(no subject)

Poured out some ibuprofin for my continuing neck pain, and suddenly a wierd pill popped out of the bottle. First I thought that it was one of my (numerous) meds...but it wasn't. So that's scary.

I did look up the pill online in case my bottle was contaminated, but it turns out that it's just non-gel ibuprofin, so it was probably a pill that got in the bottle.

But holy cow, that's a worrying thing to see.

(no subject)

In the last week or so, I've been working on making a trip from Texas to Washington for a move for a friend. The needs were simple, just avoid Idaho. No real sightseeing, just get us there in four days. Super simple, super easy, and super heartbreaking.

I havent' done a cross country trip since 2018. I didn't feel safe anymore crossing the hostile areas in Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Montana. I used to, to be sure, but that's because I had a basic belief in Americans: "If you need help, people will help you." But about 2018, people took off the masks, felt emboldened to hate, and I no longer felt safe crossing through those areas. Heck, I'm even wobbly about driving around eastern Washington just because I'm brown.

I did make an Oregon Trail roadtrip I'd planned around that time. The number one thing, though, was that I would only stop at chain hotels and gas stations. Anything that involved being around people, even historical sites, would be passed by.

Now it's not even a matter of "If you need help." It's a matter of the state governments actively creating laws against transfolk. I know Mom is sad that I don't go to Texas anymore. And I know where in Texas I can go and everything will be good (Austin, San Antonio, a rapidly shrinking portion of the Hill Country).

But say I get pulled over for something, speeding, not having a state inspection sticker (I actually got pulled over for that on one of my trips in Texas - Washington registered cars don't have state inspection), and end up in a jail? I'm in a system that, at this point, is DESIGNED to legally misgender, misclassify and ignore my legal status as a woman.

I'm going back to Texas for the lunar eclipses coming up. I really don't want to miss those given I missed the last one in Oregon after spending $1000 on accomodations and equipment. I do plan to at least visit one site in the Hill Country where a Native/Cowboy fight took place. But I won't be going alone. And I won't be going pretty much anywhere else.

It's just not safe anymore. And I feel kind trapped on this side of the Cascades, with very few places on the other side in my reach feeling very safe.

(no subject)

The big question for May the Fourth: "Why do all the Jedi dress like Tatooine moisture farmers?"