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Working Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Today, Bob and I are going to finish HPP. Which means we’re both going to read through a completed draft and then tell each other where we screwed up. I don’t even care; what I’m focusing on is “finished draft.”

What are you focusing on today?

142 Responses

  2. Just trying to keep it together at this point. Trying to write a novella, but probably should be editing the novel I finished a few weeks ago. Can’t focus, really.

    2. Yes. The doom cloud following me around has been heavy. It feels like lockdown, when I couldn’t see the point of working on anything.

    3. Yep, me too. Except working on a novel that started out as a novella (and a short story that became a novella and may grow beyond that). I really love the stories and their worlds, but it’s still hard to focus on them. And I put something that I was less excited about on hiatus, because there was no way I’d ever focus on that at the moment.

  3. We are starting our third and hopefully last testing of a system upgrade at work. This has been a year long project because we keep finding problems with it and I’m confident we will find more.

    I told my boss this was going to happen and sure enough. Maybe the third time is the charm.

    1. That brings back some (mostly unpleasant) memories.i used to manage a second-tier software support team. (So, not the Help Desk users call, but the programmers the Help Desk called when they couldn’t solve the problem.) One time my company implemented a new invoicing system that had been poorly tested. We recorded 50+ incidents the first day. We spent the next 2 months working overtime trying to keep the invoices flowing.

      Looking back, as manager I should
      have demanded they turn it back off till they fixed it.

      Dumb.

      1. My BIL once worked as a programmer for a very large insurance company where the CEO gave an interview saying that the direct billing program would be online 12 months before the working deadline. There were many calls in the middle of the night from the machine room.

        1. The “new” Sussex I and II State Prisons were built in 1997 with integrated Building Automation Systems. The operating system at the time was Windows 95. We started with BAS-7 and upgraded to BAS-8, then BAS-9, and from Win-95 to Win-98.

          The next increment was Windows NT-4.0 and a totally different itteration of the BAS system. Many of the features of BAS-9 went away, and we were promised equivalent features that never appeared. I learned Visual Basic in order to write programs that would accomplish what BAS no longer could. I never caught up.

    2. I wish my day job had put our new system through such vigorous testing. We are almost four month into our new system and the problems keep snowballing.

      1. I’m pretty sure we are going to find more problems and I just keep refusing to pass it on until it’s working. No sense making our dept go through all the hassels of a program that is so deeply flawed.

  4. Finish putting together my taxes for my accountant, which takes me most of January. Once that’s done, I just have to wait for all my various 1099’s from publishers to show up, and then it’s on her desk not mine.

    Then I move on to my will, healthcare proxy, and such. So much fun.

      1. So much adulting right now. Also have to go to the local Social Security office to see about applying for Medicare before April. You should be able to do it online, but for some reason, the link isn’t showing up for me.

        Also have to find a new auto and home insurance company because the one I’ve been using for 23 years is leaving NY state.

        2. I was able to apply online, and then I had to go to the office in person (in the next county over) to prove I actually exist and wasn’t a fraudulent account. Maybe just skip a step.

  5. Designing a very large training program for a client who keeps making changes not understanding the implications of those changes 0n the very short timeline. Today Iā€™m going to announce a ā€˜code freezeā€™.

  6. Reconciliations of various types at work.

    Tonight, devouring Indian food made by my husband for my birthday šŸ˜

  7. Spent first half of this week vegging & researching a possible trip to Italy next year. Did my seed order & was chuffed to catch a special offer on dahlias which meant I treated myself to three more, including an unusual one I saw growing last year & really wanted. (Just in case anyone else in the UK is keen: Sarah Raven has 30% off & free p&p this week.)

    Also researched & bought an extra light for the kitchen, had the kitchen radiator replaced so am hopeful itā€™ll be warmer than 7C when I go down for breakfast, and started a proof-reading job. This should be quite short, but it turns out the copy-editor didnā€™t do the Anglicizing they should have, so Iā€™m on the qui vive for Americanisms, which are easy to miss when you spend most of your time reading American fiction. (I donā€™t suppose anyone has heard of ā€˜Corsican weedā€™? Iā€™m flummoxed. Itā€™s translated from Korean.)

