elanya

This is the first week of having Fridays off through the end of the fiscal year to use up my vacation, and I'm looking forward to having a long weekend. I keep thinking that they are never going to give me a raise at work ever, even though minimum wage has gone up over two dollars since my last contract, and I'm the only person who works there full time who is making due with a single income. Sort of. But if I didn't live with my sister I wouldn't be able to afford to work there! This is partly because Hades is so expensive (big dog, lots of food, also not the healthiest dog, and his daily meds certainly add up). But in the end its the same. What I keep thinking about is whether I could convince them to reduce my hours so I am down to 4 days a week regularly. I feel like that would do a world of good for my work life balance, giving me back the 10 hours a week I lose currently in transit commute. I don't think they would really go for it though, though I did just waste some time looking at indeed for points of reference. there really aren't a lot of jobs like mine out there. My job is a really cool special thing, and in that I'm lucky, but they don't really compensate me fairly for it, which is shit. I can barely afford to go away for an occasional weekend right now, let alone plan a longer trip without going into debt. in other work news, the heat is still broken but will hopefully be fixed on Monday.

Other than that - I can't remember what I said in my last update, but I finished candyhearts and posted two treats! I started my next AWRR AU fic that's been eating my brain for months. I also signed up for EAD's Lunar New year: wood Snake flash exchange, which seems like it should be lots of fun! I have a vague idea of what I want to do for it, and maybe I'll get a few treats done also, as it is also just a short thing. We'll see. I'm pretty sure I know what my candyhearts gift is, also.

I'm listening to the Odyssey now, the Emily Wilson one, and am already about halfway through. It's wild to me how much shorter it is! but that works out because I want to cancel my free audible trial on the weekend, and I should be able to get through it by then. Unless they offer me some kind of fabulous deal, I'll probably just stick to what I can find on Libby/Overdrive - I'm hoping if I start getting enough holds on things, they'll start coming regularly available. But we'll see! Maybe this phase won't last. Not sure what I'll go for next, anyway.

Nary and I are close-ish to finishing Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. We're on the last chapter/case. It is a wild ride but I really do love all the characters. After that, in theory, we are going to see about doing Baldur's Gate 3, which i got for Christmas. She's not sure if she'll enjoy watching me play, and her computer isn't good enough to run it. But I don't really have the time to play it just on my own. So we'll see. I could try and play it with my sister but she is also really busy, idk.

It is almost ladies Night, which is something I started during the pandemic to keep in touch with some grad school friends, the folks I used to do a fandom podcast with, so Nary, earis and lukoni. Every second Thursday we try and get together and just hang out online. It's been really nice, actually, so stay in touch with folks!

I'm probably forgetting something to talk about here, hmmm... I guess on Tuesday I went to a talk by a local nature group and learned that the Canadian Supreme court recognized climate change in a decision, so that is nice, and also that having pollinator gardens may actually be covered by the charter right to freedom of expression, even if municipalities try to legislate against them. "Municipalities do not have the right to legislate aesthetics". So that's nice, although they are legal in my city anyway. They are also trying to push for urban gardening, which is cool, but are eyeing 'underused lands' like park space but a lot of 'unused' and underdeveloped parkland in this city and I suspect in the province are actually archaeological sites so. That's a conflict I'm not sure is even on their radar.

Okay, I think that might actually be all I have to say for now!

I finished listening to the Iliad this morning - it really was a fantastic experience, I am just salty that the version I listened to is an audible exclusive and I'm unlikely to stay signed up, so I don't get to 'own' it or have access to it. just let me pay money to own the thing! Insert rant here about late stage 'capitalism' where consumers don't even get to own products let alone their own labor. Grump.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it! If you are on audible and want to listen to a guy with a Shakespearean actor quality narrate classic text in a lyrical prose, and also don't mind graphic (graphic!!!) depictions of violence, I would highly recommend it. I might try an Odyssey next, which seems to be more widely available - but I'll probably do audible again just to use my second 'free' credit. After that, idk!

Meanwhile I will have a sulk that we are missing the full epics that actually covers Achilles' death and the sack of Troy.

Otherwise - things are fine. The heating is broken in the repository at work since last week, which is not ideal, but I'm glad it is winter and not summer. Heat is a lot more damaging than cold. Also I'm reminded that I saw that there is some cellulose nitrate in a new collection and I need to decide what to do with it. It's just a small bit, but nevertheless it should probably be isolated. I had a long meeting yesterday that I didn't really need to be in, but I also think that ti is nice to not have everything completely siloed, its just that my boss can't run a streamlined meeting to save her life. There was a bit of awkwardness in there too around some miscommunications, because she also is not always very good at listening and remembering context. I mean, most of the time she is great but there is definitely a solid percentage of time where I want to throttle her.

