Real life starts again

Kitties helped me blog while I recuperated.

I got released this morning to go back to work this week. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's been great to sleep when I need to- staying up till dawn, if that's when I had energy and ability to stand up; napping during the afternoon, if that's what pain and meds necessitated; eating when I wanted and needed to; and most of all, spending time writing- and I've read and written a lot, even when nearly immobile! My days got all mixed up. Time flowed funny- or not at all!- how did I spend two weeks in bed? Did that really happen, or was it a dream?

Somehow though I had a lot of creative and emotional energy, (mostly positive, surprisingly) possibly due to having no way of releasing any physical pent-up energy at all. I had some surprising inspirations for new projects and feel compelled and moved to help people in a different way than I have really felt before.

Today I was up and about, which felt good too, even straightening up a few things around the house that have- ahem- gotten out of hand. The yard and garden is a different story, and a lost cause for 2009 I think. At least I had previously gotten rid of this year's garlic mustard. Is it too late to plant a few tomatoes though? Weeds have completely taken over. Sorry, neighbors.

And, is it forgiveable if I really started to appreciate- and almost enjoy, really, having time be "mine" like that? I really do like my job, overall, but with the laptop in bed with me, and Facebook 24/7 (other nightowls were there for me too) I never got lonely. Not once.

So I want to thank anyone and everyone who helped me during my time of need, even those who will never read this. Especially Brain and also Riverwoods Urgent Care and my chiropractor.Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Water privatization

Cheryl Nenn is interim executive director of the Milwaukee Riverkeeper. She and I have had our differences, really just one disagreement- about the Estabrook Dam issue- but I deeply respect her, her education, opinions, and knowledge. Someone called her my "frenemy", but (even though I love neologisms) that is completely inaccurate: she and I are adults who are able to have rational conversations, usually via email, and can agree to disagree.

She wrote this article against the proposal of water privatization for the local daily paper, and I love the title: "Public asset belongs in public hands." Milwaukee has a long, proud Socialist history, and this will- I hope-continue to be yet another part of that history.

"Water is essential for life. Access to clean water is a human right. But in the hands of a for-profit company, water easily can be denied to those without the resources to pay for it.
In many communities that have privatized their water systems, jobs have been lost, salaries and benefits of workers have been cut, and monitoring and services have been reduced or delayed."

Please read the rest of her editorial for yourself. She concludes, "Finally, we... will lose control of it through privatization, and we forfeit our responsibility to hold a private corporation accountable (emphasis mine). Throughout the term of a 99-year lease, we will vote generations of elected officials in and out of office but will have no way to 'vote out' or hold a private water company accountable for its performance. [This does sound vaguely similar to how the DNR is run, though, doesn't it.] Other cities, such as Mequon and Felton, Calif., have incurred significant expense to take back water systems from private hands."

And, as Sura Faraj posted on Facebook, "200+ showed up (at Monday's hearing) to protest water privatization. We scared the security guards with our chanting. They threatened to put us in jail, because "This is a place of business." Alders temporarily held the matter. We want a resolution that says privatizing our water will be taken off the table permanently. Until then we will continue to organize. What can you do? Call your Alder 286.2221 and say so." Here's more on the subject.

What do you think? Post a comment-contact our elected officials- contact Cheryl and let her know what you thought of her editorial. Spread the word. Drink tap water. Keep the discussion going.

Born under the sign of the otter

There is a separate Celtic astrology system, probably quite ancient and very different than the one we typically use in the US (which is, of note, totally random and only based in the vaguest possible way on anything to do with stars, moon, planets, and the earth's rotation around the sun. But I won't get into precession or any other actual astronomical phenomena here). My June birthday, according to the familiar US system, gives me the sign of Gemini- changing, effervescent, random: all true. But the Celtic system gives me the sign of the Otter. Even better!


I found out about this on MySpace way back in the days when people actually used MySpace. I had put some otter-related things on my page, and one day got a request from some guy in Indiana who called himself OtterBrett (he found me when searching for other otterlovers). He requested to be my MySpace friend and we exchanged otter-related info, and found out that we had some other things in common, including that he and I were both born under the Celtic sign of the Otter, loves camping and nature, and that he lives in the same Indiana town as my aunt and uncle- small, small world (yay, interwebs!). So when I abandoned my MySpace page and moved over to Facebook, I befriended OtterBrett there too--never having met him IRL-- on which we still keep in touch. Isn't this what so-called "social networking sites" are supposed to be about? Meeting new people and learning things you otherwise never would have had any idea about?

Here's a rundown of the deets on those born under the Sign of the Otter:

Date of Birth: June 10 - July 7

Celtic Birth Animal: OTTER

Gaelic Name: DOBHRAN (DAV-rhan)

Ruling Planet: Jupiter

Birthstone: Diamond

Key Words: Family, Joyful, Helpful, Intuitive, Playful, Creative.

Description: Otter people are enterprising, with a wide breadth of vision. Optimistic & Opti-mystic. Strong personal magnetism.

Gift, Quality or Ability: Protection, Shape-shifting, Journeying, Shamanic Powers.

Compatibility: Harmonious relations with Goose & Seal. Will also relate well to Salmon, Adder, Stag. Difficulties may be expected in relation to all other signs.

(Brain, who has just as much Celtic ancestry as I do, is a Swan under this system...obviously, it's just for fun! He is a Virgo...which actually does suit him fairly well, I think.)

For more information, including the other Celtic signs, click here.

Bullies, vindication, and forgiveness

I don't know why I let things like this still bother me, but I was bullied in school. This was back in the '70's and '80's, before there were things like "Awareness" and programs that dealt with bullying. Back then, nerdy kids just got bullied and that was that.
Now of course I am a successful adult with my own Facebook page and I get emails like this:
"Just started on Facebook am surprized who I am all finding , wonder if ya remember me .. :) .. Jaosn"
Of course I remember Jason. He made sure I would always remember him.
When I got that message yesterday, I looked him up on CCAP and he had the criminal record that I suspected he would: an indicator of a sad and unfocused life. I also note an inability to successfully spell his own five-letter name correctly every time. At some point I had found out that he also had his own problems- the woman that I had thought was his mom was really his grandmother, and so on. So it's hard to know what to really think. Thinking about it doesn't change anything. Does it?

Here's the Google street view of the building that used to house my grade school (on the northwest side of Milwaukee). God finally shut it down. The building now houses Jesus Cares Ministries for people with special needs and their families. It's a resource center and library, I guess.

Life is a complicated place.