Dylan @dgoings@a2mi.social

Now, I'm all for community organizing. But there's a delicious irony to all this time we spend on this site debating local political factions when I think the majority of people are so disconnected that a whole group of them who really care about their neighborhood either don't even think to access their local government resources, or have completely written them off of being any use.

#a2pol #ypsipol
Meanwhile in Ypsi, my neighborhood org went down a rabbit hole of using org funds to replace the tennis nets in the local city park. I chime in to rope in our councilmembers and parks&rec commission, who very quickly and gamely come back saying of course we can get new nets purchased right away.

But by then the citizen who started this had already gone out and bought a net himself.

#fridaycheckin adopted a puppy last weekend. She's a handful, but we're very excited. Masto, meet Eleanor.

#fridaycheckin
Dad died last Saturday early morning. Took the whole week off work, and have spent a good chunk of it disconnected entirely. Lots of time with family and close friends.

We were fortunate, in that we had plenty of time to prepare, and he got to spend his last days at home with family like he wanted. And in some ways, it's been a relief to not see him suffering anymore. Given the world lately, it was about as humane a death as one could hope for.

Selling an old Atari Lynx game console on ebay. BIN set at $125, anyone on a2mi.social feel free to lowball me if you're interested.

http://ebay.us/kpiA8f?cmpnId=5338273189

#fridaycheckin pg2

Work otherwise is also good, now that things have stabilized. Feeling positive about our future and happy/fortunate to be at this company.

Also earlier this week I broke a filling and the broken piece got lodged between my teeth, causing all kinds of pain. Fortunately my dentist is still doing emergency procedures, and one new filling later I'm enjoying eating food again!

#fridaycheckin

Been a few weeks since I've done one of these. Let's see:

Terminally ill father remains terminally ill, which is an ever-present drain on energy, but he's well-taken care of and my responsibilities are minimal. The process of slowly losing a parent to cancer in the age of covid is both profoundly sad and also somehow a relief. So.

Three weeks in on my new employees starting, and it's smoother than I expected it would be. Feeling pretty proud about all that.

Does anyone on here have a few old tennis balls lying around that they could donate? Need them for feet for a walker. Willing to pick up whenever, wherever.

Had some nice walks today. It is very colorful outside.

@csalzman btw thank you for the circular saw! I'm excited to put it to use.

I made this mutual aid spreadsheet for coordinating groceries, but it could really be used for any items.

Intention is to share it among a close group of geographically close people, I think it would get unwieldy outside that. If you make your own copy, you'll see the name fields have been setup as drop-downs, and checked-off items automatically get hidden via filter.

If you find it useful, awesome. If you want to share it further, go for it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/116TgNFIDC7-S9Cyvg6cEqhKgzqYE4uVomFQvdShDcmU/edit?usp=sharing

Crazy excited to announce the launch of https://a2helps.com, a site I helped throw together this past week to connect our frontline healthcare workers with small businesses in washtenaw county.

Currently have a fb livestream event going on now to answer questions, with others happening at 2pm and 4pm today over at https://www.facebook.com/a2helps/live

#fridaycheckin

Ups and downs this week. Thankful for all the social connections in my life, and for now stable employment. Worried about everyone not in that boat, including plenty of family.

Found a great outreach project to drive my energy into, stay tuned for more info Monday.

Can't express how grateful I am for this local network and how much it isn't any of the other social platforms.

Take care of yourselves. I'm available if anyone needs help with anything.

Wondering when we'll see the first high-profile celebrity death from this pandemic.

The Art Van bankruptcy and ensuing store liquidations were possibly a major vector in spreading covid-19 in SE Michigan.

As I sit at home, continuing to be able to work at my software development job, I'm overcome by the sense that I could really just stop working entirely with no negative impact to the economy.

I have a long-term hope for this economic shutdown and recession that we can win back some worker solidarity and power and appreciation for the real labor that makes this country/world churn and our lives more enjoyable.