Category: Writing

Cleaning specialist day

Today, my room. This is big and emotional and horrific as an ADD sufferer but you know what, Suzanne doesn’t judge. I also have a Christmas Prezzy for her. And the toilet is out of the downstairs bathroom so she doesn’t have to do that room today.

Jeff says if it improves my mental health he’s all in favour of paying Suzanne to help me with it, once again confirming that he is a Very Good Person.

I’m not a hundred percent sure if the grisly business amidships is Metformin induced or I have a gut bug, but I am not leaving the house today.

Quick break while I empty dishwasher and swap laundry over…

Brekky was an almost salt free affair: steamed asparagus smothered in scrambled eggs, with a side of golden kiwi fruit and a reduced-salt fresh baked home made whole wheat bun. The asparagus was kinda off-flavoured but still edible and I *nailed* the scrambled eggs, perfect really.

850 words on the BC flooding fanfic – it’s really coming together nicely, and I walked back a scene that wasn’t working, so go me. THEY’RE ALONE IN A CAMPER VAN and the trope continues AND THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED. Didn’t think this through, did ya fellas.

I put in all the family names as prompts for the AI art thing and look what it made…. I mean it should be an UPSUN cover or something it’s so magnifisumpin.

Tom in hospital

pale green
pale grey
mushroom beige
one can wake to a drowse, just a tiny bit
of consciousness
and know you’re in hospital

He breathes in six to ten second gouts
and I watch
family & friends    the doc     the nurse    the housekeeper
come and go

Sometimes we sound him
for how he’s doing
& sometimes he replies and squirms like a sleepy toddler

in a bed too small for him
he shrinks
and next to him
just there
on the other side of the window

another place for people to go to die
and get better
and fight death to a draw
is rising
under the watchful eyes of the crows

while his son speaks softly and rubs his back

the time that passes is modelling clay
the time that passes is silent pictures taken of a dying man
as he rests in the arms of his son

Fraser Foreshore Walk

The tide was highest at noon yesterday and the water in the Fraser River was quite high. Paul said we were expecting rain and it was JUST GORGEOUS – a beautiful golden peach sunset, and quite warm. I took my cane and had no trouble with the usual length of walk.

CBC local news reports that Large Marge the Barge will not be removed until December 6th 2021, the date of the next King tide. Lazy bums eh.

Made lentil soup yesterday. Hoping to make Banana Cake today.

(Yes I did make banana cake.)

Keith had a Battlestar Galactica games night at his house and nobody knew there was a new baby.

Came up with another fanfic idea. About four hundred words on the ‘starlight’ story. Found an absolutely delightful fluffy 70k fanfic I haven’t read before yesterday, it was exactly what I wanted.

accomplishments … are they?

went to Timmy Ho’s this morning. We shouldn’t have but there you have it. I should have gone to the library but I was too lazy to leave the house a second time. However I did chop up the ginger chicken for sammiches and I did sew elastics onto my orthotic slippers so they fit more snugly and I did add more pieces to the puzzle with the balls of wool and the white kitty cat and I did practice my new song (in the style of Billie Eilish) and Buster prefers that because I’m wearing headphones while I’m doing it so he’s not inconvenienced. Wrote 530 words on the story about the restaurant and 510 words on the story about the artist who makes monumental homoerotic art. Ran the dishwasher. Remembered to take all my drugs. Made poached eggs over diced tomatoes with cumin and garlic for supper and Jeff et it too. Fed the corbies. Tomorrow is Dunnett Day.

We’re going to have an atmospheric river again.

Alex is coming tonight!

So I will be very exhausted tomorrow.  I have obtained additional children’s art supplies, cleaned myself and I’m thinking of baking cookies. Or maybe cheese scones. I think cheese scones.

and in late breaking news, I’m off to visit Mike tomorrow.

currently writing a fanfic in which a rejected potential mate moves in with the person who rejected him (for silly and complicated reasons that do not bear close examination). There is no such thing as consent in this part of the universe. An all male spa day features heavily.

Bang bang rrrr

So there were SO MANY EXPLOSIONS in my neighbourhood last night. Buster basically ASKED to be locked in the house (ask Jeff if you don’t believe me) and he was hiding in various places yesterday, since the bear scares started around 11 am and are STILL GOING off in the distance.

