wildforce71

Back to work! That sure will be something.

I’ve already done a quick check of my work emails — always a toss-up whether that’s a good idea or not. On the negative side, it tends to ramp up my stress about work things at a time when there’s nothing I can do about it. On the positive side, I’ve gotten in trouble at work before for “expressing strong feelings” when reading my emails, so at least this way I won’t have to have A Conversation with my boss about my reactions.

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

dragovianknight

I love my Kindle Fire. It's really old, like second or third generation, and even though it can sort of surf the web and play videos and such, at heart it's still an e-reader with a color screen, and that's the way I like it.

But as I said, it's really old, and the battery life isn't what it once was, and sometimes it balks at connecting to the internet. So I went to see what might replace it.

While I wasn't paying much attention, Amazon decided the Kindle Fire ought to become the Fire Tablet. At $50, I'm sure it's probably pretty crappy as a tablet, but still fine as an e-reader, I just don't want all the extra crap. I certainly don't want Alexa. And apparently if I want a case with pretty colors, as opposed to black, I have to get their advertising-enabled version.

The e-reader only Kindles have black and white screens, making them useless for comic books. Also, I prefer color for book covers, because when they have good art I want to LOOK at them, damn it.

All of which means I will probably opt to stick with my very old Fire until it finally dies. But I'm going to be bitter about it.

starandrea

"just give it one more try
to a lullaby, turn this up on the radio
if you can hear me now I'm reaching out
to let you know that you're not alone"
--nickelback, "lullaby"

marcicat

Time for a quiet recovery day to finish out Adventure Week. (Much needed, since my leg muscles all woke up saying ‘we did a week’s worth of work in the last two days, so don’t expect much till next Monday.’)

Today’s main goal is to get my photos transferred off my phone. That seems manageable, right?

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

marcicat

Spent two excellent days hiking, managed not to hurt myself any more than a bruise where my pack shoulder strap rubs my collarbone. No rain = success at a higher level than anyone expected!

The things I apparently think are most important to do upon the return from said trip:

1. Hang up anything wet; it’s not going in the laundry till tomorrow morning.

2. Retrieve cat. (He is happy at home and happy here, but the transitions are less fun. Luckily it’s not a long trip. He is now resting happily on the sofa on one of his many blankets.)

3. Write a post about it, of course!

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

starandrea

I've done everything I was planning to do today and it is still a very reasonable quarter till midnight. Moreover I have finished book one of the Keeper Series, so there is nothing stopping me from going to bed and getting a good night's sleep.

...HA HA BOOK TWO HERE I COME ♥

starandrea

♥ High Sensation-Seeking Highly Sensitive People (Elaine Aron)

It's like being a thrill-seeking introvert, I sometimes say, because I feel like that casually evokes some relevant associations even though it's awkward and imprecise. It's accessible, and that counts for a lot in communication, where being right isn't as important as being understood.

So someone once asked me, "How can you ever be happy?"

I was as baffled by this question as I was by the dentist who took one look at my bite (my upper and lower teeth don't meet in front or on the sides, only at the back two molars, a phenomenon which is largely invisible in everyday life even when specifically demonstrated as it just looks like I'm not biting down) and said, "How do you eat a sandwich?"

I... put it in my mouth and chew?

But the best part is, I'm a gemini with pisces ascendant and a libra moon. There are three astrological signs of duality, and I'm all of them. I'm always happy. And sad. At the same time, about exactly the same things.

sailorsol

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

rosabelle

So this is what food poisoning feels like. It's fun.

marcicat

This is pretty much how my brain always works when I’m doing something (anything, really, but it’s much more noticeable when it’s something new):

1. “Oh yeah, I got this.”

2. “Definitely don’t have this. What was I thinking?”

3. “This is going to be awesome!”

4. “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

5. repeat, on infinite loop

I mean, the good thing about it is that because it’s so predictable, I can usually work with it and/or let it run in the background, while I do other stuff. Plus the odd numbers feel great.

Onwards with Adventure Week!

