Yesterday was the 4th of July, but I have never felt less patriotic in my life. Not even when Trump was President the first time. Not even when George W. Bush or Reagan was President. The only thing stopping me from renouncing my citizenship right now is knowing that more than half the country didn’t vote for him and is as angry, frustrated, and overwhelming boggled as me. How have we gone down so far so fast? WHY is there such a need in so many men in power to put hatred, cruelty, and power above everything else decent? I don’t want to live in interesting times anymore. I want to live in times where people care for their fellow man, for the planet they occupy, and the creatures that share it with them. ALL people. Not just Democrats, not just liberals, not just the “woke”.
Today we are having what is supposed to be the biggest AIC event of the year, but it is chilly and cloudy and has been raining all morning. The forecast says the rain should stop around noon and then it will just be windy. The party organizer has not been on top of things at all. Late emails, no info, no decision about cancelling due to weather. Normally we have between 70-80 people, but I just checked the signup sheet and we’ve dropped below 40. đ I don’t know what to expect when we show up, because in addition to that, the HOST IS NOT EVEN GOING TO BE THERE. She and her husband are apparently in the States because her mom had surgery, and she didn’t even tell the organizer until 2 days ago, WTF. We could have taken over hosting duties easily if we had known even a week ago, but it was deemed too late to change it on such short notice, even though if we end up cancelling due to rain, it will be EVEN more short notice since it’s 9:15 am and the party starts at 2 this afternoon. GAH.
Things would be different around here, if I ran the world.
What would you do to make the world a better place? I feel like the way I live mostly IS in accordance to the values I hold as far as making the world a better place. I try to be nice (which I’ve learned over the years is an acquired trait that MUST be practiced). I try to interpret the actions of others in a kindly way and recognize that everyone is dealing with something. EVERYONE. Not that that excuses some of their behavior, or the things they say and do, but it can at least weigh it with reasons that are opaque to a casual observer (NOT that I think the current regime in the US or Hungary or Russia, or others has ANY FUCKING EXCUSE for what they do). I’m talking about everyday people, not people who are abusing the power they have been given or taken.
I recycle. I keep my house and surroundings tidy. I say hello to my neighbors. I check in with my friends and family as much as I can. I don’t rant online or troll anyone or post a bunch of idiotic shit that is factually incorrect. I limit my involvement with toxic people (even if I do snark and gossip occasionally). I roll my eyes and scroll on by without engaging on a daily basis. There’s no need to add to the misery and aggravation already out there. I don’t really understand why people are so obsessed with trends and celebrities and things like Labubu dolls. Get a life. There’s so many things that we could be doing to make the world a better place. Small things, medium things, big things. No one says it’s easy, but it isn’t THAT hard.
Anyway, in the interest of this theme, here are some subjects I have compiled for a webinar series or possibly podcast I like to call “The how and why of doing things so Liz doesn’t kill you”
- How not to pee on the toilet seat
- How to put the toilet seat down when you’re done (STRANGERS IN PUBLIC TOILETS, I’M LOOKING AT YOU)
- How to turn when driving without coming to an unnecessary stop in front of someone else
- How to not stop when walking and block the entrance you are going through
- How to stop looking at your phone and pay attention to your surroundings
- How to get FB to stop logging you out of your own account just because you visit a page or group you administrate
- How to get Instagram to stop opening reels just because you accidentally touched a post image for a second too long
What do you think? Surefire viral content? Have any good subjects you’d like to add?
I actually slept more hours last night than not, despite being up for about 2 hours from 4-something to 6-something. I feel low-level tired all the time due to the not sleeping, though I have lots of energy regardless, and am constantly getting things done and moving around and working on stuff. It’s all small stuff, but that still counts. I haven’t even really managed to take any naps during these last two weeks, probably ALSO due to the cortisone, but it does mean that when it’s bedtime and I actually lie down to sleep, I fall asleep quite quickly. It’s just that I’m awake again 2-3 hours later to go to the bathroom, and then again a few hours after that assuming I am able to fall asleep again after the first wake-up. Ah well, this too shall pass.
Yesterday, my sister told me that the biopsy results from her tumor surgery came back from the Cleveland Cancer Institute and she had a meeting with her new oncologist. She was told they were the top cancer research hospital in the world. The internet says, “Cleveland Clinic was at the forefront of modern medicine when it was first organized as a multi-specialty group practice in 1921. For the seventh consecutive year, Cleveland Clinic is the No. 2 hospital in the world, according to NewsweekâsâŻWorld’s Best Hospitals 2025âŻlist.” So I guess they can be trusted. Anyway, they confirmed the conclusions that her thoracic surgeon and oncology team had already given her: she did not have a thymoma. The pathology presented as a thymoma, but the cross section showed thymic squamous cell carcinoma. It is a very rare and very aggressive cancer. But the very good news is that they are all agreed that it was contained, and that when they performed the surgery on May 28th, that they removed EVERYTHING. They got it all, in other words. She’s on a 5-year cancer watch with regular cat scans, but no radiation or chemo needed. SO RELIEVED and thankful.
I made Rice Krispie Treats last night for the party this afternoon, and need to go cut them into squares. Anders is cleaning out in the garage, and I’ve just gone through flowerpots and put a full bag of them in the pile to go to Flyinge Loppis in August. We also looked at the storage room and discussed cleaning it out, which is mostly on him because so much of it is his stuff. I’ve already got a pile of things for the loppis, mostly small stuff, but it will be good to get it out and free up space.
Now please enjoy these photos of a GIANT SNAIL that was casually hanging out behind the back garage door. He would stick out his head and poke up his antenna when we were quiet and not moving around, but then withdraw as soon as we made any noise. Compared to the usual small white, green, or yellow garden snails we have, he’s gargantuan. My foot for scale because yes, we have no bananas. We have-a no bananas today.
Mood: relaxed
Music: The AcesâDaydream