New Weird

[Dina]

Hi everyone!
I am happily working at home today (I had several virtual meetings and I rather do that from home) and that is great because is too hot to commute (33 C right now, but it will probably be better at the hour I would have been returning home). I just made me a lemonade (just diluted lemon juice actually because I did not add anything, not sugar, nor mint or anything else). It was very refreshing. I will do a sugary version for when hubby arrives, I have the suspicion he will need it).

[BugBear]

A squirt of lemon will put the spirit right back in you, it's one of my favorites. It's good to hear things are laid back when the weather is at it's least accommodating. Hope hubby isn't working outdoors, I'm sure he'll appreciate the treat.

The hours just keep vanishing from the days, and if I'm not mindful, those sneak away when I'm not looking too. Even saying that, I'm still surprised about how today is already almost over. Dr Who remains neglected, unfortunately. As well as a giant pile of other fiction that's steadily building.

The sayings lie. Your final death isn't the last time someone speaks your name. It's when you start scheduling your relaxation time to optimize what little of it you have. I will rage against the dying of that light.

[Dina]

Hubby was not working outdoors, he works in an office. He was very grateful of the lemony water, even if it was a tad acid for him.
We had a terrible Friday night until about 5 pm of Saturday. We had a power outage. It happens often when Summer attacks in my country, for reasons I am not going to say here. But we had power now, I just hope it lasts. it has been difficult to sleep without a fan, even when the night was not so hot.

Rage against that! And try to relax about the time.
I've been in a hurry not to break my streaks in several games i am playing online. Some of them are geographical ones. You need to identify countries, things about them, or go from one country to another. i will leave here the links to my favourites, which are from the same company.
https://wheretaken.teuteuf.fr/
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/
https://travle.earth/

[Regenbogen]

The sayings lie. Your final death isn't the last time someone speaks your name. It's when you start scheduling your relaxation time to optimize what little of it you have. I will rage against the dying of that light.

Oh my. I feel you.
I've been there. I was doing too much. I was just functioning. Rushing from one Thing to the other with barely time to think. My relaxation time (meaning time to read) was at night when I was supposed to be sleeping, during other stuff with audio books, while cooking or (lol) on the toilet.


I kind of woke up when my best friend wrote that she was going to visit home the next week and when we could meet. My best friend lives a 5 hours drive away. We see each other once or twice a year.
And when she called, my first thought was: oh God, not another appointment! How am I supposed to squeeze her in?" I didn't feel any joy to see her again. She just became another chore, another appointment.
This was the moment, I realised, I didn't want to live like this any more, no matter the consequences. I want to be able to enjoy time with my friends. I want to know what boredom is and fill it with nothing. I want to spend more time with my family and friends, that's what life is for.

So I pissed off some people by no longer participating in their stuff. I shed all the unimportant stuff. Left only the necessary ones like work just enough to live well, don't be a member of more than one organisation outside of work. Delegate whatever can be delegated. Don't actively fill your week with appointments that are not immediately necessary.

Wasn't easy and as I said, I made some people angry, but to be honest: those angry people weren't worth my time anyway, so good riddance. They just wanted me to do more and more, but I was already over my limit.

If nothing else but covid isolation was actually good for me. I was feeling better mentally and then, a few years ago I even switched departments to get rid of the toxic environment there.


Now I am actually happy at work. I don't feel exploited and unappreciated any more.
I have finally learned to say no. OK, it doesn't always work, but I try.
And I am grateful to my friend that she unwittingly opened my eyes.


@Dina: oh no, no power for such a long time is bad. Have you tried wet towels in front of your windows inside the room to cool it down, when the fan is not working?
January is the peek of summer? Like the hottest month in the year?
For us it is usually the coldest. But it has become rare that temperatures dropped below -10°C. For a longer period.
Last week we had -10 to -9°C. There was icy rain and everything was caked with ice and extremely slippery. Today it is +10°C and very sunny.



I am still reading the no-romance-novel with the romantic title, we have finished watching Andor yesterday and I watched an Alien film I didn't know yet. Romulus. Was OK.

