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Plague Diary

A 2123-post collection

Wednesday? Oof

Third day of the week and I can barely concentrate on the fun writing, so yeah. No book progress this week. Apparently, the conjunction of my state re-opening1 and the spikes in Victoria and New South Wales have set my noggin off into Panic Mode(tm) in which most of my energy is looking for any kind of news and then worrying about it.

God damn, this plague has got me tied in knots.

We currently have an abundance of bread, so this weeks' baking effort will involve using the harvest and that shall be it.

I have no idea what I'm doing for Wordpress today and talking about The Wall is an option. So, too, is sharing A Chapter Of...

I don't know about anything any more.

The world is ending and the only rules I have are the ones I make for myself.

In the news:

  • Scotty From Marketing decided to spend a squizillion on long range rockets rather than the people in his nation because apparently we're going to be at war with China
  • It's a for-want-of-a-nail thing, starting with hacker attacks and adding a dash of not-trading-because-plague and the sudden realisation that we as a nation never really needed the supply chain to include China in the first place because we could have been making everything ourselves. China is pissed off about this
  • It's still a squizillion dollars on sabre rattling because only a complete numpty would go to war against a nation that has had a ready-to-go scorched earth policy since WWII
  • Victoria is pissed off because opening too early has bit them in the bum
  • However, they're also pissed off because they also have to close up again
  • Therefore, the amelioration is to only close certain suburbs and this certainly won't blow up in anyone's faces 9_9
  • US continues to break records with new cases, this time aiming to hit 100K cases per diem
  • People on welfare get discounts on any fines. I have to wonder if rich arseholes will get a price hike on the same
  • Obama publicly criticised the Muppet for using the term "Kung Flu"
  • A father made his rapist son confess to the crime in a rare display of respecting women [finally, some good fucking news]
  • Nobody knows how 31 of 75 cases in Victoria managed to catch the disease

I think I can hear my brain sizzling. Beloved is reporting for work today and tomorrow, and I can only hope they don't bring in the virus.

Let's try and make something meaningful.

  1. Except to anyone from Victoria ↩

Reset?

I was doing so well. Then I forgot to write my alloted words yesterday. I'm feeling a little frayed around the edges and maybe taking a relaxed week might fix things in my head.

If this were Normal Output Mode, I would have five weeks left to finish this book of mine. Part one of a trilogy. This year has been the WORST year to start new projects with high ambitions because all my energy has been expended on anxiety about the

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Shenanigans Ahoy!

School holidays have begun once more and I now have very little structure in my days. Woot? I dunno. Beloved has purchased for me a digital box set of Star Control [I, II, III, and Origins] and I want to know the proper order to play the same before I get going. I may or may not stream it. I dunno.

BUT...

Mayhem has A Thing in which he shall eventually acquire a paying job, today. Here's hoping it plays through after

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Stream Morning Shenanigans

Toastyglow is streaming this morning, but it's like an hour hence. Less than that since I just spaced out for like twenty minutes.

I made bread in full anticipation of taking a loaf to my mum. The day I baked it, someone in Queensland came down with the plague, so we're back on counting up from one.

Hello, day one. What shenanigans are in the news?

  • Muppet keeps claiming the plague is "going away"
  • Evidence to the contrary says there are more
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Saturday, Saturday!

::refrains from singing the entire song:: I'm having an indulgence day and, thanks to cyclone migraine, I'm also awake at just past midnight. Whee.

It's 2AM and I feel I've had enough faffing about. I need to get on with shit so I can spend all day faffing about.

Onward to the story and, true to my resolution not to stress myself out on the weekends, I am not paying any attention to the outside world. Fuck it. I gotta look after

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It's 3AM. Whee!

I've been awake for two hours. Since it's also Bread Day(tm), I have used my time to feed the Starters [now named Wilson and Ingrid. Wilson is the all-wholemeal Starter, and Ingrid is the one from the Instructions I found somewhere on the interwebs] and begin the process of Bread.

