solivini | Reading

Slept quite ridiculously late today, after 1:00, but to be fair I didn't get to bed til 2:00. But anyway I finally got up and had breakfast and coffee.

Then I puttered online for awhile, including setting up the account that the Kid suggested I do. Don't know how actually useful it'll be, but I have it. I called her but she didn't answer, texted me later. I also sent an email to John, Denise, Laurie and the Kid about winterizing the cottage. It needs to be done soon. No reply yet.

Then I put up some more Halloween decorations. I haven't put up any lights, not sure if I will or not.

And then I descended on my clothing. The first thing was a serious search for my missing Halloween pants. Not of course the new ones I just bought, but the ones I couldn't find that was the reason I bought the new ones. And I found them! The problem was that I remembered them as white, with Halloween patterns, when in fact they are black. So I overlooked them several times until I really started moving things around.

But then having found them, I got together a load to take down to the laundromat. Then I threw on some clothes, sweats and a tee, and I took the laundry down.

Accomplished that, and came back and had a seltzer. It was by then late enough that I just puttered online some more until it was time to Team the FWiB.

We talked for an hour and a half, til 8:30, when it was time to call Middle Brother. He is fine, got his hair cut and went to lunch at McDonalds, which made him happy.

The Starsky and Hutch chat was moved to 7:00 today because Babs had a concert to go to. Obviously I couldn't go at 7:00 because that's when I Team the FWiB, but after I called Middle Brother I tried to pop in and see if anyone was still around. But apparently it had already ended. Oh well, next week.

I called

mashfanficchick but ze was still busy with zer friends that ze went out with today.

So I had dinner and went to the bedroom and played solitaire and played on my phone til pet feeding time.

And here I am.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Halloween decorations.

3. Found my pants.

4. Laundry being done.

5. Heard from the Kid.

6. Middle Brother is well.

Current Mood: okay

silver_chipmunk

Got up this morning at 9:15. Had breakfast, showered, dressed, and headed off to my Al-anon meeting where I was scheduled to be the speaker.

That went very well. Afterward I went to the diner, driven by S, and had a bacon, egg, and cheese on an English muffin, and iced coffee. S found out I was going to

mashfanficchick in Forest Hills and she offered to drive me to Forest Hills. That was very nnice, though I'm not sure I actually saved any time as she was also giving G a ride home, but it was a nice ride chatting with them.

She dropped me at 71st and Continental so I took the E train from there two stops to where I would normally get off at the Union Tpk Kew Gardens stop.

Got to

mashfanficchick's place and hung out with zer. Then t 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB from my phone.

At a bit before 8:00. Elissa picked us up and we drove to Texas Roadhouse where we had dinner. I had the portobello mushroom chicken. Then we went to Froendlys for dessert.

Then she drove me home. and here I am. Had a good day all told.

It was the day of the No Kings Rallies. The Kid went to one, I texted her to make sure she was OK. She said all was peaceful and she had a good time.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My meetings and the people there.

3. Friends.

4. No Kings Rallies.

5 Ice cream

6. Beautiful fall day.

Current Mood: cheerful

silver_chipmunk

I woke up a bit before 10:00, and remembered that I was supposed to have a therapy session, so I didn't go back to sleep then. My therapist texted and I said to give me 10 minutes, then got ready and went out to the living room. We had our session, and I thought about going right back to bed but decided to eat breakfast first. So I did that, and even had coffee, but I felt so drowsy that I went back to bed, and went back to sleep.

I slept for hours, got up at 2:00something. Then I puttered on the computer for awhile, and finally took a shower and dressed.

By then it was 4:00. I put up some Halloween decorations, including one on the front door, and then puttered on the computer until 5:00 when I went to the Bronx for my meeting.

Did the nonsense of having to get the 25 first, and then got the 50 to the Bronx. As usual I had pizza first, and then went to my meeting. It was a bit smaller than usual but good. M drove me to the bus stop and I got the 50 just fine.

Then we got to the stop for the 25, 31st and Linden. I got out and checked my MTA app for the time the next 25 was coming. It said 23 minutes! So I checked my Moovit app, which said one was scheduled in 5 minutes. So I waited about 7 minutes. It didn't come.

So I checked the MTA app again, and it said at that point 15 minutes. So I said screw it and walked. And I beat the bus to 35th and Linden where I would normally have gotten off. I am pissed at the MTA. It's too far to walk comfortably and I don't like the dark walk at that time of night past a pool hall.

Anyway, I got home, and by that time I had to use the bathroom so bad I nearly peed my pants.

