schema

Things that happened in 2018 (briefly)

Wed, 02 Jan 2019 02:35:01 GMT

I got my driver's license, and a car! I'm still a terrible driver, but having the option of driving let me search for jobs in a much wider radius, and has been pretty helpful in general.
I had a job! From April until the end of September. It was a seasonal office job, full time for the most part with a lot of overtime in June and July. My bosses thought I was awesome and I managed to save a bunch of money.
Through said job, I acquired a posse of tea-drinking nerd friends, which has been pretty great.
Rather less positively, in August and September I got hit with some pretty catastrophic fatigue (sleeping 12 hours a day, falling asleep at my desk, etc. etc.) I never found any kind of medical explanation. I have since gotten back to a "normal" energy level for me, but I have no idea what triggered the fatigue or how to keep it from coming back. I'm kind of terrified of that happening again. It's extremely difficult to crawl my way back out of fatigue like that, because it leaves me with no energy to manage anything beyond the very most basic self-care (if even that), making it almost impossible to make and keep medical appointments or do other things that are "supposed" to help. Thanks, body?
After being laid off from that job, I was thinking about looking for something part-time, but eventually decided to go back to community college and finish my AA. And then... wavered on that for months, alternately panicking and despairing and pretending I was super motivated and everything was fine. Everything was not fine.
Found a therapist. We haven't made enormous amounts of progress on anything specific yet, but I have fuckin' issues with therapists, and the fact that she has not pushed me to make rapid progress on anything in particular is to her credit. Cautious optimism there. Maybe someday I will learn how to handle an ordinary workload without having panic attacks?
At the last minute, I made the decision to defer going back to college until next quarter, by which time I will hopefully be able to manage it with less resentment and terror. Part of what makes the idea of going back to college so difficult for me is that... well, I don't actually want to. I view getting a bachelor's degree as the only way I am likely to ever attain a middle-class standard of living. There are parts of the process that wouldn't be completely terrible, but I feel that colleges are fundamentally exploitative.

I think these days, the product is not the education, or even the credential or the acculturation, it's the student. It's a scheme in which the school processes raw materials (mostly teenagers) into more employable Graduate Product, by subjecting them to unreasonable professors, opaque bureaucracy, and artificially towering workloads. The "successful" student learns to sacrifice their health and sanity to please their teachers. The resulting Graduate Product has learned to accede to the demands of their superiors, no matter how arbitrary or unreasonable, and can be trusted to set their personal life aside whenever necessary for the nebulous reward of "getting ahead". Employers have found that this Graduate Product is so superior to what gets extruded at the end of compulsory education that they now insist upon degrees for many jobs that would never have previously required them, not because they need any of the specialized skills or knowledge that some students acquire in the course of a particular major, but because the Graduate Product is more biddable, and because they can. To whatever extent a particular school manages to create a more appealing Graduate Product, it can then sell that ideal to prospective students, to their parents, and to the voting public.

Notably, providing actual benefit to the student themself is entirely optional. A school that creates graduates who are more downtrodden, less happy, or more indebted may actually have a more appealing Graduate Product, provided that it doesn't leave too many of them too broken to function. Similarly, a school can create a much more appealing Graduate Product without overinvesting in the "teaching" or "development" or "mental health" of their students by being more selective in the applications process, accepting only those students who are already bright, privileged, and willing to tie themselves in knots to please authority figures. The school does not promise that any individual student will finish their program, nor that any given Graduate Product will find a buyer, or that any graduate will be paid enough to keep a roof over their head and service their loans, but so long as they keep the public convinced that college is a ticket out of poverty, so long as home-buying and child-rearing remain out of reach for most young adults who refuses to play the game, they can depend on a steady flow of tuition dollars, and even enjoy a semi-charitable status.

I'm planning to major in economics, because this economy is so broken. (and for more reasons than that - I have some intrinsic interest in the subject, I think its core assumptions are extremely flawed and the field has failed to incorporate the insights of behavioral economics, and as a nice side benefit it seems to leave a reasonably broad range of career options open that are mostly pretty high-paying.)

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December Days Meme: CASCADIA QUAKE: WHAT DO YOU DO

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 22:03:07 GMT

(Asked by vlion. Original post here.)

Honestly... I have no idea? As I understand it, a magnitude 8-9.0 earthquake would destroy most buildings. I don't think that's something one can be prepared for. Specifically, I don't think it's something I can meaningfully prepare for as a low-income renter. I can't really afford to stock a dedicated emergency kit, nor do I have the space to store one, and honestly, I don't see it making a life-or-death difference anyway.

