Sunday 23 October 2016

Gah, she liiives

Hello Blog, I did not realize you were still here.  So I've not posted here for a while.  I'm still posting to my fiction blog semi-regularly.  In fact I just uploaded a interesting short fic of mixed genre.  Horror and romance.  Tragic sort of course. Horror and romance do not work otherwise.  If I ever post the sequel (after substantial revision because that shit ain't pg13) I can have my own Zombie adventure!! ^-^   Okay, okay, I spend entirely too much time on the Zombie genre.  The better part is I still haven't figured out the appeal of a zombie apocalypse.  Is it because the bad guys are so piss-easy to take care of but the world still descends into an anarchist paradise?  Or maybe its the sheer gore, and tragic horror factor of your own family rising from the dead with an insatiable hunger for your brains.  God knows.  At least I get the desire to write a romance once in awhile.

Sooooooooo, why am I actually here today..... Hahahahahahaha.... I have an assignment due in the morning and I'm no where near done.  Therefore I plan on a night of frantic writing interspersed with escapism!!!! YAY.  And don't I need it at the moment.. I've been down to my specialist soooo many times recently.  The trips to Brisbane are exhausting... I lose not just the days on the road, and the days there, but also a day or two when I get back home because I'm sooo fricken tired. -_-  I've spent more time sleeping then working this term.  It's been worse since the Dr switched up my pain meds.  Chronic pain + fatigue = poor sleep, poor focus, and brain dead Stephy.  I'm so glad that the term is over at the end of Oct. I can finally have a break that I've been needing since January. -_-  To Quote Marvin "Life, don't talk to me about life..."

Kay, brain, I need one thing from you!!! Help me get my bloody assessments FINITO.

Crazy Beans Out.

Wednesday 2 March 2016

This funny old thing we call life.

I seem to spend most of my life in transitory periods, living through one period of change to another.  For awhile this made me feel pretty aimless, as even if I had made a decision, situations change around me and I'm in a lurch fighting to keep up and get ahead.  The past 18 months have been particularly interesting to experience, though I'd have much rather watched it from the side-lines the live though it; particular that nasty biochemical depression that occurred after the neuro finished cutting the hole in my head. Actual Depression + Biochemical Depression = not fun, usually suicidal.  I think sometimes part of my brain has defaulted to pretending it all happened to someone else.  A brain tumor, break up, death of a family member, moving home because of medical dependency on others will all do that to you.  I'm just happy I'm past the stage when I wake gasping for breath  because  I think I'm dying in my sleep, or in tears for no reason, or momentary sleep paralysis (which I really want to see a neuropsychologist about) have diminished to almost never with the exception of the final one.  I think my endocrine system has finally recovered from the steroids as well.  Back to normal PCOS symptons.  It's bad when you just dream about snuggling in, nice and warm, when you're already in bed! lol Fantastic dream, then I wake up because of head, side, back and period pains!

Of course I don't make things easy for myself. I'm starting my social work placement this coming week.  With under 25s at that! What a learning curve.  I took on an addition elective this semester so I have two theory modules to along side the 30 hour per week prac.  I'm now able to process the adoption paperwork for RSPCA so now I do more for them.  Fortunately I've cut my news articles down to fortnightly and will be letting my WIN project officer know I'll be working for 4 months so won't be helping with playgroup.  I also survived my week long intensive at the Gold Coast Campus 8-4 while still going back to  backpackers and finishing assessments - one of which I got an 82% on!  My brain works so much better without the pressure. :)  Things are going well at the moment so fingers crossed its stays that way.

Course some days it dosen't take much to sour the my mood.  I spotted college humour posting a collecting of live tweets from a twitter account of a couple breaking up because of hodkins lymphoma.  Real or fake, it's a pretty insensitive thing to post. In fairness to college humour I think they were trying to illustrate how cruel people can be but as someone who's been through it, having your privacy breached like that can make the humiliation and pain that bit worse. I noticed they took the post down rather quickly after I commented that it was rather insensitive whether the tweets were a hoax or not.  Besides, even if they're only sharing something that's already posted on the internet they may face legal repercussions.  So it made no sense to post it in the first place.

