[MaeradCase]

4 hours ago, Laghail said:

 

You make me miss retail banking. Sigh

I could rant about the worst customers if that will remind you it's not always a walk in the park (unless the park has hornets, spiders, and audacious rodents). ?

 

Today's been really nice, though. A customer came by and was so grateful for our services that they came back with half a dozen drinks from Starbucks. Soooo I had a coffee (I didn't even finish it, and my anxiety is through the roof, so I'm gonna stop drinking it, right?) because why not (see reason why not in previous parentheses, lol)?

 

I get an extra half hour on my lunch to avoid overtime from the ordeal of training a newby on the closing shift. I was granted a chair because I couldn't be in my drawer anyway when both the tellers were in. I joked that I was finally getting some respect for my old age (pretty sure at 31, I'm only the third oldest person here at this branch, but training two folks a decade younger definitely affirms the age gap ?).

 

I went back into lecture mode since she was doing transactions without needing too much direction. Like I said - she's a quick learner. ? I'm very proud of her progress and how well it's sticking so far.

 

Anyway, time for left over stir fry! ❤️

[MaeradCase]

Hmm, this would be a good time to talk about my weekend, but I think I'll just say I danced on knives today and made it to Zumba. In fact, I made it early enough that the classroom was locked, so I did half a mile of walking before I checked again. I danced until 8, stretched a little, and took my shower. Stopping for a smoothie (went for a different flavor) before I head to work.

 

Have a great day! Smash your goals!

Maerad

[Sovalis]

Way to go!! I also went to the gym today, was thinking of you! ?

[MaeradCase]

21 hours ago, Sovalis said:

Way to go!! I also went to the gym today, was thinking of you! ?

I was thinking of you in my endeavor to make it to the Zumba class. It made me strong. ❤️ 

 

In my Hero's Journal, I have titled the last month as setting myself up for success, and I am hoping to maintain that attitude as I enter a season of change.

[Snarkyfishguts]

On 9/17/2024 at 9:48 AM, MaeradCase said:

Stopping for a smoothie (

I read this initially as "smooshie" and I thought it sounded delicious. LOL

 

YAY for Zumba! High  fives!

[MaeradCase]

9 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I read this initially as "smooshie" and I thought it sounded delicious. LOL

? Well, the smoothie I got was okay. I usually go for a lighter flavor, but I got one that enveloped my mouth with an unusual flavor. Haven't decided if I enjoyed it or not.

 

9 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

YAY for Zumba! High  fives!

[MaeradCase]

I may have forgotten to bring my swimsuit today, but I did get a lot done this morning, and also I remembered to do my bingo card update for Tuesday, and I got the first bingo for this challenge! Sweet!

 

Gonna stop at the store on the way home for a couple things. Not sure what I want to do tonight, though. We're no longer caught up on CR, and we've got a few episodes of Madoka Magica left. Those both sound like fun things to have on in different ways.

[Silmarilliane]

Catching up! I'm very glad to hear you're saving some good stuff from your animal crossing island - I don't think I could start from scratch and actually fully start from scratch! 

 

Good work on the Zumba-ing, I do miss my old class

[MaeradCase]

3 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

Catching up! I'm very glad to hear you're saving some good stuff from your animal crossing island - I don't think I could start from scratch and actually fully start from scratch! 

It was nice of my friend to let me leave a hoard of possessions lying around long enough for me to get the new island started. I also had her pick up and put down everything I previously owned in case I need her to order something that could be bought later if I forgot to bring it over.

 

I messed up on flowers, though. I brought flower heads picked from the plants, not dug up flowers. ? So I'll have to breed from scratch. Which is fine. I just need Leif to show up again so I can buy more to please the overlords and get a three star rating. ? 

 

3 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

Good work on the Zumba-ing, I do miss my old class

This last session had been fun thanks to being more Shakira than songs about butts. Unfortunately, my training takes me the wrong direction to easily go to the same gym, but I should be able to convince myself yo visit one in the right direction instead. ?

 

I'm presently in a blah mood, though Cid tried helping. But look at what I got done before the mental lethargy hit:

Spoiler

I decided to tightly outline the swirls for the white background so it would be separate from the dragon pattern. I may have burned out by insisting I complete what was left. CR was on in the background, and it was cool, but I wasn't entirely enjoying myself. ?

