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Category Archives: daily life
2018 in Retrospect Plus Here Comes 2019: Ever Onward, Ever Hopeful, Ever Joyful
There’s only one day left of this year in which to reflect upon it, and one thing I’ve been urging students to do is sit down and reckon up some of their accomplishments as well as planning out next year’s goals. So here I am, practicing what I preach.
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Pilot’s Varsity Disposable Fountain-Pens
I do a good bit of writing by hand, usually in a large hardbound sketchbook, although I sometimes like the feel of a nice narrow yellow-lined pad or the sprawl of an enormous expanse of drawing paper. And to write … Continue reading
For K.C.
There are so many of us who write, and so many voices that get drowned out. I want to tell you about one of them. I want to tell you about my friend K.C. Ball. She wrote short stories as … Continue reading
Yearly Recap Plus What’s Ahead in 2018
Among the things I’ve done in 2017:
- In writing, I did: the writing listed here and turned Hearts of Tabat into the publisher and started book #3, which I’ve got about 30k on so far. I didn’t publish any book-length work, but I’d had two in late 2016 (to the point where I was thinking one had come out this year) and will have at least two in 2018, so I guess it all evens out.
- In skill acquisition, I added how to cook sous vide, coffee roasting, basic lockpicking and (even more basic) scuba to my overall character sheet. I also learned how to load and shoot a pistol, along with basic gun safety.
- In fear conquering, I swam with sharks (twice) and took a self defense class.
- In travel, I visited Orlando, New York City, Indianapolis, and Pocatello (ID) in the US and Dominical and surrounding areas in Costa Rica.
Nattering Social Justice Cook: Self-Defense Class, Week One
Well, it’s been interesting. Monday, I got up at 4:45 AM and drove over, first making sure I’ve eaten half a protein bar despite my stomach protesting the early hour. Because I’m always anxious about getting places late, I was … Continue reading
Posted in daily life
Tagged comfort zone, daily life, fearlessness, fitness, self-defense for women, taking women's self-defense
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Nattering Social Justice Cook: Defending Yourself
Monday, in the wee and terrible hours of the morning, I’m dragging myself off to the first of twelve women’s self-defense classes, which meet three times a week for the next month.
While I’m not fond of the circumstances pushing the need for something like this, it’s something I’d thought about for decades, so probably it’s good to be going ahead and doing it before I get so creaky that I worry about breaking a hip. As it is I know I’ll be collecting some bruises.
It coincides with a gun class halfway through, since I figured as long as I’m living in a house with guns, I might as well know how to pick one up and shoot it in the case of a zombie apocalypse. (This is an interesting year! So far I’ve added the following skills, all at 1st level, to my character sheet: scuba, lockpicking, coffee roasting. Basic CPR is another I want to add before year’s end.)
Mainly this will be interesting because it’s a big change in mindset. The last time I hit a human being with my fist was, I think, second or third grade. While I’ve played sports, they’ve never been rough and tumble ones; softball, golf, or tennis are more my style. Maybe bowling. I did fence briefly in high school and have always regretted not sticking with it.
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Summing Up July 2017
Over halfway through the year, and here’s some of the happenings for July. Online I taught workshops on Story Fundamentals, Flash Fiction, Writing Steampunk & Weird Western, Moving from Idea to Draft, and Editing 101. I’ll announce September and October … Continue reading
Posted in daily life
Tagged a house alone, another selkie story, habitica, reading list, readings lists, say yes
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Nattering Social Justice Cook: Celebrating Rainbow Hair
One of the places recent culture wars have been being played out has been the virtual space occupied by Twitter and its adjacent social media. Examining a particular hashtag or recurring phrase often provides insight into what the topic of the moment is, as well as what tropes and memes are being deployed.
A common adjective in many of the more conservative, alt-right, and Neo-Nazi rants I’ve seen in the past couple of years is “rainbow-haired,†never in a positive sense. It’s usually paired with some form of “social justice warrior,†and often accompanied by an emotional catch-phrase or verbiage like “feels†or “drinking the tears.†There’s a lot of interesting stuff built into that particular fixation. So let’s dig around to find what’s contained in the phrase and its use in this pejorative sense.
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Posted in daily life
Tagged glbt, nattering social justice cook, pride month, purplesf, rainbow connection, rainbow-haired
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Playlist for Female Leaders
Women in leadership positions face a lot of unwonted and unwanted bullshit. Self care’s important, both physically and mentally. Here, for your weekend, is some music. This is some of the playlist I listen to when walking.
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