Pronoun Trouble

Birthday Stuff, woo!

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 04:12:20 GMT

Happy Birthday to me, yay!

Dad got me the picture book, "The Bakery Dragon", as seen on Tumblr.

Mom got me season 10 of Bob's Burgers.

My brother's family got me something that's still in the mail 😂

And Dreamwidth got me my new mood themes going live!

...Okay, they're not technically live yet exactly (they'll show up soon!), and it's a complete coincidence that dw_dev posted the code tour on my birthday, but I'm counting it!

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Ow

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 06:58:44 GMT

Y helo thar, menstrual cramps; been a while since I've had to deal with you!

(I took a painkiller that I hope will kick in soon. Meanwhile, I'm choosing to dwell on the fact that I don't have to deal with these nearly so often since I got my IUD in. Thank goodness I found a treatment that works for me!)

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Technology Issues

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 20:29:29 GMT

My laptop is giving me some minor issues; it's been losing internet connection reliably, usually within an hour of me starting up, and the only solution I've found so far is to restart it completely.

This has prompted me to look up exactly when I originally got my current laptop, and the answer is May, 2019. I've had this laptop for five-and-a-half years, and this is the first time it's given me any problems that have made me consider replacing it.

I'd say that's a damn good run!

(It's also right on time for me to make a birthday and/or Xmas request 👀 I may bring this up with my parents...)

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I make very good decisions actually

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 05:07:41 GMT

The latest in my long list of Crafts I Do: Enamel pin display banners.

I ordered one when I backed some projects on Pintopia 2.0 earlier this year, and it arrived not long ago. It's lovely! A true piece of art! Very few of my pins would actually look good on it!

So I resorted to making my own. So far I have two complete, and another six in progress; of the two that are complete, one is hanging on my wall, with a whole bunch of pins I ordered yeeeeaaars ago set on it, and it looks fab ♥ The other one is basically a carbon copy of the first one, so I'll probably see if I can't sell it. Same for probably four or five of the second batch that are currently in progress, because I have a lot of enamel pins, but I don't have that many enamel pins!

Hopefully I can make myself stop there, because I can only make so much stuff without having a good way to sell it off. (Honestly, the second batch is really only happening because I saw some cloth I really liked at Joann's, and was still thinking about using it to make more pin banners a week later, which I figured was justification enough.)

Photos of pin banners to come eventually, I hope!

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IDK IDK IDK...

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:49:45 GMT

Right, so, I've kept contact with some of my old AnimeIowa friends after the whole Mask Fiasco of 2022, right? Did some art for Accessibility Passes, maybe made a suggestion here or there, sold some stuff in the art show this past year. One of my AI friends commissioned a crocheted plush Minion from me this year to give to a family member for Xmas, so I pulled one together (that actually turned out pretty fantastic, NGL) and delivered it to her when she was in town for a convention meeting last Saturday.

I've been planning to rejoin AnimeIowa staff for the 2025 convention pretty much since I quit in 2022. I've gone back and forth a couple of times, but I do genuinely miss hanging out with my AI friends and helping make the convention work. The 2024 election results (and knowing some of what RFK Jr wants to do with US health stuff, as well as what Trump may let him get away with) have made me a little bit shaky about that, because I quit over disease transmission concerns in 2022; I was still leaning towards rejoining, except, well.

I saw one of the biggest anti-mask people when I went to drop off the minion; one of the people who made the decision (without telling staff at large, let alone announcing to attendees, vendors, or even guests of honor) that the con should go masks-optional in 2022, and one who I generally found a little intimidating even before everything that went down. I already knew that the Health Officer who helped push the decision was probably still on staff somewhere, if not necessarily as a Con Exec/ConCom/Con CEO/what-have-you; I know I can at least be civil with her in person and pretend that nothing has happened.

I don't know if I can do that with this other guy. I also don't know what sort of position he holds in staff at the moment; if he's in a position of particular power... IDK.

I'd love to shift focus and switch to Wiscon, but I tried that and I failed. One of the key points about AnimeIowa staff for me was that I would actually leave the house and go to in-person meetings and hang out with people there, and if I have to deal with too many of the people who made me feel like absolute dog shit for trying to make sure that the 2022 con didn't turn into a superspreader event, let alone for not being told before they rolled out the decision, I just...

Yeah. I dunno.

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Today I Learned

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 02:56:15 GMT

People with paid DW accounts can filter posts by tags!

Tags: Show only content that is labeled with a certain tag or tags, or only content that is not labelled with a certain tag or tags (people sometimes refer to this as "blocking tags").

https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=76&q=filter

Obviously it'd be great to have this as a free feature, but damned if it's not great to have it at all, you know?

