Questions for December Daily?

[resonant]

Hiya, fandom! Long time no see! The current Tumblr turmoil may not end up amounting to anything, but it did stir up the constant subsonic murmur of my Dreamwidth nostalgia enough to make me eager to participate in daily posting again.

So here's how it works. Choose a date in December. Ask me a question. I'll make a post about your question on the date you choose.

Quick update:

Work: Stable job, great boss, good pay ... such boring work.

Kidlet: A sophomore studying psychology and gender studies at a university about two hours away. Also working at one of the food places and experiencing that joy of employment best expressed by a text that said: "I'm the only person who ever cuts any onions! I am the BACKBONE of this place!"

Personal: Still in this damned commuter marriage, which still sucks. In an effort to stop talking about politics so much, the spouse and I are reading James Joyce's Ulysses out loud. I'm trying to spend a few more weekends at home; I miss him, but I need to live where I live. Also, I'm growing herbs in my kitchen and I bought a houseplant.

Health: So, um, you know how you sort of know you have sleep apnea for like years and years and never do anything about it? ... except that I started being short of breath every time I walked half a block, and this month my doctor called for an EKG and then made appointments with both a sleep specialist and a cardiologist. At least this year there's no rabies involved.

Writing: Not yet.

Fannish engagement: Reading all the Venom.

Anyhow, leave me questions! Tell me if you're participating, and I'll leave you questions! I still remember fondly what it was like to talk to each other!



1 -- goss, "VENOM! Why do you think it's been such an instant hit with Fandom, and what are some of your favourite fanworks so far?" and nestra, "Any Venom recs?"
2 -- anitac588, "How do you relate to different fandoms? Do you revisit them?
Sometimes I find it difficult to go back to reading stories in 'old' fandoms after discovering new OTP."
3 -- marginaliana, "what is your favorite physical non-living thing? Not a person or a pet, but it could be something you own or a piece of art, etc."
4 -- cesperanza, "I'll ask an HP question, actually, because I wasn't really ever in it and I'm interested in the reactions of people who were. It seems to me from the outside so spectacularly meh now; like, it was the fictional equiv of Lost (which I also didn't watch) where it was fascinating as a piece of serialized fiction but where the execution simply couldn't live up to the collective imagination. Am I wrong?"
5 -- teigh_corvus, "Your thoughts on James Joyce and Ulysses."
6 -- kass, "If the you of 10 years ago could see you now, what would surprise her most?"
7 --
8 --
9 --
10 -- princessofgeeks, "How did you go about changing fandoms? Was it, historically, something you did or something that just happened? Did friends lure you? Did you find new shows to watch?"
11 -- reginagiraffe, "(It's MrGiraffe's birthday so...) Have you ever written a birthday themed story? If not, what couple would have the best/funnest/easiest birthday story to write and why?"
12 -- laurenthemself, "What are your thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok? I know ya boy Steve wasn't in it but did you have any shippy feelings?"
13 --
14 --
15 -- china_shop, "What hooks you into a fanfic? Is it banter, characterisation, tropes, or...? Is it different from what hooks you into original fic?"
16 --
17 --
18 -- kass, "What have you read recently that you've enjoyed?
19 --
20 --
21 --
22 -- mekare, What would Ben Fraser do in 2018?
23 -- marina, "What was the last book you read that wasn't fanfic and that you intensely loved, and why."
24 -- wychwood, "Something about SGA! What's the one fic you're sorry you never wrote? What was your favourite episode? Do you still love John/Rodney? How gay WAS John Sheppard? Where in Atlantis would you live if you could pick any room you liked? Pick one or a topic of your choice."
25 --
26 --
27 --
28 --kass, "What do you like best about where you live?"
29 --
30 -- china_shop, "Your favourite book you read this year."
31 -- wolfshark, "what is your favorite story to reread of your own stuff? what was your favorite story to write?"

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

It's so good to see you!

