HR - Oscars and parties
Mar. 17th, 2026 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruricApparently having been supremely indifferent to men's fashion for my entire life I now have a burning interest in it?
I may have been glued to Threads for a while watching the pictures come through from the Oscars and pre- post- parties on Sunday and into the wee small hours of Monday morning.
I'm blaming these fools...
Click to embiggen.
There's also a hilarious video that goes with pic 2 on JR's instagram - last slide in that post - which makes me snort/giggle every time I watch it because of the awkwardness of it all.
I would like to flop tonight but I need to tick off some tasks from my endless "Do ALL The Things" list for sorting out my flat/life. Alas it is already 9:15pm. Wonder how much I can achieve in an hour/90 minutes?
What can I possibly bribe myself with as a reward if I'm a good girl and get shit done?
I may have been glued to Threads for a while watching the pictures come through from the Oscars and pre- post- parties on Sunday and into the wee small hours of Monday morning.
I'm blaming these fools...
Click to embiggen.
There's also a hilarious video that goes with pic 2 on JR's instagram - last slide in that post - which makes me snort/giggle every time I watch it because of the awkwardness of it all.
I would like to flop tonight but I need to tick off some tasks from my endless "Do ALL The Things" list for sorting out my flat/life. Alas it is already 9:15pm. Wonder how much I can achieve in an hour/90 minutes?
What can I possibly bribe myself with as a reward if I'm a good girl and get shit done?
Me-and-media update
Mar. 17th, 2026 03:49 pmchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the Fitness trackers poll, 18% of respondents regularly use a fitness tracker to monitor their activity, 10% also use an app, and 16% use the pedometer on their phone; 48% said "other no", proving that I really should have got more granular (and emphatic) for non-adopters. Sorry! (For me, I enjoy some of the "gamification of exercise" parts, but when Fitbit eventually insists that I have to merge my data with my Google account in a few months, I plan to delete the app and use my device as a standalone thingummy.)
In ticky-boxes, FANDOM SPARKLES came second to hugs hugs hugs, 56% to 68%. "I genuflect to the sanctity of the ticky-box" is a reference to/misquote of a line from a Courtney Milan romance. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Almost nothing. Andrew and I started (barely) The Warrior's Apprentice by Bujold, the first Miles Vorkosigan book, in audio, read by Grover Gardner. And in ebook I've just started Courtney Milan's m/m novella, The Pursuit of... set during the American War of Independence.
Kdramas
I was sure I'd have drifted away from One Spring Night by now in favour of the new thing, but I'm semi-managing to watch that and Undercover Miss Hong in tandem. I love both of them in very different ways. OSN is slow and as full of social nuance as an Austen novel; UMH is silly corporate spy shenanigans and found family.
(In Undercover Miss Hong, the 35-year-old lead is undercover as a 20-year-old, and every time she glances around quickly and her shoulders move too, I think, yep, it's the stiff neck that gives you away. #relatable)
As predicted, Pru and I started Love Scout. I am immediately obsessed with it all over again, ahhhhhh! How am I going to bear the wait between watchings??
Other TV
A bit more of Ponies, but it's so tense that I keep avoiding it. It's only an 8-episode season, and we're halfway, so I should probably bite the bullet and power through.
Episode 2 of R.J. Decker was terribly written, to the point where I don't know if I can keep going. (I think the Movie Briefs podcast may have ruined me for PI shows: I kept going, "Is this witness tampering?" and "Stop revealing case information to suspects!")
More of The Pitt (I am worried about Robbie) (no spoilers, please!!) and Cheers.
And last night we watched the bizarre combination of:
We've also watched a bunch of stand-up lately: Marc Maron, Rose Matafeo, probably some others.
Audio entertainment
"Corporations have learned that when you have total buy-in, from everyone, and if you can make it impossible for people to not use your product, you determine what culture is. You just do." Gita Jackson on Tech Won't Save Us. (I am so grateful to Dreamwidth for not having an algorithm!)
Online life
Sign-ups are open for the 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange!! Yay!! This is our eighth year, and it's always a great time.
Writing/making things
I finished a round of rewrites on one of my started-for-Yuletide fics and sent it back to beta; now I need to apply the same rewriting strategy to my other started-for-Yuletide fic too. 520 Day assignments will out by the 8th, so that's my deadline for these: three weeks. In theory, that should be do-able.
I'm averaging one fic a month so far this year, which is pretty slow-paced for me, but it isn't nothing.
Life/health/mental state things
( [Dog in burning house; everything is fine.gif, local politics edition] )
Link dump
The Left Doesn't Hate Technology, We Hate Being Exploited by Gita Jackson | Heroes Choose Danger - How to Make Your Passive Hero Active [Screenwriting Tips] by![[youtube.com profile]](https://youtube.com/favicon.ico)
heyjameshurst (Youtube, 12:57 min) | Night Train with Wyatt Cenac ep 1 (stand-up series made for streaming, but then the streamer went bust).
Good things
520 Day, yay!! FTH, eeee!! Writers' Hour continues to keep me showing up; it's a structure that works really well for me. Kdramas and those of you who recommend them to me. AO3 comments on some of my favourites of my fics. Sunday's long bike ride to buy the best hot cross buns didn't have any negative arm/wrist consequences. The air fryer I inherited is ridiculously tiny, but I'm enjoying it. Good weather. Reasonably good health. (*knocks on wood*) Cat! Andrew!
