Thoughts on the Journey

My status report is almost done, its been winnowed and organized though it was really good to just write down some of the things that frustrated me. My body is feeling rather worn out as my period hit hard last night, but I'll manage. Before it hit too much, I was able to do some decorating around my apartment, some frames I have don't fit what I had wanted them to, but I'll make things work. I shared pictures on Twitter and will do a picture post on here later.

I'm a little worried about the winter storm that headed this way, I think its named Lulu, which isn't the most promising of names. This coming week and the next will be full and while I love the idea of being able to curl up in bed, it would just make things more confusing.

But as my school really loves breaks, I've got one in the middle of February, which is going to be one with a good bit of falling over then another in April. It sounds like April will see me on the East Coast and possibly going to an opera with my parents during the first week of April. That hasn't been set in stone yet, but if it happens, I might be around for some sort of brief meet up with people in New York. I miss everyone there.

Something else I have coming up is I signed up for a book club on meetup about fantasy, sci-fi literature. I don't have time to read the book as the meeting's this Friday, but its a way to get myself out there. I'm planning on also trying to find some sort of dance group and maybe see about grabbing coffee or something with the teacher who stopped by last Friday. I don't know if I have a crush on him or if he just makes me feel connected but I'm going to be brave and keep reaching out. Writing up this report has shown me how I've fallen into observer mode and don't rock the boat as the new person, but for this job to work and for me to be happy, I need to keep pushing myself out there. I can still slowly change the community while speaking up, people have listened to me and will keep listening.

One reason I love fandom and online writing communities is that as I've been writing more in different fandoms and for people I don't know, I find more confidence throughout my life. All the stories I wrote for the Porn Battle and the positive reaction they received have helped me as I wrote up this status report.

This was also a lovely week for Fic Friday with trying some different things, prompts not attached to a specific character. I liked this challenge and want to try it again. Its not perfect but presents another way of thinking about what's being written.

( 140CharFics )

Today was quiet but it had a few really bright spots. One of the main middle school teachers has really taken me under her wing and she at the end of today asked me to watch one of her classes on Monday. She's part of a search committee that keeps meeting when she's teaching, so I'm helping her out. It feels wonderful to know that I'm trusted that much.

This past week was overall pretty quiet because next week are exams so all the kids have been fairly focused on work. My two programmers have been full of energy as always but they do tell me what they're doing, which I'm grateful for. Sometimes they kind of push to see what I'll let them do and they know I'm going to keep an eye on it but I don't think they begrudge me. It feels like they're glad I'm taking an interest even though they would like it better if I let them do all they wanted to.

The weather has also gone from bitterly cold to wet and warmer, which I like. Tomorrow I think I'm going to wander around downtown Birmingham, spend some holiday money and maybe catch a movie. I'm also hoping to do more setting up of my apartment. At this point there aren't a lot of boxes left but there's nothing on the walls and that always makes me feel like my place is even more mine. I want to get a shelving unit for my kitchen as my cupboards are nice but don't hold all my stuff and I want more options for arranging. I promise that there will be pictures on here of the place soon.

Now in fic news, I just wrote a fill for the Aren't You Glad You Left Livejournal" Anniversary Fic Exchange/Festival/Creatathon. Technically for this fill, I was filling my own prompt but the idea was there and there's fic, that's the bit that counts. I'll post it up on Ao3 later tonight.

An understanding. X-Men movieverse, Batman Nolanverse, Charles Xavier, the Joker, John Blake, PG for language and mentions of violence.

It was also a nicely busy Twitter Fic Friday, so here are all those fills. Looking over apparently it was a matter of lots of requests from a few people, still I like all that I wrote.
( 140 character fics )

I do really love my family but two days of sleeping on odd surfaces isn't fun while my shark week hits hard. Saturday was amazing as the day was spent with my brother and his family, they gave me a basket full of cooking oils, sauces, salts and dried things for my pantry. I'm going to have such fun cooking with all of them. Sunday we went to my father's first cousin's house in North Jersey which is small, was full of people I didn't know and my body went ugh, no. I had a nap, didn't eat much and just had an odd day. The best part of the party was that my father was talking up my Yuletide story to someone from his cousin's writing group, it was strange and wonderful.

Today we traveled back to Delaware and tonight a small group of people are coming over to eat, which should be nice. Tomorrow and later this week, there will be movies and lots of not doing a lot. I'm thinking about seeing Les Mis, taking my parents to see The Hobbit and maybe Wreck-it Ralph. Oh and muji, I'm emailing you as if there's space in your schedule I want to see you.

I finished Code Name Verity on the drive to my brother's place and I'm still in flailing mode about it. That's just a painful, beautiful book. My next two books are going to be Pratchett's and hopefully lighter, Dodger in an ebook and Snuff in paperback.

