These past two weeks have certainly been weeks from hell...quite literally. Once again I apologise for not being able to release a Pixie's Chronicle last week, I just had so much going on in terms of preparing for my training and new job. But hey, I'm back now, and hopefully soon I'll be settled into my new routine and get back to some sort of writing schedule. The randomness of my writing at the moment is driving me crazy and makes me feel less motivated to do any.
One thing that definitely sapped most of my motivation these past two weeks is the huge heatwave that hit us in Europe. Damn, I don't think I remember it ever getting THAT hot. What's even worse is that most houses and buildings in the UK don't have air conditioning, so whatever the temperature is outside, it's the same inside. And as I think I've already established, I don't cope well in heat. My medication just makes it ten times worse.
Overall, temperatures where I live were reaching 40°C (104°F), so yeah, I was dying. I really don't think it's ever got that hot in the UK before. All this global warming stuff is scary, so yeah, please do all you can for the environment and the planet, as fighting climate change and protecting the environment is something that I'm very passionate about. But yeah, anyway, for most of this week I was cooking in my own juices. Nights were the worst, and because I have extremely sensitive skin, I broke out in a bunch of heat rashes. All of this made writing virtually impossible.
Last week I did manage to get some writing done, finally updating Madness Within once again, and you can read the latest chapter of that by clicking here. I had planned to update that story twice last week, but some last minute changes to my training changed that plan. Originally, I was supposed to head into Manchester for the full week, which was annoying, since it would mean that I had to get up at 5am and wouldn't get back home until 7pm. I just had to keep repeating to myself that it was for a good cause.
However, on Friday, I got a very last minute text off my manager telling me that the training course plans had been changed, and I would only need to go into Manchester on the Monday, and the rest of my training would be completed on location. It was huge relief, but also a little infuriating since we all weren't told until the last minute, and I had already been given some money off the government for the very expensive train tickets. Luckily the government were cool with it and told me I didn't have to pay them back the £60 that had now been wasted.
At least this would mean that I could get some writing done this week. Or so I thought anyway.
I don't really remember much of last week since I was so anxious over travelling and training. I'm not a very good traveller, especially when it comes to trains. I'll never forget one freak out I had while on a train once. But that's a long story. So I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Train rides, deep down, I usually like, and I love watching the world go by, but it's the people aspect of it that freaks me out.
So yeah, I was nervous.
Things on Monday didn't exactly get off to the best of starts. I hadn't slept much thanks to my nerves and anxiety, and then the early train I had been hoping to get was cancelled. The joys of British public transportation for you. So I ended up having to wait for the next train whose arrival time in the city would be cutting it a bit too close for my liking. This ended up making me even more anxious.
Luckily though, the train wasn't as packed as I thought it was going to be which helped me relax. The train arrived much earlier than I thought it would, so I was feeling pretty confident that I could make it on time...until I got lost. I have no clue how, as I did actually know where I was going...or so I thought anyway. I got lost around the Middle Ages before I managed to find the 21st century part of the city. Then I ended up walking right past where I was supposed to go. I was about a mile down the road before I finally realised. *sigh*
With literally a minute to spare, I made it. The training was pretty cool, and learning about medicine and the human body was quite fascinating. My sponge brain was in its element. Though I did end up having to help an older woman sat next to me who had no idea how computers worked. She was really sweet, but it did leave me questioning how in the hell she had managed to apply for the job. She sort of ended up clinging to me, saying I was the nicest looking person in the room, so we ended up having some lunch together. I tried to eat some pasta with a tiny wooden spatula I'd grabbed from the nearest McDonalds because I hadn't realised I had bought a glitchy pasta pot that didn't come with a fork. So yeah, that earned me a few strange looks, but I'd argue it displayed 10/10 improvisation skills.
By the time I got back to the town I lived in, I was exhausted. It was super hot, even during the evening, and I knew that we didn't have any food at home, so I decided to treat myself to some fish and chips. I know, I couldn't sound anymore British right now. After a weird conversation with a strange man (I have no idea either), I pretty much passed out at home as soon as I finished eating.
The next day I spent studying in my new place of work. I ended up whizzing through the first stage of my qualifications, scoring 100% on one of my exams, and I ended up finishing part one of the course in two days when it was supposed to take three months. My new colleagues were dumbfounded, and I was dumbfounded that they were dumbfounded. I really didn't understand how it was supposed to take three months, but oh well, I still felt pretty pleased with myself.
I'm already loving my new job to bits! Everyone there is so lovely and welcoming and I already consider my new team to be amazing friends. It feels good to finally feel like I have some sort of direction in life. Granted it's a direction I never thought I would go in, but hey, if life has taken me this way, I'll just roll with it. I feel really lucky to have found something that I enjoy, and I feel very well looked after by the company.
