Assistance

A bitmoji rendition of me, a chubby
brunette woman wearing blue and
waving, with the caption HELLO

You may know from my rambling previous posts, that I'm not a huge fan of asking for help, at least not financial or physical help (for myself); I think the last time was almost nine years ago when Laston had just been diagnosed with Stage Four colon cancer. I don't usually mind asking for advice and moral support, although I often do a lot of editing and internal debate to avoid the risk of offending people.

I like people and I want to please people. I'm trying to have better boundaries and not be a people-pleaser to my own detriment, but that takes time and practice.

And meanwhile, life keeps right on happening.

Right now, life has happened in assorted annoying ways, the most obvious of which is that I have a left knee riddled with arthritis and a right knee getting surgery on May 29th to repair (reattach) a torn meniscus. This means I can't drive, which means I can't work at my usual school-year job (which I love - and sorry if that Vocal link is down; looks like they're having technical difficulties). I have irons in the fire for my usual summertime job (remote technical writing and the like; I don't ramble nearly this much when it's writing for other people), but no dice yet.

Anyway, back to the surgery.

There are varying paths here, ranging from nope-can't-reattach-it (in which case they trim it and I would likely have to get one or both knees replaced sooner rather than later) to wow-that-fixed-everything (which is unlikely). Either way, I'm going to be pretty much stuck on my butt for at least six weeks even if I get a job I can do from here. I don't need advice on this part; I've got most major expenses covered, a safety net if I need it, and - as I said - irons in the fire.

What I don't have is a lot of disposable income at the moment. So this wish list (yeah, Amazon, because there is no ethical consumption under capitalism and Amazon has all the things in the same place) is things I don't need but that would make my recovery easier and more pleasant. And as these are wants rather than needs, I'm not picky about where they are purchased.

It wouldn't hurt if anyone would like to commission some of Lizzy's bead art, either. This allows her to buy her own supplies, which means I don't have to. None of them are very expensive, but all those beads and elastic cording add up.

Again, no needs here, just wants. Want to help a girl out?

***Recovery Items***

Random Stuff May Eighth 2024

Fire cuff close-up in yellow, orange, gold,
red, and dark red.

Mrs. Frazzled is not actually talking to grownups that way, you twonks. She's using that condescending language and voice as satire, showing sarcastically what she would like to say to adults who are entitled asshats.

Lizzy is still taking commissions for her beaded jewelry and Shaker Cubes. Click here for the full blog post with pictures, descriptions, and pricing! They're really fun pieces, from single-strand bracelets to earrings to big ol' cuffs (with or without additional decorations).

Speaking of fun pieces, why are people who say they don't pay attention to celebrities all up in arms about the Met Gala this week? The Met Gala is not primarily a fashion show or an award night, nor is it what (most) celebrities choose for fancy evenings out (although I'm sure there are some). It is a fundraiser for the museum and is meant to be completely impractical and over the top.

My washing machine won't lock and therefore won't run and I don't have the expertise to fix it nor the money to have it fixed by an expert. From the Whirlpool website, YouTube, and assorted other information sources (I can troubleshoot, but not fix it in this case), it looks like the latch sensor is busted (shut up, Grammarly; I don't care that "busted" doesn't sound professional!). This is not a calamity but it's a pain in the ass.

On that note, my therapist told me to stop apologizing for what I can't do and simply thank people for doing things. I'm very bad at this, but I'm trying hard.

Waiting for my doctor's office to call me back about pre-operative labs. A little nervous about the upcoming knee surgery, but pleased that despite my bulk, I'm fairly healthy overall. I don't have very many of the legion of medical issues listed on the preoperative questionnaire they had me fill out, for instance. This is probably - at least in part - because I don't (never have) smoke or play with recreational drugs, and I drink alcohol a few times a year. I've lost 13.2 pounds since April 3rd, but that's not enough to make an appreciable difference in that particular risk metric. Go me.

I'm constantly annoyed right now with people who think their opinion is fact and those who feel the need to yuck other people's yum. Naturally, this is mostly on social media, which is like that anyway, but that's what I've got at the moment if I want to connect to the outside world. And I'm probably cranky because I'm sore from the hips down. But the bizarreness of the Met Gala or people showing their baby's first word, or clips from new seasons of a show or strange party tricks or whatever? Why do folks feel the need to denigrate people online about these things? Just for funsies? 

If it really is just for funsies or because saying things like, "Her dress was garbage woke BS and this show is gonna faaaaaiiiiilllll," makes people feel better about themselves? That's just sad.

In my opinion, of course.