    1. Wikipedia thinks Corsican weed could be Soleirolia. At least, one of its names is Corsican creeper

      1. Yes: I thought that was a possible, until it was clear they were boiling it up and consuming it – I donā€™t think mind-your-own-business is edible.

        1. Itā€™s possible they mean Corsican mint; I just wondered if it was an American common name for something, since the translators are American. Penguin will have to query it with them.

          1. Another name that’s coming up (admittedly in Japanese and not Korean) is digenea simplex. Would that make more sense?

  8. Congratulations on the completed draft. That’s huge!!!

    I’m currently at a car repair place, getting routine maintenance done. This week I’m focusing on some neglected administrative stuff. I’m hoping to get it all done this week, so next week I can get back to focusing on fixing the voices in my manuscript.

  9. I have a half day today, as I am working the weekend. I’m not sure what I want to do with it. The list is always longer than the time available.

    I had someone request a piece of cameo jewelry which I make from an old plaster press mold and polymer clay, so I am thinking of doing a whole run of them for Valentine’s day. Of course, it is almost too late now to get everything done and listed in time to ship… Sigh. Why do these ideas always come at the 11th hour.

    There is also a sticker show at a local art gallery that I want to go see, but it is very cold today and I haven’t decided if I want to venture out once I make my way back home.

    Lastly, my father’s decrepit furnace is apparently not functioning properly. He told my sister, who lives three hours away, and not me. Grrrr. His solution was ‘wait and see’ which irked me greatly. Apparently his house is holding at a low 60s temp, so it’s survivable, just terminally stupid to not get it fixed asap by a professional. He had two of his unlicensed buddies working on the thermostat this fall with mixed results, considering its complete failure. I know it’s a mental health thing standing in the way of him making decisions to get it fixed, but it is so frustrating.

      1. Yes! And apparently a trading area, so I am going to take some of my cats when I go. It’s pretty exciting. They are showing a huge collection of stickers as street art.

    2. Cameo jewelry also sounds cool for Mother’s Day, too!

      For image editing, you could check out Gimp…similar to Photoshop but open-source and free. Or Affinity Photo, which looks reasonably priced.

  10. Oh, I forgot that I have a question. I am looking for a way to change the color of my cat drawings. Is anyone familiar with photo editing apps and can recommend one that is fairly user friendly? I downloaded Canva, but all the options are intimidating and I can’t find a simple block color change option. Thanks!

  11. Yay! Congratulations! That’s very exciting news.

    I’m working on things to prepare for being basically handicapped for 4-6 weeks after the pacemaker implant. I’d like to freeze food ahead, but the big freezer compartment in the refrigerator in the garage basically doesn’t work when it’s so cold out there that the thing doesn’t kick in enough to get down to zero. I have a little space heater aimed at it, but that can only do so much. But, it is warming up, now, and we’ll have highs in the 40s next week!!! If that lasts, or at least stays above freezing, it will help a lot.

    I’m practicing getting my bulky coat on without putting my left hand behind my back. I put that sleeve on first. Try it sometime. It’s harder than it sounds, unless you’re left handed. It’s the same with other clothing. This is going to be difficult.

    I have decided not to even read the headlines, because almost everything is about the insane things the orange Cheeto is doing, now. This is going to be a long four years.

      1. Those bright spots mean everything! My wool base layer is supposed to arrive today and I am so excited.

        Take care and best wishes for a safe and speedy recovery for you!

    2. Sorry about your surgery, but you will feel better after it’s working.
      Everyone I know that has had a pacemaker has been much improved.

      1. Thanks for the encouragement Margaret! I told myself I’d do whatever it takes to feel better, but those weeks of recovery are going to be a challenge.

  12. I am out in the suburbs staying with the cats for a few days. I am mainly trying to recover from getting myself and all the stuff across town while having dizziness and balance problems. I am extremely grateful that this house is only a block and a half from the train station. And I am counting the days until I can eat cheese and chocolate again because this migraine prevention diet is not working.

