Some progress is better than no progress. What's your milestone? (part 3)

quick: you forgot the link.

I didn’t forget it, @johnpowell, but thanks. I have to go back and forth between linked questions to update them both.

Yay! A new thread!

I wondered what happened to this thread. I’m so glad to see it back.

I guess I missed the first two installments of this discussion. Am I still welcome to answer?

@holden go check out the previous threads to get a gist of what it is about and join in!

==================== Sunday, November 8, 2009 ====================

This is a Sunday marker. Who ever checks in first on a Sunday sets the marker. A week’s worth of updates and responses falls in between. We have been doing this since February 8th of this year.

Anyone who wants to join in is welcome. There are no rules, just a little bit of culture and plenty of encouragement and support.

@pdworkin, nothing happened to it. We haven’t missed a week in nine months. The old thread is still there. We’re just moving over here now because the old thread is taking too long to load.

So, @Dog and @Jeruba @johnpowell and @holden, where are you in your progress?

@pdworkin, I already reported at the end of the old thread (which was part 2).

I’ll go look.

After perusing the last two threads and reading about other people’s goals, I guess I’m not as ambitious as I thought I was. Right now I’m just trying to do well in school and keep my depression at bay (my fiancee has been hugely helpful with that). I’d like to get my GPA up to a 3.0 from a 2.76 this quarter so I can apply for an internship program for math and science majors. I have to get my calculus grade up and that will be difficult since my grade is based entirely on test scores, and I already flunked the first test. :( Next test on Friday. Fingers crossed!!

Welcome, @holden! That’s plenty to tackle. I hope you’ll stop by next Sunday (or sooner—sometimes people report every day) and let us know how it’s going.

How many parts will there be?
Anyway, I received a Cosby sweater the other day. Not what I expected.

I’m having similar problems, @holden. I have maintained a 3.5 GPA through my Junior year, but I am a Senior now, and I have been having difficulties. I’m very disappointed in some recent exam scores, and I am angsting furiously about finals, because I will have to do significantly well. If I don’t get into grad school, this whole experiment has been in vain, the money will be gone, and I will still have no job. Scary.

I have been on a weight loss “journey” since June. I’d lost 42 pounds. My work schedule has changed and I’m finding it hard to get to the Y to work out. I’m going to go tomorrow and do my best to work my workouts into my schedule. I want to loose 14 more pounds to meet my second weight loss goal. I will post tomorrow that I made it to the Y! Hopefully

I believe in you @holden, my favourite literary character!

I am very glad you have posted a new thread of this, as I had no idea it existed before this.

I have just moved to New York (last Tuesday) and found a temporary place for 1 month. I spent two days canvassing the town with resumes for jobs. Hopefully, I will have a job soon. Also, I signed up for a Testmasters LSAT course today (partly on the advice of my fellow flutherites. Thank you!).

I really like this idea and am happy to join in.

@holden Depression and school can be an awful combination. I’ve found that one can fuel the other in turn. Keep up the hard work. You’ll do great!

@knitfroggy I know that struggle well. I wish you the very best.

@pdworkin Thanks! I have been so unmotivated since I haven’t been working out as much. I need the motivation!

Awww thanks guys!!! :D Who knew I could have my very own support group right here on Fluther?

@holden Good luck to you! You will get that GPA up…you sound very motivated to do so. Plus, you’ve got all of Fluther at your side!

Welcome, newcomers! We’ve become quite a close little community. Happy to have you join in.

@PretentiousArtist, there’ll be as many parts as we can sustain, restarting now and then when the thread gets long and slow to load. What are you working on?

@pdworkin, I am so sorry you are having enough of a struggle to start using “angst” as a verb. (Just teasing you a little.) Seriously, you have set yourself a tough challenge. No matter how it goes, I don’t believe you will ever be sorry to have learned all you’ve learned or that you had the courage to become a student again late in your career. I have faith that your determination will see you through.

@bezdomnaya, you are making a fresh start! How exciting. Good luck in finding a job quickly. Even in this market, it can be done.

@knitfroggy, you have already achieved some wonderful success. That means you know exactly what you have to do to continue. Let us know what happens this week.

@pdworkin I’m positive it won’t have been in vain.

@Jeruba: English is a wonderful language. Even a borrowed foreign word can be usefully modified with a simple morpheme. That’s one of the things that makes it infinitely productive.

@Jeruba I keep reminding myself of how good I feel, how good I look and how strong and healthy I am becoming when I want to eat some donuts or something! It’s so hard though when I can’t work out because I think, well, what’s it matter? I can’t burn any fat today anyway! Which I guess is fat girl logic!

I’m thrilled to see this thread! I’m studying to take the National Certification of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork exam. Believe it or not there’s a TON of anatomy and physiology involved, as well as business ethics, legal crap, and of course actual technique. Earlier today I made it a goal to study at least one hour per day for 5 days then rest for 2 or read lightly until my exam. Step 2 is to actually schedule the exam. I’m hoping to take it (and be ready for it) before Christmas.

Hi. “Present!”

I need to get in touch with other parts of my creative self again. I think I will make it a goal to visit The Guggenheim, The Brooklyn Museum , The Met and MoMA; one museum a week. They will be my artist dates, like The Artist’s Way suggests having, not only to reconnect with that part of myself but as a reminder that I am allowed to go to the museum. It’s practice in giving myself permission to do something that has nothing to do with being practical.

I never saw this thread before, but it seems good and am pleased to join in.

My primary goal at this point in life, is to maintain my sanity until we move. This has been the most difficult period of my sober life. I am living in a community that is basically a large completely dysfunctional family. It is so difficult for me not to get sucked into so many sad and destructive behaviors. The struggle to stay disengaged from conditions that I can do nothing about, other than to lead by my example, is exhausting and I blame it, rightly or wrongly, for my lethargy. I love to carve and to create but it seems to require more effort than I can muster to start a new project.

If you are a 12 stepper you might be tempted to say, ahhhhh she is looking for a geographic cure and I admit there could be an element of that, but I figure moving can’t be a bad thing so it must be a positive. If not, at least once back in civilization I can find meetings to attend and professional help if I feel the need. Here there is nothing except more dysfunction.

It is so terrible to watch the little kids going through the same sort of terror and fury that hurt me when I was their age. A teen ager showed me where he had been cut from below the waistband on his shorts to his armpit by his drunken mother when he tried to prevent her from decapitating herself with a glass shard. I reported it and nothing is done because government is afraid of causing another “stolen generation.”

There, that is enough venting, thank you for listening and hopefully we will have a moving date this week.

@rooeytoo : Good grief… I wish you very much luck. hug

Hey, new guys! Welcome.

Just checking in, in the middle of working on something. I’ll post progress later.

yay, new thread!

Hey all. Welcome new comers. Keep it up everyone.
I am sorry I have not been able to cheer you. I have been getting a ton of hours and when I don’t get them I spend as much time as I can with my kids or trying to find a job that pays more than $7.45 and hour.

I hope you are all well and doing great at your goals.

@Naked_Homer! Hurray! It does cheer me, and greatly, to know that you have been racking up the hours. That is great progress after where you’ve come from. Here is our original household expression, the one that gave me the theme for this thread: “Some dollars is better than no dollars.” So glad to know you are with the kids instead of hanging out here. Just drop by now and then so we know you’re okay, won’t you?

@all This thread is great:) So how does this work? I tell some progress I’ve made? Well as of today, my fiancé and I finally saved up enough cash to reserve the site for our wedding. This is exciting progress for me due to the fact that we are responsible for paying for the entire wedding ourselves. We were engaged for quite awhile and unable to afford the wedding we truly wanted. We’ve finally come to that point in our lives where we can afford our dream. It’s big progress :)

@Jeruba Thanks for starting a new thread! The old was so long it took forever to load.

@Naked_Homer Soon our ship will come in. It is good to hear from you. How was Halloween?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Again hoping you heal fast and no longer have pain.

@Grisaille Keep writing! Fiction is just giving your mind permission to wander.

@ubersiren May you pass the exam with flying colors!

@rooeytoo I am so very glad you are here. What stage of moving are you at? I have left a town like the one you are leaving. It is a very good move.

@aprilsimnel “The Artist’s Way” is great! There is a workbook too I believe. Very well written.

@knitfroggy Welcome! Please post if you made it to the Y!

@pdworkin I am sure you will nail the finals. When are they?

@holden Welcome! One day at a time and we will all meet our goals.

@ItalianPrincess1217 Great goal paying for your wedding. SO you have done it? BRAVO!!!

Welcome all newcomers. We take baby steps and grand leaps and record them here.

@ItalianPrincess1217, tell us your goal or a milestone that you are working toward, and then tell us how you are doing making progress toward that goal. It could be anything—anything you’re trying to do, from losing weight to writing a novel. Welcome! That is a terrific achievement and a great foot to start out on—both in your wedding plans and here on our friendly little thread.

@Dog, thank you for modeling the style of feedback that we’ve evolved over these months. I’m doing feedback lite right now while I put everything into my November novel, but I plan to catch up soon. How are you doing this week, my friend?

Finals officially begin in early December, but my first one, in Critical Medical Anthropology is November 19th.

@pdworkin oooh! that course sounds fun.

It would be if the professor were any good.

Oh, dear, @pdworkin. I hope you can get what you need from the book. Sometimes that’s all there is.

I haven’t made it to the Y today…yet. I had a kid home sick from school and my husband had classes today so I didn’t make it this morning. I’m hoping hubby gets home from his night class in time for me to go yet today!

@knitfroggy No blame, just let it go, and do it as soon as you can. The struggle is hard enough already without beating yourself up on top of it.

@pdworkin Thank you. I needed to hear that, because I am down on myself about not going! I did eat really nice today, which is good!

oh oh I was able to save up and buy the babies a new stroller
http://www.chiccousa.com/gear/strollers/liteway/liteway-topazio.aspx
so that’s progress
and my partner and I sat down and carved out time so that he can take guitar classes weekly – woo!

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – I like the parent cup holder, that is a nice feature. And the cross bar on the front is high enough so if you run into someone you won’t catch them on the heel. I must have one of those target symbols on my back, someone is forever catching me on the heels with a pram. I thought you had 2 babies though, you could have gotten a tandem type!

@rooeytoo oh I do have two babies…but no way am I rolling them around…they’re so heavy together…and personally once the baby can walk, they should walk as much as possible, not be in a stroller…my toddler is 3 years and 3 months and hasn’t used a stroller in months…when he’s tired, we carry him on our necks…but that’s very rare

Update: I got a waitressing job today, which is great. Setback though, I seem to have lost my Social Security card and will need to get a new one mailed out tomorrow. I wonder if they will still allow me to work before I get it though? Sounds like a question for fluther!

Also, I plan to read everyone else’s posts in more detail when I get a bit of time. In the meantime, whatever you’re up to, go you!!

UPDATE
I’ve spent the last several hours working on a particularly confusing assignment for my Mechanical Engineering class. I’m a biochemistry major. What kind of sense does that make?

I didn’t make it to the Y yesterday at all. Today is a new day…I’m getting my Nikes on as we speak!

Awesome! You can do it @knitfroggy!

I made myself get to the liberry 2 hours before class, and actually finished my assigned reading for Critical Medical Anthropology before going on Fluther! Will wonders never cease!

I did made it to the Y finally! Did about 34 minutes of cardio. Have plans to go tomorrow morning also. Thanks for the support everyone!

@pdworkin Yea you! I’m proud you got your assigned reading completed!

@knitfroggy @pdworkin You are both an inspiration. Today I will paint.

@Dog Good luck painting! Let us know how it goes!

My current major goal is to get into the new house, and get it to a level that I’m not ashamed of it by Christmas.
Progress thus far: Our bid has been accepted, the appraisal’s done (for $30K more than we’re paying for it), we sold our old house, and we got the new insurance worked out.
The goal this week is to get some things packed and To make sure the title work is done.

@knitfroggy Rock on for the Y. You’re doing great.