In the Fitness trackers poll, 18% of respondents regularly use a fitness tracker to monitor their activity, 10% also use an app, and 16% use the pedometer on their phone; 48% said "other no", proving that I really should have got more granular (and emphatic) for non-adopters. Sorry! (For me, I enjoy some of the "gamification of exercise" parts, but when Fitbit eventually insists that I have to merge my data with my Google account in a few months, I plan to delete the app and use my device as a standalone thingummy.)
In ticky-boxes, FANDOM SPARKLES came second to hugs hugs hugs, 56% to 68%. "I genuflect to the sanctity of the ticky-box" is a reference to/misquote of a line from a Courtney Milan romance. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Almost nothing. Andrew and I started (barely) The Warrior's Apprentice by Bujold, the first Miles Vorkosigan book, in audio, read by Grover Gardner. And in ebook I've just started Courtney Milan's m/m novella, The Pursuit of... set during the American War of Independence.
Kdramas
I was sure I'd have drifted away from One Spring Night by now in favour of the new thing, but I'm semi-managing to watch that and Undercover Miss Hong in tandem. I love both of them in very different ways. OSN is slow and as full of social nuance as an Austen novel; UMH is silly corporate spy shenanigans and found family.
(In Undercover Miss Hong, the 35-year-old lead is undercover as a 20-year-old, and every time she glances around quickly and her shoulders move too, I think, yep, it's the stiff neck that gives you away. #relatable)
As predicted, Pru and I started Love Scout. I am immediately obsessed with it all over again, ahhhhhh! How am I going to bear the wait between watchings??
Other TV
A bit more of Ponies, but it's so tense that I keep avoiding it. It's only an 8-episode season, and we're halfway, so I should probably bite the bullet and power through.
Episode 2 of R.J. Decker was terribly written, to the point where I don't know if I can keep going. (I think the Movie Briefs podcast may have ruined me for PI shows: I kept going, "Is this witness tampering?" and "Stop revealing case information to suspects!")
More of The Pitt (I am worried about Robbie) (no spoilers, please!!) and Cheers.
And last night we watched the bizarre combination of:
- the pilot of The Madison, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, a gorgeously cinematic show about loss, grief, and New York "society" people dealing with nature in Montana. It's like the love child of A River Somewhere (Australian fly-fishing show which I happen to own on DVD), Schitt's Creek (but without the humour; just the rich people out of their comfort zone part), and [something dealing with partner-loss], and
- The Naked Gun, starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson (surprisingly watchable; made us laugh).
We've also watched a bunch of stand-up lately: Marc Maron, Rose Matafeo, probably some others.
Audio entertainment
"Corporations have learned that when you have total buy-in, from everyone, and if you can make it impossible for people to not use your product, you determine what culture is. You just do." Gita Jackson on Tech Won't Save Us. (I am so grateful to Dreamwidth for not having an algorithm!)
Online life
Sign-ups are open for the 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange!! Yay!! This is our eighth year, and it's always a great time.
Writing/making things
I finished a round of rewrites on one of my started-for-Yuletide fics and sent it back to beta; now I need to apply the same rewriting strategy to my other started-for-Yuletide fic too. 520 Day assignments will out by the 8th, so that's my deadline for these: three weeks. In theory, that should be do-able.
I'm averaging one fic a month so far this year, which is pretty slow-paced for me, but it isn't nothing.
Life/health/mental state things
( [Dog in burning house; everything is fine.gif, local politics edition] )
Link dump
The Left Doesn't Hate Technology, We Hate Being Exploited by Gita Jackson | Heroes Choose Danger - How to Make Your Passive Hero Active [Screenwriting Tips] by
Good things
520 Day, yay!! FTH, eeee!! Writers' Hour continues to keep me showing up; it's a structure that works really well for me. Kdramas and those of you who recommend them to me. AO3 comments on some of my favourites of my fics. Sunday's long bike ride to buy the best hot cross buns didn't have any negative arm/wrist consequences. The air fryer I inherited is ridiculously tiny, but I'm enjoying it. Good weather. Reasonably good health. (*knocks on wood*) Cat! Andrew!
Poll #34375 Smoke alarms
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 42
Smoke alarms
View Answers
I have some on ceilings/walls
33 (78.6%)
I have some in piles around the place
7 (16.7%)
I have an inadequate number / inadequate coverage
4 (9.5%)
nope
2 (4.8%)
when one goes off, I assume it's serious and take action
12 (28.6%)
when one goes off, I assume it's a battery issue and silence it / take it off the wall
16 (38.1%)
my place/building has built-in alarms, and I trust them
4 (9.5%)
my place/building has built-in alarms, and they go off all the time, argh
0 (0.0%)
other
3 (7.1%)
ticky-box full of pizza, yeah!