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To-Do

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 17:00:41 GMT

~~1) Eye doctor (general checkup appointment)~~ Done!
2) Try to relax while the dilation drops wear off
3) Cry (can be done at the same time as 2)
4) Nap
5) Regroup, revitalize, prepare to defend

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Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 05:20:34 GMT

Watched The Daily Show's live election coverage, and otherwise have been mostly avoiding things aside from what comes up on Tumblr/the occasional tidbit in Discord. Pretty sure I'm going to bury myself in fanfiction to keep a sense of peace for a while.

Also I'm going to eat a lot of cheap Halloween candy. (Well. Not a lot a lot. But still at least four or five "fun size" bars.) Maaaaaybe do a tiny bit of retail therapy, but def gonna try to keep any of that under $15.

Anyway, eye appointment tomorrow morning, so I can't stay up all night. Time to pull up that fanfic!

Edit: Hmm, yes; I think my minor splurge tomorrow may be takeout Chinese.

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I mean, I'm not holding my breath, when considering recent years, but still!

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 05:58:51 GMT

News: "It seems like Iowa might go blue for this election!"

Me: *salutes* "I'm doing my part!"

(It would be really, really cool if Iowa went blue this year. It's gone blue before in my lifetime, but like. Not since I've been able to vote.)

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Voting complete!

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 19:22:46 GMT

I finally went and early-voted today! TBH it was really well organized, plenty of poll officials, no wait at all when I got there. They also had two different versions of the "I Voted" sticker, and let me take one of each!

Also finally got a response about whether I'll be employed as a PEO for this election, and the current verdict is "Probably not, sorry for not getting to you earlier!" Which, at least I know now. And honestly, considering how many poll workers were at the early voting station, I can't say I'm terribly surprised.

Shame they probably can't loan me out to other counties, though; I'll bet at least one near-by county in my state is in need of an extra poll worker!

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A quick ML tidbit

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 03:40:50 GMT

Found on a scrap of paper when I was cleaning my room; I don't want to lose it forever, but I also don't want it laying around anymore, so preserving it on the internet it is!

( Just a little Miraculous Ladybug tidbit, featuring Alya and Nino, talking about their best friends' love life )

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Minor griping

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 03:35:19 GMT

Finished reading the first volume of Scum Villain! It's, hmm.

Okay, either the author really loaded up a bunch of info in the short story volume and/or like. Interviews and stuff, or fandom is doing a lot of heavy lifting with the disciple years, because it is sparse on stuff happening. Or, well, it has like. Four plot points/events, and then it jumps to the Immortal Alliance Conference?

I'm gonna be honest, I'll be fine with either outcome, I'm just stuck on whether to skip to the short story volume to find out how much is built in there. (I happened to find a hard copy at Half Price Books last weekend, so I'd even have something of an excuse...) I might be SOL for finding any Word Of God deuterocanon, since damned if I go tag surfing on Tumblr, and that's probably where most of it's going to be, but I can at least get the answers to some of my questions if I skip ahead! And it's not like I'm not wildly spoiled already...

Anyway, the point isn't me dithering over whether to skip ahead or not, it's me griping over not knowing whether stuff is fanon or canon right now, and the first volume of the series plus the existence of the short story volume not being as helpful as it could have been in clearing that up.

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Thank goodness I have alternate distractions available...

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 01:38:15 GMT

Oh so this is what it's like to have AO3 start acting up when I'm in the early stages of a new hyperfocus/special interest.

Yeah, I get why people hate that.

Edit: Oh wow, that cleared up in a hurry. I barely had time to gripe about it!

Welp, not complaining about this outcome, at any rate.

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Another post I'm not up to making on Tumblr

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 19:41:08 GMT

Going back for a moment to "Tampon Tim" Walz: I feel like there's a very good argument to be made for tampons to be available in every single classroom across the country, and that is that they can be used in an emergency to plug bullet and other puncture-type wounds.

And if people aren't comfortable with that, they can always work on ways to reduce school shootings instead.

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Oh yeah, updating things...

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 02:22:46 GMT

Oh right, I committed to posting publicly once a week; private posts where I store tidbits I copy-pasted from ebooks on my phone aren't the same thing...

Not a whole lot to report. I'm spending more time at my makeshift desk with my laptop instead of lounging in bed with it, which is an improvement; I do think I need a better computer chair sooner rather than later, though, preferably with at least one arm rest. I don't usually care much for arm rests, on account of having a good deal of mass around my middle, but, well. My left hand's pinky finger and sometimes ring finger are occasionally going a little numb, and switching to the new desk setup is the only major change I can think of in the past while that might be causing it.