UPDATE: I did 42 minutes of cardio this morning at the Y! Tomorrow’s goal is to do a little less cardio and add some strength training. which I hate and will have to make myself do! :)

At the end of day 11 of NaNoWriMo, I have 21,445 words, more than 3000 over quota I have also written a few good lines among a shipload of nonsense. This is certainly an educational experience. I am having fun, too, being completely irresponsible in what I write down—no goal of being littrecha at all. It is in fact amazing what pops out when you turn off the censors and watchdogs and schoolmarms in your brain.

Hurray, @bezdomnaya for the job (I have never, ever had to show my SS card and don’t think I have even seen mine in, like, 20 years) and @knitfroggy for the workout. And @pdworkin for putting work before play! Good goals, @zephyr826: attainable, manageable goals are good ones. @holden, @Simone_De_Beauvoir, @aprilsimnel, I’m still paying attention. Keep us posted, all! @Dog, are you painting?

Onward. More words (grind, grind, grind).

@knitfroggy This is a vile cliche, but it’s true: You’ll feel great afterward.

@Dog is not painting.The palette paint has dried up and the canvas lies blank. Dog is tired, kids and family have been non-stop sick for weeks. Dog just wants to crawl back into the doghouse for the day.

@Dog It’s ok. We all have days where we need to crawl back into the doghouse. Take a breather and carry on.

There, there, @Dog. Sometimes that molehill really is a mountain and you just can’t get over it. If we didn’t yield to being human, what would we have to paint about? Art is not made by the gods; they have no need of it.

@Dog – when I fight against that feeling, it seems to feed upon my angst and not lose its grip on me. But when I accept that I am in a place where I need to rest my mind and soul for a bit, then it fades away.

Exactly, @Dog.

I didn’t make the Y today. I decided to go get a hair cut before work which in retrospect was a terrible idea, because I didn’t have time to go home and fix it myself before I had to be at work, so I felt self conscious all damned day about my hair! The kids are out of school tomorrow and my husband doesn’t have class until noon, so I will make it to the Y before work at 11am…fingers crossed people!

@Dog – you know what will relax you, a hobby. Something like painting. No…. wait a minute. Dammit. That wont work. How about giving yourself a break.

@knitfroggy – I have my fingers crossed. Just remember it’s a journey. Don’t focus on the missed days, get psyched about the next day. Focus on the next chance. Your kicking but. Keep it up!

@bezdomnaya – Congrats on the the job! The only thing worse than losing your social security card is someone else finding it. Is it just misplaced in your home?

@pdworkin – way to go! I have been using it as a reward to. No Fluther until whatever is done.

@zephyr826 – That is fantastic!!! It sounds like things are timing out well which is really hard to do! May luck stay with you!

@Jeruba – Can you guess how I misread this sentence ”...I have also written a few good lines among a shipload of nonsense.”? Way to go! Over quota eh, you can totally slack and eat cheese now!

@holden – Whoa. I was Mechanical Engineering for my first 2 years and I am a Graphic Artist. I thought I was weird.

@ItalianPrincess1217 – First of all, congratulations!!! and way to go on reserving the site. Every step is a triumph in the wedding planning process.

@Naked_Homer Thank you for that! That’s a good way to look at it. So what if I missed today…tomorrow is just another opportunity! Much lurve!

@knitfroggy – You bet! Your inspiring to me so thank you!

@Naked_Homer Isn’t it odd how people we have never met can inspire us with their stories? It’s so wonderful!

@Naked_Homer, so happy you stopped by! The answer is yes, I can—probably exactly the way I meant you to! ;D

No slacking. I mean to make the day’s quota of 1667 words every day, no matter how much I might be ahead.

Sorry I haven’t stopped by in a while. It looks like everyone is making progress in one way or another! Good work, everybody… and lurve all around.

I’ve been pretty busy, but mostly spinning my wheels. It was homecoming week last week for my high school girls, so there was a lot of shopping involved. I did conduct my first “Fluther interview”, got it written and posted on the Fluther blog (with lots of technical help from PnL). I really, really enjoyed it, and that makes me think I need to refocus on my personal writing, too.

Oh crap, calculus midterm tomorrow. Spazzing out. crap crap crap. crap.

@holden Breathe. Everything will be okay. :)

@augustlan! I’ve missed you. I thought sure you’d pop in to add just one more post to the old thread after I closed it! Good to know you’ve been busy. Writing is both productive and fulfilling, even when (as I am) you are writing reckless poppycock. Let us know how it goes, won’t you?

@Jeruba Missed you too, girlie!

@holden – just stay with it. If you have questions bring ‘em on.

@augustlan – my friend it is always good to see you.

Wow, I’ve been totally brain-missing about this thread…

I’m actually making great progress on my room, it’s actually pretty clean for the time being! Though my new guinea pig, Fritz (Zee for short), is making a mess of his bedding, and stinking up the place quite a bit. I still loooove him.

I’m planning to start a new story soon, because I’m pretty sure The Silver Horse is gone forever (If you all remember the “lost manuscript”, it still hasn’t been found :c)

Not doing so well in Physics class. :/

And…that’s pretty much all of my updates. I can’t believe I missed most of the second thread, I’m so brain-missing sometimes!

—-mangeons—

@mangeons ‘not doing so well in physics class’ – my mantra the ENTIRE 3rd year of college

Imagine taking it as a freshman in high school!

Oh, the horror!

@mangeons ya I took it in high school too but life was much easier when you were high all the time, :)~

But of course!

Welcome back, @mangeons! I got my room clean, too, good enough to be comfortable having an overnight guest sleep there in July and show it off proudly (along with my non-Rembrandt Rembrandt) to party guests last month. (However, one of them, a woman in her 70’s, walked in and looked it over and said, “This room will be really nice when you get it tidied up.”)

Now I have to stay on alert not to let the trouble start creeping back.

Wow, I would be really upset if a person said that to me after I worked really hard to get it clean.

My room isn’t really “clean” clean, but clean enough for me at the moment.

@Dog – I am taking a drawing workshop today from this young woman. She has quite a flair and a dramatic style. The workshop is wild creatures in pen and ink. Should be good.

@rooeytoo Ooh, her art is pretty, and the class sounds awesome! Good luck and have fun! :)

I especially like her chalk pastel and colored pencil works.

And there’s something so simple, yet so beautiful in her graphite works as well…

And I must say, I’m a fan of her work “Little Corella Sunrise” in her Latest Exhibition, no wonder it’s selling for $3000!

@rooeytoo How wonderful! I love her color and style. That should be a great class!

@mangeons Welcome back! We missed you!

Just got back from that calculus test. I think I did okay, but I won’t know for sure until next week. I’m terrified to see what my score is. The whole test was only four problems! I think I did well on the last three problems but the first one I struggled with. Next midterm: “C” programming on Monday. Oh, college, why do you torture me so?

@mangeons, I just laughed and said “This is after.”

@holden, builds character.

@Jeruba Haha. Was she embarrassed or anything? Or was she just “Whatever” about it?

Actually, she pressed on: she said, “I mean when you get these boxes and things out of here.” And I said, “This is tidied up. These are what’s left after I boiled the piles down to three boxes and a little bit more.” It was the first time she’d been in my room (though not in my house, which is neat enough in the front), and somebody who’s been seeing the geological strata of my cubicle at work for the past 9 years was just standing there laughing.

At that point the woman just kind of shrugged. I bet she would have been shocked if she’d seen my room in May! You had to shimmy to get from the door to the desk, and little avalanches happened at the least touch. Some people just can’t even imagine where the stuff comes from or how it piles up all by itself.

And some of us can hardly understand that it doesn’t do that for everyone.

@Jeruba, anytime you would like to gloat about the perfection of your tidiness, you may visit my home, step over the piles, and try to guess what color the carpet is under the dog hair.

@pdworkin, I can’t start gloating anywhere until I’ve dealt with the remaining thirty (out of forty) nightmare boxes in the garage and a room we call “the library” that you can’t even walk into. I am trying to focus on my successes because I finally have some, after too many years, and because they are a lot more inspiring than my failures.

Anyway, I do not aspire to be tidy. I view excessive tidiness as depressing and will probably always regard an empty surface as an opportunity. Besides, I find that ideas brew better in a little chaos than in zenlike minimalism. However, there is an optimal in-between state. I would like to stay somewhere well away from either extreme.

Then I recommend you stay away from my home. It is in rather extreme disarray.

Hello everyone. Welcome to the new folks.

I’ve been doing well in some areas and not so great in others. I have had one or two swimming sessions per week over the last couple of weeks. I’ll be swimming again tomorrow (today now I guess). I have had some exercise almost every day, but it’s not to the level that I need it to be. The weight loss is stopped right now.

I finished week 4 of the C25K running and wasn’t able to complete any given day with all of the longer running portions being completed. Basically I had to fall to a brisk walk sooner than I would have liked. It was really discouraging. So, this week my runs will be something in between their week 3 and week 4, and then I’ll see if I can manage their week 4 on the following week.

I had a really productive writing day on Wednesday and wrote over 6000 words longhand in coffee shops and a pub. It was really a great day. I’m getting better and better at ignoring my internal editor, and the results of that have been better than I expected. Not only am I getting more words down on paper, but I’m getting more useful words hitting the page.

I know I was really late in reporting in this week. I’ll try to have a few more positive things to say by Sunday. Cheers!

==================== Sunday, November 15, 2009 ====================

Hi to new and continuing participants on this thread. It’s time to check in and let us know how you’re doing with your goals this week.

At the end of day 14 of NaNoWriMo, I’ve logged 27,284 words. I passed the halfway point yesterday. I also have some clue how I’m going to wrap this thing up, although actual solutions still elude me. Anyway, I’m still churning it out.

@Jeruba Awesome job!

My progress is that I did paint but ended up scraping back to the linen. My muse is on holiday.

So instead I worked on restoring my antique French cupboard and painting a yard sale find of a grandfather clock kit.

It was assembled and painted pink. Yesterday I sanded it down and primered it. Today I will paint the case satin black and decide what to hand paint on the panels and face.

I would prefer a tall- ship theme however I promised this clock to my 9 year old daughter and she is leaning toward a floral theme.

@Jeruba Keep up the good work!

Well I didn’t meet my goal of making it to the Y everyday last weekm I don’t work tomorrow so I’m hoping to start the week right!

@knitfroggy You can do it! I belong to the Y too. Every time you go I will.:)

Contrary to duty and sense I drove to NYC to see my kids and my girlfriend, instead of studying for the looming Anthro final on Tuesday. I’m not sorry in the least.

Progress is being made on our side of the world. The contract for the sale of our business is busily flying back and forth between the lawyers. We are figuring on being in the new place by Christmas, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

@rooeytoo Congrats! That is great news!

@knitfroggy ‘atta girl! frog!
@Jeruba that’s very impressive.
@pdworkin sounds like you made the right decision.

This week wasn’t so great for me on account of my calculus midterm, which though behind me continues to relentlessly stress me out. I’m also starting to get depressed.

This week’s goals entail staying on top of my classes, doing well on my programming midterm, continuing to excercise regularly and meeting with my academic advisor so the hold that has been placed on my registration will be lifted. I just have to power through the next week and then I’ll be home again for Thanksgiving, for the first time in over three months.

This week, I wrote half a sketch and gave it to my writing partner (which feels good to say!) for him to add ideas to. I also went over a bunch of other sketches I’d already written and discovered one I wrote 4 years ago. I laughed so hard reading it, I almost couldn’t believe I wrote it.

I’m learning that my sketch-process is to get an idea and let it percolate for a couple of days ad then set it to paper. I’m already cutting it in my mind as I write. This week, I mean to learn how to use in a basic way the digital HD cameras that I have access to and to test cutting a video with my software.

We had a furnace guy come out and look at the new house. This coming weekend, we’re going to pick up new furniture. The closing’s next week.

@Jeruba Way to go. You’re doing great.
@pdworkin You totally made the right choice.
@knitfroggy I know you’ll do well this week.
@aprilsimnel It sounds like it’s going well.
@holden power through, buckle down. You’ll make it.

