Digital Manticore

A Week in the Life: August 8, 2021

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Lindsey

This week started out annoying and kind of didn’t let up. The job search marches on, my will to leave strengthened by my boss telling me this week that she doesn’t really understand what I do but she thinks I am “underutilized.” She also asked me why I don’t want to be a proposal manager (for those who don’t know, I’m an editor), which, as Kirk put it, is like asking an accountant why they don’t want to be a marine biologist. I told her I felt disrespected by her from the start with her saying that anyone can edit and no one on our team should be a specialist. She said “I’m sorry if you were offended.” Neat. Get me out of here.

I started vision therapy this week, which is good overall, but also kind of annoying since I’m trying to train my eyes to do things they do not want to do. It’s tiring. There is a lot of work around peripheral vision and developing awareness of what the eyes are doing, what hurts, etc. I had to do tasks like cover one eye (I was provided with an eye patch lol), look in a mirror, and turn my head until I can just barely see my uncovered eye. This is surprisingly uncomfortable. I’m also supposed to repeat the activities at home and take notes, which is good because that is how I’m going to improve my eyes but it is uncomfortable and tiring to do. Only 31 weeks to go.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

I have, once again, read no books. My goal to read 100 books this year is slipping away but it’s okay because time is imaginary and numbers are arbitrary.

Meanwhile, on the internet I’ve been keeping up on the discourse around working remotely:

Companies want remote workers in all states but 1 via The Atlantic. Colorado passed a law that companies have to list the salary range on job postings, which is awesome. However, this makes it a lot harder for companies to take advantage of people. Some job postings now exclude Colorado residents from applying so that they don’t have to make salary expectations public. This is obnoxious for a lot of reasons, but it’s surprising that no one is worried about how big of a waste of everyone’s time it is. I’ve gone through many interviews only to discover that the pay range is way too low for me at the end. We could have skipped all this garbage instead, but corporations don’t want to play nice.
Why managers fear a remote-work future via The Atlantic. From the article: “Remote work lays bare many brutal inefficiencies and problems that executives don’t want to deal with because they reflect poorly on leaders and those they’ve hired. Remote work empowers those who produce and disempowers those who have succeeded by being excellent diplomats and poor workers, along with those who have succeeded by always finding someone to blame for their failures. It removes the ability to seem productive (by sitting at your desk looking stressed or always being on the phone), and also, crucially, may reveal how many bosses and managers simply don’t contribute to the bottom line.”
Why weight loss goals for a wedding/office/beach body never work via Vice. It’s annoying but not surprising that people are worried about their “office bod” with the threat of having to work in an office again.

Rampant Consumerism

I spent over $4,000 on vision therapy (that’s for the full series, not just this week. Don’t panic), and I never want to spend money again.

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Knitting and Crafts

I’m excited to announce that I’ve finished a knitting project! I’ve been working on the Angostura sweater vest for a while now and I’m glad to be done. It’s, of course, too hot to wear it right now but I’m prepared to look good in the future. I learned two new techniques for this: a three-needle bind off (to create the shoulder seam between connecting the front and back) and mattress stitch, which is definitely an act of witchcraft because you can hardly tell there’s a seam once it’s done. I knitted this with about 8.5 skeins of Juniper Moon Farms Fourteen in goldspire.

a hand-knitted, yellow sweater vest. This is a picture of the front, featuring a v-neck and two columns of cables — Angostura vest: front

a hand-knitted, yellow sweater vest. This is the back, which has one cable section in the low back to bring in the vest and define the waist — Angostura vest: front

Moving It

My ballet class, I think I mentioned previously, has been getting more intense but I’m enjoying it. My teacher is starting to point out things where I should be pushing myself more (she said she knew I was capable of holding my passe higher, for example). I am really excited that we started learning grand allegro (aka big ol’ leaps). I rarely get very excited about anything so this was a lot of fun for me. In class yesterday, my teacher said I was bringing the right level of energy, something I’ve probably never been told before so that felt great.

My dance studio announced that they are adding a tap class for adults and I thought that sounded fun so I signed up. If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be taking three dance classes a week (jazz is my other class), I definitely would have been confused, but I’m having fun now. The tap class is the same night that I had outdoor roller derby practice the last month. My initial thought was, that sounds fun but I have derby. Then I realized that dance class sounds a lot better to me than roller derby right now, so I am taking a hiatus from roller derby. I’ve gone skating a few times in the last couple months and wasn’t really feeling it. I’ve decided to stick with what feels good for now, but it was a hard decision because roller derby really feels like a community and I am afraid of losing that. As much as I’m enjoying dance class, it’s not a community like derby is.

Kitchen Witchery

I tried a few new recipes this week. First, I wanted to use a bunch of corn so I made this corn and bacon fettuccini, which was tasty because it’s a bunch of creamy pasta. Can’t go wrong. Similarly, in an effort to use some zucchini, I made these zucchini brownies. Because of the moisture in the zucchini, I thought it was more cake-like than brownie-like, but it doesn’t really matter because they were good and chocolatey and they are gone now. On Friday, I got the cookbook Snacking Cakes from the library and immediately made the sesame cake with a tahini glaze. I already like this cookbook because, for each recipe, it lists a few variations. This makes it easy to use what you have on hand and keep things exciting. The cake was really good and I’m already plotting to try my next recipe.

a plate of creamy pasta studded with corn and bacon, topped with basil and parmesan — corn and bacon fettuccini

One round layer of cake on a wire rack, covered in tahini glaze that is dripping down the sides, topped with seasame seeds — corn and bacon fettuccini

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves. Fritz is having a good week because we finally decided to let him roam the house all night. We had been keeping him in a bedroom (well appointed with toys, food, and everything he needs) at night to give Huey a break and because he can’t be trusted not to pee in weird places. However, we realized he is generally peeing in inappropriate spots when we won’t let him go somewhere. So we were like, fuck it, and let him run free. It went surprisingly well. He has peed on the floor next to the litter box a few times but otherwise he has behaved well. He is a super cuddler and is spending most of the night with me in bed, which I obviously love. We have an appointment this week with a cat behavioral specialist to help us train him to pee where he’s supposed to, so hopefully that helps.

I'm lounging on the couch, head up to the ceiling, Huey the cat is on top of hte couch, her front paws touching my face and a back foot on my shoulder — Communing with Her Hueness

I'm sitting on the couch, cradling Fritz the cat in one arm. He is pushing the top of his head into my cheek — Communing with Her Hueness

weekly update

A Week in the Life: August 1, 2021

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Lindsey

The main news of the week is that I had my follow-up with the optometrist. Their assessment showed that, yes, I do have binocular vision dysfunction, plus specific problems with saccadic and pursuit eye movements. This means my eyes struggle to aim at the same spot and focus on what’s there. The remedy for this has two parts. One, I ordered glasses with neurolens, which has some kind of fancy “contoured prism” that’s supposed to give me some immediate relief from headaches. Two, they recommended I go to 32 sessions of vision therapy, which I start this week.

I’m relieved that I do, in fact, have vision issues because there was a part of me, even after going through the whole evaluation, that was afraid they would find I’d made it all up and I feel bad for no reason. I’m not so relieved at how expensive this is. I can, fortunately, afford it, but getting insurance to cover any of this is a struggle. The lenses for my new glasses alone cost $700 (not including frams), and my vision insurance apparently doesn’t pay for neurolens. Vision insurance also doesn’t cover vision therapy (I, too, was perplexed), but they suggested I call my medical insurance to see if they cover it. Kaiser said they cover vision therapy only if one of their doctors says it’s medically necessary. I am concerned I’m going to get stuck on this quest because I’m sure the Kaiser optometrists are not experts in binocular vision dysfunction, but I have made an appointment with one and plan to show up with all my test results and beg them to say it’s medically necessary so I can get reimbursed. I would prefer to not pay over $4,000 out of pocket for vision therapy if I can avoid it.

