Personal Digest Saturday: May 18 – May 24

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got to sleep in. Tinkered with my webcomic's comment options, continuing from the previous night in my quest to get new forms working. It took more effort than it should have but I got there. Then I helped Jeaux sell his exercise bike and worked on the webcomic site some more, cleaning it up and deleting out-of-date stuff. Worked on my blogging, did some singing and walking in between, and got a bunch more website stuff updated after that.
  
  
• Sunday was another sleeping-in day. Talked to Sarah on the phone while doing laundry and rearranged some stuff in the kitchen because friends were coming over the next day and I wanted to increase the chances that my friend who uses a manual wheelchair would be able to get in the damn house. Did some kitchen cleaning as well and watched some Polos. Worked more on the webcomic site and dealt with all the hard stuff (migrating quizzes and polls and external links). got my clothes washed and took out the trash.
  
  
• Monday I got up for a meeting first thing and spent the day reading a letter, updating resumes, sending reminders, and updating materials. Found out our team wasn't selected for the last interview we did--aww. Cleaned my dishwasher for some reason and put away laundry. After work, Bee and Jodi came over and we went to a Vietnamese restaurant, and afterwards we hung out at my house (thankfully we were able to get Jodi's chair in, but we did have to move the freaking refrigerator). Hung out a few more hours and chatted about books and cartoons and other fun and not-so-fun stuff. After they left I practiced music and updated some more webcomic stuff.
  
  
• Tuesday we had our internal meeting and I sent out invitations for teams. Entered some data and took care of my plants. Did some walking and music practice. Ben came over and we did nothing, though he helped me start a mushroom-growing kit. After he left I made Jeaux's birthday cake (a pumpkin roll). Then I did reading, walking, and more comic stuff.
  
  
• Wednesday I had to help with the proposal package due later that day. I did some data entry and sent some reminder e-mails. Did a karaoke recording. Jeaux came over kinda late and we visited Staples, ate at Mandola's, and did our grocery shopping. Jeaux barely bought anything because he is moving. We hung out and watched Colbert, took a walk, and ate birthday cake.
  
  
• Thursday I did project research most of the day. Got some walking in. My realtor called with some results from the buyers' inspection and they wanted to adjust something on our contract because they're going to have to replace the wood on the house (mostly the garage), so I sent a counter and we got an agreement. Had to sign new paperwork. It's all good. Ate some cake, did some walking, and had game night. The Jackbox website was messed up so we played Cards Against Humanity on a different website instead. I won but Kathy would have won if she hadn't gotten kicked out and had to reenter and they'd reset her points! I worke don my comic pages after reading and getting steps.
  
  
• Friday I completed my reports, sent materials for a proposal to my boss, and bothered people who owed us materials. After work I did some walking in between writing and drawing my webcomic. After the comic was posted I talked to Jeaux on the phone (who gave me some new details about his experience moving to the new place), and afterwards I worked on fixing a bug on a bunch of comic issues (took me like 2 hours, wow).

New Reviews:

• Daria gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads (in Italian).
  
• Seraphina Pike gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: This week I recorded a high of 123.3 and a low of 122.4.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Four days in good balance and three days out of whack with more fat in my diet than I want. Probably mostly because of the cake. The veggie and fruit intake has been great this week. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Monday at 10,010 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 13,214 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide: Making It Work in Friendship, Love, and Sex by Cody Daigle-Orians. I'm on page 50.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Down Girl by Kate Manne. I'm on page 12. (It had a foreword and an introduction too, though, so I read way more than 12 pages.)

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Breathe (2 A.M.)" by Anna Nalick.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

#0993: dax #147: anniversary.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

With Jodi with Vietnamese food!

Bee and me with Vietnamese food (we ordered the same dish!)

Me with a slice of Jeaux's birthday cake!

