Thoughts on the Journey

Last night when I went to my book club, I was reminded how in this strange year, I have made some unexpected and good connections. When I told the people at my club that I would be leaving, they were sad and hoped I could come before I left. Since the weather was beautiful, we sat in the backyard of one of the main couples, which was nice. This is a small book club and pretty much the same people have attended so there has been continuity. There was one of those metal fire pits so we ended up making s'mores at the end of the night. It a was a great reminder that while this year hasn't been perfect, its had good in it.

The run up to it was kind of fun as well since I got the time wrong, so I rushed about making delicious cherry cornbread muffins. I need to make them again since they're some of the best muffins I've had in a while with the cornbread texture but very moist. So I made them, thinking I was going to be late, got to the house and there was no one there. The meeting was at 8 but I think meet up still had it listed as 7 so I had my time's wrong. As I was waiting, I went to a favorite cafe where I found a lot of teenagers and their cars hanging out. Now this isn't a huge parking lot but according to the woman in the cafe, this is what kids do. Some of the cars looked like they belonged in The Fast and the Furious, while there were also some beautiful classic cars. Later I noticed that in other parking lots along Woodward, there were more cards. According to my friends at the book club, this is a definite thing in the area and there's a day in August when Woodward itself is shut down just so people can go cruising. Moments like this remind me how much of a car town this is. Next time I spot them, I need to take pictures as there were some gorgeous cars.

Tomorrow I'm going to go see a matinee of Pacific Rim and probably see it again with Rick. I'm in the mood for a good action movie and love del Toro. I need to get to work prepping for moving, get a date from the movers and then give that date to apartment company, who sound like they'll be able to release it pretty quickly. Then I hope to have some time in the east coast to travel, settle and look for a job. I never got that before moving out here, this year has been strange with few moments to go, oh, I feel safe and comfortable where I am.

My writing is going slowly, my Narnia story is started but I need to do even more with it to make it work, but I do have a little time.

FicFriday was pretty quiet this week, I filled a few on my journal and then three on Twitter. All Teen Wolf ones because I love the families on that show.

For @afullmargin

Oooh, always up for family shenanigans!

Allison's family saw the world through trust. Trust to survive, trust to tell, trust to lie to the right people. She made trust.

Stiles learned every police code once his father realized he wanted to know to understand. That way, no matter, he would know.

For @animalmysoul

Something Teen Wolf for #ficfriday?

Stiles knew he should sleep but his father was running late. If he got up then he could hear the scanner, then he would know.

Apparently I have a lot of feelings about Stiles and his dad, I just love their relationship and how Teen Wolf deals with families.

I'm using this icon because of Tumnus and snow not yuletide as it captures how I've felt this weekend, tucked at home as it snows outside. The snow will let up and then come back and sometimes be rain all this week, which has made it hard to find the energy to do much. The sun briefly came out on Friday, but other than that, its been cloudy. As I've also been fighting off feeling sick, I've slept a lot this weekend and realized I really needed it. I didn't work on Friday as I decided a day of rest would help me more than trying to push through the day. Going by just how much I've been sleeping, I think this was the right idea. I'm still a little tired today, but not as out of it as I felt last week.

Though on Friday, I did go out to a book club meeting from meetup.com that was wonderful. I think I've started to find my people in this area, even though I hadn't read the book, the conversation was wonderful. We talked about gaming, fantasy and all sorts of fascinating stuff. One of the people in group even knows one of my favorite teachers from Michigan. There was also an adorable and big black dog who decided he liked me and let me give him all sorts of scritches. I'm planning on using meetup to try and find a dance group as the combination of being social and active works well for me.

Since I stayed in yesterday due to the snow falling, I watched up to episode 10 of Capital Scandal and wow, all the feelings for that show. I love all of it, the depth of the characters, the beautiful setting and music and the humor that slips its way in.

Today I went out into the world and used the time to finish reading City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte, which is a book I wanted to like more than I did. Its a book that could easily be called a genre bender or crosser as it had fantasy, mystery and romance, sadly the balance wasn't always right in it. The two point of view characters were both a little too brilliant and the feel of the story would veer rather suddenly from alchemy and history to sex against statues. Its the kind of book that I would enjoy reading on a long plane or train ride where I could just sink into it and read it in one gulp, but reading it in stops and starts made me not enjoy it as much. As I would come out of it and be aware of how it didn't all fit together.

Life is going along steadily at work, I still feel like I'm out of some loops but I've got a chance to discuss my status report, which I hope will be helpful. Also I had an amazing connection with a new teacher that made me feel like I know what I'm doing. I know that I haven't spoken out as much as I need to and I'm going to work on that. They hired me because they think I can do this job and I am doing it and will keep improving. Also I have a chance to propose some classes for next year, which will get me more involved and be exciting. I finally have a Michigan license and this month paid off the last of my smaller loan from the University of Michigan, which is a great feeling. I have a break coming up in the third week of February, which I plan on going to Jackson and having some nice days of watching stuff. I also have a break in the first week of April and I'll be joining them for an opera in NYC on the fourth. If its possible, I would love to try and connect with anyone in New York for coffee or lunch or something. There's more flexibility in terms of going rather than leaving so Wednesday or Thursday. I miss you guys a lot and want to try and reconnect.

On Friday, FicFriday was interesting. I like this new way of giving prompts and then people have the option of deciding which character or world to write them for.
( Twitter fiction )