updates
Sep. 3rd, 2025 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tielanStill feeling not-great, but ( medication is a wonder of the modern world and nobody can persuade me otherwise )
tielan
yeah, nup
Sep. 2nd, 2025 06:59 pmtielanIt's COVID.
Took a RAT, saw a doc and got a medical certificate written and some medication to treat the symptoms - they don't have free antivirals as of six months ago, dammit.
I'm vaxxed up to JN.1 (whatever the most recent version is) and that's good, because it hopefully means it'll be mild. But it still sucks.
Still trying to work out what I need to collect on the travel insurance for medical situation causing disruption to travel plans.
Probably a PCR and that's going to be the tricky part around here.
--
Had taste and smell (well, relatively, other than blocked nose) up to this afternoon. Mostly I'm feeling fluey - and tired.
--
Things I did not need: the eastern european friend who has a tendency to be upbeatedly-depressing telling me she hopes I don't get Long COVID like she did 8 weeks after she got COVID... I mean, I hope I don't, too, but I didn't need something else to think about...
Took a RAT, saw a doc and got a medical certificate written and some medication to treat the symptoms - they don't have free antivirals as of six months ago, dammit.
I'm vaxxed up to JN.1 (whatever the most recent version is) and that's good, because it hopefully means it'll be mild. But it still sucks.
Still trying to work out what I need to collect on the travel insurance for medical situation causing disruption to travel plans.
Probably a PCR and that's going to be the tricky part around here.
--
Had taste and smell (well, relatively, other than blocked nose) up to this afternoon. Mostly I'm feeling fluey - and tired.
--
Things I did not need: the eastern european friend who has a tendency to be upbeatedly-depressing telling me she hopes I don't get Long COVID like she did 8 weeks after she got COVID... I mean, I hope I don't, too, but I didn't need something else to think about...
sick while travelling
Sep. 2nd, 2025 10:59 amtielanUgh. Alas, for I have caught a bug. Virus. Thingy. Whatever.
Runny nose, blocked ears, exhaustion, sore throat.
Luckily, I had some antibiotics to take for it, so that's made things a little easier, but I suspect it's one of those longer-running, harder-hitting viruses.
Going to ask the halfbro for thoughts on a medical centre that I could maybe get seen by a doc and possibly get some stronger antibiotics? Also take a test, in case what I have is one of the worrying ones.
Probably doesn't help that I'm in Hong Kong (and was in Singapore) where it's very hot and humid, and so I start sweating like crayz when I'm not standing in a breeze. I mean, that was likely anyway, but the feeling of my eyes and nose and ears and sinuses all being stuffed up is not fun.
I'm also vaguely worried about the next leg of the trip which is two booked tours where they'll exclude me if I'm not healthy.
So, mostly rest while here in HK. That's the plan. It's just hard because it's so hot and blech and no respite. But the air con wasn't great in Singapore - it just felt cold and hard and sharp in my throat. So what with one thing and another, it's all a bit much.
I've been sick while traveling before - ironically, I was also on a tour that time. But it was pre-covid and people didn't worry quite so much about pandemics.
I've been vaxxed - covid 6 months ago, and flu more recently - but it's just the stuffiness that's not feeling great right now.
Runny nose, blocked ears, exhaustion, sore throat.
Luckily, I had some antibiotics to take for it, so that's made things a little easier, but I suspect it's one of those longer-running, harder-hitting viruses.
Going to ask the halfbro for thoughts on a medical centre that I could maybe get seen by a doc and possibly get some stronger antibiotics? Also take a test, in case what I have is one of the worrying ones.
Probably doesn't help that I'm in Hong Kong (and was in Singapore) where it's very hot and humid, and so I start sweating like crayz when I'm not standing in a breeze. I mean, that was likely anyway, but the feeling of my eyes and nose and ears and sinuses all being stuffed up is not fun.
I'm also vaguely worried about the next leg of the trip which is two booked tours where they'll exclude me if I'm not healthy.
So, mostly rest while here in HK. That's the plan. It's just hard because it's so hot and blech and no respite. But the air con wasn't great in Singapore - it just felt cold and hard and sharp in my throat. So what with one thing and another, it's all a bit much.
I've been sick while traveling before - ironically, I was also on a tour that time. But it was pre-covid and people didn't worry quite so much about pandemics.
