Personal Digest Saturday: August 20 – August 26

Life news this week:

• Saturday I had a bit of a procrastination day. Did some blogging, played some games, took a walk, got irritated at internet people for being unpleasant, texted about cartoons with my sister, washed some blankets, and had a four-hour conversation with Yasmin on the phone. Managed to work in some podcast tinkering too.
  
  
• Sunday I got up early for band practice; Dad picked me up and we had a productive practice pounding out songs we really don't have ready and making some decisions. And we got to go to our usual sushi place after. At home I took a long nap and then got up for laundry and trash. I also got my tickets purchased for the Broadway show Jeaux and I will see when we're in New York.
  
  
• Monday I didn't get enough sleep. Work involved editing a letter and cleaning up some records. Took some walks, did laundry, took a nap, and played games with my friends. Prevented my nephew from getting spoiled on later episodes of Steven Universe by telling him the comic he was reading wasn't safe for him yet. (Nerd Aunt alert.) Worked on podcast editing.
  
  
• Tuesday involved project manager reports and resurrected utility work. Took a nap and released a podcast. Did a bunch of Poloing and helped Mom with a reimbursement claim.
  
  
• Wednesday was pretty slammed with utility work. Argued about cartoons on Reddit and smacked a bigot around. Went to the store and Five Guys with Jeaux, and we didn't have any new Colbert but we did watch What We Do in the Shadows and another episode of Sandman.
  
  
• Thursday I had to deal with some Excel spreadsheets which is not my favorite. Utility projects were continuing to need attention too, and Mom also needed assistance with her phone bill so I had to help her too. Sent some Polos, drank a new flavor of soda called Dreamworld, and worked on some website updates.
  
  
• Friday was very busy. I had timesheets and upcoming project reports due, and also utility stuff. After work I had to get my drawings done for Negative One (and I had done NO drawings the night before). Tried to help Mom again with bank card stuff. Worked on plans for the next podcast. Chatted with Jeremy about writing.

New Reviews:

• Slone Ryan gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Amazon.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Improvements! Made much better snacking choices this week and it also seems to have paid off, which is always gratifying. The higher weights this week were toward the very beginning and then the lower ones were for the rest of the week. High weight: 119.5. Low weight: 116.9.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I have still had some days where my carbs/fats/protein were not well balanced. It's mostly that I'm eating too much fat. I need to work on this but have incorporated more fruits and veggies this week. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Friday at 10,028 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 20,808 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 366.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0902: "Good Builder." 

Videos Made:

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 42: Winter Forecast is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Winter Forecast" and cover such topics as karmic rewards for good behavior, a more reasonable side to the Maheswarans, Greg's love of cherries, Steven's experience of future visions and whether it's different from Garnet's, the ethics of Steven telling other people about Garnet's power, Connie and Steven's adorable relationship, Greg's outfits, the characters' lack of cell phone use when it would've been practical, the show's metaplot sneaking in there, what Lion gets up to when he's not busy being in an episode, and a digression about Ivy's toilet frog.

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 43: Maximum Capacity is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Maximum Capacity" and cover such topics as the episode's drastic tonal shift, Greg's reactions to Amethyst's over-the-line behavior, Amethyst's self-worth issues and where her actions came from in her personality, how Rose figured into the feeling of loss for both of them, how Amethyst feels about Greg (and common fan misconceptions), where the line is for getting sucked into a TV show, how Amethyst's origin of being abandoned figures into who she is now and how she acts in this episode, Greg's racy book, Garnet and Pearl wearing human clothes, absurd '80s and '90s sitcoms, holidays in Steven's world, Peedee's possible OCD and Greg's hoarding, pros and cons of bingeable television, and how the lack of environmental music for most of the episode actually enhanced the discomfort of the cringeworthy moments.

New photos:

None.

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,431 for swankivy (2 new), 679 for JulieSondra (no change), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 146 for Not-So-Giant Women (2 new). Twitter followers: 906 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,408 for JulieSondra (18 new). Facebook: 294 friends for swankivy (no change), 637 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 235 likes for So You Write (no change), 91 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,448 (no change). Instagram followers: 244 (lost 2).

