and vomiting a few times a day, she usually came to tell us when it was time to go out. That’s an improvement over horking on the thick pile rug.
:: How was your week? What would make next week better?
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
A tiny part of me wanted to believe that just maybe it would be possible to see some things improved by the end of the year. Just some. Not all, not a lot. But I’m betting Scalzi‘s right that we’re looking, at the very least, at this complete bullshirt through the end of the year.
I read that younger children are supposed to be less susceptible and less likely to be carriers. Then I see reports like this and this and I remember how many people are selfish idiots who refuse to mask or do anything to keep people around them safe, or naive and ignorant of proper masking, or have no idea they’re asymptomatic carriers, and my risk assessment goes way the hell up. Because it’s not just a risk based on the biology of the virus. It’s amplified by human behaviors. And too many Americans are not trustworthy.
The Plague States of America. Painful to think about how true a lot of this is: It’s not that other nations don’t want to welcome Americans, they just can’t. The point of a passport is that a sovereign power vouches for its bearer, but America can’t vouch for the health of their citizens at all. America’s public health regime is far less trustworthy than Liberia’s (which is actually quite good). Its sovereign is mad.
At the same time, you can’t trust Americans. Americans have poor hygiene (low masking rate) and at least 40% of the population can’t be trusted to even believe that COVID-19 exists, let alone to take it seriously. They’re likely to refuse testing, not report symptoms, break quarantine, and generally follow rules. Americans have a toxic combination of ignorance and arrogance that makes them unwelcome travelers.
I am so sick of this administration and their attempts to further destroy this country. This time it’s their attempts to bring down USPS. USPS isn’t perfect, what is, but none of the private companies that compete with it are any better and in a lot of ways they’re worse in my experience.
People looking for permission to lie to stand out on their applications. It reminds me of the candidate who would have been a shoo-in for the job but I knew the company he had come from so the way he chose to lie made it obvious he had inflated his title. He would have been just fine with the truth. But I will nothire someone who is willing to lie to get a foot in the door. Why would I trust them?
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Weeks 15 and 16 of COVID in the Bay Area.
Week 15, Day 101: I think things are starting to open up in our county but I trust no one and when so many people are gadding about maskless, I’m staying home. I frame it as a choice so that it doesn’t feel like a forced confinement. My hands are still terribly swollen and my bones were filled with molten lava yesterday, so physically I’m not in good shape but emotions are a little less fraught today. It might be because PiC and I had a few good talks about our mental health and just basically took a little time to reconnect as humans. Also it might be because we pulled off a pretty nice Father’s Day weekend. Since I’m not an early riser (except for those days when I wake up in the middle of the night and simply can’t go back to sleep but that’s not quite the same thing), I couldn’t get up and surprise him with a Father’s Day breakfast and the whole deal.
Instead I played to my strength: dinner! I found two new to us local restaurants to order takeout from and we tried some fantastic Korean dishes and BBQ.
Week 15, Day 102: While I wouldn’t call it a silver lining to the pandemic, I am finding a few things that are not terrible about this situation for us personally. It only took me 100 days: No commute means I can rest a lot more and our mornings are about 90% less stressful – no rushing to wake up JB, no rushing. Social distancing means I don’t have to socialize with anyone I don’t have to (even if it also means I can’t socialize with people I DO want to, this is still a plus).
Week 15, Day 103: I didn’t leave the house at all today because work was a crushing load and also because I was busy checking on a family member who nearly died. STRESS.
Week 15, Day 104: We finally got confirmation that JB’s elementary school has set an early August start date and that their registration was processed so they are officially enrolled. This would be exciting in normal times but the complete lack of information on how they’re going to handle COVID means my excitement is in the negative zone. Best case scenario, according to their email, we will get a letter telling us how to prepare 5 days in advance, worst case is 2 days. What IS that?? I’d much rather they take the time they needed to plan and figure out how things will work and start late, with some real time to prepare, than this nonsense.
