Month In Review(s) - April 2023

Have I mentioned that 2023 hates me?

Because 2023 hates me.

I'm having the worst year. And that's saying something.

Nerd Church - Basic Levels of Niceness

(Warning: this blogpost discusses low self-worth and mental health problems. It also briefly discusses toxic/abusive friendships.)

"Oh My God! You remembered!" 

She's holding the chocolate orange, still partly covered by reindeer wrapping paper, like it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen.

"Yeah?" - of course I did, she and our friend spent a good half an hour a month or so back discussing how sad it was that no-one ever gets them chocolate oranges, how much they love chocolate oranges, and that they hadn't had chocolate oranges in forever. 

So, when I was buying their Christmas presents, I bought a couple of chocolate oranges. No brainer; no biggy.

"You're so sweet!"

...Am I?

Nerd Church - It's Bannau Brycheiniog, Deal With It

In the spirit of friendship with our English neighbours, before we start I would like to wish you all a Happy St. George's Day! (Which is today - 23rd April)

You wouldn't think that a Welsh location having a Welsh place name would be controversial, but here we are...

Wales is full of mountains.

Like, there's so many mountains that most of the time we don't even notice they're mountains, let alone know what they're called. Most of them contain the scars of human industry and/or habitation.

But there are a few mountain ranges - a few national parks, in fact - that aren't untouched by humans, or even untouched by industry, but have kept enough of their own character, and enough tether to the natural world, to be classified as 'wild.'

Like Y Bannau Brycheiniog.

Month In Review(s) - March 2023

 

March 2023 was like the rest of 2023 so far - it effing sucked.

This year is really going down as one of my least favourites atm, and I've got some bad years on record, y'know? *sighs*

Anyhow, a good neighbour - a neighbour who'd been my neighbour since I was a toddler - passed away suddenly.

They were always there, y'know? They came to my brother's wedding and everything.

So that, on top of everything else I've been dealing with this year, was pretty damned horrible.

Nerd Church - The Little Things Are There To Enjoy...

 

It's good to remind ourselves - as often as is necessary - that the little things are there to enjoy.

...By 'ourselves' I obviously mean me - we need to remind me. 😅

Warning/Disclaimer Time: 

I very briefly discuss mental health problems in this blogpost.

I also give opinions on what can contribute to people's mood, so: I'm not any sort of scientific/medical/psychological professional - I'm a chick with personal experience of mental health issues and an internet connection. OK? OK.

The little things contribute so much to our lives.

Our beautiful, messed-up, everyday lives are made up of the bracelet you wore this morning, what you had for breakfast, whether you tripped over the doorstep on your way out, what song is playing on the radio... etc. etc.

Month In Review(s) - February 2023

 

What can I say about February?

As February tends to do, because of the length, it kind of zipped past.

It was not as bad as January for yours truly (because that, unfortunately, would take some beating,) but it was still full of more downs than ups, really.

I struggle when the people I love are struggling, dearest nerdlets, I really do.

And I tend to turn those feelings back on myself - like if I was just 'good enough' then things would be better, if I knew what I was doing with my life then things would be better, if I was just fundamentally 'better' then things would be better.

Objectively, I know that is a pile of b*llsh**.

Subjectively, I feel it.

Nerd Church - Sometimes, This Is OK

I don't know what I'm writing but I hope it'll turn out OK. 

I'm literally just typing things and hoping it turns into a blogpost at this point.

Wish me luck.

Thoughts are hard to form, sometimes. 

Let alone trying to write something insightful, pithy, witty, or just plain worth it.

Sometimes I put way too much pressure on myself and on this blog. 

Not everything I write has to have some deep meaning behind it.

(I know - you wouldn't think it for by reading some of my posts on such heavy-weight topics as fanfiction and weird superhero videos I found on the Interwebs. 😅 )

Nerd Church - Increasingly Post/Apocalyptic Situations

Warning: this post discusses current events so mentions a lot of potentially distressing topics, including, but not limited to: war, child labour, train accidents, Covid.

WTF is actually going on?

The 2020s are something else, honestly.

Someone needs to turn reality off and turn it back on again - simulation or not, this sh** is glitching.

Month In Review(s) - January 2023

January was hell.

I got some Very Bad news about a very close family member.

The 'it doesn't get better' kind of news.

I'm not really ready to go into it, further than saying I've found myself becoming a carer again. Yay.

So January was enough to say that 2023 is a bad year. Straight off.

