"Contenta."

I. Contenta

". . . de nada" my Mexican coworker Esmeralda added, when I said to her, "No tengas miedo".
That is, "Don't be afraid... of anything"!

I love Es--she's warm and funny, and proud of her grown, gay daughter.
Her English is not fluent, and she tells me I should speak Spanish.
My Spanish is small and bad. It's often a wobbly conversation.

As I was leaving yesterday, she offered me a cookie.
"No, gracias", I said, "yo soy gordo." [I couldn't explain about fasting from sugar in Spanish.]

"Gorda", she said. "You are not fat!"

"Si", I said. "Gorda, vieja [old], and pobrecita? .... How do you say 'poor'?"

"Pobre."

"Gorda, vieja, y pobre. But happy!"

"Contenta."

Huh, like contented. "Feliz" also means happy. I don't know the difference, but I like "content"--it seems less... temporary? Less emotional, more a state of being.

II. Thrifty Goodness

I stopped following the news closely years ago. The hype makes me less able to act, less able to keep my center, to hold my seat.
It's a form of "leaving" inwardly, like the video suggests when the situation is overwhelming.

The good I do is small and mostly local, I suppose. I want to do it though, and not be overwhelmed by despair.
I have my mother as an example of how that goes.

I'm happy at work, after two weeks back.
And can I claim thrift as a Good?
Absolutely!
Urban poverty is dirty and ugly. You deal with a lot more visible (and audible) brokenness right up close than people who can afford space and cleanliness, quiet and solitude.
So, yeah: a pleasant, fun thrift store that shows it cares can be a small respite and offer a sense of dignity.

III. Decorate Early, Decorate Often

I'm having a ball making a nice Xmas section that people are obviously enjoying.
I put these guys in the Vintage section:

I almost bought this so-tacky-its-cool holly stand, below, (or it can hang from its ring on top). Its a candle-holder though, and I don't like to burn candles. And it's too big.
I priced it high--$5.99. I wonder if it will sell.

The store has always put ornaments in bins, for 49¢ each.
The ornaments are often fragile and with small parts--you can imagine the mess.
So I'm bagging them up now--below-- for  $1.99–$3.99.
(There are plenty of more-robust 49¢ items too.)

I know people are enjoying my work because they tell me so.
Yesterday a customer introduced himself. He's a regular I'd never met before. "You're doing a great job", he said. "Last week I thought, They must have hired someone new who knows what they're doing."

Also, they buy stuff. The Xmas section was already picked over. I left it full yesterday. I'm curious to see if it will be significantly less full on Monday.

IV. Work & Oatmeal

Oh--good news--I got another shift at the store:
5 hours/week back in BOOK's and Toys! That makes 20 hrs/week--enough to pay rent, plus a little. I can get most things cheap (or free) at the store, and I'm supplement groceries with the nearby food shelf  too (+ using their food to make hot lunch once a week for coworkers).

BOOK's needs me. Book's Girl Amina is totally snowed under. And Manageress keeps pulling her to cashier instead, which she's actually much better at. Amina is the one I've described as "floaty"---she has a ver nice energy with the public, but is slow in sorting material.

I go too fast, as I've mentioned--and yesterday, flying around, I slammed my thumb into a splintery board and got a splinter under my nail. Owowowow!!!
It's still there, the tip just visible...
bink is a good surgeon--I hope she can get it out tomorrow.

(This reminds me, I have no health insurance since quitting my school job. They sent me a Cobra option:
$800+/ month. I barely make much more than that.
Must apply for the state's insurance for povvos, which is excellent. Covers everything.
In the meantime, if my thumb turns black, I will pay cash.
Thank you, Auntie Vi, for leaving me that!)

Speaking of health, I'm pleased and surprised! that I didn't turn to processed sugar in these jittery days around the US Election.

I'm grateful it'd already been a couple weeks processed-sugar–free before an election so bad I'd normally comfort myself with a pint of Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream ice cream ["Vanilla Ice Cream with Fudge-Covered Waffle Cone Pieces & a Caramel Swirl. Partnered with Stephen Colbert"].

But I did comfort-eat: I made myself a big bowl of thick-rolled oats in almond milk, "Melt" plant butter, and fresh raspberries, w/ cinnamon.

(Darn. Looking up Melt just now, I see it's tropical oils--coconut and palm. Gross. I wonder if olive oil would be nice in oatmeal...)

Well, anyway, sometimes I need comforting food. It's okay. It's good!
I am NOT going to be obsessive about this, I only intend to avoid one thing: white sugar.
Since it's added to so much, that does mean being creative, thinking ahead, about what to eat.
_______________

Today I'm going to a Holiday Craft Fair with a friend (Denise W.).
I want to investigate how people present and price their handmade cards, to prepare for doing it next year (maybe).

I've not been printing much---I got derailed by work, and I derailed myself by pressuring myself to make something saleable (esp. to the Swedish Institute).
Then it's not play, and I freeze up.
Must sidle up to it again.
A splinter under the thumb is not helpful. At least it's my left thumb.

Okay, then---have a good weekend, everyone! Or, you know, a not-too-bad one?