Random Ramblings CCCVII · 8:59am Aug 24th, 2018
IN WHICH ADULTING BLOWS
I've been looking for a song to describe how I've felt the past two years. Well, here it is. Enjoy.
Updates on the flip side, if you'd be so kind as to follow.
So, I've almost finished tweaking my backlog of stories to get their word counts back to round numbers. I think there's only one or two more stories I need to check. It's taking so long because (1) it's tedious to figure just what I ought to change/add and where, and (2) I've been simultaneously busy and not.
Like I said before, in almost every case, unless I specifically endeavoured to keep the word count identical to the pre-FF4.0 version - usually if it was an even hundred - it has dropped even though I've added words (in a couple of cases I did add enough material to bump the count above what it originally was). It's mostly little tweaks here and there. However, I did take the opportunity in the Sunset+Rarity Burrito story to change Beulah's words about Donald Trump Orangeglow to reflect my later canon that she was one of his supporters. A line about him was also added to Comma Comma as one of Spike's examples of stupid shit I've written that makes him mad enough to leave the story.
Once I'm through with this little project, it's back to editing other completed but unpublished stories. After THAT, Octavia's Burrito story that I've not touched in like a year. So much on my plate in the writing department and little drive to complete it all. THIS is why I have no hope of going pro. I'm too damn slow.
On the real life front, my air conditioner decided to begin its death throes by springing a leak in its evaporator coil. Because the unit is twelve years old and a bit mismatched, the tech recommended a new unit. I was. being the cheap-ass I am, a bit dubious to say the least. However, despite the high cost, I decided to take the plunge. There were three reasons for this:
- Given the age of my HVAC, it's out of warranty, so there's not a lot of point in patching a system where something else may fail; new systems have a 10yr parts warranty
- Since almost everything in my home has been or is scheduled to be replaced with more efficient versions, may as well add HVAC to the list
- Because of Donald Trump's aluminum tariffs, the cost of replacing my unit next year would spike anywhere from 6-12% (not including taxes) because the coils and such are all aluminum. This is a legitimate non-political reason to say fuck Donald Trump
So the replacement is scheduled for next Thursday. My mother plans to be out of the house. I'm going to stay and brave the heat. We've had a pretty cool and rainy mid-summer when normally we'd be in drought season, which is nice, though next week is supposed to be hot and sunny.
My mother keeps talking about how much all these repairs will help my home value, which is true. However, I have zero intention of leaving. I don't expect to ever find another girlfriend, and I will not have children.
I may be a cheap-ass, but I think I'm starting to become addicted to importing music from Japan. I tried to buy Ayami Muto's albums digitally. Unfortunately, they're region-locked on both iTunes and Amazon, so I ended up buying hard copies from HMV (a Japanese site that had them in stock when CDJapan and Amazon were iffier), and bought some CDs from Amazon JP by the late great guitarist Mikio Fujioka who passed away in January after a freak accident. I tried to buy his memorial album "My Little God", but the seller (not Amazon directly) won't ship outside Japan. Pity, because any stuff of Mikio's I buy, at least some of it goes to support his widow and daughter. Anyway, the thing I'm trying to say is…
JAPAN, DON'T MAKE IT SO DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO GIVE YOU MONEY.
My mother bought a bookshelf to serve as a replacement for my "Wall Of Awesome" -- the hundreds of anime DVDs and Blurays I've collected over the past 15 years precariously stacked in my man-cave (since taken over by my mother). It came today and, regrettably, it's a lot of assembly required, and I really fucking don't want to do it. I hate putting bookshelves together. It's tedious and time-consuming. Unfortunately, my mother is an extremely impatient person, so she's gonna want that thing put together ASAP. Fuck my life.
I think that's all I can think of for tonight. I'm gonna go back to watching Sakura Gakuin videos now.
Peace out!
Hmm, that’s a good point about doing HVAC replacements sooner rather than later. Our new place is similar to how our old place was in terms of age of units... it’s probably a waiting game for a breakdown. Getting a bit more aggressive with replacing them might not be the worst idea.
QFT, man. I’m not the biggest buyer of Japanese stuff but each time it’s slow, expensive, and weird, compared to how you’d expect to interact with a close national ally with ultra-modern technology etc.
Glad you're getting a new AC unit. :O I've got stories I need to write too but I keep putting 'em off. XD
Sorry about the bookshelf. :(
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I put together part of it a couple hours ago -- basically everything but the backpiece. It's not difficult work, just tedious. And I had to be on my knees, which hurts even with a rug under you.
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Bluuuuuuugh.