I spent the rest of the week feeling like I was waiting. Waiting for new glasses to make my head feel better, waiting for a new job, waiting for summer to end. The glasses should get here within the next two weeks, but there’s no telling how long I’ll have to wait for a new job. I’ve noticed that companies are getting better (and faster) about sending rejection emails (thanks?). I haven’t gotten any interview requests lately, but I know it takes longer than a rejection. I know, more or less, when summer will end, but in the meantime, I am hot. Yes, I have air conditioning and it works, but still in the afternoons I don’t want to move or do anything. I also recently learned that being on anti-depressants, which I am for anxiety, can fuck with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. No wonder I’m so uncomfortable in summer.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

This may shock you: I didn’t finish any books this week. I barely read at all. See above re: heat and waiting. I didn’t feel like doing anything. However, here are some things I read on the internet:

“Don’t you work with old people?”: Many elder-care workers still refuse to get COVID-19 vaccine via ProPublica. So, here’s something that will make you mad: “only 59% of staff at the nation’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are fully or partially vaccinated.” I’m baffled that people can work in health care and still not want to be inoculated against a terrible virus. The woman profiled in the story said she isn’t getting vaccinated, despite working in a nursing home, because “It never made sense to … that the virus seemed to strike randomly, with some residents getting sick while others did not. She said she is not convinced the vaccine would change the odds.” I’d expect a little more scientific literacy from a health care worker but here we are.
The Master’s Trap, Part Three via Culture Study. Anne Helen Petersen is writing about how lots of students get pulled into expensive master’s degrees that don’t do much for them. I particularly resonated with this part of the story because it talks about how professors recommend grad school to their good students because it’s really all they know. When I was finishing my bachelor’s in Arabic, I really wanted to get into translation. There wasn’t a single person at my school who had advice for me.
The day the good internet died via The Ringer. Remember how great it used to be to follow all your favorite sites and have google reader compile it all in one place for you? The author of this essay places most of the blame for today’s shitty internet on google for killing google reader. She might be right.
From ports to rail yards, global supply lines struggle amid virus outbreaks in the developing world via The Washington Post. I find myself fascinated by coverage of our economy cracking under the pressure of the pandemic.

TV and Music

I’ve been trying to catch up on some iconic movies and, to that end, I watched Cabaret this week (do I need to say “spoilers” for a movie from 1972? I hope not). I was put off a bit by this movie at first because Liza Minelli’s character, Sally Bowles, is such a brat. It becomes clear through the movie that she’s insecure and probably feeling as beat down by creeping authoritarianism, as we all are, but it was still difficult. I enjoyed Michael York’s character Brian a lot more. He’s a bisexual man in 1930s Germany—the nerve! Do you, Brian! This is a man who will straight-up start a fist fight with a Nazi and agree to raise your kid even if it’s only (at most) a 50-50 chance that it belongs to him. The cabaret scenes themselves were pretty nuts, they definitely give me “musical theater when the world is crumbling around us” surreal vibes, which I’m sure is the point. The important thing is that at least now I know who Bob Fosse is.

Rampant Consumerism

I spent $1,500 on two pairs of glasses this week and, frankly, never want to spend money again.

Making Things and Doing stuff

Yesterday, we went axe throwing and then bowling (there’s a place in Elk Grove that has both in the same building!) with my friend Abby. It was fun but a bit of a bummer because the venue has very loud music everywhere. I had been hoping to throw axes and bowl, while holding some conversation in between, but that was basically impossible. The bowling alley had music videos playing on the wall behind the pins, which, I found, made it quite difficult to bowl. It was nice to do something and see people, but I wonder why so many public spaces are designed around never being alone with your thoughts.

Languages

Things are feeling good on the language-learning front despite the summer doldrums. Spanish is going along and I’m feeling more and more ready for the DELE this fall. I’ve been having fun with my writing assignments. For some reason, that seems to be where I channel a lot of my creativity. My teacher has been telling me I need to start publishing, which is a lovely compliment. Icelandic is going well too. I’ve been studying vocabulary most days using the Drops app. I had my first real lesson with my new teacher yesterday and it went well. We’re working through a grammar-heavy textbook as a review, but I’m learning a lot of new stuff too because he is filling in more details about some of the basics, so that’s great.

notebook page describing what I did in my Spanish studies in July 2021 — July’s Spanish

notebook page describing what I did in my Icelandic studies in July 2021 — July’s Spanish

Kitchen Witchery

a skillet of braised potatoes and chickpeas, topped with bits of green onion and parsley — potatoes and chickpeas

I took another light week in the kitchen because, again, I do not enjoy summer. I did try this skilled-braised spiced potatoes and chickpeas dish, which came out better than I thought. Sometimes I make food and I know, on paper, it should taste good but then I see it and I’m like ehhhhh, but this one was really good. I also made a batch of sour cream rye muffins (but forgot to take a photo). I liked them but Kirk didn’t. Do with that information what you will.

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves.

Huey the cat lying on top of a plastic bin, her paw touching my hand — holding hands

Fritz the cat lounging in a wavy cat bed/toy, looking up at the camera — holding hands

weekly update

A Week in the Life: July 25, 2021

Posted on July 25, 2021 by Lindsey

This week was tiring. Now that I’ve got a name and a reason for my eye/headache/dizziness troubles (binocular vision dysfunction, if you missed it previously), I’ve been keenly aware of my head hurting and my eyes getting tired. I think I’ve had a headache in the background for a long time now and just tuned it out because what else can you do. I’m looking forward to my follow-up with the optometrist tomorrow. I’m supposed to get the results of my evaluation and order fancy prism glasses.

I’m also tired of looking for a new job. I’d be so happy if I never had to apply for a job again. I’ve applied for some interesting ones, like a technical writer for the Wikimedia Foundation, and some that don’t seem that thrilling but that’s okay. I had an interview for a really good gig a couple of weeks ago, but ultimately didn’t get the job, although the manager offered to take me as a freelancer. Trading full-time work for freelance doesn’t seem great though. It would be easy to get a new job if I wanted to be a proposal manager—I get recruiters emailing me proposal manager jobs several times a week. I’m not currently a proposal manger (though I work on proposals) and I don’t want to be one. I really want to get more into technical writing, which is stuff like documentation, writing instructions, that kind of thing. There are a lot of jobs out there, but so many of them are for intangible “cloud solutions” or for “defense” contractors, which I am obviously not interested in. The good (and bad?) news is that my new boss has basically been ignoring me all month. In one of our first meetings with her, she said that she thought everyone on our team could edit, as if anyone can do my job, which I consider to be pretty rude (and which kicked off the current job search). She has since not interacted with me at all, which is super weird behavior for management. In any case, I’m still employed and the job search continues.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

I was excited to read an advance copy of Monica Byrne’s new novel The Actual Star. I’ve been a Patron of hers for years since reading her first novel, The Girl in the Road, which deeply resonated with me. Bryne is always telling her Patreon supporters that we make it possible to do what she does, so she wanted to let us read the advance copies of the new book. To share it as widely as possible, each person mails it to the next one on the list after reading. This generosity mirrors the ethos of the La Viaja religion in the novel. The Actual Star takes place in three timelines set in 1012, 2012, and 3012. By 3012, after the world has been, frankly, beat to shit by global warming and the dominant religion is La Viaja, in which followers wander the globe, embracing everyone they meet as family, never settling down or hoarding resources. Viajeras search for Xibalba (the Mayan underwold), in honor of Saint Leah, who was spirited away to Xibalba while exploring a sacred cave in Belize in 2012 and whose ideas are the foundation of La Viaja. Each timeline focuses on characters at an inflection point when the world is changing and how the characters accept or reject that change. I liked this book a lot and I really enjoy Bryne’s ability to imagine the kind of future that we might have.

