Warning: this post discusses current events so mentions a lot of potentially distressing topics, including, but not limited to: war, child labour, train accidents, Covid.
WTF is actually going on?
The 2020s are something else, honestly.
Someone needs to turn reality off and turn it back on again - simulation or not, this sh** is glitching.
(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19, grief, mental health problems, and panic attacks)
June was horrible.
I'm not going to sugar-coat it - June sucked.
For those who don't know, at the very end of May I caught Covid after going to a My Chemical Romance concert (they do rock, though #JustSaying) - and it took me most of June to feel even half-way to human again.
I had ten full days of feeling like absolute hell - and the time since has been spent recovering.
Do NOT listen to people who call this mild.
The only way I'd refer to it as 'mild' is if you mean 'I didn't end up in hospital' - which, thank God that I'm triple-vaxxed because honestly, I'm not sure I would've stayed out of hospital otherwise.
If by 'mild' you mean 'like a cold,' or 'feeling a bit off,' or 'not feeling good but being semi-able to function,' then NO.
No, it is NOT mild.
Wear your masks.
Wash your hands.
Keep up social distancing where possible.
(Warning: this post discusses Covid, migraines, and mental health problems)
I know it's late-ish June. I got Covid.
...And I didn't want to just not do a post for May, because it was bugging me 😅
May 2022... *hysterical laughter*
OK, May 2022 was a bit of a rollercoaster for me.
Like, there was some really good stuff, some really bad stuff, and some stuff I point-blank don't know how to categorise.
(Yes, this post discusses Covid)
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| No, this is not my cat - it's a stock photo from Pixabay. Yes, I wish I could pet this kitty 😅 |
Covid really sucks, by the way.
Like, it really sucks.
So, I obviously want to get back to blogging straight away. But even walking up the stairs is still an exhausting activity, so I'm going to have to try easing myself into things.
(...which, is not easy for me. I really want to spend circa 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, being productive right now, and I can't. Argh!)
My regular posts won't be back in June - it's just not practical *sigh* - but I do have dates in July when you can expect my series-posts back on your screens:
(Warning: this post obviously discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19)
Hi everyone,
I tested positive.
I went to an outside concert for the first time in 2 years, was really careful, am triple vaxxed, and still got Covid.
So, my brain is currently smoosh, and I really hope this missive contains a modicum of sense (...I turn into a Victorian dictionary when I'm tired - sorry.)
My usual posts will be suspended for the time being, until I can think clearly enough to figure out a strategum for said missives.
(...I honestly have no clue where that came from, sorry again.)
Once I know what in the name of your great-aunt Doris (...seriously, I have no clue,) I'm doing, I will let everyone know - I promise.
See you soon.
(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19 (which you probably guessed from the title), death, and grief)
As I write this post, Boris Johnson is still prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (to give us our long and official title.)
Who knows whether he'll be prime minister by the time this post goes live, but for now he is prime minister.
He should not be.
I don't pretend to be able to predict the future - I think we've all given up on trying to foresee what comes next - but I hope he resigns.
As he should have done already. So many times over.
(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19)
May was one of those in-betweeny months - as lots of months have seemed to be lately.
Here in Wales we had a Senedd/Parliament election, allowing Mark Drakeford (aka everyone's uncle,) to form another consecutive government, and giving him the mandate to continue with his cautious Covid approach.
It also means that while Labour's struggling nationally, Welsh Labour are the strongest they've ever been.
Which means that while England is increasingly voting for the Conservative party (the party our current Prime Minister Boris Johnson leads,) which is the party on the right of UK politics, Wales are sat here being a Socialist democracy and happy with it!
(This is your regular reminder that Socialism =/= Communism, Communism is a form of Socialism.)
(Warning: as you can probably tell from the title, this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, vaccination, needles, and needlephobia.
It also talks about Anxiety and Depression, and mentions being a smol closeted Queer chick, because I'm perfectly capable of going off on tangents.)
I have my vaccine appointment!
At the end of this week, I will be getting my first dose.
(Yes, I am still in my 20s, and Wales started with the over 80s.
The Welsh vaccination programme is working like a well-oiled machine! (I think the small population also probably helps.))
(Warning: this post references Covid 19/Coronavirus, and Depression/Anxiety)
"How old are you then?" the adult asks; she's jolly, I do not appreciate forced jolliness. It's inauthentic.
"Six," I say... only it comes out 'thickth' because I've lost some of my baby teeth, and I have a decent gap between my front teeth anyway.
"Thickth," the adult responds, laughing.
I really do not approve of this mocking.
(Warning: as you can probably tell, this post is about Coronavirus/Covid 19.
It also references: anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theories, general 2020-ness, mental health problems, Trump, discrimination, ableism, systemic racism, and other systemic discrimination)
"My grandparents lived through the First World War and the Spanish Flu and all that," my mam said, "it's weird - they never talked about it much."
"Well," I said, "imagine explaining 2020, and the pandemic, to someone who's not even born yet. How could you even begin to make them understand?"
If a child asked, decades from now, 'what happened in 2020 and 2021? How did so many people die of Covid?' - what would you answer?
Where would we start? With the fires and the floods and World War Three trending at the beginning of 2020?
Or would we just jump straight into the Lockdowns, the social distancing, masks, Covid testing, the race for a vaccine...?
