Reading

Entry tags:

politics:massachusetts

voted

The three of us voted this afternoon, then went to the supermarket, where we had to deal with a pushy person who wanted us to sign dodgy-looking petitions: he said they were for same-day voter registration, but I noticed that the page he wanted us to sign didn't say what we were signing for. There are dozens of possible state ballot questions for next year, so it could be almost anything. (The procedure in Massachusetts, as I understand it, is people or organizations say "I want to put this on the ballot," and then the attorney general vets the proposals, and either OKs them or explains why not. After that, they can collect signatures.)

The only thing on the ballot in Boston today was city council seats, after the incumbent mayor's main opponent formally withdrew after coming in a distant second in the primary. Happily, I had a choice of five or six good candidates for the four at-large city council seats.

Addendum: there are in fact forty-seven "petition initiatives" on the state website, including a few that are labeled as versions A, B, or even C of the same thing. The list is on the state website: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/ballot-initiatives-submitted-for-the-2026-biennial-statewide-election-proposed-laws-and-2028-biennial-statewide-election-proposed-constitutional-amendments

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: ithaca, ny

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wherein Liz acquires a job, an apartment, a 403(b), another job, and a leisure activity

I realized I forgot to mention that I have a new job! I am working in accounts receivable at a pediatric dentistry nonprofit, whose mission is to get dental care to all children in Minnesota. I started mid-October and spent my first two weeks mostly doing call center and scheduling work because A) cross-training is a good idea and B) there was a temporary staff shortage. But last week I finally got started on my real job and so far I am enjoying it. Lots of things to put in order!

Once I got the job, I began seriously looking for an apartment, and last Thursday I signed a lease with a November 15 start date for a 2-bedroom in a northwest suburb of Minneapolis. I am still waiting to hear if I can use the building's parking lot for my U-Haul U-Boxes, or if I'll have to finagle street parking, but that is a relatively minor detail.

My next step is to find a doctor, and also to decide if I want to get health insurance through this job for 2026, whether to buy another plan through the MNsure website, or whether to buy insurance directly from my current insurer.

Also my new job comes with a 403(b) plan, which I think I have set up to do Roth contributions. There are many valid reasons to go with a traditional tax-deferred retirement plan, but I have always preferred Roth accounts for myself, ever since I opened an IRA back in high school.

Also also, I am sure I forgot to mention that I was hired back by Not the IRS. The re-hiring was never really in question -- the issue was which office I'd be working in. That played a role in my apartment search, along with my main job, my parents' location, and Vicky's location. I have completed my required continuing education and renewed my PTIN, so things are going fine on that front.

And lastly, unrelated to any practical concerns, I signed up for a one-afternoon online seminar about medieval high German literature through Medievalists.net, which will run from 11am-2pm CST this coming Saturday. I just received the course documents today, and I am looking forward to it a lot!

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Harbourmaster, 'Hell Is Empty', page 061

( In which we introduce space people to each other )

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(no subject)

After several days in a row of being able to walk more than is now typical for me, and also doing PT, yesterday my ankle hurt enough that I stayed put as much as possible. I took a naproxen around lunchtime, which made no descernible difference.

I'm doing significantly better today, in terms of ankle and other joint pain. I didn't go for a walk, but did go outside to take out trash and spend a few minutes outdoors during daylight, and then started on what has turned out to be a lot of PT exercises. We're back on standard time as of this morning, meaning the sun set in Boston at 4:35 (we're near the eastern edge of this time zone).

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monthly word count: 2025

monthly word count - october

TOTAL: 1521, a lot of which i'll probably have to discard. yee.

POSTED: zip

IN PROGRESS:
-suburban ot4, nel and grim scene i might have to cut out (900 words)
-cherry wine : touka and tobirama that's not gelling (528 words)
-svsss cosplay fic (93 words)

hhsvbhsh.

no teasers this month.

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Harbourmaster, 'Hell Is Empty', page 060

( In which Javin’s interview is interrupted )

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landlord,
quotidian

building heat

I had to call the management company about the heat again today. I and I think at least one other neighbor called in a problem Monday, and they sent someone who made a fix that he said might be temporary, but also said he had ordered parts for a longer-term solution. Tuesday was OK, but by the time I got up this morning [Thursday] the heat clearly wasn't working again.

