http://gigaverse.com/guides/shena-wolf/
...I would change some things. I wrote this quite a while ago. Mostly the "present/presence" thing. It bothers me. Aside from that, I think it's solid. LEARN FROM ME! <monocle>
Friday, September 27, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Why I fix things
I like to fix things. Not all things. I don't know how to do plumbing (yet) and there are many, many things that I know nothing about. However, when something breaks in my house, my first impulse is to take it apart and figure out what's going on. I've been taking things apart since I was little. If it's a small household appliance, I can probably take it apart and put it back together and it will work about as well as it did before I began. After I bought the house, my scope got a little broader. Things like washers and dryers became fair game.
My reasons for this are simple. If something is broken, then there's not a lot of risk involved. It's already not working. At worst, it will continue to not work when I'm finished with it. Thanks to the internet, there are lots of places to find information on the broken thing, as well as helpful stories from other people with broken things, and sometimes tutorials and videos on how to repair broken things. So far, I've replaced the drum seal in my dryer (upper and lower) and now I've replaced the control board on my washer. (I should also add that *that* one also involved learning how to access the error codes, which is super easy, and included in the tech manual that is taped TO THE INSIDE OF THE WASHER. It is amazing. And a little bit ridiculous.)
Both repairs went well, and they didn't take as long as you might have thought. With the washer, from discovering it wasn't working (spin cycle just wasn't happening anymore) to fixing it, I think it's been about six days. That included taking apart, diagnosing, ordering the replacement part and swapping it out. I am, in my heart, a massive procrastinator, so I'm proud that I actually got it done within a week. Proud, and a little surprised, as I am whenever I do something right away instead of waiting, despite spending the last decade developing habits that help mitigate my tendencies.
Another thing I've learned how to do since my last blog post (ages ago! I am not good at blogging AT ALL!) is replacing the front wheel hub assembly on a mid-2000s GM car. I hired a mechanic to come to my house and teach me how to do it. It cost very slightly less than getting it done at a shop, very slightly more than just having the mechanic fix it in my driveway, and now I know a new thing. Here's a key element, though - he did one side, and then I did the other. Watching someone fix something is interesting. Fixing a thing yourself is invaluable. The difference between someone who kind of has an idea of how to do something and someone who knows how to do stuff? Actually doing the stuff.
That's the crux of why I like to fix things. I want to be someone who knows how to do stuff, and every time I dig into something instead of calling someone else, I become more the person that I want to be.
My reasons for this are simple. If something is broken, then there's not a lot of risk involved. It's already not working. At worst, it will continue to not work when I'm finished with it. Thanks to the internet, there are lots of places to find information on the broken thing, as well as helpful stories from other people with broken things, and sometimes tutorials and videos on how to repair broken things. So far, I've replaced the drum seal in my dryer (upper and lower) and now I've replaced the control board on my washer. (I should also add that *that* one also involved learning how to access the error codes, which is super easy, and included in the tech manual that is taped TO THE INSIDE OF THE WASHER. It is amazing. And a little bit ridiculous.)
Both repairs went well, and they didn't take as long as you might have thought. With the washer, from discovering it wasn't working (spin cycle just wasn't happening anymore) to fixing it, I think it's been about six days. That included taking apart, diagnosing, ordering the replacement part and swapping it out. I am, in my heart, a massive procrastinator, so I'm proud that I actually got it done within a week. Proud, and a little surprised, as I am whenever I do something right away instead of waiting, despite spending the last decade developing habits that help mitigate my tendencies.
Another thing I've learned how to do since my last blog post (ages ago! I am not good at blogging AT ALL!) is replacing the front wheel hub assembly on a mid-2000s GM car. I hired a mechanic to come to my house and teach me how to do it. It cost very slightly less than getting it done at a shop, very slightly more than just having the mechanic fix it in my driveway, and now I know a new thing. Here's a key element, though - he did one side, and then I did the other. Watching someone fix something is interesting. Fixing a thing yourself is invaluable. The difference between someone who kind of has an idea of how to do something and someone who knows how to do stuff? Actually doing the stuff.
That's the crux of why I like to fix things. I want to be someone who knows how to do stuff, and every time I dig into something instead of calling someone else, I become more the person that I want to be.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
An additional note
All of my profile information is from my hilarious goth poetry blog, and it cracks me up too much to change any of it.
Oh, the internet...fine purveyor of all the stuff you forgot about ten years ago...
Starting over
I've had a lot of blogs over the years. Some of have been perfect examples of the overshare compulsions of my early twenties. Some have been hilarious poem blogs. This is my latest attempt at finding that balance between talking about things I enjoy while maintaining the aura of secrecy that fuels so much of my personal appeal.
