Category: Weekly Updates

This has been a week of ups and downs. I hit bottom on Wednesday, feeling overwhelmed with the stress of life, and in particular worries about writing. Thankfully I have amazing friends who helped to lift me out of that bad place, and by the end of the week I was back to work on Lioness, writing what is functionally a new beginning for the novel, to address some of the bigger structural and character concerns that were stymying me.

Also this week I visited Newport, RI with EB, which hit a sweet spot of gravestones and gilded age glory.

I have mostly closed out the month of January in my year of habitat, which was devoted to improving my master bedroom. I managed to finally put away Christmas decorations, clean out the loft, get rid of a lot of junk, hang curtains, and put down a rug. More remains to be done, but it is already way more comfortable and habitable than it was.

Accomplishments

Writing
– Brainstormed a “mini-mission” for a new beginning to Lioness
– Worked 1h 30m on this mini-mission

Other Media
– Listened to The Training Dummies, episode 183
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “Meditation Lab: Empathy and Energy”

Habitat
– Bought a new rug for the bedroom

Social/Travel
– Had sushi with EB at Jasmine in Auburn
– Visited Newport, RI with EB, where I:

• Had lunch at local chain Walt’s Roast Beef
• Toured The Breakers, the famous Vanderbilt “cottage”
• Visited the Irish lot, a private family graveyard with mysterious holes through the tombstones
• Visited the Ragged Island Brewery and sampled their collection of beers
• Looked in vain for the grave of Pookie, a dog that belonged to Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson
• Had dinner at Benjamin’s in downtown Newport

Health
– Free run/walk (1.63mi in 30m; thanks, ZR5K, for crashing repeatedly and making this necessary)
– 10 min on stationary bike
– Did Zombies Run 5K Training week 2 workout 1 (1.75mi in 34:47)
– Did ZR5K week 2 workout 2 (1.87mi in 33:47)

Picture of the Week

New rug. Cat not included in the price.

Brief Update

I’m grouping two weeks together here. While I was pretty productive on the habitat project in the first week (I’m currently working on my master bedroom), in the second week I wanted to nothing more than sleep and play vidya games.

Hey Lise; stop pushing yourself to exhaustion and then wondering why you feel sluggish for a week.

Last week too I was struggling with distraction, so I did what I should always do when terminally distracted: deleted social media apps from my phone. It seems to have helped a bit.

I am starting to get a quorum of responses back on Lioness, so I’m going to have to stop vamping and get back to editing that soon.

Accomplishments

Writing
– Entered some notes into my idea file about potential next novel projects
– Did a free write on one of my potential novel ideas
– Wrote blog post “My thoughts on the leveling changes in WoW 7.3.5”

Other Media
– Listened to Writing Excuses 12.40-12.41
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “From the Vault: The Forer Effect”, “Where’s my Eternal Youth?” parts 1 and 2
– Listened to By the Book, “The Miracle Morning”
– Listened to By the Book, “Why Good Things Happen to Good People”
– Played San-Ni-Ichi, Joking Hazard, and Channel A

Social
– Met EB for dinner and LARP work at Panera in Framingham
– Dinner with Nat and the Oberons at Bistro781 in Waltham
– Attended Mel’s birthday party

Habitat
– Cleaned out the bedroom loft
– Finally hung curtains in the master bedroom!
– Purged three big boxes full of stuff (mostly clothes and some stuffed animals)

Health
– Zombies Run 5K training week 1 workout 1
– Zombies Run 5K training week 1 workout 2
– Had a massage

Rejection Log

– 9-day form for “Granny Hubbard” from Factor Four

Picture of the Week

An almost empty loft!

Meta

I’ve decided to relabel these thingers as a “weekly update,” since they have expanded from just links and accomplishments to include my short story rejection log, sometimes a picture of the week, and sometimes a brief update. If nothing else it gives me an excuse to post something regularly, which I’m not always good about doing.

Also we’re doing these things Monday – Sunday now, since weekend-long larp events made the Sat/Sun divide tricky.

Brief Update

Mental health seems to be holding steady, despite the winter doldrums.

I have Lioness out to a few beta readers at the moment, and a few stories on submission. I need to figure out what writing project to work on next.

I’m still planning out my Year of Habitat. This weekend I spent a lot of time cleaning the bedroom, putting aside a bunch of stuff to get rid of.

I got so out of shape over the holidays — mostly just from being away from the office gym — that I decided to redo the Zombies Run 5k training program from the beginning. Of course then we got 8-10 inches of snow and my plans were foiled by being stuck indoors Thurs-Fri. So if your question is “Are you still running?” (hi, Dad), the answer is: yes, intermittently.

