40s. Colorado. Mom of a young trans man. Building a home and a life with the husband, battling depression and anxiety, and reblogging shitposts, all while hard of hearing. Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in November 2019. No Evidence of Disease June 2024. Stardew Valley blog @sdv-hiddenfarm.
I went to the cat cafe with Princesa and Caballero today!! It was so cute. 🥰
This kitten was a huge hit because she(?) loved playing. I got to teach the kids about cat communication and the difference between “I wanna play,” “It’s sleepy time,” and “DON’T EVEN” so they could make friends.
This is Princesa’s favorite cat. Her name is Sharon. Princesa took this picture of her, she’s really proud of it.
This is Caballero’s favorite cat, and of course he took the picture. (He’s four, btw) Her name is Kimchi. She spent our entire visit in her little cube, and Caballero played with her for a while. He kept coming back to pet her.
This is my favorite cat. His name is Forklift. He hangs out at the front counter.You can’t see it, but he’s wearing a yellow collar with CAUTION ⚠️ printed on it. Every visitor gets a verbal warning about him. He’s grumpy and prone to overstimulation. And yet…he hangs out at the front counter.
🅿️eak 0️⃣range 🅱️ehavior
After the cafe, I took them out for ice cream. We went to a bougie ice cream shop that uses all natural ingredients. Not realizing this, Princesa and I ordered mint chocolate chunk ice cream. She tried hers first, was absolutely weirded out, and told me that it tasted wrong. I tasted mine.
Of course their hipster asses used fresh mint! I’d never had that before, most mint ice cream uses mint flavoring or extract. This was more planty.
After that, it was back to their house, 45 minutes away. Princesa had so much to say. And Caballero knocked tf out, which was a huge relief; Little Bro had mentioned that nights go so much smoother if he naps.
In case anyone hasn't heard, the cyclospora outbreak affecting tons of people in the US right now is coming from Taylor Farms produce. Best to stay away from bagged lettuce and prepared salads completely right now, but especially the ones mentioned in the screenshot:
Taylor Farms
Earthbound Farms
Little Salad Bar (Aldi)
Marketside (Walmart)
Kroger House Brand
Target private label greens
Costco salads and greens etc
Trader Joe's chopped salad kits and fresh produce
Fast food: McDonalds, Taco Bell, (Yum! Brands), Chipotle, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, Olive Garden, Top Golf, Red Lobster, Burger King, etc.
This is not the first time I've heard about a Taylor Farms foodborne illness outbreak. I stopped eating their salads after reading a description of the conditions in their facilities. Doesn't sound like they've improved anything.
We need a fully funded and staffed FDA, and regulations with teeth - and that's exactly what we don't have under Trump. To make things worse, the CDC is no longer tracking these outbreaks. We're on our own.
I’ve been eating Kroger brand chicken Caesar salads for work lunches for months. Guess I gotta figure something else out. 😡
I mean, Colorado is not mentioned in the recall. Yet. But I don’t trust a large corporation that’s unscrupulous enough to use prison labor and didn’t come out with this recall until Taco Bell called them out.
Speaking of unscrupulous companies, I don’t have enough sick time to get super diarrhea. And since I don’t have the time to cover it, I’d get in trouble per our attendance policy. 😡😡 (yes, this results in EMS personnel coming to work sick)
Anyway, time to hit up Pinterest (my saved pins, because the rest seems to be AI slop now) and look at my recipes. I’ll have to make double batches of stuff; some for home, and some for work.
So last night was busy. We used the 24-hour car for a call out of a venue. They cleared at 2300, and we posted them downtown. The paramedic called me and said they’re not supposed to be posting after 2200, they’re supposed to be in quarters to sleep. I asked him who said that, he said it was the Evil Ops Manager.
So I checked the protocol. It’s three pages of bullshit about “optimal unit hour utilization” and “managing system status for maximum availability of ALS coverage for our contracted partners” and NOTHING of substance. No numbers or times or operating areas.
I emailed the Evil Ops Manager, and (couched in professional language, of course) told her that dispatch can’t utilize our units properly if we don’t have protocols that actually tell us how to do that. Specifics plzkthx.
Then I finished work and went to breakfast with Mean Aunt. It was unpleasant as expected. I ordered decaf (placebo coffee). I got a cup of coffee, drank it, and the waitress came back. I asked if I could please have some more decaf. Her face fell. “Oh my god I’m so sorry I forgot to get you decaf!”
So I just pounded a coffee like 2 hours ago. GOOD MORNING!
I figured that since I’m awake, I could go to the pot shop and get some edibles. I got there, whipped out my ID and my just renewed med card, and got “Okay, where’s your Provider Certification?” Turns out I needed another piece of documentation that I could only get at home. 😡
I came home, downloaded it, and decided to check my work email. Because I like to make myself mad on purpose I guess.
