Personal Digest Saturday: November 9 – November 15

Life news this week:

• Saturday I cleaned up the house a bit and put together some collages from some drawings I got from various artists who worked on Steven Universe, and I put some zines in holders for display. Talked to my sister Patricia and we planned out the next time I'm coming to visit her. Then I worked on my blog until Kari came over. We got a pizza and did not watch cartoons--just chatted for a long time about life, politics, art, and relationships. Great night.
  
  
• Sunday I went to band practice and we got some catch-up time during our car rides. We had sushi at our usual place. When I got home I did laundry and trash like usual and took a weird nap. Got mad at a book and had to hustle to get my steps in. Did a little writing.
  
  
• Monday I did some work on a letter at work. After work I did some editing on projects and went to bed early.
  
  
• Tuesday I did some training at work. Then I did a bunch of homework--got some stuff together for the bank appointment for the next day, finally got my first update done for the stuff I've been preparing for my neglected rants, researched some medicines and canceled an appointment, and worked on my story again and was able to fix a plot hole.
  
  
• Wednesday I did some team coordination and other work. I went to my bank appointment and was finally able to send money from the sale of my mom's house to my sisters. On my way home I bought two new plants and planted them in new pots. Read old journal entries, talked to Tony, and went out with Jeaux. We finished watching what was available of What We Do in the Shadows.
  
  
• Thursday I did some data entry. Wrote my next comic storyboard. Went to a dentist appointment and it was super weird. They found a cavity and I have to go back next week. My second ever cavity! (It's a spot between teeth. I can't see it.) Did some Polos and went to Game Night with friends. Only got a little bit of drawing done.
  
  
• Friday I did my usual timesheets and reports at work. Watched an exciting Q&A livestream with some of the Steven Universe crew and wrote up the highlights for my blog. Spent the evening getting my comic done and my steps in.

New Reviews:

• Heiki Eesmaa gave The Invisible Orientation a one-star review on Goodreads.
• raven gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Lower this week than last week, but still not quite where I want to be. Would like to see that pre-vacation number come back. I recorded a high of 114.0 and a low of 113.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I've been having issues this week getting three servings of fruits and veggies in! It seems like I always mean to have a juice or a fruit cup before I go to bed and then I fall asleep first! So I've messed that up a couple times, but thanks to my spinach smoothies I'm still usually getting my green veggie in. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week, but cut it extremely close a couple days. My low day was Monday at 10,004 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 15,058 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: American Panda by Gloria Chao. I'm on page 62.
  

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1018: ivy #316: noticeable.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,477 for swankivy (no change), 679 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 209 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 811 for swankivy (lost 13), 3,729 for JulieSondra (lost 91--everyone is dumping Twitter because of Elon Musk being nominated to the Trump administration). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (1 new--I accepted a request from an old high school bud), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,428 (no change). Instagram followers: 280 (1 new). Threads followers: 76 (1 new). I just joined Bluesky Social (where people are flocking for a post-Twitter life). I now have 40 followers there.

Personal Digest Saturday: November 2 – November 8

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did a little bit of household maintenance and blogging and processing of photos. Talked to my friend Sarah on the phone for a while. Meghan and Adam came over to visit briefly and give me a cool signed Indigo Girls CD in a frame. Finished the blogging after they left.
  
  
• Sunday I had a chill day except that I did maintenance on my water system, did laundry, and took out the trash. I played games, read some discussions online, listened to some old episodes of my podcast, and recorded a karaoke song.
  
  
• Monday I compiled timesheets and did some reports. Finished reading my friend Ronni's book. Spent a bunch of time putting together a post for a group I was in, and when it posted it was very popular so I got distracted responding to comments.
  
  
• Tuesday I had a couple meetings, cleaned up the house, wrote a book review, and talked to Tony out in the yard. Made a request to get some damaged contact lenses replaced. Hung out on Discord sporadically chatting with my friends about election news. Went to bed feeling gross because I doubt it's any secret I did not want Trump to win but it looked bad almost immediately. Couldn't get to sleep properly even though I took a sleep aid.
  