I highly recommend the book I just read (The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee) if you have any interest in queer YA historical romance (with a bi protagonist!) I had some quibbles with the plot and pacing, but the emotional arc was heart-rending and lovely.

I’ve been playing with tarot as narrative therapy again, and I just ordered the least woo-woo book about tarot I could find on Amazon. Looking forward to reading it…

Links

“Why Am I So Lazy?”, on Ask Polly. This resonated SO MUCH with me, both in the letter writer’s description (“When I finally do get down to business, I consider myself to be fairly hardworking, if only for the shortest amount of time possible”), and Polly/Havrilesky’s response (“But I do want you to notice how deeply and profoundly you’ve made messiness and procrastination part of your identity”, or “You are a fearful, avoidant person because you’re a little bit anxious about the world and the other people in it”).

Accomplishments

Writing
– Wrote blog post, “2017 Retrospective/2018 Resolutions”
– Submitted “The Mirrors of Her Eyes” to Fantasy & Science Fiction
– Submitted “Mirrors” to Beneath Ceaseless Skies
– Submitted “Granny Hubbard vs. the Giant Slime” to Factor Four
– Made some notes on further edits I want to make to Lioness
– Edited “Pinions,” the last of my FSOTU stories. I’m still not sure it’s doing what I need it to do, but I’ll let it breathe for a while before deciding that.

Reading
– Read The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee

Other Media
– Listened to Stuff You Missed in History Class, “Edward Gorey” and “SYMHC Classics: A Conspiracy Starring Aaron Burr”
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “The Winter People,” parts 1 and 2
– Watched Dark and Stormy Night, a spoof of Dark House-type movies from the creators of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

Health
– (Weds) ZR 5K training week 0
– (Weds) 10 x alternate heel touchers, 10 x dead bugs, 10 x jackknives

Rejection Log

– 1-day personal for “Mirrors” from F&SF

Writing
– Did oodles of hours of editing on Lioness, and finally completed structural edits!
– Sent Lioness to my beta readers

Reading
– Read “Fade to White,” by Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “Astrophilia,” by Carrie Vaughn (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “If the Mountain Comes,” by An Owomoyela (Clarkesworld Year Six)

Other Media
– Got my druid Wodehouse to 110 in WoW! *confetti*
– Listened to The Training Dummies, episodes 174, 182, 189, and 190

Social
– Visited my mom in Plattsburgh, NY
– Attended the Mangios’ New Year’s Eve party

Writing
– Worked on Lioness edits ~30m

Reading
– Read Life in a Medieval Village, by Frances Gies
– Read “All the Things the Moon is Not,” by Alexander Lumans (Clarkesworld Year Six)

Other Media
– Listened to Happier with Gretchen Rubin, episodes 146-148
– Listened to Stuff You Missed in History Class, “Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery”

Health
– Did Zombies Run! S2E7 (2.12mi in 39:36)

I’m starting to do these Monday-Sunday, for convenience sake. (Because a lot of my weekend events fall over two logs).

Writing
– (Fri) Worked on Lioness edits ~1h
– (Sat) Worked on Lioness edits ~1.5h

Reading
– Read “In Which Faster-than-Light Travel Solves All Our Problems,” by Chris Stabback (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “The Womb Factory, by Peter M. Ferenczi (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “Draftyhouse,” by Erik Amundsen (Clarkesworld Year Six)

Other Media
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “This Present Moment: Philosophy & Neuroscience”
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “Ophiocordyceps: Fungal Puppet Masters”
– Listened to Happier with Gretchen Rubin #145
– Listened to By the Book, “The Little Book of Hygge”

Social
– Visited with my mom when she visited Boston for a lung transplant info session

Health
– Did first Fit for Battle quest – 1.8m in 30min
– Fit for Battle free run – 1.3m in 20min
– Did freeform core exercises – 5 x crunches, 5 x jackknives, 10 x alternate heel touchers, 10 x dead bugs
– Did Zombies Run supply run (1.48mi in 24:33)
– Freeform core exercises – 6 x alternate heel touchers, 10 x crunches

Reading
– Read “The Secret Life of Bots,” by Suzanne Palmer (Clarkesworld, September 2017)
– Read “How the Maine Coon Cat Learned to Love the Sea,” by Seanan McGuire, (Uncanny #17). Highly recommended to anyone who likes SFF, Seanan McGuire, or Maine coon cats!
– Read “Shadow Man, Sack Man, Half Dark, Half Light,” by Malon Edwards (Podcastle #495)