I've been vaxxed - covid 6 months ago, and flu more recently - but it's just the stuffiness that's not feeling great right now.
sweat and water and Singapore and food
Aug. 31st, 2025 07:15 pmtielanSometimes I feel like I am the only person in the world who fills up on water, however temporarily.
Right now, I'm sitting at a table with an entire bottle of sparkling water, and I'm not going to manage to drink it all in one sitting.
Singapore has been beautiful, but also tiring and hot. I have mostly stayed in the hotel, where my room has an absolutely ridiculous view. With the exception of today, when I went out to meet a friend and we walked through 30C heat-and-humidity, fit to broil me in sweat. I was sincerely slick across the skin by the time we reached the place we were going to lunch.
I'm happy to report that Singapore isn't entirely given over to the modern, flash, and fancy. In a little street of restaurants and bars, we found a place that doesnt look like it's changed its decor since the eighties. And I don't mean bright and tawdry neon; I mean lino floors, melamine tables, and the old 'Chinese' paintings and ideographs on the walls, framed beneath glass.
Chin-Chin runs a brisk and cheap business with an extremely simple menu - the height of the 'if you're good at it, ride that train all the way down'. That said, most westerners wouldn't dare eat there for fear of food poisoning - it's got that look about it. Although honestly those places generally have the best food. We had a meal for two, it was filling, and it cost about the same as one meal would have cost elsewhere. Which, on this street where the buildings look like they were built during Singapore's early years of colonisation by the British - complete with wooden shutters - probably means they own the shop and space outright. Because the rent on that street would be absolutely RUINOUS.
Granted, to get there, we had to emerge from the modern, flash, and fancy shopping centres that...sincerely? Look like something straight ouf the Australian 00s (possibly the American 90s) - bling and lights and colours and EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE.
UGH.
Anyway, it's been an excellent couple of days. Even if I've been battling this damned virus. That, or the air-conditioners are drying out my throat something ferocious.
Tomorrow, I wake early and fly to Hong Kong where I will be seeing my half-brother and the niecelets.
And dealing with Dad, who I suspect has an "offer" of a business proposition.
And I am busily reminding myself it is not up to children to fulfil their parents' dreams.
Right now, I'm sitting at a table with an entire bottle of sparkling water, and I'm not going to manage to drink it all in one sitting.
Singapore has been beautiful, but also tiring and hot. I have mostly stayed in the hotel, where my room has an absolutely ridiculous view. With the exception of today, when I went out to meet a friend and we walked through 30C heat-and-humidity, fit to broil me in sweat. I was sincerely slick across the skin by the time we reached the place we were going to lunch.
I'm happy to report that Singapore isn't entirely given over to the modern, flash, and fancy. In a little street of restaurants and bars, we found a place that doesnt look like it's changed its decor since the eighties. And I don't mean bright and tawdry neon; I mean lino floors, melamine tables, and the old 'Chinese' paintings and ideographs on the walls, framed beneath glass.
Chin-Chin runs a brisk and cheap business with an extremely simple menu - the height of the 'if you're good at it, ride that train all the way down'. That said, most westerners wouldn't dare eat there for fear of food poisoning - it's got that look about it. Although honestly those places generally have the best food. We had a meal for two, it was filling, and it cost about the same as one meal would have cost elsewhere. Which, on this street where the buildings look like they were built during Singapore's early years of colonisation by the British - complete with wooden shutters - probably means they own the shop and space outright. Because the rent on that street would be absolutely RUINOUS.
Granted, to get there, we had to emerge from the modern, flash, and fancy shopping centres that...sincerely? Look like something straight ouf the Australian 00s (possibly the American 90s) - bling and lights and colours and EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE.
UGH.
Anyway, it's been an excellent couple of days. Even if I've been battling this damned virus. That, or the air-conditioners are drying out my throat something ferocious.
Tomorrow, I wake early and fly to Hong Kong where I will be seeing my half-brother and the niecelets.
And dealing with Dad, who I suspect has an "offer" of a business proposition.
And I am busily reminding myself it is not up to children to fulfil their parents' dreams.
Book Log: Rick Astley - Never
Aug. 31st, 2025 07:05 pmscaramoucheI was in the city over the (last) weekend, which meant that although I have an on-going resolution to not buy any books until I've cleared my still-unread book stack, this was an exception. A big exception! But an exception all the same because I rarely go into the city, so I got a whole bag of books that I will rotate in reading with the still-unread book stack, and one day, maybe, I will clear all of them.
Rick Astley's recent autobiography Never was not on my to-read list, but I picked it up on a whim, and as soon as I got home, apparently it was the one I was most excited about starting, so I did. I think because I'd recently enjoyed his cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club", plus Dave Grohl mentioned him in his autobiography when I read it (and had to dig it up to reread his version of the same meeting that Astley mentions in his book).
So like, comparing to the handful of other musician autobiographies I've read (specifically: Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Phil Collins), Astley's is very different in the sense that he really is Just Some Dude. He loves music and loves making music, but he isn't POSSESSED by the urge to make&perform music the way that's very clear for those other musicians I've mentioned, and since he got swept up in the commercial music-making machine when he was young (not very young, but young enough), he didn't get to cut his teeth performing on the circuit and figure out his own strengths. All musicians may be limited by commercial interests, but it seems to me that a consequence of that, plus the lack of a mentor, Astley didn't get much of a voice of his own that first time round as he exploded as a pop star, which gave a specific kind of hit to his confidence and perception of self (which isn't imposter syndrome, but something else). Boy was convinced most of the "genuine" musicians around him hated and/or wanted nothing to do with him, despite being proven wrong again and again.
By Astley's own admission he feels that he doesn't "deserve" to write an autobiog because he doesn't have that much music out, but that's just not true, man. His experiences are fascinating because it really is a case of luck coming in to revive his career (he had juuuuust the amount of psychological understanding of the Rickroll to, uh, roll with it, which took off after he dipped his toes back into the industry), and although he can't go back to the heights of the 80s, his second go-round has been firmly on his own terms and been so much more freeing for him to express himself, through writing and producing his own music, performing as a drummer again in his punk band, and embracing nostalgia performances. Which is neat! And reading about that is also neat.
Though also reading about the 80s pop machine from someone who lived it is also super neat and actually terrifying, which is the meat of the book. He's really lucky in that he got out of it relatively unscathed (which he's well-aware of) and that glimpse into how easy it is for a sheltered person to be dumped into a world you don't understand and be taken advantage of because you just don't know any better and don't even know you can say no to things -- it's a tale as old as time, but still good to read the someone's actual lived experience in a specific place and time period.
While reading the book, I listened to some of his newer tracks, and I quite like some of 'em! Most of them recorded at home and with him performing all the instruments, even.
Rick Astley's recent autobiography Never was not on my to-read list, but I picked it up on a whim, and as soon as I got home, apparently it was the one I was most excited about starting, so I did. I think because I'd recently enjoyed his cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club", plus Dave Grohl mentioned him in his autobiography when I read it (and had to dig it up to reread his version of the same meeting that Astley mentions in his book).
So like, comparing to the handful of other musician autobiographies I've read (specifically: Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Phil Collins), Astley's is very different in the sense that he really is Just Some Dude. He loves music and loves making music, but he isn't POSSESSED by the urge to make&perform music the way that's very clear for those other musicians I've mentioned, and since he got swept up in the commercial music-making machine when he was young (not very young, but young enough), he didn't get to cut his teeth performing on the circuit and figure out his own strengths. All musicians may be limited by commercial interests, but it seems to me that a consequence of that, plus the lack of a mentor, Astley didn't get much of a voice of his own that first time round as he exploded as a pop star, which gave a specific kind of hit to his confidence and perception of self (which isn't imposter syndrome, but something else). Boy was convinced most of the "genuine" musicians around him hated and/or wanted nothing to do with him, despite being proven wrong again and again.
By Astley's own admission he feels that he doesn't "deserve" to write an autobiog because he doesn't have that much music out, but that's just not true, man. His experiences are fascinating because it really is a case of luck coming in to revive his career (he had juuuuust the amount of psychological understanding of the Rickroll to, uh, roll with it, which took off after he dipped his toes back into the industry), and although he can't go back to the heights of the 80s, his second go-round has been firmly on his own terms and been so much more freeing for him to express himself, through writing and producing his own music, performing as a drummer again in his punk band, and embracing nostalgia performances. Which is neat! And reading about that is also neat.
Though also reading about the 80s pop machine from someone who lived it is also super neat and actually terrifying, which is the meat of the book. He's really lucky in that he got out of it relatively unscathed (which he's well-aware of) and that glimpse into how easy it is for a sheltered person to be dumped into a world you don't understand and be taken advantage of because you just don't know any better and don't even know you can say no to things -- it's a tale as old as time, but still good to read the someone's actual lived experience in a specific place and time period.
While reading the book, I listened to some of his newer tracks, and I quite like some of 'em! Most of them recorded at home and with him performing all the instruments, even.
short sleep
Aug. 31st, 2025 11:38 amtielanI wonder if I'm going to run short of sleep for the entirety of the holiday.
IDK. Maybe I could have a rest on Tuesday? Theoretically speaking.
IDK. Maybe I could have a rest on Tuesday? Theoretically speaking.
about to head out
Aug. 28th, 2025 04:48 pmtielanDamn. I had half a post typed out and now it's all gone.
The holiday has crept up on me super-fast, and rather stressfully.
Most things are booked and sorted, I need to set up tours in Portugal and in Toronto, but otherwise...I think I'm set. I hope I'm set.
Today has been a change in the weather, occasioning runny noses and sore throats. At least, I hope it's the weather, cause I'll be absolutely furious if it's COVID or a flu.
I've been called in for Jury Duty in the middle of my holiday. I've submitted my flight details, which have been booked since April, but which were rebooked in August - luckily beforfe they sent the notice of the Jury summons. Ugh.
I suspect at some point, though, I might have to use the work situation as a defence against being called up.
--
It's now just past 11pm and I think I've managed to pack all the things I have to pack. PHEW.
A couple of things I haven't managed to do - update my will, and get my power of attorney sorted.
Just sent the itinerary.
Okay, time for a wash and bed. And hope this sore throat is just the weather. UGH.
The holiday has crept up on me super-fast, and rather stressfully.
Most things are booked and sorted, I need to set up tours in Portugal and in Toronto, but otherwise...I think I'm set. I hope I'm set.
Today has been a change in the weather, occasioning runny noses and sore throats. At least, I hope it's the weather, cause I'll be absolutely furious if it's COVID or a flu.
I've been called in for Jury Duty in the middle of my holiday. I've submitted my flight details, which have been booked since April, but which were rebooked in August - luckily beforfe they sent the notice of the Jury summons. Ugh.
I suspect at some point, though, I might have to use the work situation as a defence against being called up.
--
It's now just past 11pm and I think I've managed to pack all the things I have to pack. PHEW.
A couple of things I haven't managed to do - update my will, and get my power of attorney sorted.
Just sent the itinerary.
Okay, time for a wash and bed. And hope this sore throat is just the weather. UGH.
Book Log: Apocalypse: A History of the End of Time
Aug. 27th, 2025 11:15 amscaramoucheAnother weathered book from the back of the unread books drawer, and not very thick, so it's a light read I finished pretty much over a weekend I was away from home. John Michael Greer's Apocalypse: A History of the End of Time follows the history of what he describes as "the apocalypse meme" (the book was published in 2012), as in the infectious idea of the apocalypse, which Greer argues originated proper by Zarathustra, by adding the idea of "An End" to the understanding of the the cyclical nature of the seasons, years, and cosmic movements.
Very fun read, as Greer goes all the way from Zoroastrianism to the 2012 Mayan calendar scare (that really was everywhere for a hot minute), covering various famous and some less-famous (to me) apocalyptic movements in history, including Millerism, Heaven's Gate, Y2K, Kurzweil's Singularity (is that tied to the current AI movement? I should look it up). Though because Greer gave good early depth to apocalyptic concepts as developed by post-Babylon exile Judaism and later New Kingdom Christianity, I thought he would do the same for Islam and other Eastern beliefs but uhhhhh no, the book is Western-centric, I don't know why I keep playing myself.
But still a good, brisk read, and I do like that he explores exactly (though not too deeply) what it is about the apocalyptic meme that attracts people so, with the promise of justice in an unfair world, and being able to let all of your problems go to the promise that it will all be resolved by someone who is not me/you/us. And with that note he ends quite critical of that, by arguing that we need to help each other and protect each other, which is difficult work but necessary every day.
Very fun read, as Greer goes all the way from Zoroastrianism to the 2012 Mayan calendar scare (that really was everywhere for a hot minute), covering various famous and some less-famous (to me) apocalyptic movements in history, including Millerism, Heaven's Gate, Y2K, Kurzweil's Singularity (is that tied to the current AI movement? I should look it up). Though because Greer gave good early depth to apocalyptic concepts as developed by post-Babylon exile Judaism and later New Kingdom Christianity, I thought he would do the same for Islam and other Eastern beliefs but uhhhhh no, the book is Western-centric, I don't know why I keep playing myself.
But still a good, brisk read, and I do like that he explores exactly (though not too deeply) what it is about the apocalyptic meme that attracts people so, with the promise of justice in an unfair world, and being able to let all of your problems go to the promise that it will all be resolved by someone who is not me/you/us. And with that note he ends quite critical of that, by arguing that we need to help each other and protect each other, which is difficult work but necessary every day.
writing discovery
Aug. 22nd, 2025 05:52 pmtielanI forgot I wrote 30,000 words to this historical fantasy!
THIRTY THOUSAND WORDS.
Why do I have so many ideas and yet never seem to be able to finish any of them?
Looking at the timestamps, I plotted these out right before the first Avengers movie, when I got dragged into the MCU and Maria. *sigh*
THIRTY THOUSAND WORDS.
Why do I have so many ideas and yet never seem to be able to finish any of them?
Looking at the timestamps, I plotted these out right before the first Avengers movie, when I got dragged into the MCU and Maria. *sigh*
Book Log: The Pope's Daughter
Aug. 22nd, 2025 10:18 amscaramoucheCaroline P. Murphy's The Pope's Daughter is another book I got ages ago, probably at a warehouse sale? I can no longer remember but the pages are weathered with time, which is a shame because I would've read it earlier if it wasn't stuck at the back of the drawer of unread books, under books I've been procrastinating over even more. The book is not about Lucrezia Borgia! It's about a lesser-known Pope's daughter (so is my impression of her relative fame), Felice della Rovere, illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Guliano della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, aka The Warrior Pope.
Murphy's book is well-paced and put together, though she uses conjecture quite a lot on Felice's motivations and emotional state behind some of her actions, and though Felice does on paper come off as consistent in action and intelligence, I'm not as much convinced by the declaration that she was definitely ambitious and arrogant to that level. But what makes Felice interesting, I think, is the contrast she makes to her peer Lucrezia (whose father was pope before Julius II), where when I read about Lucrezia (and Caterina Sforza) that makes Italy feel so vicious and violent and decadent, which it was, but then there's Felice who navigated that same world and didn't get into any scandals, and the major dramas of her life were (1) her youthful resistance to remarrying after her first husband died, though she did capitulate eventually for a husband she worked well with, and (2) her stepson protesting her power over the family to his detriment, which aren't really scandals per se.
Felice was good at politicking, networking, running businesses, running multiple estates, all with keeping a close relationship with Vatican both before and her father was in power. Felice patronized Michelangelo, lived through the Holy Roman Empire's sack of Rome, and saw multiple changes in the Vatican through her own ability to form relationships. She may not have had a passionate (second) marriage, but it was a functional one that worked. She was powerful, but also professional and well-behaved within the constraints of that power and her gender, which doesn't make for a popular historical figure to write about. It gives nuance to what it was like for powerful, intelligent women to live in that era and location, with her crossing paths with Lucrezia, Isabella d'Este and briefly a young Catherine Medici who was warded to her. And I think that's neat.
Murphy's book is well-paced and put together, though she uses conjecture quite a lot on Felice's motivations and emotional state behind some of her actions, and though Felice does on paper come off as consistent in action and intelligence, I'm not as much convinced by the declaration that she was definitely ambitious and arrogant to that level. But what makes Felice interesting, I think, is the contrast she makes to her peer Lucrezia (whose father was pope before Julius II), where when I read about Lucrezia (and Caterina Sforza) that makes Italy feel so vicious and violent and decadent, which it was, but then there's Felice who navigated that same world and didn't get into any scandals, and the major dramas of her life were (1) her youthful resistance to remarrying after her first husband died, though she did capitulate eventually for a husband she worked well with, and (2) her stepson protesting her power over the family to his detriment, which aren't really scandals per se.
Felice was good at politicking, networking, running businesses, running multiple estates, all with keeping a close relationship with Vatican both before and her father was in power. Felice patronized Michelangelo, lived through the Holy Roman Empire's sack of Rome, and saw multiple changes in the Vatican through her own ability to form relationships. She may not have had a passionate (second) marriage, but it was a functional one that worked. She was powerful, but also professional and well-behaved within the constraints of that power and her gender, which doesn't make for a popular historical figure to write about. It gives nuance to what it was like for powerful, intelligent women to live in that era and location, with her crossing paths with Lucrezia, Isabella d'Este and briefly a young Catherine Medici who was warded to her. And I think that's neat.
