Sunday post - 9

Hosted here by Kimberley: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ the Sunday Post is a chance to catch up on what's been happening around the blogosphere, as well as updating your own blog/life/everything.

I missed last Sunday, I don't think I felt I had a lot to say. Along those lines, I've only done a couple of posts in the past couple of weeks, too.

One life one: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/09/life-in-void.html

and one review: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/09/the-calling-by-david-gaider-review.html

Other than that, eh. It's school holidays here now, so I'll have spawn home for a couple of weeks. I have a few more meetings with the job search consultant and then I'd better put on my big girl pants and start applying for jobs.

My super payout did come through, so that was a relief. We are - as of right now - credit card and debt-free, which is a very good feeling.

I finished Dragon Age: The Calling, which took me far longer to read than it should have, for no good reason.

Now I'm reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, which I'm liking a lot so far.

I keep tripping up on the dates of things and losing track, so I've started writing things down. With no framework (ie work), my days are merging together a bit.

I know that A More Diverse Universe is coming up at http://www.aartichapati.com/ and Dewey's readathon is on the 17th of October, I believe: http://www.24hourreadathon.com/ and there's a readalong of Salem's Lot coming up also: https://bkclubcare.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/how-about-a-pie-post-ilovepie-salemalong/

There's way more than that of course, but those are the nearest things that I'm invested in taking part in, anyway.

I haven't signed up for the readathon yet, but I think I'm just going to be a reader this time, because I'm the world's most useless cheerleader. Having said that, cheerleading is fun and awesome, and you should give it a shot, if you can't make the time commitment for reading.

What else.

The library here is having a book sale. I went on Friday morning and did all right, I think. I also went to the local gaming store and got Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls 3 and 4. I've never played either game but they were both GOTY editions and also super-cheap.
For the books, I got The Autumn Castle by Kim Williams, The Year's Best Fantasy second edition, ed, Ellen Datlow and Terry Windling, The Secret Books of Paradys: The Complete Paradys Cycle by Tanith Lee, King of Ithaca by Glynn Iliffe, The Wood Wife by Terry Windling, Memoirs of a Master Foger by William Heaney (actually by Graham Joyce), Myrren's Gift by Fiona McIntosh and Jingo by Mr Sir Terry Pratchett. That little haul cost me a whopping $3.50. I had to remind myself I couldn't save all of the books.


I started my Grey Wardens pattern over - I found an "I" for the first word of each line that I liked better than the one I had, and threw some colours at it. I'm pleased with the progress I've made so far. Also I'm glad I did start over, because in my head I had the first two lines transposed.  So far so good and hopefully the end product will be worth it. :)




I caught up with friends this week and had lunch which was nice. I was meant to go to one friend's last night for our weekly stitch and watch, but Spawn had a stomach bug, so I begged off. It turned out to just be a 24-hour thing but friend's mother has dementia and is rather fragile, so I didn't want to unwittingly carry any bugs with me.

Instead I did a bit of stitching (see above) and finally watched Mad Max: Fury Road, which was insane. And great. And insane. I'm planning on reviewing it this week.

What else. I've also been playing Inquistion a lot, because I keep mistaking game progress for actual productivity.

How was your week? What's coming up?

Life in the void

Limbo-land is a very strange place. I’ve been redundantly out of work for nearly three weeks now and it’s such a strange feeling.

Part of me feels like I’m just on holiday, and I’m going to pick up and go back to work on Monday or something, even though I know that’s not true. And part of me is sort of looking around for the thing that’s missing. I had no idea how much of my own personal identity was tied up with having that 9-5.

When I was finishing work, I said I was elated and terrified, which was true. Now, I’m mostly tired, and picking away at my days, trying to stay occupied.

Some days are okay. I’m working on tidying my room (I have the tidiness gene of a 14 year old), and reading a bit. I’m writing a bit too, which is nice. Stitching, catching up on shows like Hannibal and Salem and Empire.

Hanging out with spawn.

All of the things that you wish you had time for when you’re working. But when you have nothing BUT time for them … I don’t know. They’re all things that I love, but maybe the shine has gone off them a little bit.

I’m also playing Dragon Age a lot. Some days, once spawn is off to school and I have nothing else planned, that’s all I’m doing. So I try to plan something for every day. Even if it’s the smallest, stupidest thing.

Also, I got my redundancy payout (hooray) but I’m still waiting for my superannuation payout. When I rang the pay clerk who is supposed to pass the form on to the administrator of the fund last week, she said she was waiting for my last stats - sick days, holidays etc to come through.

Which. Bullshit. I see how that would affect the redundancy payout but should have no bearing on the superannuation. The idea of dealing with it makes me tired, but dammit, I need that money.

I’ve been putting off the phone calls I need to make and I feel a bit helpless because beyond repeatedly calling her, or harassing the administrator to the fund, there’s not a lot I can do.

Anyway.

Life in the void.

Sunday post 8

What's kicking world?

