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obax

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  1. Hillside Update: 1 new food added to the 'OMG I need to eat more of this' list (Pouchak, essentially an Afghani hand pie) and 2 new artists added to the playlist mis (Lex Leosis and DijahSB). I have discovered I can buy the Pouchak frozen from this business, and will be doing so forthwith, they've earned themselves a new customer. I'm probably going to have more today, the chicken one in particular was delicious. Today will be an all day affair. No more new foods to try, but a couple new food vendors (it's a music festival and my favourite part is the food). Hopefully some new artists too, I usually come away with a bunch.
  2. Sounds like things went as well as they could, and that was pretty well overall. Even if there's more to do you've set the tone, and hopefully things keep on in a smooth manner.
  3. Friday Slept much later (and better) than I have in a while, which is good, in and of itself, but put me on the back foot as far as accomplishing goals today. I tend to sleep longer than average but it's rarely very restful. I wake up a lot through the night, often because I'm hot, but sometimes because I've kicked off my blankets and then I'm cold. Yesterday I got a couple To Do items done that pertained to this, namely putting my weighted blanket back together and getting a directional thingy for my air vent, which has thus far been closed because it's right above my bed and I hate the feeling of air blowing one me. The former is just comforting and calming for me; the latter will allow me to open the vent and hopefully let the AC in a bit better, since I sleep with my door closed. I still woke up hot a few times, I'm of the age where I think this in inevitable, and the weight of the blanket irritated my hip/sciatica issues a bit depending how I lay, but overall I think these were both positive additions to my sleep routine. Then again, it's only one data point, so we'll have to see how the trend continues. Cooking was most important today, despite the fact I won't be eating what I cooked for a while, since I hate wasting food and the fresh veggies won't last forever. Inspired by one of @Heidi's updates, I made pasta sauce from scratch. I used to do that fairly often, way way back, and decided maybe it was time to get back to it. I just threw things in the pot that seemed right, which is my favourite way to cook, and it smelled good by the end, so I'm going to assume it was successful (I don't think it can be bad). I got two large yoghurt-container-sized containers out of it, which should be 2-3 meals each, and will freeze them for next week (or whenever). I've got a thing of soup in there too, which is next week's meals and then some taken care of if I want it to be. Assuming I remember to thaw them, which is a bit of a big if, but if worse comes to worse I'll just stick it in a pot on low heat with a bit of liquid and wait, it'll get there eventually. Woke up with my knee bothering me again out of nowhere. It's patellofemoral syndrome, which has plagued me since my 20s, but I have no idea why it's popped up at this particular time. It's not too bad today, but last time it flared up it got bad, which I'm looking to avoid for a variety of obvious reasons. Between this, and the much condensed free time today, I'm not getting a workout in, not even a walk. I'm ambivalent about this overall, I could have made some better choices earlier in the week, but some unexpected things also happened later in the week, so... Ultimately it is what it is, and I've decided to just call this week a wash and start again on Monday. Starting tonight and going through until Sunday night is Hillside (a music festival at a local conservation area me and my sister have been going to every year for the last 15-20 years). It's always a weekend of good music, good company, good food, and good/chill vibes. It's my happy place in a lot of ways and I look forward to it every year. This year is no exception, and I'm not at all upset that I won't get to lifting or walking this weekend (and to be fair, it's decent walk to and from the parking area, and there's lots of wandering between stages, so I'll get my steps in regardless). Happy Hillside, y'all! See you on the flip side!
  4. This is tough, and doesn't sound like it's going to be particularly pleasant. Sometimes all you can do is maintain your boundaries, hold onto your peace, and be the calm in the middle of the storm. Hopefully folks feed off that and it goes as smoothly as it can. Wishing you strength and fortitude and serenity.
