Seems like a lot of people are leaving LJ in the wake of the Russian owners changing the TOS. More and more people are coming here, which means that it might be worth actually reading my F-List from here instead. Note to self: do that. (Please also note: I will no longer be cross-posting to LJ.) It has been a very long time since I last posted here, so here are some quick updates and such.

The Good: I'm alive and healthy and so is my fiancé. It's good to be grateful for the basic things.

The Bad: Two days ago I was fired for the first time in my life.

The Good: Wedding planning continues apace. It's going to be a good day.

The Not-Really-Bad-But-A-Little-Worrisome: Still need pin down a more accurate number of guests coming to this shindig, so I know how much I can budget into finding a photographer—which I still haven't done.

The Good: My mom is coming to visit this coming weekend!

The Bad: Looking for a new job. The only thing worse than actually having a job is hunting for one.

The Best: We are adding a kitten to our family! In the next... two? Three? Weeks. When she's old enough to leave her mom. Is there anything better than a tiny, purring, fuzzy kitten? No, no there is not. Kittens are the best.

That's it for now! I should try to post here at least once a month, but even that seems unrealistic, somehow. But I will try.

• I'm officially a Colorado state resident. (Well, ok, maybe not officially. I haven't gotten a new DL yet, but I did send in my voter registration yesterday.) Shockingly, it's not much different from New Mexico? There's a lot of Broncos merch everywhere, which is hilarious and terrifying. As I keep being told, I am deep, deep in the heart of Broncos country. (And apparently football season has started, or something. Who cares, though, since baseball season is about to be over?)

• You guys, moving is expensive. I've bought furniture and rugs and some art, and a whole host of other things that we need.

• I'm currently not working much. There's a product info workshop/training thing tomorrow, and there's a whole slew of online training manuals (which so far has been videos of text and a voiceover reading the text to me, and then a quiz to make sure I was paying attention) that I'm going through now. I'm seriously considering doing some knitting while I go through these things. I also now have a work email? I guess technically I'm sort of on the management team. I'm more like a team leader. Anyway. Work email. Training. Wooooo.

• We booked our wedding venue last week! We're going to be getting married at Tapestry House here in Colorado. The best part? They're an all-inclusive venue, so they'll do everything. Or at least, all the things we want them to. We'll probably go with an outside photographer and we have a friend who wants to DJ for us, but they'll do the food and the booze and the decorating (although my mom might do the centerpieces) and they'll even do the cake if we decide not to find someone else. It's a huge relief to not need to do all those things, let me tell you what. There are still things to do, obviously, but I feel so much more relaxed about the whole prospect now.

• I'm using all my OTP icons for these posts (which people reading on LJ won't be able to see) because of the wedding talk.

• Books! Since last I wrote, I did indeed get my hands on Ilona Andrews' Magic Binds and it was a really good addition to the series. It included, hilariously and helpfully, a wedding between the main character and her fiancé. (I say helpfully because it pointed out a few things about weddings that I'd forgotten and allowed me to chill a little. So. Yay for that!) I've also read Kendare Blake's most recent book, Three Dark Crowns, which was excellent, even if (at least) one of the twists was something I was expecting. I'm really looking forward to the next one in that series. Now I'm reading the latest Kara Gillian book, Legacy of the Demon, by Diana Rowland, which is proving to be very entertaining—although I don't remember with perfect clarity what happened in the previous book. (This is ok, because Urban Fantasy series tend to gloss over previous events in the beginning, so it's working out just fine for me.) After that I'm probably going to dive into the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, since I really like her other stuff and there's a handful of them plus assorted novellas so it'll keep me entertained for a while. And then after that I plan to reread Garth Nix's Abhorsen books so that I can read the newest addition to that series, Goldenhand.

• Oh, also: NaNoWriMo is coming up. As always, I'm planning on participating. I can't even begin to imagine what my November is going to look like, but I'm hoping I'll have some time to put some words in. Fingers crossed and all that.

Obviously this whole, "posting here more often or at all, really" thing is going to take a little while to get back into the swing of, so posts will likely be somewhat sporadic. Obviously I'd love to post once a week, but... I'll forget. I know I will. But I'm trying, and I have a plan. (More on that in a bit.)

• But first! My boyfriend proposed! I'm getting married! I mean, not right away. Next summer. My mom and I are in the early stages of planning a wedding--which is scary, you guys. Planning something this big, with so many pieces and people. Although, I'll be honest, fiance (hehe) and I still haven't totally ruled out the possibility of doing something really small, and then having a big party afterwards. But we'll see. I'm not letting the whole idea of this get too overwhelming or scary because I don't want to stress it. I want it to be fun to plan a fun day. Also I do not want my friends to remember me as a Bridezilla. So.