Personal Digest Saturday: August 13 – August 19

Life news this week:

• Saturday I had a lovely blackberry smoothie (which I did not take a picture of, sadly) and got everything done as I planned: got my walking in, got my blogging done, and got a review and blurb done for the asexuality book I was asked to endorse. Also talked to Jeaux on the phone during one of the walks. In the evening I sat down with Daria and we did our podcast recording for the episodes "Steven vs. Amethyst" and "Bismuth." It was a LONG recording. Surprise. (Not.)
  
  
• Sunday I had some procrastination problems. I did eventually get my laundry and trash chores done and I took some fun photos of my plushie that I commissioned so I could post them on the Internet. I worked on the Not-So-Giant Women podcast, played games, and listened to news.
  
  
• Monday I fiddled with utilities at work and edited a letter. After work I walked, played games, and napped. Talked to Lindsay on the phone and caught up. Played games with my friends online and tracked down some old photos for Meghan.
  
  
• Tuesday I got a late start with my work stuff. Chased some utilities around for several hours on several projects. Did more podcast editing and Polos. Chased a lizard out of the house when the pest control guy came. Practiced some music and ate too much.
  
  
• Wednesday was another late day. Organized some utility stuff. After, I did some Polos, organized collection stuff that needed updating, and filled out my mail-in ballot. Went grocery shopping with Jeaux. We got Burger Monger food, took walks, and watched Colbert, What We Do in the Shadows, and Sandman.
  
  
• Thursday involved some utility coordination and correspondence. I worked on my webcomic and podcast. Updated my blankets collection photo and argued with people on Reddit.
  
  
• Friday I had an early day with utility stuff and meetings and reports. I finished the webcomic, worked on the podcast, worked through submitted comments, and chatted with friends.

New Reviews:

• Jonathan Le gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.
• Philip Cosand gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads.
• Leah gave The Invisible Orientation an unrated review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I've been making some not-great choices and getting really snacky at night so I have really not been doing very well here. Hoping for better results next week. High weight: 119.5. Low weight: 117.6.
  
• Nutrition stuff: The good news is that I've had a spinach smoothie for breakfast almost every day this week, and included fruits and other vegetables in my diet here and there. The bad news is that I ate some high-sugar and high-fat things I really was not hungry for but I just ate them because they were there. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,071 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 10,361 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity by The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project. It's not up on review sites yet so I have not posted a review.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 366.

New singing performances:

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

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0901: "More Possibilities." 

Videos Made:

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 39: Future Vision is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Future Vision" and cover such topics as the mechanics of Garnet's future vision ability, the cute animated deaths for Steven, the evidence for Garnet's power that we already had before this episode, the ways future vision can break a story or enhance it, Garnet's experience of letting Steven in a little and having it result in disaster, examples of Garnet demonstrating future vision in previous episodes before the reveal, old technology, and a digression about violence and sexuality being allowed on television.

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 40: On the Run is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "On the Run" and cover such topics as Amethyst's deep resentment toward Pearl, what all the other holes in the Kindergarten mean, Peridot's connection to the Kindergarten, what it means that Amethyst was there alone for so long, the "we kept Amethyst" joke and what the others might have thought about keeping her initially, Amethyst episodes and their range of emotion, Pearl's apparent trauma surrounding Homeworld, whether there are other Amethysts, Amethyst's whip skills, the realities of hay, the extent to which real gemology applies in the SU world, the issues associated with writing very old characters or alien terminology, the Gems' heights, and why there are so many kids' books about children solving mysteries.

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 41: Horror Club is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Horror Club" and cover such topics as Lars and Ronaldo's childhood friendship and the origin of their current personalities, the fact that Ronaldo SOMEHOW didn't mention his blog for an entire episode, Ronaldo's filing cabinet, thoughts on the Lighthouse Gem and how it works if Gems are embedded in an object, horror movie fan authenticity, Lars's glow-in-the-dark plugs, whether Daria would like to see a Sadie-only episode, what Gems might think of TV and movies, and what would happen if the Gems celebrated Halloween.

