My neighbors are listening to music very loudly. I'm trying to watch a movie.

Pain sucks. Doctors who don't fill prescriptions on time suck. Laws that say I have to get a paper prescription every month suck. Advil is doing pretty much nothing except tearing up my stomach lining. I need to last until Monday like this.

{{Hil}}

American companies don't respect their workers anymore. Especially in the service industry. My BFF got promoted to Assistant Manager, a well deserved and overdue promotion. It's been more than two months. Her employer has still not entered her promotion officially into the records, so she isn't getting the pay she's supposed to be getting, and when they finally do, it won't be retroactive to the date she was promoted. And because she isn't in the computer as assistant manager, she can't do the produce ordering or employee write-ups she's supposed to do; everything she does has to be done under her manager's login, so he gets the credit for her work. It's absolutely infuriating.

How is that not illegal?

I'm so sorry about the medication hassle, Hil.

And that sucks for your BFF, Zen. We really need better worker protection.

No idea how it's not illegal. I guess because it's not "official " yet.

My family is bananas. It's always something.

Thanks, everyone.

Still hurting tonight, but it's less bad than yesterday.

I'm glad it's not as bad.

My Dad is up to visit. I haven't seen him that much. E is super full of energy so he and Mom are taking him up to a nature area/hiking trail. I am not going because I'm in the middle of a painful bladder syndrome flare up and am currently sitting on an icepack. E did not want to go if everyone wasn't going so I made up a scavenger hunt game. I've never been to this place but I wrote out a list of stuff I'm sure is easy to find outside and he (or Mom) has to take pictures of it and bring the pictures back not the stuff.

Things like - a tiny pebble, a rock the size of your hand, something green, a log with moss, a picture of the three of them, something blue, green leaves that aren't pine needles, something you want to write a story about, etc. With instructions not to race through to find the things but to take time and look at everything and then take pictures.

then they'll come back and show the pictures and tell me about it.

That's awesome, askye. I hope you feel better.

I am feeling overwhelmed today. Took a muscle relaxant last night so I'm out of it, too, and my pain is worse today. I'm smoking again, which is clearly not a good coping mechanism and makes my anxiety worse.

The big thing is that my sister is down a deep, dark hole. It's been a year since she tried to commit suicide and she's only gotten worse. She's back living with my parents and has terrible insomnia and all she does is smoke, sleep, and lie on the couch with the cats. She has no hope. She says no to everything, even short walks with my parents. Her psych took her off everything and then put her on something new that isn't working. There are little sparks in her here and there, but we are all pretty terrified and feeling helpless. My parents want her to try ketamine, but she just says, "What's the point?" Which is what she says about pretty much everything.

It sucks.

Oh, smonster, that's really hard. I hope your sister finds something to help, soon. Take care of yourself; your well-being is important, too.

smonster, I am with you 100%.