Personal Digest Saturday: June 20 – June 26

Life news this week:

• Saturday my boss called to help finish up a package that needed to go out, but then he took care of it on his own and I ended up going back to sleep for like five hours. Too much sleep! I got up after that and wrote down some notes for my podcast. My sister P called and we talked for a bit while I did some dusting. I managed to get some blog stuff written down but didn't finish before podcasting started. Daria and I covered episodes 41 and 42 of Steven Universe ("Horror Club" and "Winter Forecast"), and that was the end of my night.
  
• Sunday I had a lazy day and got my unfinished blogging done. I also called Meggie while cleaning up some messes and let her get some rants off her chest. I did some ranting too, haha. I ate a potato, sang karaoke, and did my usual Sunday chores, including cleaning off the outdoor table.
  
• Monday I was still dragging in the morning. Sleep is all messed up. I received my early copy of the Beach-A-Palooza card battling game that will be out at the end of the year, and looked through the package enjoying all the game notes and card art. After work I listened to Night Vale while doing some filing and dusting. Also had an Internet argument. Yay.
  
• Tuesday my co-workers decided not to chase a proposal I was working on so the day was freed for my data entry project. After work I was dusting a shelf--I had been anticipating receiving a visit from my dad and was hoping to use the shelves for putting new photo albums there--and one of the shelves tilted and all the stuff fell off and I had to clean up broken glass so that wasn't so fun. Afterwards I vacuumed in there in case there was glass in the rug, and after I talked to my sister P and we just ended up talking until 6 in the morning. We have to steal sister time sometimes. :D
  
• Wednesday I woke up at the typical time despite the late night, did some work, talked to my lawn maintenance person, did some more work, took a nap, and went to the grocery store with Jeaux. We made sandwiches and watched Kipo and ended up playing the Card Battling Game. It was fun but we were really unlucky in the beginning because we got really hard monsters to fight, and didn't know the game isn't usually that hard. After he left I went to bed!
  
• Thursday I did data entry at work. It's nice because I can listen to music while I do it. After work I drew comics while talking to Victor. This time he didn't fall asleep. :) I ate tater tots and hard boiled eggs for dinner. Weirdo!
  
• Friday I finished the data entry for my project. After work I drew the rest of my webcomic, posted it, and watched reactions.

Articles, interviews, mentions:

• Slate's "How to do it" column answered several questions for write-in problems and one of their writers contacted me for "expert advice." This story is about a woman who has begun to identify as asexual in her perimenopausal stage because of lack of interest in sex, and now wants to know what to think about the fact that she's suddenly having erotic dreams. You can read my response to "Heat of the Moment".

New reviews of my book: 

• Julia gave it a five-star review on Goodreads.

Food Plan Update:

• I bought some salad and an assortment of fun dressings to make my salad more of an adventure. This will be a nice way to get some more greens into my diet. Along with the broccoli I bought. But I'm eating too many tortillas. I mean, just a tortilla, warmed up. Sometimes that's breakfast. Yum!

Reading progress:

• Finished Reading: Nothing, paused on reading projects right now!

• Currently reading: Emma by Jane Austen. I'm on page 225.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Lucky Star" by Madonna.




Stuff Drawn:





Webcomic Negative One Issue 0789: "Several Unprecedented Things."









New videos: 

None this week!

New photos:

Showing my Appa plushie to my nephew. (He has just begun watching the
show this guy is from. He was impressed.)

Card battling game!

Playing the card game!

New starry scarf!

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,278 for swankivy (6 new), 675 for JulieSondra (1 new), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 101 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 954 for swankivy (no change), 1,353 for JulieSondra (2 new). Facebook: 297 friends (overall no change, but I lost and gained 1 friend; I unfriended someone who was already kinda on probation from me after he said something wacky about ~unreasonable~ female behavior, and I accepted a friend request from a person looking for asexuality advice) and 220 followers (no change) for swankivy, 635 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 61 likes for Negative One (no change), 159 likes for So You Write (no change), 81 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,480 (1 new). Instagram followers: 205 (lost 1).