Oh and if anyone can guess my yuletide, I'll write you a story. I'm still working on various gift fics, but the offer's there. Some hints, it's been recced by someone on my circle, its over 3k and in a fandom I've never written for before.

Also signal boost: Aren't You Glad You Left Livejournal" Anniversary Fic Exchange/Festival/Creatathon! I hope to fill some of these in the coming week since there are some great prompts.

Before I descend into party prep and just not doing a lot, I thought I'd do the end of the year meme.

( Looking back on 2012 )

It feels great to go into this new year knowing that I have a job and an apartment and am finding where I fit in a new place.

Today was a mainly good day, but since I made it home, its been not as good. I've been waiting for a package and came home early in the hopes of catching it. Nope, I found the note from UPS on the door and now I have to drive out and get it.

Then I finally changed my address with the bank but it hasn't seemed to have changed online and I would like to update the online places I pay, yet don't want to until I know the change went through. I tried to switch it on one place and it went, nope not right, if need be, I'll drive out to the bank and say, look, is this changed? Also I'm looking at some of my bills and having a little flail, I can afford these bills, but the holidays are coming and I've barely started my shopping. I will figure this out, today was just an awful moment of ah, I hate money sometimes. None of this is huge, but with my back slightly hurting, its got me a mood of don't wanna at the world.

My work day was pretty good, I had a great talk with the facilities head, who is becoming one of my main allies and someone I talk to a lot. He's been at the school for fifteen years and was able to fill in more history for me. I love learning from different people their takes on the school. It was interesting to hear him talk about how the school can be slow to change and compared it to a Mom and Pop shop. I can kind of see that, people like things how they like them and I'm seeing that with some of the gaming. There are some kids who are just like ban games and the loudest ones usually don't spend that much time in the library. The ones who do will speak up and go, look its really about five guys who are loud and distracting, we can find a compromise.

It makes me hopeful to hear other kids speaking up and saying, we don't have to go all or nothing, that's stupid. I think a compromise will be found though its going to take a lot of talking. Since how its been for most of the students for the past few years is going to change as I think some gaming when its not disruptive is okay. I want the kids to feel comfortable to hang out in the library whether that's sitting on tables and talking, playing games, napping or studying. Thankfully most of them do seem to get that, but I don't know, it worries me to hear some kids going ban them without seeming to think it through. This discussion is happening and I'm a part of it and helping them think so I think that's good. It's just complicated and tiring as well. One of the big issues and something that I think is just part of the school environment is that Middle Schoolers and High School students approach the world in very different ways, sometimes they really help each other, but other times they bump up against those differences and its hard. There's not that much space in the library or the school and there is a real community, but there are moments when I think, yeah, separating middle and high school is a good idea.

In good job news, my desk arrived though now I need the time to be able to rearrange the library and set up, which is difficult. The library is rarely fully empty and during the day that's when I grab food and after school is when kids hang out. My parents are coming to visit this weekend, so I don't know when its going to happen. A head's up that I'll be quiet over the weekend due to them arriving.

A part of my job that I love is that kids are taking books out, sometimes they don't know how to take books out and that still has some kinks but they are. I have conversations about books, find books and have those great moments of yes, this is a library. I think some of kids get surprised to realize, oh yes, Kate can help me find the books I want. Though I do have hard moments of knowing the book I want and its not there because the collection's still so small. Another thing I need time for is to label, catalog and add a lot of donated books to the collection. It will happen, but some days, its hard to see it happening. Today I was looking at the back room and feeling like I've barely made a dent as there's so much stuff there, but I then I remind myself, I had little time before school started. I arrived two weeks before school began, had orientation, welcome back stuff for all the teachers and the long weekend before the first day, I just wanted to stop. I have ideas of what I want to do and do slowly chip it away. The other librarian had so many mugs around for storing pens and other stuff, I've been emptying them out and donating them to the kitchen shared mugs. I just need to keep doing things like that and it will change. Kids are coming to me and being sent to me and asking for help as are teachers, that's more important than the physical stuff.

My Yuletide has kind of stalled on me as I've just not been in the right writing place for it. I have the ideas but its a plotty one and that's not my normal style of story, so its hard. It's also a new fandom for me, but someone in the fandom says that its working and over the break, dodger_sister read what I had and liked it. It worked for her even though she's not in the fandom, which is always a good sign. I'll get back in the right headspace at some point and get it done. I've yet to finish my Yuletide until within a day or two of the deadline. At this point, its over the minimum length and I know the shape of it.

Another reminder that I'm sending out cards, please leave your address here if its changed or I've never sent you one before. Thank you, I have a lot of addresses from last year, but there are new people following and I'd love to send you guys cards. Though they might not go out until late in the holidays, they will go out.

