World Cup Musings

The blackberries grew mostly out of reach this year. No blackberry dumplins for me, I reckon. :(

So I had heard talk here and there about the World Cup being held here in America a couple of months ago. It wasn't much of a blip on my radar, not being a football/soccer/sports fan, save for the occasional "America shouldn't be allowed to host it" discourse, and honestly, I agreed. With the way we've been showing our asses, I didn't think we deserved to host it. But now that the Europeans have arrived and have been here a couple of weeks, I'm seeing stories begin to flood in about the connections being made. Now I believe that deserved or not, the World Cup is what we needed. Many of us have grown so apathetic, disillusioned, jaded. The American people have fallen into a depression and it seems our European cousins have come to drag us out of our proverbial pajamas and restore the faith in humanity that we had begun to lose.

Being able to see our country through fresh eyes the things we take for granted, and yes, ranch dressing really is that amazing. I eat it on almost everything. (On pizza, you gotta try it. Just give the slice a little dip, you know you want to.) Getting the sense of satisfaction that comes from them recognizing that it really does get that hot here. We can go, "See? We told you so." And the chaotic joy the Scots have brought to the north east, having drunk Boston dry and awarded every statue with a crown of caution. Traffic cones atop the lofty brow of every statue is just the sort of harmless whimsy we need. And it is an utter delight that, for the most part, us Americans have been the hospitable hosts we are known to be. I couldn't be more proud of my people. Sure, there's been an asshole or two, but we don't claim those guys. They're assholes to us too.

It will be interesting to see how they react to the 4th of July when that comes around.

Until next time. ⚘

On a Wednesday...

Trying to get back into the daily habit of writing before starting the day. Well, the day is already partially started before I get to writing. You see, I must get up, make the bed, clothe, feed the cats, start the coffee, use the restroom, water the plants, then maybe a couple of other menial tasks before I finally get to sit down. Maybe I should move my desk back to my bedroom? I'm sure having my hardware on the opposite side of the house adds a little bit of resistance to finally getting sat down.

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After I'm done writing, I'm going to try to get some drawing done. I need to get back into that habit as well. Here lately however, there's almost a feeling of abhorrence when I have pencil and paper in front of me. The thought of drawing makes me feel physically sick. I feel so disgusted with the act of it, and I have no idea where this is coming from. For the past year or so I simply had no desire to draw anymore, what with artists getting stiffed every time you turn around, and AI crawlers scraping every bit of shrapnel they can get their virtual greasy mitts on. 

But that ennui has been replaced with outright revulsion. I think the most recent event to have driven the nail in the proverbial coffin was the blasted "The People's Artist" sca- I mean, "competition." I was so excited when I saw it announced, I should have known better. "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." A couple of weeks after entering, I was ecstatic. I quickly learned that it was going to be a popularity contest, and my excitement waned some. Popular vote? Great... I don't have many friends, and the embarrassment of asking my coworkers to support me was too much for me. I am one of those hyper-independents that abhors asking for help with anything. Eventually I sucked it up and started posting my advertisements once the polls opened. Close friends and family showed overwhelming support, and my sister told me she even donated, saying she'd give more if it would help me win. Donated?? Give more?? I looked at the voting page and while they had a one free vote a day option, there were PAID vote options. My stomach sank. This felt downright nasty to me. I would never, ever want anyone to put money down for my sake, especially for such a shady contest. Then the day after that, news started rolling onto my socmed feeds from other artists that had done some digging on the competition. It's owned by Colossal, infamous for other scammy "competitions." In the fine print they state that all art uploaded to them becomes their property to do with and sell as they wish. My stomach dropped.

I think this whole ordeal has been the final straw. I am sick to death of artists being taken advantage of. I mean, it's not like we're rolling in wealth, that losing a little bit here and there wouldn't affect us. Starving artist is a cliche for a reason. I am just sick to death of this exploitative system we've found ourselves in. I would very much like to go back to the Renaissance era, when the rich would adopt an artist. Ah, I digress. There's no use romanticizing a past I know nothing of firsthand.

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You know, when I began to write, I hadn't intended this to be a complaining session, but it seems that's what wants to come forth at the moment. It's a nasty habit I would like to curb some going forward. Complaining has its uses, to clue us in on what needs to be changed, but I've found myself drowning in it lately and it's made me quite an irritable person. I've always had some natural irritability to me, but it's been clouding up and overshadowing the cheerful disposition I would much rather project to those around me. I've caught myself grumbling more at work, when I used to be the one to play Devil's advocate in favor of optimism for my coworkers. I suppose even the sunshine people need a rainy day now and then. But it's so embarrassing to let the mask slip, to be vulnerable.

It is easy, to find ourselves venting about this upset and that, especially online where we can be anonymous for the most part. But it can become dangerous if that's what one fills one's time with. It is made all the more easier with algorithms that are filled with dismal news after enraging news. This is another habit I would like to curb some. It's on the to-do list, to curate my feeds a little more. It is a delicate balancing act, I believe, to take control of the information we consume. I think it's important to not pile all of the hardships of the world onto your digital plate, but at the same time not to bury your head in the sands of cute cat videos and wholesome content. 

These are unprecedented times we find ourselves in, but we endure, as we have in the many unprecedented times that have come before us. We're all feeling around blindly in the muck, but I have hope that we will find our way. And oh, what a gorgeous lotus we could make.

Until next time. ⚘

My First Post!

Updated - 4/13/2026:

Not sure what I'm going to write about here yet, but I look forward to blogging here regularly soon. 

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I applied to an art contest a few weeks ago and I've been selected to participate! The winner is selected by a popularity vote, so I'm going to get increasingly annoying about it as we get closer to the voting window next month.

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After some gentle suggestions from a couple of friends, I've taken a step away from the main social medias. Trying to keep my finger on the pulse of everything was taking a toll on my mental health. That was, maybe four days ago? I've popped back in briefly just to toss out an update or two, but I've almost completely cut out the doom scrolling. It was pretty easy to do as it coincided with work days, so now that I've got a few days off the real challenge begins. Today I've spent catching up on chores around the house, and I started tackling the kitchen clutter; something I've been meaning to do for a couple of months now. 

I rotated my computer desk as well, since the afternoon sun has shifted to being directly behind my monitor, making late-day work almost unbearable. I tend to finish up my computer session in the early evening, but at least now I'll be able to work a little later in comfort should I choose to.

I think that when I do return to socmed, I'm going to practice being more mindful of how I interact with it. For example, setting a timer for myself so that I'm not spending hours sucked into the vortex of doom. I'd like to drop the habit of sharing my thoughts and opinions on larger topics when it's not absolutely necessary, instead opting to relegate those to my journal. It's not worth being dragged either onto the debate podium or through the proverbial town square. Here's hoping that the new practices will negate most if not all of the negative interactions that have been piling up as of late.

That's all I've got for now. Until next time. ⚘