Posting; Pinch Hit; Betas

Dec. 14th, 2025 11:09 am
yuletidemods: A hippo lounges with laptop in hand, peering at the screen through a pair of pince-nez and smiling. A text bubble with a heart emerges from the screen. The hippo dangles a computer mouse from one toe. By Oro. (Default)
[personal profile] yuletidemods posting in [community profile] yuletide_admin
The DEADLINE is getting closer and closer!


At this time - 9pm UTC on 17 December - your Yuletide assignment must be posted (published, not a draft!) to the Yuletide collection as a complete work.


Before then, we need your help, Yuletide! We have an outstanding pinch hit (#121) for the fandoms:
SMPLive
Roughhouse SMP
Mirai SMP - XYouly
Highcraft (Web Series)

See details here. Please email us at yuletideadmin@gmail.com if you can help, and spread the word if you have friends who might be interested. This pinch hit is due at 9pm UTC on 19 December.

More pinch hits will be advertised at [community profile] yuletide_pinch_hits, especially after 9pm UTC on the 17th.


Additionally, we love beta reader volunteers! You can connect with writers at this post by filling out a Google form, or you can join the Discord and keep an eye out for beta requests advertised by members with the Hippo role.


Good luck to everyone facing down the deadline!


Schedule, Rules, & Collection | Contact Mods | Participant DW | Participant LJ | Pinch Hits on DW | Discord | Tag set | Tag set app

Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.

Yuletide Pinch Hits Due 12/19/25 UTC

Dec. 13th, 2025 12:46 pm
yuletidemods: A hippo lounges with laptop in hand, peering at the screen through a pair of pince-nez and smiling. A text bubble with a heart emerges from the screen. The hippo dangles a computer mouse from one toe. By Oro. (Default)
[personal profile] yuletidemods posting in [community profile] pinchhits
Event: Yuletide is a rare fandom fic exchange for stories of at least 1,000 words.
Event link: [community profile] yuletide_admin
Pinch hit link: yuletide_pinch_hits
Due date: Friday December 19 at 9pm UTC

PH #121: SMPLive, Roughhouse SMP, Mirai SMP - XYouly, Highcraft (Web Series)

Wintertime Woes Pinch Hit Due Jan 11

Dec. 13th, 2025 01:11 pm
wintermod: (Default)
[personal profile] wintermod posting in [community profile] pinchhits
Event:[community profile] wintertime_woes_exchange, an exchange for unhappy endings
Requirements: 500 words, or a sketch on unlined paper
Pinch hit link: https://wintertime-woes-exchange.dreamwidth.org/2592.html
Due date: January 11, 11:59PM UTC

PH 3 - art, fic - The Dark Half - Stephen King, Breaking Bad, Carrie - Stephen King
https://autoao3app.fandom.tools/#/wintertimewoes2025/user/SegaBarrett

PH 4 - fic - Rai-Kirah - Carol Berg, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Video Game), Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb
https://autoao3app.fandom.tools/#/wintertimewoes2025/user/Sinvulkt

Canon promo: Clair Obscur is a narratively led video game and can be consumed as a 4-hour video here.

To claim, please comment at the pinch hit post linked above, or email wintertime.woes.exchange@gmail.com. Thank you very much!

(no subject)

Dec. 12th, 2025 06:34 pm
comet_scout: Cosmos, from transformers marvel comics. (Default)
[personal profile] comet_scout posting in [community profile] addme

Me:

Comet, or Ju, 27, Brazilian, but I only post in English.

I mostly post about:

I like posting about things I may be into at the moment, like a game I played or something I’ve found interesting, and some basic thoughts about them. Mostly I have been logging in my Solo TTRPG plays, my Doronai Nui adventures mainly. Sometimes a post about real life, but not much. The plan is to just blog about anything I feel like sharing.

My hobbies are:

I play video games, I solo TTRPGs, I draw, I drabble, some fandoming, and some light toy collecting. Want to read more.

My fandoms are:

My main fandoms are Bionicle (G1) and Transformers (G1, Beast Wars, Skybound, Prime, and some IDW), I also like No Man’s sky, and have been getting into The Dark Crystal. And a little bit of many things. I have been playing a lot of Vintage Story.

