Showing posts with label Nerd Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nerd Church. Show all posts

Sunday 29 November 2020

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Have A Safe and Happy Christmas

 

(Warning: As you can probably tell from the title, this post is about Covid 19/Coronavirus)


Christmas in 2020 is gonna be weird. I think we all know that.

I think, if those of us who celebrate go into it trying to make the best of things, it's gonna be better than complaining about the things we can't do.

(Although, a notable exception is the British tradition of enjoying a good moan about everything - but the key to that is you have to really enjoy it. Otherwise it doesn't count 😉)



'Covid 19: Have A Safe and Happy Christmas' with multi-coloured snowflakes, and a red reindeer silhouette



At the same time, if you're not feeling it this year - if you're sad, or angry, or any combination of things - then that's OK too.

You feel how you feel, and feeling guilty that you don't feel how you 'should' at Christmas is only gonna make you feel worse.

I realise that that's something of a paradox - make the best of things and look on the bright-side, but also accept it if you feel cruddy and don't put too much pressure on yourself - but I'm a walking contradiction kinda gal 😅

Sunday 22 November 2020

Nerd Church - Working From Home More? It's Time To Set Some Work/Life Boundaries


(Warning: I briefly discuss mental health problems in this post - it's not graphic, and is written about in the context of self-care and healthy work/life boundaries)


'Working From Home More? It's Time To Set Some Work/Life Boundaries' with a rustic-y fence and a sunflower, because sunflowers are happy and we need happy stuff in 2020


A lot more people are working, at least in part, from home this year - on account of 2020 and all the Lockdowns and everything 2020-ish.

I've actually worked from home for several years, and it's got a ton of advantages - but you also have to be careful to set work/life boundaries -

- especially if, like me, part or all of your income is coming from things which were once solely hobbies - it tends to blur the lines.



Disclaimer: This is the bit where I remind you that I'm not any type of mental health or medical professional.

Neither am I some kind of life or productivity coach (that would be scary!)

I only have first-hand experience of Depression/Anxiety, and using self-care to support myself - and hopefully my experiences can help other people.


Sunday 15 November 2020

Nerd Church - How 2020 Is Actually An Apocalyptic Rock Opera. No, Really.

 

(Warning: This post discusses various elements of 2020, including but not limited to - Covid 19/Coronavirus, the US presidential elections, racism and police brutality.)


 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.



Whew! It's been a year, right? 

And it's not over yet (though hopefully our supply of Bad News has dwindled sufficiently.)

Over the course of this year, two of my (many - when I love something, I love it!) favourite albums of all time have kind of become my soundtrack to whatever the f**k has been going with 2020.



Some people think we're living in a simulation, but I have a new take: dearest nerdlets, we're in a rock opera!



'How 2020 is Actually An Apocalyptic Rock Opera. No, Really.' with a background of multi-coloured guitar necks


Monday 9 November 2020

Month in Review(s) - October 2020

 

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, and mental health problems)


Well... October was pretty much the same as the rest of 2020 - there were a couple of nice things in there, but overall it sucked.

(I'm still standing though! #ThePositiveSide!)

My local Lockdown became a Welsh national Lockdown, and the anti-Welsh sentiments in some parts of the media and the Interwebs were irritatingly loud. 

*Takes deep breaths* *Resists urge to rant*

(If you want to see me ranting for a whole blogpost against an ignorant RT from the Trumpkin, you can read that here.)



'October - Hydref' with carved, lit, pumpkins in the background

Sunday 8 November 2020

Nerd Church - Remembering Why We Remember

 

(Warning: this post discusses war, loss of life, and pandemics/ Coronavirus/Covid 19)


'Remembering Why We Remember' with a background of poppies


In the UK, it's traditional to mark Remembrance Sunday - the Sunday that's nearest the 11th November - and also Remembrance Day, otherwise known as Armistice Day.

This has been tradition since just after the First World War, when literally everyone knew someone who had passed away in service. (World War One was basically 4 years of non-stop slaughter on all sides.)

So, for the last century almost every town and parish in this fair(ish) land has had memorial services for the country's war dead on these days.


Sunday 25 October 2020

Nerd Church - 5 Things That've Kept Me Going In 2020 (So Far)

 

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, Lockdowns, and Depression/Anxiety)


Since I'm once again in Lockdown, and now it's not just local but national for Wales, I figured I'd have a vague ramble about some of things that've been keeping me going through the weirdness that is 2020.


'5 Things That've Kept Me Going In 2020 (So Far)' on a wavy funky multi-coloured background

Sunday 18 October 2020

Nerd Church - Hate Crimes Are Bad, Right?

(Warning: this post discusses hate crime and bigotry, including racism and Transphobia.)



Last week (ending yesterday) was National Hate Crime Awareness Week in the UK.

Which means that there's been a lot of very productive hashtags -

(no, I'm not being sarcastic - it's possible for hashtags to change the world, and you know it,) 

- and shows of support from various institutions. 

