I fell asleep. I'm not feeling better rested or anything. Now I just feel sick

.

ough. i have a 100.5 degree fever

*takes one (1) hit of the d8 before work because long day ahead of me*

*20 minutes later* *chest hurts* *nauseous* *head hurts*

hwat the fuuck

Slow | Chloe Logarzo x Reader

Words: 1.9k Summary: despite a rough relationship with your parents, your closeness to your sister brings you Chloe, the only girl for you. Warning: NOT PROOF READ I have no clue if this is any good and I’m so sorry I think it might be one of my worst ones😭, I know the WBBL started in 2015 but who fucking cares, I changed it – no COVID but Olympics still postponed for some unknown reason :D Requested by - @charligrantismygirlfriend - not happy with this one at all i'm genuinely so sorry

Sport wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with. In fact, it was my favourite thing. As a kid, my mum and dad put me through many different clubs for different sports, from tennis to AFL. We always landed back at the same lush green cricket pitch in the western suburbs of Sydney on a Saturday morning, surrounded by other girls of all ages who shared my passion.

On Sundays my younger sister would play her soccer games, so we’d spend the weekend in a hotel in the city, then go to each other’s games, pretending to do our homework as we watch.

Not long into Ellie’s soccer journey, our parents decided the move from Cowra to Sydney was necessary for her to develop. The hours long trips to and from training in the depths of Sydney every afternoon proving to be more difficult as she progressed in school.

I no longer lived with them when they made the move, but I resented Ellie for a while. I’d been playing cricket before she could walk, albeit poorly as a 6-year-old, and had moved up through the stages into the best group in the academy by the age of 14. My parents insisted nothing much would come of it, so there was no reason to make such a drastic move and leave the farm and small-town life behind.

-

I started playing professionally for Sydney in the Twenty20 Cup at 17, the same year I got my first call-up for the women’s national cricket team. We, or they, still didn’t live in Sydney, so I dropped out of high school my senior year, and lived with one of the older girls who was also on the national team. I made my national debut a couple months after in a test match against England. My parents didn’t come, Ellie had some important game on that was simply impossible to miss.

-

At 15, when they finally joined me in the city, Ellie joined her first W-league team, and had her first senior team call-up. I made sure to be there for both debuts, avoiding my parents who sat in the crowd nearby. I cried the moment she first touched the pitch in a Matilda’s jersey, and rushed down from the stands to pick her up and hug her when the match was over.

That’s when I first met her… Chloe. My age, a beautiful brunette in the midfield who celebrated with my sister after their 9-0 win against Vietnam. We introduced ourselves and exchanged numbers but nothing much came of it. I can’t deny the many nights I spent awake dreaming of the girl.

The next time I saw Chloe in person was a Sydney Derby. Naturally I’d come to support my sister, but I couldn’t help but cheer whenever the older girl got a touch on the ball. I met up with her and Ellie again after the game, shouting them both dinner. That’s when Chloe asked me out on our first date.

It was somewhat rushed. Her departure for Newcastle was pending and it limited our options, leaving us to grab some shitty take away and dance around in a field down the road from where I lived. The sun was bright, but her smile was brighter. I stumble on my own feet whenever she looked at me, her beauty beyond compare. The beginning of a sunburn kissing my cheeks only provided me so much of an excuse as to why I was so red.

“I’m going to come to every single one of your games.” She whispers in my ear as we lay on the picnic blanket, beneath the over looming gum tree, me playing with her hair as she rests a hand beneath my loose linen shirt.

“You have your own training. And you can’t drive 2+ hours back and forth once a week. Also we have away games you can’t possibly make...” Despite my desperate want for her to be there every game, I begin to list all the reasons it wasn’t logical.

“I’ll find a way. And if not all, most home games.” She gives me a satisfied smile, one that tells me she knows she’s won whatever little argument we had.

-

Chloe keeps her promise, and I join her in my own. We both attend each other’s home games as often as possible, and very rarely, we managed to catch an away game. It usually happened when we were both playing a game in the same city, but we took whatever we were given.

Things went down hill when she moved to Sweden.

She hadn’t been the one to tell me. Ellie was spending a week with me after returning from the Olympics, which I had managed to attend most of, and asked me how I felt about the move. Chloe and I had been dating for a year, so the shock that she hadn’t told me was bigger than the shock at the news.

“What do you mean? She would tell me if she was moving to Sweden.” The pity in my little sister’s eyes is enough to break me. She pats and rubs my back as I sob into her shoulder. My whole body shakes as I moan and weep, and by the time I stop my eyes burn and there isn’t a dry spot on her shirt.

-

“So this is it? You’re breaking up with me because I’m moving?” Chloe looks at me like I’ve got 2 heads as I stand on her front step.

“No, I’m breaking up with you because I had to find out from my little sister, by accident, that you’re moving. Were you ever going to tell me? Or was I just going to have to find out when The Jets removed your name from the squad list?”

“I’m going to come back for the A-League season anyway! It’s not like I’m never coming back, I’ll barely be gone 8 months. And I was going to tell you!”

“When? Once your plane touched down in Stockholm or wherever you’re going? In 5 months when I called you so you can explain why you didn’t come to my game? When were you going to tell me Chlo?” I’m met with silence.

