+ We had a windchill of -33C this morning. Time to haul out the ushanka, I guess.
+ I narrowly avoided being elected to the judo club's board at our annual general meeting this evening. (I was nominated for a director position, but declined. ...Maybe next year we'll see, after I settle into my new job.)
+ Something about crappy winter weather makes me want to watch Akira Kurosawa movies. There's something about it that makes me want to cozy up with tea and blankets and watch something long and dramatic and Very Good.
+ I narrowly avoided being elected to the judo club's board at our annual general meeting this evening. (I was nominated for a director position, but declined. ...Maybe next year we'll see, after I settle into my new job.)
+ Something about crappy winter weather makes me want to watch Akira Kurosawa movies. There's something about it that makes me want to cozy up with tea and blankets and watch something long and dramatic and Very Good.
The fucking weather
Jan. 14th, 2024 09:25 amI'd planned to watch some things last night, but then there was an unexpected province-wide emergency alert saying that the power grid was overwhelmed due to the extreme cold, and we were at risk of rolling outages. (Details via CBC here)
...So I turned off everything except one lamp and read for a while before going to bed early.
This surprised me at the time. Extreme cold is not unusual for us; -40C sucks but it's pretty normal for January. But then I realized that the whole province is dealing with this, not just us in the north, and it made much more sense. I looked up some places down south, and they're not much warmer than I am right now.
(Current weather report for me: -38C with windchill of -49.)
Anyway, I hope we won't have this problem again tonight.
It looks like things will improve in a few days, but in the meantime, ugh. I wasn't able to gas up my car yesterday because the station was having issues - either it was so cold that the electronics in the pumps weren't working properly (possible) or they were just plain out of gas because the delivery was delayed (also very possible). I didn't go inside to find out which.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a trivial issue for me. I can stay home. But I do hope things warm up a little soon, at least down south, because this is ridiculous. And I would like the windchill to not be so close to -50, thanks.
...So I turned off everything except one lamp and read for a while before going to bed early.
This surprised me at the time. Extreme cold is not unusual for us; -40C sucks but it's pretty normal for January. But then I realized that the whole province is dealing with this, not just us in the north, and it made much more sense. I looked up some places down south, and they're not much warmer than I am right now.
(Current weather report for me: -38C with windchill of -49.)
Anyway, I hope we won't have this problem again tonight.
It looks like things will improve in a few days, but in the meantime, ugh. I wasn't able to gas up my car yesterday because the station was having issues - either it was so cold that the electronics in the pumps weren't working properly (possible) or they were just plain out of gas because the delivery was delayed (also very possible). I didn't go inside to find out which.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a trivial issue for me. I can stay home. But I do hope things warm up a little soon, at least down south, because this is ridiculous. And I would like the windchill to not be so close to -50, thanks.
(no subject)
Jan. 11th, 2024 09:49 pmAhhh man, it's so damn cold out. It was below -40 today, and will probably continue like that all weekend. I was kind of planning to go to the library, but y'know, maybe staying in and being cozy is a better idea. (Plus, I already have a bunch of things checked out that I've been too stressed to finish... might as well just take some time to enjoy them.)
Hope you all who're experiencing similar are able to keep warm.
Hope you all who're experiencing similar are able to keep warm.
Series of earthquakes over in the Peace River area. They're pretty far west of us, but I still felt it!
At first I thought it was really bad wind shaking the building even though that didn't make any sense; it was kind of scary. (Made me wonder for a moment if I should haul my deck chairs in from the balcony, despite the snow.) And then I found out what actually happened when the official municipality sources announced it.
We don't get earthquakes up here, usually.
SO... well. That sure was a thing.
At first I thought it was really bad wind shaking the building even though that didn't make any sense; it was kind of scary. (Made me wonder for a moment if I should haul my deck chairs in from the balcony, despite the snow.) And then I found out what actually happened when the official municipality sources announced it.
We don't get earthquakes up here, usually.
SO... well. That sure was a thing.
+ [Weather] Drizzly today. Feels pretty good. I opened up all the windows to let the nice cold air in. The ventilation in my place sucks, so I'm really glad that the heat has gone down enough for this.
+ [Cooking] Tried a new recipe yesterday; chicken cacciatore. Turned out great, which was a relief! I've been feeling kind of stagnant lately (just cooking the same things all the time) so it was nice to try something new. I'll post the recipe later if I remember.
+ [Family] The stressful real-life stuff that has been coming up is getting closer and more stressful. Aughhh, I just want it to be over with! /)_(\ I also don't want to talk about it in specifics, not until it's over. But the next few weeks are going to be Bonkers.
