Shine On, You Crazy Diamond
So... I'm well past due for one of these check-in posts, aren't I? I keep composing these epic catch-up posts in my head, but I swear that time just runs through my fingers these days, and I never seem to find the time to put pixels to post.
The abridged version: I'm doing well.
Life is very good, and the people I love are also doing well. The inevitable bumps in the road have been navigated successfully, and with style. (This in particular feels like I've proved something very important to myself: that I can help others deal with their problems without letting myself get dragged down. I have shock absorbers made of happiness and self-confidence. Rock. On.) The cats are healthy and cute. The godchildren are also healthy and cute. I have been writing a great deal, and genuinely loving what I write, although my HP muse is still giving me the silent treatment. Younger Brother and his girlfriend held their Major Standing recitals (a Big Deal Landmark in terms of their continued education as musicians), and they both smashed it up in a great and brilliant way. (I couldn't be prouder.) The semester is going well, albeit at a dizzying pace--midterms approacheth, as does Winter Break. (This slightly blows my mind. Surely I have a Time Leak somewhere? Where is it all going?) I am plotting great things for the Aeternitas Envy fest at hpcon_envy. I have a list of shiny SS/HG recs that I will be sharing at Crack Broom this month.
I'm still exercising and losing weight and watching what I eat (there is room for the occasional indulgence, of course; see below), and Project Peacock continues to be a success, despite the fact that nasty weather has severely limited my footwear choices for the time being. I hate having to bow to sheer practicality, but I'm not about to ruin really good boots by exposing them to all that snow and salt. Besides, they're good boots; I'm just a bit bored of having to wear the same few pairs all the time.
I have also come to the bittersweet realization that not all of my jewelry is going to make the journey back to smallville with me, which I suppose I understood was a rational outcome, though it still stings a bit. Some bracelets are much too big for my wrists now--certain bangles are liable to slide right off. Those were quickly replaced (with a studded leather cuff and a nifty bracelet that looks like it's made out of sparkly iridescent gum drops) but I'm particularly bummed about my marble ring, which has been my signature accessory for years. I genuinely love it, because it's the one accessory that's as mercurial as I am, and it can be changed to fit any mood or outfit. It was also a gift, so it has sentimental value. I wear it every day, with basically everything, but it is now very loose on my finger, and it's really only a matter of time before it's not safe to wear it anymore, for fear that it will just slip off and be lost. Now I'm contemplating whether to purchase a replacement ring, or whether I perhaps ought to get a pendant that serves the same function. I love the ring, but the downside to that is that I'll have to wait until I've finished losing weight, to be sure that the ring is properly sized. The pendant can obviously be worn at any size, but the downside to that is... well, it isn't a ring. And I really love the ring.
Still, it must be said that if I have time to mull problems like these, I really don't have many problems at all. This is the equivalent of complaining that your diamond shoes are too tight, no? The only thing hanging me up here, really, beside the attached sentiment, is the strange readjustment to my concept of myself as a different size. It's a weird transition to navigate sometimes, but I'm getting there. It just takes me by surprise every now and then, especially when I have to bid something a fond farewell, or when I occasionally look at some piece of clothing--even something that I've actually worn many times--and feel a momentary surge of panic that it's much too small, that I'll never fit, that it couldn't possibly be the right size. It's irrational, but then, so many fears are.
Like so many other things in my life right now, this is a work in progress. Regularly updated, though. ;-)
In other news, it's true that it is bone-chillingly cold, and we do have a great quantity of snow, but I have plans for the snow (plans that involve props and a spray bottle, if I can manage to get all these things to work together ~coy~), and I am not minding the cold. It brings a startling clarity with it, you know? I relish that. It makes me feel vividly alive. It's sharp and bright and harsh, and the winter sunshine is brilliant, abundant and strong. These days gleam like jewels, and the landscape is covered in glittering diamond dust. I love it. And... it sounds strange to say on a day when the air is still so cold that it burns, but I can feel Spring coming all the same, building momentum, welling up under all that snow. It will be here soon enough. Temperatures will already be warmer this weekend. :-)
However, I understand that not everybody finds the winter landscape as magical as I do. It has been a long, cold, lonely winter, and I am, as per Ari's very wise directives, making an effort to be kind to others and do something fun for myself each day. Yesterday's efforts at being kind include helping to talk down/refocus a panicky OMG!MIDTERMS!student and spending my evening rescuing my friend from a flat tire. (It's fixed, and I even got dinner and coffee out of it, so no worries.) Yesterday's efforts at fun included wearing a bright red sweater and a cloche hat, and dancing around in my kitchen as I made breakfast, for no particular reason, other than that it felt good and I had "Moonage Daydream" stuck in my head.
Today's Fun Things include a Cadbury Creme Egg, which will be eaten in the customary fashion: carefully nibble off the top, gradually lick out all the creme, and continue nibbling down the sides of the egg as needed. This is probably a very juvenile way to go about it, but it's my tradition, and it will make the experience last as long as possible. As I probably won't have another creme egg until Easter, that is an important consideration.
Also under the category of fun: my BPAL order came yesterday, so my Lupercalia scents are here! I still have the bottles settling a bit, but I'm looking forward to sniffing them very, very soon. Lovely frimps, too. :D Reviews to follow, hopefully.
I have no romantic plans for Valentine's Day proper, but I'm not feeling gloomy about it; I have too many other things to do. I've been invited to a Valentine Tea this weekend, though. I have no idea what it entails, but it sounded like fun, so I said yes. How can anything that involves tea be bad? Now I just have to decide what to wear. 1950s retro glamour, or Goth-lite Victoriana? ~ponders~
The abridged version: I'm doing well.