Personal Digest Saturday (but posted on Sunday!): June 13 – June 19

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got up late and didn't make much time for my blogging. Had some food, played some games, read. Then Jeaux picked me up and took me to his house to watch a movie we'd been cautiously excited about since we liked the books it was adapted from: Artemis Fowl. It wasn't a very good adaptation and kinda disappointing, but I think I would have been more upset about it if I'd seen it when I read the books in the early 2000s. We ate chicken nuggets (his were real, mine were fake) and soup. Then at home I finished my blogging and did a podcast for episodes 39 and 40 ("Future Vision" and "On the Run") with Daria. Great discussion, especially since 40 was an Amethyst-related episode and that's Daria's fave.
  
• Sunday I slept late again and enjoyed some comments on a cosplay I posted. Then I worked on my essay about J.K. Rowling and how her comments are really bad for transgender people. The essay was really long. I also did a karaoke song, made some plans with my dad, and coordinated with my sisters about stuff we wanted to get Dad for Father's Day. Then later I chatted to Mom on the phone while doing laundry. She seemed like she was in a decent mood and it was a good talk.
  
• Monday I had to go to the office super early. Well, early for me. My boss picked me up about 8 and we went in to put the Osceola County proposal together. It was all pretty according to plan and I also edited a letter. We also had a new employee, whom I helped with intro stuff and computer troubleshooting. Then I finalized some other forms for our upcoming proposals in DeSoto and Okaloosa County. When I got home I went to sleep, got up briefly, and then went to sleep again.
  
• Tuesday I had a meeting with my coworkers about proposals and made arrangements to be in the office on Friday. I did some utility stuff and some other proposal stuff and downloaded a bunch of field photos for the engineers. Finally I got to finalize and post my essay about Rowling. Seems to have been well received too! I cleaned up some messes in my kitchen and garage and went to bed.
  
• Wednesday I woke up late when I heard my lawn care specialist outside. I went out to chat with him and gave him a recipe for sushi rice. (He misses going to sushi restaurants and wanted to make it at home, and had already had one rice disaster.) Then after talking to him I did proposal work, and later answered a bunch of backed up messages. At the end of the day I made some pizza dough so it could rise while Jeaux and I went to the grocery store. We made our pizza and ate it while watching Colbert skits and the ending of season one of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. I fell asleep on the floor after Jeaux left.
  
• Thursday I again woke up late. I worked on my project manager database all day at work and redesigned some dividers. I framed and hung an art print I hadn't put up yet and talked to Victor on the phone for about an hour and a half before he fell asleep on the phone. Usually if he does that he wakes back up but this time he didn't, so I just worked on my comic without him, listening to podcasts.
  
• Friday I went to the office for part of the day--a little more time than I expected but it was fine. We worked on our DeSoto proposal but one part wasn't done because one of the guys hadn't sent in his writeup, so it kinda held up our plans to get it finalized. We did as much as we could and my boss was gonna send it out the next day. After work I came home and finished my upcoming projects reports and after work I completed the comic. I ended up spending the evening after that watching reactions and chatting with my friend Paul.

Articles, interviews, mentions:

• Wisconsin Rapids Tribune posted this article that referenced and quoted my book: What does it mean to be asexual? Oshkosh attorney shares his story."
  
• Blinklist included my book as a good book for allies to read for understanding the LGBTQIA experience.

New reviews of my book: 

• Jaleesa Gibson gave it a four-star review on Goodreads.
• Anna gave it a five-star review on Goodreads.

Food Plan Update:

• I didn't make any special efforts this week to do anything differently, but I'm at a point where I'm not going up or down weight-wise, and I'm still planning to try to do more easy/nutritious cooking like soup and salad, and maybe not repeat this week's adventure with a bag of potato chips. :D

Reading progress:

• Finished Reading: Nothing, paused on reading projects right now!

• Currently reading: Emma by Jane Austen. I'm on page 225.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner.




Stuff Drawn:





Webcomic Negative One Issue 0788: "Jerk."









New videos: 

None this week!

