all made up with nowhere to go

I have been in charge at work this week, and will be next week as well, because my boss is on holiday. Though at least I will be on holiday myself for eight days this time next week! I'm not going anywhere; I can't afford to, and I don't want to. One of the people I work with asked what I was going to do with that time, and I said, "Sleep. As much as possible."

It's not been too bad, except that ​my commute to and from work on Thursday was a fucking disaster! The bus I should catch to work never showed up, so I was half an hour late! And then the bus I caught home was also disasterously late (which would've been annoying anyway, but I had been food shopping, and had frozen food gently defrosting while I waited). So I was home half an hour later than I intended, too.

SO THAT WAS FUN.

I mean, at least it didn't happen every day, but it shouldn't happen at all.

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In other news, I finished reading Lords and Ladies. I absolutely, 100%, still know why this was my favourite DW book as a kid (Magrat, basically. I felt I was a lot like her, and she gets to be awesome here, and that's why). I didn't realise how much discussion of physics there is in the text, though! All that would've gone right over my head when I was younger.

It didn't hit me in the same way Equal Rites did, but I think a lot of that is down to over familiarity with the text. This was one of my favourite books. I read it A LOT (I think the only other book I've read as much is Good Omens). I remembered a lot more of it than I expected to, as it's literal decades since I read it last. I did enjoy it, though, which I wasn't sure would happen, since I literally made myself sick of it from rereading so much in the past.

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I also beat a boss I was stuck on in NEO: TWEWY!

( here be spoilers )

I think that's all I have to say about that for now! I'm going to go and do some chores, and decide what to have for dinner!

Yesterday, I only did the morning at work because I have to open up on Thursday morning, as my boss will not be in till a bit later. She had wanted me to swap the entire day, but I like doing half days, because it means I can spend the afternoon mooching about in town if I want to. Which is exactly what I did yesterday.

I went to explore Asda because I was going to buy some household stuff, as my sister in law says they're good for that (I think she is biased because she shops there a lot ;) ). Anyway, I also wanted to look for some Crayola pencils since, I don't know if you know, but I am addicted to buying pencil crayons. And I had seen this video by Doodle Date, where Steph had mentioned the Colours of the World sets that Crayola have released (there's a pic of the pencils, which is what I wanted, but it turns out Steph wanted the pens). So I thought I would like to have some, and I got them for almost half price! (£2.25 versus £4!)

I also bought a blank notebook, because I'm me. But also because it's a really nice size (7.5x10inches), and you don't tend to get blank notebooks smaller than A4*. I'm going to use it as a sketchbook**. It turns out, by weird coincidence, to be the same size as a notebook I already have, and that I used one of as a sketchbook many years ago! (But it has less pages) I am tempted to go back any buy a couple more but a) I don't know what the paper is like, and b) I already have the aforementioned other books.

And then the only other thing I bought that wasn't useful/food was a nail varnish that I've been wanting for about a year now, which is a blue one by Barry M called Blue Margarita. It's a lot darker than it looks on the picture in the link. Anyway, I'm really happy with it, and definitely glad I got it!

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Meanwhile, in NEO: TWEWY, spoilers!

( Read more... ) And that's mostly where I am with that, at the moment.

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I finished reading Equal Rites when I got home yesterday, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! 10/10, would absolutely recommend to anyone. I really liked Esk, she was amazing, and obviously Granny Weatherwax was also amazing. Also I made the mistake of looking through some of the bad reviews on Goodreads - usually I enjoy reading bad reviews, but these ones just made me sad that they didn't see what I did.

Reading it really reminded me what I love about Terry Pratchett's writing, and how amazing he was with words regardless of whether it's leading into a joke or not. And it made me sad that I've spent so long not reading Discworld, when they are evidently such enjoyable books (but problems with concentration/feeling sad about PTerry's death are contributors to that, as well as a layer of "but what if I don't like it any more?" on top). So obviously, I am going to rectify that, although I'm going to read a different author next, I think.

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*At least, not in the UK/not round where I live/work.

**Yes, I know I already have all these others, including the ones I made [nervous laughter]

Thanks to work I have a whole bunch of DVDs I will probably never watch! (You may think I'm joking, but I have a stack I bought in CEX in 2017 and I have not watched a single one of them yet).