Then I Teamed the FWiB, and had my good humor restored. We talked for 45 minutes, then I fed the pets and started here.

Tomorrow is the day of the No Kings protests. I am not going to one and I feel very bad about that, but I said I would be the speaker at my meeting tomorrow already. So that's that.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My meetings and the people there.

3. Pizza.

4. Halloween decorations up.

5. Naps.

6. Bed and reading soon.

Edited to add: Two things. Walked through Frank Bee's costume store after my pizza, just for fun. And texted with the Kid, who is fine.

Current Mood: okay

tombstuck posting in

addme

Before adding me, you should know: that i am open to making friends with people who are very different from me! i think it's wonderful and healthy to be friends with people who have a different worldview from me, and i always try to be nice and respectful, even when i don't agree with someone.

basic info: tombstuck, mid 20s, missouri usa

gender and sexuality: bisexual, poly (not currently open to new partners), trans, enby, femboy, they/them

other identifiers: alterhuman, gnome/elf otherhearted

my vibes: silly, horny, friendly, excitable, odd and unusual

I mostly post about: daily life, my current exciting interests, music, and fandom

My fandoms are: I read widely in any fandom if the summary and tags catch my eye, and if the author is a friend! my fandoms in particular are supernatural, homestuck, and marvel stuff (specifically spider-man right now). But I have a lot of other fandoms I'm less active in too.

I'm looking to meet people who: are interested in my writing and will listen to me yapping about it (i will do the same for others!), people who will interact with my journal entries... um, not a dealbreaker by any means but it would be nice to know some other alterhumans, therians, otherkin and things like that, because my brother is a therian, i'm otherhearted, and i don't know any other alterhumans at all.

My posting schedule tends to be: very sporadic! i just created my account recently so it's up in the air, but i plan on being here every day for the foreseeable future.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: i'll add anyone who adds me, but i will probably remove them if i have personal issues with them after that.

i hope to hear from some of you soon!~

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: at my writing desk
Current Music: twenty one pilots - city walls

toothpastepancake posting in

addme

Name: Agnes

Age: mid 20s

I mostly post about: personal stuff and fandom equally, also my creative projects (I'm a huge writer and artist!) I also talk about my tech projects and such. Health struggles & disability/mental health activism and destigmatization. Cooking. Life goings-on. My OCs. I'm trying to get back into using dreamwidth more, so I'd love to make some new friends!

My hobbies are: writing, digital art, watching tv, making video games, playing video games, crafting, thrifting, technology (mostly self-hosting and personal websites right now), cooking...

My fandoms are: I'm a huge science fiction fan, so right now it's Babylon 5, The Orville, Star Trek (mostly lower decks and star trek online), etc. Also super into Yellowjackets and Psych at the moment.

I'm looking to meet people who: don't mind my journal being a little all over the place, are kind and accepting, love science fiction, art, writing, tech, or making OCs, or creativity in general. People who are spiritual but queer-affirming, pro-choice and open-minded. People who like to talk and don't mind if I'm awkward. People who share my fandoms, especially my special interest which is currently The Orville. Other neurodiverse folks. Or anyone who is cool with the things I mention here!

My posting schedule tends to be: sporadic

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia. Please don't be a bigot. Also, I don't wish to add anyone who identifies as an "anti" or believes certain types of fiction should inherently be censored, and will unadd for this kind of behavior.

Before adding me, you should know: I have autism and dissociative identity disorder. These things make it a little hard for me to communicate, but I promise I always mean well. I also have memory issues.

silver_chipmunk

My alarm went off at 10:00 and I turned it off and slept til 12:00. Finally got up and had breakfast and coffee. Took a shower and dressed.

Before I left to go to

mashfanficchick's, I got my Halloween decorations out of the front closet, and I switched the Wallflower I was using in the bathroom, a goldfish, ith the one I have for Halloween, an owl.,

Then I left the apartment and found the mailman was there filling the mailboxes, so I waited for him. Eventually he asked my apartment, and gave me my mail which I put away in the apartment. I thanked him and then I left.

Took the bus, there were hoards of school kids just getting out of school by then, and a cranky lady on the 44 bus yelling at two kids who were sitting in front seats, which are marked as "Please give this seat to the elderly or disabled". I ignored it.

Got to

mashfanficchick's, and we hung out for a few hours, then had a snack of cheese, crackers, and pepperoni. Ze gave me some bananas that ze was getting rid of. They are still good but so soft that ze doesn't like the texture. So I had a banana too.