“That’s what I thought.” I turn and walk away, never expecting to see her again.

I can hear her shouting something at me as I continue to walk down the road, droplets of rain beginning to fall on the pavement in front of me. Nothing really registers until I’m standing in front of my sister’s apartment door, clothes heavy with rain and a face void of any other emotion except heartbreak.

-

I don’t see Chloe for years to come following the tragic end of our relationship. Despite her coming back during the summer to play for Sydney, I had no reason to watch her games, Ellie having moved to Portland to develop her career.

Then Ellie moved to Lyon, and I decided to move with her, putting a pause to my cricketing career. Further away from Chloe and closer to Ellie seemed like the perfect deal.

So I helped Ellie move and meet her new teammates. Every morning I’d make her breakfast and then walk around the city, usually finding myself in a café or museum and writing a book. Something I never planned on doing anything with, but found a solace in.

That’s how I found myself in the same café I go to every Saturday, typing in the same document I have been typing in for 5 months. Desperately pressing the backspace as I sip the now cold coffee, I don’t notice someone sliding into the seat across from me.

“Fancy seeing you here.” I’m surprised I didn’t get whiplash at the speed in which my head snapped up to look at the girl across from me.

She looks different. Not really, just… older. And her hair is bleached, skin just a fraction more tan, eyes still that shimmering blue. Still beautiful

“Chloe- what the fuck are you doing here?” the words nearly get caught in my throat as I try to process what’s going on.

“Well, I’m playing for Bristol now, in case you didn’t know. Only spent 2 seasons in Sweden then went back to Sydney, went on loan to Washington for a season, back to Sydney, now I’m in England. We have a small break so I thought I’d come see Ellie. Planned everything around you, knew you wouldn’t want to see me. I didn’t take into account you might still like coffee as much as you used to.”

“How’d you even know I’m with Ellie?” it’s a dumb question but I ask it none the less.

“You think I stopped tracking your career because we broke up? I have to say, when I read the “renowned cricketer Y/N Carpenter taking a break for an unforeseen amount of time to help her little sister, Matildas star Ellie Carpenter, settle into the big leagues at Olympique Lyonnais.” headlines, I was shocked.” I finally managed to meet her eyes, the crow’s feet that crack at the corners making her ever the more pretty. It’s aggravating.

“Thought it’d help me get away from Sydney.”

“Sydney? Or me?” I almost want to grab her by the shoulders and scream at her how much I miss her, but I stay sat and silent. A satisfied hum escapes her lips and a smile graces her face.

“I miss you.” She says what I’m thinking, and I begin to think how much of a coward I am. It was so easy for her, why am I struggling?

