Rae Roy's Blog, page 18

The Gauntlet That Was October

I had a lot of things happen in October. I watched Frankenstein in the cemetery with friends. I had tea with a friend. I started a new sport: curling. This is really fun and I'm enjoying the level of activity it provides and all the strategic elements. I'll do a separate post on it soon. Unfortunately, soon after my first game, I came down with Covid and so did the friend who I had tea with, so I think we both caught it at the place we went to. That wasn't fun. I already posted about that. I was fortunate to be free of it in time to attend Can-Con where I took in lots of panels, saw some of the wonderful writer community, bought many new books, and volunteered to help out in the rooms.

The following weekend, I went to the livestream for Danielle Allard's new album release, followed by the in person release. As part of this, she has a 6 video series that releases every Sunday on her YouTube at 1:15 PM EDT. Video number 2, Falling Into Place, is one that I feel fortunate to have been part of. I am wearing turquoise plaid in the bar scenes: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs7Dk_Fz4gg&ab_channel=DanielleAllard

I had a lovely spooky night with friends in between this, where we hung out, listened to music, and attempted Haunted Walk's:  A Haunting At Home.

The weekend after that, I was part of a streaming festival called Dinosaur Streamfest on Twitch. It was the 13th edition. This helped me get the last thing I needed to apply for Twitch Affiliate status, which was successful! Here is the link to the stream. The chaos really starts 10 minutes in: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1638726242

There were so many awesome streamers that were part of it. I particularly enjoyed the synth ones and Thateflatguy, who dressed up as Mr. Rogers and acted as him. It was adorable and wholesome.

The same night, I went to a Hallowe'en party with my screenwriting friends and for the first bit I was high on adrenaline from the raid experience.

After this came another Hallowe'en party with my martial arts friends. Once the young one left, we played, "That's What She Said." I won. I don't win at games often, so it was a highlight for me.

Then it was Hallowe'en where I went out with close friends and their kiddos for trick or treating. I dressed up as Cubone and the kids immediately knew I was a pokemon.

Somehow with all of that I was also able to watch:

- Frankenstein (1931): One of the greatest sci-fi horrors of all time.

- The Haunting of Bly Manor

- Slaughterhouse Rulez: A Harry Potter horror comedy parody.

- Ratched: A TV show based on a character from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

- Trick or Treats: A kid torments his babysitter while a killer is on the loose.

- The Girl in the Mirror: An interesting twist on a ghost story.

- The Midnight Club: Terminally ill teens tell each other ghost stories.

- Hocus Pocus: A goofy horror about three witch sisters running amok.

- Hocus Pocus 2: The sequel was a nice bit of nostalgia and an introduction to a new generation.

- Practical Magic: A witch tale featuring Sandra Bullock.

- Fear Street 1994: A teen scream film about a curse affecting a town called Shadyside.

- Fear Street 1978: In the "sequel", we learn more about how long the curse has been going on.

- Fear Street 1666: The final installment is a discovery of when it all began and who is responsible.

OCTOBER GOAL REVIEW

Finances

- My new plan is just to work on paying as much as possible down before March, which is when the remainder of my bathroom reno costs will hit my line of credit. Some good news is that with the new Scene+ option of redeeming for cash, I was able to pay off one credit card faster. I was also given the option of a limit increase on that one, so I've taken that in order to cancel one I don't like using.

Fitness*

- Rowing 2x weekly: I plan to ease myself back into activity tomorrow. (This didn't end up happening as decluttering took up my time instead.)

- Moving (walking/dancing/curling/cleaning) 4x weekly: Post Covid, walking at the convention made my right calf muscle quite angry.

Home

- Sell items*: This was halted during Covid and I may take the rest of October just for spooky things. (To be continued in November)

- Set up reading nook*: The base is in place and so is the mattress. I need a sheet to cover it. (More to come on this)

- Set up daybed in the living room: This has been accomplished. Because of my Scene+ redemption, I was able to order the mattress and its coverings much sooner! (I'm loving the daybed!)