Finna by Nino Cirpri was a short, fun read. It focuses on two minimum-wage workers in a version of Ikea who have to hope through parallel universes to find a customer who goes missing from their store. It highlights relationships, anxiety, and the shittiness of capitalism through adventure.

paperback book: The Actual Star. The cover looks like you're looking up through a hole in a cave to see a star in the sky. Photo taken outside in my hammock — The Actual Star

an "acknowledgements" page from The Actual Star that includes my name — The Actual Star

TV and Music

This might be hard to believe, but I watched two whole movies this week! It’s not as exciting as it sounds because both movies were just okay. I watched Rough Night, mostly because I love Kate McKinnon (and Ilana Glazer), in which a bachelorette party goes terribly awry when they accidentally kill a man. I accidentally did a Scarlet Johansson double feature since she’s the bachelorette in Rough Night and the main character in Black Widow, which we watched last night. Black Widow was passably entertaining, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. It is, however, completely inexplicable that Marvel released it now when it seems to take place in the middle of all the other Marvel movies. The plot seems to take a ham-fisted “the villain was patriarchy all along!” stance, which is cool but hollow considering Black Widow has been in every Marvel movie but just now got her own stand-alone entry into the canon.

Rampant Consumerism

five bags of about 12 toy mice each — a wealth of toy mice

Fritz is obsessed with these toy mice that have something inside that make a rattling noise. So when I ordered some cat supplies this week I thought, I’ll buy a few packets since the mice disappear quickly (where they go remains a mystery). I thought I was buying packets of three mice. Kirk opened the package and was like “wow you really stocked up.” I won’t say mistakes were made, but this was a lot more mice than I intended to buy. I think we’re now set for life on rattle-mice. I’m tempted to throw them all at once in a bacchanal of toy mice, but I guess I’m going to pace myself.

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Moving It

I went to a roller dance class this week, which was fun and different! I don’t usually love skating at the rink because I’m like, well, I’m going in a circle, what now. I’m hoping roller dance skills will make it a little more interesting next time I go skating. It was fun to learn some basics and I was surprised (but maybe shouldn’t have been) to learn that some of the moves are based on non-roller dance moves. I was amused because one of the moves we learned was called a “six step,” which is something I just learned in my jazz dance class a few weeks ago.

In my actual dance class, my ballet teacher has decided it’s time to introduce some harder moves. Class has really kicked my ass the last few weeks but in a good way. I’ve been taking ballet class for a year now and I am pleased with how much I’ve enjoyed it. It’s good to know there’s still a lot more to learn and a lot of room to improve.

Kitchen Witchery

I tried making pasta again last Sunday because I’ve decided this is the season of learning how to make good pasta. The pasta came out better than I expected considering it got all sticky after running it through the roller. I thought it would come out in a big clump when I cooked it. Fortunately, cooking the noodles actually separated them. Sure, there were still a lot of irregularly shaped ones, but it was fine for eating. I used the noodles for this lemony pasta with cauliflower and bacon, which was really good.

a sheet pan of uncooked fettuchini noodles. The noodles are tangled, stuck together, and uneven. — artless pasta

a large skilled of hommade pasta mixed with small pieces of bacon and cauliflower florettes — artless pasta

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves. Fritz is currently obsessed with sitting in the windows in our bedroom, to the point that he felt the need to take his revenge (as I see it) by peeing on the bed after I closed them one morning when he was still trying to observe the outdoors. I was pretty aggravated since he hadn’t peed on the bed since we go the new bedding. He’s been surprisingly aggressive about peeing for a neutered kitten. If anyone has advice for how to encourage him not to be an asshole, I’d love to hear it.

Fritz the cat sitting on a windowsill, looking outside with great focus — Fritz is obsessed with these windows

Huey the cat sleeping on top of a couch cushion — Fritz is obsessed with these windows

weekly update

Some Amount of Time in the Life: July 17, 2021

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Lindsey

The last few weeks have been hot and things have been hectic between taking care of this ridiculous kitten, starting a job search, and dealing with my corporeal form. It’s hard to start writing again after skipping a few weeks, not because I feel out of the habit but because I don’t know where to start. I have to remind myself that I don’t have to address everything from start to finish. We can hit the highlights.

This week I had three doctor’s appointments. I went in for a two-hour vision assessment to determine if I have binocular vision disorder. To no one’s surprise, I do. I spent a while with a vision therapist who ran tests to figure out how hard it is for my eyes to work together. This included tasks like circling which letters were backwards in a word and picking out shapes from a bunch of other shapes and squiggles. It doesn’t sound like much but when your eyes don’t work right, it is tiring. I also got my eyes scanned by a machine that figures out what kind of prism lenses to make to account for the eyes not cooperating. I’m really looking forward to getting glasses that can fix this, but I have to wait another week for a follow-up appointment and then presumably wait some more while they make my glasses.

a screenshot of a reminder app showing today's schedule. There are six to-do items to remind myself to do my nasal sprays throughout the day — make it stop

My other appointments concerned my ears. I had another hearing test to confirm what the audiologist saw in May. I was not surprised to learn that the hearing in my right is is uniformly worse than in my left—it’s been that way as long as I can remember, but I had never thought to consider it a problem with a solution. The audiologist sent me to the ear doctor, who says my hearing loss could be the result of my ear drum and bone inappropriately rubbing against each other and scarring my ears or from fluid in my ear. If it’s the fluid, I can get a tube in my ear (normally a procedure reserved for children, and I did have this done as a child), but if it’s the scarring, there’s nothing for it. The ear doctor thinks I might have fluid in my ear because of allergies (shout out to the City of Trees), so he wants me to spray a saline solution in my nose four times a day, and flonase twice a day, until we meet again in September. It’s so much that I had to set up reminders on my phone because no one could keep that in their head all day. Oh, and as an added bonus, this doctor asked me to describe the kind of dizziness I get and he said what I’m really describing is migraines. I’ve had migraines all along and not even realized it. Being alive is such a scam.

All this body maintenance is a lot but what really is depressing me about it is that I’ve had all this for years and done nothing. I assumed this was all normal stuff and didn’t rate complaining about to anyone. I feel really stupid. I remember being in high school and waking up every morning with a headache. I’d pop some ibuprofen and hop in the shower. I thought my head hurt because I was tired (to be fair I was. In retrospect: sleep apnea?). It never occurred to me to say something. People just get headaches, right? The times I did try to say something didn’t go well. When I started college, I was having a lot of issues with being dizzy. I went to the campus health center a few times and got different answers every time (low blood pressure, “we just don’t know,” and one time a prescription for a high-blood pressure medication that I thought was going to kill me the one time I took it). The other issue is I’m fat, so whenever I present a problem to a doctor they tell me I should lose weight. One time I went in because I had a really bad cold and the doctor felt it necessary to lecture me about BMI!

