Personal Digest Saturday - August 8 – August 14

Life news this week:

• Saturday I went out to Five Below to try to see if they had a difficult-to-find Steven Universe item. They did not have it but I did get a new poster I didn't have! And some candy and fun stuff for Jeaux. Then at home I worked on the photo gallery for my most recent convention experience, read some of the book I'm reading, read over an old planner that belonged to Mom, and worked on my blogging. I also did finally do some work on my book.
  
  
• Sunday I spent the whole day either working on a significant voice-over product or working on my writing. I also did an aerobics video and did my laundry and trash chores. Got my voice acting website updated with the latest stuff.
  
  
• Monday was just usual housekeeping at work but we didn't have any letters going out. Worked on my new story for a while and put away laundry. Finished watching the TV show The Residence. It was very ambitious. Ordered some of the difficult-to-find item from Five Below because there was suddenly an option to do so. Did some voice-over auditions. Read.
  
  
• Tuesday I saw Tony outside. He told me his girlfriend has passed away. (She had cancer.) I knew it was coming but it's so sad. At work I did my data entry and timesheet stuff. The charms I ordered didn't include the one hard-to-find one I'm looking for so I ordered more. (They have a five-item limit so I couldn't just order a bunch.) Played DDR. Redecorated my house for the first harvest. And I started writing a new short story that is currently called "The Wagon." I wrote over 3,000 words on it.
  
  
• Wednesday I did some work on a subconsultant package and organized timesheet packets for invoicing for my boss. Did some reading and some walking. Did some dishes. Sent a query. Talked to Meg on Polo. Jeaux came over and we shopped at Michaels and Office Depot before eating at Mandola's and shopping for groceries. We got back to my place kind of late so we just shared silly internet things with each other and didn't make time to watch any shows.
  
  
• Thursday at work I did some utility coordination and project research. Wrote my comic and a little more on "The Wagon." Did some exercise. Talked on Polo. Submitted a short story. Got more of the charm balls and still didn't get the rare figure. Argh! I went to game night and worked on my story a little more at night.
  
  
• Friday I did my usual reports and some utility coordination. Worked on some writing and the rest of my comic. Read some of the book I'm reading and reread some of the books I'm writing. Wrote more on "The Wagon." Got more charm balls and still didn't get the rare figure. WOW. I swear being an obsessive collector is a pain in the butt.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• If you want to hear some of the teaser shorts for a science fiction audio drama I play a major character in, check out the YouTube account on the linked page.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week. I worked very hard on meeting my protein goals this week and managed to do it 6 days out of 7! (Couldn't make it work on the restaurant day.) Good job me! I am still taking my vitamins.
  
  
• 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 10,026 steps, and my high day was Monday at 12,791 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay. I'm on page 280.

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1109: adele #270: the darkness i miss.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,455 for swankivy (7 new), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (lost 1), 67 for Tides of Time Band (no change) 10 for Vinyl Impact Band (no change). Twitter followers: 737 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,327 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 284 friends for swankivy (lost 1, don't know who hit the road, but byeee!), 623 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 79 followers for Negative One (no change), 242 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,408 (no change). Instagram followers: 320 (1 new). Threads followers: 90 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 476 (lost 1).

Personal Digest Saturday - August 1 – August 7

Life news this week:

• Saturday was Metrocon. I got dressed in a cute Cookie Cat–themed outfit and Jeaux drove me to the convention center. I got through the line quickly because it was early. Jeaux was not as lucky--he went home to change and had some drama with his outfit, so he ended up being a lot later and the place was mobbed by the time he got in line. So I was on my own without him for a while. I walked around and photographed costumes, went to the Epic: The Musical singalong panel, and checked out some vendors. After Jeaux arrived we walked around looking at costumes some more, waited in line to play DDR (I did well), and walked off the grounds to get lunch at American Social. Then we went back to the con and just explored the dealer room, enjoyed more costumes, and rested here and there. After, we went to his apartment and hung out for a while, then he drove me home. I took a quick nap and then got up to do my blogging (which was double the amount I usually do because I had to do my Saturday update AND my monthly goals update). How meta, I'm blogging about blogging.
  
