Update. My husband, an undiagnosed Enneagram 8, has asked for their customer service number with a grin and the direct quote, "Let me call them. I enjoy ruining people's days." My halfhearted apologies to whoever answers. It's not your fault your org was designed and is run by squirrels. But.

lol got a response from subrogation: "We've approved the claim. Please call our customer service department to ask them to release payment." 🤯🤯🤯 Does Meritain's entire system run on carrier pigeons Are their team members legally barred from talking to each other What is even happening

Thank you for the tip!

Well, dealing with insurance for the 800th time about the same claim might have derailed my morning, but at least the upstairs bathrooms are now both clean and I'm feeling less unhinged.

I haven't had Meritain Aetna insurance since February. So whyyyy am I still on the phone explaining that getting shot in a drive-by is NOT a workplace injury? So ready to be done with their BS and move on. (To be clear, they're not denying the claim. They're just totally incompetent.)

Another year, another anniversary my husband and I nearly forgot about until we received a "happy anniversary" text from his mom.

Today I'm editing stories for a holiday recipe themed sci-fi anthology and these stories are just too charming Also I'm now hungry

Me: *languishing dramatically over the back of the couch like a cat, the day before a very important presentation* My husband: Girl you are 42 and playing with fire, are you trying to throw out your back again Me: I am spry, I am a youths My back: lol friend

HI! The 4 Week Story Finding Challenge starts Monday, which means you have less than 48 hours to sign up. You in? story-rebel.kit.com/products/sto...

My review of Outsiders by @kwakjessie.bsky.social: 8 tales of nonhuman characters working things out. They are alien yet relatable, and while several stories have elements of horror, they all have a cozy vibe, warmed with humor and caring. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

OMG this guy is reading his essays to a girl out loud in the coffee shop. He just read a travelogue, now he's reading a piece his therapist recommended he write. Thank god for noise cancelling headphones

Almost two years after my injury, I am finally embracing pirate mode with a new headshot. Huge thanks to Meghan Paddock Farrell for turning me into a thriller writer! www.instagram.com/mpaddockfarr... And to Zoe Della Rocca for the makeup. ;) www.instagram.com/zoe_della_ro...

This was such a fun interview to do!

For those wondering, the first eye-loss-by-duck story is from Frank B. Brady, the author of A Singular View: The Art of Seeing with One Eye. Which my cousin's monocular neighbor generously gifted to me after he heard what happened. It's a delightful book. (Story is in the alt text, too.)

I have heard a lot of wild ways that other one-eyed folks joined the Pirate Club. Incredibly, this is the *second* eye loss by duck story. Ducks, man.

Recommending the Outsiders Kickstarter from @kwakjessie.bsky.social ! historythatneverwas.com/2025/04/30/k...

This is an incredible read

Someone at my new coworking space said I had a very "corporate pirate" vibe today, so I'm clearly living my best life

You think I don't know the law? Wasn't it me who wrote it?

42 is the age where you understand the answer to life, the universe, and everything — right? Let's do this!

2 more days for this bundle to help US trans refugees 🏳️‍⚧️ 🫶

Me: What if I dealt with burnout by not writing anything for the rest of the year? Also me: Suddenly can't stop writing a brand new thriller WIP Sometimes what the work needs is for you to just decide you're not a writer anymore 😂

Got a bone bruise on my femur playing capture the flag... ...the night before my wedding. I had to walk down the aisle on crutches.

I can't decide between my all black evil eye or my gleaming cyborg eye for greeting kids at the door with candy tonight.

The last time I played Horizon Forbidden West was apparently 6/30/23, two weeks before my eye injury. I saved in the middle of a battle? With some dude I don’t recognize?? And I don’t remember how to use my bow??? WTF am I doing here?????? Ok, think we’re gonna start a new game 😂

Still riding high off watching my niece’s middle school volleyball team crush the opposition last night. Yeah! Show those rich private school kids what rez girls are mad of!

I think we have a winner for our mystery monster tree!

Do I have any smart plant friends on here who can help me ID this beast? For context, this is Oakridge, OR

I have just requested a new eye, and I'm extremely excited to see what my ocularist does with my direction! Wearable art!

My body wanting to be wide awake at 4am means I've gotten through most of my to do list (and also written 1k words on an unplanned essay) by 9:30am. Wild.

I love Jordan's books, and thoroughly enjoyed the first one in this series!

Just turned in a commissioned short story that could be described as: "A haunted cabin, but the real ghost was the patriarchy all along." Happy Friday!

Go grab these weirdo super fun books!

The amount of time/brainpower I've spent figuring out how to publicly mark this—which feels necessary since it was a public thing from day 1. Can't capture all my feels in 1 essay, but here's my writerly take on the 1-year anniversary of getting shot in the eye. jessiekwak.ck.page/posts/pirate...

Not that I have any followers here, but it's the last day of my Kickstarter! Covering all the marketing bases. ;) www.kickstarter.com/projects/jes...

I'd been wondering if I'd notice if I put my prosthetic eye in upside down and yep there's definitely a right way up

Just had my one-year checkup with my retina surgeon, and he's pretty stoked on everything except that they'll probably never get the guy who shot me. Me too, doc. But my little weird eye passed the exam with flying colors!

I want to get back into boxing, but this gym's classes are at 6:30pm Do I eat a fast dinner at 5, so I'm neither starving nor too full? Or do I eat a snack, then have dinner at 8 and plan to stay up late? Not sure how to handle this, but either way I won't have time to cook real food. Thoughts?

Thank you, Arwen!

I'm excited too!

Oh hey hi! I'm taking part in a writeathon fundraiser today as part of the Alzheimer's Association's Longest Day annual fundraiser. All the money goes to Alzheimer's research! Please help the cause, if you're feeling so moved: act.alz.org/goto/jessiek...

Finally submitted that essay about the many ways screenwriters use traumatic eye injuries as world-building and character-building in popular media. I had two more examples to add since I first drafted it in April, and I haven't even been watching that much tv.

I have never been pregnant, but in my teens and twenties I threw up almost every month on the first day of my period. Often multiple times. So I have a lot of questions for movie writers who announce pregnancy by having some poor actress vomit. My dudes we ladies contain multitudes of nausea

Are you a speculative fiction author who identifies as a woman, or nonbinary? Then we want you! Fill out the form below to tell us you're interested in reading at one of our fun, low-pressure online Quick Reads events! #authors #writingcommunity #books docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Ending today!

I am four chapters from the end of Nanshe Chronicles 5!!! Can't wait to celebrate. 🤩 Finishing a book is always a big accomplishment, but this one's bigger than usual — getting back on the writing horse after my injury last summer has been quite the trip.

42

In researching this week's fiction newsletter (jessiekwak.ck.page/posts/missed...) I came across this absolute legend of a Craigslist missed connection ad. portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mis/d/po... Did *you* take home the haunted armoire? I have so many questions.

I have gone to bed at a reasonable hour every night this week, and barely had any booze. In other words, I have done The Responsible Things. So why am I so exhausted?

Just your friendly neighborhood cyborg out taking a walk in the spring rain.