The way I see it, either I die as a direct consequence of the earthquake, I die as a secondary consequence of the earthquake, or I survive. As a renter, I can't significantly change my risk of dying as a direct result of the earthquake, all I can do is take cover and hope. That leaves secondary causes of death. Exposure would be a major issue in winter, but I can't really do much about that - either I can find shelter somewhere, or I can't. Dehydration and sanitation are the other major concerns, I think. I could keep more bottled water and wet wipes around, I guess? I have a first-aid kit that's sufficient for minor injuries, and if I sustained a major injury I wouldn't be able to do much for myself.

Basically, if I survive long enough for emergency services to do their thing, I will probably be fine, and if I don't, I probably couldn't have done anything to change the outcome given the resources at my disposal. There's a lot that I can do to help myself if can spend time gathering supplies from my apartment before evacuating, and not much I can do otherwise. Survival is by far the most likely outcome, and I'm not that concerned about problems short of death, since millions of people are going to be in the same boat. I'm not preoccupied by the thought of an eventual major earthquake, and there's still a solid chance that I won't be alive when it hits.

If I'm wrong about the facts, or if there's something I've missed that I can cheaply do to increase my chances of surviving a disaster, I'm all ears.

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Loose change thoughts on Dreamwidth for Tumblr transplants

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 05:26:57 GMT

Welcome! As you probably cannot help but be aware, Dreamwidth began as a fork of Livejournal, and its interface and features largely hail from an older time. The codebase is old enough to vote. Interacting with people and keeping an active blog on Tumblr is really low-effort in a way that it isn't necessarily on Dreamwidth, so I thought I'd post some pointers for translating the way you interact on Tumblr over to Dreamwidth.

Dreamwidth does not have likes, but it's totally acceptable to comment on a post to communicate the same basic thing. Same with comments, or you can just say "+1" [EDIT: If you used your likes more like bookmarks, you might be interested in the memories feature.]
Notice how you have 15 icon slots (more if you have a paid account?) In comments, you can use your choice of icon like a reaction gif. (You can, of course, also post a reaction gif in the body of your comment.)
There are two very different ways of responding to someone's post. One is to reply and discuss the post with the original author. Another is to use the original post as a jumping-off point for a substantial post of your own. On Tumblr, you would generally use a reblog for either of these types of response. On Dreamwidth, you usually want to use comments to reply/discuss, but if you're using someone else's post as a springboard, you should instead make a post of your own and link back. You might also post a link to encourage your subscribers to get involved in the discussion on the original post. Linking and commenting are pretty core to how people find each other.
Ask memes! Dreamwidth doesn't have asks, obviously. Instead, you would make a post for the meme list of questions, your subscribers would comment with the questions they'd like you to answer, and you might reply to that comment or in a follow-up post, depending on length/substance/personal preference.
The linkspam is a classic LiveJournal Post Type with a venerable history. A post can just be a link or handful of links to stuff that you liked or thought was interesting. A post can also just be a list of brief updates/thoughts on what's going on in your life that might not all constitute a "post" on their own.

I hope this is helpful - it's been a while since I was particularly active, but I've been on DW for a reasonably long time (longer than just this account), and if you have any questions I can probably help you find answers.

(also, a major quality of life tip: you know how it takes you to a completely new page when you want to subscribe/grant access to someone? Yeah, you can actually skip that - if you hover over the little icon next to someone's name, there's a popup you can use to subscribe/grant access without navigating away.)

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December Days meme?

Sun, 02 Dec 2018 22:56:24 GMT

Hi. I see everyone doing December Days posts and thought it'd be nice to join in. I definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with the full version of the meme, but I could probably do up to 8 posts? Please ask questions/suggest topics in comments!

~~CASCADIA QUAKE: WHAT DO YOU DO~~
Best teas for different occasions?
Things that you sort (words, pictures, clothes, seashells, whatever) and how you sort them, especially if there are multiple traits affecting what goes in what category.
How you decide what to wear when you're standing in front of your wardrobe.
[unclaimed]
[unclaimed]
[unclaimed]
[unclaimed]

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Scones (since apparently I haven't posted this one yet)

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 20:24:14 GMT

Fluffy and tender and noms. Also in almond variety!

