Better

[minxy]

Aha. It would seem that my rather contrary habit of hiding from people when I'm upset backfires spectacularly if applied to sports teams, and I end up feeling worse. Huh.

After a lousy week with the committee and health issues with my family (highlights: prima donnas! Non-con crit! Ignoring! Dangerous possible cancer symptoms (Mom, prelim tests look clear)! Painful leg surgery (puppy, she's forgotten all about it and it's now our job to remind her)! Software bugs! Prima donna committee member tactlessly removing herself from committee (blessing in disguise)!) I had resisted driving the 45 minutes it takes to get into the city for boating practice, partly because the season hadn't properly begun and we'd cancelled practice after gathering too few people on the docks to take the boat out. Discouraging. Then I have a moment, looking in the mirror when I think, these pants didn't used to fit this tight, did they? and after a few horrified minutes poking my general stomach area I came to the conclusion that if you don't exercise, your body doesn't stay in the same kick-ass shape you were in when working out 4-5 times a week.

I know. These kinds of deep insights are why I became a scientist. And also, people: who knew they could be so entertaining to just be around?

Anyway, back to the bare minimum 3 times a week boating to get into shape enough to start running again (the Stoopid Owner of the Mean Dog That Bit Me moved, probably without paying the fines levied or licensing his dogs, and I have runners mace, so I am no longer afeared of running in my parent's neighborhood.)

Gods, I love endorphins. Although working out Wednesday night made me a bit meloncholy for some reason, Thursday night was better, and plus I snapped out of the mood on Wednesday by cracking open naominovik's book His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire to those of you across the pond. No, I don't know why we persist in renaming things over here. The HP books were ridiculous too. Like we couldn't figure out that 'Mum' = 'Mother-type figure'?) This is a surprising and well crafted novel. I'd really suggest you read it regardless of whether you think it's your thing (I didn't think it was mine, but I was completely invested within 10 pages, and I love what a ride it is). It's nice to find a book compulsively readable like that.

So I'm reading and exercising, my tried and true method of Enduring, and I have plans to take a half a year vacation and do Not Science and things noble and things foreign and things social and things artistic, and I feel pretty good today. As a generally happy person, this is of critical importance to me, you understand; I find myself really irritating when I'm in a bad mood, and I assume everyone else will be just as annoyed in my company.

So, here's my question: what do you or have you done to stave off or recover from burnout? We all know that certain things work better than others, and that while T.V. can let you escape, it doesn't always help you feel any better, so what does? Describe, please. I'm hoping that if I fall asleep on the laptop from exercise induced sleepiness + late night reading of lj friend's novel I can absorb the recuperative powers of these techniques by osmosis.

Very scientific.

In light of above explained contrariness, I've read less fanfic lately (and much less darker, complex stuff) than I otherwise might have done, but I did read these (and I point you to paian and ship_recs for further recs, particularly of the SGA variety.

kellifer_fic wrote a followup to Little Bear called Sun Bear, which is cute and cracked, and which features the words 'tumbly run' which pleased me.

More SGA crack (and I mean that in the best possible way): _mousi's The Greatest Rescue Mission in the Pegasus Galaxy. There are no words.

Sorrel (goddessleila) posted a lovely Teal'c fic called Still Water. I must love this really for the description of a theme I've seen referenced before in fic (Komos/paian's most recent Lost City fic comes to mind) in which there is a understanding between Teal'c and some other member of the team that if they need it, they are welcome to the other's bed. This is the first time I've see the discussion written, and it surprised me a bit. Quite marvelous. You can find it at tealc_fic too. Teal'c and Daniel, rated PG maybe, season 4?

Shaye (=fourteenlines) posted two poems about April, one from Edna St. Vincent Millay, and one of her own (which I loved madly).

