the library

So finally Rocket is getting neutered. Why did I wait so long? If I'm honest, I still see him as the apartment complex's cat not mine. I didn't want him really, especially when he first came and I was still learning to walk again. But he is a beautiful cat, not just pretty but so very sweet. His only fault is, is he prefers to be outside and doesn't want to use litter (he wants out)

He did fine and he's staying overnight by my request because he is FIV+. They called me to say he's fine and they didn't pull his teeth because they weren't loose (I knew that but they are broken and THEY were the ones to put it out there in the first place) They wanted me to okay expensive antibiotics because of his FIV and I said yes. I'll get him tomorrow night. I wanted a good 36 hours of him being indoors and not too mobile so the surgical site can heal up


We had two students give presentations today that were good. One was using oyster mushrooms to substitute brewer's yeast to make alcohol based on a paper where it was done with wine. It worked better with wine but he did mix yeast and shroom and it was a nice sour beer (yes there was a taste testing)

It's music monday and we're working through the alphabet. I'm sticking with songs from the last 5 years but you can rec whatever you'd like. We're up to C

( I'm realizing I listen to Taylor Swift more than I think )

Still the best name for a con, still tacked onto a tiny con in Athens that fights in a basketball court. Mostly my friends are running it (trying to rope me in but right now I'm quoting my health issues as why not but I will look for vendors for them).

Speaking of health issues, I could hardly move today, I'm so exhausted. I got there an hour later than planned but it worked out. I wanted to enter the raffles and this year...not a lot there that I was interested in anyhow. I didn't win anything this year (last year I won three things so it balances) and one of my friends said, 'watch me win the thing I didn't want but accidentally dropped my ticket into' And she did. She was going to give it to me (a merman illustration) but someone else wanted it more than me so I gave it to him. Karma owes me (and I don't mean the storm it served up, more on that later)

I didn't get to any of the talks because I knew I would never be able to get to them and manage to stay long enough to get to the raffle (in the future I will have to plan my one-day con trips well if I can't get my energy back). I did however get some fun stuff at the vendors.

I picked up A Shade of Winter from Henlo Press a paranormal mystery (some fool forgot her cheaters today. Not mentioning any names....) I've got the first book in several of their series already... which led me to a conclusion (more on that later)

I picked up a couple's earring set of Ozzie and Fizzarolli from Helluva Boss from Unicorn Massacres Designs. It's a cute set. I've bought from them before (artist is trans with a lot of trans rights stuff if you want to take a look).

From Dany Cat Designs I got some soap for me and for gifts. I still have one bar left over from last year. She didn't have any of the dice soap with her this year. I picked up Hades for myself along with Make It So

I said NO more wall art so naturally I bought two postcard sized bits of art from Cocomomo Art because her Hazbin stuff is probably the best I've seen for sale in the past several cons. She also recced a hopepunk queer anime, Promare. I need to find it.

Speaking of wall art, I should have walked past Amanda Scharf Illustration but her water colors were too damn pretty. Did I need a water color of Angel Dust? No. Do I now own one? What do you think? She had so many colors too. If the purple had only been a little richer....I went with dark blue.

There is an artist I get earrings from every con (and other vendors probably hate her) because she sells them for 3$ a pop vs what everyone else does (but I'm also betting she just buys the charms in bulk somewhere) I need to find out if some of my friends wear bigger earrings. Wish evil_little_dog wore earrings because she'd love half of these and sadly the artist doesn't do pins.

I did get some birthday/holiday gifts too. I'll see several of these vendors again in a few weeks at Final Boss con on my university. There was one person selling ITA bags which I need desperately for all my pins but honestly these looked like grocery bags for the same price as much more intricately done backpack styles so I skipped it (and I can make the banners for the pins myself if I take a minute to do it) I was glad I went. Got a few hugs from friends. Yeah I'm not a hugger but on the other hand it's nice to have people who are genuinely happy to see me.

