Personal Digest Saturday: October 25 – October 31

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got up early and sorted out the labels and containers I'd be using for my evening party. Got my blogging done in the early part of the day and then got the rooms ready, setting out the trash cans and chairs and cooler arrangements for drinks. I put out my plates and utensils and napkins and finally started prepping some food--cutting up cheese and fruit, mixing dips, and getting the drinks in the ice. Finally I made the apple cider and put it in the container. I had just enough time to get my costume on and put out all the food before my first guest arrived--best timing ever! I enjoyed my friends' costumes and all the music and food. Ended up having ten guests in all. We mostly just talked and laughed all night. When the group got smaller toward the end of the night we played a card game and had fun with it. I got some help with cleanup at the end of the night and that was nice of them! Some people took food to go but I still had tons of leftovers. I didn't do as much cleanup as I usually do the same night because I was just tired. Ear status: Moderately annoying off and on all day.
  
  
• Sunday I felt sluggish all day--maybe after-party blues? I did end up getting the cleanup mostly done--washed all the dishes, put all the chairs back, cleaned and vacuumed, and did my usual Sunday chores (laundry and trash). I ate leftovers all day and caught up on the new episode of Fionna and Cake that just came out. And I did some editing on my novel (that's usually a Saturday thing but obviously I was busy). Ear status: Bad all day.
  
  
• Monday I was busy with editing letters at work. Also walked to the Post Office to drop off an eBay sale. Just missed getting soaked in the rain and wasn't even thinking about it! So lucky. I worked on my book, did some Polos, worked on some music for the band, recorded a karaoke song and a new video, and got tired kind of early. Ear status: Bad all day.
  
  
• Tuesday I worked on our shortlisted project and did some data entry for timesheets. Outlined a proposal. Played DDR without issue even though I felt kinda weird. Planned my comic So You Write and drew all the frames. Did some reading. Processed my video and subtitled it and posted it. Ear status: Bad most of the day with a couple short stints of less bad.
  
  
• Wednesday was a weird day. Got a message on my medical chart about scheduling physical therapy for my foot (I haven't been able to do that because they referred me to a place that doesn't even have an office in my city), and they they called me offering to get me in for the ENT appointment I've been waiting for much earlier than expected. (I was gonna have to wait an entire additional two weeks otherwise.) They had an appointment that morning and I slid in and grabbed it. The ENT was really nice and said I'd need a more in-depth appointment since nothing stuck out to her after a cursory exam. And guess what. That exam isn't until December 2. Ridiculous honestly. But she prescribed me a low-dose steroid to see if I'm dealing with inflammation, and I picked up the prescription and went home. I continued my work day and took care of some maintenance stuff. Got my book worked on since I didn't get to finish the previous day. Talked to a director about a third round of callbacks for a voice role I'm trying to get. Went out to eat with Jeaux at one of our faves, Vallarta's, and then in the grocery store my ear stopped bothering me for the entire rest of the night. I was cautiously optimistic. After Jeaux left I sent in a query and got to go to bed with no interventions for my ear problem for the first time in almost six weeks.
  
  
• Thursday I had an ear-problem free day all day and was very grateful for it. I went to meetings at work and did some data entry. Did a Polo for Meg, wrote my webcomic, did DDR, went to Game Night, and recorded my lines for the final callback for that project I'm shortlisted for. And I processed So You Write while listening to reactions on YouTube. Unfortunately at the very end of the night my ear problem came back. I only got about 27 hours of relief.
  
  
• Friday I was awakened by annoying ear noises. And again, it was bad all day, plus weird side effects from the medicine and I was dizzy. It took a lot longer to do everything I was trying to do and I had to cancel my evening plans to go visit Kari with brownies. But I did get all my work done at the office, go to a couple meetings, complete some reports, get my webcomic drawn, get both webcomics posted, and get my steps in while talking to Steve. I also chatted with the director a little regarding my latest audition and it sounds like he liked my take on the character but I'm sure the other finalists are talented too. I did manage to close out the night with some productive stuff regarding a book review and updating some online tracking. I did not get any trick-or-treaters, which was super disappointing because I was ready for them! Weirdly, at the very end of the night my ear noises got almost nonexistent and I chanced going to bed with nothing in my ears again, and it worked out. But I definitely need to make another appointment with a doctor to figure this out because I don't think it makes sense to just put it off until some general "hearing test" more than a month from now. Oh, and the first episode of an audio drama I'm cast in came out, but I'm not in the first episode, so I have to wait for the next one to hear how it sounds.

Interviews/Articles/Mentions:

• I was the guest on Asexuality 201 October Aces! Listen to my interview on I Don't Know If This Counts. (This is a different interview from the one that posted for Ace Week.)
• An Instagram user named marginnotesandmaps recommended The Invisible Orientation in honor of Asexual Awareness Day.

New Reviews:

• Martyna Trojgo gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I have no data this week. :)
  
  
• Nutrition stuff: Since I had an overwhelming amount of leftovers (a lot of it snack foods and sweets!), I completely prioritized eating things before they went bad instead of focusing on nutrition. I had leftover fruit and stirred a lot of it into yogurt, but that ended up being my only large source of protein this week, and I was low on protein every single day. However, I DID pay attention to still getting my three servings of fruits and veggies and still taking the vitamins!
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do aerobics or DDR every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,009 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 13,162 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige. Three-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I'm just starting.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Pleasantly Blue" by 4 Non Blondes. 

Stuff drawn:

 

My monthly writing webcomic, So You Write: #173: diverse book privilege.

 

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One: #1068: ivy #342: breaking rules.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #130 is out. In this video, I share some comments I initially made on a HuffPost asexuality-related feature regarding people's misconceptions about how relationships won't last if they don't include sex. I also share a Tumblr user's commentary on my post and my reply to them.

New photos:

The 2025 Halloween Party album is up in full, but here are my favorites:

My Rose Quartz costume

Jeaux's Dib costume

Dare's Luigi costume

Meghan's witch costume

Meg & Adam (Donald "Dump" with tiny hands)

Kari, Meggie, Adam

Yasmin's excellent plate

Yasmin, Business Phantom

Arthur put ranch on his pumpkin roll

Zak, Dare, Dorian

Friends (hi Michael!)

Jeaux explains things

Arthur in pillow heaven

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,440 for swankivy (lost 4), 680 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 215 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 766 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,460 for JulieSondra (lost 4). Facebook: 291 friends for swankivy (1 new, I friended Zak who came to my party), 627 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 79 followers for Negative One (no change), 247 followers for So You Write (no change), 103 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,415 (no change). Instagram followers: 290 (1 new). Threads followers: 81 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 405 (no change).