Dispatches from the Goblin City

 I moved down to San Jose, California in late 2019, leaving my beloved Oregon behind. It's now 2021 and I've been noticing some behaviors that I haven't really demonstrated since I was probably a teenager. I catch myself singing along to music, not full productions, just bits and pieces, here and there. I used to sing almost solely in my car, but apparently I am capable of singing in the shower. You know, like one of those "normal people." Whatever that means. I have also caught myself dancing a bit, more of a Silly Walk really since the Good Lord did not bless me with any kind of rhythm. This is not something I do around other humans; I think my Computer Princess has probably caught me mid-twirl on occasion, but he's pretty chill with most of my weirdness, so I don't know if those situations count. Keep in mind that dancing was never a fun activity for me as a young person. I hated it and ALWAYS felt so embarrassed because I had two left feet. Whenever I ...

  For real, this January just keeps going. I could comment on the attempted insurrection, but so many others have already done that, and at this point I'm not sure if my words would help, so I'll just mind my own business.  

  Goodbye, 2020! In terms of horribleness, you were amazing, 2020. I didn't know a single year could suck so much FOR THE ENTIRE PLANET! I'm no stranger to bad years. 2007ish until late 2013 were the hardest years of my life. My support system took a massive hit when my grandparents (both of my mom's parents) were each diagnosed with different types of dementia. And then my mom began having mild strokes and had to quit her job. It's really difficult for me to talk about this; I didn't realize then how much stress and emotional distress would be heaped on me. I didn't know it would break me, because I was Young (like 23 yrs or so) and oh so naïve to how the world worked.  Now I'm older, and hopefully, a little wiser. And I have more gray hair than any of my peers. Seriously, I get comments on it ALL THE TIME when I mention my age. "But you're so young to have all that gray!" they say. Or my personal favorite: "What happened to your hair?!...