January 17, 2024: Novel, Epcot, Stained Glass, and Plants

The last time I posted was last year in January, sheesh. And I remember that day vividly. I was inside a little cafe off Colonial and Mills, writing on my iPad. I swear that was only a few months ago, not a year.

I keep oscillating between writing in my physical journal or online, and the result is that I write in neither. So although I'd like to write in my tangible journal (and not on this outdated P.O.S.), something is better than nothing.

This is a simple update. Today (on my 18th [week]day of unemployment), I cut the pieces for the stained glass work I'm making in class (I signed up for a 4-week class at The Stained Glass House in off Virginia in Orlando. This was week 2), I went to Epcot with Bryan and Luka during the day (it's the first week of the Festival of the Arts -- or FARTS, as I like to call it), and (almost) finished the 21st chapter of my book. I've been stuck in revision mode for the past few months; but I've been making myself write a few pages a day while unemployed, and it's paying off.

This stained glass class proves I have a knack for it. Of course I still make mistakes and am learning, but the cutting, grinding (and hopefully, foiling) come easy to me; although which cuts to make and which pliers to use still confuse me and give me some anxiety. More importantly, I deeply enjoy every step of it. I don't think there's a part that isn't my favorite. I really could see myself doing this a full-time hobby somewhere.

My pieces so far. It's supposed to be a tulip (or ear of corn)

Me having a conversation with Walt (at Epcot) and telling him to please still hire me. I still haven't heard back from the recruiter yet.

I'm growing plants! (Again) I decided I wanted food in my back yard and to give it another shot. Although it's really cold outside and we've had a lot of 30/40 degree days, they're springing up! Hopefully, they continue to grow and don't freeze, get eaten, or run out of space again (like the cucumbers did).

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Rocket scripts and ballet sets

On my way home from painting scenery for the Orlando Opera showing of Macbeth and sets for the Orlando ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet with Amanda. I meant Amanda painting haunted houses with Mikayla, and then the three of us went kayaking, along with her friend Matt and the guy she was dating at the time. Having the opportunity to paint sets and shows has been such a soul opener and a game changer. I'm doing things I really enjoy doing and have been wanting to do for years, if not a decade at this point. With people I really enjoy and who make me feel happy. It feels low stress but high reward. I hope the doors continue to open and I'm able to keep doing this. Separately, at work today I wrote a new script for the silly little new rocket launch videos in the courtyard by the gift shop, and my boss approved it on the first draft. She said it was really good. This felt like a win even though it was so small (it was only one page) because I struggled with it. It's...

Walking around NASA

It was a slow start to a Monday, a slow start to the week. Productive, but chugga chugga... I don't feel like I did anything. Except maybe cook. Last night I used up the rest of the pureed pumpkin I had and made a ground Italian sausage vodka sauce with browned sage and gnocchi. It was really tasty and filled me up for literally the entire day. It's the only thing I ate, save for some strawberries, grapes, and cantaloupe (half of which I cup up last night and the other half I cut up tonight) during lunch, solely because I was craving sweets, and some cheese and crackers right before lyra class because I felt like I should put something more in my body. The pumpkin vodka dish was probably 1,000+ calories just on it's own, so I should probably watch it tomorrow, but it's got a really strong balance of 1/3 protein (Italian sausage), 1/3 fiber (pumpkin), and 1/3 carbs (gnocchi). That's probably why I'm still so full, and it's after midnight. After lyra class, ...

First January in Orlando

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. For some reason, Blogger (a totally dead platform at this point) gives me “Let’s Go Ride a Bike” vibes - in a good way. Which, by the way, I just Googled and they haven’t touched their blog since 2015. What a shame. I really miss the days of blogs. Most of my writing has been done in a physical notebook, which in many ways I prefer; but in others, it doesn’t quite quench the thirst. One of the things I love about digital journaling is being able to add images and photos (like the one below). While physical journaling feels more intimate and perhaps, authentic in some ways, digital journaling feels more like a creating a story. Two different methods for two different outcomes. So why the photo of a plant? Well, first, this is a Monstera plant. I’ve loved it’s lines and the holes in its leaves for years, but I never learned its name because it’s not a native plant to Wisconsin. They are to Florida, however, and are super easy to fin...

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