elanya

So yes, I have figured out a way to crosspost from LJ/DW to tumblr! Huzzah! So I should have more of some kind of....content creation over there. Let's see if it at all affects the sorts of things I post here.... Probably not. Let's also see if it encourages me to find new ways to engage with tumblr, I suppose. Let's also see if, having figured this out, I can then go an make myself work on job applications...

If you are curious how I am working this magical mojo, I have just been introduced to IFTTT which seems to have a lot of potential for crossing various streams, plus a ton of other things. In this case, it takes the RSS stream of my dreamwidth and tosses it at tumblr with some minimal formatting and a couple of tags.

Next I will see if I can make it tweet about new journal entries, and then I will continue to hide in my old school/out of date social media holes forever.

I want to work on my article today

My brain keeps sliding off on to other things... "Maybe you should start your Invisible Ficathon story, or the Raksura reverse bang, or work on the LARP... how about reading some from Fan Culture? You could do laundry today istead of waiting and doing i tomorrow. Maybe you should make some more tea, or check facebook and twitter. Or I know, about about a journal post?"

-_-

I have the file open, I'm thinking about it, looking at old notes... Am I read to make the words go? Do I need a better idea for structure first? Is everything ever just procrastination?

Bah. I want to while about how this is so hard, but it has always been this way. The only thing now is that I don't have any real deadlines. I don't have a set goal. Everything is arbitrary.

Bah.

walk dog
breakfast
tidy kitchen
unload, load and run dishwasher
update and print character sheets
shower
lunch
laundry (1 load min) (second load about to go in the dryer :)
finish Cannon appendix
make soup
walk dog/get takeout dinner
game
prep clothes for interview?


rawr.

So as others have been saying of late, I'd like to try using dreamwidth/livejournal more. I don't do much with it these days - I don't even use it for lists as much as I used to, though I really should try. I can't decide if this current desire is simply a mark of a slow day at work (That will be changing soon, I'm sure) or a desire to procrastinate All The Things, or something else. Maybe its the new year, but I doubt it - I've never been much of one for resolutions.

So, I have been thinking a lot about writing lately, because of Yuletide. I have also been doing a lot of writing, also for the same reasons. There are so many good writers who participate. it makes e think - I'm not a brilliant writer. I'm a good one, and maybe sometimes good enough, but not really brilliant. But there are some people whose work I always stumble in to who write so beautifully and so interestingly and I wonder where in me I can find that? There are things I do in my writing that I'm aware of but not sure how to change - I spell things out too much. I am not good at evoking without describing, sometimes. I let myself get bogged down in details. I worry that all my internal character voices sound alike. I dunno. I'm not having a big 'oh gods I'm terrible' crisis of faith or anything, I'm just not sure what the best way would be for me to push myself to do better. Maybe I need to try writing different kinds of stories? One of the things I like about Yuletide is that it does tend to push at my boundaries and often I do find things I like beyond them.

I'm still/always fighting with myself about the sorts of things I spend my writing time on too. I'm not very marketable, even in the fanfiction world. I poke at corners of things, or I explore ideas rather than people. Or I write people no one else has any investment in other than myself and a handful of others. Should I be happy enough with that? I don't know why I'm so driven to seek acknowledgement/praise for things - I think it is because I don't really trust myself to value my own talents properly. I'm too much in the middle of the pack to gauge (well maybe not the dead middle - say closer to the front but nowhere near the lead), for the most part, and I can't decide if I'm pulling ahead or falling behind. I think if I could draw more attention on my own merit I would feel more secure, maybe? I expect this is an all-too common condition.

Later today maybe I will instead write about all the crap I'm *supposed* to be working on :D

I am going through 1784 papers form the Bahamas, and one of the things I am looking at are sale adds, to see what kinds of goods they could get 9at least in Nassau) and where they were from.

