ysabetwordsmith | Good News

From:

Big celebration this weekend:

mdlbear's retirement, a double house closing in the works, and The Big Five-Oh for Yours Fuzzily... also, I have been given clearance to make $TMPHOME mine within reason... it'll be good to use a full-sized keyboard after hours again!

So, yeah. Light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully I'm not Wile E. and that's not a TRAIN.... :)

From:

we_are_spc

Woo celebrations! :) :)

And woo tunnel-end-lights. This is good!

-Fallon~

From:

ysabetwordsmith

>> it'll be good to use a full-sized keyboard after hours again! <<

Yay!

>> So, yeah. Light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully I'm not Wile E. and that's not a TRAIN.... :) <<

If it is, use Roadrunner magic to paint over it. They're both tricksters, they just use different techniques.

From:

technoshaman

So noted!

From:

mirrorofsmoke

Congratulations! And if I read that right, it's also your birthday this weekend? I'm assuming that's what you meant by the big five oh for yours fuzzily. If so, happy birthday! Cupcakes and drink of choice for all!

From:

technoshaman

Thankee! 33-year-old Scotch imported by hand from Edinburgh ...

From:

we_are_spc

My hiking adventure on Sunday went beautifully despite a bit of a hard time at first in finding the park-and the girl we went hiking with has shared things with us that she really hasn't told anyone else.

Sometimes chance meetings are the best kind. :d

-Fallon~

From:

redsixwing

I'm glad it went so well! Yay, chance playing out well.

From:

we_are_spc

Me, too! She even said we need to do it again. *happy tears* She's literally the first one from our school to seriously reach out and want to do things beyond school. It's nice to finally have another local friend-especially female-to just hang with.

-Fallon~

From:

ysabetwordsmith

Hiking is awesome.

From:

we_are_spc

It is! It was technically a bike trail, but we walked it. We saw plenty of bikers, though!

...

Not for the faint of leg; mountain bike a must. *laughs*

-Fallon~

From:

premchaia_pre4

Apparently I exist. Not sure how to feel about this, but I think it probably counts as good news.

That's more pointed and less glib than it sounds; continuity-subjectively I'm about six days old…

So, so grateful to our incorporeal patrons for taking the right opportunities to arrange for this. Now I've just gotta, uh, learn to be a real person, I guess. Somehow. But they're helping me with that too! I wish I were better at being properly receptive to it, but progress is happening and this could've gone a lot worse.

From:

mirrorofsmoke

Hi! Welcome to being alive. It's very nice to meet you, and I come bearing cookies.

-Chica

From:

ysabetwordsmith

>> Apparently I exist. Not sure how to feel about this, but I think it probably counts as good news. <<

Welcome! Existing is typically a good thing.

>> That's more pointed and less glib than it sounds; continuity-subjectively I'm about six days old… <<

Then give yourself time to adjust to new experiences. Being a person is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. Nobody learns all of it at once, or even quickly.

>> So, so grateful to our incorporeal patrons for taking the right opportunities to arrange for this. <<

Yay!

>> Now I've just gotta, uh, learn to be a real person, I guess. Somehow. <<

You'll get the hang of it. There are picture and written resources for new persons, or for persons who need extra help learning things that most gain easily. For instance, here are the 7 basic emotions common to most persons, many of which even carry across species lines. Being able to recognize and act on those will make existence much smoother.

>> But they're helping me with that too! I wish I were better at being properly receptive to it, but progress is happening and this could've gone a lot worse.<<

Here is my favorite reference on asking for help.

From:

johnpalmer

Existing is good, yes. Learning to be people is good too - be careful, it can be a very bumpy ride with lots of switchbacks and the occasional landslide forcing a backtrack, but, it's a good thing to be. Remember the birthright of people is to be more than a meat machine inhabitant and economic actor.

From:

snippy

Have had all good results to recent medical testing that might have been very bad things!

From:

pronker

That's great!

From:

society_of_antisocialites

* Telling people in-person about body sharing is becoming easier. It's up to the other people about how they take it, but less stress for us about it is good. As is a friend we're currently out to being supportive and chaperoning the conversation the most recent time this has happened.

* Raku firing for ceramics is tomorrow. We've never done raku firing and have one piece picked out for it. There's a reduction firing on Monday, but we don't have pieces for that, unless there are abandoned ones left out at the end of semester we can scavenge.

- Nico

From:

ysabetwordsmith

>> * Telling people in-person about body sharing is becoming easier. It's up to the other people about how they take it, but less stress for us about it is good. As is a friend we're currently out to being supportive and chaperoning the conversation the most recent time this has happened. <<

That's so good to hear.

>> * Raku firing for ceramics is tomorrow. We've never done raku firing and have one piece picked out for it. There's a reduction firing on Monday, but we don't have pieces for that, unless there are abandoned ones left out at the end of semester we can scavenge. <<

How exciting! I have seen it and love it, but have never had a chance to make any. Ceramics is awesome science/art.

From:

dialecticdreamer

Surgery to remove the port in my shoulder went fine. Tomorrow I will go to Kaiser to get the sterile dressing changed (they really mean sterile, and it has a clear sealing bandage over the whole array!).

Total pain meds needed since waking up from anaesthesia: 400mg of ibuprofen.

