I love ninja turtles way too much.
Month: December 2015
At my mom’s for my brother’s birthday, and she wanted us all to color some of her vintage embroidery pattern print outs. She wants to make a coloring book.
Holiday Story
I went to a writing party last night (at @anyahatesbunnies‘ house!) and wrote a little Christmas story during one of the sprints. It’s not going to be in the novel at all, so I thought I’d post it here. But, as usual, it’s kind of depressing, so feel free to skip. 🙂
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[Salmon Coal, age 12- Lyndoch, Massachusetts]
I watched the snow from the couch, ribs pressed into the backing until it hurt to breathe. My breath fogged the glass, but it didn’t really matter; it was too dark to see past the four foot circle of light cast by the lantern even if he /was/ coming home. Sighing, I let my forehead drop against the cool pane of glass and closed my eyes.
There wasn’t a point to waiting up. Mom had given up two hours ago. The same thing happened last year, and the year before that.
“He’s working,” she’d said. “You know how it is with film production studios; they have deadlines and tight budgets. It makes it hard for them to live a normal life.”
So why, then, did he get married and have a kid? Why buy a house all the way across the country?
“Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean that he’s not human, that he doesn’t want to do those things…”
Her excuses slipped further and further away from reason and confidence. I knew she wanted to know, too.
I could get by most of the time without him. I went to school, did my homework at the library, and read until I fell asleep. I ran around with Theo and tried to help him with his grand schemes, even when they didn’t make any sense. Hell, I made sure to watch his show every week- new episodes every Thursday night -and it almost felt like he was home.
But it was Christmas eve. Or, well, Christmas now… 12:05 am… and he wasn’t here.
Who doesn’t go home for Christmas?
Who has a family and stays at work anyway?
The card he’d sent, promising that he’d be there, had been abandoned on the table long before Mom had even gone to bed.
“He probably had his assistant sign it for him.” She’d sniffed, wrinkling her nose like the card smelled rotten, and dropped it into my hands for me to look at. “Can’t even make time to sign a card… God, William…”
I let myself look at the dark driveway again- still empty -and drew a frowning face over my dim reflection. The snow was undisturbed; white and pure, unmarred by any tire tracks or footprints. If he’d come, even if he had to park on the street, I’d go out and help bring his things in. I wasn’t wearing any shoes, but that didn’t matter. I’d run.
“Dad.” I muttered, keeping my voice low just in case Mom wasn’t really asleep upstairs. “Come home.”
If you come home, I’ll forgive you.
If you come home, it’ll be okay.
Mom won’t make good on her promise of this being the last time. She won’t give up on you. I won’t, either.
There’s still time.
I settled back down on the cushions, breathing out slowly in relief when my side stopped hurting.
The snow fell, drifting in careless circles before settling down to rest with its family.
Maybe I should give up, too. If he really wasn’t coming, I could still go crawl into bed with Mom and keep her company until Christmas morning. Why was I sitting in my pajamas against the window? I was cold and stiff and my body hurt, cramped from being so still for so long.
I was tired. All of me was.
I looked to the stairs, dark except for the Christmas lights wrapped around the railing, then at the Christmas tree in the corner. Presents, wrapped by Mom and me, crowded around the trunk of our very real tree.
Did we need Dad for a merry Christmas?
FRIENDS WHO TAKE ANTIDEPRESSANTS:
Just so you guys know, mucinex interacts INCREDIBLY poorly with most antidepressants, especially Zoloft. It not only almost completely negates the effects of your antidepressant, it also has terrible effects on your body. (Frank wouldn’t even let me read all of them because he thought it would just scare me more, but he said do not take them together again)
I found a website where you can check for possible interactions with any medicine:
http://www.rxlist.com/drug-interaction-checker.htm
Sudafed seems to have fewer negative interactions with physiatrics, but it’s still a good idea to check.
Be safe this cold/flu season, my friends.
Thanks for posting this. I’ve always avoided mucinex b/c their commercials creep me out, so I’ve just been lucky to avoid it. Good to know I should actively avoid it for reasons beyond their commercials.
Always, always check your medication. Please stay safe everyone.
It’s not just Mucinex. It is ANY cold, flu, or cough medication with dextromethorphan in it. That’s pretty much any of those medications that have the DM abbreviation after it. It also doesn’t negate the effects of your antidepressant, it causes Dextromethorphan-induced serotonin syndrome. This causes anything from feeling like shit like you have the flu, with cold sweats and vomiting, to just being super anxious or foggy, all the way up to making you feel crazy fucking high and not in a good way. In a possibly hallucinate and feel suicidal kinda way.
But it depends entirely on what your antidepressant dose is and how much dextromethorphan you’re getting with the cold medicine. When you are on an antidepressant or something for ADHD or anything that’s altering your serotonin levels, you really have to ask a doctor before you take other drugs.
(Source: I’ve taken anxiety and antidepressants before and my dad has been a pharmacist for 40+ years.)
