Ugh, meara that sucks.

Whew. Finally landed, five hours late. Very sleepy. Glad it’s at least Saturday and I have tomorrow to recover.

We were stuck in the Toronto airport for 8 or so hours when we were going to Scotland a couple of years ago and you’d think a cosmopolitan city like Toronto would have cool stuff in its airport terminals but you’d be wrong. So boring. We had to make up a game where each of the 4 of us bought something Canadian for under $2 and then we voted on the best thing. My friend tried to buy a Canadian Air pin from a stewardess who couldn’t sell it to her (it was part of her uniform) but did sell her some delicious maple cookies. So she won.

Sorry about the travel woes, meara.

The Detroit airport is surprisingly pleasant to spend time in. There is (or at least was the last time I looked for it) at least one nice bar, some decent restaurants, a fun light show on one of the tunnels between terminals, and a fountain that occasionally has musicians playing next to it. If I have to fly up to see family, at least there’s a decent hub to transit through.

a fun light show on one of the tunnels between terminals

I love that tunnel! With the trippy Tangerine Dream-esque music!

Airline Shenanigans: The Golden State Warriors were stuck on the tarmac in NYC for 8 hours after playing the Knicks. Didn't get into the air until 5am, and had to play a game in Toronto that night (that they won). Brutal.

In the exciting game of Good News/Bad News, I have one smallish but significant Good News, and Two large Bad News.

Good News: All the chunks Dr. Shannon Watkins carved out of me came back clean. So no further clean edges required. I appreciate her diligent attempts to keep me alive and cancer free, even if it means quarterly visits where she pulls down my underwear and cuts off pieces of my skin.

Bad News 1: I've been trying to get Jacqueline's pension payments going. They should have been paying out as soon as she retired in July but her death complicated things and I had to send forms and marriage certificates and death certificates and refilling forms.

Anyway, I thought I had everything in by December, but nothing still. So I called and they said they indeed had all the necessary paperwork and that in 30 business days it would start to pay.

This is the UC pension JZ paid into for thirty years, and while I do have money now, her pension is a big part of my financial planning going forward as she was fully invested and it would basically be the equivalent of her regular paycheck from now until I expire.

But last week I got a letter from UC Retirement saying that due to some technical legalistic detail they've decided not to pay me and if I had an issue I should get a lawyer. Those FUCKERS. Like I need this stress. I will get that money, you may be sure, but now it's a fucking fight.

Bad News 2: I got a call from Hannah (from JZ's Sacred Circle). She told me that Lola (the mother of one of Matilda's most beloved friends, Isabella) had been diagnosed with Stomach Cancer. Hannah said they hadn't staged it yet, but from the information she gave me it was clearly Stage 4, and had spread throughout the body, including doing enough damage along her spine to cause necrotic tissue and back pain.

Lola and asked Hannah to call me to get an idea of how she should broach it with Isabella, and what her treatment would look like.

What I told Hannah to pass along to Lola was: Tell Isabella immediately. Be forthright but acknowledge that some things were still unknown. Basically they had to go through the first round of Chemo to see how her body would respond. Some people respond very well to chemo and are able to be cancer free. Try to take it step by step.

What I told Hannah for her own information was that Lola was fucked. Unless Lola had a near miraculous response to chemo, or found an out-of-nowhere clinical trial, the diagnosis was worse than Jacqueline's. It had spread to multiple organs, but the cancer along her spine was probably going to complicate things immeasurably and preclude any surgery. Lola would have to be lucky as fuck to live for even a year with that diagnosis.

So...malign bureaucracy and a heaping dose of human mortality.

Oh David. That is so shitty. I hope a lawyer is quickly able to wrangle bureaucracy for good because jeeez.

I really like the good news, but that is a whole bunch of bad news. I'm sorry.

Oh, David, that sucks. I'm so sorry.

Hello friends. It's been a minute. I skipped a lot, I'm sorry. Just to say that I am OK as can be, and my time (when not at work) is mostly dedicated to mutual aid and protests. This government continues to neglect its people as well, so civil assistance is needed in various places.

There are no words to how much I want a ceasefire and to see a new government and the hostages back (it's kind of all the same thing, pragmaticlly. One will lead to all others, this way or another). This war is also an ongoing lesson in just how little effect one has over a war, what corruption and populism do to a country, and how much heartbreaking it call all be. It's also an ongoing lesson on humanity and how the little that you can do for others matter, even if you can't change the big picture. There are amazing acts of solidarity within the grief.

There are still many voices and organizations here that call for a different reality. Thought you might want to read one of those. [link]

Love y'all.