This was interspersed by ratrunners zooming at godless speeds and ludicrous RPMs up and down Kingsway. I thank my heritage that I can sleep through damned near anything once I’m asleep but I kept waking up and thinking you bastards.

Cockney Kings Fish and Chips yesterday. They fucked up the order, but not the delivery and more or less said gee that’s too bad when I complained via phone, so no cole slaw with the order.

First world problems, right?

Started transferring musical instruments around in a bid to get all the instruments I actually play or want to play in the same place so it’s more fun for Alex when he has sleepovers. I’ll bring the two instruments I’m not playing upstairs and take the keyboard downstairs.

Jeff and I have an errand to run today, I’m hoping it’s nice enough to walk over there since it’s very close by.

I haven’t been talking much about writing. I’ve been working on fanfic (the current ones about a bad restaurant review (lots of social justicey side comments regarding restaurant workers and COVID) and a do it yourself spa day for two men, (which is very funny IMO) (pretty skinny structural supports for stories but ah well), but I may actually try to do something for November Novel Writing Month, also called NanoWrimo, in which case I’ll talk about it next month when I’m finished.

Left a message for Mike. I’m hoping he’s okay, but I’m not really in shape to be socializing, so.

Time for some more tea.

Buster has never been so clear about wanting me to keep the cat door locked. He peed in the cat litter tray right in front of me; normally if the weather’s decent he likes to commune with nature while he’s draining the main. So I locked the door again. He can’t stand the noise outside, and he feels protected from it if the door is locked. He’s been hiding all over the house; in the towels in the bathroom, under the stairs, under my chair downstairs, on the top deck of the bunkbeds. Poor lamb. He’s also compulsively licking himself so he may be working on an anxiety disorder.

The punctuation from one of my novels (first 3500 words)

– – , , , , , , , , ‘ ‘ , , , ‘ ‘ , , , . ; – , , – – ‘ . ! – – . , . , – , – , , . , , , . , . ‘ , . , , ‘ – – , . . ‘ , , ‘ . , , , – , , , , – – – – – . , , . . , – , . , . ‘ , , , , , . ” , ” . , , , ‘ . ‘ ‘ . ? . ? ‘ ? ? ‘ ‘ . , , ‘ . , ‘ . , ‘ . . . , , . , , ‘ . , , . , . , . . . , . ‘ . – – . ‘ . ? ? . . . , . , ‘ . ‘ , , – . . , , ‘ ‘ ‘ – ‘ . ‘ , ‘ . ‘ . ‘ . ‘ , . . . . , . . . , . ‘ ‘ . , , . . , . ‘ ? ‘ ? ! . ‘ . , . , , , , . , , ‘ . , ‘ , . ? , ; , , ; , ; , . . , , . , . , , . , , , – , – — . , . , ‘ . , ‘ – , , . . , ‘ , . . , ; ‘ ‘ . ‘ . . ‘ , , ‘ , . , ‘ – , . : ( , ) , ) , , ) , ‘ . . , . . , . , , ‘ , , ‘ . ? ‘ — ‘ – — , ‘ , ‘ . ‘ , . , , , ‘ – , . , ‘ , . . , , ; , , ‘ . ‘ , ; , , ‘ , – – . , , , , ‘ . , . , , – . , ‘ . , – , . , , . ‘ , – . ” , . ” ” , , ” . . ” , . . . , . , ‘ , . . , , ‘ , ‘ . ” . , , . ‘ ‘ , ‘ . ‘ , ‘ , . , , . . , ” ‘ . ” ” , ‘ . ” ” , ‘ , ” . , . ” , . ” ‘ , ‘ . , , , . . ” , ” , . ” . ‘ , , ‘ , ‘ , ‘ . , , ‘ . , , , ‘ – . ‘ , ” , , . , , ” ‘ ‘ . ” . – . . : . . , ‘ ‘ , : ‘ ? ? ? . ‘ ‘ . / . : ” , ” . , , . – , , . – ; . ‘ . , , , . , , , . . , . ; . , . . , ” , . ” , , , ” . ” , ” , ‘ , , . ” ” , ” . ” . . , . ‘ , ‘ . ” . . ‘ – . , ; ‘ , . . , , . – , – , , – ‘ . , – , , . , . , , . , ‘ , , , ” . ” ” ‘ ; ‘ . ” ‘ . ” , ? ” ” . , . ‘ , ‘ , , . . , ‘ – . ” , ‘ . ” ‘ , ‘ ‘ . ” ” ‘ . . . – – , ‘ , ‘ , – – – – , ‘ , . . ‘ ‘ . ” ” , ” . , , . ” , . ” . ” . ‘ – , ‘ , , , – – ” , ” , ” , ” . ‘ – , ‘ , ‘ . ‘ – ‘ , . ” , – , ( ) . , , ‘ . ” , , – – , ‘ , ? ” ” ‘ ? , ‘ , , . , , ! . . ‘ – , . ” , ‘ ‘ ! .

