Here. And a sincere FUCK YOU VERY MUCH to all (edit: that is, the subset of) the white dudes and straight white Christian ladies who are convinced everything will be fine through the next four years. People of color, religious minorities, immigrants, queer people... even some straight white Christian friends in town with black children? We're all terrified. (Along with anyone who has sense.)
Now that we've gotten that over with.
I am in... less pain! I have not achieved No Pain since June. However, I have a lot of drugs now and a very expensive round of physical therapy. It's getting better. I feel like one day I might be Mostly Better. Huzzah.
Today I did my first round of Terrifying Antibody Thing. It was enlivened by a brief round of intense itching. Friends, itching is not good when you have been injected with antibodies. However, it mostly went away. My kind neighbor watched Sweetpea for two and a half hours while I sat about knitting, trying to not go into anaphylactic shock. Good times for all.
Next semester I have been roped into teaching something I don't really want to teach. For Reasons. (If I say no now, it's no forever; it pays fairly well for fairly little effort; it's actually the Science Thing I know and like the best; there is the possibility for more interesting work in the future; I know and like the person who offered me the job and therefore I have a reasonable expectation it will be okay.) I'm a bit afraid I'm going to end up teaching forever because I'm lazy. Yes, yes, I know: I don't have to do it if I don't want to. But if the choices are This, Nothing, or Move, then This wins. Is this better than nothing? Sure, fine.
My assortment of part-time babysitters is working out pretty well. The kids love them, Sweetpea runs up and demands "Lap! Read book!", and everyone is in one piece when I get home.
I continue to apply for Other Jobs. (They never write, they never call.)
I am taking an (online) class in databases from Mountain State University - it's surprisingly good, taught by someone with a deep and abiding love of the database- and predictably, writing code is the only part of it I'm actually good at.
Between my students and the election, I have a terrible headache, so I'm taking to my bed and trying again tomorrow....
I'm trying to keep it together. I've told my (white, male, Christian, middle-class, apparently straight) children that we'll be fine, but I feel physically ill thinking about the rest of the country. I cried in public today. Then I went home and made 16 pints of blackberry brandy jam, a triple batch of English muffins, apple gallette, beef roast, carrots, and mashed potatoes. I honestly haven't felt so depressed since my grandma died.
ReplyDeleteEnough of that. I'm glad you've found This, which is better than Nothing. I still have Nothing, except for my fun side projects of reupholstering a 100+ year old chair, and planning a kitchen remodel. And fruit, of course.
I hope the antibody treatment goes well. You could really use a few years of good health! Keep us posted with how things go!