(no subject)
Jan. 16th, 2017 09:44 pmI wish I could bottle whatever's getting me to actually write every day and submit my work. I would be a kajillionaire.
SUCH an intense day at work. But there was good stuff, too, not the least of which was coming home to a clean, happy home. Oh, and I have submitted seven pieces in the last two days, and have exceeded my 1,000-word goal every day since I set the goal, so there's that!
I owe a few responses to stuff (hi,![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
firecat! yay, more on that soon.), but I'm soooooo tiiiiiired, so I'm signing off and gonna get ready for bed.
Much love!
I owe a few responses to stuff (hi,
firecat! yay, more on that soon.), but I'm soooooo tiiiiiired, so I'm signing off and gonna get ready for bed.Much love!
Current writing projects
Jan. 8th, 2017 11:46 amGonna start tracking my writing progress here. I'll try to always remember to use a cut tag.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Some alphabet memes
Jan. 7th, 2017 08:16 pmBecause I have no plans this evening, and because I'm in writerly task-avoidance mode, I present to you a trio of Alphabet Memes!
( Autocomplete browser bar, A to Z )
( Things I value, A to Z )
( Alphabet survey )
( Autocomplete browser bar, A to Z )
( Things I value, A to Z )
( Alphabet survey )
...is that I get comp time every time I work late or on a day off, so tomorrow, I get to take off work just because, without using a vacation day. The kid had a birthday recently, so we'll go do some birthday shopping for her, and I may go to the library with mom, but I get a downtime day mid-week. Yay, me!
2016 in first lines
Jan. 3rd, 2017 07:13 amFirst line of first public post each month in 2016:
January: Just finished Nnedi Okorafor's gorgeous The Book of Phoenix.
February: Hi, geeky darlings.
March: Let's see how much energy I have left for this.
April: [no posts]
May: Up since 4 for no good reason.
June: [no posts]
July: From SundayStealing, viahobbitbabe, with some of her answers kept/stolen.
August: When it was important to me that there be a Green Party in California, I worked for it.
September: I know it's supposed to be Wednesdays that we do this, but I'm rarely on here on weeknights, so I decided to do it while I'm thinking of it.
October: Edit: Bill @PenzeysSpices responded immediately to point me to this: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/o0dlr/
November: Resilience [poem title]
December: This week began my two-week-and-change break from work.
January: Just finished Nnedi Okorafor's gorgeous The Book of Phoenix.
February: Hi, geeky darlings.
March: Let's see how much energy I have left for this.
April: [no posts]
May: Up since 4 for no good reason.
June: [no posts]
July: From SundayStealing, via
hobbitbabe, with some of her answers kept/stolen.August: When it was important to me that there be a Green Party in California, I worked for it.
September: I know it's supposed to be Wednesdays that we do this, but I'm rarely on here on weeknights, so I decided to do it while I'm thinking of it.
October: Edit: Bill @PenzeysSpices responded immediately to point me to this: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/o0dlr/
November: Resilience [poem title]
December: This week began my two-week-and-change break from work.
Social anxiety and volunteerism
Jan. 2nd, 2017 06:46 pm(Word-nerd note: I always kind of thought "volunteerism" was a misspelling of "voluntarism" and didn't know until I looked it up just now that they're distinct words with different meanings.)
I like volunteering. In my church youth group, I was always the one who stayed after to clean up, or came early to set up, or helped in the kitchen or the nursery. My fave part of a party is working behind the scenes to keep serving dishes and drinking glasses full. My fave thing about the holidays is cooking for people.
This is not altruistic, or not exactly. When I have a job to do, I don't stress nearly as much about the social interactions involved in being around people. I mean, I like helping people because it's the right/good thing to do, but one reason I do it is purely selfish: I can have human interaction without wondering what I'm supposed to be doing/saying in any particular moment.
My next volunteer gig will be with Border Angels, an organization that provides water and other aid to undocumented immigrants and others affected by our immigration system.
If, that is, I can get over my social anxiety for long enough to actually either turn in the job application or show up to a one-off event.
I'll do it, I will, but it's hard. I managed it for other volunteer gigs (AIDS Foundation, Women's Cancer Resource Center, etc.) and I'll manage it for this, but it's just... hard.
I like volunteering. In my church youth group, I was always the one who stayed after to clean up, or came early to set up, or helped in the kitchen or the nursery. My fave part of a party is working behind the scenes to keep serving dishes and drinking glasses full. My fave thing about the holidays is cooking for people.
