Previously, in Trip's Life...
30 November 2020 - Monday
Wait, there's another Monday? I thought we were done!
Watched:
- Leverage 4.5:
The one where all the guys try to tell Sophie and Parker how to do their
jobs, but Parker is metal anyway. Also, corrupting the youths.
Late Thanksgiving of turkey breast with leeks, succotash, mashed
spuds, and salad.
Words:
Check.
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29 November 2020 - Sunday
Another (successful?) session of Scum and
Villainy. I swear, I had already tagged that potential job as the
one that was a Guild trap before they took it! But they made their
daring escape anyway, and even had time to foment revolution among the
urbots and swipe a rhodium-plated stapler. Sadly, all the forklifts were
lost in the escape, so Dolf will have to keep his job as thug/scientist
for now.
Next session: a non-optional job for the Borniko Syndicate! I wonder
what it will be?
Read:
Finally finished the leftover Chinese.
Words:
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28 November 2020 - Saturday
I managed to do shopping and not die, although I really would rather
have been in the bed the whole time.
Jus was not in a food coma, so we played Zoomwarts and Bella and
Rosamund and the lizards not only found a way into the kitchen, but discovered
really creepy stuff in the conspiracy room and found a Gryffindor secret
hideout, but finally managed to talk Hagrid into helping them leave
campus to get murdered by Death Eaters. It'll be great.
Watched:
The downside of getting Thanksgiving generosity is that it doesn't
lead to days of leftovers. But, I have leftover Chinese, and also pie.
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27 November 2020 - Friday
Because there's no work today, I slept in forever and then did
nothing except laundry and clean sheets.
I did find documentation of
the cube rule.
I wanted to leave the last of the Thanksgiving yummies for Marith, so I went and got Chinese food.
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26 November 2020 - Thursday
Hey, look, it's Thanksgiving. Sadly, Marith and I are not competent
to cook, but fortunately Ken and Ayse are both competent and generous!
Also we had a Zoom with their family and the Pettersons, since we can't
go up to Roseville for some reason. Everyone is doing well, and was
appropriately impressed by how much various children have grown.
Watched:
- Stardust: Still
appropriately fantastical, but I don't remember it having that much
patriarchy all over it.
Turkey,
stuffing,
mashed potatoes,
gravy,
rainbow jello,
rolls,
roasted root vegetables,
dulce de leche pumpkin pie, and
other stuffing.
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25 November 2020 - Wednesday
Spent the last day before long weekend watching people redo my work.
I mean, with the additional information, the answer is different, but
bah.
In the evening, we started a new
Eclipse Phase adventure. It was
fun, but this system has too many numbers to keep track of. Also, six
people all talking at once on Zoom is too much. Or maybe I'm just a
grouch.
Read:
- The Hunt for Zeta Prime (Glenn B Harvey): Sequel to
A Faint Fuzzy Danger. The author has not learned any more
about how space works, and even forgot that the speed of light is a
thing. Also there is almost no tension at all.
Microwave food, with vegetables.
Words:
FAIL.
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24 November 2020 - Tuesday
I took some time off work to do emergency stuffing for Thanksgiving
supplies, but was too late to get any stuffing or any turkey meats.
Fortunately Marith was able to get some at Safeway.
I tried to tell a customer what was wrong with their system, but they
didn't give me all the facts and didn't like my analysis, so bah.
Read:
- Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell, Sam Maggs, Gabi Nam) vol 1:
Manga adaptation of Rowell's book about a fanfic writer adapating to
college. Covers the first 1/3? 1/4? of the book without changing much
that I recall.
Packaged food.
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23 November 2020 - Monday
I tried the toaster oven again. It did not betray me. This time.
Read:
- "The Cartography of Sudden Death" (Charlie Jane Anders): An
interesting time-travel gimmick, but it only leads to doom.
Food.
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22 November 2020 - Sunday
Shopping was not as bad as I feared, even though I slept in an extra
half-hour. There is so much holiday stuff at Trader Joe's, and I bought
hardly any of it, comparatively. I did have to travel much farther than
I expected to get root beer, though.
