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May. 5th, 2013 @ 12:51 pm Misti is next weekend? Help!
owleye
I went to bed this morning at about the same time I need to leave the house tomorrow for my flight to Boston. The last three weeks have flown by - very busy at work followed by frantic costume-making at home. I've had this idea for what to do floating round my head since I first thought about Misti-Con, so I'd done a lot of planning and research, but hadn't actually implemented it until I committed to coming. It's a bit ambitious, and I wish I had another 2 weeks to get it good, and I suspect I'll have to take some sewing with me to finish things off in the couple days before the con, so long as I can finish off most of the technical stuff today (waiting for stuff to dry as I write this). At least I've learned a few more making techniques, which is all good!

I've got a little more crocheting to do too, and it's rather frustrating to think I have 11 hours or so of travel time in which I can't do any - but I doubt I'd get a steel hook through security, so I'm looking forward to the enforced relaxation. I don't think I could carry on my current pace much more; at times I've almost wished I wasn't putting myself through it, but then I think about how I'd be feeling if I wasn't going. I'm looking forward to participating in a shared artistic space - and especially to seeing those of you who are going!
Apr. 16th, 2013 @ 12:24 am I shall go the ball.
owleye
So, a month ago I said I wasn't going to Misti-Con. And spent the next few weeks feeling awful. Coming off antidepressants at the time the weather was supposed to improve but stubbornly refused to do so didn't help, but the future looked awfully devoid of joy. I thought of other trips I could plan, but the more I looked, the more I realised that going somewhere in Europe for a week and paying for accommodation wasn't going to be much less than that transatlantic airfare. I remembered that, pre-drug, I used to love travelling across the country unannounced to surprise friends at parties. And I realised how gut-wrenchingly it would hurt not to be in Laconia next month.

So I'm going. If wanting to go in the first place was crazy, then the craziness is still with me. And if that's something I should be wary of, I reckon following through with awareness is better than repression.


Flight? Check.
(After flying a UK airline to Florida last year, I'm looking forward to trying a US airline for the first time since Pan Am in '84)

Travel to the con? Check.
(With huge thanks to the wonderful woman who got me into this intercontinental congoing game in the first place. :)

Roommates? Check.
(A little nervous about sharing with 3 strangers, but we're all in the same boat. And bed.)

Travel insurance? Hmmm, runs out this month. Need to sort.

Glass? Sadly not.
(I missed the January craft faire deadline - thought about it at the time but I was already feeling fatalistic by then. And even if there were no deadline, I wouldn't have time to do much now, though I would have loved to be able to bring that part of my creative self along.)

Costume? Oh ****, I fly in 21 days!



Lesson for myself here is to know I don't make fun decisions in the winter months; seems I need to hibernate mentally if not physically. It feels a bit odd going all that way and not contributing - but then I felt my contributions, such as they were, to Ascendio fell a bit flat. So perhaps it's better to go and just be rather than feeling I have to justify my presence by doing.

I'm determined to have a costume this time, though.
Apr. 3rd, 2013 @ 10:51 pm The perils of working in a library
owleye
Dear Self,

The library borrowing limit is a maximum, not a target.
Mar. 7th, 2013 @ 08:53 pm News (and some olds)
owleye
Current Mood: sickBegone, foul cold!
Current Music: The occasional sneeze
Tags: ,
My apologies - to anyone who cares - for dropping off the face of LJ for a while. As some of you know, I decided I needed to move a few months ago. I found a place very quickly, but sorting the logistics was exhausting and once moved the little internet time I could snatch after work or at the library was needed for sorting out utilities and co-modding hp_holidaygen.

This is roughly my 9th move since leaving Edinburgh in 2005. I really hope I won't have to do it again in the month of November!

I'm very happy to be living on my own. This place isn't perfect (show me one that is!) but it's within walking distance of friends and a train station and has a nice view. My finances have taken a hit though as monthly costs (financial, not psychological!) are more than house-sharing, and I had to effectively pay rent on two places in November, plus the usual costs of setting up home (some stuff I had, of course, but have needed to get knives, pots, a few lamps, bathroom stuff... and my one extravagance, a vacuum cleaner that unlike landlord-supplied rubbish actually does what it's supposed to).

One knock-on effect of this is that realistically, I can't manage MISTI-Con. :( I'm gutted, but making the trip would be flying in the face of all financial prudence, and I really can't do that two years running! And also my Dad is expecting me to be around for his birthday that weekend, and there's a family gathering in Canada this summer including a memorial service to my great-aunt (which I also won't be going to, but if I had money for one trip I couldn't choose MISTI-Con over that). I keep thinking of my parents telling me about a daughter of some friends of theirs who had to be bailed out from debt incurred by going on skiing holidays with higher-paid friends, and I do not want to get into that sort of mess. (that said, said daughter is now an internationally-headhunted civil servant, so perhaps not the best comparison!!)

