Unpopular Opinions? Welcome to my TED Talk.

1. Insomnia's not so bad.
   No, really! It has its limited, mind-numbing, exhausting uses. I mean, I finally got on Tik-Tok and followed people who slay me. Laughing my ass off without waking my family or peeing my pants in the middle of the night counts as exercise, right?
   RIGHT?
2. Being warm is overrated.
   Those of you not enduring a scorching heatwave right now, hear me out. Moving to a warm climate where a good, hard frost is perishingly rare just ain't all it's cracked up to be. Ask the allergic asthmatic how they know.
3. Firefly.
   I'm team Vivien on this one. It can be problematic as hell - just like most human beings I'd posit. But y'know, it did a lot right from a scripting and conflict standpoint. Mostly, I just remember it as a really good time that ended too soon. Of course, had it come out today, it's possible I'd have liked it less because of the yuck factors associated with it.
   
4. Snakes.
   Don't care. I like 'em. Not in my house necessarily, but I like seeing them. I like knowing they're out there in the world doing snake things. 
5. Old cats are the best.
   
   Sure kittens are cute and adorable, but they grow up. Old cats are opinionated, cranky, eccentric as hell, and set in their ways. They might be stiff with arthritis and their hearing may be gone. They might live for another few weeks or for years - getting more assertive and opinionated each day. But they are the cats who appreciate everything you do for them. They're suckers for a warm lap and a few soft pets. The relationship you've forged with them is settled and established. As their worlds get smaller, you move closer and closer to the center of it.
6. Having your parents live with you can be a win.
   Don't think I'm not aware of the incredible privilege I enjoy - my relationship with my folks is pretty damned good and a lot of people aren't that fortunate. In this case, it's even more privileged than that. I get to have this time with a parent who's becoming frailer and whose world is (like the elderly cat's) getting smaller. When we moved my parents into the house, it was to help them age in place and to never need a nursing home. That's a pretty big gift to give and to get. I hope we can sustain it. Are there hard days? Oh, yeah. But you know what? One of the parents brings me tea at random intervals throughout the day and makes fake ice cream every afternoon. It's the little things.
   
7. Pronouns are no big deal.
   Ask what people prefer. Use the preferred pronouns. Mess it up? Correct yourself. No flailing or apology or groveling necessary. Correct. Move on. Impacted people care that you're trying - though at some point - trying needs to move into habit. Otherwise, affected people may be forgiven for bringing an air horn into the conversation to provide demotivating commentary on being misgendered for the thousandth time.
8. Book lights don't actually light up books.
   I'd like to think this isn't an age thing, but it could totally be an age thing. Those tiny LED book lights that so cleverly clip to your book cover and adjust to illuminate the pages you're reading? Yeah, they don't. Sure, I can see the pages and that there are letters on the pages. But provide enough contrast to actually allow my migraine addled brain and eyes to bring those letters into focus so they can be seen, read, and registered? Not a chance. The book light is enough to keep me from killing a cat or dying because I tripped over a cat in the middle of the night, though. So there is that.

 TikTok comedy anyone?

Unpopular Opinion: A Bit Morbid

 As I sit here surrounded by various medical reports for my hairy beastie's recently discovered $%&# cancer while waiting on more test results and debating whether to subject her to chemo, I can't help but think about quality versus quantity of life. Our society prioritizes quantity. We demand that even those enduring great suffering with no hope of reprieve continue to exist to appease the conscience of others and to continue to pay the ever-hungry capitalist machine...even after we pass on. We, justifiably, fear our fellow man will kill us without our consent, thus we leave no space for exiting with dignity.  

Yes, there are 9 states and DC with Aid-In-Dying laws for those who have a terminal illness with life expectancy not to exceed 6 months. If your terminal illness is a long-haul affair, too bad, so sad. Suck it up. But don't get addicted to the pain killers. Assuming you can pay for them. Better to be a burden on your family than to cause an inconvenient passing thought to a transient legislator. Waste away, would you? Quietly. But not in a place with a hot real estate market. Your decaying flesh bag isn't worth as much as the square footage occupied by your bed. Hang in there until your savings is spent and bankruptcy makes you inconvenient. Long-term hospice? You should've bought into the insurance plan for that. Too late now, though. You don't qualify. Don't you know a dignified death is only for those who can afford for it?

Quality of life, well, if we were to assert that as a priority, we'd break the institutions that blame the immigrant for "stealing jobs" instead of the CEO who suppresses wages to earn his multi-million dollar bonus. We'd break the system of education that teaches children to sit still, be quiet, pay attention, don't ask too many questions, don't make mistakes, don't dare fail, don't be the bent tine in the fork. Accept the scripture of process and precedent. Stay in your assigned lane. Be a good drone. We'd expose the fallacy that hard work earns just rewards. Money would no longer be king. The rules of power would be redefined and accessible to the masses.

My unpopular opinion is that humanity has a broken relationship with both the sanctity of life and the mercy of death. The desire for control drives the former, while the fear of losing it enables the latter. Both are wielded by unscrupulous powers to great cruelty. It'll take more than a social revolution to change that. Sadly.