New photos:

Updated blanket collection

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,429 for swankivy (3 new), 679 for JulieSondra (no change), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 144 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 907 for swankivy (lost 3), 3,390 for JulieSondra (17 new). Facebook: 294 friends for swankivy (no change), 638 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 235 likes for So You Write (lost 1), 91 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (2 new). Tumblr followers: 2,448 (no change). Instagram followers: 246 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: August 6 – August 12

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did my blogging interspersed with taking breaks to play games, send and receive Polos, read, and send e-mails. I did some more catch-up on old journal stuff, and texted with my sister about cartoons. And I reread an old book I wrote.
  
  
• Sunday I finished rereading an old book I wrote. I miss that book. Wrote some more e-mails, did laundry and trash chores, recorded a karaoke song, and made a new asexuality video. Sent a LONG Polo to my friend Cara. Updated my photos page and talked to my sister briefly about cartoons again.
  
  
• Monday I had three meetings and four letters to attend to at work. We made it through all of them despite a few glitches. I then got to work a bit on the next Not-So-Giant Women video, did a little reading, and played games with my friends. I laughed myself silly at the finale of Quiplash and I think I alarmed my friends.
  
  
• Tuesday I spent the day calling utility representatives to get revised documents. Other than that I did more journal stuff, started working through a book I've been asked to blurb (about asexuality and aromanticism), and put away my laundry. I also took updated photos of my jacket and sweater collection because I got the new Daylight Curfew jacket.
  
  
• Wednesday I chased utilities and did project manager reports. Also read blogs, worked on journal stuff, and played games. Jeaux arrived in the early evening and we went grocery shopping, picked up food from Vallarta's, and watched Colbert, What We Do in the Shadows, and the first two episodes of the new Sandman series (which we both are liking; we both like the comics). After he left I finished processing the Not-So-Giant Women podcast for the episode "The Test," but fell asleep before it was done processing.
  
  
• Thursday involved more utility work and project manager reports. I posted my NSGW podcast and worked on journal stuff. I won a cool eBay auction. Then I listened to news while drawing my NINE HUNDREDTH ISSUE OF NEGATIVE ONE. Sent Polos and wrote in my journal. Worked on the ace/aro book some more.
  
  
• Friday involved timesheets, utility stuff, and upcoming project reports. I finished NEGATIVE ONE'S NINE HUNDREDTH ISSUE and posted it, worked on the book I'm blurbing, did some Polos, read old journals, and rushed to get my steps in because I spent a lot of time in the computer chair during the day.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I've had a lot of junk-eating to do! Well, and trying to consume things before they go bad because they were in the house from either being left behind by my sister or having been bought by me in anticipation of sharing. So I've definitely been eating more and different stuff lately, and this is reflected here. High weight: 119.5. Low weight: 116.9.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Vegetables and fruits have actually been pretty good over here, though I also ate a bunch of heavy Mexican food mid-week and a lot of snacky food too. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Saturday at 10,009 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 11,111 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 366.
• Currently reading: Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity by The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project. I'm on page 155.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Nobody's Side" from the musical Chess.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0900: "To Be and Do." 

Videos Made:

Letters to an Asexual #94 ("But asexuality is DEFINED as....") is out. In this video, I read someone's blog post in which the author accuses asexual people of being ACTUALLY just genophobic (afraid of sex) and of being definitively NOT asexual because they have sex organs--followed by an awful lot of twaddle that they thought backed up their conclusion that we are not a legitimate sexual orientation. My half-hearted attempt to counter this offensively lazy justification is also included.

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 38: The Test is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "The Test" and cover such topics as video game glitches of our youths, Steven's tendency to parentify himself, Pearl's tendency to put her foot in her mouth, the Temple being able to accommodate a testing space and the way the Gems activated the door for it, the games named and the similarities to real-life games, the way continuity has persisted, opinions of each Gem's test room, how Steven might have dealt with his real feelings after not being honest with the Gems, and the show being tied to Steven's perspective.

New photos:

A cool fat rainbow

The day I discovered I accidentally laundered money

Updated Steven Universe Daylight Curfew Jacket collection

Updated SU Jacket and Sweater collection

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,426 for swankivy (lost 5), 679 for JulieSondra (no change), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 144 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 910 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,373 for JulieSondra (38 new). Facebook: 294 friends for swankivy (no change), 637 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 236 likes for So You Write (no change), 89 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,448 (no change). Instagram followers: 245 (lost 2).