- Clean condo: In progress. I'm catching up on everything after having Covid and a busy month.

Music

- Practise

- Learn at least one song*: I've chosen a song to focus on. I'm not sure I'll be able to sing. I'm still having some drainage and occasional coughing after Covid.

Twitch Update

- Continue working towards Affiliate: DONE! Thanks to Danielle Allard and the Dinos, I'm now a Twitch Affiliate and people can subscribe to my channel!

Writing

- edit Chapter 14 (Sparker) (I need to restart after all the ideas I got during Can-Con because I've figured out where a lot of problem areas are. I couldn't put my finger on many of those before though I knew somethings were bugging me about my novel.)

- edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)

- continue working on Popcorn Girl

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

Album Review: Invader by Danielle Allard

Album art by greyschale
Twitch streamer and Ottawa-based international singer-songwriter, Danielle Allard, just dropped her new album Invader.

In July, I was fortunate enough that I got to participate in the filming for one of the companion music videos. I had to drink and have a good time at a bar for that. Not just any bar, but one that has been a home to many local musicians: Live on Elgin.

Below are my thoughts on the major album tracks. I strongly recommend listening to any music with a good set of headphones because speakers miss many of the subtleties that bring a richness and depth to the listener end. They don't even have to be the highest end headphones to transform your listening experience. I have some Sennheiser HD201s that I think I bought for around $69 about a decade ago that completely rock my world and have an added benefit of weighing only about 165g, which is important when you've had the kind of neck injury that I have had.

Please note, as part of her community, I've heard many of these songs before, but I haven't heard them fully produced as they are on the album. I believe it's important to experience Danielle's music in all the spaces she's in because each is a unique experience.

All right, time for the album review.

Garden - Yes, please invade my brain.

Falling Into Place - This song is one of my favourite Danielle Allard songs of all time and I'm still processing it.

Vapour - Wowee. I'm blown away by the everything and I want to be vapour.

Secrets & Songs - I quite enjoy the jazzy beat to this one.

Invader - Pure bliss.

All the Things - This song has always had a profound effect on me. The album version makes me weep.

Between many of the songs on the album are transitional tracks, which blend everything together seamlessly and add to the atmosphere of this album.

Invader blends synthesizers and traditional instrumentation in such a lovely way that I feel changed after listening to it. I'm forever altered just as we've all been since the pandemic, only this is a truly healing change after such a scary time. Her often ethereal sounding lyrical voice makes this an album that is truly out of this world.

You can find Danielle via her website at: https://www.danielleallard.com/

Can-Con 2022 - Days 2 and 3

Saturday was packed full of panels and visits to the Dealer's Room to buy books and see friends who had tables. After attending Can-Con, I feel like there is so much I want and need to fix with my novel before it goes out. But now I have a good idea what's wrong and what I want to do to fix it. I'm so thankful we could have Can-Con this year! 

Here is a list of all of the panels I attended throughout the convention and the panelists who spoke:

Friday, October 14th

1. Making the Most Out of Short-Term Travel

- Christian Baines
- Kofi Oduro
- Melissa Yuan-Innes
- Kelly Robson

2. Jumping Into Volcanoes and Other Insane Ways to Write What You Know

- Mark Robinson

3. Writing What Scares You

- Christian Baines
- Megan M. Davies-Ostrom
- Matt Moore
- Nina Nesseth

Saturday, October 15th

1. What Are We Writing For?

- Brandon Crilly
- Suzan Palumbo
- Arley Sorg
- Sienna Tristen

2. Life Beyond Us: Exploring Astrobiology with Science Fiction

- Julie E. Czernada
- Eric Choi
- Rich Larson
- Susan Forest

3. The Multiverse: What Is It, What Do I Do With It, and Am I Already Doing It?

- A.A. Jankiewicz
- Kari Maaren
- Ira Nayman
- James Alan Gardner

3. Marginalized and Dangerous

- Arley Sorg
- Avi Silver
- Terese Mason Pierre
- Ada Hoffman

4. The Terror of the Second Book

- Suyi Davies Okungbowa
- Carolyn Charron
- Sylvain Neuvel
- Alyx Dellamonica

5. Marketing: Lessons from the Indie Scene

- Nathan Frechette
- Renee Gendron
- Leo Valiquette
- Linda Poitevin (absent, but provided some notes)