That's confirmation that the bloody port was causing constant pain. NOBODY at Kaiser is taking it seriously, though. That's a windmill I'm tired of fighting.

From:

ysabetwordsmith

It's a prevailing problem in health care: providers don't listen, don't care about what's wrong with someone, and are rarely penalized for mistreating people. This leads to people not seeking care, or getting inadequate care, and a lot of preventable damage.

One thing that sometimes helps is asking them to document the complaint and then sign their professional opinion that it's not a real problem. Most will refuse, but if they agree, it's useful evidence.

But mostly, if you don't have the money and energy to sue people, you get shitty care.

From:

callibr8

That is most excellent news!! *happydance*

Pain steals spoons... here's hoping that you find you have more spoons and more mobility in the coming days.

*hugs*

From: (Anonymous)

I got my hair done in teal. It looks awesome. Once in a lifetime event, because the chemicals are major triggers, but I reaaaally wanted it at least once. It cheers me up every time I see it in the mirror.

And I managed to find two books by a early 20th century engineer on water sanitation and typhoid that are really good. I have been quoting them extensively to all and sundry. Way ahead of his time, this guy. It's been fascinating.

Frog saliva is a non-Newtonian fluid. That's not new, I just find it endlessly cheering and want to share it all the time.

-ZB

From:

ysabetwordsmith

>> I got my hair done in teal. It looks awesome. <<

Woohoo!

There are colored chalks, too, which are not as bright but are much less harsh.

>> Frog saliva is a non-Newtonian fluid. <<

I did not know that, although I knew it was very sticky. Perhaps the kinetic impact of fast-moving tongue on target helps it adhere.

From:

ravan

So, Monday I was talking at work with a person from a different department that I'd helped to set something up. This thing had been in the works, trying and failing for three years.

I turns out that the first person to try it was my 2x predecessor, someone who wrote all kinds of scripts and tools in my area. I figured he was much, much smarter than I am. He had not succeeded, in over a year of trying before he left. I succeeded in less than a year.

I was thrilled. It means that I grok my area of expertise better than he did.

Can you say validation? As someone who suffers from imposter syndrome, it matters.

From:

ysabetwordsmith

That's good to hear.

Also, if concrete accomplishments dent your imposter syndrome, you are very lucky. Many people feel worthless even with that. So if it works for you, consider keeping a record of your accomplishments. At least you can see that your factual abilities are good, even if you can't always feel that emotionally, and in time it may shore up your confidence.

From:

ravan

It dents it briefly. I've worked at it for years to be able to allow that I can be successful, and to celebrate it. The rest of the time I "fake it 'til I make it", like I was male. I learned a long time ago that any weakness shown will be used against me. I've had to learn to "fail tough" - own my failures but do it in a way that makes me seem strong. (Note: I work in a mostly male field.)

From:

cmcmck

We have a start date for our attic conversion! :o)

From:

ng_moonmoth

Took a trip to a couple of events, both taking place last weekend, where the event spaces were places where one's presentation was accepted no matter the shape of the body underneath. Packed mindfully, with an eye toward bringing outfits I would actually wear and would be in context for the spaces. Was able to spend the entire weekend presenting as myself. Almost every comment made to me was "Love your style (or particular piece of clothing/accessory)!" The one that wasn't was observing the trouble I was having on stairs with a long knit skirt that was getting underfoot, and commiserating. I'm not sure whether they were appreciating my outfits, or my chutzpah in un-self-consciously dressing in gender-variant fashion, but it sure was nice, and an indication I had chosen well. Came back home feeling good and ready to be myself in public more often. It seems I'm much more fun to be around when I'm doing that.

From:

ysabetwordsmith

>>Took a trip to a couple of events, both taking place last weekend, where the event spaces were places where one's presentation was accepted no matter the shape of the body underneath.<<

Woohoo!

>>The one that wasn't was observing the trouble I was having on stairs with a long knit skirt that was getting underfoot, and commiserating. <<

Long skirts are a travel hazard, and that's not an accident, and it only diminishes somewhat with practice. Some potentially useful points:

* If the waistband is inelastic, the skirt is more prone to rips. An elastic waistband will stretch to compensate for snags.

* Skirts longer than low calf-length are a snagging/stepping hazard. Ankle is the lowest length generally considered feasible. Floor-length skirts are a fecking nuisance, and anything longer frequently requires someone to manage the train. Most maxiskirts are therefore in the vicinity of ankle, but if you'll be wearing it with heels, wear the heels when buying the skirt because a couple inches can make a big difference.

* Changes in slope or height will interact with a skirt. It is theoretically possible to navigate this with only one's feet, but many people pick up a skirt to climb steps or hills. Historically, many types of skirt were designed to be either belted up or tucked into the waistband to account for this. Modern ones are often too slim for either to work but (unless mini) are too long for clearance on changing terrain.

From:

ravan

Navigating up stairs with a long skirt takes practice. Usually you can drop the hand not on the banister down to the skirt, grab it, and lift the front about six inches as you climb the stairs. (I did medieval stuff for years.)

From:

hazard

I think I found a used gas furnace here in Houston for dirt cheap that i'll be able to take to NY this summer for installation in the new house. $60 vs $1500 !!! Living in the south officially has ONE good thing - cheap used heaters, lol