thrihyrne: Portland, OR (Mitchell coffee by estarmuerta)
ExpandWeek one of the new job )

Wednesday was especially marvelous in that I was on my #20 bus heading back over the river from downtown and a couple of stops after I got on, I happened to look up from my book at the newest passengers, and one of them was my friend Jen! She'd come down from Vancouver to surprise me and just happened to get on the bus I was already traveling on. Pretty amazing. So we had dinner and talked and she headed back around 8:40. I'll probably go up there for the weekend next weekend.

I have a slew of movies to get from the library tomorrow, as well as a huge stack of books and movies to return. I'll probably also go by my favorite Goodwill store and then I'm meeting with a massage therapist friend of Julia's to talk about helping her get a website up and running for her in trade for a few massages from her. I hope we can make it work out! I definitely could use several intense, deep-tissue massages around now.
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (Portland OR)
It's been so wonderful to be back in my old stomping grounds, at the funky (and still chilly) house with my happy and eccentric roommate and loving cats. I've already gone to the county's health system for some needed basic evaluations (it's been two years since I've been checked out other than a female-centric annual exam) and spent hours at the closest library. Still working on getting internet at the house; I was working with one particular customer service agent but he hasn't called back, so I'm going with whoever answers at CenturyLink. I've applied to several positions and will continue to do so every few days in the hopes of getting some interviews. But I'm not panicking and not allowing myself to get drawn into the dismal commentary in local and national news about employment. I've had good positions in the past and will again, and that's that. In the meantime, my food stamps will run out at the end of the month for Virginia, and I'll apply here in Oregon and hopefully get that set up. I've been doing a lot of walking and also getting familiar with the various bus lines; not being able to look up a route at home is a real pain and is my primary reason for getting home internet ASAP. I ordered some yarn today for a new project; having a sweater to work on just puts me in a good place, especially when watching movies and the like.

So this isn't a terribly interesting post, but just wanted to duck in and let people know that I'm really at peace being out here again. I'm trying to balance diving into every aspect of things and also taking my time to re-acclimate and be slow and methodical about things. I've never been especially good at balance, but this is an opportunity to work on that skill.

And I miss my best friend in Eugene- after spending 10 days in close quarters, I really miss her company! I haven't heard as much from her, partially because she's been traveling, but she also ran out of minutes on her phone, I have no doubt. But I'm sure I'll hear from her in the near future.

Hope all on my flist are doing well! I'll quickly cruise through and will spend more time on LJ next time I'm online.
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (Default)
I don't know whether it's the meds I'm on or if I'm just back to being in a really active dream cycle, but I've really had a super-active dreamlife of late. Included in recent nights: being back at Portland Opera, living with a former roommate from when I first lived in Nashville back in 1992, and working back at Nashville Opera. Last night was about something altogether different, but sadly it's escaped me. It may well be the medication, but since I'm pretty focused these days about both information-gathering here as well as plans for my relocation, it's probably no wonder that my mind is working a lot at night.

My stepdad and I were supposed to be driving to southwestern Virginia to Petersburg today around 3:00 to get there for an organ recital my mom was playing, featuring exclusively pieces written by women composers. Well, with the hurricane, much of the power has gone out throughout Petersburg (where my mom went yesterday morning to practice and spent the night), so the AGO (American Guild of Organists) group who had invited her to give the recital said that they'd need to reschedule. I feel really sorry for my mom; she's been working on this for several months, plus with her teaching work schedule, it's going to be quite difficult for her to reschedule. All of that said, I don't mind not spending several hours on the road today to and from the recital. I'm going to do some research into various MSW social work programs, hopefully do some writing, take the dog out for a walk- it's very windy, still, but not raining- have a good long chat with my best friend out in Eugene, and get ready for the week. Between an earthquake, the nearby hurricane, and my computer stuff, I'm ready for an 'average' week!
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (INXS boylove)
Well, it was worse news than I'd hoped for; my harddrive needed replacing. But now I'm at home with a new HD, and a 250 gig one at that. Thankfully I'd cloned my prior harddrive before upgrading my operating system, so once I was at home and connected to the internet (which required me putting my computer here physically next to the router; I have poor connectivity in the house), I downloaded some programs that I needed since I was basically starting from scratch, and then dumped the entire contents of my now-wiped harddrive back onto the new one. So I haven't lost any data, except that I'd just spent some hours downloading the 28 discs of George R. R. Martin's unabridged book A Game of Thrones… but my computer fiasco happened post-backup. So that data is gone, and I'd ordered the book through inter-library loan and it took forever. So now I'm going to see if I can find it another way. I also managed to lose all of my bookmarks, which is a bummer, but in the grand scheme, I'll get over it.