19 (45.2%)
ticky-box full of iridescent bubbles
27 (64.3%)
ticky-box full of chopsticks
18 (42.9%)
ticky-box full of hiking
16 (38.1%)
ticky-box full of hugs
34 (81.0%)
Misery Train
Mar. 16th, 2026 03:12 pmhalfshellvenusHalfshellHusband is in the throes of prepping for a colonoscopy tomorrow. The process has changed, and I don't know why.
It used to be a day without solid food and a lot of fluids and laxatives to clear you out. It's similar now, but it starts 48 hours pre-op with a day of really restricted food choices (applesauce, chicken, rice, yogurt). The day before the procedure is 8 ounces of water every hour, followed by starting the laxative liquid stuff at 6pm the night before surgery. WHAT? That'll keep you up all night! Why not do that during the daytime?
HSH called Kaiser to make sure he couldn't start the laxative early, and they confirmed and made things worse: since he has an early morning surgery, they want him to stop the laxative liquid briefly tonight, then get up at 2:30 a.m. and start again before ending it at 4:15 a.m. How is that good for the patient? He'll be exhausted from sleep deprivation. :(
Right now, he's using his typical method of coping with misery/recuperation, AKA watching the LOTR movies. I expect more of the same tomorrow, after his procedure is done.
It used to be a day without solid food and a lot of fluids and laxatives to clear you out. It's similar now, but it starts 48 hours pre-op with a day of really restricted food choices (applesauce, chicken, rice, yogurt). The day before the procedure is 8 ounces of water every hour, followed by starting the laxative liquid stuff at 6pm the night before surgery. WHAT? That'll keep you up all night! Why not do that during the daytime?
HSH called Kaiser to make sure he couldn't start the laxative early, and they confirmed and made things worse: since he has an early morning surgery, they want him to stop the laxative liquid briefly tonight, then get up at 2:30 a.m. and start again before ending it at 4:15 a.m. How is that good for the patient? He'll be exhausted from sleep deprivation. :(
Right now, he's using his typical method of coping with misery/recuperation, AKA watching the LOTR movies. I expect more of the same tomorrow, after his procedure is done.
Weeks 9-11 - this year is zooming by!
Mar. 16th, 2026 12:34 amruricI had a whole weekend at home - for the first time in 4 weeks! Remind me never to organise/volunteer for things that mean I have to work 3 Saturday's on the trot because that is exhausting. On the plus side I have a chunk of flexi leave to take.
So quick summary:
HOME: deep cleaned kitchen and sorted out a bunch for a recycling and tip run today. Next week it's deep cleaning the bathroom, and chipping away at the chaos and decluttering/#orjenising in the bedroom and living room. I have detailed bullet point lists and daily/weekly targets!
HEALTH still a bit FUBAR'd but improving. Finally took myself off to Toni and Guy's on Friday where a very firm hairdresser chopped off a significant amount of my hair. It had almost reached my waist and had way too many split ends. I got a free treatment (whatever product they used smelled awesome and made my hair super silky) and I now have a really simple cut - still long enough that I can put it up when gardening /at the gym, but short enough to wash and go and no danger of overnight knots. Today I got my piercings back - found a great piercer locally and I was just going to get single studs in each ear but happily we discovered 5 of my old piercings were still open! She popped new studs in those - because I have no idea where my old studs are - only the tons of dangley earrings on the board in my bedroom. She redid the middle piercing on my left ear and now I have all the shiny jewellery back. Once the current ones have settled down I'm going back to get my helix piercing redone - might get one each side.
LIFE ADMIN: still planning to move from Gmail once I've decluttered it. Applied for a postal vote as I'll be working local election day (7 May) as a poll clerk in Richmond so won't be around to vote locally. Have to make time to complete training for that and it will be a long day (5am to midnight including travel to/from) polling station.
DIGITAL DECLUTTER: have kept email at mail at 11,000 but not managed to reduce it; staying on top of transferring To Keep items from tablet to dropbox, my phone images storage is a mess.
GARDENING/ALLOTMENTING: nope - too cold and/or wet and lacked motivation.
COOKING/EATING: reboarded the takeaway train over the last week - there just seemed to be no time at all, long work days!
READING/LISTENING: LOL. Thank you Rachel Reid - read Game Changers, Heated Rivalry, Tough Guy, Common Goal, Role Model and The Long Game and now re-reading Heated Rivalry matching book chapters to rewatch episodes. What do you mean obsessed?
WATCHING: Heated Rivalry - 4th rewatch. Everything else is having to fit around that!
CREATING/LEARNING: several, projects on the go/nearing completion - spring wreath, Halloween blanket, granny square blanket, hexicardi, granny square bags x 2. Might get one or two done by the end of the month.
CATS: all good.
VOLUNTEERING: one new task to complete as of meeting last week.
SOCIALISING: a 3 hour call withgingerpig consisting of two hours of Heated Rivalry squee and one of catching up. A formal "WiLlYoUCoMeToMyCotTageThisEAsTer" invitation extended to ravurian - because, thanks to Show, I'm never going to be able to invite anyone to the cottage unless I adopt concussed-and-ever-so-slightly-high Shane's rhythm of speech.
WORK: much improvement - BRAG quarterly meeting went well, the Seed Swap was a success, the three consecutive Saturday's of work are over until 28 March which is my next weekend day of work. I've started the current round of inspections which is generating a ton of admin (which is this coming week's issue), I need to carve out some time to dealing with financial year end (how is it almost the end of March?!!!) and reprofile the capital budget.