This week has been all over the place for me and my cable and internet were installed last night, but cemented that this is the most chaotic move ever. If something could be delayed or not work right the first time it happened. Finding a place, getting my stuff, everything took more steps than I expected. Then for the installation, the installer was late, it took from 6:30 to 8 pm to do the job as he had to drill holes for the cable and the first modem didn't work. In the end it worked and I have a rather nice router that has wifi in it so I didn't have to use mine, but it was a long process. I do feel now as if I'm starting to get settled and while this has been a difficult transition, I love this job.

My health is steadily improving but I'm not all the way better and still have points of needing to stop for a time. Work has been a mix of ups and downs but the gaming conversation is making me hopeful. I'm getting a better sense of how everything is done at the school and today I spent the morning talking with the other librarian. It was great to connect with her and go, yes, we need to work on that and seeing problems that go across the school and that we're in a position to fix them.

This afternoon I hope to see the library full of students for the video game and RPG club plus after school gaming. Everything's quieter this week as the sixth grade class is on a weeklong camping trip, but it will be nice to see them again.

My apartment is looking more like I want it to, I'm now at the point of having to move boxes to set bookcases up and I need to buy more bookcases. There will be more pictures to come and as a reward for getting things done, I plan on seeing a movie this weekend. I'm going between Wreck-it Ralph and Skyfall as I've heard great things about both of them. Now for a meme as my Yuletide was going along well and then stopped, I need to poke my writing brain again.

Post a single sentence from each WIP you have (or as many as you want to pick). No context, no explanations. No more than one sentence!

( I have more WiPs than I thought. )

Yesterday, I had a surprising amount of energy, I'm not sure where it came from. Possibly from having a good night's sleep after not having one the night before and maybe the medicine I'm taking for my infection. My day started at 8 am when the movers called me wondering where I was. I had meant to wake up early and meet them there but overslept so dashed around the hotel room packing things up and missed some of the groceries that I'd been smart and bought. Then I got there but they weren't there, they arrived around 9 am and finished around 10 am. I did a little bit of arranging before deciding that I needed food before I got in too deep. So I went out to lunch and then went shopping at Target and Home Depot, I didn't get everything I needed but a lot of stuff. Then I spent from about 2 or 3 until about 5 I think unpacking. I set up two multidirectional lamps for my living room and bedroom before heading out to a cafe for some internet then grocery shopping.

After I came home, I got going and sort of forgot to stop because I set up my entire kitchen, finding that a lot of my pantry had actually been packed so I don't need to buy more spices or as much tea, my bedroom and my bathroom. By the time I took a break, it was 10 pm and I didn't take much of a break, working until after midnight and then conking out. And I somehow didn't end up making myself dinner, this infection has made my appetite weird. I woke up this morning feeling sore and out of it.

My plan was to go and get delicious pancakes but that didn't work, most of my day so far has been trying to find parking. At the moment I'm at Barnes and Noble with tea and chili and a table. I don't plan on moving for a while as I'm feeling sore and a little wobbly. My living room is the big thing that I have to set up and I think I'm going to need to buy at least one more bookcase if not two. Also I have to figure out where to put all the empty boxes that I have. I still don't have internet at my place and won't until Tuesday, so I'll be around and about internet wise.

Today I'm planning on sitting here at Barnes and Nobles for a while and possibly doing some simple shopping for more light bulbs and paper towels later. Even though I'm still settling in, I already feel more rooted than I have since I arrived back in Michigan. I've also started to change my address and I need to figure out the best way to let everyone know it. Would a locked entry here work best or would a big email work? Please let me know as I want to make it possible for everyone to know how to reach me. Also expect in the coming week, a huge post of pictures, Twitter has been getting my pictures at the moment, but I'll do a apartment tour of pictures here later.

I stayed up until Romney conceded, because that felt like the point when what the news casters were saying would feel real. Most of the election I followed online before finally tuning into MSNBC and Rachel Maddow was one of the best parts of the election cycle. I loved her honesty, joy and moments of going, really, we don't know what Romney's doing. I voted by absentee ballot last month and Delaware and Michigan both went to Obama as well as Pennsylvania. Though I keep being reminded that even though my school is liberal, not all the kid's families are. Hearing students talk about the election and with some of them, it's clear they're aware of a lot of issues, but then some middle schoolers seem to be just saying what they've heard. I teach in the suburb next door to where Romney grew up, where there are a lot of rich suburbanites who support him as well as those who don't. It's complicated and my bad cough from earlier in the summer appears to have come back, it hasn't kept me up but my throat hurts.

This week hasn't been great for my productivity, it's that weird combo of sorting out paperwork and collecting research for a few topics that I've taken on for the school. Some days are busy more for what's going on in the library than the theories and ideas going on in my head. One thing I like about this job is how every day is different and as I start helping more in classes and even teaching some, my days will fill up even more. I'm feeling more comfortable and confident. Being a librarian means a lot of different things from watching out for the computers to discussing the election to talking books to ordering periodicals to answering reference questions as well as keeping the space clean.