In addition to a proper computer chair, I'm thinking of asking for a tablet for my birthday and/or Xmas. Used would be fine, I just want something I can use to browse AO3 instead of my laptop, since I'm back in New Fandom Hyperfocus Mode. That might also help with the hand issue, IDK.

Still getting absolute crap hours at work, with no notice from the Precinct Election Official people; it seems like I was supposed to get an availability survey at some point, but didn't? Early voting started half a week ago, so I'll be sending an email asking about that later tonight.

I think that's it for now; time to draft that email!

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I may need a new fandom tag in the not-too-distant future...

Sat, 12 Oct 2024 03:36:40 GMT

Oops, stuck in hyperfocus hell again. I want to say that it's not quite as bad as a few weeks ago, but uh.

Uhhhhhhh...

Listen, I didn't mean to stay up all night on Wednesday and only go to sleep again on Thursday afternoon because I was too busy reading a fic, it just kinda happened!

Honestly, the only thing that's really "better" about this right now is that I don't have many other demands on my attention/major stressors. Mostly.

On a "Brains are weird" note, I have trouble admitting to myself that I'm in a new fandom when I haven't technically consumed any canon material for said fandom yet. But that's where I currently am with Scum Villain's Self Saving System, so. Working on that from both angles with my brain currently, we'll see how it goes.

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Mostly a room update

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 03:56:19 GMT

Egads, how is it already Friday?

Mom and Molly made it back safely and have settled right back in. Molly is currently snuggled in the blankets at the foot of my bed, because she gets Lonely when her favorite person (my mom) is asleep/otherwise unavailable.

Room cleaning saga got some very good work done; I managed to clear off most of a tall table construct on the side of my room and added a new bookshelf there, both of which are pretty great. The bookshelf has allowed me to relocate a lot of DVDs and some books that I had piling up in various places; things still aren't completely organized (another bookshelf wouldn't hurt, truth be told), but they're much better than they were.

On top of that, the table space that I cleared is a great location for my laptop! Which was actually a pretty major motivation in getting that space cleared off; the built-in trackpad buttons are starting to go a little haywire, so attaching an old mouse and using that instead helps a lot. I haven't been able to make myself move my laptop over there more permanently yet (baby steps!), but I have actually been using it, rather than not using it at all, the previous state when that table was elbow-deep in Stuff. Today I picked up a tall office chair to use with it secondhand, which is an improvement over the spare kitchen stool I had been using previously. It's not my ideal office chair (I want one with breathable mesh instead of pleather cushions), but for a measly $8, I'm happy enough to make do.

I've still got stuff to clear out from under the table, and I could definitely stand to do some digging in both my crafting corner and in my closet, but my room is still looking a lot better!

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Trip update

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 06:54:55 GMT

Welp, turns out I'm neither flying to Texas, nor driving there. Mom called this evening to report that she was Done and had started driving home already, so I could cancel my car rental (which I did end up getting).

Honestly, I'm not entirely surprised by this turn of events. I love my grandma, but she's pretty high maintenance; Mom's younger sister has also apparently been staying/helping out a bit, Mom's relationship with her is... tense at best.

Anyway, I expect to see Mom and Molly the dog sometime tomorrow probably. Pampering them (especially Mom) will likely be on the agenda.

(Honestly, I lucked out; I did not win the war against a major hyperfixation phase(?), and the less said about how much sleep I didn't get over the past few days, the better.)

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Outdoors Special

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:43:57 GMT

The weather was very nice today, and I was craving some exercise, so I decided to walk to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.

Honestly, it was a fantastic walk, I'd totally do it again. I may yet (though definitely not tonight).

Tomorrow, Dad and I are planning to take my brother's kids to play at the park for our family time, weather permitting. I think they'll like it, though the bathroom situation worries me a bit; elder nibling is potty training, so we'll probably bring some backup pants Just In Case. Hopefully, the near-by swimming center will let us take him in to use the toilet if he says he needs to go.

And that's it; that's the post.

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Turning out the lights at 12:30 am is actually pretty early for me when I have the next day off...?

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 05:30:06 GMT

I am trying desperately to reset my non-work-night sleep schedule to somewhere I go to bed earlier, because I have an early morning on Monday to drive down to Texas.

So far results have been... mixed.

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Posts I'm Too Scared to Make on tumblr

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 17:14:39 GMT

In two years, it'll be 2026; that's a nice, round 250 years after 1776, when the United States of America declared its independence.