New photos:

My new mask from Jeaux

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,272 for swankivy (5 new), 674 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (lost 1), 101 for Not-So-Giant Women (2 new). Twitter followers: 954 for swankivy (no change), 1,353 for JulieSondra (2 new). Facebook: 297 friends (lost 1, I unfriended someone after she posted one too many scarily deluded claims about the tyrrany of face masks) and 220 followers (1 new) for swankivy, 635 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 61 likes for Negative One (no change), 159 likes for So You Write (no change), 81 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,479 (lost 4). Instagram followers: 206 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: June 6 – June 12

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got slowed down a lot by a sinus headache. I still did everything I planned to do. Just not with much efficiency or comfort. I took some medicine and was in decent shape to do one of my ace interviews--this time with a Polish asexual person named Marta. Afterwards, I did my blogging and had a really ridiculous argument with someone else on a friend's Facebook post. (I didn't know the guy, but two of his friends unfriended him over what he said to me!) Had a chat with Jeaux and felt better.
• Sunday I slept late and procrastinated a little but I got a bunch of my usual Sunday chores done. And did maintenance on my water system. I processed the second ace interview that I'd recorded with Ruby last month and tried to get that up and running, but still had subtitles to finish. And I looked at a lot of news online.
• Monday I had to spend some time on forms for proposals, and for a short time I went into the office with my boss to assemble a proposal. It was a bit of a hectic day but we got everything knocked out. After work I got Ruby's video and also conducted my latest ace interview with an asexual person named yaelaed. Great interview and really fun--they were wearing a Steven Universe shirt and so was I, so that's awesome. It went pretty late and I was tired so I went to bed after that.
• Tuesday I had to work on a proposal for the City of Ocala and it was super frustrating because their website didn't like me. But we got it worked out. I chatted to my coworker Karen on the phone and worked on the video for our podcast for "Steven's Lion." And I got to read some awesome books my nephew wrote! (Yes, he is six and writing books.) I received and reviewed the latest Steven Universe trade paperback of comics 25 through 28. Also, some more online drama (arguing with an acquaintance about a crappy meme he posted) and I got invited to receive a free copy of an unreleased Steven Universe game which I get to play test! NEAT! I accepted of course. It's so cool that they picked ME!
• Wednesday was an okay work day. I was busy with meetings so I didn't get to go out and talk to the lawn maintenance person like I usually do. I did forms for an Osceola County proposal all day and afterwards Jeaux came by to take me to grocery shopping. We watched the season finale of What We Do in the Shadows (excellent!!) and talked about transphobia. Also, Jeaux bought me a cloth face mask with a Steven Universe print on it! Now I can be safe in style.
• Thursday I worked on a proposal for DeSoto County. After work I downloaded a screen sharing program with Victor and he and I watched a movie together from his computer. (The movie was Rock of Ages.) We talked and I did some drawings after. I finally got my editing done for the "Steven's Lion" episode of Not-So-Giant Women.
• Friday I had kind of a slow day at work--stuff kept getting in the way of finishing what I was doing, but I got there. I have to go to the office on Monday to assemble the proposal. I got the Lion episode to go live and listened to another podcast that discussed the weirdness of Black Republicans. Got my webcomic finished and posted, and worked on some podcast preparation for tomorrow.

Food Plan Update:

• I wasn't a complete animal about my gobbling behaviors this week, and finally got the courage to check the scale. It hasn't gone up or down. Which makes me feel weird about the effect my actual behavior is having. But I am still looking to make some better choices and expecting to have something more concrete to say here soon!

Reading progress:

• Finished Reading: Our Fearful Trip by Rebecca Sugar, Terry Blas, and Gabriele Bagnoli. Four-star review.

• Currently reading: Emma by Jane Austen. I'm on page 225.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "A Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos.




Stuff Drawn:





Webcomic Negative One Issue 0787: "Sad Came Instead."









New videos: 

Ace Interview #2: Swankivy Interviews Ruby is up. Ruby is a panromantic ace from the UK who agreed to this interview with me.