At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB from my phone, until just before 911. Then at 8:00 we watched it. Pretty good episode.

At 8:30 uring the commercials I called Middle Brother. He was quite excited, they had a Halloween party, a bit early, but he enjoyed it.

Then at 9:00 the new 911: Nashville. I like the rescue stuff, but it is awfully soapy.

After that ze turned on the Mariners/Blue Jays ball game and we watched that while we had dinner. Big bowls of salad, and shrimp cocktail. Delicious.

Finally I Ubered home, and here I am.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Fun TV.

3. Halloween is coming.

4. Shrimp.

5. Middle Brother well.

6.

mashfanficchick

Current Mood: cheerful

tcpip

For the past several weeks, I have delved deeply into the content produced by scientific climate change deniers. By "denier" I mean those who argue that global warming is below the range expected by mainstream studies and by "scientific" I mean that handful of actual active researchers in climatology, rather than unqualified opinions. Without exclusion, I've found that these scientific deniers engage in extraordinary selection biases, unfounded speculations, and flawed logic. But, to the untrained eye, I can certainly see how they could be convincing; they appeal to ideological confirmation biases and, of course, they appeal to certain vested interests. Their influence is profound; there are very few climatology journal articles that are in the denier category, but the content makes up the overwhelming majority of related advertorials. The result is a profound disparity between an misinformed public opinion compared to scientific research, which, in a capitalist democracy, is reflected in the politics of demagoguery.

Two days ago, the World Meteorological Organization reported the largest recorded level of atmospheric CO2 and the largest increase in a single year (a reminder that CO2 remains in the atmosphere for a very long time). It follows Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2016 Paris Agreement, which sought to preferably limit global warming this century to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, with a long-term objective of below 2.0 degrees. As COP30 approaches it increasingly becomes clear that voluntary agreements to a global problem is biased toward unenforceable lobbying even when adaptive and mitigative technologies exist and even when our first major tipping point (coral reef losses) looms, a situation that has been warned about for years even as fossil fuel subsidies increase - your taxes at work.

I am now in my third year as a climatology postgraduate, after many years of debating the issue and engaging in autodidactic research. When I started formal studies, it quickly became apparent to me that, despite international agreements and technological change, the most accurate trajectory was the RCP8.5 scenario; high-emissions, high-growth, high-population, the highest plausible temperature increase, i.e., the worst case scenario. Maybe it's the risk engineer disposition in me, but I think we should prepare against worst-case scenarios, especially when the costs are high. The problem is that they are so incremental; people understand the accretion of warming as explained by the popular metaphor of the "boiling frog" story that describes how people do not effectively react to creeping changes. Whilst it is a strong and appropriate metaphor, it is also a myth. A frog will react when the water is too hot for comfort. But I wonder whether humans are as clever as a frog.

Current Mood: depressed
Current Music: Dystopian Soundscapes channel

silver_chipmunk

Got up at a bit after 10:00. Had brekfast and coffee, showered and dressed, and went over to meet

mashfanficchick at Starbucks.

Then we went and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant that has a special of three sushi rolls for $15.99. Yummy. Enjoyed that a great deal.

Then we went to Trader Joe's by bus, and I got more of the Dutch goat cheese I got before. Then we went to Stop and Shop, and shopped there.

By the time we finished there it was time to head back. The Kid called me while we were on the bus, and we talked a bit.

On the bus on the way home I ordered a book for the Kid for Christmas from Thriftbooks.

Got home somewhat after 7:30, was only able to talk to the FWiB for about 20 minutes before my gamming session. Bummer.

We're still playing Monster of the Week, and we're getting into the hang of it a bit more now. Mycomputer is still giving me grief with Discord, I had to use my phone for part of the session, and restart the computer.

After we were over I asked the FWiB if he wanted to Team again but he was too tired so we didn't. I fed the pets and started here.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My gaming group.

3. Sushi.

4. Lovely day.

5. The Kid.

6. Thriftbooks.

Current Mood: okay

zesty_pinto

Yeah, it's been awhile, sorry, just got entranced with things.

There was a sale on Jagged Alliance 3 and I figured, why not?

So that was three weeks. Great game, beat it, probably should not touch it again for awhile despite being my kind of enjoyable thing (squad tactics with fun characters in an 80s action movie motif that have their own personalities, preferences, and annoyances).

But it wasn't just that; caught up with work some more. Got some things that were sitting around out the door. Purchased some things for Christmas.

I'm working on photos and I'm finally starting to push through images of the Boston trip.

