Personal Digest Saturday: May 20 – May 26

Life news this week:

• Saturday was a nice sleeping-in day. Just did some blogging and conversation on Reddit. Also did some pretty aggressive cleaning--I got the kitchen done and then my guest room and office room. In between talking to Meg on Polo.
  
  
• Sunday I saw Mom at her house. She trimmed my hair and I gave her lemon bars and a cookbook for a late Mother's Day gift. She gave me some old bananas that were too ripe to eat and when I got home I made banana muffins with them. Also did my usual Sunday chores with trash and laundry. With some more arguing with people on Reddit.
  
  
• Monday required only two letters going out and we did fine on them. Also went to a meeting and did some data entry. And after work I cleaned the patio, did dishes, put away laundry, made Polos, played games with friends, and had a power outage.
  
  
• Tuesday I had a home health visit (something my insurance company is incentivizing for some reason) so a nurse came to my house and told me I was healthy and made some recommendations for checkups, etc. Then I worked on data entry and took a nap. Did some reading. Made a pumpkin roll cake for Jeaux's birthday. And recorded a karaoke song.
  
  
• Wednesday required my attendance in two meetings (one where I was the only person from my firm attending!) and a bunch of data entry. Then Jeaux took me to Brio for a birthday dinner where he got a free cheesecake slice. I got the gnocchi because it's so good. We had our shopping trip and a short walk and just talked about annoying internet people.
  
  
• Thursday I did reports at work. I had plans with Yasmin after work but it was raining and they don't like driving in rain so we didn't meet up. I was disappointed that I didn't make very good use of the evening--just listening to news and arguing on the internet.
  
  
• Friday involved my project reports. After work I wrote and drew my comic as usual and got steps in at the end of the night. Recorded my singing part participating in a crowdsourced choir for a trans charity. Stayed up too late doing nothing after that.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: The nurse who visited me actually said it would be good if I lost 5 pounds, which is a new thing I've never had a medical person say to me? She didn't say I was overweight but said I was at the tippy top of "recommended" for my height. (Might have been inflated by the fact that I was wearing really heavy pants when she weighed me, though.) High weight: 120.7 Low weight: 120.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Decent choices this week except that I was always noshing on my banana muffins so I could finish them before they went bad. Also as usual would have liked to do the spinach smoothies more than I did--only drank them 3 days out of 7. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,063 steps, and my high day was Monday at 12,135 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown. I'm on page 88.

New singing performances:

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

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0941 "The Grown-Up." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Jeaux's pumpkin roll birthday cake

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,431 for swankivy (1 new), 678 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 172 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 868 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,844 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (lost 1, I don't know who), 643 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 241 likes for So You Write (no change), 95 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,438 (lost 2). Instagram followers: 256 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: May 13 – May 19

Life news this week:

• Saturday I just did my blogging and made some lemon bars to bring to Mom's. Did some info-gathering on a book and shared some stuff with my critique partner and friend Ben. And sent some answers to a press request.
  
  
• Sunday Mom called early and said she wasn't feeling up to our Mother's Day plans so I didn't come over. Jeaux asked if I wanted to keep him company (and have him buy me lunch) while he got an oil change, so I did. Took a nap after I got back, then did laundry and took out the trash. Did a Polo for Ben while folding laundry. Then Jeaux asked to call me to rant about antifeminists. I cleaned a bathroom while he talked. And then I practiced my ukulele.
  
  
• Monday involved FOUR letters I had to get out. I was able to juggle it all and get some research done too. After work I cleaned my bedroom and replaced the air filter in the hallway and ate a potato. Then I played games with my friends and repaired a hat. Spent the evening after arguing with people too much on Twitter and Reddit. Managed to get some ukulele practice in too.
  
  
• Tuesday I attended a debrief meeting and got our results from the first presentation (we came in second). After work I talked to Tony in the yard and cleaned most of my kitchen. Practiced ukulele too. And my internet went out a little after midnight so I did more cleaning. The app said it was "planned maintenance."
  
