"I know stories change their faces on an inconsistent basis, but I swear I am not afraid."
After last week's analysis of high-school dreams, mainly that my life is now a test that I haven't studied for b/c there's no clear path or reasoning, I think I've managed to collect enough data to get some kind of plan going. I am taking your damn test, cfs. If I pass, can I graduate out of this weird cocoon stage and level up?
Last ended up being pretty mixed. Sticking with my workday sleep schedule all weekend ended up leaving me sleep deprived all week, and that was kindof a drag. On the other hand, now I have reason to let myself sleep all I want on the weekends, and going out late won't make me any worse off than sticking to a schedule. On the other hand, I was in a pretty good mood all week, even in the mornings, so my mood still doesn't seem to be directly influenced by my physical state.
Met up with a friend for Burgers & BPAL, since she got our double order of Lunacy, and gave me the imps and another she thought I'd like. So that was really fun, and despite feeling super sleep dep'ed on Tuesday (the worse side of normal, b/c Tues is for sleep dep) I felt a lot better about life in general as I was going out and after I came home. So yay for new(ish) friends, yay for geeking out over friendly noms:-)
Wednesday I broke down and ordered my Halloweenies, and they were shipped out by Friday. That was a very happy WTF moment, given all the warnings I've had about how BPAL slows down in the autumn, b/c GOTHMASS! Since my Lunacy Tshirt order from BPTP still hadn't even shipped since 9/19, I emailed their customer service and they splained that the shirts had just shipped to *them* and they were finally packing up those orders that day. So I guess Lunacy shirts just take a while, and now I know. But at least it wasn't b/c my payment got eaten, or the computer got confused, or I screwed something up with my order. So, maybe moar BPAL shipments this week, yay.
And now that the fripperies are purchased, I don't really have any lingering $$ guilt left. So that's nice. Enough left in the month for Halloween fun.
At some point in the middle of the week, I found this pop-psych kind of internet article, "10 Easy Things That Will Make You Happier, Backed by Science" which made me think in a few places. Mostly #8, Plan a trip - but don’t take one.
I felt well enough on Tuesday to go out b/c I had the going out to look forward to, same as the previous Tuesday with the book/music show. Even tho Tuesdays are typically rough for me. (Also, yes I am often very happy at 57 degrees F.) On top of that, socializing does give me an energy boost, tho it won't fix everything (still felt sleep dep'ed after Tuesday nite, but overall happier & more functional).
I kept my week pretty open, b/c I had a pneumonia vaccine scheduled for Wednesday nite with my allergy shot. I didn't have any kind of reaction to it, but I did crash a bit afterwards. Although 1) I had only one big lunch that day, 2) I walked thru the west village to get there (my doc's office is actually on my usual long-walk route). So... I was already primed to crash out. Maybe. Thursday I had no clear plans and was still sleepy, so I just went home.
Friday I went to a nice bookshop reading for a friend, loosely tied to NYCC. As my workday came to a close, I still felt pretty strung out from sleep dep, but after what happened on Tuesday I wondered what would happen if I made myself go out and have fun. Worst case, its just sitting in a bookshop, not very strenuous, and it was already on my route to home. And it was a smaller event than I expected, but still nice, and I did not crash when I got home. Yaaaay.
Saturday I played with the crock pot, worked on sewing projects, and watched movies. I'd been looking forward to NYCC after parties all week, especially b/c I wanted to test my 'planning to be social = energy' and just 'socializing = energy' theories. I checked with a friend to see which one ppl were going to, and luckily it was the free gathering. Was only there about 2.5 hours (way short for me), but my friends actually went to NYCC all day, so they weren't up for staying out all night, lol. And it was OK. I felt like I coulda stayed out longer, but I was fine with coming home with energy and not crashing into a walking coma. And Sunday I stayed in and caught up on chores, and all was well.
I am easing my way into having a social life again, I just hope I don't get thumped by another sinus infection.
In other news, crock pot is still fun, tho between sewing needles and hot things my fingers kinda hate me today.
