putting someone first only works when you're in their top five

I had a really good day, thanks to some retail therapy. I'm going to a writing conference next week, and it's the first writing conference I've been to in (checks notes) four years. It's also the first conference of any kind that I've been to in three years, so my wardrobe is dusty and my social skills are even moreso. To bolster my ego and ensure that I have pants that fit, I made a last-minute trip to Des Moines to scour the stores at the main mall.

Unfortunately, styles are extremely bizarre right now. I am reminded that I am no longer twenty, and if I tried to wear what the twenty-year-olds are wearing, I would look utterly absurd. But also, I am not built for crop tops and also not built for overly-long jeans, and none of those things are appropriate for a conference anyway. So, shopping was a bit hit or miss, but I found a couple of jacket/blazer-type things and some pants that I think might be cute, but I will need to try everything on again in the lights/mirrors of my house.

On the way home, I stopped at Whole Foods to grab a few tings (I was craving rainbow chard, which is not a thing I have ever typed before, but I can't get it here and so scarcity creates desire). I also talked to Katie for an hour or so, which was excellent. And then I got home, unloaded my car, heated up some spaghetti, and watched election results.

All in all, I'm happy with where things are headed so far. I still live in hope that the Republicans will eventually stop nominating completely crazy candidates and will also stop attempting to pass laws that curtail everyone else's freedoms in the name of keeping a sliver of the population from feeling offended, but the party never learned its lesson about Trump and they seem content to continue dying on his hill. I also live in hope that they will get the message on how all the anti-abortion bills are failing at state levels, since I would like to maintain my access to IVF, like having birth control that keeps me from throwing up for hours every month, and also think it's important for women to be able to survive things like ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages that require abortions to prevent sepsis. Unfortunately, Iowa continues to swing to an R super-state, which is hard to watch since the governor is basically running on a massive state tax surplus + funneling money to private Christian schools while rural counties and public schools are starving for funds to stay afloat, but c'est la vie.

So, I'm sure all sorts of crazy things will come up in regards to election denial (i.e. Republicans already claiming that Maricopa County's voting is rigged despite Republicans controlling the entire elections department there), and I still doubt that the Democrats will hold onto the house, but at least it wasn't a bloodbath. And on that note, I'm going to stop watching coverage and go to bed - goodnight!