        1. I tried a serious elimination diet when I started with a new acupuncturist. She was sure I had leaky gut, and I did a month without meat, gluten, dairy, sugar, any fats other than olive or coconut oil, soy, and a bunch of other stuff. She assured me I’d have more energy, less pain, and lose weight. Nope, nope, and 3 lbs, which I immediately gained back. But on the bright side, I can eat all that stuff.

    2. FWIW, a good friend started using CBD gummies (one at bedtime) and went from near-daily migraines to zero migraines and only a couple regular headaches in the last three months. Our neurologist neighbor said he’s seen similar results for “dozens” of patients. YMMV, and of course check interaction with other meds, but may be worth a look.

      1. There’s a place in Portland, Oregon that makes those without THC. I use the ones for sleep, and they really help.

          1. I think if your state has not legalized weed for anything, it’s not legal, but I get them by mail, and I’ve taken them on the plane with no trouble. I’ll send the link.

        2. https://www.lazarusnaturals.com

          They sell gummies, tinctures, coconut oil CBD rub, gels, and other topical applications. You can earn points for your purchases if you sign up for that, and the points apply as credit on new purchases. I used to get the Calm gummies, but they have a new formula with really strong Ashwaganda now, and it tastes awful. Unless they fixed that? The Sleep gummies taste OK. I also like the Blood Orange tincture.

      2. I’m not even sure it is a migraine since I don’t have any of the other symptoms, just the dizziness. All I know so far is that it isn’t caused by my inner ear.

    2. Did you ever listen to National Lampoon records? On one of them, probably Radio Dinner, they had a song that said, “You are a fluke of the universe. Whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back.”

  14. We had snow last night! It was miniscule and tiny, and barely covers the driveway, but it is exciting to those of us in the south who rarely get any! I got to break out my short snow boots!

    Other than that, I’ve had my head down on working on projects. I’ve got photos this week
    https://www.instagram.com/p/DFIUrYbxQOH/

    The first is a quilt I’m calling Dancing Dolphins. It was a round robin challenge, where I did the center (dolphins) block, and passed it off to my quilting friends, each of whom added a border to the quilt. I’ve been working on quilting it over the last month, and this morning I think I’m done enough for now. I’ll bind it and cogitate while I work on something else.

    The second is the crochet baby blanket. I’m calling it a herringbone pattern because I’m too lazy to dig out the actual pattern name. It’s somewhat thick and warm and will be great for wrapping a baby. I’ll delivery it probably the beginning of February.

    Finally, because I’d finished the baby blanket, I allowed myself a quick project from some yarn I was given. It is a colorful ribbon yarn – a flat piece about a 1/2 inch wide that scrunches up when you crochet it. The last part of this requires making tassels. It isn’t as soft and lovely as the blanket, but it is striking – the label called the color “carnival” which is very appropriate.

    Oh, and I included some snow pictures. Not because it was exceptional, but because it was new and different for us. (I do like living where we have seasons and the possibility of snow, but I don’t have to deal with it on a daily basis for months.)

        1. It has always been intended as a graduation gift for my niece who graduated from college several years ago. Yeah, I’m a little behind.

    4. Excellent work! We only have a few more inches than you where I’m at in Michigan. Although, we do have bitter cold.

      1. We’re cold (for Raleigh) too. It won’t get above freezing today. But the sun is working it’s wonders and clearing up the roads.

    7. The dolphin quilt is just wonderful.
      The ribbon yarn is intriguing. Now I want some to play with.
      The words “snow in Raleigh” brought back a vivid memory of following a snow plow on Wade Ave. trying to get to work. The snow plow turned in a different direction than I had to go, and it was all over. I couldn’t get up the next hill at all and turned around to go home (where the plows had already been.) Happy I’ve only had to drive to work in snow twice this month, thanks to being so very part time.

