Countessmry

2.3 miles in 30 minutes today. That plus getting up early left me fairly tired most of the day, but in a way I don't mind because it feels good. It helped me stop feeling upset, too - I keep thinking I don't need a career counselor or coach, especially not the ones I've met, because it always strikes me as unhelpful and impractical compared to doing the work of finding a job.

What I really don't like is feeling like I have to get upset and agitated to talk and voice my concerns, and if anyone has any suggestions, I'd welcome them.

I'll say something else good about the day, though, which was small but positive: turning off all the notification settings on my Brooklyn client's phone, and managing to get a fair number of double-bagged planes of glass out for recycling. Hopefully the next batch of planes will be out next week.

The baby shower had two games: one where you guessed how long various animal pregnancies lasted, and one where you guessed who was who in baby pictures. The second one was supposed to have been done by watching a slideshow, writing guesses down, and then learning who was who.

"Wouldn't it be more fun to shout it out?" I asked.

And the entire rest of the party agreed with me.

Overall, I had a decent time. I arrived early to help set up, which included deciding how to arrange the table for maximum flow throughout the apartment, considering whether the plates and cutlery should be on this side or that based on how people are going to be moving and where the drinks will be. Nobody got in anyone's way, even when the room was crowded, so I take that as a small victory. I had a handful of genuine conversations with people, and the watermelon tonic I brought was a success. There were a few unpleasant moments - someone talking about generative programs as a positive thing, one of the guests not flushing the toilet after they were done in the bathroom - but overall, even with those moments taken into consideration, I'm fairly glad I went.

Leaving for Brooklyn a little early today fully knowing I didn't need to be at the client's house until a little later than usual left me able to walk around a bit and explore the neighborhood. Mostly walking under an elevated subway platform and peeking at the flowers and butterflies in a large fenced-off industrial lot that's largely been left to its own devices for the last few years. I didn't go down to the Gowanus Canal, and any temptation to do so was tossed aside when I realized it smelled like a fertile beach at low tide. Then I decided to savor the smell of a beach at low tide for a while and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I wandered through a nursery and made my way over to a sandwich shop that doubles as a grocery and picked up some spicy jarred peppers, then went across the street and had an ill-advised espresso. I found a used record store that made the hard call to stop at cassette tapes, and spent a little while watching a pair of crows up in an old leafy tree. I don't think I'd want to make the move out there, and moments like crows up a tree make me consider it as a charming fancy.

2.25 miles in 30 minutes and two seconds this afternoon, which is proof that steady, regular practice is boring until you see the results and have proof it's been working all along. And after, you feel better about doing more of it tomorrow.

Other minor accomplishments include figuring out a workaround to buy another movie ticket - the webpage with the movie listing and the link to buy a ticket wasn't working, but the page where I could buy the ticket by itself was still around, so I checked my browser history until I got it - and getting back to the ongoing original project after a couple of weeks away from it. I'm slowly planning the next project, and the fics to work on in between. A sense of ongoing momentum is always a good way to help get out of bed in the morning.