Personal Digest Saturday: July 23 – July 29

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got up a little late, worked on my blogging, then cleaned up my kitchen a little before getting setup for podcast recording. Unfortunately Daria had to surprise cancel because a friend's baby was being born so I spent the night finishing up the cleaning and did some laundry. I also got to talk to Jeaux about booking our New York City trip--we're going in early October!
  
  
• Sunday I got up late, had breakfast, and tried out this cleaning product my mom gave me to try to get stains off my outdoor table's covering. It worked really well but unfortunately my table cover was damaged and cracked when I scrubbed it. I went ahead and used the same product on the chair covers and swept the porch down. And then I just cleaned up the remaining rooms to get ready to have houseguests--I like my house to be comfy and figured it could use a once-over. Then in the evening I checked in at work and was able to edit three letters that were going to be due the next day.
  
  
• Monday was busy at work--multiple practices for our interview, a proposal package due, and turning in our three letters. The new table cover I ordered for my table didn't fit so the table got rained on. Aw! I did a little dusting and then played games with my friends. I was tired so I took a short nap before my sister and nephew arrived at close to 2 AM. I gave them a short intro to what they would need to know staying with me because I was probably going to leave in the morning before they woke up, and then we all went to bed.
  
  
• Tuesday I had trouble sleeping because I was nervous I would wake up late and miss my Lyft, but I didn't. I got up, had coffee, and got dressed up for the interview. Then I met my team at IHOP, drove with my team to DeLand, had lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and went to the client office to be interviewed. I thought the interview went well and I hope we win that job. I got a little ill from motion sickness when we were coming back but it wasn't too bad--just weird, that never happens to me. When I got home my nephew and sister were hanging out with my mom at my house. I watched my nephew while my sister ran my mom home--she was borrowing her car. We ate some pasta and enjoyed our food, and Ash even had dessert. We watched him do jumping tricks in the living room. Then we ended up being inspired by my new Steven Universe jacket arriving in the mail to watch some episodes of the show, and my sis and nephew fell in love with it! Yay!
  
  
• Wednesday I went to work (at home) and had some quiet time going through e-mail and going to meetings. I got to chat with my sister in the morning over coffee, and then she picked up Mom and groceries while Ash enjoyed games and reading. They brought home cool donuts from an allergen-free bakery. I finished up some utility reviews in time to go to the beach with my family! Unexpected. My sister's friend Amber's mom picked us up and took us out there. Some of her pals (including Amber) were there and we had a little meal and then went out to the water. (I took Ash in early while waiting for my sister because he was hot and excited about swimming.) I didn't spend much time in the water after that and just took some walks by myself and caught up on Polos with Meghan. Then we went home and they wanted to watch more cartoons! We got all the way to episode 16.
  
  
• Thursday I got to have coffee and breakfast with my sister again. This was a slower day at work so I was able to check in with them more while they got their morning started. I sent out some utility reminders and organized some utility stuff while Patricia and Ash were out meeting up with Amber again and swimming in her mom's pool. When they got back after my work we hung out and then met with my dad for dinner at Joe's Diner. It was really hot and we seem to have melted our kid. At my place we hung out a bit looking at old photos, and then after they left we watched more SU episodes from 17 to 28.
  
  
• Friday I did some drawing in the morning and completed my upcoming project reports and some utility contact corrections. I had planned a half day for this day so when I was done we packed up and went to Jeaux's apartment to hang out at the pool. We swam for some time, played Frisbee and floated on noodles, and then we went to lunch at the Naked Farmer. We ate at an outdoor table and then went back--this time trying out a different pool. (Jeaux's building has 4 pools.) We stayed a while longer and I got some steps in walking around the pool and talking to Jeaux. Then we left, picking up Mom on the way home because she wanted to give us a pie she made. When we got back Patricia and I took turns with bathing and working on the dinner--I started it, she finished it. We had pasta, tofu, mushrooms, and zucchini. Then we tried Mom's pie, which was pretty good. Patricia took Mom home and Ash and I played video games on my phone, and then when P came back we watched more SU (from 29 to 33). Way more than halfway through the first season!

New Reviews:

• Kate (Reading Through Infinity) gave The Invisible Orientation an unrated review on Goodreads.
  