My posting schedule tends to be:

Sporadic. I’ve made an effort to post more frequently, but it’s more interesting when I actually have something that has been on my mind.

I'm looking to meet people who:

Post similar things or may like similar things. I’m not around all the time, and I’m a bit quiet, so I don’t mind people who are similar.

Update [me, health, Patreon]

Dec. 12th, 2025 06:49 am
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
So, I, uh, got my RSI/ergonomics debugged!* I then promptly lost two days to bad sleep due to another new mechanical failure of the balky meat mecha and also a medical appointment in re two previous malfunctions. But I seem back in business now. The new keyboard is great.

Patrons, I've got three Siderea Posts out so far this month and it's only the 12th. I have two more Posts I am hoping to get out in the next three days. Also about health insurance. We'll see if it actually happens, but it's not impossible. I have written a lot of words. (I really like my new keyboard.)

Anyways, if you weren't planning on sponsoring five posts (or – who knows? – even more) this month, adjust your pledge limits accordingly.

* It was my bra strap. It was doing something funky to how my shoulder blade moved or something. It is both surprising to me that so little pressure made so much ergonomic difference, and not surprising because previously an even lighter pressure on my kneecap from wearing long underwear made my knee malfunction spectacularly. Apparently this is how my body mechanics just are.
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
Canonical link: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/1890494.html


0.

Hey Americans (and other people stuck in the American healthcare system)! Shopping for a health plan on your state marketplace? Boy, do I have some information for you that you should have and probably don't. There's been an important legal change affecting your choices that has gotten almost no press.

Effective with plan year 2026 all bronze level and catastrophic plans are statutorily now HDHPs and thus HSA compatible. You may get and self-fund an HSA if you have any bronze or catastrophic plan, as well as any plan of any level designated a HDHP.

2025 Dec 9: IRS.gov: "Treasury, IRS provide guidance on new tax benefits for health savings account participants under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill"
Bronze and Catastrophic Plans Treated as HDHPs: As of Jan. 1, 2026, bronze and catastrophic plans available through an Exchange are considered HSA-compatible, regardless of whether the plans satisfy the general definition of an HDHP. This expands the ability of people enrolled in these plans to contribute to HSAs, which they generally have not been able to do in the past. Notice 2026-05 clarifies that bronze and catastrophic plans do not have to be purchased through an Exchange to qualify for the new relief.

If you are shopping plans right now (or thought you were done), you should probably be aware of this. Especially if you are planning on getting a bronze plan, a catastrophic plan, or any plan with the acronym "HSA" in the name or otherwise designated "HSA compatible".

The Trump administration doing this is tacit admission that all bronze plans have become such bad deals that they're the economic equivalent of what used to be considered a HDHP back when that concept was invented, and so should come with legal permission to protect yourself from them with an HSA.

Effective immediately, you should consider a bronze plan half an insurance plan.

Read more [3,340 words] )

This post brought to you by the 221 readers who funded my writing it – thank you all so much! You can see who they are at my Patreon page. If you're not one of them, and would be willing to chip in so I can write more things like this, please do so there.

Please leave comments on the Comment Catcher comment, instead of the main body of the post – unless you are commenting to get a copy of the post sent to you in email through the notification system, then go ahead and comment on it directly. Thanks!

New to Dreamwidth

Dec. 11th, 2025 11:15 am
cemetaries: (Default)
[personal profile] cemetaries posting in [community profile] addme
Hey everyone! My name is Leslie but I'm usually called Lilith online. Either works. I used to be on LiveJournal for years then fell away once Facebook became a thing. I am venturing back to LJ and I will also be posting here as well. I remember having really great connections on LJ and I am hoping to find that again.

Name:

 

Leslie aka Lilith. Either is fine.

Age:

45. I've always been an old soul and now my body is catching up.

I mostly post about:

I don't know yet. I think it's going to be mostly a diary kind of thing where I talk about my life and thoughts and dreams and goals and the nice stuff and the bad stuff. A little bit of everything that makes me ... me.