@Jeruba – keep it going!!!!
@Dog – Active is still great!
@knitfroggy – That a way! Just look forward and attack the goal!
@pdworkin – There are some things that are just more important! Weren’t you really just studying a very specific branch of Anthropology.
@rooeytoo – It’s a rocking holiday for you all!!!
@holden – Stay frosty! You can hang in there!
@aprilsimnel – Very very cool!
@zephyr826 – That is just to exciting!!!!

@Jeruba Yay! I’m in awe of anyone who can write that many words in a month, and you’re only halfway? WOO!
@pdworkin Sometimes you need a break, and now you can go back a bit refreshed.
@Dog Ditto.
@knitfroggy I’m feeling you! And you’ll feel really good afterward!
@rooeytoo Hurray!
@holden Hang in there! There is light at the end of the tunnel, there truly is.
@zephyr826 Congrats on the new home!

Back at school, in the liberry, where I am fucking around on Fluther studying hard!

I GOT AN 86 ON MY CALC MIDTERM!!!

I knew you can do it

@holden – Congrats!!!!!!

Well the Anthro final is over. I was quite anxious during the exam, but there’s nothing I can change now. I don’t get the results until December 8. Mayhap I will end up with a B in this class. I don’t like it, but it’s not really a dream killer.

@pdworkin – wow. no results until Dec. 8th.

Sucks, don’t it.

UPDATE: My working out plans haven’t been working out due to the fact that I got a mild concussion at work on Saturday and then woke up with a head cold yesterday! GAH! Is there some conspiracy against me? :) I am keeping my mind focused and visualize myself working out…trying to stay focused on my second weight loss goal!

In the betterment of life for myself and my love department, my husband placed into an advanced level guitar class/workshop at the NY School of Guitar and will practice weekly…we’re rearranged our schedules so that it’d be possible and I’m proud of continuously working together to ensure that we both do things we like at the same time as caring for our kids and working (for me)

My last update stated that I had put the deposit down for the wedding. That was wonderful. But now the issue is saving up the rest of the money in the matter of 7 months! I’m stressing out on how we’ll ever accomplish this. I’m thinking maybe a loan? My fiancé has good credit, although we just bought a house so they might decline him due to having a new mortgage being in the picture. I’ll keep you updated on what happens with that situation. Cross your fingers!

==================== Sunday, November 22, 2009 ====================

Normally I am much more attentive here. This month I am preoccupied. As of last night, my NaNo novel is at 38,766 words. I will pass the 80% line today.

I read everyone’s posts and cheer for all the triumphs, empathize with all the setbacks. I’ll be back in uniform with pompoms in December. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone—there’s not a one of us who has nothing to be thankful for.

@Jeruba that’s excellent! I admire people like you who are capable of that kind of focus – when I grow up I, too, want to write a couple of books…they won’t be novels, though, but I’ll have to dedicate tremendous energy to them…

Continuing my dental work…also, started a food diary last Monday which has helped me to keep my caloric intake in check…hopefully that will help lose weight…eventually when dental work is done I will seek out a nutritionist and go to them for sessions

Sunday rolls around again! I have been house cleaning (yes, pdworkin does this upon occasion) in anticipation of my girlfriend’s Thanksgiving visit! I can’t wait! She arrives Tuesday morning and doesn’t have to leave until the following Monday.

We should find out this week (how many times have I said that???) when we will be leaving here. Our new home is ours as of Dec 1 but we probably will not get there until closer to Christmas. I am chomping at the bit!!! (but have not started packing, heheheh)

Grrrrr, I read all the new comments from last week and then my iPhone reset the page and I lost my place. From what I got through, it seems like everyone is doing so well! Painting, working out, studying, and writing. It’s all so inspiring!

I like my new job and am now done with training. The social security card thing was not an issue, so that’s good. My new milestone for the week is that today I stepped on the scale and I’ve lost 7.5 pounds since I started my diet at the end of September. I am now (just barely) within a healthy BMI level: 24.9. I still have a ways to go to get to my ideal weight (15–20 more pounds) but I feel much more confident about my success today!

Keep up the great work everyone!! You’re all inspiring me to stay true to my goals.

I pulled a 12 hour shift on my feet yesterday. Never did that before. Luckily it was with a great guy and a hard worker. Things are shaping up around there. Only one semi dead beat and they are being watched. Almost as if a reward for my efforts, got a $130 digital picture frame for $20. That is awesome given the upcoming divorce. It will be great to load it up with pictures!!!

I am in Livermore to attend an open house at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for students of science and engineering. Then I go home for Thanksgiving break. I’m happy about that, but I’m also very stressed out because my car broke down for the second time in three weeks and it’s been in the shop for six days, and now my fiancee wants to move back home to Sacramento. Major sad. :(

First, the encouragements…
@Jeruba I’m so excited for you. When do we get to read it?
@pdworkin Enjoy your time with your girlfriend, you deserve it.
@rooeytoo I totally understand. We didn’t start packing until last night.
@bezdomnaya Way to go on the 7.5 pounds and congrats on the new job.
@Naked_Homer I love deals! We’re thinking of you during the divorce.
@holden Long distance relationships are hard, but you’re committed, and I have faith things will work out. Drive safely on your way home.

So we bought a U-Haul’s worth of new furniture this weekend. It was exciting, but a very stressful afternoon and evening. The closing is tomorrow and we’ll try to get as much over to the new house that day. Then back to work on Wednesday before driving the nine hours for thanksgiving. Saturday and Sunday will be devoted to painting. The electrical work starts Wednesday and the furnace comes in next week. We’re hoping to get moved in by the weekend after next. So much to do, though, and not enough hours in the day. You know how it goes.

For the first time in 6 years we decorated our home for the holidays without waiting till the last minute. (My spouse will be working a lot so if we had not done it this weekend it would not have happened)

For this I am very happy.

I painted a cat with some paint a company sent for me to demo with good results. The paint is a alkyd oil so it dries faster than traditional oils yet not as fast as acrylics. Today I will paint a still-life to see how it handles contrast.

@Jeruba Your exercise of creating a novel is admirable. Great job!
@pdworkin Happy Thanksgiving!
@rooeytoo YAY! Each day brings your move closer! I am excited for you!
@bezdomnaya AWESOME on the 7.5#!
@Naked_Homer :) YAY! Perks! How are your feet holding up?
@holden Sorry about your car. Are you going to move with your fiance?
@zepher826 How fun! New furniture! New house! Yay!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL- May your travels be safe!

@Dog – My left heel is killing me. I have Plantar Fasciitis. Stretching has varied minimal effects.

@Dog My home is decorated with cobwebs. Not from Halloween or anything, it’s just always like that. Yours sounds nicer.

@all I’m home now, and happy to be here, but I can’t find my baby (my 14 year old cat) anywhere. I was really anxious to see her because I know she isn’t doing well; my parents say that she doesn’t eat much and is skin, hair and bones. I’m really worried that she’s curled up dead (or close to it) somewhere and I can’t find her. :’(

@holden – oh no, keep looking!

@holden I hope you find her soon!!

@holden – hang in there. I lost track of the number of times my cat disappeared only to wonder out when he damn well felt like it.

Forty-three thousand and some. With six days to go, I’m going to make it.

@Jeruba Never doubted that for a minute. :)

@Jeruba – oh heck yeah you will! Go Go Go!!
@augustlan – Hey there augustlan, hows it going!!

I have an opportunity to maybe do some identity work that will get me noticed state wide for a non profit also for a woman who can get me my particular favorite brand of nacho cheese.

@Naked_Homer Yay! (And sorry about the heel- may the pain stop fast.) Great leads on the job!

@augustlan So where is your update? :)

@Jeruba AWESOME!!!! Is this the first year you have participated?

@pdworkin Your house sounds perfect for Halloween. When I was in college my house was rather neglected. Hope your score is good for the exam.

@holden Have your found your kitty yet?

Today we are headed (hopefully) to Disneyland with our three little girls.

@Dog, enjoy the mouse!

Yesterday’s closing went well – no surprises. I spent the day sweeping and mopping floors and ripping down wallpaper borders (hooray for HGTV addiction). We met the neighbors, and 2 of them pulled down the rotting sagging fence in the back yard. We also found hardwood under the disgusting carpets upstairs, but it will take some major work to be saved. Tonight, it’s the 416 miles to Thanksgiving, and then back again on Friday. So to all of you I wish the best, and I’ll see you on the weekend.

did @holden ever find their cat?

I hope he (or she) does

My cat’s dead.

Aw man, I’m so sorry
You have my condolences

@holden Oh no! I’m so sorry. :(

@All It’s been a crazy busy time behind the scenes at Fluther. I don’t have much to report, but am keeping up with all of your updates. Keep up the good work!

@holden – ahhhh that is really a hell of a thing. Sorry mate.

Let’s have a moment of silence for Holden’s cat

Thanks, guys. I am so sad.

@holden oh no
(hug)

@holden Oh, that’s awful. I’m so sorry to hear it. I had cat twin brothers, Beanie and Cecil, and we lost Beanie. Still not over it.

I am so sorry Holden.

:,(

I’m sorry, @holden.

this isn’t so much about my progress but my youngest’s progress
he learned to wave and says his first word ‘up’

Up! As in, I want you to pick me up? Cool beans! Not a mundane first word!

@pdworkin yep, exactly like that
you can see it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36xRXM1_U18

I love it!

@pdworkin :)

So my partner and I decided to get into sewing and applique design (he’s the sewing, I’m the applique design) and so I bought about 50 toddler shirts and some wool scraps and squares to begin this venture..he got a sewing machine and a bunch of stuff that comes with that and well it’s all very exciting…just wanted to share it with you guys…

50,060

I’m not through yet, just in my last chapter, but I’m over the line. I made it! Made the goal, 50,000 words in a month. I should finish the draft tonight, with two days to spare.

And I am not going to start cleaning up yet.

Yay! Congrats, Jeruba. :)

I did it!! I typed “THE END,” uploaded the whole thing for word count validation, and got the big YOU WON! screen. My first draft of my first novel is DONE!!!

I wish it were worth something. But it was a hell of a writing exercise.

==================== Sunday, November 29, 2009 ====================

AWESOME JERUBA!!!!!!
I am so awestruck at your skill and determination!

@Jeruba Way to go! Awesome work.

@holden I’m so sorry about your cat. I had a tough time when mine died as well, so my thoughts are with you.

@Simone I watched the video: Super cute! Apparently my first word was ‘die’ but it’s not what you think, in Russian it means ‘give’ so I was greedy, not morbid.

Oh, I guess I could write my update as well: I (finally) found an apartment starting in December. Now I need to buy a bed… in NYC… Boo!

And Thanksgiving derailed my diet a bit but not as much as I feared, so that’s okay, I guess.

@Jeruba I’m so thrilled for you!

@bezdomnaya Finding an apartment in NYC is a major accomplishment! The bed should be easy by comparison. :D

I’ve been attempting to get some of my old collections up on e-bay to make a few bucks. For months they’ve been sitting around in boxes, just getting dusty. I finally started taking pictures of the items yesterday, and got about half way through before I took a break. Today, I’ll finish up with the picture taking and try to get them posted on e-bay. I’m a total noob with both e-bay and my camera, so it’s slow going… but I’m going to get this done, damn it.

@augustlan What kinds of things are you trying to sell? (I’m an old hand at this.)

We just had a very quiet Thanksgiving holiday for two, back to school and the reaql world tomorrow.

I’m selling a large collection of Lladro Christmas ornaments like this one (and a couple of large figurines), as well as a medium sized collection of Longaberger baskets & accessories. (Those links are not my pics, just examples.)

Oh, you will be fine. Lladro and Longagerger are known commodities, and if the retail crowd doesn’t support your auctions, the dealers will compete over them. When you have “blind” items is when you need to worry.

Thanksgiving went reasonably well. The rest of the weekend was spent painting. We got the living room almost completely done and the dining room primed. On a slightly lower note, we have to buy a new door, because the 1930 original door won’t fit the 2009 doorknobs. sigh.

All Hail @Jeruba, novelist extraordinaire!
@bezdomnaya I’m so jealous of you,living in NY. Good luck on the bed.
@augustlan I agree with @pdworkin. That stuff should sell fast.

