500 Words

I’m feeling really upbeat and thankful right now which is strange, because the end of this week was really a struggle. I can’t yet decide if there is comfort or horror in the knowledge that the bad days will end, and that if I can keep everything well balanced they pass in days and not weeks or months. The thing is, if bad times always end, and they do, then so do the good times.

My friend who started #500WordsAbout asked folks to write a post on empathy, kindness, and respect to go along with her t-shirt release (proceeds go to local Seattle charities, and there’s kids sizes!). At the same time, another friend asked an interesting question with his 500 words, and I’ve had a third issue on my mind lately, which I think are all going to neatly tie together so here we go!

Today I think I’m going to do a bit of show and tell, about a project I’ve been working on. A couple buddies of mine are really really excited about the Nintendo Switch that released last Friday. This means it was Wednesday when their Switch carrying cases arrived at the office, and neither gentleman was particularly enthralled. At this point Tim looked over at me, knowing I was a knitter, and asked if I took commissions.

During the very first Sounders game I ever watched, the keeper at the time (Casey Keller) got a red card. The game did not go well to say the least, but I was watching at a friends house with friends and I had a good time. Between then and now, I’ve tried on a lot of different kinds of Sounders-fan hats. I’ve held season tickets for multiple years, spent a year fully in supporters section and a couple before that in the seats just above it.

I went to my first Emerald City ComiCon, yesterday. This doesn’t sound like such an achievement but since I pretty much stopped going to soccer games last season because of the crowds and the chaos I was unsure about whether ECCC was something I was up for. I’ve been to PAX a couple times, and expected it to be very similar. I was completely wrong, much to my joy. The age range felt much more diverse, rather than being pegged firmly towards the low end, and there were so many other women around!

I was an early adopter of gmail, back in college when it was invite-only and I was young and nerdy. At the time it made total sense to quickly snag my name as an email address since I was looking forward to a distant time when I would be putting it on a resume and putting “cheeriosxxx@example.com” just didn’t feel particularly professional. (Yes, there’s a reason I went by a brand of cereal, no, it’s not particularly profound, yes, if you address me by “cheers” I will still probably answer to it!

I don’t even know whats on my mind this evening, so this might be a bit of a potpourri post. I’m stressed about deadlines, I don’t actually like the noise they make as they go whooshing by. I’m horribly addicted to a video game about farming and buying peoples love. I’m second-hand sad because a friend had to say good bye to one of his furry family members today. I am trying to stay self-aware about my current and likely future condition so that I can keep things from getting away from me.

I just got home from what I believe was my first Oscars viewing party. I’m a little tired, a little wired, and looking forward to settling into a bit more digital farming for the evening and maybe eating the last piece of pizza in the fridge. This kind of movie-centric gathering is not something that I usually do, since I have am pretty unadventurous when it comes to movies. They’re supposed to make you feel and engage, but sometimes it’s too much; Who would choose to feel overwhelmingly sad, or scared, or angry?

Today was a break from everything, after a stressful week, and as a way to psych myself up for stepping outside my comfort zone tomorrow. Taking care of myself is hard and sometimes it means having a silly day watching Supergirl and knitting. I finished some color work that’s been “hanging” over my head, had a milkshake, and played pretend-farming. It was really good. Tomorrow, I’ll go spend time with people, eat snacks, watch famous people wear impractical clothing, and hopefully have fun.

I have a couple of friends who sew as a hobby. They’re both always sharing cool things they’ve made for themselves, playing with fun and creative colors, and making and modifying really individual pieces of clothing. I’ve been fascinated by their skills but pretty comfortable with not joining them in picking up another hobby that requires storing textiles, having multiple pieces of hardware, and a table upon which to place them.