Rae Roy's Blog, page 71

Christmas 2016

As usual, I left town later than I planned, but I received a tip on a possible job from a friend and had to submit my résumé. I was shocked that I didn’t have any car trouble on the way as my battery wasn’t making full connection with the terminal, so hasn’t been properly charging lately. The drive there was pretty easy as mild weather kept the roads clear and since I left on Thursday I was able to avoid heavy traffic.

I ordered pizza and decorated the tree after I got to my parent’s. My dad took my car in the garage to begin repairs on a piece I had snagged on a curb. After wrapping a bunch of the presents, my parent’s chocolate poodle was obsessed with the Christmas tree. He settled down after I shifted the gifts enough to give him space to lie on the tree skirt. Silly pooch.

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Christmas Eve brought me to sushi then the mall to pick up my ticket for Rogue One. I also got a bacon-flavoured treat for the dog.

Christmas Day brought a few movies, a gift card, and donut pans. I’ve ordered a couple of Miyazaki films with the spoils and the Percy Jackson series as it’s something I think I’ll love and it was on sale. Given my reading list is planned for 2017 already, I’m not sure I’ll get to them soon, but I’m looking forward to them anyway.

The dog liked his gift from me and kept trying to share it with his toys when he wasn’t trying to hide it. I suppose it’s a bit big for him haha

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My gluten free pie crust failed. It wouldn’t firm up and stayed like goo. I had a disappointing day in terms of food between edible gifts I can’t eat and recipes that didn’t turn out, but my belly was full.

I visited friends I hadn’t seen in a very long time on Boxing Day. Great conversation and tasty drinks were had.

Ciao,

R~

 

Thoughtful Thursday – A Break

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It’s the holiday season. This year has been a tough one. I’m taking a break except for one post about my Christmas holiday visit to my hometown, which will appear next week. 

During this break, I’ll be doing something I’m not great at: relaxing. I think Skyrim may help this. I’ll probably do some fiction writing and clean my condo as well as play various instruments because I haven’t done that enough this year. 

I have no idea what 2017 has planned for me. I’m just going to try some things and see where they lead. 

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season in a way that feels best to them. 

I also hope my car lets me get to my parent’s house.

Ciao, 

R~

Merry Monday – The Importance of Reading as an Author

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Image created using Bit Strips.

So here is my planned reading list for 2017:

Éric Desmarais – A Study in Aether: A Baker City Mystery
Tanya Huff – An Ancient Peace
Caroline Frechette – Blood Relations
Jostein Gaarder – Sophie’s World
Madeline Ashby – VN
Jeanette Walls – The Glass Castle
Margaret Atwood – The Blind Assassin
Thomas Keneally – Schindler’s List
Ursula Le Guin – A Wizard of Earthsea
F. Scott Fitzgerald – Tender is the Night
Terry Pratchett – The Colour of Magic
Kass Williams – The Elf Conspiracy

You might notice that I have a fair bit that isn’t in any of the genres I write in. Sophie’s World is the type that I expect will fundamentally alter my perception of the world. The Glass Castle as well.

I have a feeling I will like F. Scott Fitzgerald because I’m not a Hemingway fan. I like to include at least one classic in my reading list. Last year, I tried Wuthering Heights and found it annoying. I also tried The Sun Also Rises and I just find that I didn’t enjoy the story or care about any of the characters. Tom Sawyer was good though. Mark Twain is my kind of classic author.

I’ve never read Schindler’s List. I’ve only seen the film. I’ve seen the film many times as part of character and scene study for a play called “In Silence”, which featured women in a Nazi camp. We performed this in high school theatre. I was the stage manager for that one. We did pretty well with it, but we weren’t the school that won a lot of awards for theatre. Just a few talented actresses and actors usually won. We did win an ensemble one for costumes one year that I got to accept. Anyway, I digress. I figure Schindler’s List is a good pick for 2017.

