Ok, so there's a mouse in my house.

Bear in mind, we have 7 (SEVEN) cats. I was working in my home office when 2 of the cats started chasing something around my laundry basket like they were in a cartoon. Next thing I know, the mouse runs up my curtains. I'm not thrilled because I don't want mouse poop or for my cats to get sick, so I start trying to figure out how to get it out of my curtains without losing it or getting bitten when I realize that it's ADORABLE. It's also not too afraid of me, apparently, since it looks more confused than anything.

I'm home alone, which is inconvenient since I'm too short to get to it and not sure how I'd catch it anyway. So, naturally, it walks up to the curtain rod, which is just under the ceiling, drapes itself over it and FALLS ASLEEP.

I'm starting to think that nothing in my house is normal, you guys.



ETA Pics:

Awake:

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Asleep:

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Aww, a heart for me? Thank you, kind DUer!

I didn't know this week would have this effect on me. Can anyone relate?

I was at an industry conference yesterday so missed seeing any of the testimony live; nevertheless, I’m finding that today I’m trying to process why I feel traumatized. Please bear with me as I try to articulate how I feel.

Earlier this week, my brother and I were arguing over Dr. Ford’s accusations and I told him, “You don’t understand. I KNOW this guy (figuratively, not literally)”. Seeing Kavanaugh rage and throw tantrums yesterday while he was being questioned only confirmed it: I KNOW this guy (again, figuratively, not literally) and I have been trying to overcome him my whole life.

Yesterday, suddenly, the memories all came flooding back: the boys in kindergarten who frequently cornered me and pulled my pants down, the old man down the street who starting exposing himself to me when I was 9 years old and who once shoved several pages ripped from Hustler magazine into my little hands, the man who was trying to touch me while staring at my chest when I was 13, the boyfriend who threatened to rape me - it goes on and on and on. I have been followed, chased, shouted at, threatened with rape, dismemberment and murder, been hit, been cornered, been grabbed, been choked. The thing is, though, that I never thought I’d been affected by any of it. I thought none of it had left a mark on me. Until yesterday. Yesterday, the whole weight of my life fell on me.

I kept finding myself crying intermittently all day yesterday; last night I couldn’t sleep because I felt like I was suffocating. Today, I feel sick to my stomach and completely, utterly exhausted. It feels like I have spent all of my 48 years trying to live and succeed and raise a happy family while having all the Kavanaughs of the world around my neck trying to weigh me down, trying to make me fail, to make me give up, to make me shut up.

In one day, I’ve gone from a person who saw herself as untouchable to one who realizes she has been deeply damaged.

I don’t know what to do with this revelation, but I do know one thing: while my anger feels impotent, Kavanaugh’s does not. Kavanaugh’s rage has objective power in the real world. While I will use mine to protest and vote, as I always do, he will use his to re-shape the very laws of this country. My anger can only have power if it is multiplied by millions of others who have had enough, who refuse to carry their burdens and their silence and their shame and their trauma alone anymore. Come November, I hope we will all remember this week.

Thanks for listening.

ETA: I'm overwhelmed by the responses to this post and the kindness in them. Thank you all so much. To all those who have courageously posted of their own abuse: please know I hear you, I believe you and I stand with you. To those still struggling to come forward, I understand and hope you know I stand with you, too. Please stay strong, everyone, and be kind to yourselves!

Any Illinois voters here? What's your opinion of our AG candidates?

I'm still undecided as to who I will vote for in next Tuesday's primary for Attorney General . Does anyone feel strongly supportive of or opposed to any of the 9 million candidates who are running? If so, why?

Thank you, kind people, for the hearts.

DU is my internet "home" though I don't post much, and they mean a lot to me.

Thank you to whoever sent me a heart!

I don't post much so that was completely unexpected and made my day!

Backwards and in high heels

It was said about Ginger Rogers that she did everything Fred Astaire did, but did it backwards and in high heels.

Fast forward to yesterday, when 77 year old Nancy Pelosi gave the speech of her life and stood in THESE babies for 8 hours straight (albeit not backwards):



As a woman who used to love wearing sky-high heels and knows the pain of standing in a high heel with a pointed toe, I have nothing but RESPECT for this woman!

My little bird died last night

My ancient little zebra finch, Sid, died overnight. He outlived his mate, Nancy, and their three offspring by a few years. I know he lived to be twice his expected lifespan (he was almost 11), but I can't believe he's gone. Even though we have a house full of cats, it seems so quiet without his cheerful singing now.

Tonight after work I'll have to take down his flight cage, throw out his many perches, dishes and treat clips and see if the animal shelter will take his various seeds and supplements. That little bird sure had a lot of accouterments.

I have nothing profound to say, just that it's amazing how much a little bird, half the size of a sparrow, worked his way into the hearts of my whole family (including our youngest cat, who thinks they're friends. I think he disagreed.).

RIP Sid. I'll miss you beeping back at the microwave and yelling at the sparrows outside.

I'm going to see Hillary Clinton!

And, boy, I paid dearly for the pleasure.

She's coming to the Auditorium Theater in Chicago on October 30 as part of her book tour and I bought a ticket. I have to say, I never in my life thought I'd pay to see someone promote their book! Still, I'm pretty pumped about it!

Anyone else plan to attend one of her events?

Russians Have Hacked Dozens Of US Energy Companies, Researchers Say

Source: Buzzfeed News

A hacker group linked to the Russian government has acquired an unprecedented level of access to companies that supply power to the US power grid, a cybersecurity firm says.

Symantec, a California-based firm that provides cybersecurity services and worldwide research against online threats, says the group, which it’s nicknamed Dragonfly 2.0, may have compromised more than a dozen American companies in recent months.

“This is the first time we’ve seen this scale, this aggressiveness, and this level of penetration in the US, for sure,” Eric Chien, technical director of Symantec’s Security Technology & Response Division, told BuzzFeed News.

It’s not uncommon for nation-state hackers to penetrate administrative and business networks of energy companies in the US or elsewhere. But Dragonfly has gained access to multiple operational networks in the US, Symantec says, an unprecedented level of compromise. Previously, such penetrations are known to have happened only in places like Ukraine, where hackers once remotely turned off circuit breakers, leaving nearly a quarter million people without power; Russians are also suspected in that incident, though there’s no evidence the same attackers are behind Dragonfly.


Read more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevincollier/russians-have-hacked-dozens-of-us-energy-companies?utm_term=.nnKlz7XDOV#.pi3GKdvZXN