Personal Digest Saturday: August 21 – August 27

Life news this week:

• Saturday I had a pretty nice chill day that was not productive but was probably needed. I got dishes and blogging done at least. I read a lot of my old comic issues and ate crap. Also did answer some messages I'd left unanswered. And I wrote a post on Tumblr after not doing so for a while.
  
  
• Sunday I woke up on the floor with my head on a jacket and using my ace flag as a blanket. I'm an adult. Welp! I did some karaoke, drank coffee and a smoothie, and played on Reddit. My posts are getting blocked as spam for some reason so I worked something out with the mods. Worked on my merch post images. It's a lot of work even though it's fun. Cleaned my outside table and did laundry too.
  
  
• Monday was slower than most Mondays. I worked on proposal stuff a bit and decided I'm tired of slacking off with my writing career–related stuff so I am going to do something that I consider writing-related every day (as much as I can anyway). I punctuated this decision by sending out a query for a fiction project. Also played on Twitter and did some Polos for the gals. And managed to get laundry put away. Played games with my friends and went to bed at a reasonable time for once.
  
  
• Tuesday I had some complicated stuff at work to deal with. I tried to help my boss with negotiating staff hours for our new project! I have no experience with that though. I did database updates and worked on reports. Later made some plans with Yasmin and Arthur and took more collections pics. Sent a short story out.
  
  
• Wednesday was kinda slow. I went to a meeting and worked on databases. I did some writing on a short story I started in May and didn't finish. Took some more collection pictures. Jeaux and I went grocery shopping and got delicious SoFresh bowls. We watched Colbert and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. We also took a walk and I went to bed early.
  
  
• Thursday I had a very long meeting for which I had to take the minutes. Then I worked on reports again. Later I did some prep for my podcast recording and sent out another query. Talked to Victor on the phone in the evening and drew my comics.
  
  
• Friday I did my upcoming projects reports at work and did some other updates. Did some work in the garden and wrote some stuff on a novel. Did some epic tweeting. Finished my comics and didn't have enough time to get walks in until the tail-end of the day. Wah!

New Reviews:

• Lauren Gillman gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• sans nom gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Andy gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Melanie gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Mia Popova gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I've gotten back to pretty steadily weighing in at a weight several pounds higher than I want to. Don't quite have a strategy to approach this yet. High weight: 114.6. Low weight: 113.1.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Too much candy and carb-heavy stuff. I did not do well on the vegetables this week except that the restaurant food I got with Jeaux was quite vegetabley. I have brought better food into my house for this week so I should have less temptation going forward.
  
• Activity stuff: Just like last week, I came in low on Friday, but that's the only day I didn't make my step goal. I was mad that I didn't quite make it on Friday. Should have made time for one more walk. My low day was Friday at 9,122, and my high day was Thursday at 18,917 steps.

Books Read:

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week. 

• Currently reading: Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays by Luigi Pirandello. I'm on page 117.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Don't Speak" by No Doubt.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0850: "Nest." 

New videos:

None.

New photos:

Mostly just silly photos of my SU collections that I've been photographing this week!

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,314 for swankivy (2 new), 669 for JulieSondra (lost 2), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 131 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 933 for swankivy (1 new), 2,034 for JulieSondra (29 new). Facebook: 298 friends for swankivy (no change), 631 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 80 followers for Negative One (no change), 230 likes for So You Write (no change), 86 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,452 (lost 3). Instagram followers: 238 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: August 14 – August 20

Life news this week:

• Saturday I put my podcast plans together early in the day, got my blogging done, and worked on the Not-So-Giant Women podcast's next episode. Daria and I caught up for like an hour and a half before we started on the current recording so the time ran really late and I didn't have any time to practice any music, but it was a great time.
  
  
• Sunday was another band practice. Stuff is coming together and we actually got some really good recordings, but my dad hates using the drum covers that make his drums softer. We went to a restaurant after where I ordered a Beyond Burger but didn't have room for it because I ate the cauliflower appetizer and fries. I tried to take a nap after I got home but couldn't sleep. Did laundry and trash but not much else.
  