I think I'm going to get a monocle.
Monday, July 29, 2013
A quiet, rainy evening
I live on a quiet street in a neighborhood that was built in the 1950s. Some of my neighbors have been here for 40 years. We keep an eye out for one another. There are some impressively large trees, but none in my yard. I thought I'd plant at least one or two, but I've been here for six years and I haven't done anything like that yet. I keep up with the lawn. I don't keep up with the edging. I try to remember to keep the bushes trimmed (mostly because if I don't do it, my yardwork-centric neighbors will do it for me, and then I feel guilty. I do not feel guilty when they decide that they have had enough and it is time to clandestinely weed-whack my lawn, which they do, about once or twice a year).
There are a number of cats that don't belong to anyone in particular. There's a lovely gray one that hunts in the backyard. I know this because occasionally I'll see it stalking birds. I always wonder if Donald and James wish they could go outside and do similar things, but they seem happy enough to just sit in the windows and on the furniture and sleep.
It rained today, and stayed fairly cool, so the air had that heavy, damp quality that I usually associate with late spring. I stood outside for a while, watching the more motivated fireflies flicker, listening to the rain drip in the downspouts. It's almost August. I hate August. Tonight was nice, though. I have no complaints about tonight.
There are a number of cats that don't belong to anyone in particular. There's a lovely gray one that hunts in the backyard. I know this because occasionally I'll see it stalking birds. I always wonder if Donald and James wish they could go outside and do similar things, but they seem happy enough to just sit in the windows and on the furniture and sleep.
It rained today, and stayed fairly cool, so the air had that heavy, damp quality that I usually associate with late spring. I stood outside for a while, watching the more motivated fireflies flicker, listening to the rain drip in the downspouts. It's almost August. I hate August. Tonight was nice, though. I have no complaints about tonight.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Post-SDCC blogging
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I don't usually dayblog, but I'm making an exception.
I have survived another year of San Diego Comic Con. The process of decompressing from this show is a complicated one. It's not exhausting in the same way that Spectrum Live is (it turns out that it's much easier to be an exhibitor than a showrunner) but it's probably similar in intensity.
Traditionally, I come back from San Diego, I do fine for a couple of days, then I get very, very sick. This is probably because, when I come back from San Diego, I have trouble remembering to eat, and I have even more trouble getting to sleep. I assume that the sickness is my body's only way of forcing me to get some rest. Tricky.
SDCC is overwhelming on a number of levels. There's a high degree of social interaction required, there are many late, late nights (social interaction!), there are 160,000 people with an exponentially higher number of germs all packed into a space. People are handling money. Handshakes are pretty common. Sickness! Sickness is inevitable!
It's a wonderful opportunity to get work done, and I always come back from the show feeling very productive. I'm good at what I do, and SDCC is another venue for me to get work done, both for my job and for Spectrum Live. There are connections you make at SDCC that you really can't make anywhere else, in part because EVERYONE is exhausted, and when you do find people you connect with, you bond more quickly than you might otherwise because you're so tired, and there are so many horrible people. New friends become life rafts on a sea of awful.
(I have made a number of lasting friendships at this show, and I continue to meet people who are interesting and engaging. I think that half the battle is wanting to get to know someone. The other half is wanting to let them get to know you. The fact that I come back from San Diego with one or two new *actual* friends each year is pretty remarkable.)
Of course, there's some emotional fallout when I get home, which is the inevitable conclusion to a very long show. There's a rawness to my emotional state which takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to normalize.
It's tied into the physical side of things. It's hard to feel normal mentally and emotionally when your system and your schedule are so out of alignment. I know this about the show, and about myself, and have gotten better at handling it over the years. It's much easier when you realize that you're not losing your mind, you're just very, very tired.
Because I can't help being prescriptive, here are some ways I deal with the show.
During the show:
Vitamin C (so much vitamin C)
Water
Coffee
An attempt to be healthy (vegetarian dishes, solid but not heavy breakfasts, smoothies)
When I get home:
Vitamin C (sense a theme?)
Water
Netflix (I just embrace the insomnia. It lets up eventually.)
Careful consideration before socializing
Frozen eggrolls (key for when it's 2 am and you realize you haven't eaten since lunch)
Cats
Comfortable pajamas
I don't usually dayblog, but I'm making an exception.
I have survived another year of San Diego Comic Con. The process of decompressing from this show is a complicated one. It's not exhausting in the same way that Spectrum Live is (it turns out that it's much easier to be an exhibitor than a showrunner) but it's probably similar in intensity.