+ [IIBB] Need to get to work on my fic for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
iddyiddybangbang. I haven't looked at this thing in over a year and editing it will be such a pain in the ass. Are any of you signed up for it?
+ [Hetalia] There's been some talk about trying to revive the Hetalia Kink Meme. I expect it'll go the way these things always do - people talk about it, maybe poke around it a little, and then not much else. Though someone did post a few fills recently, and I think that's pretty awesome.
We just don't have the level of people in this fandom on DW to bring it to anything near the level that people usually mean when they say "active". The occasional prompt and fill, yes. But active... No. Then again, it could be that I'm misunderstanding things, and maybe the people having this discussion do mean "one or two prompts or fills per month", which I think is a realistic hope, though it does seem far-off at this point. But if they're comparing it to their nostalgic memories of the kink meme, which is the impression I usually get in these discussions - no. It's impossible to bring that back.
Though this discussion did remind me that I still have some old prompts bookmarked, and partially-finished drafts for a few of them, so maybe I'll post something there... eventually.
+ [Cooking] Tried a new recipe yesterday; chicken cacciatore. Turned out great, which was a relief! I've been feeling kind of stagnant lately (just cooking the same things all the time) so it was nice to try something new. I'll post the recipe later if I remember.
+ [Family] The stressful real-life stuff that has been coming up is getting closer and more stressful. Aughhh, I just want it to be over with! /)_(\ I also don't want to talk about it in specifics, not until it's over. But the next few weeks are going to be Bonkers.
+ [IIBB] Need to get to work on my fic for
iddyiddybangbang. I haven't looked at this thing in over a year and editing it will be such a pain in the ass. Are any of you signed up for it?+ [Hetalia] There's been some talk about trying to revive the Hetalia Kink Meme. I expect it'll go the way these things always do - people talk about it, maybe poke around it a little, and then not much else. Though someone did post a few fills recently, and I think that's pretty awesome.
We just don't have the level of people in this fandom on DW to bring it to anything near the level that people usually mean when they say "active". The occasional prompt and fill, yes. But active... No. Then again, it could be that I'm misunderstanding things, and maybe the people having this discussion do mean "one or two prompts or fills per month", which I think is a realistic hope, though it does seem far-off at this point. But if they're comparing it to their nostalgic memories of the kink meme, which is the impression I usually get in these discussions - no. It's impossible to bring that back.
Though this discussion did remind me that I still have some old prompts bookmarked, and partially-finished drafts for a few of them, so maybe I'll post something there... eventually.
(no subject)
May. 9th, 2022 06:54 amSo, the day of my appointment to get my snow tires switched for regular, we get a bunch of snow dumped on us. Ahhhh, northern Alberta. Business as usual.
Sigh, I'll keep that appointment - probably all this stuff will melt pretty quick, we won't need to deal with ice - but I really wish that this particular trivial problem wasn't one I had to deal with. It would be nice to not have snow in May.
Sigh, I'll keep that appointment - probably all this stuff will melt pretty quick, we won't need to deal with ice - but I really wish that this particular trivial problem wasn't one I had to deal with. It would be nice to not have snow in May.
Misc ++ (with a little whine and cheese)
Jan. 3rd, 2022 08:29 pm+ Jesus fuck, why is editing so HARD. D: Even reading beta comments is hard. I have to psych myself up for it. Editing in general is just the worst. (Endings are also the worst. And titles. And beginnings. And all the stuff in the middle. ...Why is this my main hobby, again?) Upside: I'm almost done with this FTH fic. Almost... done...!
+ As an aside, it's fascinating when US betas flag small vocabulary/phrasing things as incorrect that read as correct to me - in a lot of cases, after a bit of research, these turn out to be chiefly British usage. Or more rarely some specifically Canadian turn of phrase. It's never the things I expect to be flagged as incorrect, either. (Example from today: anymore vs any more. The latter, which I used, is apparently UK-specific.)
+ I ordered some new glasses through one of those internet glasses dealer things. At the moment, I only have one pair. Which I keep in the car because that's that I use them for. ...That and watching things on the televison. SO, every time I want to watch a movie, I need to stomp down to the parking garage, and then stomp back up to my apartment - very annoying. Anyhow, it's a first time doing this, not sure how it'll turn out. My prescription's really minor, so it should be fine?
+ It's been ridiculously cold for the last couple of weeks! And will continue to be ridiculously cold! It's such a bummer. I want to go geocaching, but not when there's a windchill of -40C. All this also means that work has been as slow as molasses, because the guys can't safely work outside when it's this cold, which means there's less paperwork for me to process. Ho hum.