  
• Wednesday I woke up still with no internet but the app now said "what maintenance?" so I had to contact them and miss almost three hours of work. But they sent a tech out and they repaired something on a pole outside and my internet was restored. When I got back to work I had to spend the whole day calling people to ask them about geotech services. My gardenia plant got its first flowers! Then Jeaux took me grocery shopping and we got pizza. We started watching The Dragon Prince and I don't really care for it so far. Then we did our usual walks and discussing online dumbasses.
  
  
• Thursday I did reports at work. Did some walking and Poloing and wrote my webcomic. Spent too much time on Reddit and Twitter again. There are an awful lot of people on Reddit who don't know how to have a basic discussion. Finished cleaning the kitchen.
  
  
• Friday I worked for about 1.5 hours before the internet went out at the office and I was stranded for almost 5 hours without access to my work documents. Eventually finally got back in and completed my reports. After work I worked on my webcomic and got my steps in and relaxed in the evening.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Nothing big to report. High weight: 120.7 Low weight: 118.9.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Definitely ate too much candy this week! Welp. But most days I had good balance. Would have liked to do the spinach smoothies more than I did. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Friday at 10,035 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 15,113 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown. I'm on page 55.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "I Want It All" by Queen.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0940: "One Teacher, Two Kids." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Lemon bars

Gardenia's first flowers of 2023

Gardenia's first flowers of 2023

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,430 for swankivy (no change), 679 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 171 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 869 for swankivy (1 new), 3,847 for JulieSondra (17 new). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (no change), 643 likes for JulieSondra (3 new), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 241 likes for So You Write (no change), 95 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,440 (no change). Instagram followers: 256 (lost 1).

Personal Digest Saturday: May 6 – May 12

Life news this week:

• Saturday I visited Mom at her house. We didn't really do much--I ate her lasagna and we just hung out. I cleaned her microwave when she took a long smoke break. Went home, napped, got my steps and blogging done, and stayed up too late being a nerd on the internet.
  
  
• Sunday was band practice. We practiced some songs in our "not ready" category and tried to get them working. The recordings are getting pretty good. Dad took me out to Yard House afterwards and I had a Beyond Burger. When I got home I was ready to help my boss on some time-sensitive stuff but he wasn't ready for my help yet so I took a nap. Made some updated harmony recordings to see if I can help coach my band members on three-part harmony!
  
  
• Monday was much slower than I expected but there was still a lot to do. Had one letter go out and the rest was working on presentation stuff. Afterwards I did some walking and some Polo recordings and then played Monday night games with friends. Chatted on Reddit with someone who's been following my blog for a long time.
  
  
• Tuesday we were slammed wrapping up the presentation. I got our info package out but there was a lot of rearranging and updating and inserting in the presentation and we finally got to actually practicing it in the afternoon. Had to stay late--about 7 PM. Then I talked to Meg on Polo and cleaned my bathroom. Spent the evening eating up news.
  
  
• Wednesday was a big day for my company but I wasn't as busy personally. Used it as a catch-up day. Then Jeaux was super late because of meetings so I used the time cleaning half the other bathroom. We ended up eating Chinese food, grocery shopping, walking, and watching the rest of Season 2 of Infinity Train.
  
  
• Thursday was another catch-up day, and I caught up a lot. Had one meeting and some teaming negotiations. Maintenance guy came to help me with my garage's exterior door and did a great job. Did a karaoke recording and wrote Negative One's storyboard. Did a Polo for P and got into slap fights on Reddit.
  
