Horses are good company -- The Witcher

This morning I accidentally put my own pills into the dog's food bowl instead of her pills. I only noticed because she ate around 2 of them and i looked down and saw them / recognized they were wrong.

So, I did a little internet searching and learned that pills she ate were probably not dangerous. They said you can give your dog activated charcoal just to be safe, and you can buy that at the "human pharmacy" (as opposed to the vet pharmacy but this is such a funny phrase). Activated charcoal will safely bind to the medications and prevent them from being digested.

So I drove to the nearest pharmacy, which is Walgreen's, and I hate going there, but it's 5 minutes away so I end up going there sometimes anyways. Walgreen's is over-stimulation central, incredibly bright lights, busy, always have to wait in a line, products are locked up in a hostile way, impossible to find stuff, and the employees are clearly underpaid and under-trained. Also hardly anyone wearing a mask, but that is par for the course right now in curséd America. I asked 4 different people to help me find activated charcoal, and I was getting more and more upset each time.

Even when I explained what happened, my dog accidentally ate some pills and I am stressed about it, there was no expression of sympathy or understanding from any of these people. Finally someone had to "call into management" and she told me that no, they don't stock it. Walgreen's has shelves and shelves of cheap plastic seasonal crap, a whole wall of supplements and vitamins, another whole aisle that is just greeting cards. No activated charcoal. The worker told me that I'd have to go to Wal-Mart or Farm and Fleet, which are giant big-box stores. Meanwhile I'm hunched over and starting to panic from having to talk to all these strangers, and none of them helping me. I quickly left the store.

Well, I was going to Jesse's house anyways, and when I arrived she was like, "I have activated charcoal!"

SAVED!!

Brief WisCon report!

Friday
The gathering was quieter and lower key, due to lower attendance, and this suited me. I dropped off some stickers and pins, picked up some plants at the exchanges. Sat and worked on a puzzle; talked with Bessy G. (a greyhound owner and nerd friend) and some new folks. I bought two graphic novels from the dealers' room.

Had supper at Short Stack, outside on the patio, with Emily H, new person Anna something, then ThingWithWings and Eruthros. Possibly Bronwyn joined us?

I went to nearly the whole vid party, in-person. There is something about seeing vids on the big screen that is amazing and moving compared to my little laptop screen. Having other folks in the room cheer, laugh, and clap was also very cool. I got a headache and struggled with it, but stayed anyways up until my vid played, then went home. During an intermission I had a nice conversation with Beth P. and her wife Danielle.

Saturday I had a picnic lunch with some folks on the Capitol lawn; I believe it was ThingsWithWings, Eruthros; Kate Nepveu; Sam; Suzanne B; possibly Emily? Possibly Bronwyn?

Vid Deep dive panel had no AV, so Suzanne, ThingsWithWings, and I talked about vids generally. This was really fun and the audience seemed into it. Afterwards I thought about attending a panel but realized I was too anxious so I sat outside and talked with Gremlin for a bit. I wore my t-shirt "I'm here, I'm queer, my joint pain is moderate to severe" and the guy at the coffeeshop laughed quite hard at it.

I went home to feed the dog and take a nap; slept for about 4 hours.

For supper I grabbed some Ian's pizza. Emily H. and I went to the Argus bar for a drink, where we could sit outside. The bartender/owner Gwen was excited to see me; she must be one of those people who never forgets a face.

On Sunday I was very achy and I went back to bed for a while. I virtually attended the Not Another Race panel, then was on the virtual panel for Vid Party Discussion, which was fun although I felt I could have been better prepared.

I went into the con for supper; sat at Short Stack with Naomi Kritzer, Jackie M, Bronwyn, ThingsWithWings, and Eruthros. Naomi talked about how people really have a need to process the pandemic, to talk about it publicly, and maybe cons should make space for this.

I attended the Guest of Honor speeches, sitting with local friends Jackie L and Debbie C. Afterwards we hung out in the lobby and talked with Brackett and Liz Henry.

Today I am resting and recovering!

Friends that abbie and i saw at the dog park today:

Jazz (old english sheep doge) and her guy Steve;
Other Jazz, aka Jasper, a GSP (german shorthaired pointer), and his person who I think is Bob;
Monster, a big mutt, and her person Scott;
Simon, a Small White Dog (SWD), and his person whose name I have forgotten.

Abbie had a great time.

It's cold here, quite wintry, but no snow to speak of.

Hello! My friend kuwdora is selling paintings for quite reasonable prices.

Check out Kuwdora's abstract art here:
https://kuwdora.dreamwidth.org/tag/[art]:sale

Yesterday I went with my new friends to see some Greyhound races in Dubuque, Iowa. We were curious what it'd be like as we are all greyhound owners (ours are retired racers).

Dubuque is an hour and a half away, a gorgeous drive through Wisconsin's "Driftless" area, where the glaciers didn't come through and plow down the hills like they did in other areas of the Midwest. So there are rollling hills and steep valleys, dotted with farms and forests.

The casino is right off the highway and easy to find. The greyhound race area is technically not part of the casino, so you can be under 21 to enter that area. Indeed, we saw kids and teenagers watching the races. It's nice that there is no fee to enter, and you don't have to bet. The only thing we spent money on was food. There was a crowded upper observation area, and we went down some stairs to the outside part. It was almost hot yesterday, 76 degrees F (24 C). The benches were shaded by the casino building and the track was in bright sunlight.