hey i didnt close parentheses (later, nope, it’s punctuated properly)

care of https://just-the-punctuation.glitch.me/

truncated day

After spending about three hours girding myself up mentally I got myself out the door to see Tom this am. He is thin as a rail and not greatly responsive. I have had my last exchange of words with him unless I am unduly fortunate.

The last thing he did for me was leave food on my porch.

Jeffrey C from Seattle came up to see him. There were already three rellies in Tom’s room when I arrived so I departed after giving him a very hearty and very sincere hug.

I was going to go to Brown’s after but I saw that there were taxis at the stand and said fck it I’m for home. We watched some TV and I ordered fish&chips from Cockney Kings.

Leaving the house is not psychologically easy.

Someone answered my ad for a cultural competence read and while they are a super awesome creative human being with great taste they are alas not what I’m looking for but he gave me some leads which was awesome.

swithering

Dishwasher is running thanks to me, tea is seeping thanks to Jeff, and I just realized that I didn’t get my goddamned bloodwork done because I was about to go in to Lifelabs and I got an email that Tom is sick and it literally (THANKS FOR NUTHIN ADD and also may I just mention that not getting a fucking email reminder of your pending requisition from the doctors office doesn’t exactly fucking help even if you don’t have ADD) knocked doing that out of my mind. So I must must do that today. Which means I have to walk over to 6th and 10th anyway, maybe I can mail the 9 page (large print) letter I wrote to Mary over the last week, and pick up a coffee for Jeff on the way back since he was hankering for one.

weather is frickin GLORIOUS  I mean seriously.

I have a list as long as my hair (which reminds me, I need to tie it up again or Jeff’s going to be spitting out my hairs reproachfully while watching tv as they drift over his face (sometimes he goes GAAAH and flaps his hands because it’s like having a spider web land on you and then OH THE REPROACHFUL LOOK)) and slightly more motivation than yesterday for attacking it. More laundry, working on Finale writing down songs and messing with the voicing, tidying up the music/guest room, working on a couple of new fanfics, responding to Tish’s letter, actually reading the rent increase notice and diarizing it. A small fraction of the goo sticking to me.

I have subscribed to the NYT for a year, it was 1/20th the normal price so I actually thought that was fair. Jeff, it was the article about Jared Harris that made me subscribe, I am such a celebri-fluffer.

Crows called for food this morning, but I put out sunflower seeds instead of roasted unsalted peanuts so they are sulking. (later, there they go again. It’s four-call, whoever she is)

Keith has apparently had an excellent visit with the grandparents in Victoria. I’ll be meeting up with Paul at some point today to walk and possibly visit Tom and exchange stuff, since items keep migrating between our two households.

Jeff’s car is still in the krankenhaus. The problem can’t be replicated, so we’re beginning to think it’s bad fuel.

I think I have blown through yet another set of orthotics, so that’s going on the list as well. NO DO NOT WANT. I mean I want comfy feet but I do not want to spend 400 dollars even if my fOlks are underwriting it with my remittance woman stipend.

ADD meds day two. I AM ITCHY. Is it allergies? is it medication? LOL who knows. Much imitating of the Archer character Woodhouse saying in his crackly voice, “It’s going to be an itchy weekend.”

I bought some Red Racer Street Legal Pilsner and IPA for Paul so I have something festive to drink while I’m over there. Got some for myself as well. It’s about the equivalent of a piece of bread, for carbs.

I now have a nightgown for every night of the week. And okay, enough potchkeying around on my blog, I have to go have a phlebotomist stab me, baby.