  
• Wednesday my brain finally let me have a little sleep in the morning, but then in the morning I looked at a few news articles and went to work. Did a few chores, took a nap when I was tired, and went shopping with Jeaux. We had been planning to eat at a certain restaurant and go bowling, but ended up not being able to do either because Jeaux didn't know neither place would have availability when we wanted it. We ended up watching some great episodes of What We Do in the Shadows. Then we went back to my place and read silly things and talked about the future.
  
  
• Thursday I worked on some utilities stuff and some reports, and I glued loose vinyl strips down in my kitchen. Wrote my comic, made a Polo for my sister, met my friends for Game Night but we didn't play any games because we were just chatting about election stuff, and drew some comic frames while chatting. Finally got the bank info to be able to send my sisters money from the sale of my mom's house.
  
  
• Friday I did some interaction with teaming partners and some reports, and made a couple appointments. Drew the rest of my webcomic, practiced some music, caught up on news, and did a few submissions.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Started with a high and then just steadily went down throughout the week, which went hand in hand with the return to my usual eating habits. Glad to see that. I recorded a high of 116.2 and a low of 114.2.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Had no trouble getting my fruits and veggies this week. There was only one day when I was a little low on protein and one day where I had a lot of fat in my diet, but overall it was a very balanced week. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,026 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 14,758 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. Four-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: American Panda by Gloria Chao. I'm on page 40.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Surface Pressure" from Encanto.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1017: dax #151: a different "we".

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,477 for swankivy (9 new), 680 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 208 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 824 for swankivy (lost 5), 3,820 for JulieSondra (lost 54--people are leaving Twitter in droves after the election). Facebook: 298 friends for swankivy (2 new--I accepted a request from someone who likes me on YouTube and made one new friend in a group), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (2 new). Tumblr followers: 2,428 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 279 (2 new). Threads followers: 75 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: October 26 – November 1

Life news this week:

• Saturday was my big Halloween party! I went out before it got too hot and swept my porch down for outdoor loiterers . . . and found a wasp nest had taken up residence under the table. Got rid of it and that was no fun. Also put my outdoor lights back up. I rested a little, printed out my food and drink labels and laid out the party food dishes, and did my blogging. Then I got in the kitchen and got drinks cooling and started making the cider. I was mostly dressed in my Halloween costume when the first guests (Ben and Scott) arrived so I had to finish after they got settled. They helped me put out the rest of the food. Then more people showed up: Meghan, Adam, Dorian, Dare, Cade, Jeaux, Yasmin, Arthur, Michael, and Rachael. We ate a bunch of food, listened to music, talked about politics and nerdy things, and played the card game Joking Hazard. (Jeaux and Michael both brought the same game!) When everyone trickled out with leftovers I cleaned up the kitchen a little and went to bed.
  
  
• Sunday I tried to spend part of the day recuperating--it's been a whirlwind month, with a vacation, a hurricane evacuation, and a week of party prep. I made a Polo for my sister, ate leftovers all day, and got some trash out and dishes done. I took several LONG naps and it was nice. Also put away laundry and vacuumed.
  
  
• Monday I had to edit and send out FOUR letters (more than usual!) and did a little research. Later I wrote my So You Write webcomic and researched what content I want for my next video. Did some laundry and reading. Took more epic naps. Made a doctor's appointment.
  
  
• Tuesday I did some crash research. Drew some comics and filmed/edited/posted a new video. Ate way more leftovers. Did more reading and submitted some stories to magazines.
  
  
• Wednesday I went to the foot doctor. I thought they would want to take my toenail off again but they didn't. They're doing a test so we'll see what it says. I walked to the pool store to buy my water system chlorine. Did some teaming invitations when I got back to work. And sent out some more story submissions and queries. Jeaux arrived after work and we ate at 4 Rivers, shopped, caught up on Colbert, took a walk, and finished off the latest season of Heartstopper.
  
