Found and cleaned out a tiny eye cream container to use for a bit of decanted body butter to use on my hands before bed, in case I forget to slather it on my hands before I hop beneath the covers. Tucked it into easy reach on my bookshelf/nightstand.
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Looking back at this message made me laugh. I said, “it’s been over 3 months of work!” And that “I am not changing it!”
… 8 months later, I am still working on this same song. Among other songs, but it’s still unfinished! 
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A really good night’s sleep last night.
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Turning 43 today… but also stuck on the couch sick, my prospects mostly dominated by studying SQL (among other things in a tech stack) for a potential job offer…
Also discovered a random one-line positive review of Prince Quisborne out in the wild… that always makes me glad.
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Oh, good socks are important too, especially for someone who thinks shoes should legally be classified as torture devices(shoewearing is the best bad habit I’ve ever kicked(wasn’t trying to make a pun, but this one is gold)). Currently barefooted, but I have like a dozen pairs of good, plain black socks when I need them… do wish I had some slipper socks in holly berry red, Christmas tree green, or insert appropriate seasonal adverbed noun blue or some geeky festive embroidered socks, or a recreation of Dobby’s sock collection. Also, I really want to take a walk through the snow in my waterproof hiking socks(which I’m proud to say are the only thing that were on my feet when I crossed the stage to recieve my Bachelor’s Degree in December of 2016, though the pair I have now might not be the pair I wore then).
Anyways, got a Walmart delivery of a 3 pound tin of butter cookies and 4 dozen candy canes today and the tin arrived undented and the candy canes arrived unbroken. The Candy Canes are a dozen each of peppermint, cherry, blueberry, and raspberry, and I’ve been sucking on a raspberry candy cane as I write this post(as of right now, it’s down to a needle smaller than a typical lozenge or drop type hard candy. Also, the actually kind of feels like December weather is supposed to continue through the 11th with only the 9th and 10th breaking 60F. Still ain’t holding my breath for a white Christmas, but I’m feeling rather giddy Heat Miser is giving my neck of the woods this much of a reprieve(Note to self: Search my usual source for descriptive audio for as much of The Renkin-Bass Christmas Canon as I can find).
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@Max Fog: One of the hardest parts of any creative endeavor where there isn’t an objective end point might be deciding something is done and convincing one’s heart that their brain is right about it being done.
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Got a lot of errands done.
Went to the doc and she was very satisfied with my relatively low long-term sugar value (I have diabetes).
Managed to repair my online banking device.
Weather was partially nice.
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Happy birthday!
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Grayson and I have been writing play by post style in, and talking about ideas/character concepts for a Cyberpunk AU, (and for once, I’m in the delightfully charming position of not knowing anything about the source material, and thus alternating between being swept off of my feet with lore dumped into my lap from an excited source, or hunting down information from wikias and other fan congregates, which is in of itself, an exciting little adventure, with the bonus of being better able to participate in something fun with friends, and learning something about a subject close to the heart of someone you’re fond of is always fantastic) and Jinx joined in today for some scheming about character dynamics. Always super fun to play with them both.
Grayson has also been creating some more fantastic art. I admire how they do line art- their strong sense for shape and form, the artful draping of fabric and the rigidity of body armour: how their portraits stare accusingly out of the page, arresting you in their liveliness- the intensity in their eyes. Really wonderful effect.
A bunch of them have been portraits based on their characters in this new Cyberpunk AU, (variations of which Grayson has had for a long time- which makes it even more fun for me, to dive into unexpected pre-existing conditions, character dynamics, and plots all richly constructed and coyly hinted at), and it’s been fascinating seeing how deft their hand is at a more structured, boxy look- as compared to the flowing fabrics and meticulously pleated skirts of our more academic setting.
ETA: Unexpected late night Jinx reply in the TTRPG play-by-post thread. An absolute win.
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Buon Compleanno !
From Dott. Piergiorgio
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Catching up with some favourite podcasts after not having much time to listen to them recently.