Traditionally, I come back from San Diego, I do fine for a couple of days, then I get very, very sick. This is probably because, when I come back from San Diego, I have trouble remembering to eat, and I have even more trouble getting to sleep. I assume that the sickness is my body's only way of forcing me to get some rest. Tricky.
SDCC is overwhelming on a number of levels. There's a high degree of social interaction required, there are many late, late nights (social interaction!), there are 160,000 people with an exponentially higher number of germs all packed into a space. People are handling money. Handshakes are pretty common. Sickness! Sickness is inevitable!
It's a wonderful opportunity to get work done, and I always come back from the show feeling very productive. I'm good at what I do, and SDCC is another venue for me to get work done, both for my job and for Spectrum Live. There are connections you make at SDCC that you really can't make anywhere else, in part because EVERYONE is exhausted, and when you do find people you connect with, you bond more quickly than you might otherwise because you're so tired, and there are so many horrible people. New friends become life rafts on a sea of awful.
(I have made a number of lasting friendships at this show, and I continue to meet people who are interesting and engaging. I think that half the battle is wanting to get to know someone. The other half is wanting to let them get to know you. The fact that I come back from San Diego with one or two new *actual* friends each year is pretty remarkable.)
Of course, there's some emotional fallout when I get home, which is the inevitable conclusion to a very long show. There's a rawness to my emotional state which takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to normalize.
It's tied into the physical side of things. It's hard to feel normal mentally and emotionally when your system and your schedule are so out of alignment. I know this about the show, and about myself, and have gotten better at handling it over the years. It's much easier when you realize that you're not losing your mind, you're just very, very tired.
Because I can't help being prescriptive, here are some ways I deal with the show.
During the show:
Vitamin C (so much vitamin C)
Water
Coffee
An attempt to be healthy (vegetarian dishes, solid but not heavy breakfasts, smoothies)
When I get home:
Vitamin C (sense a theme?)
Water
Netflix (I just embrace the insomnia. It lets up eventually.)
Careful consideration before socializing
Frozen eggrolls (key for when it's 2 am and you realize you haven't eaten since lunch)
Cats
Comfortable pajamas
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Broken cars on the highway: How do they work?
Neither I nor people driving by know...in any way that resulted in my car getting fixed. We think it's probably the fuel filter.
I was driving my mom home today when the Alero started to lose power about 10 miles from the next town. It was a bit of a bummer, and not only because the windows on that car do not work.
As I always do when I have car trouble, I popped the hood and looked at the engine, as though that would be helpful in some way. I determined that nothing was on fire, nothing was smoking, and no fluids were spouting out from anywhere. I knew it wasn't the battery, and I knew that I wasn't out of gas. So...that narrowed it down. Based on the way it lost power, and the fact that it would turn on fine and then die, my mom and I suspected the fuel filter. Coming to that tentative conclusion did not actually fix anything, but good job us, maybe!
A very nice person stopped to see if they could help, and they did the exact same thing. Looked at the engine, like 1. They'd figure it out just by looking 2. Be able to effect change with the tools they had in their car (a tiny electrical kit). They suggested that it might be the fuel filter.
On the one hand, I feel good about the fact that I have the same skill level when it comes to broken cars on the highway as random passersby. On the other hand, my car is still broken.
Good things about today:
Dim sum
Ice cream
Bike ride
I have fixed my dryer. Probably. For now.
I was driving my mom home today when the Alero started to lose power about 10 miles from the next town. It was a bit of a bummer, and not only because the windows on that car do not work.
As I always do when I have car trouble, I popped the hood and looked at the engine, as though that would be helpful in some way. I determined that nothing was on fire, nothing was smoking, and no fluids were spouting out from anywhere. I knew it wasn't the battery, and I knew that I wasn't out of gas. So...that narrowed it down. Based on the way it lost power, and the fact that it would turn on fine and then die, my mom and I suspected the fuel filter. Coming to that tentative conclusion did not actually fix anything, but good job us, maybe!
A very nice person stopped to see if they could help, and they did the exact same thing. Looked at the engine, like 1. They'd figure it out just by looking 2. Be able to effect change with the tools they had in their car (a tiny electrical kit). They suggested that it might be the fuel filter.
On the one hand, I feel good about the fact that I have the same skill level when it comes to broken cars on the highway as random passersby. On the other hand, my car is still broken.
Good things about today:
Dim sum
Ice cream
Bike ride
I have fixed my dryer. Probably. For now.
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