  
• Thursday I edited a letter and followed up on some team arrangements. Wrote my webcomic and posted my other webcomic. Got some trick-or-treat candy and stickers ready but only got a couple trick-or-treaters. Did a Polo for my sister again and went to game night. Too many people were busy so we didn't have enough to play anything and just spent most of the night talking about politics with three people (four when Steve popped in at the end after rehearsal). I got ALL of my webcomic drawings done during game night! Fell asleep early.
  
  
• Friday I had to do timesheets and reports as usual. I later processed my webcomic and posted it. Everything seemed really early. I got my goals and calendars processed and posted them as per usual on the first of the month. Also recorded a karaoke song since I didn't do it on Sunday. I had a lot of time to get my steps in and I also watched some internet videos and ate pie. Got in a Polo to Steve and did some song practice. Played some silly games before bed.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I'm not sure how one week of eating party leftovers can suddenly destroy what seems like half of the progress I made here. It doesn't seem like it should be possible. Maybe I'm being dramatic? We'll see if this changes after I go back to my usual routine. I recorded a high of 115.4 and a low of 114.7.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Most days I still managed to get the fruits and veggies in, but prioritizing eating my party leftovers pretty much exploded any chance I had of a balanced diet. I was very low on protein this week and very high on fat (I mean, can I count pumpkin pie as a fruit? Haha). I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,109 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 13,132 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 218.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1016: adele #250: to be seen.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #119 is out. In this video, I share another perspective on ace inclusion in queer spaces and how the historical perspective on inclusion was less friendly, and why it's unhelpful to determine authentic identity and reason for inclusion based only on how much hate we get.

New photos:

Halloween 2024 Album is up so you can check it out in its entirety if you like! But here are a few favorites.

My baby Garnet costume!

I even got a red contact lens to go with the costume!

Garnet costume! Check out my Gem.

Dare as the emcee from Cabaret

Scott with food!

Adam as a drunken Scotsman and Meghan as a pirate

Jeaux as GIR in the dog suit

Jeaux as GIR with his robot head

Yasmin's amazing plate

Yasmin as Business Clown

Yasmin YES ON 4

Friends laughing at card game

Friends playing games!

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,468 for swankivy (7 new), 680 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 207 for Not-So-Giant Women (8 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 829 for swankivy (no change), 3,874 for JulieSondra (lost 2). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (1 new--just a friend's new account), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,429 (no change). Instagram followers: 277 (no change). Threads followers: 74 (no change).

October Goals Update

November is HERE! So it's time for my update on how the goals went in October.

1. Health Goals: I resolved to drink more water, eat more fruits and veggies, and walk at least 10,000 steps a day.
2. Personal Project Goals: I resolved to get digital photos sorted and collect memorable bits from Facebook for my essays; resolved to work on writing or editing at least one day a week; resolved to relearn ukulele songs I've forgotten and learn new ones, and keep creating my regular webcomic and video content.
3. Reading Goals: I resolved to read at least twice a week.
4. Relationship and Communication Goals: I resolved to document daily life stuff more, keep up with e-mails and online communication, and make time for friends and family.
5. Other Goals: I wanted to prepare and sell my mom's house, watch some TV shows I'd dropped, and not play time-wasting tames.

Progress Update:

HEALTH GOALS:

Summary: This was easily the strangest month of the year, so I'm not sure I can make sense of the health goals this time. I did kinda surprisingly well staying hydrated and eating my fruits and veggies while I was on vacation, but it got very difficult to maintain reasonable nutrition when I ended up evacuating for the big hurricane and got stranded at Jeaux's apartment when my power was out for most of the week. I then had a Halloween party and ended up focusing on consumption of leftovers more than on balanced nutrition. Nevertheless, this is my calendar of progress:

PERSONAL PROJECT GOALS:

Summary: The photos goal is still on hold--it needs to get in line behind the writing for now. I was not able to write (except for webcomics) this month because of vacation and hurricane evacuation and party prep, but I did manage to get some good submissions in there at the end. I also haven't picked up my goals for ukulele yet. Progress:

READING GOALS: 

Summary: Again, with so much absolutely hectic b.s. going on this month, the only reading I got to do was on the airplane and after I was done with my party. I have not finished any books this month but I did get to start a new one.