Had a good conversation yesterday with the head of the social work department at JMU; I'm thinking more and more seriously about the MSW as a next step, while trying to find some kind of employment involved with assisted living or at a social work agency or other community non-profit once I'm in Portland. I've also just now sent an introductory letter to one of the two local retirement homes about how their residents use technology, computers in particular, to see if I can at least do some kind of work for them, even if volunteering, so that I can have them as a reference as I move forward. For the hell of it I also submitted a creative coverletter and my resume to Etsy in regards to customer service positions- they're in New York, but why not try? I definitely have a customer service background and I'm a die-hard knitter and used to online media. Doubt I'll hear from them, but you never know… Speaking of Etsy, I need to make it a priority to get some photos and pricing done of some of my vintage pieces so I can hopefully start selling something at my currently-empty shop. And I need to buy buttons for the thistle cardigan to see if I can sell it and perhaps commission some other ones in other sizes. Don't know how successful this venture will be, but it's worth a shot and I'd love for these vintage dresses and coats to be worn by people who will enjoy them.

Thanks to all who were worried about me with the earthquake. We'll probably get some rain and storms this weekend thanks to the hurricane, but nothing like what people in NC and on the Virginia coast will have to deal with.
thrihyrne: (hand written letter writer)
So I've been guiding the conversation classes for two weeks now, and I'm getting into the groove of them. There's a different set of people each time, anywhere from 8 to 13 people, depending on who shows up. Yesterday our topic was food, which ended up being a lot of fun. We even had a short field trip to a nearby international grocery store, looking at the fruits and vegetables, as well as the diverse array of things in cans, noodles, soft drinks, and sauces. Next Tuesday is finances, which will perhaps be less fun, but certainly is something that everyone needs to know.

I've been working exclusively on the knitted sugar glider over the past week- even though I'm pretty close to being finished with the second sleeve on my cardigan.
Expandpic of not yet embroidered stuffed animal below )

I got the beta on my Ron/Draco as well, but I'd like to think about a couple of her suggestions before posting it. I'd also like to get back to writing on the Tolkien story, though with family coming to visit, I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done this weekend. Maybe Sunday evening I can dedicate to that. True to before, when mowing the lawn (as I did this morning) I had thoughts come to me about the story, which always helps.

In an unrelated topic, I was in a chat this morning and the subject was about courage. As part of it, the moderator suggested writing down a fear to be overcome, then list 10 variations of what could happen if this fear was approached, with the #1 variation being the least anxiety producing to #10, which would be the most anxiety producing. The idea is then to set a goal to achieve item #1 in the list, and slowly work your way through, eventually eliminating the fear through experience and/or research. I've recently written down a list of 30 things I want: want to have, want to experience, want to have present in my life, and as a part of that, I think I'll focus on one that I may be held back from pursuing due to fear. Especially a concrete want, though many things I wrote down were fairly general/esoteric.

With that, I'm off to watch something and make 'fur' on the wings of the sugar-glider. :)
thrihyrne: (meditation rocks)
Don't have much to contribute about myself today, except to say that I'm enjoying getting out and walking the dog most days (starting to think about getting back in shape!) and I'm so pleased to be making some friends at the Women for Sobriety forums and moderated chat room. I've managed to find a fellow writer and introduced her to the world of fanfic and slash. ;)

My post today is what I read in my pocket Pema Chödrön before doing my morning meditation— perhaps it will resonate with you as it did with me.

We Never Know

    When we think something is going to bring us pleasure, we don't know what's really going to happen. When we think something is going to give us misery, we don't know. Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. We try to do what we think is going to help. But we don't know. We never know if we're going to fall flat or sit up tall. When there's a big disappointment, we don't know if that's the end of the story. It may be just the beginning of a great adventure.

