Personal Digest Saturday - March 14 – March 20

Life news this week:

• Saturday was a weirdly productive day for a day that also felt pretty chill. I prepared a package to go out and walked to the post office to send it. Read a book on the way back. Then I worked on my blog, made a fancy dinner (and a mess), and cleaned up all my mementos that were scattered all over the back room, organizing them into their appropriate boxes and getting them back in the garage. I did a Polo for Meg and practiced some music. Made some logos for samples for the band and packed my bag for the morning.
  
  
• Sunday my dad picked me up for band practice. We had a little delay because we were supposed to practice at Music Compound but plans fell through to let us in, so we had to go back to my dad's house and practice in the little music room. We had a good practice though. And since my dad was busy right after practice, he sent me home in an Uber. Once home, I did laundry and trash, tried out a dance video, and hung out with Kari. We finished watching EPIC and ate some pizza. After she left I went through some of the planners I'd found.
  
  
• Monday I was up somewhat early. Had to jump into editing letters since we had FOUR of the things due. I got two done, went to a debrief meeting, got the other two done, and went to a planning meeting. Managed to get a nap in. Did some reading and book reviewing, read over some voice-over auditions, read old journals, and sent a Polo to my sister.
  
  
• Tuesday I got up early for a meeting that ended up getting canceled. I worked on data entry most of the day. Took a nap, played DDR, did some more laundry, and did some music practice. Finished writing my short story I've had in progress and decided to title it "For the Record." Looked at more auditions and didn't find any I liked.
  
  
• Wednesday I went to get my taxes done early in the morning. I owe the government five dollars. Sweet. Then I got offered one of the voice-over roles I auditioned for recently and sent a message saying I would accept it. Went to work, attended a meeting, and updated materials. Sent a Polo to Meg. Submitted a query. Talked to my critique partner about the part of my story he's finished and got some thoughts exchanged on possible changes. Did more data entry. Edited my short story. Jeaux was late picking me up but we still had plenty of time to eat at Best NY Pizza and go shopping. Submitted another query and read old journals.
  
  
• Thursday I was glued to my seat for most of the work day sitting in meetings and preparing documents for our upcoming interview. I wrote my comic storyboard, played DDR, played games with friends, and finished editing my short story. I sent it out to a couple magazines even though it's brand new, because the last time I did that, the story got accepted the first place I sent it. Then I picked out my interview clothes and packed my bag so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning, and went to bed early.
  
  
• Friday I had to get up at 5 AM and my boss picked me up for the interview at 6. We picked up another team member and went to the Winter Haven office, which I've never seen, and we did one practice for the interview. Then we went to the DOT office in Bartow and did our interview. It went okay despite some questions we hadn't seen before. After I got home I took a nap and then did my usual reports for the office. I didn't have much time after but I got my comic drawn and barely got my steps in while reading.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week, and met my protein goals five out of seven days (weirdly, the day I ate pizza with Jeaux wasn't one of the missed days! But I only missed it by one percentage point the two days I was low, so I still think I did pretty well). I am still taking Vitamin D, Red Yeast Rice, CoQ10 Enzyme, Biotin, and a multivitamin.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do DDR or aerobics every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week. Based on my phone's app, my low day was Thursday at 10,194 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 18,494 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Heartstopper #5 by Alice Oseman. Five-star review.
• 
  
• Currently Reading: The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee. I'm on page 90.

New singing performances:

None this week.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1088: ivy #355: the most important person.

Videos Made: 

None this week.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,430 for swankivy (no change), 675 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 747 for swankivy (no change), 3,388 for JulieSondra (no change). Facebook: 287 friends for swankivy (no change), 626 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 78 followers for Negative One (no change), 243 followers for So You Write (no change), 101 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,409 (lost 2). Instagram followers: 300 (1 new). Threads followers: 85 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 449 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday - March 8 – March 13

Life news this week:

• Saturday I worked on my In Bloom edits all day off and on. I did take a break to play DDR and walk while listening to one of the audio dramas I'm in, and I did my blogging (which required getting up to date with book reviews). Finally sent my book to Jeaux to read.
  