My hobbies are:

theater, acting, directing, doing tech, art, singing, writing, photography, anything NASA (I go to the Space Center a lot), thrifting, true crime, documentaries

My fandoms are:

Anything Broadway, Marvel, Wicked, paranormal shows, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Taylor Swift, etc

I'm looking to meet people who:

Are chill. Some things should be serious about some things, but also a sense of humor is great. I am very "woke" though. Please be aware I am "woke". I am also disabled and will talk about my illness and disability issues. And I am mom of an nonverbal son who is autistic and those subjects will come up. I am adult too so I'll bring up adult issues as well, like sex.

My posting schedule tends to be: daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic/etc

My goal is to post at least weekly, maybe twice a week. My illness can throw me for a loop and suddenly I can't sit up some days. So, it depends on my spoons.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are:

If you are conservative. We just won't connect or agree on things, and I am at the point in my life that I want peace. It's better to just move along. I'm also not Christian but I do have Christian friends, but I am not into Christian Nationalism. If you are, we won't be a good fit. I identify as pagan/witch. I'm also LGBTQIA+ and have a trans son.

Before adding me, you should know: I am unapologetically myself. I can be a strong personality and I will always say if I disagree with someone, but I won't be rude about it unless I am needing to match energy being thrown at me.

Mood Theme in a Year Returns!

Dec. 11th, 2025 01:57 am
soc_puppet: A calendar page for January 2024 with emojis on various dates (Mood Theme in a Year)
[personal profile] soc_puppet posting in [community profile] fictional_fans
[community profile] moodthemeinayear is coming back in 2026 with a new twist: Creating a custom mood theme can now earn you Dreamwidth points!

Mood Theme in a Year is a community that takes a laid-back approach to creating a custom mood theme. If you've always wanted to create your own mood theme (those little images that pop up when you select something from the drop-down "Mood" menu when posting), this is a great place to do it! Take your time creating graphics for anywhere between 15 and 132 moods, either following the community's suggested schedule or going at your own pace. (Though you need to make a minimum of 18 graphics to earn any paid time.)

The "official" schedule starts again from the beginning on January 1st, but you can jump in at any time during the year; feel free to challenge yourself as well with Bingo cards or the Mood Theme in a Month calendars! Learn more in the community pinned post or profile.

I hope to see you there!
yuletidemods: A hippo lounges with laptop in hand, peering at the screen through a pair of pince-nez and smiling. A text bubble with a heart emerges from the screen. The hippo dangles a computer mouse from one toe. By Oro. (Default)
[personal profile] yuletidemods posting in [community profile] yuletide_admin
The default deadline has passed! Defaults after this date will require a New Year’s Resolution fic before you can sign up again. See more info about defaulting at our FAQ.

Original assignments and pinch hits #1-96 are due in a little over 6 days, at:

9pm UTC, 17 December
See when that is in YOUR timezone
See countdown

This is an international exchange, and deadlines are given in UTC/GMT. This deadline is also at a DIFFERENT TIME OF DAY to deadlines we've used in recent years. Please click the links and check when the deadline is for you. We appreciate it!


Good luck to all writing, and especial thanks to everyone tackling pinch hits! Check out [community profile] yuletide_pinch_hits for requests currently in need of writers.


Schedule, Rules, & Collection | Contact Mods | Participant DW | Participant LJ | Pinch Hits on DW | Discord | Tag set | Tag set app

Please either comment logged-in or sign a name. Unsigned anonymous comments will be left screened.

devinwolfi: (BaG)
[personal profile] devinwolfi posting in [community profile] fictional_fans
Be A Goldfish 2026: 1 Jan to 28 Feb 2026
Description: A multifandom, multimedia, make-a-thon! Contributors are encouraged to share multiple works throughout (though not required!), as well as leave many comments on any and all fanworks shared throughout.

There are no sign-ups, check-ins, or discord servers. This is all very low-stakes, go-at-your-own-pace fun. For anyone interested in a bit of structure, there will be a completely optional punch card that you can mark off weekly if you leave a comment on a work or share one of your own. Additionally, we have provided an optional series of weekly prompts in the hopes of inspiring you to experiment creatively and find new fannish heights!


All fandoms are allowed: From megafandoms like Star Trek and Tolkien to that one canceled-too-soon series from the 80s that only you and your closest mutual know about because you're the one who told them about it in the first place, everything that has ever given you that fannish itch is both allowed and highly encouraged (RPF included).

All mediums are allowed: fic, art, meta, web weaves, gifs, playlists, food, fiber or paper crafts, etc. Very multi, very media, very wow!

