Becca Stareyes

I did enjoy the movie; it was entertaining, the action sequences were well done and Uhura got a couple of Nice Moments, making up for the last movie. (Still a bit in the 'most of her character development is as 'Spock's girlfriend' though.)

( One thing that's bugging me... (spoilers) )

The heating/AC system is switched over manually twice a year, so we can't have heat and AC on successive days. Given New York has mild enough summers there are only a few times I actually use AC (mostly at night, because it helps me sleep), this normally isn't a problem...

... except there always seems to be a couple of days that get unseasonably cold right after or right before the changeover. Like today. It's currently 8° C/46° F outside at 11 AM. Which would be a nice day... in January. (My apartment is 66° F; it might have been warmer except I forgot to switch the thermostat over to 'cool', so it was trying to warm the apartment without the heat being on... which doesn't work.)

Thankfully I have plenty of blankets. On the other hand, the urge to just build a nest in them and not come out until the temperature cracks the double digits in Celsius is pretty strong.

Between

+ The rough draft of the last bit of research I'm doing being with my adviser who is...
+ ... in Brazil for the week with half our research group (so no group meeting) and
+ ... no classes so no normal events at the office,

I'm tempted to just take this week and spring clean the hell out of my apartment. There are a few work-related things I can do, and a job or two I can apply for (though two of three recommendation letter writers are out of the country), but really telling myself I can procrastinate by cleaning is kind of nice. Maybe it'll motivate me to clean my storage closet or bring some of my used books and clothing to places that are not my apartment and can use them.

I feel like I should say something clever, but I don't got any of that.

My allergies, even with pills, are in the stage where I feel like there is something caught in the back of my throat. I've been reading a lot, so I should do a book review or two, but a lot of the books were re-reading the ones on the Hugo List. I'm done with the novels, and I could probably read the two novellas I own. It's kind of nice to know what I'll be voting for now, though I suspect that my top choice will not win the Hugo.

Writing and drawing is slow right now. I need to kick my muse in the butt. Maybe this weekend.

Also, I need to clear out all the books and clothing I own that I'm not going to use. More and more it sinks in that I expect to move in less than six months, which means clearing out years worth of... well, crap... I've accumulated. (maybe I shouldn't have skipped the clothing swap a couple of weeks ago, even if I mostly gave things rather than picking anything up.)

Also, i really should learn how to drive this summer.

So, have a few fanfiction things, since I am too busy or tired to be coherent.

( These include banners )

I'm stealing a meme from swan_tower. Basically, post the opening lines of the last 21 fics you wrote.

Because I did at least 20 drabbles in January, I'm going to do this twice, once for all fics (which should all be at invoking_urania, but I have a backlog of things to post there), and once for all my longer fics (which I usually archive over at beccastareyes). You can play guess the fandom, but I name canon characters or use fandom-specific terms in nearly all of these lines, so it'll be the least exciting game ever.

Warning: I spoil a very long list of fandoms in this, because apparently I like to write drabbles that are reactions to Shit Has Happened. The non-drabble list is moderately safer, but I still mention at least one 'this character dies in canon'.

( All Fiction )

( Excluding Drabbles )

One thing I really appreciate about my mother is that she seems to understand that not everyone is made happy by the same things. Which is really good, because she and I are very different in terms of likes and dislikes: for instance, Mom hates living alone, while I am really picky about the people I can live with* and need my own space or at least people who can give me my own bubble (I do fine during Christmases with Mom and my brother, even if I'm sharing a room with my brother and generally camp out either in the recliner or at the kitchen table to do things). (My sister takes after Mom; Jenn has never lived alone in her life, actually. Nor has my brother, but he also hasn't moved away from home yet.)

It also comes up with matters of money. During the job hunt, Mom reminded me to ask about salaries because, while I'm happy living on my grad student stipend, she wanted to make sure I had enough money to do things I like doing (traveling to visit friends and family, having a place I wanted to live, buying a car which I admit I'll eventually need) and suggested things like 'if you have the money, why not look into a weekly cleaning service, since we both know how you feel about housework?**'. I don't know if that's something Mom would spend her money on -- she might if she had more income, given she works long hours and not having to spend her days off cleaning would be pretty nice, but right now it would probably mean fewer trips to see her family -- but it's something she thinks I'd like, so I should totally look into it and see if it fits a budget. (This is also why Mom got laser eye surgery: the improvement in her vision was totally worth the money and pain of surgery, so she saved for it.)