(kaberett please tell me all about how this recipe is Heresy)

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 stick butter, cold
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450F. Combine all dry ingredients. Chop butter into small pieces and rub into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center. Combine the wet ingredients and pour them in. With fingers, lightly fold together until you have a dough.

Roll to about 3/4" thickness and cut. Bake for 10 minutes, or until puffy and browning at the edges.

For almond scones: Replace 1/2 cup of flour with almond flour. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract with the wet ingredients. Fold in 2/3 cup sliced almonds near the end.

I believe vlion can attest to their deliciousness?

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a ridiculous game that everyone should play

Fri, 01 Apr 2016 06:46:29 GMT

being approximately a smush of Fluxx, Mao, and Calvinball.

Supplies

1 (or more) deck(s) playing cards
Notepad
Writing instrument
Players more interested in having a good time than munchkining.
who knows???

Objective

[unknown]

Initial Rules

At the beginning of play, shuffle the cards and deal five to each player. Each player, on their turn, plays one card. If the effect of the card has not yet been declared, the player makes it up; this should be recorded. If the effect of a card has been declared, it is activated. At the end of a player's turn, they draw one card.

A friend and I made this up tonight and these are the rules we ended up with:

Jack of ♦: Ignore one rule this turn.
4 of ♠: If there are 4 fours on the table, the player of the fourth 4 takes another turn. [in retrospect this is more of a rule than an effect.]
All Kings: Whoever plays a king sets a new rule for the whole game.
2 of ♥: If you hold a King, search the deck for the Queen of the same suit and place it in your hand. If you hold a Queen, search the deck for the King of the same suit and place it in your hand.
J of ♥: Invent one rule applicable for the duration of the next player's turn.
Ace of ♣: If there are four aces on the table, the player of the fourth ace takes all the cards on the table into their hand and discards down to 5. [again, more rule than effect]
Queen of ♥: Redefine the effect of any one card, including this one.
6 of ♦: If this is the third 6 a player has on the table, take one card from each other player.
Ace of ♥: Play on another player's turn to cancel the effect of their card.
3 of ♣: The player may discard their entire hand, and draw back to 5.
10 of ♥: The player may repeatedly draw and discard cards until 4 cards in their hand form any straight or flush.
4 of ♦: View opponent's hand.
4 of ♥: Draw 2 cards this turn.
2 of ♠: Randomly choose one card in an opponent's hand, and shuffle it into the deck.
J of ♣: The game ends. [we needed to sleep.]

King Rules

When a pair is laid down, the players must play Rock, Paper, Scissors. The winner may take any card from the table, and shuffle the rest back into the deck.
When the game ends, hands are valued like poker hands to determine the winner.

Guidelines and General Advice

We enjoyed trying to give suits and numbers loose "themes" or general associations - for instance, my idea was for all the court cards to enact different types of rule changes, with Kings making whole-game rules, Queens shifting card definitions, and Jacks creating one-turn rule changes. Friendperson felt that hearts should generally be buffs and spades should have some sort of debuff/destruction theme.
I believe it is advisable to have some function like our Kings and Queens, to ensure some flexibility and capacity for consciously engineering the game.
Similarly, if you're trying to meander toward a win condition, it helps to cooperate a bit.
we both plan to bring this ruleset into future games and let them expand until they become shambling madcap horrors.

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This is now my favorite sandwich/toast bread

Fri, 08 May 2015 20:50:07 GMT

Ingredients

1 tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup warm (~100F) water

1 cup milk
3/4 cup oats

1 1/2 cups rye flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. molasses
2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup almond meal
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. salt

Combine yeast and warm water, set aside. Combine oats and one cup of milk, microwave for two minutes and let cool. Once oats and milk are at a non-yeast-murdering temperature (sub-100F, ideally closer to 80F), combine everything in a big fat mixing bowl (a stand mixer will make your life easier!) Knead until elastic - don't be shy - adjusting consistency with more water/flour as necessary. Grease a bowl. Turn your dough onto a floured surface and form into a smooth ball. Dump that ball of dough into your bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise a bit past doubled.

Deflate. Chop into two loaf-size pieces, maybe some extra little rolls. Form loaves by your preferred method, stick in greased loaf pans (they should be about half-full.) Let rise above the tops of the pans until they look like comically rectangular mushrooms. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes. Let cool. Om nom nom.

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Yellow! The Festival of Longnight

Wed, 24 Dec 2014 12:40:58 GMT

I said Yellow would be about social plans, but I lied. Instead it's about my relationship with holidays.