  15. I’m working on a final read through of my next book. I thought I had seen the last of it but the editor said they had an extra day so she sent it back for “one last look”. I printed it out this time thinking I might catch something everyone missed. Ha! I am highly sick of it by this point but since they sent it for a final look, I will read it today and submit by EOD as requested.

  16. Working on yet another report for the day job, yet again under time pressure (mainly my own fault). Not enough energy, not enough daylight / optimism.
    To counter the latent depression covering everything/-one dh found us flights for our Canadian adventure. Probably with 5+ hours of layover in Toronto. DS is sure we’ll use the time to roam the airport for bookshops (or in my case hockey merch shops – which I most likely won’t buy because expensive). All direct flights are too expensive.
    So at least one thing to look forward to.

    1. Toronto is a great city to visit and handles winter well (not that I was ever there for the full brunt of it). Perhaps you intend to spend time there on the way back. The airport was decent during my visits and is probably even better nowadays.

      1. Oops. It sank in that you’re just planning now, and winter will be over when you visit. I haven’t finished my first cup of coffee yet, and my brain is slow.

        1. We plan to go in April. Not thf best timd probably, but thf only month all 3 of us can take time off.
          Not sure about how to pack – I’d love to spend a week in Montreal and Quebec, kid #1 has a friend there he wants to visit. Then off to Vancouver to spend time with kid #2. For BC, I know to pack for rainy weather or so the kiddo pointed out. No snow where she is.

          1. Not “how” to pack – I should know thus, it’s not my first trip to places, but “what”. I’ll likely resemble an onion anyway.

          3. Beth, that’s fabulous.
            Maybe we could chat via e-mail? Here’s my address: capreacula at gmx.de

            Hubby was going to book our flight today. I’m sooo excited!
            Date: Early April. One week in Montreal and Quebec is probably all we got before heading to BC, but I’m eager enough to dust off my rusty French. The son never learnt it in school (chose Ancient Greek instead), so it’s up to me.

    2. I was so shocked at the flight prices to Canada last year… It was actually cheaper to fly to Europe at the time that I was looking.

      1. Lupe,
        I don’t know about a flight from the US to Canada, but a one-way ticket for a direct flight to Montreal would have cost 1600+ p.P. With hand luggage only. DH spent some time finding less expensive options. Were we could take a suitcase as well.
        I need some storage for potential book hauls.
        However, kiddo said that there were no proper book stores in her town and a quick search for book shops in Vancouver didn’t yield that many to my big surprise.
        I guess I’m majorly spoilt.

        1. Many decades ago, a fellow grad student, who was from somewhere in BC, said that he might go home over Christmas break, but was considering spending it in London instead, since that airfare was cheaper (flying out of New York in each case).

          Fares seem to depend largely on whether there’s competition on a route, but also on traffic volume. While my mother was alive, it was always far cheaper to fly to and from Orlando than to and from any other two points either of us might be traveling. (In my mother’s case, when she was making a visit to multiple people in multiple cities.)

          1. I’m not sure seamail even exists any more. I know that printed matter from Australia that used to arrive by seamail is now prohibitively expensive to the US, since it has to come airmail and printed matter is apparently no longer subsidized.

            I did mail book purchases back to the US from Canada years ago. Books are not dutiable to the US in my experience, but I have no idea about going from Canada to Germany. Private shippers perhaps are now competitive in that marker too.

      2. We have been lucky, no snow this year in Vancouver. It has been sunny most of the last week or two. Loving the sun.

        Often the case for flights to and around Canada. Cheaper to fly to Europe. Pity me when I have to fly up to the Arctic. It is beyond the beyond. I may have to go up in May.

      1. Tammy, that would be great!!

        Not sure which flight hubby managed to book eventually.
        Son and I opted for the one with the Toronto layover but the booking website got very unreliable yesterday, so hubby proposed all sorts of routes. With stops in Lissabon or London or Toronto.

        Since kiddo #2 has already fallen so deeply in love with Canada (and her host family – she struck gold with host family #2), this might not be our sole trip.
        So I’ll try to pressure feed the holiday piggy bank from now on.

  17. Getting ready for our Yosemite trip. I need to do most of the food prep and packing today as tomorrow is filled with appointmentsā€”dentist, PT, allergist. Canā€™t wait to get out of town!

  18. I’m working on developing coping tools for the next two years (until mid-terms, which could change the dynamics, and refusing to think beyond that). So far, all I’ve got are:

    1. The standard advice — pick a topic and stick to it, and don’t get distracted by all the other noise. My topic is health care. Gotta remember that and not get distracted by fields I’m less knowledgeable and less passionate about. (Which reminds me that I need to contact my reps on the insane and dangerous new muzzle on health-related agencies.)

    2. I’m not sure yet, but I’m leaning toward a buy-nothing two years, a commitment to not buy anything that’s not a true necessity (and if I feel deprived, I can try thrifting options). There isn’t much I can do to send a message, other than to refuse to participate in the only thing that seems to matter to the current administration: capitalism. I’m expecting a significant improvement in cash flow for the second half of this year, which I’d planned to spend on luxuries, but now I’m thinking I’ll increase my charitable and mutual aid donations instead.

    1. I like the way you’re thinking Gin. I need to declutter, and not buying anything but necessities would help with that.

    2. I hear you, Gin. Developing a coping mechanism is going to be key, otherwise there is just too much crazy to handle.

      I’m focusing on “social issues,” since I have many friends in groups that are specifically under attack. Right now I’m identifying organizations to support/participate with, donating where I can, and ramping up my “put pressure on representatives to do the right things” skills.

      It’s been a long 3 days — I can’t begin to imagine the next month, let alone the next few years.

    3. Gin,
      the non-buy option is a good option also for us internationals.
      With one exception: I’ll try to support authors writing in fields that might get oppressed by buying the actual books (instead of getting it via KU).

      1. Ooh, good caveat to my no-buy rule. Buy things that benefit individual artists (especially marginalized ones) and local biz, even if the purchases are not technically necessities.

        1. Yes, I think that the small, local businesses are going to be hit hard. We did some spending at the end of 2024, in an attempt to get things that we would probably need in the future and expect the costs to jump on. Otherwise, I am with you. No buying. I am working hard to cut the impulse buys when I am out at the grocery store and such. But I need to fill that space with some other coping mechanisms… haven’t figured those out yet. I did make a list of things that make me happy and am trying to include them more intentionally into every day. So far it is a hard habit to set.

    4. As noted below, one of my coping mechanisms is supporting investigative press run by nonprofits. See below for list so far . (Digital versions to avoid clutter and protect trees.)

  19. Snow removal. Today I am concentrating on snow removal. Maybe with the snowblower, for sure with the shovel. I think we have gas in the shed for the snowblower, but first I have to get to the shed. I was supposed to go fill the gas can up this morning but the end of our street is pretty drifted so Iā€™m waiting and hoping I can get out to get to work. Weā€™ve had it just over a week and pretty much emptied the tank twice. Iā€™d say we bought it at just the right time.

    Change of plans. Doing all of that tomorrow. Unless the town clears our street, Iā€™m walking to work and Paul is going to pick me up. Itā€™s only a 20-minute walk so not bad and itā€™s not that cold out today. I have a good toque and more than one jacket to choose from. I can take my store keys and just wait there for him. Heā€™s even going to take me out for supper!

    Paul spent more than an hour, well more, waiting on the road behind his co-worker who was stuck/in the ditch and partially blocking the road. They tried pulling the truck out but heā€™s really, really stuck. They currently only have one grader operator in the field and he can only go so fast. I see now that heā€™s at a different facility, not the one where he actually works, but at least off the road and able to do something. Or at least be out of the way of whoever comes to pull the truck out. He made it to his facility finally, only about 2 hours late.

    Yesterday I finished an actually-wearable-in-public dress to take to Mexico! Iā€™m pretty proud of myself for that.

