odanu

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I spent the last years of my childhood on the Central Coast of California, and my oldest son was born at UCLA Harbor in Los Angeles. I have friends I've known for decades who are being affected by the fires, including my birth partner and his wife, two of my longest and dearest friends.

Change is inevitable and can be terrifying. My main goal for this year is to focus on helping others to navigate change as a way to manage my anxiety about that same change. There are a lot of things we can't control about the world, but when we're lucky we can manage our responses to the things we can't control.

I've been using Finch App to help with motivation and staying on task, and so far its working to the point where I've exercised 9 times in the last 11 days, I'm doing minor but forgettable tasks more frequently, and I've made my bed in the morning 11 days running. It's basically a Tamagotchi that can't die and is tied to intelligent, flexible prompts for self care, time management, and reminder systems. It's cute, simple, engaging, and everything you *really* need is free, though FOMO will likely get you and make you want the paid version after playing with it for a bit.

I'm gonna miss TikTok if it goes away, but more importantly I'm going to miss having a semi-effective semi-democracy. I've returned to the subject of homelessness over and over again in my writing and life choices over the years, and with the recent rise in homeless and impending exacerbation of the problem, it's not likely I'm going to stop paying attention.

All that to say I've got a fairly busy paperwork day scheduled today. My goals are to finish up some overdue progress notes, write an article about SURJ and other important organizations in the direct action and mutual aid spaces, upload one of my old articles from my earlier website that I have saved on my hard drive, take a shower, watch a movie, and make some postcards to send to people I love. So a busy paperwork day. Plus exercise. I think today will be a strength and flexibility day, not a cardio day.

Gratitudes: I am grateful for my best friend who I've been married to for 27 years and change now. I am grateful for the spaces online where I can congregate with friends. I am grateful for Lofi Girl, whose music is tickling my brain this morning and helping me get motivated.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be punk. But my mother controlled my haircuts, my makeup, and my clothes, and I was the "good girl" who doesn't rock the boat. By the time I was 18 and on my own, my aesthetic had shifted, and I basically dress like any standard coven of witches provides my wardrobe, but I am and always have been fundamentally punk.

Punk stands up in the face of injustice and flips the bird.
Punk organizes their community so that everyone survives the hard times.
Punk backs fascists up against the wall and makes them piss their pants.
Punk values full bellies and necessities for the community more than they value corporate profits
- At the same time, punk supports small businesses. Unless they're owned by fascists, in which case, fuck them.
Punk will pay creators, but punk will also tell the record label to pound sand.
Fundamentally, punk knows that human rights beat any right to profit off other people any day of the week.

It doesn't matter whether you're punk on the inside or outside, right now it is our job to stand with those who are being targeted.

Current Mood: angry

My newest nifty article about human rights

https://wp.me/paOI8y-Sb

I did a thing. Please click on it, share it around, and let folks know
Great News! The Jenni's Space Shop Will Open Soon!
Yea, I went commercial and started a Jenni’s Space Shop. Please ignore the iteration currently on the website for now, though. I’m still working on coding it and setting it up. My goal is to have it up and running and meeting international commerce standards by August 1, 2022

https://wp.me/paOI8y-vd

(this article about professional policing was taken from and expands upon this Twitter thread)

The US Does Not Current Have Professional Policing

We need to stop calling the police a profession until they become one. There are certain basic standards that professions require. Unfortunately, current US police work doesn’t qualify.

Professions require a significant investment in education and regular continuing education. Teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, and other professionals all require at least a Bachelor’s degree. By contrast, the current average training for police officers in the US is 21 weeks.

This is not what professional policing looks like

Professional Policing Requires Ethical Standards and Accountability

Professions maintain a code of ethics at the national and state levels. Further, they have enforcement at the state levels. By contrast, there is no standardized, specific code of ethics for police in the US. While many towns have one, they are not standardized or required. We can’t have professional policing without a code of ethics.

