There’s a post going around Tumblr about how if you’re post-menopausal and have bleeding, you should get it checked by your doctor. I brought some minor bleeding I’d had up in a doctor visit earlier this year, prompted by that post, and this week, after a biopsy, I found out I have cancer. It’s early stage and the survival odds at 5 years are 99%. I have an oncologist appointment and we may have caught it early enough that surgery alone will be sufficient treatment (no radiation/chemo).
So that post may have saved my life and it may have made my treatment a lot easier too.
If you get into menopause and then start bleeding again, really, get your reproductive innards checked out. The life you save may be your own.
plenty of people have said this better than I will but I love it (read: it’s very annoying) when people suggest turning a craft hobby into a side business. There is no succinct way to explain to non-crafters, in a casual conversation, that for high-quality handmade goods, the amount of physical labor required already puts the cost of those goods far beyond what regular people would be willing or able to pay for those items. the cost of materials alone is sometimes more than what people would be willing to pay. not to mention the labor required to market yourself, especially if it’s a fairly niche thing.
I told a friend about the horseshoe crab backpack I’m making and he made this comment about turning it into a side business. and. I know it’s intended to be encouraging and supportive, but like.
Including materials, and given a very optimistic assumption that I will finish this project in another ~3 hours of work,
Charging at the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25 for my labor, this backpack would cost approximately $203.
Charging at the somewhat more “acceptable” $15 hourly wage, it would cost $395.
Charging at $25/hr for a wage that actually values my labor beyond simple survival, it would cost $615 or more.
I’m not going to finish it in another 3 hours. And I am undeniably an amateur– the finished product isn’t going to be perfect and crisp the way something “should” be to cost that much, so it won’t be “worth” the amount it’s technically worth.
Projects like this that I do for fun I am absolutely willing to replicate for close friends at a significantly lower price as a “gift” (asking for cost of materials and/or only a partial cost of labor). But there’s no reasonable way to actually monetize a hobby like this.
using a cane opens up a myriad of new gestures, such as rap against ground (imperious), rap against ground (petulant), and drop the fucking thing (oh god oh god that was so loud everyone’s looking i hope nobody tries to pick it up for me fuck my stupid life-
ICE is coming to a city near you: things you should know from a tumblrina on the ground in the twin cities
i know i am usually pretty hehe haha on this app and here to generally mess around and have fun about television however, the circumstances of the last few weeks in my city and state have been truly so dire that it feels impossible to even pretend like that is an option right now. and i like to help so here is what i know:
yesterday, january 12th, border patrol commander greg bovino gave a very weird interview to the minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO, in which he lied repeatedly but importantly noted that once they “[get] bad things off the streets, we’re off to the next city.” we have seen increased immigration enforcement since day 1 of the new trump administration with many cities pushing back against operations already but, as what has been highly reported, nothing as large as the scale of the current operation in MN. plus with the pushback they have received here, these freak individuals will certainly have new motivation to incite violence wherever they go. use this as a little cheat sheet to prepare yourself for when it is your turn or, to jump in to the action rn and help out our immigrant communities in MN.
WHAT MN IS DOING TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORS
following ICE vehicles, observing their arrests and interactions with the public <- this is obviously not without risk. many people are being harassed, physicallyinjured, tear gassed & pepper sprayed, arrested, and as we know, killed when doing this. however, it is still the most useful tactic in intervening with these operations.
donating, collecting, and distributing food & household necessities for vulnerable families so they don’t have to leave their home. there are some incredible operations going on in the twin cities and the surrounding suburbs in order to get this done. if you want to help minnesotans i’d recommend looking into the work of places like smitten kitten, wrecktangle pizza, the immigrant defense network, MIRAC, and MN ice watch. if i were in a vulnerable city (aka blue state) i’d start thinking about groups, organizations, churches etc in your area that could run similar networks and prepare stockpiling donations.