  
• Sunday I worked on my story a little but not as much as I wanted. I did my chores with laundry and trash as usual, replied to some messages, and read a script for a role I've been offered for voice-over.
  
  
• Monday at work I had a letter due and edited it. Sent out some teaming invites too. Did a bunch of writing on the new story (which I guess has become a book). Sent Meg a Polo. Did a new exercise video for aerobics and it was incredibly creepy. Never again with these soulless smiling ladies. I put away laundry and did some upgrades on my sound recorder and messed with settings to get a better recording setup but it wasn't as successful as I wanted. I did do one audition as well.
  
  
• Tuesday I had a meeting at work and did some data entry and various update things. Walked to the post office to drop off an eBay package. Read some of a book. Wrote my butt off for the new story. Talked to friends on Discord.
  
  
• Wednesday I had a meeting at work and had to bother teaming partners and fix some data entry stuff. We had a power outage for like an hour! But it came back before anything got too bad. (I worry about the temperature and losing my food.) I did DDR and sent out a query. Did some dishes. After work Jeaux took me to Grain & Berry and on a disappointing shopping trip. We watched silly videos and some more of The Silent Witch. After he left I read over some of my book.
  
  
• Thursday I had to do more data entry and map out a proposal and go to a meeting. I did a Polo for Meg. Wrote my comic. Took a nap. Went to game night and drew a little and wrote a little (well, a very little).
  
  
• Friday I did my usual work stuff plus some data entry. Listened to Epic: The Musical between drawings. Read over my book some more. Posted my webcomic, played DDR, sent Ben a Polo, and read more.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week. I only met the protein goals once. I have absolutely not been using my tracking app to make any decisions about balancing, and seeing that I only managed ONCE this week is kind of surprising. So I will work on it for this next week and see if I can get it back up. I am still taking my vitamins.
  
  
• 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 Wednesday at 10,103 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 15,547 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay. I'm on page 233.

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1108: ivy #367: finally.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Convention photos! There's a whole album here, but here are a few faves.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,448 for swankivy (6 new), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 215 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 67 for Tides of Time Band (no change) 10 for Vinyl Impact Band (no change). Twitter followers: 738 for swankivy (no change), 3,330 for JulieSondra (lost 4). Facebook: 284 friends for swankivy (lost 1, don't know who hit the road, but byeee!), 623 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 79 followers for Negative One (no change), 242 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,408 (1 new). Instagram followers: 319 (3 new). Threads followers: 90 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 477 (4 new).

July Goals Update

August has arrived, and so . . . let's have a look back at how July worked out for me in terms of goals and resolutions!

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: I didn't miss any goals on the walking or exercising again this month, got all my water allotments, and got all my intended servings of fruits and veggies in all days but one (when I was busy with my musical performance in Sarasota). I lapsed quite a lot on the protein goals, which is a soft goal anyway but I hope I'll do better through August. The two health professional visits I still have not yet taken care of for the year are my dental checkup and my eye doctor visit/vision screening--I plan to get the vision appointment scheduled this next month, and haven't decided when I'll do the dentist.

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: My YA novel In Bloom still has some additional feedback I haven't incorporated from a beta reader, but that one's on submission. I also received edits for my short story "Aquarius" that will be published next year, and sat down and tackled the edits this month. They are due in August but I'll spend a little more time with them before I send them in to the editors.

WRITING: So. Weird change of plans. I had a plan that I would start a new novel this year and intended it to be a back-burner project that I would start working on again, but a new short story idea jumped up and bit me, and as I started writing it, I realized the scope is NOT going to fit into a short story. So it turns out I'm over 30,000 words into a new novel, all sprayed onto the page firehose style over the course of the last few weeks. This one seems like it's going to be a fast draft and then we'll see what happens. I'm pretty excited.

