1. Last Sunday I was in a filthy mood, which I (regrettably) tweeted about. I also tweeted about how the moods in which I really should stay away from social media (because regrettable tweets, and also an increase in crappy feelings from comparing myself to everyone else’s glittering successes) are the moods in which I just can’t seem to resist. Diane replied with cake, and a reminder that social media is also a place with lovely people who make you feel better. This is incredibly true and really, really, really did make me feel better. So I want to take a moment for Online Friends Appreciation. Diane, and everybody else who indulges my crappy moods and sends me hugs and silliness as needed, thank you so much. You are all a very, very important and loved part of my life.
2. Also important: actual on-the-ground friends. My favourite neighbour, whom I really need to start calling an actual friend, and I had a conversation this week in which we established that we each feel bad for taking “too much” advantage of each other (although both are very happy to do what we can for the other). If we each think we’re doing most of the asking, then clearly all is really in balance and we can relax. We also established that true friendship means knowing they can and will say no, if appropriate. Hooray for friends!
3. I released Growltiger this week – a design I’m pretty proud of, and that I expected to get a good response. It hasn’t. Which has been demoralising. I’ve heroically resisted moaning about this on Twitter, and I probably shouldn’t mention it here either, but in the interests of showing the messy side of my work and all… This is a thing that happens, and it sucks. I know that it happens to even the best designers. But it still sucks. (Just FYI, if any of you do fancy making it, but weren’t in any hurry to do so – it would mean a lot to me to have some action in the KAL thread.) Unrelated: this week I learned** the old Scots word “maulifuff”, meaning a disorganised woman who makes a great fuss but accomplishes little.
4. Sick AGAIN this week. First me and Little Dude; by today basically the whole family. There are worse things than spending a couple of days lying on the couch with my Schmusebär, but really. I seem to be reverting to the pathetically weak immune state of my youth. Thought I’d left that behind me when I cast off childish things, but apparently not. Maybe that’s what I get for not adulting properly.
5. Online auctions are the worst. The worst. I’ve been shopping for used ice skates for the kids and it’s EXTREMELY TIRESOME.*** You find multiple options, but the auction for the ones you really want is the last to close, and what if you miss out? You forget to set an alarm to bid. You can’t see the winning bid on similar items you were previously watching. (This is Ricardo.ch, not eBay, and it sucks.) You click “buy it now”, and the seller doesn’t contact you for days because they’re on holiday. Etc. Etc. And so forth. Oh, and classified websites aren’t much better: the kid-specific one (Lilliput.ch) doesn’t have dates on listings, so you have no way of knowing whether something’s remotely current or not. And people don’t answer messages. So. Much. Fun.
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* Muffel = grump/grouch. Morgenmuffel = morning bad mood. German is the best.
** From fine verbiage purveyors of Twitter, @HaggardHawks.
*** Eventually succeeded in finding everything I need, not necessarily on auction, but oy.
Woolly thoughts (and fuzzy logic) 