Professionals hold each other accountable. There is no “thin blue line” in social work or nursing or law. If I harm a client and a fellow social worker knows, they must report me. This is in stark contrast to police practice.

Professionals have authority over others. They are bound by that position of authority not to abuse their power. However, police have actively worked for decades to be free from oversight and accountability.

US Police Don’t Meet Minimum International Standards

In other words, structurally the police in the United States are not a profession and we should not coddle their pretenses of being one. Reform of the police needs to start with a set of national standards and state boards. We should look to the policies of other countries for ideas and inspiration. In addition, we should look at international standards. The ICRC (International Center for the Red Cross) has a set of standards that is a good start. Currently, US law enforcement doesn’t come close to meeting these standards.

How Can I Make Professional Policing a Reality?

No matter who you are, there are things you can do to support improving policing standards in the US:

Contact Your Senators and representatives even if you think they don’t care. They need to hear from constituents who disagree with them.
Show up at local protests. If you can’t, make signs for the protests, or cook food for it, or support in another way.
Talk with your friends about the benefits of professional policing. Teach them how it would benefit them.
Engage with people who disagree with you on social media. Come armed with facts and patience. You’ll need both.

What Happens When You’re Hotlined For Child Abuse?

Professional Policing: The Police in the US Need To Become a Profession

Jenni’s Space: Welcome to the Freaky, Geeky, Queer Conversation

Picking Up the Pieces: The Aftermath of Terror in Uvalde

How to Navigate the Fraught Weight of Whiteness in Intersectionality

Abortion Has Been Illegal Before, so What is Different Now?

https://wp.me/paOI8y-tR

Jenni’s Space (my space) is a messy space. It is a creative space. It is a space that centers on human rights and mental health and points out how the two interact. Jenni’s Space is a warm and inviting space for queer folk, geeks, and freaks. It’s for people from all walks of life who love a bit differently and live a bit differently.

When I was a girl, I used to pore through the Sunday supplemental “magazine” in my local paper looking for nuggets of wisdom. I found a meditation one Sunday when I was a kid that I have used ever since. I won’t bore you with the details, but the bottom line was that it asked the person meditating to create a personal space where they felt safe and welcome.

My inner meditation space lived in an open-air courtyard surrounded by porches that protected you from the weather, with hammocks and couches and benches and a garden and tea table and wild areas where small wildlife flourished. The kind of place you stumble upon by accident in a fairy tale. For me, that’s what Jenni’s Space is. A home that you return to and take comfort from and know will always be there for you.

My goal for Jenni’s Space is to renew hope and to share and dispel fear and despair. Jenni’s Space also ties together what is helpful for individuals for their mental health and what is helpful for the larger society in terms of human rights. So it mixes practical mental health and activism advice with poems, short fiction, and just stuff I’m interested in.

Jenni’s Space is my space, my “internet living room”. Freaks, geeks, and queer folks can form a community here, learn, and get and give support. Welcome.

Jenni’s Space Here and Elsewhere

Jenni’s Space: Welcome to the Freaky, Geeky, Queer Conversation

Picking Up the Pieces: The Aftermath of Terror in Uvalde

How to Navigate the Fraught Weight of Whiteness in Intersectionality

Abortion Has Been Illegal Before, so What is Different Now?

Human Rights Day: What One Thing Would You Change?

P.S. You can also find Jenni’s Space here and here and here and over here and over here. And here as well.

https://wp.me/paOI8y-tN

(a poem re: the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas)

I wrote Picking Up the Pieces about what happens after the press leaves. The murderers tore the children into pieces. The janitor cleaned them up.

A few hours ago it was loud here.

Shouts of joy, questions, and last
https://wp.me/paOI8y-tE

Intersectionality is Hard for White Folk

White people carry the power of white privilege in every conversation on intersectionality. And in all Western spaces, white privilege weighs more than any other privilege. It is heavier than male privilege, wealth and power privileges, able-bodied
https://wp.me/paOI8y-tA

Today's accountability post is late because I was already doing the things before writing about them.