Dec 10: How did you go about changing fandoms? Was it, historically, something you did or something that just happened? Did friends lure you? Did you find new shows to watch?

Am looking forward to seeing Venom eventually. I was too busy and missed its brief theater appearance in my city.

[teigh_corvus]

This is a marvelous idea! It's been ages since I've done something like this, and it's perfect to get in the swing of posting again. So- I'll be setting up my own December Daily post. If you don't mind, I'm also going to steal your quick update format. That's about what I can handle right this second.

Thank you for your inspiration!

I'd like December 5th, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on James Joyce and Ulysses.

[niqaeli]

....wait, being short of breath from walking much can be a sleep apnea thing?

Right, so, I'm dragging the spouse to a sleep study if I have to drUG AND KiDNap HiM.

[resonant]

It has something to do with the thickening of the heart muscle? I don't know much -- my appointment with the cardiologist isn't till Wednesday and to be honest when a doctor tells you something with the words "heart muscle" in it, it's hard to hear the rest over the roaring in your ears.

But when I could still remember the official words, I searched them, and the first hit was a Mayo Clinic page about sleep apnea being a major contributing factor.

I wish I'd given in and done something earlier. I was going to this one particular medical practice where it seemed like (1) I had a different doctor every time I had a checkup, and (2) seemed like every checkup was an act of war -- like, I had to go in ready to frigging defend myself because I didn't like my blood pressure medication and try a different one, and I had to be ready to be patronized and ignored, and I was constantly lowgrade angry about my doctor.

And then I asked a friend for a recommendation, went to the new doctor, and the first thing she did was look at my little handwritten notebook of home blood pressure readings and say, "Well, a home reading is always going to be more accurate than an office reading, so we'll just ignore the [insanely high] number we just got here and use these instead," and finally I could just relax and ... actually talk about the things that were concerning me.

Which is more than you asked for, but you might ask him if he feels like he has an antagonistic relationship with his doctor, and if he says yes, tell him Res Says You Can Get A Different Doctor!!

[spikedluv]

I was going to ask the same question, so thanks for this explanation.

Also, great to see you on my f-list again!

[niqaeli]

It has something to do with the thickening of the heart muscle? I don't know much -- my appointment with the cardiologist isn't till Wednesday and to be honest when a doctor tells you something with the words "heart muscle" in it, it's hard to hear the rest over the roaring in your ears.

I mean now that you SAY it, I make the connection rather well given my personal background as a massage therapist and A&P instructor: given the pauses in fully oxygenated blood coming from the lungs that sleep apnea inevitably must cause what with the periodic cessation of useful breathing, the heart has to pump harder to supply all the body with the oxygen it needs, which will in turn over the long-term lead to a thickening of the heart muscle (since it is having to work harder!) but unfortunately that doesn't always mean the heart muscle is working BETTER, and the thickening can eventually impair its own work and is just generally undesirable.

Anyway, so far as I know, my Spouse does not have an antagonist relationship with his doctor so much as a LALALALA DUNWANNA relationship with Everything Medical Ever. Which is why he has never followed up on the work to get a goddamned sleep study despite multiple things suggesting one would be very fucking relevant. IMMA DO THAT WORK NOW, THOUGH, EVEN IF HE IS VERY CRANKY AND RESISTANT. (The fact that hoofing it two blocks at speed or a block uphill seems to wind him has been WORRYING ME. >:| AND IF IT'S THE RESULT OF HIS PROBABLE SLEEP APNEA, WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT PRETTY READILY.)

[nestra]

Any Venom recs?

You can treat this as an official question, or not, especially if you have no recs.

[goss]

December 1st!

Fannish engagement: Reading all the Venom.

VENOM! Why do you think it's been such an instant hit with Fandom, and what are some of your favourite fanworks so far?

[reginagiraffe]

Dec 11 - (It's MrGiraffe's birthday so...) Have you ever written a birthday themed story? If not, what couple would have the best/funnest/easiest birthday story to write and why?

