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Here We Are

It’s now 2025 and we await whatever fresh hell will be rained upon us.

First thing out the gate: a crazed ex-military whackjob murdered 15 people and injured 30 more in New Orleans. He was promptly dispatched by the police. Of course, the wacky right media claimed he was an illegal immigrant. NOPE, SORRY, he was one of YOURS. (A MAGAt informed me that I should include that this guy was “radicalized by ISIS”, which is true, but honey, let me tell you: HE WAS ONE OF YOURS, MAGAts, and that is a FACT. So, sure, he was influenced by ISIS, but the guns and the killing of civilians is ALL MAGA. Accept your part in this fucking mess. Asshole.)

Then Cybertrucks start exploding. One blew up in front of Trump hotel in Vegas, killing the driver. I did think it was genius that it blew up THERE, tho. Then, here in GA, a Cybertruck caught fire and burned up on the dealer lot in Decatur. If I had one of those monstrosities, I’d not park it near my house.

We watched Amy Adams in Nightbitch last night. What an odd movie! It is very weird but basically a meditation on what women go through when deciding to have kids and the resentment caused when women give up THEIR lives to be SAH moms. The movie displays these feelings in VERY strange ways. It’s basically a vehicle for Amy Adams to show her amazing acting chops. She slays.

The movie confirms why I never had any interest in breeding. It also confirms what I sensed my whole life from my mother: RESENTMENT. She hated being a SAH mom and I knew it my whole life. I couldn’t verbalise it as a child, but I knew my mother was not a happy housewife. She hated cooking especially, which is why her food was gross.

So, yeah, welcome to 2025. We have plans to get ourselves out of CC debt and start actually LIVING our lives. We are being brave and doing what needs to be done to sever this anchor of debt dragging us down since Nick’s three years at Minuteman working a low paying job. We are getting rid of the debt and starting fresh. NOT a bankruptcy, but we’re draining our investment account. Once the CC debt is gone, we will be able to actually use the money we make to move forward rather than simply tread water like we have for five years.

We want to reconnect with people who matter to us and we want a fucking vacation this year. It’s been over a decade since we’ve gone anywhere. That is just SAD.

So, cutting loose the negatives and setting a course to better ourselves. I hope this country doesn’t collapse or whatever. It will derail our plans and piss me off royally. I hope the infighting of the Shitgibbon brigade will render them ineffective and they’ll piss away their four years. Then we can get the country back on track. Hopefully.

It’s a new year. Let’s get on it.

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2025 Reading List

Welcome to a new year of reading!

I read 28 novels and 26 graphic novels last year. Not bad! This year, I’m putting recent acquisitions and reads at the top. That does not mean READING order, just PILE order. As of 12.31.25, I’ve read 36 novels and the Courtney series of GNs.

King Sorrow, Joe Hill. EXCELLENT read. It’s a cross between Dark Tower and Fairy Tale by Joe’s dad. :) Good stuff. Not quite finished (1/3) but leaving on 2025.

Enshittification, Cory Doctorow. His book that breaks down the total destruction of the internet and how corporations have managed to do this. It covers Meta, Amazon, Twitter, and pretty much everything else that we’ve watched turn to SHIT. Everyone should read this book.

Blood, Bones & Butter, Gabrielle Hamilton. Byline “The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef”, which was why I bought it. A very good read! I saw a LOT of myself in her – not the work parts, but the interaction with people parts.

The Book of Salt, Monique Truong. You might remember her from Bitter In the Mouth that I read last year. This is her first novel and it is NOTHING like I was expecting! This is a story of a man who travels the world as a cook in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is a pretty good read, but I liked Bitter more.

The Sweetest Fruits, Monique Truong. She fascinates me.

The Secret Life of Groceries, Benjamin Lorr. Byline “The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket”. I watched a documentary about groceries recently, so this caught my eye. Very interesting so far. He did a TON of research for this book! He rode with truckers, worked in stores, talked to execs. It’s well done.

Gifted from the Kiss My Acid Goodbye guy:
Prison Break, Jason Goldman. While I truly do like JG, and the KMAG product does help with VSG GERD, he has a background in coaching, so he tends to be a little on the rah-rah side. Not my bag. This book is all about not being a victim (he uses prisoner) and taking charge of your shit (he uses self leadership). Nick and I are “self leaders” from way back, so all I do is nod at the obvious (TO ME) and do a lot of skimming. I can see how this sort of coaching would be helpful for LOTS of people — just not me in particular. It’s a conversational style, easy read. If you have GERD, you should look into kissmyacidgoodbye.com. You’re welcome.

Ollie’s Hurl September 2025

Find Me, André Aciman. This is the guy that wrote Call Me By Your Name, which was made into a movie that I did not see. I might get that book, too, though, because this book is quite good! It’s set in Italy but the main character is American. The characters are well written and the dialog is good, too. I’ve just started this one.

