beanside: (Default)
[personal profile] beanside
You may get nothing but Ghost lyrics between now and July. I'm trying to learn the words to the new songs, but it's coming slowly. But the music is super catchy so I'm sure I'll get there.

Ghost is weird. They bill themselves as Satanic metal, but and they have a few songs that bear that out, but most of their songs are more pop or hair metal. And despite the lead singer saying that the new album is "darker," I'm finding it really hopeful. And as I said, their music as a whole is very catchy. We've got 1 month to concert #1. I can't wait.

Day two post back scritches, and my lower back is still peeved. I dislike it. IT's not as bad as yesterday, but still cranky. We'll see if today is the kind of "work things out" cranky or the "get worse as the day goes on" pissed off.

I've got some good steaks to cook, so I'm hoping for the former.

Tomorrow is a quiet day--nothing much going on. Friday night after work, we need to drive down to get Jess' computer from best buy. Then we're going to go forth and get a late dinner. It's a fairly long drive, so we're best waiting til my sister gets home at 6 to go fetch.

I got a reminder on facebook that 8 years ago on this day, we went to see a wrestling PPV. It was fun, but nothing we felt the need to do again.

This weekend is pretty busy. I've got a haircut and we've got to pick up the computer Friday night, the appointment to drop off Mao for cremation after a decade at least, and then off to a work party at the bowling alley. I will probably not be bowling, owing to the bad back, but I will go and have snacks and visit with people.

Sunday is less busy, with just two games, one that I'm DMing and then one that [personal profile] poisontaster is.

I'm definitely going to be sleeping in on Sunday.

Oh, and *finally* we're closing on the house. No more albatross around our neck.

And on that note, I'm going to go consider the merits of pants. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tuesday night.

Jun. 3rd, 2025 10:18 pm
hannah: (Stargate Atlantis - zaneetas)
[personal profile] hannah
In trying to tidy my closet and the dresses I've got in there, I'm now seeing how many "nice" dresses I have that cover a fairly wide variety of situations. It's nice to see that the ones I bought well over a decade ago are still largely holding up well.

In other news, while my sister in law E. and my brother J. are planning on going to CancĂșn, I somehow doubt they're at all interested in visiting the Chicxulub crater. Some people just don't know how to have a good time.

Books read in May

Jun. 3rd, 2025 08:44 am
valoise: (Default)
[personal profile] valoise
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
The premise of the book - that the moon turns into cheese - is utterly ridiculous, but that not what the book is ultimately about. Scalzi focuses on how a wide range of people deal with the extraordinary, how they come to grips with sudden radical changes in their daily lives.

The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain by Sofia Samatar
An exploration of class and oppression on a fleet of generation ships, I liked this more than most of the reviews I've read. While it's not my top choice for Hugo Best Novella, I think it definitely belongs on the ballot.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
Another Hugo Best Novella nominee, this is part of the Singing Hills series. While not my favorite work in the series, the magic here took an unexpected turn and I liked it.

Doctor Who and The Five Doctors by Terrance Dicks
Like the televised story, this short book is so packed with Doctors, and companions, and story lines, it's hard to really give the focus to any f them. I did like how the opening focuses on Susan, providing information on her life after she left the TARDIS.

Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
His second collection of short fiction, this was really great. His characters have a depth to them, the writing is sharp with no excess, and both his fantasy and sf are great. He experiments with storytelling in wonderful ways.

Destination: Amalthea by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
I've read books by them which I really enjoyed (The Dead Mountaineers Inn, Roadside Picnic, Monday Begins on Saturday) so when I saw this hard sf work was available as an ebook at my library I jumped on it. Very disappointing. The translation was really, really bad. If a newly translated version ever comes out I'll give it another shot.
beanside: (Default)
[personal profile] beanside
IT's Tuesday and I have Regrets. I wet for the ASMR back scratching last night, and it was lovely. Relaxing and a little ticklish, but very good. (I need to get some of those little brushes, I loved them.). However, towards the end of my appointment, I noticed that my lower back was a little annoyed, and when I tried to get off the table, it turned out that it was SUPER pissed.

It's still angry today, and work is going to suck. I'll manage, but ouch.

We're officially closing on the house tomorrow, which is nice, I'll have to go over tonight to get a few more things, and then we'll be free!

There's really not a ton of stuff at this point, but I want to do a last run through and make sure I have everything. The most important thing is our documents. We need to grab the handful of stuff that's still relevant out of Dad's file cabinet. We're also picking up the frozen body of our dead cat, Mao. He died like 10 years ago, and we put him in there so we could cremate him when we could afford it. And somehow, we just never did. So now, we're going to do that. He deserves to be on our bookshelf o'ashes.

I'm not sure if I'm going to the farmers market today, we'll see how my back is feeling.

I did the post yesterday for the opening of CONfab's registration. It's virtual this year, held between Discord and zoom. It's a lot of fun, held between 10/17-10/19. If anyone is interested the registration link can be found here.. For more information about the con, you can check out the main website at https://confabcon.com/

Okay, time to go forth and take some fucking motrin. Everyone have an amazing Tuesday!
beanside: (Default)
[personal profile] beanside
And somehow, we're back to Monday.

