Personal Digest Saturday: September 23 – September 29

Life news this week:

• Kind of a weird week. Saturday I got up early and went to Mom's to pack up her kitchen. I got 13 boxes of dishes and stuff, but didn't have anything to put larger stuff like pots and pans or baking sheets in. Oh well, next time. Also had my first phone conversation with new friend Ben, who kept me company very well (nice, considering I didn't have internet and so couldn't play music without burning through data). Ended up spending ALL DAY there because I cleaned out more stuff in her room and her car too. (Had to turn her car on to read the odometer for a form I need to use when I sell it, which was weird for me since I don't really know how to do much car stuff.) When I got home I cleaned up, did blogging, did dishes, and talked to Meg on Polo.
  
  
• Sunday I did some walking early because Kari was coming over and that usually involves sitting. Got my decorations up for the next season and sent a Polo to my sister. When Kari came we just got pizza and talked instead of watching any cartoons. After she left I was too tired to be productive.
  
  
• Monday I worked on two letters, some questions, a teaming arrangement, and a debrief list. My probate lawyer decided the expected letters authorizing me to be the administrator of my mom's estate were taking too long so she investigated and it turned out the court was waiting for an affidavit of heirs. (I don't know where the ball was dropped, but I had to spend the whole day working on it since it was asking for information I didn't have easy access to.) Got in touch with my uncle for some contacts and some confirmations of stuff I dug up. Also managed to map the coordinates of where my mom's reef ball is--her final resting place, 27°17'10.6"N 82°36'01.4"W.
  
  
  
  
• Tuesday I had meetings and negotiations at work. Got the final confirmations of the info I needed for the affidavit and made an appointment to go get it notarized. Then I found out the document got corrupted and I had to do the whole thing again. Still managed to have time to record a karaoke song and record a video for my YouTube series.
  
  
• Wednesday involved teaming efforts and research at the office. I went to the UPS Store to get my notarized document but communication was weird and the notary wasn't there until a little while after my appointment and nobody knew whether he was coming back at all. Sigh. Then the Lyft ride back home involved a driver playing vulgar music on the radio. When I got home my air conditioner went out in the late afternoon and I had to send in a request for repair, but of course it couldn't be arranged that fast so I had to have Jeaux Day in an 82-degree house. It started pouring and before we could eat we had to go to our appointment for flu and Covid booster vaccines, but when I got there they told me they took Jeaux's insurance but not mine so they wouldn't give it to me. (Ended up being able to get it as a walk-in at the grocery store where we usually shop.) Then we ate at Applebee's, did our shopping, and finished watching Heartstopper's second season. Well, and the good news is I got paid for a short story I sold a year ago! (It's not published yet.)
  
  
• Thursday began after a night of crappy sleep, since I had side effects from the vaccines and the temperature had gotten up to 83 degrees inside with the broken air conditioner. The repair person showed up early in the morning and went to work on it but the repair took over 5 hours (and a trip to the warehouse, and an extra technician brought in). But it got fixed! I was very tired all day but couldn't nap because I had something like SIX MEETINGS and got put in charge of one more thing to track and initiate, so I had to work on that and couldn't take a nap until after the day ended. I recorded some Polos and worked on my webcomic. Game Night was small because Steve wasn't there and Jeaux was knocked out from his own side effects. Went to bed early.
  
  
• Friday I finally took care of some outstanding communications and worked on some teaming efforts and reports. Had a quick planning chat with an interviewer for a podcast I'll record with them soon, and I worked on my comic in between music practice and walking. Caught up on the last episodes of Fionna and Cake. Loved it.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• My book is referenced in Meghan Sandor's YouTube video Could You Be Asexual? An Overview of One of the Rarest Orientations.

New Reviews:

• ☾⋆｡Claude°✩.⟡ gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads (language warning).

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Back to pretty regular munching and not much has changed. I really have not been in the mood for smoothies for a couple months now and I think I'm going to have to aim for something else to get the greens in for a while. High weight: 123.1. Low weight: 121.5.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Did a good job with balancing but it was mostly accidental? Could do with less fat in my diet some days. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,218 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 15,607 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Be Gay, Do Comics by Matt Bors. I'm on page 125.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0959: "Once and For All." 

Videos Made:

Letters to an Asexual #107 is out: In this video, I read a post made by a lesbian who thought asexual people don't have bad enough problems to earn a queer identity, and do not experience any kind of oppression, entirely based on her own experience.

New photos:

None.

