Currently – March 2017 Edition

Hey guys! It’s been a month. Uni started up again, and I think it’s going well so far. One assignment handed in, and waiting for the grade on that is gnawing on my nerves. Still, I’m more on top of things than I usually am. I’m even getting most of my readings done! (I know, right?!) Uni has been taking precedent, though, so I didn’t blog nearly as often as I wanted to this month. I also realised that blogging on Tuesdays – my busiest and longest days – isn’t working particularly well. Life happens, schedules change, so I’m moving blog posts to Wednesdays and Saturdays, at least until June. Half of you live in America and it’ll be still Tuesday where you are anyway, so no worries there.

Loving

I got myself some new Dr Martens – my old 1914s had rips in the leather – and I’m breaking the fuckers in, so I don’t love them so much at the moment. I do love the T-bar “Polley” shoes I got to go along with them. Soooo cute. Pictures to come, probably.

Reading

Zone One by Colson Whitehead. It’s not really what I expected so far, but I’m enjoying it. Definitely more of a lit-fic take on the zombie apocalypse.

I need to reread some Discworld books. I miss Sir Pterry’s wisdom, and it’s been a long, long time for some of them.

Watching

Criminy, what have I been watching lately? Not much, really. Videos on Youtube… Let’s Plays, mostly. I’ve been watching a run-through of Hollow Knight and it’s just the most beautiful game. Not sure I’d buy it… it’s the sort of thing that will sit on my Steam wishlist until a Summer Sale in three years at which point I’ll buy it for 85% off and then play it about three times. It’s gorgeous but, like Spelunky, I think it’s the sort of game I’d die at 15 times in a row and then ragequit.

Listening to

Lorde’s new tracks. Green Light took a few listens to start to grow on me. Liability I liked from the off, mostly because it has some great lines in the first stanza. “Says he made the big mistake of dancing in my storm.” Nice.

Thinking about

This semester I’m doing two history papers. Last year I took a history paper for the first time, at 300-level, and had no idea what I was doing. My first assignment I got a B-. But for my final essay, 50% of the grade, I got an A. I worked hard to improve, I improved, I felt amazing. So now I have two history papers this semester, and one next semester (two if I don’t manage to get into the poetry-writing paper), and I’m starting to wonder if I can get into a postgraduate programme. If I get an A average across my history papers, I could get a scholarship. That’s filed in the “not too bloody likely” box, sure, but still, maybe a postgraduate diploma is within reach. And then if I do well in that I could get a one-year Masters degree.

So basically I’m spending a lot of my downtime daydreaming about future education possibilities and brainstorming thesis topics.

Writing

I do really regret that university is taking time from writing. I only get something done about once or twice a week now, which sucks. It’s easy to say “make time”, but I’m having trouble identifying my priorities at the moment. I had a major issue with it this week and I had to sit down and go over all my goals and sort out my “Next Actions” list and everything because there was too much and I was so frantic about having to do everything at once I couldn’t concentrate.

Regardless, I do need to be better at making time. I have all these ideas. I’ve been doing these prompts from writingexercises.co.uk,  and old ideas and characters that need a home have been surfacing and blending together and creating possibilities, and that’s exciting. Right now I’m not running with anything, but I’m taking notes and I’m glad the ideas have been sparked. Honestly I have so much left to edit with Sin Eater and I want to get that done and started on Draft Two before I dive into a brand new MS.

Anticipating

Yooooo did you hear?! Those rumours about Flynn asking for immunity in exchange for information were true! This whole thing is like a Showtime drama or something, I mean holy shit. It’s exciting. Now the unfortunate matter is it’s all happening against a backdrop of flat-out cartoonish supervillainy, with environmental protections, healthcare, and science itself thrown out the window, harming millions of people and the very future of the planet. From afar, i.e. the other side of the Pacific ocean, it’s easy to get caught up in the shiny dramatic shit. Happily (or sadly), there’s a steady stream of “oh my god, no” on my twitter feed to keep me grounded.

Even so. Could it be…? Dare we hope….?

Wishing

For a big pile of money to land on my head. Not literally, of course. That would probably kill me. But like…. maybe ten million dollars? I could buy a nice house and not need to worry about paying the bills. I could do postgrad without needing to stress about how I was going to afford the bus fare.

Making me happy

At the moment, simple pleasures. A good night’s sleep. (I haven’t had one of those in about a week and a half.) Watching the skinks scuttle for shelter when I walk out into the garden. Throwing the ball for the dogs. Notebooks. Feeding the sparrows in the park. It’d weird, actually. I’m getting so much out of these little things at the moment. I can only imagine it’s the sleep deprivation driving me mad.

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