First the personal news.
Chai continues to improve slowly. She no longer stumbles around like she’s drunk to the point of being paralytic. Now she hobbles along like an old lady with a walking cane. Occasional she howls (well, it’s more a meeyowl really) for no visible reason, so we think she gets stabs of pain, but they’re getting less frequent. It’s easier to get her purring too, which is a very happy sign.
I’m signed up as self employed again with the tax office – Social Security paperwork still to go. It’s probably only for 3 weeks while I do a big translation, but it still feels good. This means I’ve had very little time for writing, as expected, but it’s temporary. I’ve got a book on increasing your writing productivity that recommends 5 minute sprints every day. You put on a timer and just got for it, fix the typos, grammos and assorted mistakes afterwards. I’ve been doing that, but not seeing much improvement yet – possibly (probably even) because I’m not clear in advance what I want to write.
Like everyone else I spent Wednesday to been endlessly refreshing the vote count in the USA and doom scrolling on Twitter. I had to force myself to go and do something else for a while – mostly translating. Then on Saturday afternoon I got a WhatsApp – Pennsylvania called. I whooped. I passed on the WhatsApp. I phoned friends. And we opened a bottle of cheap cava (Spanish champagne.)
For some of my internet friends this election was life and death. No Affordable Care Act would mean no insulin. For others, there was a greatly increased fear of being murdered if Trump stayed in power. The planet has a better chance of remaining habitable. So yes, I’m pleased.
[I hate to break this to any Trump supporters, but people in the UK sets off fireworks on November 5th every year to celebrate the failure of a terrorist attempt to blow up England’s King James I and the Parliament on November 5, 1605. Maybe someone saved some specially for your election and maybe they didn’t.]
Now we just have to worry about how much harm Trump will do before inauguration day, and the possiblity of domestic terrorism from his followers.
Just before 9pm I thought, ‘We need more alcohol around here,’ and I popped to the local shop. While I was there I bought a cake. On the walk home I decided to decorate it. It was all very last minute and amateur, and there wasn’t even space to finish writing “Harris” but I’m still pleased I did it. Who needs elaborate excuses for cake anyhow?