Read:
- The Address Book (Deirdre Mask): How numbering
buildings went from unknown to absolutely vital, and the ways in which
it is vital, by way of Dr Snow's ghost map, and what3words. I like "how things
got to be the way we take for granted" books.
- Dying With Her Cheer Pants On (Seanan McGuire):
Collection of short stories about the Fighting Pumpkins, a high school
cheerleading team that is mystically bound to protect the world against
threats from any genre, and die trying.
Leftover balsamic chicken and sweet potatoes.
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21 November 2020 - Saturday
Got up at 7 to accept handover for oncall, then went back to sleep
for 3.5 hours instead of going shopping, because Trader Joe's is a long
way from my computer. I'll go tomorrow, because the Sunday before Black
Friday is surely a good time for grocery shopping.
Jus is still vacationing, so no Zoomwarts.
Watched:
- Mob Psycho 100 2.7-9:
Yeah, okay, it's actually not surprising that Mob knew about Reigen. But
now: DOOM!
Read:
Balsamic tomato chicken, mashed sweet potatos, salad, garlic
bread.
Words:
Check, but they aren't good words or anything.
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20 November 2020 - Friday
As soon as I logged in to work, I got pulled into a customer call
that lasted seven hours and didn't really fix the problem. Sometime near
the beginning of that, I tried to make a bagel and the toaster oven
inexplicably failed to shut off and I ended up with charcoal, a room
full of smoke, and both adjacent neighbors banging worriedly on my door.
Also no breakfast, nor lunch because when I looked up it was 15:00.
Ugh.
Frozen food, but cooked on a stove.
Words:
Check, barely.
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19 November 2020 - Thursday
I apparently still can't get the hang of Thursdays.
Read:
- Qalea Drop (Joel Shepherd): 8th? in the "Spiral Wars"
series. Our protagonists are getting farther and farther from home,
without any real kind of break, and things are starting to come apart.
Microwave vegetables.
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18 November 2020 - Wednesday
In Firewall, it's still a win if you live long enough to call in
specialists to deal with the problem, so that's a win for the intro
Eclipse Phase scenario. Everyone
seems to be having fun, so now the PCs have to go to a scum swarm. It'll
be great.
Read:
- Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Jessica Townsend):
She has an excuse for wearing all black and feeling doomed! Also a great
and controversial destiny. I should recommend this to Jus.
Microwave food... INCLUDING VEGETABLES!
Words:
FAIL. Only sleep.
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17 November 2020 - Tuesday
Immediate Boss A is back from mysterious absence, but it turns out to not make a
whole lot of difference because there are not very many of us and we do not need much managing.
Sailor Moon fanarts.
Read:
- The Girl From The Other Side (Nagabe) vol 8-9: So
basically it's doom all the way down, is what you're saying.
Microwave food.
Words:
Check, surprisingly.
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16 November 2020 - Monday
Another Monday? These things keep showing up!
Watched:
- Steven Universe Future 16-20:
I don't know that I exactly expected it to go there, but that was a
perfectly reasonable place for it to go and find resolution. The End!
Read:
- A Faint Fuzzy Danger (Glenn B Harvey): The writing is
clunky and way too long, and the author (like so many SF writers) doesn't really understand how space works, but
the aliens are actually a bit alien.
Salmon caprese and squash and garlic bread!
Words:
Check, technically. I didn't manage to put all distractions out of
reach.
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15 November 2020 - Sunday
Because I am a terrible GM, I eschewed the formal job structure for
this episode of Scum and Villainy
and just had a bounty hunter attack, but because I am a terrible GM, the
bounty hunter was not awesome. I didn't go nearly hard enough, because I
have spent too long playing games that are supposed to be fair and now I
reflexively shy away from presenting overwhelming threats. Did I mention
I'm a terrible GM?
Nonny has the power not only of texting but of FaceTime. He does not
have the power of holding the camera steady but is adorable anyway.
Leftover Thai.
Words:
Check, but I think I'm falling back into the habit of writing too much
blather and not enough action.