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

tassosss

Exit Light (77427 words) by Dragonflies_and_Katydids
Chapters: 22/22
Fandom: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Iron Bull/Cullen Rutherford, Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford, Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford, Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus
Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Iron Bull, Dorian Pavus, Cassandra Pentaghast, Cremisius "Krem" Aclassi, various OCs, Cole (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Angst, Addiction, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, D/s, Threesome - M/M/M, Dominance & Submission, Mildly Dubious Consent, Suicide Attempt, POV Cullen Rutherford, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Series: Part 1 of Dawn
Summary: Cullen struggles with his lyrium addiction. Some days are better than others. Or (if you prefer a silly summary for a not-so-silly fic): In which Cullen is suicidally depressed, Dorian is a high-functioning alcoholic, and Bull just wants them both to be happy, except when he wants to crack their heads together for being emotionally stunted idiots. Spoilers galore, particularly for Cullen's, Dorian's, and Bull's personal quests.

Why I loved this: Oh man if you want a heartbreaking, yet amazingly perfect and ultimately hopeful Cullen-has-trauma-can't-deal-but-gets-there-with-Bull-and-Dorian fic this is for you. I feel like this is a story that understands depression (pay attention to the tags, this is not a fluffy fic). Cullen's head is not a nice place and the focus of the story is him and his ultimate survival through a really dark period that begins when he quits lyrium. Starting a relationship with Iron Bull is the beginning, and it enfolds Dorian, who's a mess of issues, and I just really love how this story evolved and they all get through it.

starandrea

Yesterday

marcicat and I took my car to the Inflatables 5k. This is the second year we've done it together, and it was even more fun on repetition, which isn't a common gemini sentiment. I bought a race jacket, because they were bright blue and I don't like the free shirts they give out.

We stopped at Marci's apartment afterwards to change clothes and look at pictures (and laugh at videos; we are hilariously terrible at recording action) and when I went back out to my car I found a flat tire. This was inconvenient, since I carry approximately a rental agency's worth of sporting goods in the back of my car, so accessing the spare meant shifting a lot of things out of the trunk.

A few minutes into this project Marci remarked, "I like how you just bought a blue coat and there are five blue coats in here already."

starandrea

Co-morbidity: SPD and other disorders

"Children whose Sensory Processing Disorder conforms to the under-responsivity subtype typically require a great deal of stimulation in order to become alert and active, a behavior often seen in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Meanwhile, other children with ASD have symptoms more similar to the over-responsive subtype of SPD. Because Autism and SPD both have over-responding and under-responding categories, Autisms and SPD are sometimes mistaken for one another.

The relationship between SPD and Autism is an area of great interest to scientists and families living with the condition. Studies by the STAR Institute suggest that at least three-quarters of children with autistic spectrum disorders have significant symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder, and probably more depending on how significant symptoms are defined.

However, the reverse is not true. Most children with SPD do not have an autistic spectrum disorder. Our research suggests that the two conditions are distinct disorders just as SPD and ADHD are different disorders."

⭐️

"Scientists and parents alike are keenly interested in understanding the relationship between SPD and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD), a better-known condition that is frequently treated with medication. Although the neurological basis of the two disorders is different, children with the sensory craving subtype of SPD are especially likely to be diagnosed and treated for ADHD because their behaviors are similar to behaviors in children with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Studies by STAR Institute suggest that SPD and ADHD are unique disorders, each with its own distinct symptoms. This means that SPD is not simply a type of ADHD, and ADHD is not simply a subtype of SPD. However, an estimated 40% in the typical population and 60% in clinical samples of the children with one disorder also have symptoms of the other."

--The STAR (Sensory Therapies and Research) Institute

marcicat

Adventure Week rolls on — it’s not really a week in terms of matching up with a calendar week, but it started yesterday and goes through Wednesday, and calling it Adventure Week sounds cooler than ‘five consecutive days of doing stuff.’

Day 1: Bounce House Obstacle Course 5K (it’s actually called the “insane inflatable 5K,” but I like mine better) — achieved! And with minimal injury! (Just a little scrape near my elbow, which is Exhibit A in the ‘wearing a long-sleeve shirt and then pushing the sleeves up does not provide the protection you were hoping for’ lesson.)

Day 2: Final packing for the hike. And maybe a nap? (It’s important to have quiet time built into adventures, right?)

Day 3 & 4: Hiking.

Day 5: Rest & recover day. Laundry. Apologize to the cat for being away. Award myself some serious stickers for all that adventuring.

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

marcicat

You know when your feet hurt, and you think ‘do I need to rest them, or do I need to move them?’