  5. So much of working with animals, in a nutshell, is this.
  6. Thursday Today did not go as planned, but not in a bad way exactly. I had lunch with my sister, and she sprung a trip to Ikea on me, and there were a few things I wanted to get there but just hadn't worked up the energy to make the 1hr+ drive, so I said sure. By the time we were done, threw a few more errands in there, had a puppy visit at my parents', and I drove home, it was much later than I anticipated and I was spent. I cooked the meat I had sitting in my fridge but didn't have the spoons to keep going with what I wanted to make. I did no go for a walk, though we walked around Ikea a fair amount, we doubled back to find the thing my sister was looking for, then did the whole ground floor too, and while that's better than nothing it's not exactly intentional exercise. I got a little bit of cleaning/tidying done, at least, and knocked some things of my To Do list that have been on there for far too long, so I guess that's something. I planned poorly this week just in general, I got a bunch of fresh veggies yesterday, and then remembered this weekend is Hillside and I won't be home for most of it. I can still cook the pasta sauce I'm intending to cook with it and freeze it, but I'd also planned to make a bean salad. Some of the stuff will keep until Tuesday (I also have plans out of town all day on Monday), some is 50/50 it'll last that long, but I don't want to make it and then let it sit in my fridge for 4 days before I even touch it. That will be what it will be, though, I guess. I'm now chillin' with some TPK and working through some laundry. I'm going to try to make myself do some stretching, but I'm notoriously bad at making myself do that, so we'll see. Tomorrow will be lifting and cooking the rest of the sauce. If I have time I might make up the walk from today, the weather is supposed to be a bit less hot for the next few days. And then I'll be gettin' my hippy on for the whole weekend!
  7. Ah, I see. I've never heard the term before but it definitely makes sense.
  8. Wednesday My sister bailed due to work stuff, they changed deadlines on her and she had to get a bunch of reports done. I kept it as a rest day, and mostly just chilled on the couch, I was not feelin' being awake today. I eventually got up and got some groceries, and I'm now at the write-in. I'm feeling both the deadlifts and the OHP from yesterday. All the comments I made to myself yesterday for revisions for my writing did not save... Hence why I'm here, giving my brain a moment to be angry before going back to start again. Google Docs has never failed me like this before... Tomorrow will probably be a walk at some point, and rescheduled lunch with my sister.
  9. Tuesday Did my lifting. It's MFing hot, I went out the door and the side of the house was in shade, as was the front near the garage, and I thought that was hot, but as soon as I stepped out of the shade into the sun to open my car to press the garage door button I immediately started to melt. It's also garbage day tomorrow so the garage was a bit ripe, but after letting it air out a bit it was tolerable. Details below the spoiler: I think I'm going to need to break out the wee plates for OHP moving forward, it's not going quite as nicely as I was expecting. Deadlifts felt really good, for the first time in a while, I'm tempted to jump up a bunch in weight because I know I can lift it, but I told myself I'd go slow to let my SI joint adjust and I'm sticking to that. Rows also felt good and they often don't, so overall it was a success. At the library now, I'm only sort of feeling it but I legit didn't know what else I wanted to do. I knew I didn't want to sit and watch anything on TV or play video games, I didn't want to exert myself any more in the heat, and I didn't want to read, so that left the library. I might default to some worldbuilding, but I also suspect I'm procrastinating what I know will be a big job with my main WIP so I'll have a look at that first and see if I can get into it. I didn't eat before I came but brought a meal replacement shake, so I don't know how long I'll stay focused, but I'm here now so I might as well give it a go. Though now that I'm here I also kinda wish I'd just settled in for some TPK, but here we are... Tomorrow might be a walk but more likely not, I'm meeting my sister for lunch and doing a bit of running around, then have the writing group in the evening. I'm well on track for my 5 exercises/week so a day off for other stuff is fine.
