iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mutual Aid: Beatrix Wylde is an author friend of mine who is looking to build a new life. They’re aiming for subscribers to their Substack to help sustainably fund this new life. If you have capacity, consider supporting Beatrix. thebeatrixwylde.substack.com

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If you write an inclusion policy, you have to consider how you will USE the inclusion policy. Actions matter. The problem is that no one thinks there’s an inclusion problem. Businesses think that having an inclusion policy means the work is done.

Having an inclusion policy is only good if you actually do something with the policy. My go-to example is the government department who offered me a job in 2023, and then rescinded the job. That government department has all the “correct policies” in the world, and the policies meant nothing.

Having an inclusion policy is only good if you actually do something with the policy.

My famous and go-to example is the government department who offered me a job in 2023, and then rescinded the job offer when they learned I was disabled. That government department has all the “correct policies” in the world, and the policies meant nothing because they didn’t follow them.

I have no real news or fun updates to share with you. I’m still in the running for jobs in some recruitment processes, but they’re going weeks (more often, months) without an update, so I’m just kind of here, keeping on applying for things, and hoping that one turns into a contract to sign.

Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I see you toooooo 😂 Actually I’m just guessing clicking on random ships nearest

A screenshot of a map showing the carnival adventure off the coast of Brisbane

Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Here, have a minute of bats & sunset.

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Mutual aid this week: Help @rebellionista.bsky.social get private medical care - because the public system abandons housebound and bedridden people. Shares and donations welcomed. www.gofundme.com/f/bedridden-...

My friend Emma needs help to afford private specialists, as the public healthcare system abandons housebound and bedridden people.

Check out the links in the show notes and if you have capacity, consider supporting Emma through their Go Fund Me.

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The list is too long to fit on social media tiles, but it includes: job hunting working on two businesses editing my next three books submitting a book to publishers and a lot more.

Earlier in the week I saw a social media post about how unsustainable life is when we all need to have two or three jobs. I agree, AND I also often feel like I'm not doing enough. So, mostly to convince myself I am already juggling too much, so this episode is about what I’ve been doing.

This week is about what life looks like in a broader sense right now. I originally thought I needed this episode for me, to tell myself I am doing enough, but interestingly, it also came up in chats with friends during the week, so I guess it's something that may be valuable to more than just me.

Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Dystopian, or a slightly hyperbolic version of what Australians who use the NDIS effectively face now?

Form 18-B-Epsilon

She sighed, looking at the form on the app.
Wanting to feel fresh air once again. It was time to face the gauntlet for permission.

Reason for request: 10 minutes at the beach.

... the computer takes some time to connect...

“Request denied” flashes up on the screen.

... the computer takes some time to connect ...

“User R178-NAL filled in form 18-B-Epsilon 6 months ago for a visit to a the emergency department. Quota has been filled.”

She threw her phone across the room, want the decision, the app, as far away from her as possible.

“No fresh air, all because I didn’t want to die 6 months ago”, she mutters to herself.

She looks at plants outside through the crack in the curtain, wondering if she’ll be on the other side the glass ever again.

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Saw this. It seemed relevant. Sorry our “representatives” voted that hundreds of thousands of you will join me in living with unsupported disabilities. It’s not fun. I can’t have a full life until I get supports but none exist. #NDIS #NDISBill

A screenshot from threads where user beccascorneroftheworld says
“Disabled people deserve to enjoy being alive too”

I quoted their post saying
“Only with the minister’s permission, apparently”.

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Some thoughts from a steaming pile of a week.

In "The Comfort Book" by Matt Haig, the chapter titled Mountain says:

“In order to get over a problem it helps to look at it. You can't climb a mountain that you pretend isn't there."

What it made me realise is how damaging only seeing the mountain is. This is what I am currently living through. The proverbial mountain is smashing itself into my face daily, sometimes multiple times a day.
A middle ground is needed for safety and sanity, but a middle ground also doesn't give me the outcomes I need.

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Aldi is what’s behind me right now too

A tired face with long hair and a car window showing an Aldi shopfront

Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Ben made some kind of fancy potato for lunch.

A cheese potato and honestly I’m not sure what else. It might be mash in the middle.

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

It's where it will end up so it's kind of like soothing the banana bread as it heads for inevitable death. What I Did On My Summer Poorcaytion payhip.com/b/MZHRh

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I think this incorrect way of being (to the systems and structures, in case that needs repeating), combined with the obsession with rigidity, is behind the government currently thinking they’re correct in cutting NDIS costs.

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In my view, we live in a society that is obsessed with rigidity. The one correct way to do things. The one correct way to be. Being disabled, neurodivergent, or chronically ill is incorrect to the systems and structures.

Needs also make systems and structures uncomfortable. Systems and structures are happy when you have wants, as wants are something which are individual choice… Needs require social harmony, inclusive approaches, and the responsibility of systems and structures to act effectively.

Needs make people uncomfortable. It makes them comfortable to dismiss your needs as wants. “Oh, I didn’t really harm them, it wasn’t really a need, just a want.”

