Dear Diary

Great start

I have plans. I have a time limit. And I'm spending some of that time watching David Bennett eat a sandwich(and make beautiful music) live on YouTube.

I just keep on winning.

On the plus side, Beloved and I did get to do some -ah- intense shopping. I got to see the place where my love got all the expensive sound gear and got a fuckton of equally expensive records.

I don't know if I like them as a vinyl shopping arena. They don't really look after anything they can't sell for $30 or above. So... yeah. I came home with more than a few rescue LP's. And practically ALL of the singles I grabbed are rescues because the way this mob treats their singles is horrible.

And now I need somewhere to safely store all my singles, because my current milk crate is full. Does any vinyl aficionado have any hints and tips for safe single storage, because I have singles stacked on top of singles, and they're all filthy and half of them don't have proper dustcovers and AAAAARRRGH...

Gonna look up singles dustcovers that I can get (a) locally and (b) cheap because I'm going to frelling need them if I want to save as much smol vinyl as I can.

OR I could encourage any of my dear readers who also love vinyl to go visit and rescue as many singles as you hold dear. But I can't remember its name or where it is, but the singles are CHEAP AS FUCK because they don't value them. [I quote: "Nobody wants the singles."]

They're literally crammed in the box underneath the higher-selling items and there is no care taken in the cramming. It breaks my heart. Singles used to be my LIFE when I was a kid, because I couldn't afford shit all else. And if you find ones without covers, just bet that they're scratched to shit. Artists use those for projects, but beyond that, they're not playable.

BUT I did also take this week's statistics, so here they are. From last week:

Weight: 77.7
Fat Weight: 35.4
Waist/Height: 0.564
Blood sugar: 4.1
Blood Ketones: 2.6
Breath Ketones: 7.8

So yeah, I really need to hit the rowing machine twice a week. Beloved or no Beloved to egg me on. And stop sneaking so many peanuts. Because carbs.

I have found a source of roasted and salty macadamias, but those things are EXPENSIVE. Peanuts are cheaper and readily available. I have Brie, but Brie melts on my desk, and going as far as the fridge is a little too much effort to get some fats. IDK. I should just firkin make myself eat some tasty GD cheese.

Bleh. I suck at looking after myself.

Slug time

There's another party to attend, tomorrow. And I did my usual thing of messing up my sleep cycle by conking out early. And then waking up early.

And then I spent an inordinate amount of time watching YouTube and playing Minecraft. Which I enjoy immensely. I haven't even taken any measurements beyond my weight, yet.

I won't be posting that nonse today. Not unless Beloved interrupts with a need to make me take them.

Which is not likely to be happening.

I'm

Catching up

I've cleaned all my vinyl singles and it's looking like there was never a lot of dust in them to begin with. Doing the LP's is going to take longer, because I have to be more careful with them. I've given myself the goal of two per day, there.

I have read through the finished chapters of Rael so I don't have to plough through them en masse when the book is finally done.

I'm just not arting this week. Sorry.

I

Moving on

I didn't get around to half the things I had to do, yesterday. Huge shock. I'm still a bit on the weary side, but I'm determined to wear down all the big projects. Nibble it to death like a mouse.

The problem is the three other people piling it up like a tip truck.

I just gotta keep going, though. Move forward and keep doing the things that matter.

The kids are doing well. They're organised enough to have play time in

Can I skip today?

Monday wore me out. Tuesday, likewise. I am not built for extended travel. If I'm going long distances for extended periods of time, I need like 12 to 24 hours to recuperate after the travel, please.

Today, after two days of hither and yon, after going through the emotional wringer, after coming home after all that and still wringing a piece of coherent story out of my addled brain... I want nothing more than to retreat into a pillow-fort of solitude and

Funeral, today.

I don't know when today's Instant will be published, but I'm doing my best to see that the flow of fiction remains largely uninterrupted.