The rest is me catching up on my woefully inadequate sci-fi and fantasy reading background. Why not just read a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy books to catch up? There are a couple of reasons not to do that:

1. I believe in palate cleansers. Like with food, if you only read one type of novel all the time, it won’t wow you as much as if you take a break in between. Change the flavour and each will stand out more and delight your taste buds.

2. I really love having my perception altered. It gives new depth and meaning to everything I experience. Last year, reading Elizabeth Berg’s “Open House” let me see how divorce was for another woman. There were things that were the same as my experience and other pieces that were different.

3. I expect I’ll probably write some non-fiction or historical fiction someday, so it’s important to read some of those too.

4. I’m considering a Masters in Library Sciences someday, so I should be well read beyond speculative fiction.

5. The world is vast. Reading a book takes you on a journey. I get to live so many lives and see places I haven’t been able to travel to yet.

6. Most famous authors like Stephen King recommend reading outside your own genre. I figure when experts recommend something like this, there’s a good reason for it. I figure authors that have sold millions of books, probably know something about what helps authors get better.

I just finished Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I have Neil Gaiman’s American Gods to finish before January. I’m only on chapter 8 of American Gods. I also have a couple of French children’s books to finish. Those will probably need to be renewed at the library.

I also tend to read some comic books or graphic novels throughout the year when I want something really short and easy. I’m enjoying House of Mystery by Vertigo. Maybe I’ll take out some manga in the new year.

A friend once told me he didn’t think authors have to read in order to write. Would you take your car to a mechanic that doesn’t drive? Here are some other reasons writers need to read:

1. Writing is a business. You need to know what else is in the marketplace, so you know how to market your own work. Things like age group and genre are just a small part of it.

2. Reading exposes you to different ways of doing things. Maybe you suck at dialogue. Grab a book by an author you enjoy and see the ways they handle dialogue to improve. Grab others and compare them.

3. Reading improves your vocabulary. Writing isn’t just about putting words on a page. Sure, for the first draft, the individual words matter less you need to just get something down. After the first draft, you want to use the right words. Shouted, bellowed, whispered, choked, screamed, rasped… How your character says something can paint a picture of their mood or their whole personality. And sometimes they just say it without any particular tone or manner.

4. Reading can inspire your own work. Authors often steal from each other. We don’t steal the exact same thing as what we read from another. For example, I have a plant creature that is completely different than a friend’s plant creature. Her origin is different. Her role in my story is different. Her relationship with my protagonist is similar, but not the same. Her abilities are different. What about originality? When was the last time you saw anything truly original? Even most technology comes from improvements on previously made products. Canadians invented the 56k modem, which was really just an improvement on the modems that came before. Now, I’m in no way saying my plant creature is an improvement on my friend’s. I’m just saying we both have cool plant creatures. Did you know that in England they call flashlights torches? Perhaps to them, flashlights are simply an improvement over sticks with fire rather than a new invention.

5. Reading improves your brain. It teaches you things. It gives you an experience without actually going through it. That is a simulation. You can find yourself knowing exactly what to do in real life because of what you read. If you read several mystery books, you might just learn how to gather evidence when something is stolen from you. You might also learn that leaning toward an opponent during a fight puts your head in a bad place and you avoid getting hit with a pool cue.

Some reasons some people don’t read:

1. Too tired. This is when you need a really easy read like a romance novel or something like Dan Brown. Many powerful people such as presidents and CEOs will grab trash to read because they spend their days making hard decisions and their brains need a rest.

2. Sore eyes. This is when audiobooks are great. They’re expensive, so head to your library, a site like audible, or get librivox. Now, librivox is a volunteer service, so the quality of the readings vary. I listened to most of Dracula, but the last couple chapters are read terribly, so I read those with my eyes.

3. Too busy. Audiobooks can help here too as you can listen on the bus, while driving, while preparing dinner, etc. There are also blinks. Blinks are summaries that give you the main points of a book. Short stories are good if you’re busy too.