Forbidden Vancouver

Missing John today

I offer my thanks and praise to the protectors of these lands and waters. It is a good day to be in MST country, stolen but never ceded, surveyed but never yielded. I live in a state of obligation and I am a guest and visitor here. For two foot and four foot, many foot and no foot, all the creatures and people, may it be a good day.

I hate it when I pay for a craigslist ad and the first person who answers is a scammer using a phone service in Spanish who can’t even answer a basic question about the lower mainland. I know I’m a delicate flower and sensitive to rejection but it just makes me want to borrow a nerf gun and go on a low casualty rampage. You will remember that it was a threat of violence (a slap…. not a gun shot, not hacking someone’s feet off and making them eat them, not machetes, or claymores, or eating Eatmores till you burst, or being turned into a skid mark under a halftrack, or being asphyxiated in a ten foot deep tub of glitter, or being made to watch the ten worst episodes of Supernatural in a row, or being bisected by a thermal lance, or being shoved off the Trümp Tower, or any such life ending stuff a slap people, that’s all I offered the racist piece of shit) that took me off twitter in the first place. No sign that I’ll ever get back on, unless I create a whole new persona. NNNNNOOOOO THANKS.

This morning at 10 am I’m going to do the same thing (but different) with Tammy as I did the last time she was in town, mostly because we enjoyed the hell out of it – Forbidden Vancouver’s tour of the historic sites of Gay Vancouver. (The last time was more of an architectural walk, and what an eye opener that was! Seeing the place opium was manufactured? Seeing where the anti Asian riots broke out… not a pane of intact glass in Chinatown!? Seeing the first skyscraper in Vancouver, in context… it was wonderful! Nearly getting run down by a woman cop driving a squad car and laughing immoderately up in her face! ah the pleasures!) Anyway, full report tomorrow, at the latest. And between 8 and 9 am I have to ensure that I have a proper carry seat, because Tammy was amazed how much more pleasant it was to walk all over hell’s half acre on pavement when you can whip out a chair and sit for 2 or 3. (We shared, like one do.)

I’m writing this at 5:15 to 6 am in the morning; I don’t have internet from 4 am to 7 am in an effort to ensure that I’m actually writing at that time of day, or at least not disappearing down that rabbit hole. Now that twitter (an aching gap in my day, which speaks alas more to my self-indulgence (verging on addiction) than to its utility… because really what I wanted was to have a bigger audience than I do on my blog, which simply isn’t interesting enough to have 500 visitors) is gone, I’m mining karma points on Reddit.  I got 4000 points in two months, so you can tell I’ve been a busy lassie. And, as with this blog I have no freaking idea what people will respond to. It all seems to be timing.

The last time I was at the Junction Keith commented that the r/vancouver subreddit has cleaned up a great deal over the last, say, six months or so. Less overtly anti Chinese racist bullshit – still a lot of hate for the homeless, I’m still stinging from my dog pile of downvotes from the last time I stuck up for the unhoused, and fuck you, a certain user on reddit who would like to push the homeless around with ‘scoops’ like Soylent Green, I hope you think better thoughts and type less nasty words in future.

So looking forward to this morning!

I checked in with Stella the talking dog today and she used the word ‘mad’ after being told she couldn’t go play in the park until after mum and dad ate. She was very calm about it though. I love that dog. (hunger4words on instagram) Apparently ‘all done happy’ translates in dog to THANK CHRIST YOU’RE OFF THE PHONE

quiet day

I don’t think I did anything about house today besides make tea and a salad and take my pills and a nice long nap. (I’m allowed to be tired when I’m tired, I’ve got Daim Branage. I worked on about half a dozen destiel fics, tidying mostly, getting names consistent, that kind of editable stuff. 9 words on one fic 318 on another, that kind of thing.

THEN around 6 the THUNDER started … for about an hour, every ten minutes or so there was the longest, most histrionical, excessive, over-the-top, can’t-stop-won’t-stop thunderclap you could imagine. Long pause and then explosion noise-overlaid with a helicopter landing on the house noise – overlaid with brO’s apparently epic fart from yesterday  – and then cannonades in the distance fading to a repetitive coda. Jeff and I were impressed as hell.

Watched Cry Macho, had no expectations of it being great, and enjoyed it because to my mind it was entertaining. Some of Eastwood’s reaction shots will live as memes long after he’s dead, I predict.