I just finished cleaning my office from top to bottom. It is still far too cluttered, and I won't be able to change that until I finish the shred job. I will probably shred 2-3 shred containers (about 8 liters each, maybe?) by the time I go to bed.

I have happy news I can't share, so I can't use it to distract you from the fact that the GOP successfully plotted to overturn RvW for 30 years and we won't be able to do anything to undo it until we *elect Democrats* at local, state, and Federal levels. Everyone's rights are at stake. The ultimate goal is to have rights only for cis, straight, white, wealthy, Christian men, and everyone else has only conditional privileges based on proximity to the ideal. Christo Fascism has fully flowered now, and we are trying to pull it out by the roots.

It is very likely that I will end my life in prison, because I'm not going to stop loudly advocating for people. I am not the sort of person who is capable of the kind of camouflage necessary to make the changes while pretending to be the sort of person I despise, so I have to live with the consequences.

Gratitudes: I am grateful for the news I can't share. I am grateful for the people fighting the good fight to restore rights to those who have lost them and for those who fight to establish rights for those who have never had them. I am grateful for all the people less privileged than I am who have taught me *so much* about how the world I can't see actually works.

I decided this year it would be a good use of my vacation time to spend several days mostly doing nothing but running around in Skyrim, and then tackle the organization/clutter problem I've been accumulating for ... all my life.

So I've shredded about a metric ton of old medical documents (personal) and have roughly 5-10 times that of medical records (professional) to shred mostly old remittances. I've gotten that workspace partially organized, and then I emptied the GIANT plastic tub I moved a bunch of stuff home from my office in, to use for a recycle bin for all the shreds I'm creating.

I also spent some time pulling up my old Habitica account and simplifying the to-do list that I had on there so it wouldn't overwhelm me. I've gotten a lot done just by scanning and saying "Oh yeah, I forgot I was planning to do that".

I'm back on Dreamwidth for a couple of reasons. I haven't run across any evidence that they have an evil business model, it has relatively decent controls to keep me from being overrun by trolls (as always on long-form journaling pages, follower-only commenting to protect my clients, and clients can't follow me), and it's free or extremely cheap.

Over the next several weeks I'll be downloading all of my content from my website onto Scrivener, then formatting it and posting the best of it here (ignoring admin posts and things that either are outdated or that aren't my best work).

This is to become my workspace for writings that seek to make things better, which is a broad category of things. If Dreamwidth turns out to not work well for this, I'll move to Tumblr or Reddit instead.

I'm not getting rid of my Facebook, but I am moving a lot of the bigger discussions I'm having off of Facebook where I don't have to deal with people missing posts because the algorithm is hiding them. Here, you're either following and reading, or you're not. If I want my writing to be discoverable, that's what crossposting is for.

Anyhow, here I am, for better or worse. I'm thinking of getting rid of the "Nana" part of the handle because still no grandchildren (at least not blood) so feel like a bit of an imposter, but even the uncommon spelling Jenni is of course, taken. Open to ideas.

Note. This is the third time I've tried to post this. Is there a problem with posting stuff here now?

Context of Abortion in Black and White:

*I wrote this article on the end of safe abortion largely for white people who have little or no understanding of Black reproductive history in the US. If you're Black and I got things wrong, please speak up.

Folks, we're not going to get a miracle.
https://www.oomm.live/?p=1779

I'm pretty sure after three days of messing with it that Dreamwidth won't do what I need it to do in order to use it as a blog that I can 1) limit comments to reduce spam, 2) crosspost the *whole post* easily to Facebook and at least links elsewhere and 3) not have to fuss with. It has posted with the wrong date (by 3 years) every time I've used it and I've had to go back in and fix it each time. I may experiment with Tumblr for a bit, but their comment functionality is a simple on/off. And it may be old, but a free hosted wordpress.com subdomain site might end up being the best solution.