4. Don’t like it. It could be that you hate reading. It could also be that you haven’t read anything you enjoy. You haven’t found genres or authors that you like. Maybe the material isn’t something you connect with. That’s Hemingway for me. Try anthologies of different genres. Try comedy. Try reading an autobiography, biography, or memoir about someone you admire like a favorite athlete or celebrity. All too often, I run into people that try to start with heavy reads like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Some do this because they think there is some prestige to be gained by jumping into a series of thick books. Wondering if fantasy is for you? Try something lighter like The Hobbit. Try fantasy novels for younger readers. Try Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Try Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Try a Terry Pratchett. Don’t start with Game of Thrones. It’s thick. It’s complicated to follow. Or try things that are similar to an experience you’ve had. Maybe you’ve climbed a mountain? Read someone else’s experience of climbing a mountain. The familiarity of an activity you enjoy can be comforting to find within the pages.

5. Too expensive. The library is your friend. Be responsible with the books and you won’t owe anything to read them. Secondhand bookstores and thrift stores often have books for less than a dollar. Libraries also sell off books. Some ebooks are free, but the quality might not be great if you’re looking to improve your writing skills or vocabulary. Bookstores like Chapters often have a clearance section. I got a whole Terry Brooks series for around $15.

6. Can’t see. Audiobooks and braille. Yes, I realize someone who is fully blind can’t read this, but there are many varying degrees of blindness. I believe outside of the library, you can also get free audiobooks from CNIB.

7. No space. Get more bookshelves

Fortifying Friday – Rhyme or Reason

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Is there any rhyme or reason to being laid off twice in the same year from two different companies? Is this just because it’s 2016 and it has been a challenging year for many? I’m still not over the loss of Alan Rickman. But many lost far more this year such as family members.

Most likely, it’s the economy and there’s nothing much to be done about it. As more and more automation happens, there will be less jobs available. This is why it’s so fabulous that PEI is piloting a basic income project. Basic income is the future. With it, we shouldn’t need many of the social programs that are currently in place. With it, people who are barely surviving now will be able to put time toward other things like helping solve bigger problems like cancer.

There’s a small chance there is some cosmic force directing me to where I’m meant to be and I’ll meet the love of my life and birds will sing and blah blah. Sure. It’s possible.

I have a few irons in the fire right now, so we’ll see what happens. I missed a call by a recruiter yesterday about a potential job match. I’ve applied to a part time job at the city. I’m poised at the ready to return to the job agency if needed. I’m also ready to reactivate my employment insurance claim if the phone is ever not busy.

Because the bad things of this year have been so well covered on social media, I think many of the good things have been overlooked. Here is a list of 99 Good Things that Happened in 2016.

Whatever comes next, I’ll keep on working toward my goals. Speaking of which, I have writing to do.

Ciao,

R~

Merry Monday – Socially Spent

‘Tis the season to be jolly, right?

For an introvert, the holidays are extra exhausting. I had three parties over a two-day period. I enjoyed myself, but I was happy to have a warm bath and curl up on the couch with a remote to begin recharging.

It might surprise some people that I’m an introvert. According to the Myers Briggs personality test, I’m INTP and 33% extroverted. That little bit of extroversion is how I survive the holidays, conferences, and seminars. 

Saturday was the annual dojo sushi dinner. Tasty sushi and sake met good conversation. 

Sunday started with another dojo event involving cutting mats with a katana. Next, it was off to a party with other writers where I met an older British woman and had a fabulous conversation about literature. She was also not a fan of Hemingway. We also talked about how you need to read some trashy stuff now and then. Something to read when you’re exhausted or as a palate cleanser. For her that means mystery novels. For me it means mainstreaming.

I was happy to get home when it was done. My Uber driver barely spoke, which was exactly what I needed in that moment. He was rated well.

Tonight, I have gotten a good chunk of my filing done. I’ve also begun making a guitar case out of materials I had on hand. I need edging and a zipper to finish it and perhaps a strap. Since my guitar is smaller, it’s hard to find a hard case anyway. Besides, I’m strapped for cash, so the less I have to spend, the better. Plus, it uses up some stuff that’s lying around my place and thus helps me clean up

Fortifying Friday – Busy

It was a busy day today for work mocking up web page designs with only the use of Google docs at my disposal and simple tools like paint. Fun. Stuff.