She doesn’t let me reply, getting up and walking out. I get up to follow her but she’s vanished in the crowd, so I sit, letting my coffee grow colder, thinking about her.

~~~~~

“Ellie this is a bad idea.”

“Common. Meeks is bringing Harley and Kirstey. You love Harley. You can babysit!” my little sister is determined, although my fighting is useless as we drag our suitcases through the airport.

“Chloe is going to be there El.”

“Chloe is going to be here.” I nearly bump into her as she stops in front of us.

“And she’ll be your plane buddy.” The cheeky grin I was once so familiar with graces her face and I can feel the corner of my own lips twitching as my heart clenches. Fuck.

“Oh goody.” I try to ignore the sweat that begins to prick through my skin as Ellie stalks away from us to meet Emily Gielnik.

-

“Real talk.” Chloe’s face is serious as soon as we take our seats on the plane.

“I miss you, and I want to try this again. I get you may not want to but you can’t tell me you don’t still feel even the tiniest bit of love for me still.” Her finger waggles back and forth between as to indicate exactly what she’s talking about and I sigh.

“I miss you too…” I meet her eyes and I can see the hope that grows behind them.

“But if we try this out again, we have to take it slow. Like go out on a few dates to start with.”

“I can do that.” She eagerly nods her head in agreement.

“I’d really like that.” I smile back at her, and that seems to end the conversation.

As the engine rumbles and we begin moving along the tarmac, I rest my arm on the armrest. I gently slide my hand into Chloe’s and rest my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes. Maybe slow wasn’t necessary, I love her too much.

Christine’s Malpractice Case

Every year, there are thousands of medical malpractice cases reported in the United States. Ranging from surgical or procedural errors, to misdiagnosis, to anesthesia errors, and many other possible factors not listed. We all have a certain level of trust in medical professionals because of their many years of training and education. However, these professionals are people too, and are prone to making mistakes from time to time. Unfortunately when medical professionals make a mistake, it can have major consequences for their patient- leading to further injury, disability, or even death. Sadly, one such case took place at our hospital recently.

The patient was Christine Rossi. She was 47 years old and stood at only 5 feet tall, but her big personality made up for her lack of height. She had a pleasantly plump figure, beautiful brown eyes, shoulder length brown hair, was olive skinned since she was of Italian descent, and always had a fresh mani+pedi. She looked good for her age since she never had kids, and she was never married- but definitely married to her career as a medical malpractice attorney.

Christine’s case began when she was brought into our emergency department one evening straight from her office. She was wheeled into trauma 1 sitting up on the gurney, stripped down to just her bra and underwear. She was wearing an oxygen mask, had EKG electrodes all over her chest, and had IVs going in both arms. “hi, I’m Dr Lindsay. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Dr Lindsay, the ER attending from that evening asked Christine in a calm, inviting tone. Christine was gasping for air and had one hand on her chest. Her eyes were absolutely bugging out at times, and she was visibly uncomfortable. “my chest…” Christine utters to Lindsay. “your chest hurts? How long has it been hurting you?” Dr Lindsay asks in response. “since yesterday… but it got worse- a lot worse just now…” Christine tells Dr Lindsay.

On the heart monitors, Dr Lindsay saw that Christine was tachycardic, hypotensive, and had an abnormal EKG. The EKG showed unifocal PVCs with ST elevation. The doctor ordered some blood tests: a CBC, BMP, tox screen, and a stat cardiac enzyme test. An echocardiogram and chest x ray were also ordered while the blood was being drawn for the labs.

While the blood samples were sent off to the lab, the chest x ray was performed first. The only thing that was abnormal was some swelling and irritation in both lungs. This can be caused in part by Christine’s rapid, labored breathing, but it can also be associated with blood clots in the lungs, heart attacks, or fluid buildup in the lungs (for example, from pneumonia, covid, and sometimes severe bronchitis). The chest x ray definitely provided some good information, but it didn’t give Dr Lindsay the whole picture, so an echocardiogram was ordered. The echo showed right ventricular hypertrophy. Basically, the right side of her heart was enlarged and working much harder than it should. With the stat cardiac enzyme lab still pending, a dose of nitro was given for chest pain, and cardiology was called for consultation.

The two members of our cardio team to arrive were Dr Rachel, one of our cardiothoracic surgeons, and her cardio resident Dr Sarah. “hey guys, I appreciate you coming down. I think she’s having an acute STEMI and needs the cath lab, just waiting on the cardiac enzyme test to come back to confirm. What do you think?” Dr Lindsay says to the 2 cardio doctors. Dr Sarah looks at Dr Rachel, waiting for her to do the talking. “don’t look at me! What do you think of Dr Lindsay’s assessment?” Dr Rachel told Sarah, trying to get her resident to take some initiative. “I um… I agree.” The resident replies hesitantly. “why do you agree? Go on!” Dr Rachel tells Sarah. “well… um… the EKG shows ST elevation. And uh…. The patient has angina pectoris and shortness of breath.” The resident replies, nervously, and without confidence.

Nurse Nancy walks into the room with a few pieces of paper. “labs are back.” She says, handing the papers to Dr Lindsay. “Cardiac enzymes are high. This is definitely a STEMI.” Dr Lindsay says thinking out loud. “ok, let’s get her to the cath lab. We need to start a central line and get a stent in her.” Dr Rachel called out to the rest of the ER team. “what… what’s going on?” a nervous Christine asked, still breathing heavily. “you’re having a heart attack and we have to put a stent in, ok?’” Dr Lindsay tells the nervous lawyer. “a heart attack?!” Christine asks in response, surprised at what she’s heard. “am I going to die?!” Christine continued. “you’re in great hands! We’ve seen plenty of heart attacks like this. We’re going to place a stent, keep you here for a day or two, and you should be good to go.” Dr Lindsay replies with relative confidence, oblivious to the fact of what was to come. “Can you call my mom? I’m scared…” Christine asks Lindsay, still short of breath, visibly in pain from the crushing pressure she felt in her chest. “of course! We’ll have one of the nurses reach out to her, ok?” Lindsay replies, reassuring.