This is not altruistic, or not exactly. When I have a job to do, I don't stress nearly as much about the social interactions involved in being around people. I mean, I like helping people because it's the right/good thing to do, but one reason I do it is purely selfish: I can have human interaction without wondering what I'm supposed to be doing/saying in any particular moment.
My next volunteer gig will be with Border Angels, an organization that provides water and other aid to undocumented immigrants and others affected by our immigration system.
If, that is, I can get over my social anxiety for long enough to actually either turn in the job application or show up to a one-off event.
I'll do it, I will, but it's hard. I managed it for other volunteer gigs (AIDS Foundation, Women's Cancer Resource Center, etc.) and I'll manage it for this, but it's just... hard.
2016 in review
Jan. 1st, 2017 04:48 pmBack in 2011/12, firecat combined a couple of different end-of-the-year survey thingies so lots of the numbers are repeated, and I think that's kind of fun, so I did it then, and I'm doing it now, with the years changed. I intend for this to become a daily journal again in 2017, so this is where I'm starting.
1. Was 2016 a good year for you?
Some things were good, but in general, no. Not very.
( There's a TON more behind the cut )
firecat combined a couple of different end-of-the-year survey thingies so lots of the numbers are repeated, and I think that's kind of fun, so I did it then, and I'm doing it now, with the years changed. I intend for this to become a daily journal again in 2017, so this is where I'm starting.1. Was 2016 a good year for you?
Some things were good, but in general, no. Not very.
( There's a TON more behind the cut )
Wednesday media consumption report
Dec. 21st, 2016 12:10 pmThis week began my two-week-and-change break from work. I decided to read as many books as possible, because it's been a long time since I had an extended break that wasn't chock-full of social obligations. I'll be going to see stonebender for a couple of days, but other than that, it's stay home, putter around, do some cooking, and read read read.
( Reading )
( Watching )
( Playing )
( Listening )
stonebender for a couple of days, but other than that, it's stay home, putter around, do some cooking, and read read read.( Reading )
( Watching )
( Playing )
( Listening )
Resilience
Nov. 16th, 2016 06:54 amResilience
I see talk all the time of how
being resilient
being able to take a punch
and go on
how finding your way
back to joy
from a dark, cold place
is the key to long life
and happiness
I have blessed my resilience
been smug and vocal
about how hard it is to make me
despair
give up
become withered and cold and hard
but resilience is not always a blessing
sometimes, it means
that real sorrow
blindsides
sometimes, it means
not knowing how to feel, or what to do
when a jackboot fills the viewing screen
and danger beads the air
like condensation from liquid evil
being geared to joy
makes sorrow harder to process
being used to being happy
means that when you are in a situation
you can't change
and can't abide
you may just struggle to have the will
to take a shower
to leave the house
to go to work
to be civil
to be
to be
to be
I see talk all the time of how
being resilient
being able to take a punch
and go on
how finding your way
back to joy
from a dark, cold place
is the key to long life
and happiness
I have blessed my resilience
been smug and vocal
about how hard it is to make me
despair
give up
become withered and cold and hard
but resilience is not always a blessing
sometimes, it means
that real sorrow
blindsides
sometimes, it means
not knowing how to feel, or what to do
when a jackboot fills the viewing screen
and danger beads the air
like condensation from liquid evil
being geared to joy
makes sorrow harder to process
being used to being happy
means that when you are in a situation
you can't change
and can't abide
you may just struggle to have the will
to take a shower
to leave the house
to go to work
to be civil
to be
to be
to be
Reading log
Oct. 16th, 2016 04:28 pmI'm not usually around on Wednesdays, and then when I'm catching up on the weekend and seeing your posts about what you're reading, I tend not to post because it's not Wednesday, but a while back, I decided to just post when I post. I want to have a log of what I read, and this is as good a place as any to keep it.
Recently finished:
N. K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season. Gorgeous, complex, highly readable, magically real, utterly wrenching in places but purely enjoyable all the way through.
Natalie Goldberg, Thunder and Lightning. I like her writing about writing and zen. I am more aware of issues of privilege than I used to be, so I'm less enamored of her presumption that everyone can do the kind of writing practice she prefers, but still, I got a lot from the book, and it's directly responsible for the fact that I'm writing again. Remind me never to do NaNo again -- every time I do it, I end up quitting writing for a long time. This time, it was nearly a year. But then, that happened after I finished my degree, too.