This weekend is a busy one. Tomorrow is the annual dojo Christmas sushi outing, which I always look forward to. Sunday the dojo is doing cutting practice on mats (tameshigiri), but I won’t be able to stay for the whole thing because also on Sunday is a Christmas party with some of the other writers in Ottawa. 

I’ve started work on a short story for an upcoming anthology I’m hoping to get it into. It’s a straight sci-fi tale. Straight as in no supernatural elements or sex. I wish I had started sooner, but I didn’t have an idea. Now I do.

Anyway, back to work. One more mockup to go then it’s writing and relaxing time.

Ciao,

R~

Thoughtful Thursday – Fighting Back

Some days it’s really hard to stay strong. There’s just so much bullshit in the world.

I got a letter from my condo board claiming I owe them money. When I check through my bank account, their claim doesn’t add up. No doubt they’ll find some convoluted accounting reason despite my evidence to the contrary. Problem is that if I don’t pay it by Monday I risk being charged upwards of $2,000. See how the little person gets screwed over? Oh, I got the letter yesterday. And they only want to accept certified cheques or bank drafts, which I don’t think they are allowed to do. I believe they have to accept payment in any format. If I wanted to pay all in nickels, they have to take it.

Earlier this year they *had* to change banks. What company spontaneously needs to change banks? Then they screwed up taking payments for months on end and we had to give them cheques in payment. All my cheques went through earlier in the year as well. In August, they took 3 payments on the same day to fix the earlier issue and all of mine went through. I wasn’t poor then and my bank account never dipped even close to a non-sufficient funds amount.

I’ve asked them to run the numbers again because there is a line item that never hit my bank account so it’s impossible. Also, money was taken out. According to my records they owe me 4 cents.

They emailed back to state just what was in the letter to me, so I sent a copy of my bank statement for the month in question clearly showing their claims to be false.

At the suggestion of friends, I’ve contacted a pro-bono lawyer to see if I can get help with the matter. My income  was slashed in half earlier this year when I was laid off, so I can’t afford all this sudden financial bleeding. It’s also Christmas time and I still have dad to buy for. Everyone is getting less this year because I just can’t afford it.

I’m really hoping they just admit they screwed up and that I don’t have to fight them on it. To me, it doesn’t seem like they have a leg to stand on, but they’re being obstinate about it.

Given all the weird things they’ve done this year with the financials, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is something illegal going on, but the system isn’t set up for condo owners to prove fraud easily at all. It’s all too easy to get high quotes that make a contractor buddy look good when there are others that do better work for less. It’s all too easy to lump a personal purchase in with a condo furniture purchase. It’s all too easy to move a charge to a different account, so you don’t have to pay for a month of your own fees.

I’ll never own a condo again, though my intent wasn’t to sell this one, but eventually use it as rental income. We’ll see if that is still my plan in the far distant future.

They have apparently sent my bank statement to the accountant. We’ll see what the accountant says.

I could use a Christmas miracle right about now.

Ciao,

R~

Merry Monday – Living Life

Here’s what I’ve been up to while I’ve been spending less time on Facebook:

Writing

I met with my new writers group for the first time on Friday. It’s quite different than my old one as we use Google Hangouts rather than meeting in person. I found it works well. Also, instead of having everyone read everyone’s stuff, the author reads and then everyone takes a turn giving comments from the notes they made while listening to the reading. Overall, it takes less time. With a biweekly meeting schedule instead of monthly, I think it’ll be easier to keep motivated. I’m a little greener than the others, but it seems we all have different strengths and weaknesses, which is a great thing. 

After the meeting, I was inspired to fix the pieces I had read and add some new parts. A Saturday morning fire alarm might’ve turned into going back to bed if I wasn’t still feeling inspired to write.