  
• Sunday, the time change made it seem like I slept even later than I did. but it was cool. I did my chores, including laundry and trash, and did some reading. Messaged my sister to say happy birthday and got annoyed that my package for her hadn't arrived yet. Kari came over and we watched some of Epic: The Musical amidst technical difficulties. After she left I processed all the doodads from another memory box, got my walking done, and put away my laundry. Caught up on voice-acting auditions.
  
  
• Monday at work we wrangled elements of our upcoming interview for a shortlisted project. I had to work on a transcript all day and was literally there until 9 PM. Then I played DDR, organized mementos, made a Polo for Steve, and worked on my new short story.
  
  
• Tuesday I bothered utility owners and worked on another transcript, this time until 8:30 at night. Bummer. Did some reading. Organized mementos associated with Mom. Listened to a Polo from my sister. Worked on the short story more. Spent too much time saying shit in comments sections. Did some voice-over auditions again.
  
  
• Wednesday I was involved in more interview prep at work. Got assigned another transcript! Argh! After work I did my dishes, played DDR, washed some blankets, and sent out a query letter. Got some interest in one of my auditions, but nothing formal yet. Jeaux came early from his chemistry lab and we ate at Noble Crust. I went shoe shopping to get some shoes I can wear indoors on the advice of the podiatrist. We did our usual grocery shopping and showing each other crap on the internet. After he left I did a book review and paid bills.
  
  
• Thursday I worked on the next transcript all day. Wrote my comic. Went to Game Night with friends. Got walking in while reading. Almost messed up my scheduled rideshare but I caught the mistake in time!
  
  
• Friday I went to get bloodwork early in the morning before work. Then I spent the day on my reports at work and wrote some summaries for my part in the interview. After work I drew the webcomic, did aerobics, took a nap, and listened to the latest episode of another audio drama I'm in. Bloodwork results came in and everything was normal this time. Who knows.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week, and met my protein goals six out of seven days (as usual, my eating-out day with Jeaux was the miss). I am still taking Vitamin D, Red Yeast Rice, CoQ10 Enzyme, Biotin, and a multivitamin.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do DDR or aerobics every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week. Based on my phone's app, my low day was Monday at 10,121 steps, and my high day was Friday at 10,796 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Heartstopper #2 by Alice Oseman. Five-star review.
• Finished Reading: Heartstopper #3 by Alice Oseman. Five-star review.
• Finished Reading: Heartstopper #4 by Alice Oseman. Five-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Heartstopper #5 by Alice Oseman. I'm on page 170.

New singing performances:

"Ironic" by Alanis Morissette.

 

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1087: ivy #354: messenger.

Videos Made: 

None this week.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,430 for swankivy (1 new), 675 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 747 for swankivy (no change), 3,388 for JulieSondra (lost 1). Facebook: 287 friends for swankivy (lost 1, do not know who), 625 likes for JulieSondra (lost 2), 78 followers for Negative One (lost 1), 243 followers for So You Write (lost 2), 101 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (lost 1). Tumblr followers: 2,411 (no change). Instagram followers: 299 (lost 3). Threads followers: 85 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 448 (3 new).

Personal Digest Saturday - February 28 – March 7

Life news this week:

• Saturday I woke up late and dawdled a little before jumping into drawing my So You Write comic for the month. I wrote it, sketched it, inked it, colored it, and processed it. Then I worked on getting my YouTube video recorded the day before ready for the channel, but plans with Kari derailed getting done with it. She and I ate at Joe's Diner (and I had a weird experience with my grilled cheese sandwich!), and then we just hung out and talked until evening. After she left I finished the video processing, worked on my blogging, got my walking in doing a Polo for my sister, and got lazy.
  