I had an excellent weekend. Saturday and Sunday were both filled with my favorite things, and while I am sad that I don't have another day to fuck around, I'm okay with work today. It's bound to be insane, but it's okay.

It's going to be a busy Monday, but in a good way. I've got work til 4:30, then an appointment for an AMSR back scratching at 5, and then back home for a psych appointment at 6:30pm.

https://www.instagram.com/fitzhairstudio/reel/DJzmxavy1S-/

The morning isn't getting off to the best start, as the dog has begun acting like an asshole. My sister insisted that he had to go, so I took him out, despite the fact that the pain meds haven't kicked in and I am hurting. He'd drag her down the stairs. No matter what she thinks.

I walked him up and down the apartments, and he did absolutely nothing. Then I gimped back in and now I'm pissy. Both with my sister, who wouldn't listen to me when I said that he absolutely did not have to go, and the asshole dog.

I was going to take a shower, but I don't feel like I can go in there, because the moment I did, the dog barked at a noise outside.

The dog is frustrating the hell out of me lately. He's such a sweet baby, but he's also neurotic and a total asshole.

Maybe this weekend, we'll take him for temperament testing at the doggy daycare.

Okay, anyhow. Sunday was fun. I had D&D, and then we made cheese fondue. I think I need a different recipe, because it stayed really thick, but it still tasted amazing. The hot pot still owns my heart, though.

Tonight, I think we're going to have carry out, and then tomorrow when I only have the farmer's market, I'm going to cook steaks. I have two Tbones, and an enormous tomahawk ribeye to cook, and I'm looking forward to it.

I'm debating what I want to have for breakfast now. I usually have a couple of hard boiled eggs, but right now there is so much food in my fridge that it's hard to decide.

Okay, time to get myself together for work. Everyone have the best Monday you can Monday!

June the First.

Jun. 1st, 2025 08:56 pm
hannah: (Spike - shadowed-icons)
[personal profile] hannah
I spent several hours today not knowing where my towel was. I knew I'd taken it down to the laundry room and brought it out from the washer, and somewhere between the dryer and my apartment, it disappeared. Couldn't be found. I went back and checked, and didn't find it. I figured it wasn't a huge loss, all things considered, and tried to move on.

I just went back to check to be sure, and somewhere between the washer and the dryer, it got misplaced without leaving the laundry room, because that's where I found it. Someone had tossed it into the garbage bin - not even hanging it over the sink, but tossing it out entirely, which has me irritated on the general principle of throwing out a good hand towel being a bad idea because hey, free towel.

It's also got me relieved because I again know where my towel is. I couldn't well go hitchhiking otherwise.
beanside: (Default)
[personal profile] beanside
I woke up SO fucking sore today. My head and back are just thoroughly pissed off. I took some meds, ad I may lay down for a few minutes. I had trouble gettin to sleep, until after 2 am. I'm very tired. fortunately, I don't have anything to do until 1pm and that's game.

Yesterday was an awesome. My back was behaving, and then I got up and futzed around, then went to go get a pedicure. I opted for the Spa pedicure. and had my legs rubbed until they were limp noodles. Then, we played Arvandor, which was a particularly awesome game. The team dealt with the reality of the Dracolich, and searched for clues, which had some truly outstanding role play. I was very proud of mu babies. They've come a long way from Dragn Heist and Mad Mage. It was really well done, and I'm deeply curioius to see what the players will do next.

The, I began setting the table with the assumption that my new hot pot would come, and lo, it did! One side, we used mushroom soup broth. Very tasty, very mild. On the other, we used Little Sheep hot hot pot broth. I was assured that it was meant to be the less spicy alternative! I may well have been, but it was still pretty spicy.

I had gotten all my Asian groceries from a online retailer named <href="https://www.sayweee.com/en">"Weee!". I really liked them, they have every type of asian you can imagine. They had the hot plate prepared meat, wihch was lovely, made my life easier. and easy mix broths.

All in all, it was a lovely sucess, with delicious food and sauces. I overbought a bit, so we're definitely going to be doing it again. soon. I just need to get another box of mild soup. I'm thinking a nice Miso this time.

After that, we took Yoda on a nice walk, and then came hom. It was the perfect day. Tonight, we shall have cheese fondue for dinner! I stocked up with sourdough bread and granny smith apples. I grated my cheeses, and got some white wine to add to the pot. I'm hoping this works as well as the hot pot did, and is tasty. We shall see.
First, game at 1pm. That'll finish up at 4, at which point, I'll start the garlic and wine in the fondue pot.

Tonight, we may go to IKEA to look at a cabinet for a potential pantry for our kitchen. We desperately need one, as the cupboards are jam packed. I'm hopeful. I'll probably do a bit of a walkthrough and see if there's anything else we want for our apartment. I wouldn't mind a squeezie for the bathroom mirror. And maybe a new kitchen rug.

