I'm feeling like I need to DO something to help refugees, because I'm just appalled at a lot of the rhetoric going around. I mean, I've signed some petitions and stuff. I looked into volunteering, and HIAS has programs in Columbus and Cleveland, but nothing in Cincinnati. Catholic Charities does have a refugee program in Cincinnati, and it says they're looking for volunteers for technical and clerical work, and for teaching ESL and citizenship classes, all of which are skill sets I have, so I'll look into them some more. (They also want people who can move and deliver things, which is not a skill set I have.) I think I'll go to synagogue tomorrow -- the rabbi gave a sermon on Yom Kippur about Black Lives Matter, and about how saying the words isn't enough if you don't have action to back it up, so she seems like someone I could talk to and find out what I can do.

Still at work for the foreseeable future. We have ordered sandwiches and expensed them, and I have taken out my headphones and am listening to Hamilton out loud.

Oh dear. Those sound like the only possible steps to take.

I'm feeling the same way, Hil. I want to do something to help, though realistically I'm pretty maxed out these days as far as my energy and free time are concerned. But the need is so great, and I feel acutely how privileged I am, and I know that it's my responsibility to use that privilege to help others.

WHERE IS MY FOOD.

Person on FB just referred to the way some people think Christians are "enfilades".

"Enfilades" sounds like a fancy French dish.

Also, I did indeed have a painkiller, but it was the beverage, not medication. It came in a mug that looks like a coconut, with a pink umbrella in it. And my ankle does hurt less.

I also had amazing roasted Brussels sprouts and a grilled cheese sammich that had braised short ribs in it. I need to lie down so I can have my heart attack in a comfortable position.

I had to back out of a Facebook conversation about refugees, when my friend said that some of them might be terrorists, and I said that there's a tiny possibility that one of them might hurt us if we let them in, but we know for a fact that many of them will die if we don't, and then her husband responded, "Let them die." (And, the friend that I was talking to is an immigrant, from Russia, and one of her best friends is also an immigrant, and a Muslim, from Egypt. I just don't get it.)

I was at a buffet tonight, and I decided to try some cherry/roma tomatoes, because I have not disliked them in the past (not disliking is a huge step up from my usual reaction to tomatoes). They were passable--not nom nom nom, but something I'd willingly eat. But I can't figure out how they were done. They weren't just raw, they had some sort of oil or vinegar or something, and parsley. It didn't smell vinegary or really taste vinegary or particularly strong or sweet, but it was a nice balance to the acid of the tomato. Does anyone know what this was likely to be? I'm not a fan of trial and error cooking, because I hate wasting food when experiments don't work.

People. I’m so freaking tired. Had parent conferences all day today and then ran to the bank and came home and wrestled with the sick cat to give him his meds and fed everyone and paid bills and balanced the checkbook and am doing laundry because I have to pack and leave at 5 am to get on a plane to spend three days across the country to help my mom with sick grandmothers and OMG I just can’t right now.

So I’m taking an hour to watch last weekend’s Doctor Who and possibly heating up some leftover Chinese food. That’s allowed, right?

ETA: Connie, could it be balsamic vinaigrette?

Connie, could it be balsamic vinaigrette

That's possible. I know the taste of balsamic and like it, so I wouldn't mind an experiment of a few romas and some balsamic. Then, perhaps, the consumption of actual vegetables!

Bah. There's a beer thing here that's about a 2 hour drive away and last week, someone on FB posted, anyone interested in sharing a bus? I chirped up immediately, then didn't hear anything. I circled back around to it yesterday and got a vague, oh, we downsized it to a van, that's why we didn't get back to you. And I just saw the folks today at a bottle share. And I'm glad I won't be stuck on the road with those fools, but I just wonder... why don't they like me? It's like high school all over again. I've done nothing - I've been wracking my brain to see if there's something I did or said to offend this particular group. I thought they liked me, I wouldn't have volunteered to bus with them in the first place if that wasn't the case.

So I'm feeling really stupid and insecure and I needed to vent about it. I'm just really, really confused.