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS: 

Summary: I completed some documentation that I will be able to start posting soon! Yay! My e-mail box is at 2 unanswered mails. Social schedule was intense--activities every day with Jeaux while on vacation and while escaping to Georgia and then crashing on his futon when the power was out at my house, and then so much partying and whatnot. I've got more events coming next month but I'm gonna try to take more time for myself in November.

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: After many follow-ups, I was finally able to get the amounts I owed to the probate lawyer cleared, and now we just need to wrap up one form before I can distribute money to my sisters! We each get a nice little chunk of change from the sale of our mom's house and I can't wait to get it to them.

Back-burner projects like my plaster pillar painting are still waiting. I put some of the unsold items from my mom's statues and candy jars up on eBay but no takers so far.

The last appointment I wanted to get for this year is making it to the dentist, but I haven't scheduled it.

Time-wasting now seems to involve searching for silly geography games to relax and reading too many stories about terrible people on Twitter and Reddit. I need some down time but don't want as much as I've been having. I did get one of my TV shows watched while on an Amtrak train with Jeaux, so that scratches that goal off the list! There's one more show I want to watch though.

Will update again next month!

Personal Digest Saturday: October 19 – October 25

Life news this week:

• Saturday I stressed over my messed-up house with all the bedroom furniture in the living room. Ended up procrastinating all morning. Finally started cleaning the kitchen. Then Yasmin came over to give me political signs for my yard and grilled cheese from Culver's, and I gave them all their stuff that they accidentally left at my house. They helped me move my furniture back in the bedroom! OMG they're awesome. I finished cleaning the kitchen after they left and tried to get most of the stuff back into the bedroom but I got tired. Got my blogging done as well. Pretty productive day.
  
  
• Sunday I got up and dove right into cleaning more. I put the rest of the guestroom back together and went on to clean the living room. It's a huge room full of nine bookcases so it takes a long time to dust and I was doing it thoroughly. While I was several hours into that, my internet finally came back after being knocked out by Milton last week! Wow. No internet for a week and a half. I vacuumed after all the dusting, then did my trash and laundry chores, and finally I worked on my Halloween costume which ended up looking GREAT!
  
  
• Monday I went back to work. Edited a letter and sent it in the morning. Worked on some spreadsheets and stamped some documents. Then I did some cleaning in my bedroom and rearranged a bit with my new night table Jeaux gave me. Also cleaned the guest bathroom. I started cleaning the office room while trying to edit my new Not-So-Giant Women video, but I got tired and fell asleep early.
  
  
• Tuesday I continued cleaning my office while listening to a presentation on how to use QuickBooks. (For work.) I also entered some data for timesheets. I installed my new keyboard and reorganized some Steven Universe merch items that had gotten too crowded up, so now I have hooks on the wall to hang my SU bags and I put my keychains up to hang on the wire shelves. Drew some of my comic early because I anticipated being in crunch time at the end of the week to prepare for the Halloween party. The office looks super good. Did some dishes, sent a Polo to Steve, and worked on the Not-So-Giant Women video more. Fell asleep early again.
  
  
• Wednesday I went to a debriefing meeting and did some more project research. I cleaned my little bathroom and waxed some floors. I spruced up the house of the odds and ends I'd missed, worked on my comic, called my lawyer, and talked to the lawn guy Tony. Jeaux came over and we ate at SoFresh. I got my party shopping done. We watched some Colbert videos and took a walk and then he left kinda on the early side for us.
  
  
• Thursday I had a meeting and did some follow-ups and research at work. I processed my webcomic, finished my Not-So-Giant Women edit, updated some labels for my Halloween treats, and talked to the bug guy. After work I made molasses-ginger animal cookies (a full recipe, which ended up being like six cookie sheets' worth), two pumpkin pies, and a cream cheese pumpkin roll. I went to game night with my friends and then cleaned up the kitchen while talking to Jeaux on the phone.
  