Home is also fine - IL's mom left on Monday. It was nice to have her around, and she is nice to talk to, but also weird having someone who is more extroverted in the house... or at least an extrovert who had any interest in engaging with the rest of the residents, perhaps. IL is still down in the US. I think they are out of the hospital but they basically stopped relaying updates to the 'family' chat so who knows. They were progressing really well in the immediate aftermath and probably still are.

I actually went away last weekend to visit Nary, which was a nice break. We binged watched the second season of Castelvania Nocturne, ate some nice food, and went to see Nosferatu )(second viewing for me) at the upgraded theater near her. It was one movie company that took over the theater from another and their base layouts are very different. the old one had their big concessions stand right in the center, and the new one just has them around the edges, so there is all this big open empty space... The old theatre also believed in colour (blue and yellow) and the new one is more 'no we are a Serious Fancy Place for Adults!' so everything is grey and it just looked very sad and empty to me. Maybe they will add more stuff over time. The seats themselves were very nice. They are a step up from the 'regular' recliner ones most theaters in the region seem to have now, with warming seats, and they all had the haptic stuff to make the seats vibrate and whatever, and had a butt warming feature. They also had their own little side tables, and the seats were semi-enclosed in a little cubicle thing with a place to hang up your coat. So it was nice not to feel too crammed in. Not all the seats were that style, but Nary splurged :3 Then we had our normal Sunday afternoon game that we are all in, and then dinner, and then home, womp womp.

I made a cake last night, and somehow under iced it but it is still quite tasty! And I finished my main candyhearts assignment and am just about done a treat, and then have to decide if I want to do another treat or start something else. And EAD decided to do a snake flash and I am having a quick little think about that, as there are some OW options and I could ask for that. But alas all the sneks I really want fic about are ocs :(

I made my reveals post over on my writing journal.

Nary is here again this weekend for more of her bookbinding course, and we have another out-of-town friend visiting as well, so it has been busy here! I did manage to get signed up for Space Swap at the last minute, and then it will be Jukebox, probably, so I guess we'll see if I get anything else written.

I did a little drabble for the tumblr Sexus Mini Event thing too, so hurrah! I have a lot of vague ideas for things to write but little enough actual motivation, for whatever reason. I finished off a couple of knitting projects though, including the Valentines Rattes for Nary, and most of two weaving Things. And then I have socks on the go and my Skara Brae shawlette, still. And the LARP socks which may not get finished before it is really unfeasible to wear them, but we'll see. I do have an event next Saturday, and its an indoor thing, so maybe lots of knitting? I plan to finish the rest of the weaving thing soon, but I'm into a knitted part of it and the needles are so big they're hurting my hands. Also the weather is not helping, and also I fell on my hands when taking the dog out at 5:30 this am, so there's a lot of things working against me :p One of the doggos is having some intestinal distress because she makes poor choices. She's been to the vet now, though, so hopefully she'll start to get better.

So I was having a restless day. I am between stories and didn't want to spend all weekend sitting in front of the computer. Longpig and Wererogue were going out to a kid birthday party with the smalls, and while I often appreciate having the house to myself, that isn't what I was after today. So I decided I would try and go out

I posted on facebook and considered suggestions there and from Nary to go for a walk somewhere, but ultimately decided that Id already taken the dogs for a long walk, and I didn't know what condition any of the in-town trails were like, and it was cold and snowy and windy. Another friend said I should come out and see her at her monthly tarot gig near one of the farmers' markets in town, and that's what I opted to do. I went to the market first and bought Too Many Treats, then went to check out the used bookshop where she was. She was with another client, and I realized I was going to need cash, so I went off in search of the nearest bank machine. Which wasn't too far, and it was a chance to walk around town in an area I'm not in much. I realized I was just down the street from a taco shop I've been meaning to try, and put that on my mental list.

Once I got back from the bank, my friend was free, so I did a reading. The first part was very much the part of Tarot where it is a matter of perspective to tell you things that, really, you already know. The second part was really way out in left field. I mean you never know what can happen, I guess! After that - tacos! They were really good, with nice soft corn tortillas (the best way imho). After that - home!

I dug out my own highly neglected tarot deck when I got home and did some spreads for myself on that second issue which made more sense, and then because I am a nerd I did spreads for some of my gaming character. One of them got a reading where the four 'cross' points of the celtic cross spread were all reversed major arcana, so that was interesting :V Good luck with life there, Xan :V

During that Wererogue brought pizza to my room, like some kind of stealth pizza delivery. And then later he was in the kids room on which someone had taped a 'keep out' note so I don't know what kind of shenanigans are going on with the smalls, but clearly something!