Also I finally got my act together and ordered some organizational storage bins. I’m not positive I made all the right choices but it was a start. I spent the next 36 hours eagerly anticipating my curbside pickup and hoping I didn’t run out of steam too quickly. (more…)
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
1. Taking a real three day weekend with only the bare minimum of work rarely happens at the best of times but I did it this holiday weekend and it was positively restorative to have three whole days of not frantically juggling work, parenting, dog-momming, cleaning, and household management and and and and … but there was still some stress over the not working part because I knew I’d be hit hard on Monday.
2. We carefully explored a nearby trail, JB hit the road on their bike with great enthusiasm, and I was foolish enough to push myself to a greater distance than my body was ready for. Fresh air yay, feeling decrepit afterwards boo. JB wore themselves out so thoroughly they even took an afternoon nap which hasn’t happened in months.
3. We had take out this weekend just because I wanted it. That’s unusual. I rarely (never?) let myself have a treat like that solely because I wanted it and without a whole lot of justification. It was delicious! We enjoyed it with the first act of Hamilton. JB watching it at age 5 is very different from JB rocking out to the tunes at age 2. There were so many questions.
4. A friend’s child is turning two this month and I already had some clothes set aside so, though we really don’t typically do birthday gifts, I had something on hand to surprise them with a little mail… at some point. I have to make a decision
Challenges this week: Seamus is going through yet another health crisis and it requires my attention four times a day. We received notice that our tenants may have to relocate for their jobs soon which would be a bit of a blow right now. We only just got them in and started filling in the massive financial hole created by the last tenants. Fingers crossed they aren’t going to leave soon.
I’ve been hanging on by the skin of my teeth at work for a few weeks now and that feeling has bled into my personal life. I haven’t been present mentally for an important milestone for a dear friend and I feel like an absolute heel about it. I don’t have the energy to check in and talk at length with our loved one going through health challenges, I feel like a heel about that. I can just about keep up with the goings on with the loved one struggling to escape abuse and I feel like a heel about THAT. Intellectually I know it’s not reasonable to expect to be able to give fully of myself to everyone at all times but I still feel like a terrible friend right now.
5. JB wrote out a wedding card message all on their own for a friend who is going to tie the knot in less than ideal circumstances. I liked that initiative.
:: How was your week? What would make next week better?
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Edmonia Lewis: the first woman of African-American and Native American heritage to achieve international fame and recognition as a sculptor in the fine arts world.
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
Our long term goal is to replace our day job income with passive income before my health prevents me from working. I know from my Mom’s experience that qualifying for or relying on disability is incredibly tough or near impossible here in CA. Aside from that, I aim to do my best to make the most of what we can do while we can.
I redeemed a $10 reward from Achievement early this month but they still haven’t paid or replied to my emails. Not sure what’s going on with that. *update: I’ve contacted them four times via ticket and email, AND tweeted them twice. They just like the tweets and do not answer them. What is going on??
If you’d like to join me in helping Lakota families and/or rural libraries this year, please read this post. Over 6 weeks in 2019, we raised $2669.94 for the Lakota families, touching 27 lives. What can we do in 2020?
Current total: Lakota, $1589.82; Rural libraries, $321.62.
1. While I was grumpy that I’d miscalculated the sizes of the storage bins I should use for my office, I’m taking it as a win that I actually finally started up my organization project in a real way.
The wrong size bins were repurposed as underbed storage for JB now, which has been solely needed as their games and puzzles have undergone a population boom, and that was a really nice secondary effect.
2. I took a first stab at making my own gluten free fish sticks. They were just average, but they weren’t terrible either.
3. My massive cleaning effort unearthed my ancient Nintendo DS and eventually the charging cord too. SCORE.
Challenges this week: My pain decided to flare up big time again after going quiescent for about a minute.
4. The four perpetual box-occupants of my office have been an embarrassment for the past two years. I finally emptied one out!
5. Our local donations charity has begun pick-ups again so I’m going to start pulling together a big box for them. I have this feeling I should have already had this ready, considering all the time we’ve had since they last did pickups, but that’s ignoring, ohhh everything ELSE about life during this period. Getting a pick up together for next week would be plenty.
:: How was your week? What would make next week better?