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,433 for swankivy (2 new), 678 for JulieSondra (1 new), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 200 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 68 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 844 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,860 for JulieSondra (lost 4). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (no change), 644 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 83 followers for Negative One (no change), 248 likes for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,438 (no change). Instagram followers: 284 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: May 11 – May 17

Life news this week:

• Saturday, Dad and Connie and I had to clear out of the rented house so we ate, packed, or threw out the food that was left and they dropped me off at the airport. Security line was SUPER LONG so I'm glad I was early. I flew from Charlotte to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Tampa, where Jeaux picked me up and we had a fender bender in the parking lot before going on to IHOP. (Jeaux lost a taillight.) When I got home I watered plants and did a little bit of unpacking and responded to a possible offer on Mom's house before taking a nap. The nap was super long, so I must have been tired, and then I still didn't end up staying up all night because I slept again after some Polos.
  
  
• Sunday I woke up pretty late, dealt with some coordination to help my dad collect something he left behind at the rental house (good thing I have a local sister!), and had a discussion with my realtor because the potential offer was upgraded to an offer on the house. I signed a contract for my mom's house on Mother's Day. Closing is in June. The house was only on the market FOUR DAYS! Did more plant watering, unpacking, and laundry. Took a nap and processed photos from the vacation. Was too tired to do much else.
  
  
• Monday it was back to work. Edited two letters and sent reminders and updates for outstanding issues. Also did some preparation on an upcoming shortlisted project. I put away laundry, sent a Polo to Steve, and watched some videos while getting steps. Did more paperwork for the house sale and finished my blogging that should have been up Saturday. Went to bed relatively early.
  
  
• Tuesday I got up for a meeting and we made some teaming arrangements. Then did one marketing meeting and one debriefing. Did some Polos to get steps, ate candy, and wrote an e-mail. Fell asleep and slept crappily.
  
  
• Wednesday a storm woke me up and flipped a breaker that I had to go diagnose so I could go to work. Once it was fixed I worked on a transcript all day. Hardly got any steps because transcripts take forever. Got some walking in before Jeaux showed up to take me to Which Wich. We had sandwiches and shopped for groceries, and caught up on Colbert and silly videos.
  
  
• Thursday, work involved finishing the transcript, bothering people to join teams, and doing data entry for my contract. Did some walking and went to game night with the friends. Got the rest of my steps while reading. Got asked to be an advance reader and blurb provider for another book. Edited a short story and finally started sending it out (along with another one).
  
  
• Friday we had an early-morning debrief meeting and then I worked on my timesheets and upcoming project reports all day. Talked to Yasmin on the phone and scrambled through finishing my comic. Worked late into the night exploring alternate avenues for the form submitter for comments on the comic that's been broken for a long time.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• Someone started an Ace Book Club and the assigned reading is my book.

New Reviews:

• Bird gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Ember Moto gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: This week I recorded a high of 123.6 and a low of 122.6. Nothing too significant but I want to keep my eye on it so I can have some data for whether I have any significant weight gain when my thyroid gets checked next time I have bloodwork.
  
• Nutrition stuff: It was super nice to get back into more familiar territory with my food so I could make sure I'm getting the protein in! Saturday and Wednesday I had a lot of fat in my diet because of eating restaurant food, and I didn't really get back to fresh fruits and veggies again until after I was able to go shopping on Wednesday, but since then I'm back to doing really well with the balance too. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Sunday at 10,012 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 10,597 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link. Three-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide: Making It Work in Friendship, Love, and Sex by Cody Daigle-Orians. I'm on page 37.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Down Girl by Kate Manne. I'm just starting.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

#0992: ivy #307: being annoying.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,431 for swankivy (lost 2), 677 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 199 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 68 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 845 for swankivy (1 new), 3,864 for JulieSondra (3 new). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (no change), 644 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 83 followers for Negative One (no change), 248 likes for So You Write (1 new), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,438 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 283 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday (but posted on Monday!): May 4 – May 10

Late post because I'm catching up after vacation!

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got a lot done but didn't pack my suitcases for my trip yet. Got my next comic ready to go (even though it wouldn't be due until the coming Friday), practiced some music, did my blogging, and wrote some mails. Paid a bill, got some stuff together for packing, and stressed over not getting enough done.
  
  
• Sunday went really well. Had crappy sleep, though. Edited a letter and a document for my boss and did some laundry and finished my packing. Got my karaoke done, watered my plants, transferred some files to my laptop, did a Polo, and checked in with my boss about whether there was anything else to do before getting on a plane the next day. But there wasn't anything else! Went to bed early.
  