Made a spaghetti squash curry thing, and so far my stomach doesn't seem to hate squash like it hates sweet potatoes, yay. And roasted the seeds too, they taste like popcorn. Tho it was a lot of work for 1oz of seeds. Maybe the winter squashes will have more seeds when its actually winter. I was planning to just have it for the weekend, b/c I'm used to cooking things that shrink considerably while cooking, but a 4ish lb squash gave me enough veggies for a week of lunchables plus extra, which was not even the plan. Luckily I cooked the squash before my usual sack of frozen veg mix.
Sunday I tried a chili, and it was a recipe that assured me I could just dump in the ground beef, canned tomato, raw chopped onions, and some garlic and spices and it would be fine. Meh. I didn't really break up the ground beef, so it actually cooked into big lumps that I had to go in and break up as it was cooking. And I really pushed the 3/4 full limit on the slow cooker. It turned out OK eventually, tho b/c the crushed tomatoes had the friendly 'gluten free' label and the diced did not they came out very marinara-sauce. *shrugs* I'm fine with that. Next time I'll probably try browning the beef first, to de-fat it a bit since the tomatoes will give it back the moisture. Maybe the onions too, tho cutting those up in the early afternoon left me with a sinus headache until bedtime :-P
And so much chili got made that I may not have to cook meats next week. Especially since I still have the other frozen pork shoulder, and some sausages that should last until January. And lots of bacon that I eat on the weekends. Maybe I'll freeze some of the chili too, tho it will take some more tetris-ing. Although today's lunches have left me feeling kinda underfed, so I might have to increase my meat ratio if it's a chili-dish. Despite storage confusions, am still enjoying my CostCo membership. All teh meats, omnomnom.
Also had to hard boil some eggs that were about to expire, so it'll be egg salad for dinner for a few days. Omnomnom. I wonder if going more-protein (and fat, lol) is part of why I feel better today? Even if this does clog up my arteries in the long run, eating uber-normal-healthy didn't really help me do anything with my life. Maybe it is better to burn out early than be a long time zombie.
As for sewings, I did some hemming on the Doom Coat but did not finish it. So. Much. Hem. Then again, it was still too warm to wear it to the NYCC party. And it will still be too warm for it this week. So no rush :-P
Spent an annoying amount of time figuring out the sleeves for the wedding-costume. Just-tight in some places, OMG HUGE and puffy in other places. Too tight in the lower arm for me to use the lining. *shrugs* By Sunday night I was putting the coat-skirt together, so I may be able to finish that if I'm functional enough for sewing after workdays this week (last week, notsomuch). Also the Doom Coat I guess, but that's not under a deadline. Oh, except I'm not sure how long it will take me to attach the trim, b/c I don't think I can do that on the machine. Drat.
This weekend I'd like to cut out and start sewing the dress that goes under SleevePuffs, but laundry also needs to happen. I don't have a whole lot more time to experiment with it, but its knit fabric for a woven pattern, so this could get weird. At least I know for sure now that the necklines match, phew.
And speaking of the oncoming wedding, I finally booked my hotel room. My ride will be leaving Sunday nite after the wedding, which while I'll be sad I can't hang out for 'afters, it actually makes my gluten-free life a lot less complicated. And b/c we'd only be staying over one night, I sprung for the fancy hotel for one night. I may need the rest and recuperation. And I get a giant bed to myself, w00t! Room + car share are budgeted and I am good to go. Just need to pack a giant bag of noms, but that can wait until the week of. And I'm still taking that Monday off, just in case of travel-plan-weirdness. And I may still need more recovery time.
This week's tarot forecast (linked here to my Tumblr b/c I'm lazy nao) Is Wheel/Sun/Hermit. So... that's interesting. Random and energy and time on my own but isn't it socializing that gives me energy argh confused. But y'know, more energy is nice.
On the other hand, according to my usual astro-sites, Mars is about to jaunt into my rising sign for two months which makes it make a bit more sense. Wheel = astrology, Sun = Mars (um, lol), Hermit = Virgo. Also, in this deck the Wheel is less Wheel-of-Fortune-y, so its less about the WTF and more about stepping back and seeing the larger cycle of life, or one's own life. So, 2+ years of being out-of-life is prologue? Or at least almost over? Or maybe I'm finally getting enough of a boost to set up what I need to keep myself going when it passes? PlsKThnx.
Going-out plans for this week include the IAF Salon on Thursday, and a Nerd NYC game night on Friday. Weekend is wide open for now. Would like to experiment more with my social energies, but two actively social nights out should be good enough for now. Next weekend should be more active b/c Samhain, w00t.