Some of the lists are pretty random, so here is one add, recopied in its entirely for your entertainment. I like the last few entries especially ^-^
The spelling and capitalization are as they appear, and I preserve the formatting of the original, more or less :p

JUST IMPORTED
in the Ship SALLY, Capt. Crosskill, from LONDON,
and to be Sold by
JEREMIAH TINKER
For Cash, Bills of Exchange, Cotton, Lignumvitae, Braziletto, Mahogany, Fustick and Ebony
Old Red Port by the Cask, Hamper or Dozen
Lisbon ditto in Hampers
An Assortment of Cutlery
Ditto of Turnery
Ditto of Ship Chandlery
Iron-Mongery
Dry Goods, consisting of a variety of superfine Broad Cloths, air balloon colours
Clouded Cottons and Cashmires
Men’s, Womens and Childrens Shoes
An Assortment of Buttons, with Trimmings [and?] Cloths
Paints, Linseed Oil, fine Sallad ditto
Walnuts, Anchovies, Capers, Onions, [G????], Mangoes
Vinegar by the Hogshead or half Hogshead
Mustard, perfumery
Cordage from 7 to 9 Thread Rattling
Candles per Box
Hats, black and white, Ladies Air Balloon [it’s a kind of hat -_-]
An Assortment of Nails, Queen’s Ware
Casavah barley, Split Pease, Butter b[eans?]
Quadrants, Spy Glasses
Whale Harpoons, lances, &c, &c.

I hadn't registered yet, for a number of reasons - mainly I need to get people to sign things and they haven't all been here, and I've been busy with other stuff, and also, since I'm not taking any normal classes I wasn't worried about them filling up.

However I was supposed (I think) to be registered by the end of the month so as not to fuck up my assistantship.... I went to do it now, but of course it isn't open.

What the hell? Why do they need to turn off *Online* registration for a holiday, or the weekend? Wtf! That doesn't even make any sense.

On a happier note, here are some pictures:

Pie:


Jola:


Now to shower and get to work -_-

So, I've developed another internet addiction. It is Dean's fault, indirectly, though he's already mocked me for it :V

It started innocently enough, with a new webcomic, Goblins. I read through pretty much the whole archive in an evening while I was NB one night and didn't want to go to bed. I like the story, though I suspect that under normal circumstances it would be the sort of thing wherew I lose interest in regular reading because it updates slowly and the story also moves slowly on account of it takes a while for the guy to draw.

However...

The guy who draws it, Thunt, has a live drawing feed where you can watch him work. He's miced for it, so he chatters on about random stuff - the comic, drawing, D&D stuff, his life, etc. There si also a chat room, where you can talk to other people who are watchig, and talk to him as well (though he isn't always paying attention when he is drawing). Anyway, I've gotten sucked in to this. It fufills my fascination with watching people draw (which Hazel is all to familiar with, I'm sure. I've gotten many an annoyed look from her ;), my love of knowing what is going on in advance (he won't do the storyboards or dialog on camera, so there is still a surprise, but he draws, inks, and colours), and my desire to feel included in things that I enjoy. Its like a hardline fandom link. That metaphor got a little mixed up, but I think you probably take my point! Like anywhere else on the internet (with the exception of my regular espernet haunts, of course ;), some people are cool and some people are kinda annoying... but I'm still addicted so far :x


But the reason that I am mentioning this today is that as a Shameless Publicity Stunt(tm), he is doing a 48 hour drawing marathon on the feed. Crazy madness! He recently decided to dedicate himself to doing the comic for a living and is trying to increase readership, I think, but it should be a fun ride, anyway! So, I figured I'd enable his shamelessness, and pimp it out.

Passiveaggressivenotes.com has totally eaten my brain today!

To do:

American taxes
start CAD taxes for last year
read 50+ pages of history (just barely made my quota :p)
read for history course plan
read for Kevin paper
work on Glasscock application
work on Bahamas travel arrangements
talk to curtana for hours about gaming, porn, and gaming porn
watch anime with earis
Play with Jola

woot!