I took the dogs out for their walk, and it is snowing harder. I actually really like walking outside in the winter when it is snowing, when I'm prepared for it, so it was really nice. There is something magically nostalgic about orange sodium light form streetlight on fresh snow! Also, I'm hoping that it will snow enough that I can maybe take my snowshoes out for a test in the field across the street, and thus justifying the money I spent on them ;p And hey if it keeps snowing I can maybe use them for their intended purpose and use them to get in to work when the trails aren't broken and I don't feel like slogging through deeper snow :3

I am *not* ready to go back to work on Tuesday, as I'm going to need to hit the ground running. But i am feeling *much* better than last week.

I spent my NYE at the locak Board Game Cafe with a bunch of local friends, playing various games, including some of the most intense Jenga of my life. I lost the tournament in the final round, but it was *very* close! At the change of years I was knitting, hanging with folks in person and chatting with online folks, so that sounds pretty okay to me!

No particular resolutions, other than that I ought to go to bed ;p

Got in last night, mostly just hung out and chilled Kids were up suuuuper late.

I ran my game this afternoon (went okay), and then we had TURKEY even though no one is are really Americans (Nary is technically, and she and Forthright work in the US, but that doesn't count). We just wanted Turkey. It turned out really well! We had the pie I made with it, which also turned out really well - A++ would make again!

Then after dinner we played Forthright's game, which was super awesome! The character I had was a ton of fun to play, even if he was not super great at his job.

And then we played some Drawful - the second version where you can make up your own prompts, and it was hilarious! I skipped out on the last few games to shower and theoretically go to bed.... and yet, here I am.

Tomorrow is going to be all simpler games - Goblin Quest and No Thank You Evil (ponies version). And maybe a bub-run NYTE as well?

and then Nary's game on Sunday AM/PM :3

It's great to see folks and hang out and do sooo much gaming, though it is an intensive weekend and I don't get a lot of sleep because smalls. Next week at work is going to be fun?

Heading out for Windsorcon tomorrow after work. I'm hoping to leave early.

I made a very fancy pie! It is a cranberry pie with gingerbread cookie crust. I hope it turned out and is actually good. I'll try and get a picture tomorrow.

The 3d printer is just a big mess forever. It will cost between 2-3 thousand dollars to fix. I cry.

I had fire extinguisher training at work, which meant I got to go to campus for a bit.

I feel so lost and directionless at work right now. Like, yes, I have things to do. But I have trouble finding motivation because who knows if that effort is going to be worth my time in the end...

I really want to like my job but the work and environment make it difficult.

But this weekend should be good, even though this will be two weekends away in a row!

I did manage to get packed and finish up some stuff for my game this weekend at least, so success?

All the adulds dyed their hair tonight!

I refreshed my green streak, Longpig refreshed her usual teal and magenta, and Wererogue was convinced to give it a shot and it looks to have turned out a cool dark pink! He wanted teal originally but it didn't bleach out very light and had a lot of orange tones, and Longpig didn't think it would work all that well. I'm not sure he is super happy with it, but it will grow out and we can get the bleach better and try for teal another time.

I also started my yuletide, finally! So far so good :)

Day three of the conference was also great! The last session was super informative about some of the issues of underwater archaeology in Ontario, and I did a little bit more networking, including someone who is going to be relevant to my job stuff in the near future. So hopefully that was beneficial! It made me itch to get back into doing research again, though and.... I doubt that will ever happen. Especially not for maritime landscape stuff. Pleh :/

It was snowing as I was making to leave, and it took so long to get ahold of a cab I was worried about missing my train! But I didn't, I just didn't get anything like lunch, and bought a bag of overpriced chips from a station vending machine to tide me over.

And then on the walk home from the station on this end of things, it was snailing! That's snow/hail :p It wasn't too bad though, as I was dressed for it and it wasn't blowing in my face.

Tonight I made a brownie pie in a cream cheese crust. I was not overly fond of the crust, in the end. I'm sure it could be made well, but I don't think this was the right recipe. The brownie bit was delicious though! I also looked over stuff for the oneshot I'm running next weekend at Windsorcon (the northerly counterpart to Webercon. Much smaller, for now...)

I really need to start my Yuletide story. I have an idea, I just need time to write...

PS I'm still sick. Still coughing, still have a head full of crud, and a resurgence of a sore throat for the past two and a half or so days. Pleh again!

The session I was in was excellent today! It's been a great conference so far! Tomorrow is talking about maritime stuff, too, so that should be rad!

I'm hoping I can get a coworker at the museum table to watch my luggage, since check out is at 11, but the session goes until 12...

Sleep now, though!