Thursday was a day off, and a good thing too. It ended up being the hottest day of the year, and of all time, reaching that 40 degrees I was talking about. It was hell. Literally as soon as I stepped out into the sun, I started burning. It was quite scary. I had to take extra special care of my dog, making sure she was well hydrated and that she didn't over-exert herself. My grandma was struggling so I was really worried about her, and I had to force my mum to drink a bottle of water since all she drinks is tea and she's usually dehydrated most of the time.
Staying indoors didn't really help much since it was just as hot inside as it was outside. My fan wasn't doing much to help, just moving the hot air around rather than cooling things down. I actually ended up taking a cold bath which felt great. But as soon as I stepped out of it I was being cooked alive again. My hayfever kept going crazy, and I was starting to feel sick and dizzy later in the day. It was just way too much. I felt like I was being deep fried as I lay in bed. I have no clue how people who live in deserts cope with this.
Thankfully, things were starting to cool down on Friday. I had hoped to get the next chapter of Madness Within written, and I did end up starting it, however, I just wasn't feeling too happy with it. It kept not coming out right, so I ended up having to go back to my plans and start scribbling. Plus, I ended up heading out for a last minute shopping trip which was stressful. I finally came up with something better, but by then, it was too late to get it finished, so I decided to work on my birthday gift for LycoRogue instead.
On that note:
Unfortunately I didn't get it finished, and I had planned on finishing it yesterday, but that day ended up hectic too. For some reason my anxiety was heightened in the morning, and I just kept feeling really overwelmed. When I returned from grocery shopping I ended up having a huge anxiety attack. I think it was mainly because I knew that I had to go to a party. It was my cousin's baby shower/gender reveal party yesterday, which was exciting, but also anxiety inducing. I was worried that other members of the family would actually decide to show up for once, and if so, what kind of drama would kick off if they did?
No other family showed up though, which actually ended up being rather heartbreaking. There was just me, my mum, a distant cousin, my cousin (sister of the pregnant one) and their mum (my aunt). Considering we're a huge family, that was a really poor turn out, and it really broke my heart. They're all so horrible and rotten to the core. But luckily, my cousin had us and her friends, and everything went great. This is actually the first baby to be born into the family in a while, and it turned out to be a boy, so he's going to be spoiled rotten with attention. I not so subtly hinted I was down for babysitting. I love babies. I just turn to mush whenever I'm around them, and I could cuddle them forever. I love it when they hold onto your fingers. Unfortunately we have to wait until December to meet the little guy.
Now that my training is sorted, I'm hoping to very much get back into regular updates again. Tomorrow, my present for LycoRogue shall be released, so make sure to keep an eye out for that. My review for Gamer 2.0 will also be uploaded onto my blog tomorrow. Chat Vert will hopefully be updated on Wednesday, and Madness Within will hopefully be uploaded on Friday.
I have also been working heavily on Immortal Bond for these past few days, planning chapters in more detail, and actually coming up with a new and better idea for chapter one. I'm finally sticking to a more coherent theme with that story, and it definitely looks like the story will now be rated M as I focus more on the horror and supernatural elements. I'm hoping to have the new version of the story released within a couple of weeks.
I'm also working heavily on a short story idea called 'Professeur Noir', so that should hopefully be released soon when I have got a little bit further with Chat Vert. If you're interested in W.I.T.C.H or my fanfiction involving that fandom, then I am hoping to release a new one-shot for that soon called 'Waters Run Deep'. I've really been getting back into that fandom now that I'm collecting and reading the comics again. It'll make a nice change from writing Miraculous Ladybug stuff all the time. Not that I mind, it's just something different is always nice once in a while.
As for AO3, I am now updating on there again. Chapter 20 has been cleaned up and re-uploaded onto FanFiction and has also been uploaded to AO3, which you can read by clicking here. My schedule for AO3 should b going back to normal, meaning that Destiny's Dance will be updated on Wednesday and Madness Within on Friday. I'm hoping to also clean up and post Chat Vert onto AO3 as well.
So that's my overall action plan for these next few weeks. It feels good to be feeling more stable again, and I sure hope that this trend continues. I look forward to properly cracking on with things again at long last!
One thing that definitely sapped most of my motivation these past two weeks is the huge heatwave that hit us in Europe. Damn, I don't think I remember it ever getting THAT hot. What's even worse is that most houses and buildings in the UK don't have air conditioning, so whatever the temperature is outside, it's the same inside. And as I think I've already established, I don't cope well in heat. My medication just makes it ten times worse.