But I finally have Monty Python and the Holy Grail! \o/ Which I probably will watch soonish because I think it's my favourite Python film (I love Arthurian myth, in case you didn't know, which you probably didn't because I don't mention it much, if ever). Although I doubt much of it has aged well, there's a bit I'm not looking forward to having to sit through, and let us not forget that some of the Pythons turned out to be colossal tools so YAY*.

I also have most of the Fast & Furious films, as I have a friend who adores them, so her enthusiasm has rubbed off on me over the years, and I thought I would give them a go.

And I have the first three Underworld films as I decided to give them a chance since baby!me was an idiot, basically (although I was very tired of the "vampires versus werewolves" thing when the first film came out, because that was all supernatural fiction was at that point, so I'd just hit saturation).

And then finally, I have a boxset of the Indiana Jones films, so now I can watch The Last Crusade! \o/ Fun fact: I actually saw said boxset when I was buying that stack of DVDs back in 2017, but didn't buy it at the time and regretted it. But not enough to go looking for it, however.

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In case you were wondering about my sore neck, I solved the problem by spending most of the day in bed, playing NEO: TWEWY and not moving much.

I am enjoying the game, although I think right now it's more because I'm playing a TWEWY game on a big screen than it is the plot (which is mostly making me go, ehhhhhhh a lot, but then again, I'm not that far into it).

( everything else is spoilers! )

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The final thing I have to say is about books!

I finished reading The Last Vampire, and it ends on a cliffhanger, which is not much of a cliffhanger now, considering there are eight other books after this one. I don't know if I care enough to continue reading the series, but I haven't put them away again, so we'll see in the future.

I was going to reread Lords and Ladies afterwards, but I changed my mind and am now reading Equal Rites. There is a reason for this that basically boils down to: some TERFs said Terry Pratchett would've been on their side, had he still been alive, and Rhianna Pratchett tore them a new one by essentially saying evidently none of them had ever read her dad's work because that was patently untrue.

And then I also saw his official twitter account had posted a quote from Equal Rites:

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

Which was obviously also in response to the situation.

And I thought, "I've never read this book, even though I've owned it for nearly thirty years, I should rectify that!" So that's what I'm doing.

(I also dug out Small Gods, as my mum bought me that at the same time as Equal Rites and, again, I've never read it, because I am the world's worst Discworld fan).

I am not very far into it, but I have already sniggered a fair bit, so it's safe to say I think I'll enjoy it.

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*Yesterday on my way home from work, I was trying to remember if Eric Idle was all right, as I can't remember him saying anything stupid lately (if at all). I'm pretty sure Michael Palin is, because he's the world's nicest person (Keanu Reeves aside), but John Cleese and Terry Gilliam can get in the bin.

My brain decided the other day that we are going to read ALL of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings books, y'all.

I have fourteen of them - I am missing two of the Rainwilds books. (My library service has the two I'm missing, but they are still - sensibly - shut, and they're not available as ebooks).

It's a shame my mum is not here because she'd love this turn of events. She'd been trying to get me to read these books twenty years ago (her main selling point was the Liveship trilogy and she was coming at me from the angle of "these ships are alive! Like Moya in Farscape!" and it piqued my interest a bit, but that was it). And also Robin Hobb was one of her favourite authors, which is why it kind of surprises me that I'm missing some of the books*. I can only assume she wasn't so keen on the Rainwilds quartet? Obviously I will never know for sure, since she isn't here to ask.

(I kind of like that this is a series, yet it can be split into chunks of different trilogies/one quartet).

I might not even get as far as the books I'm missing, but I want them for completeness' sake.

(I'm on book two of sixteen, why is my brain like this??? But that said, I actually think this is the sort of thing I want from a fantasy story, rather than what you'd expect from a typical one? *shrug emoji*)

I had a whole bunch of déjà vu while reading Assassin's Apprentice, which I can only think must've come from a time when mum was reading it, and I'd idly skim over a couple of pages to see what the fuss was. (I say this because I don't remember massive sections, or the plot, so I don't think I've read/tried to read it before, but I used to do this sometimes with stuff she was reading out of curiosity, because occasionally our tastes in reading material overlapped).

I keep feeling guilty about sitting down and just reading, which is weird. I used to read for hours and hours and not ever feel like this. I think it is, in part, because of looking after mum, so I feel I should be doing something "useful" instead. PPPPPBBBTTTTTT. (My weasel brain is gradually letting go of this, but it's taking its damned time about it).