Currently Reading:
Octavia Butler, Kindred
Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
On the TBR pile:
Mary Karr, The Art of Memoir
Anna Newell Jones, The Spender's Guide to Debt-free Living
re-read Steve Kowit, In the Palm of Your Hand
Recently finished:
N. K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season. Gorgeous, complex, highly readable, magically real, utterly wrenching in places but purely enjoyable all the way through.
Natalie Goldberg, Thunder and Lightning. I like her writing about writing and zen. I am more aware of issues of privilege than I used to be, so I'm less enamored of her presumption that everyone can do the kind of writing practice she prefers, but still, I got a lot from the book, and it's directly responsible for the fact that I'm writing again. Remind me never to do NaNo again -- every time I do it, I end up quitting writing for a long time. This time, it was nearly a year. But then, that happened after I finished my degree, too.
Currently Reading:
Octavia Butler, Kindred
Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
On the TBR pile:
Mary Karr, The Art of Memoir
Anna Newell Jones, The Spender's Guide to Debt-free Living
re-read Steve Kowit, In the Palm of Your Hand
Problematic faves
Oct. 5th, 2016 08:10 am[Edit: Bill @PenzeysSpices responded immediately to point me to this: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/o0dlr/
Just got an email from Penzeys (my fave spice company) that included these lines:
My response:
Usually, I'm right there with you on these initiatives of yours. LOVE the love campaign, and the veterans cooking, and oh my gosh, so happy about the pro-science messages and efforts.
But Thanksgiving. We weren't immigrants to this country. We were conquerors. We were warmly accepted, yes, and then we killed everyone in sight. And took their land. And are still refusing to give them basic civil rights.
This country does not welcome newcomers unless they're white and have money. Otherwise, it vilifies them, makes them "illegal," and denies them the human rights of health care, a living wage, and often even the sanctity of keeping their families together.
Please reconsider praising the first Thanksgiving without acknowledging that it was the beginning of a campaign of domination by white Europeans over the indigenous people of this land who were already here and should have been allowed to live in peace.
Serene
Just got an email from Penzeys (my fave spice company) that included these lines:
2021 will mark the quadricentennial of our country's first Thanksgiving, celebrated with the harvest of 1621. As we count down to 2021, our hope is to promote Thanksgiving 400 as a reminder that America was not born July 4th 1776— that was us declaring our adulthood. America was truly born over the summer of 1621 in the extraordinary kindness of the Wampanoag people towards those delivered on their shores by the Mayflower. Through their example, the Wampanoag people set in motion a nation much different than any nation before or since. A nation that would not only welcome in newcomers, but also work to help them succeed.
My response:
Usually, I'm right there with you on these initiatives of yours. LOVE the love campaign, and the veterans cooking, and oh my gosh, so happy about the pro-science messages and efforts.
But Thanksgiving. We weren't immigrants to this country. We were conquerors. We were warmly accepted, yes, and then we killed everyone in sight. And took their land. And are still refusing to give them basic civil rights.
This country does not welcome newcomers unless they're white and have money. Otherwise, it vilifies them, makes them "illegal," and denies them the human rights of health care, a living wage, and often even the sanctity of keeping their families together.
Please reconsider praising the first Thanksgiving without acknowledging that it was the beginning of a campaign of domination by white Europeans over the indigenous people of this land who were already here and should have been allowed to live in peace.
Serene
(no subject)
Sep. 20th, 2016 07:05 amFifteen years ago today, I made my first entry in this journal (at LiveJournal at the time). It was my 35th birthday (which makes today my 50th). Some changes:
( Read more... )
My life right now is hard in different ways from before, but it's also joyful in the same ways, and peaceful in about equal measure. I like who I am. I like the people I surround myself with for the most part. Onward!
( Read more... )
My life right now is hard in different ways from before, but it's also joyful in the same ways, and peaceful in about equal measure. I like who I am. I like the people I surround myself with for the most part. Onward!
Oh, and...
Sep. 4th, 2016 08:03 pmIf you're on Habitica, I hope you'll either join my party or invite me to yours: 31941fa3-01cd-4e60-a23e-864c330f3cd9
Media consumption Sunday?
Sep. 4th, 2016 08:00 pmI know it's supposed to be Wednesdays that we do this, but I'm rarely on here on weeknights, so I decided to do it while I'm thinking of it.
