EXCHANGE INTERFACE

I had a week off work - I think it was more a "work doesn't want to see full numbers of people back in the office until halfway through January, so if there's anyone who can be taken off the work roster during this time, do it".

Which, I had generally a good week, got some good writing in, managed to rejig the part of Nullifae 1 which had been giving me trouble, and have sorted out the "losing the mentor" part of the story and how we get there. Also, discovered a few things that will be relevant in later books (when we get there). A relief.

On Tuesday, B1 and I went to see the Ashes 5th Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, had a good day of watching Aussies bat, a couple of hundreds gained, one of my sister's favourite cricketers play what could well have been his last innings (but wasn't), and saw Australia get ahead to the tune of about 230 runs - a nice cushion.

On Monday, we lost a chicken.

tw: not a peaceful going

Carambar was supposed to be one of our 'long-lived' girls. We bought two of a newly-developed heritage breed that were supposed to lay many eggs while still keeping going. It might be that their bloodlines may need a bit more breeding to properly settle, because the first one died with possible neurological issues having never laid an egg, and Carambar only laid for about 12 months before developing complications with laying, and needing a chip to keep her from laying.

She was otherwise perfectly healthy and surviving well. Unfortunately, while both B1 and myself were away from home, the neighbour's dog got out, chased her out of the yard and under the house. When we got her out (after the neighbour came and reclaimed her dog), she had been bitten about the head enough that she was bleeding and injured, and when we got her to the vet it turned out her wing was broken. We didn't have the resources and energy to try to get her back to health, so we had to have her put down.

The neighbour paid for the vet bill, but we're still furious about her dogs. She's nearly 70 and has two bouncing, energetic young spaniel-type dogs that she has always struggled to keep on a leash, and which she's been nice white lady oblivious to anything but her joy in gossipy conversation when walking them. They're probably companionship for her - her son is married, and her daughter self-terminated about 7 years ago - but she's not up to controlling them, and they keep getting out of her place. She's always apologetic, but that doesn't stop the fact that one of our chickens died because of her dogs!

Anyway. That was the start of the week.

By Wednesday the temperatures were rising, by Saturday it was nutso. 42C by 6pm...and then our street power went off. Just our street. *sigh*

A friend invited me over for a swim, and I spent a lovely hour in her pool with her youngest daughter, and then about 20 minutes discussing politics with her husband, brother-in-law, and older daughter. And when I went home, the power was back on again.

Today - first day back at work - has been tiring, but nothing dire. I did go to the gym this morning, and ended up walking 1. I have a call to Jury Duty, but I suspect I can't get out of it this time. Although my boss has just messaged me - apparently contracting is considered 'self-employed', so I might have a chance not to lose 3 months worth of income...

But I should probably at least do a little bit of my tax return research.

I tried to throw a party this evening. Only a couple of days notice. I suspect that most people didn't see the invitation (fb sucks at timeliness), and the other half weren't able to come at such short notice.

Mind you, even with notice, a lot of people don't bestir themselves to come along.

--

It was a pretty good birthday. Nothing dire or terrible, at least. A day of work, and bible study at the end, and one of the bible study leaders made cupcakes, so I got a candle stuck in mine and everyone sang happy birthday.

I made a cake. Red velvet with ermine buttercream. I haven't really had a chance to eat it yet. I'm gearing up the courage to invite people around on Saturday night for post-dinner cake.

Anyway, I'm kind of tired, like I said. I've just calculated my mobile phone costs, because I use the phone for some work stuff, and other than that, I think it's health, any expenses (purchases of technology), and donations.

And then my accountant can tear her hair because I haven't put in the things she really wants and it will involve chasing me to get back to her...

--

Day off tomorrow - cousin's wedding. On a Friday. With family. And we're staying in the area (other side of Sydney) for the night, both the twins and I.

Have to speak to the neighbours about feeding the cats and checking the chooks.

--

Hm. Getting a bit of a headache. I wonder if it was the el cheapo dumplings we had for dinner...

I'm thinking of you guys and praying for you.

*hugs*

Comments screened in case you want privacy.

So, it's been good to meet some of the colleauges I'm working with. Others…well, they're typical 'guys in tech' and, moreover 'South Asian/West Asian guys in tech', which is to say they're very insular socially, and very closed when it comes to including an East Asian female in their outings.

( people gonna peop )

--

Spent a great weekend with friends I haven't seen since their kids were much smaller. I've known B for over 20 years - since before she met her husband C (internet dating back some twenty years) - and although we've moved through very different stages of life, we're still good friends.

I gave her a draft (very drafty draft) of the novel, which I've started to fix/adjust/rewrite. Still trying to work out some of the details about the various characters, the various moving parts of the story, and where everything lands up.

