I've yet to experience an earthquake. I imagine it is unsettling.

Enjoy the workshop, erikaj.

Earthquakes: My parents have a few stories about being in Cali as newly-married desert dwellers and facing that. weirdly, those are the more normal Riverside stories, though--I don't have a Giles to check on it, but I suspect the area was part of some kind of convergence in the early seventies. So they came back here...devil you know, much? Workshop: I hope I get some good feedback or meet somebody cool. Even if it's not all that, it should be great compared to the game I've played all month: "What Did I Do With My Christmas Money?" as I pondered everything else that a (comparatively) big chunk of cash could do for me and wonder if my decision was a poor one. Which I know sounds like it's on the border between humblebragging and insanity, but I used to do it every time I pre-ordered *anything*, so I am actually coming along a bit. I think the combination of growing up a kid that couldn't do chores for money and then landing on "benefits recipient" has left me insecure about my decision-making, just because there hasn't been that much of it. And there are two things that are real that are feeding this time more than others, right-- the Medicaid cuts thing--like, what if we need the money next year, and all I got was some stupid feedback, or, say, the virtual equivalent of camp friends, where you write back twice. And, like, everyone has bought something kind of expensive(at least at the time) that sucked. I need this not to be one of those. But I also need to get over it.

I get that, and I hope the quality of feedback, workshopping, and the people you meet are excellent. I had the same feeling about "Did I just waste a chunk of change?" When I took a couple of acting classes in '24. In my case, they turned out great, and I had so much fun, and I got exactly what I wanted out of them. I wish the same for you -- but even more for you as an actual writer. I didn't really have any intention of pursuing acting (I like doing it, but I am not cut out for pursuing it on even the most basic level).

Earthquakes are weird.

I was in northern Pakistan when the 1974 earthquake hit: [link]

Magnitude 6.2, and we were about 100km south of the epicenter, but because we were bouncing along on in a Jeep on a dirt road, we never noticed a thing. (If the driver noticed, he didn't mention it.) We didn't find out anything had happened until we listened to the BBC that night.

Thanks, Jen. Yeah, it would be bad to ruin this by worrying about next year or something. Mom wants me to have it.(I don't share these emotions with her anymore, because she is sort of the "Walk it off," type, ironically.) And, even on an economic basis, I know that sitting on your cash doesn't make the sense that it *feels like* it makes anyway.

We are going to get ice and snow this weekend. Along with a lot of the country.

I've had the same conversation with M's mom about this. She is convinced if we lose power we will freeze and stave to death. I told her I bought some stuff to eat and we just have to not eat it before then. The last time I bought shelf stable items the granola bars and stuff were gone for the reason we needed them happened . We have blankets and clothes where it won't be comfortable but we will get by the power goes off

After the third time she told me about the storm and asked what we will do I wrote it all down and taped it on her wall

I kind of worry about dementia but then I remember she spends most of the time stoned out of her mind.

but then I remember she spends most of the time stoned out of her mind.

That could also explain why the snacks keep disappearing.

The lump I had removed from the edge of my left eyebrow showed squamous cell carcinoma so my dematologist is giving me a referral for a mohs surgery to make sure all of it is gone. For being as fair skinned as I am and living most of my life in Southern California I feel like overall I've done okay on this front. Still, cancer is always to be taken seriously.

I'm sorry, ND. Yeah, get rid of that stuff!

Sorry it is there, ND, but glad it is caught. All good thoughts your way for the procedure to get rid of it, stat.