Monday will be busy. I'm going to be busting my ass all day, then immediately afterwards, I'm going to go get my AMSR Scratch therapy at Fitz Studios. https://www.tiktok.com/@fitzhairstudio/video/7504892058067422494?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7320965213670114859

I've never done this, so I'm curious how it'll be.

After that, I hurry back to have my monthly check in with my psych doctor. Then, sleep.

But first, today! Right now, I am a giant sloth on the couch. Everyone have an amazing Sunday!!

Please cut the lights.

May. 31st, 2025 10:30 pm
hannah: (Interns at Meredith's - gosh_darn_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
At present, settling into telling myself the story and figuring out how it's put together, is the important part. What the story's about, its purpose and intentions, can come later. Right now, I'm telling it to myself. Well, myself and the accountability readers. Mostly myself. Nobody else is thinking about it as much as I am.

Keeping to that tunnel vision of one word at a time, no matter how good the word happens to be or how much I like it, is where I'm at. I'm likely going to opt to stay in New York for most of the vacation my parents planned for upstate and that's only in part because I'm not sure how I feel about always automatically being included. It's a lot of complicated feelings, and what's not complicated is it's easier to keep writing when I'm in my apartment. All my stuff is here. My notes, my research materials. Also the practical momentum of sitting down and getting the words out.
beanside: (Default)
[personal profile] beanside
It's Saturday! And a day when I don't have to work, so I slept in until nearly 7:30. It was lovely. My back feels a bit better today, which is nice. I'm still going to take my anti infammatories for a couple of more days, though.

Yesterday was bugfuck busy. We had a bunch of late cancellations, so I was getting a TON of emails to schedule urgent patients in those spots. It was a lot. But that's okay, we got a lot of urgent patients the slots they needed. After work, I had our annual training material to work through. Honestly, I did most of it while I was working, and just fucked around for the majority of the hour afterwards that I was supposed to be training. I get paid OT for the extra hour, so I'm happy.

Today is kind of a question mark. We have a game at 12:30, and my sister has a birthday party, so that part is done. The question will be what we do afterwards. I got a grocery order to make hot pot, so that may be what we do for dinner. This may depend on whether the hot pot itself gets here on time. Otherwise, we may do the hot pot in a fondue pot, which will sadly only allow for one broth. (the hot pot has a divider that lets you do two. My grocery order, which has the hot pot meats is due in between 9:30 and 12:30, so hopefully it gets here before game.

I got so much shit. Dipping sauces and rice cakes and gyoza as well as the meats. I ordered from Weee!, which is an Asian grocery delivery service. I swear, they have everything. If the delivery goes smoothly, and the stuff is good, I can see making them a regular part of our shopping.

Tomorrow my sister has another birthday party, and I have a game at 1pm, so I'll have to see what we're going to have for dinner.

And now, I must get myself together, as I am going to get a pedicure. My toenails desperately need attention, but with my back, I definitely can't do it right now, so off to let a pro handle it.

Everyone have an excellent Saturday!

VidUKon from my living room

May. 31st, 2025 05:52 am
valoise: (Default)
[personal profile] valoise
In some ways VidUKon has filled the hole left by the death of Vividcon - a plethora of vidshows, a scattering of how-to panels, and hanging out with fellow vid fans & makers (although not quite the same interaction on Discord as in the hotel lobby or con suite). I've had vids at VidUKon for the past several years (usually in themed vid shows, occasionally in premieres). This year I was poking through my old vids for something to submit for Vidder's Choice. I chose my old reframing of Show White as the evil character.



on AO3

Times had already changed.

May. 30th, 2025 09:18 pm
hannah: (James Wilson - maker unknown)
[personal profile] hannah
Earlier this week, my older brother J. wanted to inflate an exercise ball for his wife E. My younger brother R. and his wife G. who live about a block away have several bike pumps that could be used to that precise task. Now, they're a block away from each other. J. doesn't walk to R.'s apartment to borrow the pump, inflate the ball at his place, and walk back to return the pump when he's done. He doesn't ask R. or G. to bring a bike pump over to inflate the ball at his apartment. He brings the un-flated ball to their apartment to inflate it there.

I know I have my own set of strengths and weaknesses, and I know I'd aim for a more practical solution to the problem of how to move around a fully inflated exercise ball. Like keeping it in one location. The pump's a far more modular device.

Also of note is that E. told G. - not in confidence, not in secret - that she wasn't interested in coming to Friday night dinners anymore. She didn't feel up to it. I know she's pregnant right now, but even before she was expecting, she was pulling the exact same excuse of having a long week at work. She's been using that excuse for several years now, and I'd figured not every week could be that long. I'd apparently figured right. At the same time, it's nice to know that if she's not making the effort, I don't have to worry about it. I'd had a small bit of concern my attempt at polite behavior - attentive listening, eye contact, not interrupting, waiting patiently for people to finish their sentences - had sent the wrong message, what with being told that she probably found it intimidating. Maybe she did, and thinking it's just on me is something where I can't afford that level of vanity. This part isn't me thinking, this part is me realizing: no matter what I do, at some point she needs to make the effort. And G. told me she told E. that at some point, she needed to make the effort, and E. didn't seem all that interested.

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