Roundup: Health, fungus, Scandanavia.

Domestic animals are fragile. Poor cat is at the animal hospital overnight with abdominal pain, a sad cat IV strapped to her foot, and a “NEEDS BATH” tag on her cage because she peed herself in fear. My brother lost two young rabbits to the cold last night. One friend’s dog may have lymphoma, another’s was put down this week, as was a cousin’s cat of 17 years… on my birthday. Animals, why are you having such a bad week?

Insurance = peace of mind = invaluable. Rejected insurance claims are terrifying; fighting and winning reversal brings relief, which is gradually eroded by having to repeat the process every. single. time. But I’m lucky, because I can afford insurance and have the time and energy to go to bat for myself. Still, I feel more secure about my cat’s and car’s policies than my own. Maybe they’re better policies, or maybe your own body is just scarier to be scared about. But it still feels like something is off about this, and I’m not even amongst the 45.7 million uninsured. Yep. Off.

My brother sent me a fantastically grotesque shitake-growing kit for my birthday! It balances out everything non-fungal in my life.

Contrast is essential. I credit it for me finally getting back to my normal buzzing self after… months? years? too long. I’d list examples of quiet/noisy time and rest/action, but they’re self-explanatory, and anyway I just keep ending up at that Byrds song. I will say, though, that I enjoy my weekly practice of Science and Art – master gardening classes on Tuesdays and choir on Wednesday. Both foster new growth.

“The people” matter. Firstly, Go Egypt! I’m curious to see what happens, but it hope it’s representative of the people’s will. I trust them to run their own country; it doesn’t really matter what American thinks.

Secondly, Wisconsin could take a lesson from this. I’m all for balancing the budget, and state workers shouldn’t get an excessively sweet deal (read: why weren’t they already paying into their pensions?), but you can’t balance the whole thing on the backs of the workers alone. Thanks for taking away collective bargaining rights, Scott Walker. I know my girlfriend’s $6,900 salary + tuition remission + health insurance she’s never used are really bleeding you dry. Better push her below the poverty line so you can keep those tax cuts for businesses! Maybe one of them will hire her.

You are great. Seriously. People make my world go round, and I’m lucky to know a lot of really great ones. And with overpopulation on the trajectory it is, who knows how many I will never meet? Like reading great books and really-listening to great music, there’s just so much. You gotta savor what you can soak.

So is Sweden. This is not new, but I melt for strong vocal harmony. And so can you!