Successfully Zesting

When we take Miri on a walk, which admittedly happens rarely, she marks with urine as dogs do, and Adam calls it zesting. So this morning, I commented that she had successfully zested, and now I want there to be a song with that lyric. I’m opening it to anyone, because when I try to compose it, it just sounds like a jingle*.

 

*I would be a master jingle writer (a jingler?), if I cared to do so.

Jealousy as a tool

Hello!

I’m at a lull. I just finished a book and am waiting for the next of 3 in the series, but other than that, I’m auditionless, voice-wise.

I had a lovely therapy last week, learning that feelings, even shitty ones like jealousy, are messages telling you what you need.

So the Audies were last night. And I looked at the winners and WUZ JELLUSS. After I congratulated my longtime friendsister* who won**, I listened to what the jealousy was telling me, and signed up for Narrator’s Roadmap. It is the next step, one I would have liked to have done 2 years ago but wasn’t ready. But now I am.

I respect my process. I do. But sometimes I wish it was*** just a little faster.

 

*She’s the one who actually got my switch flipped and started me narrating

**And I’m SO PROUD of her!!!!

***Sorry, it’s probably “were” but that just didn’t sound right.

And then, everything returned to normal for a few months.

PCR test. THAT’S the one.

Took me a week, but I healed. Quite exponentially, so thank you, vaccine. I’m thinking it was Delta, because I’m pretty sure now I’ve got Omicron. Sore throat, no bigs. The class is quarantined, which is good, because it’s been a Revolving Door of Covid: someone gets tested Sunday night, they’re quarantined, but we’re not. So we go back to school and two more kids get sick enough to get tested. They stay home, and two more get sick. But they won’t shut down the school and clean and reset. It’s swell!

Anyway, finished 2 books, working on a third. And guess what? When I have just the one job, I can get it done! Knocked out 7 chapters in 3 days, and I was “taking it easy.”

 

Coronamy

I suppose that it’s because I got the vaccine that it’s not as bad as I’d heard. Although it was pretty bad.

I also suppose it’s because I was still recovering from a cold that I caught it in the first place.

Friday: woke up with a cough. It was productive. Did my taxes. Did not make me lunch, because it wasn’t that productive. On Friday afternoon, I was on the couch, minding my own business, when a truck came by and ran me over. Had to get off Google Meet so I could just lay there glassy eyed and limp, like a dead fish.

Friday, 2:30 am: periods of wide-wakefulness and fitful dozing, in which I saw the doctor and it was Roseanne, and without even examining me, she said, “Strep. It’s all strep. I have it, that kid has it.” Also, I had to walk to a parking lot and kids drove my car, but they didn’t know how to drive. Also, I couldn’t find the stage manager’s phone or email and I was freaking out because it was getting close to showtime. Also there was a large campus library, but I only found one hallway of it, and it only had one shelf of books.

Saturday: went to the Walgreens doctor. It was going to be $25 until they heard I had insurance but I was out of network. Then it was $89. Negative for flu, positive for COVID. Let SM know. Shows cancelled all weekend. Lay in bed for the rest of the day, sometimes slept. Head stuffiness and coughing, but mostly extreme fatigue. Couldn’t listen to anything; it was too loud. Couldn’t watch anything; it was too bright. Couldn’t eat anything, it tasted and smelled too much.

Sunday: better. Could do stuff again. Watched Frasier and Columbo. And the new live-action Cowboy Bebop, actually. The first episode didn’t do it for me. The characters seemed flat. Except the girl. She looked promising. I’ll let you know if there’s an Episode 2 in my future. Also, Joyce from 3 doors down brought Hanukkah cookies. They have magical healing properties.

Monday: better. Trying to get work done. Less guilt that i took time off school for this book because I wouldn’t have been able to be there, anyway. This way, I didn’t get the whole class sick. Still tired. But I’ll try to keep prepping books and nag the doctor about horse bleach. Just kidding, monoclonal antibodies.

Monday 7:10: Lost sense of taste and smell. Orange juice was not as pleasant as usual. Chicken tasted like chicken.

Monday 7:15: Hit a clove of garlic. Taste and smell returned.

Tuesday: Woke up breathing through my nose! Oh, it was exciting. Got to the part of Kill la Kill that wasn’t trash! That is exciting, too. Last night, my doctor asked me if anyone contacted me about monoclonal antibodies. I said no. This morning, still no. I’m getting a 72-hour test (PDF? PSI? PPD? I forget. PTO?) tomorrow for Ozzy, but I’m pretty sure it’s the ‘rona. I know I get to rest, but starting to get antsy and thinking I should get some more work done. Lots to read and prep still. On the other hand, there’s anime to watch and crosswords to do. And an interview with Nikole Hannah-Jones. Oyyyyy…

So what has been happening was…

Hi! I am back. For those of you who don’t get the newsletter, here’s an update:

 

We opened the show.

I started work on my first nonfiction book.

I did my first video game vo!

I got COVID.

 

Most of those things are exciting. Well, they’re ALL exciting. 75% are good exciting. So the show was cancelled last weekend. We only did 4 shows worth, one weekend. I hope we open next weekend, even if I can’t be there.

Hello again. It was a week.

Why, hello there, mom and all the spammers that want me to buy protections for my website,

It’s been a while. Last week I did nothing but go to rehearsal and narrate a book. It was heavenly.

Monday I was stressed.

Tuesday I thought, yeah, I might get it done, actually.

Wednesday and Thursday I sat with the fact that this character would have a husky voice, and that’s ok.

Friday I finished recording.

Sunday night at 11:00 I put it on the server, and was done, such as it was.

Monday I was exhausted, and not particularly happy to be back to school, although there were donuts and pie and cookies this week, as well as 3 birthdays in my class, including mine. And in the Date class this week, we’re learning all about what makes a family, and gender neutral terms like sibling, child, and parent. Next week, we’ll learn how to smash the patriarchy.

That’s right. They don’t pay me enough to not make the next generation little socialists. Yeah, I admit it. They will actually care about others. I know! What do I think I’m doing, young lady?

But I will be able to quit teaching preschool by the end of this year. Because they don’t pay me enough to stay, either. And even if they did, I’d rather read books into a microphone all day long.

But I ramble. I’m out of practice with this here writing thing.

I’m also tired and should go to bed.

Goodnight, Moon.

If I could give my anxiety a bris, I would.

Last night, someone asked, “Did you name your anxiety? I named mine. I call it Barbara. So when it’s really getting to me, I can say, ‘Not now, Barbara!'”

It’s a brilliant idea. Adam and I have named cancer or cancerlike things (mine is–was!–named Hortense, and I like that it ends with an “-se” because then it seems plural, and I imagine all the Hortense multiplying and forming a malignant colony, and then Dr. Thorpe came in and cut em off). But I never thought of naming anxiety, and it’s nice to be able to talk to it. Especially when its name is Barbara. God, f-ing Barbara, am I right?

 

 

***update: apparently, it’s Patricia. And she packed a large suitcase to come visit this month. So much baggage.