Traveling? Yeah, I'm doing that too! I've had to upload more than I like because I'm trying to get better use of burst mode so I'm all the more incentivized to get things moving. Otherwise, the Staten Island Zoo is tiny but has a LOACH TANK which means it deserves an A+ score. It's also efficiently designed despite its size which I appreciate (see Boston Aquarium). Otherwise, birthdays, trips to Vermont to get honey, Jersey Shore to enjoy the boardwalk while it's open but also quieter, trip to Brooklyn and an awesome Lebanese community there, and cleaning up at home while bracing for the dreaded rainstorm that thankfully never came on our end.

My 35 1.2 went to shit after that trip to Boston and I spent a fretful week getting it replaced (thankfully Viltrox replaced it with only a few questions about what happened and no cost was involved for my $1k glass).

I've come to realize that my photography just... doesn't fit most types of photos that hit social media. I like subtleties and little things that require some time to catch, and I don't think that hits people's serotonins. IT'S NOT ME SAYING PEOPLE ARE BAD FOR THAT it's more me acknowledging this isn't a great format for my work, not unlike how people note that a script for a musical doesn't really work in film without a lot of conversion.

So my thing is... I don't really *want* to switch gears either. I dunno, I think this is the style I want to adhere to. I'll probably still have some items that are more "in your face"

For example, wildlife isn't exactly something I can be more subtle with (though I'd love to figure out how to plan my comps better for them).

But for other things? I'm probably going to try to find stories to tell with the image if possible if the person looking is willing to find it.

...even if the attempt is not good enough yet.

That's part of the art for me, I guess, the thrill for me. I don't get enough acknowledgment to make praise my interest but trying to find my own "in-jokes" or to find way to frame the mundane into a nice little package, to make new ways to draw the eye to something without me resembling a soyjack meme.

...again, depending on if people are willing to notice it or not. I guess I need feedback to really know but at the same time I dunno. I guess I'll keep trying.

So I guess I'm ranting today but I guess that's how it is. I'm also kind of tired and I think my body is undergoing severe recovery from I don't know what. My workplace is also encouraging more group activities which is draining my introverted ass more.

But if all else fails, there's always adding The Rat in it.

By the way, most cameras take shitty photos in aquariums.

I'm trying to do astrophotography with the images from Boston and they're not coming out the way I expected. Images are too exposed so streak. Annoying. I have two more days of attempts so we'll see if they're all garbage, but the long exposures are nice at least.

I'm really tired and the astro work drained me (or maybe it's sickness, Michelle got something too).

Was considering reviving my Facebook photography page just to find other outlets to share my work. No idea if it's worth having my work fed to an AI training model just for the validation though. Thoughts?

Bluesky's going to pot. Blacksky can't even work under its own separate system despite all the bragging about federations. One of the creators I follow moved to Matrix which was a fun(ugh) thing to learn. People are actually moving to Mastodon. Mastodon! Strange times.

Ordered some new memory cards to comp for the burst mode because the SD card is so slow that my buffer is pushing 100+ images into the card. I need faster if I want to really make the 400-800 work.

That's it from me. Got to think of birthday stuff.

silver_chipmunk

Got up at 10:00 and had breakfast and coffee, then showered and dressed. Went to

mashfanficchick's place and we went shopping.

First we walked down Austin street to Sweetgreen and had lunch. I had the miso glazed salmon protein bowl, which was very good. Then we went to Bath and Bodyworks, and I got a penguin shaped light up wallflower to use for the Christmas season. It was expensive but so cute, and I don't think I have a Christmas wallflower.

Then we took the bus to the Queens Center Mall, and went to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream, because I had never been to a Cold Stone and I understood that they were very good. They are very tasty, I got the coffee lovers, coffee ice cream with almonds and caramel included. The flavor is about as good as any good ice cream, and the texture was really nice.

Then we went to Target, where I got some sugar free creamer, and

mashfanficchick did some shopping.

Then we took the bus to Costco where ze has just gotten a membership. First though we popped into 5 Below, where I got a pair of Halloween fuzzy pants, just in case I can't find my Halloween stretch pants.

While we were in Costco the Kid texted me. She wanted to know if I was going to the No Kings March on Saturday, which I wasn't planning on doing because of my Al-anon meeting, and I'm supposed to be the speaker that day.

Anyway we shopped for a long time in Costco, and I had several of ther free samples of things.

By the time we left it was after 6:00 so ze walked me to the bus stop for the 88 bus, which I took to Main Street, right at the Golden Lake Pavilion Restaurant, which is the Chinese dim sum place we all went one Christmas, when Oldest Brother could still leave the nursing home in a wheelchair and eat.