It's going to be a long work week - think I'm going to work from home tomorrow as I should be able to plough through a chunk of admin uninterrupted. Tuesday through Friday lunchtime will be office days and site visits. Then I've got 30 bags of compost to shift from a site wide delivery down to my plot on Friday afternoon - say a prayer for my knees and back! Keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine and blue skies next week.
So quick summary:
HOME: deep cleaned kitchen and sorted out a bunch for a recycling and tip run today. Next week it's deep cleaning the bathroom, and chipping away at the chaos and decluttering/#orjenising in the bedroom and living room. I have detailed bullet point lists and daily/weekly targets!
HEALTH still a bit FUBAR'd but improving. Finally took myself off to Toni and Guy's on Friday where a very firm hairdresser chopped off a significant amount of my hair. It had almost reached my waist and had way too many split ends. I got a free treatment (whatever product they used smelled awesome and made my hair super silky) and I now have a really simple cut - still long enough that I can put it up when gardening /at the gym, but short enough to wash and go and no danger of overnight knots. Today I got my piercings back - found a great piercer locally and I was just going to get single studs in each ear but happily we discovered 5 of my old piercings were still open! She popped new studs in those - because I have no idea where my old studs are - only the tons of dangley earrings on the board in my bedroom. She redid the middle piercing on my left ear and now I have all the shiny jewellery back. Once the current ones have settled down I'm going back to get my helix piercing redone - might get one each side.
LIFE ADMIN: still planning to move from Gmail once I've decluttered it. Applied for a postal vote as I'll be working local election day (7 May) as a poll clerk in Richmond so won't be around to vote locally. Have to make time to complete training for that and it will be a long day (5am to midnight including travel to/from) polling station.
DIGITAL DECLUTTER: have kept email at mail at 11,000 but not managed to reduce it; staying on top of transferring To Keep items from tablet to dropbox, my phone images storage is a mess.
GARDENING/ALLOTMENTING: nope - too cold and/or wet and lacked motivation.
COOKING/EATING: reboarded the takeaway train over the last week - there just seemed to be no time at all, long work days!
READING/LISTENING: LOL. Thank you Rachel Reid - read Game Changers, Heated Rivalry, Tough Guy, Common Goal, Role Model and The Long Game and now re-reading Heated Rivalry matching book chapters to rewatch episodes. What do you mean obsessed?
WATCHING: Heated Rivalry - 4th rewatch. Everything else is having to fit around that!
CREATING/LEARNING: several, projects on the go/nearing completion - spring wreath, Halloween blanket, granny square blanket, hexicardi, granny square bags x 2. Might get one or two done by the end of the month.
CATS: all good.
VOLUNTEERING: one new task to complete as of meeting last week.
SOCIALISING: a 3 hour call with
gingerpig consisting of two hours of Heated Rivalry squee and one of catching up. A formal "WiLlYoUCoMeToMyCotTageThisEAsTer" invitation extended to ravurian - because, thanks to Show, I'm never going to be able to invite anyone to the cottage unless I adopt concussed-and-ever-so-slightly-high Shane's rhythm of speech. WORK: much improvement - BRAG quarterly meeting went well, the Seed Swap was a success, the three consecutive Saturday's of work are over until 28 March which is my next weekend day of work. I've started the current round of inspections which is generating a ton of admin (which is this coming week's issue), I need to carve out some time to dealing with financial year end (how is it almost the end of March?!!!) and reprofile the capital budget.
It's going to be a long work week - think I'm going to work from home tomorrow as I should be able to plough through a chunk of admin uninterrupted. Tuesday through Friday lunchtime will be office days and site visits. Then I've got 30 bags of compost to shift from a site wide delivery down to my plot on Friday afternoon - say a prayer for my knees and back! Keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine and blue skies next week.
Heated Rivalry update
Mar. 16th, 2026 12:33 amruricLOL I am all up in everything HR so much so that it's not even funny. :o)
So the last time I posted I was 5 days in, had watched it once, bought the books and was just about to start a second rewatch - that was last Saturday.
I read all 6 books in 2.5 days, completed a second rewatch, randomly watched eps 3-6 across 4 nights (because why not?) and then decided it would be fun to match reading the relevant chapters of HR and then watch the relevant episodes. I got as far as ep 3 and then got distracted by more cast interviews and HR insta and threads.
Yeserday I disappeared down the YouTube rabbit hole of fan vids - so now I have 193 open tabs across 2 browser windows, there's music playing, I have no idea where it's coming from and I'm in the middle of curating playlists on my YouTube. I need to remember how to DL from YouTube because I want a good chunk of those vids accessible to me at all times and never worry about them being pulled.
I may be curating playlists on Spotify for my gym workouts because HR bvidders use great music for their vids. And...um...I have a bunch of meta posts bookmarked to go back and read properly after the current rewatch.
Still noticing new things - all the subtle little whispered remarks that weren't obvious on first or second viewing. I need to see the whole series on a screen bigger than my tablet.
