I voted today among other things...
Oct. 26th, 2024 06:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Voted Today
It was a bit of a hike, but not that far. I'd say maybe a twenty minute walk? My sciatica was running down the right leg, and the lower back hurt - most likely a combination of arthritis and digestive issues. So the walk felt longer than it was - not helped by the fact that I'd just come back from walking to and from the subway, going down steps, to the foot doctor, meeting Wales, walking with Wales to get a bite, then walking to the subway, and up and down steps and home again. So I walked 9,494 steps, or 4.4 miles today.
Stood in line for about ten minutes, filled out ballot (about five-ten minutes), then scanned it, another five minutes. I think? It's not like I timed it. But it took no more than twenty - twenty five minutes all together. I reviewed the ballot multiple times, making certain my vote for Kamala Harris/Tim Waltz was clearly marked. If I could - I would have crossed out the other candidate. I did not.
The scanner accepted my vote. So it went through without any issues. Thank god. I find voting stressful in the 21st Century. Gee, I wonder why?
Voted for the Equal Rights Amendment (which protects the rights of people based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, race, etc - along with reproductive rights), Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz, and Democrats down the line. I live in a Blue County - so there weren't any Republicans running on the local level.
The States are taking care of the abortion issue on their own. Various states are making it part of their constitutions. The Legislature of NY already passed it, now we just have to vote in - as an amendment. This protects more than reproductive rights of course, it's kind of all inclusive.
2. Saw Foot Doctor prior to Voting. I voted around 2pm today. I saw the Foot Doctor at 10:30 am.
ME: I reviewed the X-ray report, then went and looked up the items on the internet.
Foot Doctor: Now, you're not supposed to do that. (He says with a chuckle.)
Well, you have arthritis and plantar facisitis bone spurs...which we already knew. But what is concerning is the Generalized Ostenpenia - which is washed out bone...that could result in increased fractures and breaks. Have you had a bone density test?
Me: Not yet. (I skipped over it - when primary tried to give me one five years back.)
Foot Doctor: I'd get one, and as soon as possible. With the ceiliac disease - you may not be absorbing the calcium.
I like my foot doctor. I only see him when I need to. But he's among the nicest and best doctors I've ever had.
Sent message via patient portal to primary care for a bone density test, will try to schedule when I return. I can always use FMLA if required.
3. Met up with Wales, who was sleep deprives and a prickly. So was I - but not from sleep deprivation just generalized anxiety and a difficult work week. Also the trains are screwed up today - they are modernizing the signals again.
Wales told me that the scaffolding outside all of these buildings isn't for construction purposes but for building inspections. Apparently NYC Building Department and Housing - inspects buildings every five years. And they have to put up scaffolding for them to complete their inspections. She asked someone at her building why the scaffolding was up - and they explained it to her.
She wanted to meet up at a French Restaurant. French Restaurants are anti-ceiliac. They act as if it doesn't exist. If you have any dietary restrictions? Avoid French Restaurants. I've not been to one since I was diagnosed. It was tiny. The menu had nothing I could reasonably eat, no mention of gluten free, and while I could do a work around, it was cramped and tiny. Also I'd just found out that I had potential ostenpenia ( a result of untreated ceiliac disease - it didn't get treated until I was in my late 30s early 40s, and the only treatment is no glutens.) I wanted to punch the restaurant in the face. And I tried to text her - but it didn't send, so she called to see where I was - and I said I was two shops down getting tea at a gluten-free friendly coffee shop.
We also had two fights. I'm tired of fighting with people over stupid things. I require a people free day - that's tomorrow. I've been fighting with folks all week long. Or explaining things repeatedly. It's made me cranky.
Neither of us had been sleeping well, and we're both stressed over the election from hell, so that was part of it.
4. It's cool inside my apartment, about 67 degrees. Usually it is about 70 or 71. The heat isn't on yet. But I have a feeling it will be tonight or by tomorrow - we're about to dip into the 40s.
I've started reading Withered Hill (which had been rec'd by Joe Hill on social media). It's an English Folk Horror novel that takes place in Lancashire and London. About a young woman who mysteriously finds herself in a remote English village in Lancashire, naked, covered with dirt and twigs, with no memory of who she is, outside of her first name. It's told out of linear order, or out of chronological order. The chapters are titled Outside : (number of days) until Withered Hill, and Inside : Number of Days in Withered Hill. And we go back and forth between the time before she ended up there, the time she appeared there, and the time she's told she can leave Withered Hill once she creates a bower (and she has no idea what it is). It kind of falls within the genre that MidSomer is in? Or Wickerman? Or Harvest Home? I enjoy this genre - it's psychological horror mixed with folk horror. Secret History also fell within it. As does Elizabeth Hand's Waking the Moon.
