man...i don't even know what thread to put this one in...i'm pretty disturbed by it tbh, prolly cause it's on the heals of several other things...
one, the conversation with my French friend i shared in the international thread, depressed the hell out of me cuz in the end you kind of still hope 'maybe it's just us, maybe we see too much of the minutiae so our view is skewed'. turns out nope, the world is indeed watching in horror/glee.
two, without providing too much detail for the law enforcement monitoring this board (🖕), currently assisting in a situation with a young woman who traveled many miles to get access to a service that is freely available where i live but recently outlawed where she lives. been a few fun conversations around CYA and what not to say and to whom, and changing phone numbers to escape harassment from a party that does not want her accessing said service...and being aware that said party can report her, and the friend that rode with her, for a literal bounty, and making sure there is actually no proof of anything anywhere...and, you know, all of that. fun. there's something about the dawning horror of realizing what the conversation you are having actually means in terms of being a female citizen of the US in 2025.
and now...just had a puppy playdate with a new friend here, who...i can't even really unpack this one. she is nice, i like her, our dogs adore each other, politics just doesn't come up, as it shouldn't and used to be, right...and she advises she was diagnosed with aggressive stage 3 breast cancer three weeks ago. so she has an oncology team, and is getting a second opinion but is, at least as of now, planning to follow recommendations for the chemo/radiation then surgery treatment protocol. maybe. because...
...she's also going next month to a facility in AZ for eastern/holistic treatment. and she's started giving herself ivermectin already, and some other crap i never heard of, Mel Gibson said it worked. and thankfully Trump is in office now b/c RFK will 'open up' access to all kinds of alternative treatments. and did i mention she got laid off about 3 months ago and hasn't found a new job yet? so no insurance...but thankfully she qualified for...you know where this is going...Medicaid and so far she hasn't received a single bill! yay.
i mean, i got in the car and started crying b/c one, that totally sucks, and also EVERYTHING ELSE IN THAT INSANE CONVERSATION. what is even happening😖it's an honest to god struggle to even know anything to say in response. i just kept falling back on 'uh, well...oh i am just so sorry!!' and hugging her.
TL/DR - the past 24 hours basically: