Feeling *slightly* better this morning

Posted on January 21, 2021 by A Dreamer

Glad they didn’t do all the inaugural balls yesterday so Biden had time to get some executive orders done.

This is a decent start – but we can do better. Don’t see anything about the horrific treatment of people at the border, and that needs to be addressed immediately.

We’ve got an extension on the student loan pause. Fine, that gives us a couple months to get all the ducks in a row to cancel student loans altogether. You want to kickstart the economy when Covid is done? This would do it.

Mask mandate for federal buildings – that is 110% something the last administration should have done.

And we’re back in the WHO, joining Covax and repealing the Mexico City/Global Gag Rule.

I know we can’t – and shouldn’t – do everything by executive order. Congress is going to have to stop worrying about upsetting Republicans and get shit done.

Now that we’ve got everyone sworn in and the dust is settling, I’ll be putting together a letter this weekend to my reps & the White House. It’s really a wishlist I’ve been working on since the election, but I need to put it out there and hopefully someone will read it and at least realize they have at least *one* constituent who wants to see some progressive action.

This new administration & Congress aren’t remotely progressive enough for my taste – and I’m prepared to be disappointed repeatedly over the next two years – but I will keep annoying the fuck out of all of them in the hopes we can keep dragging them leftwards.

We have the resources to do amazing things – we just need the damn will to do it.

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Well, we’ve got ourselves a new President

Posted on January 20, 2021 by A Dreamer

And not a moment too soon.

I did stop working to watch the swearing in itself – IDK, I guess to make sure it actually happened.

And when Vice President Harris was sworn in, I started crying, cause fuck if I know why.

We’ll have to drag them and Congress kicking and screaming left, but it will be nice to have someone in the White House that isn’t an evil boorish ass.

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So, under 4 hours

Posted on January 20, 2021 by A Dreamer

And this fucking nightmare is done. A ton of cleanup to do, and so many people didn’t survive this man, but it will be over.

Won’t be watching the inaugural, as work wins as it always does, and the thing I’m testing today isn’t something I can do in front of the TV. (Also, I find them to be a bit boring. I KNOW, BAD AMERICAN!)

But the fact of the matter is that the ceremony is far less important than the work to come afterwards.

And there is so much work for this administration and this Congress to do. I’m not even sure how you figure out where to start, but that’s why you have a whole Cabinet and tell them all to go at it.

Unwinding four years of hate and greed and incompetence will be no small feat.

Let’s do this.

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So, when’s the last time you changed that Brita filter?

Posted on January 19, 2021 by A Dreamer

So, last year, our old Brita pitcher got a crack in it, so I got two new ones, one for the kitchen and one for upstairs. (Way easier to just have one upstairs for refilling the humidifier and nightstand water glass.)

The new ones have this nifty LED thing in the lid to tell you when to change the filter. This is good, cause I do not ever remember when I put the last filter in, and when the humidifier isn’t in use, neither one gets used super heavily – maybe 2-3 pitchers worth a week.

So, they’ve stayed green for quite a while. After having to start up the humidifier again, because I apparently live in a damn desert, the upstairs one finally went to 25%/Orange.

Now, being stubborn, I did not change the filter, because 25% left is not zero. Sure, it was refilling slowly, but these pitchers aren’t really known for a quick fill.

Well, it finally went to 0%/red yesterday.

Switched out the filter and refilled it.

Oh.

The speed with which that sucker refilled was astounding. I even double checked to be sure the filter was set in properly and the water wasn’t just rushing *around* the filter.

The amount of sediment that must have been built up in the old filter…

There is now a permanent entry on the to-list. Change the filter when it hits 2 months or 25%. If you wait for 0%, you’re going to lose days of your life waiting for it to refill.

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God bless any of y’all still reading these rantings

Posted on January 18, 2021 by A Dreamer

Maybe once things are back to semi-normal and I can get out and talk to people for extended periods of time, I’ll have less need for this stream of consciousness outlet, but until then…sorry, not sorry.

I’ve figured out which Command Strip hooks I need for the coffee mugs! The large metal hook ones will fit the bill – unfortunately they only come with white backing, not clear – I was hoping for clear because the wall in the kitchen is taupe, but the white will do fine and clear some cabinet space.

And when I looked yet again at the measurements on the medium ones – I figured out the problem – the illustration showing the depth on them looks like it’s showing the depth of the hook by itself, but it’s actually the depth of the hook *and* the backing. So what seemed to be perfectly deep enough for a coffee cup handle was decidedly not.

I’ve got one on the wall and will be waiting the obligatory hour per the instructions to actually put a mug on it. Then we’ll wait a couple days to make sure it doesn’t fall off before doing more. (They’re supposed to hold 5 lbs, but better safe than broken coffee mugs all over the place.)

In 100% unrelated news, I am so glad I kicked myself back into doing yoga regularly. It hasn’t fixed all my problems or anything, but it does feel good while I’m doing it, and I can’t say I’ve experienced that with any other exercise. (I mean, I feel GREAT when I stop, but not the same.)

And though it feels like there is some other thing I need to do around the house today, my to-do list is all ticked off – so, I think I’m going to go take a nap with the cat.

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Wherever Martin Luther King Jr is

Posted on January 18, 2021 by A Dreamer

I suspect he’s shaking his head and going, “Fuckin’ white people…I fucking told y’all…”

And he’s 110% not wrong.

And today, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we have this:

Yet again, we have a choice: We can create a country where black people and other people of color and those in marginalized communities can feel safe and valued, for nothing more than their presence here, and tell racists and white supremacists to go fuck off.

Or, we can continue to go with bullshit incremental half-measures (if anything) because we don’t want to upset racist white people. Who will continue to be racist and violent anyway.

Let’s finally do the right thing for a change.