One of the reasons I always write about my health issues is that I hope it will spare someone else some trouble. If your head hurts, it’s not normal! You should be able to hear in both ears! Life shouldn’t make you dizzy! I’m 35 years old and just realizing this. I hope you get there sooner.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

It’s been a a little hard to focus on reading lately, but I did get a couple of books in. First is With Teeth by Kristen Arnett. This book focuses on a lesbian couple raising a boy child. It explores memory, identity, and relationships and left me asking “Are lesbians okay?” Second is A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark. This is set in an alternate-universe version of Cairo in which magical creatures have been released into the world. In this history, Egypt did not become a colony of England, but stayed independent. It’s a little bit steampunk, a little bit fantasy. It’s also a lot of fun. It’s a repudiation of colonialism and an embrace of non-western fantasy. I liked it a lot.

hardback book: With Teeth. Cover is light green. There is a stylized mouth wide open and the title of the book is inside to look like teeth — With Teeth

hardback book A Master of Djinn. Cover features a steam-punk style device and the sillhouette of a woman walking up stairs — With Teeth

Meanwhile, on the internet:

Iceland tested a 4-day workweek. Employees were productive—and happier, researchers say via The Washington Post. This story deals with two of my favorite things: a four-day workweek and Iceland. It’s heartening to see evidence for the four-day workweek. There’s literally no reason to be at work for 40 hours; it’s an arbitrary holdover from unions winning a five-day workweek. My view is weekends should be three days long so we have one day for rest, one for chores or whatever you need to do, and one to socialize and enjoy life. You can’t fit it all into a two-day weekend.
By now, burnout is a given via The Atlantic. The pandemic has burned us all out.
The girlboss era is over, welcome to the age of the girlloser via Gabrielle Moss. On women being responsible and a certain strain of feminism that promises “that you’d be powerful enough to eventually abuse someone else and call it feminism.”

TV and Music

We watched Loki! I’ve been a fan of the Norse trickster god since before Marvel made it cool (sorry, I have to) and I liked the show a lot. I love how Tom Hiddleston plays Loki and I loved all the alternate versions. It’s fun to watch for sure.

Rampant Consumerism

a futon covered with a light-purple comforter that has a gemoetric stiching pattern, plus matching pillows. Fritz the cat is on the futon playing with toys — new bedding for the guest bedroom/kitten bedroom

Because of this little pee bandit of a kitten, I was forced to also buy new bedding for our guest room, where Fritz has been spending the night (he hasn’t yet demonstrated that he should be left to roam free at all hours). He hasn’t peed on this, which I appreciate because I’d prefer to have a guest bed that has not been peed on.

In an act of peak homeownership, we bought new toilets recently. The ones that came with our house kept having issues like running for no reason or taking 10 minutes to refill after a flush. It turns out that the manufacturer had discontinued those models years ago and it wasn’t possible to replace the flushing mechanism. We used the opportunity to get dual-flush toilets, so that’s exciting. Being an adult is wild.

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Languages

I spent a few weeks with my new Icelandic teacher then decided she was not the right teacher for me. Last week, I tried yet another teacher and he was great! He asked me about my goals and how I want to learn, plus hooked me up with a ton of Icelandic resources. He also suggested a vocabulary-learning app called Drops, which I’m really loving, so I want to spread the good word. It has multiple languages and it’s a fun way to learn that lets you choose what to focus on.

Kitchen Witchery

I haven’t only made desserts in the last few weeks, but that’s all I care to talk about right now. My in-laws gave us a bunch of graham crackers (they’re clearing out all the food they bought for the end of the world last year) so I’ve been trying to find a use for them. I started with a s’mores pie, which has a graham cracker crust, chocolate ganache filling, and swiss meringue topping. Of course I had leftover egg yolks so I decided to make ice cream. I got halfway into a recipe for “aztec” chocolate (chocolate with cinnamon and chili powder) before realizing I was making an eggless recipe. The ice cream was good but I was forced to make another batch to use my yolks, so I made almond ice cream! I’ve recently discovered icebox cakes and have tried a couple recipes to use up the graham crackers. We really liked this pistachio icebox cake. I substituted the “whipped topping” with homemade whipped cream and added a little cardamom to the mix for some flavor. It came out good! Finally, I made another batch of croissants. I feel like I’m getting pretty good at this pastry game. I want to start trying some variations with my next batch.

a small bowl filled with a creamy, golden ice cream with slivered almonds mixed in — smores pie and chocolate ice cream

a plate with a slice of pie (graham cracker crust, chocolate ganache filling, and swiss merengue topping) and a bit of chocolate ice cream — smores pie and chocolate ice cream

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves.

Huey the cat sitting on the floor with a strand of colorful fleece around her neck (the fleece is part of a cat toy) — Huey: fun and fashionable

Fritz the cat, tucked under a blanket with his head visible. His eyes are half closed. — Huey: fun and fashionable

weekly update

A Week in the Life: June 28, 2021

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Lindsey

I don’t want to insult kid-owners by saying that having a kitten is the same as having a small child, but I am feeling some extra empathy for my friends with young kids right now thanks to Fritz. Since he continued peeing on the bed, we are making a point of supervising him most of the time and keeping the bedroom door closed when no one is in there! Fritz wants to play when he wants to play and won’t chill out just because it’s what you want. I am used to cats making demands but I had forgotten a kitten is a little more demanding. I’m not upset—I’m just tired. Fortunately for us, kittenhood is much shorter than childhood.

When I’m not focused on this kitten, I’m spending a lot of time thinking about how I want to run my life now that non-pandemic life is resuming. I am prone to this kind of self-reflection (just look at all my end of the year/new year posts). I like living my life conscientiously, not just operating on auto pilot. I really want to focus more on spending time with people I care about and doing enjoyable things with them. It’s easy to not socialize, and I definitely recognize that it’s tiring, but I want to make sure I’m not taking my friends for granted. I’ve also been thinking about which hobbies are worth my time and how much. For example, I want to keep playing roller derby, but I want to make sure I’m not there four nights per week so I have room in my life for everything else. I’m curious about how other people are viewing this moment in time. Are you reevaluating how you allocate your energies as things get safer?

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

paperback book: The Unbroken by C.L. Clark. Cover image is a woman with wiry muscles and a sword at her hip emerging from a battle — The Unbroken

I didn’t read a lot this week, but I did read this thick book, The Unbroken by C. L. Clark. I liked this one. It’s a fantasy exploring what it feels like to be colonized and what happens when the colonizers are forced to confront the consequences of their actions. The main character, Touraine, is a conscript who was taken from her home country (a fictional version of Morocco) and raised from childhood to be a soldier for the empire that colonized her people (a fictional France). The story follows Touraine as her company returns to not-Morocco for the first time since they were children and have to reckon with what it means to fight for their own oppressors. I enjoy this kind of political stuff in a book, but there’s also a lot of fighting, there are rebel groups, there’s lesbian romance, magic, and ladies with swords. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series.

TV and Music

I’ve had this brooding-ass vampire movie starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton on my radar for a while. This week I finally watched it. Only Lovers Left Alive is a movie where not a lot happens but the vibe is strong. Something I did not expect from a vampire movie was environmental commentary. The vampires focus a lot of their efforts on maintaining access to “the good shit,” that is, blood that’s not full of impurities. They refer to humans as “zombies” and talk about how we’re ruining the Earth and even polluting our blood. This environmentalism isn’t the focus of the movie, but it is an interesting backdrop to the main plot of Hiddleston being a reclusive, depressed musician whom Swinton is trying to coax into a better humor.

Rampant Consumerism

a light blue comforter over silver sheets, there are stuffed animals on the shelf above the bed — the new bedding that no one planned on buying

I mentioned Fritz peeing on the bed so maybe it’s not surprising that we got new bedding this week. We learned that, once a cat has staked out a place as a spot to pee, you can’t really make them stop without eliminating the smell. In the case of bedding, all you can do is throw it away and start over. I was surprised to see how sparse the options were at Bed, Bath and Beyond, which is usually stuffed to the rafters with wares. We were able to find some quite comfy stuff, despite that. The comforter we got is nice and light so we’re not too hot here in these summer months.

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Moving It

me, wearing a harness attached to a semi truck, leaning foward and holding a guide rope, attempting to move the truck forward with my body — attempting to move a truck with my body

On Saturday, I attempted to pull a semi truck, which is pretty fucking cool. I was not particularly successful with it but I did manage to budge it a few inches. For that effort, I was very sore.

This week my roller derby team started a weekly off-skates conditioning practice to get us ready for skating again. It was fun to see my friends again and the workout was actually quite tough. I’m really committed to making sure I ease into derby. I don’t want to go hard and hurt myself, which is easy to imagine. I want to build my skills back up and treat it as the fun hobby it is, not like the demanding part-time job it can easily feel like.

