Well, friends: tough day for the laptop. It's the screen, so I'm looking at a 90CAD replacement that can't be finished until tomorrow or Tuesday.

We are back on the snail trail with the desktop when I get home. 🐌

It's true what they say about precarity being expensive. I've made frugal choices and they've added to time and stress and left me with reduced workflow.

But I will use this experience to deepen in empathy. Now home to post a piece or two!

🤗 May we always have cause to be thankful.

OH DEAR. THIS POST WAS SET TO SELF-DETONATE 💣 💥 🔥

Ą̷͇̀l̵̩̓̕l̸̩͘ ̸̭̪̈́ť̷̝̍̆h̶̡̛̰̯̏͌a̷͕̞͋̂t̵̩͙͑̈́͝'̵̛̍́ͅͅş̴̬̱͝ ̷̗̊͠l̵͚̕͠ē̸̻͓̐͝f̷̧͙̀̑͝t̶͓̓͊̚ ̶̜̱̓͌́a̴͉͊r̶̡̩͛̀é̵̦̞͕ ̶̮̾ṫ̷̡͈̍ḧ̸̛͍́̊e̴̫̅ş̶̥̰̓e̴̟̪͌͂̇ ̷̞̅͊̚h̷̰͕͈͂e̶̡̹̜̚ŗ̸̗͈̾̇e̴̩̍͐ ̷̪͉̩̀a̵̡̱̐͑͝s̴͎͖̈́h̸͈͌́͜e̴͕̝̐̌ś̶͓̆ͅ.̵̩̉ ̵̱͊͑̀

*longhand.

Not deleting that post for a wee bit of mistyping. Embracing the mess today!

Good morning, all you beautiful rock suckers--and all the rest besides. 🪨🌺

The malls open later on Sundays, so it's just a workflow muddle from start to finish this weekend.

Will longform a few things while waiting at the mall for laptop repair (was in the middle of two newsletter drafts and an OnlySky essay), but pragmatically, it's best to clear small tasks today and aim to reset on a better note Monday morning.

So much for grand plans! I always think I'm going to get more done than I do. 🙃

I want to apologize for my harsh language in that last post. 🙃

When I said that 2023 can suck a rock, I didn't mean to cast aspersions on any rock suckers here. If that's your thing, and it brings you joy, I'm happy for you, and I'm sorry I pathologized your rock sucking ways just to stick it to this no-good year.

Thank you for your patience as l work on sensitivity in my language and underlying outlook, and try to do better. 🙏🙂

30 day warranty on the original work, though, so with any luck this won't cost me more than the bus fare and time. 🤞🏻

Sigh. Double image, what does it mean?

It means this year can suck a rock.

Back to Monterrey tomorrow. I think this is a hardware problem, after tinkering with the drivers and settings to no avail.

It's just not my weekend for getting anything done - or for trying to keep costs low when things haven't worked out all year financially & I'm losing work in 2024.

But! So it goes. Some years just suck. Chin up and time to get the desktop out, to try to finish my work elsewhere tonight. TTFN!

😅 Well, mall internet is down, there's a phone argument at the next table, and the first novena event for kids is starting in the mall's main forum. ("Mi burrito sabanero" is playing: "my little desert donkey", about Mary on her way to Bethlehem: a local classic.)

I guess all I can do is work on the novel for a couple of hours, until internet returns here or power does at home.

Some days the world just tells you "slow down", eh? 🙃 All's well. It's just time to get schwifty, and roll with it.

Okay, all set up for a day of working at the mall. 🤞🏻 Fingers crossed that *some* of the people in the cowork space remember their headphones, don't share their porn viewing with the rest of us, and don't host whole-ass arguments with their girlfriends or parents on their phones right next to me today.

#ComeOnHumanity
#LetsDoThis

@joycereynoldsward

I know you only "liked" my post, but I know how hard this year has been. In a normal year, there would've been room for stories outside the chaos of world crises. It's frustrating to know that, if only we'd been born to other decades, we might've done fine--just fine!

Your craft & commitment are not reflected in current readership.

That's not your fault.

That's a testament to the state of the world.

Please remember that & keep leaning in to what you love--just because. 💛

I'm giving myself One Night to grieve something complex and entirely out of my control, so I'm up trying to finish two pieces before I have to skip out tomorrow because the electricity cuts out at 7am. Also, I am A LITTLE BIT TIPSY, but in a good vibes way.

So if you need affirmation in the next few hours?

I am around and more than willing to give you a glow-up.

For a bonus? Gimme a word and I'll try to use it naturally in my praise for you! 👀 Lobster? Syzygy?

(Just don't ask for TFG.)

Electricity is going to be out from 7am to 2pm tomorrow, so... I guess I'm working oot and aboot. So glad I was able to get my laptop repaired. Colombia's a country of routine surprises, but they definitely teach you not to take yourself and your plans too seriously. Life turns on a dime.

(Or on a spiked drink in a bar with a pretty woman you met on site, who is totally into you for you & not going to rob you blind / get you killed, as keeps happening to sex tourists here. 🙃 Tomayto, tomahto!)

Middle-of-the-day grief post.

The world is a heavy place.

Take a moment if you need it.

Give yourself the grace, the space, and the boundaries you need to, to continue to be here in the best form you can manage.

We're not finished yet. 🫂

Yesterday, one of the first news items I saw (after checking all my mailouts for key issues) was the following graphic.

I'm working 12 hours today (will check in later!), but I wanted to comment on the visual trauma of these news cycles.

The intensity of this presentation - LIVE! IN RED! - demands our attention, & elevates our helpless stress.

It is *so* painful that our world came out of early pandemic learning nothing about the fragility of life.

Remember it now.
Take good care of yours. 🫂

(And yes, I reported his suspicious activity at the nearest building with a guard posted. Even though my pasty white self makes for an obvious target, these thieves will also hit locals and even street folk in a pinch. Everyone deserves to feel safe where they live. Night all. 🤗 Stay sharp!)

Home again now, and back to writing, but HA. I caught a thief eyeing me as a target, following me, loitering when I loitered, moving ahead then rubbernecking routinely to find me again, trying to set himself up on my side even when I was around others on the sidewalk - but every time he thought he had me, I changed position & grouping on him. 😁 No way José (or Juan, or Jorge, or Camilo...) My rule is no more than one robbery every four years. Quota's full for 2023 and 2024-6 as well!

#AmWriting