A Bright Ray of Darkness, Ethan Hawke (yes, THAT guy, who is also a writer!). This was an odd book, but a pretty good read. It’s about an actor and all his angst. Worth a shot if you come across it.

Dream Girl, Laura Lippman.
The Golden Gate, Amy Chua.

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus. I’d seen comments that this book was terrible, as compared to the limited series on AppleTV and I’d have to agree. Every single character in the book is unlikeable. She also gives the dog full character status, as in: the dog is given the ability to reason like a human and has running commentary. Skip the book and watch the limited series with Brie Larson and Lewis Pullman (yes Bill Pullman’s look alike son).

Attainable Sustainable Pantry, Kris Bordessa. EXCELLENT cookbook for assembling your pantry and canning foods. The canning section is SO well done! It’s all vetted for proper canning info. I love it!

When the Moon Hits Your Eye, John Scalzi. I had to start this as soon as I got it. It’s an absurd notion, housed as if it really happens and people have to deal with it. It’s got plenty of Scalzi humour and I’m liking it, despite its silly premise. In mid-read.

Never Flinch, Stephen King. This was a surprise from Amazon, we’d pre-ordered! I started it immediately after I finished Bazaar of Bad Dreams. It is another Holly book – he just can’t quit her!! This novel was good – not great. I do fervently wish the next book is called Two For Flinching, however.
Continue reading “2025 Reading List”

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And the Hits Keep Coming!

Small update 12/4: This person had another blowout with some other friends and pissed them off, too, so I really do not think this has anything to do with me. They are obviously going through something. Whatever it is, I hope they get back on track.
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The end of the year is always a challenge with the holidays and spending and all that crap. But I did not have end a long term relationship on my Bingo Card.

As I said in my whiny post on Oct 30, I am tired this year and I doubt I’ll do many social events:

I am typically maudlin this time of year, but this year is really bad. I doubt I will do much socializing. Don’t be offended if I pass on invites and/or don’t offer them.

Apparently this friend did not see that post (or did not care) and a dust up occurred when I told them that I was not doing a big Thanksgiving this year and only having two dudes (who have no local family) over. Cooking for four is the same as cooking for two, but I assume they think it should be THEY rather than the guys and they’re incensed that I’d not want to cook for six. If I cook for six, I may as well do eight, since I have to double the recipes. Slippery slope. I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT MUCH PREP, COOKING OR SPENDING THIS YEAR. This is about me, not anyone else.

They say that I “made plans” with them in early October. I most certainly did not make plans – trust me, when it comes to cooking, I know exactly what I’m doing and when. This has nothing to do with them at all, really. Yet here we are.

Then when I said that they were getting VERY upset over ONE event, they lost their shit. They accused me of cutting them out of plans and then proceeded to bully and gaslight me in an attempt to get their way. Very bratty. (I have the whole convo saved; RECEIPTS) They even went so far as to say that Thanksgiving is not about food, it’s about hanging out. UM, SINCE WHEN? Apparently they think I’d be cool making popcorn and toast like Snoopy? That is not how I roll and I find it offensive that they’d even say something like that. I can see why they might think that, since every occasion is a party and not about food for them. Then they said ‘merry christmas and happy new year, too!’ (paraphrased) Ok, so now in their mind I’ve cut them out of everything forever and even amen? I did no such thing! This is 100% in their head. Yet here we are.

I think the real reason this blow up occurred was that we’ve been having Sunday Canasta for a while and they’ve been mad that we won’t invite them. THERE IS A REASON: we actually play cards. Canasta is not a simple game and we don’t feel that they’d have the concentration to play. It is not a party occasion, we might have a beer and perhaps some food, but WE PLAY CARDS. We don’t even really chat that much! I think they have the idea that it’s a big party every week – it is not.

I am not happy about losing an old friend, but it is not my decision and I can’t control what other people think. They think that my not wanting to do a big Thanksgiving thing is all about them and there’s nothing I can do about that. I took them off my FB for my sanity. They can read this or not. They can contact me or not. I am open to fix things, but damage has certainly been done.

But I have done nothing wrong and I will not apologize for not being obligated to cook for them on demand. For me, it is about the food and always will be.

I like to party as much as anyone, but DUDE, I am old and tired. And frankly, I’d rather spend time playing cards or having small dinner parties with people who actually do care about the food and want to enjoy it, than staying up all night partying. Parties are great, but there are more things in life than that.

All I can do is move on. So, this is me, moving on. Sigh. Comments turned off, there really is nothing to discuss. :(

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The Season Finale I Expected

This timeline sucks.

I knew the mouthbreathing hillbillies would win. This country’s history of racism and misogyny is not getting better or going away. Clearly.

I knew that Obama was an anomaly. I also knew that many, MANY male democrats simply could not bear voting for a woman. I wish voting was PUBLIC. Let’s see who you REALLY are, fuckheads.

I’ve been saying for YEARS that the majority of this country consists of uneducated, ignorant people who have no intellect with which to understand even the most basic concepts of government and society, nor to determine what is propaganda and what is not. I have, AGAIN, been proved right.