6. The Lure of the New Gothic

- Suzan Palumbo
- Carolyne Topdjian
- Elizabeth Hirst

Sunday, October 16th

1. Renaissance Press Launch Party

- Nathan Frechette
- S.M. Carriere
- Elizabeth Hirst
- Evan May (absent, but Nathan read from Evan's new novel)

2. Homemade is Fine: The Use and Making of Niche Genre Terms

- Kofi Oduro
- S.M. Carriere
- Su J. Sokol
- Sienna Tristen

3. Your Corpse Is So Exquisite

- Melissa Yuan-Innes
- Kelly Robson
- Matt Moore
- David Demchuk

4. Indie Publishers: Kicking Ass in 2022

- E.D.E. Bell - Atthis Arts
- Nathan Frechette - Renaissance Press
- Selena Middleton - Stelliform Press
- Ashley Hisson - Wolsak & Wynn

Virtual Track

1. New Queer Extremities in Horror

- Paula D. Ashe
- Gretchen Felker-Martin
- Eric LaRocca
- David Demchuk

2. The Horror of Time Loops

- Sean Dowie
- Eric Desmarais
- Gigi Ganguly
- Ren Hutchings

I will be continuing with the virtual panels as long as they are available. There are a few others I'm interested in getting to before the end of the month.

OCTOBER GOALS

Finances

- My new plan is just to work on paying as much as possible down before March, which is when the remainder of my bathroom reno costs will hit my line of credit. Some good news is that with the new Scene+ option of redeeming for cash, I was able to pay off one credit card faster. I was also given the option of a limit increase on that one, so I've taken that in order to cancel one I don't like using.

Fitness*

- Rowing 2x weekly: I plan to ease myself back into activity tomorrow.
- Moving (walking/dancing/curling/cleaning) 4x weekly: Post Covid, walking at the convention made my right calf muscle quite angry.

Home

- Sell items*: This was halted during Covid and I may take the rest of October just for spooky things.
- Set up reading nook*: The base is in place and so is the mattress. I need a sheet to cover it.
- Set up daybed in the living room: This has been accomplished. Because of my Scene+ redemption, I was able to order the mattress and its coverings much sooner!
- Clean condo: In progress. I'm catching up on laundry after having Covid.

Music

- Practise
- Learn at least one song*: I've chosen a song to focus on. I'm not sure I'll be able to sing. I'm still having some drainage and occasional coughing after Covid.

Twitch Update

- Continue working towards Affiliate: On the 29th, I'll be taking part in Dinosaur Streamfest 13 at 7:30 PM EDT. Streamfest 13 kicks off at 9:00 AM EDT with Danielle Allard. It's a full day of streamers supporting each other and includes a variety of content like gaming, music, cooking, art, and crafting.

Writing

- edit Chapter 14 (Sparker)
- edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)
- continue working on Popcorn Girl

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

M.I.A.

I had a different post planned, but then I got Covid and got preoccupied dealing with all that brought. Sorry for disappearing.

The scariest thing about having Covid was that it's new. It doesn't progress the way other illnesses have for me. Usually they gradually get worse until they peak and then they gradually get better. I had days that felt like no change happened and ones where I would get a new symptom like a severe headache that felt just like the neck pain I occasionally get ever since I hurt myself playing roller derby.

And a problematic thing for someone with Sjogren's Syndrome is that it can be hard to tell if I'm actually fevered or my body is just having a moment where it thinks it is. I can usually figure it out if I'm having the other fever symptoms like the chapped lips at least.

Luckily, I recovered just in time to attend Can-Con 2022. But Covid is one hell of a thing and I have some lingering symptoms like a dry cough and erratic energy levels. My brain also feels a touch off. 

