Queen of the Cat People

According to my calendar, I've only been on my summer 'break' for two weeks. Feels like longer. I think the isolation is starting to get to me, but I'm still tired and somewhat weird-feeling about large groups of people or crowded places. Add seeing people crow about achievements on the usual online networking pages, plus TTotM, and I'm getting some really wacky mood swings.

Monday I tried to take my day off to relax and shop for fabric, but I forgot that for me shopping is not typically relaxing. ( Do I have a problem yet? )

Am liking sewing a lot more than knitting. Its faster to see "These pieces are being assembled into a vest." than "This ball will eventually be a scarf, which will be fluffy and bulky and scratchy and leave fibers in your nose." Tried the knitting, no dis to anyone who likes it, but it really was not for me. Also, fabric stores easier so far. However, murder on my back muscles b/c I don't have a good table for fabric cutting.

Is it ironic that I have no idea what to do for Halloween now that I am learning how to sew? I'm stuck in nerd-elitist mode, "I could make a Delenn costume, but nobody would get it." Or I could make the 50s prom dress, add cat ears and fangs, and call it a day.


Mulling over what I miss doing, in the midst of many people on FB gleeing "OMG look what I did!" I miss making jewelry (making stuff in general), writing my scripts, doing a martial arts (style) physical thing, dressing up on a regular basis, and performing. The first three are things I can get together on my own assuming I have the time and energy. There are events to dress up for that some of my friends attend at least semi regularly. The performing may be the trickiest, as it involves the efforts of other people for extended time periods.

Still in the "Ideas not decisions" phase tho.

It seems that I know who I am, but not what I want. *more musing* Don't get me started on "Whom do you serve and trust," eeek.


The Anachronism is this weekend, it is an event in Manhattan rather than Bklyn, and I have a hankering to play dress up, so I will make more of an effort to go this time. Assuming I don't have a sudden relapse of agoraphobia and lose all my saved hit points. I can wear my kimono! Or the long black bell sleeved dress that came too late for Wicked Faire. Been reading some gothy makeup blogs and got my new batch of contact lenses, so more to play with for Sunday. And I have next Monday off again for recuperating afterwards. DragonCon pregame?


Otherwise I will probably spend the weekend moving more stuff around in the Chantry, figuring out how to get a shelf in the extra closet, and sewing stuff. And continuing to catch up on TNG, I'm at the end of S4, tho I just heard that Riker's awesome declines after season 4. *woe*

<3 Chrysilla

Am feeling better by little bits every day, I think, on a daily-average basis. Still having weird mood swings and echoes of the problems I had in the winter of 07-08, but the later are muted b/c this time I know how to sleep (this is a weird thing to see myself typing, but its true).

I'll feel better about my place in society when I stop making such angsty Facebook statuses. Summer heat turned me into a 15 year old. Wth.

Went out on Saturday for a puppet making workshop, which was pretty fun. But their space is not air conditioned so I will not return until the fall. The heat had me so spaced out that I burnt my thumb on hot glue, which I've been really good at not-doing for years. I can has proper Lockheed puppet for DragonCon, tho I haven't tried on my Shadowcat spandex to see if it still fits yet.

That night I played an unfortunate game of train-tag (grrrr LES grrrr) until I got to a very fun b'day party and geeked out. And while the company all day was pretty awesomesauce, that's just about my quota for train-riding in a summer week. Srsly, the thing that wears me out about going to work and social gatherings isn't the events themselves, but the commute. I would definitely work from home if it was possible. Friends at the party told me about a pub-quiz thing happening near my workplace on Wednesday nites, may do that this week if I don't space out and forget.

Srsly, the evening-rush-hour commutes are the worst. Cold makes people ... cold, but heat makes people NUTZ. Both make people sick. And going straight home after work unfortunately means dealing with more rush hour. At least I get plenty of a/c and Netflix to soothe me afterwards.

Am a little annoyed at myself for scheduling an improv class on each day next weekend. But I do have the next Monday off, and each class is only three hours. If I feel heat-cranky I can just go home.

This weekend I mostly finished the vest. The vest itself is finished, but I opted for the frog closure instead of buttons and don't like the one I have, so I'll stop by Pear River ... sometime. Shopping after work in the heat followed by rush hour also = yuck. The vest is more of an autumn weight, there's no rush. I didn't start the red dress which is also more autumn-y, being red and long sleeved, but maybe some nite this week. I think the pattern is simpler, but the fabric pieces are all bigger.

