not today or tomorrow

I've never been a very committed cook, so it's always nice when I manage to get into at least a temporary routine of doing more home-cooking, trying a few new recipes, wheedling some extra nutrition in there. Recent successes include:

• My mother's recipe for florentine slice (oats, dried fruit, sweeteners) which has become my staple for lengthy client visits. It doesn't take long to make, the output is very reliable (unlike my many attempts at perfecting brownies), and it's always a hit with whoever I'm visiting. I used to just buy store-made Anzac biscuits or cakes, but homemade goods are the undeniably superior option when you're trying to build a connection. The office also seems to hoover up the leftovers with a speed that suggests the clients aren't just being polite.

• Mucking around with my recipes for beef & veg stew and spaghetti bolognese. With the former I've mostly been experimenting to see how much I can dial down the beef portion to pack more veg in, and with the latter I added some veg, played around with spices, and accidentally used lamb instead of beef mince, and it turned out so nice I'm inclined to do it again. They're of course ideal bulk meals too, so plenty of leftovers for the freezer.

• I don't remember what suddenly inspired me to try overnight oats. Possibly the bag of oats in my pantry? Anyway, that's been fun! I'm not terribly creative with it yet, but I like adding chia seeds and it's a good way to get some berries in my diet... at least whenever I can find berries for less than nine dollars, oh my god. I feel like the maple syrup I use as a sweetener is doing a bit too much heavy lifting, but I'm hoping to try and taper it off a bit, and find a few other nutritional additives. Mostly, though, I like that I can put it together in under five minutes and have a bit of breakfast ready for the next three days.

• I also finally, finally broke the seal on my blender and made myself a banana smoothie today. Delicious! The trick is using frozen bananas. As with the overnight oats, I don't think I can call this a terribly healthy meal, but it at least scratches the itch for a smoothie without forking out $14 at a cafe. I'm contemplating seeing if adding dates to the mixture works, hmm.

• Going to try making some gluten-free coconutty cheesecake balls tomorrow, as we're having a Biggest Morning Tea at work on Tuesday. Not something I'd risk in the heat of summer, but now that things have cooled down some I think I can serve them up without worrying they'll dissolve the second I put them out on a platter.

1) Today in web antics, Tumblr had a collective heart attack before staff hurriedly clarified they were not making random 'algorithmic' content the default dashboard (I'm still counting it as another early warning light tbh), AO3 got briefly bombed, and Dreamwidth apparently has a whole beta alternative create post mode that's friendlier on mobile?? And has since like 2015? I am bad at actually paying attention to Dreamwidth's various features.

The mode does not solve the issue of clicking to other mobile tabs, only for the DW page to refresh when you click back and erase half your damn post, but it's something.

2) Yesterday I bought two painted rocks from children for $20. One of them is a 'vegan rock' that has pictures of various fruit upon it, helpfully labelled with "pees", "bananananas", and "vegables". My coworkers are making fun of me but I think it's an excellent purchase.

3) My toilet is finally fixed. For real this time. (I hopE...)

4) Believe it or not, I've never used eBay before this year, but I realised I could buy Spider-Man comics there and have been having way too much fun. The hardest purchase so far has been the Peter/MJ wedding issue - I think John Romita Snr's recent passing may have made it a bit more of a premium than usual, I got outbid on two sets before I found one I could just buy outright - but I've just about snared all the key Peter/MJ issues I want, plus a bunch of the Web of Spider-Man run which I quite enjoyed when I first began exploring the classics. I can see how people get Really Into This as a hobby.

5) Mum and Dad have booked flights to come up in early September for a visit, which will be very nice. We've been making use of a new cheap airline to trial these quicker 'weekend' visits - I went down in June to stay with them while I visited my grandmother, who has recently moved into an aged care facility and is obviously going through a bit of stress and emotional adjustment with that transition. We also belatedly fulfilled Mum's Christmas present and went to the local zoo for a VIP tour, where we got to feed tamarins, ruffed lemurs, meerkats, and Mum's most favourite animal of all: the binturong.

1) Ugh. That was definitely not a 24 hour headcold. I clawed my way past the worst of it within five days, though, and seem to be finally exiting phase 2: lingering cough boogaloo.

2) Traipsed down to the Capital for a couple of days for work purposes with El. The meeting itself went well, but the highlight was getting to walk around some old haunts, including a fantastic Turkish restaurant that was fortunately still running, and breakfast at a pancake place. I was expecting to find it all a bit jarring - I was never over fond of the inner city - but it wasn't so bad? Maybe I could live here again some day.

3) I successfully sold my car! To a coworker, no less. With all the scams flying about I think both Jerboa and I have just been grateful to get through the process without worrying about the other person's integrity. And it means I still get to see Toby sometimes, hehe.

4) Had a dream last night framed as a horror anthology that was largely unpleasant, but I still woke up laughing when the protagonist escaped a giant spectral worm that was eating people by convincing it to come out to a field where it was promptly snatched up by a giant spectral bird.