Kitchen Witchery

This week I made a couple of recipes from the Latin Grilling cookbook since it was hot and I didn’t want to cook inside. I grilled a brown sugar marinated chicken and made a salad of roasted potatoes and arugula. I wasn’t sure I’d like the salad since I don’t normally eat arugula (or hot leaves!) but it was actually good. I also bought a great cookbook of desserts from a chef I follow on instagram. She’s always sharing variations on her black-ass brownie recipe and I was like, I want those brownies! I made a batch with walnuts and chunks of chocolate and gave most of it away, then immediately made another batch with a s’mores snack mix from Target stirred in. Brownies are so easy and I love them.

a plate of grilled chicken thighs, rice pilaf, and an arugula and roasted potato salad — it’s not all cakes and brownies here

a pan full of brownies made with extra-dark cocoa, studded with chocolate chunks and walnuts — it’s not all cakes and brownies here

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves. Fritz discovered the cat tree, which is great for him, but Huey is mad about it. However, Huey is very pleased by the offering of new bedding. It’s comfortable and I think that she likes that it doesn’t have any other cat’s scent on it. Finally, Fritz wants to play with Huey SO BAD and Huey is like, “Do not approach me, demon child.”

huey the cat relaxing on the bed with her front legs stretched out in front of her — queen huey, luxuriating on the new comforter

Fritz the cat sitting in the bowl of a cat tree with a front paw and his head learing over the edge while he looks towards the camera — queen huey, luxuriating on the new comforter

weekly update

Two Weeks in the Life: June 20, 2021

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Lindsey

me in sunglasses, lips pursed around the straw of a pina colada slurpee — first slurpee since the pandemic

Yesterday I finally got a Slurpee (pina coloada flavor, obviously). I was hot on my way home from ballet class and stopped at 7-11 to get one. There were many times last summer when I wanted a slurpee, but it didn’t feel like a great idea given the state of the pandemic. The pandemic isn’t really over but things are safer than they have been. California says you don’t have to wear a mask in most indoor places now, but it feels weird to let one’s guard down just like that. I’m not feeling normal yet (and perhaps never will), but getting a Slurpee was a good step in the right direction for me.

I hate complaining about the heat because it’s so boring, but: is it fucking hot enough? Two 110-degree days in a row is a bad time. Yes, I have a functioning air conditioning and I passed the day inside, but it’s still hot. You still feel it inside, and cooking is out of the question. It’s not as hot today (at the time of this writing: 101 F), but I’m still extremely over it. It’s June and I’m already annoyed. Let’s get summer over with. Or at least let’s get more slurpees.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

If I skip a week of blogging, it’s hard to write in much detail about the books I read, both because it’s been a little longer since I finished the books and because I have more books to talk about so I don’t want to write as much for each one. But here we are:

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong. I loved this memoir/essay collection about the experience of being Asian American and not being willing to center white feelings in one’s writing anymore. It’s an excellent exploration of the author’s life and her thoughts on art and culture.
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun. This is a novel translated from Korean about a woman who works in a travel agency that runs programs for tourists to visit areas where there have been disasters. It’s all fun and games until the protagonist goes on a trip herself and gets sucked into a man-made disaster. There’s a lot of commentary one could make about capitalism and how a lot of tourism is exploitative, but I am not going to be the one to do it today.
Deathless by Catherynne Valente. I hate that the version I have of this has such a plain cover because the actual cover is very cool. This is a novel based on Russian folklore about Koschei the Deathless and about what happens when the damsel in distress isn’t really in distress but tries to subvert the story to her own ends. This is also a really interesting work because it combines fantasy with historical fiction. Valente sets the myth during the Russian Revolution, which gives us a new twist on the tale.

paperback book: Minor Feelings by Cathy Hong Park — Minor Feelings

The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun. Cover is blue and yellow with a woman lying down inder a parasol — Minor Feelings

TV and Music

Kirk and I finally got around to watching Wandavision this week. A lot of people raved about it, but I thought it was just okay (spoilers ahead!). I liked the kitschiness of the episodes set in different areas of TV. However, the ending was a little lackluster. The show doesn’t paint Wanda as a villain but she’s definitely a villain! You don’t mentally subjugate an entire town with your sorcery and get to keep the “hero” title. I thought it was ridiculous that a white woman gets to be like “whoops, I magically ruined hundreds of lives because I was sad” and have zero consequences. The protagonist we need is Agnes, whose story is undoubtedly more interesting than Wanda’s.

I finally started (and finished) watching Legendary, which is some truly great television. I love the vogueing and the performances. It’s really cool to see the concepts all the houses come up with and I like that they get production support with the costumes and extra choreography coaching from professionals. It makes the show so much stronger and levels the playing field (if only Drag Race would take notes). If you like dance and drama and drag, this is a great show to watch.

fritz the cat sitting on the couch, apparently watching an episode of Legendary — Fritz watching Legendary

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Languages

cover of Los desesperados, shown on kobo ereader. Cover image features a bass drum, a UFO, and various musical accoutrement — Los desesperados

I finished Los desesperados by Joselo Rangel, a novel about a Mexican rock and roll band. This was fun to read because it’s a different subject than most novels and it introduced me to a lot of music-related words and some more informal vocabulary.

I’m now three weeks into working with my new Icelandic teacher and I’m not sure it’s working out. It’s good in that having a teacher again has got me more motivated to review and learn on my own time, but I don’t think she’s using class time well. We barely work on Icelandic. My theory is she’s not sure what to use to teach me or how to direct our time. It’s frustrating and feels difficult (read: rude) to bring up, even though I’m the one paying for it.

Moving It

I’m glad a lot of people were able to watch my dance performance last weekend. It was nice to have to much support. It felt a little silly to watch though, which is odd because I don’t often get self-conscious about these kinds of things. Both performances felt much cooler and dramatic while I was doing them than when I watched them. I think part of that is inexperience (I have to remind myself it’s only been a year!), but maybe performing in face masks didn’t help. You lose a lot of the expressiveness with that. My dance studio took the last two weeks off but we’ve started classes again and I’m excited to keep learning more and improving.

Kitchen Witchery

Last weekend I had fun making pasta by hand for the first time! I made lasagna because a few wide noodles are easier to make than a bunch of tiny ones. I followed the noodle and lasagna recipes from How to Cook Everything and the results were delicious. I am also excited to report that I’ve finally started customizing some bread based on my own instincts instead of recipes. For this loaf, I started with a basic french bread recipe, rolled it up like a cinnamon bun but with parsley and parmesan, then cut it in half to twist it up. The results were pretty and tasty. I’m hoping to start playing around like this more with my baking.

somewhat irregularly shaped sheets of pasta laid out on the counter in preparation for cooking — making pasta

a 9x9 baking dish of lasagna. There is meat sauce and parmesan on top, with noodles sticking out around the edges — making pasta

As always, I have been baking. I made an Indian puffy bread (from Classic Indian Cooking) to accompany some lentils last week. This is a recipe where you cook the bread in a skillet , then toss it directly onto the burner to puff up before brushing it with melted ghee. I was a little afraid of putting the bread over a direct flame, but it was, of course, fine. Yesterday I made coconut cupcakes with a meringue topping to accompany tonight’s dinner (recipe from the Latin Grilling cookbook). I’d never made swiss meringue before, but it came out really good. The cupcakes are really tasty overall, if a little raggedy-looking.

a stack of indian whole-wheat puffy bread — whole-wheat puffy bread

12 coconut cupcakes on a wire rack, the focus is on the corner of the rack with the rest a little blurry. The cupcakes are topped with a dollop of meringue and shredded coconut — whole-wheat puffy bread

Cat Therapy

I know everyone is really here for the kitten updates. Fritz is settling in well—he already acts like he owns the place. Huey is not loving it but she’s starting to adjust. I think Fritz really wants to play with her, but when he runs up to her, Huey often hisses and flees. Huey is now able to hang out sort of nearby him without growling, so that’s progress.

