Knowledge Acquisition

Okay, I haven’t talked about my linguistic acquisitions (or anything) in quite some time. Things are going….okay….I suppose. I am presently working on learning eleven languages on and off. This is down from twelve, where I eliminated one and replaced another. In both cases, I wasn’t effectively gelling with the languages and felt that my time could be better spent focusing on a different language where I had both an affinity and some familiarity due to loanwords and linguistic familial relation. The languages I’m currently focused on via Duolingo, dictionaries, and books on tape are:

1. German – Primary focus language.
2. Spanish – Secondary focus language.
3. French – Secondary focus language.
4. Mandarin Chinese
5. Korean
6. Hawaiian
7. Norwegian
8. Danish – Newest acquisition.
9. Irish
10. Swedish
11. ASL – Currently only alphabet studies.

The ones that were, at one point, the Lingua Franca or that have a lot of societal influence are a bit less stressful to learn. It doesn’t mean that they’re “easy”, rather just less stressful due to loanwords. To be honest, German is making my brain fuse neurons right now on Duolingo. I can’t get out of English sentence structure when thinking. Though I did scare myself on a few sleepy occasions when I managed to make it through my Duolingo practice with few errors. I still don’t know how I did those as I could barely see the tablet.

With the newest language, Danish, most of it is knitting related words I’m learning from the television show Den Store Strikkedyst. I am hoping that listening to this will translate into some level of understanding. At any rate, I can’t go wrong learning the language of a knitting culture. It opens up my world of patterns, that’s for sure.

I dropped one language and switched another to pick up Danish. The one I switched was Swahili and the one I dropped was Hindi. In both instances, I was going nowhere fast with my acquisition rate. Hindi was focused on learning the alphabet and I wasn’t retaining Swahili. Perhaps I’ll come back to these languages in the future. I did find both very interesting.

I’ve been so focused on languages that nearly everything else in my educational schedule has fallen by the wayside. I haven’t done much more than rudimentary mathematics for budgeting and household management. Science has been relegated to watching videos on YouTube. This is the first thing I’ve written out that wasn’t directly language related. Recently, I just haven’t had the time for much due to doctor’s appointments and helping the Maternal Parental.

I am planning to renegotiate my schedule to incorporate more learning. My good friend and I are going to teach ourselves Python and according to them, Python is heavily Monty Python referencing. That’s a boon for me as I’m a pretty big fan, thanks to PBS. I haven’t seen every singular thing of theirs though. All the more reason to visit my local library.

I also have the often moved appointments with learning more about Rigid Heddle Loom Weaving and about various applications to contend with. My problem is, with so many doctor’s appointments, I never have the time to focus on anything I can’t carry with me. Languages are less difficult because I can carry my phone which has Duolingo on it. The Rigid Heddle Loom strapped across my back would be a bit more problematic. So would learning all the applications inner workings. It is a lot of reading and video watching as well as computer time. Even if I focused on the reading and videos, it would burn my battery in my phone before I could get even a tenth of it done.

So, I’m determined to set aside a significant block of home time for all of this. This home time may put a kink in my plans to be more sociable. I’m currently telling everyone to talk with me in late October.

Also on the horizon is NaNoWriMo 2019. I have yet to come up with anything. Not a story, not an outline, not so much as a glimmer of an idea has surfaced regarding my writing. I think I’m just too burned out from everything else. I am also still knitting the sweater for the Maternal Parental. I’m hoping to finish it before November but it isn’t looking good. This sweater will be a year long project on 20 October 2019. I really want to finish it before that date.

I’m currently exhausted but I’m going to focus on knitting and languages over the next few days during my free time. The clock is ticking.

 

Life Goals – Trauma Mitigation

I am making an effort to be present in the moment and to be more positive…again.

 

No, seriously.

 

To be honest, I don’t even know where to begin with this effort. I am so thoroughly morose and robotic a personality that, until this morning, I didn’t see a way out of it. I was looking at an Instagram and got the inspiration to do this. This path isn’t even remotely me. However, I would like to challenge myself to become a different version of myself. I tend to keep people at arm’s length at the best of times due to past traumatic events. My reasoning was always that they can’t hurt you if you don’t let them in. Yet, I know, that this line of thinking has ultimately led to my own isolation. Not that I mind it. It’s just that, in order to function in society, one needs to actually be…in society. *shudders*

 

Who knows if this will even be possible? Sometimes, I think I’ve been cut off for so long that no one will accept my efforts at becoming more gregarious. Gregarious at all even. Yet, I have to make the effort. Between the Agoraphobia/Anxiety and the trauma, I don’t have many friends outside of the Internet. Even those friends, I only see sparingly.

 

So, my plan to become more gregarious is to restart my woefully neglected gratitude journal. I tend to lean towards Catastrophizing in thinking about things and I think writing about the things I’m grateful for with give me some perspective. As ‘No’ is my favorite word, I don’t think I need to learn boundaries at this point but rather, I should learn to renegotiate the chasmically wide boundaries I’ve set for myself and occasionally let others into my world.

