I made a few very specific choices this week that ended up being less than ideal for my health. It was worth it, but it also means that I wasn’t able to do nearly as much this week as I was last week. That and my computer breaking 1Thank you Dell and your notoriously shitty hinges means that I just didn’t get to do nearly as much this week. Still, I didn’t crash as a result of working on this, so I’m still on track!
So. I forgot just how much work book 2 needed. This is the part where I need to do some structural changes and also change the names of half of the cast. It takes place in a fantasy world with a fantasy language and the first pass had a bunch of stand in names so I could get to writing instead of figuring out which sounds the new language had and which sounds it didn’t. So much stuff about the world and how things worked changed from when I started writing this to now, so I’ve got to go a lot more slowly through this section of the story.
It’s not a bad thing, but it does mean that I will start getting distracted so I can rework things in the back of my head. Actively sitting down and figuring things out doesn’t work as well for me as picking up another project and letting the ideas stew.
This is a bit of a cheat, but I’m loosening the definition of “worked on” for this week to make myself feel better. I’ve been using Descript to help me with the editing of the recordings I’ve made so far and they are not only making it worse with every update, it’s also been trying to hard to shove AI into the software that I don’t trust that they aren’t going to start training on my voice if I keep using it. This means I’ve been looking at how to get that art of what I liked about the software–The ability to edit audio via the transcript–into Audacity, which I use to do the rest of my editing.
I think I’ve found something that could work, but unfortunately with the computer currently in need of repairs, it might take a bit to actually try it out.
I’ve been thinking about those trinkets that I made and trying to figure out how to adjust them so that they weren’t just cute things to put on a shelf. I may like them that way, but I do not want all of these to stay in my house. I found a keychain to throw one of these on, but something about glass on a keychain just feels like an awful idea.
Apparently purse trinkets are a thing, though? I haven’t had a purse in a while, so I’ve been pretty out of the loop on that. Someone else is going to have to tell me if that’s a thing I should consider.
The first book of the trilogy is mostly rewritten! I have been working on this for months, which you’d think would mean it was longer. It is currently under 30K and definitely needs one more pass so that there’s some actual description. It is going to be a pretty short installment regardless, which makes sense. It is intended more as set up for the rest of the trilogy and plays out a bit like a horror movie before they encounter the killer. Will I do this pass before I start working on the next book? Absolutely not. We’ll be diving into the next book next week!
Unless I get distracted. Which, well, we’ll see what happens.
Created some place to track the projects
I wanted to have some kind of public record of all the things I have managed to accomplish this year, so I made the Projects page. It took more time than I’d like to admit, honestly. I may have started my career as a WordPress developer, but that was over 20 years ago and it’s a lot less straightforward to do things that used to be pretty simple. Well, simple if you just went into the source code to make some adjustments. I really do hate the amount you have to rely on plugins, but at least it works? Maybe not as well as I’d like, but I might poke at it again later.
Let myself get paranoid about income again
For those who aren’t aware, I am unable to hold down a day job. The Long Covid means that I am limited in the amount of good hours in a day, and many days that number is a fraction. However, I am also posting about how much stuff I’m getting done in a week as part of this series which, well, someone may see this and decide that I am, in fact, able to get a job and will lose my benefits.
So I decided to reopen my Patreon just in case. For right now it’s just going to be a bunch of cross posting these updates there, but if if there’s ever something that I want to release early it will probably be released there. Maybe. I don’t think I ever had anyone sign up for it so we’ll see.
Despite this being the year of the done list rather than the to do list 1I need to make sure I’m not accidentally pressuring myself into being more productive than I can handle I do still have some general ideas of things that I want to work on this year. I wasn’t sure last time if I wanted to make that list of projects, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted to keep a record of what I did manage to accomplish.
I’m going to try and keep this as an index and report back on what I managed to get done. Fifteen minutes a day isn’t much, but hopefully it adds up!
I may not touch some of these, I may add more to the list, we will see! Currently I’m hoping that I will do better about posting and keeping a record of how much I’ve done on these, but time will tell how well I manage that. Wish me luck!
It’s taken over three years, but in recent months I have achieved stability. I still have very limited energy and can’t be upright for very long without getting horrible headaches, but my symptoms are finally at a point where they are predictable. I can make plans. I can leave the house! 1Once a week for no more than 2 hours with the proper medication precautions, and only if I make sure I take a full rest day the following day, but still! Predictability has given me a freedom that I haven’t had in a long time, but it also gave me something else.
Ambition.
I’m starting to see glimpses of the person I once was coming back. Not the burnt out tech worker parts, admittedly, but the parts where I used to throw myself into projects that I loved. I miss losing hours a day on creating things and following that inspiration when I was between projects to figure out what I was up to next. It’s a thing I can’t do anymore without causing major health issues, but now that I’m stable, I think I can treat myself a little.
Of course I mean I am going to let myself start doing things again. I’m going to need to be very careful because, well, I know myself. I give myself any slack and I will run away with the leash. No concrete goals, no timelines, nothing that might make me feel even a little bad about taking a break from it. It’s not going to be anything like the productivity I used to do and it is definitely going to feel pretty fake sometimes, but it will be something.
The only rule I’m holding myself to is a maximum daily time allocation. At the start of the year, no more than fifteen minutes a day on a project that I am going to keep a running list of. That time limit goes up by no more than 5 minutes after 1 month of no increased symptoms. That is a lot of time. Well, for me at this point in my life, anyway.
I am very excited about this. I don’t know if I will post the list of projects anywhere, but the list currently includes the trilogy I wrote last year, a couple Twine and RPG Maker games, some art, creating paperback and hardcovers, and a smattering of other things. It’s going to be so good to make things again! I cannot wait.