I left the con and went to Kroger for cheese (this one has the fancy cheeses) All was well. I got my cheeses and some absolutely yummy olives that I'm sorry I didn't buy more of. Came out 15 minutes later and it looked cloudy. Five minutes later as I'm getting my Tim Horton's coffee rocket fuel to drive home on, it's even darker. By the time I go 2 miles to Avalanche pizza to pick up my death in a box (otherwise known as the skeletonwitch) it's BLACK. The manager is telling the staff to tell patrons the deliveries will be delayed because of the incoming storm.

I grab my pizza and beat feet. I don't get 5 miles out of town before it let loose. The wind was first, so strong I was literally knocked off the road three times. Then the rain came so hard I thought 'got to stop at the rest stop just up the road and ride this out.' It was raining SO hard I couldn't see the rest stop and missed it. I inched another mile down the highway to the red light where I know there is a gas station. Waited it out there for about 15 minutes. Thankfully my ebook held out because some one forgot to charge it (not mentioning any names) and it was down to 7%.

Luckily after that it was light rain or none all the way home. I'm glad I went. I wish I had energy that 2 hours didn't all but kill me. So that decision I came to at the con...for some damn reason there are a half dozen things I want to do on the 3rd (all in vastly different directions) Ohioana Book festival in Columbus (very late this year), the Gallipolis street steampunk festival, free comic book day, heartwoods mental health festival (in a Chillicothe park), a psychic fair in Logan, the mother's day glass sale in the Hocking Hills.

I decided not to go to the Book festival. My friend isn't going to be there. I haven't read 90% of the books I bought there last year (I'm working on 2 now).I need a new book like I need slapped. Worse, they'll be signed so I won't want to part with them. That doesn't help my space issue. I think I'm better off either doing the steampunk/comic book thing (they're in the same direction) or the glass/mental health fair (also in the same (but different) direction). Decisions Decisions.

Came home and started to watch the newly dropped Gaslight District pilot. Been looking forward to this. I haven't watched more than a few minutes (too tired) and I'm not sure I like the animation style but I'll need to see more.

I need to find a gastroenterologist back home. It's hard to find transport here and I really need to have a scope to find out if this pressure and cough is from GERD or do I need to be finding a pulmonologist too. I'd like to be healthy but if I can't be that I need to keep up on this.

Because it seriously hit home (in spite of how well I know this) learning Michelle Trachtenberg died of complications of diabetes.

Mom sent me a bunch of stuff off QVC for Easter. Wish she would have sent one or the other because I know a) it was expensive b) it's all pure sugar. I appreciate the thought but....


I'm off tomorrow. We get off good friday but never easter monday which makes no sense.

Rocket is mad at me. He fell in the creek. I have no idea how/why. He came home covered in mud and wet and is mad I won't let him sleep wherever he wants nor will he let me clean him up. Rocket is a hard cat. He loves people and wants to sit on you but if you even THINK about fussing at him, you shall be made to regret it.

So I had to get up a 630 AM (about 2 hours before my usual wake up) to go 90 miles north to the neurologist. I woke up 20 minutes early. I'm lucky because at 7:20 AM my primary care doctor's nurse CALLS me. Are you fucking kidding? At first I thought something happened to my parents because no one calls this early and my phone doesn't tell you who it is until the second ring.

Why is she calling? Because she tracked down my thyroid scan and the doctor wants me to go see an endocrinologist and do I need a rec? (it should be in my file that I do not as I see one every 3 months). Now I'm late talking to her and the rains really sprouted the orange barrels this week. Holy crap. I still got there on time in spite of the fact I had to pull over on the highway because a fucking TICK was walking across my dashboard. Not today Satan.

And no one bothered to tell me don't go in the main door at the hospital. No I had to go around to a wing and to the basement but rather than say get in your car and go around they walk me all thru the hospital. And in spite of my appointment being 9 AM he was already 1 hour behind. He gave me his person cell if I want meds other than gabapentin for the trigeminal neuralgia (keep in mind I know his mother in law and wife so it's not that wild).