Over the following few minutes, Christine is taken up to the cardiac catheterization lab. She’s laid flat on the table and her bra is removed, allowing her large, D cup breasts to spill out. “alright Christine, our resident Dr Sarah will place the line and the stent. We’ll be getting started shortly.” Dr Rachel tells the nervous attorney. “the resident? I don’t want her to practice on me…” Christine protests, having a gut feeling against having the resident perform the catheterization and stent placement. “don’t worry ma’am, me and Dr Lindsay have done these plenty of times. Sarah will have plenty of adult supervision!” Dr Rachel tells Christine, attempting to add a little comedic relief to the urgent situation. Christine still had a bad feeling about it, but ultimately agreed to let Sarah perform the procedure.

The upper right portion of Christine’s chest was splashed with betadine to sterilize the area. The resident identifies the superior midpoint of the clavicle, and moves down a few centimeters. This is the location of the subclavian vein, so it’s important that the correct location be identified in the early stages of the procedure. Next, a local anesthetic is injected into Christine’s chest to numb the skin and some of the underlying tissues. She winced in pain, feeling a pinch and a burn from the injection. It normally takes 45-60 seconds for the local anesthetic to numb the area effectively, so in the meantime, an ultrasound was set up. This is to further confirm the location of the subclavian vein, and to follow the catheter’s path once placed. Next, a hollow needle was advanced through the skin. Christine could feel the pressure of the needle being inserted, but no pain. The resident Sarah advanced the needle slowly into the beautiful attorney’s chest, looking at the ultrasound monitor. Eventually, the needle was in the correct depth and blood was aspirated. The needle was held in place for a moment while the blunt guide wire was maneuvered through the needle and into the subclavian vein. While inserting the guide wire, Sarah pulled it out and inserted it again quickly, unnoticed by Rachel or Lindsay. However, everything seemed fine at the time. But in that moment, unbeknownst to everyone, Sarah introduced an air bubble into the central line, which would now become a ticking time bomb.

Eventually, the guide wire and catheter were sent to the correct location, and the occluded coronary artery was identified. A small stent was navigated into the central line and carefully and methodically navigated to the correct location. Once the stent was in place, it was placed and opened, restoring blood flow to the previously blocked artery. After confirming the placement of the stent via ultrasound and x ray, the guide wire was removed and a port was left in the initial site to leave the central line open for the duration of Christine’s hospital stay.

After the procedure was completed, Christine was brought back to an exam room in the ER to wait until a bed opened up in the recovery area. “how’re you feeling?” Dr Lindsay asked. “I definitely notice a difference. Thank you…” Christine replied, no longer breathing heavily, and seemed a lot more calm than earlier. “look who’s here!” nurse Nancy says excited, bringing Christine’s 70 year old mother Marie into the room. Marie hurries over to the bed as fast as her 70 year old body can, and gives her daughter a hug and a kiss. “How are you doing sweetie? They said you had a heart attack!” the concerned mother asks. “I’m doing a lot better mom! Thanks for coming.” She replies, with a smile on her face. “we’ll leave you two alone. It’s been quite a day, right?” Dr Lindsay said, exiting the room with nurse Nancy.

Approximately 2 hours go by. “something’s wrong! Come in, quick!” 70 year old Marie shouts to the ER team while scurrying out of the exam room, visibly worried. Dr Lindsay, nurse Heather, and nurse Nancy head into the room. The heart monitors are chirping loudly, showing that Christine is severely hypotensive and tachycardic. Christine’s eyes are shut, but she’s groaning. “christine? What’s wrong?” Dr Lindsay asks, doing a gentle sternal rub, to which Christine doesn’t respond. “she passed out and won’t wake up! What happened?!” Marie asks in a panicked tone. “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, ok?” Dr Lindsay replied. Heather shined a pen light into Christine’s eyes and both pupils were fixed and dilated. “Pupils blown Linds” Heather tells Lindsay, shaking her head. “lets get her intubated! Get cardio back down here NOW!” Lindsay shouts, wondering what the hell just happened. “christine? Can you squeeze my hand?” Lindsay asks, receiving no response. Marie was holding her daughter’s other hand and talking to her while chaos ensued. “get me a 7.0 ET tube!” Lindsay shouted.

The ET tube was being navigated carefully into the woman’s airway by Lindsay. “no pulse, starting compressions!” Heather called out. “damn it!” Lindsay said frustrated, finishing her rapid sequence intubation. Heather delivered deep, violent chest compressions on Christine while her 70 year old mother continued to hold her hand and stroke her hair. “she’s in PEA. Push epi and atropine. And where the hell’s cardio?!” Dr Lindsay shouted again, frustrated. While Lindsay ambu bagged and lead the code, Heather continued delivering CPR. Christine’s chest caved in, and her belly jiggled outwards. Her breasts shook and trembled from the residual force of the compressions being received.

Dr Rachel and Sarah enter the room and are shocked, seeing their seemingly stable patient having her chest pumped violently. “what happened?!” Rachel asked, stunned. “I figured you two might try to figure that out for us. Any ideas?” Lindsay replied sternly. “what do you mean? She was fine a little while ago!” Rachel replied. “sarah even did a good job on her first stent placement and central line.” Rachel continued. “wait! This was the first time she ever operated on someone?!” Marie shouted, overhearing what was said. “ma’am… believe me, she is absolutely qualified. And every procedure has its risks.” Rachel replied, jumping to Sarah’s immediate defense. “did she kill my baby girl?!” Marie asked, becoming teary eyed. “Ma’am, why don’t we bring you to a private waiting room while the doctors work.” Nurse Nancy suggested, trying to gently direct the 70 year old woman out of the room. “no no no, I’m not going anywhere! That’s my daughter!” Marie shouted, tears running down her face, still holding her daughter’s hand as her chest was being absolutely pummeled.