All text-based entries must be 1,000 words or less, hence the micro aspect of this “bang.” We’re especially encouraging things like drabbles, poetry, ficlets, and of course, non-fic fanworks.

Schedule: 1 January - 28 February 2026
Links: [community profile] beagoldfish, [tumblr.com profile] bag-bang, our 2026 AO3 Collection, and our FAQ

Come join our community and/or drop us a follow on tumblr and, if you feel so inspired, ring in the new year with your fellow fans!

Our poster! )

What's up?

Dec. 10th, 2025 03:12 am
[personal profile] ladyunicorn22 posting in [community profile] addme
Hi folks, I hope you all are doing well. Not good at doing these intro things, but I'll give it a try. I'm Lesley. I'm in my late thirties, happily married and I have one cat child. I love books of all types, I'm currently making my way through the Dungeon Crawler Carl books, Tv shows including The Golden girls, How I met your Mother, Grace and Frankie and others. I love all kinds of music, and I enjoy baking. I welcome people of all backgrounds and stuff, I'm a Christian myself. as for what I write about in here, To be honest, there's only one entry in here, but I plan on changing that. I will most likely write about daily life things, and sometimes about what I'm watching/reading/listening to as well as mental and physical health stuff. I am totally blind, so sometimes I will write about that. If there is anything else you wanna know, feel free to take a peak at the profile. I will be writing in here probably every few days to every week. Depends on the mood I'm in. I hope all of you have a good day, and if you celebrate them, happy holidays

Seeking New Friends

Dec. 10th, 2025 01:13 am
[personal profile] dandylover1 posting in [community profile] findingfriends
Is there an interesting story behind your username?
Not really. I love dandies. It's also my username in most places.

Location and language(s):
America, New Jersey. English (both American and RP), and learning Italian. I dabbled in Latin but not much.

Age range (e.g 20s, 30s, etc.):
I'm forty-two. I tend to get along better with those who are older than I, particularly seniors.

Hot button/deal breaker issues that will likely lead to unfriending:
Minors (I prefer at least over twenty-one), depression and/or anxiety (posted regularly), bad self-esteem, life drama, recreational drugs, religion or politics (posted regularly), a lot of bad grammar and spelling (unless you're learning English), and frequent obscenities.

Do you have an "About Me" post new friends can read to get a sense of who you are, the people you talk about regularly, etc.?

https://dandylover1.dreamwidth.org/488.html

Is your profile up-to-date or at all useful?
Yes. It is up-to-date, and there is a lot of information about me there, as well as my Mastodon and Escargot.chat information.

List a few things you think it's important new friends know about you right away:
I have no time for political correctness, lies, or drama. While I always try to be civil during discussions, I share my opinion without reservations. If you are easily offended, please do not add me. I have a very dry and witty sense of humour. There are times when I don't read my friends' page for awhile, and I am trying to change that. I am totally blind, so if you mostly post images, I won't be able to comment on them, as I cannot see them.

You mostly write about:
Entries may consist of anything from short summaries of my day, to surveys, to essays on various topics, to interesting links and quotes that I find, along with my commentary on them. Lately, I have been writing reviews of opera recordings from the 1950's and earlier.

You never or very rarely write about:
Politics, modern celebrities or popular culture, world affairs, fandoms, video games, or mental health.

Is your journal mostly public, locked, or a mix of public and locked?
Public.

Do you use filters for certain types of posts (e.g. fandom-related posts, or posts about sex, or mental health issues, etc.)?
No, but if I post any adult content, I always put it behind a cut and age restrict it.

Your posting frequency (e.g. daily, every few days, weekly, etc.):
It varies, from a few posts in a given week to a few in a single day. Often, I post what I call filler entries toward the end of the month. These are entries posted on one date but for another. I try to post a few entries per week.

Does your journal frequently include any of the following: memes, linkspams, gifs, photos, videos, etc?
No, though if you use the old definition of memes as surveys, I do enjoy those. I also post links to things that are related to the discussion in the entry, but they are not spam, nor am I affiliated with any companies.

What do you enjoy most about journaling?
I like sharing my world with others. I also enjoy reading past posts and seeing how much I've changed or remained the same, and perhaps revisiting some interests from my past or broadening my knowledge on various topics.