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14 November 2020 - Saturday
HAPPY HAPPY NONNY-DAY!!
I did all the shopping and some lunch, and only became a little
grouchy. Then we went to a park to meet up with Ayse and Ken and Jus and
Nonny in a masked and socially-distant way. A lot of other people had
similar ideas, but fortunately they were all at the play structures with
their children so we could find a less-viral space. They are all still
alive! We gave Nonny a present! Nonny gave Marith a present which was
really nice of him!
Then we had to scamper home to play Zoomwarts and oppress Bella a lot
more (although Rosamund is the one who got eaten by plants). Also they
tried and failed to get Hagrid to supply mounts for a bounty-hunting
expedition, because they mentioned having saved Buckbeak first.
Then customers attacked, filling up what little time I felt like I
had left in the day, because Saturdays are inordinately stressful.
Watched:
- My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 8:
Yep, The Book of Desire shows us that Catarina's doom will come from the opposite of being universally hated.
- Mob Psycho 100 2.5-6:
The end of that job was awfully shounen-action-sequence, although I
actually liked the visuals. But now Reigen has definitely made a
mistake. Also Mob's friends are surprisingly good considering how down
on people all the other pyschics have been. It's almost like each of the
relationships those other pyschics had, had a common element.
Read:
- Brass Rings (Patrick McNary, Kota): Steampunk rodents
in the rings of Saturn is a good premise, but the execution is almost
completely unevocative, which is a huge fail for a zine.
- Unicorns Aren't Horny (Semi Ikuta) vol 1: Actually the
unicorn is kind of weird and creepy, which seems appropriate. His human
roommate, who has a unicorn living with her in addition to never getting
laid. Mostly it's 4-koma/one-page jokes, not dissimilar to
Kobayashi-san's Dragon Maid, but the penultimate chapter
is suggestive of plot.
Pizza.
Words:
FAIL. There was too much stuff today and also I have to GM tomorrow.
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13 November 2020 - Friday
Happy Friday the 13th!
Watched:
Read:
- How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse (K Eason): Not at
all what the title suggests! A fairytale princess in a galaxy of
sufficiently-advanced magic must learn statecraft to defeat political
intrigue and gross patriarchy and win what freedom she can.
- Ghoul Island (Erik Scott de Bie): D&D meets the Cthulhu
Mythos, which could make a good gaming session, but too much of the D&D
shows through.
Microwave food, heated on the stove.
Words:
FAIL. I mean, technically I did some words, but I'm pretty sure they're
all moot.
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12 November 2020 - Thursday
I had a dream about snakes trying to eat my face (not a nightmare,
just explaining to the snake that I was not their enemy and asking if
anyone could help me pry them off) and then I started to wake up and put
my hand on my CPAP hose. That was exciting.
It's probably too soon to say that the black hole information paradox is
resolved, but
physicists seem to be making progress.
Leftover mustard chicken and asparagus.
Words:
Check, I guess.
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11 November 2020 - Wednesday
More Eclipse Phase! This time
we tried to kill the threat with fire (which it should have been weak
against) and it mostly worked except now we've seen the real threat and
lost SAN.
Read:
- The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner): I was sort of meh on
this until we got to the good stuff near the end and I went "Ohhhhhhh!"
I still have no idea what time period it's set in, though.
Mustard chicken and broccoli!
Words:
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10 November 2020 - Tuesday
Read:
- Black Tie Required (Craig Schaefer): Sixth in the
"Harmony Black" series, Nth in the intertwined ongoing saga of about
four different serieses. Harmony and her own personal black-ops
conspiracy are still hunting down interdimensional fallout, and also
Harmony has to admit to (ugh) feelings. It's pretty disastrous,
even for something set in Las Vegas.
- Wintersteel (Will Wight): 8th in the probably unending
martial-arts series, second or maybe third book covering this one
tournament, but at least our main character admitted to a feeling.
Microwave food.
Words:
Technically, but not really. It's all stupid and horrible..
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9 November 2020 - Monday
Monday. Huh.