  
• Sunday I slept late also. Got up and had oatmeal. Did some reading on my book I'm editing and sent some stuff to a beta reader. Did my DDR and then did some laundry and trash. Just worked on the book a lot. Cooked some zucchini. Sent a Polo to Meg. Did my posts about February's goals. Did a voice-over audition. Had a nice nap.
  
  
• Monday I spent the day entering credit card charges into our accounting software for my boss. Then afterwards I worked on organizing mementos, read a book, walked, learned a song, and worked on my book a lot. Went birthday shopping for my sister. Did a voice-over audition.
  
  
• Tuesday I went to work and found we'd gotten shortlisted on an upcoming project, yay. Did some team invitations and some updates on data entry. Did my DDR, did my memento sorting, did a Polo for Meg, practiced a song, and worked on my book. Also did some voice-over auditions.
  
  
• Wednesday I pushed through all my projects quickly to get stuff done before hanging out with Jeaux. I submitted a query, worked on my mementos (completing a massive box!), walked while reading, and did a bunch of work at work. I finished the book I was reading. Jeaux came and we ate at Vallarta's, one of our favorites. We shopped, came home, shared silly stuff with each other, and I fell asleep early.
  
  
• Thursday I worked on project research. Then I worked on writing Negative One editing In Bloom, and updating records. I got my invoice from another Mexican purchase. Yikes. Played games with friends. Sent a Polo to Ben. Did my DDR. Worked on more editing.
  
  
• Friday I went to the podiatrist first thing and she prescribed me some shoe inserts to help. Did reports at work. Had a couple weird naps. Did my comic and listened to reactions while drawing. Got some book edits done. Had trouble getting my steps in because my phone just keeps not counting at all while I walk. Ugh. Read Heartstopper #1 in a single sitting. Found out I got shortlisted for another voice-over role.

New Reviews:

• Jonna Lee gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week, and met my protein goals four out of seven days (missing two of those days narrowly, though; as usual, restaurant day was a big miss). I am still taking Vitamin D, Red Yeast Rice, CoQ10 Enzyme, Biotin, and a multivitamin.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do DDR every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week. Based on my phone's app, my low day was Friday at 10,057 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 12,093 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee. Four-star review.
  
  
• Finished Reading: Heartstopper #1 by Alice Oseman. Five-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Heartstopper #2 by Alice Oseman. I'm just starting.

New singing performances:

"Money Changes Everything" by Cyndi Lauper.

 

Stuff drawn:

My monthly writing webcomic, So You Write:

   

#177: robot reader.

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1086: ivy #353: the first one that matters.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #134 ("You're ace, so surely you don't respect gay people!") is out. In this video, I feature a weird commenter who thought I would agree with his anti-gay philosophy because he expected me to think being asexual put me above sexuality entirely, and I also share a trollish reaction to me complaining about this.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,429 for swankivy (lost 3), 675 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (lost 1), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 747 for swankivy (lost 2), 3,389 for JulieSondra (lost 2). Facebook: 287 friends for swankivy (lost 1, do not know who), 627 likes for JulieSondra (2 new), 79 followers for Negative One (no change), 245 followers for So You Write (no change), 102 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,411 (no change). Instagram followers: 302 (no change). Threads followers: 85 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 445 (2 new).

February Goals Update

It's March! So it's time to talk about how February went! I think I'm still doing pretty well with my 2026 goals and it's time to check in with them.

1. Health Goals: Four glasses of water per day; three servings of fruits and veggies; taking vitamins; walking 10,000 steps a day plus an aerobic activity every other day; visiting health professionals on an appropriate schedule.

2. Personal Project Goals: Complete editing on In Bloom, share with test audience, collect and incorporate feedback, develop pitch materials, start querying it; start another book; write two more short stories; submit queries and short stories; finish the photo project and start the SU site, autobio site, and essays/rants site; practice music; post regular webcomics; post ace videos; submit voice-over auditions and complete assigned voice-over work.

