(no subject)
Apr. 17th, 2026 08:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aurumcalendulaDoes anyone know if there's plans for a Wiscon Vidparty this year (and what the submission deadline would be, if so)?
aurumcalendula
get used to the taste of ashes
Apr. 16th, 2026 10:47 amjazzfishThe last few weeks I've become rather fond of the spaciousness of my condo when it's not losing a foot in all directions to bookshelves. I prefer having all my books and games around, but I enjoy the sense of openness too.
"I would have liked to have a home with a separate library," I said a few nights ago. And a place where I can practice viola without worrying about irritating a neighbour, and floor space and equipment for yoga and rope, and a cat tree, and and and.
It's always difficult to make predictions, especially about the future, but: I do not believe that I will ever again live without roommates once I have to move out of here. The two-legged kind; I also don't expect to find a place to live that I can afford that will accept a cranky cat. This will be increasingly bad for my mental health, but I won't be able to afford counseling either so maybe I won't notice.
I'm still leaving today for the Gathering in Niagara, and Minneapolis for a week afterwards. Perhaps the change of scenery will help. Horse, sing, etc.
( process retrospective )
"I would have liked to have a home with a separate library," I said a few nights ago. And a place where I can practice viola without worrying about irritating a neighbour, and floor space and equipment for yoga and rope, and a cat tree, and and and.
It's always difficult to make predictions, especially about the future, but: I do not believe that I will ever again live without roommates once I have to move out of here. The two-legged kind; I also don't expect to find a place to live that I can afford that will accept a cranky cat. This will be increasingly bad for my mental health, but I won't be able to afford counseling either so maybe I won't notice.
I'm still leaving today for the Gathering in Niagara, and Minneapolis for a week afterwards. Perhaps the change of scenery will help. Horse, sing, etc.
( process retrospective )
Community Thursday
Apr. 16th, 2026 07:07 amvriddyCommunity Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.
Commented on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
everykindofcraft.
Commented on
everykindofcraft.
(no subject)
Apr. 15th, 2026 12:56 pmaurumcalendulaI've belately started watching NCIS: Hawai'i and I'm enjoying it so far! tbh I mainly gave it a shot because of Lucy, but I like pretty much all of the main cast (Jane is awesome imho). There's some standard police procedural dodgyness, but I'm finding it fairly charming. I like that the introduction to Kai was him complaining to HPD about them escalalating a situation. It's also neat how much time Lucy and Kate's romance subplot is getting.
( vague spoilers for one of the episodes )
(I was following NCIS: New Orleans pretty regularly from around season 2 until Sonja left in season 4 - I keep meaning to check out some of the later seasons and the season 7 episodes when Tammy has a girlfriend.)
( vague spoilers for one of the episodes )
(I was following NCIS: New Orleans pretty regularly from around season 2 until Sonja left in season 4 - I keep meaning to check out some of the later seasons and the season 7 episodes when Tammy has a girlfriend.)
Weekend notes
Apr. 13th, 2026 11:07 ammarinarusalkaIn a fit of optimism, The Boy and I planted some cherry tomato seedlings behind our condo. Neither one of us has any knowledge or experience of vegetable gardening, so we're going by random internet advice and hoping that the San Diego climate will make up for our inadequacies.
Saturday morning, we went hiking in Torrey Pines, which has been reopened again after being closed all winter "to improve the trails." If there was any actual improvement, we didn't see it, but it was still an excellent hike, with lots of great wildlife views, including a Gray Whale hanging out unusually close to shore. We also spotted three brush rabbits at different spots along the trail, and a flock of migrating lazuli buntings.
( all photos courtesy of The Boy )
Saturday morning, we went hiking in Torrey Pines, which has been reopened again after being closed all winter "to improve the trails." If there was any actual improvement, we didn't see it, but it was still an excellent hike, with lots of great wildlife views, including a Gray Whale hanging out unusually close to shore. We also spotted three brush rabbits at different spots along the trail, and a flock of migrating lazuli buntings.
( all photos courtesy of The Boy )
well.
Apr. 12th, 2026 09:40 pmjazzfishOne guy at the open house last weekend.
