Elizabeth Culmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
edenfalling) wrote2020-01-19 10:23 pm
edenfalling) wrote2020-01-19 10:23 pm
wherein Liz is slightly tipsy but attempts a coherent daily summary nonetheless
I was going to and-then my way through the next bit of the horribly recalcitrant prompt fic, but I ended up writing some actual proper-text paragraphs instead. (And going back to firmly locate a certain piece of set dressing, since that's relevant for the upcoming fight scene.)
~125 words, which isn't great but isn't terrible either.
...
Other things I did today:
1. Went to church, bearing brownies and banana bread. Did coffee hour setup (which I was not officially signed up for, but I was there so why not) and coffee hour cleanup. My hospitality team went out with a triumphant bang and we're now free until May. \o/
2. Finished two T. Kingfisher short novels/novellas, namely Minor Mage and The Seventh Bride. I liked the second better, though that may just be because, for reasons external to either novel in question, I am currently feeling moderate preemptive annoyance toward any original fiction that doesn't include at least one major female character unless there's a VERY compelling reason not to. I mean, I'd even be okay if it was the armadillo that was female. I don't think that's so much to ask.
3. Had a BLT for lunch with... malice aforethought is the wrong phrase. There was no malice involved. Why do we not have a good stock phrase for "I knew exactly what I was doing and yeah, maybe it was a dumb idea, but I knew the likely consequences and did it anyway because I chose to"? Pre-meditated maybe comes close, but that's also associated with crime so it's likewise not quite what I'm looking for. Anyway, I know eating a BLT for lunch means I'll lose the whole afternoon because I have to take a Benadryl so as to not have my throat close up and choke and/or suffocate me from allergic reaction to the tomatoes, and I did it anyway. And duly slept until 5:30pm.
4. Baked a loaf of banana bread all for myself, because I am an adult and I can do that if I want.
5. Continued listening to season 3 of The Magnus Archives, which I am enjoying very much. It's funny -- I don't think of myself as a horror fan per se, but Stephen King is one of my favorite writers and I am perfectly fine with horror elements in stories that are nominally in other genres. I guess it mostly depends on the writing and character work? Like, I won't seek things out on the basis of "it's so scary!!!" but if someone says "It's really well-constructed and the characters are engaging and there's a cool plot and such-and-such neat bits of worldbuilding," then the horror aspect is never going to be a barrier.
I should maybe make a list at some point of the few episodes that really got to me in a way more visceral/lasting than just feeling kind of delightfully shivery/horribly grossed-out while actively listening to them. That might be useful from a personal character analysis standpoint, you know? Pinpoint what really bothers me!
6. The other thing I've been listening to is yet another Great Courses series via Audible. This one is about the Renaissance, the Reformation, and how they led to the creation of modern Western society. It's a little frustrating because the lecturer has made some errors of fact -- like, I do know some about the Medici family tree and he's fucked it up TWICE so far -- and also will imply an event is something rare and special in one lecture, only to characterize the same event as part of a larger trend a few lectures later. Also he has a tendency to repeat himself but in different words. But I am not annoyed enough to metaphorically throw the "book" across the room (yet?) so I will press onward.
7. Changed my linens.
8. On a related point, finally put away my clean laundry that had been sitting in a laundry bag on my couch since Wednesday. *sigh*
And now I am going to bed because if I don't, I will sit up and eat cheese and crackers and make myself another Black Russian and reread old fanfic until past midnight, and that's an unfortunate idea in several different directions. *wry*
Good night!
~125 words, which isn't great but isn't terrible either.
...
Other things I did today:
1. Went to church, bearing brownies and banana bread. Did coffee hour setup (which I was not officially signed up for, but I was there so why not) and coffee hour cleanup. My hospitality team went out with a triumphant bang and we're now free until May. \o/
2. Finished two T. Kingfisher short novels/novellas, namely Minor Mage and The Seventh Bride. I liked the second better, though that may just be because, for reasons external to either novel in question, I am currently feeling moderate preemptive annoyance toward any original fiction that doesn't include at least one major female character unless there's a VERY compelling reason not to. I mean, I'd even be okay if it was the armadillo that was female. I don't think that's so much to ask.
3. Had a BLT for lunch with... malice aforethought is the wrong phrase. There was no malice involved. Why do we not have a good stock phrase for "I knew exactly what I was doing and yeah, maybe it was a dumb idea, but I knew the likely consequences and did it anyway because I chose to"? Pre-meditated maybe comes close, but that's also associated with crime so it's likewise not quite what I'm looking for. Anyway, I know eating a BLT for lunch means I'll lose the whole afternoon because I have to take a Benadryl so as to not have my throat close up and choke and/or suffocate me from allergic reaction to the tomatoes, and I did it anyway. And duly slept until 5:30pm.
4. Baked a loaf of banana bread all for myself, because I am an adult and I can do that if I want.
5. Continued listening to season 3 of The Magnus Archives, which I am enjoying very much. It's funny -- I don't think of myself as a horror fan per se, but Stephen King is one of my favorite writers and I am perfectly fine with horror elements in stories that are nominally in other genres. I guess it mostly depends on the writing and character work? Like, I won't seek things out on the basis of "it's so scary!!!" but if someone says "It's really well-constructed and the characters are engaging and there's a cool plot and such-and-such neat bits of worldbuilding," then the horror aspect is never going to be a barrier.
I should maybe make a list at some point of the few episodes that really got to me in a way more visceral/lasting than just feeling kind of delightfully shivery/horribly grossed-out while actively listening to them. That might be useful from a personal character analysis standpoint, you know? Pinpoint what really bothers me!
6. The other thing I've been listening to is yet another Great Courses series via Audible. This one is about the Renaissance, the Reformation, and how they led to the creation of modern Western society. It's a little frustrating because the lecturer has made some errors of fact -- like, I do know some about the Medici family tree and he's fucked it up TWICE so far -- and also will imply an event is something rare and special in one lecture, only to characterize the same event as part of a larger trend a few lectures later. Also he has a tendency to repeat himself but in different words. But I am not annoyed enough to metaphorically throw the "book" across the room (yet?) so I will press onward.
7. Changed my linens.
8. On a related point, finally put away my clean laundry that had been sitting in a laundry bag on my couch since Wednesday. *sigh*
And now I am going to bed because if I don't, I will sit up and eat cheese and crackers and make myself another Black Russian and reread old fanfic until past midnight, and that's an unfortunate idea in several different directions. *wry*
Good night!