Tag: Death Wish Coffee

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dragging myself out of bed

Yesterday was the absolute worst day of this cold. I hardly slept the night before due to coughing and sinus pain/pressure, and the cough was just killing me. I took the day off sick.

I drank Nyquil and snuggled into a blanket/pillow fort on the couch and watched a bunch of Leverage episodes. I coughed up junk and went through a box of kleenex. I only left the house to take the dog to the park and to take my mother to her sleep study.

After dropping Mom off, I crawled into my bed, put on a long ASMR video and drifted into a Nyquil fueled coma. I didn’t get a lot MORE sleep than the night before, but it was all in one solid chunk, and that seems to have made all the difference. I’m feeling much better this morning!

I did, however, have to drag myself out of bed before I wanted to so that I could go pick up my mother by 5:30 am. I am hoping that now that I’m feeling more like myself I can actually get some work done on both my day job and my house.

I need a second cup of coffee first, though.

Hoping your Wednesday is fabulous, Readers!

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

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road trip

It’s twelve thirty in the morning. I’m waiting for second coffee to finish brewing so I can fill my travel mug and head out on the first road trip since the before times. The cats have food and water and clean litter boxes. The house is mostly clean. Mom is coming to watch the kitties.

Once the coffee is ready, I’ll run through my checklist one more time, shut off the computer, start the dishwasher and finish putting stuff in the car. I should be on the road by 1:30 ~ish, which should put me at my destination around noon.

I went to bed around 6pm to prep for this, and despite being super tired, my sleep was a bit crappy. I slept best early on, but then I was awake at least once an hour after 8pm. Finally gave up at a little after 11 because all I was doing was worrying about stupid stuff and stressing myself out.

I have the next two weeks off of work. A few days in Oregon with my girls, a few days at home to relax, then Star Wars Celebration. My low mileage insurance is going to go bonkers! LOL. Next month’s insurance bill is going to suck.

So, I hope you have a wonderful couple of weeks and get to take some time just for yourself, Readers.

I’m off to pour some coffee and get things moving.

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the dark side slump

I’ve been meaning to write for days, weeks even. My muse seems to have fled the building, taking all of my creativity and such with her, so it’s been a dry month or so. I managed to mostly do a poem a day for April, only missing a couple of days due to either migraines or other impairment.

I celebrated Star Wars Day yesterday and I’m starting to get excited/anxious about Celebration at the end of the month. Between here and there I have a lot of work and such. I continue to love my day job and working from home continues to be the best thing ever.

I have taken up a new creative hobby in acrylic paint pouring. I’m decorating my house, one abstract masterpiece at a time! It is, however, incredibly addictive and I’m running out of wall space! I’m sure I’ll find someone to gift/sell them to.

I have a lot of thoughts about the current political situation, but I’ll save those for another day.

For this Sith Holy Day (Revenge of the 5th), I have some Death Wish Coffee in my Death Wish Coffee cup, a ton of work meetings on tap, and a kitty who thinks I should play hooky and snuggle her.

I hope you are all safe and sane (ish) and wish you good coffee and tasty foods.

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life, writing, and muddling through

It feels trivial somehow to talk about the mundane aspects of a mundane life when around the world people are suffering and dying in zones of war, bombs falling from the sky, buildings reduced to rubble and scared populations huddle in the dark or flee desperately to foreign lands.

At the same time, for those of us not in that immediate situation, life continues at its regular, mundane pace and so we go on.

In writing news, The Daughters of Morru is now available over on my Patreon page for all Patrons at the Enablers tier ($3 /month) and up. Chapters are posted every Sunday. So far three chapters are available.

I continue in my quest to write a poem per day, with first access to those available on either my Patreon page (for all Patrons $1 and up) and my Ko-Fi page (for all supporters, even 1 time donors). So far I’ve only missed one day, due to an accident that left me a bit concussed and rendered my muse mute.

I continue to settle into the new place, getting a little more comfortable every day. I now have an actual kitchen table and chairs, which I haven’t had in close to ten years. I’m almost feeling like a proper grown up!

