Weekly Roundup: March 17, 2023

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I put some green dye in the toilet and gave my daughter a note from “Larry the Leprechaun,” so my job is done. We had a rough week with my daughter’s second bout (in 3 weeks) of strep throat. Antibiotics to the rescue…again. I’m going to stop saying things like, “Hopefully we’ll have a reprieve from sickness for a while.” I give up. Here’s to embracing the chaos.

Quote of the week:
“I think terrible things happen in the world every day on both a personal level and on a global level, but there’s a way that creative work can bring joy. It can provide relief–both as a reader and as a writer. It is a refuge.” –Anne K. Yoder

What I’m reading:
I really enjoyed (and recommend) Tell Me One Thing by Kerri Schlottman. I’m now diving into The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté.

What I’m listening to:
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson. I started it on my run this morning and it’s quite entertaining so far.

What I’m watching:
I’m still making my way through Daisy Jones and the Six. I feel like multi-episode series are not ideal formats for busy parents. Ha.

Writing news:
Chirp is offering a big sale on four of my audiobooks through April 8. Take advantage!

What I’m talking about:

• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres saying that gender equality is “vanishing before our eyes.” He said, “Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, U.N. Women puts it 300 years away.” 300 YEARS! There has been a lot of progress for women in the last century, and a lot of backlash too. We’re seeing it in the US with attacks on our reproductive rights, rise in maternal mortality, etc. In other countries, the situation for women is even more dire. I have to hope women (and men) see this as a call to action. There is so much at stake
• Biden’s approval of the Willow Project, ConocoPhillips’ massive oil drilling project in Alaska. Ughhh. Biden said he would end new oil and gas drilling projects on public lands and waters, so this is disappointing. The environmental impact would be devastating: “By the administration’s own estimates, the project would generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year – equivalent to adding 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads” (CNN)
• The death of Kiska the whale, Canada’s last captive whale. She was captured in 1979 and spent the past decade swimming alone in her tank. So sad. I hate seeing these large animals in captivity like this. I’m all for humans intervening to help endangered species. I’m all for research. But, ultimately, animals should be free in their natural habitats
• Daylight Savings. Can we please stop the madness? I thought we had all voted to do just that. In refreshing my memory, I learned that the US Senate did vote to pass the “Sunshine Protection Act,” but when it was time to vote in the House, they could not agree on whether to make Daylight Savings time the actual time or Standard Time the actual time…so the bill was never voted on in the House. On March 2, the Senate reintroduced the bill. Sigh. The politics in this country…

Interesting things I learned this week:

• The word “decision” comes from Latin roots, with de meaning “down” or “away from” and caedere meaning “to cut.” So, a decision means committing to one thing and cutting yourself off from another possibility
• Silicon Valley Bank’s failure is the second-largest in US history, and the largest since the financial crisis of 2008
• Bernie Saunders introduced a bill to raise the minimum teacher salary to $60,000. It should be more like $100,000, but this is a great start
• Berlin is going to allow everyone to go topless at public swimming pools
• Representative Mark Takano has reintroduced his bill proposing the 4-day work week
• Dr. Nicola Fox is NASA’s first female head of science
• UN member countries have agreed to the first ever treaty to protect the world’s oceans
• French President Macron is going to include the right to abortion in his country’s constitution
• Maternal mortality rates increased again in 2021, jumping from 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 to 32.9 in 2021. Rates remain highest in Black women
• 21 South Carolina GOP lawmakers are proposing a bill that could subject women who have abortions to the death penalty or 30 years in prison. I cannot believe this is our world
• Lyft has a program that provides free rides to and from job interviews, trainings, and new hires’ first 3 weeks of employment. The program currently runs in 39 cities
• Gacek the Cat has become the top-rated tourist attraction on Google Maps in Szczecin, Poland

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“Raining worms in China.” I saw something about worms raining from the sky in China so, of course, I had to investigate. Turns out there is some controversy over whether there were actually worms falling from the sky, or if they were poplar flowers whose blooms resemble worms. Weird. Read here.

What I’m grateful for:

• Antibiotics. My daughter was in rough shape until they kicked in. Phew.
• House renovation is going well. I cannot wait to move in!
• My nephew! He turns 7 today. He is my daughter’s best bud and I’m so grateful for their friendship
• Lots of rain for this dry desert of southern California

Snapshots: