Thoughts on the Journey

I woke up extra early today after my long weekend to clear off my car and get to work to open the Ref desk. After using a broom to sweep off a lot of snow, my car fob didn't unlock. I looked up various things and sent an email to work that I'd be late or not in. Tried in the warm, no luck and I changed the fob battery earlier this weekend without a problem. But its also been stupidly cold here though oddly the snow isn't too bad.

Its nice snow, fluffy and pretty and not a lot of ice. So I've had a day off of work but not a restful one, tomorrow I work later so up again to try the car and see if I can find my spare car fob and try again. This seems to be a thing that happens to me at least once every winter, something goes weird with my car after a storm.

I did watch a video related to work and picked up a weekend later this year, just need to go this happens, this is why there's time off. I can't help but wonder if some of this is also cold and reaction to *gestures* what happened yesterday. Car stuff happens, and its too cold.

I think I have a name for some of what's going on with the media and all that's going to help me get through the next few days. This is the Electionpocalypse. Like a Snowmeggedon especially in terms of the media. Things might go badly, but they also might not. Better stories come out of predicting the worst and its good to be prepared for the worst, but then its easy to get stuck in that feeling. I'm going to do my best to not live in the Electionpocalypse.

Hope is a weapon and I'm going to be hopeful that a lot of people are prepared. We know many people have voted early and I suspect the majority of the country wants this election done and to not have to think about Trump ever again.

I know work is going to be tricky as public libraries are one of those spaces where people just kind of say things, but the town I work is pretty nice. I'm going to work on having creative things lined up and planning my unusual Thanksgiving on vacation coming up. And maybe finally work on some health and home stuff that I've been putting off.

I think I need to get into the habit of writing every week as things happen and I go, I should write about that and then I don't. And I like seeing what's going on with other people's lives and also for me its helpful to go, I want to do this and writing is a way to go, should do this.

Nice big things, my parents visited last weekend and we went to the MFA and saw a fascinating Dali exhibit. I had no idea how much he was influenced by the history of art. Also we saw a beautiful small exhibit of Indigenous prints and had what felt like one floor of the museum to ourselves. The bottom of the tower where I think the Korea exhibit was and the new one is going to be Georgia O'Keoffe and someone else. Then walked through this Dress Up exhibit and one about Japan and radio, interesting to see how Art Deco and all were interpreted. Then there was some confusion as we kind of lost track of each other before getting lost in the gorgeous museum shop. I didn't buy anything but was tempted by those miniature set ups.

I'm setting up my new desk and planted an amaryllis bulb that I've had for about a year and its started growing. But I want more things, and its hard to pick which of my little things to bring to work. I might bring Yrael in his blue pot. Recently I did two little lego kits, which were so satisfying; an A-wing with Captain Rex and an X-wing. They reminded me that I have a U-wing model that I've had for years and should put that together. My desk is in a corner of the basement so I have privacy after not having it which is nice. And then when I'm on the Reference Desk, I'm right near the main entrance. Also loving setting up book displays and looking into planning programs and thinking about adding more diversity to things. Lots to learn.

I've also been thinking about decorating my apartment more now that I can actually put holes in the walls. Not the biggest fan sometimes of my super, there's a beeping from the fire alarm panel and when contacted he went, I'll talk to an electrician. And it was like okay, yes, not as bad as it could be but a consistent beeping over an entire weekend isn't good. Its quiet enough, I thought it was a truck backing up and only realized what it was when I went out and passed the panel.

Good job news, end of the day on Friday, there was a union meeting as they were working on a new contract and did great stuff. My timing for going full time actually has worked out really well as I get the benefit, which balances out some annoying things when I started.

I've also got into the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell read through which makes me so happy. This book has been a contast for me since I left for New Zealand, which I'm now realizing was right when it came out. This is one of those books I imprinted on as faeries, historical fiction and magic just out of view. I'm on my third copy of the book, first one was left in NZ, second I think gave away after a move, not sure. Current copy I found at a used booksale and then its autographed and make me happy.

In terms of things I want to do, more decorating, sorting papers shred, figure out my dresser and sort clothing so I can buy fun things and figure out seeing shows and going to Renn Faire, just more doing things. Next weekend will be busy as I have an event but I feel hopeful.

My birthday was ten days ago and my parents came up and we had a lovely time. We went to a botanic garden farther west and later did book shopping. I really enjoyed just being with them and having time to talk and process more of the job change. I love being able to plan things and knowing that I'm more secure.

Next up is doing quality of life things like a new mattress and doctor as well as getting some gaming back in my life and writing. The ideas are there and getting louder and I have the day off tomorrow so hoping to do things.

Life has been full and it finally feels like its heading towards happier things. This past week, my parents came up to visit and I got a new car. Same model as my old one but the almost newest one and oh its taken a huge load of worry off my shoulders. Now I'm not wondering what's going to break next and my car is so pretty, its a lovely dark blue so I've decided to name it Jester as I'm a Critter now. Also I think it fits, my car is fast and can do so much more than I've fully realized and its fun to drive.

Since they came up here, I'm not heading down for Thanksgiving, but my fridge is full of leftovers as we did a good bit of cooking when they visited. I made pumpkin cheesecake for the first time and oh, so delicious but next time will make farther ahead of time. We also had a great visit with my older relative and her husband which was nice and felt great after the tough one from before. Her husband has dementia and last time we had gone on a long drive and it was a lot. This time, we brought sandwiches and just stayed at their place which went better.

My Yuletide is going slowly but going, I feel like my writing has started to be happening more. I'm writing for a fandom and a ship that I've written before and I have some ideas.

Work is going okay, I found out that we'll be closed the Sunday and Mondays of the holiday weekends, which is when I normally work so don't have to waste leave days on them. There are more jobs that I need to get out to but I'll do that.

I've also finally started on a project of having a new smaller purse from an army bag that I bought at I think Arisia or Boskone years ago. After I found it, I went online and bought some neat Rogue One patches then didn't have an iron so they've just been sitting there. Well, this past week I finally iron on the patches, I'm going to add some stitches for extra security and they look so good. Next big step is clearing out and sorting my bag to use my new bag and do the same for a smaller wallet as well. The end of this year and next year is going to be about life changes that improve my life.

In might be good, might be bad, the building I live in has been put up for sale, it hasn't been sold yet so trying to not overthink it. I've learned for myself and anxiety that I tend to have moments of thinking of the worst possible outcome then reminding myself how to deal if that happens. This doesn't always work when its kind of ongoing like job things but for the apartment it works. I like this apartment but its not perfect and if I had to find another place, I could do it.

Thank you so much for writing for me. I love Yuletide, one of my favorite parts of winter. I know how heavy these fandoms can be so if there's any darkness, add some light too. My favorite sorts of stories are missing moments, character studies and that feel as if they fit within the world of the canon.

I love all of these fandoms because of the depth of the worlds and the characters, I enjoy action and plot if it fits. When a writer can pull off a complex plot, I love it as that's something I'm not good at writing. If you choose to include sex and violence, I ask that if they're there; no rape/dubcon or torture. All of the ones I've asked for are from worlds with difficult aspects to them and I enjoy how the characters interact with and are changed by what's around them. Also even though I've only requested one or two characters, all of these canons revolve around large and complex casts, so please add others into the mix.

( Old Kingdom, Candela Obscura, EXU: Calamity, Ever After )

Well, I didn't get the full time job that I applied for at the library. Apparently I've improved in my interviewing since the last one I did at the library and I was a strong candidate but someone else was better. I think waiting to find out about this has been quietly stressing me out since the interview which was about a month ago.

Now I know and ugh, time to take my nice looking resume and start applying to other libraries since while I love this library. I don't know if there's ever going to be more than a part-time place for me. I know the new budget comes out in July and they want to do more hours for people but I hate waiting and hoping. And I'm feeling especially useless as with the budget not there, there's very little to do down in processing so I feel more stuck. I don't mind Tech Services but I know its not the best fit for me in the long run. I'm not as meticulous as I could be with some aspects and I need the social parts of the desk.

Not really how I wanted to start my birthday week but then this whole last week has been a lot. I stayed up far too late last weekend watching all of EXU: Calamity as I've fallen into the Critical Role hole. So before the Monday holiday, I didn't get enough sleep which messed with the rest of my week and it also ended up being stupidly hot.

Work was okay but the lack of sleep left me feeling not my best. That was kind of annoying as on Thursday, I had a get together for my NZ university and I had planned to go to the Aquarium beforehand. The weather and air and everything was hot and heavy so while I had a good time, I ended up feeling completely exhausted by all of it.

I'm glad that with my birthday coming up, I'm getting some time off and will have more in July.