And then you maybe do some googling, and you think ‘okay, so either I’m fine, or I’m dying, thanks a lot, google.’

And then maybe there’s some more googling, and you maybe try a combination of resting and moving, and you think ‘I wish I hadn’t started paying so much attention to my physical self, because now I’m noticing all sorts of physical discomforts that I was happily ignoring before.’

And finally you just tell yourself ‘ah, what the heck.’

In conclusion: it’s time to go run/walk/climb/bounce at the Insane Inflatable 5K!

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

starandrea

Yay smashwords! I was looking for The Keeper Series online, because I have it saved on my laptop but it's my tablet that's sitting on my lap. And lo, when I googled it I found the author on smashwords! I had no idea, but I am delighted to be able to give Kristine Williams money for a story I have enjoyed for so long, and not incidentally, to find some more of their work along the way.

I have little idea what smashwords is, except probably something like lulu, with whom I have been privileged to work over the last ten years. As soon as I clicked "buy" it walked me through account setup, and now I have all four books in "The Keeper Series" on yet another device. Sweet.

ETA: Searching for the word "keeper" in my journal returns 15 results. 10 of them are about this series.

ETAA: This one's a classic. (And this one.)

ETAAA: Ha ha! ...Or I could just read all of my posts about it instead of rereading the story itself. It's faster, anyway. If I keep going I wonder if I can count this entry as my 750 words for the day.

marcicat

Apparently I’m in a very non-committal space right now, because I keep reading things and not bookmarking them.

So I went checking back to see if I’d ever recced to dwell is to die, by FeoplePeel
Quill’s Guardians are a group of reformed criminals at best; save the literal empath they’ve recently outfitted themselves with, Kraglin shouldn’t have to worry about hashing out his feelings with practical strangers.

And I haven’t (I don’t think), but I did find two other fics that I have no memory of but enjoyed reading (re-reading?) off an old bookmarks list.

Living Arrangements, by scifislasher
“Kendrix, please,” he protested. “Hacking is such a loaded word.”

Poems, Prayers, & Promises, by Cyanne
“And don’t think I didn’t notice that you managed to miss the official proclamation. Good thing I wasn’t planning on calling on the Senior Staff to say a few words seeing as the heads of two of my departments were busy eloping at the time.”

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

dragovianknight

Click the thumbnail to go to the Amazon series page and see the covers full size.

And granted, I KNOW why more indies don't have covers like that; most indies can only afford covers made from stock images, and stock images are pretty lacking when it comes to fantasy or SF. But these are covers that actually make me want to buy the books and check them out, which I can't say for the usual Photoshop Princess covers I see.

Of course, it's also entirely possible I'm Old, and the people on forums who say readers are now used to stock photo covers and wouldn't WANT illustrated covers are correct.

Edit: This is another good cover; the Book Barbarian newsletter was full of them today. Maybe there's a change in the wind, or maybe today was just a good day.

marcicat

Last night I dreamed that someone told me I’m awesome. Thanks, dream friend! Of course, I also dreamed that someone dressed my cat up in a shark costume as part of a Sea World-type water show. What’s up with that, brain?

(Not my cat, or my dream!cat. But a happy pallas cat is a good addition to any post!)

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

tassosss

I always get so excited when I can actually make a Wednesday book reading post. I mean, it's not that I'm not reading constantly, just that I'm not reading books constantly.

Anyway. I'm reading Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier which is non-fiction about the video game industry, and just how games get made. It goes in depth into the development of ten games, each structured to highlight an aspect of the industry and what made getting that particular game to market so fucking complicated. One of them is Dragon Age Inquisition, which is why I bought it, but the whole thing has been fascinating so far. Also makes me appreciative that I'm not in the gaming industry where there seems to be zero work/life balance.

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workaday Thursday

Bah, Amazon. Bah, I say.

"if you're out there barely hanging on" (nickelback)

Adventure Week’s quiet finale

hike achieved!

good life choices

"more alike than different, stronger together than alone" (strangers from the sky)

(no subject)

could've done without knowing, really

time to hike!

Dragon Age Rec

"I just like blue coats."

(no subject)

ADVENTURE WEEK

caturday 5K

(no subject)

fic rec Friday

Why don't more indies have covers like this?

what?

I'm reading a book!

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