@holden – I can’t tell you how sorry I am. My thoughts are with you.

@Jeruba – I can’t believe your finished! Why it seems as though it were only yesterday it was a 250 word pamphlet and now it’s all grown up!!! Congrats!!!!

Hi folks. I’ve been pretty out of it lately. My weight was hovering and I started to step things up a bit to kick start the loss again. Well, I pulled something. Its made the only exercise I’ve gotten in the last week and a half some slow walking. So, my weight is still hovering at the same place. I’ve tried some slow stretching which has helped some.

I feel like I could do some more exercise again today, but I’m giving it another day for good measure. I tend to start back too much too soon and then hurt myself again, and I’m hurt for longer. I’m determined not to do that to myself this time.

So, while I was spending a lot of time sitting, I completed NaNoWriMo two days ago with 52133 words. Yay! The novel is nowhere near done, but I made the word count within the month. So, I’m happy with that right now. It has me writing almost every day now -regardless of what else is happening.

Other than that, I’ve been in gift planning mode and maybe now I can actually do some of the things on my list—tomorrow.

@cyndyh – I hurt my knee a while back so resorted to pool work. It has help so much plus I have discovered I actually like swimming. I also used a water running belt but that isn’t much fun. Just walking in the water is good.

@rooeytoo—I swim a lot, yes. For a long time that was my primary form of exercise. Lately, I find that I end up favoring one side when I try to swim and it screws up my stroke and it hurts. Also, pain medicine and water don’t mix well. :^> But I should be back at it, soon, I hope. Walking in the pool might be a good idea my first day or so back.

@zephyr826 Old houses can sure be a lot of work! But I do love mine anyway… hope yours brings you much joy.

@cyndyh Sorry about your injury. :( Hope you’re feeling all better tomorrow!

I finished taking pictures of all the things I’m selling (and learned how to use the camera a lot better). I got all 24 of my Lladro ornaments listed on ebay! I’m sure I’ve made some horrible newbie mistake, but I hope it doesn’t cost me too much. Now I’ve still got to get the figurines and all the basket stuff listed. Hopefully tomorrow. :)

I am finishing up some photoshop freelance work. I also have a breakfast meeting for some more freelance work Thursday morning. It is for a logo at least.

The divorce has gotten to a difficult stage. I am being forced (not by my wife by my own sense of what should happen) to accept the reality that one of the prime benefactors of what I truly believe to be the ideal for the kids will be my ex-to-be.

@Naked_Homer A tough realization, but a revealing one: many divorcing parents are unable to love their children more than they hate their departing spouse. Kudos.

Wow, I can’t believe I just found this thread! Thank you, @Jeruba—this is great.

The quarter is wrapping up so most of my short-term goals have been accomplished: I taught three sections of intro bio without anything going horribly wrong, and I think my students are well-prepared for the final. I’ll find out when I grade their exams next Wednesday.

The last session of the class I’m taking is Friday. I successfully gave 5 presentations and the profs conceded my major point on each of them, even though some took a lot of discussion. Yesterday’s final presentation went very well, but I still need to prepare for the debate we’re having Friday.

My research feels like it’s at a standstill, but I am slowly running the last participants in the group I need. I should be able to run their assays when the quarter ends…I just hope they turn out okay. I really want to be done with this project—it will be a year old in January.

Also I have some stupid relationship complications that may be unsolvable. I am not sure how to make progress on them as I seem to be stuck in the same unhealthy cycle.

@nikipedia Welcome to the progress thread! Congrats on the teaching and may all your students score high.

@Naked_Homer Love the new avatar! Things are changing a lot right now but things are going to get a lot better soon. How is your heel?

@augustlan You are in business! Bravo!

@cyndyh Hope you are healed by now.

@zephyr826 Hope the new door installation goes well.

@bezdomnaya Great news that you did not gain. Not easy during this time of year.

Finished two paintings this week.

@pdworkin That is the only way I can do it. Keeping in mind that those wonderful kids had no part in it what so ever and they deserve the best. I realized the best chance they have for that is if I forget about the ex and do what is right by them.

@nickipedia – hang in there on the research and on the relationship. When one seems off, maybe use it to inspire effort in the other. If neither work, do as I do and look to the cheese!!!

@Dog it hurts as long as I am working at office max. If I am up and down I am ok. So there you go. Just have to deal for now. Great new painting by the way.

@pdworkin I, too, do not hate, at all, my ex-husband…I never hated him

My ex wife is hateful, but it’s not her fault. I think she is unwell, and not getting proper treatment, so, while I worry about my children, I merely feel sorry for her.

@Naked_Homer Good luck with the freelance stuff, and I am so proud of the way you are handling your divorce!

@nikipedia Welcome to the thread, we’re happy to have you here! You’ve made great progress already, and I’m sure more is to come. Good luck with the relationship issues.

@Dog Painting again! Glad to hear it. :)

I did it! I stood up for myself today. My wife made plans on Sat. night. The way she always did and does even more so now. Not talking to me. Letting me know this was in the works. Then that she was going. I had finally mad plans to do something with a friend, not a family member, after work. only the 3rd time this year. And I asked her how long hers was in the works and all. she told me a while. I said “my plans are made. ” she said fine I wont go this year. Not all uppy or anything.

@Naked_Homer Good for you! :D

@augustlan – I just wanted to compliment you on your very tasteful holiday decoration. At first I thought it was a speck of dirt on my monitor, heheheh. When it would not brush off I enlarged your avatar and realized what it was.

I think Town Dog’s decoration have the same situation, without enlarging her photo it looks as if she has green tinged horns, hehehe.

@rooeytoo We can’t help that we’re so subtle! All compliments belong to Jeruba, though, as she made it for me. :)

I think you both look smashing!

Why thank you @Naked_Homer – you look pretty damned good yourself!

@augustlan – We are indeed subtle and tasteful.

He he he… I was trying to get the speck off my screen that was on @augustlan‘s pix.. thought it was one of those pesky fruit flies in my studio.

I’m trying to get a 4.0 this quarter (no semesters at my college), as my gpa isn’t at the point I’d like it to be when I apply to grad school next year. I got my first B of the quarter yesterday which was a bit disappointing. Today I had the first of my four final exams, and I think it went pretty well. So things are going good there. My other goal is to read through a textbook by the time I go back to school on january 4, and I’m about a third done so academically I seem to be right on track.

Hi guys! Time for my belated update. I came back from break on Sunday and I’ve been very busy with school stuff. I am at peace with the passing of my cat. I’m trying to convince my mom to get me a new one but no success there. I finished all of my classes for the quarter today (WOOHOO!) and I’m very pleased with the progress I’ve been making academically. I now have 3 essays, 3 midterms, 1 programming project, and a week to go before I’m back home again. Hooray!
I think my SO and I have made it through our rough patch. I think we struck a fair and feasible compromise. He has agreed to continue living with me and I have agreed to help him make his way home every second weekend so he can see his friends. Having our first real argument was scary but I think it was good for us because it has forced us to address certain communication issues.

@cyndyh @Jeruba so, when do I get to read your masterpieces?
@nikipedia 5 presentations? I thought I had a lot of work.
@Naked_Homer sounds like you’re taking all the right steps towards recovery.
@hug_of_war uh, yeah, 4.0…me too!
@augustlan sold any yet?
@zephyr826 kind of sounds like when I had to find a replacement bumper for my ‘84 accord (well, the body shop, not I) and after 2 weeks the best we could come up with was the bumper of an ‘85. And it still bulges off the frame of the car.
@bezdomnaya Craigslist.

@holden – wow, you are really doing great with so much going on. Hang in there and keep it up with the communication with your S/O.

==================== Sunday, December 6, 2009 ====================

Merry December! I’m here now to catch up. I’ll start from the bottom up, and my intention is not to miss anyone, so if I do, please let me know.

Sundays roll around with amazing regularity. I’m Fluthering when I should be studying. Finals next week, then a Winter break. Stop me before I Fluther again!

Still in the holding pattern, blankety, blankin lawyers. We had hoped to be away by Christmas, now since most of Australia shuts down from mid December to mid January, I am beginning to have doubts. Then we have to worry about the wet. There is only one road to where we are going and last year it was flooded for about 6 weeks. If that happens this year we will have to go about 6000k out of our way. With 3 dogs (one of them old and decrepit) that won’t be the best!! But then again, who cares, we will just take our time and enjoy the freedom!

Fingers still crossed.

@Naked_Homer, you have been doing such a wonderful job of cheerleading. Your remarks to others are upbeat, encouraging, and full of focus on their own situations, and you cram so much into a line! I admire your conciseness—a trait I can only envy from afar.

You are meeting each of the challenges of divorce with both your head and your heart. Your strength shows. Your children will see it too, when they are older. I am so glad you didn’t buckle when you had a conflict of plans! Meanwhile you are handling a busy work schedule and having freelance opportunities as well. One thing leads to another. I have had plantar fasciitis, a misery that I suffered with for a year. Some measures helped and some didn’t, but it did go away. Hang in there.

@holden, so glad you have become active on this thread. You are a great contributor. Weathering the storms of school and relationships, you encourage others when you share the outcomes. I was very sad for you when you lost your cat. Our long-time pets represent so much history and fill such a place in our lives—there is no real substitute for any of them. Maybe if you are home for the summer, there’ll be a special little buddy for you in the spring litters.

@hug_of_war, having clear and specific academic goals is a major step. Please let us know how it goes.

@Dog, two new paintings finished! Hurray. I don’t know what the dry spells are good for, but I think it was the poet Gary Snyder who said something about mulching and dormancy and what grows down there in the dark before it finally sprouts—I wish I could remember exactly. It made me feel better at the time, anyway. But you made such good creative use of the interval with your clock project. And isn’t it fun to have the holiday decorations up? You too are such a great encourager of others—thank you for sharing your spirit.

@rooeytoo, you look adorable dressed up in your crown of holly. Good for you for replacing walking with swimming when you hurt your knee. I should have done the same when I hurt my back, but I have not yet broken down my resistance to swimming even though I know it’s the right answer. I really liked your advice to @Dog about angst feeding on angst. Still rooting for you and hoping your Christmas move comes through!

@augustlan, such enterprise! I hope @pdworkin is right that your items will go fast; he sounds like he knows. Letting go of old treasures is hard, and I’m sure there must be some tugs for you in this, but there does come a time to move on. It feels good to know they will be treasured by someone else. Thanks so much for cheering me on so vigorously as I slogged through my recent challenge. I think of you often in yours.

@pdworkin, your quiet, intimate Thanksgiving (with pre-cleanup!) sounded idyllic, a well-earned respite from your intense studies. I hope your exam results this week won’t disappoint you, but you’ll persist in any case. You bring a lot of knowledge as well as wisdom and perspective to this thread. Beany and Cecil! Now, there’s a pair of names I haven’t heard in about half a century.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, a new venture! Seems like you are always up to something that is out of the ordinary. What are you going to do with the appliqued shirts, place them on consignment? Get your little guys to model some for us! Thank you for sharing one of your son’s moments of progress with us. It is so exciting to watch their gains. My older boy’s first word was “Go!”—waving his finger at the car eagerly and impatiently, “Go, go, go!” That is still who he is. You are still working on health issues too, I’m guessing—good luck on your goals.

@nikipedia, welcome! Thank you for joining us here. Your working life in academics is pretty impressive, and you seem to handle it all so smoothly, pouring tremendous amounts of attention and energy into it. Relationship issues just can’t be solved the same way. I don’t know how many times I have struggled with trying to learn that simple lesson: you can’t use intellectual tools to solve an emotional problem. I always bring out my best tools for the hardest problems, whether they are right for the job or not. I hope you can find a way to break through the cycle. Please let us know.

@cyndyh, for so long you have been our poster girl for goal-setting and progress. I am so sorry you have taken a setback with your injury. Somehow dealing with those seems to be part of the larger challenge. Are you recovering well? Congratulations on your NaNoWriMo win! I watched your word count grow every day. What an experience that was! It was my first time; your third?