I'm catching up on the cast interviews which I'm finding delightful and astonishing. I mean the 3 minute social media sound bites, wild humour and meeting fans where they live was an absolute gift - but the long form interviews with their openness, vulnerability and in depth discussions are just blowing my mind.
Still steering clear of fanfic - because there are only 24 hours in a day - and I'm not sure I have time for an "Inception" level fandom event in my life - though I suspect I'm fighting a failed rearguard action there. Inception inhabited my brain for 2.5 years and with S2 of Heated Rivalry not airing until '27 and (please god) a potential further season - it's quite possible I'll be fully consumed by this until 2028.
Around all of that it's been super busy at work and I've been making a bunch of appointments/ running errands which come under the heading of "Get Your Shit Together" but for the first time in months I feel like I'm fully firing on all cylinders.
Not sure how much of that is down to the Little Canadian Hockey Romance That Could or whether it's due to the fact that we've had more than a few days of sunshine, warmth and blue skies (and not the dreary grey, wet and miserable days we've had since before Christmas) - whatever! I'm running with it.
So the last time I posted I was 5 days in, had watched it once, bought the books and was just about to start a second rewatch - that was last Saturday.
I read all 6 books in 2.5 days, completed a second rewatch, randomly watched eps 3-6 across 4 nights (because why not?) and then decided it would be fun to match reading the relevant chapters of HR and then watch the relevant episodes. I got as far as ep 3 and then got distracted by more cast interviews and HR insta and threads.
Yeserday I disappeared down the YouTube rabbit hole of fan vids - so now I have 193 open tabs across 2 browser windows, there's music playing, I have no idea where it's coming from and I'm in the middle of curating playlists on my YouTube. I need to remember how to DL from YouTube because I want a good chunk of those vids accessible to me at all times and never worry about them being pulled.
I may be curating playlists on Spotify for my gym workouts because HR bvidders use great music for their vids. And...um...I have a bunch of meta posts bookmarked to go back and read properly after the current rewatch.
Still noticing new things - all the subtle little whispered remarks that weren't obvious on first or second viewing. I need to see the whole series on a screen bigger than my tablet.
I'm catching up on the cast interviews which I'm finding delightful and astonishing. I mean the 3 minute social media sound bites, wild humour and meeting fans where they live was an absolute gift - but the long form interviews with their openness, vulnerability and in depth discussions are just blowing my mind.
Still steering clear of fanfic - because there are only 24 hours in a day - and I'm not sure I have time for an "Inception" level fandom event in my life - though I suspect I'm fighting a failed rearguard action there. Inception inhabited my brain for 2.5 years and with S2 of Heated Rivalry not airing until '27 and (please god) a potential further season - it's quite possible I'll be fully consumed by this until 2028.
Around all of that it's been super busy at work and I've been making a bunch of appointments/ running errands which come under the heading of "Get Your Shit Together" but for the first time in months I feel like I'm fully firing on all cylinders.
Not sure how much of that is down to the Little Canadian Hockey Romance That Could or whether it's due to the fact that we've had more than a few days of sunshine, warmth and blue skies (and not the dreary grey, wet and miserable days we've had since before Christmas) - whatever! I'm running with it.
Taxes are done
Mar. 15th, 2026 01:07 pmhalfshellvenusA big relief, as always, and the California state returns are in a manila envelope, waiting to go to the post office. The combined federal and state returns are the size of a substantial pamphlet now. I mentioned earlier that we had significant capital gains this year. I don't know what gets into our financial advisor sometimes (though she's really good at her job), but every 5-6 years this happens and our AGI suddenly balloons. This year? We owe about $2500 in federal taxes and $2300 in state, and that triggered a need to pay estimated tax payments in 2026. What a pain! Note that if the government(s) owed us this much back, we wouldn't get interest on the extra withholding, so why the panic?
I tried to go to our company's website to adjust my W-4 instead, but none of the links were working yesterday. Might be under maintenance. I also wanted to use the employee benefits webpage to rent a car for our upcoming trip to San Diego, but it was misbehaving too. More crap deferred onto my never-ending TODO list!
I finished reading Terminal Chaos, the second book in the Station Eternity series. That was fun— and only took me 4 days, as opposed to the 11 days to read Adventures In Calamity Physics. I knew Calamity was taking a long time, but geez! And now I'm a third of the way through the second book in the How To Become A Dark Lord And Die Trying series. It's also fun, though with way too many footnotes. My main complaint is a common issue for a lot of male authors writing female main characters: the women are highly sexed and also bisexual. It's like they're fanficcing their own creation. \o?
My bike is still in the shop, where the earliest I could possibly get it back is late tomorrow. Feeling antsy! But I got some errands done Friday and Saturday that I would normally have to split across weekends. Friday, I bought Easter candy. Saturday, I took my broken violin bow in to have it repaired and rehaired, and saw that I was near a Home Depot, so I went there afterward. I bought some CLR for the hard water stains we get, some of which showed up about 4 months after we moved back into our house. I also got a new salvia plant for the one in the front yard that 1) Died last year and 2) Whose replacement the gardener killed with Roundup. Plus some morning glory seeds (to replace the plants near the garage we lost in the fire), and a houseplant to put in the clay pot our daughter hand-painted for me as a gift. That means I have some gardening to do this afternoon...