(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19 and mental health problems)
We are two months into 2021. Just two months.
I have nearly lost my Nan twice so far in 2021.
Covid (which she had in January) has been so damaging to her health... it's awful.
If you're one of the people who thinks it's not that bad, or it's a hoax, or it somehow doesn't apply to you, then you can fuck off.
And yes, it kills me to write swear words without *s, but I'm leaving it in.
(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19)
On a personal level, January sucked. Bad.
My beautiful Nan got Covid, and combined with her other health problems, despite the fact that she had very few symptoms, we nearly lost her.
There are very few things more distressing than watching someone you love slowly fade away via video link.
Honestly? If you're STILL not taking Coronavirus seriously, you can fuck the hell off.
And, dearest nerdlets, you know how upset I have to be to swear without censoring myself.
I really wanna delete a few letters and add *s, but I'm not gonna, cos despite the fact that I'm a nice well-brought-up Welsh girl, that's how annoyed I am, and how much you suck if you're one of the selfish people who still isn't taking precautions.
It's Thursday, it's February, let's get some comics-y, superhero-y goodness!
This week's is unintentionally super-queer (ha, super 😎) and is once again all in the 'Other Stuff' category (#BlameLoki).
(Warning: this post references Coronavirus/Covid 19. It also talks about sleep problems a lot, but you probably guessed that.)
I go through periods of having trouble sleeping through one thing and another, and with Covid Lockdowns very much in place, it wouldn't surprise me if other people are also having trouble dropping off.
(Ironically my main sleep problem right now has four paws, a tail, and wants to play at 3 in the morning.)
So, while there may be a variety of factors that might stop you from getting to sleep, and any number of things to help you actually fall asleep, I thought I'd let you in on my simple trick for nodding off.
(Warning: this post references Covid 19/Coronavirus, and the UK's institutional Transphobia)
I know this wrap-up is epically late.
Honestly, I considered combining it with January's 'Month in Review(s)' post, but I figure if 2021 is also going to be a sh**-show, it may as well be its own sh**-show, independent of the remnants of 2020.
So let's keep this super-brief because December 2020 was like forever ago!
(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, especially Depression and Anxiety, and the Covid 19/Coronavirus pandemic)
I've always been an artsy, craftsy, sort of person.
I'm one of these people who can never name their hobbies when asked, but actually has somehow accumulated so many hobbies that she can't physically fit them all in to her timetable.
(Part of the solution to that is to make some of your hobbies into your employment, but that brings its own challenges.)
And most of those hobbies are creative in some way.
So yeah, I'm a big fan of the arts and crafts!
(Warning: this post talks about Covid 19/Coronavirus, and the political situation in the US)
Dear 2021,
You've had a rocky start, but that's OK.
You inherited a global pandemic and a facist US president - and it's gonna take a while for you to fix that, we know.
I blame 2016, that year was a bad influence on everyone. The years after struggled to bring hope.
Then when 2020 came along... well, I guess you know about that already.
(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, specifically Depression and Anxiety, and references Covid and the dumpster fire of 2020)
For those unaware: there is a website called Goodreads. It's like social media for books, basically.
(Before you ask, my Goodreads account is private.)
And every year it encourages people to set a target number of books to read that year - the Goodreads (GR) challenge.
(It would be cynical to point out that Goodreads is owned by Amazon, and therefore may have a monetary incentive for encouraging people to consume vast quantities of book.
Corporations can create unintended social benefits - in this case encouraging literacy - despite what their motives may or may not be.)
(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, Covid 19/Coronavirus, and Transphobia)
November saw some rays of sunshine breaking through the end of 2020.
Biden won.
Hope of a Covid vaccine became more real.
As for me, well, I've had some ups-and-downs.
News of local people dying of and/or being ill with Covid. A firebreak Lockdown. The continued anti-Welsh sentiment in the press...
And then there's the Amazon Associate issue *sigh*
I can't go into it, because I've appealed the decision, but after some problems in November, I lost my UK Associateship in the first few days of December. That's all I can really say for now.
But it had me super stressy for a bit 😣 still kinda stressy now tbh.
Damn Anxiety always blows this kind of sh** out of proportion.
Update, 8th December:
Please DO NOT use my links to purchase from Amazon UK - my Associate account for the UK was unfairly closed, and Amazon UK will no longer pay me for any purchases made with them.
I will slowly be removing the UK links from 1000+ posts, but it's gonna take a while.
(Warning: As you can probably tell from the title, this post is about Covid 19/Coronavirus)
Christmas in 2020 is gonna be weird. I think we all know that.
I think, if those of us who celebrate go into it trying to make the best of things, it's gonna be better than complaining about the things we can't do.
(Although, a notable exception is the British tradition of enjoying a good moan about everything - but the key to that is you have to really enjoy it. Otherwise it doesn't count 😉)
At the same time, if you're not feeling it this year - if you're sad, or angry, or any combination of things - then that's OK too.
You feel how you feel, and feeling guilty that you don't feel how you 'should' at Christmas is only gonna make you feel worse.
I realise that that's something of a paradox - make the best of things and look on the bright-side, but also accept it if you feel cruddy and don't put too much pressure on yourself - but I'm a walking contradiction kinda gal 😅