Fritz is not accepting any boundaries on his new domain. Since Huey hasn’t asserted many herself, we are, for example, not letting Fritz in bed when Huey is there. This led to a spree of bad behavior including peeing on the bed twice. Fritz remains under probation and has to be put in a separate room at night until we are sure he can act right. However, he is extremely cute.

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves.

Fritz the cat lying on his back between my leg and the side of the couch. His arms are stretched all the way out, exposing the spotted pattern on his stomach — can’t take the cuteness

fritz the cat, eyes closed, tongue just poking out of his closed mouth — can’t take the cuteness

weekly update

A Week in the Life: June 6, 2021

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Lindsey

This week was almost entirely uneventful. I didn’t cook anything interesting (in part because it was hot) and there hasn’t been a lot going on. I did a bunch of boring stuff like get my bike tires replaced and make appointments to see the next optometrist in my saga to get treatment for binocular vision disorder. I also successfully rolled over my 401(k), which is a cause for celebration.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

The All Souls Trilogy cover (three books in one file), shown in black and white on Kobo ereader — The All Souls Trilogy

I finished the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I mentioned the first book, A Discovery of Witches, last week. This week I read the next two: Shadow of Night and The Book of Life. I liked this series more than I thought I would. I came of age during Twilight mania, so I am very skeptical of any romance novels featuring a vampire. However, this series is well done and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I also like that the main characters are both academics and I really appreciated the way the series was resolved.

Meanwhile, on the internet, I enjoyed this piece from Cybernaut, Caught in the Study Web. This is an overview of how young people are using the internet to connect and study together, and how they use the internet to focus and discuss their issues.

TV and Music

I finally (finally!) started watching Legendary, which many of you have been telling me to do for the last year. I knew I would like it, it’s definitely my kind of show, but even with that in mind, it’s really good. I like that it focuses on the craft and performance and not overmuch on drama (looking at you, Drag Race), except from what stems naturally from competition. It’s a lush show and a lot of fun to watch.

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Languages

Today I had my first Icelandic class with my new teacher and it went well. We mostly chatted about what I’ve learned so far and where I want to go with my studies. Plus we talked about how fun grammar is (roll your eyes if you must). I am surprised at how much I do remember, but also annoyed by how long it takes to excavate the knowledge from my brain. In any case, I’m looking forward to keep working on a language I’ve already made so much progress in.

Moving It

I’m pleased to announce my virtual dance recital will be this Saturday, June 12 at 4 p.m. I do not, unfortunately, have a link to it yet but I am told it will be a live broadcast via YouTube. If you want to watch, save the date! It won’t stay on YouTube afterwards. I will share a link on the social media as soon as I have it.

Cat Therapy

The moment you’ve been waiting for: a new kitten! Unfortunately, we decided not to adopt Sebastian because he was having increasingly severe seizures and we did not feel up to caring for him. Fortunately, we went to the Elk Grove animal shelter yesterday and adopted this little nut. Meet Mr. Fritz. The shelter was calling him Fritter and we’ve transformed that into his new name: Fritz. He’s already very cuddly and purrs a lot with me. He does, unfortunately, seem have a case of pink eye, so he will be going to the vet as soon as we can manage it. Huey is a bit offended but there haven’t been any altercations. I think she’s mostly mad that Fritz is in a room that she is not allowed to hang out in often.

Fritz the orange kitten napping on my chest, me looking at the camera — Fritz blissed out

Huey the cat lying on her back. Her front paws are holding a ribbon toy and her back feet are up in the air — Fritz blissed out

weekly update

A Week in the Life: May 31, 2021

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Lindsey

It has been a busy weekend! Despite telling myself I would ease back into vaccinated life, I did perhaps too many things this weekend. I don’t regret it, but I am very tired.

My friends Kira and Debra made a stop at our house on Saturday as part of a road trip and it was great to see them. I have exactly two friends from college, one from my short time at BYU and one from the University of Washington—Kira is the latter. We don’t talk that often but we have the kind of relationship where we can always pick up where we left off. I made food (Deborah wanted to be on my “cooking show” aka me making new things and posting about it on Instagram) and we caught up on the latest episode of Drag Race. Kira also made some decorating suggestions for my house, like considering a giant tiger statue for the bathroom (we had to reassure Kirk that this was a joke).

from left to right: Kirk, Lindsey, Kira (holding Poppy the dog in her sling), and Deborah — weekend visitors

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

This week I read A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. My reading-tracking app keeps reporting that I’m behind on reading if I want to meet my goal of 100 books this year (I’ve read 35 books, but I’m 5 books behind). Instead of heeding it, I decided I read a 600-page novel written by a historian. Smart. I thought this was going to be a book about witches, but it’s actually a witch-vampire romance. It’s good and it firmly held my interest, but I must warn you that, if you’re here for witchcraft, it might not be the ideal read. It’s also a slow novel with a lot of detail that you would expect from an author who’s an academic, but I like it. I’m already two-thirds through the second (of three) book in the series.

Meanwhile, on the internet:

2020 was the year of lost friendships via Harper’s Bazaar. This was surreal to read because I did lose a friendship last year, not due to illness but an inability (or perhaps, unwillingness) to communicate in the way a pandemic demands.
The Anxiety of Influencers: Educating the TikTok Generation via Harper’s Magazine. This is a long, interesting read. The author briefly embeds himself in a “content house” where a handful of young people live and create content for TikTok. I liked this article because it avoids being an invective against kids these days (which it could easily be).
Turns out it’s pretty good: Enemies via The Cut. On the trill of having a nemesis.

TV and Music

I can’t stop listening to 10 Years by Daði Freyr. This is an Icelandic band and they were this year’s Eurovision entry for Iceland!

Rampant Consumerism

a festive box containing a jar of tahini and four flavors of halva from Seed + Mill — treats from Seed + Mill

I’ve been wanting to try Seed + Mill’s halva for a while now and I finally did! I’d been saving this treat for the summer since I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about it melting during shipment (because halva is made from ground sesame seeds). It’s so good. I’m looking forward to using the tahini too.

Making Things and Doing stuff

This week I took on a number of annoying tasks like rolling over my 401k (the hardest task known to adulthood!). I tried to do this a few weeks ago, but the old bank didn’t send the right form to the new bank, so the new bank sent the check to me instead with a note saying that the old bank fucked it up. Fortunately it only took one more annoying phone call to sort it out. I shouted at the automated phone tree only once.

I also saw the audiologist this week in my ongoing quest to apparently see every doctor in Sacramento. After my trip to the doctor about a month ago when I couldn’t hear anything, I got referred to the audiologist. My hearing is mostly okay now (thanks, allergy medicine), but the hearing in my right ear is still consistently worse than my left. As far as I know, it’s always been that way, but the audiologist said she wants to see me again in six weeks and, if nothing has changed, send me to the ear/nose/throat doctor to figure out what might be wrong. The last month has been a study in realizing that I don’t have to accept weird body things just because I’m used to them.

Moving It

me, at the top of a 115-pound log press. Photo taken outside in a parking lot where the weight lifting action takes place — first lift of the vaccinated season

I had quite an active weekend starting with ballet class on Saturday morning. We filmed the last bit of our performance, which I am happy to announce we now have a date for. There will be a youtube stream at 4 p.m. Pacific time on June 12. Mark your calendars!

