And around here, it’s a sunny, crisp fall day and just gorgeous and you’d not know the entire world is going to shit.
The news coming out of Israel/Gaza is still terrible, but the news outlets have at least tried to stop breathlessly filling the 24 hour news cycle with anything and everything, correct or not. I am no expert, but right now, this needs a ceasefire and some fucking calm, neither of which seems to be around.
There is a quote I saw recently – attributed to CS Lewis.
I sat with my anger long enough until she told me her real name was grief.
And given everything yet again – well done. If you need to turn off the news – DO IT. The important things will find their way to you.
And it’s OK to be doing other things beside being glued to the news. I’ve been doing exactly that, and yes, it does feel weird at times, but also – my doing nothing but doomscrolling helps no one and is really fucking bad for my mental health. (Also, being on Mastodon vs. Twitter these days is a hella difference.
You can care deeply about world events and still take care of yourself and do things that make you happy.
My brother’s birthday was last weekend, we hit the Renaissance Fair and had a great time. I got a bitchin’ hat (which I still need to take a decent picture of.) Yesterday I finally checked out a local quilt shop I’d heard about ages ago and got some beautiful sari silk yarn and a great fat quarter bundle. Today I’m hitting up another fall festival.
If I let myself get flung into a depressive episode every time something terrible happened in the world – well, I’d be in a permanent depressive episode.
You don’t have to stay glued to the news to stay current. Eat something. Drink your water. Get out of the house. Take care of yourself.
I’ve had to step away from the news – it’s too much in general, too much trying to fill a 24/7 news cycle, and too much trying to justify war crimes in response to war crimes. It’s all absolutely awful and I hate that both Israeli & Palestinian people are getting completely fucked over by their respective leadership. My brother and I were talking about it last night and it was 85% just “What the fuck?”
I hate living in a world where saying “The response to war crimes should not be more war crimes” is fucking controversial.
So disappointing. Got the Moderna shot Thursday, so that’s off the to-do list. I don’t know what’s up with distribution, but there were no Pfizer shots within like 50 miles of me, so Moderna it was. At least I didn’t feel like crap afterwards, which I was kinda worried about since I really couldn’t afford to be a zombie at work yesterday.
But all in all, not bad. Sore arm, and kinda tired and achy around the 24 hour mark – advil and a nap took care of that, and I slept like a rock last night and this morning, all good.
Post vacation workweek was actually pretty darn calm, which was VERY nice.
Finally got back to the farmers market today, YAY! Lettuce! Tomatoes! Peppers! Sweets! Probably Too Many Sweets!
And I’m thinking about the things I need to get done today and because nothing is CRITICAL, I have a feeling very little will get done today. And that’s OK.
Occoquan festival got canceled – on Friday – and despite my brother searching for updates yesterday, we did not know about this until we tried to go today, LOL.
I’ll admit, I’m bummed, even though canceling it was a smart move. It’s always a good time and we’re hurtling into the Cold and Dark months when there isn’t as much outdoor stuff and patio seating for lunch isn’t necessarily pleasant.
But, there are worse ways to finish off a week of PTO than cozying up on the couch with the kitty, watching murder mysteries, and eating myself silly. I’ve already polished off the leftover combination fried rice, and I’m on the hunt for the next snack.
I did not have “contend with tropical storm that wasn’t even on the radar this time last week” on my PTO fun stuff to-do list for sure. Definitely putting a dent in the weekend plans of the fall festival down in Occoquan, but it does look like it’s moving through fairly quickly and tracking farther east so maybe tomorrow? The rain is actually pretty light right now. which is good, but the wind is making it definitely unpleasant. I’m usually “have hat/jacket/umbrella, will travel” but not with wind…
But on the whole, it has been a pretty successful staycation. Started with getting off work ON TIME and outdoor margaritas on Friday. Mount Vernon market fair was fun and I always love going through the gardens there. NMAAHC was spectacular. Got Outback for dinner! Finally painted my nails! Unintentionally Barbie Pink! Had a fantastic dinner at Trattoria Villagio in their lovely new-ish outdoor courtyard. And I met a capybara named Tater!!!
And all with an eye to Covid – either doing things masked up or outside and regularly testing and this morning we have another negative in the books. Am I salty that after three and a half years I still have to actively think about this? Yes, yes I am. Am I gonna throw in the towel? Hell, no.
If you’re in the thick of Ophelia – stay dry! If the weather is decent where you are – get out and do something fun for me.
If you’re in DC and have the time – do it! Time off work and ticket availability converged and I finally got to the NMAAHC, and it did not disappoint.
The content is fantastic, and there are really great design choices. Three levels dedicated to history and three levels dedicated to culture. You start on the bottom floor and there is background on European & African relations and then moves into the Atlantic slave trade right off the bat – and yeah, it’s a pretty bleak part of our history. But as you move upward through the exhibit, things shift and it’s more, IDK, hopeful? So many victories and progress, but absolutely not glossing over all the hardships placed on the Black American community by white supremacy.
Then when you get to the culture exhibits, it’s downright celebratory. Just awesome exhibits. There is also a special exhibit on Afrofuturism which is terrific – it’s open until August of next year.
