Under Pressure

I’ve been told – I imagine we all have – since the beginning of the Orange Menace’s installation as Prez, that we shouldn’t become numbed out by his daily fascist insanity. We shouldn’t let his unhinged twitter tirades distract us from his (and his Republican Party’s) massive efforts to steal democracy out from under us.

This is true and right. Yes. We have to carefully watch those moving shells while he fast-talks outrageous filth and lies. And OH BOY have there ever been a fuckton of those. The NY Times has them nicely listed here . This is as of July 21st. It should be updated daily.

Then there’re all the president's bizarre tweets, catalogued here by the LA Times (dated yesterday, August 17).

And then, New York Magazine details for us every last insane thing he’s done (that we know about).

To read it all in a go, as I did last night, is absolutely mind-boggling, overwhelming and rocketed my stress into the next solar system.

Sheesh, how to cope with this constant, daily barrage of dangerous, destructive crazy? How can I get through the day, a night, knowing that I could wake up to armed neo-Nazis at my door or nuclear war with…dunno, who’s he dick measuring with today?

Anxiety, for those of us without a giant money and privilege condom keeping us safe, is near constant and that’s seriously unhealthy. I’ve got enough wrong with me without stress induced health shit from Trump and his GOP.

What to do, what to do to keep myself out of a too early urn?

It’s good to take a day off. Ya know, one where I DON’T read or watch the news, DON’T even talk about it, not even with fellow sane travelers.

Today’s a great vaca-from-the-shitheels day. It’s my BERFDAY!!! In a restorative, healing effort, I bought meself a fabola prezzie – an airline ticky to Dublin. I’m going in early winter and staying with my pal Brenda. Planning this trip – or at least coming up with lists of things to do and places to visit – will be a wonderful, calming, fun diversion from the Hell Mouth that this country has become.

And, of course, there will be lots Guinness there. mmmmmmmmmmmm

I started a new, larger sized painting yesterday – 48”x48”. I’ve been trying to switch from mondo stretched canvases (~72"x72") to working on relatively small paper (~24”x36”). While this makes loads of sense (paper’s cheaper and easier to store) this is not an easy transition. It’s MUCH more natural for my mind and body to spread out/unfurl on a six foot stretched cotton duck frame. So then, as long as I gotta paint (and I do) and it feels better to go big (it does) – I’m there.

Ya know I’m dieting, right? I’m a strict calorie counting queen in an off with their (my) head vein. Even on my one “free” day each week I don’t allow myself more than what a sedentary person (I'm not quite that) of my age and gender should consume (according to the med charts). Yep, I’m a serious bitch/drill sergeant. Today, I believe I’ll go off the rails. I’ve been on this diet for three and a half months. I’m slowly dropping the pounds. I CAN and WILL have a big piece of cake today! I may even allow myself a spot of birthday Jamo.

So that’s three things – vaca imagining and planning, painting BIG and granting myself permission to indulge today.

What about you? What are you doing to lower your blood pressure and soothe your mind and bod?

Queen – Under Pressure