Finally got to a dentist today for The Toothache of All Toothaches. Now amped up on antibiotics, Tylenol/codeine, and generic Ora-jel. Whee.
Anticipating a 2-tooth extraction in the coming weeks.
Happy February, friends! š¬
Just watched: āArcoā (2025). Phenomenal and sad look at humankindās near future, with a kinder and more peaceful look at Earth beyond that. šæ
I really didn’t need a toothache this weekend.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother to write it; typically I get maybe 30 views per issue. It’s a good thing I’ve shelved any plans to monetize it (except for a periodic Ko-Fi link for tips). But maybe that’s why I like doing it.
Got an unsurprisingly bland homily proclaiming a generic āChrist is the answerā at Mass, but I did appreciate the mention of āfrom Minnesota ā¦ to Venezuelaā toward the end.
Still a lot better than the guy at our former parish who quoted Candace Owens from the pulpit. š
Finally coughed up a newsletter.
You know itās a postseason Sunday in Chicagoland when an entire family in matching Walter Payton jerseys comes up for Communion and the priest ends Mass with āGo Bears!ā
It was certainly a great year to be laid off. š
First newsletter of the year. Read, enjoy, subscribe. (Itās free!)
And if I can build an empire without invading Venezuela, Iāll be a happy gal.
Catara the home office manager says good riddance to 2025 and wishes you a New Year full of hope and Temptations cat treats. But mostly hope.
Oh, look. It’s a Boxing Day newsletter, complete with regrettable AI-generated image! Feel free to read, please.
Dammit, one stop at my local coffee joint for a matcha latte and Iāve already lost #Whamageddon.
This is the kind of wintry snapshot that I would have sent my sister. She lived in Southern California and loved anything snowy or otherwise seasonal. I miss being able to send her these.
I may be more than a little paranoid, but Iām weirded out by older men on social media who seem to follow only women and then decide to follow me and directly ask to be my friend. The vibe is a little creepy, honestly.
Not sure what this means for me, but I’ve gone from writing about gift-giving ideas for Tuesday’s newsletter to New Wave music and aging. But it’s fun to watch hours of Oingo Boingo videos and call it work-related research.
Anyway, we’re halfway through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and I still have much to do, including decluttering the office and setting up a new printer that I bought months ago. With a new Snowstorm That Ate Chicagoland threatening on Saturday to keep us home through Sunday, I might as well hunker down with long-needed tasks.
Had a post-Thanksgiving date with F this morning at a local diner. I enjoyed listening to all the seniors sitting around us at breakfast this morning updating their tablemates on the status of their snowblowers.
Better late than never ā or early, depending on your view. After no newsletter last Friday and going on holiday this Friday, hereās a Wednesday newsletter. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mood.
Yesterday was the anniversary of my sisterās passing. November 30 will be her birthday.
I love fall, but the latter part of November is tough.
Done with a 60,000+ word proofread that occupied much of my weekend and today. Very happy to have the freelance work.
Now it’s time to rest up with some reading for fun before working on the Friday newsletter that I never sent out late last week. Not proud of myself for blowing deadline, but I struggled a bit with fatigue and some chronic pain that dragged me down. I’m trying to figure out a way to manage the pain and the caffeine intake that seems to aggravate it.
I didn’t get the newsletter out Friday. Might end up either getting it out as late as Monday. I have a freelance project that I need to get out by Monday, and I’ll likely be working on it through the weekend.
Been listening repeatedly to this talk on YouTube that references and takes inspiration from Alan Watts and the “desire to lie down all day,” which is exactly how I’ve been the past few weeks. I’ve shut down so much lately; honestly, this has been the case for much of the year, particularly since I was laid off. I had hoped to be recovered enough from burnout by now – and I have had moments of recovery – but I feel so brought down daily by a fatigue of the soul even now.
Meanwhile, I continue to wrestle with chronic pain. Doctor visits have come up with nothing, really. I’ve decided to invest in a few supplements that target the pain, much of which I suspect is connected to menopause (and which my new ob/gyn insists is just arthritis that should be fine wth a little ibuprofen). I have begun to see why so many people go all RFK Jr. with their health and take monkey hormones for headaches or whatever – the conventional health care industry feels like such a profound failure in so many ways.
I really, really hate algorithms. But right now Instagram is giving me a huge load of Scotland-qualifies-for-the-World-Cup content, and I couldnāt be happier.
The second of this month’s Tuesday newsletter is here. Give it a look; if you’re grieving, maybe it’ll help you feel less alone.