  
• Monday I helped on a letter and found out we won a contract! Hooray for us, we came in first place. Did some more with my podcast and tried another unsuccessful nap. Wasn't feeling really great. Played games with my friends and it was a good time as usual! Decided against another interview I was invited to, but I think I'm making the right choice. Talked to Jeaux after the games so I could try to get my steps in.
  
  
• Tuesday work wasn't busy and that was good because I was pretty sick with tummy trouble. Still managed to get a lot of walking done though. Sent some recordings from band practice to my sister and practiced singing. Talked to my mom in the evening and she paid me back all the money I lent her because the refinancing came through. Went out at night and stole some sand for my succulents.
  
  
• Wednesday I still wasn't feeling well with tummy trouble and discovered maybe it's because I've been eating moldy bread. I tried to have an egg sandwich that morning and the bread I had was verrryyy moldy, so yeah that's probably why. Worked on transcripts for the office. I wasn't feeling up to going out for groceries so Jeaux went to the store for me! But I still had a bad night after he left. But we did get to watch Colbert and Owl House and the new Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
  
  
• Thursday after a bad night I was feeling better. Spent the day on transcripts again. I ate too many potato chips. After work I talked to Victor and drew comics.
  
  
• Friday I got up early and mostly felt okay. Finished the transcripts and outlined proposals. Dad called and canceled band practice for this weekend but that's okay. After work I procrastinated somewhat but got the comic done and also did a karaoke recording and some fun posts online.

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Strange week because I had tummy troubles and a weird appetite. But I still tracked because I guess you still track weird weeks. High weight: 113.1. Low weight: 111.2.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I ate a LOT of fruit this week! And moldy bread but that probably wasn't good for me. But I was mostly just trying to eat things that I felt like I needed, and that was a really huge amount of fruit and occasionally salty things. And a lot of frozen treats (but at least the frozen treats I eat are mostly healthy--frozen yogurt and frozen fruit bars).
  
• Activity stuff: I came in low on Friday, but that's the only day I didn't make my step goal. Which is actually weird because I didn't feel good and it would have been a smart week to take it easy, but I still managed to get the walking in during times I felt okay. I didn't feel like I was pushing it though. I don't think people should push to exercise when they're ill. My low day was Friday at 9,125, and my high day was Tuesday at 16,243 steps.

Books Read:

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week. 

• Currently reading: Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays by Luigi Pirandello. I'm on page 102.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0849: "Out Loud." 

New videos:

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 24: An Indirect Kiss. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "An Indirect Kiss" and cover such topics as healing power theories, Connie's place in the series, Amethyst's relationship with her body and how terrifying it is to watch that break down, representation for eyeglass wearers in television, squishy drawings by Raven and Paul, Pearl's "thing" for Rose, and a digression about bad eyesight. Probing Question: Why do so many of Rose's magical places seem to want to harm Steven?

New photos:

None.

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,312 for swankivy (2 new), 671 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 131 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 932 for swankivy (5 new), 2,005 for JulieSondra (7 new). Facebook: 298 friends for swankivy (lost 3 - I unfriended one person for posting misinformation about vaccines, but I don't know who the other two were), 631 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 80 followers for Negative One (no change), 230 likes for So You Write (no change), 86 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,455 (lost 2). Instagram followers: 238 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: August 7 – August 13

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did the blogging, posted about new socks, practiced some music for band practice, cleaned up some house messes, and sent out a short story. I also tuned in for some drama explosion on Reddit, which ended up being really satisfying because someone who was lying got in trouble and it's always nice to see consequences.
  
  
• Sunday I got to see my dad for band practice. He had to come get me early because our practice was early. We got to have nice chatting time while in the car, and the rehearsal went very well. We practiced a dozen or so songs and got the news that we have our first gig coming up next month, so we have to finalize a set list! After practice I went to Applebee's (outdoor dining) with Dad and Connie, and then he drove me home. We got caught in the rain and sat around talking about music until it wasn't ridiculously rainy and I could run into the house. In the evening I just did my typical Sunday chores (laundry and trash) and went to bed early.
  