How often do you read your friends list (e.g. daily, every other day, once a week, etc.)?
I haven't read them in a long time, but now, I plan on doing so at least once a week, but I hope more often.

You really enjoy reading about:
People's daily lives, cooking, gardening, high culture (classical music, opera, fine cuisine, history, art, etc.), scientific discoveries, cats and pets in general, literature, poetry, antique menswear, nature, crafts, and the paranormal.

You have very little interest in reading about:
Mental health issues, fandom, visual things that I can't see i.e. a post of all images with no descriptions, politics, world affairs, video games, abuse, drugs, and constant family drama.

Your thoughts on journals that regularly include any of the following: memes, linkspams, gifs, photos, videos, etc?
I am totally blind, so I couldn't appreciate most of them. I like surveys and links that are on topic or just interesting.

When it comes to comments on your posts, what matters more -- quality or quantity?
Quality. If you just say "hi" or "I like your entry", etc. that is meaningless. At the same time, it does show me that you are reading my journal, so if you haven't commented in awhile, even that would be acceptable.

Do you unfriend people who don't comment much, even if you know they are reading you regularly?
No, unless they don't post regularly and/or we never communicate elsewhere i.e. their journal.

What is your approach when it comes to commenting on other journals?
If I have something to say, I say it. If not, I just read and move on. I do wish there were like buttons here, if only so that we users could demonstrate that we've read something, even if we didn't comment on it.

When you friend someone, but things don't really click, do you unfriend them without warning, or do you send them a note first? How do you prefer to be unfriended in similar circumstances?
I usually unfriend without warning, unless we were friends for a while, or I feel I owe the person an explanation. I would expect the same from friends.

AND LASTLY
Friending memes often ask people to list their favourite TV shows, movies, books, etc., but more often than not, those aren't things people actually write about in their journal. Do you have any favourite TV shows, movies, books, etc., that you DO often write about -- not necessarily in a fandom sort of way, just in general?
Not that I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there are some, andmost likely, they are books.

Any final thoughts you'd like to share with potential new friends?
Just so you have an idea of what I like, my hobbies are studying dandyism, Received Pronunciation, the Regency, and the Italian language, reading, writing, cooking, baking, playing cards and dice, and enjoying warm weather. My Other Interests include coffees, teas, antique menswear and accessories (usually Edwardian), chamber and classical music, old opera singers, plants and gardening, crafts, and history and nature documentaries. I love wit, wordplay, and sarcastic humour without vulgarity. I am happily childfree and an atheist.

Seeking New Friends

Dec. 10th, 2025 12:14 am
[personal profile] dandylover1 posting in [community profile] addme
Name: Georgiana or Georgie. Neither is my legal name, but they are what I use here and in most situations.

Age: Forty-two.

I mostly post about: Entries may consist of anything from short summaries of my day, to surveys, to essays on various topics, to interesting links and quotes that I find, along with my commentary on them. Lately, I have been writing reviews of opera recordings from the 1950's and earlier. I have no interest in politics and modern celebrities. I wish to keep my journal light and happy as much as possible.

My hobbies are: studying dandyism, Received Pronunciation, the Regency, and the Italian language, reading, writing, cooking, baking, playing cards and dice, and enjoying warm weather.

My Other Interests include: coffees, teas, antique menswear and accessories (usually Edwardian), chamber and classical music, old opera singers, plants and gardening, crafts, and history and nature documentaries. I love wit, wordplay, and sarcastic humour without vulgarity. I also love cats.

My fandoms are: I don't have any.

I'm looking to meet people who: are positive, who share my interests and can introduce me to some new ones, and who enjoy at least some elements of high culture. While the minimum age I will add is twenty-one, I tend to get along with those who are older than I, particularly seniors. I am also single and searching, but since this isn't a dating community, I'll just say that you can find more about that in one of the sticky entries in my journal. You can also find my Mastodon and Escargot.chat information there.

My posting schedule tends to be: It varies, from a few posts in a given week to a few in a single day. Often, I post what I call filler entries toward the end of the month. These are entries posted on one date but for another. I try to post a few entries per week.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: minors (I prefer at least over twenty-one), depression and/or anxiety (posted regularly), bad self-esteem, life drama, recreational drugs, religion or politics (posted regularly), a lot of bad grammar and spelling (unless you're learning English), and frequent obscenities. Please note that I am totally blind, so if you mostly post images, I won't be able to comment on them, as I cannot see them.