Overall, temperatures where I live were reaching 40°C (104°F), so yeah, I was dying. I really don't think it's ever got that hot in the UK before. All this global warming stuff is scary, so yeah, please do all you can for the environment and the planet, as fighting climate change and protecting the environment is something that I'm very passionate about. But yeah, anyway, for most of this week I was cooking in my own juices. Nights were the worst, and because I have extremely sensitive skin, I broke out in a bunch of heat rashes. All of this made writing virtually impossible.
Last week I did manage to get some writing done, finally updating Madness Within once again, and you can read the latest chapter of that by clicking here. I had planned to update that story twice last week, but some last minute changes to my training changed that plan. Originally, I was supposed to head into Manchester for the full week, which was annoying, since it would mean that I had to get up at 5am and wouldn't get back home until 7pm. I just had to keep repeating to myself that it was for a good cause.
However, on Friday, I got a very last minute text off my manager telling me that the training course plans had been changed, and I would only need to go into Manchester on the Monday, and the rest of my training would be completed on location. It was huge relief, but also a little infuriating since we all weren't told until the last minute, and I had already been given some money off the government for the very expensive train tickets. Luckily the government were cool with it and told me I didn't have to pay them back the £60 that had now been wasted.
At least this would mean that I could get some writing done this week. Or so I thought anyway.
I don't really remember much of last week since I was so anxious over travelling and training. I'm not a very good traveller, especially when it comes to trains. I'll never forget one freak out I had while on a train once. But that's a long story. So I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Train rides, deep down, I usually like, and I love watching the world go by, but it's the people aspect of it that freaks me out.
So yeah, I was nervous.
Things on Monday didn't exactly get off to the best of starts. I hadn't slept much thanks to my nerves and anxiety, and then the early train I had been hoping to get was cancelled. The joys of British public transportation for you. So I ended up having to wait for the next train whose arrival time in the city would be cutting it a bit too close for my liking. This ended up making me even more anxious.
Luckily though, the train wasn't as packed as I thought it was going to be which helped me relax. The train arrived much earlier than I thought it would, so I was feeling pretty confident that I could make it on time...until I got lost. I have no clue how, as I did actually know where I was going...or so I thought anyway. I got lost around the Middle Ages before I managed to find the 21st century part of the city. Then I ended up walking right past where I was supposed to go. I was about a mile down the road before I finally realised. *sigh*
With literally a minute to spare, I made it. The training was pretty cool, and learning about medicine and the human body was quite fascinating. My sponge brain was in its element. Though I did end up having to help an older woman sat next to me who had no idea how computers worked. She was really sweet, but it did leave me questioning how in the hell she had managed to apply for the job. She sort of ended up clinging to me, saying I was the nicest looking person in the room, so we ended up having some lunch together. I tried to eat some pasta with a tiny wooden spatula I'd grabbed from the nearest McDonalds because I hadn't realised I had bought a glitchy pasta pot that didn't come with a fork. So yeah, that earned me a few strange looks, but I'd argue it displayed 10/10 improvisation skills.
By the time I got back to the town I lived in, I was exhausted. It was super hot, even during the evening, and I knew that we didn't have any food at home, so I decided to treat myself to some fish and chips. I know, I couldn't sound anymore British right now. After a weird conversation with a strange man (I have no idea either), I pretty much passed out at home as soon as I finished eating.
The next day I spent studying in my new place of work. I ended up whizzing through the first stage of my qualifications, scoring 100% on one of my exams, and I ended up finishing part one of the course in two days when it was supposed to take three months. My new colleagues were dumbfounded, and I was dumbfounded that they were dumbfounded. I really didn't understand how it was supposed to take three months, but oh well, I still felt pretty pleased with myself.
I'm already loving my new job to bits! Everyone there is so lovely and welcoming and I already consider my new team to be amazing friends. It feels good to finally feel like I have some sort of direction in life. Granted it's a direction I never thought I would go in, but hey, if life has taken me this way, I'll just roll with it. I feel really lucky to have found something that I enjoy, and I feel very well looked after by the company.
Thursday was a day off, and a good thing too. It ended up being the hottest day of the year, and of all time, reaching that 40 degrees I was talking about. It was hell. Literally as soon as I stepped out into the sun, I started burning. It was quite scary. I had to take extra special care of my dog, making sure she was well hydrated and that she didn't over-exert herself. My grandma was struggling so I was really worried about her, and I had to force my mum to drink a bottle of water since all she drinks is tea and she's usually dehydrated most of the time.