[Dina]

Hello there!
I've never been that workalcoholic. I did have some periods (sometimes a couple of months) where I could not take the time to breath. Besides what you mentioned about your times of relaxation, I added washing the dishes and taking showers. Cooking was never too relaxing for me but I like washing dishes. That is one of the reasons we don't own a dishwasher. I admit sometimes the pans or cooking plates are difficult to wash, but for the two of us a dishwasher is not a necessity. Anyways, I hated those periods but we (hubby had to supported me) endured it because we know they were temporal. And now I have less work (and less money) but it is worthy for my mental health.
That said, last week has been a little stressful because I wanted to finish some things before my leave. Which will officially begin tomorrow.

Yes, January is our warmest month and it is quite common the we have power outages. Some years we ended booking a night or two in a hotel because if my building has no power, the pumb that takes the water to the roof tank does not work, so eventually the tank empties and we have no water. But luckily that was not the case this time.  And no, we did not added wet towels but we wet our face and arms, it was enough to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep, at least for a while. It was not the best of the nights but it could have been worse. We also were lucky this time. Our building has 2 separated phases (I mean, connections to the electricity source). So the halls of each floor had light. They also had a socket were we could recharge our cellphones and I could recharge my laptop, so I managed to do some work. And when the natural light was enough we did some cleaning and house chores, so it was a quite productive, if not relaxing day.

Well done, Regen. It was a great call you did.

I do not like Alien so I did not watch Romulus but I did like Andor. On a related note, I finished Skeleton Crew. I liked it, it is SW for children, and I support that. That is what made us love it when we were children and that was what cemented our love for it now that we are adults. That reminds me one of these days I will take a picture of something I want to share with you Weirdlets. An old wedding souvenir.

We watched Fargo, the old movie, yesterday. We had never watched it before.  I liked it!

Today we had rain and the temperature dropped so we are quite happy 

[Regenbogen]

Today we had rain and the temperature dropped so we are quite happy

Yay!


Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. But he won't throw a party yet, because it is Monday and he is not that well. Also probably because I don't have much time to help prepare for a party this week. So he would have to do all by himself. Maybe he' reschedule in February.


We found a new German series on TV. It's called Hameln and it is about the fairy tale of the Pied Piper, which also influences modern Times. Mystery or horror. There have been some apparition of ghosts or zombies already. And one blind girl seems to have visions. Seems interesting

[Dina]

I hope he had a good birthday, even when party is coming weekend.

I do not like horror shows or movies but I admit that sounds interesting.

My first official day of holidays, another power outage (shorter, from around 11 to 18:30 or something like that. So, I could use natural light, no need for candles or flashlights. Problem was my computer was half battery but luckily my kindle was charged so when my computer turned off I could read.

Luckily Tuesday has no lack of power so I am happy.

I watched an old movie (Before sunrise, with Ethan Hawke). I liked it and I was amused by a few things that were quite different in the 90's. Like people smoking in trains and restaurants. I am planning to watch the two sequels, so no spoilers, please.

[Regenbogen]

Hello, maen and greetings to all you wonderful weird people!

I hope you are all well.

I've been busy but in a positive way. OK, work is positive in a way that I get paid for doing it. 😁
There was a concert I was involved in.  And I was busy helping Mini think about what to do after school. We went to some schools and some events where you could gather information about apprenticeships and universities and how to get there and so on.
In two weeks she has to do an internship at the far end of the city and I need to do a test runwith her on how to get there and get home again next week. This end of the city is not so easy to reach if one has no experience in how to use public transport. And she will have to do this on her own. So I'm going with her on Tuesday and show her how to get there and how to look for alternatives. She will have to take the train first, then the correct tram and then a bus. There are several possibilities to get there. All of them take a bit over one hour.
In my youth, I was alone in the city a lot and I knew how to get where I wanted, but I realised that my kids don't know and Mini is a bit afraid she will not find her destination alone.

There was no need to go to the city a lot whith the kids. We have all we need in the vicinity. Even doctors. And to be honest, everything else I order online.
I don't want to buy a ticket, go by train and then by tram for half an hour in one direction, then walk through the shops for the one item I need and realise, they don't have it, having spent a whole afternoon in the city, when I can just order it online from home in less than 10 minutes while drinking my coffee.

