Plagued By Wåter
Internet round-up for the week of May 15, 2023
Happy Friday, friends!
I’m pleased to report that the end of Mercury Retrograde on Sunday does seem to have actually cleared off the brain cloud1 I was experiencing for the last couple of weeks, and this week has been unexpectedly lovely and productive. Not only have I begun to ascend Clothes Mountain™, but I have reached the summit and am already on my way back down!!
I’ve just got a small pile of clothes left to go through and then I’ll have my closet all cleaned up and organized! The only thing left to do is arguably the most tedious part of this entire task: get the clothes I’m getting rid of listed up for sale online.
I’ll probably use Poshmark, which is fine, but also kind of annoying, because most of the time people want to have a full conversation with you about your stuff before buying it for $15. Like, I’ve washed everything, I’ve laid it out for a nice photo, taken close-ups of the tag or any damage, given a detailed description — everything you could possibly want! And yet, every interaction is basically this:
Buyer: Can you get the measurements for me
Me: *sigh* Sure, okay. *gets out measuring tape, provides measurements from the item laying flat*
*8-12 hours pass*
Buyer: Hmm. Can I see it on
Me: Sure if you would like to see it on someone that it is too small for. It does not fit. If it did I would not be getting rid of it
*8-12 hours pass*
Buyer: *offers $10*
Me: $13
*8-12 hours pass*
Buyer: $11
Me: $12
$ SALE COMPLETE $
It is a pain in the ass, but…what can I say? I am a bitch who will gladly maintain an annoying conversation for $12. 🤷🏼♀️ Because if I can get a whole bunch of $12, then I will have…more than $12. And then I can buy a book and make a guilt-free trip to Chipotle.
Sorry — my stomach is growling right now because Chipotle sent me a well-timed marketing email this morning and it’s all I can think about. I wish the Chipotles in the Bay Area were better — I think I’ve maybe only eaten there like five times since we moved, and anyone who knows me knows this is a marked decrease from my usual Chipotle consumption. But every time I’ve gotten a burrito bowl from there it looks like someone turned it upside down like a Dairy Queen blizzard before putting it into the bag, and all the food is sad. But today they got me with the damn email, so I am probably just going to have a sad lunch.
This week we watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and it was SO FUN!! It’s been a while since I watched a movie that was both engaging and lighthearted. Plus, I couldn’t stop myself from cackling through tons of scenes that reminded me of all the stupid things I’ve done playing D&D with my friends and how hard we’ve all made each other laugh. I hope they decide to make a second one! The fun thing is that if the actors didn’t want to come back, they could totally use a new cast. But I hope they do, because they were all fantastic!
And now, on to the goodies for this week:
Is This Normal, Or am I a Hypochondriac?
Ever since we moved to California, I’ve been feeling like my hair was just…off. I couldn’t figure out why, and it was really bothering me.
At first I thought maybe it was stress. I DO think maybe I had some hair loss after I had Covid last May, but it seemed like it wasn’t getting better. So I got some new vitamins — which seemed to help a bit, — but my hair was just still…weird. I tried changing shampoos. The shampoo bar started making my face break out, so I switched again. I found one that seemed better, and then the company changed the formula. Life is pain.
Anyway I finally gave up and just decided that this is because I’m old now and things happen to your body when you get old that you can’t understand or control.
And then this week, in a Facebook group I’m in, someone mentioned soft water making their hair oily and awful.
And would you look at this:
I have moved from “Very Hard Water” to “Slightly Hard Water”!! MAYBE MY HAIR IS NORMAL AND FINE AND THIS IS ALL WATER’S FAULT!!
I am excited to report back next time I travel to a place with EXTREME WATER and let you know whether Wåter has me plagued all these many months or I am slowly decaying beyond repair. In the meantime if anyone has any suggestions for magic soft water shampoo, please let me know.
I’m Gonna Have to Google This, Aren’t I
More education for me this week! I saw this tweet and was like…uh, what?
So I went for a dig and — according to NYT/Wirecutter, this is true(!):
Yep, that’s right: Surge protectors don’t last forever. Most estimates put the average lifespan of a surge protector at three to five years. And if your home is subject to frequent brownouts or blackouts, you might want to replace your surge protectors as often as every two years.
There are surge protectors in our apartment right now that were probably purchased during one of the Bush Administrations. 😬 I guess, at least, this is an excuse to shop?? *googles ‘Kawaii surge protector’* Anyway, here’s a thread on how to buy a new one and what features to consider.
Wholesome Fun
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My hope is that one day we’ll see someone post a story about a random giant hat appearing from the sky as the other side of this.
Also, Bigolas Dickolas was mentioned at the Nebula Awards!! 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 I’ve started the related novella and hope to finish it next week. I haven’t read an epistolary story in ages and I’m really enjoying it!!
El*n M*sk Schadenfreude
Just a few updates on the owner of my favorite2 social media site.
He wants to rehire some of his fired employees (ahaha I hope they accept the positions and then do not show up), is being sued over severance, and spending too much money to host Twitter Blue users’ 2 hour videos. There were also some heinous issues with the search algorithm, which has been broken for months (but obviously got much, much worse).
So, yeah. Things are going great on the hellsite.
Randomly Selected Animal Cutie(s)
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LOVE TO LISTEN TO ANIMAL MUNCHING, both real and imagined!!!
Welp, that’s all from me this week! Hope everyone has a great weekend. And please, wish me luck — I have no self control and I’m getting sad California Chipotle for lunch.
K
If you haven’t seen Joe Versus The Volcano, please take some time and enjoy this classic Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romcom, which is a very reasonable 1 hr 42 mins long.
Until I get off this damn Bluesky waitlist. Can someone get me in to Bluesky? Please? I promise to be cool.