As Always, Dancing In My Chair

I woke up to another AO3 notice (as ssa_archivist) that someone added an unclaimed SSA fic to another collection.

Called Smallville Slash Archive (SSARefugeeProject)

The stories are already in the migrated collection.

Smallville Slash Archive (Smallville_Slash_Archive)

The result if someone searches for the Smallville Slash Archive on AO3? No difference between them.

And grumbling is as much energy I can spare on it.

Sorry for the lack of comments lately. I find it very tiring to type one handed. I injured my left shoulder in Sept, had a shot of cortisone and pt which only made it worse. Finally had an mri on Xmas eve and it showed 3 torn and retracted tendons or, as the kid said, I really fucked it up. I go in next week to discuss next steps which will likely be surgery and months of limited use and pt. yay

Gary isn't happy because it could interfere with his skiing, so he's taken two ski trips since the 26th. One 5 days in Michigan and Canada, and now on a 5 day in Vermont. I just do what I can with one hand and leave the rest for him to handle when he's here. He'll squeeze in days at Bristol when he's back. With luck I'll be past the acute period and can manage alone so he doesn't have to cancel his Colorado trip. I have already ruined his retirement because I can't travel with him. Ruining his skiing too...sigh.

And I've reached my limit on typing. Back to being invisible and reading all the things online and watching all the things on hulu, amazon prime, and netflix with pups all around me and an icepack on my aching shoulder.

...but not having internet access for 4 days was hell in a first world issues way. It is my tether to the world, especially when Gary is out-of-town for weeks (like now). Thankfully, I had some very long stories sitting in my To Read folder, so new McSheppiness kept me from complete despair.

Now, I need to quickly make some icons and then see how much I've missed in my games!

PS. To see why no internet, Rochester Windstorm of 2017. At least I kept my power and didn't lose any of my trees.

First the trip from Rochester to Lansing (which always exhausts me) then 2 days later a trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Absolutely gorgeous views along the lakes, although we had to make an emergency stop for a day because I had a blindingly painful migraine. Gary and the dogs went for a walk in the nearby national park and he managed to get lost and end up asking a ranger for directions. That resulted in a $125 ticket for having them in a no dogs area - even with them on a leash and him carrying poop bags. A slightly more expensive 3-day trip than we planned. *sigh*

Back home now, but my Mac is currently out of commission due to an extremely stupid accident involving a large mug of water and a very clumsy Val. I was able to backup the most important data before it shut down, but now I have to transfer it onto what was supposed to be Gary's new computer and is now mine until the Mac can hopefully be repaired. Unfortunately, it also means no new artwork for a while.

One of the files I did lose was a quick and dirty list of McShep Match stories I'd read and needed to leave comments on. I missed to deadline for the polls, but I will be commenting... eventually.

After I recover from the trip.

*melts into sofa and begins snoring*

I have officially spent too much time being pissed off about people using not-so-smart quotes and auto-replacing with special characters, inconsistent character encoding across websites, and the difficulty of transferring simple text files from my Mac to my PDA.

I'm going to ignore the hundreds of files I've saved over the past two months that I now have to open and re-save with the 'correct' encoding for my PDA and attempt to finish the two challenge fics due by the 10th. My writers block is bad enough without my usual obsessive need to solve software problems. *rolls eyes at self*


In other news, I'm alive - if not exceeding well - and the puppies are doing wonderfully in obedience class. The need to take them for daily walks in the park to reinforce their lessons and their socialization is good because that means I get off my ever-expanding ass and move my aching body very slowly for an hour every day. My 10-year-old niece arrives this weekend from NC to stay for two weeks, which should prove a nice distraction (and means I really need to finish the stories NOW).

There will be no writing until my sister has come and gone.

Although this sister lives only 30 minutes away, I haven't seen her for a year and a half. She worked as an office manager/receptionist at a pediatrician's office, as well as babysat for her toddler grandson, so I couldn't risk the exposure. She was laid off two weeks ago and the grandson isn't a constant presence anymore, so she decided it was time to risk a visit.

Hey, why not, after all I haven't been on antibiotics for almost three months. *sigh*

She wanted to 'take me out' because I've been housebound for too long, disregarding the fact that if I wanted to I could have Gary chauffeur me anywhere my heart desired. Gary did explain to her on the phone that the heat makes my skin hurt (latest lovely new symptom of my neuropathy) and that I'll be staying in the air-conditioning thanks very much.

It's not that I don't love my family, it's that I always end up sicker after their visits. I also get to put up with their amusement at my inability to whisper more than a few words at a time before coughing, in addition to their well-meaning attempts at advice about doctors, pain management, medications, blah blah blah.

Believe it or not, I'm also dreading this sister's storytelling. She's always been able to make me laugh and the last time it was so hard I had to go outside in below freezing temps in order to calm my coughing and wheezing down before I passed out. Fun times.

At least Gary will be here as a buffer of sorts. Good timing, actually, because he leaves for another two-week motorcycle trip tomorrow morning. He'll be able to fill in some of the blanks.

To be honest, I'm itching to make the visit a little less one-sided by sharing some of what I do in my isolation. She's pretty straitlaced, so explaining I write fan fiction is out, but I'm thinking I'll show off a selection of my G-rated artwork on my nice new big flat screen TV. Picking the pieces out should help keep me occupied until she gets here in about four hours.

*begins to compile favorites*

I woke up a little achy and sniffly this morning, but dismissed it as the usual arthritis and allergies. Life was good because I finished and posted a new story with art.

That high didn't last long. Now I have a fever of 101.5 and I can't breathe and I'm coughing even more than usual and I ache.

I just love when I visit a doctor's office and come home infected.

*sighs and takes decongestant, expectorant, and cough suppressant before vegatizing*

I was looking forward to going into the doctor's office tomorrow and being able to report that I'm finally down to just spending just an hour or so in the morning coughing and the rest of the day is under control.

Then my next-door neighbors decided they needed to grill something for dinner.

With mesquite briquettes(or something foul like that).

I had my windows open enjoying the fresh air and the scent of my lilac bushes, pleased that the pollen wasn't making me congested. Now I'm wheezing and coughing and my eyes are watering and I want to grab my garden hose and....

*counting to ten - again*

I was happy when it turned warm and I didn't have to deal with the smoke from their wood-burning stove anymore. I mean our houses are 100 feet apart, and they create enough smoke that I can't breathe when I go outside.

I need a better bubble.

Damn it. I finally feel well enough to write something, and then I spend the day filling out the online forms for Social Security Disability. I've been having panic attacks at the thought of going through all the torture - stupid 'feeling of doom', can't take a deep breath, head between the knees panic attacks whenever I opened the damn web page. Absolutely ridiculous reaction from someone who worked for the state worker's compensation board thirty years ago.

Then again, it's probably because I know what fresh hell they put people through when they make a claim. At least I wasn't one of the people wielding pitchforks, I was the one facilitating claims against insurance companies, invoking penalties on late payments, and expediting cases to be heard.

But it's done. I'm exhausted, but the forms are filled out and submitted and now I wait...and wait...and wait some more. Then I'll get my rejection notice and I'll have to start all over again with an appeal.

wahoo

What I really dread is the thought of getting a phone call from them while Gary's gone on his thirty-five day trip and not being able to answer their questions and being forced to go out in public and encounter germs. Hello, Social Security person - woman in virtual bubble here! Did you read how many times I've gotten sick in the last three years alone?

I seriously need to get out of whining mode here.

Hold on! Just switch an 'h' for an 'r' and that first 'n' for a 't' and...writing mode!

There that's much better.

*dusts off hands in satisfaction and opens A Stop in Willoughby*