So, for those of you going to MISTI-Con - please make sure it's so good that they do another one in 2015, and I'll hope to make that one! And if anyone knows anyone who would like to buy my registration (I bought it in the cheapest period, and transfers are allowed until 1 April, apparently), please let me know!

My other big news is that I've finally got it together to apply to do a Masters in Librarianship/info management (another reason for frivolous trans-Atlantic travel not being on the cards right now). I'm not sure this will ultimately pay off financially, at least directly - but I would like to put my knowledge and practice on a professional footing, and despite the public library recruitment desert, I have seen a few posts advertised elsewhere that require it, and the material is relevant to my non-library work too.

I *think* they've accepted me - according to the online system there's a conditional offer the details of which are in a letter they've sent today. A snail mail letter (!) which kind of makes a mockery of asking people to apply online, but still...

So it looks as if I have a few weeks to get organised, sort out my space, meet unmet commitments, and psyche myself up for the slog. I've done distance learning before and I dread falling behind.


Links to any news that's emerged hereabouts during my hiatus would be much appreciated! I am scanning back, but don't want to miss something (especially as LJ seems flakey on showing friends updates at times!)
Oct. 16th, 2012 @ 09:48 pm Still alive
owleye
Current Mood: exhaustedexhausted
Hi - just a quick note to anyone who's wondering where I am - been very busy lately, last week with job interview and preparation for same (didn't get it, alas), this week with 6-day a week work (not full time paid hours, admittedly, but split over 4 workplaces so lots of travel time). Drained tonight. Hope to catch up with things Thursday/Friday.
x
Sep. 24th, 2012 @ 04:56 pm Cheese bandits!
owleye
Current Mood: amusedamused
Jasper Fforde fans may find this amusing.
Sep. 20th, 2012 @ 10:58 pm Not keeping my big mouth shut
owleye
A colleague and I were discussing e-books.

Me: E-books are obviously useful for commuters and people travelling and people who want to read porn...

Colleague: !!


Perhaps I shouldn't have sounded so matter of fact about it.
Sep. 15th, 2012 @ 08:41 pm MISTI-Con
owleye
Current Mood: nervousnervous
Well, in the end I took the plunge and bought a ticket yesterday.

I don't feel entirely comfortable about that decision, but it feels better than not doing so, which would have effectively put off the decision until February and left me feeling defeated over the dark months. This way I am affirmed my intention to be there and have something to look forward to over the winter. I'm not guaranteeing I'll be there though until I buy my air ticket, and that likely won't be until after Christmas unless the fares start shooting up. (Has anyone any experience as to the liklihood of that?)

So I should probably start doing something about costume, rather than just thinking about it. Those of you who are local, or know the area at that time of year - how cold is it likely to be (indoors and out)? How many layers would you recommend planning for?

Co-incidentally, someone told me today about a graduate trainee librarian position that's local to me. I've tried applying for them before - once back in 2006 when I first started thinking seriously about librarianship as a career, and once last year which got me an interview but sadly not a job at the Bodleian library. I'd come to the conclusion that perhaps I should give up on trying to prepare for library school that way, but I may give this a go - I'd be giving up the job security I have where I am, but it's full time so at least for the next year money would be less strained. Which would make the MISTI-con trip feel less idiotic, and hopefully also enable me to save for study and help me set up home if I manage to move.
Sep. 15th, 2012 @ 02:23 am HP holidaygen, and... art?
owleye
Tags: , ,
Just a reminder that this is the last weekend to sign up for hp_holidaygen. Sign-ups close midnight PST on Sunday.

We have about 15 people signed up at the moment, with a mix of interests so we should have a good selection of fic to enjoy in December. A few more participants would be most welcome!

Clicking on the banner will take you to the sign-up post:

Sign-up banner for hp_holidaygen fest.  Sign-ups end Sept 16



And much to my surprise, in the process of making the banner I seem to have drawn fanart! Not that I'd compare my wee elf to the stunning creations of our talented artists, but we all have to start somewhere, and to be honest I've seen worse.Read more...Collapse )
Sep. 10th, 2012 @ 11:56 pm Dr Who
owleye
Who cares about dinosaurs on a spaceship when I can have Arthur Weasley and Argus Filch on a spaceship? :)
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