  10. I skimmed over originally that but now I must google.
  11. As in, my plans for messing with my players? Or the deep lore of the Continent of Lasair (which isn't that deep yet, but I'm working on it)? I'm happy to expand on either, I don't get to exposit very often, most of my IRL friends tune out and the rest are my players. I finished House of Frank by Kay Synclaire a little ways back, which was good but not great. I read Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir earlier in the year and thought it was excellent, but needed some time for my subconscious to process before moving on, so just started Harrow the Ninth the other day. I wasn't very focused and didn't get very far, but the first couple chapters are living up to my very high expectations, this was the book I was looking forward to the most in this series. Nona the Ninth is on my side table as well. Other random books on the side table, aka my TBR Pile of Doom: All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay; The Book of Elsewhere by China Mieville and Keanu Reeves; The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin (for a re-read); The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon; The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jiminez; The Deep by by Rivers Solomon; The Song of Achilles by Madeline Millar; Educated by Tara Westover. There are others but I'm not at home so you'll just have to wonder
  12. I've toyed with the idea of writing his story too someday, but would happily play it out instead
  13. One thing I'll add, as a natural born, button-pushing, chaos demon, is, when thinking about the character, think about the hierarchy of their priorities. For a chaotic character to really work, they have to put the group first at least some of the time, and I would argue most of the time. Keeping the group safe and advancing the group's goals should come first, but there is a whole lot of room for chaos within that framework, because when you boil it all down, the group's only goal is to follow the carrot at the end of the DM's stick, and there are a thousand ways to skin a cat. The two most chaotic characters I've played both put their friends first, pretty much always (one was a bit more self-centred than the other and there were things he would have chosen over the group, but his own monkey business was not one of them). They were both less concerned for themselves, and while one never really ran into much combat, per se, due to the nature of the campaign, they both would put themselves in harm's way to protect their friends, without hesitation, and happily accept the consequences. For both, this came from an incident in their past where they didn't do that, and lost someone close to them as a result. But they were also both willing to take a big risk for themselves to push the button in the hopes of a big payoff (for themselves and/or the group). There were also other things that could temper the recklessness, as an example, one had a fear of water and there wasn't a button big enough or red enough for him to be willing to jump into water to push (though he did for his friends a couple times), and the other absolutely did not want to go back to jail, and so reined it in and stayed on task when running a mission in a jail (he was the more self-centered one and if push came to shove would have abandoned his friends to keep his freedom, but would have felt terrible about it). The other thing, as others have mentioned, is good above the table communication with the other players. There were times when my character wanted to push the button, and I wanted to push the button, and in some cases I'm pretty sure the DM wanted me to push the button, but both the character and I saw the potential consequences and made sure the group was ok with it. If anyone, player or character, had concerns, we'd either find a different, slightly less chaotic option, or I would scrap the idea all together. With another character, who is overall considerably less reckless but something happened that had her feeling quite the opposite in the moment, I made it clear to the DM that I knew this was probably a bad idea and was not expecting a deus ex machina to save the character if things went sideways, that the character was being deliberately provocative for reasons, and I the player was prepared to accept whatever happened. For any character, I also make sure as a player that nothing I have my character do would overshadow any of the other characters/players unfairly. Taking the spotlight for a bit is fine, as long as it's shared around and doesn't get hogged by one character/player all the time. It sounds like the character in Sovalis's situation is not putting the group first, and neither is the player, and is trying to keep the spotlight on themselves, and that's not a good way to run a chaotic character.
