dreams_library | Member Posts

The travelling portion of today went exactly according to the plan. It was grey and not particularly warm in York in the morning, and in Reading when I arrived there was a bit of drizzle in the air which turned into actual rain while I did a detour to buy some food for work lunches. It has since stopped, and the week's forecast looks pretty nice.

What's less nice is that I seem to have picked up a cold. I woke up with what was not a sore throat as such, but something like that, and felt snifflier on the train than I would have wanted to inflict on the other passengers, but not much I could do about it then. But it's wait and see to find out if it's developing into something or not.

queen_ypolita

Happy birthday,

lexin!

queen_ypolita

My planned activity today was to go to Jorvik, as I had never visited it before. And it was good—I wasn't quite sure what to expect, really, but I think it was better than I imagined. And I suppose at this point in my life I got a bit more out of it than I might have got some years ago.

Otherwise, I spent some time enjoying the sunshine and the delightful Museum Gardens. And having spotted the river cruises the other day, I went on one on the Ouse. It was lovely, sunshine and lots of greenery on the riversides. I think that's been one of the things with which York has surprised me this time, the green spaces. On my previous visits, I think I've spent most of my time on the streets and in buildings and hadn't really got a sense of the parks and trees and things.

My expectation was most shops would be closed today for Easter Sunday, but I spotted more places open than I was expecting. Not that I feel like doing any shopping anyway, but seeing a shoe shop open I did look in.

forestofglory

I’m once again sharing my thoughts on my recent media consumption. But first some thoughts about my joyful reading project.

I spent several days making a deliberate effort to not read if I didn’t feel like reading or wasn’t excited by anything I had to read. I don’t think it really helped? I was kind of miserable but in a different way than when I read things because I don’t have anything better to do. (I need no screen low hand impact things to do right before bed) But I guess after I did that I did end up reading some things. So maybe it worked? But I would rather not do it again.

I went back to reading not because I was suddenly super excited but because I had a day where I was too sick to do much at all and ended up reading a long fic all day.Which was nice, maybe not joyful, but nice.

( All Systems Red, Commodity and Exchange in the Mongol Empire, The Crescent Moon Tearoom, and The Flash Band )

redbird

Things were looking significantly worse this morning, so the three of us are going to London tonight on a red-eye.

I may not be reading much, or I may be spamming everyone's reading pages.

dhampyresa

AUC, babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

queen_ypolita

I started my day with some parkrun tourism. It turned out to be a bit of a struggle with the strong wind and a right calf that feels a bit tight. So I wasn't expecting a good time, but after the first little bit it wasn't completely awful even if I kept feeling it. And looking at the whole thing in a positive light, it was still my second best time this year. I need to do more stretching and mobility exercises.

After showering and changing I went to the Yorkshire Museum. I really liked the Star Carr exhibition. There was also lots of see in the post-Roman to medieval exhibition but I didn't feel I quite gave it enough of a chance. Afterwards, I did some aimless walking about, had lunch and browsed books. I was prepared to buy a couple of books, but nothing really caught my attention that way. I had sort of planned for shopping this afternoon, but in the end I didn't really fancy it. And after a grey and rather nippy morning it was actually sunnier in the afternoon, even if it still wasn't very warm. Before the sun came out, I overheard somebody talking about the "October weather", and that seemed quite appropriate right then.

dhampyresa

To be clear: The movie is simply titled "Fanon". It's just that that's also a word and I wanted this entry title to be not confusing.

I just saw this 2025 movie by Jean-Claude Barny. It's only come out in very few French theaters (for... some... reason...) but I hope it ends up getting a wider/international release.

It's really good! It covers Fanon's life from 1953 to his death in 1961. It's mostly about his work as part of the pro-Algerian independance resistance and anticolonialism/antiracism activism rather than his work as a psychiatrist. I didn't know he was so hands-on with the resistance.

Fanon's social status as a Black French citizen is really interesting, because the film makes the very deliberate to only show scenes in North Africa. Fanon is a Black man, which makes him a victim of anti-Black racism, but the main form of racism he lives within is racism directed towards people of Maghrebi/North African origin[1]. He's a Black man but he is also a French citizen, which gives him rights and protections many of his friends don't have -- he doesn't have to obey a curfew and can't get arrested by the army, for two relevant examples.