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Sorry, but what is an AU? (Searching the web didn’t tell me.)
Today I had a delicious quiche (vegetable tart) and some really nice cookies, freshly baked.
No worries! I appreciate you taking the time to try to search it up. AU is an acronym for ‘Alternate Universe,’ and is a popular term in fandom spaces.
Essentially, for us, it means that while we might write the same characters, (for example, I have a priest named Joel), that we would put them into a different setting, in terms of time and/or place, as compared to their usual setting. This could result in changes to the character, (for example, Joel is a priest in most of his stories, though his employment with the mafia varies depending on the universe the story is set in), or they might remain largely the same.
Originally, Joel is a priest that works for the mafia in a fictional Toronto. His main story genre is typically modern superheroes, heavy on the romance, though there’s often elements of urban fantasy that sneak into it as well, with fairies and vampires and demons and such.
But I could take Joel, and place him into a different context, such as the Cyberpunk 2077 alternate universe we have for our characters- and now he’s a priest who lives in California, who works for Militech in their laboratory department: to have on hand to perform the final rites for any experiments that fail catastrophically. He’s still Joel, just in a different lifetime, and it’s fun to explore both what changes, and doesn’t change in a character, depending on their circumstances and different upbringing depending on the AU.
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I know this probably isn’t what you meant, but now I’m imagining some sort of Cyberpunk 2077-with-magical-realism-characteristics where performing the final rites goes really literally.
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“If there’s no ordained priest around, can a bystander do the last rites, in a pinch?”
“Yes, but it’s a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“You won’t be able to root in and shut down their cyberware. Some people like to leave surprises for anyone who messes with their body.”
“What?!”
“Yep. Gotta be ordained to get one of these, and it’ll get me through whatever security she left behind.”
EDIT: Given that, in my very limited experience with cyberpunk, your employer turning on you is a classic plot point, I’m now imagining a priest going renegade after getting betrayed by the local bishop.
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Oh my brain immediately went to astronomical unit…
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…in an Alternate Universe, Far, Far Away…
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It is kind of ambiently nice to have someone express their genuine concern, even if it is in the context of ‘I know that your training as an internal medicine doctor is urging you to step in even if this is merely a complication of my genetic disorder I have endured worse manifestations of in poorer conditions alone and have not perished from it, and anyways between the huge wait and lack of any possible care to provide it would be less than useless, it would be actively harmful to my precarious health’ sort of way. But it’s nice to know that she’s worried about my wellbeing.
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Had a talk with Dan, which was nice. I’ve been really struggling with this episode of symptoms- precipitated because of stress, primarily, and that aggravating a pre-existing complication related to my medical history.
I can pinpoint the exact three major contributing factors to this episode, in terms of causing that level of stress, and two more minor incidents that pushed it over the edge. Unfortunately, I can’t do much with that knowledge, but it’s good to know at least. At least for the minor incidents, I can avoid their reoccurrence. That, and having weathered similar, but more debilitating episodes is some abstract comfort.
Vomiting blood and being unable to take painkillers while wracked with pain to the extent I’ve been shaking uncontrollably and sweating profusely from my palms has been really testing my patience today. (Thankfully Dan was there to speak to, to work through it, rather than being unable to still my tongue.) I can’t keep any food down, despite trying repeatedly. I have been managing to keep down some liquids, if meted out slowly, which is good, but the anemia is so severe it keeps dropping my temperature significantly and I end up violently shivering (almost nicked my tongue with my teeth from their chattering) unless I’m heating up my drinks. Can’t feel my extremities- they’re just numb and cold as ice if pressed to my cheek or throat to feel the temperature difference.
I have been able to sit upright though, which is a vast improvement on previous episodes. And I haven’t fainted, and I have not been presenting with a co-morbid respiratory infection, which usually accompanies these. I just need to not stress out and take it easy, and hopefully the worst of the internal hemorrhaging will be tolerable by the New Year, if I’m lucky.
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Had another good interview, and my cat is being extremely cute. (I gave him lots of brushies. He loves brushies.)
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