Before adding me, you should know: I have no time for political correctness, lies, or drama. While I always try to be civil during discussions, I share my opinion without reservations. If you are easily offended, please do not add me. I have a very dry and witty sense of humour. Otherwise, feel free to read my profile and/or posts and add me if you wish. I will most likely reciprocate. I also comment when I have something to say, but there are times when I don't read my friends' page for awhile, and I am trying to change that.

(no subject)

Dec. 8th, 2025 10:21 pm
hafnia: Animated drawing of a flickering fire with a pair of eyes peeping out of it, from the film Howl's Moving Castle. (Default)
[personal profile] hafnia
Christ.

Things move quickly, I suppose. It's sort of ironic — I ended that entry with a note about plans changing, and this morning, they did.

Max texted me that the funeral is this weekend. Friday, specifically.

"So I guess I'm not going", because there were no flights.

I pointed out that thanks to the atmospheric river, temps are actually much warmer than they have been — "so if we want to drive..."

I texted a friend of ours that cat-sits for us, usually, asking if she was free. She said yes, as long as I was fine with them getting fed two hours early on Thursday.

"Yeah, of course."

So.

Text exchange with Maximo back and forth, re: whether or not he wanted me to go; I hate "well, it's up to you", because when it's shit like this, it's not up to me. If I'm going out with you as support, I want to know that you want that support, goddam.

Anyway he admitted at long last that yes, he would like it, so we're leaving Thursday.


Today was something of a mixed bag, shall we say.

Woke up with the alarm at 7:20, talked to Maximus about the whole funeral business, then fell back asleep because I hadn't actually fallen asleep last night until almost 3am. (Sigh.)

Almost immediately went into a nightmare about my ex, one where he found out where I'm living now and after I got home from running an errand in town (that I'd walked to; town is small enough that this is plausible), followed me home, stole my keys to keep me from getting into the house, and ended up literally chasing me through the neighborhood.

Woke up mid-panic attack, fully hyperventilating, fight-or-flight response in full gear, nearly kicked one of the cats trying to get free of the bedclothes. Cool.

Laid there for a very long time just trying to get my heart rate back down to normal. I haven't talked to him in eight and a half years. I have seen him at a few points, but it's been the sort of thing where I've had the ability to just leave, so I have, without talking to him.

(I know that if for some horrible reason I did end up in the same place as him at the same time with no way to escape, he would try to talk to me — I don't know that he'd be able to help it. I saw him do it to others. I also know that I would probably just end up giving him the cut direct, but, well, you know.)

Eventually did get up and get ready to do therapy, etc, but God, that cast a shadow over the whole fucking day.


Happier news, suppose: I made bread today. Very simple stuff. In essence:

500 g bread flour (~4ish cups but woe betide you if you're using volumetric measurements for flour)
1.5 c water
2 tsp coarse salt (kosher, or I use coarse sea salt for mine)
2 tsp instant yeast

Throw into a bowl, knead until it passes the windowpane test (about eight minutes at speed 2 in my KitchenAid). Allow to rise in a warm place (on top of the coffee maker, here) until doubled in size. Tip out onto a baking sheet, shape into a loaf, allow to rise until puffy and, well, large, another 45 minutes, then slash the top and bake at 425F until browned, about 25 minutes in my oven.

I opt for crispy crust by preheating a cast-iron pan with the oven and filling it with boiling water just before I shove the bread in, but you do you.

Anyway it's dead fucking simple and it makes a loaf of bread that the Maximus goes nuts for.

Literally — I put it out on a board, just as a, "we can have some of this with olives and cheese and some wine while we're waiting for dinner to finish baking" (I made pot pie), and he flipped and ate a third of the loaf by his lonesome. Good lord.


I did a tarot reading for myself as sort of a, "great, what next?" post-therapy.

It was...enlightening?

Midway through doing it, I had the funny little revelation that the deck I bought for myself a couple of years ago that I cannot do a proper reading with is something that a friend of mine would probably have better luck with, because it's moon-themed, and I am just...look, I know what I am, and I am not Moon Energy. So.