I've been staying up too late watching Doctor Foster on BritBox, because it's an addictive train wreck. Need to get back on DST newtime again.
I tried to go to our company's website to adjust my W-4 instead, but none of the links were working yesterday. Might be under maintenance. I also wanted to use the employee benefits webpage to rent a car for our upcoming trip to San Diego, but it was misbehaving too. More crap deferred onto my never-ending TODO list!
I finished reading Terminal Chaos, the second book in the Station Eternity series. That was fun— and only took me 4 days, as opposed to the 11 days to read Adventures In Calamity Physics. I knew Calamity was taking a long time, but geez! And now I'm a third of the way through the second book in the How To Become A Dark Lord And Die Trying series. It's also fun, though with way too many footnotes. My main complaint is a common issue for a lot of male authors writing female main characters: the women are highly sexed and also bisexual. It's like they're fanficcing their own creation. \o?
My bike is still in the shop, where the earliest I could possibly get it back is late tomorrow. Feeling antsy! But I got some errands done Friday and Saturday that I would normally have to split across weekends. Friday, I bought Easter candy. Saturday, I took my broken violin bow in to have it repaired and rehaired, and saw that I was near a Home Depot, so I went there afterward. I bought some CLR for the hard water stains we get, some of which showed up about 4 months after we moved back into our house. I also got a new salvia plant for the one in the front yard that 1) Died last year and 2) Whose replacement the gardener killed with Roundup. Plus some morning glory seeds (to replace the plants near the garage we lost in the fire), and a houseplant to put in the clay pot our daughter hand-painted for me as a gift. That means I have some gardening to do this afternoon...
I've been staying up too late watching Doctor Foster on BritBox, because it's an addictive train wreck. Need to get back on DST newtime again.
Suck. Age.
Mar. 12th, 2026 06:58 pmhalfshellvenusWell, yesterday's bike ride didn't go so well. :(
Newer bikes often have the gear-shifter and brake functions embedded in the same part of the handlebars. Pull toward you, and the bike brakes. Push sideways, and it changes gears. But... push just a tiny bit on the diagonal and it starts to chew through the derailleur cable.
So, I started to have trouble getting into the top gear a few days ago, and sure enough... I was trying to shift down for a hill yesterday, and there was a "zzzk!" sound followed by the bike going into the top gear and becoming a one-speed. :O
I had to stop and turn around, and then bike almost 5 miles home in the hardest gear. Worse yet, the bike shop is really backed up, so instead of getting my bike back today, they will not be able to even start working on it until Monday. That's forever! *cries*
I absolutely hate this handlebar design. I break a derailleur cable about once a year because of it, whereas the shift levers on my bike from 20 years ago never let me down. :(
Newer bikes often have the gear-shifter and brake functions embedded in the same part of the handlebars. Pull toward you, and the bike brakes. Push sideways, and it changes gears. But... push just a tiny bit on the diagonal and it starts to chew through the derailleur cable.
So, I started to have trouble getting into the top gear a few days ago, and sure enough... I was trying to shift down for a hill yesterday, and there was a "zzzk!" sound followed by the bike going into the top gear and becoming a one-speed. :O
I had to stop and turn around, and then bike almost 5 miles home in the hardest gear. Worse yet, the bike shop is really backed up, so instead of getting my bike back today, they will not be able to even start working on it until Monday. That's forever! *cries*
I absolutely hate this handlebar design. I break a derailleur cable about once a year because of it, whereas the shift levers on my bike from 20 years ago never let me down. :(
Star Wars Fic and Meta - From All The Spaces Between Times - Chapter 75
Mar. 12th, 2026 04:24 pmelrhiarhodanTitle: From All The Spaces Between Times
Chapter: Chapter 75 — From My Screaming Your Name, This Place Will Not Console Us
Author:elrhiarhodan / ![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
elrhiarhodan / ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
elrhiarhodan
Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, The Force as a Sentient Character, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Breha Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Ahsoka Tano, Sifo-Dyas, Reva Sevander, Lene Kostana (mentioned), Savage Opress, Pong Krell, The Traitor, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (yes, we’re arrived). Bail Prestor Organa/Breha Organa
Word Count: ~ 5000 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: Canon-Typical Violence
Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.
But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.
Or,
Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.
He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.
Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.
Chapter Summary: Obi-Wan has returned to the Temple, laden with information firmly tying Damask to Palpatine. Or rather Plagueis to Sidious. But a not-so-random encounter interrupts the delivery of that information to the High Council.
From All The Spaces Between Times: Chapter 75 — From My Screaming Your Name, This Place Will Not Console Us (On AO3)
( Meta — From My Screaming Your Name, This Place Will Not Console Us )
Chapter: Chapter 75 — From My Screaming Your Name, This Place Will Not Console Us
Author:
elrhiarhodan / Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, The Force as a Sentient Character, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Breha Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Ahsoka Tano, Sifo-Dyas, Reva Sevander, Lene Kostana (mentioned), Savage Opress, Pong Krell, The Traitor, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (yes, we’re arrived). Bail Prestor Organa/Breha Organa
Word Count: ~ 5000 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: Canon-Typical Violence
Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.
But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.
Or,
Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.
