jadesfire

One of the nasty side effects of having a prolonged period of downishness is that it makes me a)selfish and b)forgetful. I have the sensation at the moment that life is what is happening while I sit here, because I just don't feel able to cope with living it.

In an attempt to compensate, I tend to drown myself in Stuff - craft things, reading things, food things - anything that will let me feel. It's also a way of proving to myself that I'm useless. Look at all these wonderful things and how few of them you're achieving. So I just end up deeper and deeper in Stuff until I can't see a way out any more.

In an attempt to dig myself out, I've been making achievable lists and concentrating on Getting Stuff Done, but there are always things that fall through the cracks, sometimes with impressively poor results. To help me stop missing things so much, I've just done a bit of a journal trim. Mostly comms, but some people as well, and usually folk that either aren't around any more or where we don't really talk any more.

As I said above, I'm very much Not With It at the moment, so if you think I ticked the box by accident, PLEASE let me know. Lurkers are always welcome, but the trouble is that I don't always know you're there. Comment or DM me if I've screwed up and I'll try to put it right.

Via apiphile who made it happen:



Help: everyone needs it from time-to-time and Medecins Sans Frontieres provide it to the people in the world who need it the most. Twelve Tales of Healing is an anthology of twelve (and one spare, in case you need it) stories about getting better by thirteen different authors; some established, and some brand new. All profits from the sale of Help: Twelve Tales of Healing go directly to Medecins Sans Frontiere to help them to help those who really need it.

£11.99 from Lulu

MSF has been my charity of choice for a while now. If you knit, consider supporting it through P/HOP (or see the Ravelry group), if you read, consider supporting it by buying this book. If you're in the UK, you might even get it in time for Christmas. Buy it for you, for family, for friends or just for MSF.

This is sort of a late contribution to karaokegal's Come as you aren't party. But mostly, this is for caersmane. Just because.

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Title: Consultation
Fandom: The Mentalist/Sherlock Holmes
Rating: G
Word Count: ~1780
Summary: Two detectives walk into a bar...
Why it's a costume: Okay, it’s more of a party frock than a costume, but since I thought the writing was gone forever, I just feel lucky to be here :)

Notes: This is loosely based on the “two fandoms walk into a bar” premise, but in my mind is part of my A Few Quiet Drinks ‘verse. Either works. Huge thanks to Donutsweeper, Rustydog and Crystalshard for hand-holding, beta-duties and necessary Gibbsmacking.

( ”Consultation” )

It is possible that this video saved my sanity today. No kidding. Bad morning. Happy lunch hour.



She should know already, but go tell crystalshard how hard she rocks. Just click the vid to go to the YouTube page

[Unless...Chrys, if you spot this and want to put a public entry some place for folk... ;)]

I'm going to be singing this all afternoon...

Today is the day of the Teddy Bear Party over at rustydog's. I own quite a lot of stuffed animals, but oddly enough, only one little teddy bear. But he and I went on a little trip around the library this morning.

( Read more... )

*blinks* How is it Tuesday? Did someone delete a day without telling me? I've reached that stage of overload where you really just don't care any more because there's so much to do, no matter how hard you work, you can't ever catch up. I'm not sure that's actually true, since there are lots of small tasks on my list, but I just can't seem to bring myself to do them. *sigh* The rainy weather isn't helping, nor is the cold. I keep having to put the heater on to bring the office up to a reasonable temperature, which is just ridiculous. IT'S THE FIRST OF JUNE. WHAT THE HELL, WEATHER?

Otherwise, it's been a very uneventful weekend. I found a lost dog on Friday on my way home, and so returned it before the owner knew it was lost. Of course it helped that he was still on the same street as his house, and it turned out that he stopped right outside it so that I could read the number on his collar tag. It's somehow less heroic when all the owner has to do is open the front door, but still. She was very grateful to have him back :)

Saturday was dull apart from Eurovision, which... Eh, maybe I'm just getting old, but it seemed a little lack-lustre this year. There were a few highlights - BUTTERFLY WINGS! CLOWNS! - but no really and truly insane novelty entry that I could settle back and mock properly.

Sunday was mostly spent traipsing around every dress shop in Oxford. It's surprisingly difficult to work out what you're supposed to wear to a 'formal' dinner. Not a ball gown, not a cocktail dress just 'formal'. Pitching that one is seriously difficult, and after feeling significantly underdressed last year, I'm determined to do better this year. So I need something elegant and formal, but not OTT. Because this is Oxford, everything is either ball-style or cocktail style. Pitching in the middle is surprisingly difficult. Hopefully what I've picked is just right without being too much, and all I need is a pair of high heels and a sparkly bag. Simples! Probably...

I did work yesterday morning, then spent the afternoon in a fog of CSI and crochet. Which wasn't all bad, but has left me feeling lazy and useless, so I need to actually achieve something today. I have my Giant Enormous List that I'm going to pull an arbitrary number of things from and declare that if I achieve them, it's been a good day.

Any other tips for breaking out of brain-fug? My music options are a little restricted since we can't use Spotify at work and last.fm baffles me, but I'll take all suggestions!