I really really really want to start on that vintage Vogue reprint pattern I have. Not sure if I'm ready for it. Would actually like to copy something I've seen in a lot of con photos, and make one version of this dress out of geek bedsheets (which I unfortunately do not have, whups).

( Emo Notions )

Maybe next year I should plan in advance to take July and August off. Put any independent ongoing projects (writing, jewelry, etc) on the back burner and become a (nomadic or stationary) hermit for two months to recharge and/or sleep. Sans guilt. Is it a thing programmed into me due to the American school system? Summer is NOT for being productive. It is for catching up on tv shows and eating ice cream.


Jewelry wise, I have an idea for a Mythpunk Army series of ... things. But I'm not sure if this term has been seriously claimed by others, and I don't want to make a whole Army of like-minded people on the internet annoyed at me. B/c in all honesty, it would be for me to make monies for *me*, not for Army fundraising, where I most often see the phrase invoked. Thoughts/feedback?

<3 Chrysilla

Yay, I think the grumpiness is starting to recede. Feeling a bit better emotionally since the heat index has gone down, tho other city folk are still complaining and being extra unpleasant.

But I've noticed it most in the more *privileged* persons, picking fights and being nasty with other people with little provocation. I guess they can't deal with the world and heat-index not revolving around them? Poor yuppies :-P One yuppie biatch lost a seat on the train when an old lady snagged it before she did, and the yuppie started to engage in 14 year old girl-bully tactics ... I guess just b/c she wanted to start something? The forced giggles of entitlement made me want to smack something, but her yuppie bf was a well muscled six foot something. The older lady seemed OK, old ladies in NYC can be pretty badass. I moved to the unfashionable part of Queens to get away from nasty people like this and... failed?


( Upkeep )

As I look over a few weeks of 'not much going on' I'm wondering if I might pull out the beads before DragonCon instead of after. Except that goes against the chillingout, maybe. I have been thinking about how I'd like to approach jewelry in the future, and it's pretty much the same as I always have. ( Shiny planz )

Not sure if I'll be making special jewelry for the Wicked Faire theme in February, b/c that never works out for me. But I guess leftover Halloween/autumn items would keep until it was actually autumn? Meh.

<3 Chrysilla

I'm tired of complaining "Boo hoo, its so hot and I'm so tired. WAAAAAH." So I'm reframing the situation. This month is the month of naptime. I will be tired, at home and listless on purpose.

Will continue accepting invites to parties, shows, gatherings, etc. for the next few weeks, and dutifully add them to my dayplanner. But I will STOP feeling guilty about being too tired to attend, if that happens (especially if I go home and cook steaks instead). The exception is my one improv practice, which is only meeting for three Wednesdays this month anyway. And I may miss the last one due to DragonCon prep.

So, see you (in person, not going off the grid) in September. Probably.

[Am sho glad I learned how to cook steaks (in a lazy, unfancy way). The thicker ones will pan-cook for 10ish minutes to only rare/medrare state, but that microwaves into a happy medium at work. And then commence with the omnomnoms :-)]

Anyway, its also a good plan if I want to save my energy for DragonCon. (31 DAYS!!!! OMG!!!!)


Blessed Lughnassa! I spent my weekend cleaning stuff & filing old papers. Replenished the salt dish. There seems to be a clutter quota in my Chantry. I clear off the workbench, kitchen counter, and fridge, but now the livingroom 'nook' is filled with sewing stuff. Its not like I moved one pile of clutter to a different place, its all new clutter. Blah. Still better than the homes of most of my friends that are not Discardians.


Also played with fabric this weekend. ( Me bein' crafty )

I'm sorely tempted to curl up under the circ desk in a sleepy little ball, but it doesn't look like the floor has been cleaned in months. And a friend is stopping by to hang out after work, and bringing shiny things for my consultation.

I may spend one of my Mondays-off this month shopping for fabric at Mood Fabrics in NYC, if anybody wants to tag along. Or I may just use those days to veg out. I had two "personal days" to use before they expired in September, so I'm having two surprise 3-day weekends before DCon :-)

<3 Chrysilla