  
• Monday I got up super early after a crappy sleep. Barely had time to eat yogurt and do my hair. Took a Lyft to the airport and made it through a long security line to walk up to my gate just when my group was boarding. That's a pretty close call. Had to drink black coffee on the plane for reasons, but it wasn't too bad. Had to transfer in Nashville and arrived in Charlotte, where my sister Lindsay came to pick me up because she is a sweetie. We went to the rented house, managed to get in, and told my dad and Connie that the owner was letting us in a couple hours early. Then Lindsay and I ate at a restaurant called Dish and went grocery shopping. We just hung out at the house until it was time to go back to the airport to get our sister Patricia, which we did (and ran into some police on the way back--witnessed part of some kind of arrest, but managed to get by). We hung out and got ready for bed.
  
  
• Tuesday I woke up early despite no alarms set. Made coffee for everyone and we ate bagels and muffins. Lindsay and Mike wandered over and joined us. We didn't do anything but gab for a while and Patricia braided my hair. We went to Lindsay's house for the first time and hung out with her doggie Toki. My sisters played with bunnies too. I loved her cute little house. We watched some silly TV and I tried to take a snooze but couldn't quite fall asleep. Dad and Connie and I went back to the house while Patricia and Lindsay went shopping for a few more things. I made a pasta bake, Texas Toast, and a salad for the fam. We ate and hung out more after. I sent Meghan a Polo while walking around in the back yard. Patricia made some babka. In the wee hours, Patricia and I sat in the game room both with our laptops and did some work stuff (she did a PTA fundraiser and I did some check-ins with work).
  
  
• Wednesday I got up early but Connie had beaten me to the land of wakefulness. We hung out drinking coffee. Then we made breakfast--I made a quiche, Patricia finished her babka, and Lindsay came over and made waffles. Excellent breakfast. Dad played the piano a bit and I did a few more work things. We all went uptown to wander around and got some ice cream. We decided to leave when we heard about bad weather on the way and just made it home before the storm hit. I made some ranch dip and a snack tray for us to nibble while we waited for Lindsay to get off work. We found out our mother's house has now gone on the market, so we looked at the listing. Lindsay wandered over and we ate burgers (some were real, some were veggie). We brainstormed some quiz questions to try to help Lindsay with a trivia night thing she was doing. I got super sleepy and went to bed.
  
  
• Thursday I got up, got ready for the day, and gave my sister silly gifts because it was her birthday. Lindsay came by with Mike and we had some food. Then we surprised my dad with his Foo Fighters tickets. He was pretty shocked and disbelieving! Then excited! It was fun to reveal what we'd been planning for months. We played Lindsay's trivia game and chilled a bit thinking up more questions. Then no one could decide where to eat before the concert so we made more food at the house. We then headed out to the show and got to deal with fun in the parking lot. Then went to the arena and found our seats. We came in as the opening act was finishing up. My sister and Dad went to get souvenir t-shirts and they got me one! I hadn't been expecting to get a shirt. Then the main act came on and we all enjoyed the show, though Lindsay and Mike left early since she wasn't feeling good. We finished out the night SLOWLY getting out of the parking lot, ate some snacks before bed, and crashed.
  
  
• Friday I finally slept in one day! I got up after everyone else and coffee was already made. Shock! I had a bagel and some yogurt and strawberries. We screwed around and I posted my comic and checked in at work. Then we went to Lindsay's house again and played with bunnies and brought her all the stuff we had borrowed from her house during our stay (and some food we wouldn't be able to eat). Lindsay recommended the Char Bar so we went there for a late lunch and then drove Patricia to the airport. I wasn't leaving that day so I went back to the house with Dad and Connie. I took a walk in the back yard again and sent another Polo to Meg. Then he started practicing piano so I went in and sang with him and we picked some songs we think we can do together. Then it was just packing up and talking about music.