  20. This week I have worked on basic maintenance (biennial doctor checkup, including the pneumonia vaccine since, as my cute GP says, I am going on 60; also Cologuard order, order for a mammogram (ugh), and an EKG, with referral to a cardiologist for one of those Holter monitor thingies so we can get a proper official baseline for my perimenopausal vasomotor palpitations).

    Also completed a revision of the novella that’s next up for submission, happy with it now.

    Also gave myself permission to start buying the Broadway memoirs that have been accumulating on my wishlist, even though they never go on sale, because the next novella to write is set in that world and more research must happen.

    Also had a chat with DH about how the move is actually happening so he might want to start planning for it, went over the furniture placement plan for the new digs, and made a kitchen suggestion that he approves.

    1. Chachal, I hope the Holter monitor does the trick, for you. The instructions for mine said to push the button to start it, but there was no button, just an indentation. And I had to hold it down for 5-10 seconds. Maybe the instructions for yours will be more clear.

  21. I must say, I don’t understand how you and Carrie (and anyone else with this speed) can read a book in a day. At least one that I expect is over 250 pages long and doesn’t have pictures.

    I’ve been focusing on quilting and since I had Monday off, I was able to finish one of my quilts. I have over 2 dozen quilt tops done and want to get them turned into quilts this year.

    I have a day without meetings so I could get a ton of stuff done for work, but am struggling to function. I’m considering taking a half day so I can go quilt the next quilt that’s on my frame. Also trying to convince myself to exercise.

    1. Iā€™m working on gum surgery recovery and political resistance.

      Saw the surgeon today who said it looks good (yay), trimmed a painful stitch (yay) and said stick to the soft diet for two more weeks ( boo, but expected).

      Yesterday I signed up for a bunch of investigative news sources owned by non profits because I think we are gonna need them and because I want the politicians to know people are watching . We already had Pro Publica and The Guardian. Now we have Baltimore Banner, Maryland Matters, the Atlantic, Mother Jones, and Philadelphia Inqierer. All digital to avoid paper clutter.

      I am also preparing to restart my weekly email list of calls to make to legislators for my indivisible groupā€”this is my role since day job means I follow congress. If I am gonna be depressed I am going to put it to use.

      1. A friend of mine is going to be providing me with similar legislative fodder. It seems being a medieval historian prepares you for this kind of research.

          1. She plans to send out scripts almost every day. I will be Very Busy. If she slacks off I will get in touch with you to fill me up.

    2. I’m a natural born speed reader and I can’t really explain it either. I had a teacher who went into how speed reading is done in high school and that was an interesting explanation of how we just take a mental picture of the whole thing, AND that most people’s eyes are bouncing around like a Ping-Pong ball when reading, and NOT doing it line-by-line sequentially like you’d think. Which sounds insane to me.

  22. In person meeting with the boss today and I tried out a new diplomatic (beta) version of self. This mostly consisted of complimenting him on his insights (!) and highlighting the comms upsides of the work I was proposing.

    This seemed to go quite well, but he has the attention span of a goldfish, so once he’s had a swim around the bowl he’s likely to have had some more, new, brilliant ideas and have forgotten my suggestions.

  24. I have had my allergy testing this morning, so I have done the most important thing of the month! Follow up in the morning to discuss treatment with new allergist, so I need to convince her not to remove dog from my shots. I did not react to it, but I work in an animal environment, heavy on the dog exposure. Since I haven’t had a new allergist (or at least a new practice) in thirty years or more, this is making me nervous.

    Pretty much everything else I have intended to do this week is on hold until the cold retreats.

  25. I have wonderful memories of living two years in upper Masstatuchitts and any number of years in Connedicut. Weekly winter storms depositing feet, not inches, of snow. Looking out a second floor window at snow up to the window sill with rabbit tracks.

    It snowed here last week. Southeast Virginia. It was beautiful… for a few minutes. I am so over it. We need a Bahama Vortex to push that cold air back to Canada – or further.

    Meanwhile, I had my followup appointment with my PCP. No changes to meds, blood sugar is a little higher, got a flu shot and a covid booster.

