Category: Current Events

Goodbye, 2024.

This entry is dedicated to Peep, a sweet Northern Mockingbird youngster I tried desperately to help last summer, but was unable to save.

A young Northern Mockingbird near a tray of water.

This entry is also dedicated to Sparrow, a Sparrow who died in my hands after being attacked by a Grackle; Sparky and Rascal the Squirrels who passed likely due to rat poison; the squirrel who was already gone when I found her and is buried in a park nearby; the Pigeon who was already gone whom I buried near a park; a baby bird who was already gone whom I laid to rest under a shrub; Holly, another Sparrow who came for help on my balcony, but who, like Peep, I could not save; the Crows who were so far gone I could not lift them to bury them; and the millions of birds, animals, sea creatures, reptiles, and insects who suffered and died this year because of humans. They mattered, and they are forever in my heart. If I could change one thing about humanity, it would be to open its eyes to what I see and feel from every living creature I encounter, so that our species would live in harmony with theirs.

What did you do in 2024 that you’d never done before?
Go to cardiac rehab. Have a couple of social media posts go viral.

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I mostly did. I will absolutely have a few resolutions for 2025, and will be revisiting a couple from 2024.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

Did anyone close to you die?
Susan and I weren’t close, but I considered her a friend. The first time I saw Poets of the Fall in concert and the last time she saw them in concert we were together. She once sent me a short story she had written and I wish I could have seen more of her writing before she died. I miss her.

Did anyone close to you get married?
A lovely woman in my city-hiking group did. Congrats Amanda and Nav!

What countries did you visit?
None, alas. I had to cancel my trip to Portugal on account of cardiac rehab.

What would you like to have in 2025 that you lacked in 2024?
A million bucks.

What dates from 2024 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 8, when Sparrow died in my hands. Some of my friends and acquaintances found out just how much I love birds that day. November 5, when my country died in a voting booth.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Bringing my ejection fraction from 40% on the day of my heart attack to 65% before I finished cardiac rehab. Healthy ejection fraction, also known colloquially as “heart function” is between 55% and 70%. More than one doctor did a double-take when looking at my charts and scans.

What was your biggest failure?
I would have liked to have lost 20 pounds. The thing about heart attacks is that your health care team will encourage you to drop a few pounds and then put you on medications that promote weight gain.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, but minor–coughs, colds, routine aches and pains.

What was the best thing you bought?
I sent a couple of NextMugs for Chica K and her hub. And one for a bestie who I hope isn’t reading this. And one for me. They’re self-heating mugs. They come with a rechargeable battery that you charge on a special coaster that you plug into your wall. And lemme tellya, you know milks cool your coffee or whipped cream cools your hot chocolate? Not any more! They’re one of those little splurges that enhance your quality of life by making something simple, like a hot beverage on a winter night, extra nice.

Here’s today’s ornament, sent to me by Chica K in a gift box along with a few other goodies, including a very nice throw that looks fabulous on my couch.

A knitted Christmas ornament in the shape of a Christmas tree.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
My friend Louise, who did not judge me but instead comforted me and helped me as I sobbed over Sparrow. France. Heck of an Olympics show. Gisèle Pelicot. The courage that woman has. Dare I say Luigi Mangione? He woke a lot of people up. He has also made a lot of people who should be scared, scared. As John F. Kennedy said, those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. My country is headed for some dark days.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
77 million Americans. I can’t believe how racist, misogynistic, and bigoted so many of my fellow Americans are. As someone on a social put it, they’ll vote for a corpse before they vote for a woman.

Where did most of your money go?
Rent.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I had a lot of hope for Kamala Harris.

What song will always remind you of 2024?
This came out in 2022 but #notallmen took off in 2024 in response to women choosing the bear. It’s not all men, but it’s always a man. Or, 70,000 men in rape chats. Or the one-third of college men who would rape a woman if they thought they could get away with it. And those are just the dumb ones who talk about it publicly. When the good men come forth, do the inner work, actively take steps to deconstruct the patriarchy, and confront and educate men who harm women, let me know, because I see precious few of them actually doing that.

Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Neither. I’m angrier.

Older or wiser?
Older, of course. We all are. Wiser, I don’t know. More cynical, definitely.

Thinner or fatter?
Slightly fatter. See, resolutions I didn’t keep, above.

Richer or poorer?
Richer.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Travel.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Work.

How did you spend Christmas?
Chilling. That’s what I do.

How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
I’ll be seeing John Oliver.

What was your favorite TV program?
Still What We Do In the Shadows. I heart Nandor, and I was sad to see the series end. Loved the second season of The Empress. Currently loving Dexter: Original Sin.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word, but I didn’t know or care who JD Vance was a year ago and unfortunately, now I do.

What was the best book you read?
Twilight Empress by Faith L. Justice, as that’s the only one I finished. But I’m enjoying Jonathan Kellerman’s Breakdown.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jax.

What did you want and get?
A new boss.

What did you want and not get?
Six winning numbers. Or five.

