Thursday Open Thread

[virescence]

Hello, group_xers! It's time again for another open thread. And this time someone put me in charge.

This week my brain is totally dominated by dissertation-writing/editing, so in my complete inability to think about anything else, I've decided to make the subject of this Open Thread: Achievements. What have you achieved lately that you're proud of? What are you working towards achieving, or hope to achieve someday in the future?

(Note: this doesn't just mean big achievements, or only academic ones - anything that you have or plan to achieve, however big or small, once-in-a-lifetime or day-to-day, come tell us about it! And don't feel compelled to stick to the topic if you have something far more interesting or important to share.)

Also note: today's open thread is public.

Comments

[shiyiya]

I have a pile of stuff-to-go-away from my room in the hall, but it's barely a dent and I've kind of lost momentum (*cough*readingDiscworld*cough*) so I haven't really achieved much on my room.

I finished my rectangle, though! And I still haven't taken a picture of it for Ravelry. Or decided of I want to crochet a ruffle in a different yarn (I think I have a skein of brown somewhere to go with the green) round the edge to make it look like a small blanket instead of a fairly randomly sized rectangle. Or if I want to produce a bunch more rectangles of varying sizes and make a really weird looking blanket.

[virescence]

The rectangle! Yey! How big did it end up being? A small blanket would be good - you could store it away and give it to someone who has a baby, if it wasn't an adult-useful size. Although I do like the idea of the random-rectangles blanket too.

Knitting is also on my list of things to achieve. Including the Doctor Who scarf (my yarn, it is on order from America, I want it nooooow) and designing that Fluttershy toy (current stage: MATH, SO MUCH MATH.)

... I knew this thread would involve knitting somewhere.

[shiyiya]

*finds it and one of her sewing tape measures*

~22"x~20", it appears!

[virescence]

*has to get out a tape measure to imagine this size*

Oooh, definitely baby-blanket size. Hooray!

[aceeccentric]

Well, yesterday I ordered some yarn because going to the store seems like it's never going to happen. So hopefully I'll be able to get started on knitting in September.

September 1st I've got a draft of a story due that I'm about 7,000 words behind on (12,000 total, but 7,000 for this deadline). I'm going to try to motivate myself to finish it, because I don't actually hate it.

In non-fanfic writing pursuits I really want to work the kinks out in my ace novel and get it off the ground. Or get some kind of storyline off the ground. I'm having so much trouble plotting things out. (All three of my major storyline considerations right now either have an ace or non-binary main character.)

I also have to convince myself to go to the doctor. Trouble is, I hate going to the doctor, and my doctor is a jerk, so I have no faith I'm not going to pay a $40+ co-pay (I'm sure it's risen since I last went, I just don't know how much) and be told to go back to eating habits that never helped me before. There's only one general practitioner in the area that my health insurance covers, though. *sigh* I keep chickening out.

[virescence]

Hooray for yarn! What kind did you order?

Oh, writing deadlines, let us commiserate on them. Mine is written, but is going to take so much work to get it into a readable shape... no, I promised I wasn't going to talk about this. Tell me even more about your yarn? *flop*

And I am so sorry about your doctor problems :(

[aceeccentric]

One Sugar'n Cream to practice with, making washcloths, and one Cascade 220 Wool to do other things with (fingerless gloves, first off, if I can swing it). I went for the Strawberry Cream and the charcoal gray colors.

Talk all you want. I know the value of a good rant. :) But if you want to hear more about my yarn you can hear me complain how after thirty minutes of debating whether to buy it I clicked on a TARDIS-esque color only to be informed that it was out of stock.

On the plus side, at least it's not a flu-type thing, so I can breathe and sleep. Hopefully I'll get a diagnosis and a treatment recommendation that isn't something I've already tried and it'll be relatively painless.

[virescence]

Oooooh. Well, I say ooooh... I know nothing about those yarn brands :( Curse you, Atlantic Ocean and... different things on either side of it! (Especially since I had to order yarn from America recently because the brand wasn't available over here...)

.... ohhhhhh, that is painful :( And I'm going to make it even more painful by babbling excitedly about my TARDIS-colour yarn. It is here. Silk and merino wool. Gorgeous colour. I knew it was meant to be when I noticed the colourway was called Midnight. I've made a TARDIS-themed cowl out of it, and I'm planning on matching fingerless gloves from the rest. Fingers crossed for you <3

[aceeccentric]

Ravelry had suggested them for the projects I was eyeing. (Argh. It's too bad it's not easier to get things like that.)