We went out on both Saturday and Sunday, which is a lot for her - she has CFS and struggles with her energy levels. We went for a walk around the area on Saturday morning, and then out for dinner that night. Sunday was markets and then taking me to the station, and by the end of it, I think she was pretty exhausted and sore. At least she gets today off - she doesn't work, is on disability (FWIW). Her husband works, currently the service rep at a local mechanic's place and he's got the knowledge for it, but not the body. They've had a lot going on the last 18 months and are hoping for a stretch of quiet.

--

So the hotel is not as nice as last week's hotel in terms of the room and appointments (tile flooring all the way, no carpets, no rugs, and the layout of the room is kind of peculiar), but the location is considerably better for going out and eating and stuff.

Eh. I'll take it.

--

Tonight, I'm catching up with a friend for dinner, and hopefully another friend on Tuesday night. Wednesday and Thursday will be scrounge days, although someone has recommended a place in the city

--

Back home, we have a chicken ( possible graphicity )

--

Electorate next door has fallen in favour of the Independent. By 40 votes.

WHEW.

That's "automatic recount" territory, of course, but it's been very carefully scrutinised, and so the counts are unlikely to change.

Morning after the election.

We rejected Trumpism and Americanism, as represented by the conservative party and their leader, the 'Temu Trump'. THANKYOULORD.

The conservative party leader lost his seat.

That is, he didn't get re-elected into parliament. Just as in the UK, a party leader still has to hold their seat in order to lead the party (and so lead the Government or the Opposition). I have no idea if we've ever had a party that got into power but the leader lost their seat. I don't think so, because otherwise I'd have heard of it.

Anyway, Mister Dutto:

AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN??

[waits for some 15 million voices to rise with the response – the other 13 million being too young to remember the song, or oblivious to the relevant answer]

--

Not only did the 'centrist' party stay in power, they gained seats. So now they don't just have a majority government (as compared to having to make a deal with independents outside their parties and other small parties to form a minority government) they have a HUGE MAJORITY government.

( not what I wanted, but I'll take it )

There are good outcomes which are possible from this, the question is how it all fall out going forward.

–

My candidate didn't make it.

( the good, the bad, and the unfortunate )

By and large, it was wonderful to work with these volunteers, to chat and share and commisserate, to discuss politics and what we thought about this and that, to make the jokes that you can make with people who feel the same way about the variou politics and political candidates, and to, yes, 'trauma-bond'.

So, it seems I have another social circle...

-

This morning I woke up at 6am as my body alarm roused me. I lay in bed for a while and scrolled social media. I got out of bed, drank some coffee and thought about going somewhere, and instead kind of...frittered the day away until hockey.

Hockey was fun, although we were playing against a team who dropped from A-grade. They were good and cunning, but we were young(ish) and energetic. They beat us 3-1, but our goal was a lovely one.

I had a great run down the side – one handed, with a former coach yelling 'both hands, Sel, both hands on the stick” in my head – and got it into the circle, but couldn't get it fast enough across to the woman in front of the goal. DARN.

Nevertheless, a few people clearly thought I did a decent job. I actually had some marks down on the MVP sheet.

I skipped church. So tired.

And now (at last!) I'm going to bed.

My last act for this campaign – at some point when I wake up in the middle of the night - will be to take down the corflutes we stuck all over the area. Unfortunately, it means the smug bastard MP's face will remain everywhere after we take my candidates posters down. UGH.

Still, it's gotta be done.

–

Finally, I'm grumpy at a friend who commented (generally, on his FB, not aimed specifically at me) about the corflutes still being up.

There are two hundred of us, only fifty of us were really active on the campaign, and I'm FUCKING EXHAUSTED, Fraser. I think 'by the end of the weekend' is not too much to ask!

I love him, but frankly, he can be an asshole.

I may be a little stressed

( dreaming of American politics )

It was weird.

I suspect it's a relegation of my stress about the current state of Australian politics and the volunteering for the indie.

That said, things seem pretty positive right now. I've done doorknocking and handing out leaflets at the station. I actually prefer doorknocking, because people are more civil. Then again, we've mostly been doorknocking in the 'new districts' where the electoral boundaries have changed and people are trying to work out who they vote for now.

Some funny moments: incumbent has been running around, shaking hands, schmoozing, putting the effort in...but a bunch of his corflutes (signs) are not legal. They have to have an "Authorised By" line, to show that this is a proper and authorised member of a party.

And some of his signs don't.

They're being reported, every which way you look. So he has to replace them. LOLZ.

