Laura's blog

 Hi all, it's been a very long time since I published anything here. Life got in the way -- but now I have a master's degree. Two master's degrees, in fact. And a heap of student loans, but let's not talk about that now! I also began a patreon and a ko-fi. The Patreon keeps experiencing technical difficulties, and I don't find it user-friendly. The ko-fi platform is simpler but smoother, and has worked pretty well so far. I think that's what I will use primarily to blog from now on. I would like to maintain this site, but crossposting everything I do on two platforms feels a little overwhelming. I mean, I can barely make it to my paying job on time or remember to vacuum. I am trying to make things easier on myself, not harder! The other thing is that this blog is attached to a name that I'm trying to phase out of using. I don't think that I want to use "Laura" online anymore, for a number of reasons. It's hard to figure out where to change ...

Today, I dropped my little foster kitten off at the cat rescue. He'll be cared for medically, go to another temporary foster home, and see many more people who will be more likely to adopt him. And I'll have room for another foster kitty. This is great, but bittersweet, news. I felt guilty leaving him at the rescue because he won't understand where I've gone. I think it's easier for them to bounce back from that type of thing when they're kittens, but I felt especially bad with this foster because he seemed really bonded to me.  When he was littler, he would cry and meow if he couldn't see me, if I left the room, or if he felt insecure in general. He rode on my shoulder, tried to nurse my finger (ouch), and was just very attached and affectionate. He still meows if I'm behind a closed door. Or rather, he did. It was hard to close the door of the rescue center and drive home without him.  Over the holiday, he did really well with all the new people...

I've been reading some books and online articles about dogs and did you know how amazing dogs are?? Just, from a scientific standpoint?? The history of dogs and dog breeds. Dog noses. Dogs that find lost pets. Dogs that rescue people. Dogs that detect seizures. Dogs that hunt invasive species at ports or just look fucking fabulous at dog shows. Also wild dogs! And FOXES. And other lesser-known canids (canines?) that look very different and sometimes similar and just are all fascinating and cool. I learned, for instance, that Corgis are a herding dog developed in Wales that herds by darting in low to the ground to nip. Whereas the border collies and related breeds herd by using the stare-chase-stare intimidation method. And that Australian Cattle Dogs are part dingo! Who knew? I met a baby Blue Heeler (very similar to Australian Cattle Dog) at work and got to pet a part-dingo dog! My neighbor owns a rescued Australian Cattle Dog. I live next door to a dingo dog!!! *Owen Wilson...

Hi there Bloggerverse, it's me again after a long hiatus. I was in graduate school! I'm sorry! I don't know what the fate of this blog ought to be, if I'm being honest. I thought about deleting the whole thing, since I don't put the work into keeping it updated. But! That seemed like a waste. You can also find me on patreon, where I post ... nothing at all, yet, since I only made my account in order to get in before their shitty new compensation policy kicks in. I have also been doing a lot of reviews still, but on other platforms! Amazon, GoodReads, and B&N have all heard some of my thoughts on some books. I'm still reading and listening a lot, and I do like having an outlet for those thoughts. This is all to say that this blog will probably stay up but that I don't really know what I'm doing with my life right now so it's verrrrry far down on my list of priorities. I'm really only using it at this VERY MOMENT in order to procrastinate...

A book I read was good, and I want to share it with you all via a review! :) I'm reading more of Chelsea Cameron's stuff, and this was a YA contemporary romance novel of hers called Style.  In Style, a nerd and a cheerleader fall for each other. Nerd/jock is a trope in romance which I like, and Style does that except with lesbians. Kind of makes me want every romance staple trope but gayer.  One character is Kyle, a disabled girl from a poorer family whose helicopter parents are hyperfocused on getting her into a good college with lots of scholarship aid. She is focused on college too -- so much so that she doesn't notice she likes girls until she's hit over the head with a crush on ice queen cheerleader Stella.  Stella is a closeted lesbian and cheer captain who is also hyperfocused on getting into college -- because then she feels like she can come out to everyone and be her real, lesbian, self. When she's paired with Kyle on an English assignment, she has...

My class was cancelled today. This means I don't have to turn in work that is probably -- definitely -- below standard. I also get more time to relax and eat lunch, and a little more time to prepare for work rather than rushing off to a 5 PM clock-in time immediately after a class that ends at 5 PM. This seems to keep happening no matter how many times I tell my supervisor that I have class until 5. Ah, well. This delay also lets me dance around the problem I've encountered for one more week, which I would otherwise have been forced to confront today. I think taking this class may have been a mistake -- despite the amount that I've learned. An incident occurred in the last class I attended that made me lose a great deal of respect for and trust in the instructor, and I'm not sure how to resolve that properly when next we meet. Whether the cancellation is a good thing or a bad thing -- because perhaps being forced to confront the issue today would have good -- remain...

Please note! This post has content related to eating disorders, food, and weight. So, you may know that a lot of shit went sideways for me in 2017. The summer in particular...well.  Among all the big upsets happening in my life, I started to put together the pieces on some little things. Things that added up to make the most sense out of a troubling pattern that I'd observed for several years. 2017 was the year I slowly realized I have an eating disorder. What kind? I don't know! Some good general information on ED's can be found here . Whether or not I fit any of the criteria for a diagnosable eating disorder, I definitely have disordered eating and a weird relationship with food.  Maybe it's more of a phobia than an eating disorder -- I don't know. I do know that I hoard food, have an irrational fear of food not being there or of losing food, sometimes eat too much either for no reason or because of a fear that I won't be able to later, and ...