A First: Aromatherapy Dough

On a whim I decided to buy aromatherapy dough and see how it worked for me. Random, I know. An old coworker of mine was always messing with some throughout the day so when I stumbled across it online I thought, “why not give it a shot?”.

Now if anyone doesn’t know what it is or supposed to do (~~I didn’t know either~~)- I can only describe it as playdough that smells nice with a purpose in the same vein as a fidget spinner. It was explained there are lots of benefits to using it from dealing with stress and anxiety to stimulating learning, etc. I purchased mine for the former.

All in all I’d say it’s pretty neat so far, but I did make one grave error…I may have picked the wrong scent: lemongrass.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love lemongrass or else why would I have picked it? The problem though is I’ve realized lemongrass isn’t particularly soothing…for me. Within a day my thought was, “I should have gone with eucalyptus”.

I plan to give it a few more days, but as of now I think I’m going to save it for when I start a new position. Something tells me this lemongrass is really going to give a boost with training.

artist: @artoshtu

Overdue Mourning

It’s amazing how hearing a nearly forgotten song can affect you so deeply. Having recently accepted a job offer I found myself struck with the urge to reread an old post of mine. It’s regarding the passing of one of my best friends a few years ago- although now I suppose it’s been several years…The anniversary of when I received the news from her father was little over two weeks ago, but I’d successfully pushed it away to focus on other things. With my employment potentially sorted it seems my subconscious finally wanted to address it.

There’s only so much you can say, right? I can’t lie and say I’m not sad she wasn’t able to attend my wedding. I can’t lie and say I’m not sad she wasn’t there for our matching tattoo.

I am sad.

I’m sad when I realize I’ve passed the stage we were in when she died. I’m sad knowing there are things we wanted to do and at most, all I can do is do them without her. I’m sad I don’t know when I’ll be able to watch ‘Never Let Me Go’ again. I’m sad we never took pictures together and worry one day I’ll forget her face. I’m sad knowing what used to be ‘a few years ago’ is turning into several. And I’m sad knowing she wouldn’t want me to be because she considered death inevitable and mourning to be pointless…

In the end I listened to each song from my original post and while I can’t say I felt lighter by any means…in a way it was cathartic.

After all, we all complete.

Down Time? Time for Medical Checkup

I’ve been using newfound freetime to cross off medical checkups. You know- those things you’re supposed to do at least once a year, be it the dentist, gynecologist, etc.? Well, so far three are squared away and let me tell ya- boy were there some surprises.

For one, turns out my Vitamin D level is 12. You heard right…12. ~~I didn’t even know Vitamin D was measured in whole numbers.~~ What I do know is I was told the goal is 30 which means I’m at less than half. Needless to say, I’m on supplements for the next three months.

Then I was told my platelet count is 83,000 and I- having never been told anything about my platelets before, thought that was pretty good! 83,000 seems like a lot, right? Apparently no. Not at all. In fact, it’s around 60,000 below where I’m supposed to be, which means…time to go to the hematologist!

Everything else so far has been squid and lemons though, so I think it’s going pretty darn well. If anything, I’m just happy to know I’m no longer anemic.

SIDE NOTE: I’m also actively avoiding googling what low vitamin D and platelet counts could signify because I have nothing to do but overthink right now.

artist: @artoshtu

Unemployment: A Steady Current

Today marks my second month unemployed, officially surpassing my prior stint in 2019. In my perfect scenarios I would have accepted a job offer by now with a start date in the next few weeks. A preference which clearly didn’t pan out, but such is life.

Thanks to family and friend’s emotional support (e.g. chatting on the phone, meeting for lunch, receiving job recommendations, etc.), maintaining at least five applications per week, managing about one interview a week, and diverting excess energy into creative projects…I’m doing pretty okay.

~~It definitely helps that I was finally able to get some things with the state sorted, but everything else has really been keeping me going.~~

My current obsession is without a doubt The Amazing Race and I am currently in the phase of asking everyone I know if they will compete with me. So far both my parents and one of my bridesmen rejected me (pretty hilariously I might add).

I’ve also started going to the gym again and let me tell you- upper body is the absolute worst. I would prefer anything else and my gym doesn’t have a rowing machine (~~my only exception~~), so I’m getting through on sheer will power.

All in all I’ve gotten past the emotional turmoil of it. Is there still a twinge of negativity? Of course, but I’m sure it will fade once I’m back in the flow of things. Until then I’ll keep chugging along and split free time between world building and side projects. When’s a better time…right?

artist: @artoshtu

Unemployment: Another Cog in the Machine

Today marks the end of a second week unemployed (like countless others caught in this tide of layoffs).

I don’t want to rabbit on about sentiments we’ve all heard before, so all I will say is:

“It was a position that managed to blend my values and skill sets in a way where I fully intended to retire there.”

Now I’m in the process of landing another job and it’s…going.

9 applications sent
1 phone interview
1 call from a recruiting branch

Do I feel I’ve done enough? No.

Am I very confident? Also no, but it’s slowly ticking up.

Compared to last time, so much has changed, yet so much hits exactly the same. To everyone searching I hope you snag that position you’re really aiming for (~~you know the one~~).

artist: @artoshtu

A Recipe: Mom’s Bone Broth

Ingredients:

Carrots (Fresh)
Garlic (Fresh)
Ginger (Fresh)
Onion (Fresh)
Beef Bones (Frozen)
Water

Preparation:

Boil ingredients together for 6-8 hours
- Try to keep the marrow inside the bones
Filter everything out
Push the marrow through the bones into the broth

Storage:

Let cool
Pour broth into ice trays
Freeze over night
Empty ice trays into freezer container

Daily Routine:

Place 2-4 cubes in a cup
Microwave until cubes melt
Drink up!

P.S. My mom is a woman of brevity- particularly over text.

Trick or Treat

Prompt: If bloggers had their own Halloween and could go from blog to blog collecting “treats,” what would your blog hand out?

Oh! That’s easy. This blog would 100% hand out individual polar bear breads and candy corn.

I would like to clarify they would each be in their own wrapping…I am aware of the hate for candy corn. I may not agree, but I respect strong food opinions (as someone who doesn’t like chocolate or peanut butter).