  
• Friday involved reports at work and updating some records. I got done kind of early and made some candy corn fudge and vegan pumpkin brownies. I decided to bake muffins too (sometimes I do that the morning of the party, but I had time), so I made mini banana muffins and pumpkin muffins. Did a pretty epic cleanup of the kitchen after that since I'd baked so much, vacuumed, and answered some messages. Also took a little break to read comics. :)

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• I was mentioned as a trailblazer in a visibility post on the LGBTQ SAVES page on Facebook and the matching Instagram page.
• A Spanish page called Homosensual has a post that includes me discussing asexual celebrities and calling me "one of the darlings of the asexual communities."

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I got a new low this week, but the high didn't move. And it truly seemed like I got lower numbers when I was eating more. Weird. I recorded a high of 114.5 and a low of 112.8.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I have been continuing to get three servings of fruits/veggies nearly every day, but again have not been watching the balance much. I'm eating a lot of fruit. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Saturday at 10,255 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 14,535 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 112.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "That Particular Time" by Alanis Morissette.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1015: weaver #159: by chance.

Videos Made: 

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 67: Friend Ship is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Friend Ship" and cover such topics as the Steven's-perspective-only rule, the original purpose for many of the lethal features we saw on the spaceship, where Pearls might be in the Gem social structure, the eventual resolution between Pearl and Garnet, Amethyst's maturity, what Peridot meant when she said the Earth has an expiration date, Steven's increased confidence in his shield abilities, Peridot calling Steven "a Steven," philosophy on the Gems' weapons and body language, Pearl's poor self esteem and Garnet's confidence, what Peridot is really up to, and Sardonyx's return.

New photos:

Pine Warbler!

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,461 for swankivy (4 new), 680 for JulieSondra (2 new), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 199 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 829 for swankivy (lost 2), 3,876 for JulieSondra (lost 10). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (no change), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,429 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 277 (no change). Threads followers: 74 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: October 12 – October 18

Life news this week:

• Saturday I woke up at Jeaux's apartment still displaced by the hurricane. We waited for news of power or my friends being able to go back to their neighborhood but it did not happen. Spent the day doing more photo processing and took some walks with Jeaux. I did some blog stuff and engaged with various time wasters. Jeaux found his old Gnopples cartoons that he made in the early 2000s and we watched them and laughed. He treated me to Yard House (very crowded) for dinner. Then we watched four episodes of Heartstopper. Great show!
  
  
• Sunday I was STILL marooned at Jeaux's. He played around playing games and I worked on e-mail and silly quizzes. We ate some pasta he made for dinner. Then Yasmin texted me from my house saying the power was back on! And their own power was back on too so they'd be going home. I asked them to gather up the cat and be out before I got home since I'm pretty allergic, and it took them several hours to pack everything and clean up the house. (They didn't want to leave it messy but they had been limited in what they could clean with no running water and no electricity.) We finally got back in the house after they safely left and I found out one of my rooms had water damage--apparently it leached up through into the carpet through the concrete slab like what used to happen at my mom's. The mildew had stunk up the house. Really bad. Not my favorite thing to come home to. I also still didn't have internet back so I changed my phone plan to get unlimited data and had to use my phone as a mobile hotspot. But at least I got to sleep in my bed again. (Not in the mildewy room.)
  
  
• Monday I had to work with no internet--just my mobile hotspot. I checked in and got a few things done (including establishing a new business relationship with a subconsultant!) but I spent most of the day cleaning up my trashed yard. It was pretty bad. I had three downed trees and chinaberry branches strewn all over the yard. One of the trees was on the back fence and belonged to a neighbor, so I didn't touch it. One of the trees had fallen in a woodsy bush area in my back yard so it's not in the way. And one very small tree had fallen across the back yard with some branches blocking access, so I went out there with a hand saw and removed the branches that were in the way. Then spent the entirety of the day lugging piles and piles of broken trees and junk out to the curb for pickup. I tried to take breaks but I didn't really take enough of them because I got pretty ill by the end. I managed to get all my patio furniture and plants back out and restore the outdoor areas to order, took a shower, and lay down in a dark room for a few hours. Then my sister called and I caught her up on my New York trip, my evacuation, and my recent cleanup experience in a firehose of rambling. (She knew what she was getting into, haha.) My property manager people, whose new management is AWESOME, were very much in touch throughout the day helping me arrange a steam cleaning for the mildew room.
  
