Howdy, howdy! What’s everyone up to on this lovely day? Not much going on here. I’ve been hermitting hard. I’m not really avoiding people, but I’m not initiating contact much. Sorry! But anyway… tomorrow is Jenae’s birthday, so I have to take a minute to squee! Happy early birthday, Sis! Love yous! And now back to our regularly scheduled program: the ask me about stuff. I’ve done 13, 31, and 41. Today is 54. Next week is 7. Feel free to pick a number or two to add to the list. The prompts are in the post for 13. Today, apparently we’re going all the way back to school with… “Ask me about what I hate most about school.”
School was a long time ago. Like 8.5 years ago. That’s weird to think about. But I suppose what I hated the most were group projects. I’m very much the kind of person who sits back and let’s the group decide on the hierarchy, then I volunteer for the key elements (mostly putting together the slideshows on top of whatever section I’m assigned), so that I have a reason to relentlessly prod people to finish their part in a timely manner and get it to me. And if the leader was useless, I’d gently usurp the role because no one else actually cared. I wasn’t about to get a bad grade because other people sucked. The only group project I didn’t mind was for a research methods class. We had to work together on the experiment, but were only graded on our individual papers. That was a nice assignment.
I also despised prissy professors. The ones who acted like they were superior to everyone and if they didn’t like something, it was drivel. Those people in general annoy me, but teachers like that were the worst. Like the first year creative writing professor I had at SMU who told me I was a great writer, but that genre fiction was an unworthy pursuit. Like… my dude. All those authors of old that you worship were the pop fiction writers of their time. Chill. My classmates seemed to enjoy my stories, weirdness and all, so it was like fifteen people vs. one. I think I did okay with pleasing my audience.
And teachers who don’t clearly tell you their needs/expectations then blame you when they screw up. Like the statistics teacher who “didn’t know” that I would need to take my tests in the disability center despite the email I sent before the semester even started, the letter I hand delivered the first day of class outlining my accommodations, and the first test that I took in the disability office with no issues whatsoever. She just forgot and got mad at me for “not telling” her. If she needed reminders, she should’ve admitted it. None of my other teachers ever needed them, so I didn’t think about it. Needless to say, I inundated her with reminders for every test afterwards to the point where I knew I was being annoying and asked every teacher after that semester up front if they would like me to remind them about tests. Don’t yell at your students because you forgot something. Ugh.
I got lucky. There wasn’t too much to hate about school in general. I like learning. Most of my issues had to do with accessibility on the campuses, which varied from school to school. What did you hate about school? As always, feel free to share your responses and whatnot here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing at the moment? As I’m writing this (the 12th), it’s my birthday. All I really want to do is watch The Untamed or some anime and maybe read some manhwa or manga, but it’s only my second blog post of the year, so I can’t justify taking the day off. Instead, I’m listening to the Japanese music playlist Spotify created for me for today and trying to think of something worth rambling about. I know I did it last year, but I think I’m just going to make a list of random facts about me. I’m 35, so that seems like a good number. I’ll try not to overlap with previous posts too much, but if you’ve been paying attention, you probably know most of these things anyway.
Who doesn’t need a little Deadpool on their birthday?
1. I’m far too lazy to go back and read previous posts to see if I’m repeating myself. If you stalk me enough to remember everything I’ve written in this blog, cheers to you and sorry for the repeats. If you’re new to stalking me, this is pretty much everything you need to know.
2. I’ve probably said it before, but I’m currently diagnosed with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD). It’s one of the rarer Muscular Dystrophies, so I don’t really talk about it in specific terms. No one knows what it is anyway.
3. UCMD is my fourth diagnosis, but I’ve been assured it’s the correct one. First, it was floppy baby syndrome, then congenital myopathy, then for about 18/19 years it was Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2. A few years after they discovered UCMD, my pediatric neurologist asked if I would be willing to get tested for it. Surprise! For the last 11 or 12 years, that’s been what is supposedly wrong with me.
4. I enjoy listening to music in languages I don’t speak just to hear the rhythm of the words. When I listen to English music that way, people still expect me to know what a song is about. Like, sorry. I know every single word, but I’ve never actually paid attention to what was being said. I’m weird.
5. I like screamers and growlers (musicians, you pervert). I don’t have to know what they’re saying as long as I can rage vicariously through them.