It's raining and my little garden is doing well. None of the peppers and only one of the squash family have sprouted, so either the seeds were too old for those types or they take longer to germinate. My garden is a bit of a happy experiment this year and is doing well overall, so I'm not going to sweat it.

Today I walked into my office and breathed a sigh of contentment vs. frustration. The room is functional. Next stop, dining room (which is 1/2 of a greatroom setup). Tomorrow I'll tackle the living room, and then I will be done with vacation and it'll probably take 2 days to do my bedroom because of that.

Gratitudes: I've been taking care of myself and the results are starting to show. I'm generally happy. The good news that I still can't tell anyone about is still making me happy.

(for the 2nd time -- I lost my original login and didn't find it until AFTER I'd established a new on)

You can find me at odanu@mastodon.coffee

Accountability Post:

I finished a microfiction yesterday. Once I create the photo that goes with the story, I'll have it up on my website. Probably late tonight or tomorrow. It's the third in the Diana series. I really like it. I'm also doing better physically today. Got lots of good sleep last night.

Tomorrow will, of course, be a day hiding in the house with headphones on. If my new phone gets here soon enough, I might brave the warzone long enough for you to see and hear what I'm talking about. Last year I couldn't see across the street for the smoke, and the constant booms lasted for hours. Not to mention the debris the following day...

Gratitudes: I am one shipment away from having my really awesome video/camera set up phone that replaces my four-year-old (or is it five) phone that is dying.

My husband is getting trigger point injections today that might ease his pain some.

I am making real progress on my goals.

Accountability Post: Both hubby and I have doctor appointments today. Coincidentally and conveniently, they are both in the same building, a little over an hour apart. So that's a long visit, but just one. And I'll be bringing my bag of anxiety comforts (knitting, a couple of postcards to color, pens and colored pencils, my bujo, a phone charger, Trident cinnamon sugarless gum, and my ebook).

His is an MRI of his brain, mine is a skin check (dermatology). I'm 52 and very blonde, so...

I'm going to try to get the scanning and shredding done today, too. I sorted the paperwork I've been lugging around, and now I'm tackling one pile at a time, hopefully, one each day. (Yesterday's was to throw out everything that didn't need to be kept or shredded, and to do the sorting)

I *might* tackle one or both of the rough drafts I've got saved to my website and ready to clean up, but I might not. Creative brain is on vacation today.

Gratitudes: Never thought I'd be grateful for bill day, but I have all the money I need and then some. So I'm grateful. Grateful for a car with *cold* AC, because it's 20 minutes to the doc, and a hot, muggy day. Grateful that Jason has been doing the lion's share of the housework and allowed me to focus on the work I need to do to get Out of My Mind "out there" and making money.

Accountability Post: Things are looking better and better. I got video and audio posted last night and am on track to be on time tomorrow. My notes are almost entirely caught up and I'm even journaling regularly in my bullet journal.

As always, things between Jason and I are really good. The house is a bit messy, but nothing a little dedicated cleaning this evening when I get home can't fix.

Best of all, Lady is at my feet, back to work, her wound completely healed, only a shaved spot and a slight scab to show where it happened.

Gratitudes: I am figuring things out, folk. We will be okay. I have new glasses coming next week, and they were affordable. I can look at my life right now and be content.

Accountability Post: Headed to the office earlier than I'd planned because I left my mouse pad at work, and without it, I don't have the precision I need to do my video editing. Yes, I know touchpads are a thing. I'm old, and I hate them. Next question?

Woke up with a massive earache in my left ear. It's been bad off and on for a week. Time to power through.

Today's to-do includes video editing, writing an article, unlocking some posts, making sure I share and advertise some stuff, seeing six people including an intake, doing some more notes, and running to the store to pick up cat food and something I can't remember right now but hopefully will come to me. Also, if I have time, scanning and shredding documents and printing out some medical records for requests I've gotten.

