Okay, while I’m taking it out of context a bit, I have been stuck in a bit of a loop mentally and emotionally and just trying to figure out a plan for the next few months, and not coming up with very much.
But at the same time, while it feels like I’m not accomplishing very much or being very upward-productive, I have been completing a few things on my to-do list, and backburning some other things. I’m exploring options like FlexJobs (anybody have any experience with them?) to bring in more income.
It does feel a little stuck-in-place, though, as a lot of my progress has been internal, and not readily visible or quantifiable.
I’m getting there, or so I hope, but it’s a very emotional and confusing time, amidst trying to do my small part in the fight against fascism/authoritarianism taking over the United States.
I’ve still managed to contribute to the Horror Tree site when I can. If you want some fictional horror/spec fic to retreat into, check out my interviews and book reviews over there:
Yes, I’ve been away from WordPress for quite some time. I’ve lost track of how long it’s been since I’ve been on here, reading posts and such. It’s at the point where going back and catching up on all the missed posts from you all is probably a lost cause, because it’s been soooooo long. Apologies to you all.
The good news is that I at least have a place to live and managed to get my belongings safely into a storage unit. I won’t say too much about the place I found, but it’s at least a roof over my head. Well, most importantly, a roof over my cats’ furry little heads.
In short, things were even more stressful and unstable than usual. I’m riding it out here in southern Illinois until December, and am revisiting the idea to move to Virginia, but I am more likely looking at Michigan. Canada is still a ways off due to costs, but I’ll be taking bitty steps as I can towards that emigration goal.
The theme of things right now for me is just “getting through”. Admittedly, like so many others out there, I’ve been horrified, disgusted, appalled, furious, and depressed over the actions of the current Trump administration. While not religious, I’ve also been having a severe crisis of faith about the example Trump and his cronies are displaying…because here are these corrupt, callous, greedy, deplorable people that get handed everything they want–money, power, influence–while so many that are good people and doing good, compassionate, ethical work are trapped at the bottom of this social and political system here in the United States and are lucky to even have the funds to buy food–and forget about healthcare, retirement, or even an adequate and safe place to live.
So this leads me to my idea to record and post people’s stories about the impact Trump and his administration is having on them, either directly or indirectly. If you’d like to participate, or know someone who would, please check out the post on my other blog, here:
Leave it to the United States to tackle what is really important—ridding themselves of the pesky twice-yearly time change!
Because, don’t ya know, climate change doesn’t exist, plastic is 100% biodegradable, extinction is a bleeding-heart liberal myth, and things like pesticides, deforestation, and fracking/PFAS have zero impact on the environment and wildlife like squirrels.
Squirrel Army Unite! (Photo Courtesy of Canva.com.)
And, of course, women are yearning to be “barefoot and pregnant” in the kitchen yet once again.
Put me in a room full of sharp instruments, I dare you! (Photo courtesy of Canva.com)
Not to mention the fact that nobody reads books anymore anyway, so who cares that the conservative right is burning books yanking books off library shelves everywhere?
Photo courtesy of Canva.com
Am I right, or am I right?
So, it’s my pleasure to announce, the bill has passed to make Daylight Savings Time permanent! That means, for all you (99.9%) of underpaid minions here in the good ol’ U.S. of A, ya’ll can’t use that handy excuse to explain to your corporate overlord supervisor why you were late.
After all, who actually needs to enjoy a nice sit-down breakfast with your family, anyway?
Certainly not people working triple shifts just to buy a week’s worth of food day’s worth of food for said family!
And those leftist liberals were too preoccupied in trying to protect women’s rights, the rights of nonhuman animals and of nature, the rights of the aforementioned underpaid minions, and anybody else that can cook up a sob story and pass it off as a completely ineffectual petition, that they didn’t notice the rider that was attached to that bill.
I’m talking about the measure that is a one-stop, surefire, bet-your-bottom-dollar (if you don’t even have a “bottom dollar” you’re shit out of luck), solution to the so-called inflation crisis!
Attached to this “Sunshine Protection Act”, destined to go into effect November 5th of this year, is an extra day tacked onto the end of November, extending the month’s previous 30-day allotment.
“We just know the American people will appreciate the addition of November 31 to the calendar,” conservative right spokesperson Mr-Definitely-Not-Gender-Fluid-Sawbucks. “I mean, who wouldn’t benefit from an extra day of Black Friday sales to stock up on all that plastic merchandise for their loved ones? Not only will this extra shopping day be a guaranteed boost to the economy, I’ve heard that the plastic is now so biodegradable you can eat it!”
So, there you have it, folks…not only do we get an extra hour of sunshine, we of the 99.9% U.S. population get an extra day to put food on the table exercise our consumer rights to act as greedy and rapacious as the One-Percenters!
Recently, I wrote an article over on LinkedIn about how 2023 could be the year of the slowdown (in a proactive way). I’m not slowing down much myself, but I am taking some time out here and there for some fun things that don’t really accomplish anything useful. *gasp*
The pressure is on, though, to get the income needed to help me escape what I’m now calling the Nightmare Hell Zone* (and not in a fun way), so I’ve been applying for jobs in brick-and-mortar locations as well as online remote-work locations. One thought I’ve recently had was that I could maybe get a job with a chain and then use that to transfer to another location in the United States, or, perhaps even more wishful-thinking, transfer to a Canadian locale!
Anyway, until I go figure things out (or win the lottery–the HGTV dream home–Travel Channel Sweepstakes), I’m sharing some links for you to stroll through as you, yourselves, meander into 2023.
(Unless, of course, you just want to stop reading here, and go write a snail mail letter or take a day off next week to hang out with your houseplant BFFs. That’s fine too!)
Click on one of the buttons below to learn more about what is impacting our environment. These are all ongoing projects or organizations that I perosnally feel are important to talk about and be aware of if we truly care about our beautiful world. If you feel so inclined, please share, sign a petition, or donate.
Willow Croft 