• I only have 7 (possibly 8, we'll see how it goes) more days at my current job. And only 13 more days until we get in our cars and drive away from New Mexico. Despite growing up here, I don't actually think of myself as from here. My heart belongs in the city. For 8 years it was New York City. When I was in Edinburgh, I thought it was a city I could certainly love. Now I think that Fort Collins (and it's Greater Metropolitan Area) will be city enough.

• We are just now starting to get into the beginning of the actual move. I hate the actual process of moving: the packing and disassembling of my whole life, the hefting and carrying of all that stuff and putting it into a vehicle, and then after you move those vehicles to your new place, you have to do it all again in reverse. We're starting early in the hopes of containing the chaos to something more manageable, but ahahahahaha hahaha hah. Yeah. It's moving. It makes me want to throw up. But this time is a little different! In case you weren't aware, I am marrying the most amazing guy, who informs me that he's specifically arranged enough help so that I don't have to do any of the heavy lifting. Because he knows how much this stresses me out and he loves me.

• Possibly related... I have all kinds of acne on my back. Even as a teen my skin wasn't particularly prone to breakouts. At most I'd have two, maybe three, pimples at any one time and usually it was less. I have pretty good skin. But now I've got it all over my back and it's driving me crazy. I haven't changed my skincare routine (or at least, I've changed it a little now that I have the acne, but I didn't change it until after it started) and I don't feel more stressed than usual (although, since I'm an anxiety sufferer, my normal levels of stress always seem pretty high to me). Or at least, the acne appeared before the actual moving stress kicked in. I know I'm not doing the other things that usually signal to me that I'm stressed—picking at my cuticles or chewing off the skin on the inside of my lips and cheeks—but maybe I am more stressed and I'm just not noticing? I don't know and this stuff on my back is, again, driving my nuts. Stop this shit, body. Stop it right now.

Uuuuh...

• Books! Seanan McGuire's latest October Daye book came out last week. It's called Once Broken Faith and it was really good! There was a short story attached to the end which really helped out the ending, and set up a new relationship, and I'm excited. I also decided to get my hands on Full of Briars, a Quentin novella! It was fun! Now I'm preparing to read Ilona Andrews' most recent Kate Daniels book, Magic Binds. This preparation consists of reading the novella's in that world, which are set before the last book and are really helping to explain some things. I'm going to get my hands on the new book as soon as I'm finished with the last novella.

• Bullet Journaling! I started one, then decided I'd fucked it up, and now I'm using a Moleskine journal for lists and such. I'll figure out how to do the whole BuJo thing eventually, but for now, I wrote a blog post about it on my "professional" blog thing. Possibly one of the things that I'll use it to do one day is update this thing more, haha. Anyway. Read all about it!

Ok, that's it for now.

When last we saw our intrepid heroine... on June 18th wtf, self, you were supposed to be getting better at this...

• I changed jobs. The part time gig was good and all, but now I have a full time gig that I like and I like the people I work with and the people seem to like me too. It's better all around, not to mention the fact that I will likely be able to actually pay my bills a little easier and maybe even save some money. And, since I'm now working at a Japanese Spa, I get all kinds of awesome benefits, like discounts and gift cards and such. This job is pretty awesome, guys.

• I also got a new tattoo on Saturday. I got the "Not all those who wander are lost" part of Strider's riddle, translated into Quenya, on my back. I'm happy with it, although it does make putting on jackets, reaching for things up high at work, and sleeping occasionally interesting. I am also considering getting something while I'm in Ireland. We shall see.

• Only about a week til my UK trip! I decided to take a little trip to Glasgow between London and Dublin, and I might use one of the three days I'm there to take a day trip to Edinburgh as well. I'm also considering a day trip up to Belfast from Dublin, as well as trekking out from London for an evening to see my favorite band at a festival they're playing at. I have all these options!

• It's chilly and rainy out, which means I am eating warm things to keep a little on the warmer side. I'd have considered staying late at work for free hot tub soaking, but lightning. And I wanted to come home and read my book.

That's about it, in terms of news.

Whoops. I forgot to post in the first week of June. Darn.

• Job continues. I'm learning quickly and starting to feel like I know how to do things. Which is nice. Management has decided that I'm good for closing shifts, which is... not my preferred shift. But it's money. Hopefully the week after next I'll have some shifts that aren't closing.

• I started a blog as a "professional" type presence. Already I've posted about Amazon and Hachette, as well as my reaction to seeing Maleficent last night. :) More things to come as they happen or as I think of them.

• Also I saw Maleficent and it was awesome. Badass fairy lady.

• I've been wavering between being mostly satisfied with the things I have right now as a means of moving forward, and being impatient to do something else, be someplace else. I have this vague idea of a thing I'd like to do, and sort of no idea how to get there, or if I'd like where that would physically take me, or if people are going to just laugh at me if I try to apply for new things. It's definitely scary. And it requires some thinking about, I guess.

• In less frustrating and sad news...

Nope. I got nothing. That was all my news.

Just what it says on the tin.

