Helenka, Queen of Outer Space

Forgot all about this until I saw people posting (mostly their writing stats).

Well, my writing stat (yes, singular) was ONE fic, written for the SGA... Ten Years Later Fest. Mind you, I'm very proud of the story I wrote ("Comic Book Confidential") not only from the perspective of writing a complex story but also of growth in awareness, education and – above all – compassion when it comes to trans people and issues. I cringe when I think back more than two decades and remember how clueless (and callous) I was. Let's just call that anti-nostalgic. The other good thing about the fic is that it forced me to learn how to post on AO3.

I lost two people last year: Paul, a friend and lover from four decades ago, and Drew, a fellow congregant whose mellifluous Japanese scripture reading will have to live on solely in my memories. I'm still having a hard time dealing with both losses.

As for personal stability, I resolved the tiny tremor in my housing situation. I'm thrilled to remain in this neighbourhood, just wish the stairs were less of a ... challenge. But, as compensation, I love having two cats to adore.

My health has actually improved. I read an article today tailored to women about unexpected cancer signs. The only one that might have applied to me was persistent cough. Luckily, I'd already dealt with that problem in 2013 and, not only am I cough-free, my sinuses are clear most of the time. There's just the stubborn persistence of pain behind the blind eye and I wonder whether the two operations meant a pain receptor in the brain was activated. Brain be weird, dontcha know. But, then, it's MY brain.

Another area of improvement is sleep. I can't believe how well I'm sleeping nowadays. I used to use the time waiting for sleep to grab me by writing my story dialogues in my head. Now I just fall asleep and – mostly – stay asleep all night long. Considering that I'll be an old person officially in June, I feel this is an excellent prognosis for retention!

So ... what are my goals for 2015?

You just know I'm going to say WRITE MOAR. Lots and lots. I just have to totally settle down. I still have personal papers to go through (I feel my eyelids fluttering from eye strain) and decisions to make. Plus organizing my closet. Didn't get a chance to when I moved, so everything's a bit disorganized. I've found that I tend to fulfill personal obligations when my living space is serene.

I want to work out with my weights, but have to devise a way to hold them without causing more pain or damage to my fingers. Wonder if I could combine my Isotoner winter gloves with velcro straps.

When summer comes, I want to start exploring the local parks, also to go down to the lake on my own using regular transit. Jan tells me a nearby bus will take me exactly where I want to go. Didn't know it diverted. But yay. I want to start getting together with friends more often. That's always a very good goal.

I would like to buy a couple of luxury items because, you should know by now, when I get something stuck in my head it just won't dislodge itself ... and I won't make it!

So, that's my 2014 synopsis and hopes for 2015. I'm crossing my fingers for only good things in my life's Inbox!

Sunday, I woke up in the middle of the night and began unpacking. Ugh. Anyway, the next few days continued with sleeping whenever I felt like it, still eating almost nothing and unpacking a tiny bit. I discovered a large linen cupboard which was a godsend. At least those are put away, though not necessarily neatly.

Knowing me, you shouldn't be surprised that I'd already put up identifiers to my personality: drum, astrolabe, piggies: check. Though I gave away just about everything (John got the electric fireplace in exchange for removing my furniture), I still managed to retain some of who I am with the few possessions I have left. Hey, I'm creative!

Tuesday, November 12, C-J rescued me from a breaker overload (though I was the one who found the box!), then drove me back to the old villa to remove everything else (I begged for his help and he agreed). Poor guy, he got a running commentary on select clothes I'd kept for 40 years (the hot pant jumpsuit!, the pastel paisley tie!, the cute French coat from when I had a summer job in fashion imports on Yorkville!). He took a whole bunch of bags to the nearest Goodwill. Then Brian showed up (he'd offered to hook up Liblikas) and, between the two of them, they got nearly everything else out. Hey, I'm no saint, just a broken-down old lady!

I fear I may have been too rash due to exhaustion. Instead of just slapping some duct tape on the two hardware chests full of jewellery (mostly semi-precious and costume), I basically tossed the contents. At least I managed to snag the emerald ring and camel bone necklace first. But I just couldn't face having to sort through the stuff at the new place (especially under poor light levels).

As C-J had done hours of gallant work, Brian managed to load up all my belongings in his vehicle, so C-J could just go home (and soak his weary bones). When Brian arrived at the cozy cottage (hmmm, sounds good), he enjoyed tossing the bags of clothing down the few steps. Eek. He was having far too much fun.

Well, after giving life back to Liblikas, we discovered that I do NOT have internet down here, because there's a cable for TV – but NO modem hookup. ::sighs:: I'm still disconnected. He set my POC cellphone to system restore, so I hope it will sorta, kinda behave until I somehow get the internet. So many people have been e-mailing me from the church and I haven't been able to read the messages in order to respond. ::sighs:: At least with a functioning monitor, I watched a recent epi of Glee.

Anyway, I went to bed early again Tuesday night and spent my Wednesday unpacking. Ack. Which meant finding a whole bag of small stuffed animals that had been transported here i/o to Goodwill. I unloaded almost all of the clothing onto the bed and started a spreadsheet. Yes, I'm keeping track of clothes. Well, I had to separate the pile into two categories: winter and sparkly stuff that would actually fit into the closet (that's a first!) and the summer stuff that would have to be stored in one of my bins. But, yay, I did it. Actually, the summer stuff went in a clear, stiff plastic storage bag placed on the top shelf. And, then, I promptly fell apart. Again.

I gave myself permission to veg and watched an old epi of Andromeda, the one with James Marsters guesting fabulously! And, then, left with nothing to do (mostly) in the dark, I'd finally gotten back to writing my all-over-the-place trans McShep fic. Which goes in fits and starts. ::sighs some more::

While without the internet, I revisited some more nostalgic TV with "All Our Yesterdays" of ST TOS. Oh ... Spock smiling! Still gets me every time. Though however did Zarabeth curl her hair in her caves? And "Galaxy Quest" just because it's always such good fun.

Yes, I made it (mostly) intact in the great move across the city. I'm settling in at my cozy cottage, though my primary problem is not having something with drawers where I can put fiddly things. Or papers. ::sighs::

Anyway, I'm extremely exhausted from my two-act move. At least I'm sleeping like a (good) baby in my bed (just about the only furniture I brought with me).

More about the move when I have energy (whatever that is). TTFN.