Two cats sharing a blanket on the couch. One is a dilute calico, curled up with her nose tucked under her paw. The other is a larger silver tabby, who crouches awkwardly next to her. His face is turned away because he's likely spotted a squirrel on the patio.
Still stressed, but holding on. In honor of #caturday, here are my two agents of chaos during a brief truce.
Thank you, my friend. *hugs* The Tangerine Palpatine is a major source of my stress and anger. I also have a couple chaos monsters in my life, and I need to distance myself from them for my own mental health.
I've since had a nap, then lunch. I'm still very Not Okay, but I'm doing a lot of slow deep breaths. This won't fix anything, but it helps me get through the day without bashing my head into the wall.
Today's therapy session (via Zoom) included crying, shouting, and pounding my fist on my desk. Therapist had some good insights and suggestions, and we agreed that women are socialized to minimize their anger and resentment.
That uncomfortable photo of me at the Emmy Awards (ah, when will this orbit go away, lol) and an image of Death of the Author with the Libby awards logo
My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR has won the Libby Book Award (a.k.a. the Librarians Choice Award) for Best Science Fiction, 🇳🇬🇺🇸🤖🐬!
Full list here: www.libbylife.com/blog/the-win...
Mostly it’s Theo, who has the energy of twelve toddlers on a sugar rush. Bijou has her moments of chaos, but fewer and shorter.
Doing pretty good. Refereeing the cats as they maneuver for prime napping spots.
Once I get the document into a decent form, I'll ask for feedback. My ultimate goal is to publish this as an e-book for no-cost/low-cost and just see what happens.
Taking a break now to play some Stardew Valley. Tomorrow I'll dive back into rewriting the Constitution itself.
I just spent four hours working on my manifesto, fleshing out sections on voting reform, tax reform, and health care. While I'm not attempting to write a detailed policy plan, I did want more than a simple bullet list.
This made me laugh so hard, I scared the cats.
Abolish ICE. Free everyone who’s been locked up. Transfer the funds to increase the staff and judiciary to process immigration applications.
I had a cat that loved to sleep with her head under the radiator. Baked Zoe.
Back when I was still talking to my brother, I was venting about the misogyny I encountered on Twitter. His solution? Get off Twitter. He didn't actually say I was asking for it, but it came to the same thing. (I believe I shout F-- Off, then blocked him on email.
Note: The Mexican Constitution isn't perfect--it has a few sections and some phrasing I find "off"--but as a starting point for a better US Constitution, it's amazing.
Blizzard today. Theo insists he wants to go outside, despite the snow. Bijou is napping on the couch. I'm working on my manifesto.
Today's observation: the Mexican Constitution starts off with a section on Human Rights. The current US Constitution treats the subject as an afterthought.
That's why I love McKinley's Rose Daughter. She chooses the Beast, and he happily remains one.
We need a modern Constitution that guarantees our rights. We need to ensure that all citizens have a voice. We need a government dedicated to the welfare of its citizens.
But we, the people, should not give up. We have the intellect, the talent, and the natural resources to build a great nation, but we need to recognize our system no longer works—if indeed, it ever did.
The GOP has become a party of oligarchs, fascists, and bots. The Democratic Party has no passion, no vision, and no unifying goals. Instead, they ask us to vote while murmuring promises to “do something someday.”
Our country is in flames while Nero plays golf.
That our government no longer serves the needs of the people, preferring to amass wealth, power, and privilege for itself and the rich.
The first page of my manifesto:
We hold these truths to be self-evident. That our nation has failed to uphold the principles of our founding fathers, except the ones based on racist and sexist assumptions.
UBI would fix so many ills.
I would make a terrible leader! I just need to write out all my frustrations with the current system. Also, I’m cribbing a lot from the Mexican Constitution. It doesn’t include UBI, but it does guarantee housing, health care, and a declaration of science based education.
I included that too. It’s a really long list.
I’ve included UBI in the manifesto I’m writing. Also universal healthcare. And guaranteed housing.
And now I'm thinking I just need to copy the Mexican Constitution and make some tweaks. Read it for yourself: constituteproject.org/constitution...
Now, I'd already taken a wrecking ball to the current setup in government, but I still wasn't satisfied. That's when I went back to www.constituteproject.org, which has 204 constitutions from around the world, translated into English.
So. Last year, I started what my son calls a manifesto that's a reply to Project 2025. In addition to goals to improve wages, income taxes, & health care, I started a section to modernize the US Constitution. I put the project aside for a while, but yesterday, I picked it up again.
Theo, a silver tabby, is sitting in a wire mesh file holder, gazing back with golden eyes.
Bijou, a dilute calico, perched atop my kitchen cabinets.
And here they are, the fuzzy little criminals:
