Aqua Regia

Whew, it's been quite some time since I've posted here.  Between getting back from Ireland, the Jewel Riders Archive celebrating its one-year anniversary, trying to keep up a somewhat-steady word count with the new novel, and trying to go through my collection and debox stuff and move DVDs into a trunk that holds 1000 in sleeves, I have literally had no time haha. Not to mention I'm starting the application process to try and find a new job, but eh.

Ireland was great, though.  Beautiful country, fabulous people, lots of beer and cider haha.  I'll try to get up a few pics when I finally get them all sorted.

On the flight back, though, I wrote up a short piece that I tried submitting to a small LGBT anthology, but it got turned down.  Oh well, I'll just leave it here until I can think of something to do with it.  Setting is ancient Ireland (Hibernia) around the time the great burial mounds of Knowth and Newgrange were built.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  :)

( Read "Spirals In Stone" )

In other news, I finally read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and am firmly in the Scorbus camp ahaha.  I can't believe that the end craps all over it after pages and pages of romantic lines and subtext, but whatever.  That's what fanon is for.

Greetings all!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and accomplished everything they hoped to this year!  The tail-end of 2013 has felt ridiculous fast to me.  Perhaps because I spent November in a NaNo-induced haze and a late Thanksgiving shortened the Christmas season?  IDK, but I somehow feel flabbergasted that New Year's Eve is already here.

I guess the only place to start with a true review of 2013 would be to go back and review the goals and plans I made for the year at the end of 2012:

( Cut for long ramblings! )

Whew!  That was super long!  Anyway, onto goals and generic year-long plans.

January: Finish posting Heart Stone, finish and post Queen Kale.  Start Paleo eating.
February-August:  Work through How to Think Sideways.  Self-publish a flash fiction collection.  Take a bloody vacation somewhere (Anime Expo?)
September-December: NaNoWriMo prep for original story.  Start revisions from first novel.  Self-publish second flash fiction collection or short story collection.

Big goals: Follow paleo eating plan for three months, then evaluate.  Shift original fiction writing into gear.  Spend way, way less money on toys.

Hey all, just wanted to let you know I'll be out of touch for a couple of weeks - going on a little trip to Fiji with my church group.  We're going to be doing some medical work/building work.  So keep us in you good thoughts! :)

So apparently falling off the Earth and forgetting to update my LJ is becoming alarmingly common.  Well, I comment in the communities I watch, but somehow I never get around to updating this journal.  I definitely need to remedy that going forward.  These three month gaps between updates means I forget to write about lots of stuff.

So, I see my last entry was right before Anime Expo, so let's start there.  Can I just wallow in the feelings of joy I experienced going to a con for the first time since 2004?  I know I was apprehensive before going down - would I still feel the same happiness about the con experience, or would I just feel irritated and frustrated?  To my delight, it was definitely the former. 

Except for the driving part, which was way worse this year - the con used to be in Anaheim (Disneyland area), which was a wonderful convention center and super easy to get to.  By this point however, the con has outgrown that area and now resides in the LA Convention Center.  I am ultra afraid of driving in congested metropolitan areas like whoa, and this was no exception.  It didn't help that the GPS got us super lost (it was the first time that's ever happened, and I feel so betrayed! XD) and that traffic seemed to come to a grinding halt in pretty much any direction we went.  At least if I go back next year, I will have a much greater understanding of that area!

On a happier note, I want to say how much of an improvement the registration process has undergone since I last attended.  We were in line for maybe 45 minutes - a far cry from the untold hours in line spent in years previous. 

The selection of guests and panels was only just okay.  I feel like if you hadn't seen Fate/Zero or Madoka Magica there was like no reason to attend. XD  I'm glad I made it a point to at least watch Madoka before going.  The composer for both of those series - Yuki Kajiura - was in attendance this year again (she was also here in 2003), and her band Fiction Junction gave an AMAZING concert.  I was so, so glad that I got those tickets because it was the highlight of the con for me to see her again.

On a weird note, I also got to meet Peter S. Beagle in the dealer's room!  He was there promoting the graphic novel edition of the Last Unicrorn (which I of course got a signed copy of), and I had the opportunity to chat with him a little bit; let me just say that man is an exceptional gentleman, and being able to meet him was probably my greatest con surprise.  He was also interested in my "20% Cooler" Rainbow Dash shirt (which I was also complemented on by a 10 year old boy and got bro-hoofed in line for the concert. XD  I'm not really a brony, so I found this all very amusing).

So yeah, Anime Expo 2012 was a great experience.  It really felt nice to just be around an are filled with general weirdness, be able to nerd out with panels, buy fun stuff in the dealer's room, and forcibly remind myself that I am not the only person in real life who likes anime.  Sometimes I tend to forget that little nugget of wisdom.

After AX, I spent about a week hanging out with my parents and spending time at the ocean.  We returned at long last to Sea Ranch (which despite the name really has nothing to do with horses) - possibly the most relaxing place on Earth.  I dug into reading the awesome Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, and we pretty much did nothing of import aside from walking down to the beach and looking at the adorable seal colony daily.

Other than the vacation, summer has been a little bit of a blur.  I've really tried to spend more time in the gym with my trainer.  I'm definitely feeling like I have a little more muscle definition, which is great, but since it's basically still covered with a layer of fat it's kind of a moot point?  IDK, I need to get my diet back under control.  After spending three months on the new Weight Watchers, I cancelled my subscription.  I never saw two consecutive weeks of weight loss, despite following the PointsPlus programs very closely.  So that was a bit defeating.  I'm debating getting out my old WW materials again.

Fall/Winter is looking rather busy.  For a self birthday gift, I got tickets to see Cirque du Soleil next week.  And then Sarah Brightman announced a new tour, which I can't miss.  Having been to her last two tours, I plan to keep going to every one I can.  I'm also thinking about getting Nutcracker tickets for Christmas.  It's been ages since I last went, and since I was able to secure a good amount of days off this Christmas (since I worked last year), it might be a nice outing.

Writing wise, a lot of it is still flailing about.  My end-of-year writing goal is to finish Queen Kale (a one-shot Jewel Riders fic I started at Sea Ranch) and add one more chapter on my old Tamara fic.  The Tamara fic unfortunately has like five or six more chapters to go.

And on a final note, on October 4th I celebrated two years at my current job.  It feels weird that I've been here for that long.  I'm torn about looking for another job, as I really like the people I work with, but want to be closer to my family.  But it's almost like the longer I stay the harder it will be to leave.

On a less introspective note: first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season today!  SO GOOD.

Hard to believe it's been five weeks since I returned from England. I've definitely been having travel withdrawals ever since getting back. Maybe it was more just having to go back to work. Speaking of work, I had some pretty terrible shifts after getting back, including several night shifts and oodles of overtime. The pay was nice, but adding all those on top of jet lag was super tiring.

But England was great! Such an immense amount of history all around; it was awesome to think that these churches and castles had been around since medieval times. America is such a young county in comparison - we get excited if something is over 200 years old. XD I'd definitely love to get back to the UK as well. Scotland and Ireland have yet to be explored at all, and there was still so much to do in London alone.

Quickie recap of the major stops:

London: Very exciting, but SO BUSY. It was exhausting to schlep the luggage up and down all the stairs of the train and tube stations, though once we had dropped it off at the hotel, the Tube was absolutely great for getting around. We did the touristy things like Tower of London, the British Museum, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, etc. Oh, and had an absolutely wonderful afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason. But there is still so much we didn't even get to! I definitely want to return someday. Oh, we also took a day trip out to Dover Castle/White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury Cathedral, which was nice. I think it was actually the only castle we visited. :(

Bath: Super charming little Georgian town. We visited the ruins of the Roman Bath, ate some delicious food at Patisserie Valerie, and took a one-day bus trip out to Stonehenge. Oh, and this was the town where my brother and I had our room randomly upgraded to the Suite. XD

Wales: I don't think we would have normally gone out to Wales, except that my parents have a friend who lives there. So they got to stay at his house, while bro and I stayed in by far the worst hotel of the trip. (Ultra weird and spartan furnishings. Like where people probably film low-budget porn.) But it was great having our friend drive us all over and show us around! Beautiful, lush Welsh countryside and seaside.

Stratford-on-Avon: Shakespeare's birthplace, and final resting place. This town's entire tourism industry is apparently built around Shakespeare, because his face is EVERYWHERE. Still, it was interesting to see the houses owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (especially Anne Hathaway's cottage and the Birthplace). The church where Shakespeare and his family is buried was neat as well. But the absolute best part of this stop was seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Oh, and a humorous aside: our hotel was named the Moonraker...and there was a giant picture of Sean Connery on the wall. Oh, and Stratford was super windy.

York: While I enjoyed York, by this point on the trip I was pretty much ready to go home. But York is a fantastic medieval walled city, and the York Minster is such a beautiful church. We stayed for the Evensong service, and it has such gorgeous choral music!

Getting Around: We took the trains in-between towns, and except for London where we had the tube, it was pretty much walking. We did grab taxis a couple of times (like getting to and from the theater in Stratford). Nice taxis that can easily accommodate four people. The trains weren't nearly as relaxing as I thought they'd be; between never having enough room for your luggage on the racks and constantly being thrown out of our seats due to reservations, it got old. Our last trip we made reservations and got a table seat...and I have to admit it felt good to throw the people out who rushed to get it ahead of us. :)

The Food: While England is not really known for having amazing food or anything, they certainly know how to make mouthwatering baked goods. Scones with clotted cream and jam are pretty much pure awesome. And the pub food was really pretty tasty! Steak and Ale pie and Yorkshire pudding with roast beef were both excellent. With beverages, however, there are no free refills, and we never seemed to be able to get enough water at our table. But there was excellent tea in pretty much every restaurant (though good coffee was kind of hard to come by). Most hotels served full sit-down breakfast, which was really nice.

So anyway, it was a great trip, and I pretty much wanted to go back as soon as we got home. Nice people, great history, fantastic architecture! Heh, and it was super depressing to go back to work. But I have my birthday to look forward to in a few days!

So before January 2011 is over, I thought it might actually be nice to take a look back at 2010. XD Yes, yes, I know I am very behind on the whole "recap 2010" post, but I thought the last year just brought so many changes that I couldn't go without being revisited a little.

When I think back to January, I was just starting the second half of my clinical rotations to finish up school. It almost feels like another life by this point. My first rotation of that semester was Internal Medicine. I often felt it was an exercise in speed - how much information could I gather and tie together about the patients before having to present in the afternoon? I learned a great deal during those six weeks. It was also my first rotation where there was another student from school with me, and having someone to gripe with was a huge comfort.

The second six-week period saw me going to a community pharmacy attached to the hospital. This was probably my second-favorite rotation (after the Psych rotation I took in 2009). If all community pharmacy work was as rewarding and fulfilling as the time I spent there, the choice between hospital and community would have been much harder. But I also discovered just how tired standing for 8-10 hours a day can be.

For my final rotation, I returned to the hospital where I had done Internal Medicine. However, this time around, it was definitely not a good learning experience. Aside from just wanting to be done with rotations at that point, I found the work to be of little value to my learning. The preceptor was a strange, strange lady who issued the vaguest instructions I've ever heard. Then she had the nerve to call me "needy" during my final evaluation because I asked for further clarification. Is wanting to do something right the first time wrong? NO. Haha...looks like I still have issues regarding that final rotation! Again, I had a student with me who had been with this preceptor before, and she thankfully helped to clarify things for me a great deal. Anyway, I'm seriously glad I didn't get a residency at this facility, because this preceptor was also the residency program director. I'm not sure I could have handled a year of vague instructions and general weirdness.
But in all fairness...this was the rotation where I got to watch open-heart surgery, which was totally rad.

I should also note that all three of my second semester rotations were at a hospital that had off-site parking and a shuttle service - something my fellow students and I absolutely loathed by the end. I can't tell you how many times I had to stand in the cold rain because the shuttle would be driving away as I came out of the parking structure.

After finishing up rotations came review week at school - basically one last chance to sit in our lecture halls again and listen to speakers while everyone chatted and surfed the internet. XD

Of course, after that came Graduation on May 15th, 2010. I officially got my doctorate and finished school. Still, even now - eight months later - it feel weird writing that. School has been my life for...well...my life. Coming out of something so structured into the rather nebulous "real life" has been strange. I miss the comforting solidity and framework of working toward something greater with a purpose. After getting a job (even one that I enjoy) I'm kind of wondering...what next?

So summer was spent studying for my boards from the time I finished graduated until around mid July. I even snuck in a nice vacation to Seattle and the islands in there (visiting the cousin and relaxing with the family). But those interminable days days studying really felt endless. To help keep me sane, I would reward every two hours of studying with an episode of She-Ra (which I completed over the summer), Fantastic Four World's Greatest Heroes, Iron Man Armored Adventures, or Star Trek DS9. It felt like a weird combination of long past summer vacations and taking self-study summer school. XD

Thankfully, I passed both tests on the first go. I've been debating taking the tests to be able to practice in another state, which if I decide to go forward with should be something I undertake sooner rather than later. The further I go on, the harder it will be to force myself back into reviewing the material and going through the rigmarole of taking another test/forms/fees/etc.

Summer also saw an explosion in my toy collecting hobby. Something I attribute to lots of time at home to hunt stores, eBay, and read internet reviews. Also may have had something to do with getting money for graduation. :D Likely pent-up retail therapy after having no income since February after leaving CVS.

I got my license on August 5th, 2010. At that point, I gave myself until the end of August to look exclusively for hospital jobs. After thirty-odd applications, by the end of the month I had an interview set up for a not-quite-hospital job (the only non-hospital job I applied for). After that interview, I had set another one up with a hospital (the place I work now). But in the meantime, pharmacy 1 offered me a job (part-time for up to six months, then full time). I asked for an extension to think it over and was up front that I had the second interview. After being offered the job where I am now, I accepted and had to call back pharmacy 1 to decline their offer. That was an incredible weird experience. I've always had to fight for part-time jobs...so having to turn someone down was something I'd never done before.

The time between taking the job offer (early September) and starting the job (October 4th) was another strange period. During that month I looked for apartments (and finally found a decent townhouse!), hunted for furniture, signed tons of papers, packed up my toys/books/life, and watched some more shows. It was a frenetic month to try and get everything ready for the move, and yet I didn't really feel all that stressed. Maybe because I knew I had at least gotten a job, I was able to savor a few of my final days of freedom.

Anyway, work is where I've been ever since October. I still visit home at least once a month (heh...if not more often!). It's hard to leave a place you've lived since second grade, after all.

So I hope that 2011 brings good things. I have plans to do some writing (namely, finish my Jewel Riders fic, writing an original novella, and hopefully doing some Dragon Flyz writing). I also want to really take the time now to develop healthy eating habits and lose some weight. Since I make most all of my food, it should be easier to implement healthier choices more often. And of course, 2011 will see me continue the growth of my toy collection! :D

They got hit by cosmic rays!

Yes, in case you already guessed it, I just saw the new Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer a few days ago. And yes, it was totally awesome.

The actors were more comfortable in their roles (well, Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic anyway...Ben and Johnny were dead-on in the first film...^_^). And of course, the Surfer was great - everything he's supposed to be. The special effects are amazing...and if you've ever seen Galactus from the comics, then look for the fun little easter eggs sprinkled throughout the film. (And of course my inner nerd had a little joygasm when the Fantasticar separated...XD) There are a few problems I had with it (notably Doom), but nothing to detract too much from the film's enjoyment. So do yourself a favor (especially if you like comic-book-based movies, and go see FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer!

Recently, I've started back up with Piano Lessons. Yes, I haven't touched the instrument in what...eleven years? But ever since I've been unable to play my clarinet (due to not being in a band anymore) I realize just how severely I've missed music; it was almost as if a part of me had died. Now I must carefully tend that part again, making sure that it takes root and grows for the rest of my life. What's funny is that I think I owe the kick in my pants to the anime Nodame Cantabile. There were times I missed music so much during these last three years of college that it almost physically hurt - I know that might sound a bit over-the-top, but music had been such a big part of my life from Kindergarten through 12th grade that it almost felt like losing a cherished friend. I vow that I will never again let science classes and work crush out my creative spirit. Now I must work on regrowing writing and art...-_-

I'm very excited because today we're leaving for Yosemite Valley and staying until the end of the week. We go almost every year, but it's just as awe-inspiring every time. Hopefully when I get back I'll have some picture to share!