Oh, and my ability to taste food is all over. I had fries from A&W and they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Normally, I would absolutely love this, but I couldn't taste them at all. They were crispy nothings.

A couple hours later and I seem to be able to taste lactose free gouda without issue.

Despite all that and my mask making my nose run, Can-Con Day 1 was wonderful! It was so good seeing some friends that I haven't in years. I'm looking forward to what Day 2 brings after I have some rest because I'm truly beat after shopping for snacks, voting in our city election, getting myself to the convention, and taking some panels in.

Speaking of, those were very enjoyable. I especially liked learning truths about volcanoes that make the journey in Lord of the Rings impossible. Did you know that lava is actually hard like rock? What a thing to discover!

OCTOBER GOALS

Finances

- research a 0% credit card to consolidate debt to*: I may be changing my mind on this one. If you miss any payments at all, you can lose the 0% deal, plus there is the fee to transfer, and it may not actually help me much after all.

Fitness*

- rowing 2x weekly: Covid really messed this up.
- moving (walking/dancing/curling/cleaning) 4x weekly: I got some cleaning done despite Covid.

Home

- sell items*
- set up reading nook*: The base is in place and so is the mattress. I need a sheet to cover it.
- set up daybed in the living room: This has been accomplished.
- clean condo: In progress.

Music

- Practise
- Learn at least one song*: I've chosen a song to focus on.

Twitch Update

- continue working towards Affiliate

Writing

- edit Chapter 14 (Sparker)*
- edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)
- continue working on Popcorn Girl

*I actually haven't been doing ROW80 for a while for my accountability. I'm part of Danielle Allard's Dino community, which is filled with delightful chaos, and the starred goals are my priority ones for the month. They are the ones I'm reporting on there. I've found quarterly goals to be too much.

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

Love Is Love

I keep running into queer people who worry about how the queer community will look at them.

They worry they aren't queer enough and I think they need to stop doing that to themselves.

It doesn't matter if you're currently in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex. If you are attracted to the same sex or those who fall in between, you're queer.

If you're non binary and bisexual, you're queer. Yes, even if you look like a straight, white, male.

If you're trans and in a hetero presenting relationship, you're queer.

Sexual orientation is about sexual attraction. You can absolutely love someone who doesn't match your orientation. You might even enjoy sex with them.

Yeah, you may get less hostility in a straight-passing relationship, but you'll trade that for different relationship challenges.

Pride is about love. There isn't someone running around with a clipboard, a measuring device, or checking your naughty bits to determine your level of queerness.

I haven't run into anyone like that in any queer space or event. The most I've had is someone asking how I identify. Me. Not the community. Me.

Yeah, there may be some gatekeeper types around somewhere wanting everything to be pure and easily labeled, but those people are everywhere.

There's a saying about opinions being like a specific body opening that I think applies here.

You know your own experiences better than anyone else.

Even allies are welcome at Pride.

As a late bloomer lesbian, there's still a lot I'm learning, so I may have missed some things.

As far as I know, Pride is a celebration of love and I think that includes loving yourself fully, which includes the queer parts too.

And yes, it's still partly a protest because of some people who can't handle love looking different than they have been conditioned to think it should.

In conclusion, if you are queer at all, you absolutely belong. If your child/sibling/parent/cousin/friend/colleague is queer, and you want to be there for them, you belong too.

It's hard enough being queer without heaping onto yourself.

And if you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe Jenny Eastwood.

I love what she says in her article on biphobia too:

"As a community we must do better to welcome all stripes of the rainbow. The queer community is all of us — gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and more. To treat anyone as less deserving because they aren’t gay enough is engaging in the the exact prejudice that we have spent decades marching against. The only way we can combat biphobia is by recognising this is a problem in our community and talking about it."

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

More On Losing A Parent

Now that I'm more removed from it, I can talk a little more about the phenomena that is losing a parent.

It's an odd experience that hits in many ways and it affects those around you in various ways as well.