businesses are operating with reduced (or even fully closed) hours to protect patrons and staff. many havesigns in their storefront windows indicating that ICE can not enter. the one i linked is from etsy however organizations in your area will likely have them for free.
finding out which hotels (usually near a major airport) agents are staying at and protesting all night long being loud as fuck. + boycotting these hotels in the future
3D printing whistles! using these whistles in order to alert when ICE is near.
notes for VULNERABLE/UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE and their families
get an action plan in place. i know it sucks to talk and think about. i know it is unfair but figure out worst case scenarios and what to do in them. even if you’ve been here for decades and have felt relatively safe in that time, i do suggest communicating with family and making a plan regardless.
for PROTECTING MINORS: in minnesota we have something called a delegation of parental authority (DOPA). this is a notarized legal document that delegates the authority and care of minor for one year if their parent or legal guardian can not. i would highly suggest looking into the steps of declaring parental authority in your own state and starting the process asap. (it is relatively easy here in mn! you just need to have one parent present to sign the document and get it notarized)
prepare as best you can for time off work, a lot of time spent in the house. get little stuff done like tabs for your car renewed, any insurance issues taken care of, doctor’s appointments done etc. start talking with your church or immigrant organizations in your area about getting supplies delivered to your home when needed.
PEOPLE WANT TO HELP! they really do. i know it is so fucking terrifying but there are so many people who do want the best for everyone in their community. if you need help please ask for it.
other general notes: they’re arresting literally anyone in MN, citizen or not. they’re harassing kids at school (minneapolis schools have allowed for children to learn from home until february 12th). they’re arresting people at work. it does not matter. a lot of people here are carrying their passports and other documentation to avoid this. you don’t have to give anyone your identification even when asked but unfortunately many who refuse have been met with violence. they’re going into hospitals, homes, schools, businesses and they don’t have warrants. of course know your rights but be aware they really don’t give a fuck. they’re arresting first and asking questions later.
most importantly people working for ICE and border patrol have something deeply wrong with them. they’re disgusting, immoral people whose “work” will be a stain on their lives and this country until the end of time. and i can not stress this enough, they are so fucking stupid. they are not stronger than us. they are not smarter than us. they are not more righteous or justified in any of their actions and eventually the day will come that their most prized leader turns on them, dies, or both. they will never be forgiven.
with that i leave you with two videos of agents eating shit on the ice that i can’t stop watching. fucking pussies.
Here are some BW Printer-friendly versions of fliers and info from the ACLU and one from activists, about how to handle ICE that you can print up and distribute or post next to the door as a reminder for yourself, etc.
Additional info from the MN version of the Whistle zine, and associated resources:
Call/Text MONARCA Rapid Response Line www.monarcamn.org 24hr Emergency response line to report an enforcement action by ICE in progress, and request legal observers in the Twin Cities Can receive photo documentation 612-441-2881
In Minneapolis, we’re already seeing the success of ICE Watch. There are countless videos from ICE Watch observers that show agents leaving without detaining anyone after they encounter resistance. There are currently about 3,000 ICE agents in Minnesota, but the Department of Homeland Security claims they have only arrested 2,400 people — less than one person per agent.
ICE Watch organizers have also observed that it takes many more agents to make a single arrest when they are around. In other cities, ICE traveled in groups of two or three, but in Minneapolis, we primarily see groups of 6 to 12 agents. The Department of Homeland Security has pulled agents from other cities to ramp up efforts in Minnesota, which guarantees there will be fewer deportations from the places they left. Plus, ICE’s fixation on breaking up ICE Watch groups and detaining observers — often white citizens — has interrupted its original mission.
The entire operation is becoming slower and more resource-intensive. There is good reason to believe that more immigrants are with their families tonight because of ICE Watch.
He definitely did, but since the whole book is supposed to be a translation of something he found and not something he personally wrote, they’re switched for the audience’s convenience. There’s a lot more to it, but here’s a chart of Shire months from the appendices at the end of RoTK. Elves and men are different, but there was no handy chart.
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