First off, I know it’s October. This is, however, the time of year where advent calendars start coming out and I love an advent calendar. Companies rebranding their overstock as little surprises leading up to Christmas to recoup their costs before they put these items on sale and putting it in custom packaging is a grift that I am 100% for. I enjoy a little surprise with fancy packaging, and it’s a fun way to check out a new business that I’m not familiar with.
Also, I just can’t do a lot of things these days and an advent calendar is a holiday experience I can handle.
Which brings me here. This is going to be a living document, updated throughout October, of advent calendars that I am considering for myself. I’ll update it as I find interesting ones, though probably won’t mention which of these I actually get until later.
The criteria
I’ve been doing this for a few years, so I have things I’m now looking for in an advent calendar.
24/25 day calendars. There are a lot of 12 day calendars out there. My brain is not that good anymore. I’m not going to do that math. I will forget to start them, so for simplicity we’re going for the full month leading up to it.
No chocolate-a-day calendars. The most common type of chocolate advent calendar is a chocolate-a-day calendar. Either it is the same three or four types of chocolates cycled through a month like Purdy’s or Chez Christoph, or a different truffle every day like in the case of Cococo Chocolatiers or Chocolats Favoris. I’ve done these for a while and I’m looking for something a bit more. Show me what else your company/store has to offer besides truffles!
The more expensive, the less surprising. If I’m dropping a lot of money on a calendar, I do want some assurance that it will be worth it. I don’t need to know specifically what is in the calendar, but I do want to at least know that the items are going to be something I want.
Preference to Canadian small businesses. Even before the everything, I have been preferring Canadian businesses for this for a while. I will lean toward BC and Vancouver if I can find it. I will go outside of Canada if something looks interesting enough.
If there’s multiple options, go for the one I haven’t tried before. I have done David’s Tea many times. I did Squish and Life is Sweet and many others. While I like all of them, I also really want to try new things as much as I can each year.
Something I will enjoy. This is probably obvious, but I want to have a calendar that I am going to enjoy.
Though I’m not entirely certain, this does look like a candy calendar that has more than a single bonbon in each of the drawers. I’ve seen it a few years now and this might be the year.
This company also has the bonus of offering a DIY kit, which is just last year’s candies to put into your own calendar. Which, well, I have a bunch of old calendars…
Every time I have looked at this site, I get instantly distracted by the fact that they have not only a candy truck, but a corporate candy section. It’s been a year or two since this one’s been on my radar, but it’s back now.
I’ve done these ones before, but I really liked Squish last year. The packaging was really nice, especially given the art hinted at what was behind each door and inside was a clear label to let me know exactly what the candy was. And, you know, the gummies were also really good.
This is another one that I’ve done before, but I really enjoyed it! It’s a little pricier, but on top of a few truffles, there were also other products in both sample size and full size throughout the month. These ones also have a refill pack, which is good because I still have the box 1Which is surprisingly sturdy! The cardboard is thick and honestly the highest quality of the advent boxes I’ve gotten since I started doing this from last year!
I have seen people very excited about these cookies, but after looking on the site I do have one main concern. Cookies tend to go stale and, while the eco-friendly packaging is great, I am not sure how fresh these cookies will be by the end of the calendar. Still, might still try these ones.
Looking at the packaging, I have the same concerns about freshness but also I think this one might have more flavour options given the price point of the advent calendar. Might be wrong, might only find out one way!
I always thought flapjacks were pancakes, but it looks like I was incorrect! Given that this is a UK company, though, I’m not actually sure if they ship to Canada, nor am I sure I want to pay that much to find out what they are for the first time.
I love the idea that this is two cups! That means I get a morning and an evening cup out of this one. My only concern with this one is I’m not sure if it’s 24 pouches loose in the box, or if it’s actually formatted like an advent calendar where each day is a surprise.
That packaging is so pretty. The bonus is also very enticing, given how big it is compared to the tea bags. It is, however, a lot more expensive than most of the other tea options I’ve seen.
Stationary advent calendars are so expensive, but also Papier is one of those ones I end up staring at every year and thinking real hard about. It’s just a matter of whether or not I will actually use all of the items inside.
This is another one that I’ve looked at year over year. I’ve heard such good things, and the list does look like I’ll actually use a lot of the items inside of it.
I’m a fountain pen girl. I have a collection of fountain pens, which makes a ton of cool inks seem like a great idea. I am also a creature of habit, so I’ve hesitated every year on this one because I just don’t know if I will leave my comfort zone to actually use new inks!
This looks so cool and like I could repurpose the box for something fun in the future. The problem is that at this price point I need full spoilers and there just isn’t enough to let me know if I will use everything inside to make it worth it.
A cat advent calendar for my little menace would be so much fun! The trouble is, of course, that Remy is very picky about everything so I’m concerned that this will result in a lot of days that are not used. I do, however, have several other cats in my life who are less picky, so it’s in the running.
I don’t actually know if they’re releasing one this year, but the idea of a short story advent calendar just sounds like so much fun. I do enjoy a short story, so getting one a day to read in the evening with a cup of tea and some snacks sounds like a lovely way to spend the evenings.
I have not been doing many puzzles because I don’t know what to do with them once I finish them, but this one looks so cute. The idea that each day is a puzzle that reveals another part of a story too? I am enticed.
I cook more than you’d think, and this one sounds like it could just be a lot of fun. I don’t do much with vinegar specifically, but the idea that this also comes with recipes tailored around all of the items so that they can actually be used makes this seem like a surprisingly good value.
Speaking of interesting food calendars that will take me longer than one month to finish, this one is just spices! It also comes with recipes, but possibly is more designed for entertaining? That’s what I’m gathering from their description.