The dogs were beautiful and lively. We watched about 4 races, each 10-15 minutes apart. We didn't place any bets but picked out the ones we thought might win based on how they acted and looked. Teenagers (presumably summer workers) brought the dogs out and lined them up to be looked at before leading them to the starting blocks.

I took some pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sasha_feather/tags/dubuque/

We drove around town a little bit and had some ice cream before heading home.

My friends asked me, can you imagine your out here dog doing this?
I think Abbie would have hated it. She's so anxious and scared in environments that are loud and chaotic; her preferred environment is quiet and calm. She doesn't seem to have a competitive spirit.
My last dog, Sorcha, was a winner though, and I imagined she enjoyed it at least somewhat.

Racing is controversial and people often ask me what I think of it. I still don't know what I think of it! It was cool seeing the dogs run. I think that when gambling and money enter into it, they tend to corrupt. I don't think racing is inherently bad, but making it into a big business means the animals' welfare isn't put first.

Films:
MOONLIGHT omg sublime
Arrival
Ghostbusters 2016
Rogue One
Zootopia

TV:
Luke Cage
Stranger Things
Brooklyn 99
Elementary
@midnight
Yuri!! on Ice

Books:
Saga by Vaughn and Staples
TJ and Amal by E.K. Weaver
O Human Star! by Blue Dellaquanti
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
March book 3 by John Lewis et al

Games:
Stardew Valley
Gone Home
Children of Ur
Candy Crush
Hexels http://benhardy.github.io/hexels/

Personal/social:
Walking at the dog park
were_duck's baby, the bleb
Visiting and having lunch with jesse_the_k
Visiting my parents on the farm; seeing family members over Labor Day weekend
My dog park friend got a kidney from his daughter
Making up with and walking with my friend R.
I had a sort of emotional fling (as opposed to a physical fling); which fizzled out but was fun while it lasted, this happened last winter.
I saw anna_bird for the first time in years!
Visited with many friends at WisCon
Gardening and hanging out with my roommate
Comics Club!
Socializing with old friends, and making new twitter friends
2 of my friends got their surgeries funded using social media!

Work and creative:
Volunteering at the humane society
Starting a fan vid! And perhaps more importantly, starting a fan vid club!
I posted one fic on the Ao3 this year (nsfw), and I think it's probably my best fic, idk.
As always, I enjoyed taking pictures and posting them to Flickr!
Meeting with the Anti-Abuse sub-committee for WisCon
Lots of health work, most of which is tedious, except for water bending class which is fun.

ETA:
I also read a lot of fanfic. The standout ones are:
Stuck on the Puzzle by the spectaclesofthor

Known Associates by thingswithwings

Ain't No Grave by spitandvinegar

When I was a kid I had a long bus ride. A consequence of living in the country-- the school bus wound around the roads picking up the rural kids. I complained once to my mom that the trip was boring. She told me that if I looked carefully, I'd notice something new every day.

I live a quiet and careful life (to quote Anna Altman in Every Body Goes Haywire, and sometimes it's a boring and lonely life. But I notice something different every day. The change of the seasons and flowers blooming. New dogs at the park.

I had lunch today with jesse_the_k and we watched some animated short films. She wrote about it here.

( my thoughts on one of the films )

I took a bit of an internet break largely because my internet (or computer? who knows) was being troublesome. Still is, but there seem to be periods where it works OK. I don't know what is wrong, so don't know what to do about it.

On Saturday some mysterious energy appeared in my life/body/mind and I cleaned my apartment, in anticipation of having a few friends over. It was very nice to see them. I've been feeling a bit isolated, so I'm going to try and make more of an effort to get out and see people. One of the great things about my friends is not only do I like them-- I also like the people they introduce me to! quality all around.

Of course I overdid it yesterday, and today I am exhausted. Today has involved sleeping and resting.

A project for when it is slightly cooler: I want to take pictures of my coats and post them. coat fandom yay.

I am trying to get rid of things out of my apartment and make space for as yet unknown new things. It's that time of year.

A friend of mine had an article published in the Atlantic, exploring the "watchmaker" metaphor used by some people interested in intelligent design. A Failed Metaphor for Intelligent Design by Adam Shapiro. This information-packed article explores how the metaphor suited the British society from which it arose.

A really thoughtful, wonderful article by a woman who chose to have a double mastectomy (vs. a single). Contains some partially-nude photographs. shirts off, underwear on: play out, breast cancer and gender expectations by Melanie Testa.

Doing Science Sitting Down, and other thoughts about Universal Design by jacquelyngill.

I had a great time yesterday going to see Welcome to Night Vale in Chicago with a bunch of friends, old and new.

Seeing the show in a full theater was like nerd church-- a huge crowd of *our* people, feeling similar things along with us, all rapt attention. Well, that's what I imagine church might be like for people who are religious. Cecil had us shrieking, laughing, and gasping on cue, and also reflecting on life, death, and other mysterious subjects. Dylan Marron (Carlos) is the cutest person ever.

Today has been a total exhaustion and rest day for me. I slept most of the day.