Admittedly he has the weight of the conservative party behind him so UGH. They'll replace them within a few days.

I haven't been able to do much volunteering this week - I was away last weekend, and this week and coming weekend I have to be free for various work-related things. So that's draining.

--

I had to work over the weekend, about 1.5 hours at 9am, 1.5 hours at 3pm. The actual thing I was doing? Took about 15 minutes, but it was all the back-and-forth co-ordinating that was a pain. Also, trying to work out if I was actually going to be needed. They're getting charged half a day, though.

Work this week is weird hours and not much happening, but when it does happen it happens all over the place! My colleague (who's above me) has left to go on holidays, but...we didn't get me onto the necessary email authorisation before he left. So now I don't have access to the inbox for our group and...we can't find anyone else who does have access...

Got that sorted out yesterday.

Unfortunately, it seems that there are two things happening on the weekend - Saturday and Sunday - which we've just been told that we have to be available to keep an eye on the situation.

Also, the person currently running the teams leaders meeting seems very young.

Man I'm glad I'm not usually working at this level and my colleague is happy (or, at least, uncomplaining) about doing this...

1. Did the house where you grew up have a newspaper delivered regularly?

Yes, I think so. This was back in the 70s and 80s and a newspaper was a standard delivery to most households. I think there were even a few 'free' newspapers around the area at the time.


2. Have you ever subscribed to an actual print newspaper?

Probably back in my 20s - the 90s, when newspapers were still very much a thing.


3. When was the most recent time you physically picked up and read a newspaper?

I sincerely do not remember, it's been a while. I saw someone on the train the other morning who had a full broadsheet, opened it up, and shook it out. I was transported all the way back to the early 00s again, commuting in to the city and having to contend with all the guys who thought that because they were doing important things like educating themselves on the state of the world, they had the right to shove a newspaper corner in your face.


4. Do you pay for news online now?

I do, in fact, pay a subscription for The Guardian Australia, because I do believe in paying for some news so that it's not all funded by billionaires. In Australia we still have ABC and SBS which are relatively sane and unbiased (where 'relatively' may be doing quite a lot of heavy lifting). I was subscribing to the NYT and the Atlantic up until the US Election 2024, and then gave up. No hope of sanity there and I couldn't be bothered.


5. Do you have any saved newspaper clippings?

Not I. What would I have clippings about?

B1, however, has newspaper clippings from the 90s about...topics she was interested in then, and which she intends to read. Someday. (Like all the other things she intends to read/sort. Someday.)

--

Sitting in a section of the local pub with a glass of wine, my laptop out and trying to write. It's a bit of a lot.

I'm slowly getting more involved in the local independent candidate's campaign. Delivering pamphlets. Going to trivia nights with the team. Stuff like that.

I think we have a real chance if we can persuade people to put her first, and then their preferred candidate second. And we could. We really could. And the current MP is definitely running scared. They have dodgy tactics, stupid fwittery going on, and no sense of humour. So much brusque shooting down and angry internet postings going on, really. it's pretty sad.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some flyer deliveries up and around my street to raise her profile. (Or maybe I'll do that on Monday? IDK. Have to decide.) I've booked in to wander around the markets with her on Sunday. And I'm contemplating helping do point-of-contact at the major train station junction on Monday morning. I think they could do with at younger, visibly Asian helper for Hornsby - a lot of East and South-East Asians will likely actually think about it if they have someone who looks like them stumping for her. And there's a pretty high percentage of people from those backgrounds in the area...

I can hear B1 complaining about how I'm doing too much again. So maybe let's see how Sunday goes, eh?

Well, that was sure a day.

( us politics stuff )

--

I went and signed up to hear more from the independent candidate who's running in our federal election later this year, up against the conservative incumbent. I might join her campaign; we'll see. She's got some good points, and so far as I can see, I could back her.

Call me bigoted; I wish her hair wasn't so blonde. (I have nothing against blondes. But that white-blonde colour? Like, 'my hair bleached for 50 minutes' blonde. No.)

I'd like to get some conversations going with locals - people in the street, church friends, community groups. Talk to people about what is it that they want? How can that be achieved? Can it even be achieved?

( the politics of people )

Anyway, we'll see what the indy has to say, and work from there.

--

Personal Health News: cw digestive virus

I went to Emergency last night. I had a cafe breakfast, planning for it to last me through lunch. While I was swallowing, I swear I felt something in it that didn't feel like food. I swallowed anyway. And then I felt nauseous all morning, and threw up almost all of it by 9am.

I drank a little water, ate some fruit. Threw that up about 30 minutes later. I tried a few things, but couldn't really keep them down.