    1. Gary, I vote for the Bahama Vortex, or the Hawaii Vortex, whatever will get rid of the bitter cold.

    2. A friend in New Orleans says they got 10 inches. The most ever. They are not equipped to deal.

      1. They have my condolences. We are equipped to deal and thatā€™s a lot in one go.

  26. I’m having a bit of a weird day. 2 things that had been mysteriously missing turned up in odd places. I have been missing my partial that I don’t wear unless I am going somewhere significant. I found it in the back floorboard of the car – how it got there I will never know. And I found a missing bowl in between my side table & my recliner in the living room. Cooper dog doings, no doubt.

    I am doing laundry. Which I hate. More than any other activity of daily living. While I do the laundry, I also decided to tackle the over-flowing plastic bag bin & the over-flowing trash can in the laundry shed. The plastic bag bin did reinvigorate my determination to use less plastic so that’s a plus.

    I dropped my phone & broke it. This is how adult ADHD (as yet undiagnosed but I am 100% sure) negatively impacts my life. I got my S22 phone 2+years ago. I had an otter box for it but it bugged me because it was a little loose at the top. It annoyed me every time I picked it up for all that time until one day I could. not. take. it. anymore. So I impulsively (ADHD) took the otter box off & threw it away. Of course, I could not find another one that looked like it would work for me. We were in Dunedin, FL – a lovely little town with some brick roadways / sidewalks & – drumroll – I dropped my unprotected phone & broke it.

    This has to be dealt with fast because my next shift working my j.o.b. is Thursday evening & I need okta verify on my phone to login & work. Fun. I’m dealing with T-Mobile which I have already decided to dump when I make my move to KY because T-Mobile’s new CEO signed a deal which puts them in bed with Lone Skum (Elon Musk) / Space X.

    I’ve been watching Corner Gas & I want to spit on the ground when I say that the way they spit on the ground when anyone mentions the town of Wullerton.

    Anywho – the phone thing is making it easier for me to stick with my Lights Out on Meta participation. For me that means no facebook or IG until 1/27.

    Lastly, I have a follow up visit with my new PCP -whom I love- on Friday. She will have all kinds of test results back so I’m excited! As a part of the original first visit – I decided to start back on Bright Line Eating. I’m prepping for that. It is a major commitment and it worked for me before so fingers crossed I can get it going again.

  29. Working on ot getting sick. Think we’re losing. šŸ™
    Finished knitting a shawl, but need to block it. Also need to block finished half blue, half light grey baby blanket to fix curling corner. Realized today that I feel on the edge of burnout on knitting, which is probably a combination of things but I think part of it is this turbo-intense baby-blanket knitting I’ve been doing since September. Plus teddybear and shawl. Today I messed up a slouch and decided to frog, because I knitted with two strands and didn’t roll it all up properly, the yarn is now a mess. I might need to take a little break, because on the edge of chuck-loom-through-the-window-and-scream. It should be fun, not a reason for tears and hair-tearing.
    We’ve got a new GP(!) at the GP-office twice a week, so we went to him today to talk about how to proceed with my issues. First impression was positive. He’s arranged for a colonoscopy (at different place than hospital, which keeps cancelling all referrals), and has prescribed an anti-depressant which allegedly does a better job treating belly- and gut-issues than depression, so we’ll try and see if that makes any difference. If not, and if colonoscopy doesn’t show anything useful, he also suggested trying cortizone to see if that helps, but since that’s kind of a… last resort measure, we agreed to not start there. At least he is doing something except sigh and tell me I’m nuts. Cautious yay.
    Week’s been tough otherwise, much trouble sleeping and a tougher nightmare-period. Having wrestling-battles with anxiety and lack of motivation. Trying to not freak out about it, but allow myself to not push and push and push. I suppose it’s possible my brain’s trying to find a strategy to make me slow down, so it throws depression-symptoms at me to make me pay attention. I’ll try to listen to it, give myself some slack and not panic. It’ll probably be okay.

