Queen of the Cat People

Not really up for full fledged 'resolutions', some kind of evil synergy tends to make most ppl's resolutions fail. But I have some plans that I may as well pin to the wall now? Year in review vs. Next year's forecast.

Crafty stuff:

( Jewelry stays on backburner as I work thru avalanche of fabric. )

Health stuff:

Was thinking of doing dietary tweaks again, but then I'm like, "what if I resolved to make my life easier instead of more difficult this year?" so nope. ( Focusing on sleep, and a couple other things. )

( Food stuffs. )

When they're done with the betatest: Flaredown! Missed getting onto the betatest b/c I didn't contribute to the indiegogo in time, but OMG I wanna play with that. B/c I am a data geek :-D



Gamer Stuff

I really can't do three larps in one weekend. I'm never awake enough to play Requiem effectively, and then I'm hungover the next day. And I don't even drink. So from now on just two. ( More rationalizations. And COSTUMES. )

Social Stuff:

I'm happy that the gamers have re-accepted me as one of their own, and happy that I was able to have some kind of externally-moving force in my life aside from work, but it wasn't supposed to be the *only* social outlet. ( Filling in the gaps, I live in NYC for crying out loud. ) So see, I have a lot of options. I live in friking NYC. Its really just a matter of feeling well enough to grab those options, or ignoring possibly false limitations and going anyway.


Travel

Not sure about adding tons of new cons this year. Arisia's next week, DragonCon of course (but maybe last consecutive year), *maybe* Dexcon but no other plans. The "Geek Escrow" savings accounts are working out really well, tho.

I do really like my Boston trips, and if I plan them long enough (like two months) in advance I can get cheaper train tix. So we'll see how that goes in February and if it leaves me energy for more fun outside of game while I'm out there. Not sure about traveling to other cities, not sure what Philly's MES group is like, but I've heard amazing things about D.C.



Finances

Still kinda suck financially, but I'm not destitute by any means. And I think I'll be able to max out my Roth IRA this year (b/c I can make contributions for 2014 until April), and putting my extra paychecks and IRS refunds in there worked out very well. And my Geek Escrow accounts *are* working out, so I had some good ideas that are working out. Yay for that. But in early fall I used my emergency savings like a credit card, and spent about a quarter of it, and refilling it has been slow going so far. Really have to figure that one out.

( Cris, pls stop buying stuff. )

Other Habits, good and bad

I have a bad habit of spacing out on the internet at home instead of getting stuff done, or going to bed on time. Sleeping, or vegging out on the couch, would be a totally passive activity. Sewing and cleaning would be totally active. Unless I'm in an IRC game, the internet is some uncomfortable place between active and passive, so I can't start something else and its very hard to just shut it off. I think its getting in the way of a lot of other things.

Will see what kind of measures I can take to un-internet while I'm home. Sadly I can't just turn off my modem like I used to b/c it resets all the passwords :-P

Along those lines, when I'm at home I'd like to be either entirely active *or* passive, so basically see above. Tired? Watch neflix on the comfy couch. Awake? Sew or clean stuff. No more zoning out on the internet until I miss bedtime.

Books are still a thing, right? I have a whole shelf full of new books I haven't started reading, and some of them have been there for *years*. I don't remember when I used to read them. Working on that.

I'm quite sure that music is still a thing. Got on Emusic again, b/c lots of gothy bands seem to put their music up there. So I can make a list from the podcasts I listen to, and gradually pick them up each month, maybe with a booster for my b'day. I have 8GB on my mp3 player, would like to actually utilize that space. Lets see if having a 'music allowance' works better this time around.

Thought of having a "Big Cleaning Day" once a month, not sure if that's a good idea. Might leave things to pile up and drive me crazy, then do everything that one day and burn out. And then what happens if I'm sick that day, or if something actually fun comes up? Meh.

Spiritual stuff... ugh. So wrapped up in the mundane that I don't really have the braincells left over for higher states of consciousness and intuition. Will try to keep up with the regular tarot forecasts, but the last couple months its been a lot of me staring at the cards and not getting it. :-/

And I'd like to 'journal' like this at least once a week. I keep writing novels on FB, and why do I need to do that when I can just record it here and publish it all at once? Maybe I'll more pointedly post via tweetdeck to keep my chatter short and sweet.



So... that's about where I am, and what I'm looking at. I tend to change lives every few years, I'd really like to start the next one please, but this one is very staunchly and unfairly holding onto me.

<3 Chrysilla

Last week's writing prompt was Maps, and I was planning to attend a KGB reading, and go to a friend's party, and maybe an improv show. Unfortunately from Wednesday onwards I felt pretty ill. First a broken-heater-at-work induced case of the sniffles, and then my friend fooded me to death. Not with bad quality food, mind you, but with a 2000 calorie meal that was extremely high fat. Whups. We have since had the conversation of what a Chrys sized portion looks like.

My first thought on sacred spaces was, "What about my chantry? My home base?" but after many months of mono that decided to give up just as the NYC winter turned cold, it felt like a cheat. But while I was home sick, and really just every once in a while, I appreciate how much I've succeeded in turning a dorm-room shaped studio co-op into my own sacred space after three years of consistent work.