@zephyr826, great work on preparing to move in and settle! Are you going to make your Christmas goal? Of course you are. Anything that’s not ready, throw a Christmas tablecloth over it or tape wrapping paper around it or hang it with tinsel garlands, and it’ll be fine. Once the tree is up, it’s all beautiful. Won’t it be great having your first holidays in your new house?

@aprilsimnel, you have some creative work under way. The whole business of converting an idea into a video medium is a fascinating mystery to me. Learning your own process is such a major step! That is one of the biggest outcomes for me of NaNoWriMo: learning how I really work. I can use that even if the whole 52,115-word draft is a throwaway. Please tell us how it’s going and what it’s like to work with a writing partner. I haven’t forgotten your earlier question, either, that I promised to answer—I will.

@knitfroggy, I share your struggle with the discipline of making it to the Y. I have not been since October 31 as some pressing family issues have taken up every single weekend in November. The trick seems to be making it a routine. I lost my routine in November after a steady four months, and it is hard to get going again, especially now with the holidays and everything. What’s working for you?

@bezdomnaya, Christmastime in the City! New job, LSAT preps—how’s it going?

@mangeons! Where you been, girl? Tell us what’s happening! Remember, we deal with both the ups and the downs here, so if you need some encouragement, just let us know.

@ItalianPrincess1217, hope to hear more of how your plans are coming along.

@Grisaille, any news on what you were writing?

@ubersiren, you must be close to taking your exam. Let’s have an update!

@PretentiousArtist, your cheering section is ready and waiting.

@all, thank you so much for your enthusiasm and encouragement as I met my November challenge. You really made me feel supported. That exercise was so much worth doing! I want to see it through at least one rewrite before I say it’s just not my real work and let it retire. Learning how to rewrite is my next goal. Right now it is like a great lump of clay in my hands, and I want to see how much I can push and pull it and what happens if it breaks. It’s safe to practice on this because it isn’t deadly serious.

In the meantime, there’s housecleaning to do, getting the fall decorations put away and the winter ones up, planning and executing shopping missions, and much, much more. Thank goodness I don’t have to go to work!

Love to all!

@Jeruba I will sell them on Etsy – I came up with my store name already…I’ll tell you later what it is…

also since starting to write food intake in a diary I have lost 4 lbs (3 weeks)....so that works

@Jeruba – Thank you! I have gotten the approval of the group that takes it to the board for budget review. If I get it, it will be a possible $2000 max logo job, then more next year to assist with the implementation of that logo into their web site, as well as all their other media. This woman and her coworkers are fantastic. They are a state wide not for profit so I will get exposure and she has network connections. I am charged!!!

Let me get my pom pons ready…

Aw, everyone is doing so well (Hang in there, @holden)! Congrats and w00ts! and hugs for you all!

I met with WP (Writing Partner) today and we’ve decided to produce a sketch/improv stage show by June. Fortunately, I have some experience with the nuts and bolts of such things, but I’ve never produced my own project, and therein lies all the difference. There’s a place in NYC where one can rent a stage for a small amount of money and put on whatever you want for an hour. We’re going for it. What do we have to lose? Next week, we’re each to have the first draft of a sketch completed.

I imagine I’ll be more committed to this, which has been a recent theme in my thoughts; commitment. I realize I’ve not ever been truly committed to something for my self, and if being in karate has taught me nothing else, it’s really driven home the idea that what you are today is the sum of all you did before, so if you haven’t done very much, most likely you’ve not got very much. Not skill, not talent, but commitment to the goal and application to the tasks at hand is what gets anyone anywhere, regardless of the anxiety talking. Because all it is is anxiety. Real fear is good for you. Anxiety is not. I’m making myself go to karate, even when the little self-sabotaging voice would have me stay in and watch Monty Python DVDs. Now I’ve learned three katas in 9 months, as well as several types of punches, stances and kicks. Experience is the best teacher, both for good and for the not-so-good.

As for paying work or any ideas to make money, really, I’ve not come up with anything, not a sausage. I’ve applied for so many Communications/PR/Office manager-type jobs, it’s not even funny. But I’m getting the word out as best I can that I need to make money. I’m not sure what else to do.

Other than that, I’ve kept up my artist dates and I’ve been to the Brooklyn Museum. This week is the Met. Still volunteering, as well. It’s all good.

When I’m feeling a little wigged out or the night fears come, I just keep remembering that A) “this, too, shall pass” and B) “I will look back on all this one day and laugh my arse off.”

I wish everyone a good and productive week!

@Jeruba Thanks for the encouragement. Can you wrap an entire house in tinsel? ~

Yesterday we made the real push to get most of our stuff moved to the new house. We had wanted to get it painted first, but there just wasn’t time. Thanks to some wonderful friends, we were able to move my husband’s amps (we own far too many guitars), the electric organ, and (drumroll please) the piano! Surprisingly, it seems to be still in tune. We didn’t lose the cat, though he did fall into an open vent grate and had to be fished out (those have all been replaced. Today we’re going to try to get the rest of it done, and then bring the dog over. She’s never been an inside dog, but my husband seems to think he can make it work. I haven’t even started on Christmas shopping yet, but we’ll get there.

@Naked_Homer Congratulations! The NPO sounds wonderful. I hope you get it.
@aprilsimnel I’m so excited for you. Way to go for it, and make the best of free time. I’m sure something will come soon.
@Jeruba Self-editing is so difficult, but if you can make your work something you love even more, it will be great.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir If you are doing a food intake journal, setting up an account on www.caloriecount.about.com or www.sparkpeople.com may be helpful for you. It is what I’ve been doing since mid-September, and it’s really helped me out. (Clearly, it sounds like you’re doing well as is though.) Sparkpeople also has an iPhone app that you can sync with the online account.

We’ve all got so much going on at this time of year! It’s nice to see everyone moving forward.

I sold 24 Lladro Christmas ornaments on ebay and made about $300.00! Have most of them ready to ship out today, and will ship the rest once payments have been received. The week got away from me, and I never did get my other items listed, so that will be my goal for this week.

@augustlan Woo-Hoo!

@bezdomnaya oh I did on sparkpeople.com and there was so much unnecessary crap on there and so many emails that I just quit…I find I do better on my own with just a microsoft word doc.

New little milestone: After an agonizing week of phone calls to and postponements by the mattress company, I have successfully procured my first ever brand-new bed. This makes me feel like a real adult (at the age of 24, haha). I think I’m going to go sleep in it right now.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I’ve noticed that as well about the unnecessary crap. Their iPhone app is really good though, since it doesn’t have almost all of it. Caloriecount doesn’t have the unnecessary crap, but also no iPhone app and the website isn’t intuitive at all.

I finished the class I’m taking! Our profs were so complimentary they were almost in tears. It felt great

The final exam for the class I’m teaching was tonight, we finished all the grading (400 exams!) already. Two of my students hugged me goodbye.

I submitted my second ever grant proposal yesterday afternoon. It’s missing a few minor pieces that I’m hoping the reviewers just won’t notice. Even if they do, I’m really happy with the experiment I designed and will probably write it into the next big grant the lab puts together. The next version will be even better and will fill in all the holes I glossed over. We’re meeting to start work on it next week.

The relationship problems are still causing me a lot of stress. I decided (for like, the 17th time) to cut one person out of my life who continues to treat me poorly and make me unhappy, but every time he resurfaces I seem to lose my resolve. And there is another person in my life I’m afraid of hurting who doesn’t deserve it. And my boyfriend is still unhappy with how much I work, and I don’t know how I can possibly fix it.

Contract to be signed on the 15th or there abouts. Both attys are satisfied so all is go. We probably won’t actually move until after the 1st of Jan but it is official. I am terrified and excited. We now will have a 3–4 day journey camping out with the 3 dogs to get to our new home. The old akita has trouble getting into the car, it is high, so I am working on him using a step stool. We are building a platform in the back of the cruiser so they can all see out while they are lying down. Plus will offer storage underneath. We will pull a little trailer with tent and equipment. What an adventure for old farts such as we!

36.5 points of 40 on my Anthro final, and it feels like yesterday’s Linguistics final went OK. One exam today in a class I am doing well in, then one more final on December 16 and I am free until January 20, when Spring semester begins! Maybe I will get to see my kids!

The grey hair. Halp.

I’m aware my ‘stache is fucking terrible and I look generally rough/scruffy. Point is that the grey is creepin’ on in. Sigh.

Er, http://tweetphoto.com/6170215

==================== Sunday, December 13, 2009 ====================

Nothing major to report today. Finally getting my tattoo that I was going to get upon moving to New York (a mere month and change later). It’s going to say Sine Metu, meaning ‘without fear’ in Latin. I feel like a move to New York without a job or a place to live deserves that kind of tattoo, and I think it’s a great motto in general.

3 weeks – 6 lbs lost
all because of keeping a food diary
and dental work is done for this year
back to start up in January

Sunday again! I have but one Final left, that will be on Wednesday. I am actually studying (about 4:1 Fluthering:Studying ratio.) Congrats @Simone_De_Beauvoir! 2 pounds a week is great progress and reasonable, too.

@pdworkin yes I definitely didn’t want anything drastic

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Great job! I have done 12 lbs since Sept. 21st (also by food diary-ing). I really think it’s the best way to go, as so many people are simply not aware of the number of calories they consume.

@Grisaille Grey hair on guys is so much more acceptable than on girls. Some girls find it downright sexy, so don’t worry about it!

@nikipedia Great work on the grant proposal (those things always freak me out), and don’t let your relationship issues stress you out too much. Hope all turns out well in that domain.

@pdworkin Finals suck! You can do it!

@rooeytoo That sounds like an adventure. Post some pictures along the way.

Oh, and tattoo done. It looks awesome, and it didn’t hurt very bad at all.

@bezdomnaya: Let’s see it!

@pdworkin GJ on that anthro final!

Ah, it’s been a hellish week for finals. I think I may have failed calculus, but I’m not sure. The final was rediculously hard. It has caused me no end of stress these last few days to think that I may have wasted 10 weeks, ~$500.00 and hours upon hours of work on a class that I may have to repeat. As I am also taking a class at the CC I will have to spend the first five days of my break here, away from home, because my final there is on Wednesday. :(

@holden At least you ventured it! I would have been afraid to try calculus. I salute you.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Congrats on the 6 pounds. Maybe I should start keeping a food diary. also, way to go on 10K
@pdworkin and @holden Your finals are almost done. Get through the next few days and then relax (at least for a little while)
@bezdomnaya where did you get the tattoo? I’m considering my first one and am looking for a place that isn’t going to hurt so much. :)

So yesterday my husband and I carpeted two of the upstairs bedrooms. 2 to go, and we only have 2 rooms left to paint. Maybe this week we can get a little Christmas shopping done, since that hasn’t even been touched yet.

@bezdomnaya – Yay, tat!

@pdworkin & @holden – The feeling of “AH! I’m finished!” after finals. There’s nothing like it. And it felt better at this time of year for me than in spring, for some reason, when I was at uni! Congrats in advance! (I’ll keep my fingers crossed re your Calc exam, @holden)!

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – Great job on the food diary! I have one in my iPhone that I also use to log my physical activity. It really forces you to pay attention and it’s worked a treat for me thus far. Way to go!

@zephyr826 – I’ll be this is actually the best week to shop, at least for the stores not being too crowded. 24 December and 26 December I imagine are very bad. And great job on the painting!
_________

I have kept up with my museum trips; a special treat last week was that my friend S is a member of MoMA, so I got to see the Tim Burton exhibit as her guest. When I saw all that he’d done by the time he was 20, I wanted to cry at my own laziness and inertia, but then I let it go. We all have our own life trajectory. Then I finished writing a sketch and I have ideas for a few more this week that I’ll work on.

I also plan on buckling down and learning Premiere Pro, Dreamweaver and Flash. If I want a decent website, I can learn to do it myself. Also, the HD video cameras. I can put in a bit of time this week for teaching myself to use them as well.

