IUD removal went off without a hitch, despite my anxiety. I was torn between getting a replacement while I was there and just removing it and leaving it. I don't need birth control anymore seeing as my long-term committed relationship is now with another woman, but I was (and still am) concerned with "hormone crash" as my body struggles to return to baseline and balance itself.

I'm going through a really stressful time already with this cross-country move, so I was fretting over the possibility of mood swings, worsening anxiety and depression. I also don't want to gain a bunch of weight or, like, end up with a pizza for a face. I was up very late last night trying to read up on it and found a whole reddit thread of people who are really happy to have had theirs removed; some did experience that crash, but most swear that they started losing weight more easily, experienced better moods, less brain fog and fatigue, and ultimately were just better off.

So, I'm optimistic. I trust my partner to provide patience and understanding if things go south, but my fingers are crossed for a relatively smooth transition.

Today when I went downstairs I was informed that a nephew and his son would also be moving into this house, and staying "for a couple of months."

G o d.

That makes me, my cousin, his wife. Her sister, sister's husband, their nephew, and his son. Seven people. These newcomers are also from the Philippines and also do not have much English, bringing it up to four out of six roommates that I cannot effectively communicate with. It's a little stressful, but at least when I am home I spend nearly every minute shut up in my room, and I am leaving in just a little over a month anyway.

To be clear, I have zero problem with more members of their family being here and I have less than zero problem with people who don't have much English; the in-laws try their best and I have even been working with them a little to pick up a handful of words so that we can at least exchange pleasantries.

What is stressful is how much smaller the house feels all the time, how many people I have to share a bathroom with (five of us in one bathroom now) and how much noisier and more chaotic it's about to be. I also don't necessarily feel super comfy leaving my room unlocked and unattended when there is a teenaged boy I don't know hanging around, bored, while I'm at work all day. I do not automatically think ill of anyone, but I have a lot of triggers associated with people going into my room when I'm not home and looking through my stuff (thanks mom).

So I dunno. We'll see how it goes. I'm sure that because I have so much work to do and wish that time would slow down, it's sure to move ahead even faster, so there is that.

To prepare for watching the new Final Destination: Bloodlines I am re-watching all the others. It's been a fun blast from the past, if somewhat sobering to realize that the first one came out twenty five years ago.

I've been trying really hard to read more, because I need to, I want to, and I also want to donate more of my books to the local library before I move. I'm about halfway each done with Jennifer Government by Max Barry and How I Learned To Snap by Kirk Read. I'm enjoying both, but neither are books I feel I need to read more than once (which exactly the selection I've tried to line up, on account of only wanting to donate books I don't wanna keep, obviously!).

Super delighted to hear that, according to the ACLU, more than five million people attended No Kings protests across the country. My girlfriend attended her local protest with her sister and brother-in-law, and I'm so proud of her, not only for going but for being the kind of person who gets really fired up about justice, equality, and humanity in general. I was concerned about her, because I am a veteran protester myself, but all the protests I have ever attended have been in Los Angeles which... is a wildly differing environment from her little Midwestern college town. I stopped by my own local protest for a bit, but it was badly organized, and plagued with anti-protest visitors waving Trump flags and throwing trash at protesters. Very disheartening, but I live in one of those rare deep red pockets that is unfortunately rife with Trumpers, Teslas, and pro-ICE rhetoric, so it wasn't too surprising if I'm honest. I had to leave when I recognized one of the flag wavers as a patient from work.

DnD tomorrow though, that'll be fun.