Friends who had been through it were either giving me a knowing look, a hug, or offering to be there if I needed anything. Some people were rather intrigued in a way because they couldn't conceptualize what it would be like. Some were so close with their own mothers that they couldn't be around me too much because they didn't want to think about the possibility of it happening to them. And some were going through it soon after, so we could attempt to help each other through some of the tough moments.

Some of my friends reached out to reconnect with their own mothers after I lost mine. Even if they had horrendous upbringings involving things like drug addiction or alcoholism.

Losing a parent is hard. Some people accept it more easily than others. I know someone who sticks pretty close to the other parent who is left and their life has been changed considerably by the loss.

There are still days where it hits me and some tears come. I'm sure that it will be worse at Christmas this year. 

I think the hardest part of all of it is seeing that some good came from the loss. No, I'm not saying I'm happy in any way that my mother is no longer in my life. But my mom was mentally ill and some things could be quite challenging that no longer are, so there are times that I feel guilty for being able to see the good that has come from it. 

Their house got cleaner than it had been in decades. We really came together as a family in a way I don't think I've seen in many decades. My dad and my eldest brother are talking more than they ever have in all the years I've known them.

And for whatever reason, I feel the most free to be myself that I've ever felt. Prior to it happening, a friend had told me that our family seemed stuck. We're not anymore.

Maybe it's because losing a parent hits home in a way that is like an attack on one's own mortality. Prior to losing my mom, it was something experienced from the outside and at a distance. It was slightly less real because I often didn't know the parent a friend had lost and had no concept of who they were. All I knew was the world had one less person in it and my friend was upset. I couldn't conceive of the magnitude of the loss. The strangest thing about losing a parent is that even if your relationship wasn't the strongest, you can feel the loss deeper than you ever imagined you would.

It alters everything.

SEPTEMBER GOAL REVIEW
I don't feel like I got that much accomplished in September, but I handled a car repair that has been outstanding for several years. It was a big, expensive, frog to eat. I also made strides forward on my novel despite not completing edits on chapters I haven't edited as much as the previous ones. There was an element that I knew was missing and I finally figured it out. I think that it's OK to not complete goals sometimes. I've been working on foundations to be able to make it easier to achieve goals in the future. And I've been working on changing things around my home in line with that.

OCTOBER GOALS
Finances
- Research a 0% credit card to consolidate debt to*
Fitness*
- Rowing 2x weekly- Moving (walking/dancing/curling/cleaning) 4x weekly
Home
- Sell items*- Set up reading nook*: I have finished reconfiguring my DIY chaise and moved the base next to the area that will be my reading nook.- Set up daybed in the living room: - Clean condo
Music
- Practise- Learn at least one song*
Twitch Update
- Continue working towards Affiliate
Writing
- Edit Chapter 14 (Sparker)*- Edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)- Continue working on Popcorn Girl
*I actually haven't been doing ROW80 for a while for my accountability. I'm part of Danielle Allard's Dino community, which is filled with delightful chaos, and the starred goals are my priority ones for the month. They are the ones I'm reporting on there. I've found quarterly goals to be too much.
Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

Struggles

Some days I wonder why I try anything at all. So many of my days are a struggle to do things that I think shouldn't be difficult. I got a little cart on the weekend and some storage bins to get items that I need to keep off of the floor. The design to put the cart together was ridiculous, so I kept having to flip it around to make it happen. And during that, my glass of lemonade fell and broke, because I really needed that on top of the rest.

There are days I feel like there is far too much bullshit in my day-to-day and I'm so sick from fighting to get back what I've lost.

And most of the time I let this all roll over my shoulders without too much fuss, but on Sunday I was just feeling really fucking done with the stupidity of it all.

Despite all of that, I had an OK week. I relaunched my Twitch after rebranding to match my website. My overlay is now a cute pastel goth design, which I love. I finished watching Orange is the New Black. I moved closer to having a reading nook. Those were all good things.

At least it was sugar free lemonade, so everything didn't get sticky on top of being wet. Yeah, even when I'm in a bad mood, I try to find the light. And losing some things has left room for good changes.

