January Thoughts
Jan. 31st, 2019 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarotgalOne month of the year already gone! How'd that happen? Woosh! There it went flying by!
I just finished my tax returns tonight. Fuck Trump's new tax code. Last year I got a little more than $3,000 back. This year I made about $800 less and I'm getting $500 back. I'm SQUARELY middle class. And pretty annoyed.
On a happier note, I made myself a goal of updating my Realm once a month, and I remembered this YESTERDAY. So this morning I did the update during breakfast. So I'm on track there. It's just the 12 fics in 12 days stories added this time, but the point is that they're up! Did you know I started that site in january 2001? 18 years ago this month. Time definitely flies. WOOSH!
This month I managed to complete 3 things from my 101 Things in 1001 Days list (3 is the minimum if I want to stay on track). I managed to get my inbox down from over 36.000 to under 2,000. I watched a Saving Throw show live and supported them with a subscription. (The show, by the way, is a multi-part RPG of Into the Spider-verse and it is EPIC). I also drove up to Maryland on MLK, Jr. Day and participated in a Day of Service event. I got to bag toiletries for the homeless and pack boxes with diabetic/vegetarian food options for a food pantry. It was really great to see so many people--families and children included--show up. After YEARS of checking for a loan on Kiva from Papua New Guinea, I finally found one and funded it. Was so thrilling to get to support someone in the country where I was born. I also started watching Critical Role campaign 1. I'm only up to episode 15 of, like, 160. And as each is 3-5 hours long, that's going to take me a while. But I'm definitely loving it.
I've read 17 books so far this year, which is pretty great. My goal for the year is 125, I think. It's been 100 for a number of years now, so it was time I raised the bar for myself. My word of the year is IMPROVE, after all!
Speaking of which, I started the Pop Sugar 30 Days to a Flat Belly challenge this month. I managed to work out 29 out of 31 days this month. The two days I didn't work out were days when I was physically unable to. So I'm calling it a win. I'll finish the challenge up this weekend. I'm already looking forward to getting back to my beloved Tae Bo Basics workouts on Mondays after work (now with spiffy weighted gloves that make me feel strong and powerful!). I also finished the second draft of my weight loss article. I just want to give it another read, maybe try to cut it down a little more, and put together some images to submit with it. I want to write another article or two if this one goes well.
Last night, I helped out at my church's hypothermia shelter. It's fucking WAY below freezing this week, so our help came at a good time. I brought a bunch of toiletries, books, and 5 tubs of ice cream as well (well, one sorbet in case there were people who couldn't do dairy). I was a little nervous, not because I'd be serving the homeless but because I'd be around a LOT of strangers, and I'm a super shy introvert. But everyone was super nice, and there were a lot of kids and some other newbies as well helping out. I manned the cole slaw and stew. One guy came back for five helpings. We had SO MUCH ice cream (I might have bought more than needed--I just wanted to give them flavor choices!) that we only put out a few flavors at a time. One gentleman said that Bryers was his favorite brand (mine, too!) and that he loved the Reses peanut butter cup flavor best. I darted over to the freezer, grabbed the one I'd bought, and TOTALLY made his night. He came back for seconds. And then thirds. It was also really awesome to see everyone bedding down in the main hall of our church. I've only been going there for a little over a month now, but I feel completely comfortable and at home in the place in a way I never thought I would. So to see so many people settling in to sleep, warm and cozy, in a place that's like my home filled my heart with gladness. I'm definitely signing up to help with this again next year.
This month has been filled with a lot of ups and downs. My mother had emergency surgery and is still having some fallout from that, but she's still alive, so I'm relieved. The government shutdown was pretty hard on some of my friends and family. My sister used it as a vacation and came out to visit us last week, so it was nice being able to spend a little unplanned time with her, but I'm glad everyone's back to work for the next few weeks at least.