SUBMISSIONS: I'm querying for the completed YA book and am still sending out short stories periodically. No movement on the query yet--I swear it takes a LOT longer than it used to. I still have THREE outstanding statements of interest from different publishers all on the same novella ("Karma is Dead"). No new sales on short stories. I have one waiting to be published in November and one waiting to be published in January.

Writing Progress:

PHOTO PROJECT: I increased the "assignments" when I had enough space in my schedule to dig into the journals searching for dates, but there hasn't been a huge push forward this month. Just some slow and steady progress.

VOICE ACTING: I've done fewer auditions this month, but there have been some releases of projects I did voices on: I have a bit part in the beginning of this one and a major role toward the end of this feature-length one. I have been awarded one new major role in a portfolio project as well and will be reading over the script this weekend.

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:
Our band had its first four-hour performance at a restaurant. It was a good experience but also required a lot of practice and time getting ready. I haven't been making karaoke songs on the karaoke website lately.

Here's the Projects Calendar:

READING GOALS:

Summary: I missed just one "assigned" reading day this month. I'm still not reading a whole lot per day most times but I don't consider myself in any rush to finish books.

Progress:

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS:

Summary: I've been doing Jeaux Day, Game Night, band practice, and hanging out with Kari here and there. I have done no extra journaling. I owe a few e-mails but I plan to work on them this weekend.

Progress:

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: I have no specific plan for selling the stuff I need to sell from my garage but it's still in the "I'll get to this at some point" phase. I've had some issues with some of my plants--several died and one I'm still trying to save. My night routine has been a little haphazard--usually I have time to do my skin care stuff but I'm finding myself sleeping in my clothes sometimes instead of changing into comfy pajamas and that's not what I want to do. We'll see how next month goes.

Personal Digest Saturday - July 25 – July 31

Life news this week:

• Saturday Jeaux picked me up and took me with him to do a work thing and then we ate at Vallarta's. Then we came back to my place and played a video game he wanted to play but needs a partner for. It's called Split Fiction. It was pretty hard for me to play but he was patient. After he left I recorded some Polos for my friends and did my blogging.
  
  
• Sunday I woke up thinking it was Monday. Glad to have another weekend day! I planned a video and did my aerobics early, and then talked to my friend Sarah on the phone while doing laundry and trash chores. Then I recorded my planned video, reread some of my book, and listened to the full episode of a feature-length humorous science fiction audio piece that I had a nice long scene in. Check it out if you want to hear me as the voice of a quantum computer. Then my friend Kari came over and we caught up and watched Bojack Horseman. After she left I read and put away laundry and got the rest of my steps.
  
  
• Monday I thought I would be buried in proposal stuff but it didn't happen. I had to work on a letter. Later I watched a show called The Residence that my friend Sarah said she wanted me to watch. Also read some of a book, processed my new video, and did a BUNCH of writing on the new project.
  
  
• Tuesday work involved some false starts--we couldn't complete a proposal and the new timesheet tracking system my boss was trying to get started was not working right. We had some meetings and I did data entry, and found out we did not win the project I had to go to the interview for a couple weeks back. I took a nap after work, watched more of The Residence, walked, exercised, and read over my story. Also submitted a short story and got shortlisted on a voice-over job.
  
  
• Wednesday there were two more meetings and I did some utility stuff and some data entry. I wrote my storyboard for my So You Write comic, sent out a query, and did some walking, reading, sending Polos, and dishes. Then I went to Burger 21 with Jeaux, shopping at the grocery store and drugstore, and shared silly stuff with each other. I sketched out the writing comic and posted my new video. And the shortlisting for the voice-over job got upgraded to a selection. I have a new role! (And it's a significant part.)
  
  
• Thursday I got started bright and early knocking out the last of my data entry, and also did project research. After work I wrote my Negative One storyboard and finished coloring So You Write. I watched more of The Residence while walking, did aerobics, sent out another short story, and went to game night with my friends. I finished all my Negative One drawings and relaxed with word games.
  