I'm also slightly concerned that my piecework isn't exact enough, and thus the white areas making up the perimeter of the quilt will have triangular gaps when I'm joining the chunks at the end of this project, due to being a centimeter or two narrower than the inner side. ? I recognize that's an exaggerated perception of a small problem, but it is a real possibility... I'll sort it out when I get there. Just like I've figured out how to avoid the backing material from inevitably showing through the white section. Oops. ?

 

Wins for today that my brain isn't admitting but I know are real:

I read Mosque (in Built to Last) by David Macaulay (I grew up on his Castle and Pyramid books - it has been fun revisiting his books) before turning on any electronics

Cid and I got groceries (including tilapia, which is not a usual meal choice, because our new bottle of soy had a recipe on it that interested us)

I made a yummy re-fried rice with added eggs, chicken, and veggies to round it out from its existing state 

I vacuumed the floor before settling in to play ACNH

I quilted (as shown off in a Look at this Stuff)

I tidied up a bit to try to bypass my existing fugue state

I went on a walk with Cid (per his suggestion) and tried to contemplate my current state

I expressed my current state in a hope for support and encouragement ?

 

Thanks for being here 

Maerad

[Everstorm]

Your hand quilting is so neat!  Mine always looks like chicken scratch.

[MaeradCase]

8 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Your hand quilting is so neat!  Mine always looks like chicken scratch.

Thank you, Ever. ?

 

My brain got broken a bit today by the first two hours in which I was deluged with unfamiliar things, two hours I grasped rather familiar things, an hour of something completely like the first unfamiliar things, and then two hours of the wrong side of entirely familiar things. 

 

I need a nap. ? And I'm running CoS tonight. I'm not even wearing my Happy Fusion Fun Times shirt to threaten them. I'll dress up like the last time they met Strahd in person. And then I'll do my best to put the fear of the devil in them. ? 

 

This weekend went by in a blur. Cidran helped me resolve an ongoing stress originated by my inability to find our wedding photo album (which wouldn't be a big deal since I have the digital copies of the photos, but I knew I'd put effort into assembling it with what I believed to be a well fashioned order). When I admitted it was making me feel ill not knowing where it was, he went hunting it, and managed to find it! ?

 

I did manage to do something artsy. Look at this Stuff:

Spoiler

It's Cidran's character from our Humblewood games. ? It's the best I've done so far in trying to draw him. I struggle with how to design these anthro animal characters who are supposed to be enlarged standard animals, but also in clothes. Some weird mix of Robin Hood, Zootopia, and Fox and the Hound fighting over my brain's eye. I plan to do at least three more (including one for myself of my character), but it also took three hours. 

 

As for physical goals, today I parked on the fifth floor of the garage and took the stairs down to ground level. I'm considering challenging myself by going up them, too. ?

 

The early departure wasn't early enough to get here any earlier than right on time, and I don't think I'll ever have the morning energy for including a stop at the YMCA regardless of which location, but maybe I can make effort to stop by after a shift of Tuesday/Thursday.

 

Anyway, the last work hour is almost done, so I'm wrapping up here before we head out. 

 

Hope you're having a great day!

Maerad

[Silmarilliane]

On 9/22/2024 at 3:04 AM, MaeradCase said:

I messed up on flowers, though. I brought flower heads picked from the plants, not dug up flowers. ? So I'll have to breed from scratch. Which is fine. I just need Leif to show up again so I can buy more to please the overlords and get a three star rating. ? 

 

Oh no! I might have some seeds or flowers you can dig up from my island if you want?

 

On 9/22/2024 at 3:04 AM, MaeradCase said:

But look at what I got done before the mental lethargy hit:

 

So pretty! Love the stitching, and that's the exact thing that I would do - start ambitious and then have to carry on  

[MaeradCase]

2 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

Oh no! I might have some seeds or flowers you can dig up from my island if you want?

I think I'll take you up on that. Though my current reality is that I need to shuffle my possessions so that I can fit it in my limited inventory long enough for K.K. to visit. I feel like a preteen scrambling to shove everything into a closet just to hide it from mom. ?