It's nice to know that whatever I do with my life, I know Mom is proud of me and will help in any way she can, even though it is so far from what she wants for herself. (Mom once told the head of the UNL physics department at a job interview that, if she could have any job, it was the one she used to do as a nurse's aide at a retirement home; our chair joked that at least the physics department had its share of old people.)

* Thankfully, all of my biological family make this cut, or I've learned to adapt to them and they to me.

** I don't think many people like housework, but I guess there's a point of 'do I hate it enough to justify the expense of paying to have someone else handle it'.

... is that my sinuses decide that two days on planes in a row is not something I should ever do again, even on medication. Forgetting my water bottle (I fill it after going through security) doesn't help. Seriously, I'm just glad one day of travel didn't stress my sinuses out too badly, so I didn't feel like crap at my interview. (And of course, just now I remember the prescription nasal spray I have that is supposed to enlarge my nasal passages to improve drainage.)

As for the interview, it went well. Everyone seemed really friendly and collegial, so most of my questions about the job are the existential 'what do I want to do with my life' ones: basically I'm nearly 30 years old and still don't feel like an adult. Maybe taking time off between college and grad school would have helped, but grad school classes were hard enough with just a summer between them and physics classes. Being an authority in my job -- whether it be 'you are in charge of XYZ course' or 'do you have any ideas for research projects?' -- scares me.

Maybe that's one reason I wasn't in a hurry to finish grad school: being a grad student is a pretty comfortable life for me.

But it deserves a top level post.

I have a second interview down in Georgia, this one in person. The position is tenure-track at a state college near the Tennessee border (and on what I presume is bean_bunny's annual DragonCon Pilgrimage route, which is a minor intangible benefit). It would be full-time teaching -- and I mean full time, since I'd be teaching as many credit hours as I normally took as an undergrad* -- and the students would mostly be first and second year engineering undergrads getting a start at a smaller school before going on to take specialized courses elsewhere, and the standard 'non-majors taking Astronomy for science credit' students that everyone who is in astronomy expects to teach if they teach.

That and the Helsinki interview went well: I think I and the professor hit it off. Both jobs probably have about the same ratio of 'candidates remaining' to 'positions', so I feel pretty good about getting one of these. Mom asked me what I'd do if I got both; both have their pluses and minuses, but both are so different and would indicate different directions of 'what I want out of life'. Unless Dalton rubs me the wrong way in the day I'll be in town, or the darkness/cloudiness of Finnish winters scares me off ( I get really moody when I can't see the Sun, even in NY), it would come down to what I want, and not 'one is objectively better'.

Or the small number statistic gods will decide for me, since getting one job is more likely than two. Or one of my other applications would pan out.

* Professors at more research-focused universities usually teach about half as much, but are expected to be mentoring undergrad/graduate student researchers as well, so the time commitment for teaching isn't as extreme as it seems by 'hours spent in front of a class'.

I had a single lesson of ice skating when I was a kid. One of the only things I remember was that the first lesson was how to fall. Which is a great joke, when you don't explain what it means.

'How to fall' is not just the obvious. It's a bit of 'keep your breakable bones away from heavy masses like your torso', but mostly it's 'how to recover from a fall'. Because everyone falls. Especially people learning new things. So the first lesson is to accept that you will fall and need to get back on your feet/skates.

( I've been thinking about it, because in some ways, it's a general life lesson.  )

I don't know what it says about me that I was dreaming about video games last night. Specifically the part of Skyward Sword where you have to collect the plot coupons goddess's tears while avoiding the invincible enemies. Which... well, I've played the last two DS games which basically involve the same premise every time you need to advance the plot, but for some reason the damn thing stressed me out. Enough that I dreamed that I'm helping my sister play Skyward Sword*, and the damn game randomized the location of the tears so I couldn't help her.

I don't even know what this means in terms of anxiety dreams, but it's better than having to repeat high school classes for some reason, usually with a side of 'can't get into my locker' and 'I don't even remember my schedule', which are my normal class of anxiety dreams. Why I have these now when I never got them (or remembered them) in high school is a mystery. Or why they are high school dreams, and not set at UNL or Cornell and involving college coursework/teaching things...

Then again, my dream the night before that involved a singalong of Jonathan Coulton's "Redshirt" with dolphinacorn and a chorus of Miscellaneous Friends while I was picking up groceries, so maybe I should just go with it.