<3 Chrysilla
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, http://chrysilla.dreamwidth.org/
Last ended up being pretty mixed. Sticking with my workday sleep schedule all weekend ended up leaving me sleep deprived all week, and that was kindof a drag. On the other hand, now I have reason to let myself sleep all I want on the weekends, and going out late won't make me any worse off than sticking to a schedule. On the other hand, I was in a pretty good mood all week, even in the mornings, so my mood still doesn't seem to be directly influenced by my physical state.
Met up with a friend for Burgers & BPAL, since she got our double order of Lunacy, and gave me the imps and another she thought I'd like. So that was really fun, and despite feeling super sleep dep'ed on Tuesday (the worse side of normal, b/c Tues is for sleep dep) I felt a lot better about life in general as I was going out and after I came home. So yay for new(ish) friends, yay for geeking out over friendly noms:-)
Wednesday I broke down and ordered my Halloweenies, and they were shipped out by Friday. That was a very happy WTF moment, given all the warnings I've had about how BPAL slows down in the autumn, b/c GOTHMASS! Since my Lunacy Tshirt order from BPTP still hadn't even shipped since 9/19, I emailed their customer service and they splained that the shirts had just shipped to *them* and they were finally packing up those orders that day. So I guess Lunacy shirts just take a while, and now I know. But at least it wasn't b/c my payment got eaten, or the computer got confused, or I screwed something up with my order. So, maybe moar BPAL shipments this week, yay.
And now that the fripperies are purchased, I don't really have any lingering $$ guilt left. So that's nice. Enough left in the month for Halloween fun.
At some point in the middle of the week, I found this pop-psych kind of internet article, "10 Easy Things That Will Make You Happier, Backed by Science" which made me think in a few places. Mostly #8, Plan a trip - but don’t take one.
I felt well enough on Tuesday to go out b/c I had the going out to look forward to, same as the previous Tuesday with the book/music show. Even tho Tuesdays are typically rough for me. (Also, yes I am often very happy at 57 degrees F.) On top of that, socializing does give me an energy boost, tho it won't fix everything (still felt sleep dep'ed after Tuesday nite, but overall happier & more functional).
I kept my week pretty open, b/c I had a pneumonia vaccine scheduled for Wednesday nite with my allergy shot. I didn't have any kind of reaction to it, but I did crash a bit afterwards. Although 1) I had only one big lunch that day, 2) I walked thru the west village to get there (my doc's office is actually on my usual long-walk route). So... I was already primed to crash out. Maybe. Thursday I had no clear plans and was still sleepy, so I just went home.
Friday I went to a nice bookshop reading for a friend, loosely tied to NYCC. As my workday came to a close, I still felt pretty strung out from sleep dep, but after what happened on Tuesday I wondered what would happen if I made myself go out and have fun. Worst case, its just sitting in a bookshop, not very strenuous, and it was already on my route to home. And it was a smaller event than I expected, but still nice, and I did not crash when I got home. Yaaaay.
Saturday I played with the crock pot, worked on sewing projects, and watched movies. I'd been looking forward to NYCC after parties all week, especially b/c I wanted to test my 'planning to be social = energy' and just 'socializing = energy' theories. I checked with a friend to see which one ppl were going to, and luckily it was the free gathering. Was only there about 2.5 hours (way short for me), but my friends actually went to NYCC all day, so they weren't up for staying out all night, lol. And it was OK. I felt like I coulda stayed out longer, but I was fine with coming home with energy and not crashing into a walking coma. And Sunday I stayed in and caught up on chores, and all was well.
I am easing my way into having a social life again, I just hope I don't get thumped by another sinus infection.
In other news, crock pot is still fun, tho between sewing needles and hot things my fingers kinda hate me today.
Made a spaghetti squash curry thing, and so far my stomach doesn't seem to hate squash like it hates sweet potatoes, yay. And roasted the seeds too, they taste like popcorn. Tho it was a lot of work for 1oz of seeds. Maybe the winter squashes will have more seeds when its actually winter. I was planning to just have it for the weekend, b/c I'm used to cooking things that shrink considerably while cooking, but a 4ish lb squash gave me enough veggies for a week of lunchables plus extra, which was not even the plan. Luckily I cooked the squash before my usual sack of frozen veg mix.
