We aren't the damsels in distress.

thefridayfive

1. What was the reason you began a Dreamwidth or LiveJournal account (or both)?
At the time (maybe 1999/2000?), I was working for an environmental nonprofit, and a coworker introduced me to the Livejournal site. I think they might have regretted it, as I was going through a stage of re-examining every belief I had ever been taught regarding religion, spirituality, sexuality, etc., and I wrote all the time. I changed journals there at least twice (maybe more), but settled as beuatyofgrey. I moved to DW not long after the Russian acquisition of LJ, and have undergone a few different variations here. I used to cross-post a lot, but I found the ever-changing format of the LJ site and the mods that made it more, well, modern internet...really no longer felt right.

2. How many DW or LJ communities do you subscribe to?
I'm subscribed to 39 DW communities, though the majority of them are very quiet. I haven't logged into my old LJ account in a very long time - my last visit there was simply to download and collect digital photos I had uploaded, which included many old grainy photos of my kids in their youth. I miss the old LJ communities vegan_cooking and fatshionista, though.

3. Do you have a favorite community or one you check out often to see what's new?
I enjoy awesomeers and agonyaunt, one of which provides encouragement, the other which provides advice (though I think sometimes I would never offer my own life up for examination by agonyaunt, because while the advice is sometimes quite lovely it also comes from our own limited understandings of the circumstances and decisions that led letter-writers to where they are.)

4. How did you pick your user name?
*sigh* It actually came from a quote by Neil Degrasse Tyson, which I used to have in a sidebox on my page before he was accused of sexual assault and before it became apparent that he is really quite full of himself. The quote was:

“The knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on earth - the atoms that make up the human body, are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures. These stars- the high mass ones among them- went unstable in their later years- they collapsed and then exploded- scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy- guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas clouds that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems- stars with orbiting planets. And those planets now have the ingredients for life itself. So that when I look up at the night sky, and I know that yes we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up- many people feel small, cause their small and the universe is big. But I feel big because my atoms came from those stars.”

5. If you could change your user name, would you?
Every once in a while I think about changing back to a temporary name that I used for fiction and poetry writing, but because I have already renamed my journal once, I think I am unable to rename again and it is impossible to revert to the prior name. But that's okay! I have frequently moved my journal and contents and identity throughout my life because I am constantly changing as a human, and my understanding of life and where I am at changes as well. For now, ofearthandstars still fits.

Today has been much more lackluster. Budget sheet, meal planning, and grocery shopping is out of the way for the week, and I have just wrapped up our 2025 taxes. Federal are filed and in queue, the state will have to be mailed physically since we don't qualify for any of the free e-file options. I do need to work on my next 3-month goals and updating my planner, which I'll do shortly once I finally put the laptop away for the day.

It has been a beautiful weekend out, but The Pollening has seriously started in. I used to berate myself for not doing more gardening and outdoor spring planting, but the current state of being unable to touch nearly anything that has gone outside and being unable to get in and out of cars or go for walks without a physical reaction reminds me why that is.

I recently tried downloading Hoopla to see if it offered more options than Libby, but for my local library, the answer is no. I thought there was a secret trick somewhere to getting access to more library offerings for free, but at this time the most I can find is links to getting a non-resident card for an annual fee. (I mostly use my local county library for e-book offerings, but their selection is limited in a lot of ways.) I am hoping to read along with a work-based book club that has kicked off, but also do not want to necessarily need to purchase everything they cover. I do have some Bookshop.org gift money available, but I have reserved that for fun/want to reads of my own choosing.

The week ahead looks fairly quiet, except I have a therapy appointment that I am looking forward to/very much need.

May you be safe, may you be healthy and well, may you be content, and may you find beauty and joy in your present moment. ♥