Um, where to begin?

I just started and deleted three posts about the ongoing dumpster fire that is this country these days, but seriously, I can't decide where to begin, so I'll just say this: I knew it was going to be bad, potentially catastrophic, when Trump was "elected" - but I honestly didn't count on how utterly amoral and horrible and complicit in treason the Republicans are.

So yeah, for the sake of my blood pressure, let's talk about something else.

I listen to podcasts, music and sometimes audiobooks at work. My office is so quiet most of the time, the hum of the A/C puts me to sleep. I don't listen to anything too distracting because I AM working, and sometimes I'll just find an old audiobook in my library for a re-listen, mostly as background noise. Last week I picked Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destiny

I've listened to it before years ago, of course, so I wasn't really paying attention until a part in the book about how changing something in your home can change your life, and it pretty much kicked off my major project for 2019.

I need to find a side hustle. (Hang on, the dots will connect in a bit.) I am earning slightly less than I was earning 10 years ago, while the world continues to get more expensive. I have various ideas and talents, ranging from the professional (I could be a technical proofreader for construction, especially construction litigation depositions) to the decidedly more fun - a jewelry shop on Etsy, maybe? Maybe a blog that actually MAKES money? It could happen. Ideally, I'd like something I could do part time now and grow into an actual retirement side income in 5-7 years. So I'm somewhat casually researching and brainstorming side hustle ideas, and that plus Martha Beck's words, led me to contemplate the room I refer to as my office.

It's not an office. It's a dumping ground for all the shit I don't know what to do with, and as with many other things in my life in the last couple of years, it's gotten out of control:

Bags of unfinished knitting projects, old files of stuff like the manual for a television that died two years ago, my 5 year anniversary "award" from a company that went out of business a decade ago, lots of random in those bins.

Those plastic tubs aren't normally in the middle of the room; I dragged them out of the back of the very large walk-in closet because I had NO recollection of what was in them. I made a first pass at throwing stuff out and emptied one entire plastic tub, consolidating the stuff I'm not sure I can pitch yet. I'll go through that when I'm in a less Fuck It All frame of mind.

I did find a job offer letter from a decade ago, and discovered that my starting salary THEN was $1,000 more than I'm making NOW, and I also got profit sharing. This did nothing to improve my mood. Yeah, I need a side hustle.

And I need to reclaim this damn room, and make it a functional space for whatever I pursue, and just because this is a really nice space that is totally wasted now. I'd like a nice big work table/desk instead of that little Target thingy. That ancient futon is leaving ASAP. Our community FB page has an online sale page, and I'm listing a few items in a week or two. First I need to enlist some strong bodies to help me get the futon down to the garage, because I'm not inviting strangers into my actual home to see it and it's heavy. I don't mind living upstairs 98% of the time, but when there's something heavy that needs to be moved, it IS a pain in the ass.

I loaded Leia with a ton of stuff for Goodwill, found takers for a couple of items, and actually made a dent in the mess.

The closet is looking better already:

So turning this madwoman's attic into an attractive and functional space is my project for this spring. And this project will have its own section in my bullet journal. (It's all connected!)

In other news, I've done yoga every day of 2019, and plan to keep it going forever. WW continues to work, slowly but surely. I'm down 8 lbs since November, which is good because it's 82 today and that drawer full of tight shorts that mock me MUST fit this spring.

Oh, funny thing about yoga - as I've mentioned, I do Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. I noticed a few days ago that Ellie was watching the TV, not me, while it was on the other day. She's not a TV watcher like Sophie, so I thought it was cute but didn't think anything of it. But every day since, when I unroll the mat she comes over for pets, then hops onto the bed and watches yoga. I have no idea why; my daughter theorizes that Adriene has a very pleasant voice, maybe that's it. I'd take a picture but I'd have to stop what I'm doing to grab my phone, and I suspect if I did that I'd distract Ellie and not get the shot, so you'll have to take my word that my cat is a Yoga with Adriene fan.