    I read somewhere about a family who had only one son. They were very poor. This son was extremely precious to them, and the only thing that mattered to his family was that he bring them some financial support and prestige. Then he was thrown from a horse and crippled. It seemed like the end of their lives. Two weeks after that, the army came into their village and took away all the healthy, strong men to fight in the war, and this young man was allowed to stay behind and take care of his family.

    Life is like that. We don't know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don't know.
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (the 'burg)
For those who followed my distress about our plumbing situation, when I got home yesterday everything was as it should be. I promptly got out of my work clothes, into sweats, and cleaned the bathroom with cleaning products with bleach and felt much, much better. Yesterday morning I got up early and took the earlier bus and then walked to my parents' house to get a shower. I had enough time to spend a very pleasant half hour having coffee and chatting with my stepdad (my mom is on the west coast through the weekend) which was truly an added bonus. The latest where I live is that a few weeks ago we ran out of oil again, but for those paying for such things, we all agreed that with spring definitely on its way, we weren't going to spend another $300 to keep the house heated. Which has been fine. However, we're slated to have snow on Sunday! :( Oh well. I survived an entire miserable winter back in Portland in that unheated house; I can survive a few days of it being chilly. And I do have an electric blanket. :)

I've been back in Virginia for 13 months, and now that I'm committed for being here for another year thanks to my wonderful job and even more wonderful supervisor, I've decided it's time to turn in my Oregon driver's license and get a Virginia one- even though I signed over the title of my car to my parents and am happy being chauffeured around the 'burg on the bus. I am once again a bona fide Virginia resident and my identification should reflect that. So I'm going out to the DMV this morning, armed with two books and a knitting project. No matter how long it takes, I'm golden in regards to fending off boredom. I'm also embarrassed and happy to see that there's a new cycle of America's Next Top Model, so I'm downloading the first 5 episodes to watch while Austin's off playing guitar and I can work on my knitting for hours. :D I've also downloaded "The King's Speech" and am really looking forward to treating myself to that tomorrow. I'm back in a very productive cycle, and I'm feeling more comfortable in my own skin these days.

Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend.

Second job

Nov. 3rd, 2010 09:42 pm
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (trees in mist)
So I've been getting serious again about pursuing a second job. I applied at Panera Bread online and didn't think I'd get a response, but I actually have an interview tomorrow! Any and all positive thoughts are welcome. I've not worked in a food setting since college, but I've been doing customer-facing things for years. It can't be rocket science, and it's close to the house and JMU. I'll keep you posted!

Not much other news: I work my 15 hours, I donate plasma once or twice a week, I've been watching Britain's Next Top Model season 6 and knitting. We'll have houseguests beginning tomorrow through the weekend, a weekend in which I'll also have extra rehearsals and sing a choral evensong. Busy, and hopefully I won't feel overwhelmed by having not two but three extra people in the house, and they're my parents' friends.

I did start writing again on "Fang and Fury", my November writing project— I guess I could make a filter for that as well if any of you would be interested in reading along. For those following my khorite monk story, I will get back to it in December, I promise! I'm also looking forward to Yuletide and hope that the sign ups are soon.

And you all? Let me know how you're doing. ♥
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (marooned)
I'm still processing everything, even though it was a quick trip. I had very positive closure with my former roommate, had a highly enjoyable evening of dinner and an exceedingly unique movie with [livejournal.com profile] evannichols and [livejournal.com profile] snottygrrl, and the absolute highlight was two full days nonstop chatting with my friend Jen who I worked with at Portland Opera. She, like me, is taking some time living with her parents (she's in Salem) and it was simly two days of stress-free bliss. I went a bit nuts at the "Made in Portland" store at the airport in the wee early morning that I was there, getting a fridge magnet and also a cling sticker of a common Oregon love image:


I'm now rethinking the grad school option, not that I'm unconsidering it, but also thinking of perhaps getting trained to teach English abroad, or even focusing more on the San Jose online MLIS program and doing it from Portland, but this time up in the northwest, not the southeast where I was before.