I’m hoping my Death Wish Coffee order shows up soon, or I may have to resort to Starbucks this week! Fortunately, there’s a Starbucks walking distance from my house…I just need to find my make up to cover up my bruised up face (I look like someone punched me right between my eyes).

But, it’s almost time to start the day job and I still have today’s poem to write, so I shall leave you to your Tuesday, Readers. I hope it is filled with kindness and good things!

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and we’re done

Well, not quite *done* exactly. I have finished at the old home. Yesterday I went back to get my succulents and other odds and ends that got left on moving day, and with the help of a friend, we cleaned the place to the point where it is cleaner than it was when I moved in, other than 12-year-old cream-colored carpets that wouldn’t come clean even with bleach.

I have today off work, ostensibly for settling in, but I’m pretty wiped out today, and sore all over. If nothing else today, I need to finish emptying the truck and put the plants out back so I can take the truck back to my sister-in-law and get my car back.

Then I can take the week to slowly begin unpacking. I may try to finish setting up the kitchen today so I can cook an actual meal this evening. My next most important bit is the office, so that it’s set up Wednesday when the cable installer is here.

Once that stuff is done, I think I’ll set myself a goal of at least two boxes per day to get emptied and all the stuff in them can find a home. I have so much more storage in this house! Plus a whole two-car garage, where even more can be stowed.

I still need to come up with a kitchen table and chairs and a washer/dryer, but I figure that’s what tax refunds are for.

I also have a lengthy wish list on Amazon of things I need or would be nice to have in the house. The longer I’m here, the longer the list gets. (https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XS9D465BNIUP?ref_=wl_share if you’re so inclined).

The cats are starting to settle in. They’ve discovered the joys of a front-facing window on a street with lots going on, and Freya thinks the stairs are an amusement park ride.

For now, however, I’m sipping on some Death Wish Coffee and contemplating a hot shower. I might even find some writing time at some point today. Does anyone know which box I packed Brain, my muse, in?

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the light at the end of the tunnel

I’m nine days away from moving day, and let me tell you, I’m exhausted. There is light at the end of the tunnel, there’s just a lot of tunnel between me and that light.

I’m surrounded by boxes and bins. They’re stacked everywhere. I’ve got a wall of boxes in the office. There’s a bunch of boxes stacked in front of the closet in my bedroom. The entertainment center in the living room is surrounded by boxes. The dining area is starting to look like a tower of boxes.

It’s hard to believe there could still be anything to pack. However, there seems to be stuff everywhere that still needs to fit into boxes. And I’m still living in this house, so not everything can get packed.

Being a very Virgo Virgo, I have lists for packing, cleaning, things that need to be done two days out, one day out, and the day of moving. There is a satisfaction that comes with checking off boxes.

I go out to the new place on Sunday to sign the lease and do the walk through with the landlady. She even has a checklist for inspecting every room.

For now, though, I have some Death Wish coffee in my Stormtrooper Pew-Pew mug, and lots of work for the day job to get done.

Have a great Thursday, Readers.

Photo by Manikandan Annamalai on Unsplash

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it’s about time

Is there anything more annoying than all of this daylight savings time nonsense? I mean what purpose does it serve in a modern world? Granted, most of our devices that we use to tell time update automatically these days, and the ones that don’t are easy enough to change, but that’s not the point.

Sure, getting an extra hour on a Sunday in the fall to lay in bed and cuddle kitties isn’t all bad. But then your internal body clock needs to reset too or you’ll be out of sync with your schedule. There’s the hassle of remembering the time differences that change because your loved one lives in Arizona where they don’t change their clocks in some weird effort to create more daytime.

Then come spring we “lose” that hour, causing more confusion, not to mention health problems and car accidents as we rise like zombies for the first few days, our body clocks telling us we should be sleeping, not driving in rush hour traffic.

The time has come to end this ridiculousness. It may have had its place when it was created when most people worked farms and such, but in the world we live in now it causes more harm than good, in my opinion.

We need to do away with it altogether. Let’s stop thinking we can control the daylight and just let time carry on.

Thus ends my rant for today. I need some coffee and I have editing to do! Happy Sunday, Readers, approach it with kindness.