And it's largely been a very nice, if sometimes luke-warm, effort by said institutions to show solidarity with marginalised groups. Which is good, obviously.



'Hate Crimes Are Bad, Right?' on a stripey blue background



Or... at least I thought it was obvious. 

Because I thought it was obvious that hate crimes are, y'know, bad.

But apparently that isn't obvious to everyone.

Because someone, somewhere, dearest nerdlets, will always find a way to be a jerk. 

Never more so than on social media.

Wednesday 14 October 2020

Month in Review(s) - September 2020

(Warning: this post discusses Coronavirus/Covid 19, Transphobia and JKR, and mental health)


September was weird. I think that goes for much of 2020, but September felt especially 2020-ish.

In August, Wales was down to a very small number of Coronavirus cases. We had it in control. 

By the end of September, over half of our population was in Lockdown, and remain in Lockdown. That includes yours truly.


'September - Medi' with leafy background and large pink and purple leaf shapes

Sunday 11 October 2020

Nerd Church - Mr Trump, The USA Would Be Lucky To Look More Like Wales

 (Warning: this post discusses the Coronavirus/Covid 19, Lockdowns, and Donald Trump.)


Some little-known American politician named Donald Trump retweeted a journalist(..?) named Laura Ingraham in which she said: 'Your future under Biden: "'Rolling Lockdowns' will become norm in Wales"'

She then linked to a BBC article about the problems we're having with Coronavirus, and that we may be in and out of local lockdowns for a while yet. Which... yeah? We might.

I'm currently in Lockdown. I make no secret of that.


'Mr Trump, The USA Would Be Lucky To Look More Like Wales' with background: left-hand: USA flag - stars and stripes in red, white, and blue. Right-hand: Wales flag, a red dragon on a background of green grass and white sky



OK, my darling nerdlets, let me tell you a little open secret: Wales will always prioritise the lives of the Welsh people.

If there ever comes a time when we don't, we will have truly lost ourselves.

It's sad that the idea seems so strange to some Americans.

Sunday 4 October 2020

Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: Oh, the Melodrama!

 

(Warning: this post briefly discusses overthinking and Anxiety/Depression)


In its previous life, my WIP, written by teenage-Cee over a decade ago, was melodramatic as f**k.

As in, there were kidnappings, and murders, and guns, and a secret child, and... if you can think of a plot-twist, it was probably in there. Plus a few more for luck.

And while the current version of These Ghosts of Ours is much, much, less ballistic, the memory of that previous version has left me constantly questioning the emotion-y bits and plot developments.


'The Writer Diaries: Oh, The Melodrama!' written in typeset on a piece of paper coming out of a typewriter


Sunday 27 September 2020

Nerd Church - Covid 19: Locked Down Again

(Warning: As you can probably tell from the title, this post discussed Coronavirus/Covid 19, Lockdowns, and people acting like petulant children)


I'm in a local Lockdown.

...Along with nearly half of the population of Wales, and nearly a quarter of the population of the UK as a whole.

(Yeah... the government's working so hard to avoid a nationwide lockdown that the entire nation may well end up in 'local' lockdown.)



'Covid 19: Locked Down Again' on a blue artsy background


Sunday 20 September 2020

Nerd Church - On LGBTQ+ Own Voices

 

If you follow me on Twitter, you might've seen my thread about the current discussions surrounding #OwnVoices LGBTQ+ content.

If you haven't seen my thread, and/or don't understand a word I just said, then don't worry - I'm about to break it down for you, and also expand - because I'm just that nice to you.



'On LGBTQ+ Own Voices' written in pink on a rainbow Pride flag background


Sunday 13 September 2020

Nerd Church - I'm Not (Totally) Lovin' It: Why I'm Not Entirely Happy (Meal) That They're Ditching The Plastic Toys

 



Recently, I saw that McDonalds are gonna stop supplying hard plastic toys in their kids' meals in the UK and Ireland.

This was due to a petition from two smol eco-warriors, who were annoyed at the lack of recyclable-ness. 

And good on them. We all need to be working on cutting down on the amount of plastic we use.




Yellow writing on red background: I'm Not (Totally) Lovin' It. Why I'm Not Entirely Happy (Meal) That They're Ditching the Plastic Toys





But when I heard the news, I wasn't entirely happy. 

Of course, I was happy that there'd be less plastic thrown away and ending up in landfill or the water system!

...But I still had some reservations.

Because I knew how much it would hurt a lot of kids whose families are on low incomes. 

Sunday 6 September 2020

Nerd Church - I Scaled Back on Blogging In August. Have I Learned Anything?





I don’t know why I need to keep learning the same lessons in order to actually, y’know, learn them, but…

I do? I guess?

Good habits are much easier to break than bad habits, dearest nerdlets! 