I'm just hoping it stays at this level of bad and doesn't get worse. I can just about cope if it does that.

Nerd Church - The Best and Worst of Humanity

Warning: this post talks trolls and bigots, but mostly in the abstract sense

The internet is an interesting cesspit.

The best and the worst of humanity in one place.

(Thank God it's not still 2016 - for graphic imagery and threats, that year has thankfully yet to be beaten for me.)

Nerd Church - Learn ALL The Languages!

I really like languages, OK?

I like to play with them, twist them, turn them, taste them, learn them.

(And yes, I do literally mean taste them - synaesthesia.)

So... I put Duolingo on my phone a while back. (Not sponsored - sadly.)

It wasn't a 'New Year's Resolution' type deal-y. I don't do those, and besides, it was late last year when I randomly decided to get Duolingo.

Nerd Church - You Can't Do All of the Things, All of the Time (And That's OK)

 

I feel like it's a good time of year to remind myself of something:

I only have two hands.

Now, obviously, that makes sense literally (for me, at least) - but it works on a metaphorical/figurative type of way too.

I can only do what I can do - I only have so many hours in a day, so much energy to expend, so many resources to draw on... I only have two hands.

Month in Review(s) - December 2022

 

December - you gotta love December (well, I do anyway,) if only for the Christmas-ness.

True, December was, like much of 2022, full of ups, downs, and in-betweens.

But Christmas was nice - maybe not The Best Christmas Ever™, but then, is it ever?

I had a nice cwtchy* Christmas at home with my parents, my cats, and my brother. Who bakes awesome mince pies and gives them to me. (The brother, not the cats.)

*Just realised when editing that this is Wenglish and most of you won't know what being cwtchy means 😅 - uh... it doesn't really have a direct translation. It's kind of like combining huggy, and homely, and cozy... only better!

Month In Review(s) - November 2022

 

November wasn't great.

I mean... it wasn't the worst month ever.

And any month you can walk away from is a good one.

But yeah, November wasn't great.

Sometimes I think the world really did end in 2012, it just took a while for us to notice.

The 2020s just feel pretty apocalyptic so far, don't they?

Nerd Church - Always Assume That You're NOT Lazy

Disclaimer time: I am not any kind of mental health, medical, or life-coach-style professional. I'm a random Welsh chick with a blog - nothing more, nothing less

Lazy people exist, I'm sure. 

Lord knows, we've all met a few in the course of our lives - and they'll keep on being lazy regardless of what I do or do not say.

But most people aren't lazy

- we just tell ourselves we are.

Nerd Church - Competing With A Dancing Monkey For Your Attention

Sometimes it feels like I'm jumping up and down, trying to get attention for my writing, my blogging, my whatever-ing...

...only to get lost amongst all of the other people jumping up and down and vying for your attention in an increasingly noisy world.

Month In Review(s) - October 2022

Warning: this post discusses spiders - no pictures of spiders though, because I wouldn't do that to myself. 

I also briefly discuss illegal drugs because I like variety, apparently.

October was... pretty good, all in all.

I mean... the UK economy collapsed, followed by the UK government, and everything feels a bit like a slow-motion breakdown of society, so... that wasn't good.

Still, apart from all that, October was pretty good.

Eight Year Blogging Anniversary!

When I started this blog, the UK was still in the European Union, David Cameron was Prime Minister, and Obama was the US president.

...It's kind of terrifying to realise that that was only eight years ago, but here we are.

And I feel so very old and tired 😅

Month In Review(s) - September 2022

 

September was pretty good, on the whole.

For me - not for like, the Royal family, or the British economy, or the numerous wars and natural disasters etc.

...I'ma get back to me now 😅

Yeah - I kind of trotted along, for the most part, just doing what I do. 

Keeping metaphorically swimming and all that jazz.

Making some progress on this 'n' that, y'know?

...I'm not great at explaining things from my life so that they sound exciting 😅

Nerd Church - Being Exhausted Is Exhausting

I've been trying, lately, to let myself be tired when I'm tired.

Now, that probably seems simple to a lot of you - you lucky folks who get tired and just... accept it.

But me? Apparently when I'm tired, my natural reaction is to do more. 

Which... uh... makes no sense. 

I'm going to assume it's at least partly down to the tiger vs. not tiger thing I've talked about before. 😅 

I.e. my weird little hooman bean brain thinks we're under attack and/or vulnerable in some way when I'm tired, and pushes me to be alert to the dangers/fight the tiger/whatever.