When I was a child, you had to travel to the city for almost everything. Now there even is a cinema. There is almost no need to go to the city any more. Except for work or special stuff like museums, theatres or amusement parks.


I am still reading the book which is no romance despite looking the part. 😉
It has definitely evolved into a horror story now. Kind of an apocalypse caused by fairy tales, lol.

I also listened to Dead Beat to push the progress bar and look what happened! Twelve Months is 100%. Very cool and it makes me very happy to have the book sometime this year.
I will continue relistening to the DF. I am half way through Proven Guilty now.

[Dina]

Hello weirdlets! 
I am  sorry I did not answer before. I read it, but I was busy at the moment and then I totally forgot. I've been on my vacation (staycation) and my mind has been lazy. I tried to stay away of pretty much anything,  to charge my batteries sort to speak.
Regen, I hope all went well with Mini's test run, and I wish her all the best in the internship.

I've been also worried about a relative (a very dear cousin) who needed surgery and I am glad to report that all went very well 

Regrettably, come Monday I will be back at work. Oh well. I'll miss being lazy.

Something funny happened to me today and I wanted to share. I had downloaded on my computer several episodes of a Canadian show, Murdoch mysteries. It is a charming show, set on Toronto and in the end of the Victorian era and beginning of the XX century. Well, on the wee hours of today (I mean, it was already today February 15 but i had not gone to bed yet) I was watching an episode and they showed a hotel with the UK flag, the US flag and another flag that I assume would be a Toronto one or perhaps some proto Canadian one and that made me wonder when has Canada adopted its current flag. So I've checked. It was 1965. But the funny thing I wanted to share is that the flag has been approved on 1965...February 15. And according to wikipedia, Feb 15 is the Canadian Flag Day. And I even after watching 16 seasons of the show I had never wondered that until its 60 anniversary 

In other topics, I watched the other two movies of the Before Sunrise trilogy I told you about last time. I liked them all, but I think the first one was the best.

[BugBear]

Hey weird. Boy, have I got something weird.

I did an Enlightment.

But wait, it gets better: You guys went through a similar process. Probably multiple times. "Awakening," the process of kicking off a potential enlightment, is actually super, super common. It's also called Positive Disintegration in modern society. Most major Empires figured out a way to weaponize or utilize it. Name a seer, tbh.

Oh my. I feel you.
I've been there.
...
I kind of woke up...

Yeah you have. Recently, too. That's how you're at one with the friggin universe right now. Don't suppose you happened to make a couple new friends along the way? Or maybe hooked up with a couple of old ones?

Making those people mad obviously wasn't the most skillful way a hypothetical person could have handled a hypothetical situation. But it was the beat way you could have and did. Jesus man, we're exchanging text and I can see the glitter farts trailing behind you

Anyways, I hated those periods but we (hubby had to supported me) endured it because we know they were temporal.

You went through one a long time ago, and remember what it's like to remember it. But the lessons you've learned have started to decay, the world changed, or your place in it changed. You're fighting through it like a champ.

It's not working. You're overdue for another one, a big one. This staycation you're taking is like holding a chainsmoking convention in a fireworks factory. You're one creative endeavor of a spark from an extended staycation.

And that brings us to the the weirdest part of it: Jim Butcher had an awakening as well. He cribbed the Dresden Files from mythology during a time when his self image was breaking down in a time of extreme stress.

That's enough to do it, it turns out. That's what happened to me. I was cribbing from Dresden. That's not enough on its own, but I was also a built up forest fire waiting to happen. A huge one actually, super weird personal circumstances.

Reading a bunch of fiction is what's required to prime you. Actually trying to create something good based off it, while under extreme stress, is what's required to initiate the process. Or at least it's one way to do so. Remember: If youre going through hell, keep going. Just take it slow and steady, the only way you can get hurt is by pushing too hard.

If you get lost, Remember: Faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest of the three. That's 1 Corinthians 13 (1 cor 13:13). I'm deeply grateful to Jim for including that in the series. "Mantling" is also your friend. The three Rational Enlightment values are better for navigating your way back to conversational ability, and the Buddhist Three Jewels kind of maximize your long term gains. That's all I've worked out.