It's not for everyone. I like it - because I have a background in urban legends, mythology, and folklore and am a frustrated folklorist. But, it tends to be rather sexist in places - so problematic, and also judgemental of certain types of lifestyles - also problematic in that sense. That's what I don't like about it. Also, I'm not found of the writer's criticism of Wiccan or Pagan traditions. I've met Wiccans and Pagans, they don't practice human sacrifice or any of this nonsense. This is the writer's own Judeo-Christian fears being projected onto another religion that they don't understand.
What triggered a lot of people on Amazon is the lead character is an alcoholic, living alone in London, who has lost her friends to marriage and jobs in other countries, and feels adrift, with just temp jobs. She's in her twenties. And sleeps with whomever she drunkenly runs across. Then she takes a job doing data entry - which results in a brain fog...and starts receiving weird messages on social media that someone is after her. She also has a dead hare sent to her at her new work place.
Weird book that much like PenPal was originally posted as a series on NoSleep Reddit. Apparently Reddit had a lot of groups that posted horror stories, and the award winning ones or popular ones turned into published books? Reminds me of some of the stories that jumped from live journal and became published works - although those tended more towards erotica or queer erotica, not horror. So Reddit for creepy psychological horror novels and television serials (Channel Zero came from Reddit), and Live Journal for erotica, fantasy, and queer romance (Fifty Shades, Girl who Sailed to Neverland, the one about the Prince, and Cassandra Clares novels all came from live journal). At one time - publishers were trolling Reddit and livejournal for novelists.
I don't think they are now. I think they've drifted over to TikTok, which I am blatantly ignoring. TikTok's very existence annoys me. I hate watching people talk to a camera. That's the height of narcissistic behavior in my opinion. It is repulsive. I can't watch them. At work when they turn on their cameras, I have to minimize them or close my eyes to hear them or talk to them. When I retire? I'm avoiding Teams and Zoom like the plague.
Am enjoying Illona Andrews, Fate's Edge, the characters and world-building is interesting and different from anything else I've read. Also the narrator who is reading it aloud is rather good at doing distinctive voices. I'm impressed. I like audio books. I never thought I'd write that.
Seven years ago - I was writing about how much I despised them and couldn't figure out how people could listen to them. Turns out I was listening to the wrong audio books. Not all audio books are created equal.
It was a bit of a hike, but not that far. I'd say maybe a twenty minute walk? My sciatica was running down the right leg, and the lower back hurt - most likely a combination of arthritis and digestive issues. So the walk felt longer than it was - not helped by the fact that I'd just come back from walking to and from the subway, going down steps, to the foot doctor, meeting Wales, walking with Wales to get a bite, then walking to the subway, and up and down steps and home again. So I walked 9,494 steps, or 4.4 miles today.
Stood in line for about ten minutes, filled out ballot (about five-ten minutes), then scanned it, another five minutes. I think? It's not like I timed it. But it took no more than twenty - twenty five minutes all together. I reviewed the ballot multiple times, making certain my vote for Kamala Harris/Tim Waltz was clearly marked. If I could - I would have crossed out the other candidate. I did not.
The scanner accepted my vote. So it went through without any issues. Thank god. I find voting stressful in the 21st Century. Gee, I wonder why?
Voted for the Equal Rights Amendment (which protects the rights of people based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, race, etc - along with reproductive rights), Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz, and Democrats down the line. I live in a Blue County - so there weren't any Republicans running on the local level.
The States are taking care of the abortion issue on their own. Various states are making it part of their constitutions. The Legislature of NY already passed it, now we just have to vote in - as an amendment. This protects more than reproductive rights of course, it's kind of all inclusive.
2. Saw Foot Doctor prior to Voting. I voted around 2pm today. I saw the Foot Doctor at 10:30 am.
ME: I reviewed the X-ray report, then went and looked up the items on the internet.
Foot Doctor: Now, you're not supposed to do that. (He says with a chuckle.)
Well, you have arthritis and plantar facisitis bone spurs...which we already knew. But what is concerning is the Generalized Ostenpenia - which is washed out bone...that could result in increased fractures and breaks. Have you had a bone density test?
Me: Not yet. (I skipped over it - when primary tried to give me one five years back.)
Foot Doctor: I'd get one, and as soon as possible. With the ceiliac disease - you may not be absorbing the calcium.
I like my foot doctor. I only see him when I need to. But he's among the nicest and best doctors I've ever had.
Sent message via patient portal to primary care for a bone density test, will try to schedule when I return. I can always use FMLA if required.
3. Met up with Wales, who was sleep deprives and a prickly. So was I - but not from sleep deprivation just generalized anxiety and a difficult work week. Also the trains are screwed up today - they are modernizing the signals again.
Wales told me that the scaffolding outside all of these buildings isn't for construction purposes but for building inspections. Apparently NYC Building Department and Housing - inspects buildings every five years. And they have to put up scaffolding for them to complete their inspections. She asked someone at her building why the scaffolding was up - and they explained it to her.