Went home about 2pm (I was debating whether I should or not) and then thought about going to emergency because my throat still felt like there was something in it, and bits of my chest were hurting.

I ended up drowsing away the afternoon, tried to have dinner, then threw that up, too.

Went to emergency around 7pm. Walked out at 11pm, having had an EKG, blood tests, and an X-ray, all of which could find nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. So they think it's a virus, and I should rest. (Yes, timespirt, I know...)

And here I am this morning, having logged on. Virus is still going. I think I'm only going to do a half-day, a couple of courses that are needed for compliance sake. Better let my colleague/supervisor know.

--

Finally, social media is exhausting. And today is going to be rather warm. Just a smidge.

Back to work for the new year. Ugh. Still not doing that much, although at least now I have things to read and go through and attempt to make work.

I felt better by Saturday night - actually, I felt better by Saturday morning. I'm absolutely spitting at not being able to attend the funeral on Friday, though: I'll never have as good a chance to reconnect with a bunch of people I lost touch with.

Anyway, Saturday was basically a day of feeling hungry, because I could eat stuff, but not really anything with fibre or protein, because those might trigger the stomach. I lay in bed all day and read because I was tired (not enough calories to give me energy), and I guess it was good for me? (she says, doubtfully)

Sunday, I felt good enough to go to a plum-picking session at a friend's house: picking plums, washing them, processing them (jam and sauce, I believe), and taking a jar of each and a plum or two home! I ate a lunch of bread and cheese and ham...and plum sauce! (It was so good. SO GOOD.)

Then I went to parentals to take down the Christmas tree. By the time I finished that, it was time for church.

I ended the day tired, but happy, and feeling okay.

Something I have noted today, however: I don't have as much room for food anymore. This is practically a travesty! One of my great loves - food - and I am no longer able to (over-)indulge in it!

This morning, I bought breakfast, because I forgot to take my muesli in. I ate half of it, and then was full. I had the other half for lunch, along with half a nectarine. For dinner, I had some leftovers, and even now I'm at the edge of 'uncomfortably full'. (But also, still "hungry", although for what I know not!)

*wipes away a tear* I'm going to miss my days of eating until I was absolutely stuffed. Also, I am desperately hoping my satiation signals haven't gotten screwed up by that bug. I know I've eaten enough for energy - proteins, carbs, fibres - the stuff that fills you. But my stomach wants 'something more', although exactly what I don't know. Sugar would be a bad idea (doesn't hit the satiation button) but nevertheless, I find myself wanting to reach for a roll of mentos. ARGH.

Anyway, early bed now.

I have a gift!
Stars Like Diamonds (1054 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Prince and Dragon Star Trilogies - Melanie Rawn
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Aldiara (Dragon Prince Trilogy)/Rohannon of Whitecliff, Aldiara (Dragon Prince Trilogy) & Chayla of Whitecliff
Characters: Aldiara (Dragon Prince Trilogy), Rohannon of Whitecliff, Chayla of Whitecliff
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary:

Aldiara and Chayla have a little heart-to-heart before Rohannon and Aldiara talk of the future.

A nice little interaction between Aldiara and Chayla, and then Aldiara and Rohannon. Very much appreciated.


I have also given a gift, although my recip has kudosed, they have not commented. However, someone else has commented with praise, so that's hopeful?

I'm always worried to be one of those stories that are right on the verge of acceptable. Not so bad that it's going to get knocked back, but not something that they really want. Although that just sometimes is the way it happens.


My Christmas Day was great, first down at the beach near the cousins' house in the south of Sydney, and then with the cousins at their house all day. There was plenty of food, a cute dog, and a brief period when my body and brain simply shut down. I ended up having a nap in one of the front rooms of the house: I desperately needed it to go through the rest of the afternoon which was also great. We didn't get home until past 9pm. A few interesting conversations - they are very conservative and we (the sistren and I) are...not quite so much.

Boxing Day was also great, first with the family feast (and the cute nephlets), then at a church friend's birthday party, where people ate, did bible trivia (someone received a book for Christmas), and finally watched the Dr. Who Christmas Special. It's been so long since I watched a Dr. Who episode! Maybe as much as a decade? I last watched the show during Matt Smith's Doctor - Twelve. And we're now at...Fifteen?

Anyway, after the last week of socialising and doing all the things, I am all people'd out. They were lovely, delightful people, and I was so happy to be able to spend time with them, but I really really need to hunker down and recharge my social battery.

Therefore tomorrow is going to be a quiet and unassuming day during which I will do absolutely nothing except make sure that nobody and nothing at our house cooks in the heatwave that is expected across the city...

I hope your holiday season was what you needed it to be for you and your loved ones. *hugs*