My WP and I completed our show calendar yesterday with target dates and everything. We’re looking at a 16 or 17 June show date. At one point he giggled at me and said, “We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” Yeah, we’re really doing this.

And though I am afraid to do it, I will write down a few goals this week and put target dates and work backwards from there. Not too many as to be overwhelmed, but enough to challenge me. It’s the commitment thing. I did one of those “fearless inventories” of myself and discovered that I’ve told myself that I can’t handle commitments. I made some important ones in the past that have blown up in my face and then shied away.

But a few bad experiences should keep a person from never ever committing to life or goals or having experiences again. I don’t want a life like it was while I was growing up, where no one had any goals, or made any plans and just sat around the house when they weren’t at work.

Wherever you are today is the sum of all the decisions you’ve ever made.

I put a little sign up in an easy-to-see spot on my mirror that says, “Whatever it is, I can handle it!” I think we forget all the situations that we’ve come through and learned something. I needed the reminder that I’m more capable and more talented and more of everything good than I’ve given myself credit for, and that I can apply myself to goals for my own self, that I do have self-discipline, I need only exercise it.

Hugs and good luck this week for everyone!

@zephyr826
@aprilsimnel
hey thanks!

Durrrr, I meant ”shouldn’t keep”. ::sigh::

I GOT A C IN CALCULUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I never thought I would be so happy to see that grade but it means I passed and it wasn’t a waste of time, money and effort!!! Hooray hooray hooray!!
(head explodes)

@holden Mazel Tov! I felt the same way when I got a C in Sadistics.

@holden – I knew you wouldn’t flunk. I could feel it. Congrats!

@aprilsimnel and @pdworkin thanks! It’s an especially welcome surprise since I just spent this last spaz-tastic weekend thinking I was an enormous failure.

@holden Congratulations! I knew you could manage to overcome an obstacle such as Calculus

Hooray for @Holden! YIPPEE! sorry for shouting

I know, I know, I’m slow. ; )

Congrats, @Jeruba, on finishing your story! That’s a great feat, I’m jealous. ; )

Nothing really new here, trying to pull up my stupid Physics grade. ):

Hey all! I have been MIA helping with the new influx of awesome users but I wanted to take a moment to really honestly thank you all for your patience with the new arrivals. Many have gone out of your way to be helpful and kind. Because of this I am sure we have gained a multitude of wonderful new minds to the collective! THANKS!

When things settle down a bit I will update here!

Yo, yo, Dawg!

Well it’s official, I got my 4.0 and have raised my cumalative gpa to a 3.57 :) I have really redeemed my 3.0 and 2.21 gpa’s from last year so I feel good

@hug_of_war Mazel Tov! I won’t know this semester’s GPA for a couple of weeks yet, but I have no confidence that it will equal yours. I will be pleased if my cumulative GPA stays above 3.25. One is permitted to hope.

@hug_of_war good for you!

<peeks in quickly>

Great work, everyone! See you all again when things slow down. :)

Tattoo picture here !

@zephyr826 It’s on my hip. The artist kept warning me that it was a ‘tender spot’ and that it would hurt, but I would say the pain was minimal. My first tattoo (shoulder blade) stills seems like it hurt the worst, but I think that artist also pushed really hard. In general, less bony, more fatty bits will hurt the least. And the converse: more bony, less fatty bits, the most.

@bezdomnaya: Beautiful!!!!! I love it!!!

@bezdomnaya – Very nice. I have been contemplating one that says, in Latin, please stop this hurts, what was I thinking when I got this, the exact measurements it was from my ear so I can measure it as I get old. None of those are jokes by the way.

@all – sorry for being absent. I have been working as many hours as possible and got 3 freelance jobs, plus, it’s getting down to d day, d being for divorce so I am spending as much time as I have with the kids.

@bezdomnaya that tattoo is well done – congratulations
@Naked_Homer I hope you get to spend time with them after the divorce as well – fight for your rights to see them

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – Thanks.

I have just spent the last 2 days having my soon to be ex unloading on me and telling me what an awful husband I was because I didn’t prioritize they way she thought I should even though she never ever talked to me. There were many many other things. But it made it real hard to keep in mind the best thing for the kids because it is actually for them to be in the house with her, not 50/50. I finally told her if this was going to work she had better shut her mouth about me or we would end up with a mediator and she would see exactly how bad off she could have it. I just can’t believe her. She is so arrogantly blind. I truly can’t believe it.

@Naked_Homer That is par for the course when it comes to divorcing. Try to keep your eyes on the prize, and don’t let her push your buttons. People are on their absolute worst behavior at these times.

@pdworkin – thanks. I am just astounded. I just kept saying “you realize that if you told anyone else “I am angry because my husband wont move dirt when I want him to instead of looking for a job” they would laugh at you” She just doesn’t get it. She is truly in her own little world.

She will become human again. It takes time. I have 2 ex wives – one is my pal, with the other, I am at least civil.

She has, with out condolence, apology, retribution or explanation taken everything from me including the two most important things in the world.

She will never be anything other than the woman I have to get along with form my kids. She is proving that daily moving forward and with everything she recalls, comments on and denies about our past.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. Personally I think it’s worse than a death.

@pdworkin – the thought of not having my kids in my house every night because of that woman is just that. Thanks for your compassion.

==================== Sunday, December 20, 2009 ====================

@bezdomnaya, how great for you to celebrate your own bravery!

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, there’s a pretty big lesson there. You are doing great.

@pdworkin, I hope you enjoy your break after working so hard. It really isn’t as easy for us older learners.

@holden, what a relief! Terrific! And now you won’t ever have to face calculus again—right?

@zephyr826, big progress! No matter what shopping you get done, this is such a big Christmas present to yourselves.

@aprilsimnel, you are really practicing the lesson about changing your past by changing your present. You do have goals! And you are tackling them like a pro.

@Dog, we could see what you and Aug and the other mods have been doing during the past week. Your efforts really show. Thank you for being such great shepherds of the new lambs.

@mangeons, it felt great! You could do it too. A lot of kids signed on this year. And there are other similar programs during other months. You should look.

@hug_of_war, fabulous performance! Pour the champagne!

@Naked_Homer, I am so sorry for the struggle you are having. You are really showing strength of character in how you are handling it. @pdworkin, you are giving great support.

@nikipedia, I missed congratulating you on a grand finish to the year. On the other matters, I wonder if you are asking yourself, as I did for a while, “How many times do I have to do this before I don’t have to do it any more?” I think the answer is “Until I learn what I have to learn from it.”

@rooeytoo, papers signed? On your way?

@Grisaille, I don’t see any gray except in your name.

@augustlan, I hope you and your team get some great P&Q over the holidays. What a job you’ve done!

I got my cards done, got my decorations up, and finished my shopping, and that’s about all I can claim right now. Oh, and I did make a big batch of lasagne for dinner tonight. That always feels like an achievement. And I signed up for a class starting in January: introduction to Existential phenomenology. Soon I’ll be sweating the papers and exams again just like the old days.

Merry Christmas, all, whether it’s your holiday or not, and Happy Hanukkah too. See you after.

Papers signed, waiting for lease to be assigned, that could happen this coming week at which point we will be unemployed! But we can’t get the movers until mid Jan, so not sure if we will take off or wait. It’s all good, though it’s happening, just at the usual NT pace (NT stands not only for Northern Territory but also for not today, not tomorrow, not Tuesday, not Thursday)!

You are brave woman to take a class called Existential phenomenology. I can’t even pronounce it! What is it going to teach you?

@Jeruba It’s just a few straggly strands. I’m over-dramatizing the situation. In a few years, however, I’m going to have a large patch of silver. I know it.

I just shoveled a foot of snow from the front of my house. Photos incoming. After my back repairs itself.

EDIT: Here.

Progress (albeit not mine, but Mother Nature’s): 10 to 15 inches of beautiful snow in NYC!! I love it!

On a more personal note, I have hit the halfway mark in my diet (14 lbs lost, 14 to go). I need to reward myself. If I hadn’t just gotten one, the reward would be a tattoo. What should I reward myself with?

Also, I’m making a point now that next week, my milestone better freakin’ include studying for the LSAT, since I’ve been lagging on that.

@Grisaille Cool job, bro

@PretentiousArtist I AM THE SAVIOR OF HUMANITY AND ALL HER SNOW-FARING PEOPLES.

@Jeruba nope. Going back for s’more next quarter. Bring it, calc 4!

@Naked_Homer, I’m sorry you are going through such a terrible ordeal. Never having experienced anything like divorce myself, I can barely begin to understand how awful it must feel. But I see you are forging ahead with great courage and personal resolve, and I have no doubt that soon enough you will be able to put this part of your life behind you.

Oh, I’m happy to be home. I went with my family to get our Christmas tree yesterday. We always get douglas firs but this year we opted for a cedar, and as I found out last night from putting up the lights I am slightly allergic. But it looks and smells lovely!

I am very glad to say that the year has ended well, and the hardships of last month all resolved or amended (except, of course, for the loss of my dear cat, but at least I have my younger cat Buddy to pal around with :) ).

I’ll be checking back for more updates later. Good job, everyone!

@bezdomnaya I would celebrate with a new piercing! Great job on the 14#!

@Grisaille Awesome to see you back! I just found my first real gray hair and it annoyed me! Men look awesome with a bit of gray. That snow is AWESOME! :)

@rooeytoo- HEY WAIT!!! _When did you hit 10k??!!!! I missed it! For shame! I have been waiting and now will search the archives!

@Jeruba Congrats on the class! I bet it will feel awesome to be back in the classroom. In fact that is what my update is about too.

@Naked_Homer Hang in there. I know your pain and am hoping everything settles fast. I am thinking of you over Christmas.

@pdworkin How is school?

@holden Welcome home!

My update:

Sales in Art are really down. Some royalties are coming in but not enough to sustain. So I have been debating a shift in career for stability until the art market improves.

I have an application for grad school and am working on a “personal statement.”

To be quite honest it is exciting but a bit terrifying.

School’s out until my final semester begins in late January. I think I must feel a little let down. I’ve been depressed lately. Can’t sleep, can’t eat, spending way too much time on Fluther.

@pdworkin do you at least get to spend some time with your children?

I am waiting to find out. It is entirely at the whim of my punitive, withholding former wife.

:( I’m sorry.

Thanks, I’m used to it. It’s been 8 years.

This group is relatively tight-knit, so I feel comfortable talking here.

Most of you know that a good childhood friend of mine committed suicide earlier in the year. Well, a mutual friend between him and I just had a close friend of his die yesterday. My usual comforting methods are at a loss here, as the person was Brittany Murphy.

How do I go about this? The internet is ablaze with “she was a coke head, sucks to be her“s and “I bet it was the nose candy. If she hadn’t been on it, she’d still be alive right now“s. My friend that died earlier this year was somewhat famous, but not as much as Murphy. People are being outright cruel, and I don’t know how to go about this. After me writing on his Facebook wall, we spoke a bit via PM, but dammit. He’s lashing out a bit, and I don’t blame him.

I can’t stand this “can’t see it from my house” mentality.

End vent.

Brittany Murphy died??!

…Yes.

I just heard. That’s so horrible. My condolences to your friend and her family. :/.

Quite a shock. It must be very difficult for a personal tragedy to be the subject of celeb gossip. I once had a celebrity girlfriend who died of an accidental overdose. It happened almost 40 years ago, and I still hear it described as a suicide, all these years later.

@ all – Thank everyone for their kind words. I truly can’t thank you enough. This is going to get really difficult for me. Thank you.

@ Grisaille – The loss of a friend or loved one is difficult under any circumstances. I have lost a friend to suicide. I have lost friends prematurely. I have lost them to drunk drivers who walked away. I can’t imagine what it is like to lose someone and deal with the postulation of the ignorant.

The single best thing that others did for me and that helped for me to do was to focus on the good in them. To start creating a “memory bond“ with those who remain. Something that overwhelms all the speculation and here say.

Your in a situation that not many people are. You can be there for your friend who may not have a ton of people to reach out to. The same way we are here for you.

Just some thoughts.