Read:
- Stoneskin (KB Spangler): What if you could talk to
hyperspace? And it had opinions of its own? Also coming-of-age and
altered physiology and supply-chain economics and the moral use of
power.
- The Promised Neverland (Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu) vol
17: Norman's plan goes into action, but too soon!
I thought about food, but didn't do a good job of eating any.
Words:
Check, technically, I guess.
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8 November 2020 - Sunday
Why is it cold? I know it's November, but it's California!
I'd blame the cold for my complete lack of accomplishment, but that
wouldn't be fair to the weather.
Chinese takeaway, which I had to stand in a surprisingly long line
for!
Words:
Check, some of it on the right project.
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7 November 2020 - Saturday
Tuesday is finally over! And the Nazis lost!
Bella and Rosamund have a brilliant plan for Zoomwarts, but it is
hampered by Bella being grounded. At least Draco Malfoy got
humiliated.
Something we all need during this year:
Anime, manga, and
books in which no bad things happen.
Read:
I am terrible at eating dinner on anime nights.
Words:
Check.
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6 November 2020 - Friday
It's Friday, yet still Tuesday. Why are they not calling it?
Microwave food. Also way too much cereal.
Words:
Check, but not on the right project.
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5 November 2020 - Thursday
Still counting?! At least the numbers are moving in the right
direction.
Read:
- The Ballad of Black Tom (Victor LaValle): "The Horror
at Red Hook", distorted, remixed, and seen from the other side. ACAB,
and fuck white people.
Microwave tamales.
Words:
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4 November 2020 - Wednesday
I was distracted from the ongoing lack of certainty by going to the
dentist for a followup. He did good work, if he does say so himself, but
hopefully all I have to do is keep on taking care of the untooth as I
have been until Thanksgiving or so.
This week we actually played Eclipse Phase,
with Mike taking the role of our antagonist, who we were able to
convince of the commonality of our purpose. Surely everything will be
fine now that we have a local ally.
Okay, guys, you can finish counting any time now.
Read:
- Death on the Green (Catie Murphy): Sequel to Dead
in Dublin, this time around golf instead of restaurant critics.
Characters still engaging, even some of the straight ones. And the main
character does get sideeye for being near multiple murders.
What even is food?
Words:
Check, kind of, but only ridiculous stuff not the thing I'm supposed to be working on in November.
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3 November 2020 - Tuesday
Bathroom repainted, new fan installed, world in nailbiting turmoil. I
would be losing so much SAN if I did not have pocket friends.
I declared it a pizza night, but perhaps eating two pieces to drown
my nervousness was a mistake.
Words:
Check, somehow.
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2 November 2020 - Monday
I did not accomplish much of anything today, at work or otherwise.
Also repainting my bathroom and replacing the fan have been postponed
until tomorrow.
Read:
- The Space Between Worlds (Micaiah Johnson): Versions of
the people one knows from another timeline are those people, just in
different circumstances, so maybe it's possible to make things right
after all.
- Komi Can't Communicate (Tomohito Oda) vol 9: Valentine's
Day and White Day. Awkdorableness ensues.
- Dead in Dublin (Catie Murphy): Cozy mystery starring an
American veteran who has moved to Dublin and works as a limo driver, and has
people getting murdered around her. Despite the murders, it is in fact
cozy and most of the characters are very charming, even the ones who are
not puppies.
Microwave food.
Words:
Check, barely.
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1 November 2020 - Sunday
Another session of Scum and Villainy,
another flawless plan! Also they scammed the people they ripped off in
the first session, which will probably earn their undying enmity.
Next session: bounty hunter attack!
I was going through my TEN MILLION browser tabs, trying to clean up
all the ones that are
drivethrurpg PDFs I was was
waffling on by sending the ones I was still waffling on to my wishlist
and putting the free ones in my cart, when suddenly drivethrurpg dropped
my shopping cart in the bit bucket! Argh! I mean, if I had been waffling
on them for months, I probably didn't want them that much, but
argh!
Salvadoran takeaway.
Words:
Check. Mostly not on what I should be working on in November, though.
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