After ballet I went to Strongman Saturdays, a gym gathering to work on various strongman competition-style lifts. I was worried I wouldn’t be strong anymore after a year and a half of pandemic sloth. I was pleasantly surprised and highly relieved to learn that I’m still decently strong. I was able to lift a 115-pound log over my head, and I flipped a huge tire! I’m not ready to go back to a regular gym yet, but I think I am going to keep going to these Saturday sessions since it’s a small group and they set up outside in the parking lot.

Finally, I went roller skating on Sunday night! We went to the adult skate session at the Rink to celebrate a teammate’s birthday. It was fun and I got to drink an Icee, but today I’m feeling pretty beat.

Kitchen Witchery

I put together a bit of a feast for Kira and Debra on Saturday and tried a few more recipes from Classic Indian Cooking. We had fried cauliflower, shahi sabz biriyani (a braised vegetable korma baked over rice), kali dal (buttered black beans) and naan (bread). Everything was good and I especially liked the braised vegetable dish. The bean dish I didn’t love as much as everyone else, perhaps because I learned halfway through cooking that I used the wrong kind of black beans and was convinced it came out wrong, but it was still quite good. I successfully fried cauliflower even though frying food usually scares me a little. I really am having fun learning to cook Indian food and it is, of course, great to feed my friends.

a plate of shahi sabz biriyani, fried cauliflower, and naan — leftovers!

a stack of naan bread inside a tea towel — leftovers!

At my friend Mandy’s request, this week I made another bundt cake but with chocolate chips and walnuts inside. I based it on this King Arthur recipe, then added the fun stuff. It was delicious but a little less aesthetically pleasing than I would have liked since all the chocolate and nuts sank to the bottom (I know it looks like the top but you flip the bundt cake over after baking). Fortunately, I’m not on the Great British Bake Off so I don’t have to be ashamed of this cake. I can focus on celebrating its tastiness instead.

a bundt cake topped with chocolate ganache and walnuts — yet another bundt cake

cross-section of a bundt cake in which all the nuts and chocolate chips sank to the bottom (or rather, the top since I flip the cake upsidedown to get it out of the pan) — yet another bundt cake

Cat Therapy

I have some sad news to report about Sebastian. We knew he had cerebellar hypoplasia, but now he is also having frequent seizures, with three in the last week. He’s still living with his foster family for now (we hadn’t brought him home yet). We are hoping the seizures stop as he gets a little bigger. If not, we may not be adopting him because we’re not sure we can care for him adequately. I’m really sad about it because I already feel attached, but I’m holding out hope.

Finally, here is a cat photo—and a dog photo—for your nerves. Kira carries Poppy Marie around like a baby kangaroo most of the time and it’s the greatest.

Kira wearing a baby sling that is holding Poppy Marie the dog. Poppy is chilling and totally fine with this arrangement — Poppy feat. Kira

Huey the cat sitting in her cat tree, looking into the backyard and observing the squirrels in the garden — Poppy feat. Kira

weekly update

A Week in the Life: May 24, 2021

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Lindsey

This has been another exciting week of human maintenance—I saw both my dentist and my optometrist. I went to the optometrist to get assessed for binocular vision disorder, which I wrote about two weeks ago. It was good to get assessed but it left me feeling not great. The point of the test is for the doctor to see your eyes not working together, which tired me out and made me feel a little sick. The good news is that my doctor is referring me to a specialist who can do a more thorough assessment and recommend the right type of lenses or therapies. In the meantime, my optometrist recommended I use a pair of “computer” glasses she prescribed me a few years ago. These alleviate some of the strain for near-field vision, which is good. But I think using them, or perhaps switching glasses throughout the day, is making me nauseous. I can’t win.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

paperback book: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. Photo taken in my backyard — The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers is one of the books I bought at Capital Books last week during my private browsing session. It’s the fourth book in the Wayfairers series, which I love, as previously mentioned. Each book in the series focuses on a different set of characters (with some cross over from other books). The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is a story about three guests stranded at a guest house on what’s essentially a truck stop of a planet during a disaster. I loved this book, as I did the previous ones, for its complex aliens and alien cultures, and its willingness to imagine a future where all different types of people respect each other’s differences. Okay, that makes it sound like a boring novel, but it’s actually a good story with conflict and everything set in that optimistic framework.

TV and Music

In anticipation of my ballet recital (which we are all taking very seriously despite being a casual, beginner class), I watched the 2011 recording of Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it and while I still love how lush and gothic and dramatic it is, I had not previously considered how rapey the story is. Christine can “choose” between an incel who terrorizes her workplace or a rich guy who doesn’t even believe her when she tells him about the Phantom. Yikes, that’s not romance. It’s yet another entry in the “why are men” canon.

Rampant Consumerism

two folded pieces of fabric, both with a watercolor-style pattern. One is light pink with black seeds like the inside of a watermelon and one has light and dark green stripes like a watermelon rind — watermelon fabrics

I bought some fabric with plans to make myself a casual summer dress. We’ll see how that goes (I realized I have never actually made a dress, but that didn’t occur to me until after I bought everything and I remain undaunted). It’s summer and I want to be an adorable watermelon so I bought these cute watermelon rind and watermelon guts prints. I’m very tired of not being able to find things I want to wear in sizes I can wear so I think the only choice is to level up my sewing.

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Languages

I’m excited to report that I’ve booked a lesson with a new Icelandic teacher. I found her on a site called Verbalplanet. I hadn’t heard of this tutoring platform before, but I was searching for teachers and it came up. She has a lot of good reviews and sounds like someone I will like, so I’m optimistic. I’m also really happy to be continuing with Icelandic. I’ve put enough time into it at this point that I don’t want to give up, but also not enough time that I can continue unsupervised. My first class is on June 6!

Moving It

Both my jazz and ballet classes recorded performances last week. I’m still not sure when they will be available to watch, but I’m told there is a video editor involved to assemble the best footage from our multiple takes. It’s a little funny recording a performance. If it were live, it would be easier to say “well, we did our best” and forget about it. But I’ve found myself mulling over the mistakes a bit more (not too much, don’t worry) since it was recorded. Regardless, I had a lot of fun recording and getting dressed up. It was especially fun to be as melodramatic as possible for our Phantom-themed ballet performance.

Kitchen Witchery

I tried making brioche for the first time! It was so good! If you load a bread dough full of butter, it’s going to be good regardless, but I was happy with how it turned out. I mostly ate it plain but I did convert about half the loaf into French toast this weekend, which was definitely the right choice.

a golden-crusted loaf of bread on a wire rack — my first loaf of brioche

cross-section of the briche loaf revealing a buttery yellow interior — my first loaf of brioche

I tried some new Indian recipes from the Classic Indian Cooking book. I made dum aloo (potatoes in spicy yogurt sauce), masala dal (spice- and herb-laced split peas), and chapati (a thin whole-wheat bread). This was fun to make. I am still learning the Indian style of cooking, so I spend most of the process questioning whether the food is going to be good or just be a weird blob at the end. Somehow, everything comes together and is delicious! I wasn’t sure about the masala dal because the cooking method is very simple but it was good. The potatoes were tasty too and I liked scooping it all up with the bread.

I made another bundt cake this week because I’ve decided it’s bundt season (mark your calendars! lol). This time we had a coconut and cardamom cake, which was very tasty. I’ve gotten a request to make a chocolate chip bundt cake next, so next week I’ll have another cake to show you.

a small bowl of yellow split peas, a larger bowl of potatoes in tomato-yogurt sauce with thin pieces of wheat bread — making more Indian food

a golden bundt cake dripping with coconut glaze. The cake is on a wire rack and there's a plate underneath to catch the glaze — making more Indian food

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves. We visited our soon-to-be-adopted kitten at their foster family’s house on Saturday and hung out for a while so he could start getting used to us. The kitten, who we’re naming Sebastian, went to the vet last week because he sometimes shakes. The vet says this may be from a mild form of cerebellar hypoplasia. We are a little worried but he already seemed less shaky when we saw him this week and it sounds like something cats adapt to as they grow. Regardless, he is very cute and seems like a cuddly cat so I’m looking forward to bringing him home.