What was your favorite film of this year?
I didn’t go to the movies this year. Nothing really stood out to me on any of the streaming services.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Got take-out, which I always do. I keep the fortune in my wallet for the next year. Much to my relief, this time there was actually a fortune in my cookie, unlike in 2023. I’m not saying not having a fortune in your birthday fortune cookie is an omen, but I did have a heart attack a few days later.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Kamala Harris winning the U.S. election.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023?
I don’t have one, but click here to see my rather neglected URSTYLE profile.

What kept you sane?
Puzzles, games, and wild birds.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I’ve lost my taste for celebrities and public figures, actually.

What political issue stirred you the most?
Every damn one of them.

Who do you miss?
Inigo, with all my heart.

Who was the best new person/people you met?
Probably the new director at work. He values work-life balance. Incredible in this day and age in the U.S., I know.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024:
People who say they “understand the assignment” can’t be trusted. The math doesn’t add up. Maybe they understood the assignment, and maybe they even wrote it down in a memo pad, but when they went home to vote they left the memo pad in their locker. Also, a lot of White women have their heads up their arses with performative actions regarding racism. Blue bracelets and blue heart tattoos? That’s how you do the work? Really?

A quote that sums up your year:
I am woman, hear me roar.

Not the happiest year, by far. I’m certainly grateful to be alive, without any cardiac complications, but damn, the whole world is on fire like I’ve never seen in my 58 years on the planet, and I don’t see it improving any time soon.

A meme showing a Mogwai from the movie Gremlins near a running faucet.

Thank You, 39

For years I’ve considered getting the White House Historical Association Christmas ornament. There is a new one each year, but last Christmas was the first time I put up my tree since 2013, so it wasn’t on my radar. A former employer sends them to a few people on their board as an annual gift, and I remember seeing the 2017 ornament honoring Franklin Delano Roosevelt and thinking “if I ever put up a tree again.”

Well, this year’s ornament honors Jimmy Carter, a President whose administration was plagued by things like double-digit inflation and the hostage crisis in Iran. (I once met a Marine who was one of those hostages, but that’s an entry for another day.) In fact, Carter’s sole term as President was pretty rough, and he left office with a 34% approval rating after Ronald Reagan clobbered him in the 1980 election. Even my father, a New Deal Democrat, voted for Reagan because the country was in such a malaise from all the problems at the time.

So why start collecting these ornaments with Carter’s? Well, he’s probably the best former President this country has ever had. He has compassion and grace, and he was active in promoting good causes, doing volunteer work, and advocating for peace for as long as his health allowed. I have tremendous respect for him and admire all he did and tried to do on the right side of history, such as the Camp David Accords, and the way he championed human rights, civil rights, and the environment. I think Carter’s presidency was really just a kind of awful rehearsal for the bigger, bolder advocacy he was able to do more freely after leaving the White House. His life has been one of service, starting with attending the U.S. Naval Academy and subsequent seven years in the Navy, and I believe that if his health allowed, he’d still be out there trying to save the world.

Carter is now 100 years old and has been in hospice for two years, and I wish him nothing but peace and joy for however long he is with us. He is the first President to live to see his White House Christmas ornament unveiled, and I hope he likes it.

A Christmas ornament in the shape of an anchor, to honor former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

My Song of the Year

Long day, even though I had most of the afternoon off after the office holiday party. Good food, nice conversations.

Spent a couple of hours reading through the hundreds of comments on the Threads version of what I posted here yesterday. I had to split it into two posts, and between both of them it got more than 16,000 likes and 900 comments, although many of those comments are also Threaders talking to each other. I’m kind of overwhelmed, but in the very best of ways because 99.95% of it is supportive, the conversations are thoughtful and fruitful with ideas and sharing of experiences, and it restored my faith in humanity. I really think that the only way the United States is going to get through the next four years is if we all work locally, individually, in our communities, to help one another. I have a few ideas about that, but really, it just comes down to setting aside the consumerist behaviors we’ve all gotten accustomed to and putting the money toward our communities. This has the bonus of hitting some of these billionaires where it hurts: Their wallets.

It’s going to happen by default, anyway, because once Creamsicle Caligula gets in there and destroys the economy, the middle class isn’t going to be able to afford much other than food and shelter, if that. Remember the last time that happened? Marie Antoinette lost her head.

And so I give you my Song of the Year: “Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!),” as performed by Gojira at the Paris Olympics.

Without all the applause:

“Ah Ça Ira” is a song from the French Revolution. It’s basically about hanging aristocrats from lamp posts.

As for the .05% of comments that weren’t productive, they were about how Elon Musk owes the world nothing, it’s not his fault a woman is homeless, blah, blah, blah, bronyism, blah. I hid, muted, restricted, and blocked them. First, that’s not the point. The point is people who have the power to change the world for the better and don’t are lousy human beings. Second, don’t derail the narrative on my account with your worship of false kings. If you’re going to fall to your knees in submission to the personification of greed, do it on your own page.

Going to see the state trees tomorrow. It will be cold but fun! And no aristocrats allowed.