Staying indoors didn't really help much since it was just as hot inside as it was outside. My fan wasn't doing much to help, just moving the hot air around rather than cooling things down. I actually ended up taking a cold bath which felt great. But as soon as I stepped out of it I was being cooked alive again. My hayfever kept going crazy, and I was starting to feel sick and dizzy later in the day. It was just way too much. I felt like I was being deep fried as I lay in bed. I have no clue how people who live in deserts cope with this.
Thankfully, things were starting to cool down on Friday. I had hoped to get the next chapter of Madness Within written, and I did end up starting it, however, I just wasn't feeling too happy with it. It kept not coming out right, so I ended up having to go back to my plans and start scribbling. Plus, I ended up heading out for a last minute shopping trip which was stressful. I finally came up with something better, but by then, it was too late to get it finished, so I decided to work on my birthday gift for LycoRogue instead.
On that note:
~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYCOROGUE! ~
Unfortunately I didn't get it finished, and I had planned on finishing it yesterday, but that day ended up hectic too. For some reason my anxiety was heightened in the morning, and I just kept feeling really overwelmed. When I returned from grocery shopping I ended up having a huge anxiety attack. I think it was mainly because I knew that I had to go to a party. It was my cousin's baby shower/gender reveal party yesterday, which was exciting, but also anxiety inducing. I was worried that other members of the family would actually decide to show up for once, and if so, what kind of drama would kick off if they did?
No other family showed up though, which actually ended up being rather heartbreaking. There was just me, my mum, a distant cousin, my cousin (sister of the pregnant one) and their mum (my aunt). Considering we're a huge family, that was a really poor turn out, and it really broke my heart. They're all so horrible and rotten to the core. But luckily, my cousin had us and her friends, and everything went great. This is actually the first baby to be born into the family in a while, and it turned out to be a boy, so he's going to be spoiled rotten with attention. I not so subtly hinted I was down for babysitting. I love babies. I just turn to mush whenever I'm around them, and I could cuddle them forever. I love it when they hold onto your fingers. Unfortunately we have to wait until December to meet the little guy.
Now that my training is sorted, I'm hoping to very much get back into regular updates again. Tomorrow, my present for LycoRogue shall be released, so make sure to keep an eye out for that. My review for Gamer 2.0 will also be uploaded onto my blog tomorrow. Chat Vert will hopefully be updated on Wednesday, and Madness Within will hopefully be uploaded on Friday.
I have also been working heavily on Immortal Bond for these past few days, planning chapters in more detail, and actually coming up with a new and better idea for chapter one. I'm finally sticking to a more coherent theme with that story, and it definitely looks like the story will now be rated M as I focus more on the horror and supernatural elements. I'm hoping to have the new version of the story released within a couple of weeks.
I'm also working heavily on a short story idea called 'Professeur Noir', so that should hopefully be released soon when I have got a little bit further with Chat Vert. If you're interested in W.I.T.C.H or my fanfiction involving that fandom, then I am hoping to release a new one-shot for that soon called 'Waters Run Deep'. I've really been getting back into that fandom now that I'm collecting and reading the comics again. It'll make a nice change from writing Miraculous Ladybug stuff all the time. Not that I mind, it's just something different is always nice once in a while.
As for AO3, I am now updating on there again. Chapter 20 has been cleaned up and re-uploaded onto FanFiction and has also been uploaded to AO3, which you can read by clicking here. My schedule for AO3 should b going back to normal, meaning that Destiny's Dance will be updated on Wednesday and Madness Within on Friday. I'm hoping to also clean up and post Chat Vert onto AO3 as well.
So that's my overall action plan for these next few weeks. It feels good to be feeling more stable again, and I sure hope that this trend continues. I look forward to properly cracking on with things again at long last!
Oh man! You certainly had a rough summer, huh? :( I'm glad you had such a nice transition into the new job though, and yay to co-workers you feel close enough to that you consider them friends. :D
ReplyDeleteAlso, the rainbow colored banner to wish me happy birthday was adorable, and I'm sorry it kept me like 5 weeks to see it! You're awesome. :D <3
I come from a large family as well, and it is upsetting when so few show up to a big event like that. I'm glad she had you and your family there, and that she had a good time regardless.
Finally, I know the feeling of “I need to switch it up” in order to help reset your brain for your main writing. I wish you luck on your other fanfiction endeavors. :D
Yeah, I feel like I'm in a much better place now, so I do try and laugh all of that off now. Haha, yeah I do feel really lucky to have such amazing co-workers. There's nothing worse than working with people that you don't get along with.
DeleteAwww you're welcome! Lol, you saw it in the end and that's the main thing.