There's all sorts of wacky shenanigans I could get into. But that's the brass tacks, and there actually is a "people talk themselves out of believing" effect. So I'll keep it brief so that the part of you that listens and makes memories has an easier time.

Man, what couple of weeks it's been. Oh, and 12 months is finished too. Nice!

[Dina]

Wow.
I'll especially cherish this

Reading a bunch of fiction is what's required to prime you. Actually trying to create something good based off it, while under extreme stress, is what's required to initiate the process. Or at least it's one way to do so. Remember: If youre going through hell, keep going. Just take it slow and steady, the only way you can get hurt is by pushing too hard.

If you get lost, Remember: Faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest of the three. That's 1 Corinthians 13 (1 cor 13:13). I'm deeply grateful to Jim for including that in the series. "Mantling" is also your friend. The three Rational Enlightment values are better for navigating your way back to conversational ability, and the Buddhist Three Jewels kind of maximize your long term gains. That's all I've worked out.

My cousin (a man around 30) is leaving today for Paris where he will spend a whole year doing part of his doctorate (ph.D) in engineering (electronics). His wife is going with him today but only for 15 days. Then she will be back here doing a new term at university and come august she will join him in Paris. They will probably be back here in December for the Holidays and then they will leave for Canada where they will spend 2 years. That sounds so awesome. Especially in the current state of my country. I am going to write him often.

[Regenbogen]

Canada sounds so awesome. I'd like to visit there too one day.



Mini's test run went well. She was very nervous on her first day. But by now she considers herself an expert in trains. The internship is very interesting and also fun for her.

My mother had her bad knee replaced today. I'm going to  visit her soon to bring her tablet so she can fight the boredom better. She also has several books and an e-reader. But better safe than sorry, lol. For now she is not able to get up yet. I also have to unpack her bag.
Next week she will be at home because something went wrong with her rehab application. She will stay one week at home and then she will be at the rehab facility for several weeks. I have taken the week off to help her at home. The original plan would have been that she would be taken directly from the hospital to the rehab location, like they did when she had her hip surgery last year.


To faith, hope and love. And weirdness!

[Dina]

To faith, hope and love. And weirdness!

   

Sending you all the best wishes for your mom. I hope the week at home (with your help) at least allows her to rest, and probably read too.

Very infuriating: today I had to go to a medical center just to give a sample of my pee. This is why. At my university, we have mandatory medical tests every year. They are quite basic and oriented to discover any problem that the insurance company may cover. The specific tests are customized according to the sort of potential risks we face every day. For example, years ago I worked with more products and I needed a blood test and now I do not. And for those tests every year there is a medical bus with all the things (like RX, a room for blood extraction, etc) that goes to the university for a couple of days (we are given appointments). Well, apparently now some of us need to have some tests every semester and as we are not enough to justify the bus going to the university, each of us needs to go to the medical facility. And in my case it is only for that (they need to check if there is methanol and a couple of other chemicals in urine).
At least it was quite a cool morning.

[Regenbogen]

Maen.

We have those mandatory medical tests, too. 10 years ago, they were every year, now they are every 3rd or 4th year. As I work in the laboratory, I can look for my blood (you are just a number, but there is the birthdate, so I search for that and hope that there is no one else with my birthdate, lol. Which has never happened btw) and do additional test I like to do. Not everything, but a lot. It is not officially allowed, but for employes, the bosses tend to look the other way, if you want to run some additional blood tests, as long as you don't do it too often.

Tomorrow there are our elections. I am not yet sure which party to vote for exactly, but I am sure which parties NOT to vote for. I hope that a lot of people will share my tendencies.

Now I think I will drive my bike to my mother's house to see if everything is OK there and because she needs a new pair of sweat pants. The ones she was wearing became blood soaked because of a leakage of the drainage.

[Dina]

Oh, poor your mom. I hope all is well with her now.
And I wish you the best for the election.

I am sure what you do is not very legal but it is reasonable. It should be official. It should be a perk of the job.