The upshot of the reading is that yes shit sucks right now, why am I asking my tarot deck for confirmation that it sucks? It does, you're welcome, the end. Acknowledging that it sucks and doing what needs to be done will at least maybe help with the feeling of absolute misery, so, uh.

...thanks, goblin deck, for that...?

I did laugh while doing the pulls, but — yeah.

I did tarot in part because I joked with my therapist that perhaps I should just pay an Etsy witch to uncurse me. "Do you know the name of the one that uncursed the Seattle Mariners? Do you think she does more than just baseball?"

He laughed.

The — reading was basically, like, "look if you want to reach out to weird metaphysical shit for help, then yes, find that Etsy witch and pay her", which was deeply funny to me, but yeah.

Some part of me is like, "this is ridiculous, you are a PhD scientist" — and another part of me is like, "but, you know..."

So I suppose we shall see? :P

If anyone has a preferred Etsy witch (or method of curse removal), LET ME KNOW.


Oh! Right, of course, yes.

The other weird thing is that one of my fics on AO3 has suddenly gained almost 125 hits over the last two days. No kudos, no new comments, just a fuckload more hits. Like, why?? Do I get to know?

...do I want to know?

(It's explicit, tagged clearly with what it is, and fairly unremarkable, so I can't imagine it's been linked anywhere, but — huh.)
siderea: (Default)
[personal profile] siderea
Canonical link: https://siderea.dreamwidth.org/1890011.html

This is part of Understanding Health Insurance





Health Insurance is a Contract



What we call health insurance is a contract. When you get health insurance, you (or somebody on your behalf) are agreeing to a contract with a health insurance company – a contract where they agree to do certain things for you in exchange for money. So a health insurance plan is a contract between the insurance company and the customer (you).

For simplicity, I will use the term health plan to mean the actual contract – the specific health insurance product – you get from a health insurance company. (It sounds less weird than saying "an insurance" and is shorter to type than "a health insurance plan".)

One of the things this clarifies is that one health insurance company can have a bunch of different contracts (health plans) to sell. This is the same as how you may have more than one internet company that could sell you an internet connection to your home, and each of those internet companies might have several different package deals they offer with different prices and terms. In exactly that way, there are multiple different health insurance companies, and they each can sell multiple different health plans with different prices and terms.

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Preface: I had hoped to get this out in a more timely manner, but was hindered by technical difficulties with my arms, which have now been resolved. This is a serial about health insurance in the US from the consumer's point of view, of potential use for people still dealing with open enrollment, which we are coming up on the end of imminently. For everyone else dealing with the US health insurance system, such as it is, perhaps it will be useful to you in the future.





Understanding Health Insurance:
Introduction



Health insurance in the US is hard to understand. It just is. If you find it confusing and bewildering, as well as infuriating, it's not just you.

I think that one of the reasons it's hard to understand has to do with how definitions work.

Part of the reason why health insurance is so confusing is all the insurance industry jargon that is used. Unfortunately, there's no way around that jargon. We all are stuck having to learn what all these strange terms mean. So helpful people try to explain that jargon. They try to help by giving definitions.

But definitions are like leaves: you need a trunk and some branches to hang them on, or they just swirl around in bewildering clouds and eventually settle in indecipherable piles.

There are several big ideas that provide the trunk and branches of understanding health insurance. If you have those ideas, the jargon becomes a lot easier to understand, and then insurance itself becomes a lot easier to understand.

So in this series, I am going to explain some of those big ideas, and then use them to explain how health insurance is organized.

This unorthodox introduction to health insurance is for beginners to health insurance in the US, and anyone who still feels like a beginner after bouncing off the bureaucratic nightmare that is our so-called health care system in the US. It's for anyone who is new to being an health insurance shopper in the US, or feels their understanding is uncertain. Maybe you just got your first job and are being asked to pick a health plan from several offered. Maybe you have always had insurance from an employer and are shopping on your state marketplace for the first time. Maybe you have always gotten insurance through your parents and spouse, and had no say in it, but do now. This introduction assumes you are coming in cold, a complete beginner knowing nothing about health insurance or what any of the health insurance industry jargon even is.