@Jeruba that class sounds like it will be really interesting. Way to go for it!
@bezdomnaya the tattoo is amazing. wonderful job on getting halfway there on your diet. My suggestion of a reward would be some item of clothing that’s a teensy splurge.
@Naked_Homer Divorce is hard. You seem to be doing your best to make it as good a situation as possible for your kids.
@pdworkin I hope you can see your kids for a bit before school starts up. Only one semester yet.
@Dog grad school is scary. Way to go for working on it. Maybe sales will pick up in the new year.
@rooeytoo glad that things are progressing, if a bit slowly. Good luck with the move, whenever it gets going.
@Grisaille First, you are a shoveling god. On a more serious note, we are all so sorry for your friend’s loss. Any death of a young person is a tragedy.
@holden enjoy your break. Relax.

This past week was not quite as productive as I thought I had hoped. We did get the two rooms carpeted, but we still have the hallway. We finally put up the tree yesterday, and decided that it looked way shabby in the new and improved living room. Next year we get a real tree. Unfortunately, I found out that I won’t be able to see any of my family over the holidays. They’re only 4 hours North, but we’re all so over-committed, and it’s my husband’s family’s turn. I know it’s not that big of a deal, but I’m really frustrated.

Sorry to get all morose. Merry Christmas (to those of you who celebrate it) and a belated Happy Hannukah!

@Grisaille I’m so sorry. Give my condolences to your friend. ):

@Jeruba Sounds fun! Maybe I’ll look into it. ;)

As for my progress, I haven’t done much lately. I brought my physics grade up a bit (still a D ):) And I helped @augustlan organize her dining room a bit since we’re a bit snowed in here. ;)

Grades were posted today – I could have done worse. Feeling somewhat relieved:

Fall 2009

AANT 220 Introduction to Linguistics 3.00 3.00 B 9.000

AANT 364 Intro to Cult. Medical Anthro. 3.00 3.00 B+ 9.900

APSY 333 Chldhood Behavioral Disorders 3.00 0.00 W

APSY 382 Sensation and Perception 3.00 3.00 B+ 9.900

APSY 385 Evolutionary Psychology 3.00 3.00 A 12.000

TERM GPA : 3.400 TERM TOTALS : 15.00 12.00 40.800

BRAVO PD!!!

Thanks, I am feeling much better. I’ve been very anxious for the past couple of weeks.

@Grisaille I am sending you a PM but wanted to post my regrets for both the tragic premature death and for the character dismantling by the media. I have lived it and am so sorry to see them feast on the reputation of a victim and her family.

@pdworkin: Hey hey! How about that! Sounds like a great term to me.

PD PD PD PD!!!

Nice job my friend!

@pdworkin Workin’ it, eh, boss? Great work.

I’m quite sorry to hear about your girlfriend from yesteryear. Worst part about suicide (or the illusion thereof) is that all the hardcore religious types are quick to condemn the death and banish the person’s soul to eternal torment. At that point, a freethinker’s argumentative power seems to get trapped in the warm chewing gum fondue of anguish, unable to function.

@everyone Thanks much. His anger has quelled a bit and he’s just pretty down. He isn’t going to recover for a while, as the media coverage has quite furious. He’s hanging in there.

Death is never easy, regardless.

A friend here on Fluther also lost a best friend a few days ago (I don’t want to mention any names, but if you’re friends with her on Facebook, you should know), and I’m going to try to reach out to her as well. Really sucks.

As for me, I have to write up a 2000~ word review on this game I was assigned a week or so ago. Been draggin’ my feet on it (it’s a sucky game), and need to get it done by midday or so. Wish me luck.

@Dog I’ll PM you back in a while. I read it yesterday and made me quite livid.

And yes. I am a shoveling god.

Also, for some fun regardless of creed, check out Kent Hovind’s leaked doctoral dissertation. It’s hilariously bad.

He starts it with the line, “Hi, my name is Kent Hovind.” I shit you not.

More news.

Parents are behind on their rent (like, very much so) and can’t get a loan. I have nothing in my savings and have depleted all other resources.

Gonna have to pawn or sell everything of mine. Guitars, computer (not this one, I need it for work), PlayStation 3, bike, amps, couch, TV, etc, etc…. etc.

Sigh.

Happy Holidays!

P.S. life blows.

Sorry to hear it. Pawning is not irrevocable.

Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Most of the stuff I’m pawning or selling are luxuries. I’m not complaining.

Doesn’t mean I wish I didn’t have to do it, though… ;)

@Grisaille: Yikes. Sorry to hear about all this bad stuff going on at once. Check out these sites; maybe there’s another way?
http://www.modestneeds.org/
http://www.prosper.com/

@nikipedia

We actually tried Prosper, but due to a few factors, we were unable to qualify.

Modest Needs will take too much time (need the money tomorrow), but I am checking through their resource database to see if anything hits. * crosses fingers *

Thank you so, so much.

No go.

Besides, these charities and grants are all for people in much worse predicaments than my parents. Or myself, though I’m kinda teetering on knife’s edge here ;)

I’d feel nothing but shame if I accepted or applied for moneys designated for these folks. Can’t do it.

I did take note of a headstone grant available here, however. My grandmother died about a year and a half ago and I have yet been able to scrape up the funds to get her something other than a nameplate. I’m kind of ashamed to admit that, and feel terrible that I haven’t gotten her anything. Might look into it once I’m out of this rut.

Sorry dude :( Good luck. And ease up on yourself about the headstone thing. You can only do so much.

Keep us posted. I hope everything works out for you guys <3

Omigod, @Grisaille, I’m so sorry to hear that! Especially right around the holidays! :(

Well, I hope you and your family have a very happy holiday season, and I do wish you guys all the best. ):

Oh @Grisaille I am so sorry about the money thing. Rotten holiday. :(
Please keep us posted. I am so bummed.

Hey, Snoop Dawg: Did your Harley ever start?

@pdworkin Not yet- getting the new battery was put on hold by holiday preparations. Hopefully I will get the battery by Monday. In the meantime I polished it up a bit so at least it looks functional. :)

==================== Sunday, December 27, 2009 ====================

Last marker of 2009.

the custody and devision of assets as well as alimony is done. A meeting on Tuescay and it’s all over but the court. And the telling the kids. And the move. And the first good bye for the rest of my life.

@Naked_Homer Whew, at least that part’s over with. I sincerely hope that telling the children goes as well as it can. It will be heartbreaking, but they will overcome it… and so will you, friend. May the rest of your life be filled with contentment. And sex. Lots of sex.

I have barely survived the AB migration! We’ve gotten some really great new members from it, and things are starting to settle down. My email inbox has gone from well over 300 emails to just 22. Christmas was lovely, the dishes are finally done, and I’ll be picking up my girls for a week-long visit on Monday. :) Happy New Year, everyone!

Po’ Augustlan! 300 emails! Oh, well, it seems to be almost over.

Agreed with @augustlan, @Naked_Homer. May a thousand maidens drop their panties for you,my friend.

Just woke up about an hour ago (lazy Sunday).

Pops picked me up and I spent Christmas with the folks, just the three of us. Quiet and pleasant. We’re in the clear financially thanks to the pawning of whatever valuable we could scrape together, so at least our minds were somewhat in the clear. We were a bit bummed that we couldn’t afford gifts for anyone, least of all ourselves, but hey, it happens. Got to see The Hangover and The Kite Runner, both of which were great movies for totally different reasons. ;)

Aside from that, we’re discussing moving in together again, in a trailer mobile home in Jersey. This gives us the opportunity to save up and get back on track; if we’re able to get some sorta twofer deal – when we do get back on our feet – one can be rented out for addition income for them with the other remaining for myself. This gives me a place to call home when I’m on leave from the Marine Corps. as well as acting as a storage facility. Only issue is how and when – between the three of us, our credit is shot to hell. Mine isn’t as bad, but… hey, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Found out my sister is back with her drug dealing baby daddy. I’ve clothed, fed, sheltered and otherwise provided to her and her children, attempted to bring her out of all that. She just doesn’t give a shit anymore, and neither do I. Last time I said “no more” yet slipped and let her stay with me again. This time, I say it again. And it’s final.

Her boyfriend is a nice guy, regardless of his “profession”, but she doesn’t seem to understand that selling drugs in a house with two small children is dangerous as all hell. We’ve seen how the streets are, we’ve saw our friends shot up for a few bucks and a small bag of drugs. We’ve seen this.

I just don’t care anymore.

Oh, god, I’m so sorry. You got gumption, though, and I think you and your parents will make it work out for the best.

You say gumption, I say raging cocaine binge. Semantics.

@augustlan – were I able to give a thousand lurve, plus one!!!
@Grisaille – and to you my friend. Same lurve and continued hope you find peace of mind.

@Grisaille- My brother in law cannot stay off the meth. He has 5 kids that my inlaws have and we support. It is tragic and I hope for a miracle for both my brother and your sister.

I was wondering if we could post about our goals / hopes / dreams for the new year this week?
So much went down in 2009 and I somehow lost my focus and passion. I have no idea what life will throw at each of us but I need to stop feeling like a ship adrift without a keel.

@Dog Gah. I’ve seen loved ones, family and friends all head into prison, rehab, etc. It wears you thin, beyond belief. Aside from my sister’s boyfriend’s occasional coke escapades, they are clean from the drugs they sell. I hope your brother can find some help, either professionally or through you guys. Best of luck, friend.

Hopes? What are those? ;)

I’m kidding, though I am feeling quite rough and raw. Just that, really. I never went to college, so the job market has been particularly tough – I got turned down from a custodial position a week or so ago due to being under qualified. Here in the city, the thought is: “Why hire someone with job experience but no college to change the light bulbs when I could hire someone with an engineering degree that can not only change the light bulbs, but figure a way to make the entire system more energy efficient?”

And it makes perfect sense. Only real goal or determination I have right about now is to quit smoking and get my ass in some semblance of shape in preparation for the Marines. My writing and other ventures brings in just enough money to keep my head afloat from now and hopefully until I leave to Basic Training – it’s just… well, it’s a bit lonely. :P

Too hard to give you a good answer today, Dawg.

Hmmmm methinks I am misunderstood.

I am not suggesting we change the theme of the question to roses and sunshine. I am just needing to somehow focus myself as a goal so that I can muster up the passion again for my work.

Hey, guys. I hope you don’t mind me jumping in here. I read all of the threads so far, and I really think this is an amazing thing you’re doing, and I wanted to participate.

I got sick this week, so I essentially did fuck-all. I did clean my room though, which was quite a task.

Goals and hopes for 2010? Yikes. I want to do a lot… Mainly, I want to find a job in my field for my next work term, and gain a few pounds. Even 20 would be nice :)

Also, I want to learn how to cook a complete meal. Appetizer, entrée and dessert. That shouldn’t be so hard, right?

@gggritso More than glad to have you.

@gggritso Welcome! Sorry you were sick. Cooking a complete meal? I think cooking is all timing and coordination and I bet you will be great at it.

@Dog Well, in that case I’ll just treat cooking like I treat my organic chemistry labs. Hell, I might even wear a lab coat and googles. I drink out a beaker all the time anyway :) (that last thing is not a joke, I have a Pyrex beaker I drink out of)

@gggritso ‘bout time you hopped your jerk ass in here.

:)

My goal and fervent hope is that we’re on the road by Jan 15th!

Had a dry run with the dogs, the old boy can’t jump in and out of the car so I made steps out of styrofoam blocks, now he just walks in and walks out. Made a plywood platform for the back, set it on milk crates so they can all see out while lying down and we can store stuff underneath. We are pulling a small trailer with camping gear. 3000K camping trip with 3 dogs, hehehe, sounds like an adventure. If we’re lucky should only have rain the first night, then we will be out of the wet tropics into the dry tropics!

@dog- There was a woman here for Mahbilil festival who welded fantastic skeletons of creatures then the frames were covered and painted, made me want to play more with that sort of art. As soon as we are settled in new location, I am going to take a welding class. Hopefully my ability to see 3 dimensionally as I do in carving will transfer to the creating of welding of skeletal frames. (like these)

@rooeytoo Oh that sounds totally fun! I want to see pix once you learn. We have a welding artist here to goes to junkyards and creates animals out of parts.

