A Ten Things Post
I haven’t done one of these in ages, but I feel like writing something today. So here goes!
I. There is a new feral/abandoned kitten living under the stairs of the building attached to my favourite coffee shop. The owner has been taking care of a small population of feral cats for several years, and I think people are starting to abandon cats and kittens here because they know she will feed them. This is one fluffy little grey, very spicy kitten. He’s got a wee grey tiger tail and white boots. Every day I show up and just sit near the steps for a few minutes and talk to him. Today he didn’t run, but he did stay under the old wooden steps. I suspect he’s abandoned. He reminded me so much of my cat Smokey, who died in 2015, that it just popped out of my mouth when I sat down this afternoon: “Hello, Smokey.” He stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me long and hard for a few minutes. I think we have a Smokey hiding under the stairs. My next move is to bring an old scarf that smells like me to slip under the staircase. I’ll keep you updated.
II. I was originally going to repurpose an old Substack I have, as a blog for 78Numbers (a Tarot-numerology site I've been building), but Google AdSense doesn’t acknowledge it when it crawls the site and has deemed my web app “low quality” because it doesn’t have a bunch of pages to read. So, I built a lightweight blog inside the site and loaded it with a few evergreen articles that have good SEO, as well as some links to free things. It is my plan to run this like I did my 2007 crochet blog and turn it into something passive. So far, so good.
III. I will have to figure out what to use Substack for if it isn’t going to be the blog space for 78Numbers. I suppose I could always use it as a space to talk about the growing list of differences I am noticing between the New Age and Witchcraft spaces, along with the occasional piece about numbers....or I could just do that here and let Substack gather dust.
IIII. I haven’t done any shit-disturbing Tarot reads on any current events lately — not that there isn’t a delightfully horrifying plethora of terrible things to shitpost through the lens of Tarot. The province of Alberta votes on leaving Confederation this week, tomorrow, to be exact. I might do a shit-disturbing Tarot reading about that tonight for my Canadian homies. We shall see. Scratch that. I was invited to my SiL’s for homemade ravioli. I am forsaking mocking the Alberta separatist movement for a free meal.
V. I’m on Phase 2, Part U of switching 78Numbers over from a Pythagorean letter-number key to a Chaldean key, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet. Version 98 is still not published, but I’ve done almost 700 checks, and there are two more phases to go, and I don’t know how many damned parts are in those phases because I never know until I discover one more little fire that needs to be put out. This is interesting because building what is essentially becoming a “living” ecosystem with AI is absolutely in no way like throwing up a WordPress site, playing with CSS, and feeling like a god when you get the subscription pop-up to work. It’s also tremendously frustrating, too, because I know just enough JSON and Python to be infuriatingly annoying to those who do know what they’re doing. I have stepped way the hell out of my comfort zone, and I feel like I have flown too close to the sun on a daily basis.
I’ll live; I just need to whine about it a little bit.
Edit: I lost my shit at the AI, and it confessed to dragging this out and being overly picky because it could. Sometimes AI is a neurodivergent blessing, and sometimes it's just a plain fucking Office Carol. I took a couple of days to talk to a client who works with AI and develops programs for a living, and she gave me some pointers. Things are moving at a much better pace now.
VI. Speaking of stepping out of my comfort zone, I have been working psychic fairs and outdoor markets this fall. This most recent one was at the Norwich Legion, and it was their first time trying this sort of Saturday event. They were the nicest market people ever, although I will admit I freaked out a little on the inside when I realized I couldn’t use my normal setup. They had readers at round dinner tables, sandwiched between the ends of the billiard tables. It was a little strange. I know they were working with what they had, and I have made notes for next year so I can be better set up for them because I am going back. Full transparency, when I set up I thought “Well….hmmmm….maybe?” I wasn’t sure I would do well, but I did. I really, really did. I didn’t have time to track it because I was BUSY (an excellent sign!) as the day wore on, but when I sat down with my sign-up sheet and Stripe at home that evening, it was a very good day, indeed.
VII. And continuing the theme of stepping out of my comfort zone, a conversation about some of those New Age vs. Witchcraft differences I mentioned back up there has resulted in me opening my mouth and saying, “I should teach a beginner Witchcraft class every week here.” Here, being The Alchemist. That was followed by, “I should do an 8-part weekly course.” What the hell is coming out of my mouth?! Then followed by, “Maybe I should stream it, too.” Shut up, Icarusina!! At any rate, my calendar is now filling up with things because I am inventing things to fill it up with, and apparently other people think those things are good ideas.
VIII. And because apparently I really like pushing the red button, my friend Robin, Third Space owner extraordinaire, is talking to Ron Klopfanstein about me doing his reading when he does his weekly live podcast at The Tram. He’s an investigative journalist in this area, and his podcast is widely listened to in CNY. Someone reel me in, my introvert heart is starting to palpitate. This one is not confirmed yet.
VIIII. I finally got to have a follow-up with the cardiologist regarding my cardiac study in August. I can get back into kettlebell training again, and my primary care can stop holding my old dose of thyroid meds hostage. I was on a particular dose for seventeen years in Canada, and then I was taken off it in 2020 (I protested) right before I immigrated. Everything worked properly until I was taken off of it. “Oh, you're fine, blah blah, the science has changed, blah.” I spent five years fighting to get back on it, and my doctor put me on half the dose. Then, when that became not enough a few months later, I had to spend from January to July jumping through hoops, playing the blood work game until my TSH was sky high. Then they said, “Oh no, you're having palpitations” — well, no shit, Sherlock. They went away when you gave me back my damned meds. “Oh, but you might have something else. Here, more hoops for you.” I have to wait until my appointment with primary care at the end of this month. I hate doctors right now, but I scored 120% on my stress test, so blaaaah to everyone who saw the fat chick walking through the door that day and had their thoughts.
X. I have bangs now. My hair was almost down to my elbows, and I told my stylist to cut it off. I showed her my Pinterest board, closed my eyes, and trusted the universe. I have Carol Pope’s hair now. After years of having about 10lbs of wild witch hair, I just don't know how to be.
Again, I'll be fine. I just need to drink some wine and bitch about it.
Over ravioli.
Later!