(no subject)

I'm actually considering doing a Yuletide recs post. I never have before, but there are a couple of stories I really like that I'd like to see get more readers. I'm going to wait until I'm done going through the archive for the first time. I'm in the S's. I've been being very picky about what I read, so I'll probably go through a second time. Then again, I never made it through the archive last year, so who knows? I've also never previously felt moved to make a recs post. It seems like a fair amount of work if it's going to be useful to anybody.

I miss my recs page on my website. I haven't updated that since 2008. I still have a long list of fics I wanted to add to it. Maybe that should be a New Year's resolution-- I could do a few recs every week. It wouldn't be that hard. I haven't added any new fics to my list of things to rec in at least a year. A big part of that is that I'm not reading much fic, but there's also the fact that I know I'm not going to do anything with stories I add to the list.

I could make a few New Year's resolutions. I'd like to get back to walking on the treadmill. It doesn't take that long, and it's good for me.

I'd like to try to occasionally get myself out of the house and go downtown without having an appointment to force me to go. I'm largely house bound because I can't face going out and because I don't have anywhere, really, to go.

I need to learn to ride the bus to the middle school Cordelia will attend. It will be easier if I do it now when it's not urgent. That may have to wait for better weather when waiting at the bus stop isn't such a miserable proposition.

I also want to try to do some writing every day, not just LJ/DW writing (which I do seem to be doing daily) but some fiction. I'm planning to dedicate the year to Rheotaxis, so it would be nice to make some serious progress on it. I've been picking away at it, making small bits of progress, and there's still so much left to write. (And I've got projects I want to work on after Rheotaxis is done. So many projects.)

I'd like to read a book a week. That doesn't seem like much, but it's more than I'm managing now. I have a list of about five hundred books that the public library has that I'm at least vaguely interested in trying. Whittling down that list would be nice. I've also got two or three dozen books that I own that I haven't started or that I stopped in the middle of for no particular reason.

I'd like to learn something new. I don't know what. I might look into Coursera. I might try to find something else-- Maybe I could volunteer with AO3 or DW or something.

Yuletide Fic Recs

These five stories are the ones I found most memorable in my first pass through the Yuletide archive. I was very picky about the fandoms I read. There're a lot that I know that I didn't click on because I was feeling overwhelmed. I also avoided fics that sounded too shippy or that had explicit sex. I just wasn't in the mood.

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones/Sneedronningen | The Snow Queen - Hans Christian Andersen
A Snowflake and a Holly Crown
10173 words
G, No archive warnings apply
The Snow Queen kidnaps Cat. Marianne goes after him.

Henry Reed - Keith Robertson
The Glass and Reed Advertising Agency
12365 words
T, Author chose not to use archive warnings
The author has captured the voice of the original perfectly and follows Henry and Midge as they set up a new business venture. The story takes an abrupt left turn in the middle, but the voice remains Henry's even as the unthinkable happens around him.

The People - Zenna Henderson
To everything there is a season…
11619 words
unrated, Author chose not to use archive warnings
This one follows Bethie-Too to college. The story spins off from a throw away line about one of the People having been on the mission that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. There is one historical bobble-- a reference to the Air Force during WWII. Beyond that, the story's strong.

The Pushcart War - Jean Merrill
By Hand
2683 words
G, No archive warnings apply
This is a creepy little story that implies very dark things about the end of the Pushcart War. It won't be for everybody-- It's written in the second person, but it works.

Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Their Tragedy
2919 words
T, No archive warnings apply
This is an origin story for A-ko, B-ko and C-ko, the Shadow Play Girls. It's creepy and sad and more than a little surreal.

(no subject)

Scott came home and told me we were turning off the phones over night. He said his supervisor strongly suggested it. There are two other people who ought to cover the come in early tomorrow, but there's a good chance that they won't actually do it. We're trying to avoid getting a call at 3 a.m. asking Scott to come to work right away. Scott's cell phone is also off.

If you need to call us, call my cell.