The heartbreaking scene was interrupted by Dr Lindsay announcing that v-fib was on the monitors. “alright, charge the paddles to 200.” Lindsay called out. Nancy gently made Marie back away from the table because of the impending shock. The paddles were pressed up against Marie’s bare chest, the ambu bag was temporarily detached, and the shock was delivered. Marie’s body flopped on the table while a KA-THUNK was heard in the room. “still no change, charge to 250.” Lindsay called out, shaking her head a bit. After a cycle of compressions, the next shock was delivered. The electricity ran through the 47 year old’s limp, lifeless body, causing her to twitch sharply in response. “no pulse, let’s hit her again at 300.” Lindsay responded, looking at the monitors. “please… save my baby! That’s my little girl!” Marie begged the team while living every parent’s worst nightmare. “paddles charged.” Heather called out. The defibs were placed back onto Christine’s chest, and shock #3 was promptly delivered. Christine’s feet kicked up above the table and slammed back down half a second later, showing off the deep, soft, silky, prominent wrinkles throughout the soles of her size 7 feet. “still nothing doc.” Heather said, having 2 fingers placed on Christine’s neck for a carotid pulse. The paddles were recharged, and in a moment’s notice, Christine was shocked at 360j. Her body reacted more violently to the stronger shock, with her eyes opening up halfway, staring blankly up above. “PEA, resuming compressions.” Dr Lindsay said, taking over CPR for Heather.

More meds were pushed while CPR went on. However, it took another 6 minutes to produce another shockable rhythm. Nonetheless, when v-fib appeared on the monitors again, the paddles were recharged to 360 joules, and Christine was shocked again. Marie’s lifeless body twitched abruptly in reaction to the shock while her eyes remained open, staring blankly at the ceiling above. After another cycle of chest compressions, the next shock was delivered, causing Christine’s toes to curl, once again showing off the deep, soft wrinkles in the soles of her feet. But unfortunately at that point, the code started to become more redundant: CPR, shock, meds, repeat.

It was now 24 minutes into the code and Christine was still in v-fib. Her complexion was a ghastly pale color, her skin was ice cold to the touch, and there was a huge bruise on the center of her chest from all the CPR she’d received. At that point it was Dr Rachel doing CPR while Lindsay still ran the code. Lindsay looked around the room, eventually making eye contact with Rachel. Lindsay shook her head at Rachel, knowing Christine wasn’t coming back. Dr Rachel backed off, and nurse Heather detached the ambu bag. “what’s going on? Why are you stopping?” Marie asked the team, still holding her daughter’s hand. “I’m so sorry ma’am…” Dr Lindsay said, before Marie interrupted, “no no no! Shock her again! Keep pounding her chest! There’s gotta be SOMETHING you can do, right?!” Dr Lindsay paused for a moment, then said “I’m so sorry ma’am. We did everything we could. Your daughter’s heart won’t restart, and her brain has been deprived of oxygen for so long.” Marie started to cry at the point, practically crumbling to the floor. “time of death, 8:45pm.” Dr Lindsay said, peeling her gloves off. “no no no!” Marie wept. Nurse Nancy scurried over to try and console the woman while Heather began basic postmortem care.

The monitors were switched off, the EKG electrodes were disconnected, and the ambu bag was detached. A toe tag was filled out and placed on the big toe of Christine’s left foot, dangling in front of her beautiful, wrinkly soles. Her body was covered up, but Heather lowered the blanket down to Christine’s shoulders so Marie could have as much time as she needed to grieve her daughter’s tragic passing.

Since the exact cause of Christine’s death was unknown, an autopsy was ordered. The results of said autopsy concluded that Christine died from an air embolism that traveled to her brain. Essentially, air was introduced in the central line by Sarah, and it eventually traveled to the brain and got stuck in the smaller, more delicate vessels there. With these findings in mind, Marie was able to sue the hospital for Malpractice and received a hefty settlement payment. It was an absolute tragedy that Marie witnessed the death of her own daughter, and it was also a bit ironic that a medical malpractice attorney died from medical malpractice.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal of a Minnesota woman who said she was wrongly denied unemployment benefits after being fired for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of her religious beliefs.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development determined she wasn’t eligible for benefits because her reasons for refusing the vaccine were based less on religion and more on a lack of trust that the vaccine was effective.

The case shows that the vaccine debate continues to smolder after the pandemic and after the Supreme Court in 2022 halted enforcement of a Biden administration vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers but declined to hear a challenge to the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care facilities that receive federal funding.

Still pending is an appeal from military chaplains who challenged the military’s vaccination requirement. Although that requirement was later rescinded at the direction of Congress, the chaplains argue they lost out on training opportunities and promotions because they requested religious exemptions.

Minnesota said the unemployment benefit appeal denied Monday wasn’t worth the Supreme Court’s time because benefits have been given to others who were found to have a sincerely held religious objection to the vaccine, so there’s no overarching question to address.

Lawyers for the Upper Midwest Law Center, which represented Tina Goede, had argued she was treated differently by the Minnesota courts than others who successfully appealed their denial of benefits.

REFUSING TO GET VACCINATED, FIRED FROM A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY

After refusing to get vaccinated, Goede was fired in 2022 from her job as an account sales manager for the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca. Her position had required her to meet with customers in hospitals and clinics, some of which required proof of vaccination.

She told the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development her religious beliefs prohibit injecting foreign substances into her body, which is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