* When we were in middle school, Jenn or Ben would be the one playing and I'd watch, usually with a map from the strategy guide to help. Even if technically Ocarina of Time was my game, I could never get past the fire boss on my own.

I haven't been sleeping so well, so I stayed home from work to try to fix that. I'm hoping that a weekend will have me back on my feet on Monday. ( Instead, I decided to find a new source of stress in my life, which is messing with my computer. )

I find Nnedi Okorafor an interesting author. She writes these amazing, creative children's/YA stories like Zarah the Windseeker and Akata Witch, and also writes amazing adult books that are in no way for children. (Seriously, while I loved Who Fears Death, it got dark enough at times that I doubt I'd be able to reread it.)

( Anyway, so I finally got a copy of Akata Witch, which has been described as the Nigerian Harry Potter.  )

I'm doing the rarewomen exchange, and will be putting a Dear Recipient letter here.

(PS, signups are until the end of the month -- go check out who we nominated. The theme of the challenge are 'female characters with few fics about them, either because it's a tiny fandom or they just aren't popular characters'.)

So, I've been feeling icky lately. It seems like a mix of gummed up sinuses and medication side effects, but it means I have been sitting at home feeling headachy and nauseous and just well enough to feel guilty about being at home and not at work. I'm hoping that a mix of pseudoephedrine* and a diet change will help. Maybe see if I can find some candied ginger, since that's supposed to help with stomach nonsense.

* Aka 'look, I'm not going to be making meth with this, I just want to clear all the annoying tiny passages in my skull'.

So, I think I reviewed the previous book, Shades of Milk and Honey and I picked up this one and (IIRC) liked it much better. Basically, Kowal's world is set in the Regency period (when George III (the King George of the American Revolution) was considered too mentally ill to run a country, so his son (also named George) was Prince Regent) -- but illusion magic (glamour) is a thing. Kowal talks a lot about the perils of writing 'history with magic' for this series: that the more magic you introduce into our world, the more questions arise about why history remains roughly the same. Kowal limits glamour both through physical rules (it's effects of light and sound, and has to be anchored by the ground, and the glamourist usually has to be right there to manipulate it; they can leave a work and even run it on a loop, but complex patterns are usually done by tricks, and it takes a lot of energy and concentration), but also by social rules: glamour is considered a 'feminine' art: while there are male glamourists who make a living by taking commissions from the rich, a well-taught woman is expected to manage her home's glamours as part of the decor. Even uses in war (which are mentioned in this novel) are more akin to an engineering corps than 'sorcerers throwing fireballs'.

( I don't think I can talk much about this book without spoiling the last )

Anyone want to beta-read a 50,000 word Slayers fanfiction? (Mostly featuring Zel and Amelia, though Lina and Gourry have a sideplot. It's a sequel to "The Sun, Half Covered" if it helps...)

Hat tip to matociquala for reminding me of Vienna Teng's City Hall, a song about Valentine's Day. (Specifically, Valentine's Day 2004 in San Francisco.)

video

To all my friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances, you are all awesome and I'm taking today to celebrate having you all.

So, I picked this one up from anke who was getting rid of some books. The Eyre Affair takes place in an alternate late 20th century England where, among other things, people are obsessed with classics of literature and art. Most people have an opinion on things like who authored Shakespeare's plays, and it's enough that people can break into fist fights or political movements. The main character's hometown has a long-running community production of Richard III structured more like the showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show than any play I've seen. It's actually a bit like... well, a lot of Japanese action series where everyone knows a certain card game, or incorporates martial arts into their normal job, or has a job involving cute and trainable pet monsters.

( There's also things like low-grade magic )

An article on polyandry came across my feed today. Basically it mentions a paper that came out re-evaluating how common polyandry (one wife, multiple husbands) was in modern and historical societies: mostly showing that, contrary to 'the common wisdom' it happened in more places than just 'a part of Tibet where land is scarse, so often brothers marry the same woman so the family doesn't have to split the land'. (Also, it looks like one of the co-authors was a University of Nebraska anthropology prof -- go big red!)

The article notes that polyandry in societies are one alternative when for some reason the sex ratio becomes skewed towards more adult men, and in societies with little class structure (because I gather patrilineal inheritance matters less). And it made me nostalgic.

( When I was in high school, I read a lot of 'classic SF' and that included Robert Heinlein. )