Anyway, it's a lot of fodder. I cried. I miss the northwest like crazy, and I may well bag the computer science class to find a second job so I can seriously save up some money. Jen and I want to travel to Ireland as well. ♥

I did glance over LJ, but if I missed something major, let me know. I'm glad to be back with you all.
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (adrift)
My dreamlife has been unusually vivid the past couple of weeks. Two nights ago, for example, I woke up and remembered all kinds of elements to my dream, as I usually do, then went back to sleep and returned to the dream. While in the dream I thought, "Wow— this is really, really long with all kinds of details that I'll remember later." I'm sometimes aware I'm in my dreams, but not all that often. That one I did, though. Last night's involved losing my shoes on some babied-down version water ride and finding a new pair (purple! with yellow stripes!) before being sent to hell to do some kind of work. I kid you not. o_O

Am in a definite state of dispassion and listlessness: my old buddies. Either that or I'm simply easing into the fact that I'm going to be here in the 'burg for a while and that means relatively little social outlets, not a lot of scintillating conversations, and putting the best spin I can on my situation. Which I should do anyway, and it's certainly not all bad. For instance, we do apparently have roller derby. By all that's holy, I'm going to buy a ticket and go watch roller derby for real this Sunday. Should be fun, or at least something new and different I've never done before!
thrihyrne: (plaidtastic)
Life is good. Last week was phenomenal, and as of this week I had a follow up meeting with the Executive Director of this community health center and they're going to hire me on as a consultant to do at least the first phase of my proposal to help them with their database or lack thereof and a fee of $x0 an hour. To be paid much closer to what I feel I'm worth per hour in a work environment has really done amazing things for my psyche. I feel so fucking competent, pardon my language. My original fic writing is going well, knitting is great, the Furious Flower director has a new project and wants me to stay here forever. Even the bill I got yesterday from my last hospital stint was taken care of because I had 100% financial assistance at the time, so they cleared out the remaining balance.

In the past, so much good stuff all at once usually meant that a rather traumatizing crash and burn occurred shortly thereafter. However, I don't see that happening this time. Maybe it's the Abilify, maybe being with my parents, maybe the willingness to not go to the place where I think the gods are looking down on me and are going to throw something really terrible my way as the payment for these positive things. I'm trying not to go there in my head, at any rate. Instead I think I've become a bit oddly superstitious. I mentioned that I'd felt I'd gotten in touch with some Guardians who had kept me from serious harm during my scary few days in February, and I'd come up with a gesture to not really invoke them, but much as making the symbol of the cross (or other symbols) is an act of invocation, or protection, or something, the gesture I have is for them. Perhaps it's because I'm so exceedingly grateful that so many things are going well, but I do make that symbol a couple of times a day. Maybe that's not so weird. It's a ritual, if a tee-tiny one.

So, off to beta and then walk the dog and later is Pilates with my mom and then knitting and watching Project Catwalk. Heh. I found the U.K. clone of Project Runway, woo hoo!!
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (Love me do for snottygrrl)
I've decided to do a fairly major downsizing in my LJ, both communities and individuals. My fandom interests have changed somewhat in recent years, and I'm going to go ahead and cut my ties with several entities. If you're an individual on my flist and I cut you and a) you notice b) you care and want to stick around, please just send me a PM and I'll be glad to add you back.

I'm also going to start up a new filter about my original fic. After a few days of mulling things over, I began simply writing on Sunday and as of this morning, basically the whole outline of characters/scenario/plot/limited worldbuilding/religious doctrine (it's integral to the story) has come to me. I'm going to post what I've started out with and feel free to let me know whether or not you'd like to be added to that particular filter. It will be m/m, occasionally explicitly adult, not set in our current world but perhaps in a post-atomic one, and hopefully is original-ish in concept.

For people here for fic, my fanfic will always be unlocked, so please stop by whenever you'd like! I'm probably not writing much of any HP anymore, minimal Tolkien, and some Wraeththu. I'm working on a Hector/Lord John Grey for [livejournal.com profile] lgbtfest but y'know, as of now I'm really going to put my energies toward this. I'm pretty damn excited, actually. It's nothing like anything I'd been thinking about in my vaguest vague ideas of what to write. *g*

ExpandSo here's the possible beginning to what I'm just calling 'Ilthanon Original Fic,' for lack of a better title. Oh, and things in brackets are elements with new vocabulary I haven't even begun to conceive of yet. )

Let me know if you want to be on that filter, and no hurt feelings either way. And, of course, initial responses are also welcome!
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (Tilda by fileg)
I'm a cat person. Thoroughly. And yet, this English redtick hound Taffy is a creature I look forward to walking, and to seeing her wag her tail like crazy when I come home. Today I had my first joyful experience of buying her a new squeaky toy when at Best Buy. And repairing it within 12 minutes of her chewing on it. And seeing the stuffing scattered all over the dining room floor, the squeaker mangled and in pieces within 90 minutes of having brought it home. :P

    But she loved it! Definitely worth the $3, but next time I'll get a rope toy that might survive longer.

