Laughter Through Tears

Since the proper writing work on Turncoat Chronicle was finished, back in March or April, I've been thinking nonstop about what my next long-form writing project will be. So many factors go into that decision. I've been jotting down ideas, low-key researching, browsing name databases and trawling Pinterest, and just generally thinking about what it is I want to work on.

At the same time, a billion other things are happening. There are home improvement projects for my parents' house that I'm involved in. I'm about to turn 39. My family has been planning a trip abroad that is going to be my first time leaving the country since COVID-19 happened. Just this morning, I got some complicated news that's making a stir in some of my plans for the next couple of months.

And through all of this, I am trying to hold onto my creativity.

A thousand little niggling problems that need solving, and only 24 hours in the day in which to solve them.

I've had a few exhausting days in a row, compounded by the sudden foot pain that makes moving around just that extra bit more complicated, and some changes to public transport that have left me scrambling. Now I seem to have some sort of congestion, hopefully just a mild cold. I'll try sleeping it off and drowning it in tea, over the weekend. Maybe that'll do it.

Something is wrong with the new apartment's electricity, and that's why the boiler wasn't working and I don't have hot water. I'm getting it fixed, and in the meantime, staying in my parents' guest bedroom.

Haven't gotten a new desk chair, yet, either. And in general, the post-move part isn't going as smoothly as I'd planned.

It's moving day.

I've been working on this move relentlessly for what feels like weeks. I'm gonna crash so hard tomorrow. Maybe Tuesday, too.

I'm almost out of March. This year is disappearing at a scary rate.

I have not yet made a post for the new year on DW, so Happy New Year and may 2022 treat us all kindly.

I am ostensibly supposed to be working on a new year's post for my WP blog, right now.

Right now, big important things are happening with my IRL family. We're entering into a necessary period of uncertainty, and all of us are dealing with our anxieties in different ways. One of the ways I'm dealing with mine is by how I adjust my two-week schedule. I've lately gotten into the habit of setting a loose work schedule for my writing in chunks of two weeks, and I anticipate lacking focus for the work, while events are happening around me. I also may have less material time, if my family needs me to e.g. cook or help with chores.

Events will unfold as they will, and I have no control over them. I've really prepared as much as I reasonably can. And in the end, this is a good change, it's just this transition period that is obscurely stressful and uncertain. Most likely, everything will turn out more or less okay.

And while I attempt to parse my feelings on the subject (with the help of my therapist), I am also signing up for purimgifts (as I do almost every year), and worldbuildingex (for the last round, unless it's inherited by different mods). Being able to focus my energies outside of myself is another way to manage my bad overthinking habit. And I even know exactly what I want to nominate for PG, this year.

Dealing with a plumbing issue that started late on a Friday night and has me relying on staying with my parents for a day or two. Will feel much better when all of this is over, but also very glad I decided to do a non-traditional NaNo this year. Because, haha, it is not going to plan.

Things feel bad right this second but hopefully, by tomorrow some things on my to-do list will be checked off. That always makes me feel better.

Apparently, I bought my current phone in the summer of 2019, which means it's nearly two years old. Which is a formidable age for a phone, these days. Which I know, because on Saturday morning I woke up and discovered that my phone, which was plugged into its charger, wouldn't turn on.

I went into the local phone repair shop this morning, as soon as it opened. The fix only took 20 minutes and the price was reasonable -- compared to buying a brand-new phone. The charging port was fucked, is all. A quick and easy fix, and now my phone is charging as normal. I didn't even need to replace the battery.

Now I need to pencil in a date to replace my phone, so I can stay ahead of it and not find myself scrambling to the repair shop at inconvenient times. So much of what I do these days is tied up in my phone, it's dreadfully inconvenient to be without one, even if it's just for one (weekend) day. Even when the repair guy said, "it'll be done in 20 minutes, come back then," I was like, "how do I know how long that is?" I have no innate time-sense whatsoever.

Anyway, early next winter I'm getting a new phone, apparently.

My Pilates studio reopened for limited size classes. I had my first class back on all the springy machines yesterday morning and then I got home and took a quick hot shower. And today I woke up. Quite sore. Haha.

Otherwise, things are going quite well.