I helped out at a local library's Harry Potter event and got to see Hawthorn & Holly do two WRock sets, headlinging their first ever concert. They played a lot of my favorites. And it was just plain nice to see them again! The event went pretty well; I spent most of the time feeling awkward and unnecessary and without direction, but I had some friends there, so at least I wasn't completely out of place. And I got a couple kickass buttons as well. Plus, the teens who came seemed to have a lot of fun, and that's what was most important to me, not my own level of fun :-)
I attended my first monthly poetry group (Ogden Nash). It's an older demographic, but I'm used to that with my Writers' Roundtable group lately. And at the end of the meeting, they tasked me with LEADING the next discussion. It's on rap lyrics. So I've been listening to so much hip hop and rap and trying to come up with some good ones to discuss (and, yeah, Daveed Diggs is on 3 of the 11 songs I chose. I AM NOT ASHAMED)
It snowed several times here this month, but I no longer get snow days. I did get to head home early on Tuesday and didn't have to go in for my library volunteer shift, so that was cool. It gave me time to work out that night, and I was thrilled about that. I also spent a few hours working on puzzles at the library. They have these collaborative jigsaw puzzles out that anybody can work on, and I ADORE puzzles but don't do them here because of the cats. So it was a fantastic feeling to work on them.
I had some great moments with friends as well. I went to a sing-along of Bohemian Rhapsody at the discount theater and finally got to do the coordinated clapping with Radio Ga Ga that I've dreamed of doing for 20+ years. It was fun singing along to the songs, but that was probably the softest I've ever sung Hammer to Fall. I usually SCREAM that in the shower (it and Guns and Ships from Hamilton are two of my favorite shower songs LOL). I had a nice discussion of JK Rowling's latest book with my Harry Potter group. I went to a BookCrossing meetup and enjoyed everyone's stories and company. And I got to hang out with three of my best friends last weekend as we caught up, chatted, and worked on projects (I made a wreath, updated my bullet journal, and got a little coloring done in my coloring book I'm determined to finish for one of my things). I also tried formally roleplaying on discord for the first time. I was WAY out of my comfort zone, but it went well. I really need to find some time to get back at it.
I've been feeling a little numb lately, which distresses me a little. I'm going to keep going through the motions like Buffy until something snaps me out. I was hoping to watch RENT tonight to see if that would pry the emotions from me, but it's getting late. And I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and showing up puffy-eyed from sobbing through nearly all of Act 2 is probably not the impression I want to make before a review of my meds. LOL So maybe I'll just hang and work on my bullet journal while diving back into the Spiderverse.
Farewell, January! I have a feeling my February is going to be CRAZY at work, but at least I'm going into the month with no delusions. And I expect it to pass even faster than January did.
I just finished my tax returns tonight. Fuck Trump's new tax code. Last year I got a little more than $3,000 back. This year I made about $800 less and I'm getting $500 back. I'm SQUARELY middle class. And pretty annoyed.
On a happier note, I made myself a goal of updating my Realm once a month, and I remembered this YESTERDAY. So this morning I did the update during breakfast. So I'm on track there. It's just the 12 fics in 12 days stories added this time, but the point is that they're up! Did you know I started that site in january 2001? 18 years ago this month. Time definitely flies. WOOSH!
This month I managed to complete 3 things from my 101 Things in 1001 Days list (3 is the minimum if I want to stay on track). I managed to get my inbox down from over 36.000 to under 2,000. I watched a Saving Throw show live and supported them with a subscription. (The show, by the way, is a multi-part RPG of Into the Spider-verse and it is EPIC). I also drove up to Maryland on MLK, Jr. Day and participated in a Day of Service event. I got to bag toiletries for the homeless and pack boxes with diabetic/vegetarian food options for a food pantry. It was really great to see so many people--families and children included--show up. After YEARS of checking for a loan on Kiva from Papua New Guinea, I finally found one and funded it. Was so thrilling to get to support someone in the country where I was born. I also started watching Critical Role campaign 1. I'm only up to episode 15 of, like, 160. And as each is 3-5 hours long, that's going to take me a while. But I'm definitely loving it.
I've read 17 books so far this year, which is pretty great. My goal for the year is 125, I think. It's been 100 for a number of years now, so it was time I raised the bar for myself. My word of the year is IMPROVE, after all!
Speaking of which, I started the Pop Sugar 30 Days to a Flat Belly challenge this month. I managed to work out 29 out of 31 days this month. The two days I didn't work out were days when I was physically unable to. So I'm calling it a win. I'll finish the challenge up this weekend. I'm already looking forward to getting back to my beloved Tae Bo Basics workouts on Mondays after work (now with spiffy weighted gloves that make me feel strong and powerful!). I also finished the second draft of my weight loss article. I just want to give it another read, maybe try to cut it down a little more, and put together some images to submit with it. I want to write another article or two if this one goes well.
