Good day

[cosmolinguist]

Today's Teddywalk took us a slightly unusual way -- I let him choose, within reason. He didn't spend as long sniffing the grass triangle as before, and afterward when I wanted to drag him more directly back toward his house he scampered off the other way. This took us to a tree-lined residential street where he decided to poop next to one of the trees just as a man parked his land barge just behind us and the kids that got out of it were entertained by this free show.

This route also took us past a school where, even though it was nearing 5 o'clock, kids were going toward the school, with their grownups. They kinda looked like they were wearing pajamas? Some were in bathrobes or oodies. Some seemed to carry pillows or soft toys. One was almost hidden behind a Stitch that must have been fully half her size. It was adorable.

I had a pretty good day otherwise too.

Work was oddly satisfying.

A bunch of things happened to coincide today: I presented my new train report twice, first to a panel of subject-matter experts and accessibility advocates that I'm on, where people were very kind about it (especially as it was at the end of an hour and a half meeting that some people had to leave early and/or thought was only an hour long; one made sure to apologize for leaving halfway through but told me he'd read the report and it was good, which was very sweet).

Then in the afternoon I presented it to a group of lived-experience campaigners, a group I attended back when I was a volunteer who didn't have this job yet. They did their usual thing of wanting to vent their spleens on any tangentially-related topic, but I'm used to that and I kinda love it. Afterward, my colleague who runs these meetings messaged me to thank me and say she appreciates that I always handle the questions so well. I didn't think I'd done anything special! But despite that (or actually because of it!) this was really nice to hear.

And as well as feeling particularly competent with the different audiences my work is for, I also had a quick one-to-one(ish) with my manager which indirectly addressed the stuff I've been stressing about lately and where seemed much happier than I'm used to hearing with the work that I have done in the last year and the stuff that's coming up this year.

It's funny because the other day, on our way to the theater, D pointed out where transgym yoga had moved to: one of those "not actually far away but hard for me to find/get to on a bus" places. So I actually looked at yoga on the transgym website and not only was it on this Friday (it's every other week), but it was back at its old location! My hips are so much happier now, and it'll be good for my brain too.

And now, after a week that was really truly about a month long, it's the weekend! We have basically no plans, and the fascists aren't even yelling at the hotel this Sunday!

So many good things.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Take that fash!

When you say

They did their usual thing of wanting to vent their spleens on any tangentially-related topic, but I'm used to that and I kinda love it.

I got a happy flashback to when I was first co-opted on to my transit board. It was great when community advocates would speak up, and I felt we were a proper Channelock, pressuring from both sides.

[barakta]

Holding a space for that vent while doing useful stuff is a vital skill and helpful for the humans too - it builds trust. Well done to Erik!

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah, like I said to my campaigns colleague when she praised me for handling the questions so well, we know why it's useful to think of trains and buses and obstacles on the sidewalk differently because we know there are different decision-makers to be targeted by different recommendations etc. But there's no such distinction in the minds of ordinary people, to whom this is all Stuff That Happens When I Leave the House, and they shouldn't have to care. I'm happy to answer questions best I can even on subjects I haven't been able to explicitly prepare for (because it's impossible; someone will always come up with really strong feelings about something I wouldn't have thought of ahead of time).

[otter]

<3

[angelofthenorth]

I'm so pleased you're being appreciated! And yay for yoga

[barakta]

Hurrah for a better well, well deserved appreciation of your general awesomeness at your job and being a disabled lived experience bod in a disability job and finding trans gym yoga again!

[silveradept]

That does sound like a string of good things all together for once, instead of interspersed among terrible and tragic things.