Reparations Friday

It’s Reparations Friday! Here are the current needs for the week. How can you help? Please pitch in and share!

Portia lost her only source of income last month and now she is $410 short for rent April 1. Can we help her fill that gap? https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8SsZrSylRu

Q has applied for a housing voucher, but while they wait, RR is continuing to cover their rent. We are $500 short for rent due April 1. Can you help us catch up and keep this family of 3 housed? Funds can be sent to Skye’s birthday pool https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8S5IDj321s
… or to the RR PayPal, note “for Q”
Paypal.me/ReparationsR

Harriett’s ongoing cancer recovery https://gofund.me/72ee2439

The Tuesday Currents

I’m currently…

writing letters to my pain. I tend to call it “brah” a lot so far. It’s absolutely ludicrous. And helpful. Today I accused it of having cactus envy.

reading All The Books. I promised myself I would while off this Monday since Indy has to work most of my day off. Staying on my schedule while my family sleeps and stealing naps in between time with them isn’t easy or enjoyable. My favorites were Starfish, which would have been incredible for me to read as a kid, and Sheets. I didn’t expect to be moved so much by either one.

celebrating the dogs’ 9th birthday

playing in my planner. While I dread the tasks, I sure do love to journal, draw, and make art in it.

All The Logistics, Rides, Lesson Planning, etc.

loving the cool water bottle, Zum spray and stickers my little sister bought me

seeing my family and getting to play with my niece

making All The Calls and doing All The Paperwork for… life in general. Wood Sprite came to ask what I was doing at some point today and I blurted, “Our lives.”

trying to live in the silver lining while simultaneously wanting to get rid of the cloud and create something you can enjoy all the way through

making a 2023 playlist. For the past few years, I made lists going into the year as a kind of hopeful thinking exercise. This year I made a list of what I’m listening to most, which doesn’t really represent the time but what makes me feel better. The top 10 songs currently are:

1. Shinedown/ Bush
2. Walk Like a Zombie/ Horrorpops
3. Everyday People/ Sly and the Family Stone
4. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough/ Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
5. Dreams/ Cranberries
6. 9 to 5/ Dolly Parton
7. Dragula/ Rob Zombie
8. Real Love Baby/ Father John
9. Born to Run/ Bruce Springsteen
10. Better Days/ Goo Goo Dolls

analyzing that Last of Us ending. (light spoilers) Maybe I’m jaded but I couldn’t help but feel like Joel did what he did because of how hard he worked to keep Ellie safe–and to assuage the guilt he had when he couldn’t keep Sarah alive. But I’m reading a lot of takes from people talking about unconditional love and antiheroes, and how everyone wants someone who is in their corner who would do anything to protect them at all costs, and I just have a lot of thoughts. It reminds me of how everyone kept asking Bane what he was in The Dark Knight Rises and how he was so underwhelming in the movie. The buildup to make him seem terrifying was such a letdown, especially after Ledger’s incredible Joker, who didn’t need anyone to say anything to describe him. Joel’s past was alluded to so often it got a little annoying, like a ninth-grade show, don’t tell! English lesson–and then we got some teasers into what that meant up until that final episode and… wow. The man is capable of more than we ever expected. The fact that he’s bringing villains to mind says a lot, too.

What’s on your current playlist? What are you up do these Tuesday currents?

Monday’s Music

Reparations Friday

🖤🖤It’s Reparations Friday!🖤🖤

Here are this week’s needs from Reparations Roundtable. How can you help? Plug in below!

⚕️ Bookie has made some amazing progress in her cancer recovery! She’s still fighting, but she still needs our support to get through. Those of us who have supported family members or friends through cancer know how long the recovery road can be. Let’s make Bookie’s road an easy one on her.
https://gofund.me/72ee2439

💰 Portia’s living expenses while she navigates finding a new source of income.
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8SsZrSylRu

🏠 Q’s ongoing rent needs while she waits for a housing voucher (put “Q rent” in the notes)
paypal.me/ReparationsR

🚒 A family is rebuilding their lives after suffering a horrible loss in a fire. Let’s help make them whole again.
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8S7TedbgH6