So anyway I knew where I was and it was no problem to find the bus stop for the 20 and 44. The 20 got there first so I took that, though I wish it had been the 44 because I would have gotten home faster. But anyway I got home by a little after 7:00, and Teamed the FWiB.

We didn't get a lot of time in, so he said we'd go some more after my Al-anon meeting. S had texted me earlier that he couldn't make it to the meeting, and M never showed up, but some other people did so I ran a meeting and it was very good.

Then I Teamed the FWiB again and we talked for almost an hour. Finally we got off and I read my internet sites til pet feeding time.

I fed the pets, and started here, and here I am. Later I plan to call the Kid again, see if she answers. I have to Zelle her the money for the phone bill.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Fun day shopping with a friend.

3. My meetings and the people there.

4. Got that pair of pants, just in case.

5. Walked over 9000 steps.

6. Ice cream.

Current Mood: cheerful

silver_chipmunk

Slept late again but not as late as yesterday, got up at 11:00ish. Had breakfast and coffee. Decided that the day was too icky to go out so I called

mashfanficchick and told zer my decision.

Then I finished writing the story I began yesterday. It came out to a little over 1500 words. I titled it A Christmas Eve Tale, not the greatest title, but truthfully it's not the best thing I've ever written. It's cute though and I like it. I submitted it to the Advent calendar.

I lay down and played solitaire on my phone for awhile.

That's really all I did all day.

At 7:OO I Teamed the FWiB and we talked til 8:30. Then I had dinner and lay down and puttered on my phone. I looked up some old pictures in google photos, mainly the ones of the hawk I saw outside the library, and I sent the best one to the FWiB.

I called the Kid but she didn't pick up.

Then it was pet feeding time so I fed the pets and here I am.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Finished the story.

3. Inside where it's warm and dry.

4. Found the hawk pictures.

5. Good dinner.

6. Fudgesicles.

Current Mood: okay

tcpip

It's been several months since I've written anything for Rocknerd, and over the past weekend, I put together three reviews that have been sitting on the back burner for too long. The first is a bleak review of Bleak Squad's debut performance at the Queenscliff Town Hall. The second, a review of John Schumann and The Vagabond Crew performing songs of Redgum at the Darwin Ski Club, a thoroughly enjoyable concert, and the third, the charm of Guy Blackman's album launch at the Northcote Social Club. One can also add this to the few hundred words I penned on "Command-Line CD Extraction and Formatting", which uses some delightfully old utilities and is helping me put together a selection from my own vast collection in the most efficient manner.

It all adds to what was already a bit of a rocknerd weekend, starting on Thursday night, where I caught up with Adam F., at The Retreat Hotel to see a very competent instrumental funk band, "Buttered Loaf", ply their sounds. I've never had a bad time at The Retreat, and I do enjoy a good funk band, so this was quite a delightful evening. The following night I had arranged a small posse (Kate, Liza, Tony, Declan, Carla, myself) to go to The Grace Darling and see "Cold Regards", a 1980s coldwave guitar-synth duo (Marc and Jaimee) whom I've heard a lot about for more than a year. It was really my type of music, as were the other acts, "No Statues", and "Human Intrusion". The latter group was using the night for an EP launch which they distributed, in retro-cyberpunk style, on floppy disks (with oversized floppy-disc props on stage). Said performers may all find themselves subject to me putting finger to keyboard in their name in the future.

One of the nice touches of "Human Intrusion" was their backdrop with various 1980s science fiction clips, which included part of John Carpenter's "The Thing". Unpopular at the time, it has since gone on to become the cult hit that it always was going to be. Somewhat unfamiliar with movies of this suspense-horror-gore genre, I decided that Kate R., needed to view this classic in preparation for our Antarctica trip, where it's an annual screening at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The gory special effects are more clever than terrifying these days, and the theme of in-group paranoia stands up well, especially with the ambiguous ending.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: The Rookery
Current Music: Ennio Morricone, The Thing

silver_chipmunk

Slept late, got up at 12:00 and had breakfast and coffee. Called

mashfanficchick mostly to say hello. Ze was out with Mandy.

At 1:30 I went to the Starsky and Hutch Creative Work session, and chatted. I also started a new, quite short story. It's almost finished, it will be around 1000 words and sent to the Advent calendar. While I was chatting,

mashfanficchick called back. I may go over tomorrow to zer place, but that depends on the weather.

The session ended at 6:30. At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB. We had a nice time and talked til 8:30 when I got off to call Middle Brother.