 

I also resolve to take walks outside and…say hello to people. Perhaps not all will be suitable for friendship but some might be. I’ve got to give them a chance. If I get trouble again, I’ll ignore it if it is verbal and walk away or defend myself if it is physical. I will also make it my mission to go to the Library on a regular basis again. They’ve got books, events, classes, and other media that I find interesting.

 

I’m not going to wait until some imagined future date when my body is healed this time either. I get the feeling that time is never coming. I’m starting this whole thing today.

 

Thanks for reading. Have a fantastic day.

 

Lavender vs. Grapefruit

I have two choices before me: Lavender or Grapefruit.

 

I recently bought a sample pack of Eucalan Delicate wash containing all five scents. The scents included were: Unscented, Grapefruit, Lavender, Wrapture – Jasmine, and Eucalyptus. These are my own opinions and have nothing to do with the quality of Eucalan. I happen to love the product itself and will be using all of the sampler bottles once I finish future projects. Except for the Unscented, which was given to The Maternal Parental. Eucalan is not paying me to say any of this stuff. I just wanted to do a blog post since I had a comparison in front of me.

 

Now, down to the business. I am a little put off by two of the five scents. I, personally, am not a big fan of Eucalyptus. While I do like pine-ish/evergreen-y scents normally, I don’t really like them in my delicates. As light and refreshing as the scent is in the bottle, I think that I would get tired of it if I had to smell it all day in my sweater. Though, I will be trying it out as a moth repellent. I am also not a fan of Wrapture – Jasmine. It is too overpowering for my palate. Unscented is aptly described. It carries no scent as far as I could ascertain. In future, I may get a small 16.9oz bottle for projects where the scent tolerance of the recipient is low. However, this one is also not for me personally.

 

This leaves two scented bottles to choose from. I’m familiar with Lavender. This is the scent I normally buy when getting a 16.9oz bottle of Eucalan. The scent lasts forever and isn’t cloying. I quite like it actually. However, the bottle I have as an option to purchase is almost $57USD. I’ve seen it go as high up as $69 and as low as $46 on my preferred shopping portal.

 

In the other corner is Grapefruit. I didn’t think I was going to like this scent as much as I do. It isn’t overpoweringly Grapefruit-y. It is more of a generic citrus blossom aroma. Anyone who knows me knows I can’t stand actual Grapefruit at all. So this scent is welcome and pleasant to experience. This bottle option is priced at a little under $46USD as of the writing of this blog post. I’m not sure how the scent lasts though. I will have to try it out to see. To be honest, I have never looked at the price fluctuation of Grapefruit Eucalan before. First time for everything.

 

I currently have both in my cart to see how the prices fluctuate over the next month and a half and which will ultimately be the better buy. 

 

So, what do you all think? Are you Team Lavender or Team Grapefruit? Do you have a favorite Eucalan or a different Delicate Wash product? Please, chime in via the comments. Thanks for reading!

 

This Isn’t Amusing Anymore…

When I first was diagnosed with this tendon injury, I thought it was amusing in a certain light. Basically, I got de Quervain’s Tenosynovitis from knitting too much. I thought it would be gone within a few days to a week, like my Primary Care Physician said it might even if I did have to rest it a full month. I was eagerly anticipating going back to crafting and getting all the projects done in my active queue as well as my project queue. Apparently, this isn’t the way it is going to occur. My thumb is blazing and shooting tendrils of pain up my wrist and into my forearm. This is interfering in my life now. Not cool.

 

I managed to crochet something without putting pressure or stress on my left hand and now my right hand is starting up. *sigh*

 

At this point, all I can do is type and weave. I’m not sure about sewing. I’m going to give it an effort though. I need to be doing something creative to keep me sane. I was hoping to bust a small sweater out for NaKniSweMo but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. So, I am learning more on the ins and outs of my Rigid Heddle Loom and my Sewing machine. I am also learning as much as I can about Weaving and Sewing. I saw a cool tutorial on a Mennonite YouTube channel for how to make a simple dress. Normally, dresses are offensive to me but this particular pattern looked cool.

 

I am also gearing up for NaNoWriMo. I’m completely clueless as to what I’m going to write about this year. However, I am not going to do it by the seat of my pants as I have done in previous years. All I ever do when I pants it is write myself into corners and loops. This year, I’d like to finish a coherent story without getting stuck and dropping everything once I get past fifty-thousand words.

 

Something’s got to pop up in my head eventually. I hope…

 

I should really go to bed now. Either that, or read.

 

Good night, World. Take care.

 

In The de Quervain’s Tenosynovitis Club

Greetings Peoples of the Sun. I come to you from the Land of Excruciating Pain.

 

So it went something like this: Since mid-May, I’ve been picking up the knitting but not able to get anything done to my degree of satisfaction. No matter how hard I tried, a blinding pain in my thumb would put the brakes on any plans to make The Maternal Parental’s sweater. My honest first thought upon feeling the pain was tendon injury. That’s no thanks to the Plantar Fasciitis pain I have in both feet. Yet, like a fool, I ignored my body screaming at me to stop and went all in on the knitting. A really bad decision, as I later found out. The more I knitted, the worse the pain got until I finally had to call a timeout on the whole process.