He agrees this is trigeminal neuralgia which he said "is known to be one of the worst pains you can suffer" (yes I shall agree). And he confirms what I knew. The main causes of this are vascular malformations (which my collagen disorder makes me prone to), aneurysms and tumors so I need an MRI of my head (yes, please, let's look at my jaw too) but he also said it's possible the thyroid goiter could be triggering this and I hadn't thought of that (even though it's on my test on thursday that thyroid affects neuro....)

I'm done with him so early I can't go to the Italian deli so I go back to Chillicothe and bumble around the mall until it's time for my vascular study which is a biggie this time, both legs...in a hot dark room with a former student. I'm half asleep (no, let's be honest I kept nodding off). From there I slid right into the vascular surgeon's clinic and he gave me good news. He thinks there's no way the symptoms in my leg are neurogenic claudication and that my stent is holding up so well that he's backing me down to once a year scans. YAY.

I even found time to go to Rost (I like their brown butter latte which yes has butter and yes it is delicious) Driving around Chillicothe however wasn't easy because Bridge street has 1001 red lights and the winds are 30-40mph and the redlights are bouncing so hard you can barely see them. Also I don't know what it is with this town but this is the third time in the last 6 months where I see one gas price that I'll go get gas after I shop and 45 minutes later it's changed. I didn't even notice until I almost pumped. Kroger's jumped 50 cents in that 25 minutes I was in there. Luckily other gas stations hadn't caught up so I got the cheap gas (by the time I left town an hour later they'd all jumped that 50 cents)

Rocket gave me a laugh tonight. He ate and wanted outside. I saw two kids under the age of 6 and told him he didn't want out. He didn't believe me. Ran out onto the porch took one look at the kids and noped his ass back inside until they were gone. (which also tells me that when he's been out there the kids have bothered him trying to play with him).

Yesterday I bought a cheese I've avoided 'bread cheese.' The name wasn't appetizing but I thought why not try it? It's rare you find a cheese you don't like so today, I went to slice some and it tells me to warm it up and eat it with maple syrup or jam or the traditional way with coffee. My eyes went wide. Who's tradition is it to eat cheese with coffee.

So I researched it and my answer was the other names for this is Finnish Squeaky cheese (and oh so it's SUPPOSED to make that noise when I chew) or leipäjuusto. I'm like fine, if it's traditional...and to my surprised it was SO good with coffee. Damn. Had to be sure not to eat the whole brick and lie on the ground with a stomach ache.

But this led me to think about traditions and how we incorporate them into our stories. I did use that in my last novel the 1980s monster hunter thing from haint blue, to Italian, Filipino and Welsh traditions. Italian ones pop up everywhere.

I have done less with it in my fantasy work. One place I did it was with the one character loosely based on the people of Nepal (at least in appearance but then I second guessed having one of the few darker skinned characters to have these traits, it was a fear of dead bodies rather inspired by several groups. I'm good at this sort of second guessing).

I do want to work more traditions (of my invention) into my next fantasy novels. It can be something the character (or their family) are afraid of them losing because they left their homeland. Do they worry about looking weird because they're celebrating something no one else in town is doing? Do they worry that it might cost them a job due to prejudice.

That last one did nearly happen to me. People don't remember that in the 80s and even into the early 90s Italians still weren't welcome in a lot of places in America. I have never been shy about my Italian American heritage. When I was in NYC, I had mentioned going to the Ferragosto, the feast of the Assumption in Little Italy and one of the surgeons I was training under was SO angry I would be with Italians she tried to get me fired from my residency to the point of lying to the residency director. What happened was I was then put with surgeons better suited to me (i.e. I was reassigned to working with Italian, African American and Jewish doctors while the white Protestants ones didn't have to deal with me). What if your character, like me, was trapped because if I made waves and was let go from my residency I was done. I couldn't practice as a doctor without it. I never said another word about it and it was a tradition I've let lapse since.