Middle Brother is fine, and still looking forward to Halloween. Nothing new.

After that I had dinner and went to the bedroom to lie down and play solitaire.

Then it was pet feeding time so I fed the pets and started here.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Middle Brother is well.

3. Thought of a new story.

4. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.

5. No need to go out in the rain and wind today.

6. My cat.

Current Mood: cheerful

silver_chipmunk

Got up at 9:00 and had breakfast and coffee, showered and dressed, and headed to my Al-anon meeting.

It was raining when I left, luckily I had brought my umbrella with me. I should have worn my rain boots, but I didn't, just my sneakers. However, the rain never got bad enough that they got soaked.

Anyway, I made it to my meeting on time, early even. It was smaller than usual probably because of the weather and the holiday Monday. But it was very good.

Went to the diner afterward, driven as usual by S. I had a bacon, egg, and cheese on an English muffin for a change, and iced coffee. The diner was all decked in Halloween finery. Very cheerful and nice.

By the time we finished, the rain had stopped, so I didn't get wet taking the bus home.

When I got home I got on the computer and went to the Starsky and Hutch chat. It was fun as always. It ended a bit earlier than usual, though, at around 5:30.

I checked the mail and the check from the Virginia Lottery people for the money I won on the raffle basket lottery tickets had arrived! Also my official Voter information packet with my Fast Pass Tag. But the check was the big thing. I deposited it via my phone, and that's $60 to the good.

At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB, and we talked until 8:30, which was very nice. Then I had a snack and went to the bedroom to call

mashfanficchick. We talked only a brief while as ze was in the city with Mandy. We will possibly get together tomorrow, possibly not.

After that I played solitaire until pet feeding time. Then I fed the pets, and started here, after reading an article the FWiB sent me from the NY Times about scientists tracking the history of human diseases through dna in ancient skeletons.

Now I shall go to bed and read.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My meetings and the people there.

3. The rain stopped.

4. The $60 came so fast!

5. The Starsky and hutch chat.

6. My cat.

Current Mood: cheerful

silver_chipmunk

I got up at 11:00 and had breakfast and coffee. Then I puttered on line for awhile and I came up with a title for the story and submitted it to the advent calendar. Then I showered and washed my hair and dressed.

Then I opened the box of zines from Flamingo. It was lovely seeing all those tasty zines piled up. I cleaned out under my bedside table and moved the box with the zines there for now.

There was also some of the other stuff I won, including the signed poster! Well OK, not a poster, a picture, but it's signed by both of them!

So that was nice.

Not so nice, I got into an arguement, with someone on Facebook. I usually try to steer clear of disagreeing with people on Facebook, but he said something so egregious I had to comment. I stayed cool though, so that was good.

Anyway, all that occupied me til 5:00 when I left for my Al-anon meeting in the Bronx. I got the 25 bus as usual, one f-ing stop to the 50, and got the 50, and then we hit horrible unusual traffic. I didn't get to my stop til after 6:00, and I had to go to the bank first because I had almost nothing in my wallet.

Well I rushed to the bank and then to the pizza place and got my slice, and I made it on time to the meeting. It was smallish but good. Unfortunately I gave in to temptation and ate three donuts. *sigh*

M couldn't drive me to the bus stop after because his car is in the shop, but he walked with me, which was really unnecessary but nice. This after he waited in the church with me to kill time cause we ended early.

However, the MTA screwed me, the 50 bus didn't arrive until very late. I was getting quite worried about how late it would be. Finally it did arrive though. But when I got to the 25 stop in Queens, there was a 10 minute wait for the 25. I didn't get home til 10:00, about half an hour late.

I fed the pets since it was pet feeding time, then Teamed the FWiB. There was some technical trouble m=but not bad. We talked for somewhat over 40 minutes, then I got off to start here.

That's about all.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. My box of Starsky and Hutch zones!

3. Signed picture.

4. My meetings and the people there.

5. Didn't have to wait as long for the bus as I feared.

6. Advent calendar story submitted.

Current Mood: cheerful

tcpip

This week was the Moon Festival, mid-autumn in the northern hemisphere, a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture and among its aficionados for about 3000 years. Due to the use of the lunisolar calendar, the event can be anywhere from mid-September to early October when a full moon is present. Last year it was around the former, this year the latter. The weather permitting, it is often held outside with friends and family, which is meant to coincide with the harvest gathering. Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival; last year I made some, a fairly complex process, this year I received some from the Consulate, which I took to Anthony and Robin's where, joined with Matthew, we had a little festival of our own and imbibed several glasses of Maotai; at 53% that stuff is like rocket fuel, but doesn't have bad effects the following day. The following evening, I had a second Moon Festival with Kate, where we engaged in the dice game of Bo Bing, one of the many games of celebration held at such festivities.