• Catherine gave The Invisible Orientation a two-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: A pretty weird fluctuation because I'm eating unusual stuff at unusual times. High weight: 117.6. Low weight: 115.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Have been eating kind of a lot of junk and/or not-nutritionally-balanced stuff since I'm hanging out with my family. Still have managed to get a spinach smoothie in and some veggies here and there, but I have eaten a ton of treats. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I have missed my walking goal several times this week because of hanging out with my family or spending a lot of time in a car. Oh well. My low day was Tuesday at 4,872 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 12,514 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 292.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Mammal" by They Might Be Giants.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0898: "Mean Little Leader." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

My interview outfit

Ash on the floor

Ash's long jump

Donuts!

Gulf swimmers

Selfie from shore

Hole Ash dug

Playing in sand

Ash reading my nerdy comics

Tire swing!

Tire swing!

"Steven style!"

Perfect face plant

Raspberry Monster

Eating at Joe's Diner!

It's a little hot

At the Naked Farmer!

Jeaux and Ash playing Frisbee

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,427 for swankivy (lost 1), 678 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 144 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 912 for swankivy (lost 3), 3,338 for JulieSondra (13 new). Facebook: 294 friends for swankivy (lost 1, don't know who dropped me), 638 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 236 likes for So You Write (no change), 90 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,449 (1 new). Instagram followers: 245 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: July 16 – July 22

Life news this week:

• Saturday was Day 2 of Metrocon. I got ready with my Amethyst costume, including purple face paint! Jeaux was supposed to drive me to the convention so my makeup wouldn't melt but he had a problem with his tire so I had to take a Lyft car anyway. I met him at the con later. Saw tons of cute costumes! Jeaux and I took a break to walk to a place called The Naked Farmer and back to his place to eat, and the sun melted my makeup so I had to redo it. Then we dodged the rain and went back to the convention. We hung out looking at costumes for a few more hours and shopped in the dealer room. Then he drove me home and hung out a bit before going home. I was pretty tired so I went to bed without completing my blogging.
  
  
• Sunday I got up after sleeping 10 hours. I did laundry and belated blogging, and talked on Polo while getting steps in. I caught up on chores but mostly had a nice quiet day.
  
  
• Monday I worked on utility projects again, worked on interview materials, and transcribed some questions. Also had to attend a debrief meeting. After work I cleaned up some messes that had developed with costume parts and convention junk, and then I went into game-playing with my friends. Then I made a Letters to an Asexual video and got the transcript done mostly before I went to bed.
  
  
• Tuesday involved utility stuff, document prep, and meetings. My mom came over to meet with a notary at my house to sign refinancing paperwork, and she hung out for a while after that. Then my friend Steve came over to see me one more time before he moves to Tennessee. We ate at Joe's Diner and then left a little early because Tony had showed up to help me put some stairs together! So we came back and he was able to do it. He's the best! Steve and I hung out and had coffee until he had to go. Then I spent some time on Polo and gathered some clothes for an upcoming donation pickup.
  
  
• Wednesday I mostly worked on meeting and interview stuff and utilities, plus one debrief meeting and some data entry. Very busy. I had a visit from some AC techs who helped me with the weird water noise I heard in the pipes, and they said I had a drainage clog and fixed it. I'm glad because it probably would have caused a flood. Then Jeaux came over and we got groceries and ate at Five Guys. We then watched Colbert and What We Do in the Shadows, took a walk, and hung out. After he left I went through some of the boxes from my grandparents' belongings and enjoyed some memory lane.
  
  
• Thursday I got up late and worked on utility stuff and reports. Finished sorting stuff from my grandparents. Made and listened to Polos. Victor tried to call me during the work day (I was still working) but didn't call during his usual time so yet again I did not talk to him. I watched the January 6 hearings while drawing my comic and finished it. Then Jeaux called and we decided to watch Colbert's coverage of the hearings while on the phone together. I dusted some stuff in my living room while talking to him and later cleaned the bathrooms. I'm about to have houseguests so I thought they would like a clean bathroom! Everyone does!
  
  
• Friday I successfully got some communication for utility work that I'd been struggling with. Then I worked on project reports and went to meetings. After work I got my comic up, finished cleaning the bathrooms, and worked on my next podcast for Not-So-Giant Women. Got it uploaded despite the computer shutting down in the middle of processing it once. Did a little more dusting and went to sleep.

New Reviews:

• Jessica gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Oran gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Claudia gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads (in Italian).