Kirk, sitting cross-legged on a hardwood floor, holding a tiny grey kitten in his lap — Kirk and Sebastian

a small kittien with light and drak grey stripes, sitting on a blanket with one front leg underneath him and one out in front of him. He is looking at the camera. — Kirk and Sebastian

weekly update

A Week in the Life: May 17, 2021

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Lindsey

a sign with push-in letters that says "The Flamingo Lounge presents Feast & Fiction. @CapitalBooksOnK" — feast and fiction!

What a week! I celebrated my thirty-fifth birthday, received and rejected a job offer, and met a kitten that we might adopt!

May 11 was my birthday, which is something that gets a little less exciting every year (what’s great about 35? nothing in particular), but we tried to make a good time of it. We booked a night of Feast and Fiction at Capital Books on K, which was a lot of fun. They let you rent the bookstore for an evening. It’s not a restaurant, so they encourage you to bring your own dinner, but they do provide desserts. I really enjoyed taking my sweet-ass time browsing the store and buying all the books I wanted. It’s basically a perfect birthday for me.

Kirk and I posing together for a photo in front of a wall decorated with flamingo wallpaper — happy birthday to me!

As for the job offer: I applied to a job in a neighboring department once I heard my boss was retiring. They were super keen to have me, but I realized that throughout the process, the potential manager didn’t ask me anything about myself, what I want from the job, or where I am going with my career. I decided that was too much of a red flag for me. For now, I’m going to stay and see how things shake out with whatever new boss we get.

Consuming

Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.

Books and Other Words

I’ve been trying to pick up the pace on reading because my reading app is reminding me I am four books behind if I want to reach my goal of 100 books this year (which, honestly? kind of rude). I’m trying but I keep reading such long books, like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. This started a little slow for me and I admit I almost gave up on it, but I am really glad I didn’t. The story follows a woman, Addie, who makes a deal with a devil to live until she’s tired of living so she can avoid being married to a random man in her small French village. She gets what she wants but at the cost of anyone being able to remember who she is. This book is good and it ends with an emotional gut punch.

In less good books, I read Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. I heard a lot of good reviews of this book, and it came in my Powell’s Indispensable subscription, so I was optimistic. Unfortunately, it’s kind of a weird book and nothing comes of the weirdness. The story centers on a family vacationing in an Airbnb, when the home’s owners show up fleeing some unnamed calamity. Most of the book is about these two groups of people navigating each other and their expectations. I thought this book would have some kind of wild ending like everyone turns into flamingos and returns to the woods (I know flamingos don’t live in the woods. Don’t @ me.), but no. It ends much like it started with a bunch of people being kind of insufferable.

hardback book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, set in front of a boquet of flowers — The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

hardback book: Leave the World Behind. Photo taken outside and there are trees in the background — The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Meanwhile, on the internet:

Real-estate reckoning on ‘master bedrooms’ as a racist term took place after years of discussion—yet many home builders dropped the term years ago via MarketWatch. On the scale of “things that are racist,” referring to the biggest bedroom in the house as the “master bedroom” is not that serious, but I also see no reason to use a term that inherently invokes a power dynamic for a room where people sleep. The article makes a good point that this is kind of the least of anyone’s problems in terms of racism related to real estate, but we have to start somewhere.
What’s in a Name via Science Mag. The English-speaking world’s style of having one last name is not as ubiquitous as we tend to assume. This is a perspective from a Latin American scientist grappling with how to best represent herself in her publications.

TV and Music

I’ve finally finished watching all five seasons of Orphan Black. I thought it was an inventive series and I was satisfied by the ending. The best part of that show is watching the main actress transform into all the different versions of herself. The power of hair and makeup is strong, but she’s also a very good actress for being able to differentiate all these people.

On the topic of TV, I am still making my way through the Golden Girls. I’ve just started season five and I am continually impressed by the issues the show takes on. I was surprised to see them address chronic fatigue syndrome and the difficulty of getting diagnosed with a newly identified condition. The show was ahead of its time.

Rampant Consumerism

a stack of nine new books — birthday book pile

Check out these books! Just look at all them books! These are the spoils from my private bookstore browsing. I realized once I’d collected them all from the shelves that it was too many books to buy at once but Kirk said it’s my birthday and he was buying! Get you a man or woman who will buy you all the books!

Making Things and Doing stuff

There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.

Moving It

This week, both my dance classes are recording our performances for our digital recital. I have jazz tonight and ballet on Saturday. Because I’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race for most of my adult life, I am applying the many critiques I’ve heard to ham it up and be emotionally present in a dance, not just go through the steps. The result is that I’m coming through a lot more extra than my classmates, but so be it! I’m having a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you once it’s available.

Kitchen Witchery

I also had fun making some food this week. I realized I had only used my bundt pan once so I set about rectifying that with this chocolate pistachio cake (and by bookmarking a bunch of recipes—more bundts coming soon!). Making the pistachio paste, specifically the peeling the pistachios part of the process, took a bit of doing, but otherwise this was a pretty simple cake. I love how the color came out. I did take the optional suggestion of adding a few drops of green food coloring. It’s the perfect pistachio color.

a chocolate pistachio bundt cake dripping with chocolate ganache and topped with chopped pistachios — chocolate pistachio bundt cake

a slice of chocolate pistachio bundt cake, revealing a light green interior studded with chocolate ships and pistachios — chocolate pistachio bundt cake

My Burlap and Barrel spice subscription included some recipes for Indian food so I tried those this week to put the new seasonings to work. I made two of them: a red lentil curry and a naan. I coated some of the naan with white poppy seeds, chili flakes, and parsley (substituted for the mint because that’s my preference) according to the recipe. I ran out of the seasoning mix pretty quick so went on making plain ones. They were all delicious so I’m not mad. The lentil curry came out delicious too. I’m looking forward to making and eating it again.

a bowl of rice smothered in a red lentil stew, topped with dried parsley — red lentils and rice

a stack of round naan breads on a towel. Some are plain and some are covered in herbs and seeds — red lentils and rice

Yesterday, I wanted to make some bread so I tried out these cheese and onion swirl buns to pair with some tri tip. This week, I also tried a recipe I’ve had bookmarked for a while: chili colorado (the greatest recipe of all time). It came out delicious and I’m looking forward to making it again. Even though it was good, I think I can do a little better, especially after I realized there was a video of Rick Martinez making the recipe on Youtube. Now I know the secrets that weren’t written in the recipe.

a sheet pan with 12 rolls, spirals full of cheese and onion — cheesy onion rolls

a plate with tri tip, mashed potatoes, spiced cauliflower, and a cheesy onion roll — cheesy onion rolls

Cat Therapy

Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves. Huey has migrated to her new favorite spot in the house: on top of a cat bed I bought that no one has touched for two years. This is the first interest anyone has shown in it. It makes crinkly noise so it’s comically noisy when Huey settles in for a nap.

Huey the cat, mid-yawn — photos of cats yawning is the funniest shit

Huey lounging on a cat bed in a corner of the house — photos of cats yawning is the funniest shit

me holding a small kitten. The kitten is grey and white — next member of the Halsell-Sorensen household?

We also have a kitten alert! We are probably going to adopt this little kitten in the near future. One of my teammates if fostering a litter and I said I was interested but hesitant because I need someone who can get along with Huey. She recommended this little weirdo who isn’t really interested in playing with the other kittens in the litter and just wants to putter around and attack dust motes. He may be the perfect fit for us. We went to meet him (and his brothers) on Saturday. We’re waiting for him to be a little bigger and a little older before we can take him home, which will probably be a few weeks from now.