Needs and wants. I’ve chatted a lot with friends and in online communities about wants vs needs. Wants are socially acceptable. Needs are not.

Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I bought myself a present. I'm hoping elnk makes it easier for me to read. And I love that I can get my library books on it. Thanks to price matching and gift cards, it only cost me about $80 out of pocket. Total bargain.

The box of a Kobo Clara black & white ereader.

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Whoops. I realised my latest book contains an endorsement of vomiting on people you don't like. Good thing I have a disclaimer not to take advice from the book. The Secret Ingredient Of payhip.com/b/E2cwC

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This came up elsewhere today so I’m sharing an oldish blog post of mine: Disabled? Work in disability! (And all the things wrong with this approach.) normalness.com/2025/05/20/d...

• it implies my only worthwhile skills and knowledge are disability ones
• if I work for certain parts of government, even writing this blog post could breach codes of conduct in speaking up - I shouldn't lose my rights to advocate for systemic change just because I am employed (neutrality doesn't exist and codes of conduct that demand it have no place in a
human rights approach to the world)
• it doesn't let me have a good work life balance
• it lets employers off the hook in
implementing adjustments or accomodations in non disability centric workplaces
• it requires a level of disclosure that non disabled people don't have to experience at work
• you're not paid enough because disability is under valued in society and so are work roles associated with disability
• it limits your career both through where you can work, how easy it is to find a job (underfunded work sector - not many jobs), and the tasks you want to do at work

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Mutual Aid: This week I’d like to highlight Casey. They are a queer, neurodivergent, disabled business owner in California. They’ve had a challenging time with their health recently and could use support from people who are able to give. ko-fi.com/caseyconnects

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For week sixteen, my plan was that instead of spending two to three hours a day on job hunting, that would be my limit for the week. It went kind of ok.... until Wednesday, when I somehow had four interviews in the same day.

This week, my sixteenth week of job hunting, I planned to take the week off. I have been going at this at a very high rate of work for so long, and last week being difficult was a warning sign that I needed a break.

I skipped recording last week. It was a quiet week on the job hunting front anyway. I spent the first few days of the week getting through a high volume of applications. Then the rest of the week got filled up with life stuff like hot water breaking.

Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

So... I published my next book! Read more about it here: normalness.com/2026/07/27/t... Or skip straight to the purchase page here: payhip.com/b/n78Kc

A ladder on a pile of clay with the words: The First Time. A memoir about job hunting for the first time as an openly disabled person. Vanessa Smith

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Vanessa Smith @normalness.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

At least I can mildly respect Ikea's fucking hellhole of a maze being designed to trap you to buy things - I like my evil obvious and on the surface What I Did On My Summer Poorcaytion payhip.com/b/MZHRh

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You'd probably be pissed off to find out you'd been eating ground up llama testicles with a hint of paprika your entire life. The Secret Ingredient Of payhip.com/b/E2cwC

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Mutual Aid: This week I’d like to highlight @phonakins.com She lives on the DSP and dedicates so much time to helping her community. I usually ask before I feature someone but this week I wanted to do it as a surprise because it was her birthday this week. Happy birthday!

Mutual Aid:
This week I’d like to highlight Phonakins.
She lives on the DSP and dedicates so much time to helping her community.
I usually ask before I feature someone but this week I wanted to do it as a surprise because it was her birthday this week. Happy birthday!
Check out the links in the show notes and if you have capacity, consider buying Phonakins a treat for the special day.
We all deserve treats.

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It’s so easy and so, so few prospective employers are capable of doing it. By just asking what a prospective employee needs you’ll rocket yourself to the top 1% of workplaces for inclusion. The bar is so low, you can take these moments and become a leader so easily.

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A prospective employer noted my accommodation requirements on my resume and asked if I needed anything else in order to participate in recruitment. That is exactly how easy it is to be inclusive – just ask.

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Last week I wished for a quieter week, and I got it this week. It was the unpaid data entry of job applications that is the feature of this week.

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Mutual Aid: This week I'd like to highlight River Wintergreen, who is an artist seeking support while they wait to be granted NDIS funding. www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-...

Mutual Aid:
This week I'd like to highlight River Wintergreen, who is an artist seeking support while they wait to be granted NDIS funding.
If you have the ability to share or donate, all actions are appreciated to ensure this member of the disability community has their support needs met.
Full details can be found in their Go Fund Me.

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If my needs are only going to be met 10 years in the future, then who is paying for me to live for the next 10 years? Will all the employers who won't hire me put some money into a discrimination pot and pay me to be unemployed?

(The coach) decided my need to work from home is something that is ten years away, and therefore I suppose I am at fault for being ... in the future?
If my needs are only going to be met 10 years in the future, then who is paying for me to live for the next 10 years?
Will all the employers who won't hire me put some money into a discrimination pot and pay me to be unemployed?

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My barriers to work are systemic, and coaches want you to change things about yourself. I can't change being disabled. The (coaching) session was par for the course in talking about a disability issue with a non-disabled person, they just don't believe you that the situation is what it is.

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