The Sunday Post is a chance to catch up - chat about what's been going on on your blog and in real life, and what's coming up.

Hosted here: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/

It was my first week as a non-employed person, but spawn was sick for much of it, so I haven't quite settled in to any kind of a routine yet.

It was one of those weeks where you feel like you get absolutely nothing done but you're still exhausted by the end of it.

I did manage to blog a couple of times though.

I reviewed Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/09/in-effort-to-broaden-my-own-reading.html#comment-form

and also the movie Scream, which I watched for my Friday movie night: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/09/scream-review.html

Coming up this week, hopefully will be reviews for The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness and Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller.

I pretty much inhaled the Ness in a couple of days, and I have about 100 pages to go on Our Endless Numbered Days, so fingers crossed. Hopefully spawn will be back at school this week, and I can settle in to something that looks like a routine.

Up next, for reading, I have The Calling, by David Gaider, which is a Dragon Age novel, Prophecy by Ellen Oh, which I picked up at the library and fits with my personal 1/3 diversity reading challenge, and either Uprooted by Naomi Novik, or Finders Keepers by Stephen King.

For non-reading ... I didn't watch a movie this past Friday; instead I watched a couple of episodes of Empire, in order to clear some space on my hard drive. I love Empire - it's so, so, so clever. It's basically King Lear, set in modern times at a recording company wherein the owner is trying to decide which of his sons will succeed him.

I finished my 10 hours of stitching on Circe (I stitch in a rotation, of sorts) and I've started my Grey Wardens pattern. Which I'm keeping very simple because I'm floating without a net on this one.
I'm doing it on 28-ct lugana (I think) hand-dyed purple haze (I think) and I'm using 336 and 415 for the wording. I just need border colour ideas:
https://twitter.com/justaddbooks/status/642244102721945600

I met with the job consultant on Thursday, and I have "homework" of a sort to get done. Nothing taxing - just working on updating my CV and registering with job websites. Our next meeting is Tuesday week.

Speaking of, my redundancy payout came through (yay) so I can feed my family and pay my rent for a bit, which is nice. I'm still waiting on the superannuation though. So that's on the to-do list for this week for sure.

I'm hoping to finish Empire, and maybe Salem this week. I need to choose a movie for Friday night (suggestions welcome) and I'm hoping to finish Our Endless Numbered Days, and read Prophecy. I want to at least catch up on my Goodreads challenge.

I'm still batting at Inquisition and playing it badly but it's so pretty. *_*

How's your week been and/or going?

Sunday post 7

The Sunday Post is a chance to catch up - on what's been happening in the blogosphere, as well as updating others on your own life and times.

Hosted here by http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/ if you want to play along at home. :)

Well. This is it. I had my last day on Friday and now I'm ... redundant? unemployed? Without work? Well, yes. All of those things.

My last week actually went pretty quickly, and I spent Friday doing basically no work at all. We had cheese and snacks and related paraphernalia, awkward speeches were made (mine was the MOST awkward) and then, in the grand tradition of journalists everywhere, we all decamped to the pub.

I don't drink, but it was nice to be able to say goodbye to the people I worked with in  a relatively informal session.

As for what's next? I don't know, and the question, "what are you going to do???" when people find out makes me nervous, because I DON'T know, and I get defensive and start babbling and making excuses.

Bah.

This is what I am going to do.

I am going to meet with the job search consultant - I have five sessions left.
I am going to hunt down the woman who was supposed to forward my benefit request form for my superannuation funds A MONTH AGO and politely request that she do so (luckily, those funds are separate from my redundancy payout, and I should get my redundancy payout this week, hopefully).
I am going to power through Salem, Empire and whatever else I have on my hard drive.
I am finally going to finish stitching Circe:  (I actually have more done than this,but this is the most recent photo that I have)
I am going to set up a stack of books, and work my through, including a mini-pile for RIP X, which is being hosted by the lovely ladies of The Estella Society this year: http://www.estellasociety.com/?p=1484
I am - finally - going to get my driver's licence and learn to drive a bloody car.
I am going to go to the movies more, while I have the chance.
I am going to provide cats with a warm and large place to rest.
I am going to figure out Dragon Age: Inquisition
And last - but by no means least - I'm going to hang out with spawn.

And of course, somewhere in there, hopefully, find another job.

Oh! And nano! I'm planning on doing nano this year: http://nanowrimo.org/ which I say every year, but unless something shows up before then, I'll have no excuse at all.

On the blog this week coming up, hopefully, are reviews of Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, and also Scream - I watched it on Friday night for my weekly movie hit, in honour of the passing of Wes Craven.

I'm reading The Sunne in Splendour (still), Our Endless Numbered Days, and I picked up The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness. Hopefully I'll have reviews of the latter two this week sometime.

I STILL haven't read or watched Watchmen and the graphic novel will be due back at the library soon, so I need suggestions for this Friday night's movie fare.

How's everyone doing?

What's your favourite scary movie?