I had trouble picking a lighter or darker blue for the TARDIS project. Depending on the photo I find there's varying ideas for using a brighter or navy-er blue. This is a gorgeous color though. Take pictures! Thanks <3 (Midnight makes me think -- when I was taking a transatlantic flight to England, the only episode of Doctor Who available to watch on the flight was "Midnight." Highly inappropriate for any kind of travel, so of course I watched it. Whoever picked that one had a sense of humor.)

[shiyiya]

I think there have actually been several different TARDIS models in varying shades of blue, so it's not just the pictures that are making it look different.

[aceeccentric]

That's reassuring. I'm never sure with these things if it's just me.

[virescence]

shiyiya is right - there have been lots of different TARDIS models over the history of the show. So... really as long as you're in vaguely the right area of blue-ness, you can go for it.

And oooh, what projects are you eyeing? And... yeah. Midnight is my personal scariest episode - would not want to watch on any kind of transport. Someone has a slightly evil sense of humour!

... also I really need to get on that "need more icons" thing. But have one that's at least Who-related!

[shiyiya]

Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead is worst for me, because I'm ALREADY afraid of the dark and the Vashta Nerada (count the shadows) just make it worse. After I watched it the first time I had to take the trash out at like 11pm. That was fun >_< (yesssss, I smite you annoying html parsing that breaks that emoticon! I smite you with & and ;!)

[aceeccentric]

Washcloths to start out with (with the cotton yarn) and then some fingerless gloves for the winter. Last winter my hands were freezing no matter what our heat was on, so I could actually use some homework/laptop/reading gloves.

The TARDIS-colored yarn I wanted after seeing a TARDIS pattern for a Kindle holder. I don't have a Kindle, but I know someone who does and I thought it'd be a good gift if I can progress that far with my knitting skills in time to mail something in December.

That's a nice one! I need some more icons too.

[shiyiya]

Sugar'n'Cream! That's the cotton yarn, right? I have a ball/skein/wev of that in green/brown/cream variegated somewhere that I used to crochet dishcloths for my mum.

[aceeccentric]

It is. I figured washcloths would be easy to start with and people said cotton would be good to use. I got the red/pink/white ball.

[veerserif]

I tried to start knitting once, but living in a tropical country = not much use for knitwear... ah well.

I'm actually kind of in awe of anyone who can get a novel done, because right now I'm having trouble squeezing out 4k words for my school essays >_

[shiyiya]

Yeah, I have that problem, only desert instead of tropics. It is Something To Do With My Hands (TM) :P

[morethanx]

I found out I passed two modules (waiting for the third) of my British Sign Language level 2 (intermediate level). I'm going to be going to University in 2012 to study BSL/English interpreting.

I also came out to my sister as asexual. :D

[virescence]

HOORAY! Congrats on the uni place <3

How did the coming out go?

[morethanx]

Thank you! Super exciting. :D

She just wanted to know if I was ok (emotionally, not in an 'omg you have a medical condition kind of way), which was nice. I was expecting more questions though.

[bewareofitalics]

This didn't really take much achieving, but I went to Borders and got a whole bunch of books for cheap. I'm pretty excited. :D

[virescence]

Cheap books is definitely an achievement. heh, I scared a coworker today with book enthusiasm. We have a student from Iran in on a work placement, so he was asking me for book recommendation. And I kept grabbing the list off him and adding more books to it. Then half an hour later, completely coincidentally, another coworker was going on, to the office in general, about "Life, the universe and everything - 42 is NOT the answer!!!" and I was leaning over going "It's okay! IT'S ON YOUR LIST!"

... but yes. Tell me about your cheap books.

[bewareofitalics]

Hee! Sounds like a fun workplace. I got:
The Dark is Rising: The Complete Sequence by Susan Cooper
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Dessa Rose by Sherley Anne Williams
Wicked Company by Ciji Ware

All were either 50% or 60% off. And I actually ventured out of the YA section for the last two, so I guess that's another achievement!

[virescence]

Oooh! The Dark is Rising!