  
• Tuesday I was surprised to wake up and not have sore muscles. Just a little tired. Went to work and did some data entry cleanup. Put a few things back outside and did Polos for Meg finally. Cleaned the entire back room of the house because it was sandy from plants being in there for the hurricane and then me going in and out while cleaning the yards up all day Monday. Found three dead lizards and one alive one that kept hiding. Did my dishes too. Made an unboxing Polo for my sister featuring the Cartoon Network merch I got at the hotel because she asked about it. Processed all the new items into my collection. Sent some applications out for proofreading work.
  
  
• Wednesday I did some work sending out teaming invitations. I spent a lot of the day packing up books and bookshelf items from my guestroom because I had to move all the furniture out to get it steam cleaned. I cannot move the furniture myself but I got all the doodads out. Put away laundry, did a Polo for Steve, cleaned out the fridge, and was ready when Jeaux arrived. He took me to the grocery store where I had to replenish all my lost food as well as start buying stuff for the Halloween party. We picked up a pizza and then I scanned in my epic groceries before we ate. We watched some more Heartstopper and then Jeaux helped me move the heavy furniture out of the bedroom into the living room. After he left I had no energy so I went to bed.
  
  
• Thursday I got a lot done; had to edit a letter, edit the content of another letter, and stamp some stuff. I worked on my music playlist for my party and got a bunch of stuff updated that I didn't think I would ever get done! Did some more cleaning and Poloing. Wrote my comic, played games with my friends and drew while playing, and updated my status documents for the writing submissions I'd heard back about while out of town. Did a long Polo for Steve about New York. Fell asleep on the floor for a while. It suddenly got cold in Florida!
  
  
• Friday work was busy--had to process a letter, do my reports, do timesheets, bug people for replies, and update a timesheet spreadsheet. The steam cleaner vendor came and steam cleaned the room in about 10 minutes! No more mildew smell, though it had pretty much entirely dissipated. Then I drew the rest of my comic, did another Polo for Steve, and posted the comic. Walked a little more while doing some chores, threw in a karaoke song at the end of the night, and relaxed.

New Reviews:

• Mari gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
  
• Dana gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Looks like the stress and hard work has counteracted any "vacation eating" I had in New York. Back to about where I started when I left. I recorded a high of 114.5 and a low of 113.1.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I have been continuing to get three servings of fruits/veggies every day but am not watching the protein/fat/carb balance much right now. It's been a weird week and I was eating out of cans sometimes while at Jeaux's and on the road. I feel fine. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Friday at 10,016 steps, and my high day was Monday at 18,426 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 112.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "You Owe Me Nothing in Return" by Alanis Morissette.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1014: ivy #315: be a jerk.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Cleaning up after Hurricane Milton:

My Geek Chic factor was high on Friday so here's a photo.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,457 for swankivy (1 new), 678 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 198 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 831 for swankivy (lost 2), 3,884 for JulieSondra (lost 19--something must've happened on Twitter while I was away!). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (no change), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,430 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 277 (no change). Threads followers: 74 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: October 5 – October 11

Life news this week:

• Saturday Jeaux and I woke up in our New York hotel room and had our breakfast out on the terrace. We wandered around at bookstores and I happened to check the weather page on my phone and we found out that there was a storm approaching Florida, forecast to be a Category 2 hurricane named Milton. We got a little anxious about it and went down the street to eat pizza and talk about what we were planning to do to prepare when we got back to Florida. We decided the storm looked too dangerous to stay--Jeaux lives in a flood evacuation zone so would be definitely facing evacuation, and I live under really big trees that I don't trust during hurricanes above Category 1. We decided we'd plan to evacuate when we got home. And then we changed into nice clothes and went out to see the early showing of the Broadway musical Six, which we super enjoyed! We then went back to the hotel, changed again, and ventured out to a place called Swingers for mini golf and food. Unfortunately it was much more geared toward drinking than we really wanted, so we decided it was something worth trying once but that we didn't love it.
  