Please note! This series is mostly about commercial insurance products: the kinds that you buy with money. Included in that are the kind of health insurance people buy for themselves on the state ACA marketplaces and also the kind of health insurance people get from their employers as a "bene". It may (I am honestly not sure) also include Medicare Advantage plans.

The things this series explains do not necessarily also describe Medicaid or bare Medicare, or Tricare or any other government run insurance program, though if you are on such an insurance plan this may still be helpful to you. Typically government-run plans have fewer moving parts with fewer choices, so fewer jargon terms even matter to them. Similarly, this may be less useful for subsidized plans on the state ACA marketplaces. It depends on the state. Some states do things differently for differently subsidized plans.

But all these different kinds of government-provided health insurance still use some insurance industry jargon for commercial insurance, if only to tell you what they don't have or do. So this post may be useful to you because understanding how insurance typically works may still prove helpful in understanding what the government is up to. Understanding what the assumptions are of regular commercial insurance will hopefully clarify the terms even government plans use to describe themselves. Just realize that if you have a plan the government in some sense is running, things may be different – including maybe very different – for you.



On to the first important idea: Health Insurance is a Contract.



Understanding Health Insurance
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  • Sewing? I looked into using a serger at the local library, but then [personal profile] coraline had a spare serger to lend me (whoa) and we had a good time talking about clothing construction. I got as far as making sure the serger works, and figuring out how it cuts the fabric as it goes, before getting utterly derailed by the next few things. However, I have the machine and my other machine, and have ordered a few accessories to Get Going Soon. Let the mending and alteration begin.

  • Death of a Table: during the above, with two sewing machines and a laptop and part of a friend on my dining room table, the table decided to disintegrate into its five component pieces. Amazingly, nothing and nobody else was hurt, but every single screw came out of the extension mechanism. It's time for a new table. The one we had was "mid-century" style, solid pine, and probably from about the 1920s -- we got it used, nearly 15 years ago, from a peer who got it from his grandmother. I just want another extensible oval, but the bug wants really nice wood, so we might eventually be headed for something like this. I've never paid a lot for a table before, but I guess it's up there with couches and mattresses in size and importance.

  • New place: I had to lean pretty hard on the contractor to get someone to come over and fix a small issue with the HVAC. Wasted a couple of hours there, and more hours getting quotes on snow removal that none of the other unit owners wanted. But I also spent a couple of gratifying hours fixing a door so it doesn't scrape on the floor anymore, thanks to [personal profile] heisenbug coming over and helping. A door is really a two-person lift. Then there were tenants who wanted the place and then stopped wanting the place, but in between those two events I went through my last lease and identified all the little places to change wording for a new lease at this place. It's really so, so nice now. Someone is going to have a lovely time living there.

  • Blue-Green place: the same unit that had a ton of trouble with AC this summer had their heat cut out on them, including for one very cold night that we felt guilty about (they had a space heater, yes, but they also have a baby). But eventually we got a really nice HVAC guy who walked me through the whole heating system, taught me a bunch of things I later took notes on in a Google doc, and found/fixed the problem with the boiler. Which stemmed partly from nobody realizing it needed water added to it manually every now and then, sigh. The boiler is also super old, so in the spring we'll drain a lot of our reserve fund and replace it. This all involved some running around on my part, over two days, but I do enjoy learning about the system.

  • Social: cookie swap at my acro base's apartment (oh, yes, I baked cookies) and tree trimming over at Blue-Green Street. Things are getting kind of intense and stressful again for Helios and Perse, as one of them seems to attract job offers even when not looking and the other seems to attract surgeries even when definitely not looking.

  • Circus: I guess doing 60lb TGUs is just normal now, but I did do that again, and also possibly did my best middle splits ever? I got down to two of the thinner yoga blocks, which means a height of just under six inches.



I haven't been playing any video games; real life has been compelling enough. I'm reading some books though (just started The Left Hand of Darkness on Audible), and poking at a knitting project, and curating gifts for Xmas. It's been fun.

I am also making the world's slowest progress on planning a trip to my birth state next spring. I hate it there, but I'll go. And Birdie will go, which is going to absolutely make my dad's whole year as well as introducing her to her genetic granddad. The bug will go, which always helps a ton, and it's starting to look like the squirrel, curious about my origin story, might go too.

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