Personal Digest Saturday: July 30 – August 5

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got to hang out with my sister and drink coffee in the morning. They headed out to the zoo with my dad and Connie and I didn't go with them--I don't really like zoos--so I just worked on blogging and posting photos and doing Polos. Ash and I hung out and played Attack the Light on my phone. We also went out to get cupcakes at the allergy-free bakery. My sister went out to pick up my mom and had car trouble! Which threw a monkey wrench in the works for how we were going to get to band practice tomorrow. But my sister and my dad worked it out. Ash and I did some drawing and my mom came over. We all hung out and my mom and sister made a Chinese jump rope but we didn't get around to playing with it. After Mom went home we watched more Steven Universe and got to episode 41 ("Horror Club").
  
  
• Sunday was my family's last full day visiting me. We got up early and got picked up by my dad. At Heitor's house (our band's guitarist), my sister and nephew watched the first half of our practice, and then we ate some of the treats my sister had brought and they spent the second half of the practice in the pool. We had a good practice and Ash learned to swim for real! So impressive. We ordered some food and hung out at my dad's house for a while--and Ash got to try out their pool too. Then my dad took us home. We hung out with Mom one more time, ate dinner, played with the jump rope, and did more drawing. Then after Mom left and took her car home, we got through the end of Steven Universe season 1. What a ride! My sister wrapped up most of her packing and we all went to bed.
  
  
• Monday I saw my sister and nephew off in a Lyft car to the airport. I got some travel updates involving Ash watching Steven Universe songs on his tablet. :D I have infected my family. At work I did some utility stuff and teaming invites. I did some laundry and listened to the band rehearsal recordings. In the evening I played games with my friends online and did some walking.
  
  
• Tuesday was a nice slower day. Did more utility stuff and went to three meetings. Caught up on the news and played a game in the background. Helped my sister get access to SU episodes they were watching at home. Redecorated my place for the new season (lots of sunflowers!). Cleaned up some small messes in the house and talked to Tony.
  
  
• Wednesday I had more meetings and updates. For Jeaux Day we went shopping, got Chinese food, and watched Colbert and What We Do in the Shadows, and caught up on stories about assholes and silly videos.
  
  
• Thursday involved a lot of utility work. Family still sending updates on cartoons, yay. I worked on my webcomic and flipped between doing that, listening to news/playing games, and taking walks while watching reactions. I fixed a broken clasp on one of my toy shelves, hooray.
  
  
• Friday I had a slower day at work with project updates, reports, and utilities. I finished my webcomic and posted it, working on it in between playing games, listening to news, and walking while reading. I finished processing photos from my family's visit and put them in the photos page. Decided I should get back into writing my LiveJournal updates and jumped in.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Well, I've been eating a bunch of junk and leftovers because there were a lot of goodies in the house. So this is gonna be weird for a while. High weight: 118.9. Low weight: 116.4.
  
• Nutrition stuff: The balance is on the fat-heavy side, and I've been gobbling candy and ice cream. That said, I've done okay with the protein. Consumption of fruit and vegetables could be way better. Vitamins have been consistent!
  
• Activity stuff: Saturday and Sunday I was unable to meet my walking goals because of spending time with family, but I got back onto my usual walking schedule for the rest of the week. My low day was Saturday at 7,400 steps, and my high day was Monday at 11,139 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently reading: Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. I'm on page 338.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "The Hardest Part" by Coldplay.

Stuff drawn:

Doodles I did while hanging out with Ash:

Webcomic So You Write Issue 134: "Reaction." 

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0899: "Maybe It's Nothing." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

You can see the whole album, with additional pictures and some my sister and friends contributed, at The 2022 Patricia & Ash Florida Visit Album. But these are a few faves I took.

Vegan cupcakes!

Ash can swim!

Swimming kid

Real swimming!

Macaroni consumer

Chinese jump rope

Ash watching the Steven Universe Season 1 finale

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,431 for swankivy (4 new), 679 for JulieSondra (1 new), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 144 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change). Twitter followers: 911 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,335 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 294 friends for swankivy (no change), 637 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 236 likes for So You Write (no change), 89 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (lost 1). Tumblr followers: 2,448 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 247 (2 new).