State of the JB update, the Ow Ow Edition

[jedibuttercup]

So, it's August already is it? Wow.

I'm mostly settled in my apartment now, adjusting to the shift in finances and missing my niblings like crazy. I've seen them a handful of times since the move; Tiny Man is now crawling! My mom has also acquired a full-time job for the first time in ... probably longer than I've been alive, now that she's finally admitted she has to pay for the upkeep on the house and maintain health insurance somehow before Dad's 401(k) runs out, or she'll be broke before his social security payments kick in. That's been a stressor and a half, and other family drama on top of that has been a major stressor on me.

In happier news-- mostly-- I went hiking with MaeveBran and her husband last weekend at Mt. Thielsen. She made it about three miles up the trail, near the crossing with the PCT; he and I kept going up the West Ridge route until the base of the summit pinnacle, at about the 9,000 foot level. It was amazingly beautiful, and the butterflies were migrating that week; we saw swarms of them even up that high! I had an attack of dumbass on the way down, though; when we reached MaeveBran again I took my eyes off my feet and lifted my walking stick to wave hello, and caught a foot on a rock. Cue instant massive contusion the size of my fist on my left shin, just below the knee, with miles of walking yet to go. A week later, there's still a sizeable knot there, and discoloration all the way down to my ankle; but at least I didn't break anything. And to make up for it we did dinner that night at the lodge at Crater Lake, since it was only about an hour away. Sunset views there: spectacular. Still, I think we'll plan a less difficult mountain next year. :)

Anyway, so what am I ficcing as I recover from all that plus the recent heat wave? I'm about 16,000 words into another Ichabod/Abbie het big bang, for which I'll be looking for an alpha reader soon; and I'm sort of half-way participating in the August Twistedshorts Ficathon as ideas occur. So you'll be seeing short crossovers pop up over the next few weeks. Other than that, we'll see; I missed the end of the signups for crossovering while I was on the hiking trip, but I'm considering fandomgrowthexchange.

I'll get to backagainharry again by the end of the year; I swear it. It's just. Trying to wrap my head around that behemoth with other stressors going on never goes well. Same with the last of my wishlist fic; just can't do the pressure right now. September, October maybe? *squinting at calendar* Yeah, maybe.

Hope the rest of you are doing well!

Comments

[flingslass]

See, that's why I don't like hiking 😁 It's awesome that you completed the goal though!

[jedibuttercup]

My mom always says it's not a 'real' vacation if I don't come back scraped or bruised or sunburnt or something. :) Thanks!

[sulien]

*cringes* Oh, man... I did something similar and still have the scar on my right shin from where they surgically drained the blood (what I thought was a minor contusion swelled up into a gigantic hematoma within about 20 minutes). Stay particularly aware of any stinging or burning sensations in your leg, or other symptoms of thrombosis. *sending healing and supportive vibes*

[jedibuttercup]

If it had kept getting worse I'd have gone for medical care, but it's been shrinking steadily since the initial injury... just very, very slowly. I just wish I didn't have cold urticaria; the hives-reaction after putting an icepack on the injury hurt worse than the actual bruise itself!

[kerravonsen]

Yeah, the beautiful views make it worth getting to the top. But Ow. Look after yourself.

As for fic, hey, don't stress. Remember, it is supposed to be fun.

I just popped over and started looking at fandomgrowthexchange and the nominated tags and
1. Even if I were hankering to do fic writing, I'm not sure I know enough of the obscure fandoms/pairings to qualify, and
2. I looked at the Harry Potter pairings and some of them make me want to wash my brain out with bleach. Ew! Ew! Ew! Oh dear.
3. On the other hand, there are some of the nominations I'd dearly like to see, such as "Newt Scamander & Sudanese Obscurial Girl (Fantastic Beasts)"

[jedibuttercup]

Well, I don't seem to be able to take a vacation without something going wrong; it's just not usually something like that. I'd thought I was safe after my shampoo bottle exploded in my suitcase and conveniently only soaked my swimsuit; irritating, but easy to clean up. Alas. :)

As for fic, I'm not trying to push myself anywhere in particular this year; just trying to keep writing something. The growth exchange seemed like it might be good for that; I have a lot of tiny-movie-fandom interests (Commando; Jack Reacher; The Great Wall; the new King Arthur; etc.) that would otherwise only be an exchange option at Yuletide, that I would love to have an excuse to noodle on.

Having the "rare pairings" aspect also be an option this year does seem to have brought in a lot of rather strange corners of fandom, though, you're right. :)

[beatrice_otter]

Glad the apartment is working out, and that your mom is a) facing financial realities and b) got a job!

[jedibuttercup]

She didn't work at all when my brother and I were little; she did start working again after we hit high school so we wouldn't have to be so penny-pinching coupon-clipping any more, but it was still only part time relatively low wage bookkeeping type stuff, maybe 15-20 hours a week for the last decade or two. Going full-time at age 59 has been kind of a shock for her. But she was amazingly lucky to find the job she did; I've spent a lot of time cheerleading her on it and telling her to give the middle finger to all the friends that have been telling her to give up the house and all the work it requires instead. It is NONE OF THEIR EXPLETIVE BUSINESS, but it's really stressing her out on multiple levels.

[grundyscribbling]

Sorry to hear about the family stress/drama, and about your hiking injury. :( Hope things are improving for you.

Don't feel like you owe anyone writing/fic if life is keeping you too busy or stressed for it. And certainly don't let anyone pressure you over it. (Not even yourself!)

[jedibuttercup]

There's up days and down days. I simultaneously understand why people find my mother's stress coping methods exhausting, and want to FUCK THEM UP for responding to it by deliberately doing things that increase her stress levels, because most of the time I am her ONLY cheerleader, and I don't exactly have vast emotional reserves. I just thank God my own life is relatively even-keeled at the moment, and I do now have my own space to chill in, so I do still have some energy left to spend noodling on fic at all. :)

[grundyscribbling]

Ouch. That's rough when you're the one trying to keep your mother going with your own reserves low, even before other people add to her stress level. Fingers crossed things stay even-keeled for you.