Other Media
– Listened to Stuff Mom Never Told You, “Are Men Messier Than Women?”
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “Optography: Image in a Dead Man’s Eye”
– Listened to Happier with Gretchen Rubin #138
– Listened to Uncanny Magazine podcast, episode #17A

Health
– (Mon) Did Zombies Run! S2E5 (2.53mi in 42:22)
– (Weds) Did Zombies Run supply run (1.10mi in 20:33)
– (Weds) Did some core exercises: 10 x each of alternate heel touchers, jackknives, and dead bugs
– (Thurs) Did ZR S2E6 (2.05mi in 32:53)
– (Thurs) Core exercises: 10 x alternate heel touchers

Reading
– Read “And the Hollow Space Inside,” Mari Ness (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “What Everyone Remembers,” Rahul Kanakia (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “The Bells of Subsidence,” Michael John Grist (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “The Switch,” Sarah Stanton (Clarkesworld Year Six)
– Read “Sunlight Society,” Margaret Ronald (Clarkesworld Year Six)

Other Media
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, “Ig Nobels 2017” episodes 1-3
– Played Magic Maze, Karuba, Pioneers, and 7 Wonders

Reading
– Read The Tethered Mage, by Melissa Caruso

LARP
– Attended Kaleidoscopic Consequences in Christchurch, Dorset, UK
– Played in “Volcano’s Edge” at Consequences
– Played in “The Final Cut” at Consequences

Travel/Social – all in London
– Visited the Victoria & Albert Museum with Kim and Dave
– Visited the Natural History Museum
– Walked around Vauxhall, Lambeth, and Battersea
– Visited Battersea Park
– Took a hop-on hop-off bus tour of London
– Visited the Science Museum
– Visited the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park
– Had dinner at the Morpeth Arms (this “spy pub” on Atlas Obscura)
– Had dinner with Brian W, Kim and Dave near Victoria tube station

Brief Update

Urk. Daylight Savings Time. I’m going to blame this for the fact that I feel groggy and like everything is insurmountable today. Or maybe it’s the four weekends of larp in a row. Or maybe it’s Mondays. Anyway, have some bullet points:

• Looks like I finally have a date (maybe?) for surgery for my ulnar neuropathy — next Monday! I still have no idea what time, though!
• One of the electrical circuits in our house seems to be fried, post-returning from Shadowvale.
• Also in post-SV funtimes news, we broke the rear windshield of the Subaru leaving site, and had to drive the 40 miles home with a seashell-patterned tablecloth over the back of the car. We avoided decidedly non-whimsical state troopers, and it’s now repaired, thankfully.
• I only NPCed Friday of Mad3, in the dim hopes of getting some rest. Instead I still royally fucked up my sleep schedule, and all I have are regrets that the Emerald Baroness had to miss the Harrowing masquerade.
• Brianna seems to be doing okay?
• I leave in ~10 days for England!

Accomplishments

Reading
– Read “White Fox,” by L.P. Lee, Podcastle #492
– Read “The Fall Shall Further the Flight in Me,” by Rachael K. Jones, Podcastle #493

LARP
– PCed event 2 of Shadowvale
– NPCed for Friday night of Madrigal 3 event… 7?

Other Media
– Listened to Stuff to Blow Your Mind: “MSG: Umami and Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, “Creepypasta 4: More SCP, Polybius, and Grifter,” and “The Monstrosity/Cuteness Spectrum”
– Listened to Stuff You Missed in History Class, “Carl Tanzler’s Corpse Bride”
– Watched the RiffTrax of Mind Ripper, a little-known (for good reason) Wes Craven movie
– Got the Hallowed Be Thy Name achievement in WoW
– Listened to Larpcast #101, “Staff Qualities”
– Listened to By the Book, “Bonus Episode: Season One Wrap-Up”

Health
– Had an appointment with an endocrinologist
– Took a 1.4mi walk
– Zombies Run supply run, 1.45mi in 23:02
– ZR airdrop mission, 1.67mi in 34:39 (just a walk, no running)

Picture(s) of the Week

Okay, I have to share both a Shadowvale and a Mad3 pic.

Fellow SV player Paul F (Gideon), snapped this pic of Melusina playing cool on Saturday of the event.

My new Mad3 NPC, Lady Ironwright, a Blacktallow noblewoman who was bound to a demon to save her life. The PCs got to rescue her from her demonbound captors this event. If there’s anything cuter than demon horns and a tiny hat, I’d like to know what.