  
• Monday was a very busy day at the office because I had a huge submittal on a letter and a lot of it needed to be completed the same day it was due. I basically worked on that letter from the early morning until it was due to get it in. Also had a few other things scrambling for my attention and I had to deal with them the best I could. After work I blew off some steam and played games with my friends online.
  
  
• Tuesday was much slower. I did some troubleshooting I hadn't been able to finish the day before and compiled some information that will be useful for the group. I worked on the set list for the band and came up with a good lineup. Also did a karaoke recording. I prepared an emulsion solution to help my azalea plants that are dying and I'm hoping this will revitalize them. Discussed some particulars about Mom's refinancing plans for the next day.
  
  
• Wednesday was busy. I pulled up my succulent plants because they got waterlogged and now they're drying out. Had a lot of back and forth with coworkers over various issues and troubleshooting with a zip file. Dad called and said my financial adviser passed away, so we talked about that and about our band plans. Then after work Mom came over and we did the paperwork for her closing. The notary came to my house and brought all the documents for us. Jeaux showed up with pizza afterwards and we had some, and then Mom left and Jeaux and I went to the grocery store like usual. We came back and talked about work stuff and terrible people from the internet, and we watched an episode of The Owl House.
  
  
• Thursday I got up super early for a meeting but it got moved. I got some work done but also wasn't able to leave early because people kept needing stuff late into the day. I wrote my storyboard for my comic and talked to Victor on the phone while drawing and putting away laundry.
  
  
• Friday I was working on upcoming project reports for the boss so I got to practice singing while I was working. Got some work done on other reports and troubleshooting for various documents. And after work I drew the rest of my comic and didn't accomplish much else the rest of the day.

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Another average week. Still trying to get a little lower and despite the giant pasta meal I had with Dad and the pizza in the middle of the week it's working reasonably well. High weight: 114.5 Low weight: 112.4.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I decided I am bad at being responsible with my eating if I bring chips into the house. I thought I could behave but I really don't, so this week I didn't buy chips. I've been really good with the spinach smoothies, eating apples as a snack frequently, putting healthy soups back into the mix, and varying the types of protein I'm eating.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my goal every day this week EXCEPT Monday but I only missed it by fewer than a hundred steps so I think it still counts. Doing much better lately about getting my steps in earlier in the day so I am not trying to run around later in the night. My low day was Monday at 9,930, and my high day was Thursday at 22,600 steps.

Books Read:

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week. 

• Currently reading: Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays by Luigi Pirandello. I'm on page 90.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Sweet Surrender" by Sarah McLachlan.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0848: "Enjoy the Silence." 

New videos:

None.

New photos:

Dad's doggie Honey

Dad's doggie Max

My Tiny Floating Whale and Cat Steven plushies

New additions to Vualá Prizes collection, still missing one

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,310 for swankivy (no change), 671 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 131 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new). Twitter followers: 927 for swankivy (no change), 1,998 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 301 friends for swankivy (no change), 631 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 79 likes for Negative One (no change), 230 likes for So You Write (no change), 86 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,457 (no change). Instagram followers: 236 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: July 31 – August 6

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did some of my blogging but also spent too much of my attention and time on weird internet drama. Nothing stressful but just stuff that made me want to rant about things. Later Jeaux brought me Taco Bus food and we watched The Owl House's latest episode and the entire Centaurworld series, which at one point made Jeaux laugh so hard he had trouble recovering. It was hilarious to see. After he left I had to rush to finish my So You Write comic.
  
  
• Sunday I got my gardenia replanted in its new pot, and did my usual chores like laundry and trash. Also monthly chores like maintaining my water system. And I participated in more online drama stuff, because that's such a joy. I finally got the blogging done from yesterday, did some karaoke, and sent out a story again. Oh, and recorded a sorta crummy ukulele cover of the song "Full Disclosure." Went to sleep early after putting away all the laundry.
  