My dad's side of the family knows how to do Christmas right. My grandma used to mail out big tubs of Pfefferkuchen topped with chocolate and a few sprinkles a couple weeks before the day. Christmas Eve dinner is usually something simple but nice, maybe cheese fondue or roasted duck legs. There's presents to unwrap and actually classy Christmas music playing. They polish the actually-silver-silverware and have a great fancy dinner, ending in a big, boozy trifle.

I don't have any of that this year. It's important for me to remember that that was my choice: the reasons I'm not there are awful and unfair, but I could have gone. It's hard not to be wistful, all the same.

Instead, I'm doing dinner with a couple friends, and I am going all-out, within the allowances of my budget. I have made cookies and acquired a duck and they're bringing the sides and dessert. It still feels strange to be the one hosting. I am confronting the question of what my own traditions are going to be, much earlier than I thought I would need to.

Yesterday I celebrated Circlemas.

This is approximately how much meaning Circlemas has for most Discordians: "Celebrants of Circlemas may decorate themselves, their households, or other things with circles and circular patterns, and partake only of circular foods such as cake, pie, and pizza." (Discordian Wiki) Screw that. What I want from my flavor of Discordianism is the same as what most people want out of any religion, and that means I want holydays that actually mean something. Let's get symbolic with this shit.

We are in the season of Aftermath, the season of reflecting and winding down for the new year. I am all about patterns: finding them, breaking them, making them. Patterns are like circles, in how you can go round and round in them without finding a way out.

I have made paper chains.

Three chains: One for patterns in the old year that I want to break. One for the patterns in the old year that served me well. One for the patterns I want to cultivate in the new year. Five links in each, for each of the five seasons.

I sat, and thought about everything that's happened, season by season (approximately. Wow, it'll be weird when someday I'll stop being able to remember things by which house I was in.) I thought about the things I regret. I looked for where I showed strength. I thought about what patterns could have made those times better. These patterns are always in me, but I note when they were especially prominent.

Chaos

I let myself believe that I had no better options.
I ask for the help I need.
I will see possibilities everywhere.

Discord

I was afraid to speak my truth.
I am tenacious beyond all reason.
I will give people the space to show me their kindness.

Confusion

When my brain didn't seem like it would let me do something, I didn't fight much.
We can always rebuild.
If there's something I can't not do to reach my goals, I will do anything to make it happen.

Bureaucracy

I confused urgency with importance, and neglected my future self.
I have the courage to believe that now could be different from then.
I am kind to my future self: I put in place the support I need before I need it.

Aftermath

I let myself hold on to patterns I knew weren't working.
I let people see who I am, and this draws the right people to me.
I will give myself chaos.

(I would delightedly elaborate on any of this)

I've managed very few presents this year. Having thought about it more, I don't think I want to do Christmas presents. I'm always caught horribly off-guard, it takes way too much effort and money and time to give all the presents I would like to, the stuff that I actually like about Christmas is the food and atmosphere. So I said this on Facebook:

I am, for the most part, not giving Christmas gifts this year, for myriad reasons.

Because presents are awesome, though, I will be giving Unbirthday Presents throughout the year. Unbirthday presents may descend upon you at any time, and without warning. They may not take the form of Wrapped Stuff: Unbirthday presents may also take the form of favors or activities.

To help me formulate my Secret Plans, if there is anything that would delight you that I could conceivably provide, I would like to know about it. I will be watching all of you closely, and taking notes.

(this applies to all of you, too!)

If it were up to me, Christmas wouldn't be presents-day, it would be wishlist-day. When there's no specific present-day, people get to be delighted by receiving a present at all, rather than feeling disappointed by something and then feeling guilty about their ingratitude and mustering a polite "thank-you". Plus, it's harder to feel crappy about not getting presents: one would notice, of course, but there's no specific day to be let down by. Better system all around, I think!

What are some traditions that you're creating or disrupting this season?

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Blue! The Battle of West Doroway

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 08:20:21 GMT

The quarter finished! I am now on winter break. My intrepid and long-suffering readers may remember that I was just taking an English class this quarter. I, uh, actually haven't finished it.

Whooops.

I mean, I did the paperwork so that this is actually fine and I can turn in the two essays I need to write (and haven't even slightly started) after winter break, but uuuuuuggggghhhh. I feel terrible/worried about taking one class and not even being able to finish on time.