There are several additional parts of the tradition that I find particularly charming. One is the reflection on distant friends who, although not present, will be gazing at the same moon at the same time as you are. Another is the opportunity for especially close friends to express their fondest desires and greatest dreams to each other, although one imagines that sometimes that can result in a bitter harvest, so to speak. But perhaps my favourite is reciting one of the variations of the story of the goddess Chang'e, whom the festival is named after. The version I tell recites how she drank an elixir of immortality and flew to the moon, becoming the moon goddess. Her heroic but still mortal partner, the archer Hou Yi, made mooncakes to show how much he missed her; talk about shooting for the moon. Chang'e would later be joined by a rabbit who had been exiled by the Jade Emperor for surrendering the elixir of immortality to the Queen of the West.

I did take the opportunity this year to reflect on distant and absent friends and on the new harvest from the last celebration. Despite some significant disappointments, I am more than satisfied with how this year has progressed so far. I also have my eye on an even more involved and interesting twelve months in the future, which involves a fairly significant life change. It is not something that I am prepared to discuss publicly, but those whom I have told know of its importance. I have already observed some sadness among you with the realisation of what this change will entail, but remember that no matter where we are this time next year, we will be gazing at the same moon and in celebration.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: The Rookery

silver_chipmunk

Got up at 10:30 and had breakfast and coffee, the showered and dressed. Today was the day that the new season of 911 started, and the new 911 show, Nashville, debuted. So I called

mashfanficchick about coming over.

Ze said ze was sleeping so we decided I would head over at 3:00 to give zer time to sleep. That left me pondering what to do for the time til then. I did a little bit of cleaning, and then lay down to play solitaire and read.

I finished the zine I had been reading and started another, and played solitaire. Finally at 3:00 I got up and ready to go. To my joy the first part of Flamingo's shipment of my raffle goodies had arrived. I moved that into the apartment but didn't take the time to open it.

Took a bit longer than usual to get to

mashfanficchick's than usual but not too long.

We hung out and talked an at 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB. Then at 8:00 it was 911 time. Good episode.

I called Middle Brother during the episode (during commercials) He is fine, no news.

Then the new series debut, the Nashville one. Less impressed. I liked it better than

mashfanficchick did but neither of us was too impressed. We're giving it a month's trial.

We had ordered Thai food. which came an hour latter than it was supposed to, during 911. I got pad Thai and two glasses of Thai iced tea.

After the shows I ung out for awhile and then Ubered home.

Fed the pets and started here, and here I am.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Some of my zines got here.

3.

mashfanficchick

4. Fun TV.

5. More seasonal weather today.

6. Thai food.

Current Mood: good

silver_chipmunk

Got up at 11:00 and had breakfast and coffee, then put in a Shipt order. I called

mashfanficchick to discuss some Halloween stuff. We still don't have plans yet.

Then I got busy and pulled up the story and wrote the sex scene, and then stalled on the closing. But I finally got that, too.

I converted it to a pdf and sent it to the FWiB, who liked it.

Then I went and lay down and played solitaire for awhile, I fell asleep for about an hour. Got up in time to set up the computer and Team the FWiB at 7:00. There was an issue with the computer that worries me, it froze up and I did a hard restart, and it took several attempts to get it to turn on again. But after that it worked ok. No problems with the Teams.

We were talking when my phone rang and it was the Kid, she never called me back last night but she did today. So I talked to her a bit, all is well.

After I finished talking with the FWiB at 8:00 I closed out of everything and logged into Discord for my gaming group. Amazingly, it worked pretty well. We didn't have a full session, just mostly talked about last week and next week. We only stayed on an hour.

I logged back into all my sites, then had dinner. By the time I was done with dinner, it was pet feeding time so I fed the pets and started here.

And that's pretty much the day. I had two slices of the cheese I got yesterday for lunch, it is very good. Can't tell if it's the stuff I had as a child, but it's similar at least, so that's nice.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Finished the story.

3. All is well with the Kid.

4. My gaming group.

5. Cheese.

6. Discord worked pretty well.

Current Mood: content

silver_chipmunk

Got up this morning at 10:30, kind of achy from yesterday but not so bad I wanted to stay in bed all day. So I had breakfast and coffee, showered and dressed, and headed out to see

mashfanficchick again.

