Volunteering

I'm pretty sure I'll be losing my Medicaid insurance if I don't find 80 hours a month of volunteering opportunities. 

My body will not allow me to be reliable or consistent. The harder I push myself, the more unpredictable breaks I will be forced to take. I have at least five diagnosed debilitating disabilities so far; for which I take a myriad of medications, and sometimes new or additional medications alter my mental status. My respiratory condition is the most serious or noticeable disability, and severely limits my oral communications. (My phone skills are no longer relevant. Anything with phone or video is out because my heavy breathing will terrify normal people, and makes me difficult to comprehend.)

I am also the full-time caregiver for my disabled husband. Which means I am a full-time housewife. I already push to my limitations, but must now do an additional 80 hours a month. And I must be home.

I was a PennState Honors and Scholars student. I was ranked in the 98th percentile of students (for language) in Pennsylvania. I have several publications (poetry and essays in my name, and some ghost writing). 

My first job was as a receptionist for a chiropractic office. I then did telephone research for a radio station and later for Dun&Bradstreet. Back when I wasn't fighting against disabling conditions, I regularly worked 120-hour work weeks as the manager of a busy retail store in Philadelphia. Then I was a receptionist at an ad agency. I held six simultaneous positions at a tele-retail newspaper business. Finally, I became a forklift operator at a massive warehouse. (Which is when my disabilities began.)

In high school, I was a very active volunteer. Most notably was over 600 hours at St Luke's Hospital Bethlehem. I was part of Nickelodeon's The Big Help. 

https://youtu.be/kKZjKyTLnFg

I did volunteer years ago on the campaign for Democrat Norma A. Cusick. She wasn't in my district, but I knew two of her kids from high school, and I recalled how passionate and dedicated she was as a parent volunteer. She ultimately didn't win the seat. While I do support the Democratic party, and vote twice a year, that's the only political campaign experience to my name. (I've had to switch to voting by mail because of my declining health. And I'm a Democrat.)

I have experience with mass mailing, but would need someone to deliver and pick up supplies. I have experience running typed-only multi-player rpgs. I have a deep passion for books, letter writing, and movies. 

I volunteered as a Municipal Liaison for the Lehigh Valley NaNoWriMo writers. (The international organization has since suffered catastrophic issues, which is why I was among the thousands who left.)

So, that's who I am. That's my strengths and weaknesses. I didn't know if you have a use for me. I don't know if there's something I could do for 80 hours a month with your organization. 

I mostly function in the dead of night (1 to 4am), though occasionally am able to accomplish a small task between 6pm to 8pm.

Defense Flaw

https://www.facebook.com/share/17WeNPgppa/

😮‍💨

Fighting fair, boom to 💥 boom, will never produce results. 

If any enemies ever pick up the last 6 years of newspapers, however, the massive hole in security will be easy to spot. 

Too many people in the United States will not take any precautions about spreading germs. And the current leader will fight for the rights of bio warfare. The health secretary is rallying against vaccines. Seriously, the lack of defense against germs is at an all time high. 

Missiles? Nope, the US will never be outdone.

Sneezing? Take out a million people without a peep from leadership. 

😔

Health Care is a military issue. The Department of (Defense) ... military stuff... should be funding research to get the best immune systems for absolutely every living being in the United States. 

But... nope, going the other way.

If enemies ever think small, microscopic, they'll completely annihilate the US in a few months. 

A parasite on lettuce is defeating us right now. Can't shoot it. Practically defenseless. 🥬 Thousands infected. 

Seriously, if some other country wants to take the US down, and glances at how much we're struggling with a simple parasite, it'll be catastrophic. There's no pan or epidemic response team to deal with such a situation. And the guys in charge won't even believe it's real! Seriously. They not only won't defend against it, they'll pretend such an attack is fake. On the microscopic level, the United States is extremely vulnerable. It shouldn't be. But it is.

(Comments turned off. There's really nothing to say. It's a sad state of affairs, but here we are.)

Brain Game

I thought this would interest you. You can take the MindCrowd memory test to discover how your brain compares with others like you and help scientists find ways to delay memory loss as we age. Check it out! Here is the link: https://mindcrowd.org

(I know the one I missed in verbal. I mixed up "food" with "eat." 🍎) 

Pleased I did well. Fun to take part. 

They are nearly at their goal of a million people. They're trying to learn about memory and dementia and such. 

It's totally free. It's not sharing your private information.

Please contact the Study Coordinator at crc@tgen.org to withdraw from the study.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this research, you may contact Dr. Matt Huentelman at mhuentelman@tgen.org or 602-343-8653 (24 hours

Fake Surveys

It looks like just a survey. Seems like a legitimate company. 