Price drop mid-week.
Nobody at the open house today.
I'd say I am running out of optimism but I didn't have much to start with. I am running out of hope, though.
Fallback plan: all my stuff to storage, rent out the condo for enough to cover the mortgage, take up residence on someone's couch, go looking for a service job to stanch at least some of the bleeding. Steph has offered to take in Mr Tuppert temporarily, so at least I won't be abandoning him entirely.
I hate this more than I can reasonably express.
(Comments off.)
Price drop mid-week.
Nobody at the open house today.
I'd say I am running out of optimism but I didn't have much to start with. I am running out of hope, though.
Fallback plan: all my stuff to storage, rent out the condo for enough to cover the mortgage, take up residence on someone's couch, go looking for a service job to stanch at least some of the bleeding. Steph has offered to take in Mr Tuppert temporarily, so at least I won't be abandoning him entirely.
I hate this more than I can reasonably express.
(Comments off.)
PSA update regarding the Dreamwidth notifications
Apr. 11th, 2026 05:23 amvriddyI was growing really antsy about the missing notifications because day after day the tickets were piling up yet the problem didn't seem to get acknowledged anywhere (not in the known issues on the support page, not on ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png)
dw_maintenance, no replies to those tickets... I even went to check the dreamwidth github issues but crickets there too :C).
Anyway, behold! A few of the (many, many) tickets about notifications were updated with the following:
I can't wait! Thanks to the "Recent Comments" page which I'm checking first like a kinda inbox, I'm fairly sure I'm not missing anything posted anywhere on my journal. Unfortunately, because I have a couple of active posts at the moment, the "Recently Posted" page isn't as useful to me and if someone replies a couple of weeks later to a comment I left on their journal, which is usually one of Dreamwidth's strengths, I'm unlikely to see it if the notification gets dropped :C
Glad a fix is on the way and hope it's coming to us soon!! To all the chit-chat and associated notifications!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆 (Yes I'm constantly trying to get my inbox under control but not like this 😱 XD)
Edit: There is adw_maintenance post about it, now. One of the subthreads asks to share new, recent comments in which the notifications went missing.
dw_maintenance, no replies to those tickets... I even went to check the dreamwidth github issues but crickets there too :C).Anyway, behold! A few of the (many, many) tickets about notifications were updated with the following:
"Our developers have been looking into this and finally figured out what was going on. There's a fix in, and notifications should start flowing again. I can't say if you'll get the old ones, but new ones should be fine."
I can't wait! Thanks to the "Recent Comments" page which I'm checking first like a kinda inbox, I'm fairly sure I'm not missing anything posted anywhere on my journal. Unfortunately, because I have a couple of active posts at the moment, the "Recently Posted" page isn't as useful to me and if someone replies a couple of weeks later to a comment I left on their journal, which is usually one of Dreamwidth's strengths, I'm unlikely to see it if the notification gets dropped :C
Glad a fix is on the way and hope it's coming to us soon!! To all the chit-chat and associated notifications!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆 (Yes I'm constantly trying to get my inbox under control but not like this 😱 XD)
Edit: There is a
dw_maintenance post about it, now. One of the subthreads asks to share new, recent comments in which the notifications went missing.(no subject)
Apr. 10th, 2026 11:05 pmaurumcalendulaI tuned in to NASA's YouTube stream a little bit before Integrity's communication blackout ended. I remember the loss of the Columbia, so it was such relief they came home safe!
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Quickly jotting down a few proofreading-related notes
Apr. 10th, 2026 07:34 amvriddy1. Tracking writing-related stuff daily so doesn't work for me and my brain. I track wordcounts only monthly for a reason!! Because I was planning to finish this proofreading within two weeks or so, I thought I would therefore update my little chart thing to track by day rather than by week so the chart looks more interesting. It does look cool! But tracking daily means I read high numbers as "This is what I am capable of" and any day in which I could only manage 15 minutes or so as a failure. May have to weeklify this chart after all.