🚚 A is a Black mom who needs funds to move from ATL to Louisville. Just $600 to go! Please send to Ashley D’s paylinks with a note “For A.”
*Venmo: @a-denegre
*Paypal: @adenegre688
*Zelle: ashley.denegre@gmail.com

Things I Love Thursday

Some things I’m loving this week include…

my fingers smelling like garlic after chopping cloves

being able to reschedule the delivery of library ebooks so you don’t have to check them out if you’re not finished with the ones you’re already reading

Lily’s salted and caramel chocolate

different perfume oils and lip balms for my many moods

bat stickers

seeing live bats

20- to 30-minute podcasts that get to the point without a bunch of talking. My brain will just tune that out and I’ll miss the takeaways.

jellyfish live cams

Hoopla! I’ve had issues getting it to work and finally sat with it and trouble-shot the issue, which literally took five minutes. Then I got to read three comics right away!

moving away from goal orientation and toward just vibing. At least sometimes. Blame the jelly cams.

What are you loving lately?

The Tuesday Currents

I’m currently…

listening to these fun #1 song clips

adding way too many books to my TBR

finishing another class for work. That makes 83 hours for the year so far.

trying to spend time with my family on their schedules, which makes me more tired on my own

coping with the aforementioned tiredness by trying to keep my monkey brain occupied with stickers, trivia videos, and new-to-me playlists

considering a good, long tech break. Or something regular on Sundays. That seems super helpful.

making plans to celebrate some family birthdays this month

incorporating a few tiktoks into lesson plans. Check out Drag Math, it is the best.

reading comics, a spicy dragon book, some queer graphic novels, some books about emotional healing and depression, and books for my book clubs. I’m 39 books ahead on my Goodreads list for the year, which has to be a record for me, especially in recent years.

trying to hack our schedules into something more towards “enjoyable” and less “unbearable,” which is extra this week with Indy working OT

rescheduling more stuff due to these schedule changes

good crying and bad crying (maybe all crying is good? I think after a good cry I feel like what petrichor smells like) and reassuring poor Gizmo, who comes running, not knowing which is which. She’s the sweetest little cat cow ever.

stomping like Rumplestiltskin as I make myself do the little healthy things. What do you think he was going to do with that baby, anyway? I think he was going to train them to be an assistant in his lifelong dream of running Europe’s most ethereal magic show. Bummer. Sorry about that, bud.

obviously thinking about finishing my spicy circus book

watching The Last of Us with Indy. (That means watching as many episodes as possible once every two weeks, which is how often we have time for TV together.) When he’s not home and I want background noise under than my 8,793 playlists, I’ve either got Studio Ghibli classics or Practical Magic on repeat lately.

loving my new calm strips, courtesy of a support group

having fun discussions with my supervisor. I’m already a fan, and recently they defined my mind as an “avid learner collector brain,” which was like a pixie stick-laced dopamine sundae for said brain.

What are you up to this week?

Monday’s Music

Reparations Friday

🖤🖤It’s Reparations Friday, y’all! All of these needs continue to be urgent so please plug in where you can:🖤🖤

⚕️ Bookie has made some amazing progress in her cancer recovery, is fighting, and she still needs our support. Help with her recovery here: https://gofund.me/72ee2439

💰 Portia is looking for a new source of income, so let’s help out here: https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8SsZrSylRu

🏠 Q can use some help with rent while waiting for a housing voucher (put “Q rent” in the notes): paypal.me/ReparationsR

🚒 A family is rebuilding their lives after suffering a horrible loss in a fire. Let’s help make them whole again.
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8S7TedbgH6

Monday’s Music

Reparations Friday

It’s Reparations Friday! Has your tax refund come in? How are you factoring in reparations into how you will use that refund?

Here are the needs, same as last week, including some more details on Bookie’s needs:

⚕️ Bookie’s cancer recovery (still need 2-3 more folks for a team to help research/contact resources for her!) https://gofund.me/72ee2439

💰 Portia as recently forced out of her job and is now without an income. She needs us pulling for her now.
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8RyoB0BM8Q

💜 RR General Fund for meeting monthly reparations commitments to assistees and funding for emergency housing
paypal.me/ReparationsR