  
• Sunday we ate breakfast on the terrace again and then I spent some time catching up at work. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History and had a great time looking at dinosaurs and birds and human history. We took a break halfway through to eat some good Asian food (so we wouldn't have to pay museum cafeteria prices) and went back to look at more stuff. Friends were beginning to text me asking what my hurricane plans were. We had decided by that point that we would evacuate to somewhere in Georgia. After our museum visit, we went back to the hotel and got ready for our reservation at the Peak restaurant (with included observation deck visit). Our food there was not as good as the last time we went but it was still worth doing, and we enjoyed the Edge. Then we bought some less expensive dessert on our way back to the hotel at a trendy sweets shop. We got our bags packed for the morning and went to sleep.
  
  
• Monday we grabbed very early breakfast and didn't eat it on the terrace because it's cold out there before 7 in the morning. We got to the airport super early and had lots of time to kill! I got some work done. Then I slept on the plane most of the time. Jeaux and I parted ways at the airport and I got a cab back to my place. I immediately (and I mean immediately, didn't even stop for a drink) began hurricane preparation. I spent an hour bringing all my outdoor stuff inside my garage and plants into my back room. Then finally I got some lunch and began doing laundry, unpacking, and re-packing my stuff to leave the state. I communicated with my friend Yasmin about the storm and they were not going to leave the area but they were in a mandatory evacuation zone so I told them they could use my house as backup even though I myself did not want to stay. They came over and got a key from me in case they couldn't go with their first choice of place to ride out the storm, which made them feel better I hope! I did some packing and sending a Polo to Meghan. The path of the hurricane and its strength kept getting scarier looking. Some were estimating it could be a Category 4 hitting Tampa dead on. I tried to get some sleep but was planning to leave at 1 AM with Jeaux to drive to Georgia so I didn't get much success with that.
  
  
• Barely Tuesday, 1 AM, Jeaux came over and we loaded up the car. We left in his lovely car (which is named Toothpaste). We initially just drove for hours until we crossed the state line at 6 AM and ended up in Valdosta at an IHOP. The restaurant was short-staffed and overwhelmed with people trickling in evacuating. I had a very short nap in the booth. (I did not want to sleep in the car because if Jeaux had to be awake, so did I.) Jeaux did some research while in the restaurant trying to find the best place to get a hotel, but we had to go pretty far away to find anyone with any availability and they were saying the closest open hotel was 3 hours away. We booked it anyway and ended up in Columbus, Georgia. Jeaux thought we'd be able to check in but I thought we'd have to wait for the usual check-in time, and I was right--we couldn't check in until 3 PM and here we were around noon. So we holed up in a library and I tried to sleep there and that also didn't work very well. We finally got to get into our hotel (but there was a huge pile-up at the counter because of some check-in issue by the person at the front of the line and technical difficulties), and I took a shower and hit the lovely, lovely bed. We really liked our hotel room! It was actually better than the one we had in New York. Which was good because we'd be living in it for a few days. After our nap, we went out wandering, found a Taco Bell and ordered food, and brought it back to our room to eat while watching Colbert. I usually don't go to Taco Bell because out of the three times I've gone there, they've given me meat instead of bean burritos two of the three times. This was my fourth time. They gave me meat again. Jeaux got to have an extra burrito because of that. Sigh. We also got some staple food at Walgreens to just keep in the room. I do like peanut butter sandwiches.
  
