Thoughts on the Journey

My break is off to a nice start. On my drive down, I had a wonderful stop with muji where we had lunch and ice cream and a great time talking. The timing for getting off the road was perfect and hope its not too long before we can talk again. Then the rest of the drive went well and I ended up watching Thor with my parents. They ended up liking it, my mother more than my father, which make sense. He doesn't like movies with fast cuts, but my mom wants to see all the other films in that verse.

Yesterday was very full as there was a progressive Easter dinner, appetizers at a house a block over then the main meal at my parents' house and dessert. It was delicious food, good company and I kept getting all sorts of interesting advice on how to deal with my work stuff. A real range from speak your truth and get out of there to you just have to put up with this kind of stuff at times. Its given me a lot to think about.

After I finish this post, I'm going to walk into town for some lunch and tonight, there might be an EP of someone. I'm just enjoying feeling relaxed and that I don't have to do anything.

Since I was on the road on Friday, I spent the night in my hotel writing a lot of Friday Fic.
( FicFriday )

This morning I checked out the Holiday Inn and settled in a place with actual suites. I have a kitchen and will be going shopping later today to get herbal tea, hot chocolate and stuff for lunch and dinner, though this place does provide dinner four nights a week. Its not too far from school, not as close as the other one but its nicer. Fall has truly arrived in Michigan, the days are grey, chilly and sometimes there's rain, but I feel as if its all possible. I think October is going to go a lot better than September as I've found my feet.

I have some ideas of what I might ask for when Yuletide sign ups happen, I always ask for at least one Diana Wynne Jones' canon, probably will ask for Tommy and Tuppence and definitely The Seven Realms. In terms of what I offer, that's going to be a little trickier as there are always ones that are stretches and some that are easy.

In wonderful writing news, I seem to have got my writing groove back and thanks to the awesome Graveyard Smash ficathon have now written two things.

What's Mine, a Natasha fic with an appearance from Mystique.

Only the moon howls, a Ruby from Once Upon a Time fic.

It feels wonderful to have the words coming, they've been slow lately. The tropes' meme got me going a little but I've been so busy and stressed that I haven't been writing as much as I normally do. There's at least a few of those prompts that want to be larger.

Yesterday was quite busy with TwitterFicFriday as well.
( FicFriday )

Life is being all sorts of full and surprising at me. On Thursday, I went to meet with my mentor at the public library but my car was terribly dead. My mother gave me a ride but it gave the day a bit of bump. The meeting ended up being hopeful and wonderful, but after a nice lunch at a wonderful new Italian place, my bank in Michigan called to check that me using my card in Delaware wasn't fraud. I also learned that they hadn't properly changed my address yet so that had to be done.

Then I got to baking for the Democratic event that evening which was lovely but a lot, one woman was shooting ideas of what I could do at me, it was lot. I'm all for confidence and thinking I can accomplish a lot, but I wasn't sure what she heard. It does make me hopeful for the Democratic party as this candidate is grassroots all the way.

Friday, I woke up, got pulled into a Captain Awkward series of amazing posts and the Olympics before going must call AAA. I did and it turns out that a little interior light that I thought was automatic wasn't, my battery was charged without a problem. As the AAA guy was leaving, I had a call from the school in Michigan who wanted to talk to me again. Today I had a long phone interview and I'm a finalist, which leaves me kind of breathless and then I watched Olympics' diving with my parents on my laptop. Oh Tom Daley, you're amazing, I know an American won, but they all did fantastic dives. Last night I also dreamed of being lost around Christchurch on my way to a job interview and going, I know Wellington not Christchurch, quite apt. I hate being lost and this was a dream where I couldn't turn where I needed to and so was feeling like I know where I need to get but can't get there.

Another wonderful thing is that I've introduced my parents to Jim Henson's Storyteller, which they love, they even though they were adults in the 60s and 70s an 80s, never knew of his darker stuff. I get to introduce my parents to Labyrinth and Henson, Henson was the kind of creative soul that makes me hope and believe that the world can change by stories and people. In other odd but happy news. I got back my security deposit from Ann Arbor, they took off some for holes and carpet but not enough to make me go that's unfair and money is good.