[wolfshark]

Any day - what is your favorite story to reread of your own stuff? 2nd follow on question - what was your favorite story to write?

[marginaliana]

Oooh, I love these December Days things. December 3: what is your favorite physical non-living thing? Not a person or a pet, but it could be something you own or a piece of art, etc.

[sineala]

I have no questions but I am glad to see you posting again!

[china_shop]

*waves*

Any date, one or both of:

- Your favourite book you read this year.
- What hooks you into a fanfic? Is it banter, characterisation, tropes, or...? Is it different from what hooks you into original fic?

[anitac588]

Hello, one of my favorite authors from SGA era. *sigh* those were lovely times, it's terrible what happened to Joe Flanigan's house (to the whole region, of course), but one good thing is - his hair is entity of its own, still.
Recently discovered you also wrote some HP/SS *g*. I've stumbled into HP recently after listening to the HP books. Liked SS from beginning, even before the last book.
Anyways. Question (can be Dec2, or whichever is empty first): How do you relate to different fandoms? Do you revisit them?
Sometimes I find it difficult to go back to reading stories in 'old' fandoms, like SV or Merlin, after discovering new OTP. Wonder why that is.

[mekare]

Seconding this question.

[marina]

What was the last book you read that wasn't fanfic and that you intensely loved, and why.

[wychwood]

Hey!

Day 24 - Something about SGA! What's the one fic you're sorry you never wrote? What was your favourite episode? Do you still love John/Rodney? How gay WAS John Sheppard? Where in Atlantis would you live if you could pick any room you liked? Pick one or a topic of your choice.

[mekare]

What would Ben Fraser do in 2018? Argh sorry,

Day 22.

It‘s great to see you posting here. Btw, I plan on participating. Man my brain is offline today.

[kass]

omg your kid is a sophomore what.

I would love to do this December Daily thing.

What have you read recently that you've enjoyed?
What do you like best about where you live?
If the you of 10 years ago could see you now, what would surprise her most?

[resonant]

Right? I could swear it was only day before yesterday that I was ordering big chunky wooden puzzles from Hearthsong.

[cesperanza]

Hihi you! Always happy to see you!! :D

I'll ask an HP question, actually, because I wasn't really ever in it and I'm interested in the reactions of people who were. It seems to me from the outside so spectacularly meh now; like, it was the fictional equiv of Lost (which I also didn't watch) where it was fascinating as a piece of serialized fiction but where the execution simply couldn't live up to the collective imagination. Am I wrong? It makes me think about different kinds of fiction and different uses of fiction: fiction as process vs fiction as product, maybe, IDK.

[resonant]

Man, I wish I hadn't already put something on the first, because this question fills me with bouncy ideas and semi-articulate protest.

[laurenthemself]

You have my empathy on the health front. I have a sleep study next Thursday and we'll go from there to see if there's anything that will work (I can't tolerate the CPAP mask).

12th of December, so it will be 12/12 for both of us: What are your thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok? I know ya boy Steve wasn't in it but did you have any shippy feelings?

[resonant]

Have you tried a dental appliance? I've been using one for the past year. For eight months it was heaven, but then for some reason it started popping off my lower teeth in the middle of the night. And I paid for it out of pocket instead of getting a real diagnosis (what was I thinking?), so I can't go back to the insurance company and say, "Time to replace this thing."

The major drawback, for me, was mouthbreathing and therefore drooling like crazy.

[copracat]

7 Dec. If The Sentinel were made now who would the cast be? Fantasy or reality casting: either!

[muccamukk]

Describe a long fic you always wanted to write, but never have and likely never will. 16th.

[ride_4ever]

Choosing December 17th because it's my birthday and asking you to rec two due South fanworks: a favorite that you created and a favorite that someone else created. (Anything! Triggers and squicks not a concern for me.)

[brancher]

welcome back! I just went thru resubscribing to all my old LJ friends and wow ... those were good days. Hoping DW can become fandom's new home.