2. Especially because, while finishing within two weeks would be convenient for a variety of reasons, I'm not sure the proofreading will go as fast as I hoped. My thought were: okay, the story is a third longer than it was last time I proofread it, but only the new stuff might sound janky! Well. It's been over a year since the last time I proofread, so sentences give me different feelings now. The first chapter hadn't changed a ton, maybe 600 new words, but I spent 3h on it anyway. Just like the average last round: proofread 10 chapters in a little under 3 weeks, average time per chapter 2h54. I have 14 chapters now. Grumbles, grumbles.
3. Thinking a lot about what I want to learn next. The last couple of years have been about "process" especially around editing, what works well for me in general, how to actually edit a big project, how to manage my stamina through it. Over the last couple of months, I've been learning about structure, and loving it. Like, there will be more to learn there for sure, but for the time being I need to put into practice my new learning until it comes more naturally. While this is happening, I really want to improve how I write sentences. Line editing, I guess? My writing feels very weak there right now, or not where I'd like it to be. It won't be something I apply on the witch (would require a complete rewrite), but it's something I hope to pay more attention to for the Soul Thief. Reflecting too on how I want to learn and how I could organise myself for it. For example, I got a copy of Le Guin's "Steering the Craft" a while back that sounds like it should fit the bill? But I found it very intimidating, and I'm not good at just doing exercises either. It's easier when learning happens as part of a real story. Anyway, whatever I end up doing next, it seems like I'm moving from a "learning process" to a "learning craft" kinda mood, for the next while!
2. Especially because, while finishing within two weeks would be convenient for a variety of reasons, I'm not sure the proofreading will go as fast as I hoped. My thought were: okay, the story is a third longer than it was last time I proofread it, but only the new stuff might sound janky! Well. It's been over a year since the last time I proofread, so sentences give me different feelings now. The first chapter hadn't changed a ton, maybe 600 new words, but I spent 3h on it anyway. Just like the average last round: proofread 10 chapters in a little under 3 weeks, average time per chapter 2h54. I have 14 chapters now. Grumbles, grumbles.
3. Thinking a lot about what I want to learn next. The last couple of years have been about "process" especially around editing, what works well for me in general, how to actually edit a big project, how to manage my stamina through it. Over the last couple of months, I've been learning about structure, and loving it. Like, there will be more to learn there for sure, but for the time being I need to put into practice my new learning until it comes more naturally. While this is happening, I really want to improve how I write sentences. Line editing, I guess? My writing feels very weak there right now, or not where I'd like it to be. It won't be something I apply on the witch (would require a complete rewrite), but it's something I hope to pay more attention to for the Soul Thief. Reflecting too on how I want to learn and how I could organise myself for it. For example, I got a copy of Le Guin's "Steering the Craft" a while back that sounds like it should fit the bill? But I found it very intimidating, and I'm not good at just doing exercises either. It's easier when learning happens as part of a real story. Anyway, whatever I end up doing next, it seems like I'm moving from a "learning process" to a "learning craft" kinda mood, for the next while!
Taskmaster s21 and other Brticom rabbit hole things
Apr. 9th, 2026 09:08 pmhamsterwomanTaskmaster is back!!
Taskmaster s21 interviews – I like the format a lot better this series than the last couple – it’s probably one of my favorite gimmicky ones (I had also liked s17’s, but mostly I feel like the format detracts rather than adds to the interview on the other recent ones; OK, s20’s table tennis was not too bad, but I thought the table tennis was too disruptive to the chat, in a way texting was not really). ( First impressions, before watching the episode )
Episode itself: Taskmaster s21e01 – oh, this was FUN! ( spoilers )
*
I caught up on the Christmas 2025 House of Games, which had what is probably my favorite lineup ever: Mathew Baynton, Mel Giedroyc, and Harriet Kemsley (and a fourth non-Britcom/non-Taskmaster person I didn’t know, but he was fun, too). ( spoilers )
*
I finished watching James Acaster’s Repertoire on Netflix – a 4-part stand-up show which I found really interestingly constructed but enjoyed less than the shows by the comedians it turns out I really vibe with, like John Robins or, based on a smaller sample size, (Lesser) Tom Cashman or Pierre Novellie. Also, it really is a single four-part show, even though the first three parts are fairly stand-alone, and I did not have 4 hours to watch it all the way through – nor do I really think that’s a reasonable, like, aliquot for standup. And I was still able to appreciate it watching it in several chunks over a matter of weeks, but not as well – by the time I got to the last part, which calls back to the previous ones a lot, and loops around to the first one, there were definitely details I had forgotten – I could tell from the audience laughing at things that were clearly callbacks but ones I did not recognize. But I did recognize some inter-episode callbacks, and even within each episode (Recognise, Represent, Reset, and Recap) there are callbacks and loop-arounds.