Sunday I tried a chili, and it was a recipe that assured me I could just dump in the ground beef, canned tomato, raw chopped onions, and some garlic and spices and it would be fine. Meh. I didn't really break up the ground beef, so it actually cooked into big lumps that I had to go in and break up as it was cooking. And I really pushed the 3/4 full limit on the slow cooker. It turned out OK eventually, tho b/c the crushed tomatoes had the friendly 'gluten free' label and the diced did not they came out very marinara-sauce. *shrugs* I'm fine with that. Next time I'll probably try browning the beef first, to de-fat it a bit since the tomatoes will give it back the moisture. Maybe the onions too, tho cutting those up in the early afternoon left me with a sinus headache until bedtime :-P
And so much chili got made that I may not have to cook meats next week. Especially since I still have the other frozen pork shoulder, and some sausages that should last until January. And lots of bacon that I eat on the weekends. Maybe I'll freeze some of the chili too, tho it will take some more tetris-ing. Although today's lunches have left me feeling kinda underfed, so I might have to increase my meat ratio if it's a chili-dish. Despite storage confusions, am still enjoying my CostCo membership. All teh meats, omnomnom.
Also had to hard boil some eggs that were about to expire, so it'll be egg salad for dinner for a few days. Omnomnom. I wonder if going more-protein (and fat, lol) is part of why I feel better today? Even if this does clog up my arteries in the long run, eating uber-normal-healthy didn't really help me do anything with my life. Maybe it is better to burn out early than be a long time zombie.
As for sewings, I did some hemming on the Doom Coat but did not finish it. So. Much. Hem. Then again, it was still too warm to wear it to the NYCC party. And it will still be too warm for it this week. So no rush :-P
Spent an annoying amount of time figuring out the sleeves for the wedding-costume. Just-tight in some places, OMG HUGE and puffy in other places. Too tight in the lower arm for me to use the lining. *shrugs* By Sunday night I was putting the coat-skirt together, so I may be able to finish that if I'm functional enough for sewing after workdays this week (last week, notsomuch). Also the Doom Coat I guess, but that's not under a deadline. Oh, except I'm not sure how long it will take me to attach the trim, b/c I don't think I can do that on the machine. Drat.
This weekend I'd like to cut out and start sewing the dress that goes under SleevePuffs, but laundry also needs to happen. I don't have a whole lot more time to experiment with it, but its knit fabric for a woven pattern, so this could get weird. At least I know for sure now that the necklines match, phew.
And speaking of the oncoming wedding, I finally booked my hotel room. My ride will be leaving Sunday nite after the wedding, which while I'll be sad I can't hang out for 'afters, it actually makes my gluten-free life a lot less complicated. And b/c we'd only be staying over one night, I sprung for the fancy hotel for one night. I may need the rest and recuperation. And I get a giant bed to myself, w00t! Room + car share are budgeted and I am good to go. Just need to pack a giant bag of noms, but that can wait until the week of. And I'm still taking that Monday off, just in case of travel-plan-weirdness. And I may still need more recovery time.
This week's tarot forecast (linked here to my Tumblr b/c I'm lazy nao) Is Wheel/Sun/Hermit. So... that's interesting. Random and energy and time on my own but isn't it socializing that gives me energy argh confused. But y'know, more energy is nice.
On the other hand, according to my usual astro-sites, Mars is about to jaunt into my rising sign for two months which makes it make a bit more sense. Wheel = astrology, Sun = Mars (um, lol), Hermit = Virgo. Also, in this deck the Wheel is less Wheel-of-Fortune-y, so its less about the WTF and more about stepping back and seeing the larger cycle of life, or one's own life. So, 2+ years of being out-of-life is prologue? Or at least almost over? Or maybe I'm finally getting enough of a boost to set up what I need to keep myself going when it passes? PlsKThnx.
Going-out plans for this week include the IAF Salon on Thursday, and a Nerd NYC game night on Friday. Weekend is wide open for now. Would like to experiment more with my social energies, but two actively social nights out should be good enough for now. Next weekend should be more active b/c Samhain, w00t.
<3 Chrysilla
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, http://chrysilla.dreamwidth.org/