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,437 for swankivy (no change), 675 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 190 for Not-So-Giant Women (lost 1), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 852 for swankivy (no change), 3,856 for JulieSondra (lost 5). Facebook: 297 friends for swankivy (1 new; new pal Ben and I friended each other), 647 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 245 likes for So You Write (no change), 97 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,432 (no change). Instagram followers: 265 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: September 16 – September 22

Life news this week:

• Saturday I breakfasted and picked an outfit for my concert, and Jeaux drove me to Sarasota to perform! Had some minor equipment issues and our food truck was late but the three-hour concert was fun, though video didn't come out for the first set except for some partial videos from the audience. Along with Jeaux, my friends Meghan, Yasmin, and Arthur were there. We made it through our complete set list and then Jeaux and I decided to go home rather than hang around for dinner. I thought I would be zonked but I wasn't too tired. I ended up texting with new pal Ben and working on my blogging, which involved a LOT of resizing photos.
  
  
• Sunday I slept late after working hard the day before! I finished my photo pages and got the blogging finished, then did some laundry and trash chores. Caught up with Meghan on Polo and sent Polos to Patricia and Steve. Then I got to watch the Rebecca Sugar fundraiser for the Trevor Project and enjoyed the music, and was excited to hear that the big announcement associated with the concert was that Rebecca is releasing an album.
  
  
• Monday involved one letter going out and some marketing research. I decided I was tired of not being able to read my Tumblr dashboard without spoilers getting in the way so I decided to FINALLY catch up on Adventure Time so I could watch Fionna and Cake. Later I did some Polos and some dishwashing and shared some of the videos with my band chat but we didn't decide on any for the YouTube channel.
  
  
• Tuesday I had another letter to send out at work and I sent out some teaming invitations. In my leisure time I worked on more band videos and watched more Adventure Time, and finally got caught up on the series entirely. In the evening I worked on Polos and my webcomic.
  
  
• Wednesday I did some reports, utility work, and teaming follow-ups. Then I watched some of Fionna and Cake finally. The language and situations seem slightly more adult, which I like. I text-chatted with Ben some more and had repair-guy George come visit me to fix my disposal. Jeaux came over and we ate at Vallarta's, and then we found $20 in the Publix parking lot. We watched Heartstopper and took a walk. After he left I did some planning for the podcast.
  
  
• Thursday involved databases and research. The pest control person came by and said the little poops I've seen outside are lizard poop and the little worms coming in all the time are a type of millipede. He sprayed really thoroughly around my door and then that night my little birdie that's been nestling in the corner didn't come to sleep there! I didn't realize it might be because of the chemicals until the next day. I did some Polos, watched more Fionna and Cake, paid bills, and got some videos up for the band. Played games with my friends and finished my webcomic drawings.
  
  
• Friday I got my databases and research done at work, along with timesheet stuff, and after that I posted my webcomic and watched the latest episode of Fionna and Cake. Great stuff. Had more time after work than I thought I would so I walked around getting steps, doing Polos, taking care of the outdoor plants, and reading. I sprayed down the porch's rafters after realizing my bird visitor might not have liked the pesticides. And the bird RETURNED at night! So happy. I met with my podcast partner Daria and we recorded two more episodes of Not-So-Giant Women ("Storm in the Room" and "Rocknaldo").

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: My frequency of eating has been really weird this week. I think I'm eating less overall than most weeks but it's been in weird chunks and it's not ideal. High weight: 123.1. Low weight: 121.5.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Some better choices! But also some ice cream. :) Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,004 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 11,961 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Be Gay, Do Comics by Matt Bors. I'm on page 114.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Blood and Fire" by Indigo Girls.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0958: "What's Good For Me." 

Videos Made:

Tides of Time at Music Compound 09-16-2023: Here are four sample songs from our Saturday performance.

New photos:

Meggie took a photo with me at the concert and said "I'm best friends with the lead singer" and "She's kind of a big deal."

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,437 for swankivy (1 new), 675 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 191 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 852 for swankivy (no change), 3,869 for JulieSondra (lost 5). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (no change), 646 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 245 likes for So You Write (1 new), 97 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,432 (no change). Instagram followers: 264 (4 new).

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

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did some online stuff (including blogging) and hung out with my family. We finished our Cookie Cats, went bowling together, ate sandwiches, and played Jackbox games. We made angel food cake from a box in honor of our mom's upcoming birthday and this was the cake she used to make us often. I then reluctantly packed for staying overnight in Sarasota. I hate packing.
  