 

Even with all of this, I wouldn’t go to the medical clinic and see what was going on. A part of me was hoping that it would heal on its own if I just left well enough alone. So, I picked up some light crochet work and made a Windowpane scarf for my friend, Faith. Even with this different crafting task, my thumb area was still blazing. Not to the degree that knitting brought it out but the pain was still there.

 

It finally gets to the point where I’m clenching my left fist in my sleep and crying my eyes out on a daily basis. I say to myself, “Self, enough is enough. Get ye to thy Nurse Practitioner!”

 

She takes on look at my hand and says… de Quervain’s Tenosynovitis.

 

Obviously, I say in reply, “Da fuq”?

 

It isn’t a term one hears everyday. However, it is what I have. So, I’m laying off of the knitting for a month and a half. I am attempting to crochet without utilizing my left hand so much. The adjustment is helping with the pain tremendously. I may pick up sewing as well. Oh yeah, I have to wear a brace for my thumb.

 

Nothing much else has been happening. I continue to be in pain, I am laughing in the face of it. I’m restarting April’s Hobbes doll owing to my getting the colors wrong initially. I’m reading a bit more recently owing to there being absolute drivel on television. I have Passiflora, Lemongrass, two Avocado trees, and Devil’s Ivy growing in my home. My Snake Plant baby continues to amaze me. I got a few t-shirts broadcasting my fandom of a few things. Went to two Local Yarn Shops thanks to B. The world continues to spin on.

 

Anything else?

 

Take care and thanks for reading.

 

Determined Rambling

Thirteen days ago, I was struggling with every aspect of my creative, academic, and fitness life. As of today, I am making inroads into regaining my life.

 

Not only have I been writing and doing some sporadic knitting, I’ve also been reading and I just completed the first day of the C25K via Zen Labs Fitness App. I’m even making inroads into the Vegan diet I’d like to adopt.

 

I would love to say that this inspiration to do more came from within but, actually, I’m filling a void left by the hopes and dreams of having my own garden plot being temporarily shattered. I got a call yesterday saying that a garden plot was ready for me and asking me to come register. I returned the call and made an appointment to meet with Garden Lady. Just as I was about to head out the door with my checkbook, Garden Lady called me back ten seconds after we’d hung up and asked if I knew the garden plots were for fifty-five and older people. This had never been mentioned so, naturally, I was shocked. I was totally professional as my heart sank to my feet at the prospect of losing the growing space I’d never really had in the first place. She said she’d keep me on the waiting list in case anything changed. I thanked her and we disconnected the call.

 

I was in a right peeved mood for quite a while, I was short with people, distant, and moody for most of the day. Then, I got to baking a cake for The Maternal Parental and making dinner. For dinner last night, I made an Afghan Kidney Bean Curry thanks to a recipe I found on The Curious Chickpea blog. It was then that I realized that, without the garden, I was free to do more things in my day than if I had to walk the miles I would have had to walk. It also freed my financially. I can save the money I was planning to spend on gardening supplies and plants to grow.

 

I can either make due with what I have: An Aerogarden, two windowsills, and a few surfaces with room for houseplants or I can splurge and buy another Aerogarden or grow lights and grow more stuff in my room. I think I’ll err on the side of houseplants for now. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Aerogarden and I’m curious about grow lights but I just don’t know if I have the room in my room for so much stuff. Houseplants are more practical and easier to maintain. Sure, I won’t be growing beefsteak tomatoes or anything anytime soon but I can grow low light loving favorites of mine.

 

I will also pester politely ask the Manager of the community if I can grow stuff outside in pots and Earthboxes. Ten to one, they’re going to say no but it is worth a try.

 

If anyone had any suggestions for a good houseplant, please share it in the comments section. My room, while SSW facing, gets very little sunlight. It also has an extreme in temperatures. It is usually very dry in here too.

 

Okay, I think that’s enough personal writing for today. I will be saving my writing energy for tonight and my continuation of one or more of my stories, if not the start of a whole new one.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Take care and have a fantastic day.

 

Culinary Experimentation

Thirteen days ago, I was struggling with eating Vegan. Now, I think I might be treading water. Friends of mine who have been Vegan for quite a while suggested I search various blogs for recipes. I found a great one on The Curious Chickpea. This recipe is for an Afghan Kidney Bean Curry. As usual, I didn’t have all of the ingredients and…in order to make sure that The Maternal Parental ate it too, I had to omit the onions, opting instead for using onion powder for flavoring.

 

May I just say that this recipe, despite the odds of being in my experimental hands, came out perfectly. It is a very versatile and forgiving dish when it comes to ingredient replacements.

 

Both The Maternal Parental and I loved this recipe very much. I’m really looking forward to perusing this blog for more recipes and information on Vegan cooking.