At the department heads meeting on Monday, I had this wonderful moment of knowing that the school community is there for me in a way I had hoped but hadn't fully seen. We were talking about supporting new staff and mentoring and a number of people had noticed how since I'm my own department, it's trickier to support me. It felt great to know that they see me and I was able to say that I do feel like I'm playing catch up, but things are working as well. It was great. Also the school's student run newspaper came out and there were interviews with all the new staff, they put a recipe for New Zealand afghans next to my interview. It was wonderful to see the quality of the paper and make sure there are many copies in the library.

The movers called me and let me know that on Friday my stuff will arrive. They'll call me again tomorrow as they do twenty-four hour notice. Then I can finally shift my address and be properly moved as well as having my winter clothing. Winter has arrived in Michigan and I only have fall clothing with me. October seemed and the start of November feel like I've been juggling a lot and some things fall through, which I hate. Mail that I've been meaning to send for most of the month will actually leave my bag. I almost forgot my niece's birthday but managed to email her a late gift card. I will get my feet on the ground and settled. November does feel like its going to work better than October, I hope that's true for everyone on my flist.

Today was a good day, because I talked to another teacher about helping out one of her classes, she suddenly was in my library with her entire class. So it gave me a chance to talk to her, which was chaotic but good. Then after school, the library was completely full and noisy and wonderful. There was the video game club, the role play club, the guys playing Minecraft, two pairs of girls doing homework and other people passing through. It was at times quite noisy but it worked. I loved it, the kids want to be in the library. Also I found books that had been taken out of the shelves and read and just left there. They're reading and being in the library. I will make this work.

Also yesterday I got the keys to my apartment and its lovely. My stuff has left Delaware and I hope it arrives sometime this weekend. I'm ready to stop paying for the hotel and I figure if its not in by Sunday, then camping time in my apartment.

Life is good. I didn't leave school until 5:30 and loved all the time I was there.

Oh and I got my Yuletide assignment and I love it and I'm going to write in a new fandom for me. This is the first time I think that I could easily fill two of the four requests and so I can say, yes, I will challenge myself in a new fandom.

It looks like Sandy might cause some trouble with getting my stuff out of Delaware and that might mean some more nights in the hotel.

I'm feeling kind of silly because I keep missing Slenderplot stuff, DW, you need to give me notifs when I track a thread. I do love how the plot is going and I need to remember to write a William OOM covering him getting a door and heading home since he's not involved in the endgame at all.

At the moment, I'm feeling tired but excited. Even if I don't move into my apartment this week, I will sign the lease and get the key and soon it will be mine. Then I can get out of this weird limbo.

In other good news, I'm just about finished with a big librarian blog post about this new job and it feels wonderful to write up all that I've done. I need to keep reminding myself that its only the end of the second month and that I'm still sorting out getting my own place to live. I've made a lot of progress.

Yesterday I didn't head into school and messed up telling who I needed to, there are still many things I need to organize for work, but I have some great allies there. That makes me hopeful, I have connected.

Another fun part of yesterday was that FicFriday was busy and I wrote a lot.

( Many Twitterfics )

I think the weirdest thing about living full time in a hotel is this awareness of how I have to get up and leave during the afternoon. It's not like I'm at my own place and can sleep in then wander around doing stuff online and other things, instead I need to get up and head out. I mean I can sleep in and its wonderful to have someone pick up after me, its just odd. The good news is that its now less than two weeks before I can move into my apartment, which means I have to start arranging utilities and various other stuff. I hope that my stuff will arrive the same day I move in, if not I will camp in the apartment until it does. I just keep going, wow, I headed back out here about August 22nd or so and since then I've been living out of suitcases and with only part of my stuff. It's going to be amazing to have my TV, my books, my kitchen stuff and more of my winter clothes.

Also I think I'm going to investigate meetup.com and even OKCupid soon, because I'm feeling a bit adrift and having people and places to connect to outside of work will help me a lot. This whole experience has brought out some of my shyness when I'm not at work because I'm very on there.

Today my wandering has taken me to the other Barnes and Noble and their cafe, which is bigger and where I won't get told that I can't plug my laptop in if the cord is anywhere people might walk. Tomorrow is the first professional development day, which I'm looking forward to. I have no idea what to expect from it and figure I'll spend most of it listening and taking notes.

Friday there was some writing though it happened kind of late. I'd love to find out where my longer fic brain has got to. I think most of my creativity has been going into Slenderman nightmares for Charles in Milliways, which works but I'd like to write other things as well. Though the Weekend DE of AU prompts worked for me.

( FicFriday )