  
• Sunday we had cake for breakfast and headed off to Sarasota in two cars. We went to the Eternal Reefs site to have the viewing of my mom's reef ball. We made rubbings of the plaque with her name, and we got to see the "pearl" made out of her ashes. Then we went out to lunch (minus Lindsay who went to see one of her friends). I had a nap while the others swam and hung out. I wrote a mail to a new friend and wrote the storyboard for my webcomic, and then we got pizza, ate, and played Cards Against Humanity (family edition) together. My dad won. :)
  
  
• Monday we all had to get up early to get out to the boat to go see our mom's reef ball be put into its underwater home. We guzzled coffee and trekked out to the departure site, where I had an adventure getting a donut. We filed onto the boat and spent some time just enjoying the wind and sun and salty air. Dolphins followed the boat and we got pictures and video! We also decorated a "tribute reef" with flowers. We watched the reef ball be lowered into the water and said our last goodbyes to her. And my dad played the Andy Griffith theme song on his phone because that was her favorite show. :) I got sunblock in my eyes. We headed back to the shore and got boba after. I took a damn nap. Later, after some of the family went swimming, we left Sarasota and took Lindsay to the airport, and then picked up SoFresh for dinner and I unpacked before going to bed.
  
  
• Tuesday I went back to work. Didn't get much coffee talk time with Patricia but we did have coffee! And angel food cake. On what would have been my mom's 69th birthday. I helped my sister with a few packing tasks and saw them off as they were picked up for the airport. Then I caught up at work, sent Meg a Polo about the Eternal Reefs activities, and paid bills. I organized a BUNCH of photos and set stuff up for my sister to give me their photos too. And I worked on my comic while practicing music and putting away laundry.
  
  
• Wednesday I missed my sister coffee talk. Had a pretty ordinary day at work. Got some cleanup done, more Poloing, putting beds back together, and finishing my comic. Then Jeaux came over and we ate at Burger 21, went shopping, and caught up on What We Do in the Shadows.
  
  
• Thursday I did some utility work and reports. Dad picked me up for our last band practice in the afternoon so we could prepare for our big concert on Saturday. We went through the entire set list and determined we just had too many songs. We wanted to review the recordings to decide what's weakest but the recordings didn't actually work. Dang. Dad actually took me home late at night and ate soup at my house, then decided to go home with the assistance of coffee. That guy!
  
  
• Friday I worked on a database and a report, and some utility stuff. I sent the band a list of what songs I thought we should drop and everyone agreed. Then after work I went to Target and actually found two pairs of jeans that fit, along with some other cool stuff. Came home, sorted purchases, did laundry, and practiced some of the songs that are tougher for me. And I printed out new business cards for us. Also posted my comic.

New Reviews:

• Deanne gave The Invisible Orientation a two-star review on Goodreads, noting that it was too much like a textbook and that wasn't what they personally wanted.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Have had a few extended times of not being hungry while I'm really busy. High weight: 123.1. Low weight: 121.5.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Still a little low on protein and high on carbs. It's been a bit of a hodgepodge because I'm eating some stuff that was left here after family visited. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Monday at 10,028 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 13,835 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Be Gay, Do Comics by Matt Bors. I'm on page 88.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Stuck on You" by Lionel Richie.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0957: "Being Worse." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

There's an entire album here for Mom's Memorial and the surrounding vacation with my family. But here are the highlights. In thumbnails--please click through if you want to see the full pictures.

Making Cookie Cats with family:

Bowling with family:



























My sisters and me making the angel food cake our mom used to make us in honor of her birthday:







Eating Cookie Cats:





Angel Food Cake in the morning:







Images from Viewing Day with my mom's reef ball:



Restaurant afterwards: Ash got overwhelmed by a waffle.



Swimming at Dad's:







Ash with watermelon:



Playing Cards Against Humanity with family:











Images from Dedication Day on the boat to place Mom's reef ball (and boba tea after):



Ash reading End of an Era, the Steven Universe art book:



My family eating Cookie Cats together:



Me with angel food cake on what would have been my mom's 69th birthday:

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,436 for swankivy (no change), 675 for JulieSondra (1 new), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 191 for Not-So-Giant Women (2 new), 71 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 852 for swankivy (no change), 3,874 for JulieSondra (lost 1). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (no change), 646 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 82 followers for Negative One (lost 1), 244 likes for So You Write (no change), 97 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,432 (no change). Instagram followers: 260 (no change).