Reading
( This got long )
Heading off to catch up on everyone's posts, including last Wednesday's.
Reading
- A gorgeous short story by ljgeoff
- The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemisin—beautiful so far
- Not much else
( This got long )
Heading off to catch up on everyone's posts, including last Wednesday's.
Oh, Stonebender
Aug. 28th, 2016 01:13 pmJust joined a habit/chore game/rpg thingy, (Habitica) and noticed the avatars can have wheelchairs. Cool, huh? (In the "It's a start" kind of way, of course.)
Blue cheese meme?
Aug. 15th, 2016 10:10 pmGanked from firecat, along with at least one of her answers.
1. Do you like blue cheese? Only in certain moods.
( Read more... )
firecat, along with at least one of her answers.1. Do you like blue cheese? Only in certain moods.
( Read more... )
Election 2016 (US)
Aug. 13th, 2016 08:47 amWhen it was important to me that there be a Green Party in California, I worked for it. Collected signatures, got the party on the ballot, attended platform conventions in Santa Cruz, marched, made posters, talked people's ears off about proportional representation, etc.
When it was important to me that Obama win the presidency, and that diverse voices be heard in the election, I got out the vote -- registered ex-felons and others, went on neighborhood canvas runs with like-minded folks, talked people's ears off about his platform and record.
It's important to me that a billionaire fascist with no sense of honesty and decency, who is completely unsuited to rule a company, much less a nation state, not win against arguably the most qualified candidate who's ever run for the office. I don't always agree with Secretary Clinton's decisions around foreign policy, and I think she has moments of tone-deafness that make me cringe (on Twitter, you can see me cringe), but she's qualified to do the job. She's a stateswoman. She's presidential. And she isn't a nazi, misogynist, jingoistic, foul sack of shit.
I'm in California, so I'm trying to figure out how to help make sure she wins -- and then after she wins, that Trump and his rabid minions don't foment unrest in the country.
Some ideas I've had so far. Thoughts welcome.
* donate to her campaign and/or DNC and/or MoveOn and/or...?
* go to battleground states and help get out the vote (not sure I have the wherewithal to do this, but I'm considering it)
* phone bank in said states (again, not sure I have it in me, but it's an option)
* Your Idea Here
I can't just sit and watch this happen. I have to do what I can do. Not sure what that is yet. But I have to do it.
When it was important to me that Obama win the presidency, and that diverse voices be heard in the election, I got out the vote -- registered ex-felons and others, went on neighborhood canvas runs with like-minded folks, talked people's ears off about his platform and record.
It's important to me that a billionaire fascist with no sense of honesty and decency, who is completely unsuited to rule a company, much less a nation state, not win against arguably the most qualified candidate who's ever run for the office. I don't always agree with Secretary Clinton's decisions around foreign policy, and I think she has moments of tone-deafness that make me cringe (on Twitter, you can see me cringe), but she's qualified to do the job. She's a stateswoman. She's presidential. And she isn't a nazi, misogynist, jingoistic, foul sack of shit.
I'm in California, so I'm trying to figure out how to help make sure she wins -- and then after she wins, that Trump and his rabid minions don't foment unrest in the country.
Some ideas I've had so far. Thoughts welcome.
* donate to her campaign and/or DNC and/or MoveOn and/or...?
* go to battleground states and help get out the vote (not sure I have the wherewithal to do this, but I'm considering it)
* phone bank in said states (again, not sure I have it in me, but it's an option)
* Your Idea Here
I can't just sit and watch this happen. I have to do what I can do. Not sure what that is yet. But I have to do it.
It just took me 260 posts to catch up with y'all. Thank you for being so productive in your entertaining-Serene duties!
Long week, but SO much easier since my co-worker returned from vacation (I was covering some of their duties while they were gone).
Gonna see about getting my succulent garden planted this weekend. Also, will work on dad's website, and go sing karaoke with him and the Non-Wicked Stepmother on Saturday night.
And naps. Lots of naps. Thank goodness it's the weekend. Sorry if you have to work on Friday.
Long week, but SO much easier since my co-worker returned from vacation (I was covering some of their duties while they were gone).
Gonna see about getting my succulent garden planted this weekend. Also, will work on dad's website, and go sing karaoke with him and the Non-Wicked Stepmother on Saturday night.
And naps. Lots of naps. Thank goodness it's the weekend. Sorry if you have to work on Friday.