ANYWAY. Have any of you read any of Robin Hobb's books? What did you think? NO SPOILERS, although I already know a couple, but I'm not going to say them because that's unfair.

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Unrelated, and sorry it's reddit, but the replies (the non-racist ones) to this post complaining about character names in fantasy stories are golden.

Especially this one: The American energy from this post is palpable. I'd love to read the LOTR OP would like: Fred, Sam, Gary, Lyle, Harry, Greg and Barry set off to destroy Saul's magical golden ring. Along the way they meet Steve-o-man the white wizard and get chased by the Nasty-gals Saul's evil henchmen.

And this comment re: Terry Prachett: I think Terry Pratchett does a great job of using obscure names or random words for character names. It makes them fantastical, but also easy to pronounce. Carrot, Angua, Mustrum, Rincewind, Moist, Adorabelle, Havelock, to name a few off the top of my head.

(But PTerry would've been aware of fantasy naming conventions because let's not forget, Discworld is parody in its roots, and I think he did go there a few times, but not often (it's been a while since I read any DW books). So I actually think his naming someone Carrot, for instance, is actually subversive on purpose).

And finally: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Chalchiuhtlicue and Tlaltecuhtli all demand you re-think your idea of "realistic."

~

Streams:

Luke plays AC:NH - Shark Fishing! Weddings!

Jane, Mike, and Andy play Totally Reliable Delivery Service for charity (raising money for NAACP, as was Luke)

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*That being said, it took a long time for her to get a copy of Forest Mage, and only then because I spotted it in a discount book shop - I remember talking to her on the phone about it and asking if she wanted it since I was there.

I swear to god, my teeth are driving me up the flaming wall.

One has been hurting all week, which is my own fault for eating boiled sweets and not brushing enough (oh please, I have bigger worries than if I'll have all my teeth by the time I'm sixty). The other one is a wisdom tooth.

I THOUGHT I WAS DONE WITH THIS BULLSHIT.

You see, I had my top two taken out in 2008, about six months apart. When the dentist/hospital/whoever the hell it was did an x-ray, they showed me that I had one tooth (bottom right) which was sideways and would never surface, and should never cause me any problems. It hasn't. I didn't even really think about the other one (bottom left) because I sort of assumed I was done having problems with my mouth.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA NO.

This one's taken, like, a year to get to this stage, and where I am now is that, for the last couple of days, I've been chewing the inside of my cheek on it. LOVELY. If I want to eat anything (and let's be honest I haven't really), I have to chew on the left side of my mouth because if I chew on the right (like I want to), I end up mashing my cheek some more and fuck me it hurts.

I'm going to have to call the dentist on Monday and admit defeat. I don't know if he can take it out, as it's not fully through yet, but he might at least refer it to the hospital and they can have a look *shrugs*. I am due an appointment some time soon, so I was hoping I could wait it out, but it seems unlikely. *sighs*

~*~

Mum is reading Witches Abroad and enjoying it. We tried to figure out how long it had been since I'd read one of them and the answer is that I don't know. A combination of not knowing when the last one I read came out (nor being able to remember the title), and the fact that various antidepressants have left holes in my memory. Mum was shocked, whatever the answer was (I started out at ten years, amended it to eight, then to six, I think).

(My old journal says 2009, so that's five years. YIKES).

~*~

They dug up the main road to work on...something...a friend thinks it's the gas pipes, and ever since, my internet has been so slow that going on tumblr is painful. Going on most websites is pretty bad, but tumblr is the worst of the lot and HEY GUESS WHERE I SPEND A LOT OF TIME.

(Not even mentioning the two days it was out, and I was lucky. People living further up the road - like my brother - had it worse for longer).

#first world problems

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Other than that, I am feeling pretty good, having painting urges (watercolour + canvas = disaster), and trying to draw whenever possible. I am also abusing My Paint's pixel tool and belatedly realising there's one in GIMP (It's Krita that doesn't have one, why did I not notice this sooner. Oh. Yeah. Probably because I haven't done digital art in a dog's age).

(I love pixel art, but I suck donkey balls at it. Occasionally, I try to better my skills but in the end I just end up looking at stuff by other artists, and crying).
(I also like drawing and want to do it more and maybe make a living from it but then I compare myself to other artists and I cry).
(So basically I cry a lot because other artists are way more talented than me).
(I'm going to stop this entry here before it turns into a pity party because as I said, I'm feeling pretty good right now and also you guys don't want to read that I'm sure).