Christmas Preparations

My first Christmas movie pick of 2016 is Gremlins. A story about conquering the evil you accidentally created is totally full of holiday spirit. I wouldn’t have wanted to be the one that cleaned the microwave. I should’ve popped some corn before it as it made me want some salty, buttery, and crunchy deliciousness.

I put up my tree:

As far as shopping goes, my mom is getting books that have short stories of mine in them and some treat I haven’t bought yet. One brother is done. Dad will get liquor. And the other brother is the hard one. He might get a gift card with a treat. I’m having to spend less this year with my income split in half, but I’m sure they’ll enjoy what they get anyway.

Kendo

I’ve taken up Kendo. This time I think I’m really going to do it. I’ve tried it on two other occasions. My first day ever at the dojo was one. That was after doing two other arts before, which made the day very long and my feet very sore. The second time, I was so out of breath that I felt like I was dying. This time, I lasted the whole class despite struggling with a caffeine overload. I only needed one break to catch my breath. In the cold months, I often have trouble breathing. I don’t have regular asthma or any heart issues, so the cardiologist said to do more cardio. I’m more in shape now than I was in previous years, so it’s time to take up Kendo for real. It’ll help my Iaido in some ways too.

Renovations

I’m slowly pulling up the crappy peel and stick tiles in my kitchen, so I’ll be able to replace the floor later. The fridge is on wheels, so that won’t be terrible. I might have to buy wheels for the stove. 

Life in General

It seems that everytime I want to do something simple, it’s anything but. I wanted to do laundry and needed to add money to my laundry card. Normally, this is easy. Today? Today the machine decided it didn’t want to work. It did it in a way that made me think my bank account was empty, by telling me it was declined. So, I ran back to my unit to check my balance. Not great (mortgage, insurance, and condo fees came out on this pay), but enough to do laundry. I tried again. No worky. I was about to call the company then decided to run out in the snow to the other building to see if I could use theirs. Besides, I figured the office is who should be calling to get the machine fixed. I had to explain to her a couple of times that I needed someone to let me into the laundry room. That machine worked.

Anyway, this seems to be how most things are lately. I got a cupboard for above my toilet to clean up my bathroom. I had to build a platform for it because the stupid toilet is a weird, extra tall model. It would be my preference for a shorter one that doesn’t have the elongated bowl. I really don’t think elongated bowls are necessary. Learn to aim or sit down to pee.

A friend is helping with my kitchen drawers. His tool isn’t working and bad things happened for him recently, so this hasn’t gone smoothly either. 

*Sigh*

I’m just trying to get my place clean and organized.

Anyway, back to work.

Ciao,

R~

Fortifying Friday – Recovering from Failure

Last weekend was a downer. I wasn’t successful at grading. How do I feel about it now?

Well, it still sucks and I’m still sad about it, but I’ve had so many people come forward to tell me about the times they’ve failed at something including the Nidan grading that I’ve realized it’s going to be OK.

Part of me wanted to just stay home the other day, but hiding myself away won’t get me where I want to be. Black belts are not quitters. Black belts pick themselves up and tweak the plan as many times as we need to.

An outcome of failing is that I feel like I have renewed interest in iaido, so I’m taking things in better. I especially noticed this doing the kata that is like a drunken version of ukenagashi. I’ve never been able to do that one properly, but it’s starting to work.

I’m not really surprised that this happened to me. As a child, I was bullied. Especially in the athletic sense. Except for that one year where I beat several boys at running long jump, I was always too small. In volleyball, I wasn’t strong enough to serve over the net or tall enough to be useful on the court. I always seemed to be in the wrong spot too. I used to envy the kids that seemed to know how to do these things not realizing that they had probably been exposed to it outside of school whereas it was all new to me. My family isn’t athletic. They’re readers, gamers, and technical people.

While I aim for fitness, I crave balance more. It seems hard to meet people in Ottawa who understand that. There seems to be mostly people who spend all their time doing fitness (martial artists who run marathons and play a sport) or never go out (Netflix and video games only) or only do arts (museums, painting, writing, orchestra). Many of my closest friends are like me and do things from each category.

