Moody Monday: pause

It's been a bad week or two for everyone, it seems.

I've read from too many people on my social media feeds who are experiencing problems recently. Need money for rent, need money for food, need healthcare without insurance, need emergency room care (sometimes with 7 hour wait), need to plan funeral for family member who died.

I have emails to send
and deadlines to meet
there is laundry to fold
and there are errands to run
I have friends to call
and obligations to fulfill
but I do not have the time
to do any of those things
for I am far too busy
watching everything falling apart.
- Twitter, Plague Poems, 2022 July 27

I called 911 for local gunfire again. I finally cracked open the whiskey I bought many days ago, so I can get a decent amount of sleep. A pregnant lady got shot in the belly here in the warzone, less than 20 blocks (most of them the "short" width) southeast of me. A few people have been killed. Allergies are almost at full strength again, and I'm back on zombifying antihistamines. I have a new tinnitus in my left ear, a kind that I didn't know existed. The only productive thing that I completed last week was turning in another application for a potential job.

So... let's all take a breather. Just a pause to tend to our needs. You already know my list of crises: #1 climate, #1.5 pandemic, #2 inequality, #3 corruption. They'll all still be there next Monday. It's not like any of our leaders are doing squat to improve these systemic problems.