@rooeytoo You are very accomplished for such a young person.

@pdworkin – I subscribe to the “use it or lose it” school of thought.

@Dog I too need to refocus. My main goal for 2010 is to cut back on a few more commitments. 2009 was a year to get through (for the most part) without my husband (who got back from Afghanistan in October). 2010 will be the year to devote more time to us. I have gotten way over my head in terms of commitments, and it’s not fair to us. If I can quit one more giant time-sucking activity, maybe we can get to be together a little more.

On the short term, we made it through the holidays without either of us killing our in-laws. :)

@Grisaille hug!

What’s up, you guys don’t want to share your progress…? :P

================ Monday, January 4th, <del>2009</del> 2010 ================

How are we doing this fine year?

;)

HEY

QUE PASO

Ah well. Don’t care enough to edit.

New year new dreams…. I am heading to an annual art exhibit in less that 48 hours.
My agent wants me to work on puzzle designs so maybe I will not need to attend grad school. (I will still apply though)

@Grisaille What are you doing?

I survived the holidays with the in-laws, New Year’s with my very depressed family (‘cause dad’s gone), a week long sickness for both of my babies, a stiff neck (not done with that yet, though), a broken toenail (such is the life of a tango dancer) and a variety of other issues that came up like the freezing winds and snow, lack of good footwear, etc. etc.

I haven’t slept normally in a few weeks, but it keeps getting progressively worse. This is the 2nd time in 3 days I haven’t slept. I am never tired except for extreme bouts of tired but even then I still only sleep 1–2 hours between 9am-8pm but even when I avoid those I still don’t sleep till 4 or 5am. While I feel fine most of the time I’m becoming increasingly aware this isn’t good for my physical or mental health.

@hug_of_war try bikram yoga – it resets, over time, your internal clock and levels out your levels of melatonin.

This is a really minuscule goal, but one of my goals for the winter was to get a decent pair of brown boots. I accomplished that on the 29th, and they were half off. Not a huge milestone, but at least my feet don’t hurt.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I hope your neck feels better.
@hug_of_war good luck. Insomnia’s awful.
@Dog Puzzles sound really cool. Not that grad school isn’t, but both options seem intriguing.

I’m sorry I haven’t been so active in here. This is for me the most “real” thread on Fluther, and perhaps the one where I feel most comfortable and human. I’ve just been too morose lately to participate. I’m sure it will pass.

I’m sitting at home today even though most people are off to work or school. Tomorrow will be my first day at my winter co-op job. I’m not nervous now, but I will be. I’m not a programmer. The only thing keeping me from freaking out is that these people hired me, and therefore think that I’m capable. If everything goes well, I might not have to take out a loan for the next school term.

@gggritso That’s great. I’m sure you’ll be fine. New jobs are always a little nerve-wracking.

@gggritso When I grow up, I’m gonna get a job, too.

One of my goals has been to temper my posting style on Fluther, so I don’t come off as such an asshole. Unfortunately I got so angry at something this morning that I popped off again. Oh, well. The mods will save me from myself.

@pdworkin Don’t let people stop you from speaking with conviction :)

@pdworkin I appreciate you and the efforts your are making. Because of your efforts your voice is heard even more clearly. May your spirits lift soon.

Well apparently I made it through the ER visit today – had a stiff neck for three days and then at work the pain went from pain to severe, spread down to my chest and my throat tightened – thought I was having a heart attack – good thing I work in a hospital, went to the ER, husband ran over pretty immediately, mom watched the kids…they said it was a giant neck spasm, gave me a shot of painkillers, some valium, loads of prescriptions and told me to take 2 days off work…i don’t like this plan..

Sounds very scary, though. I’m glad it turned out to be somewhat pedestrian.

@pdworkin yeah me too.

Agreed with @pdworkin. Glad it wasn’t “serious,” serious, @Simone_De_Beauvoir.

Speaking of, don’t run @pdworkin. Unless you’re too busy or are apathetic towards the thread, we’d like if you continued posting your progress. I’d like to add that fighting the stupid is never easy, and some assholism can be added for taste and spice. That makes no sense.

What I’m trying to say is that a certain level of sternness is fine and welcomed by the community. As you know, I look and appreciate your input on nearly every subject. However, if it’s an issue with how people perceive you… well, that’s a different story. ;)

Don’t be so glum, chum.

@gggritso Let us know how it all goes. Keep us in the know.

How’d the exhibit go, @Dog?

As for myself, I’m trying really, really hard to kick smoking – with all sorts of hilarious results. I have yet to dick punch someone, but have had incessant hiccups, jitters, munchies and such. I’m on the patch (which dislikes staying adhered to my skin, btw), so I’ve been having all these crazy ass dreams – dreamt I saved President Obama from a forest fire. (Then he gave a speech at a military base, and we hopped in a van. He asked me to get something from the back seat, and when I did, it was a porn VHS tape. He took it and broke the passenger window with it, got out of the car and started stepping on the glass. Then I woke up. However, if you know anything about me, you know this is infinitely better than my reoccurring nightmare in which Gary Busey is trying to kill me.)

A bit cranky feeling, but nothing too big. The cravings are killer – particularly when I drink coffee or tea, or after a meal.

Two cigarettes in about 48 hours. I’m doin’ good.

psst: I have not left yet. :) I fly out tonight and it will end on Monday. :)

@Grisaille Great job on the 2 in 48!
@Simone_De_Beauvoir I hope you feel better real soon.

I love this thread. I’m just in a kind of hiatus for a while, and I haven’t been doing much. School starts the 20th: I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say about my new classes, and since it’s my last semester before graduation I am sure to have entertainingly high anxiety levels.

I had weird dreams tonight too. This one had zombies, but they weren’t zombies since I think they had something to do with the giant UFO hanging overhead. Also they were smart and carried hatchets.

First day at work went well, I think. I like the people who I’m working with and I think they like me too. So far, it’s hard to gauge how high their expectations are. Today I did a pretty good job of getting positive responses out of them. Apparently, they want me to do some Android development for them, and they’re perfectly fine with the fact that I’ve never touched it before.

I’m 19 years old and it’s the first real job I’ve had. It feels amazing.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Hope you get better soon!
@Grisaille You can do it, man!

@gggritso thanks

@pdworkin – With reguard to this post. Don’t beat yourself up. We are all human. It isn’t whether or not we make mistakes. Everyone does and anyone who claims or thinks they don’t is making one. It is how we respond and recover.

Stick around! I for one need ya.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – I am glad your doing better. Remember to take care of you.

I have been away. I got the same sever sinus infection that gave me a migraine last year and put me in the hospital for 7 days and laid me up for 2.5 weeks. I think wee got to it on time because the pain has been low enough for me to stay home so far.

I have started looking at flats and it is kind of exciting. I have also started having nightmares where I wake up and my kids are not in the house with me. That isn’t so exciting.

Aw Bri- I am so sorry about the hospital stay. :( May you feel better fast. I get those kind of nightmares! They are awful. I am hoping you find an awesome place that gives you a good feeling every time you walk in.

@Dog – Thanks

Well today at 10 am I look at a 2 story duplex. 1st floor kitchen with dishwasher, fridge, stove, dinette, recroom, laundry room with hook up, living room, half bath, patio and fenced in yard. 2nd floor 3 bedrooms and a full bath. Half a connected garage. New furnace and central air installed in 2008. $875/month plus utilities split water. Very very very safe neighborhood. 5 min. from our church. Only 10 from the kids school and current home. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to see it!!!! Fingers crossed everyone!!!

Sounds great Bri – hope you get it.

@Naked_Homer House-looking-at is hard work! Good luck!

@gggritso and @janbb – Thanks!

I forgot to add, I was called into the office at work by one of the assistant managers and they want to know if I want to take over the department should the person their leave (and she is trying to) or end up being fired (she would begin to have trouble as she isn’t a good or qualified employee.) I was told by him that the manager wants me as well and then the another closing manager said he put his name in for me to as did one of the employees. It would mean at least a 40% pay increase and benefits.

@Naked_Homer Wowee, whoee – that’s incredible!

@Naked_Homer Oh man, that would be awesome!

It sounds like things have been going your way.

@all- yeah. I am trying not to over think and just go with the flow.

I can move my neck in one direction – that is progress.

Does it keep going? That way you could hit every required position.

@pdworkin LOL, no. I wish.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, do the doctors have a guess as to why you had the spasm? Does massage and heat help?

@Naked_Homer – You just started this gig, too, right? Good on ya!

@pdworkin – don’t go getting senioritis this term, now!

@gggritso – Yay! You’re there because you can do it. It’s no mistake!

@Dog – So, exhibit? How’d it go?
____
I’ve been undergoing a bit of a values clarification. Basically, I’m recalling when things felt like there was a flow to them, and looking to see which values were being fulfilled during those times and move towards living my life within those values.

I wrote three sketches in the last two weeks, and my WP is starting to look for actors for our show.

I’ve come to see that, when I’m not second-guessing myself and entertaining doubts, I’d just rather start a TV/film production company, even if I have no money right now, than work for someone else. The only time I truly enjoyed working for someone else was when I was an intern on the TV show of someone whose work I respected – 20 years ago. Unless I can start something that gets me ~$3K a month PDQ, though, I’ll have to get a job. Not to say that I wouldn’t be grateful for a good-paying job if if came my way, but there’s got to be some other (legal!) method of generating a decent income on my own.

Also, I’ll probably move out of the apartment I live in into my own wonderful, well-located place this year. I can feel the tug of my roommates and I all wanting to live in our own environments and I’ll just have to trust that I will end up somewhere fabulous. Why yield to thoughts of any other outcome, right? Ideally, I’d find something that would enable me to move to Northwest London ASAP, but that will take some time, regardless. In my current neighborhood would be fine for the moment.

I wish all you you well for the whole year!

Sigh. New milestone. We are writing a new grant. It is long and will require a lot of collaboration between me and my coworker, who is just as stubborn as I am. Things could get ugly.

So far we have a skeleton of everything that needs to be written, and I have written two sentences of the introduction. Oof.

@nikipedia dude, most important part…it’s done…the rest you know how to do and you’ll do it just like always.

@aprilsimnel they say it’s trochilosis (misspelled, I’m sure) and it’s been over a week of pain but it’s getting better

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – wow. I can’t believe you can move it already. Hang in there. The neck is a scary thing to heal.

@aprilsimnel – yup, I have never been officially been trained. This was based on what I did on my own. I wish you well on your soul search. I am all to familiar with it as a 40 year old Office Max worker. I would love to write sketch. (I know, everyone thinks they can. :-)

I saw the place at 10 finished the tour and application at 10:45. He and I talked until 1:15. We got along GREAT! He said “This is going to be a great relationship” no less than 3 times. He already arranged to pay me $20 every time I mow the lawn and trim the hedges. The only thing left was to verify my employment. I love love love the place!

@nikipedia – My sister-in-law writes grants. I wish you well. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes my friend.

Hey guys, I just wanted to put in that I’ve been trying to keep up with everyone’s progress and haven’t said anything lately only because my life’s in a kind of limbo mode right now with not much progress to be made. I’ll be checking back again on Sunday.

@Naked_Homer hell a week of pain in my life is way too long – I do too many things to be slowed down by a stupid neck (okay I know I’ve only got one so I should be good to it but still).

@Simone_De_Beauvoir – it’s one of those parts of our bodies where even if we try we can’t imagine how much we actually tense all the little muscles. Hang in there friend.

@holden – No worries, always good to hear from ya!

@Simone_De_Beauvoir, I’m glad to hear it.

@Naked_Homer @aprilsimnel
thanks, guys!

I just posted version four, because this thread is starting to be slow load.

New thread by @pdworkin is here.
See you there!

I have a desperate need to study for an exam on Monday. If I am seen on Fluther during the day today, tomorrow or Sunday, I should be “greeted with howls of execration™.”

@augustlan that’s an old thread.

@all Here’s the latest incarnation. Are we in a Mobius loop now?

Here is the new link