Oh and the weather has been exciting here, lots of clouds and storms that hit hard and then leave, yet the sky stays grey. It's made everything cooler and is a nice reminder that Delaware is by the ocean.

Now yesterday, I wrote a few FridayFics, not terribly many as honestly I was busy and so were many other people. Life just keeps on happening. This is what I wrote and my [Bad username or unknown identity: ineedmyfics"]'s story is finally more in progress. It's been moving slower than I like but it'll happen.

( Words spill out )

Today has been a full and rather amazing day. It began with my second interview that felt quite positive. I don't want to hope too much but I could see myself at that school.

Then I had lunch with my parents at a restaurant in Ann Arbor that I've been wanting to try called The Raven's Club and it was just as nice as I'd hoped. I had this deceptively simple grilled cheese sandwich and a good beer as there was a little rain outside.

Then headed towards work, which has been quiet as I watched streaming and muted Opening Ceremonies and giggled at Twitter and crackchat's enthusiasm. I adore the Olympics, they always give me a fuzzy feeling and I love seeing all the ceremonies and how each country puts their stamp on them. I plan on watching all of it later with sound to fully experience it, but it looks like Great Britain went for all the silly, solemn and joyful spectacle. I think finding that right balance is what works for these ceremonies; never too serious.

I've also written a good bit of FridayFic tonight and want to post them before I lose track. I'm open for more until I finish work in the next two hours, but after that won't be that online as my parents are here. I'm also so happy because I have an idea for my ineedmyfics's prompt and my narniaexchange fic is safely turned in.

( Just a few words )

This week and today especially feel so long. I'm getting myself back into my job search and feeling scared by it. I know I can do the jobs I've been interviewing for, but I need to be better about putting myself out there. In the hopes of being a little louder I wrote a new librarian blog post Inspiration and Mirrors: the stories I'm connecting to. It's mainly about seananmcguire and Charles Xavier as they're my touchstones of late.

Today on my way to work and on the way back, I was feeling quite aware of my personal space and every ache. I wish I hadn't been because the Ann Arbor Summer Festival starts tonight and I passed two free concerts but I didn't feel up to being around people. Work was full with two long reference phone calls where I ended up feeling lost and not sure how much I helped. I'm picking up more hours at work, because money's good and so is filling my time.

Tomorrow I'm going to give myself a day of self-care as I seriously need it with how job doubt and various pains are sneaking up on me. My plan is to try and wake up a little early for me, go to the Kerrytown Farmer's Market, spend some of my gift card at Zingerman's, maybe even buy some gin or rum at the liquor store and hopefully arrange or have a massage. I know if I arrange it, it'll probably be nicer but another part of me just wants to walk in somewhere and be taken care of. Any advice?

I'm growing to really love #FicFriday as writing is one of my favorite things and I adore the challenge of writing in a tweet. As always if I've missed a prompt or a fill, let me know. I always put them up the day of since I know if I wait too long, I'll lose them all.

( Words, words, words. )

Since I last posted about Milliways, I'm feeling much more reassured that the mods had actually been thinking about a move for a while. I sort of wish they'd mentioned that before the latest blow up as that was partly why I felt things all rushing to a point at once. Though I have to admit I'm feeling a little more comfortable with the idea of shifting as I can see the plot helping me in dealing with some various plot stuff I'm stuck on and seeing people appearing with ideas reminds me of why I love this game as I do. I still kind of wish that there had been a little more time on everything but it will take time before the game properly moves, at one point it almost felt like it would happen as soon as possible and that made me terribly nervous. Now though as I can see that the mods are going to make sure the transition is done in a fun and Milliways' manner, I feel relaxed.

Last week was a chaotic week for me as well since I returned from break straight into a heavy work week and I'm trying to get myself ready for a much more aggressive round of job hunting. I know there's the right job out there for me and I'm going to go and find it. A friend who already has a job actually helped me apply for one at her library and I have more connections to talk to. The main thing is I need to write more on my librarian blog, apply for more jobs and don't let anyone forget me.