Have you tried to write new traditions in fantasy/SF works? Let's hear about them? Same with how real world ones you've woven in.


Open Call

Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers, Vol. 10 pays well but you have to be a Texan

Elven Rock of Ages A 1980s band that end up in a fantasy kingdom (a few specific details to include below.) It's basically a shared universe and it sounds fun.

Tales of Galactic Pest ControlShort stories that explore the theme of pest control in creative, unexpected, and engaging ways. Another one that plans to pay well. I have an idea. Can literal manifestation of nightmares be a pest to be controlled?

Search for the Any Key Action/adventure mixed with any drama, can’t use a physical key, the why of the search should be the most important part



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Because the only thing that was good today was the Fitness and Faith folk didn't get to the coffee house until late. I had over an hour without them and they were back to their smaller size which is far more manageable and quiet. I don't mind them in that state.

I did forget what I went shopping for in the first place and my book for the library. Now I have to go back. sigh.

I wasn't going to write for spikesgirl58's 6 words this week but then spotted a prompt in comment_fic and thought they messed well and came up with this bit of silliness.

Culinary Insults

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Husk needs some popcorn for all this drama unfolding in front of him. In other words, Angel catches Pentious putting ketchup on noodles and all hell breaks loose.

Rating: teen

Author Note - Written for templefugate in comment_fic for the prompt any, any, macaroni & ketchup and for spikesgirl58’s 6 word challenge. The six words were Tidy, Discovery, Clouds, Note, Fold, & Boorish

( story under here and at the link above )

Fannish 50 book recs


Domestic Life Torchwood

Being Himself FAKE

dancing gracefully to the beat of your heart (until the morning comes) 时光代理人 | Link Click

that's odd Murder She Wrote

Overlord Vox's FWB Hazbin Hotel

Guest Lectures and Murder
Murder She Wrote/Mystery 101

Life As We Knew It Teen Wolf

Sing To Me Hazbin Hotel

Juvenescent The Owl House

Easing The Pain Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Bad Decisions Torchwood

A Night For Velvette Hazbin Hotel

Emotionally. I'll save the work issues (other than say HR should ASK if we're working on Friday other than buying into the rumor no one works on friday because three of us can't meet with the potential new hire. two can reschedule themselves. I can't and won't because it's my oncology appt) for a locked post sometime.

I've been having creepypasta dreams one with me walling someone up in some strange organic polymer because I was mad at him. (I have no idea who he was) I had gotten up to his face when I woke a half hour before my alarm this morning.

Another was me being furious with my cat who was hiding under my bed (a gray kitty I've never owned) and I was so mad I threw my bed and dragged this poor thing out by its scruff (I would never do this just so we're clear)

Another was my uncle (the one who just passed) lying on bedding in my closet, getting madder and sicker as we went (this one went on forever).

My brain is mad obviously.

What I Just Finished Reading:

Floating Hotel - here's the thing, if I hadn't been reading this for a prompt I might have given up. That said, I'm glad I didn't. It was interesting how she focused on one character per chapter giving their reason for being on the hotel and what's happening now and it was a jigsaw building to the climax which was well done

Les Normaux - gay paranormal romance graphic novel, lovely art, good enough story (webtoon) but I wasn't wowed. You might be (I'm not a romancy type)


What I am Currently Reading:

Another Fine Mess -Didn't realize this was book two so I am annoyed with myself because this is 100% spoilery for book one. It's a strange book, I'm liking it

Raised by a Serial Killer - so far I'm not blown away. I'm mostly sitting here going does ANYONE have this many clear memories from the time they were 3-6 years old.


What I Plan to Read Next: I forgot Bossard Library (it's in Gallipolis, not my usual library) does an amazing giveaway as their winter reading program so I grabbed a boat load of graphic novels to power thru by Monday to be able to put in for the giveaways so those.