When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back
Three from the circle, three from the track.
Wood, bronze, iron: water, fire, stone
Five shall return, and one go alone.

... yes, I remember that rhyme despite not having read the books in years. If you have no idea what I'm on about, you will once you've read them/

The workplace... has its moments XD

[bewareofitalics]

I read them years ago and don't remember much, but I've always been meaning to read them again. It's about time! :D

[aceeccentric]

Jealous! I want to go to Borders but I can't get anyone to go with me.

[bewareofitalics]

Aaaaw. Good luck getting there at some point!

[demacrux]

I started my pre-courses for Calculus today.

[veerserif]

I found a really neat secondhand books and dvds shop near my house! Also, I recently learned to make Eggs Benedict. I hope to one day own a copy of Sandman, and get this very frustrating school GSA project I have off the ground.

[eowyn_daughter_of_auron]

Yesterday I bought all of the things I need for my college dorm move-in on Sunday (I lived at home the first two years), including a very soft and cozy comforter and pillow for the bed. The next achievement will be packing everything and actually moving in, which...well, I have a feeling it'll end up being more stressful than the shopping was, especially since my mother is supervising. :P I'm excited about living on campus, though, and I can't wait to get everything all set up in my room.

[aceeccentric]

Good luck with your move-in! I hope your dorm turns out to be a nice place to live.

[eowyn_daughter_of_auron]

Thanks! It is pretty nice, since it's actually an apartment suite-style residence hall. There's four of us in the suite, and we share a living room, kitchen and bathroom but we each have our own bedroom, which is a huge bonus for me because I need my own space.

[norah_liath]

Today feels like a good day for initiating actions, so I think I might very well achieve clean dishes.

I have already achieved icecream just now.

[shiyiya]

Om nom, ice cream. Do want.

[morethanx]

Ice cream... *_*
What kind of ice cream was it?

[norah_liath]

It's white chocolate icecream with caramel fudge chunks.

[shiyiya]

That sounds amazing o.o

[morethanx]

I am filled with feelings of WANT.

[norah_liath]

You're all welcome to come get some, though I think with the way we're spread around the globe, the travel costs might not be worth it :D

I'm now seriously considering saving up for a few months and buying an icecream machine of my own. The reason that I'm frantically making all the icecreams (ALL the icecreams!!!) is because I borrowed it.

[morethanx]

There is a way to make it without an ice cream maker, I believe. Ice cream forever!

[amaresu]

I'm waiting for the leasing office of my apartment buildings to open so I can go pick up a package. I'm not sure what it is as I have several things headed my way so it's a bit exciting. Although I would really like to go to bed (I work overnights) and I can't yet.

[samphire]

Well, this is not an achievement as such, but still made me feel good.

I don't tell a lot of people about my asexuality, unless I'm close to them, because the subject doesn't often come up and isn't on my mind a lot and often isn't people's business (and I get bored of the 'Oh, but you just haven't met the right person yet' replies!) but I'd mentioned it a few weeks ago to a friend after we'd been chatting about various things. I actually introduced her to the concept of asexuality, as she hadn't heard of it before.

Well, she told me the other day she'd just been chatting to someone else who came out to her as asexual, but in a kind of nervous way, as if she were confiding something terribly strange and horrifying that my friend wouldn't understand. And, because of our previous conversation, my friend was able to say that she had an asexual friend, so she knew about it - which apparently cheered up this person to know she wasn't the only one. Seems like something so small, but apparently this person had been feeling really isolated, like she was the only one who didn't have feelings of sexual attraction, and hadn't realised others were the same. So it just felt like rather serendipitous timing, the two conversations.

[teafeather]

I survived another week at work without flipping out at any co-workers, customers, or managers, even the ones who deserved it.

[sciatrix]

I have dealt with my anxiety enough to keep going to my local campus queer group. The sad thing is, it's not the people there who have had any issues with it--they've all been pretty awesome, in fact. It's the accumulated tension from years of being asexual on the internet that has me keyed up and waiting for someone to be an asshole.

But you know, the people there are awesome, and it's so nice to have a breather from heteronormativity, and I do enjoy it when I go even if I'm having a hard time shaking the instinctive feeling of being scared to seek solace in queer spaces even when I am pretty sure I am welcome. I hope eventually I can get to the point where I go without thinking about it, but until then I count pushing past my anxiety and going an achievement.