Res ipsa loquitur

Nearly a year ago I posted about having a dream that Fraser was removing a full face of theatrical makeup from RayK. Today that finally finds its way into a story. Many thanks to fox for beta.

Think But This And All Is Mended (2045 words) by Resonant
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: due South
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Characters: Ray Kowalski, Benton Fraser
Additional Tags: Romance, First Time, Makeup removal
Summary:

The makeup remover from Fraser’s kit smelled unscented. Which was not the same as not having any smell, but at least there wasn’t any pregnant mucus this time. Where Fraser was involved, you had to be thankful for small blessings, smellwise.

If you sometimes have blood in your urine, even just a bit, even just now and then, and you test negative for a urinary tract infection, ask your doctor if you need to see a urologist. If it happens twice (especially if you smoke), TELL your doctor you need to see a urologist.

I've just had my follow-up appointment from having a small cancerous growth removed from my bladder. I'm fine! I feel fine! My prognosis is fine! But I'm glad we caught it early and wish I had gone to a specialist even earlier.

The doctor compared this procedure to removing a malignant mole from your arm or a polyp they find during a colonoscopy, so as procedures go this was a pretty simple one.

I now have to have a cytoscopy to watch for regrowth, and after four years the frequency will go down but I'll have to have them annually for the rest of my life, just another annual thing like a Pap or a mammogram.

I would have pursued more healthcare if I hadn't been scared. So if you're scared the way I was, I'll put some details below the cut; if you're squeamish, maybe don't click that arrow.


( cut for gross stuff )

Poll is set to be viewable by all, so make privacy choices accordingly.



Me myself, I'm in the U.S. I'm not from Iowa but I'm in Iowa.

I think I've mentioned before that at the start of the year I like to observe Clean The Insides Of Things January. This year I have to share my joy: I've actually gotten to all the insides* of all the things** in the entire apartment. I don't think I've ever managed to do that in one year before; usually I get to a couple of rooms one year and a couple of rooms the next. Last year I was recovering from surgery and didn't get anything cleaned.

Dare I hope I'll actually be able to do Fixit February too?

* except for the insides of things that still belong to the kidlet.

** except for the chest freezer, which will have to wait until (1) it's not 6 days until garbage pickup comes and (2) it's not freaking 51 degrees outside.

As if to reward my hard work, last night I dreamed Callum Keith Rennie asked me to paint his nails black. His cuticles were a disgrace, but that's very punk rock of him.

An acquaintance just showed up on LinkedIn with a new job: Wrongful Convictions Unit of the State Public Defender.

I wish I could wave a wand and turn a lot of cop shows into Wrongful Convictions Unit shows.

This is the first time I've ever done a job hunt with what you'd call in-demand skills. It's a trip.

I mean, I don't have a fabulously lucrative new job yet, so maybe this is speaking too soon. But I just got on a screening call, asked the recruiter to repeat herself because I was having difficulty with her accent, and this resulted in me accidentally negotiating the pay upwards.

If you're looking for a career change, and you can write and have good executive function skills, I encourage you to check out proposal management. It's in demand, can be done remotely, and pays a lot better than admin or journalism.

If you don't have relevant experience, the APMP certification seems to be meaningful.

[Podfic] Reel (40 words) by SEF_podfic
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: due South
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Characters: Benton Fraser, Ray Kowalski
Additional Tags: Romance, Dancing, Podfic, Audio Format: Streaming, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3
Summary:

Real life is confusing, but a dancer always knows where he's supposed to be. [podfic version]

Been missing DW. So I thought I'd try posting as well as reading and see how that worked!

Current status:

IRL:

Still job-hunting after getting laid off this summer.

I got access to jobs coaching as part of my severance, and I didn't think much of the idea but the execution has been amazing. I've loved having assignments to help me break the whole process down into manageable steps, and encouragement from someone who understands my field. And just in the ten years since I last job-hunted, the process has changed so much (mostly around finding remote work with no local contacts) that it's helpful to have some guidance.

Obligatory self-promo: I'm looking for grant writing or proposal management work, or something else with the same skills combo (writing plus research plus executive function stuff). Someplace smaller than IBM.

Otherwise: still in a commuter marriage. The kidlet (who was asleep on my shoulder while I wrote my very first fanfic) left for grad school in August.

Fannishly:

Back in due South, the warm pond where my fannish life began. Place is pretty lively for source material that went off the air in the previous century!

Slowly dipping back into writing. Currently working on solving the problem that most sex pollen stories don't actually have very much sex in them.

Hi!

Me: Story, tell me what your title is.
Story [in the voice of a 2-year-old]: No.

Weeks later:
Me: Story, I'm very grateful for the seventeen pages of notes, snippets of dialog, and blanks marked "solution to this plot problem goes here." It would really help me if you'd tell me what your title is.
Story [in the voice of a 2-year-old who is well-rested enough to have a long attention span but not so well-rested that a tantrum is out of the question]: No.

Weeks later, while I'm focusing hard on something else:
Story: I want a song-lyrics title.
Me: Great! Just tell me what song.
Story: No.

Arguably this part is my fault, since I mostly listen to music in the car when I need to focus on, you know, driving. Montage covering several weeks:
Story: This is a great song.
Me: I will totally remember that song. [instantly forgets it]
Story: This is a great song.
Me: Yes! I love this song! [Looks up lyrics] Story, the message of this song is basically "I feel great."
Story: This is a great song.
Me: [with rising hope] I love this song. This is specifically a good RayK song. [looks up lyrics] Story, the message of this song is basically "I'm pissed off."
Story: This is a great song.
Me: I love this song. The theme fit is decent too. [looks up lyrics] These lyrics shrivel up and die if you take them out of context.
Story: This is a great song.
Me: This one? Really? Hm. [looks up lyrics] Wow, this has potential. [looks up commentary] Story, the internet says this is a suicide song.
Story: This one. This one. This one.
Me: Story, you're a sex pollen romp.
Story: [lower lip trembles ominously]
Me: Wouldn't be the first time I repurposed a song the writer thought was about suicide. Wouldn't even be the first time for this pairing. Hm, that may tell me something about this pairing. All right, Story, I'll give it a try.
Story: I want ice cream.

This is from a book of poetry parody called Poetry for Cats by Henry Beard, which I very much recommend if you like both poetry and cats.

I read this poem out loud to my cat once and she watched me with rapt attention and then said rrRRRrr in the tone a human would use for 'whoa.' Have read her the poems from the New Yorker from time to time since then, but she's not as enthusiastic about them -- but then neither am I.

Meowl by Allen Ginsberg's Cat
by Henry Beard

( I saw the best kittens of my litter )