Yesterday I posted about registering for NYC Midnight 1000-word challenge. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think I'm going to register for the 500-word challenge too, which is less than a month from the 1000-word. I find that the 500-word challenge is the sweet spot for me! #flashFiction nycmidnight.com/500

The last time I did their 1000-word challenge was 2023. I got more into their 250-word and 500-word challenges in more recent years. But I think I'm going to register for this! Anyone else planning on participating? #FlashFiction #writingCommunity nycmidnight.com/ffc

Interesting! Give it a read! (not the Left Behind series, LOL, but Ellie's article).

Came home on Friday from our trip to NY. TSA wait times at JFK on Friday 7am EST was 45 minutes to get through it. The ICE guy who screened me was suspicious because I was wearing a turtleneck, a flannel, and a jacket. "Why are you wearing so many layers?" Um. I'm from SoCal and I'm freaking cold.🤨

No only is it about lackluster movies, but why would anyone want to spend $15-$20 for a ticket so that they can be subjected to people around them talking through the entire movie, or taking selfies and looking at their bright screens, or kicking the back of your chair. I gave up. It's not worth it.

This weekend we leave for our trip to New York. We're going from 90+ degree weather here in SoCal to mid-50s in New York. We will look like crazy people running around in winter jackets and boots, while the New Yorkers are running around in early Spring clothes. 😆 *hops up and down in excitement!*

90+ degree weather in SoCal is not normal in March. Earlier this week it got up to 100 degrees!! When I was a kid, we would get random light showers in March and April. And rarerly was it ever higher than 75 degrees. If it's this warm now, what will this Summer be like?! 🥵😵

And they're a bunch of narcissistic liars!

~ Trump bombing Iran and killing a bunch of kids... a-okay! ~ ICE terrorizing people and separating families... a-okay! ~ January 6th... a-okay! ~ Tantrum Tariffs... a-okay! ~ All the pardons for shitty-ass people... a-okay! Mamdani sitting peacefully with the people of New York... he's the ENEMY!!

The college I teach at is a ghost town compared to what it once was. There used to be students everywhere, activities, clubs, etc. You'll never be able to replicate the in-person college experience via online classes. Kids will never know the dynamics and magic they're missing out on. Makes me sad.

Dear Anna Indiana, f*ck off with your "I hope you like it." You have no capability to hope or feel anything. And the person who created this, you can f*ck off too. What a stupid and terrible use of AI when it has such a high environmental footprint and likely involves theft of intellectual property

Last week I received a business email and the first thing in the email was "It's important that you thoroughly read this entire email. Please do not use AI to summarize it. AI often gets it wrong and misses important details." What the fuck?! #fuckAI

I ran 10 miles in the wind this morning. 💨🏃‍♀️ And now I might need a 5-hour nap.

Picking up a whole pineapple be like fighting with an oddly shaped planet with spears at the top waiting to stab you to defend the homeland. Next time I'll stick with bananas.

F*ck Meta.

I don't know. It's late. Feeling anxious. I have no work this Summer. I hate being an adjunct; no job security. I hate all the fighting, the newest war, the eternal waiting for things to get better. I wish I were 20 again, because I could cry and feel a little better. Worn thin and tearless now.

F*ck Trump. And f*ck his state of the union address. Not even going to bother watching. It'll be nothing but lies, round and round repetitive things that don't make sense, and self-praise for things he doesn't deserve to be praised for. Thanks maga for creating a world that is hell for so many!

No fee for "Tales that Survived the Fire"!! miraclemonocle.submittable.com/submit #flashfiction #writingcommunity

My homeschooled daughter goes to co-op classes 2x a wk. The girls at the co-op did a secret Valentine exchange last wk. My daughter crocheted the cute heart plushie seen below for her person My daughter was gifted JUNK DRAWER items (a Fidelity Bank pen, a single lego piece, half a pack of gum, etc)

An acquaintance of mine has a daughter born with a cleft palate. The specialist they see asked her if she had glyphosate (typically Roundup) sprayed around their house at appx 2 months pregnancy (when the palate forms). And sure enough, their backyard was sprayed at that exact mark in her pregnancy.

It's 2am. It's thundering and pouring rain. Like, window-shaking level. I'm dry. I'm warm. But it's all just so annoying right now. And I feel bad for being angry at the rain, because we really need it here in SoCal. I just wish it weren't so fiercely loud and startling!! Sleep, take me away!!

My daughter is very excited about this!!

I have something that I need to sit down and do, and I've been circling the runway for over 2 weeks now because I'm having so much anxiety over it. I wish I weren't like this. 😕

These people are so stupid. Fuck ICE. They only want to harass, harm, and murder. Why would ANYONE be comfortable having them at the polls.

