MAID

This article profiles a woman who wants medically assisted death for mental health reasons. I never seriously considered suicide myself because of the impact on my loved ones, but there were absolutely entire decades when I did not want to be alive, so I sure hear where she's coming from. My depression eventually lifted due to hormonal changes and a more peaceful living situation, but even if I could have known that would happen, for many people it would still not necessarily be worth suffering through the bad years.

My state is expected to pass a Medical Assistance in Dying law this year. It will not include provisions for people with chronic illness as Canada's does, but I won't be surprised if they come later. I think that respecting people's rights to make their own medical decisions is the compassionate and ethical choice, and support these laws. But two things: first, as the article discusses, mental health conditions introduce more complicated ethical choices. Second, particularly for people with chronic illnesses, lack of resources is a huge factor in quality of life. I am in a relatively GOOD position in comparison with others with chronic illnesses, yet pretty much have no life outside of work. But if I didn't have to work, had housekeeping help, and could get a daily massage? I'd be able to do a lot more things that are important to me. For people with less income, worse work or living situations, more physical limitations, and more pain, the social choice not to support them is effectively driving them to suicide. And frustrating as slippery-slope arguments are, they can also be true.

he wants no part of my diet

The dog was following me around hopefully while I was getting a snack but then he saw my snack was steamed broccoli and he ate kibble instead.

ah, to live in a civilized country

My independent pharmacy sells its own gift cards. My initial thought was "it's so sad that health care is something people would be excited about opening on Christmas morning." Then I realized I would in fact be psyched if I didn't have to pay for a few months of compounded testosterone, so yeah... 

still managing joint custody of our youngest

I was looking forward to my daughter's graduation in part because it would reduce contact with my ex when that shared financial responsibility ended. (2025 should be the last year we need to figure out how to split dependent income tax benefits, and it's likely she made enough money so neither of us will claim her- very bad for my tax bill but great for her.) Ironically our shared dog is now requiring more contact and discussion than the kids have in years (and is expected to cost about the same in vet bills as college tuition did, which has already led to disagreement). But I still hope he stays with us for a good long time, despite the heart murmur and arthritis that's slowing him down. 

watch the icy patch

Update: I finally found a good Christmas watch: a 1987 Muppets special, in which everyone visits Fozzie's mom. I'd never seen it and it far exceeded expectations. The Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock gangs show up. Big Bird helps the Swedish Chef feel his feelings. Bert and Ernie have a small talk technique I wish I could utilize. Miss Piggy is not present for most of it, which always improves the dynamic. Rolf meets another dog. When a turkey tries to seduce Camilla away from Gonzo, Gonzo quotes "Some Like it Hot."

I even missed the Family Ties finale!

In 2021 HBO aired the first six episodes of a show called The Nevers. However, it was created by Joss Whedon, and after he was cancelled they never aired the last six. I was curious about them but even pirating proved difficult, so I asked my kid to do it for me. He wasn't able to download or find them on demand either, but alerted me that they were airing on Tubi the week before Christmas, so I checked them out. 

The show was a mess. But mostly it was funny to me that this thing that was normal when I was a kid, only being able to watch something at the one specific time it was on and without being able to pause it, felt so alien. How did we ever fit that into our lives? (I was only half watching while sending work emails, taking care of the dog, etc.) I remember it was exciting when we could program the VCR, but even that was a late development at my house and not used very often. 

(Yes, I know there are ways to screen record to get around that, but I just can't be bothered. I also can't usually be bothered to pirate media. Honestly since legal streaming became even more annoying than pirating, I just watch less. Maybe when I'm unemployed I'll start futzing around with VPNs and such, but now, nah.)

I mean give us some benefit of letting you track us all the time

Google is getting rid of location reminders, which pinged me when I was in certain places to tell me to do other stuff while I was there. It's not a massive loss (probably the one I used most often was the one suggesting I go to Empire Wine while I was at Target, and I'm never there these days anyway) but it feels like a function which should be standard.