December 2021
Considering I had to cancel a holiday this month, I managed to get a reasonable amount of other things done, if mostly at home on the sofa.Skating
I had the last of my six roller skating lessons at the start of the month, and thanks mostly to Samathy and Lex's help, I managed to figure out how to do a basic forward-to-backward transition! I posted a video onto twitter.
I think I only got to one more open session after that, which was a good chance to practice a bit more, and mostly just enjoy myself (going round in circles hasn't got boring for me yet, hooray!)
I had the last of my six roller skating lessons at the start of the month, and thanks mostly to Samathy and Lex's help, I managed to figure out how to do a basic forward-to-backward transition! I posted a video onto twitter.
I think I only got to one more open session after that, which was a good chance to practice a bit more, and mostly just enjoy myself (going round in circles hasn't got boring for me yet, hooray!)
Jab III
I got my booster jab, just a couple of days less than two weeks before Christmas! The big vaccination centre I went to for my last two wasn't active this time around, so the place I opted for was the odd "Village Hotel" in Attenborough's retail park. The vaccinations took place in a small clinic set up in the basement next to the gym there.
There was also a Starbucks in the foyer, so I got a hot chocolate on the way out as a treat.
I got my booster jab, just a couple of days less than two weeks before Christmas! The big vaccination centre I went to for my last two wasn't active this time around, so the place I opted for was the odd "Village Hotel" in Attenborough's retail park. The vaccinations took place in a small clinic set up in the basement next to the gym there.
There was also a Starbucks in the foyer, so I got a hot chocolate on the way out as a treat.
Kathmas
I cancelled my trip to Svalbard, a decision that was on a knife-edge until literally the last minute, and ultimately I think it was the least worse option at the time, especially since I wasn't boosted yet. More travel restrictions came in while I would've been away too, and I felt lucky I didn't have to deal with trying to find PCR testing facilities in Longyearbyen, if there even are any!
Feeling like being alone at home with cancelled plans felt a lot like last year's Christmas, and with a visit to my parents still in the balance (in the end, I did go) which would mean I wouldn't get to reprise my new traditions from last year, I decided to celebrate Christmas early; presenting: Kathmas!
I made cinnamon buns, decorated the house, then on Kathmas day (Friday 10th) I made mushroom tartlets, a roast with sprouts and vegan sausages, and a chocolate cake with a christmas tree iced on top.
I cancelled my trip to Svalbard, a decision that was on a knife-edge until literally the last minute, and ultimately I think it was the least worse option at the time, especially since I wasn't boosted yet. More travel restrictions came in while I would've been away too, and I felt lucky I didn't have to deal with trying to find PCR testing facilities in Longyearbyen, if there even are any!
Feeling like being alone at home with cancelled plans felt a lot like last year's Christmas, and with a visit to my parents still in the balance (in the end, I did go) which would mean I wouldn't get to reprise my new traditions from last year, I decided to celebrate Christmas early; presenting: Kathmas!
I made cinnamon buns, decorated the house, then on Kathmas day (Friday 10th) I made mushroom tartlets, a roast with sprouts and vegan sausages, and a chocolate cake with a christmas tree iced on top.
SNOIC
I went what I would have said was embarrassingly all-in on Sonic stuff this month, except I am learning to not be embarrassed by geeky interests!
I have had a few more streaming sessions on Twitch playing various Sonics (mostly 3&K to work towards filling the cartridge with a complete set of saves), in my new Sonic t-shirt, no less.
Throughout the year I've been listening through the back issues of Sonic the Comic the Podcast, a very entertaining retrospective on the 1990s UK comic Sonic the Comic which largely passed me by at the time, and I finally caught up in December, allowing me to both engage with the community more and to read ahead with the scans. Happy new year 1996!
Through StCtP I discovered![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
angelblessart on Twitter, who drew some fanart of a hypothetical StC Super Amy, which just really started some gears turning my head, and I knew I had to write a fanfic about her.
I ended up with 2200 words that slot in-between panels of an issue of Sonic the Comic, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.
I went what I would have said was embarrassingly all-in on Sonic stuff this month, except I am learning to not be embarrassed by geeky interests!
I have had a few more streaming sessions on Twitch playing various Sonics (mostly 3&K to work towards filling the cartridge with a complete set of saves), in my new Sonic t-shirt, no less.
