List of Good Things

[vintagewitch]

I've been really down lately. This weekend was pretty restorative, and my week is starting out nice and gentle. 

Here are some things I'm excited about:

1. Saw my friend April this weekend - we've been friends for a long time now, and it's been a while since we got to hang out. We did our nails, we watched Twin Peaks, and we talked. A lot. It was great.

2. Went to a ballgame with my family and some family friends. This was fun - a little strange, since sports were never really a thing I grew up with, but whatever.

3. Saw my friend Mel yesterday. We got brunch, and watched several episodes of American Horror Story: Coven. 

4. My new tarot deck is pretty amazing. The images are surreal, and bright, originally from oil paintings. Here's a link so you can check out this amazing artwork.
On Friday night, I went for a bike ride down to a somewhat secluded park by the Mississippi and did my first reading with it. It was a sort of "get-to-know-you" reading, and I think this deck is exactly what I need in that practice right now. 
I've started doing a one-card-pull for daily readings, and that's been really on point so far. Today's draw was the Ten of Fire, which represents attention and success on an all-consuming project, but it seems to come from a place of strength, rather than negative obsession.

5. Finished reading "Neverwhere" last night. Absolutely lovely.

6. Have been pretty successful at keeping my habitat un-fucked. Considering how busy I am these days, that's a MAJOR accomplishment. Dishes are not piling up, and I'm about to get at cleaning the bathroom.

7. Bought tickets so Matt and I can go to a festival curated by one of my (our?) favorite artists in September. 

8. Have somehow managed to keep in contact with him, even though his schedule is super weird and he's on the road. It sounds like he might be home around June 28th? Which is earlier than I thought.

9. Rewatching "Twin Peaks." The world of Twin Peaks is really inspiring - I might need to do some writing prompts or something. Also toying with the idea of writing Twin Peaks fic. Fanfic is something I haven't contemplated in a LONG time, but there you go.

10. Haven't spent much time online this weekend - nice break.

I should get off to some of my cleaning before I have to go in to work. I'm being pretty strict about not putting in overtime (they've basically said they can't pay me for overtime), so I've got to be really effective and on while I'm at work. That's not a bad thing, and I'm kind of proud of the boundaries I've set and kept with this job. It's so easy when working for the cause to end up working round the clock just because you care so much - but that's not good for the organizers, because you burn out quickly and you end up devaluing your work. So yes: Boundaries are good.

Off with me! To the bathroom with scrubbing brushes!

Comments

[grackle]

That's a STUNNING tarot deck.

[vintagewitch]

Thank you! I absolutely adore it.

[untonuggan]

yay good things! also boundaries are excellent.

[vintagewitch]

Yes! Boundaries is definitely a theme for this year. Very, very important

[star_swan]

Neverwhere is still on my Shelf of Unread. D:
I feel guilty about reading anything that is not research-related and am tying to focus my free time on writing. Still. Everbody raves about it.

That tarot deck is lovely. It is more than vaguely eerie. :)

[vintagewitch]

I do like Neverwhere a lot, but I tend to like Gaiman's other writing better. It's one of his earliest novels, and I think he has grown a LOT. I'm also not super partial to humor in fiction, so there's that - which is just a personal preference thing.

That said, I loooooove the world of Neverwhere.

[star_swan]

I'll have to read more of his books, but not until I am done writing/working on my current project and I feel that I have leisure to. Possibly not until then.

[vintagewitch]

I hear you on wanting to finish your project! I've been working on this first draft of a novel for just about two years now, and I really want to finish it before I start grad school, but damn if life seems to keep getting in the way of writing time.

I have a really hard time depriving myself of reading, though if I'm doing a LOT of writing I simply won't have time. I've just been so busy with stuff that I haven't had the headspace for writing when I'm done with my day.

[star_swan]

Yeah. I've been rereading a HUGE tome on the side. And I am trying to learn more music/music theory. I set myself a ridiculous number of tasks.

Two years isn't bad though! Novels take heaps of consideration.
What are you planning to study in Grad School (forgive me if you've said or notated it somewhere and I have forgotten)?

[vintagewitch]

I'll be getting my master's in public policy, specifically environmental policy. The goal is to eventually work on policy issues, and/or to be in a management position at a nonprofit/build my own nonprofit.

So ... not literature, or writing, though that is also a passion of mine. My novel is actually "climate fiction," so basically sci fi that explores the future with climate change. Nerd alert!