I also have savoury crackers planned, so that's going to be "fun".

Beloved just came in to say "goodnight" and I told them I had Ingrid on my desk.

Today also

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Okay. I've got this.

If I want to use CS Paint Ex [which I have purchased on special], I have to use it on either my desktop or my lappy, with my iPad acting as a spare screen. Because if I wanted to use it on my iPad, I'd have to pay a monthly fee and fuck that noise for a bad joke.

I would much rather use my desktop than my lappy. BUT... my desktop has some defunct chips in it that prevent the update

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Two Down...

Nine hundred and Ninety-eight to go. I got a response from my last query and...

[Shown here: Rejection #2 from D4EO agency]

My writing is evidently not compelling. Okay. I was also given the tip to tell folks more about myself. Agents want to know about the authors, even when the authors think of themselves as dull.

Next to pitch towards in PSLiterary and I honestly can't remember if I've sent Adapting their way previously or no. It's a three-paragraph query letter

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Hooray, it's the anxiety alarm clock

I've got one of those "It's do-able, but..." schedules today, and thank GROP the shrink visit is virtual because there's a high likelihood that I am going to be rat-faced tired before 5PM so I can start the cycle again. Whee.

It's 1AM so I'm officially too late to take a HTML-sleep [aka HTP-5, the nice concoction that metabolises into melatonin. If I took it now, I would be rat-faced exhausted all firkin day.

So. I'm up at one in the morning

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Six Days Virus-free in QLD

I've been keeping tabs on Queensland Health's page about the cases in my allegedly sunny state1 link here. So far, for six days, there have been no new cases. I might actually get to relax very soon.

Won't that be nice?

In the news today, Victoria has had spikes left right and center. This is possibly in direct relation to all those idiots who wanted to open up when the plague was still raging, and then refusing to enact safety protocols

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Stream Morning, But...

I just got the news that Toasty's stream will be happening closer to 7AM than 1AM, so I theoretically have the time to do my output nonsense and whatnot before the fun begins.

Allegedly.

With capital timing, Mayhem has come by for a bullshit session so my attentions are divided. Yay.

So I shall be attempting to write a story and sate Mayhem's desire for BS.

Wish me luck, I shall need it.

The news has only mentioned the reason why Victoria

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Bread Day Secundus

The bikkies turned out more like scones with bits in. Meh. They'll be all right with butter or whipped cream. There's a little of that too-much-stevia aftertaste, but I don't find it deplorable.

I might be the only one.

Time will tell.

The dough I made yesterday is thawing and proofing before the big form and bake that will be happening later today. I shall also ask Beloved to slice one loaf when it is done. Maybe that will improve the rate

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Bread Day, and adventures in Recipes

I did wake up at 11PM the previous night, but since I needed a nap at 4PM, I figured I should attempt that thing called a proper night's rest. Translated, I forgot that it was Thursday night and didn't feed the starters.

I have looked up a bikkie recipe that uses sourdough and it promised to be fast and easy... then one of the instructions says "Let sour for eight hours". Fab.

Well, I am going to spend two days on bread

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Thursday (doonk doonk)

I now have five kilograms of wholegrain wholemeal stoneground flour so now I can make the super-healthiest of baked goods. Whee.

I'm going to look up some sourdough treats and see if I can make something wholesome that Chaos will actually want to eat at school. I may even get her to help a little. I live in hope.

Meanwhile, in the 'despair' portion of life as it happens:

  • There's a new outbreak of a mutated strain of Covid-19, or it's a
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Tuesday!

So. Vulpine was a wash-out and I immediately looked up #MSWL to find my next agent/publisher. First on the list, no waiting to cry. On to the next publisher/agent.

Yoiks and a-firkin-way.

[Shown here: Robin Hood Daffy smashing into a tree on loop]

At least Vulpine were willing to send me an email, telling me I'm too weird for their rolls. Nice of them. I sent them thanks and asked for tips. Something may come of it. I dunno.

Next

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