He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.
Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.
Chapter Summary: Obi-Wan has returned to the Temple, laden with information firmly tying Damask to Palpatine. Or rather Plagueis to Sidious. But a not-so-random encounter interrupts the delivery of that information to the High Council.
From All The Spaces Between Times: Chapter 75 — From My Screaming Your Name, This Place Will Not Console Us (On AO3)
( Meta — From My Screaming Your Name, This Place Will Not Console Us )
WIP Wednesday, and a streaming find...
Mar. 11th, 2026 02:38 pmchicatingIf you get a chance and don't mind sentiment(or musicals) you might want to stream "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" which I missed during the pandemic. it's cute, but also pulls your heartstrings too.
thought I'd be back here faster, but some virus or allergy attack had me literally sucking on a lozenge for week so, you know.
WIP: A revamped version of "My Friends Think I'm Crazy", which I'll put a sample of under a cut.
( Read more... )
thought I'd be back here faster, but some virus or allergy attack had me literally sucking on a lozenge for week so, you know.
WIP: A revamped version of "My Friends Think I'm Crazy", which I'll put a sample of under a cut.
( Read more... )
Me-and-media update
Mar. 12th, 2026 09:46 amchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the Being an audience poll, 41.3% of respondents have been to the cinema in the last six months, 28.3% to the theatre, and 17.4% to a live music gig. I'm curious about the 10.9% who chose "other".
In ticky-boxes, bakery treats came second to hugs, 60.9% to 73.9%, which is an excellent showing. Snow puppies came third with 47.8%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Andrew and I finished Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold, so now I know whatminoanmiss meant by SHOPPING TRIP. *takes a moment* Anyway, it was great. I love Bujold's character work and her humour. Looking forward to the next one and getting to know Miles.
Kdramas
Still re-watching One Spring Night, lol. I made a flaily post about it a few days ago, but then realised that my "realisations" were actually explained in the next few scenes, so I don't know if I'm seeing the show differently or just remembering info I learned from the first time around. I've since privated the post, but if you've seen OSN and want to talk to me about it, please do!! I am mildly obsessed.
I also started Undercover Miss Hong onadore's rec. I'm in the middle of episode 2, and it's great so far. It reminds me of Good Manager (AKA Chief Kim) to the point where I checked if it was the same writer (it isn't), and otoh, the lead is played by Park Shin-hye, who was the nun in the "nun undercover as her twin brother in a boyband" drama, You're Beautiful, which was my gateway drug into the world of Kdramas, so in a way it feels like coming full circle. (Here, she's undercover as a 20yo.)
Other TV
We finished the Return of the King extras (omg, so stressful!). Still watching The Pitt, of course, though I really think it works better all in a bunch, rather than one episode a week. (I won't say "binged", because the most we ever manage is three episodes a night -- that's a lot for us.)
Happened to notice that Cheers is on Neon (NZ streaming service, incl. some HBO), and randomly started watching it -- it's aged surprisingly well! Very white, and the sexism vs feminism tension is front and centre, but Sam is fine, and everyone seems to be having a good time. We'll stick with that for a while and see.
The pilot of R.J. Decker, a new PI show loosely based on a Carl Hiaasen novel. It's very network TV, case-of-the-week and easy-going. Good supporting cast. Seems fine. A few episodes of Ponies, about two CIA widows trying to be spies in cold war Russia. They don't have much trade craft yet, so it's equal parts comedic and tense. Half an episode of SurrealEstate.
My sister and I are still on Fringe season 4, in which the entire multiverse revolves around Peter; I prefer Lincoln. And we watched some Bluey, naturally. Just finished season 1 and started season 2. 🧡💙🧡
Audio entertainment
All the usual suspects. More Movie Briefs, more local politics. And the episode of A Bit Fruity recced bysabotabby (who gives excellent podcast recs, btw). A Tech Won't Save Us episode about The Luddite Club. A bit of Ad Astra about pacing. I think I'm spending too much time listening to podcasts.
Online life
The 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange is coming soon!! We've been doing some behind-the-scenes prep for that. And wheeeee, I won a Fandom Trumps Hate auction (my first time bidding) -- so exciting!!
Writing/making things
Still bashing my head against the two things I started for Yuletide. It would be fantastic to get these off my plate before I get my 520 Day assignment and have to redecorate my brain in Guardian. *plugs away* (I feel like my intuition is offline, and I'm having to figure everything out with my inept thinking brain, why?)
In drawing, I did a practice pic of Zhao Yunlan, and wow, expressions are hard; the difference between worried and scared is, like, a millimetre here, a millimetre there...
Life/health/mental state things
The tsunami of ambient stress is making itself felt in my body. When I bought my new phone, I somehow got six months' free premium Fitbit membership again, so I tried wearing my Fitbit to sleep, to build up a data profile. And yep, an "objective" poor rating makes a subjective bad night's sleep feel so much worse. That's why I stopped doing this last time! So I've stopped again. Also, my resting pulse rate was going up and up for a while there. /o\
Had my free breast-squish day.
Goals
I did not do my goal things from last week. Ah well.