[1] Tbh this is the main form I see racism in France take -- this isn't to say there are no other forms of racism in France, simply that the biggest racialised minority in France is people of North African descent.

I was wary of Josie, his wife, taking a completely passive role in the story. She never becomes an active character but she is still a person in her own right. I liked the scene where she quotes back more of the poem he was quoting back at Ramdane while Fanon is like ._.

One thing that really stuck out to be was how the French army was filmed. They were filmed like... Well, like Germans. As in, like how the German army is filmed in WW2 films. I don't know how else to put it? Maybe it's the thudding of the boots or the crispness of the uniforms or something but it was noticeable.

Besides the obvious warning for racism, both anti-Black and anti-North African (including one use of a slur directed at each), I should also point out that there is a somewhat graphic surgery scene at one point, an onscreen strangulation and at least two occasions of people being shot, as well as implied/offscreen torture, murder and bombings.

queen_ypolita

After a couple of years when I've been to Finland for Easter, this year I'm spending the Easter weekend somewhere not home, like I've done several other Easter weekends in the past. This time, I chose to come to York, which is both familiar and not. I've been here before to meet up with

trueriver when I lived in Sheffield and she lived in York, I took my parents there when they were visiting me in Sheffield, and I've been there for specific things like concerts at National Centre for Early Music. But on the whole it feels I don't really know it.

Today was mainly about travel. When I was looking for tickets it seemed natural to check LNER first but it either looked like their Easter tickets were not on sale yet or the cheapest advances were already gone. So I checked Grand Central, who I'd never travelled before, and immediately had better options and better prices, so I went for that. And it worked out well on the day.

The hotel I'd booked was meant to re-open after some refurbishment before Easter, but in the end I had a call a couple of weeks ago to say they wanted to move it to a different hotel, not even part of the same "family" as it were. At first I was worried they'd move me somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but a quick check confirmed the location was fine, so I accepted the move. And so far so good.

I hadn't planned anything specific for this afternoon, so I went for a walk on the city walls (for most of the length, not quite all), and did some aimless walking around. I could have stayed out a little longer, except it started raining. At first it was just a few drops here and there, which I didn't mind, but over time it became proper rain and staying out getting wet didn't really appeal any more. I'm hoping tomorrow and Sunday will be better, at least the forecast is suggesting it will be dry.

dhampyresa

There are only two seasons in a year: soup season and salad season.

forestofglory

I answered the fic writer meme that’s going around. I was a bit hesitant to do this because I’m not writing anything at the moment, and I’m not sure that I even want to write more fic. But it seemed fun so here it is.

( Read more... )

sage

( books (Krishnamurti x3, Lhanang Rinpoche, Zopa Rinpoche) )

food
Thanks to getting a bag of trail mix (yes, they do now make mixes I'm not allergic to!), I upped my weekly fruit and veggie type count by 6! I've got a lot more variety in this week's grocery pickup, too.

( healthcrap )

( dirt )

family
I went to my parents' for my brother's early birthday party over the weekend. (I didn't take any yarn, which was weird.) I mulched flower beds and counted bluebonnets and helped rip out a giant dead elaeagnus, and I spent *several* hours working on their new laptop and ancient desktop, both of which had a number of viruses. I installed Brave on the laptop, so hopefully that will minimize any new infections. And when I got home I binged on the gf peanut butter cookies mom made me, because I cannot control myself. Which messed up my blood sugar in my labs for today's doc appt, oops. Oh well.

#resist
April 18: Economic Blackout 2
April 19: #50501 Nationwide Protest #2: FREE KILMAR!
April 21 to 28: General Mills Boycott
May 6 to 12: Amazon Boycott 2
May 20 to 26: Walmart Boycott 2
June 3 to 9: Target Boycott
June 24 to 30: McDonald’s Boycott
July 4: Independence Day Boycott

I hope all of you are doing well! <333

redbird

I just got off the phone with my brother, and don't need to dash off to London. This is the current situation:

There are treatment options for the cancer, but they know it's not curable: the goal is to get my mother more time, and make her more comfortable for however long that is. Mom definitely wants to fight this.