  14. Sunday & Monday Sunday was not hockey. I would say I slept terribly the night before, but to be perfectly accurate I didn't sleep at all that night, then kinda slept a little on the couch in the morning with Max Miller trying and failing to educate me about food history in the background. The rest of the day I just kinda dragged and moped and a high-intensity sport that requires focus and stamina did not feel like the right choice. Though by evening I felt kind of all right, but I think that might just have been because I'm used to sleep deprivation and not because I actually felt ok. It was a complete nothing day, and not one I was happy about, but when your brain decides you don't actually need to sleep, what else can you do? I slept much better last night, though I do feel a bit of the sleep-deprivation hangover that usually comes the day after the day after, so my motivation is kinda just meh. Both my hip and shoulder continue to bother me as well, so I chose a walk today, along the usual route. It was fine. I've got a physio appointment set up to explore these chronic aches and pains, they've cropped up before and derailed my attempts at getting back to regular exercise. In the past I've been satisfied to just let the exercise fall by the wayside, but this time I've been feeling a bit more like the routine is sticking, and much more that I want it to stick, so hopefully they can help me work through it. The appointment is a bit farther away than I wanted but I wasn't willing to get up early to get a sooner date, so it is what it is. Plan for this evening is to shower, eat, then go to the library for a few hours since they're open until 9. I probably won't have the time to properly deep dive into my main WIP, since I think the next step is reading through what I've got an making rigorous notes about what needs to change/be added, and it takes me 4-5hr to read through the whole thing with a critical eye, but I can do some more worldbuilding. I suppose I could just get as far as I get, but my brain generally doesn't like that, it like to finish a task that has been started and if it knows it can't finish it, won't start it. Which is something I'm trying to work on, so I guess we'll see how it goes. At the very least I can keep reading through the ttrpg book and reinforce the library routine at the same time, and that latter thing is probably the most important part. ETA: Update on the library trip - it took 2 hours to revise just the prologue, though admittedly it's not been gone over as thoroughly as the rest, at which point I realized this was not a task that could be completed in a sitting no matter how my brain feels about the subject. I got through chapter 1 as well, which has been gone over thoroughly before, and noted the area I wanted to focus on for this round of revisions (the opening) and some thoughts about it, then read through the rest and decided it could be left alone for now. That's some slow progress, but it still feels good. Tomorrow will be lifting.
  15. I'm glad you ended up enjoying it in the end. It's certainly its own thing, not quite like anything else I've ever read or any other post-apocalyptic media I've consumed. I have a feeling I'll come back to it one day, it definitely lives rent free in my head in so many ways. I made an Oath of the Ancients paladin for a one-shot I played in a while back, and despite the fact that I've only inhabited her for a few hours I absolutely adore her. It was really the only paladin oath that I connected with, and I really like the flavour it gives to a character. I was inspired visually by the Patchwork Paladin on Instagram (this pic in particular) and the character just sprouted from there. I don't know if I'll ever get to play her in a full campaign, but I can't create a character, even for a one-shot, without a full backstory, so I might write up her life story one day if I don't get to play it out.
  16. Saturday I chose not to lift, in part because I got asked last minute to dogsit for my parents, and in part because I slept late. Turns out that was the right choice, because I was dying at hockey tonight. I dunno if it was just a fast game or what, but hoo boy... Otherwise I got a bit farther through the ttrpg book I'm reading, I've skimmed the rules and there are a couple things I'm interested in reading in more detail, but what I'm mainly interested in is their world- and campaign-building section, and it's already got me thinking of areas to add to and improve on in Lasair. The group I'm not normally a DM for may be interested in working towards a campaign set there. Well, one player is, I haven't talked about it in any kind of detail with all 3 players, though they're all aware of the world because I've set a couple one-shots there for them, for lack of a better place to set them. I'm a bit wary of overshadowing our main campaign and the DM for that, though I kind of get the impression she's doing it because someone had to, not because it's a particular passion, but still. I'm the (relative) newbie who came into an existing group of friends and an existing game and still very much feel like a bit of an outsider (not a criticism, I pretty much always feel like a bit of an outsider in any group), and I don't want to step on toes. But I guess we'll see how it goes, I'm doing my best to defer to the main campaign/DM as much as I can, but the one player I have talked a bit more about it with seems excited, and also a tad bossy, about the idea, so... Tomorrow is another hockey game. Hopefully I have a bit more get up and go...