    3. More hugs for you, Shass, sent from the frigid Midwest! And I hope this GP can help figure things out.

    4. It seems that every day science finds more data on what causes certain medical problems that nobody ever recognized as actual physical problems and not just figments of someone’s mind. In years gone by women were thought to be hysterical when in fact they suffered from postpartum depression. So much of what we feel is affected by the science of our body. I hope that your new doctor works diligently to explore all avenues to get you the help you need. While you’re working with your doctor, remember that we’re all pulling for you and hoping for the answers you need. And be kind to yourself, you deserve it.

    7. Thanks all for the love and hugs and encouragement and… love. You are the very best kind of people and I’m so lucky to have found you.
      Thank you. <3

    8. You are the one who taught us about pocket hugs to be taken out when needed. As a result I am the 8th person, so far, to send them back to you. I think you may need to knit yourself another pocket for all the hugs.We already know your heart is big enough to hold all the love we are sending you.

    9. Shass, a wild guess here and I’m no doctor, but have your estrogen levels ever been checked??
      Your symptoms sound somewhat similar to what the women in my family suffer when our female hormones are out of whack.
      An imbalance might contribute to whatever is the reason of your problems.
      Or not.

  30. I’m actually doing work at work today, huzzah, got some things straightened away.

    Otherwise, started rehearsal for Hamlet. I’m confused as to how we might change things in the script and the director doesn’t want us making flashcards of lines and things like that for a few weeks(!), which is how I learn the darned lines, and I’m slow at lines, and this is my first time having so many lines so I’d like to get started… so I’m a little weirded out at that. I may give it to the end of the week and then start with the flash cards anyway.

    Trying to cram in knitting in my free time, which I may not have much of.

    1. Huh. It never occurred to me to learn lines with flash cards. (They didnā€™t work for math, thatā€™s for sure!)

  31. Prayers for those recovering, those who are snowbound, those who are fire affected, and those who have stuff coming up.
    We have a new fire today in California. Theyā€™re calling at the Hughes fire and itā€™s at least Castaic. I was coming down in the elevator after a lab test and somebody calm down coming down with me had just gotten the notice to evacuate. Her son lives at Castaic.
    My son Chris was at an audition and somebody there got the notice too.
    We are in the San Fernando Valley and while we can see the smoke, we are not under threat of evacuation
    Today I spent working on trying to find out wh why those of us in Jury Duty, which was one of the most popular shows of last year are not entitled to residuals. Weā€™ve been working on that for sometimes so I keep having to write stuff for SAG.
    Our biggest problem is as actors. We are accustomed to getting residuals when we sign a contract. The contract we signed is not any different than the one we always sign. Word for word it is exact to the contract. I signed for another Amazon project. I get residuals on that project.
    I think what hurts the most is not being told by our union that this was gonna happen.
    Next, I get to do taxes. Iā€™m sending out 1099 NECā€™s for people right now. I passed my tax certification test for VITA.
    As to the news? I think Iā€™m gonna let that go.
    Blessings

  32. I found out that a very dear friend who Iā€™ve known for over 40 years has an aggressive form of ALS. My heart breaks for him, his wife and their kids. Iā€™m doing my usual activities – going to the gym, volunteering, etc. – with a renewed awareness that life is short.

  33. I started training in a new function at work the past week, and so far it is significantly less stressful than the lower level function (one step above my actual job) in which Iā€™ve been acting for the last nine months. This is very promising, because my hope for this year is to be able to have a life around the shift work again. My horizons really contracted for a couple of years, and I want to push them back out again.

    I also got together all my documentation to renew my security clearance. This is always an exercise in frustration, but at least it is now done.

    I hope that youā€™re all safe. The world is on fire, but at least we have Argh.

About the Author

Jennifer Crusie is theĀ New York Times,Ā USA Today, and Publisherā€™s Weekly bestselling author and co-author of twenty-three novels, one book of literary criticism, miscellaneous articles, essays, novellas, and short stories, and the editor of three essay anthologies. She lives in a cottage in Pennsylvania, where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.

Find out more about Jenny’s published works by visitingĀ JennyCrusie.com

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