    I'm also in a strange state of being surrounded by four massive computer manuals checked out of the JMU library for two very different projects; one to improve my Photoshop skills, and three to see if I can create a kick ass database in Access— a program I've never used. I've built databases in Excel and figure if I can do that, I can certainly do so in Access, but being a Mac woman, that program is not something I'd seek out. I'm glad I'm multi-platform, and this could be a few-months project for me, with funding, that could actually then be sold. I could write the manual as well and make a percentage on sales of that, too! And go and teach people! I did get a little carried away in my head, but it was a great meeting despite being at 8:15 a.m. and me having gotten all of two hours of sleep. Not even that.

    And in final news, I now have two balls of yarn rather than skeins, am about to embark on new knitting project #1, and decided as of tonight I'm going to draft an outline for an original fic m/m story for one of the e-book companies where I know people. By gosh, I'm going to try my hand at putting something out there for those of us who love m/m stories and are looking beyond fanfic. Since 2007 I've said I was going to do that. I'm not putting it off any longer.

    So, a good day. :)
thrihyrne: (plaidtastic)
By ten thirty this morning, I'd done something I'd not expected to: I'd organized my stationery/cards/paper collection/stickers/envelopes caddy. I was looking for a few things as I'm in a big week of getting out letters and a couple of little gifties, and I couldn't find a damn thing. The caddy was a wreck. But now it's organized, at least for a while! And I put a bunch of the more office supply stuff in an actual drawer. In doing this, I found a button: the unique button that had come off one of my favorite suits that I've not been able to wear in three years because I was missing the button and I'd been too lazy to go to a fabric store, find new buttons, and replace them. Now I can repair the suit! Which is somewhere in a bag, unfortunately... but that's a project for the weekend.

It's been a productive morning. Decent day at work yesterday, and I'm expecting more of the same today. I'm in a bit of a bind in that I'll need to iron whatever I'm going to wear and my housemate ended up coming home by 10:30 because they canceled all of her appointments today, but she still got paid. So she went upstairs and is napping. The ironing board is loud, so if/when I open it, it'll wake her up. But if she's not up by 1:45 or so, too bad.

Am feeling very confident about life, keeping up with people, and continuing to take positive steps while channeling my creativity. I'm going to start on a new Wraeththu fic and have a couple of books I've requested from the library for background research. :) So... yay. And I still have a couple episodes of Torchwood CoE to watch. I was more than happy to read the spoilers; I'd rather know.

And not a bumper sticker funny, but a license plate holder funny:
"Don't honk— Dvórak playing."

You never know what you'll see around Portland.
thrihyrne: Portland, OR (aurora borealis)
It's been a while, but one jumped out at me today, and I just assumed two more would follow, and they did. The one that really caught my eye was:
Those darn accordions! [picture of an accordion]
Pro-Accordion & I vote!


This one I suspect many people on my flist own, in green print on a yellow background:
reading is sexy

And then, to round out my morning drive to the Opera:
I PIRATES

Happy Friday to you all! Much to my great pleasure, I had a rather decent sale this morning, and unexpected at that. Which means I have another full week to ensure I make commission, and hopefully then some. On the personal front, it's been rather a week of self-awareness and change, and I feel like I'm on the cusp of some pretty profound understandings. Like the fact that I want to learn how to safely live alone, since that's what I'm drawn to. And that life's short: maybe I really should apply for this program for Audience and Fan Studies at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies. I mean, why not?? No, I don't know what I'd do with such a degree, but I suspect I could do some teaching, some editing, keep involved in various fan communities and write some more papers. At any rate, rather a turbulent week, but I'm looking forward to some down time this weekend and maybe spending some time with [livejournal.com profile] snottygrrl and/or one of my work colleagues. Two in particular are now confidantes and think I'm wonderful and said some things to me I needed to be reminded of. Such as: If I just listen to some of the truest parts of myself, and act accordingly, I'm going to be fine.

So, enough navel gazing from here. I'll do some editing and writing, too. Happy weekend! ♥

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