  
• Friday I had reports to do and teaming negotiations to complete. Then after work I drew my comic, got my steps, and wasted too much time not really doing much of anything except reading and participating in online arguments.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• The YouTube channel Books in Sum. Audio Bite-sized Book Summaries has posted a summary of The Invisible Orientation.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: No big changes this week! Though I like no surprises, I also don't want to make a habit of this since I would like to "settle down" a little lower than this. According to my app that gives recommendations, this weight is on the high side of "normal" for my height. High weight: 120.3 Low weight: 119.5.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Decent balance this week between carbs, fats, and protein. One day was very high fat when I ate in a restaurant. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Saturday at 10,008 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 13,391 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown. I'm on page 51.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "The Unforgiven" by Metallica.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0939: "The One Who's Real." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Chilling in Jeaux's car

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,430 for swankivy (6 new), 679 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 171 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 868 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,830 for JulieSondra (lost 4). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (no change), 640 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 241 likes for So You Write (lost 1), 95 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,440 (1 new). Instagram followers: 257 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: April 29 – May 5

Life news this week:

• Saturday the tree guys came to take my tree down. It took a couple of hours but went well, except that a pipe in my front yard got damaged (just its cap got ripped off and the pipe was dented) so I have to buy a new cap for it. Very happy to have that taken care of. I worked on my blogging and planned my writing webcomic, made some enchiladas, recorded Polos for Cara, and did some work for office stuff (reading a letter and doing some research).
  
  
• Sunday I had to work as if it was a regular work day because we were really slammed for this presentation we were working toward on Tuesday. Had a chat with Mom in between waiting for my boss to be ready with his slides so we could review together, and we also prepared some support documents for some work we're doing with another firm. I got a letter read and also our proposal package completed, and was able to turn everything in early. And finally we got around to cleaning up slides. Finally I was able to take out my trash and do my usual Sunday chores. Got my writing webcomic posted.
  
  
• Monday I got up early and met my co-workers in a hotel business room, where we rehearsed our presentation and finalized the slides. We also had lunch (rice bowls!). We got our stuff turned in on time and one of the guys gave me a ride home. I took a nap and woke up right before game night started. Hung out with my friends for game night and then I got some walking in and put away laundry.
  
  
• Tuesday we had to jump right into the next presentation preparation (we have two in a row!) so I spent most of the day on that. Also had to chase some loose ends on stuff we owe other people and managed to compile materials. Chatted with Tony when he came to do my lawn. Got in a nap and some Polos and got my steps in, and recorded a karaoke song.
  
  
• Wednesday involved long hours with the slide preparation, a utility meeting, and a marketing meeting. After work Jeaux picked me up and we were going to eat at Five Guys outside at their tables but then Jeaux got ketchup on his clothes and we had to go home instead so he could change. We ate at home and caught up on Colbert (there wasn't much to watch because of the writers' strike). Then we went back out to grocery shop. I had thrown his pants in the wash so after we got back we folded the clothes and took a walk.
  
  
• Thursday I had the pest control guy in the morning (he is frustrated that I still haven't gotten our maintenance folks to patch up problems in the garage where rodents could be getting in). I worked on reports for my boss and finished data collection for upcoming projects, but mostly spent the day taking naps. (With all the extra hours I have put in over the weekend, I'm trying to take some away time whenever I'm not busy so I don't mess up my timesheet.) Argued with people on the internet and wrote a comic.
  
  
• Friday I spent most of the day working on slides and crash statistics, and also timesheet stuff and reports. Had to work late to get it done, and then crammed all my comic drawing in and still managed to get my steps before midnight. Talked to my sister on Polo.

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Settled back down to about what I was dealing with the week before. I've been really stressed and not really eating a lot necessarily but opting for foods that are easily prepared and not necessarily the most nutritious. High weight: 120.3 Low weight: 118.9.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I think I was carb-happy this week and definitely not doing as much with spinach as I have been trying to do in past weeks. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Monday at 10,162 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 16,408 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Refusing Compulsory Sexuality by Sherronda J. Brown. I'm on page 47.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Pepper" by the Butthole Surfers.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic So You Write Issue 143: "Not For You." 

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0938: "Simple Terms." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Remains of the tree

Weirdo posing with a hydrant during a walk

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,424 for swankivy (lost 5), 680 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 171 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 869 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,834 for JulieSondra (3 new). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (no change), 639 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 242 likes for So You Write (no change), 95 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (1 new). Tumblr followers: 2,439 (no change). Instagram followers: 256 (1 new).