There are parts of the museum that will absolutely make you sad, angry, uncomfortable, and embarrassed about the history of our country – as they should. But there are also SO many good things – they got the balance just right.
They’ve also done a great job with accessibility too. Ramps, elevators that aren’t hidden away, escalators, sensory maps, closed captioning on video exhibits, apps for visual interpretations – they really put a lot of thought into it. Also, lots of benches to stop and have a rest.
Good morning!!! Staycation is off to a good start – work week leading up to it was bonkers, but I front loaded everything to the start of the week and left ON TIME yesterday!
And to celebrate, there were patio margaritas, chips & queso, and carne adovada enchiladas, followed by an EPIC nap.
Work was just something this week. Super long Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday for the feature and client issues.
My dev found the problem in our pain in the ass app – still kicking myself that I didn’t see the pattern in the client data that triggered it, and that we didn’t have that pattern in our testing. Granted, I wasn’t the only tester and I begged for as many eyes on it as possible and was turned down – but I’m still mad at myself over it.
My dev was awesome about it – “Hey, we have a new test scenario! We learned something! Don’t take it personally, it’s just work.” Even my VP was good about it – he flat out acknowledged that we’re “severely” understaffed and this is what happens.
That did help with my brain going, “You’re the most visible QC on this shitshow and you’re absolutely gonna get shitcanned, probably in the middle of your PTO.” He assured me that wasn’t happening. I usually don’t have a lot of love for upper management, but he’s a good dude. He’s trying to slow things down on the “new stuff” front and get us more bodies – whether he’ll have any success remains to be seen, but he’s at least trying.
Of course, Friday, not 20 minutes after I updated the tracking sheet saying I was done with the feature test, I have someone trying to give me a 2 day task and nope, I had 4 hours left in the day, other work to do, and I’m not working while on PTO. Can’t do it. Go me.
And I still managed to fill the rest of my day with work without that new task. Ton of prep work done for when I’m back next week. Future me will be happy. 🥰
And now I’m sitting at the salon with a head full of tinfoil, getting all blonde again. I don’t usually have morning appointments, and I feel like I should have brought donuts for everyone or something like that.
I made the early appointment cause it’s also the weekend if the Mount Vernon market fair, but I think I’ll do that tomorrow so I can really take my time with it, and this afternoon I can sit down and finally paint my nails like I’ve been talking about doing for like, six months and every time they hit a nice length, I’d break one before I got to painting them.
I also have an exciting trip to Walmart for some new pump bottles for my shampoo and conditioner after the salon. The original bottles they come in are stupidly stiff and hard to squeeze, and no one has time or balance for a wrestling match with a shampoo bottle in the shower.
Ooh, and if I’m doing Mount Vernon tomorrow, I should pickup some lunch on my way home – we have Wendy’s, Jersey Mike’s, and a nice deli in the two adjacent shopping centers where the salon and Walmart are. Decisions, decisions!
You have a great day while I go look at lunch menus!
Seriously – if there is A Thing that brings you joy – event, activity, hobby, food, whatever – just go do it.
Especially if it’s something the avocado toast brigade thinks you shouldn’t be doing – then you really should do it. Those folks are hellbent on everyone being miserable, and you don’t have to participate in that bullshit.
Despite pop-up rainshowers today, I saw a solid break in the radar and went back to our local festival for a second day, because WHY NOT? And I’m so glad I did!!
Sure, I could have gotten the same fresh air and exercise with a couple loops around the block, but this was so much more fun.
Got myself another hot dog & coke from the Lions club. (Seriously, $4 for a dog & a soda is a Great Deal!) Really, nothing like a perfectly fire-grilled hot dog. And I got two little candles from two vendors I somehow missed yesterday. Plus, a few more adorable Christmas ornaments. And yeah, I hit up the wine garden again and tried the rose I didn’t try yesterday and enjoyed it while sitting in a weird sunshine-spitting-rain combo.
And even if I hadn’t bought a single thing – it was so nice to just go be there. To see all the lovely things that people make. To just be out and about with a bunch of happy people. To find the pride flags I’d seen yesterday and get one for myself! (Thank you local UU church, I am not shocked it was you.)
It feels like we’re spending so much of our time screaming at government to please stop the fucking fascists while they reply, “But The Economy is GREAT!”
We need to do the things that bring us joy so we have the energy continue to rail against those who are failing us.
Had a great time at our little fair yesterday. Got all my steps in, got myself a hot dog and a coke from the Lions club, a cute flowy sundress/coverup WITH POCKETS, a Christmas ornament, some spice mixes, and some wine. Excellent day!
Just look at this penguin for the Christmas tree!!
And this little dress/coverup is great – probably won’t get much wear this year (well, who knows with climate disaster) but I love the colors and it’s flowy and billowy and the lack of structure makes it perfect for wearing while eating ALL THE THINGS.
I’m happy to have another negative test under my belt – I’m still doing the “test the day of a thing and then 5 days later” so, woohoo, didn’t pick anything up at my acupuncturist! I didn’t test yesterday because I was negative on Friday before my yet again rescheduled dentist appointment, LOL, but I’ll be doing a followup on Thursday to make sure I did OK at the fair.
And now I’m off to some Sunday afternoon excitement of the grocery store! Woooo!
Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female. 