A Catholic opposed to abortion, Goede also objected to the COVID-19 vaccine because she believed it was manufactured using or tested on an aborted fetal-cell line. (A cell line from an abortion decades ago was used to create Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Fetal cells were used in the early testing, though not in the production, of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.)

But Goede told the unemployment law judge she wouldn’t receive the vaccine no matter how it was made “because it doesn’t work.”

The judge said Goede was declining to take some vaccines, but not others, “because she does not trust them, not because of a religious belief.”

Goede’s attorneys said the judge had interrogated her religious beliefs with “unfair `gotcha’ questioning."

“He couched his denial of benefits in Ms. Goede’s credibility and then discounted her religious beliefs by determining that her secular beliefs outweighed them,” the lawyers told the Supreme Court.

At the same time the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year, it reached the opposite conclusion for two others who had been denied benefits after asserting religious objections.

Goede’s lawyers said her case presented a question that will reoccur: how to analyze a religious objection to an employer policy when those objections coincide with secular beliefs.

NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn's moon Titan confirmed

NASA has confirmed its Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn's organic-rich moon Titan. The decision allows the mission to progress to the completion of the final design, followed by the construction and testing of the entire spacecraft and science instruments.

"Dragonfly is a spectacular science mission with broad community interest, and we are excited to take the next steps on this mission," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Exploring Titan will push the boundaries of what we can do with rotorcraft outside of Earth."

In early 2023, the mission successfully passed all the success criteria of its Preliminary Design Review. At that time, however, the mission was asked to develop an updated budget and schedule to fit into the current funding environment. This updated plan was presented and conditionally approved in November 2023, pending the outcome of the fiscal year 2025 budget process. In the meantime, the mission was authorized to proceed with work on final mission design and fabrication to ensure that the mission stayed on schedule.

With the release of the president's fiscal year 2025 budget request, Dragonfly is confirmed with a total lifecycle cost of $3.35 billion and a launch date of July 2028. This reflects a cost increase of about two times the proposed cost and a delay of more than two years from when the mission was originally selected in 2019.

Following that selection, NASA had to direct the project to replan multiple times due to funding constraints in fiscal years 2020 through 2022. The project incurred additional costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain increases, and the results of an in-depth design iteration. To compensate for the delayed arrival at Titan, NASA also provided additional funding for a heavy-lift launch vehicle to shorten the mission's cruise phase.

The rotorcraft, targeted to arrive at Titan in 2034, will fly to dozens of promising locations on the moon, looking for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and the early Earth before life developed. Dragonfly marks the first time NASA will fly a vehicle for science on another planetary body. The rotorcraft has eight rotors and flies like a large drone.

IMAGE....Artist’s concept of Dragonfly soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Life update (in lack of Starling update)

So, I think I would like to avoid another "going dark" episode like the one from the last two-three months. That one was because of war, and war is still very much present, but at the moment, my lack of writing is mostly due to other matters. CW Cat Medical Stuff: I have a cat. My mother is his human, but I take care of him and I love him very much. Unfortunately, he started feeling unwell two weeks ago on monday morning. He hid all sunday night, he wouldn't eat all day, he was not moving from his hidey hole, I was worried. I called the vet monday evening after confirming he was feeling worse and worse, and was instructed to give first aid painkillers and bring him the next morning. Since then, its been an ordeal of unclear diagnosis. Obvious infection without a source. My vet is very professional, but even after hospitalizing him for close care, going through multiple in-depth tests and giving him broad antibiotics, he wouldn't eat, while the tests were showing nothing but a sourceeless infection. Eventually I was sent with him to a vet hospital to do a specialized ultrasound. That too showed inconclusive results but there were enough findings to make my vet press for an abdominal operation. Its very lucky that they did, and very lucky that they insisted on doing it that same eveing. Turns out the poor thing had a gall bladder infection, which did not show in blood tests or ultrasound, and somewhere in the few hours between the last ultrasound and the operation the gall ate a hole in his stomach and it was leaking into his abdoman. The operation saved him in the nick of time, though it was touch and go for a couple of days. It is now the third day of him being back at home, he has a feeding tube and has to be tube fed 6 times a day. He also gets 9 types of meds, some of which need to be taken with food, some away from food, so I am his home nurse for the next two weeks at least, that assuming he'll keep improving. END CW Cat Medical Stuff. And as if to add insult to injury, I've been feeling ill since the begining of this week, and after testing negative at first, I am now positive for COVID and feeling it heavily. In fact, my mother now has COVID too and she needs care as well. So to summarise, I hardly have time to sleep, so investing myself in the angsty Bren and Fairy PoV enough to write is not really working right now. I must focus on taking care of parent and cat, and though I don't know how much the vet bill is yet (still pending on that) I do know its going to be in the several thousands, so I must focus on that as well. (Sadly, if you don't have pet insurance, any intensive care or test costs a fortune here.) So, please stay tuned as I try to restore some order to my life and calm things down a bit. The wizards are still very much on my mind, in fact, they are one of the things keeping me sane at the moment. If you like my writing and would like to tip me on Ko-fi, there's a link in the header of my page, or you can just search Kaiannae. (sadly I hardly uderstand Kofi, but I know the page works. I intended to make an actual content page there but never got the time with everything that's happened in the last few months.) It would all go towards bills and would be very much appreciated. Also, if you'd like to see or have an idea for a short oneshot you always wanted to see with the wizards, Starling AU or just Shadowgast, feel free to toss them in my direction. I might not be able to invest myself in my main writing right now, but I might be able to do a short thing as I wait for feeding times to post seperately for ya'll, especially night feeding times... Again, I apologize for the wait. Please stay tuned.

