And I've just begun, Under a purple sun

I heard this song a few years ago in a recycling commercial on TV. And almost every time, I would have to fight back tears. Because just a snippet of words hit so close to home. 

The song is Changes by Langhorne Slim & The Law. And it nails in words and tone the first 10 years of my life back in the USA, of what it has been like to enter my late 40s and early 50s.

I'm in a much better place now than those first 10 years. Getting ready for Baja, and doing that trip, was a turning point, one that I had been working towards since 2009, when I got my motorcycle license. Learning piano, practicing guitar, studying Spanish, getting a part-time job and, of course, my husband and dog - it's what's kept me from the Dark Side. 

Now: I've mostly accepted my work situation. I know that I did all that I could once I realized what was happening. And I'm not sure there's much I could have done to head the situation off with more planning and action earlier. And I've accepted that I'm more cynical now, that I've been WAY too trusting and loyal to many people I shouldn't have over the years - but I'm also still capable of being kind on a day-to-day basis, that kindness is not a weakness, and it's still usually better to just walk away than to say all that I'm thinking. 

I'm not saying it's all fine now. But for now, it's better. I just wish I'd been better prepared for this time of life. 

57.

Did you take my Facebook challenge? Did it work?

A year ago, I posted a challenge:

For Six Months, Let's Force Civilization on Facebook. 

In that blog, I made this pledge:

For the next six months, I will work to increase the amount of positive and/or real, first-person content on Facebook, in order to disempower the negative elements on the platform. I will not be less politically active or avoid posts about things I am angry about, but I will counter that with content that’s uplifting to both myself and my friends and colleagues. For the next six months, I will help make the platform of value to ME, personally, regardless of what its owners and “sponsored content” might do.

And then I made a long list of what I was going to do to live that pledge online. 

It's now a year later, and it turns out that I didn't just do it for six months. I did it for a year. 

And it worked: the ads I get aren't horrible anymore. I even bought something that targeted me (one of Stefan's Christmas presents). 

So I'm going to keep doing it. 

Sadly, the same strategy won't work on Twitter. I miss Twitter so much. Hugely. I miss my Twitter friends SO much. I miss Cher. But any time I need to remind myself why I paused my activities there, I go read the fascist-adjacent, pro-Putin, pro-extremist tweets of Elon Musk and I stay off. Not deleting my Twitter account though, because that means someone else could come along and use my name. I still have to be on my professional account. 

I sure wish someone would create a real alternative to Twitter and Facebook. 

I'm easy to find elsewhere online, BTW. 

Happy New Year!