 

2 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

So pretty! Love the stitching, and that's the exact thing that I would do - start ambitious and then have to carry on  

Yeah, that's not too far off the mark. The bigger trouble on my attitude towards it on Saturday had been that I can stop any time to put it away, but I kept hitting the "one more thread" button as I endeavored to get the white section out of the way. Fortunately, even if I don't pick it back up later this week, I will be able to use it to keep my hands busy on a trip I've planned.

[Silmarilliane]

1 hour ago, MaeradCase said:

I think I'll take you up on that

 

I can always look at digging up some of mine and just planting them on your island?

 

1 hour ago, MaeradCase said:

one more thread

 

ahh, I know this well...

[Sovalis]

I went to the gym this morning even though I really didn't want to. Thank you for being a shoulder-angel of accountability. ?

[MaeradCase]

3 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

 

I can always look at digging up some of mine and just planting them on your island?

Absolutely! ? My island hasn't been terraformed yet, so it's got that early island nostalgia vibe. Plus all my collected furniture standing outdoors for me to collect it more easily. ?

 

3 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

 

ahh, I know this well...

Crafting is such a vibe. ? It can be good or bad, but every experience is known to crafters.

 

59 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I went to the gym this morning even though I really didn't want to. Thank you for being a shoulder-angel of accountability. ?

??? I'm so proud of you! Good job going!!! Glad I could help you feel encouraged. ???

[MaeradCase]

Good evening!

 

I'm about to hop in a shower and attempt to wash away the cares of today.

 

Training went well. We got to access computers and try our hands at using the system I actually comprehend after a long morning shift of watching people use the system for detailed work that I have not been quick to grasp. Well, the other girl got to do it. It's my turn tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

 

I drove home, and managed to stay in a good headspace despite the downtown traffic. I nixed my plan to go hunting for blue light glasses because despite my head hurting every day, I don't think having tinted lenses distorting my vision will necessarily help. 

 

When I got home, I watched a hail storm pass through with Cid. Then I went outside to explore because it was a winter wonderland (he made a Wyoming joke because I'd read that every time the travelers on the Oregon Trail passed through Wyoming it would be hail season, and it was always worth mentioning in the diaries and letters home ?).

 

I took pics, some of which included vehicle damage. It's the first time I've taken significant damage from hail, but to be fair I did watch it last five minutes, and they did get as big as golf balls at the largest.

 

Spoiler

Bicycle soup ?

Really lovely scene

Me keeping my spirits up enjoying how the birds looked against the clearing sky

 

 

I spent the rest of the evening making dinner for the two of us, even though we weren't feeling that hungry, advising Cid to call his family members (I texted mine), filing the claim, following up on an email thread I'd been neglecting, and folding laundry. Now that shower sounds nice. ?

 

What I didn't do was spend the evening looking at how to handle my deceased PC from Monday (oh, I should tell you guys what happened), and I haven't played ACNH today to clear up more ground space. Both can wait. This training has me tired. Oh! But I still climbed the five flights of stairs in the carpark! ?

 

The Curse of Strahd update I gave a friend earlier today:

Spoiler

So last night was part two of the horror of being back at Castle Ravenloft, worse than the week before when they split the party because this week they found each other, but also found Strahd and his chamberlain Rahadin (whom they've nicknamed Jeeves, and consider their favorite NPC) in what they decided was a very compromising scenario because I didn't read ahead on the contents of the room they were in. 

They didn't dare touch Strahd, but they did everything in their power to kill Rahadin while Strahd casually strolled away, displeased that they'd also destroyed the crystal heart of the castle. 

Ariella joined the fight too late, and drew the ire of Rahadin before he was finished off - he kicked her unconscious body down the 190 shaft of the tower, and she splatted to death. Tonight I will look into various avenues to take.

 

Glad to have you!

Maerad

[Silmarilliane]

Holy moly that hail!

[Laghail]

Aaaamazing photography, as always

[MaeradCase]

9 hours ago, Silmarilliane said:

Holy moly that hail!

It was a wild fifteen minutes as the storm intensified, and the hailstones grew incrementally bigger. I waited until the stones had stopped falling before going outside. The greenery has all taken heavy damage, but nothing as daunting as the vehicle damage since that requires insurance claims and such. ? Got started on that last night, and had to field the call today, but any other progress is delayed until the end of next week because everyone called in at once. ?