All this to say that it’s quite possible that despite having successes as an adult in terms of athletics, I still have that little girl in me who remembers being frequently told that she sucks, so when the pressure is high, it’s 50/50 whether or not I’ll rise to the challenge.

Anyway, I’m going to keep training and working on my confidence until I’m successful.

Some specific things to work on?

Leg and core strengthening for posture improvement
Tatehiza
Seiza
Flowiness
Metsuke
Whatever Sensei and Sempai say

Ciao,

R~

Thoughtful Thursday – The Caffeine Challenged Writer

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So writers and caffeine are supposed to be a marriage made in heaven, right?

For me, it’s an unpredictable beast. I can get wonderfully creative bursts that fuel my writing. I can also become overheated and over sensitive to my surroundings. That’s what happened a couple of Thursdays ago. I was hoping for writing fuel and instead felt like I was burning up, felt nauseous, felt scatterbrained, and spent a lot of time running to the washroom. Caffeine overload and gluten reactions have some overlapping symptoms, so I learned.

The problem is, I really didn’t have time for it. I needed to be at Kendo because I committed to getting something done the following day that required me to get something from someone at Kendo. Yeah, I could’ve just attended and not done the workout, but that felt silly to me. Besides, I’d been putting off starting Kendo for far too long. Also, given Kendo’s connection to Star Wars, December seemed an appropriate month to start Kendo.

As I twitched like Tweek from South Park, I longed to feel better.

Doing Christmas shopping after the coffee really didn’t help either. The overly caffeinated introvert in a mall in December is all kinds of bad. Also, people were driving erratically and there were ambulances and such. Way too much stimulation of the wrong sort.

After I got home, I napped, drank water, and had a light dinner. I still didn’t feel 100%, but I also didn’t feel terrible, so off to Kendo I went.

Kendo was hard at the start, but not as hard as it was in my previous attempts. Apparently, somewhere along the way I built more muscle and got into slightly better shape, so now it doesn’t completely kill me. I did need a substantial break to catch my breath, but otherwise it was good except for the mansplainer trying to correct something that didn’t need correction. I noticed he only felt the need to correct the women in the class. He wasn’t at the Sunday class thankfully.

I’m finding kendo to be helpful with my Iaido. I don’t know yet if it’s helping me gauge distance better, but I have noticed it is helping reduce hip flexor tightness, which can only be a good thing.

Nothing seems to help my right Achilles though. I think I may have permanent damage from being an idiot. I sprained it in roller derby then played a charity event with it taped, and then I did derby bootcamp and team tryouts where I sprained it again. I did physio back in the day. I have no money for physio, so I’ll just do some exercises at home.

Anyway, back to caffeine.

There are tons of memes along the lines of, “I’m not human until I’ve had my coffee.” Also, “If you don’t drink coffee, I can’t trust you.”

Caffeine is a drug. It’s a socially acceptable one, but a drug nonetheless. If you can’t function at all without it, you’re addicted and actually probably missing some things in your diet like B vitamins, which are integral to having energy and feeling good. Chaga tea is something I really like for a decaffeinated boost as well. It’s a dual immune regulator so it boosts or calms as needed. I’m not saying coffee is evil, but I feel it should be relied on a little less. Too much of anything isn’t healthy. Also, the human body is largely made of water, so when you drink a bunch of liquids that remove water from the body, well, you shouldn’t be surprised if it’s not functioning as well as you’d like.

Sorry. That last paragraph may have sounded a little bitchy. On this particular Thursday, I’m dealing with being laid off twice in the same year for not having enough work for me. I suppose this sort of thing will happen to more people as automation spreads to all facets of our lives. Unless Trump manages to kill Elon Musk’s plans for the planet’s future. Let’s hope working with Trump and his people doesn’t turn Elon into some sort of patsy for whatever nefarious plans may be in the works. I like a number of things Mr. Musk has done already and I feel he is mostly improving things on this planet.

Anyway, back to trying to get through to employment insurance to reactivate my previous claim, so I can be sure to make it through the next few weeks or months.

Ciao,

R~