  
• Friday I did reports, a transcript, cleanup data entry, and utility stuff at work. Then after, I processed my webcomic, took a nap, packed my bag and planned my outfit for Metrocon, and did a bunch of reading. I did a bunch of active brainstorming for my story but I didn't write anything new. Worked on blogging stuff so there wouldn't be as much to catch up on on Saturday.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• Nick Carlson Press made a video about Gloria Tesch (yes, in 2026!) and referenced some of my old contributions a video I made about why this author and her family were harmful and dishonest. I get called "pretty funny" in it. Score!

New Reviews:

• Victoria Frost gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week, and I only met my protein goals 3 out of 7 days. I paid a little more attention to trying to get the right amount of protein this week but I failed. (That said, two of the other days I was just under my goal.) I am still taking my vitamins.
  
  
• 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 Tuesday at 10,086 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 10,482 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay. I'm on page 197.

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My monthly writing webcomic, So You Write:

   

#182: accidentally a book.

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1107: dax #158: invasive.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #137 ("How do I tell if I want romance or sex?") is out. In this video, I read questions and my responses for three people--two of whom wanted to talk about the difference between romantic attraction and friendship, and one who wanted to talk about whether their lack of interest in sex might be more about sex repulsion than asexuality. I talk about the nuances!

New photos:

New giant Rose Quartz YouTooz plushie

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,442 for swankivy (6 new), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 215 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 67 for Tides of Time Band (no change) 10 for Vinyl Impact Band (no change). Twitter followers: 738 for swankivy (no change), 3,334 for JulieSondra (1 new). Facebook: 285 friends for swankivy (no change), 623 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 79 followers for Negative One (1 new), 242 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,407 (no change). Instagram followers: 316 (lost 1). Threads followers: 90 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 473 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday - July 18 – July 24

Life news this week:

• Saturday I read over some stuff in my current WIP and procrastinated on some of my projects. I did eventually get my blogging done and did my DDR exercise. I got overwhelmed and went to bed early.

• Sunday I spent nearly the whole day working on my edits for "Aquarius." (The editors sent me suggestions and requests recently and they're due next month but I finally dove in.) I wasn't expecting it to take as long as it did, but that dominated the day. I did also do my chores (laundry and trash) and recorded voice-over lines for the two projects I owed performances to.

• Monday I invited people to teaming partnerships at work and did data entry. I got my DDR exercise done and put away laundry, and I tried out for some new opportunities for voice acting. Also combed through an old planner for more photo log research and managed to get only about 500 words written on the new story.

• Tuesday I did more paperwork, e-mail reminders, and making labels. I walked to the post office to drop off a package and did a bunch of writing. Read the most recent issue of Overtime which was sent to me as part of a free subscription I earned from selling one of my stories to them (which will come out in November). I liked the story! Did some other reading too. Later did more writing, read another planner, and got my walking in.

• Wednesday I mostly did organizing mail and data entry. Wrote a few words in the new story. Did my DDR. Repotted a mysteriously ill plant (it ended up having mold in the soil, ew). Submitted a new query. Went out with Jeaux to Saki and did our grocery shopping and read each other silly stuff. A trailer dropped for a show I'm in--click through to the trailer here if you want to see it. (I am also in the trailer.)

• Thursday I did data entry most of the day at work. Submitted a short story. Did more writing. Wrote my webcomic storyboard. Played games with my friends and drew a little. Sent a Polo to Steve. Read a little bit.

• Friday I did reports and dealt with some marketing correspondence. I finished my comic drawings and posted the comic. Did some DDR. Walked around while doing some brainstorming, and then worked on the story more.

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week, and I only met my protein goals 3 out of 7 days. I have not been using the tracking I do to make choices this week. I'm just recording them! I am still taking my vitamins.
• 
  
• 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 Sunday at 10,306 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 13,718 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay. I'm on page 127.