Life is very good, and the people I love are also doing well. The inevitable bumps in the road have been navigated successfully, and with style. (This in particular feels like I've proved something very important to myself: that I can help others deal with their problems without letting myself get dragged down. I have shock absorbers made of happiness and self-confidence. Rock. On.) The cats are healthy and cute. The godchildren are also healthy and cute. I have been writing a great deal, and genuinely loving what I write, although my HP muse is still giving me the silent treatment. Younger Brother and his girlfriend held their Major Standing recitals (a Big Deal Landmark in terms of their continued education as musicians), and they both smashed it up in a great and brilliant way. (I couldn't be prouder.) The semester is going well, albeit at a dizzying pace--midterms approacheth, as does Winter Break. (This slightly blows my mind. Surely I have a Time Leak somewhere? Where is it all going?) I am plotting great things for the Aeternitas Envy fest at hpcon_envy. I have a list of shiny SS/HG recs that I will be sharing at Crack Broom this month.
I'm still exercising and losing weight and watching what I eat (there is room for the occasional indulgence, of course; see below), and Project Peacock continues to be a success, despite the fact that nasty weather has severely limited my footwear choices for the time being. I hate having to bow to sheer practicality, but I'm not about to ruin really good boots by exposing them to all that snow and salt. Besides, they're good boots; I'm just a bit bored of having to wear the same few pairs all the time.
I have also come to the bittersweet realization that not all of my jewelry is going to make the journey back to smallville with me, which I suppose I understood was a rational outcome, though it still stings a bit. Some bracelets are much too big for my wrists now--certain bangles are liable to slide right off. Those were quickly replaced (with a studded leather cuff and a nifty bracelet that looks like it's made out of sparkly iridescent gum drops) but I'm particularly bummed about my marble ring, which has been my signature accessory for years. I genuinely love it, because it's the one accessory that's as mercurial as I am, and it can be changed to fit any mood or outfit. It was also a gift, so it has sentimental value. I wear it every day, with basically everything, but it is now very loose on my finger, and it's really only a matter of time before it's not safe to wear it anymore, for fear that it will just slip off and be lost. Now I'm contemplating whether to purchase a replacement ring, or whether I perhaps ought to get a pendant that serves the same function. I love the ring, but the downside to that is that I'll have to wait until I've finished losing weight, to be sure that the ring is properly sized. The pendant can obviously be worn at any size, but the downside to that is... well, it isn't a ring. And I really love the ring.
Still, it must be said that if I have time to mull problems like these, I really don't have many problems at all. This is the equivalent of complaining that your diamond shoes are too tight, no? The only thing hanging me up here, really, beside the attached sentiment, is the strange readjustment to my concept of myself as a different size. It's a weird transition to navigate sometimes, but I'm getting there. It just takes me by surprise every now and then, especially when I have to bid something a fond farewell, or when I occasionally look at some piece of clothing--even something that I've actually worn many times--and feel a momentary surge of panic that it's much too small, that I'll never fit, that it couldn't possibly be the right size. It's irrational, but then, so many fears are.
Like so many other things in my life right now, this is a work in progress. Regularly updated, though. ;-)
In other news, it's true that it is bone-chillingly cold, and we do have a great quantity of snow, but I have plans for the snow (plans that involve props and a spray bottle, if I can manage to get all these things to work together ~coy~), and I am not minding the cold. It brings a startling clarity with it, you know? I relish that. It makes me feel vividly alive. It's sharp and bright and harsh, and the winter sunshine is brilliant, abundant and strong. These days gleam like jewels, and the landscape is covered in glittering diamond dust. I love it. And... it sounds strange to say on a day when the air is still so cold that it burns, but I can feel Spring coming all the same, building momentum, welling up under all that snow. It will be here soon enough. Temperatures will already be warmer this weekend. :-)
However, I understand that not everybody finds the winter landscape as magical as I do. It has been a long, cold, lonely winter, and I am, as per Ari's very wise directives, making an effort to be kind to others and do something fun for myself each day. Yesterday's efforts at being kind include helping to talk down/refocus a panicky OMG!MIDTERMS!student and spending my evening rescuing my friend from a flat tire. (It's fixed, and I even got dinner and coffee out of it, so no worries.) Yesterday's efforts at fun included wearing a bright red sweater and a cloche hat, and dancing around in my kitchen as I made breakfast, for no particular reason, other than that it felt good and I had "Moonage Daydream" stuck in my head.
Today's Fun Things include a Cadbury Creme Egg, which will be eaten in the customary fashion: carefully nibble off the top, gradually lick out all the creme, and continue nibbling down the sides of the egg as needed. This is probably a very juvenile way to go about it, but it's my tradition, and it will make the experience last as long as possible. As I probably won't have another creme egg until Easter, that is an important consideration.
Also under the category of fun: my BPAL order came yesterday, so my Lupercalia scents are here! I still have the bottles settling a bit, but I'm looking forward to sniffing them very, very soon. Lovely frimps, too. :D Reviews to follow, hopefully.
I have no romantic plans for Valentine's Day proper, but I'm not feeling gloomy about it; I have too many other things to do. I've been invited to a Valentine Tea this weekend, though. I have no idea what it entails, but it sounded like fun, so I said yes. How can anything that involves tea be bad? Now I just have to decide what to wear. 1950s retro glamour, or Goth-lite Victoriana? ~ponders~