This is what happens when you have a populace that has been taught nothing of history, has no reading comprehension and can barely write. This is how the fascists WANT IT. Dumb people are easily manipulated. As for the fucking Boomers whose PARENTS fought Nazis to give them the best economy in the history of the US, welp, I guess they are just so narcissistic and self centered they really don’t give a single FUCK about anyone. I do find it amusing that they are voting to take away their own benefits. I will enjoy watching them struggle with no social security benefits or healthcare. I hope they suffer.

I am too old to get out of this fucking garbage country. I am stuck here. The rest of my life will be affected by the shitshow of T**** and V****. When the orange shitgibbon gets tired of ruling, the young Nazi will have a field day. The Supreme Court will be packed with fascists who are there FOR LIFE. (I use * in their names to keep Google AI from pinging this as an article FOR the fascists.)

It’s awesome to know that the REST OF MY LIFE will be dealing with this. The goddam Boomer motherfuckers will DIE soon, but the rest of us are stuck. We will not get rid of the Electoral College. We will have a packed Supreme Court for decades because the terms will not be shortened. Democracy is DONE, my friends. This country is now in the hands of neo-Nazis and Christian Nationalists who cannot wait to put in their sharia laws. (Yes, the word sharia is associated with Muslim law, however, I feel that it can encompass Christian religious rule as well. The Wiki article is long but worth a read since the tenets of it will be in place here soon enough.) IT WILL HAPPEN. IT IS THEIR PLAN.

The Handmaid’s Tale was not intended as a fucking instruction manual, you idiots.

For those of you who are trying to say “oh, just be nice to them, it’ll all be ok”, well you guys can go fuck yourselves. And for those who did not vote or voted third party you can fuck yourselves, too. And let’s not forget the businesses who support companies who funnel millions into far right causes, you can fuck off, too.

Chick Fil A, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby and Uline – which is the LARGEST DONOR OF ALL – dump millions into the far right. THESE COMPANIES SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED. If your business buys regularly from these far right corporations, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. Especially Uline. Fuck them, use SE Paper or ANYONE else. And check your local vendors to see if THEY use Uline. They probably do, since Uline is the Sysco of paper goods (meaning pretty much a monopoly). I know you can’t just not get the materials you need to do your job, but you can at least TRY to be aware and choose wisely.

Of course, SpaceX is the second largest behind Uline, but we all knew that M*** dumps millions into the right. Remember that every time you see a Tesla. Here are the first nine top donors with red being R and blue D. Notice the first D donor is less than HALF of Uline’s contributions. This is why the right is winning: corporations who pay off the government to avoid taxes. In a word: GREED.




You can see the whole list HERE. If you think that goods and services are higher because of Biden you are an idiot. The pandemic was a great excuse to raise prices to cockbag levels, then your boi T**** made sure that corporations had zero oversight and could keep prices artificially high. Do you think record profits have nothing to do with inflation? If you do, I again call you an idiot. If the populace had enough intellect to understand economics, taxation and oligopolies, perhaps the corporations would not be running things. Alas…

Corporations are all about the right because T**** will eliminate taxes for them while taxing the shit out of the rest of us. We’ve had tax bills the last several years because of the changes the shitgibbon made LAST TIME. It will only get worse. We pay about $150/mo ALL YEAR on our tax bills. And we DO NOT have the money for it. Even with Nick’s new job, we are far from flush. And now it is guaranteed that we will never be flush. Never.

We will work until we die if we are not strung up for being queer first. In some ways, just getting it over with would be a relief. I’m just too old and tired for a civil war.

So, I hope you mouthbreathers are happy. I can’t wait for YOUR social services to be taken away and for YOU to be taxed to the hilt. It will be my pleasure to hear your cries of “no fair!!” when you get exactly what you asked for.

Assholes.

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Two Steps Forward

One step back.

Can’t win for losing.

I am so tired.

Tired of living paycheck to paycheck.

Tired of having to pick and choose who gets medical care (me, Nick, Shasti). I’d LIKE to give my cat every chance to live longer, but I guess that’s OUT since we can’t afford the meds and getting that rotten tooth pulled, which will poison her system. Awesome.

Tired of thinking things are looking up, only to have someone fuck it up.

Tired of dealing with fucking GERD issues. Can’t do a fucking thing about them but get through.

I’ve not had a vacay in over a decade. Not going to get one any time soon, either.

The investment fund is just an auxiliary savings acct. It is pulled from every other month. It will run out. Then what?

My hands keep me from f/t kitchen (hell, even P/T) kitchen work. My narrow skillset makes me unemployable. Awesome.

I feel 100% defeated. As usual.

We will work without a break until we die. No vacay. No nothing, just work.

I am typically maudlin this time of year, but this year is really bad. I doubt I will do much socializing. Don’t be offended if I pass on invites and/or don’t offer them.

I just need time to get through this. Give me space, I’ll be over it soon enough.