If I had to describe Repertoire in one word, it would be ( intricate )
Taskmaster s21 interviews – I like the format a lot better this series than the last couple – it’s probably one of my favorite gimmicky ones (I had also liked s17’s, but mostly I feel like the format detracts rather than adds to the interview on the other recent ones; OK, s20’s table tennis was not too bad, but I thought the table tennis was too disruptive to the chat, in a way texting was not really). ( First impressions, before watching the episode )
Episode itself: Taskmaster s21e01 – oh, this was FUN! ( spoilers )
*
I caught up on the Christmas 2025 House of Games, which had what is probably my favorite lineup ever: Mathew Baynton, Mel Giedroyc, and Harriet Kemsley (and a fourth non-Britcom/non-Taskmaster person I didn’t know, but he was fun, too). ( spoilers )
*
I finished watching James Acaster’s Repertoire on Netflix – a 4-part stand-up show which I found really interestingly constructed but enjoyed less than the shows by the comedians it turns out I really vibe with, like John Robins or, based on a smaller sample size, (Lesser) Tom Cashman or Pierre Novellie. Also, it really is a single four-part show, even though the first three parts are fairly stand-alone, and I did not have 4 hours to watch it all the way through – nor do I really think that’s a reasonable, like, aliquot for standup. And I was still able to appreciate it watching it in several chunks over a matter of weeks, but not as well – by the time I got to the last part, which calls back to the previous ones a lot, and loops around to the first one, there were definitely details I had forgotten – I could tell from the audience laughing at things that were clearly callbacks but ones I did not recognize. But I did recognize some inter-episode callbacks, and even within each episode (Recognise, Represent, Reset, and Recap) there are callbacks and loop-arounds.
If I had to describe Repertoire in one word, it would be ( intricate )
(no subject)
Apr. 9th, 2026 05:41 pmaurumcalendulaNo dice on my most recent attempt re: the StudioWorks Wiseguy season 1 DVDs :( Disc 3 is not recognized by any player I have.
Community Thursday
Apr. 9th, 2026 05:11 amvriddyCommunity Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.
Posted and commented on bnha_fans.
Commented on fan_writers.
Commented on 3weeks4dreamwidth. It's coming up soon, April 25th!! I'm hoping to run another rec fest in bnha_fans as part of it, we'll see how it pans out :)
Promoted meta_warehouse, vampiremedia.
Signal boosts:
- My regular signal boost for senzenwomen, as I enjoy reading every week about the lives of all these amazing women from the past :D
(no subject)
Apr. 8th, 2026 09:18 amaurumcalendulaI finally got a chance to catch up on To Embers We Return and Dragon Subjugation Incantation's most recently translated chapters! I'm really enjoying both of them and am looking foward to seeing how how their plots and romances continue to develop!
I'm a bit annoyed there hasn't (afaik) been any announcements yet from Seven Seas re: baihe licenses. I'm hoping Rosmei does a decent job with their two (they released inital volumes of The Creator's Grace and At the World's Mercy recently, but my order from Yiggybean won't arrive until sometime in May).
Last night I managed to get a full timeline for my ClaireBell fanvid draft! I'm not sure if it lives up to the song I chose, but I'm really happy with sections of it.
I'm a bit annoyed there hasn't (afaik) been any announcements yet from Seven Seas re: baihe licenses. I'm hoping Rosmei does a decent job with their two (they released inital volumes of The Creator's Grace and At the World's Mercy recently, but my order from Yiggybean won't arrive until sometime in May).
Last night I managed to get a full timeline for my ClaireBell fanvid draft! I'm not sure if it lives up to the song I chose, but I'm really happy with sections of it.