+ Chocolate Box signups are open! I'm excited! I kind of want to start jotting down ideas now. So far, there is a very limited number of people I could potentially get assigned to write for, so it'd be nice to have some outlines ready to go.
+ As an aside, it's fascinating when US betas flag small vocabulary/phrasing things as incorrect that read as correct to me - in a lot of cases, after a bit of research, these turn out to be chiefly British usage. Or more rarely some specifically Canadian turn of phrase. It's never the things I expect to be flagged as incorrect, either. (Example from today: anymore vs any more. The latter, which I used, is apparently UK-specific.)
+ I ordered some new glasses through one of those internet glasses dealer things. At the moment, I only have one pair. Which I keep in the car because that's that I use them for. ...That and watching things on the televison. SO, every time I want to watch a movie, I need to stomp down to the parking garage, and then stomp back up to my apartment - very annoying. Anyhow, it's a first time doing this, not sure how it'll turn out. My prescription's really minor, so it should be fine?
+ It's been ridiculously cold for the last couple of weeks! And will continue to be ridiculously cold! It's such a bummer. I want to go geocaching, but not when there's a windchill of -40C. All this also means that work has been as slow as molasses, because the guys can't safely work outside when it's this cold, which means there's less paperwork for me to process. Ho hum.
+ Chocolate Box signups are open! I'm excited! I kind of want to start jotting down ideas now. So far, there is a very limited number of people I could potentially get assigned to write for, so it'd be nice to have some outlines ready to go.
Three things make a post
Jul. 17th, 2021 09:36 pm+ Lots of intense weather going around. I hope all of you are doing all right. Over here, we're just having some heavy smoke, but that's kind of business as usual. Aside from being annoyed about it disrupting my fitness routine, I'm not all that fussed.
+ I made peanut soup for supper. Details here. I really really liked it, so I'll definitely be making it again... though hopefully next time, I won't make such a huge mess in the kitchen (yikes). After all, I've got to find something to do with this jar of natural peanut butter suddenly in my possession... (Ooooh, I should figure out how to make peanut sauce too, I love noodles with peanut sauce but have never made it myself.)
+ Just a month and a half of time left before I need to have this blanket finished for my cousin's baby. I know I can manage it, but I can already feel my wrists screaming. Wish me luck. ;V
+ I made peanut soup for supper. Details here. I really really liked it, so I'll definitely be making it again... though hopefully next time, I won't make such a huge mess in the kitchen (yikes). After all, I've got to find something to do with this jar of natural peanut butter suddenly in my possession... (Ooooh, I should figure out how to make peanut sauce too, I love noodles with peanut sauce but have never made it myself.)
+ Just a month and a half of time left before I need to have this blanket finished for my cousin's baby. I know I can manage it, but I can already feel my wrists screaming. Wish me luck. ;V
Three things make a post
Jul. 4th, 2021 10:32 pm+ Got my second shot today. Hooray!
+ Watched part one of Fear Street with an acquaintance. It was better than expected! I anticipated cheese, but it actually had a pretty good vibe. (Though the period felt slightly off - it's supposed to be set in 1994, but it feels much more '00 to me.) The little pings from the AIM window brought back so many memories, hah.
+ Finally, it's cooled down a little over here. I was sleeping in my parents' basement for the past week because it was over +40C and I don't have air conditioning. (Neither do they, but the basement is nice and cool.) They were out of town, so it was nice and quiet, and I kind of treated it like a little vacation, even if I still had to work. :D
+ Watched part one of Fear Street with an acquaintance. It was better than expected! I anticipated cheese, but it actually had a pretty good vibe. (Though the period felt slightly off - it's supposed to be set in 1994, but it feels much more '00 to me.) The little pings from the AIM window brought back so many memories, hah.
+ Finally, it's cooled down a little over here. I was sleeping in my parents' basement for the past week because it was over +40C and I don't have air conditioning. (Neither do they, but the basement is nice and cool.) They were out of town, so it was nice and quiet, and I kind of treated it like a little vacation, even if I still had to work. :D
(no subject)
Jun. 26th, 2021 09:04 pmOh boy! Forecast is for +40C next week! Guess who doesn't have air conditioning!
Mind you, this is very normal (hooray, swinging between -40 and +40 at opposite times of the year). But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
At least I can get my exercise in by doing laps in the nice cold underground parking garage... orz
Mind you, this is very normal (hooray, swinging between -40 and +40 at opposite times of the year). But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
At least I can get my exercise in by doing laps in the nice cold underground parking garage... orz
Whine, whine, whine :V
Oct. 27th, 2020 08:16 pm☆ I didn't sleep very well last night. I woke up at around two in the morning and realized that my bedroom looked strangely bright. It turned out that the cause was from outside - snow was falling, and that kind of scattered the light from the streetlamps around. Brightened everything up. It was weird and kind of cool, but I wish I'd slept through it.