The kinds of essays the class wants from me are very hard for my brain to do. I can do creative writing just fine, even on a deadline to some extent, because I can virtually always turn an assignment into something I actually want to write, and I'm familiar with various tricks for generating material even when it's going to suck. Similarly, I think I could do more technical writing alright, because that's more like "convert this idea to words in the clearest way possible", it doesn't require creative input in remotely the same way. All this nonfiction analysis/persuasive whatever demands that I apply my creativity to stuff that I would never voluntarily write, and I've literally never had to or tried to write in an academic style before, and I am absurdly perfectionistic and work too hard at having ideas that are actually interesting.

One thing I'm specifically struggling with in regards to one of my essays is that it is way too open-ended for me to cope with. I am supposed to write a "researched persuasive essay" about... literally anything.

Gulp.

Next quarter, though! Next quarter I'm taking intro to theater and an anthropology class. I hope it will be an easy quarter, but it also puts me at 10 credits, so I can hopefully join student senate! And my schedule is M-W-F only, with nothing in the wee hours of the morning, so yay to that.

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All scrolls have been opened!

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 22:39:53 GMT

Except the multicolored one, hmmmm...

I'll start writing in order of comments: that puts green first!

While I'm working on that: I have 8 more holiday cards to send, and I would like to send one to you. Yes, you! Comment below with your address, and I will happily send one your way.

Additionally! If you'd like a poem or some other piece of writing from me, leave me a prompt/word! No cap on writing requests. I should be able to get cards out fairly quickly; writing-not-for-cards may happen more slowly.

Holiday cards remaining: 8

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A wizard confronts you in the library holding an armful of yellowed scrolls,

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 22:21:55 GMT

each sealed with a different color of ribbon. "I think these are related to your research," she says. "Go on, open them. As many as you like."

Which do you want to read first?

The scroll with the dark blue ribbon. Something about the Battle of West Doroway. [I'll post about finishing up my English class and my plans for next quarter.]
The scroll with the emerald green ribbon, about the Order of the Carnation and the Order of the Inkpot. [I'll post about club stuff and my experiences with organization/leadership.]
The scroll with the red velvet ribbon. Something about the Count's affair with the Earl of Birnwood. [I'll post about new boyfriend eee.]
The scroll with the yellow ribbon, about the city's Festival of Longnight celebrations. [I'll post about my social plans for December.]
The scroll with the black ribbon, about the Battle of Silvermount. [I'll post about job stuff, namely, not having one and not knowing what to look for.]
The scroll with the multicolored ribbon, written in an indecipherable script. "Oh, that one's special," says the wizard. "It'll tell you anything you want to know, if you ask the right questions." [I'll post about anything you tell me to!]

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Because the Writers Club seemed to like it

Tue, 07 Oct 2014 18:36:20 GMT

The toothsome barnacles
bite into me
singing to my blood the stories
of storms and tides

I over-salt my soup.
My fingers are stained
brown with the
olives I suck
to stay out of dreams.

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Quick hits, actual posts to follow

Sun, 27 Jul 2014 19:25:38 GMT

I returned from the Canadas. That was a while ago, whoops.
I am two decades old as of yesterday! Le Dad and I went canoeing in the Kankakee River and had sushi, and this morning I had the taaaastiest mushroom+asparagus crepe. No longer am I technically a teenager!¹ I can feel less awkward about revealing my age!
I seem to be on track to move in the beginning of August. I finally got the right documents together to open a bank account, I'm in talks with a couple of people about rooms for August, and I haven't got too much packing to do.
Kinda stressed. Definitely under time pressure. Waiting for a bunch of stuff I can't control to come together.
I will now pack a box. Packing a box is a thing I can control.
I wish the weather was cool enough for me to want tea.

