weekly retro #56: didn't have to shovel but my back hurts
here we are, a new month. february was a slog and i was hoping it wouldn't be to naive to ask for peace in march, but here we are. you know, i was at recruiting age when the united states invaded iraq - i was anti-war and told i was too young to understand. fast-forward 23 years later and my views haven't changed. it's wild that those in power expect us to be willing to die for them, when they can't even spare us our own tax dollars to give us healthcare, infrastructure, and other services that they promise every 4 years.
anyway, the week with the blizzard. it hadn't snowed this much since 2016. stuck inside for most of daylight, i did some candle r&d and waiting for the snowing to actually stop. sadly, everything was closed because of the storm, so what was supposed to be my final aerial yoga class at urban sadhu was canceled. rip!
the only consolation the snow had for me after so abruptly cutting off my jersey-city-based aerial practice was just being really pretty. we took a walk through the park, laughed at the totally buried cars, and took in the energy of the neighborhood park - as kids rode sleds and adults made snow statues - before the dog owners let their beautiful creatures piss and shit everywhere.
i revisited beeswax carving this week, as i want to get some nice beeswax products out on the shop soon. it's time-consuming and high-focus work, which is good for me, i need something to slow me down a bit while still making with my hands. not related to arts and crafts, i've also been doing a lot of studying of atproto ahead of a coding project i had an idea of.
pov: i'm about to put you in my little apron pocket so you can watch me not be able to successfully throw a single thing. this week was my last wheel-throwing 1 class, and next week i start wheel-throwing 2. i have no idea what we'll be making but i have ideas of my own which i think will fit right in to this level.
we got the results from pumagreg's vet about the little lump that we recently noticed on his leg. the aspiration they took was not conclusive on malignancy, but it was a kind of group of cells where they need to remove the entire growth to know for sure. pumagreg sees a cardiologist in a couple of weeks to clear him for anesthesia and if his heart doesn't pass, then we just hope it's not cancer, i guess. i'm in the mode right now where i'm not going to speculate or worry, but just be in the moment and on top of this process so he can get the best care possible. i'm also not going to let this all hold me back from setting and meeting personal and professional goals in what is sure to be another slog of a month.
things i enjoyed this week
- this performance by rosalía and björk at the brit awards was fucking art.
- svetlana the stowaway did it again, this time from the airport i live by. an absolute legend. i wonder how many times she's not gotten caught.
- i used in the past but have been consistently doing exercises on executeprogram for now 3 months and it's been fun and has kept me sharp when i'm not coding full-time. i've wanted to work on my python and there's a python for javascript devs course on there which is pandering directly to me.
i started a new weight lifting regimen and i hurt my back from stretching lol, starting the month out both strong and oh so weak. this coming week i go to a different aerial yoga studio, start my new ceramics class, and try to find and bring joy where i can during these dark and violent times.
xoxo jenn