Before I get into anything that might be spoilery, I will say that I liked the movie! I thought it was full of cool things, and interesting plot devices. Also: Michael Fassbender. He makes a movie worth it for me. James McAvoy was good too—although that hair, yikes—and obviously so was Hugh Jackman. I recommend the movie to anyone who likes this sort of thing. You'll probably like this one too.

Now. Spoilery things. This is your last warning.

( Spoilers behind the cut! )

Yeah, that's all I got. It was good. Michael Fassbender still gets me all hot and bothered.

[x-posted to my Tumblr.]

• Today it's cold and lazily snowing here in Santa Fe. That's right. It's May 13th, and it's snowing. This place has the weirdest weather.

• This Saturday I'm going to put on a cap and gown and do the whole walking/shaking hands/accepting my "diploma" thing. (The school already mailed me my diploma since I actually finished my course work and all that in Dec. I think it's sort of hilarious that I'm doing this all now, but it is what it is.) Various family is coming, and there will be some juggling of time, but I think it will be a nice time all around. Certainly I'm looking forward to being done with everything concerned with this college.

• I had a job interview today, for a position I'm not entirely sure I applied for but that I'm probably qualified for and which seems like it might be more interesting (and in some ways less anxiety-inducing for me) than the position I think I actually did apply for. I'm pretty sure the people liked me, and I'm pretty sure the interview went well. Think good thoughts for me, internet peoples. I really need something that's going to bring in some money.

• This is the week of season finales on TV. Once Upon A Time ended on Sunday, and had about three minutes of everyone being happy and me crying because it was so beautiful and amazing before all that happiness got stabbed in the face and everything was terrible again. I mean, it was wonderful, but I'm pretty sure my cat is concerned for my well-being now, since I actually screeched in horror. The current seasons of Castle and The Blacklist both ended last night, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will end tonight. Elementary will end this Thursday.

• On the other hand, Game of Thrones is currently in the middle of it's current season, and Da Vinci's Demon's just passed the halfway mark. Plus, Penny Dreadful just started, and Crossbones will begin at the end of the month, so it's not like I won't have anything to watch.

• I'm currently rereading various of the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce. I really love these books. If I ever write YA stuff, I want it to be like these amazing stories, and not have some of the weird tropes that show up in YA these days.

Well, that might be it for now. I need to do some cleaning around my apartment, and I should maybe do that while there's daylight.

Oh yeah, posting when only a little over a month has passed. Getting better at this. Go me.

• I'm back from Israel. It was pretty awesome. I took 300+ pictures, but I'm not that great of a photographer. Some are good, though. I'll probably post those on Facebook (at some point...) so if we're friends there, keep an eye out for them. I definitely enjoyed the food though, and I'm definitely going to have to try my hand at making some of it. Like falafel, which is actually really easy. There are opportunities for me to go back to Israel, but I don't know that that's a thing I necessarily feel the need to do. But we'll see where life takes me, I guess.

• I also moved! I am in my own little one bedroom/one bathroom apartment now. It's the perfect size for me and my cat, though there are things that I don't have still. My last place was big enough and had enough extra floor space thatI could just store things on the floor if there wasn't a place for them. This place is smaller, so that's not really an option. It does have way more closet space, though. So that's helping.

• Work! I have a job interview in an hour. I'm not entirely clear on what I'd be doing in the job, but the job ad requested someone creative, intuitive, well-organized, internet savvy, reliable, optimistic, and "interested in exploring a wide variety of projects in the worlds of Art, Cultural Awareness, and the Environment." So fingers crossed. I think I'm a pretty good interviewee, but I could still use some luck and good vibes.

I don't really know what to say here these days. So I guess that's it.

It's my birthday! Which means my traditional breakfast of blintzes and then dinner of homemade spaghetti sauce. My dad made the sauce yesterday, but as soon as he loads and starts his dishwasher, we'll start making the blintzes. Both of these are made using my grandmother's recipes, and have been my preferred birthday food for many years.

It ought to be noted that the spaghetti sauce is not, by any means, a traditional Italian recipe. We're Russian/German jews, not Italian jews. But it's super yummy. I generally think that it should be eaten without noodles, in a sort of open-face sandwich on garlic bread. Because it's just that good.

Jeez. Even just writing about all that has made me hungry.

It's going to be a good, happy, relaxing day.

Maybe I'll even write a little.

I have turned in all three final projects, one for each of my three classes, which means that (other than the class I have to show up for tomorrow afternoon for someone else's final presentation) I am done with this bullshit forevermore.

Also, it turns out that, if you graduate in Dec. when there's no commencement ceremony, the exit procedures for this school entirely consist of, "Congrats! You're done! Now go away and don't come back." Which, yeah, basically that was my plan, but it's sort of nice to know that's what I'm supposed to do.

P.S. Yes, I will probably end up walking in next May's ceremony. Cap and gown and all.

P.P.S. Appropriate icon is appropriate. Unless you're seeing this via LJ, in which case you get nothing.