Ugh, in the last couple of days I found out that a cousin—who I just saw at his mom's birthday party a couple weeks ago—is now in the ICU undergoing dialysis after additional problems were found during a cardiac procedure, and that a dear friend I used to work with has been hospitalized for dementia and her prognosis looks exceedingly grim. How screwed up is it that Mom's upcoming cancer surgery has fallen out of medal contention among my worries for the medical situations of loved ones? (Not that I'm looking the gift horse of her outlook being far more optimistic in the mouth! If only one of those situations can be no sweat, you picked the right one as far as I'm concerned, Fate/the Universe/Flying Spaghetti Monster!)

Java, I think you're not wrong about the positive aspects of Twitter! I also am missing the breaking-news aspects of it, in particular. I can no longer follow the #Oakland tag to see what the local news is, and so forth. Mastodon is interesting but the range isn't as wide, and because it doesn't have quote-tweeting it's hard to get as much commentary.

On the other hand, I do really appreciate my small social networks where I know and trust people. Here, Dreamwidth, and a private Slack I've been on for a few years.

Oh for sure. Yeah, a lot of the newer sites like Threads and Bluesky don’t have the basic features quite yet, will be interesting to see how it all works out (or doesn’t!).

100% agree re Twitter. I never posted much and rarely went on but it was great for following breaking news or sports or live tv! In a way nowhere else really is.

I was never a super regular user of Twitter but it gave me a way to interact with a lot more diverse set of people than I ever would have in real life. And I learned a lot of cool stuff.

It sucks that Musk is killing it slowly.

In other news my aunt has been moved to a long term care facility with hospice support. Mom is going down to FL in a few days.

Also I've been reading various posts about Sinead O'Connor from a wide variety of people and I just hope that she knew how much people respected and admired her. I know that with mental health issues it can be hard to believe but I hope that people let her know.

I've had a real mental block on writing a resume and job hunting and I figured out some of it so now I've got to push through and remind myself the sooner I get a job the sooner we can move out. I think part of my block is volunteering at Recraft and realizing I'd really like to work for a company or business that I felt more aligned with my values. Or at least treated their employees decently (in terms of pay and benefits at least) and also how slim the job options are when it comes to jobs paying less than $15/hr. Which includes a surprising number of office jobs.

At least volunteering is keeping me active and I'm getting a lot of practice in doing a lot of sorting and organizing and at times it's overwhelming when it's doing the same type of thing but I realize overall how much I like doing that. As long as it's not my own stuff and I have decent parameters to work with.

The thing it reminds me of is how everyone used to watch the same four networks, and thus had a shared experience and generally knew the same shows (or at least was aware of them), got the same references, etc. Before cable and streaming sent us into a multitude of scattered places, each skewing narrower and narrower until we all exist in our own tiny little worlds which are limited to people who have overlapping interests and generally sing the same tune.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but that makes so much sense. Particularly of late with news consumption.

As for the friend circle, I have slipped into a life where so many of my friends are located outside of my geographic location. I am trying to fix that, even going to local community events! I went yesterday to the local meet and greet and spoke with a couple I hadn't seen since the meet and greet two years ago. We laughed about that and when I got home I sent a friend request to facilitate seeing them more than once a year. Baby steps. Also, I need to make the time to travel more to have in person time with people I value.

Can I get some more health-ma for Mom on Monday?

Of course, in abundance. An extra dose of coping with the stress ~ma as well. The testing/waiting/testing/waiting cycle is emotionally exhausting.

I'm sorry, Matt. The feeling of helplessness when loved ones are suffering never gets easier.

And because I left this page open last night and didn't hit post!

It sucks that Musk is killing it slowly.

Or quickly! I very rarely went into Twitter so it isn't a great a loss for me. I unsubscribed right after he bought it with the anticipation that I wouldn't miss it. I do know that for many it was a valuable source of idea exchange.

I figured out some of it so now I've got to push through and remind myself the sooner I get a job the sooner we can move out.

Yes, as much of a relief that it must be to wave the WC hassle behind you, it will be a new level of freedom to get away from that living situation.

I think part of my block is volunteering at Recraft and realizing I'd really like to work for a company or business that I felt more aligned with my values.

This isn’t a block! It’s a critical part of the job search process.

how slim the job options are when it comes to jobs paying less than $15/hr.

?? Do you *need* to get a job where you make <$15/hr ???

Hope your Mom’s surgery goes smoothly, Matt.

Thanks guys. Fortunately both Mom and I are pretty chill about her upcoming procedure, since she's had it once before with no complications. I just wish I could be similarly optimistic about the other relatives and friend, but I have a sinking feeling about two of them and the third was such a surprise I don't know what to think.

In far less serious news, I was disappointed to find out last night that the converted gas station/event space I'd been wanting to try was not a great burger joint as I'd been told, and the on-site food truck that used to have amazingly good sloppy Joes (really more like meat loaf hoagies) had changed ownership and cuisines. Though it becoming a hot dog truck with excellent Chicago dogs and really nice workers is a pretty good consolation prize.

Java, so much of what you said about Twitter rings true for me. It’s not a social/friend space except for a spare handful of people like Cindy. But it is – or was – a really good way of catching up on current events or discussions that I might have otherwise missed. And an irreplaceable window into perspectives and viewpoints that don’t get a lot of air or depth, most especially for me Disability Twitter, J Twitter, and Black Twitter. I’ve commiserated and learned from people who share my experiences with things like fibroids and depression, and expanded my knowledge of many more.

Plus, so many delightful rabbit holes. I’ve learned so much about the worlds of sled dogs, agricultural inspection, the publishing world, and most recently the absolute shitshow of a Telenovela that the British royal family has descended into.

Maybe because I don’t engage all that much or maybe just by luck I still don’t find myself getting served up all the RW cranks and trolls (except now in the blue check comments). But I’m definitely noticing more and more great accounts shifting away, and all in different directions.