Vanessa Smith

Vanessa Smith

@normalness.bsky.social

We're all normal to ourselves. I write. I hate hustle. I love shiny objects. Can't even influence an ant. Anthropology & sociology graduate. Author of books. Spoonie. And much more. www.normalness.com

2.4K followers6.9K following6.8K posts

Vanessa Smith reposted

🐈‍⬛💜 phonakins 🍉🌲
@phonakins.com

"AS always, they call for MORE food relief, to expand the footprint of “Australia’s third supermarkets” – surely with so many people accessing Foodbank-supplied charities the reach of the purple supermarket is getting up there, especially when you add the fleet of yellow OzHarvest vans?"

phonakins.comFoodbank hunger report – turning the temperature up on that donated tin of SkettiThe Foodbank Annual Hunger Report came out yesterday – one in three households now fall into the categories of food insecurity – kicking off the downhill to Christmas with the ramping u…
Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

Re: charity hampers… “an amount that could well buy someone more of what they and their family actually wanted on their table if they were allowed to just have money rather than the layers of inefficiency that come with charities in this country.”

🐈‍⬛💜 phonakins 🍉🌲@phonakins.com

New blog post

phonakins.comFoodbank hunger report – turning the temperature up on that donated tin of SkettiThe Foodbank Annual Hunger Report came out yesterday – one in three households now fall into the categories of food insecurity – kicking off the downhill to Christmas with the ramping u…
Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

Wow they find new ways to fuck you over. Can't submit my claim until l've had a video appointment for my ID & I can't get an appointment until fucking Friday. I've done all I can now 🤷‍♀️

Vanessa Smith@normalness.bsky.social

until Thursday due to interview and needing to apply to go on c*link. I still don't know if I will be able to get unemployment payments. My account has particular issues (a rare helpful staff member once told me not many people have my type

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

This week is rough already. We've had real heat kick in, me mess up my sleep meds while trying to adjust my sleep time, some of my heat management tools need to be replaced... I haven't applied for any jobs this week and may not get to

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Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

As I said in last weeks podcast episode, I am also at the point where no one will tell me what I can "fix" to get hired (and actually now some people are ignoring my request for feedback) which tends to mean one thing:

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

This week is rough already. We've had real heat kick in, me mess up my sleep meds while trying to adjust my sleep time, some of my heat management tools need to be replaced... I haven't applied for any jobs this week and may not get to

View full thread
Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

This week is rough already. We've had real heat kick in, me mess up my sleep meds while trying to adjust my sleep time, some of my heat management tools need to be replaced... I haven't applied for any jobs this week and may not get to

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

until Thursday due to interview and needing to apply to go on c*link. I still don't know if I will be able to get unemployment payments. My account has particular issues (a rare helpful staff member once told me not many people have my type

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

of clink account) which used to mean I could only do things in person. I only get 30-60 min of functional time out of the house per week, just enough to survive getting a few things that can’t be delivered.

Vanessa Smith reposted

🐈‍⬛💜 phonakins 🍉🌲
@phonakins.com

Asked if other organisations had anything to fearover speaking out, the premier said in August: “Where a contract has been cancelled, you know why it was cancelled”. “I would be very worried if that was the message being sent [to other organisations]”.

theguardian.comChildren’s legal centre that criticised Queensland government has funding slashedYouth Advocacy Centre loses 19 staff in move Labor and the Greens say is designed to silence government critics
Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

I fucked up my meds last night and had to put so much effort into sleeping. Stressful night of forcing myself into sleeping. No it doesn’t really make sense, it just sucked. It’s also the first gross hot day of summer for my heat intolerant ass. Gonna stare at a wall today.

Vanessa Smith reposted

Falco SkyWolf
@falcoskywolf.bsky.social

DUE TODAY, stuck at $455 of $700 for rent. Cannot survive without housing, so please consider chipping in? Shares are also a key way to help. Never know who might be able to contribute!