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I ate a fair amount of lazy and subsistence food this week, but still got a decent number of smoothies and fruit in. Unfortunately I still saw an increase on the scale for some reason. High weight: 118.1. Low weight: 116.4.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Consistently seeing higher fat percentages in my diet this week. I guess easy food is also fatty food. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I made my step goals every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,177 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 26,128 steps (the convention was a lot of walking).

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 292.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0897: "Everyone's Weird." 

Videos Made:

Letters to an Asexual #93 ("Your anger is destroying your cause!") is out. In this video, I share two comments from people who explicitly claimed that they would view ALL asexual people in the same negative light inspired by one unpleasant interaction with a single ace person--and that their prejudice is essentially our own fault if one of us treats them badly.

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 37: Warp Tour is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Warp Tour" and cover such topics as Peridot's design and status as a modern Gem, Daria's theory about whether Gems need to keep their Gems exposed, the "no one believes the protagonist" trope, what Peridot might be on Earth to do, Steven's allergies, the nature of Warp Space, death-related language in cartoons, theories about Garnet's third eye, and whether Lapis somehow triggered Peridot's visit.

New photos:

Convention photos from Saturday! The entire album can be browsed at the Metrocon 2022 album on my site (which also includes the previous day, Friday), but here are some faves from Saturday:

Amethyst costume closeup

With a Rose cosplayer

Gosh, there's something interesting about this Toph cosplayer. . . . 

Ladybug and Chat Noir

Dipper and Jeaux as Dippy Fresh

I found another Amethyst

Sailor Moon's family

Glimmer

Bojji (omg!!)

Prince Gumball & Marshall Lee

My Amethyst costume

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,428 for swankivy (7 new), 679 for JulieSondra (2 new), 18 for v & V Vids (1 new), 144 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new). Twitter followers: 915 for swankivy (1 new), 3,325 for JulieSondra (1 new). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (no change), 639 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 236 likes for So You Write (no change), 90 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,448 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 245 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday (but posted on Sunday!): July 9 – July 15

Life news this week:

• Saturday I worked on some podcast planning, then did my blogging and was done pretty early. Tested my new purple makeup for the upcoming convention and it was close enough. Did some walking, responded to some stuff on Twitter, took some photos of collections and updated websites, and then went into my recording with Daria. We recorded our reactions to "Gem Hunt" and "Crack the Whip." Listened to some Polos and went to bed.
  
  
• Sunday I got up nice and late. Worked through my trash and laundry chores and put away the supplies my boss gave back to me after the office space closed. Cleaned out some mementos and some condiments from the fridge. Installed a ramp but did it poorly because it isn't sitting right. Worked on my webcomic that's due the end of the month because I'm going to be busy with my houseguests when it's due.
  
  
• Monday I did utility stuff at work. We found out we are shortlisted for another project so we worked on that. Finished my upcoming webcomic and got steps in. Posted a post about cake. We didn't play games tonight because Meghan is at Disney. Did laundry and karaoke.
  
  
• Tuesday I got up late and worked on utilities and read through marketing letters. Mom came over and needed me to scan something for her for her car registration. We hung out and I showed her our band video. Then I got my steps, listened to/made Polos, did some laundry, and worked on Negative One while listening to the hearings.
  
  
• Wednesday I worked on utilities, made spreadsheets, and reviewed plans. Had a couple meetings and got a lot done. Drew some more pictures. My commissioned plushie came! Yay. Went to Lowe's to get keys made, shopped at the grocery store, and got Burger Monger food. We watched the new season of What We Do in the Shadows and after he left I worked on the comic more.
  
  
• Thursday I had more utility things to do and got some teams organized, did my reports, updated some data, and reviewed my utilities. Tried to put together some plastic stairs but the plastic is warped so it won't go together. Great! Did Polos, got steps, finished Negative One's drawings, and styled my Rose Quartz wig.
  
  
• Friday I sent out utility reviews and dealt with project reports and timesheets. Tried to fix my ramp but I think I broke it worse. Got ready for the Metrocon convention and went there in a Lyft car dressed as Rose Quartz. Jeaux met me there and we took pictures and went to a singalong. Then he took me home and I got a good night's sleep.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Doing well, average weight is actually still going down (by a tiny bit). Made mostly not terrible choices with food this week! High weight: 116.9. Low weight: 116.4.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I still haven't returned to spinach smoothies with the consistency I want to, but I did well with fruits and vegetables this week. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I made my step goals every day this week. My low day was Saturday at 10,134 steps, and my high day was Friday at 15,438 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 292.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Cannonball" by the Breeders.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0896: "Weird Day." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Cool rainbow we saw!