Not-So-Giant Women Episode 10 is up. In this one, Daria and I discuss the Steven Universe episode "Steven's Lion."



New photos:

None this week.

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,267 for swankivy (lost 3), 674 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 99 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 954 for swankivy (1 new), 1,351 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 298 friends (1 new, accepted a friend request from someone from a good online discussion) and 219 followers (2 new) for swankivy, 634 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 61 likes for Negative One (no change), 159 likes for So You Write (no change), 81 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,483 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 205 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: May 30 – June 5

Life news this week:

• Saturday involved some quick preparations for my podcast and getting my blogging stuff done too. Daria and I watched and responded to episodes 37 and 38 of Steven Universe ("Warp Tour" and "The Test"). I also got some other interviews scheduled and looked at the news too much.
  
• Sunday was one of those productive days. I was motivating myself with games. Got laundry done (2 loads), dishes loaded, outdoor table cleaned, karaoke recorded, posts made, and a comic planned and drawn. Spent too much time looking at the news anyway though, and promoted sentiments that were important.
  
• Monday was the beginning of my twelfth week working from home. I had to work on a letter and data entry. After work I drew a Pride-related Steven Universe fanart picture since we're now in Pride month, and I stayed up really late redecorating the house.
  
• Tuesday I had a proposal meeting and did more data entry trying to beat my deadline. My fanart got featured on the SU Amino so I got some nice comments. (Also a jerk promoting police brutality, and I got them reported.) My sister said my nephew graduated from kindergarten so CONGRATS TO ASH!!! After work I chatted on the phone to Steve for a long time while reorganizing some cabinets in my kitchen. After we hung up I sent in a donation and worked on podcast editing.
  
• Wednesday I thought I was done with my data entry but there were still some I'd overlooked so I had to jump into them. I also had to attend a scope clarification meeting for the big job we just won, but I didn't have to contribute anything. Also chatted with my lawn maintenance person and paid him, and worked on a proposal. After work I cleaned up my kitchen and then Jeaux and I messed it up cooking Thai noodles. Yum! Then we watched What We Do in the Shadows and a funny comedian named Hannah Gadsby.
  
• Thursday I did more data entry work and proposal stuff, and also took a break in there to interview my latest ace interviewee, Maxwell. It was a lovely interview. (And he said he became a Steven Universe fan because of me. Mission accomplished!) After work, Victor called and I did my webcomic drawings. Later I ended up talking to Jeaux too.
  
• Friday I mostly spent on proposals and reports. It was fine, but kind of a long day because I'd been so busy with the data entry project that I had to scramble to complete all the stuff I'd postponed. After work my sister and I chatted about the state of the world, and after I drew comics and posted them and got really tired but stayed up really late anyway for NO REASON.

Food Plan Update:

• Haha, I keep saying each week that I'm going to try to do something different next week, but the truth is, I did not keep track of my nutrition goals or check in with weight or do ANYTHING but stress-eat way more ice cream than usual. But you know what? I still want to make better choices, so I'll keep discussing it, regardless of whether I moved in a positive direction. :)

Reading progress:

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week! I didn't ride the bus at all and was very busy at home--did not make time for reading. I don't know when I'll get back to it honestly.

• Currently reading: Emma by Jane Austen. I'm on page 225.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "America" by Simon and Garfunkel.




Stuff Drawn:

Pride Gems! This is a comic page redraw from Fusion Frenzy.

Webcomic So You Write Issue 108: "Interesting Life."











Webcomic Negative One Issue 0786: "An Alliance."









New videos: 

"Halo" ukulele cover is up. This was a request from Fred that I offered to him as a birthday present, and he picked a great song!




New photos:

Homemade snow cone!

A lifetime of journals, all full!

My journals <3

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,270 for swankivy (5 new), 675 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 99 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 953 for swankivy (lost 6), 1,354 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 297 friends (lost 1, know not who) and 217 followers (lost 1) for swankivy, 634 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 61 likes for Negative One (no change), 159 likes for So You Write (lost 1), 81 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,484 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 203 (1 new).