I just noticed I’m on Substack. I don’t think I’m involved enough to add it to the new omnibus page (garciabuxton.com) … at least not yet.

Hi. 👋 How ya doing?

Did a little digital housekeeping. Changed the look of this place. More importantly, the blog now resides at fluffbucket.blog, and garciabuxton.com goes to an omnibus webpage with links to everyplace you can find me online.

More later.

Applied for a few jobs today and checked in with the state unemployment folks. Shipped my first Etsy order. Guess this is my New Normal.

Now in bed watching the first innings of this afternoon’s Padres victory over Cleveland, waiting for my new muscle relaxant to kick in. Tired of the chronic back pain of the past few months.

Starting my day earlier than usual. (Not shown: Red Rose tea, a Canadian product, in the mug.)

Does eating a large bag of all-dressed Ruffles count as supporting Canada?

I spend entirely too much time on Temu.

It’s 11:30 a.m. and I’m still in bed. I’m fine once I get out of bed, but 2 weeks after That Day, I’m still inclined to be horizontal until late in the morning during the “work” week.

I’m tired. I haven’t even been jobless for 2 weeks and I’m tired. At this point, I’m largely giving up on whatever Lenten practices I was aiming to do this season. I still need to recalibrate, but probably won’t do so through the customary Lenten fashion (the fasting-from-stuff part, anyway).

After a blissful hour yesterday at the library (where I paid nearly $30 for a book I apparently held hostage for 2 years), I am at a Laundromat processing three loads of long-festering clothes.

We do have a washer/dryer at home, but it’s in the basement, and I’m curbing my stair climbing with my arthritic knees. Also, I enjoy Laundromats for some weird reason.

One cool thing about getting laid off: I can spend part of this weekday St Patrick’s Day recalibrating with a pot of tea and a notebook at a Muslim-run coffeehouse during Ramadan. So, there’s that.

I ate bacon and sausage breakfast pizza knowing full well it’s a Friday in Lent. And yes, I plan to go to confession about it this weekend.

Not proud of myself, even as I muttered, “It’s been a shit week, Jesus would understand” as I ate.

After losing my job because those DOGE fuckers canceled enough federal contracts to deplete my company, I only have enough energy to repost angry memes on social media and think about all the stuff I want to do before job seeking in earnest.

Post-layoff immediate to-do list:

• Nap a lot
• Catch up with med appts, email, and friends I haven’t seen in forever b/c I’ve been mired in work
• Read
• Leave crank WTF calls to congressional Democrats who seem to be under a rock while America is destroyed
• Recaffeinate
• Hydrate
• Pee

My sister was so proud of me when I got my promotion at work, and I was so glad I could share that with her before she died.

It’s moments like this when I really wish E was still around to commiserate with in this latest crisis. Another reason to miss her.

Still haven’t gone to bed since I learned I was laid off Monday afternoon. I’m writing emails, downloading files, bingewatching “We Are Lady Parts.”

I’m incredibly grateful for the kind words of support I’ve received so far. Even the people on LinkedIn, which I loathe, have been kind.

Onward.

Nothing like calling in sick to work and then finding out hours later that you’ve been laid off.

Anybody need a full-time/part-time/freelance/contract editor?

Slept most of the afternoon. I do not like missing out on precious time off, especially when I have plans to grab coffee with friends or otherwise treat myself to time alone.

I’m pretty pissed about being sick this weekend. And I’m not feeling that much better. Just livid, honestly.

This morning’s homily: Satan uses algorithms and digital cookies to tempt us. Or something like that. 😐

This is why I subscribe to newsletters, podcasts, and monthly missal magazines.

I hate when I’m sick and things already suck and then I pull an abdominal muscle just to really push things over the edge.

Is it weird that “Conclave” has done more to solidify my faith in my past year of spiritual fatigue and fog than all the culture war homilies in the world?

The film demonstrates nuance in faith lived “between the certainties.” And that’s okay. I’ve needed to be reminded of that.

Having the flu on my birthday isn’t as bad as 10+ years ago, when I had emergency gallbladder surgery on my birthday. So, there’s that. 🎂

Nothing says the Midwest like scarfing down gas station breakfast pizza during your town’s monthly tornado siren testing.

Forgoing spending for a day was a cakewalk compared to witnessing the nonstop obliteration of democratic principles in this country.

I hate that shitbags are running this country into the ground. And embarrassing us along the way.

Watching an old animated Disney movie with a familiar voice in the lead. The teenager looked up who it is.

“Says it’s Michael J. Fox,” she said.

Ah, I said. I thought he sounded familiar.

“Who is he?” she asked.

I’m going to go weep for my lost youth now.

Today, I finally got my long-delayed mammogram – or as I prefer to call it, the old smash-and-grab.

Nothing alarming, though they noted that my breast composition is “almost entirely fatty.” I didn’t need to get my headlights squashed to learn that.