Metrocon: The Pines Twins from Gravity Falls

Luz and Amity at Grom from the Owl House

Queer flag con-goer (who gave me a cute prize)

Jeaux as Steven Universe from Steven Universe Future

Me as Rose Quartz (Steven Universe) with Lion

Rose and Steven with Lion

Korra from Legend of Korra

Jeaux and me with Bonnibel Bubblegum &
Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time

Classic Steven, Future Steven

Classic Steven, Rose Quartz

Queen Hilling with Bojji plush from Ranking of Kings

Pikachu from Pokémon

Eating chocolate outside

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,421 for swankivy (6 new), 677 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 143 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 914 for swankivy (no change), 3,324 for JulieSondra (24 new). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (no change), 640 likes for JulieSondra (2 new), 81 followers for Negative One (lost 1), 236 likes for So You Write (1 new), 90 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,449 (lost 2). Instagram followers: 243 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: July 2 – July 8

Life news this week:

• Saturday I had a slow start. Got my blogging done, processed a YouTube video for my band footage, and put up summer decorations. Made some yummy white chocolate chip brownies for the barbecue the next day. Watched some reactions and played a game too much.
  
  
• Sunday Jeaux picked me up and we went to the band practice. We did a few hours of very productive practice and then went downstairs for a barbecue and swimming. I got to play ping-pong too. Then Jeaux took me home and we took a walk and watched some more of Umbrella Academy.
  
  
• Monday I didn't have to work but I still woke up early. I took it pretty easy, played a game and did laundry and wrote a few e-mails. I did get to play games with my friends online in the evening, and took some walks.
  
  
• Tuesday I had to edit two letters and do data entry at work. Took a short nap and did some cleaning. Watched news, put away laundry, looked at Reddit, and made some time to chat with Tony when he came to do my yard. Did some online shopping.
  
  
• Wednesday was rough. I had to spend most of the day embroiled in various utility coordination issues for three different projects, including one that came back from the dead. Also had to take care of some more issues online for my mom. Got harassed by some goobers on Twitter but they stopped when I blocked them. Went grocery shopping and shopping at Target with Jeaux. We got SoFresh bowls and finished off watching Umbrella Academy.
  
  
• Thursday I resolved some of the issues with utility coordination but it took all day and that's basically all I did all day, busy until like 7 PM. Victor tried to call me but he called before I was off work even though he seemed to think he was calling during the usual window (he wasn't; it was too early), and then he didn't call back. In the evening I did just a little comic drawing, installed some new toilet seat hinges (which took like 2 hours), tried to put some stairs together for my big front stoop but I didn't have a drill and hadn't realized it'd be required when I bought them, and found an infestation of weevils in my kitchen which required me to throw out everything in a cabinet and wash all the dishes. What a night.
  
  
• Friday involved more utility stuff, almost all day with all 3 of my projects, plus I did project reports and a little data entry (I'm still not done with that). I finished work late again and then jumped into finishing the comic. I got my steps done and recorded a karaoke song, and made a to-do list.

New Reviews:

• Mu-An gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Claire Chave gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads (in French).

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: With a barbecue on Sunday and a restaurant meal on Wednesday, there were two big meals instead of just one this week, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference and my management of my menu has been good. Overall weight is down from last week and the lowest weight of the week has been maintained for the final three days of the week. High weight: 117.6. Low weight: 116.4.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Didn't do super great with incorporating vegetables and fruits this week; I've been so busy at work that it's mostly been sandwiches and frozen food. Will try to do better next week. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I made my step goals every day this week. My low day was Friday at 10,000 steps exactly, and my high day was Thursday at 11,781 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 292.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Solitude Standing" by Suzanne Vega.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0895: "Finishing Touches." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Dessert at July 3 barbecue

Gardenia is blooming

Dwarf powderpuff is blooming

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,415 for swankivy (lost 6), 677 for JulieSondra (1 new), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 143 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 914 for swankivy (lost 3), 3,300 for JulieSondra (126 new). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (no change), 638 likes for JulieSondra (2 new), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 235 likes for So You Write (no change), 90 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,451 (no change). Instagram followers: 241 (no change).