It's obviously not the only reason to vote for her, but like. How goddamn fucking badass would it be to celebrate that anniversary with a mixed race Black woman as President?

Not posting there because of Tumblr's reading comprehension problem and I really don't need the extra stress. But like. Maybe I can put it on a shirt or something.

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Plans and Planes and Pains

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 18:53:15 GMT

Brain: Say, it's been a while since the Miraculous Ladybug shine started wearing off; how would you like a new hyperfixation?

Me: ...Is it Avery and Zeek? Or something else that's more productive than consumptive?

Brain: No, sorry ♥

Me: Then... no? No, thank you? Like, yes in concept, very much so, I do so much better when I have a fandom, but uh. Right now is... Look, I just really need my executives to actually be functioning right now, because Shit's Goin' Down. Any chance we can bookmark this stuff for later?

Brain: ...I will get you when you least expect it and least want it. Just you wait.

( The circumstances )

So. That is why I will need to be rationing my executive function very carefully over the next week or so, potential hyperfixations be damned. I would allow myself more slack if I were at least getting something more out of it, like some worldbuilding or crocheting done, but not if it's only "breathing in". I definitely need to breathe in, but for my own sake, I'll have to temporarily settle for quick gulps of air, at least for the next few days, and maybe a nice, deep breath on like. Wednesday.

Burgeoning willpower, I'm counting on you!

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Mood Calendars

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 06:01:25 GMT

Linking these here for organizational purposes. You may remember that I had the horrible temptation to do some sort of One Month Mood Theme challenge? Well, I'm still not doing it ~~yet~~, but I did put together a bunch of calendars for anyone who might want to do it. This could hypothetically include me at some point, but doesn't necessarily have to.

There are a total of fourteen calendar pages: They only have day numbers and moods listed on them, no assigned months (or days of the week, because that was just easier for me). There is a version that starts on each day of the week for both 30-day months and 31-day months; I left off February, because no thank you. Here are the pages, should anyone want to save them or print them out or whatever. They're very minimalist, because again, easiest for me.

Sunday 30 | Sunday 31
Monday 30 | Monday 31
Tuesday 30 | Tuesday 31
Wednesday 30 | Wednesday 31
Thursday 30 | Thursday 31
Friday 30 | Friday 31
Saturday 30 | Saturday 31

Phew! I sure hope I got all of those in the right place; they didn't stay in order when I uploaded them, and I'm not going to go checking them individually at the moment, kthx.

I also made a "mood challenge" grid; it's got the same 34 moods in a 5x7 grid (last square empty), with the squares mostly empty. The idea is to print it out and do little sketches for each mood in each square, and then maybe a freebie/wild card square at the end. You can check that out here. I'm hoping to print off a few copies of it, so I can take it with me and do some mood theme-y sketching without constantly referring back to my phone for what the next mood is 😂

All of these should add yet more flexibility for mood theme creation and challenges, whee!

And now: Bed time routine.

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I mean, I've had worse ideas...

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 06:03:31 GMT

An errant train of thought: "You know, if you add up the primary moods from the mood theme hierarchical tree with the secondary and tertiary moods (and one quaternary mood), you get thirty-four moods. If you do one a day, that's basically a one month project. Throw in an extra mood on, like, Saturdays or something, and boom! Mood Theme in a Month ~~Except February~~. Perfect for someone looking for a new short-term creative challenge, what with NaNoWriMo going down the tubes..."

I'm reasonably sure I'll be able to resist the temptation of this idea, but like. The temptation is there.

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More in the room cleaning saga

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 04:37:37 GMT

Did some more cleaning (in the proper order) today, and the "table" against the north side of my room was the main focus. I cleared the whole thing off, wiped it down, got rid of a bunch of trash, shoved a bunch more papers that I need to sort into a cardboard box, and generally rearranged things. The table is now much clearer and better organized, and though there's still a touch of chaos, there's enough room that I can make space on it to put stuff while I sort out the desk on the west wall between that table and my bed.

What's wigging me out a bit is that the wall the table is against now looks too blank. It took me a little bit to figure out, but I finally realized it's because I moved a painting I used to have hanging above one end of the table to be above the opposite end of the table. I've stacked some DVDs and so forth on the table under where the painting used to be, but they aren't stacked near high enough to cover the area where the painting used to be. I'm hoping to get a bookshelf to put on the table and kill two birds with one stone, but finding the right one may take a while.

In the mean time, I may put something else where the painting used to hang. Finding a good balance between "All this visual noise is stressing me out" and "All this blank space is stressing me out" is going to be interesting!

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