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Yoga App Promo

Posted on January 17, 2021 by A Dreamer

So, I’ve actually been diligent about doing some yoga regularly for the past couple weeks and it’s been a good thing.

Has it lifted my seasonal depression, cleared my skin, and given me mad bursts of energy?

No.

But what is has done:

  • Given me an odd sense of accomplishment when I do it. (And log it somewhere so I can keep track.)
  • 15-20 minutes a day where I’m not thinking about the shitshow of a country we live in, because I *cannot* – I am too busy trying not to fall over.
  • Improved my posture. (I legit notice I am sitting up straight more.)

Though the app I user is called “Yoga for Beginners” – it has Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced sessions, and there are 7 Beginner sessions ranging from 7-12 minutes, so you can start small and mix & match for longer sessions.

I will totally admit, my favorite session is the 10 minute Beginner Yoga – it involves quite a lot of laying on the floor.

It’s also free.

So, if you’ve been thinking you want to give it a try, but are overwhelmed by all the app options out there (and there are A LOT) – this is one I can recommend.

Android Version

iOS Version

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Totally discombobulated

Posted on January 17, 2021 by A Dreamer

And it’s all my little brother’s fault, LOL.

Got up, came downstairs and he’s already up hanging with Lily and I joked “OK, since you’re already up and finally have the Starbucks app on your phone*, you’re getting the weekend coffee, right?”

Well… yes, that actually was his plan, as he was going to the market anyway, he just couldn’t figure out my order – even looked at my cup from yesterday but hadn’t scrolled far enough left in the app to find Cold Brew With Milk.

My plan for the morning was Starbucks and then a fast dash into the market for a couple very specific things – cat food, foot pumice, and to see if they had large command strip hooks. (The medium wire ones arrived, they are too small for the coffee mugs – but will find other uses around the house. I even looked at the measurements, and really thought they would have worked, but, no.)

So, I sent him off with my coffee order, and he’ll get the cat food (I’m not having him find my foot care and home improvement stuff, LOL) – and I’m sitting here all out of sorts, because I HAD A PLAN and instead I am sitting here.

Even Lily is thrown off, she’s currently at the basement stairs yelling, “HEY BOY! COME PLAY WITH ME!”

I did have to send pictures of the cat food so he knew what he was looking for. (Feeding her is a whole THING.) Sometimes technology is good.

So, tomorrow’s coffee & salads dash will just now include the hooks & pumice.

God, I am a bit of a control freak.

*He literally only got the Starbucks app on his phone less than two weeks ago.

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Well, it’s been a ridiculously productive Saturday

Posted on January 16, 2021 by A Dreamer

At least by my standards, LOL.

Up before the crack of noon, Starbucks acquired, a good hour plus spent going through the Virginia Legislative Info System to see what’s in the hopper for this session and annoy my delegate accordingly. (So many bills to look at. SO. MANY. BILLS.)

But, civic duty done for the day, yoga and strength workout done, cat box tended to, mail retrieved, bed made, vitamins consumed and gmail junk cleared out.

On the household front, in the kitchen we used to have a strip of 3/4 round on one wall under the cabinets with cuphooks for coffee mugs. That went away when my Mom had the kitchen cabinets redone a million years ago, and it needs to come back because we have more mugs than cabinet space.

But – I realized this morning, why go through the hassle of getting 3/4 round, cutting, painting, nailing, and putting in cuphooks when Command Strip Hooks exist? A dozen of those suckers are now winging their way to the house.

And then YET ANOTHER SALAD FOR LUNCH!! I am now at…11 days in a row I think? I am so glad I finally noticed those single serve salad kits at the market. So far, my top 3 are the Southwestern, Turkey-Bacon Cobb, and Chef.

I’m adding in some extra mozzarella cheese, and croutons and sunflower seeds to them, and they’re just really good and the perfect size so no food goes to waste. I’ve even gotten my brother hooked on them. I KNOW. I am unreasonably pleased with myself on this note.

And it’s a good lunch, given that dinner is going to be meatloaf & cheesy mashed potatoes. (These times call for some comfort food.)

The rest of the day, my ass will be parked on the sofa, NOT watching the news, and trying to get ahead of the game on a thing I am testing for work. Normally, I avoid working on the weekend like the plague, but this thing is going slower than molasses in January and at the rate I’m going, I’m never going to get it finished. At least it’s something that I can do in front of the TV. It’s 90% waiting for the system to print a document or go, “LOL, no.” Not particularly mentally taxing, but so. fucking. slow.

I hope you, too can tick off a few things from your to-do lists this weekend.

Mask up, stay safe, and don’t tolerate fascists.

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Despite plague and insurrection

Posted on January 15, 2021 by A Dreamer

We have made it to another Friday! And the multi-state lotteries are both huge and yeah, I’ve gotten a couple tickets. Fun to have something not related to the current death and destruction in the world to ponder.

When I win (why not when instead of if?) – beach house. Condo in Williamsburg in case of hurricanes. New Jeep. Then I’m going make a job of giving a fuckton of it away. How much fun would that be?!

Back in the shitty real world, sounds like Biden’s stimulus plan is pretty good, but they’ve got to fix that $1400 bit – for everyone going, “Well, it would have been $2K total in the last bill” – well, that was last month, it didn’t happen, and D’s campaigned on $2K *after* that, not on $1400. Plus, that $600 that did go out is long gone for most folks.

And it also needs to be monthly, retroactive to March and not means tested. My genuine fear is that Congress is going to dick around and then go “ohhhh, pandemic is over, we’re good!” and there are going to be folks that will not recover for years from the financial hits they’ve taken – if they ever recover.

We gotta make people whole.

Welp, gotta go do the thing for capitalism just in case the lottery doesn’t work out this weekend.

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