(no subject)
Apr. 6th, 2026 09:52 pmaurumcalendulaAttempt #2 w/r/t volume 1 of the StudioWorks Wiseguy DVDs has gotten me a more functional DVD set, but not in a way that's useful to me (the disc with episode No One Gets Out of Here Alive loads in an older DVD player, but that episode will not play (the episode before it is very glitchy, the one after it plays fine)).
I've contacted the seller and included photos of what appears to be damage to the disc, so hopefully I'll end up with a refund or replacement.
I've contacted the seller and included photos of what appears to be damage to the disc, so hopefully I'll end up with a refund or replacement.
Something cute to see on a Monday
Apr. 6th, 2026 01:45 pmmarinarusalkaJackie and Shadow, the two BaldEagles nesting in Big Bear Valley, hatched two chicks over the weekend, yay!
I've been ridiculously invested in these eagles for over a year now, following their YouTube channel nearly every day. The chicks are the cutest little fluffballs, go look!
And hey, maybe also throw a few bucks toward the fundraising effort to stop a luxury condo development from being built less than a mile from their nest, which would seriously impact their foraging area and possibly drive them to abandon the territory all together. (I know this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things these days, but I still don't think a bunch of rich assholes should get to mess up an important wildlife habitat just 'cause they feel like it.)
I've been ridiculously invested in these eagles for over a year now, following their YouTube channel nearly every day. The chicks are the cutest little fluffballs, go look!
And hey, maybe also throw a few bucks toward the fundraising effort to stop a luxury condo development from being built less than a mile from their nest, which would seriously impact their foraging area and possibly drive them to abandon the territory all together. (I know this is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things these days, but I still don't think a bunch of rich assholes should get to mess up an important wildlife habitat just 'cause they feel like it.)
(no subject)
Apr. 6th, 2026 11:47 amaurumcalendulaI still have a bunch of sections I'm ??? about, but I think I've figured out the start and ending sections of the ClaireBell fanvid I've been working on!
Witch so-called pacing check: complete!
Apr. 6th, 2026 11:34 amvriddyThe meant-to-be-just-a-pacing-check-except-not-really cleanup is DONE! VERY anti-climactic because of the unexpected month break right before the end XD The soul thief revision plan is good to go I think, and maybe I knew this time I was happy with it because my mind immediately switched to "finish up the witch remaining work, then we dig into the actual revisions." I even have a tracking spreadsheet ready!! AND I made a chart this time! I learnt about secondary Y axis and how to attach a data series to it so it scales properly! Lol. There may be PICTURES in my next recap XD I'm kind of planning 3-4 months for those revisions, but it's the first time I go so deep during the structural phase so I have no idea how it will go. The witch only took ~14h, but the changes were a lot simpler (to my detriment, since I ended up having to make large structural changes 3 rounds of revisions later based on beta-reader feedback. Ouch!) Very eager to find out how it will go this time!! And feed data to that chart >:D
I was so excited about my little chart that I decided to make one for the remaining scenes of the cursed witch's pacing check, too. 18 scenes left. It took me nearly 1h30 to fix up that first scene because it was a fight scene that dragged a lot. Slow, slow, slooooow. So I figured, 18 scenes, 2-3 weeks to do it! I can copy my scenes-per-week chart, with a dot for each week! Well. The pacing check was intended to be light. Only the big, you know, PACING problems. Of which there were fewer in the following chapters, so I finished it all up in several feverish sessions over a 3-day weekend 🤣 MY CHART IS A SINGLE DOT. This is so funny. If I'd known it'd go so fast, I probably would have tried to squeeze it alongside the workshop, but maybe I just needed a break.
Anyway, it was a happy surprise to return to the witch and enjoy it! I've learnt a fair bit about structure during the last month, and while -- as I feared -- I do see all the places that I would handle differently now... I don't hate it, nor feel anguish at how much better it could be? I dunno. Although, the dark side of taking yet another long break is that I feel so refreshed that I could smash myself against another round of editing... I could. Forever over and over, possibly. But I do need to learn when to move on, too.