Last night, I helped out at my church's hypothermia shelter. It's fucking WAY below freezing this week, so our help came at a good time. I brought a bunch of toiletries, books, and 5 tubs of ice cream as well (well, one sorbet in case there were people who couldn't do dairy). I was a little nervous, not because I'd be serving the homeless but because I'd be around a LOT of strangers, and I'm a super shy introvert. But everyone was super nice, and there were a lot of kids and some other newbies as well helping out. I manned the cole slaw and stew. One guy came back for five helpings. We had SO MUCH ice cream (I might have bought more than needed--I just wanted to give them flavor choices!) that we only put out a few flavors at a time. One gentleman said that Bryers was his favorite brand (mine, too!) and that he loved the Reses peanut butter cup flavor best. I darted over to the freezer, grabbed the one I'd bought, and TOTALLY made his night. He came back for seconds. And then thirds. It was also really awesome to see everyone bedding down in the main hall of our church. I've only been going there for a little over a month now, but I feel completely comfortable and at home in the place in a way I never thought I would. So to see so many people settling in to sleep, warm and cozy, in a place that's like my home filled my heart with gladness. I'm definitely signing up to help with this again next year.
This month has been filled with a lot of ups and downs. My mother had emergency surgery and is still having some fallout from that, but she's still alive, so I'm relieved. The government shutdown was pretty hard on some of my friends and family. My sister used it as a vacation and came out to visit us last week, so it was nice being able to spend a little unplanned time with her, but I'm glad everyone's back to work for the next few weeks at least.
I helped out at a local library's Harry Potter event and got to see Hawthorn & Holly do two WRock sets, headlinging their first ever concert. They played a lot of my favorites. And it was just plain nice to see them again! The event went pretty well; I spent most of the time feeling awkward and unnecessary and without direction, but I had some friends there, so at least I wasn't completely out of place. And I got a couple kickass buttons as well. Plus, the teens who came seemed to have a lot of fun, and that's what was most important to me, not my own level of fun :-)
I attended my first monthly poetry group (Ogden Nash). It's an older demographic, but I'm used to that with my Writers' Roundtable group lately. And at the end of the meeting, they tasked me with LEADING the next discussion. It's on rap lyrics. So I've been listening to so much hip hop and rap and trying to come up with some good ones to discuss (and, yeah, Daveed Diggs is on 3 of the 11 songs I chose. I AM NOT ASHAMED)
It snowed several times here this month, but I no longer get snow days. I did get to head home early on Tuesday and didn't have to go in for my library volunteer shift, so that was cool. It gave me time to work out that night, and I was thrilled about that. I also spent a few hours working on puzzles at the library. They have these collaborative jigsaw puzzles out that anybody can work on, and I ADORE puzzles but don't do them here because of the cats. So it was a fantastic feeling to work on them.
I had some great moments with friends as well. I went to a sing-along of Bohemian Rhapsody at the discount theater and finally got to do the coordinated clapping with Radio Ga Ga that I've dreamed of doing for 20+ years. It was fun singing along to the songs, but that was probably the softest I've ever sung Hammer to Fall. I usually SCREAM that in the shower (it and Guns and Ships from Hamilton are two of my favorite shower songs LOL). I had a nice discussion of JK Rowling's latest book with my Harry Potter group. I went to a BookCrossing meetup and enjoyed everyone's stories and company. And I got to hang out with three of my best friends last weekend as we caught up, chatted, and worked on projects (I made a wreath, updated my bullet journal, and got a little coloring done in my coloring book I'm determined to finish for one of my things). I also tried formally roleplaying on discord for the first time. I was WAY out of my comfort zone, but it went well. I really need to find some time to get back at it.
I've been feeling a little numb lately, which distresses me a little. I'm going to keep going through the motions like Buffy until something snaps me out. I was hoping to watch RENT tonight to see if that would pry the emotions from me, but it's getting late. And I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and showing up puffy-eyed from sobbing through nearly all of Act 2 is probably not the impression I want to make before a review of my meds. LOL So maybe I'll just hang and work on my bullet journal while diving back into the Spiderverse.
Farewell, January! I have a feeling my February is going to be CRAZY at work, but at least I'm going into the month with no delusions. And I expect it to pass even faster than January did.