(Complaining about work under the cut)
Got an email (to everyone!) from the Evil Ops Manager saying that “The 24-hour unit is to enhance operations not create limitations.” She then goes on to explain that they can be posted as needed, as a last resort or if system status management dictates. They can take long transports if other units have been ruled out, but keep in mind the time of day and patient condition and down time. They should run 10-12 calls depending on the day, but that number can be more or less depending on call volume.
If this sounds like a bunch of nonspecific bullshit, that’s because it actually is. She won’t commit to an actual protocol because if she throws down specific numbers and procedures, she can’t change her mind and then blame dispatch for doing it wrong!
The last thing I do at work is take out the trash. I take our tiny trash bags out to the big bins in the ambulance bay.
This morning, after I did that, I saw something that didn’t belong. It was a tiny snake, about as big as my hand, from the tip of my middle finger to my wrist. So baby!!
I told it that an ambulance bay is no place for a snake, especially not a little tiny gray snake that blends in so perfectly with the floor.
I checked for a rattle (none present), picked it up, and carried it out to the front of the building. I put it in the grass, which honestly probably sucked compared to a nice warm ambulance bay, but it’s for the best. There are ambulances in the bay, along with people, and some people don’t like snakes. Besides, there’s no food in there.
When I got home, I decided to look up what kind of snake it might be, since I’d never seen one like that before. It might be a baby bullsnake or a Great Plains rat snake. Honestly not sure.
“If you bother me too much, I will leave your desk.”
A boundary is an action that YOU take in response to another individual’s actions! Cheese had enough of @draconym ‘s bothering, and bounced. This boundary is clear and calm.
So I got a raise. $3 an hour, retroactive from 6/29. It’s good money! It’s money that I need! I can buy a portable swamp cooler or two because we have no AC in the house! I can start saving!
I’m still a little bit salty, though. A man who is unquestionably bad at his job (visible and recorded mistakes on the computer, complaints from crews and other dispatchers) and has a fraction of my experience makes $2 an hour more than me. 🧂
Trying to focus on the swamp coolers and my savings account. If I got this pay rate from a new job, I’d be happy.
But like, fuck that guy. And especially management for making that decision.
BREAKING NEWS: THERE WAS A SCARY THING AT THE WINDOW
This is the basement bathroom window. Soba likes to hang out up here, mostly to stay hidden while we use the toilet and bap our heads while we’re washing our hands.
About half an hour ago, I heard Soba growling and hissing. I ran towards the noise and found Soba in the window, growling and hissing at the outside.
This window is surrounded by a window well, which is behind an overgrown juniper bush. The window itself is this hexagon-pattern privacy glass. So whatever Soba was seeing was probably very close.
I decided that I’d go poke around the bushes at 2:00am for a mystery animal! AND THEN I REALIZED how bad of an idea that would be. Instead, I took a bag of trash out to the bin to check if I could hear anything.
It sounded BIG. And SCREAMY.
Big things can get out of window wells and juniper bushes just fine, time to go back in!
I made sure that the window and all the doors were locked. Soba watched intently for about another five minutes, and then wandered off.
Hope you found your way, be safe out there Big Screamy!
@fatmaninalittlesuit tagged me to post 3 animals that represent me. Thanks!
The calico cat; multifaceted and honestly ridiculous, but unquestionably feminine. The black bear; focused on eating and sleeping well in order to be a present and protective parent. The humble pigeon; resourceful and able to make do with very little, but can’t keep house for shit.
I tag @belovedgoofball @robinruns and @liftingweights-and-coffeedates , no pressure as always!
I need to throw my can in the recycling and open another one but Soba’s doing ekekekek at the window and he’s so locked in that I don’t wanna startle him. You GET those birbs!
Sitting here with a thin film of sweat on my face, drinking ALL the water, building my day around staying cool.
All I can think is “This kicks ass compared to being cold, especially when there’s snow on the ground.”
I mean, fuck climate change, this shouldn’t be happening, I should be in a hammock in 80° weather (and no wildfire smoke!). But as far as extremes go, this is bearable for me.
Thank-you to all of my new Internet stranger friends for being so gracious about having my post shoved onto your dashboards. I loved reading all of your kind tags and comments! Both Martin and Bosco have been gone for several years now but for 24 hours, they felt very present in my life. I greatly appreciate this gift. ❤️
Thank you to everyone who commented in their tags or messaged me. Indeed, today is “Martin and Bosco Day”. I originally whimsically blazed this photo on 13 July 2022. I never expected Martin and Bosco to travel so far and make so many new friends. The experience has been such a gift for me.
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
izzy806
titsay
