Daily Reads

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Place minder

So, I'm madly applying for jobs right now, even with my shiny new degree I have to deal with being underexperienced, though at least there are more entry level accounting/bookkeeping jobs than there are library jobs at any level. And they pay enough that going geobachelor would be doable in many cases, so my job search isn't limited to just one of the worst economies in the country.

And I seem to be over the worst of my GI bug. Fevers, chills, and any more would be TMI. Let's just say it wasn't fun and it was pretty exhausting. I just slep 12 hours last night, and if I didn't have a PT appointment in an hour, I'd be going right back having eaten breakfast.

Having told ortho yesterday that the knee wasn't any better after the gel shot six weeks ago, it finally decided this morning to let me go down stairs (by which I mean backwards and with hands on the further up stairs, rather like a 45 degree ladder) using alternate legs. But since that still isn't good the only next step is surgical and I don't have the time nor the money for my share of the co-pays so I'll just muddle on as I have for the last seven years. At least it lets me check off that I have a significant mobility issue on federal applications, so maybe that will give me a little bit of a boost in the consideration process?

So, I need to get dressed, take my pain meds, and head off to PT so I can fill out all the forms for this session since it's for my neck, not my shoulder. This new place is fantastic and did more for my right shoulder in 3 months than the more traditional outfit did for the other shoulder in 9. Let's hope Melissa can work her magic on my poor degenerating neck.  Waking up because the thumb half of my hand is numb is both annoying and weird.

Maybe I can come up with some brilliant political and/or societal commentary later when I've woken up. Don't count on it. :)

Monday, November 14, 2016

A few thoughts on the election

We've been having discussions over on my younger sister's facebook page, with people actually giving opinions and facts with no ad hominems. It's amazing how much you find you have in common with someone when neither of you calls the other one delusional, insane, deplorable.

I think all of us share similar fears, and most of us similar end goals, it's just that (obviously) we have different ideas on how to get there.

No one I know on the non-HRC side of the fence wants anything even just unpleasant, never mind awful, to happen to people who aren't "just like us". We're all Americans, and I think one of the problems was that many people, particularly those outside the coastal and Chicago urban areas, have felt that Washington, meaning *both* parties, has been ignoring and marginalizing them for years.

I know I was frustrated by a Democrat party who have been in control of the federal executive for eight years, and the executive and legislature of my state for at least six, and the county I live in has never actually gotten out of the '08 recession. They just announced that the entire state was back in recession a few months ago. When they tell me how great things are and almost everyone I know is un- or under- employed, it's really, really hard to take them seriously. They have given me exactly no reason to vote for them. More of the same when the same isn't working isn't exactly a winning platform.

I wasn't particularly excited by most of the Republican primary field either though there were quite a few I favored over Trump.

Maybe, just maybe, after all the initial angst has worn off, we can all start talking with each other, taking each other seriously, even if the other is one of those deplorable rural folks or thugish or elitist city folks, and realize that we *all* have fears and dreams, and if we listen to each other, respect each other as fellow human beings and Americans, and work with each other, we might actually be able to assuage the fears and realize the dreams.

If nothing else, Trump has shaken the entire system up, and maybe instead of letting it fall back into its familiar ruts, we can work together to achieve the Change that we were promised 8 years ago which never came to pass.

For those quietly (or not so quietly) losing it over his win? Chill. You've probably only seen a very negative media version of him. No, I don't know that he's different, but given how the media likes to construct narratives and won't let facts get in the way, he probably is. People I know who have met him say he's not stupid. He knows how to choose knowledgable people to get the work done. If he's a true misogynist, he shows it oddly what with having a female campaign manager and many women, including minority women, working in managerial positions in his companies.

You demanded that those who didn't vote for Obama give him a chance. Can we ask for the same from those who didn't vote for Trump? And remember, while he has the same (R) as Congress does, he's not really from the same party, and he'll probably have to fight them nearly as hard as HRC would have, and unlike HRC, the media will be disecting and reporting every single misstep he makes for the next four years.