Nope! It's a Republican ad. To spread rumors and manipulate voters. 

The Republican Candidate referred to in this question is not holding criminals accountable and has voted to increase the fraud spending. He is a useless puppet who ignores the desires of his constituency. There have been protests outside his office nearly every month. 

Better to give healthcare than to let people die. 

July 5 2001 Chemical pesticide exposure

Ha!!! I found my original discharge papers from the emergency department 🏥

Vindication! 

Granted, no one knew I was exposed to CT-511 that day. (It was a year later that I found out.) 

But ha! Proof I was seen at the emergency room. And given three prescriptions. 

IT HAPPENED 

Proof I keep better records than the hospital 😬

Pack rat. 

We're cleaning our closet. I've thrown out several 30-gallon trashbags of stuff. Some which brought me great joy, but I'm throwing out because that way someone else won't have to some day when I'm dead. 

Stuff I kept for the life I thought I'd have.

Hope. Dreams. 

Tossed out! 

And copies of old bills and stuff. The junk you're supposed to keep for a decade before shredding. Well, it's going out now! (Far more than a decade.) 

Gone. Gone. Gone. 

It's hot as hell and I'm in unbearable pain.

Oh look, here's papers that remind me WHY.

Publishing Changes IWSG, Graduation Segregation, and Bans

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html
My apologies to IWSG Substack bloggers.https://uniquelymaladjustedbutfun.blogspot.com/2026/07/iwsg.html(Posted prior to the rule rewrite.)



I wish it was easier to get representation for diverse books. 

And there's no writers guild for indie authors who are putting in the TIME but haven't hit the requirements in sales.

 https://authorsguild.org/membership/faq/
Okay, maybe there is. I just want to be able to have health insurance come January. AFFORDABLE health insurance. With affordable prescriptions. 

😔

It's exhausting fighting to live. Sorry. 

Here's a writing punctuation meme instead:

Here's why indie can be equal to Big 5:

---

In June, my Facebook feed filled with posts of graduation 👨‍🎓 ceremonies. Several posts were by friends of mine who don't know each other, but had a family member (child, nephew, cousin, etc) who graduated from the same high school as I did.

The graduation robes this year were a combination of the school colors, blue and white. 

The new blue& white robes!

My senior year, back in the late '90s, there was a BIG DEAL. First, in homeroom, we were all given a survey asking if we wanted a blue or white robe for graduation. I didn't know there was a choice. White gets dirty so easily, and I'm ridiculously pale (though I had been trying to get a tan, because it was the '90s and people still did stupid crap like lay in the sun for hours with SPF 4 tanning oil on), so I picked blue.

Weeks later, I was issued a white robe. 

🤔

The boys got blue, the girls got white. Period.

Me at graduation--
in all white

One girl (who, frankly, I'm shocked isn't a major politician today) refused the segregation and graduated wearing fluorescent green. 

We were friends. Not close, but friendly enough, so I'm kind of surprised I didn't know about the protest in advance.

As I scrolled on Facebook in June 2026, I saw young people who graduated from high my high school. The robe featured both colors. No segregation. And it seems that the solution didn't harm anyone. Didn't change the celebration of commencement. 

Why the hell did it take so long to sew two different colors of fabric together? 

See what happens when logic rules instead of hate? 

---

There are currently three bills in the US Congress calling for book bans. (Including medical textbooks in college libraries. Should a doctor learn anatomy?)

And three bills that counter those with the statement that literacy matters and school libraries should be funded. 

Not politically aiming for any message here. Just discussing with fellow writers that books are in danger. Classic books, non-fiction textbooks, new books, maybe your own books. If you decide you have feelings about the topic of books, and have Congressional Representatives, you may desire to research this yourself and contact them. 

I know my WIP would be banned. I'm insecure about bothering to pitch it to agents right now because all three of the proposed bans would aim at my book. It has diverse characters, and a teen girl gets pregnant by her teen boyfriend. So MY BOOK would absolutely be banned. How do I put that in a query letter? "Here's a YA that'll be nearly impossible to sell because it's guaranteed to be banned." 

I'm mentioning this not for political reasons, but as an author who is absolutely targeted by these bills. And the other WIPs? They all meet that criteria. Heck, I have a chunk of a YA story on this blog (April 2021) that would be banned. So I feel I have a duty to mention that there are 6 bills (3 for bans, 3 opposed) in the US Congress debate right now. Care or don't, that's up to you. But the bills aren't headline news, and writers ought to know, even if you don't do anything with the information. 

PA Medicaid

https://www.facebook.com/share/1UYhrBYMVT/

Hoping not to lose my insurance.