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how an introverted agoraphobe travels

I am nearly completely packed up for my weekend trip to Denver, just need to stick my journal and a pen in the backpack, and double check my electronics. I’ve checked into the hotel. I will be checking into my flight in about 20 minutes. I have a full work day ahead of me.

This is probably the least anxious moment in my travel. Until I achieve all of the check-ins, I’m a ball of anxiety fretting about what will go wrong. But, now is the calm of knowing I have the plans in place, and with that, knowing I can go with the flow.

Tomorrow will kickstart the actual travel anxiety: What if I don’t get to the airport on time? What if I miss my train? Miss my flight? What if the plane has a problem? What if there are anti-maskers on the plane? What if someone with COVID coughs in my face? What if…etc. Oh, and my brain can manufacture the most outrageous scenarios to worry over. It’s kind of ridiculous, really.

Then, once in Denver, there’s the “What if I can’t find my friends in the airport?” and “What if we can’t find the hotel?” (which is silly because GPS and we’ve been there before), etc.

But! Once we’ve gotten to the hotel, gotten into our room and found the conference registration? Then it’s a weekend of mostly relaxation. Sure, there will be moments of panic/fear/needing to hide. There always is. And when I come home on Sunday, there will be a few days of hiding and recharging.

I control what I can so that I can let go of what is outside my control. My flight, my car, my hotel.

Oh, and double checking that the Death Wish Instant coffee is in my suitcase. I do need my coffee, you know.

I should get to that day job thing. And maybe second coffee.

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zero drafts and idle hands

Yesterday I completed the zero draft for the third Blood Witch book. This is a pretty huge accomplishment, even if there is still a lot of work to do. This means I have all three in some state of “done” and it’s time to run back to the beginning with my notes of all the changes that need to be made in books one and two.

Of the three of these, I think the middle book came the easiest and there were a lot of times struggling through book three felt like I was trying to push my way through frozen molasses.

Book one is the most complete and polished. Three is the least.

I guess this is what comes of trying to write during the apocalypse. I am glad I didn’t push out book one when I thought it was done, because some of the changes and tweaks I need to make to better set up two and three will also make book one better.

I’ve settled on tentative titles, but realize that a publisher may suggest changes.

So where does that leave me, here on a Monday morning before the dawn? To be honest, I’m running through my packing list for Sirens in my head (still need to do meds/makeup/toiletries/electronics). I’d like to say I’m not going to poke any of the three books until after Sirens, but I won’t promise. After all, I can’t seem to sleep past 5am these days, and I need something to do with my hands.

But that does remind me that it’s Monday, and I have to stop working early to go get a COVID test, so it must be time to suck down some Death Wish Coffee, put on my tech writing cape and crown and get to it.

Have a wonderful Monday, Readers! Treat yourself with kindness and love.

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travel in the time of COVID

One week from today, I will be in Denver, CO for a convention unlike most others I have ever attended. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious about the travel and the collection of people in small rooms. Sure, I’ll double mask on the plane and the con has good COVID practices in place (everyone must be vaxxed and have a negative COVID test for starters), but my only experience with “crowds” was in August this year, and there were only twelve of us.

I considered not going. Several times. However, Sirens is a place that feeds my soul, and if I’m honest, my soul has been sorely in need of feeding.

Sirens is a place where we get to explore the world of speculative fiction (sci-fi, horror, fantasy, etc) through the lens of voices that are not considered “traditional” in that space. By which, I mean: women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc. (Reminder that this year’s anthology, “Villains and Vengeance” is available now!)

It’s part reader’s conference, part writer’s retreat and part networking weekend. This will be my third time at Sirens.

Of course my COVID anxiety is only just part of my anxiety, because there is also the uncertainty of travel, particularly since I am flying Southwest, and my agoraphobia, which has only gotten worse since the start of COVID. I have the advantage of a) flying an airline I know well, out of airports I know well; b) the con hotel is also familiar; c) FRIENDS.

I think having friends who know/understand my *stuff* is my biggest coping mechanism. It provides a safe space when there is no safe space. I anticipate a need for a lot of hermiting time when I get back.

For now, though, Readers, I have a few hours before I have to start the day job and my coffee is fresh and hot. I think that means it’s time to write. Happy Friday!

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