He was watching him write numbers in long form here (“fifty”, “seventy-five”) and his face was just hilarious.
Bub watching his brother has gotten hilarious.
categories: personal; word count: 18 words
September 2021 archive
Opening the Floor: My Journey to Satanism
categories: personal; word count: 264 words
To be honest, this was a bit of an awkward journey that I went on, but I am pleased with the ending.
I began to see mention of Satanism on my social media feeds, especially as it related to The Satanic Temple‘s leftist works and the various people that they — rightfully — sued or attempted to sue. So I began to look into it, and part of that was me becoming emboldened by my absolute disgust with Catholicism (Bub’s father’s family’s religion, and the one that they literally tried to force me into. I found that I agreed with all of the tenets of The Satanic Temple, and I was generally off-put by the Church of Satan although I respect them and continue to respect them to this day… a Satanist is a Satanist, and we need all of the support we can get because of what society thinks of Satanists due to their lack of understanding. As I continued to read about The Satanic Temple, I realized that it was the perfect fit for me. Not long after, I became a member, began telling certain people that I am a Satanist — naturally, I don’t divulge this to everyone given the stigma — and began making like-minded friends. To put it another way, it felt like a part of my life that was missing had now been completed. There was a hole in my life that I didn’t know was there, and Satanism filled it. Satanism fills it. And I am so grateful, and so happy, for that. I think I’ll always be grateful and happy.
Opening the Floor: Acquiring a Formal Diagnosis
categories: personal; word count: 291 words
I’ve actually been asked this more than once, a small handful of times, and I don’t mind being asked about it or… well, most questions at all that I’m willing to answer in my blog. I’m as open as book as Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII for those of you who have played the game. Maybe that’s why I like her character…
But the question, so as no to sidetrack: would I ever pursue a formal autistic diagnosis?
I’ve given it a lot of thought, especially as I’ve become more comfortable identifying as an autistic person. If a doctor in my care team said something about it, I would not deny it (I would probably go the route of “I think I may be autistic as well”, especially as it relates to my children). If it helped me get disability benefits I would have the process worked up. My thoughts regarding this have by and far been passive though — if someone wants to work me up I am more than amenable to that. If someone in my care team calls me autistic or possibly autistic, that being their call, I would not deny it. However, I feel that I do not need the same supports that my children need, so it is not something that I would actively seek out at this time to the tune of calling my primary doctor, telling the receptionist taking the call that I thought I was autistic and would like to work the diagnosis up, that sort of thing. In other words, I am not extremely active or pro-active about it, although if having it thrust in front of me I would be agreeable to having it worked up. I hope I make sense!
Opening the Floor: Bub’s Very First 100% Game
categories: RPGs; word count: 200 words
The very first game that Bub and I played from start to finish was Namco’s Tales of Phantasia on the Gameboy Advance. I fondly remember bringing that thing — the Gameboy Advance, even in this era (Bub was born in 2010) — to both amuse him with it and to play an enjoyable game with him sans the ratio at which monsters attack you in the wild. I don’t think he minded that. He was probably a year or two old when we started this, because I was bound and determined to finish the game once and for all, and who better to do it with than the child of mine whose interest was peaked by things exactly like this? It was a win-win…
I also remember having to ask who was a boyfriend at the time for help with the plot as it related to acquiring a hidden character and then a skill that the final boss was weak against, but I also fondly remember curb-stomping the final boss straight into the ground with the Power of Bub™. Bub watched me defeat Dhaos, and Bub watched the ending. Defeating the big bad did not seem to bother him. It never does.