April 15, 2025: Time Running Out

image courtesy of Security via pixabay.com

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Waning Moon

No retrogrades

Cloudy and cold

Tax deadline in the US. When we supposedly pay to make everyone’s lives better, but currently are getting looted and trafficking humans to death camps.

We have the only 4 weeks this year that are retrograde free. Time to get a lot done, and remember we don’t have to get everything done for the year in these 4 weeks.

Friday seems like a long time ago.

I tossed a resume to a job that would be fun and challenging, but I’m sure they’ll go with someone younger. Which is fine. If I didn’t at least toss my resume in their direction, I’d always wonder.

Headed to the library to drop off and pick up books. Headed to the pharmacy to pick up my mom’s prescription. Did the week’s grocery shopping at Big Y.  It was seriously snowing by the time I came out of the store, but had eased off by the time I got home.

Hauled everything up the stairs, unpacked, dealt with admin, turned around a small script coverage.

With the administration cutting IMLS funding, it means access to both Commonwealth Catalogue and statewide databases are only guaranteed until June 30. So I better get my research done. And pressure legislators to fix this. I use Commonwealth Catalogue A LOT.  I use databases A LOT. It will also probably cut my ability to access digital records through my Boston Public Library e-card.

As an author, it will hit my sales, because it’s affecting Hoopla and Libby. Hoopla is one of my biggest royalty sources.

Which is, of course, one of the intents. Destroy artists and make people even more stupid than most of them already are.

Did some reading for pleasure in the evening. Woke up to snow on Saturday morning. Alternated between reading and doing a deep clean on Tessa’s room: wiping down the moldings up near the ceiling, cleaning the glass door to the front porch, tidying things up, dusting, polishing the wooden furniture. I still have to take the rugs out for a good shake and do the floors.

The Chewy order arrived, which means, for a brief shining moment, we are fully stocked on wet food, dry food, treats, and litter.

Saturday night, the edits for the anthology story arrived. I took a quick look at them on Sunday. They’re very minor, mostly with house style/formatting. If this was a novel, I’d discuss in detail some of the changes that alter a character’s cadence, but for a short story, it’s not a big deal.

I meant to get a lot done on Sunday, but it was cold and gray. I baked biscuits for breakfast, because my mom likes them. I meant to dip into Alice Walker’s published journals just for a few minutes. Before I knew it, it was time to cook dinner. The journals are fascinating. They show the real tension dynamic between the need to sit down and do the work and the demands of participating in the world.

It was nice to see the sun out on Monday morning, as we launched into the week. I slogged through some email, and turned around the edits for the anthology story. I mean, that was really easy. I re-read them again, to make sure it was nothing major, and hit “accept all” in the Track Changes panel. Not a lot of stress. The editor had requested them returned by 3/21, but I received them on 4/12, and since I can’t turn back time, I got them out on the 4/14. I’m assuming she meant 4/21 and not 3/21, so I’m within the window.

Got an annoying email from someone who does not respect boundaries, so dealt with that. I thought this person understood ties were cut well over a year ago.

Got our taxes signed and copied and out to the post office (which I resent, given all that’s going on), along with some bills. Did a library drop off/pick up. Made it back home in time for my library cohort meeting, which was great. Sent out the invitation for the cohort gathering.

Did some reading in the afternoon, and also turned around two small script coverages.

Played with some ideas for a couple of things, did some research for the radio play, tried to smooth out my schedule a bit.

Was increasingly disgusted by what’s going on at national and international levels, and the lack of political and judicial will to stop it. There is ALWAYS something that can be done. We live in a society (and I use that term loosely) where apathetic cowards expect others to do the work and take the risk, but then reap the benefits.

Did the rounds of my elected officials. I mean, I do every day, and it continues to be important. I’m tired of people making excuses to justify doing nothing. Do SOMETHING. Anything and everything makes a difference. There is no “it doesn’t matter.” What’s happening is “I can’t be bothered” and that is unacceptable. That is a large part of why we are here.

Kudos to Harvard and MIT for not capitulating. And it’s rare I have anything good to say about Harvard!

Made turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner, per my mother’s request. Started reading EVERY TOM, DICK AND HARRY by Elinor Lipman, which is a welcome respite to everything going on.

Did not sleep well. Have to figure out a few things. But I will. It was supposed to rain hard all morning, but there was a long enough break I could have gotten everything done at the laundromat, had I not planned my day by the weather app. Oh, well. We’re supposed to get more snow tonight. Every few minutes, the sun peeks out, and then it clouds over again, so who knows what’s going on?

On today’s agenda: work on the radio play, make the rounds of elected officials, write a book review, work on contest entries, maybe get some other writing done, send out a few LOIs.

Have a good one!