Also, a lot of SSRIS say no NSAIDS! So, no motrin, aspirin, etc. If you have a question, call your pharmacist! Or google it and look for the interactions! Or ask me and I’ll do it for you! Be safe pllllease
Signal boost!
How to praise writers and influence fics
I’ve seen a lot of posts recently reminding readers to leave feedback on fics, which is great!! Writers deserve all the love they can get. Likes, reblogs, comments, messages, these are the lifeblood of writers. They are proof that people are reading, that they’re enjoying, and that they want more.
But maybe readers don’t know what to say. Maybe you’re new to Tumblr, new to reading fan fiction, shy, or just not sure how to say what you want to say.
Let me start by saying, no matter how popular the blog or how cool you think they are, everyone loves a compliment. If you’re worried about sounding silly or bothering people, let me assure you- a message will make your writer do a happy dance (depending on the writer, they may actually get up and dance. I have.)
Here’s the basic ways of communicating with writers on Tumblr:
Likes and kudos- these are great, they’re the high-fives in this world. They’re the “hey, nice” nod.
Reblogs- even better, because they mean exposure. More people see the story and that makes us really happy. A reblog with a comment is amazing, especially one that entices others to read. These make a writer’s day.
Comments and messages- these are the thing that keeps us going. Most of us have anon turned on- and if we don’t, just let us know you want a private reply. (And, if your writer has anon off, it probably means they’ve been getting hate and deserve extra love.)
Recommendations- recs are like coming in to work to find someone baked your favorite cake and left it on your desk. Recommendations make your writer feel so loved and valued!So, that’s all good, but what do you actually SAY to writers? It doesn’t have to be much or take a lot of time.
A simple “This is great/funny/hot!” is wonderful. "Best fic I’ve read this week!“ "Funny as hell and cute too.” "You have to read this, it’s awesome!“ "I can’t wait for more of this.” "I hope you keep going!“ These are great in reblogs and in messages.
Even better is specific feedback. We love specific feedback, because it tells us what readers liked and what they didn’t. Want to influence our next fic? Tell us what you liked about this one and I bet you it will keep showing up! Specific feedback is just telling the writer what you liked. It doesn’t have to be long or complicated, either. (But if you write a lot, we will love you so much.)
Was there a character you liked? Talk about them: "I love how you wrote X” “Y was so funny!” "OMG I wanted to STRANGLE Q!“ "You can really feel X’s frustration.” "Y has so much depth, they’re a really well-rounded character.“ "R says so much with so few words, it’s amazing.”
What about a part or line you enjoyed? "That bit in the park- LOVE IT.“ "I have never read a better description of a cup of tea.” "The way you wrote about his fear, that was heartbreaking.“
Was there a part that made you feel something? Happy, sad, angry? "That last sentence killed me, he’s so broken.” "I wanted to jump around when they finally kissed!“ "This chapter was so tense, my heart was pounding by the end.”
Did the characters or plot or setting remind you of your life? "I live in Brussels, that’s just how that street looks.“ "When Y talked about R, I knew exactly how he felt.” "You captured that lost, aimless feeling perfectly; I’ve so been there.“
Are there unanswered questions? Mention how much you want the answers. "I can’t wait to find out what’s in the basket!” "That was a cliffhanger ending, wow.“ "How is she going to explain THAT?” (some writers are touchy about predicting, though, so stay away from “I bet he’ll throw that letter out.” or “X is clearly coming back.”)
A few closing notes: be enthusiastic if that’s your style, go crazy with exclamation marks, smileys, caps! Tell a writer if you’re rereading their work- very little makes us happier than knowing our writing has the staying power for a second, third, sixth, tenth read. Did a reread give you a new insight or feeling about the fic? Tell us! We will be so excited to hear. And remember, recommendations are wonderful- putting up a random post tagging your favorite writers or fics you’re enjoying will show the writers that they’re writing is more than a flash in the opan and they’ll get some new readers too!
We can’t do this writing thing without you guys. So thank you so much! Without readers, we’re just talking to ourselves. We love and appreciate you for reading- but we need to know you’re doing it. We need feedback like we need air. Don’t let your favorite writers suffocate! 🙂
I told Aaron that I wanted a cheetah for Christmas and he ordered one on eBay.
I drew some cats!
Our insurance plan is changing in January, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that the lymphedema clinic near my apartment will be covered this time around. The bands will help, but the therapy will do even more. I’m excited. Soon, soon, soon…
We’ve also going to start saving so I can get a cintiq (companion 2) in the next year so I can do a LOT more (digital) art without the risk associated with desk-sitting. Which also means more comic, because I can prepare the art ahead of time and use my lunch break at work for the text stuff! Yay!
Just gotta be patient and hope things keep looking up. More art! More art! Woo!
I drew Olaf at work today for a co-worker and forgot to take a photo before giving it to him. Oops.