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alias_sqbrMeme via chagrined. Give me your age and I'll give you a number to do it yourself, if you like!
At 24:
I lived in: A small rented unit with Cam, part of a set of 6 triplexes. There was a small group of old women who'd been living in them for decades who acted like everyone's interfering mother, it was both sweet and annoying. They kept tut-tutting about the terrible state of my front garden, but we also kept spare keys for each other, and when a Lebanese woman who didn't speak any English moved in with her husband and baby she basically got adopted, one of the old women was Iraqi and spoke to her in Arabic until she got the hang of English, and they'd take turns baby sitting etc. There was also an old man who lived behind us who'd sing loudly and badly and go on unselfconsious angry rants about the government ALL THE TIME, just by himself in his garden to the world at large, but was very sweet and helpful in person, doing lots of gardening for the old women.
I drove: If I was going through one of my phases of trying to learn to drive it would have been a big chunky grey Toyota Camry sedan. It was very hard to park. (I am so proud of myself for remembering that, I am terrible with cars)
I was in a relationship with: Cam! We were engaged but not married yet.
I feared: EVERYTHING. I hadn't been diagnosed with anxiety yet, let along gotten any treatment, so I had a lot of anxiety. Also My Phd was really seriously getting me down, I was deeply, deeply miserable and stressed. And worried that my health issues (at that point mild cfs) would worsen. Which they did! Also money, partly because I didn't know what we'd do when my scholarship ran out (Cam didn't have a job yet) but mostly because it is just a thing I get anxious about.
I worked at: Maths tutoring, and received a Phd scholarship.
I wanted to be: I had no idea. The very question filled me with angst. I think I'd figured out I didn't want to be an academic by this point, but not what else I could be. So my plan was to somehow finish my thesis then find something easy with set hours and no research. (Which I did! For all the good it did me :/)
At 35:
I live in: A small owned unit with Cam, part of a set of 6 triplexes. It is quite near and remarkably similar to the one we used to live in (there was another fairly different house in between) But the people here are much less in each other's faces. We just smile and nod at the neighbours when we cross paths, and apologise when our cat tries to maul theirs. Oh, also, we have a cat, Kira! We still get loud music and shouting from the house behind but this time it's a building site.
I drive: Nothing! I do not have the brain for driving any more. I have a Maverick 12 power wheelchair. Cam drives a white Mazda 3.
I am in a relationship with: Cam! We are married and have run out of relationship levels to level up to.
I fear: Lots of things, still. A few big things are that I am Making Myself Sicker By Doing Things Wrong, that we will somehow end up poor and I won't be able to get meds/allergy friendly food etc (even though Cam's job pays well and is pretty secure), and global warming. But I am much better at recognising that a lot of this is just brain weasels.
I work at: Cam is the one who actually pays all the bills. But my sources of personal income are tshirt/sticker/game etc sales. Which rake in like $30 a year, but it's my $30 a year :)
I want to be: I have given up on having anything resembling a "proper job" for the forseeable future. But I plan on continuing to make and sell games and tshirts etc. If I don't define myself by my ~capitalist production~ etc...I guess I want to be a positive force for good on the world around me, in what small ways I can manage? Making friends and family happy, creating things that the world doesn't already have, tiny activist changes where I can etc. But just looking after myself and trying to keep stable is a full time task that takes up most of my time and energy (I don't even have the energy to recycle much >.>)
Icon chosen cos it's me at 26, which is close enough. Also I poked at my blog and here's the post I made exactly 11 years ago today. The now broken images were ambigrams of the word "Unisfa", which stands for University Science Fiction Association.
chagrined. Give me your age and I'll give you a number to do it yourself, if you like!At 24:
I lived in: A small rented unit with Cam, part of a set of 6 triplexes. There was a small group of old women who'd been living in them for decades who acted like everyone's interfering mother, it was both sweet and annoying. They kept tut-tutting about the terrible state of my front garden, but we also kept spare keys for each other, and when a Lebanese woman who didn't speak any English moved in with her husband and baby she basically got adopted, one of the old women was Iraqi and spoke to her in Arabic until she got the hang of English, and they'd take turns baby sitting etc. There was also an old man who lived behind us who'd sing loudly and badly and go on unselfconsious angry rants about the government ALL THE TIME, just by himself in his garden to the world at large, but was very sweet and helpful in person, doing lots of gardening for the old women.
I drove: If I was going through one of my phases of trying to learn to drive it would have been a big chunky grey Toyota Camry sedan. It was very hard to park. (I am so proud of myself for remembering that, I am terrible with cars)
I was in a relationship with: Cam! We were engaged but not married yet.
I feared: EVERYTHING. I hadn't been diagnosed with anxiety yet, let along gotten any treatment, so I had a lot of anxiety. Also My Phd was really seriously getting me down, I was deeply, deeply miserable and stressed. And worried that my health issues (at that point mild cfs) would worsen. Which they did! Also money, partly because I didn't know what we'd do when my scholarship ran out (Cam didn't have a job yet) but mostly because it is just a thing I get anxious about.
I worked at: Maths tutoring, and received a Phd scholarship.
I wanted to be: I had no idea. The very question filled me with angst. I think I'd figured out I didn't want to be an academic by this point, but not what else I could be. So my plan was to somehow finish my thesis then find something easy with set hours and no research. (Which I did! For all the good it did me :/)
At 35:
I live in: A small owned unit with Cam, part of a set of 6 triplexes. It is quite near and remarkably similar to the one we used to live in (there was another fairly different house in between) But the people here are much less in each other's faces. We just smile and nod at the neighbours when we cross paths, and apologise when our cat tries to maul theirs. Oh, also, we have a cat, Kira! We still get loud music and shouting from the house behind but this time it's a building site.
I drive: Nothing! I do not have the brain for driving any more. I have a Maverick 12 power wheelchair. Cam drives a white Mazda 3.
I am in a relationship with: Cam! We are married and have run out of relationship levels to level up to.
I fear: Lots of things, still. A few big things are that I am Making Myself Sicker By Doing Things Wrong, that we will somehow end up poor and I won't be able to get meds/allergy friendly food etc (even though Cam's job pays well and is pretty secure), and global warming. But I am much better at recognising that a lot of this is just brain weasels.
I work at: Cam is the one who actually pays all the bills. But my sources of personal income are tshirt/sticker/game etc sales. Which rake in like $30 a year, but it's my $30 a year :)
I want to be: I have given up on having anything resembling a "proper job" for the forseeable future. But I plan on continuing to make and sell games and tshirts etc. If I don't define myself by my ~capitalist production~ etc...I guess I want to be a positive force for good on the world around me, in what small ways I can manage? Making friends and family happy, creating things that the world doesn't already have, tiny activist changes where I can etc. But just looking after myself and trying to keep stable is a full time task that takes up most of my time and energy (I don't even have the energy to recycle much >.>)
Icon chosen cos it's me at 26, which is close enough. Also I poked at my blog and here's the post I made exactly 11 years ago today. The now broken images were ambigrams of the word "Unisfa", which stands for University Science Fiction Association.