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1106: adele #269: the foundation.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None this week.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,436 for swankivy (1 new), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 67 for Tides of Time Band (no change) 10 for Vinyl Impact Band (no change). Twitter followers: 738 for swankivy (no change), 3,333 for JulieSondra (lost 2). Facebook: 285 friends for swankivy (no change), 622 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 78 followers for Negative One (no change), 242 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,407 (no change). Instagram followers: 317 (no change). Threads followers: 90 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 471 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday - July 11 – July 17

Life news this week:

• Saturday was obviously dominated by the performance with the band, but in the morning I got my blogging done and packed my stuff for the show. Did a little reading and relaxing. Then Jeaux picked me up and we drove to Sarasota. We were late because of a small accident slowing him down from picking me up and difficulty finding parking. I had to go right on as soon as I got there. Meghan and Adam came to see us and got a seat right in front of the stage with Jeaux! We played our long first set and it was fine, then took a break and my friend Kari showed up to join them. The heat wasn't as uncomfortable as I'd expected but I'm probably just speaking for myself. We did our second set which was probably the loudest, and then after a long break we did our third set and had to kinda negotiate while on stage how much additional music we wanted to play since we had extra time at the end. We repeated a few songs and also ended up getting a group dancing while playing "Highway to Hell." Afterwards, we broke down the equipment and Jeaux took me home. I cleaned up and crashed as soon as I got home.
  
  
• Sunday I got up late and relaxed, doing some laundry and trash chores but making sure to go easy. My voice was pretty wrecked from all the singing so I didn't do any karaoke or voice acting stuff. I spent the whole day writing on my new story and it became clear right away that it would be far too long for the word count cap I was aiming for. Well, I guess that's my life. I also did some Polos and did my aerobics.
  
  
• Monday I really wanted another weekend but I showed up to work anyway! I got some logins working that had been messed up so I was able to get caught up on some backed-up work. I caught up with some timesheet stuff and upcoming project reports. And I wrote some more of my new story. Read some of the book I'm reading and talked to my sister on Polo.
  
  
• Tuesday I went to a meeting about a proposal and started planning the proposal. Played DDR and managed to put my laundry away. And . . . surprise! Wrote more of my story!
  
  
• Wednesday I had a surprise meeting and had to dig up some research. Wrangled some timesheets too. Did some reading and planner research and I did do a little work on the new story before Jeaux came. We ate at 4 Rivers, shopped, and told each other silly things. I wrote some more after he left.
  
  
• Thursday my computer had some issues but I eventually got to work. I outlined a proposal and then got another proposal to outline too, plus I had to do some more project research and utility stuff and data entry. I did not have game night because everyone was busy so I got in a nap and read some more planner stuff, and I played DDR. And of course I worked more on the story.
  
  
• Friday I did my reports and timesheet stuff and data entry for projects. I got my webcomic drawings done early and took a break to read and pace around coming up with story idea elements for my new story. (It's better than just staring into space writing-not-writing.) Posted my comic and did some rereading.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• ria's website riadms has a website section that recommends my book.

New Reviews:

• Galayne gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.
• Michel A. Hodge gave The Invisible Orientation's audio book a five-star review on Audible.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week except Saturday (performance day), and I only met my protein goals 2 out of 7 days. Had a rough time balancing it this time for some reason. I am still taking my vitamins.
  
  
• 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 10,089 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 13,884 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay. I'm on page 80.

New singing performances:

No available recordings yet, but I played with my band for four hours at a show, so I didn't record anything else!

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1105: ivy #366: yell at me.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Dad on drums, me on the mic

Vinyl Impact band

Me on the mic

Glenn on guitar

Dennis on bass

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,435 for swankivy (no change), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 67 for Tides of Time Band (no change) 10 for Vinyl Impact Band (no change). Twitter followers: 738 for swankivy (no change), 3,335 for JulieSondra (lost 2). Facebook: 285 friends for swankivy (no change), 622 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 78 followers for Negative One (no change), 242 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,407 (no change). Instagram followers: 317 (3 new). Threads followers: 90 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 471 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday - July 4 – July 10

Life news this week:

• Saturday I just hung out avoiding people and not doing any holiday stuff 'cause I like it that way. I had my first table read with a voice-over cast I recently joined (I was introduced as supporting cast from the second episode on so some of them already knew each other), and that went well. I worked on my blog and my practice notes for the upcoming performance with my band. Played DDR for my exercise and finished my blogging. Submitted some voice-over auditions until obnoxious neighborhood fireworks made recording not feasible. Responded to some social media messages.
  