Bailey & I sure are taking this whole “In sickness & in health” nonsense for a good ol’ test drive month.

Bailey: *Hospitalised twice* ~ pending stomach surgery.

Me: *Gets spiked at gym Christmas Party*

Also Me: *Gets Covid* ☠️

WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the appeal of a Minnesota woman who said she was wrongly denied unemployment benefits after being fired for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because of her religious beliefs.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development determined she wasn’t eligible for benefits because her reasons for refusing the vaccine were based less on religion and more on a lack of trust that the vaccine was effective.

The case shows that the vaccine debate continues to smolder after the pandemic and after the Supreme Court in 2022 halted enforcement of a Biden administration vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers but declined to hear a challenge to the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care facilities that receive federal funding.

Still pending is an appeal from military chaplains who challenged the military’s vaccination requirement. Although that requirement was later rescinded at the direction of Congress, the chaplains argue they lost out on training opportunities and promotions because they requested religious exemptions.

'Cancel culture' Supreme Court rejects case on dust-up between Catholic student and Native American

Minnesota said the unemployment benefit appeal denied Monday wasn’t worth the Supreme Court’s time because benefits have been given to others who were found to have a sincerely held religious objection to the vaccine, so there’s no overarching question to address.

Lawyers for the Upper Midwest Law Center, which represented Tina Goede, had argued she was treated differently by the Minnesota courts than others who successfully appealed their denial of benefits. 

Refusing to get vaccinated, fired from a pharmaceutical company

After refusing to get vaccinated, Goede was fired in 2022 from her job as an account sales manager for the pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca. Her position had required her to meet with customers in hospitals and clinics, some of which required proof of vaccination.

She told the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development her religious beliefs prohibit injecting foreign substances into her body, which is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”

A Catholic opposed to abortion, Goede also objected to the COVID-19 vaccine because she believed it was manufactured using or tested on an aborted fetal-cell line. (A cell line from an abortion decades ago was used to create Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. Fetal cells were used in the early testing, though not in the production, of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.)

But Goede told the unemployment law judge she wouldn’t receive the vaccine no matter how it was made “because it doesn’t work.”

The judge said Goede was declining to take some vaccines, but not others, “because she does not trust them, not because of a religious belief.”

Goede’s attorneys said the judge had interrogated her religious beliefs with “unfair `gotcha’ questioning."

“He couched his denial of benefits in Ms. Goede’s credibility and then discounted her religious beliefs by determining that her secular beliefs outweighed them,” the lawyers told the Supreme Court.

At the same time the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year, it reached the opposite conclusion for two others who had been denied benefits after asserting religious objections.

Goede’s lawyers said her case presented a question that will reoccur: how to analyze a religious objection to an employer policy when those objections coincide with secular beliefs.

‘The Stormlight Archive Volume 1: The Way of Kings’ Review: Chapters 1-4

link to contents page - https://at.tumblr.com/the-vibes-are-off/hey-hey/96xd9ohihrzs

Alas, I find myself wrenched from the comforts of my partner’s home, painstakingly counting down the days til he flies back to the US for his study abroad - the threat of catching COVID from his father looming over my head, test pending (edit: I am safe… for now -_-). I am cursed by the intense skrunklage of my uni room and I lay in my disheveled bed procrastinating writing my imminent essays to read a book I actually want to read for once (and naturally watching criminal minds for the billionth time).

Overall, in comparison to the preparatory sections of the novel, I can definitely say the first few chapters are more enjoyable. The prelude and prologue’s pacing felt a bit strange idk but the pacing of the first chapters definitely feels good and I’m enjoying it so far!

Spoiler Free Zone:

So we start with edgy boy characters and edgy boy setting. From what I had heard of Kaladin I am not surprised in the slightest and admittedly his story is not exactly my vibe but I am definitely interested to see where it goes.

BUT we do meet an icon in Shallan. Since this is a spoiler free zone I am keeping any details to a minimum but I just KNOW she is going to be such a slay throughout I can feel it in my bones.

We’ve also got some cool little advancements on some fantasy creatures and both aesthetically and characteristically the main spren in particular has me intrigued.

Also got some cool ass art work, which I’m always happy to see, of some eel ass things. Absolutely adore it tbh and love what it adds to the lore.

***SPOILER BUFFER***

Spoiler Zone (Proceed with Caution):

So Brando clearly loves a fight bc he’s started the first chapter with yet another fight to introduce the edgy boy himself - Kaladin. Admittedly, he is cool af and does save Cenn (ish, I can’t tell if he dies at the end of the chapter as his death is mention by Kaladin later but isn’t explicit at the end of the chapter but I tabbed it anyway since I’m only tabbing witnessed deaths of naked characters and it kinda sounds like he dies) 1 v 6 like just fighting like if he has powers too he’s just OP by the looks of it.