Monday was a totally different day. I brought my car into the shop and finally got the calipers done. I waited years for that because aftermarket parts are way less expensive. But I had to deal with an unpleasant bus driver after dropping the car off. 

Then I had to fit the bank in, because I couldn't remember my PIN for my line of credit, so I would be able to pay for it. Actually, I'm not sure I ever got it changed from the temporary one, but it is now. My curling shoes came and I won at blanket on Danielle Allard's Twitch channel -- at the same time. The shoes were causing me stress because it was the second delivery attempt and they said the third would be on the 3rd and curling starts on the 1st.

I also received a phone call about an appointment I had to confirm around that same time. 

After taking the bus 3 times, I was happy to have my car back. 

Then I had my condo AGM, which was long and filled with annoying things, but at least some of the voting went the way I hoped it would. 

I did not stream on Twitch as it would have been short anyway. Instead, I window-shopped for new clothing items and updated my video production software to be able to edit my Twitch content for upload to YouTube.

After all that, I looked forward to some drinks with friends on Tuesday!

SEPTEMBER GOALS

Declutter

- sell items
- clean condo

Finances

- book calipers appointment [Appointment booked last week and repair was completed on the 26th]

Fitness

- rowing 3x weekly
- walking/dancing 3x weekly

I've been busy reconfiguring my DIY chaise into a smaller version of itself to be used in a cozy reading area I'm working towards.

Music

- craft a practise schedule (Done)

Twitch Update

- continue working towards Affiliate

Writing

- edit Chapter 14 (Sparker)
- edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)
- continue working on Popcorn Girl

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

The Hardest Part of Creating...

... has almost nothing to do with creating.

It's all the basic life skills and activities like food. Seriously. Remembering to eat when you're in the zone is nigh impossible. And when you come out of the zone, you're dizzy and starving, which isn't the best state to be in when trying to cook a healthy meal. Usually, I can cobble something together from whatever is around the condo anyway, but sometimes it's a mishmash. Saturday was leftover turkey meatballs, frozen corn, eggs, some bell pepper, and diet pepsi. I was just about in dire need of groceries though.

But this happens with most chores and me. Creating takes a lot of energy and with no one to help split up the workload at home, I'm nearly always behind. So far behind that I wonder whether or not I'll ever catch up enough to want another human to even see my home.

It doesn't help that I'm a spoonie or that I grew up with a mom who often avoided chores by escaping into a romance novel or a television show. She'd eventually do things, but after everyone else headed to sleep. 

I regularly feel like it'll be easier once more of the clutter is gone because I won't have part of my mental processes thinking about the clutter.

SEPTEMBER GOALS

Declutter

- Sell items: The big thing on my list right now is the tub surround I never should have bought.

- Clean condo: Ongoing.

Finances

- Book calipers appointment.

- Try to get a 0% card after the calipers are done to make payments easier and more effective.

Fitness/Health

- Rowing 3x weekly: So far, I'm managing once a week.

- Walking/dancing 3x weekly: Also once a week currently.

Music

- Craft a schedule: I'm aiming for 30 minutes on at least 4 days of the week.

Twitch

- Continue working towards Affiliate

Writing

- Edit Chapter 14 (Sparker): OK, so I re-edited the prologue and chapters 1-4 on Saturday because I finally figured out those last bits I needed to change in the story.

- Edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)

- Continue working on Popcorn Girl

Feel free to check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

Lost Ark and Guild Wars 2

They've done a number of things in Lost Ark that have made the game not fun for me to play anymore. I reached a point where I couldn't progress in the quest lines without having gold coins that pretty much need to be purchased with real money. Another issue for me was reaching a decently high level alone to be suddenly forced into grouping with other people in order to progress. I'm not into raiding and shit like that these days, so this also pissed me off. They also forced a respec on me and I was quite happy with how I had been specced, so the last thing I wanted to deal with was a surprise respec, which made it so I could do pretty much nothing on stream. So I've reclaimed nearly 80GB of space on my computer that I can use for several other games that I've been wanting to get to.

