Monday

[clevermanka]

Guardian/adjacent
Dogs bless the gif-makers.
Fanart: Welcome home, baby. A whole bunch of Captain art I hadn't seen got retweeted recently.

I know not everyone here is into Kpop but I've been obsessed with this clip from BTS's 2020 MMA performance for the past 24 hours. The full performance is good (although I'm not? the biggest? fan? of their new stuff, alas), but god damn that pas de deux.

In Actual Life stuff, my emotions are still... well, I wouldn't say up and down because there are very few of what I would consider "ups." Got shot back down the spiral on Friday when I learned I was given inaccurate or incomplete information about unemployment last year. Turns out, no, one cannot wait to apply for coverage. Because I haven't had any income for 12 months, I'm not eligible. So there's six months of small income I was kinda counting on, just... gone.

People've been sending me links to job boards in their area and it helps a lot to know there are people sprinkled around the US who at least wouldn't mind having me move to their neck of the woods. Thank you all! This week I have a goal to submit one resume a day. It's mostly performative because I'm hardly going to accept a job where I have to relocate until a vaccine is available and well-distributed. But it's good practice, so...

Perhaps that level of brain activity will jump start more creative energies, too. It'd be great to slide back into a daily writing schedule while I can. Before I get a day job. Which I will. Right? Right. Okay.

eta: I wanna clarify, I'm not in any immediate financial distress! I'm safe where I am, and in no danger of starving or having my utilities turned off. It's just my (possibly excessive) need to feel like some level of independence is actually achievable.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

*hugs you gently*

I only don't recommend my area because it's ludicrously expensive and crowded. Heh.

[clevermanka]

I'm trying to be realistic about what I'll have to sacrifice if I wind up having to move to a larger city than I'm used to. Hilariously, it's impossible to safely even purge excess stuff right now.

[naye]

Getting inaccurate information about super important stuff is THE WORST, I'm so sorry! You definitely did NOT need this on top of everything. But hey. Time to write before you get a job sounds like a plan. Good luck with words!

*hugs*

[clevermanka]

Same thing happened with my health insurance--the guy assured me I could count on the $400-something rate through 2020 but no it was more like $750 which priced me out of coverage. Either I'm asking vastly unclear questions or US government help-desk staffing is less than optimal. Not that these two things are mutually exclusive I suppose.

I've done my Adulting for the day (including vacuuming the entire apartment!) so it's time to see if I can get some words down. Sending you writing vibes as well!

[xparrot]

We watched the MMA performance live and I think my sister (who has some ballet training) nearly passed out at that lift!

Good luck with RL, and here's hoping for the vaccines to roll out sooner rather than later so we can actually restart our lives...

[clevermanka]

I read an essay that analyzed it, step by step. So incredible. The strength and the trust is so impressive.

Thank you and yes PLEASE I would like to reboot my life, already!

[nnozomi]

Hoping for the best on all counts, and for generally low levels of daily frustration, argh.
(For obvious reasons I'm not recommending jobs where I am, but if you ever do feel like switching continents let me know :) )

[clevermanka]

I would totally immigrate elsewhere if I thought there was the slightest hope of getting a job.

[write_out]

HUGS HUGS

I hope the writing went well!

[clevermanka]

Thank you! I got ~700 words, which is AMAZING considering my lack of writing since September.

[wrote_and_writ]

Just ooof. I don't have anything particularly helpful to add. I relate to the independence thing. A friend of mine was talking about rent for an apartment, and that put "I kind of want to quit" thoughts RIGHT out of my head. I truly don't know how I would survive on my own if I had to go back to the US right now.

Love love love! And if you need a laugh, imagine my class discussion this week as we work on poetry analysis. I took the kids through The Ballad of Tam Lin where I got to explain what "he laid her down" meant and all the symbolism of gardens and roses, and then we read Noyes's "The Highwayman," which they thought was too dramatic. Anyway, I set myself up for this because I'm choosing all the poems, so it's pretty fun in general. But teenagers are a hoot sometimes.

[clevermanka]

I truly don't know how I would survive on my own if I had to go back to the US right now.
I'm surviving solely on the kindness of others and it sucks just as much as you think it would.

TAM LIN TAM LIN TAM LIN I fucking love The Ballad of Tam Lin so much, largely due to Pamela Dean's novel.

I also love teenagers. I love their moodiness and their violent emotions and their optimism and their anger and... *clutches hand over heart* They're such awful messes and I adore them.

[wrote_and_writ]

THAT PAMELA DEAN NOVEL!!! That was probably THE formative novel of my teen years. I’ll be honest, I picked the university where I went freshman year due in large part to their fake Greek amphitheater where I could absolutely picture Medeous and crew hanging out. And if you peek thru my AO3 back catalogue, you will find 2 Tam Lin fics.

[clevermanka]

This makes me so happy and further solidifies my belief that when we finally get to hang out in person (it will happen, somehow I will make it happen) we're gonna get on like gangbusters.

[wrote_and_writ]

Abso-fucking-lutely!