5) Game sessions with Lane are whisking along: we escaped Fort Joy (FOR REAL, AT LAST), freed me from my multiple curses (partly thanks to Lane's evil genius idea to recruit a gross NPC, give him the cursed item, and then immediately unrecruit him), and acquired a demon chicken we're pretty sure is, uh, going to try and kill us at some point.

Also had a very fun bash about in the early access of Baldur's Gate 3 with weirderwest! I'm trialling the druid class and already love it on the grounds I get to turn into a fluffy cat. As per Ves' adorable doodle - worm besties!

I am in the midst of a two-week stay at my parents' up at the Coast, which as per usual is generally good fun if also the kind of thing that makes me wish we didn't live quite so far apart. I love seeing them, and spending time with them! One just inevitably misses one's own routines, and it would be nice to be able to do shorter visits / stays as well.

We had two Christmases this year - one with my mother's side of the family for the first time in a while, which was lovely. Caught up with various aunts, uncles, and cousins, and also visited my Poppy, who reached his 95th milestone this month. On Christmas Day itself we had my father's mother with us, and she stayed for a couple of days. This is always a bit trickier as she has very little mobility left, mediocre conversational skills at best, and no hobbies besides watching television. The mobility issue was tested when, early on Boxing Day, the apartment complex was evacuated due to a fire alarm. As everyone was pretty sure it was a false alarm (which it was), we scooted her down in the elevator, but I think she still found it fairly frazzling.

There was at least some amusement to be had in all the bleary neighbours standing together on the street in their nightclothes, resigned to indignity. A family clad in matching dorky Christmas PJs were particularly unimpressed.

Notable activities so far: kayaking at the lakes, a swim at the beach, playing A Little Wordy (harder than it sounds!), cooking and shopping. We went and saw the new Avatar movie at the cinemas, which I cannot recommend, and I've been playing my first ever Animal Crossing game (New Leaf) which is much more endearing. Tomorrow I'll head into the city to visit Bantam, and then next week I'll be driving back to the Town over two days in my new car!

As happens this time of the year, I've been musing on resolutions a bit. I don't like to get too obsessive over big life goal stuff that is somewhat outside my control, and littler life habits work better for me as a flexible thing. So yes, I want to continue pursuing healthier eating and regular physical movement, but I'm not setting hard targets around any of it. 

My two 2022 goals were mostly to try and break through the writing block (a success!) and to vary my reading input more by squeezing in some non-fiction and classics. I managed to finish two non-fiction books and get most of the way through a third, and ticked off some first reads for 1984, Slaughterhouse Five, and Interview with the Vampire - a small accomplishment, but I'm pleased all the same.

In this vein, I'm leaning towards:

1. Read 15 books, at least 5 of which are either non-fiction or genre atypical.
2. See at least 3 movies in the cinema that aren't big franchise blockbusters.
3. Write more rec posts!
4. Find a tree kangaroo in the wild (since I ticked off the cassowary in 2021).

I may also have subscribed to the National Geographic for the year, so reading one magazine a month will also be a goal, but hopefully not a strenuous one.

First post from the new apartment! Woohoo!

( a whole lot of stuff about that )

And now for stuff that is not new apartment stuff:

• Winter actually came this year, good lord. Down south this has meant frost and freezes; even further south it has meant hideous amounts of flooding. Up here it mostly means I am wearing my dressing gown for nearly the first time in three years and sleeping under several light blankets and a quilt. Yes my tolerance for cold has been obliterated by life in the tropics but I'll hold that 10C / 50F minimums is a little nippy.

• Global politics are... sure having a time. It's a strange feeling watching such a major shift in world power become so tangible.

• I have been watching the new Umbrella Academy season and confirming this show both entertains and deeply maddens me.

• Quix shared an interesting video on the absolutely batshit way New Zealand acquires and makes available medication.

1) "Waiting six months to move into my unit isn't so bad" was a valid thought four months ago. I am antsy. I want it to be done. Every now and then I am hit with the absurd fear that I will move in and then within months have to sell and move again, barely experiencing the place at all.

2) Cute article in the news about a cartoon I remember fondly from childhood, Li'l Elvis Jones and the Truckstoppers! Punchlined by the less cute but undeniably true observation that the arts in Australia is in a pitiable state, sigh. Do not ever get M started on the subject. (What was it about 90s Aussie kid shows that lead to the absolute catchiest theme songs? Round the Twist? Lift-Off?)

3) Autumn rain! Out of season but enthusiastically welcomed all the same. If it rains out my event in two weeks, however, Zeus is getting it in the neck with a blunt pencil.

4) Been pondering on and off about the fact that if Spotify vanishes tomorrow I will have pumped hundreds of dollars into a music collection to no lasting effect. The problem with rebuilding my harder copy collection is I used to just buy everything through itunes back in the day and now I barely know where to start finding and organising files. Bandcamps and Soundclouds, probably? No point buying CDs, I don't own a laptop with a disc drive anymore. I know monopolies are a terrible thing but the craving for simplicity is real.