Falco SkyWolf@falcoskywolf.bsky.social

Will you help me with my weekly rent quest? $700 due Sunday- and it would be helpful to get started on storage due Nov 1st. #PleaseShare, and chip in if you can safely do so? Anything counts- and I MUST stay housed to survive. #MutualAidRequest #DisabilityCrowdFund #KeepFolksAlive

Vanessa Smith reposted

SallyRCbra
@srpassesiton.bsky.social

It was good to hear. And he said it strongly.

Mark@mark-melbin.bsky.social

Did Hell Freeze Over? Mark Kenny on #Insiders correctly points out it's not just Social Media that's to blame for Hate Speech, it's also the 'traditional' media. Murdoch (not named 🙁) has a long tradition of angertainment. #auspol #journalism #HateSpeech #HelenHaines

Vanessa Smith reposted

Veronica
@veronicaf.bsky.social

Let's fund a spay abort! I'm going to use some of the desexing money you lovely people have donated and help out a friend. This girl was in a very similar situation to Robin, and after probably getting pregnant again, they told my friend Erica to "FINE, just take her."

Vanessa Smith reposted

🐈‍⬛💜 phonakins 🍉🌲
@phonakins.com

The Foodbank(TM) hunger report drops on Monday ahead of their Xmas fundraising drive (I wonder how much they'll be charging the charities on the ground for hampers this year @kyleatink.bsky.social?)

🐈‍⬛💜 phonakins 🍉🌲@phonakins.com

I have written a million things on the folly of foodbanks already Feel free to share and quote them phonakins.com/2023/09/10/w... phonakins.com/2025/01/15/f... phonakins.com/2024/11/29/f... phonakins.com/2025/04/09/a... phonakins.com/2024/11/18/l... phonakins.com/2024/12/09/x...

phonakins.comFood banks are just a more expensive way to get food that isn’t necessarily suitable to poor people: Prove me wrongTFIF, am I right? And that the pollies have headed home for the summer break after a chaotic final week, and maybe we’ll get some respite from their pontificating until that election is calle…
Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

I also encourage more disabled people to ask for money in return for their knowledge. Let me know if a blog post on how to get an abn and set up a basic invoice would be useful. I’m not a lawyer or accountant so the information would be “for entertainment purposes only” though.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

I can't do both working for myself and looking for work at the same time, and a job is still a faster route to money than a business, especially in a shitty economy where even established businesses are struggling.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

No one has been able to tell me anything I need to change about my resume or application or interviews. I suspect that means that the change they want me to make is "stop being disabled", but that's not something which is changeable.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

The reality is, no one wants to hire a disabled person. All I need to do is work from my desk, not their desk. It's free to accommodate me. I am apparently too scary to hire. Also, too confusing for ableist folk.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

How can you be experienced and disabled? That's what they want to ask. People have such a negative view of disability that I simply can't exist in their mental framework.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

I'm not saying I'm a perfect person, because there is no such thing, but I am saying I don't have any major flaws to correct. There are probably tweaks and differences of opinion (I once had someone argue with me about the use of parentheses in cover letters),

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

Here's the summary of where things are at for me: People are endlessly convinced that if you don't have a job, it means you are doing something wrong. The thing is, I can never get specific feedback on what I need to do better.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

People love my experience, love my resume. I answer questions so well in interviews that the panels often skip questions because I have so comprehensively answered the previous questions that I've covered future questions.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

None of the interview questions in this supposedly merit based process were on technical skill, they were on management skill, and they were thrilled with all my answers.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

And then they rejected me on something that was not asked and was not part of the job description. Indecision about the role, or discrimination against disabled staff? I will never know.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

Telling me I'm great and that my resume is wonderful does not make up for your discrimination. All it does is help you theoretically absolve your guilt for the bad behaviours that you display towards me.

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

The people who called me fantastic in an interview told me they didn't want to hire me because I don't have enough technical skills, despite the fact it was a non-technical job. Do I believe that or do I believe that someone didn't want me because I'm disabled?

Vanessa Smith
@normalness.bsky.social

What is it like to job hunt while disabled in 2026? Someone else will be inclusive. Employers think "It's not my job to be inclusive, someone else will do it." That's the state of job hunting while disabled.