She wanted to meet up at a French Restaurant. French Restaurants are anti-ceiliac. They act as if it doesn't exist. If you have any dietary restrictions? Avoid French Restaurants. I've not been to one since I was diagnosed. It was tiny. The menu had nothing I could reasonably eat, no mention of gluten free, and while I could do a work around, it was cramped and tiny. Also I'd just found out that I had potential ostenpenia ( a result of untreated ceiliac disease - it didn't get treated until I was in my late 30s early 40s, and the only treatment is no glutens.) I wanted to punch the restaurant in the face. And I tried to text her - but it didn't send, so she called to see where I was - and I said I was two shops down getting tea at a gluten-free friendly coffee shop.
We also had two fights. I'm tired of fighting with people over stupid things. I require a people free day - that's tomorrow. I've been fighting with folks all week long. Or explaining things repeatedly. It's made me cranky.
Neither of us had been sleeping well, and we're both stressed over the election from hell, so that was part of it.
4. It's cool inside my apartment, about 67 degrees. Usually it is about 70 or 71. The heat isn't on yet. But I have a feeling it will be tonight or by tomorrow - we're about to dip into the 40s.
I've started reading Withered Hill (which had been rec'd by Joe Hill on social media). It's an English Folk Horror novel that takes place in Lancashire and London. About a young woman who mysteriously finds herself in a remote English village in Lancashire, naked, covered with dirt and twigs, with no memory of who she is, outside of her first name. It's told out of linear order, or out of chronological order. The chapters are titled Outside : (number of days) until Withered Hill, and Inside : Number of Days in Withered Hill. And we go back and forth between the time before she ended up there, the time she appeared there, and the time she's told she can leave Withered Hill once she creates a bower (and she has no idea what it is). It kind of falls within the genre that MidSomer is in? Or Wickerman? Or Harvest Home? I enjoy this genre - it's psychological horror mixed with folk horror. Secret History also fell within it. As does Elizabeth Hand's Waking the Moon.
It's not for everyone. I like it - because I have a background in urban legends, mythology, and folklore and am a frustrated folklorist. But, it tends to be rather sexist in places - so problematic, and also judgemental of certain types of lifestyles - also problematic in that sense. That's what I don't like about it. Also, I'm not found of the writer's criticism of Wiccan or Pagan traditions. I've met Wiccans and Pagans, they don't practice human sacrifice or any of this nonsense. This is the writer's own Judeo-Christian fears being projected onto another religion that they don't understand.
What triggered a lot of people on Amazon is the lead character is an alcoholic, living alone in London, who has lost her friends to marriage and jobs in other countries, and feels adrift, with just temp jobs. She's in her twenties. And sleeps with whomever she drunkenly runs across. Then she takes a job doing data entry - which results in a brain fog...and starts receiving weird messages on social media that someone is after her. She also has a dead hare sent to her at her new work place.
Weird book that much like PenPal was originally posted as a series on NoSleep Reddit. Apparently Reddit had a lot of groups that posted horror stories, and the award winning ones or popular ones turned into published books? Reminds me of some of the stories that jumped from live journal and became published works - although those tended more towards erotica or queer erotica, not horror. So Reddit for creepy psychological horror novels and television serials (Channel Zero came from Reddit), and Live Journal for erotica, fantasy, and queer romance (Fifty Shades, Girl who Sailed to Neverland, the one about the Prince, and Cassandra Clares novels all came from live journal). At one time - publishers were trolling Reddit and livejournal for novelists.
I don't think they are now. I think they've drifted over to TikTok, which I am blatantly ignoring. TikTok's very existence annoys me. I hate watching people talk to a camera. That's the height of narcissistic behavior in my opinion. It is repulsive. I can't watch them. At work when they turn on their cameras, I have to minimize them or close my eyes to hear them or talk to them. When I retire? I'm avoiding Teams and Zoom like the plague.
Am enjoying Illona Andrews, Fate's Edge, the characters and world-building is interesting and different from anything else I've read. Also the narrator who is reading it aloud is rather good at doing distinctive voices. I'm impressed. I like audio books. I never thought I'd write that.
Seven years ago - I was writing about how much I despised them and couldn't figure out how people could listen to them. Turns out I was listening to the wrong audio books. Not all audio books are created equal.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-27 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-27 02:56 pm (UTC)I want yours. The Tohono O'odham language would be cool.
I don't think all states give out a sticker for mail in's? I'll have to ask Wales, she voted by mail last week as well.
I may do that in the next presidential election, which hopefully will not be as stressful as this one.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-27 07:34 am (UTC)I’m sorry Wales wanted to meet at a non GF place. If I was meeting a friend who was celiac I would ask them where they thought would be best.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-27 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-27 06:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-28 12:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-28 06:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-28 11:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-28 06:52 pm (UTC)