Nerdy Thoughts

Welp, so much for posting monthly to keep myself accountable. I'm glad I didn't make posting in my dreamwidth blog a resolution tbh. Though I am hopeful I'm going to get back on track posting & commenting ...God, it's good to have hope lol. On to the resolutions:( Resolution update - 6-month mark )

It's another grey wet morning, the robins and starlings are absolutely thriving on the lawn. Seeing them dig around in the dandelion & grass makes up for the cold weather. Though I do hope we get some warmer temperatures soon. Last week I dug out all my summer clothes and I'd like to get a chance to wear them at some point this summer.

This was a good week so far. Some highlights are:

I finally tackled the rust spots in our dishwasher, using Rerack vinyl repair gloop that looks a lot like Wite-out and dishwasher rack caps.

I hauled out a few more boxes from the attic, continuing with my goal to get the attic empty. My parents used to use the attic for storage but I find it's too much of a pain in the ass to get things in and out of. When I cleared out my Dad's fishing shed in 2021, I started moving from the attic to the shed because there's way more room and no ladders.

In the attic I found a bunch of stuff that belonged to my brother which was a nostalgia bomb in mostly good ways...except the old bottles of cologne. They did not keep well these past 23 years. I get why my parents stored it all as when we moved in 2006 it had only been 6 years since he passed so I think it was still too soon for them. Still, it was a shock as I didn't realize how much his toys, hockey gear, and clothes had been kept.

My partner surprised me with an All-In-One 24MP HDMI film scanner, which I did not expect at all. I had mentioned to him that I was thinking about cleaning up all the film negatives & a pack of old slides my parents had and trying to figure out how to get digital copies. I haven't tried it out yet but now I have a new project to work on lol. Maybe something for the winter as this summer I'm hoping to get more done around the house.

The ol’ mental health is still going through its ups and downs. The last few years I’ve found that the saying of feelings being like waves to be helpful but I think it’s good for me to remember that I’m still learning to surf. Also, even the most experienced surfer can still wipe out.

Early May
I came home after work one day to find that a kestrel had flown into one of our garage windows and unfortunately died on impact after smashing part of the window. Since only part of the window was smashed it looks like I will be able to get the pane replaced without having to replace the whole window though I'm still waiting on the workman to come up to confirm this by taking measurements.

The Saturday before Mother’s day was a lot of fun, John & I went to see Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness aka Doctor Strange in The MOM. Thoughts at the bottom of the entry. I also got a chance to hang out with some friends & go to grab dinner at RJ Pinoy Yum, a Filipino restaurant I hadn’t had a chance to visit in years. I was glad to see it was still operating and their new location was far more spacious.

All week I had been seeing adverts for Mothers day and been fine but my mood tanked on the actual day so I didn’t do much, except clean & play Sims.

The past week
The blue mood persisted though the weather was lovely. I decided to request some vacation time for the last week of May. I have a couple of appointments and a medical test that’s going to take some prep so I figured I’d take the time with the hope that I wouldn’t be so stressed out.

I hauled out all my summer clothes and decided to try the backwards hanger trick to see what I would wear this summer. I bagged up some of the winter stuff and things that didn’t fit for donation. I also pulled out some of my parents' stuff that I kept and decided to gift/donate some more of Dad’s stuff. Namely his sweaters. I kept a bunch of them but I really only wear two of them regularly. So I kept the ones I still wear and the oldest, most sentimental one from the 80s that was Dad’s “dressy” cardigan.

Didn’t do much on Saturday except read & sleep. Decided it might lift my mood to get out of the house on Sunday so we went for sushi and grocery shopping.

This week
I have a counselling session this afternoon so I’m hoping talking to my therapist will help jerk me out of the blue mood. Or ride the wave better, as it were. I’ve got a plumber coming up on Wednesday to look at the bathroom sink in our master bath. It’s a super slow drain that liquid plumber isn’t fixing onto real plumber and hopefully the window guy will be up this week.


( Thoughts & spoilers about Doctor Strange )

Le sigh, it’s been a little over two months since I updated. August I was experiencing a depressive episode and feeling anxious and essentially tapped out. I didn’t feel like writing or doing much of anything other than sleep. My therapist recommended I take a week away from work for my mental health which I was lucky enough to be able to do at the end of August.

( More stuff about mental health & some grief decluttering talk. Nothing heavy, I just cut for space reasons mostly )

It’s funny, I had been putting off updating because in my head I was like “Oh I have nothing to write about” but here I’ve gone written a few paragraphs pretty easily. I could even write more but I’m going to save that for another post to see if I can get back on track again. Overall, I’ve been doing better and moved from the default of ‘okay’ to a default of ‘good’ most days. I feel motivated to do stuff and I’m looking forward to reading and catching up on what folks have been up to.

Since March I’ve been sucked into Big Brother Canada and it finally wrapped up last night. Overall, I’m satisfied, even though my favourite player (Adam) didn’t make it to the final 2 as he deserved. I’m listening to the RHAP recap and I wish I could mute Brett….like get over it! Your fave lost and Dane’s game was better.

( life stuff, some complaining )

So, the last half month has been super hectic and stressful, particularly in terms of work. I was in a flunk for a while, which always results in me being withdrawn online and offline for the most part. I’m happy to report things have gotten better though. I finally got through a pile of difficult work that was sitting on my desk for a while, thanks to finally getting some written instructions at work. Recap, we’re all still adjusting to our new library system with ExLibris Alma which has been....an adventure to say the very least in a positive way.