It still gets cluttered, and sometimes mundane items go wandering, but after years of celebrating a Discardian lifestyle it is waaaay cleaner than most of the geek-dens I have ever seen. Or non-geek dens, actually. And usually my artsy and/or ritual stuff is where it's s'posed to be. And as I discovered in 2011, an excellent place to recuperate. If I could just update the kitchen, things would (hopefully) be perfect.

And recently I realized that the middle window pane is just the right width for tea lights. W00t!

I spent Saturday night at home instead of going to a friend's Dragon-New-Years party, but I ended up typing up a complete radio episode draft. And it was the pilot (or at least that's the plan so far), so if I can start completing the first few eps of the run then I can send them to my volunteer proofreaders in a less confusing manner. So the Chantry is good for jewelry work *and* writing, hooray!


And here are some Chantry pics. Deb sez its like an urban Tumbleweed house, and I'm cool with that :-)


<3 Chrysilla

There was a call for check ins on the mothership so I figured I'd update.

My only solid goal for this year was to be healthy, and at least energy wise I'm feeling a LOT better. Its like someone flipped a switch somewhere inside me on Jan 1st, and suddenly I can keep up with beading and writing projects again. Getting back on track with all of the projects I felt were worth skipping out on improv for ... six months ago. Better late than never.

One thing tho, my tummy still hates me and is torturing me with IBS. Despite being on a no wheat/soy/sugar/dairy/etc elimination diet. I don't get it. My dad hast GERD (I think?) so I'm wondering if the more-raw diet I'm on is actually messing with the PH levels in my stomach, which then sets everything afterwards into outrage. And I think its gotten worse since my energy levels increased. WTF tummy?

Oh well. As part of my Solstice celebration, I did tarot as per usual. And b/c I was home sick that day my questions were health related:

( Tarot pic! )

Definitely a good looking omen :-) Rejuvenation, searching out mysteries, working on my own balance, opening the heart and mind again, and conunctio (tho in my case, most certainly not the sexy fun times sort).

A tarot card reader at a Samhain pagan party said my energy and health would return around the Solstice, and I would be able to come back out of my cave and get lots of creative projects going again. I was rather dismayed when I came down with a sinus infection right after the winter holidays, but then it turned completely around. So thanks tarot reader! A pair of readers at Wicked Faire 2011 warned that I'd be sick for about six months... guess I should have heeded that advice more, but I thought it meant allergy season which was also pretty rotten.

I'm not sure I really need to enchant for other goals right now. Would like to focus on healthfulness for a while longer, until the stomach problems dissolve (I hopes). And all my other projects are starting up and falling back into place just b/c I'm starting to feel better. Yay!

Lol, I have been to the city of Mono, and I have come out again :-) (Um, I hopes?)

<3 Chrysilla

So... Winter Break kinda sucked. ( Sick! For the whole thing! WTF? )

I did finally make that health-improving honey pot that I'd been planning, a few days late of the new moon but I'm sure it'll be OK. They're like pet rocks for pagans. Not sure if it helped me overall, but I like it. And I finished the last couple of sewing projects I had lying around and put all the equipment away. January is for jewelry now, I need to prep for Wicked Faire in February.

( Reflecting, cuz I didn't have much else to do )So assuming I get healthy again, my new life-back-on-track plans involve getting back to my fen roots. And being a con-slut.

Already doing Wicked and DragonCon, probably also Steampunk World's Faire, maybe ICON. Going back to NYRSF and KGB Fantastic Fiction when I can to hang out with the geeky writers.




Oh, and as for the magic writing prompt... ( CLEAN ALL THE THINGS!!!! )

In brief, once I somehow got juiced on the new year I went into mega productive mode without wanting to curl up into a ball and die afterwards. Cleared a ton of clothes out of the closet. Cleaned most of the apartment. Smudged with cedar and frankincense. Went shopping to get clothes that actually fit me. Made moar jewelry. Wrote the first draft of a podcast sitcom episode. Got sick again (:P) but what can ya do. All of these were things I was putting off, in some cases for months at a time. Too bad I couldn't keep putting off the stomach aches.

I was well enough to come to work today, at least, tho I don't think I can do Tai Chi tonite. I still have the energy but the tummy is all owwwwch. I can go home and do jewelry or writing instead, or just relax my tummy and watch a fancy movie on teh Netflix.


Today I also found out that most of my vitamins & supplements contain wheat and/or soy, so much for elimination diets. And the probiotics I was taking contain milk. YOU FAIL GNC. Tho I had the energy surge despite not taking the vitamins since the Friday before Xmas, so maybe I'll leave off them for a little while and see what happens.

<3 Chrysilla

Weekly Writing Prompt: Making Way
What? Like it's hard or something?


Getting in gear is kinda tricky when your gears feel all frozen. But until I can figure out why, I can't be absolutely sure what to use for an oil can :-/

Been working on getting my ducks in a row for a few weeks already, so this blog-club (and another called BatFit about goths getting in shape) were happy coincidences. Yay camaraderie.

( Cleaning teh Chantry )

( Hobby Guilt )

( Lifestyle overhaul )

Is it odd that I can stick to an elimination diet, and over a year ago I decided to start flossing and kept up with it, but I can't remember to meditate or yoga-cise every day? Or any day, really.

Another important resolution would be to not feel bad about being too tired to perform any of the above tasks. Those are the nights when I'ma eat a giant bowl of borscht and watch Valmont on teh Netflix.

<3 Chrysilla