☆ I don't want to go back to work in the office next Tuesday. :(
☆ I'm really unhappy with this fic that I'm working on. I think I might need to completely remove some scenes, because they just aren't working. The story will probably be better for it, but I hate having to do that kind of thing.
☆ I have to read a very important email, and my brain is doing that thing where it freezes up at the very thought of opening my inbox to read the damn thing. Consider stating this Out Loud a commitment to getting this shit done after I hit "post" (...and after I have another cup of tea.) [Edit] Bloody hell, the thing I was dreading wasn't even there. I think this is a sign that I need to go to bed early tonight.
☆ It is getting way too dark way too early these days. This is so unfair.
☆ I don't want to go back to work in the office next Tuesday. :(
☆ I'm really unhappy with this fic that I'm working on. I think I might need to completely remove some scenes, because they just aren't working. The story will probably be better for it, but I hate having to do that kind of thing.
☆ I have to read a very important email, and my brain is doing that thing where it freezes up at the very thought of opening my inbox to read the damn thing. Consider stating this Out Loud a commitment to getting this shit done after I hit "post" (...and after I have another cup of tea.) [Edit] Bloody hell, the thing I was dreading wasn't even there. I think this is a sign that I need to go to bed early tonight.
☆ It is getting way too dark way too early these days. This is so unfair.
☆ Received notice that I'll be going back to the office on Oct 03. It probably would have happened earlier, but the office was still being rebuilt, and it took a while because of the extent of the flood damage. Personally, I can't see the point - my work can be done no-contact, I don't need the printer, and I'll probably still be communicating with my team exclusively by IM. I'm probably going to be staying inside my office as much as possible. ...I foresee a lot of peanutbutter & jam sandwich lunches in my future.
☆ My face is So Dry and it's only been particularly cold for a few days. This winter is going to be Unbearable.
☆ Took a random day off yesterday to try to eat through some of my PTO. It was absolutely glorious. A whole weekday to do nothing! Grocery shopping at 10AM was wonderful - hardly anyone around. Then I went on a nice run in full daylight, and didn't see another person at all.
☆ It snowed today. I wasn't able to go out for a run. This totally cramps my style, and I am absolutely not impressed. The gym is not an adequate substitute! /shakesfist
☆ Forefather's Eve is coming up. Have I given thought to what I'm doing? No. Should I? Probably. Will I forget about it, like I do with most significant pagan days? ... Hopefully not, but uh, signs point to "yes". We'll see.
☆ Writing is going well, looks like I'll likely reach status goal by the end of the month (knock wood). I'm looking forward to getting into the editing stages with some of these outstanding auction fics.
☆ My face is So Dry and it's only been particularly cold for a few days. This winter is going to be Unbearable.
☆ Took a random day off yesterday to try to eat through some of my PTO. It was absolutely glorious. A whole weekday to do nothing! Grocery shopping at 10AM was wonderful - hardly anyone around. Then I went on a nice run in full daylight, and didn't see another person at all.
☆ It snowed today. I wasn't able to go out for a run. This totally cramps my style, and I am absolutely not impressed. The gym is not an adequate substitute! /shakesfist
☆ Forefather's Eve is coming up. Have I given thought to what I'm doing? No. Should I? Probably. Will I forget about it, like I do with most significant pagan days? ... Hopefully not, but uh, signs point to "yes". We'll see.
☆ Writing is going well, looks like I'll likely reach status goal by the end of the month (knock wood). I'm looking forward to getting into the editing stages with some of these outstanding auction fics.
(no subject)
Jan. 16th, 2020 06:23 pmIt was -47C when I got up this morning.
I... yeah, I got nothin'.
Explains why I've been feeling the January Blahs lately, though. It's too cold to even move. All I want to do is sleep.
Though going for a run on the garage treadmill isn't a bad way to warm up, admittedly. Tends to be a bit brisk at first, but once you get going, it at least warms the feet, which is one of the things I have the most trouble with.
Sunday is predicted to be more reasonable re: cold.
One more day of work....
( Weekend to-do )
I... yeah, I got nothin'.
Explains why I've been feeling the January Blahs lately, though. It's too cold to even move. All I want to do is sleep.
Though going for a run on the garage treadmill isn't a bad way to warm up, admittedly. Tends to be a bit brisk at first, but once you get going, it at least warms the feet, which is one of the things I have the most trouble with.
