After stating on facebook that I wanted to replace posting there with weekly newsletters, here I am. I did look a little bit at newsletter applications, but then I thought, I’m paying for this website and why not use it? I’m bringing blogging back.
Consuming
Reading
This morning I read an article from The Atlantic called “The Adults Who Treat Reading Like Homework.” I didn’t like the title, but I was interested in the content, since I am, arguably, one of those adults. It discusses people setting reading goals for themselves and talks a little bit about how the process of setting a reading goal impacts reading habits. As someone who has tracked her reading habits for over a decade, I have some opinions. I actually don’t set a goal for reading a certain number of books. It’s something I’ve done in the past, but you never know how the year is going to go. I plan to read as much as I can and make allowances for life. I also try to think about reading as something to do instead of getting lost in the infinite scroll of social media. It has to be an active decision even if you don’t set a specific goal. The article also discusses the site Good Reads and how sends annoying notifications when users are not meeting their goals. This is one of the many reasons I prefer to track my reading and maintain my personal library through LibraryThing, which I’ve been using since 2007.
I also read a really interesting article from The Guardian about trauma and how we react to it. It discusses what is called polyvagal theory, kind of a corollary to the “fight or flight” response that says that, when faced with something traumatic, sometimes people freeze up and that’s normal. I won’t try to summarize it because it is a little complicated, but I highly recommend giving it a read, especially if you are someone or know someone who freezes up when stressed.
Listening
Spotify recommended the band Tacocat to me and I’m enjoying it a lot. I really like “I Love Seattle” (because I do, even though I’m living that Sacramento life). I’ve only seen a handful of episodes of the X-Files, but their song “Dana Katherine Scully” really resonates with me, and the video makes me laugh. “The truth is out there, but so am I.” Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FShqXAqGv4
Rampant Consumerism
I recently discovered the magic of fiber optic fabric. I ordered some to make something (to be determined based on my sewing skills, I suppose) to wear at Rollercon. I also bought a fiber optic bow tie from an Etsy shop and it is amazing. These may or may not end up in the same outfit.
Making Things and Doing Stuff
Roller Derby Life
Speaking of Rollercon, that’s been occupying a big part of my mental space this week. In part from excitement and in part because I got into a big fight with my dad last weekend and I need the emotional distraction. I’ve been thinking about costumes and outfits, and also figuring out my food game. You’re not allowed to cook in the hotel and there are no microwaves, so you have to get creative. My first Rollercon, I brought a tiny crock pot and slow cooked meals every day. This year, on the advice of Bob Uckerlele, I’m bringing a sous vide immersion cooker and some vacuum-sealed meals. My sister generously bought me an immersion cooker for Christmas, but I haven’t found the courage yet to test it. I bagged up some leftovers this week and froze them, so I’ll be doing a test run soon. I’m hoping this strategy keeps me well nourished during Rollercon.
Tomorrow (Saturday, the 22nd) we have a home derby game at the Rink. Tickets are still available online. I’ll be playing with our C team, Kodiak Attack. Even though I promoted to the B team this year, I’ve played basically every C game thanks to a dearth of players. I’m happy for the play time but I’m also looking forward to some of our newer skaters being ready to fill out that roster. Because I’m forever pushing myself, I tried out for our “Travel B” (league top 30/combined charter + B) team. I have no idea if I’m at that level or not but I’m hoping that by moving up a practice level, it will force me to get better. It’s always a shock to go from feeling pretty good to being the worst player at practice. But, of course, that’s how you get better.
I started selling t-shirts with my face on them, mostly for my own amusement but also to earn a little money for me and world’s best derby photographer Bone Appétit to pay for tournament travel. Some of our newer skaters have already joined my fan club. Honestly, I’m honored that anyone wants to wear my surly visage. I hope to stay worthy of having people in my fan club.
Spanish
In my Spanish lesson yesterday (which is more just hanging out and talking about things at this point, but that is good), my teacher, Oliva, and I were discussing fluency and what it feels like, more in the context of us learning difficult languages. In that discussion, she said she considers me to be fluent in Spanish! I have been saying for a while that I’m working toward fluency, but it is amazing to get that validation. Obviously, I’m not perfect at Spanish but I am fully operational. Exciting!
Kitchen Witchery
I made a few tasty foods this week, but nothing too exciting. Because everyone likes food photos (or does everyone hate food photos? I can’t keep it straight), here’s some foods of the week, presented at various odd angles:
The cake is the white chocolate cupcakes recipe from The Baking Bible. I made one cake instead of a bunch of tiny ones because of laziness. It’s currently in the freezer. I wanted to bake it to finish using all the leftover egg whites I had from making ice cream last week, but also wasn’t prepared to frost and eat a whole cake. I also made a lentil shepherd’s pie, which is not really a summer food, but is what I wanted. I used some leftover buns I made (recipe from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook) and leftover bleu cheese sauce to make some chicken burgers, which ended up being a really good choice.
Finally, here’s Viola for your nerves.