 

6 hours ago, Laghail said:

Aaaamazing photography, as always

? Thank you! I really did enjoy all the weather except the damages dealt. The foggy quality was amazing, though it also carried over into today as a heavy fog that didn't lift until close to 8. My CoS players were all a little on edge. ?

[MaeradCase]

Oh, I did do the five flights of stairs. Yay

 

I also had a meltdown when going home took me more than an hour. Boo

 

And we had no D&D tonight. Boo

 

But my island made it to three stars. Yay

[MaeradCase]

Wednesday night was R-O-U-G-H and fortunately Cidran was very supportive and already had food prepared. Unfortunately, I prevented us from having game night, but I had an emotional meltdown from how hard it was to get home that day. Downtown traffic is its own circle from hell. I managed to minimize it yesterday by correcting my route and distracting myself in the backed up traffic with an I spy type game I used to play as a kid (look for alphabet letters in sequence).

 

I am proud of using the stairs daily. I even had a lunch time walk twice this week - once with a friend who works down here and once today to accomplish a couple errands. 

 

Last night I began my attempt to map out my New Leaf Island onto my New Horizons map. The reality is that it can't be perfect (thanks, Resident Services ??‍♀️), but I was able to determine one placement method that wouldn't work, and can make way for the next attempt, which hopefully will make sense. 

 

In reality, I really need to look into answers for how I'll handle the character death from last session. Weather stopped me on Tuesday. The desire to play video games stopped me last night. And it makes a solid excuse to not leave the house for an event I'm not entirely sure I want to join.

 

Anyway, time to return to work. Hope you're having a successful day.

Maerad

[MaeradCase]

Well, the weekend has zoomed by, but I did more Humblewood art. Saturday I drew a sketch of what I picture, Sunday morning I got comments from my friend to correct it, and then through the afternoon I got it colored.

 

Look at this Stuff:

Spoiler

 

 

(I also played bass today, which was a win. But I also chowed most of a bag of gummy worms during a theater showing of Howl's Moving Castle, which did not feel like a win.)

 

I'm not feeling confident about drawing my character in the middle. Maybe imposter syndrome trying to convince me that I will ruin everything by adding her to the page? Or the feeling that every time I draw her, it turns out not looking right (except when I draw her in other forms since she wild-shapes into other animals). So right now I've got a goofball picture from an in-game laugh when she was running around as a boar and Allexander drew a goofy doodle asking if anyone had seen depicted bird.

Spoiler

 

But yeah, even though they both look awesome, my brain seems convinced that both examples of my skill were flukes, and I can't draw Ginny in the middle without ruining everything. That I can trick my husband and friend into believing I did a good job for them, but that I won't be able to fool myself.

 

Ouch.

[Everstorm]

18 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

But yeah, even though they both look awesome, my brain seems convinced that both examples of my skill were flukes, and I can't draw Ginny in the middle without ruining everything.

 

I feel this so hard 

[MaeradCase]

7 hours ago, Everstorm said:

 

I feel this so hard 

Your solidarity encouraged me.

 

Two players down and out tonight, so I cancelled the session (which is too bad since we're not on next week). Cid and I made dinner - chicken with broccoli (and also cauliflower for me) baked with a seasoning packet to spice it up and served with rice pilaf. I had a glass of grape juice, too, and enjoyed it immensely.

 

I also used the oven to make some scotchies. I only made half a dozen, but there's plenty more of the mix in the fridge. XD

 

Afterwards, I had to work up my nerve, but I'd decided to at least sketch Ginny into the group portrait (so thank you again, Ever, for your brief but reassuring solidarity).

Look at this Stuff!

Spoiler

 

I was told her face is a little too light to see, so for clarification, she's looking to the right, and her black stripe is a bit like a cheekbone accent.

 

Other things that I gave half-assed effort to at least make progress:

Took the stairs down, but not up

Paid down my credit cards, but not all the way

Continued answering questions for Critmas exchange, but only have 4/8 questionaires done.

 

I also did really well at training, and hope to maintain through the rest of the week. Leaving work 5 minutes early is consistently helping avoid the worst of the traffic. Tomorrow or Wednesday I need to also stop at the store for a couple grocery things Cid and I forgot or realized we're low on.

 

Hope you can get a little done for something important 

Maerad