I like Mariachi music. And I don't have to understand any of the words in order to enjoy it!

I will never buy/read AI books--which means I will only ever read books published prior to 2020 or only books by authors who I know for sure are anti-AI. F*ck that woman and her "who's going to win the race?" bullshit!

Last night my daughter & I saw one of the funniest stage shows I've ever seen-"Something Rotten". Kinda naughty too, some of which was above her head. At one point she leaned over & said "I don't understand". I whispered "I'll explain later." She's been out all day. Hoping she doesn't follow-up lol!

Hooray! Today I'm not sneezing every 2.2 nanoseconds. So far I've only sneezed once today, so I'll take that as a sign that I'm getting better!!

I'm still sick. I've never had a cold where I've sneezed this much or so violently. Just now, I felt a huge sneeze coming so I grabbed a tissue, but it didn't quite make it up to my nose in time. I sneezed so hard that I gasped for breath and the entire tissue got sucked into my mouth. 🤧

In the last 2 hours, I have sneezed 837 times.

Leg warmers! When I was a kid, I wanted to buy leg warmers at Woolworths (anyone remember them?). I thought they came in different sizes lol. I was trying to lift the price sticker thinking the size might be hidden underneath. The store mgr very publicly accused me of trying to switch price tags!

I have a cold right now and feel pretty miserable. But I'll take this over the awful flu that's going around right now. I know a couple people who have had it, and they are saying it's the worst flu they've ever had! Wishing you all a flu-free year!

In 2000 when hanging chads won, a Repulican I know said "Whatever it takes to win" and the unspoken "even if we have to cheat" hung so heavy. I don't know if Gore would've won had the whole fiasco been handled fairly, but I often think about how this world might be different (better?) if he had.

Read the 15 shortlisted stories here, then vote! (all are 100 words or fewer): #flashfiction #writingcommunity www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stories

Right?! Like, since when is human kindness radical? They think the reason we defend and help immigrants is because we're trying to cheat (ie: their diatribe that Democrats can only win with illegal votes). They can't fathom that we help and defend because we actually fucking care about humans!

MAGA: Abortion is murder! Also MAGA: Shooting someone multiple times to make sure they really are dead dead is a-okay!! ICE are the murderers! Not women seeking an end to their pregnancy FOR WHATEVER REASON!!

Oh oh oh! She got a callback!! And so did her best friend! Callbacks are tomorrow!!

My daughter had her vocal audition yesterday for Fiddler on the Roof. Today she's at dance auditions. She'll know in a few hours if she gets called back to read for one or more parts. I love that she loves musical theater! So proud of my girl! Kind, hard working, and talented! ❤️

Just saw a video advertisement with a woman in a tub full of water/bubbles. There's a plate of 8 cookies on the bench next to the tub. I can get down w/that as a reality. Lots of cookies, nom nom! What I can't get over is she's wearing a robe. In the tub. Do people actually do this??? Methinks AI.

Shame on these Democrat House reps! Cuellar and Gonzalez (TX), Golden (ME), Gluesenkamp Perez (WA), Gillen and Suozzi (NY), Davis (NC). We see you and won't forget! Next stop is the Senate, January 30. Call your reps! If you don't know who your senators are, go here: www.senate.gov/senators/sen...

So funny!!!

I saw the first two Hunger Games movies back when they came out. I didn't see the third one, but I just finished reading the third book, Mockingjay, and I'm sad and kinda pissed off--not about how things turned out between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. But about Prim. I didn't see it coming. *cries*

If you don't know who your senators are, you can look them up at www.senate.gov/senators/sen... The following article has a script you can use. I used the script but edited it a little so that it's my voice. Please call or write your senators! bensheehan.substack.com/p/you-can-de...

The disconnect is unbelievable.

One piece of broccoli. Eat it and be happy you even got one!! These people are so out of touch with reality. $3 a meal lol!!

1. BOO! Feeling down in the dumps this week because, ya know... 2. YAY! I've sent out 5 stories so far this year. 3. BOO! Already have 1 rejection. 4. YAY! Going to NY w/husband & daughter during Spring Break! 5. BOO! ICE 6. YAY! Got a teakwood shower bench for Christmas and finally put it together.

Aw! Loved this. Give it a read!

Called DMV 4x yesterday but no luck. Then used their chat but they couldn't help. So they scheduled a rep to call me today @noon. Of course they called @ 9am when I wasn't available. Rescheduled for 12pm. It's now 1pm & no call. I want to take a shower, but no doubt they'll call as soon as I get in!

All the Christmas decorations (both inside and outside) are now put away. I feel like I'm gonna blink and it'll be time to put everything back up/out again! Happy 2026 to all!