Happy Winter Solstice! Merry Yule!
I don’t have anything particularly festive planned, although I did wake up to a world today that looked suitably wintery. The snow had mostly melted, but the trees and bushes were decked out in their finest frost-lace. And the sky was wonderfully grey and gloomy as I spread out the seed and nut feast for the local birds and squirrels.
I have my virtual Yule log crackling in the background, and I’ve got a meditation for Freyja playing softly as well. And, wouldn’t it be nice to have a complete scent “library” from shops like this? https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/yule-2022/
I do plan on spending some time reflecting–I’ve got to come up with a way out of this Kansas nightmare–and I’ll be spending some time doing my favourite thing: organizing!
I’ve been having a nice comment-chat with another blogger about one of their latest posts re: organizing and planning strategies, and, although it appeared in my WP reader, they have grabbed the dubious honour in not only being WP’s longstanding follow/unfollow glitch casualty, but a first-timer in a glitch that has me both following this person, and not following them, simultaneously–and I didn’t even have to open the box!
Anyhoo, check it out–it’s a very funny post! https://stuartdanker.com/2022/12/20/this-is-how-you-overcome-procrastination/
And, Horror Tree never fails to deliver with another insightful article–this one’s about planning as well, in a way: https://horrortree.com/a-fresh-start-to-2023-how-about-we-dont-claim-it-as-our-own/.
So, in the absence of Twitter, I found some colourful days-of-the-week schedule sheets, and I created one for each social media platform/places where I post content (or have planned to post/crosspost content–examples: WordPress, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Horror Tree and…Pinterest!) that I can use as daily reminders, or reminders for tasks that are reoccuring. We’ll see how it works!
Speaking of Pinterest, I was really excited to get the 2023 “Pinterest Predicts” in my inbox! I do love Pinterest; however, I have to admit I actually let it lapse from my regular routine. But now I’m inspired to start exploring it again–and, yes, I did a planning sheet for that platform as well!
And, no sooner than I had typed that, I checked my email for something or other, and saw a notification to this post. Which is perfect in terms of creative-minds type of planning!
Regarding Twitter. Sigh. I went back and forth quite a few times–deactivating my account, reactivating it, etc etc. But then a news piece came onto my radar, and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been aware of it. I mean, I am even subscribed to news alerts, call-to-actions, and sign-the-petition requests from PETA (and many more nonhuman animal and environmental groups) and I still only just learned about it a little while ago.
I’ve put in some links that have more information (sensitivity alert).
Here’s the article I first read about this issue. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/dec/05/neuralink-animal-testing-elon-musk-investigation
Another article. theprint.in/tech/elon-musk-called-out-by-peta-for-neuralink-animal-testing/1253973/
PETA’s news release waaaaay back in February of 2021. *gasp* www.peta.org/media/news-releases/peta-to-elon-musk-use-your-own-brain-leave-monkeys-alone/
And, just so you know, I don’t just include animal advocacy in my short stories, I put in the volunteer work as well. For example, I volunteered for call-bank shifts that contacted New Mexico residents and asked them to reach out to their representatives about these chimpanzees: https://apnm.org/what-we-do/securing-sanctuary-for-chimpanzees/.
And, (almost) last but not least, the updates that were part of the inspiration for this post.
Okay, so now I’m at the end of this post. Like I mentioned earlier, I knew that Kansas probably wasn’t the best place for someone like me, but I didn’t think it would be this bad. Sometime in the New Year, I’ll post up about the mind-boggling experience that is small-town Kansas. Or at least this small town in Kansas. There’s a certain date that has to pass, and it’s also probably predicate on getting myself and my cats to safety.
It’s felt very terrifying, dangerous, and threatening here–I mean, I grew up in a pretty urban environment, but who knew a small town in Kansas could feel even more scary than that? *wry laugh*
At one point, I was thinking to myself that it could be a good place to be an animal advocate, as there was plenty of work to be done, and progress to be made. But, wow. Just wow.
It’s my plan to unplug from the online world for a few days, maybe even as many as five, starting tomorrow. But, you know, the road to hell, and all that.
Happy New Year! See you on the flip side!
Willow Croft 