New Reviews:

• Gillian gave The Invisible Orientation a two-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Since I was on vacation, I don't really know. In the early part of the week before I left, I had a high of 122.1 and a low of 121.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Could have been better, but since I was on vacation, I was definitely enjoying the crowd-pleasing food! Still plenty of salad and fruit around, but I was not looking at the balance much this week. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week even though I was on vacation. My low day was Tuesday at 10,002 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 13,672 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link. I'm on page 267.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

#0991: weaver #155: girls your age.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

There is a full Charlotte 2024 Album, but here are some highlights:

My plane trip (where I have plenty of leg room)

My dad in the rental house

Patricia enjoying the comfy chair

Hanging out at breakfast

Patricia braiding my hair

Lindsay with her doggie Toki

Family enjoying the pasta bake

Me in the photo while enjoying the pasta bake

Me with honeysuckle

Patricia preparing babka

Lindsay making waffles

Family breakfast of quiche and waffles

Patricia by waterfalls

Got ice cream at the Golden Cow in uptown Charlotte

Patricia slicing babka

Dad excited to go to Foo Fighters

Siblings at Foo Fighters

Me with Dad and Connie at Foo Fighters

Enjoying the Foo Fighters show:

Lindsay giving her doggie a treat/pill

Babiest of bunnies, with Patricia's feet

Patricia with sweet tea

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,433 for swankivy (lost 2), 677 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 199 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 68 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 844 for swankivy (1 new), 3,861 for JulieSondra (2 new). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (no change), 644 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 83 followers for Negative One (1 new), 247 likes for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,439 (no change). Instagram followers: 283 (lost 2).

Personal Digest Saturday: April 27 – May 3

Life news this week:

• Saturday I kinda spent too much time not doing anything. I did get my blogging done and printed some new music out and did some Polos. Prepared an eBay package for an item that sold from Meghan's stash and filmed a video. Booked a hair appointment because I just felt like doing something new.
  
  
• Sunday I got some much-needed rest and got up late. I processed my video, did laundry, learned a song, watched old Polos while doing more laundry, and worked on my So You Write comic. I communicated with Ben about work at Mom's, posted stuff on Tumblr looking for new friends who post about Steven Universe (and got a bunch more people to follow!), and left my house messy.
  
  
• Monday I just had one letter due and so we edited it and turned it in at work. I ate a bunch of Japanese snacks sent to me by my sister. Walked to the Post Office to drop off the latest package. Went to a meeting. Did dishes. Posted silly stuff about Steven Universe. Talked to Jeaux on the phone. Did some Polos.
  
  
• Tuesday wrangled some issues at work. Cleaned up the house. Wrote a storyboard. Did some project research. My friends came over with Mexican food in the evening and we hung out, chatted about life, and watched a few episodes of Steven Universe (from "Super Watermelon Island" to "Mr. Greg"). Jeaux forgot it was Tuesday so he forgot to drop by and watch with us. Haha. After my friends left I did my goals update and posted So You Write.
  
  
• Wednesday I had to walk to the Post Office again but didn't have much time so I did it before breakfast. Headed into some meetings at work and wrangled more teaming invitations. (I do a lot of those lately!) Made a Polo and went to GrillSmith with Jeaux. We headed over to pay Ben for his hard work at Mom's he was still not done with the finishing touches but it's very close. We went grocery shopping, watched Colbert, told silly stories to each other while taking a walk, and did some drawing after he left.
  
  
• Thursday I worked on more teaming invitations all day. Watched a livestream of Rebecca Sugar's poster signing while working on my comic. (I signed up to get a signed poster from them! But not one of the ones that was to be signed on the livestream. I preferred an off-camera sign.) I took some notes on notable lore from the stream and posted on Tumblr. Went to my hair appointment and got a big fat haircut and some bright aqua stripes (but they ended up looking more green than blue). Got home just in time to play games with my friends. Worked on my comic and had to transcribe some interview questions for my boss late at night.
  
  
• Friday I did my reports, timesheets, and teaming coordination. Got word that Mom's house is finished, so I messaged my realtor and he went over there to inspect. He was super happy with it and scheduled the photographer. The house will go on the market early next week. Chatted with my sisters on text. Found out my sister's older doggie Chewy passed away. So freaking sad. In the evening I printed some documents, updated my decorations, posted my comics, and started working on next week's comic.

New Reviews:

• Lupouet gave The Invisible Orientation a one-star review on Goodreads, but if you don't read French, you'll have to translate to find out why they hated it so much. Though mainly they seem to be irritated that it is outdated even though they acknowledge it was published in 2014. (*shrug*)

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Didn't do a weigh-in every day. High was 123.3 and low was 121.4 two days later. (???)
  