6. I’m currently obsessed with the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack for some strange reason. It will pass.
7. I haven’t worn shoes (except fluffy slippers) since July. Haven’t had to go anywhere, so what’s the point? Thank you, Covid!
8. Despite the lack of shoes, I wear pants and a clean shirt every day. The plague won’t change that.
9. People are idiots. I know this. There’s nothing I can do or say to change this. That’s why I tend not to address all of the idiocy going on right now, especially on social media (I have no desire to feed the trolls). It’s not that I don’t care. I just don’t want to waste my emotional energy getting riled up about things we all knew would happen eventually. Because people are assholes. Sure, the majority of people are fine. But those extreme dickwads (on both sides) are the reason the rest of us can’t have nice things.
10. I do occasionally post political crap when I’m extremely bored and want to watch people argue, but it’s never serious stuff.
11. Even though I haven’t finished a single crochet pattern, I keep stocking up on free ones so I have stuff to make when I decide to stop procrastinating.
12. Stalking artists is one of my favorite pastimes lately.
13. I love it when people draw pretty things for me.
Jenae Barton drew us together. ❤
14. Norse mythology is currently my favorite and I love reading about the weird crap those gods got up to, like when Loki tied one end of a rope around his testicles and the other around a goat’s beard, then proceeded to play a kind of tug-of-war in order to make Skadi laugh. Those people were strange.
15. I had no idea what the random deluge of Twisted Tea memes were about until a couple of days ago.
16. I’ve never heard WAP and don’t ever plan on listening to it.
17. I’m in the middle of reading a craft book and, despite liking the author, it’s reminding me why I only read them once in a blue moon. It’s a slog and not particularly helpful.
18. Despite the fact that J.K. Rowling has gone kind of nuts, I’m really enjoying reading the Harry Potter series again.
19. I don’t wear jewelry often (aside from a ring I wear every day), but I still buy necklaces and bracelets that I know I’ll only wear once or twice.
20. It is taking me far too long to write this list and it’s just reinforcing the fact that I’m old.
21. I randomly want ice cream, but we have none. Sadness.
22. I don’t remember ever having a brain freeze.
23. I just ordered Thai/Japanese fusion for my birthday dinner (thank you, Dad!). They said they have mochi, so as long as the order shows up right, I’m getting red bean ice cream! Wootwoot!
24. I have a bunch of awesome people who wished me a happy birthday. I’ll respond to each of them, but I’m sorry if it takes a couple of days.
25. While you’re reading this, I’ll either be reading manhwa or watching The Untamed since I didn’t get around to it today. Or I’ll be a good little writer and read some stuff I’m supposed to then write some words. I haven’t decided.
26. I’m terrible at talking about myself and am running out of things to say already. Is it obvious? I feel like it’s obvious.
27. My dog learned quickly that cats are sharp and now boldly barks at the ferals only when they’re no where in sight or she’s safely in the house. I find this hilarious.
28. I hate The Great Gatsby. I know I’m supposed to love it and think all these things about it and what it portrays, but it’s not good. At all. I’ve read it twice in my life and each time I wished I had those hours back.
29. White chocolate KitKats are better than milk chocolate ones.
30. I post little anecdotes that I think are funny and get weirded out when people start commenting supportive and encouraging things. I guess my funny stories are depressing or too dark.
Oh well.
31. An example of the type of anecdotes mentioned above: someone once asked why I write horror and when I told them that when you keep getting told you’re going to die by a young age you turn out a little twisted, they gave me that deer in the headlights look people get when they have no clue how to respond.
32. Dinner was yummy. I had a dancing eel roll and yakisoba, plus a duck bun and some of one of Dad’s dishes. The mochi will be a reward when I finish scheduling this post.
33. I just checked my email and got a great birthday present! Well, great news on my birthday, so I’m claiming it as a present. I’ll make a post about it when everything is official.
34. Apparently I give off a dragon vibe even though I’m obviously an unknowable sea entity. What do you think?
The new stupid fun thing on social media.
35. I’m too old to be making lists like this. It took all afternoon. Maybe I’ll just take my birthday week off from blogging in the future. Or maybe I’m just being lazy.
And I’m done. Thank the gods and goddesses. As usual, feel free to share your thoughts or comments or own lists here or on my social media pages!
Shawna's Blog of Doom 