Which brings me to my next large game. Assuming I can add it to OBS Studio without issues, I'm going to play A Plague Tale: Innocence. Depending on how much I enjoy it, I may actually pay full price for the next in the series, which comes out in October. If I beat it before the release, I'll just find some smaller games to play in between.

Anyway, back to the Lost Ark Updates problem. This has upset me so much that I would rather start Guild Wars 2 from the beginning again. For those who aren't aware. Guild Wars 2 is finally out on Steam. Those of us who have had it all this time can use a workaround to have it kind of load through Steam, but our accounts can't be transferred. From what I've read, while Steam Users will get some different things, they won't get a lot of the items we've had all along. So they'll have some different achievement options, but it sounds like the OG crowd is better off not having a Steam version. The launch option of -provider Portal is supposed to allow one to use Steam like a centralized place to launch games from without having an actual Guild Wars 2 Steam account.

I wish I would've known how I would feel about the Lost Ark updates sooner. In my desperation for HDD space, I yeeted Guild Wars 2 from my system. I see a long install in my future.

SEPTEMBER GOALS

Declutter

- sell items

- clean condo

Finances

- book calipers appointment

Fitness

- rowing 3x weekly

- walking/dancing 3x weekly

Music

- craft a practise schedule

Twitch Update

- continue working towards Affiliate

Writing

- edit Chapter 14 (Sparker)

- edit Chapter 15 (Sparker)

- continue working on Popcorn Girl

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

September: Basically Fall

There is some disagreement online about whether or not September is fall or summer because technically the Autumnal Equinox is two-thirds of the way through the month and not at the beginning. Here's the thing though, it's cooling down rapidly up here on the 49th parallel. We're having many days of fall-like weather with the odd summer-like day in between. 

Really, September is the transition between summer and fall, so if people want to get into their pumpkin spice and spooky decor early, I don't see the fuss. How about we let people love the things they love?

I've always enjoyed this time of the year. I find summer is often too warm to focus on goals. As such, I spend it enjoying patio weather and drinks with friends because anything else has me constantly searching for a place to keep cool.

But September? This is the time of year for cuddles, scary movies*, harvests, and renewal. Also, the bugs and pollen are largely going away, so for people like me who suffer all summer because of trees and grass, well, we can finally enjoy the outside again. Yes, some things are ending, but it is so new things can begin. 

This week I have my first meet scheduled with The Rainbow Rockers curling league. Though it's predominantly male-presenting people in the league, I'm looking forward to making some more LGBTQ+ friends while doing something active. I'm slightly worried about keeping my feet and ankles warm while playing, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. The first match isn't until October.

GOALS

Declutter

Goal 1: Put items up on marketplace. [Moved to August - Started]

Goal 2: Plan next steps in the declutter. [DONE]

Finances

Goal 1: Get the tires changed/stored and the calipers handled on my car. [July - PARTIALLY DONE]

Goal 2: Book an appointment with my advisor to see if there is something I can do like take a small amount of my RRSP to wipe it all out, then get promptly back to contributing. [Moved to September]

Fitness

Goal 1: Finish the Paris challenge. [August - DONE]

Goal 2: Sign up for the next challenge. [August - DONE]

Goal 3: Purchase a rowing machine that folds up. [September - DONE]

Music

Goal 1: Continue researching the genre [July-September]

Goal 2: Come up with a practice routine. [Moved to September]

Twitch Update

Goal 1: Update the about list with your commands [July - DONE]

Goal 2: Get to Affiliate [?]

Goal 3: Install origami holder [July - DONE]

Writing

Goal 1: Add music to Popcorn Girl [July]

Goal 2: Edit 3+ chapters of Sparker [July-September]**

Please check out my digital to-do list: https://trello.com/b/RM8yD3eq/rae-roy-general

*For me, it's always time for scary movies ;)**I messed up on this one. I should have listed which specific chapters because now I can't remember if I've edited any of them this whole quarter. I think I did, but I guess I need to look through my previous blog posts to figure it out. I think I may switch to monthly goal setting rather than quarterly as well.