'I Scaled Back on Blogging in August. Have I Learned Anything?' displayed on a laptop screen




So anyway, let’s back up and rewind and all that jazz -

In August, I decided to scale back to about one post a week, instead of my regular 3 or 4 per week. I also took a break from my regular series – Comics Wrap-Up, Friday Fics Fix, Nerd Church.

This was so that I could have chance to do some goddamn blog admin for once, and try to get a handle on my socials, make something that at least vaguely resembles an actual posting schedule, make a plan for updating old posts, etc. etc. 


Thursday 6 August 2020

Month in Review(s) - July 2020


July was a month that happened.

Is it bad that all of the months have just kind of squidged into one and I can't remember what happened in July vs what happened in June?

Can I blame the Dyscalculia for that, d'y'think? Or is it just me? (It's probably just me.)




'July - Gorffennaf' against an artsy sparkly/firey background




Anyhow, this is your reminder that the Coronavirus situation is NOT over, and you need to keep taking all the hygiene and distancing precautions.

(People who think 'it's all over' are... ARGH!) 

#StaySafeDearestNerdlets


Sunday 26 July 2020

Nerd Church - Caffeinated Current Events: Explaining the Headlines

(Warning: this post discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus, the backlash against Black Lives Matter, and general Nazis. Because 2020.)



If you don't know, Caffeinated Current Events (CCE) is where I explain various stuff in the news whilst under the influence of caffeinated beverages.

I haven't actually written a CCE post in a while because... 2020. But I felt like now was the right time to do so because... 2020.




'Caffeinated Current Events' with an artsy silhouetted coffee cup in the background





Disclaimer Time: This post is primarily a satirical and snarky look at the news, intended for entertainmaint and comedy purposes. As such, hyperbole is likely. You've been warned - don't sue.



This time, I thought I'd take some real-life headlines and explain them with my own cynically optimistic and optimistically cynical caffeine-hyped frame of mind.

I'll link to the article each headline comes from so that you can see what the 'professional' news reporting is like!

Sunday 19 July 2020

Nerd Church - Please, Spare Me Your Holier-Than-Thou, 'Look At Me,' Hypocrisy


(Warning: this post discusses Homophobia, Biphobia, etc., and toxic/abusive friendships. It also briefly references racism and the death of George Floyd.)



I've never been especially fond of hypocrisy.

(...Although I guess it's one of those things we can't stand in other people, but rarely recognise in ourselves.)

If you say you have my back, but then you let me fall, I'm worse off than I would have been without you.

At least without you, I would have been more prepared to hit the ground.




'Please, Spare Me Your Holier-Than-Thou, 'Look At Me,' Hypocrisy' with a blue sky and flowering tree branch background

Sunday 12 July 2020

Nerd Church - If I Had £1million...


Money can't buy you happiness, true. But it can buy you the time, freedom, and resources, to be happy.

Plus, not having to worry about how you're gonna pay for stuff is guaranteed to help your mood. #JustSaying.


'If I Had £1million...' against a gold paint/glitter splotch, in front of a background of gold coins




So, though I doubt it'll ever happen, I felt like doing some day-dreaming of what I would do if I had £1million.

I picked £1million pretty arbitrarily - mainly 'cos it's a nice round milestone number, and because it's a lot of money, but not so much that you wouldn't have to think about what you were gonna do with it.


Wednesday 8 July 2020

Month In Review(s) - June 2020



June 2020. Somehow we're only half-way through 2020... which is... interesting.

We're still more-or-less on Lockdown here in Wales, though we're slowly easing things - so as of 6th July, we formed a social bubble with my brother, which meant we could hug him and everything.

Anyways, I had an OK month, although I did have a migraine, and hayfever, and a few bad Depression days... but I'm still here, still standing, still writing slightly rambley blogposts! 😊





Speaking of my blogposts - I once again posted zero reviews this month, and had one of my regular existential crises re: this blog.

(Not to be confused with my regular existential crises re: writing, Queerness, productivity, the meaning of life, etc. etc. etc.)

The typical, really: does my blog have enough bookish content? Can I even call it a book blog? Am I somehow misleading people by posting about other topics on here?



June - Mehefin with blue sky and sun symbol


Sunday 5 July 2020

Nerd Church - Online Responsibility (All The World's A Stage)




I think one of the primary responsibilities we have in life is to not hurt people.

The thing is, not everyone agrees on what, exactly, that entails.

A lot of people don't think that that responsibility to not hurt people covers saying cr*p online, for example.




'Online Responsibility (All The World's A Stage)' written in a white ye olde fashioned script, against a stage and red curtain, with dramatic lighting





It may not hurt someone physically, but what we say online can have serious repercussions. 

And the more 'influence' we have - online or in the mainstream media - the more responsibility we have to consider the consequences of our actions.

The world is full of nuance and 'what ifs' and 'but what abouts' - I'm not going to deny that. It's the way things are.

But I think that, in general, you have the responsibility to think about the ramifications of your words before you say them (whether that's verbally or online or whatever.)