Tag: journal

About Me

Exercise

Autumn

I had to scrap my plans to write in the morning, and start exercising instead. Frankly, it’s a lot easier to take the kids out on a long walk than it is to do aerobics in the living room — go figure — so I need to get out early enough to “beat the heat.”

Aaaand I’m not remotely an early riser. LAWL.

The good news is that our local swimming pool has finally reopened, and water is great for circulatory problems. I’ll definitely be adding that to the routine.

I *know* that my health suffers when I become inactive, so I’m kicking myself over this.

Anyway

I like to get the stroller loaded up with drinking water and outdoor toys, then walk a mile to the park with the children. There are usually a few other kids on the playground, as well as a tennis group on the courts, so it feels community-like without having to do anything other than smile.

I’ve noticed a brand new trend this year:

People aren’t using their phones anymore.

At all.

I guess they have gotten sick of it.

A random photo of some dead ants that I accidentally killed with ant poison, then felt guilty about.
About Me

Dub Tee Eff

Autumn

I opened up my laptop, saw that image, and thought, “WTF am I up to?”

Actually, it’s just my amazing ability to hit pause at awkward moments.

About Me

The Predicament – A Short Story

Autumn

This got out of its cage, and stubbornly refused to leave my shoulder.

While this chased me around, begging me to let it play with the colorful flying thing.

About Me

Chickens

Autumn

Last year, someone living in the area got some chickens, then told me all about how good they are for gardens. I suspect that she imagined they’d carefully pick their way through the plant rows, eating pesky bugs and leaving fertilizing poop, so I burst her bubble by saying, “They will eat your vegetables.”

Come to think of it, that woman hasn’t spoken to me since, lol.

Actually, they don’t stop with vegetables. When you set up a chicken run, expect *everything* to die inside of it. And if you want to use the poop as fertilizer, then you need to compost it first — otherwise it will burn the plants and kill them.

Chickens aren’t a romantic pet in the slightest.

On that note: chickens are mean.

Really mean.

Our flock has taken to bullying one in particular, and I’ve had to separate her from the rest. This is actually a really common problem, and if left unchecked they won’t stop until the poor chicken is dead. Our little dear had a bloody comb when I pulled her from the coop, and was absolutely terrified of the others.

Interestingly enough, having a rooster prevents bullying, because he will manage the hens and keep them on their best behavior. Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to keep roosters in our area because of the noise. Personally, I don’t think that they are any worse than dogs, but that’s how it is.

Chickens are fun, though. They’re definitely worth it if you can put up with everything. Just don’t expect them to maintain your garden for you.

Photo by Hu00fcseyin u00d6zen on Pexels.com
About Writing

Carol, again

Autumn

A bit of random trivia is that Carol was actually the name of the main character from the first novel I ever finished … when I was 14.

I technically still have the file, but it’s encrypted so it can never come back to haunt me, lol.

As you’d expect from a novel written by a 14-year-old, the main character was a Mary-Sue. She had unlimited magical abilities, fell head over heels for a handsome prince, but was tragically the daughter of The Evil Antagonist. So. Epic.

But, because I’m a MAJOR weirdo, I didn’t name her anything AWESOME like Silver Raventhorn or whatever.

I named her Carol.

Yeah … I dunno.

I guess I had a pragmatic streak back then, too.

My current Carol, with The Scion Suit, is not in any way related to or inspired by the original. I recycled the name because it fit as normal and average.

And maybe also as a nod to my teenage self.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com
Video Games

Tamagotchi

Autumn

My 9-year-old made these stinkin’ cute Tamagotchi twins, then immediately had to marry them off.

I got a screenshot first.

About Writing

Carol

Autumn

In this post, I’ll be discussing spoilers for The Scion Suit. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you click the link and enjoy a free story.

The big reveal at the end of The Scion Suit is that the main character, Carol, is a “seed” for a bio-mechanical alien race, and she has a chip implanted in her brain stem that allows her to connect and interface with her mechanical body — aka the Suit. The idea behind her characterization is that she starts off as literally half of herself, and is consequently a fairly boring and one-dimensional individual. The more time she interfaces with the Suit, the more she develops into a full person.

With writing different story branches, I’ve had some time to emphasize that Carol doesn’t have much going on. She has no obvious hobbies or preferences, and can’t figure out how to occupy herself when she’s left to her own devices. Heck, she gets abruptly plucked out of her life and doesn’t miss anything about it.

I’m going to go ahead and confess something here:

I feel like I’m writing a normal, average real life person.

I want to believe that real people are more rounded than that, but unfortunately one of the poignant lessons of 2020 was that, when stuck at home with no where to go, a huge number of people will spend all day watching Netflix and not much else.

How disappointing.

But I guess that since this is my little fictional world, I can pretend that everyone is far more interesting than they are in the real one.

Photo by Julia Volk on Pexels.com
About Me

…

Autumn

It looks like the story of “my blood circulation sucks” isn’t over yet.

So I’ve been spending more time in the physical world, focusing on physical things, and doing physical activities.

Physically.

And roasting coffee