The management company sent someone over fairly quickly. He first knocked to let me know they were here and thank me for reporting the problem, then came back to tell me they had to look at a sensor in Adrian’s room. So she hurriedly put on her bathrobe, the three of us masked, and I invited them in, with a warning about not letting the cats in. They looked at it, and came back a while later to replace it—apparently there was something wrong with the thermostat, and they replaced the sensors in each apartment, because they couldn’t be sure of which one was the problem. The heat came back on within the hour, and we’re OK for now.

Adrian and Cattitude both thanked me for being Speaker to Landlord on this one.

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(no subject)

I went to Somerville this morning for a fasting blood draw, to repeat the blood glucose test from a few weeks ago. She also ordered an A1C test and, apparently, a basic metabolic panel. I don't remember Carneb mentioning the basic metabolic panel, but I asked the receptionist to check whether I'd already had one recently, and he said I hadn't, so sure. I can spare an extra test tube of blood, I just didn't want to have to fight an insurance company about it.

From there, I took the bus to Arlington, hoping to order new glasses, but the optician's office was closed, with no sign explaining why. (It's a one-man shop, so if Ron is sick, there's nobody else to open the office or post a sign explaining when he'll be back.) Before making another trip, I'll call and confirm that he's open; it's an easier trip from Davis Square than from here in Brighton.

The timing worked for me to stop at Lizzy's Ice Cream on the way home; I bought pints of black raspberry, black cherry, and blueberry, which was listed as a seasonal flavor.

I may have overdone things, but when I woke up this morning it seemed like good timing for the fasting blood draw.

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Harbourmaster, 'Hell Is Empty', page 059

( In which Black Cloud )

Database maintenance

Good morning, afternoon, and evening!

We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)

I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.

Ta for now!

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Harbourmaster, 'Hell Is Empty', page 058

( In which borrowing Hurmiz )

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: new brighton, mn

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Dear Yuletide Writer 2025

Hi, and thank you in advance for writing a story for me! I'm pretty easy to please -- unless you write a context-free sex scene, I'll be thrilled just to get a fic in one of the fandoms I asked for. *grin* But I realize that's not terribly helpful, so here's the (very!) long version. (I am sorry for the tl;dr, but I like to talk about things I love and I figure more details are better than fewer.)

---------------

( General Information )

Okay. On to specific fandoms!

---------------

( Summer in Orcus )

( The Steerswoman Series )

( The Darkangel Trilogy )

( Saga of the Skolian Empire )

And that is that. Thank you again, and happy writing!

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physical exam

I went to my doctor today, for an annual physical and so she could write the next Ritalin prescription.

So: I had a fasting blood test last month, and the glucose number was high enough that she is ordering a re-test and an A1C test, which means another morning trip to Somerville on an empty stomach. My "bad" cholesterol is high, but not high enough for her to be prescribing statins right now. My "good" cholesterol is also high, but apparently that's less protective in older patients, and I'm approaching that age.

I also asked her to look at my calves, because I frequently have swelling by the end of the day, especially in the left calf. She said it sounded like a vascular issue, then measured the circumference of both my calves. The left calf is noticeably bigger, which supports the idea that there's some kind of vascular issue.

What I'm supposed to do for that is try to reduce my sodium intake, and try wearing compression socks for at least a little while each day. Reducing sodium intake means I'll be looking at ingredient labels for quantities--right now, I'm mostly checking to make sure that various things don't contain any of the various things that we know that one of the three of us needs to avoid.

Carmen also did a breast exam (no longer part of the standard physical exam, but she asked if I still wanted one, and I said yes), and looked at my back for any suspicious moles or freckles. Also, before the appointment they asked if I was OK having them check height and weight, and I said yes, then asked the assistant how tall I now am. Five feet two inches, confirming what I think is what the neurologist's office said, which is an inch or so less than when I was 30.

( grumbling about paperwork and MyChart )

went to the doctor with Adrian

I accompanied Adrian to her doctor's appointment this afternoon, to provide moral support, take notes, and ask any relevant questions she didn't think of. This was last minute on my end, because she only realized this morning that she wanted company. So, some rearranging of my (vague) plans, but it worked.

It seemed like a good appointment, with a doctor who explained things pretty well. We walked home, which would have been a better idea if the google maps estimate of the distance had been accurate. Instead, we spent a lot of time walking around the parking lots of the hospital complex.

This used enough energy that I decided not to go to the optician tomorrow morning, before seeing my own doctor in the afternoon. I will go to Somerville, eat lunch in Davis Square, see Carmen, and then decide whether to come straight home, or stop for ice cream and/or other shopping.