uncertainty

Friday 5:

1. What’s the best song you heard for the first time in 2024?
"Starburster" by Fontaines DC

2. How would you summarize 2024 in one song lyric?
Leaders speak from their hallowed halls
They promise freedom, they lie
Drums of war in the distance sound
We're marching on to our decline
- "Dystopia" by Simone Simons

3. Where did you hear the best live music of any kind, performed by musicians of any age or talent?
In Nashville, when I saw Lacuna Coil and Oceans of Slumber live

4. Whose music did you listen to most?
Epica

5. What was the most compelling music-related news or event of 2024?
I don't really listen to Chappell Roan, but keeping up with her criticism of fandom and parasocial behavior has been interesting, and I think it's important that she spoke out about it.

Today's Friday 5:

In sociology, the third place refers to the social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home (the first place) and the workplace (the second place). Examples of third places include churches, cafes, bars, clubs, libraries, gyms, bookstores, hackerspaces, stoops, parks, and theaters.

1. What is your usual third place these days?
I honestly don't get out enough these days. It would probably be the library because that's the third place I'm at the most. And maybe the nearby park, because I enjoy going for walks there, which is something I want to try to do more of.

2. How are your third place needs different today from some other time in your life?
In my 20s, I frequented bars. Now that I'm in my 30s, that has definitely changed. I rarely drink anymore, and when I do, it's usually at home or a friend's place as opposed to out at a bar or restaurant.

3. What’s missing from your third places these days?
I think third places in general are missing. We need more spaces in cities for people to just hang out. I watched a really good video essay on that recently, about how cities are being developed more and more to discourage people from just... being in them.

4. What kind of third places do you see yourself never frequenting?
See answer #2. I don't see myself frequenting bars anymore, unlike when I was in my 20s. Not because I dislike them, but just because as I've grown older I've felt less need for them. I've become an old person who'd rather do breakfast at a cafe or diner than a late night at a bar.

5. Which third place in a television series would you most enjoy?
Luke's Diner from Gilmore Girls

Friday 5

1. What’s a perfectly satisfying libation?
Lemonade from a local farm here

2. For taking to work or school, what’s in your favorite personal sack lunch?
A salad with cheese, avocado, and ranch dressing with some apples and dark-chocolate covered pistachios on the side

3. Do you know a pretty silly limerick?
I had to look up limericks because I don't know any by heart, but I like this one:
There once was a fly on the wall,
I wonder, why didn’t it fall?
Because its feet stuck? Or was it just luck?
Or does gravity miss things so small?

4. What’s a pleasingly scented lotion?
I've been loving Among the Clouds from Bath & Body Works lately. It's fruity but light and smells so good.

5. What are some peppy song lyrics?
The chorus of "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter is pretty peppy. I'll let you look up the lyrics. ;) I'm a fan of that song, but I don't like the rest of the album. It's unfortunately really boring in comparison.

Friday 5:

1. Where do you like to go for al fresco dining?
There's a local pizza and beer place here that has a really good outdoor section.

2. When did you have to go somewhere incognito?
Honestly, I can't remember.

3. Where can you see some interesting graffiti?
There's an alleyway downtown where graffiti artists are given free reign to go all out, and there's always some interesting stuff there. My favorite pieces are a big Dolly Parton portrait and a scene from Super Mario.

4. What are some good Madonna songs?
I'm a really big fan of her ballads. "Live to Tell" and "This Used to Be My Playground" are probably my favorites.

5. Which well-known adage would be a good motto for you in the coming month—or for your lifetime?
"Less is more." I need to get rid of some things and stop being so materialistic.

The Friday Five:

1. Are you happy with your current line of work? What do you like/don't like about it?
I am. It can be stressful sometimes, but that's true of every job, even the fun ones. I like the investigative aspects of it, that sometimes figuring out a claim can be like solving a puzzle. I like the people I work with as well. I don't always like making phone calls, especially if they're to patients, but it's not too bad.

2. Do you see yourself doing the same type of work in 5 years? What about 10?
Yes. I want to stick with my job because it will allow me to pay off my student loans in four years since it's a nonprofit and is considered a public service job. I'd still like to be with it in 10 years as well. I do like my job, and I can see myself growing within it.

3. Did you see yourself doing this type of work 5 years ago? What about 10?
Honestly, yes. I've worked in medical clerical for a while, so it's not surprising that I ended up here.

4. Did you have a dream job as a child? What was it?
I wanted to be a paleontologist and dig up dinosaur bones like Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park.

5. If you had to pick a radically different job from what you have now, regardless of whether you'd realistically be able to do it given your skillset, what would you pick and why?
I'd be a baker. I'd love to own my own bakery or just make pastries all day for a living.

From the Friday 5:

1. What are you 2 lazy 2 do this weekend?
Probably some of the cleaning I need to do around the apartment. We're having a game night with family this Saturday, and then I'll probably spend Sunday with my mom watching the Great British Baking Show. I doubt I'll fill the extra time with cleaning. Save it for next week instead.

2. What was just 2 much this week?
Having to write addresses on all of the folders for claims to be mailed at work yesterday. Hand cramps galore.

3. What took 2 long 2day?
Work. I'm on lunch right now, but the day is going by so slowly.

4. What’s going 2 be much 2 fun 2morrow?
Danny's off work, so we'll probably hang out, maybe watch some more Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

5. In what effort are you 2 legit 2 quit?
My job. I've helped out in extra areas lately to get stuff caught up from the backlog that resulted from the cyberattack.

.....

1. What do you remember about your first camera?
I had a little silver Kodak digital camera. I remember taking it on the high school French trip with me and snapping memories.