Yesterday I had the fun of my apartment slightly falling apart on me and currently my kitchen light looks like this, a large rectangular light hanging on by only one side. I got up on a stepladder to see if I could deattach it the rest of the way and didn't feel like I could. It's just too heavy and too awkward. The person I spoke to yesterday told me something unhelpful as they suggested maintenance might be out today but they don't work on the weekends. So it hangs like that until Monday, it hasn't shifted again and I can avoid being under it, but it's worrying.

Now to do the run down of pups for Milliways and around, I only have ten so I'm listing them all, in and out of Bar. I was able to get all the same usernames for all of mine and they're all imported and I've been looking over layouts. Currently I'll be playing all of them but it's been a while since I did a write up so this is a good chance.

( Most Active )

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As inspired by in_the_blue I'm going to write about the various characters that I love playing. One thing that I found rather challenging as I was thinking about this is how to divide up this list since I think of my characters in different ways. I have a feeling that what I start out writing might not be what I end up with.

My Boys: Will Scarlett (Robin Hood), Sameth (Abhorsen Chronicles), William Evans (3:10 to Yuma)
Will is the first character that I ever wrote fanfiction abut when I didn't even know what it was because I wanted to know more. He represents one of my favorite kinds of characters which three boys capture, the side character who's so key, has their own issues and sometimes is forgotten. I love finding these characters and bringing out their stories and fixing them. All of these boys have issues with knowing who they are and where they fit in their worlds.

Will Scarlett does better since thanks to Robin Hood, he knows who he is but one thing that happens when I play him is he's conscious of all that he doesn't know. Sameth on the other hand has what he's meant to be doing but its not what makes him happy so he's constantly feeling like he's disappointing people. William is trying to fill his father shoes and take care of his family and find his own way. I think these boys capture a lot of my personal insecurities and I like that I can fix theirs since it gives me ideas about how to deal with my own.

Themselves: Demeter (Greek Mythology), Moist von Lipwig (Discworld), The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance)
What I love playing with these three is that they know who they are and don't have to worry about anyone's ideas. Demeter makes me happy because she's so alive and embraces life from the cold of winter to the glory of spring. In another life, I pursued Classics into a higher degree and she lets me play with my utter love of the strange ways of the Greeks.

Moist is tricky and always up to something, he just has fun with the world too but in a more selfish way than Demeter. I wish I could get away with what he does and I adore playing someone who tries to game the world. The Pirate King is pure Gilbert and Sullivan combined with Kevin Kline, I don't play him very often because he's not a sustaining voice. He's a comet that goes through and burns things in its wake.

Shifting but Sure: Jane Austen (Becoming Jane), Tumnus (Chronicles of Narnia), Tiwa (Changeling OC)
These three characters have a sense of where they're going and they're still on that journey. Becoming Jane is a movie that I fell in love with the first time I saw it in Wellington right around my birthday, it was beautiful and witty and as someone who adores Jane Austen it made me happy. Jane is a character that I thought about playing since I first saw the movie but I was worried about messing her up. It took dynastessa who kept being stubborn to get me to play her. Now I adore her, she's not an easy one to play, because I hold myself to a high standard with her speech and manner.

Tumnus is another one that I just love but never even though I would play. I think once in a DE I mentioned that he was a character I could imagine playing and someone told me he was free. Then suddenly I was playing him, he's a quiet character but another one that I feel careful with since he's my childhood. He's found his place and he fits there. Tiwa, I love Tiwa because she's my chance to play a Changeling again and keep connecting to New Zealand. She's a shapeshifter who is learning to be a teacher and she has such a web of people in mixed_muses and I have such fun with her journey.

Connecting Tissue
One thing I've discovered about myself in my many years of roleplaying from tabletop to Larp to online is that I tend to play characters that I have things in common with and that aren't of the modern world. I've always loved reading fantasy, but the kind of fantasy where magic is just out of the corner of your eye is one of my favorite types. Charles De Lint writes this type amazingly well and one reason I got into Changeling: The Dreaming was because it felt like it could be his world.

For me Milliways has that same feel to it, magic can be hard to miss or just out of the corner of your eye. I tend to play characters that make people blink and reconsider their sense of things as they're from a place that's not Earth or a time when not everyone got an education. The past is another world and that's what makes is so fascinating.

I really enjoyed writing this and I know that I missed some things so I'd love anyone's questions, because I know what makes sense to me might not to anyone else.