How's everyone else doing? Back into it after the holiday weekend?

I'm posting this quickly, before I can change my mind, faff with it some more and decide it sucks after all. Also, the last full-length Whoniverse fic I finished was last year's Big Bang, and I need to get back on the wagon. Or something. Also, this is noticeably not drabbles written from prompts *looks shifty* They're coming...

Unbeta'd, post-script to Last of the Time Lords, because if I wasn't a Genficcer, I think I'd probably be a Jack/Martha shipper.

Title: Ways we are Altered
Rating: PG/Gen
Words: ~1,680
Spoilers: Last of the Time Lords

Summary: Martha looked a little lost, surrounded by the belongings of a nine hundred year old pack-rat.

( Ways we are Altered )

I'm having one of those months where I never seem to have time to do anything because I'm too busy doing things that I can't remember doing. Er. That made more sense in my head, but you know what I mean? I always seem to be too busy to do stuff, but if you asked me what I'd been doing, I honestly couldn't tell you. Mostly what I seem to have been doing is sleeping, moping and trying not to pass out from pain.

~ I was supposed to go out to a church thing on Saturday, but decided my sanity was more important, so stayed home instead. I cleaned, tidied, crocheted and broke my sewing machine. *sigh* My machine is old, and has a little thing on the top to adjust the pressure of the presser foot. Something inside it has snapped, so it'll only stay all the way up instead of moving between its three settings. J is going to see if he can get it repaired, if not, I'll have to buy a replacement. There went my lovely sewing day.

~ To be fair, I did a lot of crocheting instead, although you'll have to wait until objects have reached their recipients to see pictures. Still, I'm quite pleased with how all that's going.

~ We went out for what should have been a lovely, quiet dinner on Saturday night, which turned into unfortunate food (turns out I don't like dark crab meat after all :S) with people we didn't know. I like meeting new people, but I need a bit of warning if we're having a "meet our friends" dinner instead of "have dinner with us" dinner. It was nice enough, just... I need warning.

~ Sunday turned out to be the Aston Martin Owners Club meeting at Blenheim. *drools* So many pretty cars, all in one place. They had vintage models, as well as the latest one, and the whole thing was exceedingly cool, making me wish I had a camera phone! I really must sort out getting one.

~ Sunday afternoon turned out to be less cool thanks to a blistering headache that laid me out until Monday lunchtime. I was feeling a bit woozy and cold (our flat gets no direct sunlight after 8am, so stays cold and damp all day), so thought I'd crawl out from under my blanket to make myself a coffee. When I'd stopped screaming, I decided that a paracetamol and hot bath were a much better plan. So. Much. Pain. The bath helped, but I still woke up feeling like death on Monday, so took the day to let my brain catch up with itself. Probably not unconnectedly, when I went to the chiropractor yesterday, she asked me what on earth I'd been doing to get myself in such a state. Apparently even my jaw was out of alignment, which I didn't even know was possible O.O She did painful things to my back and neck, which were so completely worth it *stretches* I can actually move my head properly now \o/

~ I'm off to Brighton for a conference next month, and have a free afternoon on 9th June. Anyone in the area feel like a coffee? Failing that, does anyone have any recommendations? I've already cased the location of the yarn and sewing shops...

As you can probably tell, my life is one long round of excitement right now - work, crochet and washing up seem to be about the limits of it. I'm definitely starting to reach the "there must be more to life" point, and if I ever figure out what, I'll let you know!

How's everyone else? *peers into ether* It's been so quiet around here lately I feel like I've lost track of people. Eveyone okay? Or are you all living the high life too? ;)

I'm at that stage of tiredness where all you can do is stare folornly at the coffee pot, knowing its contents aren't going to be nearly enough to wake you up.

*slumps*


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

ION, I wrote last night. Apparently it takes re-watching, a large sharpie and a pad of lined paper to get my brain going, but go it did. Of course, most of what I wrote sucks, but I think I know what I'm writing for the sga_genficathon, even if it is going to have a big neon sign above it saying "JADESFIRE WROTE ME". When you're trying to get your story-fu back, there's something to be said for comfort-writing.

There is no other news, sadly. Work is crazy, evenings are eaten up by crochet and actually talking to my husband, and I'm trying to work out how I can take my last 6 days of leave when I have 2 conferences and a summer holiday already booked. My life is hard, yo.

Hope everyone else is having a good Friday. Plans for the weekend? Mine primarily involve sleep and wrestling a sewing machine into submission. I've got to be careful, though - it has a sharp pointy instrument and isn't afraid to use it...

You know when you reach that overload point, and all you can really do is stare into space and occasionally go 'buh?'

Yeah.

Buh?

I should probably add that it's All Good Stuff - I've actually had a pretty good week, and there have been interesting things happening on several fronts. The main problem is that there are too many fronts, and I feel like all these seedlings of ideas that I planted months and months ago are all springing into life RIGHT THE HELL NOW, and I can't replant them all at once.

And that noise you just heard was an over-stretched metaphor snapping...