On a brighter note, I've produced some new poems, and new flash fiction.

Saturday 12 December 2015

Ch-Ch-Changes

Sometimes I visit this blog and think 'OMG, it's still here?' I spend more of my time blogging here about my various writing projects then I do on Crazy Thoughts rambling about my life. This has not been deliberate, it's just I initially started blogging as a form of free writing - a way to clear the webs from my thought before I attempted a serious project such as an essay or story.  As a result I started Next Stop: The End (link above) because on writing project lead to another and very soon I no longer engaged in free writing unless I'm stumped (like today).

Crazy Thoughts also became a repository for allergen free recipes, and craft or soap related activities. I still make soap, but infrequently because the stuff last so damn long, though I can give it away quite quickly; I just haven't bought the necessary equipment since I moved, so it's an activity that's on hold till I need to make some more. I did make a yummy banana milo cake a few months ago, a recipe I will share eventually, but its still experimental.  The only project of note was the Handmade Dog Coat that I  shared on my word press blog, and had to intended to share here too. However I've become increasingly busy since I started my Master's degree.

Yes. Master's degree. Totally Crazy. It's not the only change either.  Poor Maxie had to be euthanasied because his cancer was causing him distress.  At least he can finally see Luke again.  Max still looked for him every time he heard a noise downstairs. Because of all the events of this year my aunt now has decided to sell up, and down size.  The house will be on the market and the house de-cluttering shall begin.  This won't be an easy task.  I'm just glad that I've only bought clothes and text books since I moved in!  Getting rid of most of my possessions, furniture and miscellaneous household items was not fun... Or easy because I still had not gain full use/strength of my leg back after the craniotomy and the fatigue meant i'd fall asleep in the middle of doing tasks. It was ridiculous.

Of course it would have been so much easier if the Ex had taken his clutter with him when he bolted in fear of what the tumour meant.  I mean, seriously, don't leave others your crap to deal with; it's not fair.


Sunday 25 October 2015

Molding our Young.

And here it is, my second news article!  I see no reason why it shouldn't be published in some fashion if The advocate can't find room for it in the already full broadsheets.  My writing seems to have focused strictly on the non-fictional at the moment.  While this is a learning experience, I'm missing fiction.  I'm going to make myself do so flash fiction this week, damn it!  The following article is one I submitted last week for possible publication.  I'm currently working on another on behalf of Welcoming Interculteral Neighbours Inc.
Gladstone cultural diversity has seen a steep rise over the past few years, yet we only have one playgroup that reflects the changes within our community. The Multicultural Playgroup, run jointly by Playgroup QLD and WIN Inc., establishes a safe niche for children to learn and play while creating a place of mutual respect, and dignity for family groups. For these families, the playgroup makes a refreshing change from normal as children are encouraged to use both languages in the very same social activities provided by other playgroups. Through exploring the various cultures in a social context these children form an accepting community at an early age – preparing them for a future where communities are certainly going to become far more diverse.
The early years of childhood are important to the development of a child's social awareness of their world. It is during these formative years that children learn how they should cope with others who are 'different' from them. This makes is the best period for forming healthy inter-cultural interactions. As such it would be a mistake to think that the Multicultural Playgroup is purely for those of different ethnic origins. Many Australians could benefit from a deeper understanding of our neighbours, and this playgroup provides a perfect forum. Any and all are welcome to join us. The Multicultural Playgroup is free and runs at the Neighbourhood Center on 105 Toolooa st every Friday from 9:30-11:30.
For more information please visit us at Welcoming intercultural Neighbours at 10 Tank st, Gladstone. We can also be contacted by email at admin@win-australia.org.au or by phone on 0487 422 142.
I feel that this one is an improvement on the last article; flowing more fluently with the structure of a proper news article.  This style is not a bad fit for someone already experienced with the concision of flash fiction.  Hopefully, practice will make perfect and I will be able to get fiction written.  Of course, I've been keeping myself busy with work for both WIN and the RSPCA and prep for my course starting in November.  I like to be busy, clearly.

Tuesday 13 October 2015

 Charlie actually has a happy face. I found it!! Yay!
Max is adorable when he's sleeping.




Hairy babies.