Sunday is predicted to be more reasonable re: cold.
One more day of work....
( Weekend to-do )
☆ Yesterday my car battery died again while I was at the library. Dad came down to give it enough of a boost that I could get home, and we decided that Enough Was Enough; whatever's wrong with it, it's a dud.
Fortunately, I had saved the receipt from when we bought/changed the battery last winter, and it was still within warranty (thanks again for the suggestion that I take a look at that,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kanadka. You saved me a hundred bucks.) So we were able to get a new one without problem. Hopefully it'll all be fine now. I'm really sick of this thing crapping out on me on the coldest days of the year. ;V
☆ Because of the cold and aforementioned car issue, I've pretty much stayed inside all day. Knitting, and watching the Royal Ballet version of Swan Lake, and drinking too much hot chocolate. ;) Well, maybe it's not so bad.
☆ Speaking of Swan Lake, having now seen both the Happy Ending version (Moscow Ballet, live), and the Tragic Ending version (Royal Ballet, on disc) I must say I prefer the happy ending. Call me a sap, I guess. Though I must say the Royal Ballet's version was really well done.
(But any Swan Lake is good Swan Lake, I say - then again, it's my favourite of the ballets I've seen.)
On the topic of of various versions, consider: F/F version of Swan Lake. I wish that existed. ...I'm pretty sure it has never been done as an actual ballet, but maybe there's some sort of manga of this out there? It seems like the kind of thing that would exist as a manga. I should take a look when I'm more awake. I know that an M/M version of the ballet exists, Matthew Bourne's version of it, but I don't like the costuming in that one. ...Anyway.
☆ Signups forfandomtrumpshate start tomorrow. I CAN HARDLY WAIT (yes, this requires capslock. :D )
☆ Managed to finish the draft for my Chocolate Box fic yesterday. Very happy about that. Unsure if I will have time for treats this year, but I'm going to try. Or maybe I'll just write two stories for my recip, who has very good taste.
(Well, of course they do, they're requesting things I offered. ;p ;p ;p)
☆ In for more cold weather this week. Oh dear....
Fortunately, I had saved the receipt from when we bought/changed the battery last winter, and it was still within warranty (thanks again for the suggestion that I take a look at that,
kanadka. You saved me a hundred bucks.) So we were able to get a new one without problem. Hopefully it'll all be fine now. I'm really sick of this thing crapping out on me on the coldest days of the year. ;V☆ Because of the cold and aforementioned car issue, I've pretty much stayed inside all day. Knitting, and watching the Royal Ballet version of Swan Lake, and drinking too much hot chocolate. ;) Well, maybe it's not so bad.
☆ Speaking of Swan Lake, having now seen both the Happy Ending version (Moscow Ballet, live), and the Tragic Ending version (Royal Ballet, on disc) I must say I prefer the happy ending. Call me a sap, I guess. Though I must say the Royal Ballet's version was really well done.
(But any Swan Lake is good Swan Lake, I say - then again, it's my favourite of the ballets I've seen.)
On the topic of of various versions, consider: F/F version of Swan Lake. I wish that existed. ...I'm pretty sure it has never been done as an actual ballet, but maybe there's some sort of manga of this out there? It seems like the kind of thing that would exist as a manga. I should take a look when I'm more awake. I know that an M/M version of the ballet exists, Matthew Bourne's version of it, but I don't like the costuming in that one. ...Anyway.
☆ Signups for
fandomtrumpshate start tomorrow. I CAN HARDLY WAIT (yes, this requires capslock. :D )☆ Managed to finish the draft for my Chocolate Box fic yesterday. Very happy about that. Unsure if I will have time for treats this year, but I'm going to try. Or maybe I'll just write two stories for my recip, who has very good taste.
(Well, of course they do, they're requesting things I offered. ;p ;p ;p)
☆ In for more cold weather this week. Oh dear....
(no subject)
Jan. 6th, 2020 06:04 am"Feels like: -31C."
Ah yes. It's that time of year, isn't it.
I would REALLY like to just wrap myself in blankets and not come out until April.
Ah yes. It's that time of year, isn't it.
I would REALLY like to just wrap myself in blankets and not come out until April.
It's that time of year again
Oct. 28th, 2019 05:21 pmI woke up this morning, and it was snowing, with a windchill of -18C.
I would like to go back to bed until April, please.
I would like to go back to bed until April, please.
(no subject)
Sep. 27th, 2019 03:19 pmIt's trying to snow.
WELL, OKAY.
I hope this will stick to just a few scattered flakes. :|
WELL, OKAY.
I hope this will stick to just a few scattered flakes. :|
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.