Throughout the year I've been listening through the back issues of Sonic the Comic the Podcast, a very entertaining retrospective on the 1990s UK comic Sonic the Comic which largely passed me by at the time, and I finally caught up in December, allowing me to both engage with the community more and to read ahead with the scans. Happy new year 1996!
Through StCtP I discovered
angelblessart on Twitter, who drew some fanart of a hypothetical StC Super Amy, which just really started some gears turning my head, and I knew I had to write a fanfic about her.I ended up with 2200 words that slot in-between panels of an issue of Sonic the Comic, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.
Xena and Cleopatra
I finished the penultimate season of Xena: Warrior Princess, which I'm still thoroughly enjoying, and watched the entire first season of Cleopatra 2525 which I found surprisingly good (albeit extremely cheesy) considering how much it was slated at the time!
I liveblogged each episode as I went for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, but I was pretty much the only person on twitter to mention it this month, apart from some actor birthday callouts.
I finished the penultimate season of Xena: Warrior Princess, which I'm still thoroughly enjoying, and watched the entire first season of Cleopatra 2525 which I found surprisingly good (albeit extremely cheesy) considering how much it was slated at the time!
I liveblogged each episode as I went for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, but I was pretty much the only person on twitter to mention it this month, apart from some actor birthday callouts.
Wollaton lights
Christmas at Wollaton was on this month, a set of light installations around Wollaton Gardens near the University of Nottingham, and exactly my sort of thing. I invited Samathy and Lex along too.
I think the best way to describe this is with a bunch of photos, but overall I really enjoyed it. We had mulled wine, marshmallows toasted over a fire pit, and there was ethereal music playing everywhere.
Christmas at Wollaton was on this month, a set of light installations around Wollaton Gardens near the University of Nottingham, and exactly my sort of thing. I invited Samathy and Lex along too.
I think the best way to describe this is with a bunch of photos, but overall I really enjoyed it. We had mulled wine, marshmallows toasted over a fire pit, and there was ethereal music playing everywhere.
The Matrix Resurrections
I went to see the Matrix at the cinema on my birthday, after a clever strategy from Lexie had me checking the online booking a half hour before the start time and discovering that fewer than ten other people were booked into the 11:15 showing, the first of the day. It paid off, and I was the only person in the back three rows.
The film itself was satisfying but nothing particularly special. It felt like a love letter to the original films, and while it had enough new material, I think the new cast and characters let it down a bit, lacking the presence and uniqueness of the original Matrix.
I did enjoy seeing a lot of the Sense8 cast though!
AMPDG
(I did not do an AMPDG this month.)
I went to see the Matrix at the cinema on my birthday, after a clever strategy from Lexie had me checking the online booking a half hour before the start time and discovering that fewer than ten other people were booked into the 11:15 showing, the first of the day. It paid off, and I was the only person in the back three rows.
The film itself was satisfying but nothing particularly special. It felt like a love letter to the original films, and while it had enough new material, I think the new cast and characters let it down a bit, lacking the presence and uniqueness of the original Matrix.
I did enjoy seeing a lot of the Sense8 cast though!
AMPDG
(I did not do an AMPDG this month.)
A writing record
Edit 2022-01-02: I completely forgot to mention that I wrote a second bit of creative writing in December too: the third part of my hopefully-comedy series Space Croissant that I tend to write an episode of during each 04-in-04 but fell off it earlier this year due to my new job taking my time. I realised after writing the Sonic fic that I had a shot at writing more words than in 2020 if I could manage 900 more, and then had an idea for Space Croissant. And deadlines help, so on the 30th I managed to put the third part up over on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kapellostories (link) and on Fictionpress.
Those 1900 words get me to 14,200-odd words of creative writing this year, a comfortable 1000 more than last year, and the most since I completed NaNoWriMo in 2008! I have no idea if I'll manage more in 2022, but it's a nice achievement for now.
Edit 2022-01-02: I completely forgot to mention that I wrote a second bit of creative writing in December too: the third part of my hopefully-comedy series Space Croissant that I tend to write an episode of during each 04-in-04 but fell off it earlier this year due to my new job taking my time. I realised after writing the Sonic fic that I had a shot at writing more words than in 2020 if I could manage 900 more, and then had an idea for Space Croissant. And deadlines help, so on the 30th I managed to put the third part up over on
kapellostories (link) and on Fictionpress.Those 1900 words get me to 14,200-odd words of creative writing this year, a comfortable 1000 more than last year, and the most since I completed NaNoWriMo in 2008! I have no idea if I'll manage more in 2022, but it's a nice achievement for now.