  
• Sunday I did my chores early (laundry and trash) and sent a Polo to Meggie. Did a bunch of band practice and more voice-over auditions. One of my shows that I did very minor voice work on came out today--check here for more details and hear me play an unnamed concerned family member. I read the beginning of a new book and recorded a karaoke song.
  
  
• Monday I completed some forms for an upcoming package due on our shortlisted project at work. Did some data entry for our timesheets too. And attended one preliminary meeting about the shortlisted project. I updated some documents and compiled stuff for the band members to use for rehearsals. Played DDR and sent a Polo to Meg. Put away laundry and talked to my lawn maintenance guy, Tony, about some sad stuff going on. Received the first edits for my accepted short story "Aquarius" and they're going to give me more room to flesh out some stuff (hooray for an expanded word count!). Read through old planners for photo research and practiced music.
  
  
• Tuesday I went to a debrief meeting, coordinated with some utilities, and invited some team members to an upcoming effort. Went to my hair appointment to get my pink hair refreshed and a trim. I spent too much money on shampoo. When I got home I attended a long meeting about the shortlisted project. Then I submitted a short story, wrote my webcomic storyboard early, drew a bunch, practiced music, and read more of the book I'm reading.
  
  
• Wednesday I dealt with utilities again and updated some stuff on our company website. We had another practice meeting. Then I played DDR and sent a Polo to Meg and got my steps in. And I sent in a couple queries for my YA book. Jeaux and I ate at Nawabi Hyderabad Biryani House and I had saag paneer which was great. We then did our shopping and I got tired early. We still managed to trade silly stories for a while before I went to sleep.
  
  
• Thursday involved another interview practice with the office team. Then I practiced more band music and went a little nuts submitting more queries and short stories to places. I'm really antsy and inspired lately. I got another short story idea and dragged myself into starting it even though I was too busy to do much and I don't want to think about creative projects right now. (But when the muse knocks, you answer.) I feel excited and silly. Then I printed some stuff for band and the interview, and read some of a book, and went to game night with my friends. After, I wrote another storyboard for my comic so I could draw in the car during the long ride, planned my interview outfit, and went to bed early.
  
  
• Friday I had to get up at 5 AM so I could get picked up by my boss at 6. We picked up my co-worker and drove a long way to check out our project site. We met up with another co-worker when we got there and drove the project, then holed up in a business room at a hotel where the dude helping us was very solicitous and asked me if I was single. We practiced our stuff and got through another practice with an additional subconsultant member of the team, and then we grabbed a snack and went to the actual interview. The questions were substantial and we had to really keep an eye on the time, but we got through it. Then we ate at Cracker Barrel and drove through pouring rain to get home. I didn't get home until close to 8 PM. Then I had to discuss some last-minute small set list changes with my dad, update documents, and get through posting my comic. I went to bed shortly after since I was exhausted.

New Reviews:

• tay gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week, and I only met my protein goals 6 out of 7 days. Weirdly, it was not the restaurant day this time. Just a random Monday but I only missed it by like a percentage point so I think I did well this week. I am still taking my vitamins.
  
  
• 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 Friday at 10,047 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 14,091 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay. I'm on page 58.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Baba" by Alanis Morissette.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1104: weaver #169: fast instincts.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Please do not eat royalty checks directly

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,435 for swankivy (no change), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 214 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 67 for Tides of Time Band (no change) 10 for Vinyl Impact Band (1 new). Twitter followers: 738 for swankivy (no change), 3,337 for JulieSondra (lost 5). Facebook: 285 friends for swankivy (no change), 621 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 78 followers for Negative One (no change), 242 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,407 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 314 (lost 1). Threads followers: 90 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 471 (no change).