Again we met in Starbucks, this time my drink order didn't get lost. We took the bus from there to Continental Ave, and went to lunch at Bareburger.

Then after that we went to Bath and Bodyworks, and I bought a bunch of wallflower scent things that were on sale. I use them in the bathroom, but the scent can actually fill the apartment.

Then we went briefly to Target, and after that to the post office where ze had some business to take care of.

Then we went to Trader Joe's and I bought some goat cheese slices in the hopes that it might be the cheese, or at least similar to it, that I remember from my childhood.

By then it was getting latish, so we headed to a different Starbucks, and had drinks, and then made to go our separate ways home. But we got distracted by 5 Below so we spent some time there first.

Eventually I took the subway home to Flushing and the bus from there, and got home too late to Team the FWiB but just in time for my Al-anon meeting. The meeting was good, though just M and S.

Then I Teamed the FWiB and we talked for about an hour.

Then it was pet feeding time, so I fed the pets and started here. First I called the Kid, got through to her but she was on a subway so couldn't talk. I asked her to call when she got home, we shall see if she does.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Day out.

3. Cheese.

4. Good day out.

5. Lovely weather though a bit warm.

6. My meetings and the people in them.

Current Mood: cheerful

silver_chipmunk

Got up at 10:30 and had breakfast and coffee. I got a phone call from Middle Brother's group home, there was an issue they wanted to make me aware of, but not serious, so that's OK. Then showered, dressed, and headed to meet

mashfanficchick.

We arranged to meet at Starbucks so I got there and ordered a pumpkin spice latte. And waited for it. And waited.

mashfanficchick got there, and I was still waiting. Turns out their printer glitched and never printed out my order, but it was in the computer system so they made it an apologized.

Then we went into Manhattan, forgetting to go to the post office first.

We took the E train, missed the stop, continued on, and took the L train to Union Square, which was our destination. The first thing we did was have lunch, at Pokeworks. Yummy poke and jasmine milk tea.

We walked through the Union Square Green Market, and I bought some maple candy. I LOVE maple.

Then we went to Barnes and Noble. I decided that I wanted to get Somewhere Beyond the Sea, the sequel to The House on the Cerulean Sea, which I had been putting off getting because I loved the first book so much that I was afraid the second couldn't live up to it. But I decided it was time. So I went to look for it, but they were out. So I got a romantasy called Wooing the Witch Queen, that I had seen somewhere mentioned and been interested in.

After Barnes and Noble we started out for the Strand, but went into Fantastic Planet first, where I made an unsuccessful search for a Kolchak graphic novel. No matter, I can orer them online.

Then we went to the Strand, where I found Somewhere Beyond the Seam and bought it. We wandered around the Strand for quite awhile, I looked for books for the Kid for Christmas but didn't find anything.

Then we started for the Jefferson Market Library so

mashfanficchick could renew zer library card. We discovered a costume store up the street from the Strand and wandered through that.

The Jefferson Market Library is fabulous, in a building I can't begin to describe. Ze got zer card renewed and we looked around a bit, then left, and went to Washington Square Park. We saw the inflatable Scabby the Rat picketing a restaurant, and got a flyer about why we should boycott it.

When we got to the park there was an ice cream truck so we got ice cream... expensive, but tasty. We sat in the park for a long time, watching things. There was mock fighting, and all sorts of stuff going on.

Then we walked to the Tashkent Supermarket where I got about a half pound of beef stroganoff to bring home.

Then we got on the subway and headed home. I got off at the stop for the 7 train, took that to Flushing, and the 44 bus home.

I got here and got the computer warmed up and working finally, and Teamed the FWiB. I ate my stroganoff while I was getting the Teams going.

Then I fed the pets, and now I'm here. A wonderful day.

Gratitude List

1. The FWiB.

2. All well with Middle Brother.

3. Wonderful day in Manhattan.

4. Made 10,000 steps and a little more.

5. New York City parks.

6.

mashfanficchick

Current Mood: happy

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Everybody's trying to get into heaven..

...but nobody's dead so far

Reading

Navigation

Took down laundry

Day out

Sleepy day and anger at the MTA

tipping my phrygian cap toward you in a cheerful greeting

(no subject)

TV night again

Climate: A Grim Prognosis

And still more shopping

Half Melted Brain

Another shopping day

Indigenous People Day

Rocknerd Explorations and The Thing

Writing again

Rainy Saturday

Unpacked the box of zines

Harvest Celebrations

TV day

Finished the story!

Another day out

Manhattan day

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April 2017

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