3. Reading Goals: Read at least every other day.

4. Relationship and Communication Goals: Document more consistently; keep up with e-mail and online messages; keep social life active.

5. Other Goals: Get rid of garage items; clean the house; watch TV shows; plant herbs; wear pajamas/have a night routine; use a new coffee cup every day; do something cool with my hair.

Progress Update:

HEALTH GOALS:

Summary: Water goal was still perfect. Fruits and veggies were still perfect. Vitamins were still perfect. Walking and exercise goals were still perfect. I "graduated" from physical therapy and had my yearly physical, but there was weirdness so I have to go back for more bloodwork, and I'm going to the podiatrist to continue the quest to solve whatever's wrong with my foot. I have not yet scheduled a couple of the screenings I need but I do have my dermatology appointment on the calendar already. I did better on the protein goals the last couple weeks of February.

Here is my Health calendar of progress:

(Click these calendars and they will expand so you can actually read them!)

PERSONAL PROJECT GOALS:

Summary:

EDITING: We're into beta reading. I'm gathering and incorporating feedback from readers. I'm a little stalled on this because I have to wait for people to read and I can't rush that, but I'm working on incorporating some overall thoughts I got from early chapters to make sure I'm consistent throughout the manuscript. It's still just barely under 130,000 words and we need to keep it that way. I expect this month to mostly just be beta reader input, but I might work on pitch materials if I don't have feedback to work with. I've been very dedicated to the editing this month; I don't have assigned days, but I've been gravitating to it and I'm very excited about the project.

WRITING: Last month I did some brainstorming on a short story, but I haven't written it yet. Weirdly, I got an idea for a different short story and have written about half of it. Hope to complete it in early March.

SUBMISSIONS: I've kept up submissions of queries and short stories. One statement of interest still outstanding.

Writing Progress:

PHOTO PROJECT: I've halted at the year 2000 because I'm now digging through memory boxes and old planners trying to get some notes together to place older photos. The mementos are now being organized as sort of a side quest (which will help with one of the other website projects I have in the future). I've been doing a lot of this and it's been fun diving in and getting it all organized, but the room where I'm working on it is a huge mess.

VOICE ACTING: I was asked to read for a part in a show with a director I was already working with, and she ended up giving me the part. Recording hasn't started. I still have a pending shortlist from an audition, but it's really competitive and I'm not expecting to be chosen. We'll see. I haven't done as much with auditions this month--just haven't had time.

REGULAR CONTENT: I have posted my Negative One webcomic every Friday; my So You Write webcomic on the last day of the month; and a new asexuality video for the month.

MUSIC: No movement on anything exciting for the band--just practice and trying to get our songs polished.

Here's the Projects Calendar:

READING GOALS:

Summary: This goal has worked out nicely--I aim to read on the days I don't have exercise scheduled, and managed to do so every day except the very last day of the month. I've been on the same book all month and have not finished, but I'm really enjoying this one.

Progress:

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS:

Summary: I've been doing Jeaux Day, Game Night, band practice, and hanging out with Kari here and there. Still only a couple posts about everyday stuff and I'd like to increase this but I've really fallen out of the habit. I have a couple issues I want to blog about and haven't done it yet (one about the recent beta-reading experience, and some follow-ups about my experience with ordering merch from Mexico).

Progress:

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: I haven't yet gotten a plan together to get rid of the garage items. My house's organization and cleanliness has continued to suffer lately. I have not caught up with the intended TV shows. It is not the season yet to plant the herbs I have planned. I have mostly been doing really well with the night routine--changing into pajamas and doing a reasonable skin-care and hair-care regimen that's new (but I have continued to mess it up a few times by falling asleep early in my clothes). I have indeed enjoyed using a new coffee cup every day. I'm planning to make another hair appointment next month (for a trim and another attempt at getting cool colors like I want).