  
• Monday was a little hectic at work putting together all the elements of a letter that was due, and I also had to practice and participate in an interview for our Orlando proposal under consideration. After work I cleaned up the house a bit, responded to some online stuff, and played online games with my people. Later I talked to Mom and did some bedding laundry. Exciting life.
  
  
• Tuesday I just worked on some database stuff at work. Sent some Polo messages to my sister and Meg like usual and later I had an interview. Spent the evening goofing around inventorying some of my collections. Also started working on my responses to a print interview I was invited to participate in.
  
  
• Wednesday I called Mom to make sure everything was okay with her appraisal situation and we caught up on stuff. I was really tired for no good reason. Took some pictures of my blankets for the interwebs. Then Jeaux and I shopped for groceries, got Zaxby's, and watched some episodes of Hilda.
  
  
• Thursday there wasn't a lot of activity at work, so it was more background updates for me. I got involved with some online drama that was completely unrelated to the other online drama that happened earlier in the week. Not worth talking about except that liars who steal other people's art make me ragey and I end up going all Sailor Moon "I will punish you" on them. Talked to Victor on the phone in the evening and got some comics drawn.
  
  
• Friday I had a lot to do at work helping my co-worker with a complicated matrix and coordinating some teaming, plus I had to do some research. I took a break to talk to my lawn care specialist Tony for a while but then I went back to work pretty late into the evening so I could finish. Then I did some more Polo stuff and finished my comics.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions: 

• A post about homoromanticism on Healthline recommends my book.

New Reviews:

• Pershelle Rohrer gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Toni gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads (in Spanish).
  
• Hanae gave The Invisible Orientation's French edition a four-star review on Goodreads (in French).
  
• Imanewreader gave The Invisible Orientation's French edition a five-star review on Goodreads (in French).
  
• Gayle Parrott gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Audible.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I think this was basically an average week, which I'm not so happy with because I wanted to go back down from my higher numbers, but so far I haven't gotten there. High weight: 114.5 pounds. Low weight: 113.1.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I've been doing better about incorporating fruits and vegetables into my diet when I want a different snack, making better choices maybe half the time.
  
• Activity stuff: I had a really low day on Saturday because I was marathoning a TV show with Jeaux all day. I also didn't get my steps in on Friday for some reason, even though I thought I was doing OK by taking breaks during work (so maybe the counter froze? but I didn't notice that it did). My low day was Saturday at 2,965, and my high day was Thursday at 20,251 steps.

Books Read:

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week. 

• Currently reading: Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays by Luigi Pirandello. I'm on page 90.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Glycerine" by Bush.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic So You Write Issue 122: "Any Time But." 

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0847: "You Asked For This." 

New videos:

None.

New photos:

Blanket collection!

All softlines!

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,310 for swankivy (no change), 671 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 130 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new). Twitter followers: 927 for swankivy (lost 1), 1,999 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 301 friends for swankivy (no change), 631 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 79 likes for Negative One (no change), 230 likes for So You Write (1 new), 86 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,457 (lost 3). Instagram followers: 235 (lost 2).

Personal Digest Saturday (but posted on Sunday!): July 24 – July 30

Life news this week:

• Saturday was my second convention day! Meg advised that it was getting dangerous with Covid numbers rising so we decided to limit our time there and wear masks the whole time. Jeaux picked me up and we enjoyed the convention, looking at the dealer room and all the amazing costumes. We ran our own panel at 2:00 and it was very well-attended, and I gave away all my big prizes and most of my little ones! After spending some more time looking at the costumes, we went to my place, got a pizza, and watched The Owl House and talked about the convention. After he left I posted some pictures and slept.
  
  
• Sunday we didn't go to the convention because we want to limit our time in public now. It's too Covidy out there! I finally got to my usual Saturday blogging and got all my photos posted, got my trash and laundry taken care of, and made some posts about the panel. Also caught up on Polos with my people. Ended up watching a bunch of silly videos before going to bed instead of being productive.
  