I've renewed my energy a bit by getting good sleep. I think I can get most or all of that done. Also, this morning I *really* want to start getting my bujo to the place where I'm using it well again. I'm going to have to add daily pages to my weekly pages to make it work, but that's fine. They don't have to be fancy.

Gratitudes: I am grateful for ibuprofen. I am grateful that today has less 'built-in' busyness so that I can decide what goes where. I am grateful that my husband started my morning by making my coffee a one-button-press deal.

Accountability Post:
Yesterday was -- Ummm -- beyond busy. I was literally occupied with something important from 5 am to 7:30 pm. Went to bed at 8:30. And it set me back quite a bit on other things. So. Today I'm finishing all the notes, and finishing beta testing Adam's course, seeing 8 clients, and writing one article. Tomorrow I will finish editing the video, make the meme, and go about restructuring my publishing schedule to add and delete some things to make it more productive.

After seeing five people on Saturday, I will tackle one room in the basement from top to bottom including mopping the floor with bleach. Sunday will be a day of rest, and Monday will be laundry and another room in the basement OR possibly organizing the shed.

Gratitudes: I am enormously grateful that someone with the funds to do so bought my old house and is fixing it up, possibly for resale. I have wonderful memories of that house and feel guilty about the way I left the old girl. I am grateful that despite having new medical bills, I have the funds to pay them. I am grateful for the nifty "new" clothes I picked up at the thrift store on Monday.

Accountability Post: Yesterday started with a doctor's appointment ("women's exam", yay!) then some thrift shopping where I found some great things, then grocery shopping, then a short visit with a friend who dropped in unexpectedly, then something in the neighborhood of 10 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away, including pulling out clothes for donation from my drawers.

So my calves are feeling it from going up and down the stairs to the basement all day. Hoo boy, my calves are feeling it. Trying something new this week with my video by recording the voice separate from the visual. Have recorded the voice for "What to Do When You've Been Hotlined for Child Abuse", and am editing it now. Afterwards, I will do the visual, probably of a coloring page that deals with adversity, because whether or not the child truly needed to be protected, most parents who are hotlined feel like the world is a terrifying place, for at least a bit.

Have a pretty long day at work today, from 12:30 to about 7 pm (in addition to the work I get done this morning). Will try to get the video completely edited and up by bedtime tonight.

Gratitudes: I can find *all* my clothes. And they fit in my drawers and closet. I have lots of food in the house, including quick and easy food for bad pain days for hubby. I have nice clean sheets and clean comforter on my bed.

Accountability Post: Already have the video for yesterday rendering before uploading. Will split the audio as soon as that is done. I have nine appointments scheduled today with 8 expected to make it, an advocacy letter to write, and a script to write for the next video (already started. It's going to be on the DBT "What" mindfulness skills). When I get home I want to do a quick cleanup of the dining room, and then relax for the evening if possible.

Gratitudes: I am grateful for a good night's sleep. I am grateful that when I listened to Watership Down as an audiobook, I was delighted to find that Peter Capaldi was the narrator. I am grateful for good friends and family.

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Accountability Post Jan 11 2025

Kindness is Punk as Fuck

popping in with a link

Great News! The Jenni's Space Shop Will Open Soon!

Professional Policing: The Police in the US Need To Become a Profession

The US Does Not Current Have Professional Policing

Professional Policing Requires Ethical Standards and Accountability

US Police Don’t Meet Minimum International Standards

How Can I Make Professional Policing a Reality?

Jenni's Space: Welcome to the Freaky, Geeky, Queer Conversation

Jenni’s Space Here and Elsewhere

Picking Up the Pieces: The Aftermath of Terror in Uvalde

How to Navigate the Fraught Weight of Whiteness in Intersectionality

Accountability Post:

Welcoming myself back

Abortion Has Been Illegal Before, so What is Different Now?

Accountability Post:

I've joined the Mastodon migration

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January 2025

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