I haven't updated in a bit since life has been busy but good. Valentine's week, my parents came to visit and we had a wonderful time including going to an auto museum in Brookline in this castlelike carriage house. And while they were here, my Dad got to work fixing a table that was broken in a move and today I did the last steps and I'm hanging more art on the walls.

The week before that I had two teeth taken out that were becoming painful and my dentist decided that there wasn't enough left of either one to try and save them with root canals. My mouth does feel better but I'm still getting used to having the empty spots to chew around.

Then after my parents left I had a busy time at work with three days of work in a row including working during a pokemon thing. That led me to actually connecting with Pokemon Go players in my new neighborhood. I actually went raiding with real people this past Wednesday night which was wonderful. I've been missing that kind of connection. Also apologies to everyone in the area who I meant to hang out with, why is it so hard to schedule time to just be with friends?

A lot of this week was about home stuff, I discovered that my gas meter is hidden behind many pipes and can't easily be changed. Then when I was headed to work yesterday morning, my car didn't start. It ended up needing a new starter, AAA was great and I found a local service place. They had some brochures for local art places and I'm thinking about looking into maybe taking some classes.

In terms of watching things, one of my favorite Youtuber groups are coming to PaxEast for a live D&D game on Saturday, so I went ahead and bought my ticket. First con in so very long, let me know if you're going to be there. I also binged the second season of Vox Machina and finally got into watching compilations of the actual games. I came to that fandom the other way around but so much goodness. And it even coincided with my D&D having a full session with a new player who kicked ass and gave us a wonderful win.

And I just saw a job opening for a part-time desk position at my work and its internal and I'm going to apply for it. Since my perfect job would be half processing and the other half desk things, so that feels good. The weather is being snowy and slushy but I'm feeling hopeful.

This has been an odd but nice holiday season so far. My parents and their friend group has become the health care coordinating team for another couple; the wife had a major stroke the week before Christmas and her husband is dealing with the onset of dementia. For all of us its bringing back hard memories of the Christmas that my sister spent in the hospital. Also I drove down early enough to avoid the worst of the storm last week, just had to deal with a good bit of traffic as I wasn't the only one thinking of moving ahead of the storm.

Thankfully my brother and his family took on the major cooking and hosting. I did some baking; a Greek yogurt cake and a gingerbread buche de Noel, which were fun and big hits.

Another bump was that my first paycheck was mailed to my apartment so I don't get to use that money until I'm home. Apparently it take them one round of set up for the direct deposit to work.

In good things, I'm enjoying having the time to finally read At the Feet of the Sun which is wonderful. Goddard is such a good writer. I'm also enjoying cooking with my new Smitten Kitchen cookbook, so far we've made endive salad and a leek and brie galette.

For Yuletide, I received two wonderful gifts.

The Proving Grounds of Coruscant which feels very like the Andor series with all its choices.

Hero is an amazing short October Daye fic that has all the feels and vibes of why I love that series.

And my fic is going over very well which feels nice. At the moment, I have some challah rising and I'm going to finish writing a fic for another small exchange that I'm in.

I'm feeling accomplished and a little tired but in a good way tonight. Yesterday I was able to get my flu and booster jabs, so far my arm's a little sore and I'm kind of achey. Thankfully I didn't have to work today so I was able to have a slow day which suited me. First I finally got my car taken care of at the great garage I've found near work; inspection and oil change and apparently a bulb change.

Then I had an interview at where I work which was really good and involved them saying so someone's leaving, there will be more hours to fill, could you? I said yes, the position I was originally interviewing for doesn't have a lot of hours but I'd actually be properly working for the library. This was them going, we want to use you more. It also felt good since I stood up for myself and said, no, I won't work every Saturday, every other yes but not every one and they listened. They know how valuable I am, which it feels good.

Last night I did my Yuletide app, which was remarkably hard this year especially with Andor available. If you've talked to me on other places, you'll know that I'm having all kinds of conflicting feelings about this show. I love how incredibly well done and thoughtful it is, but the changes to Cassian's timeline and story leave me conflicted and wanting more for him. So I decided to offer to write for it and to request it, we'll see what happens. Knowing how my Yuletide's tend to go, I'll probably end up writing something for a DWJ canon.

In good home stuff, I've been putting more things up on my walls, this is taking longer because I can only use sticky stuff, no holes. And I'm not as familiar with what they can all hold and I have a lot of art, but I like how its coming along. I need to find a new way to display my stickers as the shapes from Target keep falling off the wall as well as more places to display pins.

( Health stuff about insect stings and allergies )