  17. Have I got some bad news for you....... Things do change, but I can't say it's exactly plot-heavy at any point
  18. Friday Today was not a lift day. I didn't sleep well last night, then spent the day getting up to do the thing then promptly letting myself get distracted, repeatedly, until I finally gave up on making myself go lift and went for a walk instead. Did my usual route, and despite the heat warning on my weather app it wasn't too terrible out. My SI joint has been complaining on and off all day, as has some part of my shoulder, so this was maybe not the wrong choice. Otherwise it's been a bit of a nothing day. I had no real desire to get off the couch and no real need to do anything in particular. The chill day has continued into the evening and now I'm sitting here testing my new ear buds while watching Pequod (my robot vacuum) slowly succumb to the despair of being truly and utterly lost in a world which should be familiar and comforting. I find myself relating to him just a little more than one should probably relate to a robot vacuum. He seems to have reached the anger stage of his grief for his lost sanity and is now yeeting himself into my plant stand repeatedly and turning circles in the middle of the room. I think I need to go rescue him... It's all right, buddy, I gotchu. Tomorrow is hockey, and maybe lifting, though I might just leave that until next week, I don't know if this creaky old body would like both in one day, and then more hockey the next.
  19. My heart was already broken a little by the end of the Dramatis Personae. I love it when a book just dumps you in the deep end and you're left to sink or swim, and the writing is just so excellent. I'm a real sucker for masterful craft, Gideon is definitely in that category for me and so far Harrow is exceeding my expectations.
  20. Thursday Slept a bit better last night, and got my arse in gear in a more timely manner today. Went for a walk, I went Somewhere New, which turned out to be not that exciting but the there and back is a good distance and it a bit less hilly than my usual route so I'll add it to the mix (of now two, so anything different is good). Got my chapter edited and slotted in where I think I want it to go last night at the write-in, which felt like a small accomplishment. I'm getting more comfortable with some of the people who often go and talked about my book a bit too. I dunno if any critique partners will come out of it, they all seem to be writing genres I rarely, if ever, read, and know very little about. I suppose we could still exchange critiques anyway, though they all seem to be further along the writer journey than I am and have their circles already. One of them used to be a copy editor, though, so maybe that's a connection for down the line. That's a long way off, though, finishing the damn thing comes first. Today feels like a reading day, I haven't done much reading yet and Harrow the Ninth has been staring at me from the coffee table for a while now. I've got beans to babysit anyway, so it feels like the right choice. If my brain decides to wander I can poke a bit at my writing, a read-through with the changes and additions I want to make in mind wouldn't be a bad thing, or watch some more TPK. The beans are simmering now and then I have to do a bunch more stuff, so I'll putter around for now, do the thing when my alarm goes off, then pop them in the oven and settle into the start the book. I still have to check them every ~30min but that's just a quick peek to make sure they don't dry out so it shouldn't cause Waiting Time (TM) to kick in. Tomorrow will be lifting, and I should probably get around to vacuuming the garage one of these days...
  21. Wednesday I slept terribly last night and had an appointment in the middle of the day so decided to forego the walk, I just don't wanna. I also ran a few errands and will be going to the write-in this evening, though I'm sleepy so I don't know how my focus will be. But I'm still in the 'going for the sake of going is important' stage of routine-building, so I'll go, there are some things I can read online if the muses refuse to join me. Putting off the cooking of the beans until tomorrow because I'm terrible with timing and I just couldn't fit it in with the appointment, errands, driving, and write-in, at least not without leaving my oven one while I'm not home, which I'm not all that comfortable doing. Tomorrow will be a walk and bean-cooking. I'll probably make corn bread since I don't have cans for the Boston Brown Bread, I meant to pick a couple out of my recycling and completely forgot.
  22. I was in my open garage and there's no light if I close the door, not to mention that would be the slowest closing of a door in a person's face in the history of all door closings. I was raised with a bit too much Canadian politeness for an immediate direct response like that, and I understand the guy's got a job to do. When I lived with my parents I could say 'Sorry, I'm not the homeowner, I'm just house sitting.' and 'No, I'm not quite sure when they'll be home.' and be done with it. This time it probably looked like I owned the whole house (I rent the basement), though I suppose I could've said that just to be confusing. And honestly, most people get the hint the first time, thank me for my time, and move on, as one does. This guy just wasn't taking a hint so he got the Polite-ish Canadian Dismissal instead.
  23. So I should be afraid. Right, got it. Let the nail biting commence.
  24. Should I be afraid? I feel like I should be afraid... Or do you have an in-person game you're gearing up for?
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