The immediate problem is that there's fluid around my mother's lungs. The pulmonologist described the problem, and said there are two possibilities for dealing with that, and he will come back tomorrow and ask Mom for a decision. Given the hospital schedule and what the choices are, if the first doesn't work she can have them do the other.

The pulmonologist doesn't think the oncologist will want to start treatment until after the fluid is drained, but the cardiologist will also be back tomorrow.

Given all this, I'm not planning to travel before Saturday [three days from now], and Sunday or Monday might be better in terms of both having my and my brother's visits overlap, and giving Mom company for longer. Mark will call me again once they talk to the specialists, to fill me in and maybe discuss travel plans based on what they learn. and decide, tomorrow. In the short term, knowing we're not traveling immediately is helping the three of ust deal with logistics like what to make for dinner, and Adrian picking up a prescription. It also means Cattitude can try to decompress a little, and wait until tomorrow to do laundry.

The other open question is how long I will want to stay in London. One possibility is that the three of us are all there there for a few days, after which they fly back to Boston and I stay longer.

queen_ypolita

Finished since the last reading post
Lancaster & York, which I think made a lot more sense to me after the minutes looking at the wall with the Edward III descendants' family tree at the Richard III centre earlier this year. And it really put the effort into setting the scene rather than just rushing into Henry VI's reign or the battles.

Mehr als Freundschaft, which took some work and where I was constantly struggling with how to deal with words I didn't know—whether to break the flow and look them up or to try to puzzle it out from the context. I dare say I missed a lot of nuances, but on the other hand, it's a romance novel and not that deep or complicated.

Game Misconduct by Ari Baran, a romance novel, which I picked up as something undemanding. I thought at first it was going to be cardboard-thin characters and manufactured turns of plot, but it surprised me by showing some depth.

Currently reading
Still reading Homintern. Started reading In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark. Also moved from Game Misconduct to the next in that trilogy, Delay of Game

Reading next
Not sure but I'll need to pick up something for the Easter weekend travels.

forestofglory

With the latest layoffs at Tumblr I've seen several friends making accounts here for the first time! Welcome, feel free to ask me any questions.

Here's what I hope are some useful links and tips:

If you are into Chinese entertainment and/or novels both the

c_ent and

cnovels communities are nice places to hang out, that host regular chats about what people are reading and watching as well as other topics.

c_ent also keeps a list of Chinese media related communities on Dreamwidth.

I'm part of the group blog

ladybusiness which features intersectional feminist criticism and yelling about our feelings. I haven't been posting much there recently but

renay has posted some great stuff!

I also rec following

common_nature for pretty pictures!

redbird

Apparently the reason I hadn't heard from either her or my brother yesterday is that she fainted, went to the emergency room instead of her doctor's office, and then waited hours to be seen.

A CT scan found lung cancer, in both lungs. They're still waiting to talk to an oncologist, and my brother is on his way to London now. The three of us will be going to London in a few days, possibly as soon as Thursday, or maybe Saturday. My brother has a long layover in Charlotte, and is going to spend part of it looking at airline tickets for us, possibly using my mother's frequent flier miles for one or more tickets.

I spent some time this morning looking up travel-related things that we may not need, but will do no harm, and wondering about Oyster cards is better than doomscrolling. I also called my doctor's office and asked whether there were limits on where the patient can be for a telemedicine appointment. The receptionist said she thought that technically, I have to be in Massachusetts; we agreed that I can call back if I need to postpone that.

My gut was bothering me earlier, which is almost certainly from anxiety, but still has me a little nervous about this trip. (It's been just over a week since I saw the GI doctor.)

Current Mood: worried

duskpeterson

The best place to start your tour of the Koretian palace is in the oldest part: the courtyard of the royal residence.

These days, you will need to receive special permission to visit the courtyard; the days when commoner children played here are no more. But such permission is readily granted to visitors of peaceful intent. You may apply for permission to any guard, whereupon you will be interviewed for your motives in visiting. This is routine; do not take offense. Northern mainlanders should most assuredly not draw their blades.

The courtyard is of a surprisingly plain appearance, except for the pavement that gives the courtyard its name. Visitors to Capital Mountain will recognize that the material for the golden pavement was taken from the sacred cave there. Although the courtyard is not considered to be sacred, it has witnessed centuries of important events. It was here, for example, that the current ruler of Koretia gave his oath to look after the Koretian people.

