where his civilizations, including our own

i has a bad cold.

I was going to leave it at that, but it seems like as good a time as any to mention (with the requisite wood knocking) that the surgery I had in September has won me these few months with relatively mild symptoms. The surgery was for interstitial cystitis, which you can paste into wikipedia if you're really curious.

It's hard to say if I actually have IC, because as my urologist puts it, it's mostly considered a diagnosis of exclusion. If you have been tested for every other bladder disease (check) and tried every medication (check) and are still in agony (double check) they call it IC. I really try to resist this kind of crap from doctors, I don't like fancy ways of saying "we don't know", but I was offered a surgical option that sometimes(!) helps IC patients and I was desperate enough to take it. They don't even know why or how it works, but obviously it did something, somehow.

I do have a horrible cold though. I'm unbelievably congested. But as happy as one can be under such circumstances. Bed now.

Well I kept the same job for an entire calendar year, which is more than a lot of people can say, unfortunately. Almost everyone I know, their place of work has had substantial layoffs.

( here are some things in 2008 )

In 2009 I plan to do the following things:

-write more fiction
-paint more pictures
-cook more food
-conlang more... conlangs
-visit _hannelore
-sever my ties to this area (particularly a)ensure my brother is sufficiently independent and b)liquidate my interest in this house) so I'm able to leave here and go live with _hannelore and her son
-oh yeah, and lern 2 be a good stepdad... soon.

...some of these things might be more challenging than others?


also: New Year edition of nedroidcomics

*dances around with kaptainsnot*

The clip frame sadly did not survive the USPS's manhandling... but the drawing did! And I can get a new frame! And it's lovely and yay!

I need a new driver for my scanner now.

*muchas smooches*


I've been cooking. I want to eat better things. Don't worry, it's not some misguided "diet", I just don't like the gross junk food I eat because I have no time. Super work crunch time is over now, so I've been buying actual ingredients from the store and putting them together.

I can follow a recipe and make it come out well, but usually I don't unless it's baking (which of course is a more exact science). My version is more like... garlic and cooking oil in a pan. Um, mushrooms. Broccoli! Spinach! Uh almonds? Sesame seeds wat. Peanut sauce. Okay it looks done.

I wouldn't say these concoctions come out memorable, but they're edible, and I'm only cooking for myself since my brother won't eat anything that doesn't arrive in a cardboard box. And I'm pretty sure it's better than the standard gamer diet (hot pockets + mountain dew).


In other news, my cat has discovered that garlic is like unto catnip for her. She licked the plate it was on, and is now racing around with crackhead eyes scent-marking everything.

There is some kind of construction happening on the office building at the end of the block. On Christmas day. WHAT.

I had to work yesterday and I'll have to work tomorrow, but I'm off today, and enjoying it. Family gatherings aren't good for my mental health, so I don't go to them anymore. Heavenly solitude! Except for my wretched cat who gave me the lovely gift of a hairball to clean up.

I won. And muridae_x won!

Writing one consecutive novel length story in a month proved to be too hard, but at least I have 50k words of material about the characters and world I was attempting to write about. This is fairly exciting, as the original ideas came to mind maybe ten years ago, and before I started Nano what I knew about them could have taken up a few paragraphs at most, all very vague.

I hope the lessons of this will stay with me. When you have an idea, even an idea that seems stupid, write it. The next thing will come if you actually try. Just "thinking about it" for some reason does not work.

In December I look forward to... drawing. Many times I wanted to stop and draw my characters instead of writing about them, but I couldn't because there was no time.

Summary: I organized a group to do something hard, overcame wank and self-doubt, succeeded, and got something cool.


( of course, as with everything, there's a bit of a story behind it )

"Newsflash: Bodies have hair. Film at eleven."

-_hannelore


is it any wonder i love her

So I got to my store, and my boss tells me she has "terrible news", which is that a minion of the other store had fallen down and broken a bone, causing Minion Who Is Leaving to have to fill in over there, meaning that she would not actually be at our store on her last day for us to give her a card.

I pointed out that we still have to get her a card, even if we have to mail it to her.

Which of course led my boss to admit she STILL had not picked a card. Who didn't see that coming?

---

Totally unrelatedly and cryptically, there are moments when I suspect I am actually far, far luckier than I deserve.

Yes I mean that in a good way. :P