As Promised, I Return...
Dec. 18th, 2019 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseThe exciting news of today is that I officially accepted a pinch hit for Yuletide.
Yay!
I adore pinch hitting. It's funny, because, even though it means that I won't receive a treat myself, I don't think I'll ever go back to officially doing the Yuletide exchange. There's just something about the whole process of pinch hitting that I love. Everything from watching the requests for pinch hits roll in to the adrenaline rush of taking the plunge and putting your name in for an assignment... it just makes me happy somehow. It's weird.
It's hilarious in its own way that I've accepted an assignment because I feel very behind on writing--letter (aka "snail mail") writing. For those of you just tuning in, one of my actual, honest-to-god hobbies is pen pal-ling. I joined the International Pen Friends some years ago and have regular pen pals around the world to whom I write personal, snail mail letters. But, I currently have a STACK of unanswered letters on the dinning room table. I'm thinking that the holiday break will be a good time to finally catch up with everyone. I think it's acceptable to send holiday cards any time before Christmas all the way through to New Years, right?
What else can I tell you?
Oh, I know! I'd wanted to give a quick recap of anime night, mostly so that I can remember what I watched.
I ended up going late and leaving early, so it wasn't the usual marathon sampling session, but we did watch another episode of ReLife and the whole of Your Name. Your Name you may recall is something that I'd listened to on a Japanese language immersion learning podcast. It was very surreal to finally see the movie. I didn't realize the extent to which my brain had made up pictures in my head about what I thought was going on. To be extremely clear. I don't think I understood more than a half a dozen words in the entire two hour podcast (and the majority of the words I did understand consisted of "arigato" and "domo," so nothing that should have given me any hint of the story). It makes NO SENSE, therefore, that my brain would have filled in anything in any kind of detail. However, sound effects are surprisingly contextualizing. For instance, I knew there would be a scene in an underground cave (echoing dripping sounds for the win!). I had no idea why we were there or what exactly transpired in the scene (except that something magical[??] got drunk), but it was weird to be watching the movie and KNOW that I'd "seen" this in my head before. Very weird. But, the experience also made me want to find a way to do more of this kind of passive listening/learning. To that end, I've been looking into ways to purchase Drama CDs from Japan. Because, why not, right?
Eleanor and I are planning to try to go see Terry Garey at the nursing home again this week, probably Friday. We'd initially planned to go Monday, but, having seen her the Thursday before, I had to tell Eleanor that I just wasn't emotionally ready for it again so soon. If you've been following along with the detailed journal on Caring Bridge, Denny does a pretty good job of explaining some of Terry's issues, but, some of what he leaves out is that memory wards are just hard. There are people there who just aren't there. You see them just staring at the walls in the dining room, not even seeming to notice the food in front of them. There are people who randomly yell or moo (seriously.) That being said, it's absolutely true that Terry needs visitors (just, you know, be prepared for the atmosphere if you come during a meal time, in particular.)
She always perks up to see people. One of the issues Terry has been having is with getting enough to eat and, last time we were there, Denny offered everyone a cookie from the ones his family had brought and Terry ate, sort of perfunctory (perfunctorily?), to be sociable. Last time when we were there, she also was cheerfully explaining that because she was an army brat, it was easy for her to get used to this place. I suspect that was true (I know the army brat part is,) but also the sort of thing you say in front of company, even when you're bored and want to go home.
So, I don't know--I do hope people who are close and who remember Terry consider visiting. Those places are boring and dreary. My dad had to spend a serious amount of time recovering in one of them and they just kind of suck.
It makes me think a lot about Fandom (capital-F, as in the local people who go to cons, etc., as opposed to one's small-f, fandom,) and about casual friendships. I feel like I know a lot of people, yet I'm not sure how many of them I know all that well... I mean, people I could call in an emergency, etc. And, yet, I think I'm actually fairly well connected to actual, real people, thanks to a bunch of things like my local, in-person writers' group. I'm not sure what I want to say about this other than to repeat something Eleanor has been saying a lot: "stay socially connected."
Anyway.
I should start plotting out a story. Plus, I have to hop up in about twenty minutes to go collect Mason from his job at the Science Museum.
Yay!
I adore pinch hitting. It's funny, because, even though it means that I won't receive a treat myself, I don't think I'll ever go back to officially doing the Yuletide exchange. There's just something about the whole process of pinch hitting that I love. Everything from watching the requests for pinch hits roll in to the adrenaline rush of taking the plunge and putting your name in for an assignment... it just makes me happy somehow. It's weird.