Good things
Sunshine. New (second-hand) red bag arrived this week; I don't think it's as waterproof as advertised, but it's a step up from my sponge of a handbag. Showers and kitties and going out to lunch. Biking and bike lanes. The Bingo fanart I received in![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomtrees continues to be cheering/soothing. GUARDIAN!!
In the Being an audience poll, 41.3% of respondents have been to the cinema in the last six months, 28.3% to the theatre, and 17.4% to a live music gig. I'm curious about the 10.9% who chose "other".
In ticky-boxes, bakery treats came second to hugs, 60.9% to 73.9%, which is an excellent showing. Snow puppies came third with 47.8%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Andrew and I finished Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold, so now I know what
minoanmiss meant by SHOPPING TRIP. *takes a moment* Anyway, it was great. I love Bujold's character work and her humour. Looking forward to the next one and getting to know Miles.Kdramas
Still re-watching One Spring Night, lol. I made a flaily post about it a few days ago, but then realised that my "realisations" were actually explained in the next few scenes, so I don't know if I'm seeing the show differently or just remembering info I learned from the first time around. I've since privated the post, but if you've seen OSN and want to talk to me about it, please do!! I am mildly obsessed.
I also started Undercover Miss Hong on
adore's rec. I'm in the middle of episode 2, and it's great so far. It reminds me of Good Manager (AKA Chief Kim) to the point where I checked if it was the same writer (it isn't), and otoh, the lead is played by Park Shin-hye, who was the nun in the "nun undercover as her twin brother in a boyband" drama, You're Beautiful, which was my gateway drug into the world of Kdramas, so in a way it feels like coming full circle. (Here, she's undercover as a 20yo.)Other TV
We finished the Return of the King extras (omg, so stressful!). Still watching The Pitt, of course, though I really think it works better all in a bunch, rather than one episode a week. (I won't say "binged", because the most we ever manage is three episodes a night -- that's a lot for us.)
Happened to notice that Cheers is on Neon (NZ streaming service, incl. some HBO), and randomly started watching it -- it's aged surprisingly well! Very white, and the sexism vs feminism tension is front and centre, but Sam is fine, and everyone seems to be having a good time. We'll stick with that for a while and see.
The pilot of R.J. Decker, a new PI show loosely based on a Carl Hiaasen novel. It's very network TV, case-of-the-week and easy-going. Good supporting cast. Seems fine. A few episodes of Ponies, about two CIA widows trying to be spies in cold war Russia. They don't have much trade craft yet, so it's equal parts comedic and tense. Half an episode of SurrealEstate.
My sister and I are still on Fringe season 4, in which the entire multiverse revolves around Peter; I prefer Lincoln. And we watched some Bluey, naturally. Just finished season 1 and started season 2. 🧡💙🧡
Audio entertainment
All the usual suspects. More Movie Briefs, more local politics. And the episode of A Bit Fruity recced by
sabotabby (who gives excellent podcast recs, btw). A Tech Won't Save Us episode about The Luddite Club. A bit of Ad Astra about pacing. I think I'm spending too much time listening to podcasts.Online life
The 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange is coming soon!! We've been doing some behind-the-scenes prep for that. And wheeeee, I won a Fandom Trumps Hate auction (my first time bidding) -- so exciting!!
Writing/making things
Still bashing my head against the two things I started for Yuletide. It would be fantastic to get these off my plate before I get my 520 Day assignment and have to redecorate my brain in Guardian. *plugs away* (I feel like my intuition is offline, and I'm having to figure everything out with my inept thinking brain, why?)
In drawing, I did a practice pic of Zhao Yunlan, and wow, expressions are hard; the difference between worried and scared is, like, a millimetre here, a millimetre there...
Life/health/mental state things
The tsunami of ambient stress is making itself felt in my body. When I bought my new phone, I somehow got six months' free premium Fitbit membership again, so I tried wearing my Fitbit to sleep, to build up a data profile. And yep, an "objective" poor rating makes a subjective bad night's sleep feel so much worse. That's why I stopped doing this last time! So I've stopped again. Also, my resting pulse rate was going up and up for a while there. /o\
Had my free breast-squish day.
Goals
I did not do my goal things from last week. Ah well.
Good things
Sunshine. New (second-hand) red bag arrived this week; I don't think it's as waterproof as advertised, but it's a step up from my sponge of a handbag. Showers and kitties and going out to lunch. Biking and bike lanes. The Bingo fanart I received in
fandomtrees continues to be cheering/soothing. GUARDIAN!!Poll #34352 Fitness trackers
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 50
Do you use a fitness tracker to monitor your activity?
View Answers
yes, regularly
9 (18.0%)
yes, sometimes
2 (4.0%)
...and an app
5 (10.0%)
I use the pedometer on my phone
8 (16.0%)
no, but I used to
6 (12.0%)
no, but I'm thinking about starting
1 (2.0%)
other no
24 (48.0%)
other
1 (2.0%)
ticky-box full of "I genuflect to the sanctity of the ticky-box"
20 (40.0%)
ticky-box full of otters building obstacle courses
24 (48.0%)
ticky-box of FANDOM SPARKLES
28 (56.0%)
ticky-box full of bears baking blueberry and salmon muffins
21 (42.0%)
ticky-box full of hugs hugs hugs
34 (68.0%)