Doing romantic lit and being a slut for landscape descriptions I simply had to love tab the paired hills and Windspren at the start of chapter 2 bc like even tho I’m on the fence about the name of the species as ‘spren’ (idk feels awkward to me) they’re interesting as like physically spirits of certain things - especially considering the like sentient windspren that follows Kaladin about.

Speaking of. 1. They sound like they look cute as fuck. 2. You’re telling me there’s a random sentient spirit that shouldn’t be? Colour me fucking intrigued.

Going back to the mention of the eel drawings from the start. I love that it makes sense why it’s there as the chapter goes on …

… which leads into talking about Shallan <33333. Love her already. Artistic and academic queen? She is serving cunt at all times doing the bare minimum. Realistic too on the idea of the fragility of expectations. Ugh I love her.

More pieces of lore as well. Idk why I focus on the most random bits of lore sometimes like why have I tabbed that soulcasters use emerald to make food? Idk. The fact that both arts and science are feminine too? Brando feminist ??

Lastly Tvlakv (fuck some of the names on the real) rlly ate telling saying like Kaladin bestie i find any portraits of my exes you can rip them up like you did the map 🤭🤭. A likeable bastard Frfr.

Tab Count:

Cute: 1

Fights: 1

Sad: 0

Death: 1

Cool: 2

Wtf why or wow: 0

Slay quotes: 2

Love this: 2

Hate this: 0

Lore: 1

Tab Total:

Cute: 1

Fights: 3

Sad: 0

Death: 2

Cool: 4

Wtf why: 1

Wtf wow: 1

Slay quotes: 3

Love this!: 3

Hate this: 1

Cool lore: 2

Been a while since I’ve had to queue for more than 30 minutes in the dead of winter:

Ankle length down coat, knee high compression socks, wool layers, fingerless wool gloves, wool hat, toe warmers: ✔️

Phone charger and spare battery: ✔️

Book to read, notebook to write in: ✔️

Band-Aids, ibuprofen, Pepto, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes for spilled beer, etc: ✔️

KN95 for the train and for keeping my face warm while I sit outside in the cold: ✔️

Earplugs attached to my keychain: ✔️

Negative on a rapid test right before I head out the door: pending, but since I had COVID during Thanksgiving, I’m pretty confident the answer will be ✔️

Ready to drink, dance, and GO NUTS: ✔️

So, I keep being diagnosed as anxiety with depression and I’m on yet another leg of my mental health journey. Against my better judgment, I started taking Prozac a week ago. Through the years, I've tried a dozen or so SSRI/SNRI/Tricyclics, all of them making me suicidal, homicidal, or crying for weeks. Or, I have terrible side effects, like increasing joint pain (thanks EDS). So, I started this med with the agreement that I'd do genetic testing to see why I've failed so many treatments. I, in general, feel better rn, if numb to most things, except I'm waking up around 0230 every morning, a full 2 hours before I normally wake. I also wake up with a headache/pending migraine every morning. I'm also finding myself hungry for the first time in almost 3 years (that's a post-Covid infection thing). Talk about a weird feeling! I actually forgot what it was like to feel hunger pangs. 😬😅 However, I also wake up every day with my stomach in knots. That didn't happen before. With my genetics pending, will you tell me your Prozac story? Sometimes, I have side effects that I don't realize are side effects (like the joint pain on another med).

CitM, redux

Another day, another city: here is San Francisco. 

Gotta confess that this CitM doesn’t feel quite as clean and oasis-like as the one in Seattle did. But the room is still great, the hoteliers adorable (all tiny Youngs with bomb-ass customer service), and the Vibe is pretty close to pristine once you’re up here in your little Kubrick cubicle. 

It was great to see (some of) my family--some got their flights canceled and couldn’t come. I’m relieved that I somehow eluded some extremely rough weather on both ends of my journey. 

And now I am bushed. 

Pending a negative Covid test, I return tomorrow, via ferry, train, and car, to my undisclosed location in the wilderness. 

Hey Flowers! Just wanted to say that when your newest chapter of the rolling in the graves dropped two weeks ago, that it was a big comfort for me during my days being covid positive. I'm now ok again, but I will look forward to your time travel au!

I honestly love well done time travel au's, and the premise of this new fic seems really cool! but I also find it funny how Nesta has chemistry with anyone but Cassian and the inner circle. Anyway, have a good day!

Hey!! Glad it was fun for you and glad you're feeling better :)

I also love time travel au's- am elaborately taking advantage of the hand-wavy canon magic systems to create fun chaos. Nesta chemistry half writes itself, but I like to think this particular pending Nesta/Lucien is particularly fun.

Have a snippet, lovely:

Lucien found himself grinning at her, over the glass, “Is a Suriel going to join us for dinner?” Nesta leaned back, all proud throat, her pale skin lit with the shadows falling from chandelier fretwork. They looked like lace. “Who said you were invited to dinner?” Gods damn him, Lucien was having fun. “Nesta,” Lucien set down his drink, shot right past matching her arch tone into what was probably, in any other moment, horrifying earnestness, “Can I buy you dinner?” “I don’t know,” she drawled, tilting her head, “Am I wrong that Mezo looked at you so long you gave him your entire fortune?” “Not quite.” A god- a real, living god. None of the magic here felt real- felt anything more than dreamlike, permeating air and stone and every pretty inch of the empty tavern. “He barely have to look at rowdy drunks before they run?” Nesta’s eyes seemed to flicker, silver bleeding into blue, striated as a cool evening sky, before she said, “The threshold stops them from even coming in. The pub is for joy and the pub is for peace- most faeries can’t even find the neighborhood.” “And we like it that way.” Mezo’s voice seemed to come from nowhere, but it was followed by two plates of pie popping to being on the table, buttery pastry and sharp purple berries smelling like a home Lucien had never had. A warning, a threat, a gift, a test, all woven tight together, to be here. Lucien couldn’t find it in himself to be offended, or even put off- how many times had he seen her die? How many times had she died, for some Court he was unwilling but nonetheless, serving? How very many ways that Lucien wasn’t even privy too, had faery men proved themselves a danger to this one woman?

Nesta Archeron’s trust was not a prize, but a journey to be walked, and Lucien had nothing but time. 

Thank you for reading, and thanks for reaching out!