A well in the courtyard reminds us that Koretia's place of government has long been a location for mundane domestic activities. To the east, shabby slave-quarters once stood, a shameful shadow upon Koretia's past. These quarters have since been torn down, replaced by storage areas, but a small, unmarked door leads to the former royal prison. You may enter this area; it is quite small. At the very back is a room where one of the Jackal's followers died as a result of torture, during the years when the Jackal was considered an outlaw by his own people.

To the west is the face of the royal residence. This building may not be entered by tourers, but standing here you can see the windows of some of the rooms where great events took place. This residence deserves a chapter to itself.

[Translator's note: A closer look at the courtyard and its events can be found in Death Mask.]

redbird

My feet hurt because I decided to go for a walk with Adrian and Cattitude, even though one hip and my feet were hurting before we started, and even with an NSAID. I went anyway because I didn't think walking would make things much worse, and tomorrow's forecast is less appealing. It was sunny and 69F/20C outside, with a bright blue sky and delightful spring flowers, including two kinds of maple flowers, red and the underappreciated light green of Norway maple flowers.

We went to the supermarket, and bought ingredients for Passover-suitable lunches that we can make ahead of time. This morning/early afternoon was difficult because I slept later than usual, and Adrian and Cattitude got up later than that, and we didn't have plans for lunch, or useful leftovers.

That was on top of worrying about both my mother and the world situation. I was expecting to hear from my mother or brother by this afternoon, and haven't. I realize that bad news would be, and be treated as, more urgent than good or ambiguous, but I still worry. The time zone difference doesn't help any (it's five hours later in London than here).

Current Mood: worried

redbird

The advice the GI doctor gave me on Monday seems to have done the job: my gut has been behaving since the visit, which is five days so far:

The doctor told me was to take the imodium (anti-diarrheal) twice a day whether or not I have symptoms, and start taking psyllium (metamucil). I was surprised, because psyllium is generally referred to a laxative; I suspect that's why Carmen didn't think of it. Assuming I'm still fine on Monday, I'll be sending her a MyChart message

I've taken one/day for five days, which seems to be enough. The package instructions are not to take it within two hours before or after other medication, because it can interfere with absorbtion. I'm already taking other medication on something resembling a schedule, which means this one has to be at or a little after 6 o'clock, unless I want to fiddle with the timing on something else. The schedule includes "right after I wake up" and "after breakfast." )

redbird

My brother and I are both worried about our mother: she's a lot weaker than she was a few months ago, and apparently hasn't been eating much. So far, the doctors she's seen haven't found anything specific, and/but she has a follow-up appointment on Monday, by which time the doctor will have more blood test results to help him figure things out.

I'm not jumping on a plane tonight, but I will likely be going to London soon, with Cattitude and Adrian. Even if she's feeling a lot better by Tuesday, I haven't seen her in a while, and want to. Mark is probably flying to London in a few days, in any case, even though she visited him for Mardi Gras.

I've done some planning and preparation: we all three have valid passports, and I now a UK Electronic Travel Authorization, which they started requiring a few weeks ago. It took me about 20 minutes to apply, much of that spent repeatedly trying to get their iPhone app to read the RFID chip in my passport, and about two minutes for them to approve it. So I can visit the UK anytime in the next two years, as frequently as I like.

I emailed our catsitter yesterday, and said that I might need them soon but I didn't know how soon, and she assured me someone would be available. (The person I talked to has a small team of cat-sitters.)

Fortunately, the very simple instructions the GI specialist gave me on Monday seem to have resolved my problem (I've been fine since Monday afternoon). Thank goodness for that last-minute appointment.

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Dream's Library

October 2014

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Dream's Library

Member Posts

Back home

(no subject)

Lovely sunshine

Meida Round Up: Comfort and Textiles

Mom

Happy 2778 to all who celebrate!

(no subject)

(Frantz) Fanon

Away for Easter

En vérité, je vous le dis

Fic Writer Meme

What I'm Doing Wednesday

Mom health update

Wednesday reading

Welcome New People!

bad health news about my mother

FIC: The Golden Courtyard (Tempestuous Tours)

It's a nice spring day, and my feet hurt

some good (health) news

worrying about my mother

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October 2014

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