  
• Wednesday I did a great job sleeping in. We were a little late to the continental breakfast so we had to eat in a crowded dining room but that was okay. After we got back to the room and started working from the hotel room, I checked my interior cameras I left on in my house and was surprised to see my friends walking into my house! (They had not told me they would be using my house for a backup after all.) So I texted them like "hey guys!" and told them about the camera, which had been set up to help me determine whether there was any damage while I was gone. They finally got back to me and updated me on their situation. Yasmin and Arthur and their cat would be staying there for the storm. Through the day Jeaux and I ate sandwiches and took walks and stuff. We watched hurricane news. It was pouring rain in Tampa. Power finally went out there at my house at 8:40 PM, leaving my friends in the dark and confirming I would lose all the food in my fridge and freezer. Sigh. Jeaux and I went out for sushi and came back. Jeaux wanted to go to bed early in case we might be able to start driving back at like 1 AM again. I was pretty sure that wasn't going to work because, like, the hurricane was actively beating the shit out of our city right then. But he believed it would be over fast and we wanted to beat the rush. It did not work out that way; when we woke up and Jeaux was still thinking leaving for Florida would be a good idea, I talked him out of it because the hurricane was still literally over my house until like 3 AM and we didn't know what the flooding and downed trees would be like. We decided to extend our stay another day and Jeaux took care of it. I know he was disappointed but that was safest in my opinion. I went back to sleep.
  
  
• Thursday I took a fast shower and we went down to breakfast. We both went to work (I worked a lot actually) and Jeaux took one of his walks without me because I was so busy. I got sparse updates from my friends who were still kinda trapped at my house with no power because of impassable roads. After work we walked to a bowl place and got bowls. Yum! Then we decided we had enough proof that there wasn't too much flooding in his area and his power was on. (My area had tons of downed trees and flooding and no power.) I bought a book light so I could draw my damn comic in the car on the ridiculous ride back. I got it done in under two hours. Go me. We stopped at the same IHOP in Valdosta! Then ended up at Jeaux's house and there was a lot of tree damage and crap but it was safe. He got me up to his place and we went to bed at about 5 AM.
  
  
• Friday there was still no power at my house and my friends were still squatting there. They did some cleanup on my yard which was very nice of them! Jeaux and I went to the grocery store to get me some staple food and instant coffee. Then we both went to work. Later we took a walk to a copy shop and I got them to scan my art so I could do my comic. I was not able to see the scan because there was no screen, so I was disappointed when I got back to Jeaux's that the scanning had been crooked and some of my art just wasn't even picked up by the scan. Had to make do with that and templates that didn't render right on my laptop, but guess what, I still got my webcomic up even while displaced by the hurricane. Took a shower, did laundry, ate a sandwich. Went to bed early and my friends were still squatting at my house with no water and no power. Apparently the mayor showed up on the golf course across the street and started giving away food. Hoping I'm not stuck at Jeaux's apartment too much longer, but that's where things stand.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I didn't take any readings while on vacation and haven't been able to visit the scale while marooned after the hurricane, so I have one reading from when I was home super briefly and that will constitute my high and my low: 114.9.
  
• Nutrition stuff: What's really weird is how I'm managing to still get fruits and veggies in while traveling--it isn't as hard as I thought! It's only more difficult if you stick to really traditional restaurants. I was able to get a decent nutritional balance some of the week, but eating in restaurants does seem to lead to a lot of higher fat meals. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,561 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 22,890 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 112.
  

New singing performances:

No opportunities to record a song this week.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1013: adele #249: blending in.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

There are a LOT of photos, from New York but here are the faves. There is now also a New York Album to peruse all of them.

Day 4 in New York with Jeaux: Went book shopping, saw SIX on Broadway, and played mini golf at Swingers!

Pizza at Bravo's

Dressed up for Six

Playing golf at Swingers

Playing golf at Swingers

Eating at Swingers

Eating at Swingers

Day 5 in New York with Jeaux: Went to the Museum of Natural History, had dinner at the Peak and enjoyed the Edge observation deck, and had dessert at a trendy shop!

Museum of Natural History

Museum of Natural History

Museum of Natural History

Asian food break

Dinner at the Peak

Dinner at the Peak

Dinner at the Peak

Dinner at the Peak

Dinner at the Peak

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Checking out the Edge observation deck

Dessert at Tri Dim West

Dessert at Tri Dim West

Dessert at Tri Dim West

Day 6 in New York with Jeaux: Flying home from New York into Hurricaneville:

Evacuating for Milton

Hotel continental breakfast in Georgia

Working in the hotel room

Sushi meal in Georgia

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