It's hilarious in its own way that I've accepted an assignment because I feel very behind on writing--letter (aka "snail mail") writing. For those of you just tuning in, one of my actual, honest-to-god hobbies is pen pal-ling. I joined the International Pen Friends some years ago and have regular pen pals around the world to whom I write personal, snail mail letters. But, I currently have a STACK of unanswered letters on the dinning room table. I'm thinking that the holiday break will be a good time to finally catch up with everyone. I think it's acceptable to send holiday cards any time before Christmas all the way through to New Years, right?
What else can I tell you?
Oh, I know! I'd wanted to give a quick recap of anime night, mostly so that I can remember what I watched.
I ended up going late and leaving early, so it wasn't the usual marathon sampling session, but we did watch another episode of ReLife and the whole of Your Name. Your Name you may recall is something that I'd listened to on a Japanese language immersion learning podcast. It was very surreal to finally see the movie. I didn't realize the extent to which my brain had made up pictures in my head about what I thought was going on. To be extremely clear. I don't think I understood more than a half a dozen words in the entire two hour podcast (and the majority of the words I did understand consisted of "arigato" and "domo," so nothing that should have given me any hint of the story). It makes NO SENSE, therefore, that my brain would have filled in anything in any kind of detail. However, sound effects are surprisingly contextualizing. For instance, I knew there would be a scene in an underground cave (echoing dripping sounds for the win!). I had no idea why we were there or what exactly transpired in the scene (except that something magical[??] got drunk), but it was weird to be watching the movie and KNOW that I'd "seen" this in my head before. Very weird. But, the experience also made me want to find a way to do more of this kind of passive listening/learning. To that end, I've been looking into ways to purchase Drama CDs from Japan. Because, why not, right?
Eleanor and I are planning to try to go see Terry Garey at the nursing home again this week, probably Friday. We'd initially planned to go Monday, but, having seen her the Thursday before, I had to tell Eleanor that I just wasn't emotionally ready for it again so soon. If you've been following along with the detailed journal on Caring Bridge, Denny does a pretty good job of explaining some of Terry's issues, but, some of what he leaves out is that memory wards are just hard. There are people there who just aren't there. You see them just staring at the walls in the dining room, not even seeming to notice the food in front of them. There are people who randomly yell or moo (seriously.) That being said, it's absolutely true that Terry needs visitors (just, you know, be prepared for the atmosphere if you come during a meal time, in particular.)
She always perks up to see people. One of the issues Terry has been having is with getting enough to eat and, last time we were there, Denny offered everyone a cookie from the ones his family had brought and Terry ate, sort of perfunctory (perfunctorily?), to be sociable. Last time when we were there, she also was cheerfully explaining that because she was an army brat, it was easy for her to get used to this place. I suspect that was true (I know the army brat part is,) but also the sort of thing you say in front of company, even when you're bored and want to go home.
So, I don't know--I do hope people who are close and who remember Terry consider visiting. Those places are boring and dreary. My dad had to spend a serious amount of time recovering in one of them and they just kind of suck.
It makes me think a lot about Fandom (capital-F, as in the local people who go to cons, etc., as opposed to one's small-f, fandom,) and about casual friendships. I feel like I know a lot of people, yet I'm not sure how many of them I know all that well... I mean, people I could call in an emergency, etc. And, yet, I think I'm actually fairly well connected to actual, real people, thanks to a bunch of things like my local, in-person writers' group. I'm not sure what I want to say about this other than to repeat something Eleanor has been saying a lot: "stay socially connected."
Anyway.
I should start plotting out a story. Plus, I have to hop up in about twenty minutes to go collect Mason from his job at the Science Museum.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-18 11:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-19 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-19 12:37 pm (UTC)I need to get cracking on something along those lines as well.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-19 12:35 am (UTC)Traditionally, the 12 days of Christmas give you until January 6 (which is also Christmas in the Orthodox tradition. Coptic Christians celebrate it on the 7th). Or you could always follow the example Diane Crane once set. Card said "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Groundhog's Day!"
Alternatively, invent an entirely new holiday to celebrate: Happy (well, Logical) Vulcan Solstice!
no subject
Date: 2019-12-19 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-19 03:32 am (UTC)