So yeah, now that work is bearable...dare I say even enjoyable... life has improved. We’re all in the swing of Christmas spirit both at work and at home. John and I didn’t bother with a full size tree since a) no space and b) we’re both going to our own families for Christmas but we did put up a Charlie Brown Christmas tree and we made a wreath for our door:


Anyway, sorry for not being around much the last two weeks. Hoping that now that work is better I’ll be able to be on more and catch up. If I’ve missed anything major I do apologize for not commenting. It’s not for lack of caring, it’s just that I’ve been caught up in my own flunk the last little while. I do think about my friends list and I’m hoping you’re all well.

This week hasn’t been as stressful as I feel like it has been but knowing that hasn’t stopped me from feeling so on edge and scatterbrained the past three days. I’ve been trying to update but every time I do I feel incoherent so if this is incoherent I apologize :P

On Monday I booked the plane tickets I need for a trip I’m taking in January 2016. My friend is getting married on a cruise so I need to fly down and back from Florida which luckily I have enough air miles to do. Unfortunately I was stupid and put off booking my flight last month so I had only one choice for the departure flight which I can work with but wasn’t as good as the options I had in July so I was kicking myself pretty hard Monday. Kicking myself was unnecessary because I still have lots of time and I just need to book a hotel that will allow a later check in, which the one I’m most interested in will allow. I just have a tendency to do that when I make mistakes.

Once again I realize I really have to crack down on my spending. I know, I know. Make a budget, stick to it, stop buying shit you don’t need. Easy in theory but surprisingly hard in practice, especially since I’m still adjusting and recovering from having to make a sudden move in March this year. Since I wasn’t updating back then and have added a bunch of people since then, I’ll explain. Back in 2012 I moved into my own basement apartment where I lived alone and this year in February there was water seeping in from the exterior of my landlord’s house. My landlords checked it out, realized it had been going on for some time and that they had to do a lot of repairs so I had to move. It was really too bad because my landlords were awesome, the best landlords I’ve ever had, and I loved my little apartment. One upside was that my partner John and I decided that since I had to move it was a good time to find a place together. I had to move back with my parents for a couple of weeks but after a lot searching & viewing we lucked out. We moved into our current apartment in April, which is in a great location and came with great landlords, so it all worked out but it was a blow to my budget. I’m still trying to adjust to living with a partner and manage my finances’ accordingly. You’d think it’d be easier with someone else helping with the rent but the rent is higher than my last place so it’s not that much cheaper plus there were added expenses. Having this trip coming up is exciting but financially a bit stressful.

...that’s probably the big reason I’ve been so scatterbrained on edge this week, now that I think on it. I know it will work out and I’ve even started working on ways to make some extra money outside my job like flea markets & craft fairs but I do have to be more mindful of where my money goes.

On the upside though, yesterday John joined the gym at my work place which I’m already a member so we’ll be able to work out together. Which is good because I’ve been terribly slack with exercising this year so I’m hoping this will motivate the both of us.

Also, I finally got a chance to borrow Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley from the public library (not the university library where I work) which was great. I've been itching to buy it and resisting the urge because I was hoping one of the libraries I use would get it. It's a good read, in some ways I like better than Scott Pilgrim but I wouldn't call it better. Perhaps just as good but in a slightly different way? It's less video game based and more folklore based which was interesting. If you're a comic reader and if you liked Scott Pilgrim I'd recommend checking it out.

BTW, is anyone here is on goodreads and would like a friend? My profile is here, feel free to add me if you'd like and I'll add back.

My guy made coffee.
I use salt and not sugar.
Typical Monday.

So far Monday’s been off to a slightly rough but amusing start. When I get home I’ll have to remember to label the container we have the salt in. In other news it’s been a really busy weekend. Here’s a run down in bullet form for your viewing pleasure:

Friday night – John & I went to the opening for the exhibit Remembering the Fallen Soldiers of Gallipoli with Poppies which I posted pictures of here. It was a good crowd and the caterer had provided some Turkish food in honour of the artist so that was fun to try. My favourite thing was this spread made out of beets.

Friday night continued – After the exhibit we headed over to my Department Head’s (aka boss’) house for a going away party for Cataloguing division Department head who’s moving all the way across the country. I was worried that the party would be awkward because even though my Department Head and the Cataloguing Department Head are both super awesome people there were going to be people there that I don’t work closely with and therefore don’t know very well. Thankfully it wasn’t too awkward at all and a few people I do know well and can talk to easily came to the party. John also discovered this gem in my boss’ CD collection ( Pictures )

Saturday – I had to get up early to sell at a craft fair in Witless Bay, a medium size town an hour or so outside of St. John’s (where I live). The craft fair was pretty dead but I made back my money and a bit extra, plus got to hang out with lady_green_bat all day so it was good in my books. Here’s a few pictures of what I made to sell -> ( More pictures! )

Saturday night - lady_green_bat gave me & John free tickets to attend Yuk Yuks and we had a really good time. The main act was Roy Daye and he was hilarious! I would absolutely go see him again. The MC, Jason Card, was also really good and even when the mic died he kept going, entertaining while the staff fixed it. There were two other comedian’s who also did a fair/good job but sadly their names escape me at the moment.

Sunday – Decided to be somewhat lazy. I just spent the morning reading, watching the Birdcage, and doing a little light cleaning. Afterward, John and I went for a walk about, grabbed an ice cream, and relaxed for the evening watching Bones then Defiance. OMG Defiance! Does anyone else watch that show? And see episode 8? Holy crap! I you don’t watch Defiance but like Sci-Fi TV shows with aliens & humans co-existing you should check it out.