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Update - November 9, 2020

FITNESS

We're having a second summer this week in Ottawa, which has been great for getting out to skate. I've mostly been hitting up a multi-use path and doing fitness skating. 

One of the things that was holding me back from skating in the summer was that my bathroom was not functional. It's still not, but I now have access to a bathroom, so I don't mind getting sweaty. 

I'm having some skating problems though. One is that my new skates are still tight in the toes. So I've taken the brake off my old set and I'm having fun with them while I figure out what to try next. It's probably heat gun plus a screwdriver in the big toe area.

The other problem is that I still suck at transitions. I don't know why, but it has been my hardest skill to learn. I guess I'll hit up some YouTube videos to try and figure it out.

And another is that my wheels grip the pavement a lot. This makes it hard to try things like hockey stops or anything that involves drifting. Maybe I need different wheels. I don't know enough about inline wheels.

The idea of grinding anything right now is terrifying, but I know someday it won't be.

I should start wearing more than a helmet, so I'll be less scared to try things. Perhaps later this warm week.

I have ordered a memory foam bike seat. I wanted one months ago, but they were all sold out.

HOME

My couch project is coming along. It's hard to sew such things by hand.

I did pick up some wood to finish the base. I also think I figured out how to attach the base and the back. I also have wheels as I want to be able to move it easily to clean underneath it or plug things in.

MUSIC

I've been focusing on my guitar more than anything else lately because all the music I really like is on guitar. I could spend a bunch of time trying to convert songs to other instruments, or I could just improve my guitar skills. I'm taking the easier path, which happens to be the more enjoyable one here.

WORLD

I'm happy with the outcome of the election in the U.S. I'm looking forward to our countries being able to work together again. I hope they can fix the problems there.

WRITING

It's NaNoWriMo and I've realized I only like the idea of NaNo and not actually doing it. The pep talks are nice to read. I don't like write-ins. Or most of the prompts. I like tracking my word count with the spreadsheet I made for this year though. I think I'll keep that. I don't care about trying to win NaNo. And a lot of the people doing it talk about writing anything to make the word count. I don't find that a helpful goal for me. Part of the writing journey is figuring out what works for you though, so it has been helpful for me in some ways.

On Sparks, I'm figuring out this last edit slowly. At some points, I'm struggling. I have started connecting to a company that can help me self-publish, though it might be a bit early for that. I downloaded their guide and they've left me a voicemail. One of my former writing group members used them and was pleased with the experience.

Rae

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Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada

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