^{¹ In base 10. Fuck, in dozenal I've got four more years to go.}

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Seven things make a post

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:42:53 GMT

I have successfully arrived on Vancouver Island! Flying was excellently uneventful. Cousin the Elder drove me to my grandparents' place; tomorrow I'm being switched over to my aunt and uncle's place, where my sister, Cousin the Elder, and Cousin the Younger will also be. Cousin the Middler, tragically, will not be here until after I've left.
The power came back on sometime during Wednesday night, and lo, there was water! and the dishes did sparkle, and would not be engulfed in mold. The false prophecy was revealed, and the people didst cleanse themselves in running water, and don their dry, fresh-smelling raiments.
Newly enwheelchaired grandpa saying "Vroom! vroom!"
I stumbled upon the PDF of Metaprogramming Ruby and started reading. I understand all the concepts just fine, but I still have no ability to actually write nontrivial working code, so I'm trying RubyMonk again in conjunction with some other reading. I have stuck this in HabitRPG, here's hoping I end up with usable skills this time.¹
One particular brainweasel is rearing its head. I am actually not particularly good at teaching myself things. (you may be inclined to assert that this is untrue. I am very good at absorbing ambient facts and will seek them by the pound, but I am very rarely successful at developing skills and depth-knowledge on my own.) I often feel like struggling with self-teaching makes me a terrible person, or I must be unmotivated or I'd learn the thing I want to.²
I think people who are good at self-teaching have had more practice with being taught. I have had nothing taught to me in an organized way since I was 14. I don't know how to continually work on something that challenges me. My frustration tolerance is almost nonexistent. I have rarely been pushed in healthy ways - been pushed to do something I can do that stretches me. I've mostly been pushed off of cliffs - pushed to do things I know I can't do, without help, or else. The latter is not actually that great for developing one's capabilities. Highly successful method for developing panic disorder though!
I have stayed up entirely too late. Whoops. Now I sleep.

_{1. context I forgot: I've tried to learn various programming languages several times with a variety of approaches.

2. Most brainweasels of this ilk manifest as me having extended angry arguments in my head. It's not exactly a thing I believe, but a broken belief that I'm dignifying with way too much brainspace.}

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Power outage, also Vancouver Island

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 14:53:54 GMT

There was a big, gusty thunderstorm on Monday night, which knocked out the power but good. As of Monday morning, the power has yet to be restored. I am perfectly safe, if a bit greasy (no power also means no running water.) I'm writing this from Le Dad's workplace.

My flight to Vancouver Island is tomorrow. The power being out meant I couldn't dry all the laundry I did or get to my to-do list, so that's been annoying! The house will be no fun to come back to if we can't do some dishes, and all the food in the fridge will have to be thrown out if the power doesn't come back on. Auggghhh.

Right now I have internet and devices are charging up and I have books and coffee. Right now is pretty okay; it can stay.

EDIT: WHOO there is now a generator! With luck we shall not return to fuzzy dishes!

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Internet Hiatus

Wed, 18 Jun 2014 03:44:18 GMT

I will be taking a break from the vast majority of the internet for an unspecified amount of time, starting tomorrow morning. Computery things I will let myself do if I want to:

Talk to Emily
Write my 750words
Reply to the two letterlike emails I'm sitting on
Tick stuff off in HabitRPG
Listen to That One Song I'm transcribing
Watch Crest of the Stars with Emily
Things not on this list that are obviously necessary for and not distracting from the non-internet things I am trying to do.

Computery things I will not be doing:

Checking email
Doing anything ambiently or unfocusedly
Anything not listed

Other stuff I will be trying to do:

Read at least two books
Random guitar flailing
Poking at plants
Meditating¹
Hopefully other stuff. Maybe even drawing????

It is much too easy for me to waste oodles of time reading blog posts and wiki articles that I'm not going to remember for long anyway. I also have a bad habit of quashing my own beliefs and intuitions when people tell me to. This is a bad combination. Some memetic isolation will be good for me.

¹I have tried to "meditate" properly many times before, proper posture trying not to think etc. I realize that non-judgment and self-kindness are the entire point, but trying to meditate "properly" gets me very distracted and frustrated because I'm trying too hard at not thinking. What I do instead is sit however I feel like sitting and just... let thoughts happen without letting them take on a life of their own? Kind of just, experiencing the soup my brain brews up when I'm not letting it get new inputs or stuck in feedback loops. Also I constructed an entity that watches my thoughts with me and kindly tells me to stfu and focus on my breath again when I get distracted.

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Sat, 07 Jun 2014 04:43:13 GMT

Three happy years with auxiliatrix!

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OH GOD WHERE AM I

Wed, 04 Jun 2014 04:44:39 GMT

Hello and welcome! Tumblr shat the bed, which has a number of implications for this journal.

1. I'm going to try to switch to posting mostly-publically.
(1a. I'm going to try to switch to posting here, like, at all)
2. I will hopefully crosspost the handful of effortposts I've made on tumblr.
3. I have a bunch of decisions to make about whether I still want my old posts access-locked/filtered/whatever and what access groups I might use. So, if you're coming here from Tumblr, it's great to have you here, but it'll be a little while before I figure out who I'm going to give access to vs. what I'm going to post publically etc.

Enjoy one of the last bastions of fandom and freeze peach in social media.

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