• Nutrition stuff: So much spinach and salad this week! I'm doing very well with eating fruits and vegetables. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,017 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 15,067 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link. I'm on page 233.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Dreaming With a Broken Heart" by John Mayer.

Stuff drawn:

My monthly writing webcomic, So You Write:

#155: but i like it.

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

#0990: adele #243: respect the flag.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #113 ("It doesn't seem like you ACTUALLY have problems! I don't get it!") is out! In this video, I read out a Tumblr blogger's opinion that asexual people don't experience oppression and therefore don't REALLY need attention for their cause.

New photos:

"Before" photo of hair that needs a trim

Relaxing with a beverage at fancy hair salon

Foils in progress

Haircut complete!

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,435 for swankivy (2 new), 677 for JulieSondra (no change), 17 for v & V Vids (no change), 198 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 68 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 843 for swankivy (no change), 3,859 for JulieSondra (1 new). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (no change), 645 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 247 likes for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,439 (no change). Instagram followers: 285 (2 new).

April Goals Update

May has arrived, so it's time for another goals update:

1. Health Goals: I resolved to drink more water, eat more fruits and veggies, and walk at least 10,000 steps a day.
2. Personal Project Goals: I resolved to get digital photos sorted by the end of February and collect memorable bits from Facebook for my essays; resolved to work on writing or editing at least one day a week; resolved to relearn ukulele songs I've forgotten and learn new ones, and keep creating my regular webcomic and video content.
3. Reading Goals: I resolved to read at least twice a week.
4. Relationship and Communication Goals: I resolved to document daily life stuff more, keep up with e-mails and online communication, and make time for friends and family.
5. Other Goals: I wanted to prepare and sell my mom's house, watch some TV shows I'd dropped, and not play time-wasting tames.

Progress Update (you can click to see the calendars better):

HEALTH GOALS:
Summary: Still really happy with the success of this project. Water intake is still good but I feel like I couldn't do this level of it if I were not working from home because man I go to the bathroom a lot. I've continued to eat at least three servings of fruit and vegetables almost every day (with one always being a green veggie), with a couple days when I only did two, and walked at least 10,000 steps every day of April. Here is my calendar of progress:

PERSONAL PROJECT GOALS:

Summary: I did not get any photo sorting done AT ALL this month; it is still at the same point in progress that I was last month. I will again try to get the photos I have wrapped up by the end of this month and hopefully start sorting them onto the website soon. I have continued collecting Facebook clips almost every day.

I did not pick up my in-progress novel but I edited my new short story (and though I have managed to title it, I am still not satisfied enough with the story to submit it, but I have a market in mind). My ukulele practice has not been a focus, but I still hope to do some review before the summer and to start learning the new songs soon.

READING GOALS: 

Summary: Fell off the reading wagon REALLY bad here. I had been combining reading with my walking and lately the walking has been combined with other things. I have not finished the book I've been reading and only picked it up twice.

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS: 

Summary: Documenting went really well this month. My e-mail box is at 4 unanswered mails. Social life has slowed down just a tiny bit but I'm still busy with friends three or four days a week often. It's a lot for an introvert with lots of personal projects to get done.

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: Mom's house is almost there. Since last month we have gotten a new roof for the house, pulled out the carpets and underlayment in the living room and sitting room, and replaced everything there and in the bedrooms with luxury vinyl flooring. The kitchen cabinets have been painted and the hardware replaced, and all the lightswitches and electrical outlets have been swapped out for new ones. The front of the house has gotten a bunch of landscaping and new mulch. And the garage has the old carpets taken out to be tossed. Much of this work has been done by my friend Ben and his roommate and associates. It's maybe a day away from being done and I'm so ready to get it out there.

My plaster pillar from my mom's house is still outside and I'm still planning to paint it. I still have some of her statues and things that I want to sell but it's difficult to get takers. I listed a bunch of eBay collectibles for Meghan and have been walking to the post office often to drop off sold items.

I made it to one of the health screenings I planned to do this year (dermatology) and everything's great.

I have continued to stay away from time-wasting games (though the same cannot be said for reading useless content and watching cute baby and animal videos), and no, I have not picked up any of the TV shows I want to watch.

Will update again next month!