I'm on support duty, today. Propping up those I love through their time of trial. And according to my brain, it means bringing along enough tissues. Which means all of the carry packs I have left, because I overcompensate.

Yes. I know. I'm mental. I can deal with that.

Crowded Days Ahead

Chaos is seeing her shrink, today. We're all going to a funeral, tomorrow. I have no idea what Wednesday holds, but it's bound to include looking for more Beta-readers for Beauties, and possibly working on Chaos' very first book. I should have the time by then.

I need to figure out a way to make an iced coffee that I can tolerate, because there's no way I can drive as much as I'm driving, this week, without caffeine. One that will (a)

New toys

Beloved bought me a vinyl turntable, yesterday. While I was out with Chaos and gently stewing in my own juices, Beloved was rearranging the front room to include surround sound, once more¹. Beloved, who claims to be tone deaf, has turned into an audiophile overnight.

So now I own a record player that doesn't take twenty minutes to warm up² and is compatible with most of the other technology in the house. Plus there's a chance I can ~~bootleg~~ save

Social Obligations

Chaos is attending a party, today. This is a chance for me to network with other Parentals, and social interaction practice for a chronic introvert. No, not Chaos. Think again. Yep. Me.

Chaos is going to be fine. She'll just leap in while I'm still solving five-dimensional social conversation math. I'll wear my little SPG gear pin just in case there's a fellow Steampunk nerd there. I always have high hopes of making a new, nerdy friend.

And if someone asks... and

Slow start

Since nobody gets out of bed before 5:30 anyway, I'm re-setting my alarm to that time and not waking up early for half an hour of heartbreaking inertia. And that's all I have this morning. Inertia has me in its wicked claws today.

I woke up at around 3 and tried and failed to get back to sleep. A combo of Beloved's snoring and the various little annoying lights in the room kept me awake. The phone makes the body lotion

Struggle to juggle

I think I should probably try to do a "head space" comic per day. As well as the other stuff. I've learned I can only handle animation in small doses, so maybe five frames a go is my limit. And I still haven't posted the progress pix for the latest art piece I'm working on.

I know that it looks like a bag of suck at the moment, which is why I haven't posted it.

Bag of suck or not, I feel

Murgledy...

I know I'm getting to sleep. I know I'm sleeping the night... but it's not working as much as it used to. Maybe it's the change of seasons. Maybe it's the time I spend reading in bed. Maybe I just need a coffee. Whatever it is, I'm not as fully "charged" as I'm used to.

Which means I'm back to functioning on low battery.

I know how to do it... I'd just rather not. You know?

My shrink gave me more homework,

So much to do

I'm still doing the read-through of Beauties, and aim to get to the halfway point before the end of the day. Each chapter takes fifteen minutes away from other things.

Other things like writing my Instant, or working on the first five hundred words of the new book, Rael. And I haven't even written the nut notes.

They'll evolve as time goes by.

I've always needed nut notes to keep things straight. As I introduce people, I'll take notes.

And everything is

Road trip!

I'm off to MeMum's today. To deliver a few things, sort out her compy troubles, and possibly help with whatever happens to be happening at the time. It's a long and tiring trip for me, and I don't expect much creativity to be done today.

As it is, I am hurrying to get the Instant done so I can be on my way,

I've only done a read through of one chapter of Beauties. It takes a lot of time and focus

...dagnabbit

Good news: I have found a way to do an efficient read-through of Beauties before I send it off to my dear, dedicated Beta-readers.

Bad news: It sucks balls and takes an age to do.

The method? I get my computer to read my book to me and follow along. Chapter by chapter. I have to take the time to devote myself to this so that my Betas have more to enjoy and less to do. Y'all should be backup to make

Menu

A 3685-post collection

Great start

Slug time

Catching up

Moving on

Can I skip today?

Funeral, today.

Crowded Days Ahead

New toys

Social Obligations

Slow start

Struggle to juggle

Murgledy...

So much to do

Road trip!

...dagnabbit