  
• Monday I had to get up early for two meetings. We were preparing for an interview and a presentation. I also got some reports done. Did some karaoke later and played with my friends on the games in the evening. We had a lovely time. I didn't have anything in particular to work on so I sent out a short story and watched some more silly videos.
  
  
• Tuesday my mom got her appraisal done, so finally that's out of the way. I worked and went to meetings and worked on my database. In the evening I made a Letters to an Asexual video and rested. Was feeling mildly crappy and hoping I didn't catch Covid at the convention. :/
  
  
• Wednesday I got up early for more meetings and we finally got to rehearse our interview questions. Everything went really well though. In between our practices I got some utilities sent out for a project I'm starting. Then I talked to my sister and put away laundry. Jeaux took me to the grocery store and we picked up take-out from Five Guys instead of eating in restaurants. We watched Colbert and the first episodes of Birdgirl and Centaurworld. Still felt mildly crappy but am not having symptoms so I guess I'm just feeling crappy.
  
  
• Thursday I had to get up early so my boss could pick me up for the interview. We went to the Department and we were the second team to be interviewed. It went fine and we didn't run out of time, which was nice. After that my boss took me home and I worked on some updates to reports. Victor called at night and I talked to him while drawing. Still was tired but haven't gotten sick.
  
  
• Friday I did my usual work stuff for every other Friday (getting reports completed and dealing with timesheet prep). Had one meeting about our upcoming presentation on Monday. Did a phone interview and spent some time looking at bees in my garden, and sending garden updates to my Polo people. Then I had a nap. Got up and worked on my comics and posted them--pretty close to the deadline but no issues.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions: 

• A French blog called Gondolindrim's Stories reviewed the French version of my book.
  

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Another kind of inconsistent week. I've been super hungry for some reason! I ate somewhat responsibly for some of the week but wasn't as disciplined as last week. High weight: 113.5 pounds. Low weight: 112.6.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Most of the days this week I ate more than I was supposed to, and only focused on getting my green stuff in about half the time. Could definitely do better.
  
• Activity stuff: Nice high step day on the convention day of course! But my counter froze so I don't know how good the day was. (I still made quota, but I'm sure I was much higher than quota and just have no way to know how much.) The other days were pretty typical, and for some reason I didn't make my goal on Tuesday but that's it. My low day was Tuesday at 8,871 steps, and my high day was Friday at 18,074 steps.

Books Read:

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week. 

• Currently reading: Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays by Luigi Pirandello. I'm on page 90.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0846: "Weird Feeling." 

New videos:

Letters to an Asexual #82 was posted this week, about "You Just Want Attention!"

Forgot to link my Not-So-Giant Women video from last week:



Not-So-Giant Women Episode 23: Monster Buddies. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Monster Buddies" and cover such topics as theories on what made the Centipeetle reform so small, discussions of different bubble types and colors, Steven's mission to heal monsters, the purpose of the Shooting Star, bubbling ability, Amethyst's crane pose, evil seagulls, the unfortunate person who became a skeleton left in the ice caves, bubbling being used as teleportation, whether Lion and Centipeetle would be friends if Steven had kept her as a pet, what happened to other Gems besides our three and whether there are multiple Gems of the same name, and whether Gems think gemstone jewelry is weird. Tune in to find out Daria's cute nickname for little Centipeetle.

New photos:

Click through for larger images:

 Photos from Saturday's convention day, with me as Stevonnie (you can see the whole convention album at my Metrocon 2021 Gallery, but these are my favorites):

Social Media Counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,310 for swankivy (no change), 671 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 129 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new). Twitter followers: 928 for swankivy (no change), 2,002 for JulieSondra (75 new). Facebook: 301 friends for swankivy (no change), 630 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 79 likes for Negative One (no change), 229 likes for So You Write (1 new), 86 likes for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,460 (no change). Instagram followers: 237 (3 new).