2. What do you remember about your first cell phone?
Honestly, not much. It was a flip phone, but I can't remember the brand or anything else about it. I didn't use it nearly as much as I use my Google Pixel 8 now, of course.

3. What do you remember about your first radio?
I had a boombox that I listened to my CDs on in my room. I don't remember the brand or anything much about it either. I just remember chilling to Savage Garden, P!nk, and the Spice Girls.

4. What do you remember about your first countertop kitchen appliance (or device)?
This is hard when you have a bad memory! I honestly don't remember what my first countertop kitchen appliance was. I'll never forget getting our stand mixer last Christmas, though!

5. What do you remember how to do from your first job?
Fold fitted sheets. I worked in the laundry area of a hotel.

.....

1. When are you a shark?
When I'm playing board games or card games

2. When are you a kitten?
When I'm with Danny

3. When are you a chameleon?
Almost all the time. I'm pretty good at adapting to situations.

4. When are you a parrot?
When I watch a Jacob Geller video and can't stop talking about it for days afterward

5. When are you an amoeba?
When I'm lying down in bed?

I'm bored today, unsurprisingly. I'm transferring my main blog's domain from Wordpress to Namecheap, and I'm going to change the DNS settings so that it's hosted on Bear Blog. I'm tired of Wordpress, and I keep hearing horrible things about how it wants to sell stuff to AI companies, the CEO is transphobic, etc. I'm not transferring all of my posts over. Instead, I want to have kind of a fresh start. But I might manually transfer a few of my favorites.

Anyway, here are some belated Friday Fives!

The Friday Five:

1. What's a skill you'd like to learn?
I'm hoping to learn to hone my singing voice, so I'm going to be taking voice lessons beginning in May. I'd also love to fully learn the guitar. Anything musical, really.

2. What's a hobby you'd like to try?
I really want to do something like embroidery, crochet, or needle felting. I've started needle felting, but I'm still very much a beginner.

3. What's the best compliment you've ever received?
My boss at work constantly tells me she wants to clone me, which always feels good! Any compliments that I've received in regards to my intelligence and work ethic are always appreciated.

4. What's one way in which you are awesome?
I catch onto things really quickly and love to learn.

5. What's a gift you would like to receive (in case anyone asks)?
Right now, my favorite gift is a Sephora gift card so I can go on a shopping spree at my favorite store!

And Friday 5:

Which five-letter word describes your mood today?
BORED. The system is still down at work, so I don't have much to do. They're anticipating it will be back up next week, though, and that's when things will start to get really hectic. We've already been asked to put in some overtime to catch up, and I might have to go into the physical office for a few days rather than working from home. I dislike all this downtime, but I'm not looking forward to playing catch-up either!

Which five-letter word describes your plans for the weekend?
RELAX. Next week is going to be a busy one for several reasons, including work and our wedding (!!!), so I want to try to get all the relaxation time in that I can this weekend.

Which five-letter word describes something that annoyed you this week?
BOXES. I have a bunch of boxes from stuff I've had shipped here that are just stacked up in my room, and they keep falling over. It's my own fault, though, because I need to just go ahead and take them out of here.

Which five-letter word did you eat this week?
PASTA. I had some creamy tomato penne with chicken from one of my favorite restaurants for dinner last night, and I had enough leftover to have it again for lunch today.

Which five-letter word made you happy this week?
DANNY. Hanging out with him always makes me happy. Last night, we went down a music rabbit hole, sharing some old and new favorite songs with each other.

I ended up reading around 50 pages of The Red Tree last night. It's really good! It has this feel to it that I don't get very often in books, this contemplative melancholy feel. There's not a lot of action and there is lots of rumination, but it works. It's also interesting that the main character, Sarah, is pretty unlikable. She's self-absorbed but way too self-deprecating at the same time. The writing just flows and flows, though, and it's intriguing to be inside Sarah's head. I've always kind of liked unlikable characters and unreliable narrators. It's why I'm such a big fan of In the Woods by Tana French and Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers, two of my favorite books.

I had my appointment with my psych yesterday, and she upped the dosage on my Rexulti. She says it sounds like I've been going through a depressive episode, and I agree with her. I haven't been overly depressed, but I've been feeling very flat and listless. Most of the time, I just want to take a nap as opposed to doing anything entertaining or productive. Hopefully the higher dosage will help with this general "meh" feeling.

I found some new icons, and this Nijika one that I'm using is so cute. I miss Bocchi the Rock. Can't wait til the movies come out this year!

( Some more old Friday Fives )

The Friday Five:

1. Have you ever been the president of anything? Nope

2. What do you think is the most important leadership trait? The ability to recognize others' accomplishments

3. What time period did you find the most interesting to learn about in history class? Ancient Rome

4. What's something you think about doing, but you haven't gotten back into in several years? Playing the guitar

5. If you could add one more random holiday to February, what would it be? Uhhh...I wouldn't have it off work anyway, so it wouldn't matter. I like February the way it is.

And Friday Five:

1. In the movie of your life, which actor plays your arch nemesis? Hmm... Maybe Christina Ricci just because I like her and she seems like she'd be a cool antagonist. I don't have an arch nemesis, so it doesn't really matter who it is, I'd just want someone cool.

2. What brought on your most recent case of the blues? Being off my meds

3. What was the gateway drug (used figuratively, please!) leading to one of your obsessions or addictions (also used figuratively) today? Symphonic metal leading me to other forms of metal, like progressive metal and death metal

4. In your field of expertise, what is generally considered a cardinal sin? At work, I guess not following up on accounts

5. How many people named Louis (or some variation) do you know? None!