5) Relatedly, a bunch of friends traded our 'personal' playlists and I was reminded I'm really quite fond of my own. It's grown well-rounded over the years.

1) We have been wedged up the far end of the devil's sweaty asshole for a week now. I am suffering. The locals are suffering. The wildlife is suffering. Swimming carnivals are cancelled because the water is too hot, ants are setting up refugee camps in my pantry, coworkers are talking about eating single grapes for dinner, I haven't left my apartment save to go to work in days. It is autumn.

2) $2/litre at the pumps. Yowch.

3) There is a 3 hour ocean-themed film festival in a couple of weeks and I think I am going to go! Tam has said she'll go with me, though I'm not sure if it's out of personal interest or she thinks she's doing me a favour. Girl... it's okay. I don't mind going to things alone.

4) One of my coworkers makes gorgeous wooden pens - I bought a mango and a gidgee off him. He admitted pens are his least favourite form of the craft, but they do tend to pay for materials to make more exciting things.

5) A couple of itchio bundles: Support Ukraine and Supporting Texan Trans Youths.

1) The 3 Sentence Ficathon rides again, offering many opportunities to dabble in drabbles as either prompter or filler!

2) Michelle Grattan's article on The Conversation politely eviscerated the governmental mismanagement of Omicron. It is frustrating to feel even more at a loss than I was nearly two years ago, when the outbreak first started. "Get tested if you have symptoms" isn't useful advice when a) I have daily 'symptoms' thanks to aggressive hayfever, b) overwhelmed testing centres and RAT shortages leave no practical options for 'just in case' testing, and c) there is no way to accurately gauge feasibility of infection since they're no longer tracking exposure sites. I am mostly just dosing myself with Claratyne regularly in the gloomy hope that this will help me distinguish between a genuine sore throat and the kind of sore throat that comes from sneezing yourself awake because pollen and dust exist.

3) A number of coworkers and myself attended a 2-day project management fundamentals course, which switched at the last minute from in-person attendance to virtual. I don't think the instructor had much skill with a virtual setting, but the course material itself was solid and we did some ferocious group chatting under the table about what we liked and wanted to try implementing. The overall consensus seemed to be that we really wished we'd had some of this training before being launched into project manager roles, but it was also very useful to have a practical context to be applying the learnings to as we went.

4) In mild despair of my grotty homestead, I've tried downloading organisational phone app Tody (iOS and Android) and, while I'm not willing to call it a life-changer after one weekend's trial, I'm liking it rather a lot. It's well-designed, easy to use, and having the tasks and timelines clearly laid out for me might just work better for me than trying to clean things at scatter-brained random.

5) I've found someone willing to carry my battered old couch away for free! I'm looking forward to acquiring something that isn't 20+ years old, though the enthusiasm tends to be a little dampened every time I look at the price tags on Harvey Norman stock, haha. I'm not unwilling to go second-hand, but I do really need something that offers good support for my back.

The folks flew up for a week, and we spent the majority of it traipsing around the tourist circuit up north (as best as we could with two increasingly frail parties who could tolerate neither long walks nor too long in the car). Overall very nice to see them again, and we even managed to have a lengthy cassowary encounter. Unfortunately at least one has learned picnickers are a source of food, and it was with a mixture of amusement and sadness that I watched her successfully rob several by simply looming. They need to expand on the "don't feed the cassowaries!" signs with advice on how exactly one avoids feeding a large and persistent bird with knives on its feet.

Dad's caffeine addiction came up during the travelling, as he does get a headache if he goes without his morning coffee, and then a little while later I coincidentally ran into a recent Guardian article on "The Invisible Addiction". It was an interesting read as someone who has been largely sheltered from it through no real effort of my own - I don't like the taste of coffee, tea, or dark chocolate, and I find the carbonation in soft drinks painful. Some parts of the article almost made me feel a little cheated :| I can't say I sleep significantly better than your average coffee drinker, that's for sure.

Oh well. The sugar addiction probably makes up some of the difference!

Behold! A character directory, for those who were curious.

I have spent much of this week wincing as I attempt to open and close doors, which is a testament to the workout my something-or-other muscles received after one whole hour of climbing up and down walls. It was fun! My colleague and I intend to go again, once we have both free time and functioning arms.

It doesn't help that we've started a string of Chi Sao drills at studio, which isn't particularly strenuous except for the part where you have to sit in horse stance and hold your arms aloft as you patiently and repeatedly go through the same movements for most of the class. That said, I'm excited to be on the road towards having biceps again. There was a brief period, many years ago, where I could actually see some definition on these things. [pats own shoulder] One day...

In other idle news that has nothing to do with a certain royal family because I'm about ready to scream (four articles, ABC? you're not a tabloid!!), did you know well-known child actor Frankie Muniz went on to do a bit of professional drumming? I didn't until I was idly Wiki-binging, and promptly did a spit-take to realise who I'd been listening to every time Grapevine Valentine came up on my shuffle. It's a catchy song, so, huh. Good job!