Also, discussions in agentotter's, cofax7's and leadensky's journals about slash vs. friendship fic as intimacy and watershed books for women leads me to ponder something leadensky asked: when was the last time you saw a buddy fic with two women? Hell, in Stargate there really aren't many women around, so we could extend the question to: have you read fic in which Sam or Janet or Teyla or Elizabeth or Kate had a moment with a girlfriend? That was relevant in the story? That was not sexual at all, but the close intimacy of friends? It's not meant to be a critique, but curiosity: after all, it's difficult to ignore that canon Sam as a character is often defined by her relationships with men, often simplified down to a character dulling UST, and that she is alternately loved and hated for it. Show me times in fanfiction when she is more.

They say to write what you know, but I don't think I've seen much of this, but there are certainly numerous fixit fics out there for every other subject under the sun; is it me, or has it not been written?

I also understand that Rebecca (=blueraccoon) has written NCIS Tony/Gibbs mild D/s, first time fic for dustandroses titled Please (Don't) Pet the Tony. I shall read at some point, and I shall love it mightily.

And that Nanda wrote a wonderful team, gen, mourning Jacob (whom I loved and miss) thing that I haven't read yet but will: Anything.

Plus, ltlj is nearly finished with the last bit of Recovery (sequel to the very awesome Retrograde) and then I can read it! Yay! Yayayayay!

Comments

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Burn out: swimming. swimming. swimming. repeat. or painting. nothing salves my brain like watercolour and having to wait wait wait while a wash dries (sometimes I cheat and use a hairdrier. shhhh don't tell. but it keeps the paper a lot flatter, though, right?) and having to look at a design and think of how to make it pop or float or glow from the inside out. An entirely different part of my brain gets used. Also, windchimes. I so need to get some great giant ones that will go bong bonggggggggggg underneath the ting ting ting of the little ones. Or daaaaancing. Techno, heels-to-the-floor takes-over-for-your-heartbeat pounding base-beat reptile-brain-only dancing.

Most of my activities are dedicated to making my brain shut down. Often alcohol does it, but I suffer with insomnia after, so that's only a temporary fix. There are no words when I paint. Burn out for me is always from a surfeit of words. Voices from fiction, my voice from lectures, student voices from papers, critics' voices from research. Lo and I decided yesterday that mollusks must be happy, and there must be a reason clams are smiling. :)

I hope you find your thing, because just thinking about what you do makes me exhausted, man!

PS. Thanks for the medical help on the whole alcohol poisoning, thing. :) (not my alcohol poisoning, just for the record)

[annalazarus.livejournal.com]

Hi, I just friended you recently (thank you so much for all the wonderful reccing you do), but thought I'd jump in and offer a burn out suggestion. I just took up jewelry making, and it's very relaxing, with the added bonus that you end up with pretty gifts for yourself and others. As hobbies go, it's a little expensive, but it's cheaper than buying jewelry (which I also find relaxing, but definitely don't have the funds for).

[becky-monster.livejournal.com]

Nanda's fic is a thing of understated beauty. And this is from someone who is a confirmed and total DeNileist where Jacob anodsnd Selmak are concerned.
Because, of course, they are alive and currently aiding Hammond in his role as the overseer of hte SGC.
*nods* Works for me!;)

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

sending you a gentle hug and the hopes that next week cooperates very well with you and treats you right. *hugs* i'm so glad you can run in the neighborhood again.

so....reading favorite books, or good new ones helps me recover from burn out. as does listening to music and puttering around the condo checking out my ancient beads. any day i have time to just stare at the birds on the balcony also helps. i used to ride horses, which always worked the best. er, other than reading. really, reading is my friend.

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

Okay, I skimmed the answers posted here and didn't see anyone mention music. Music affects me as much and sometimes more than the written word. I don't jog, but I do walk for exercise besides the gym (brisk walking not a saunter!) and I wear my headset and walk to jaunty music to lift my mood. Of course it helps that I live in the most beautiful scenery in the USA. :o)

I love to burn mixes of songs intended to go with a particular fic (usually mine) or that just inspire me. And if I'm planning to walk for a particular amount of time, I burn a cd to last that long so when it's over I know I can stop walking.

BTW, I also carry a can of Counter Assault which is a pepper spray. Works good on most varmits, 2 or 4-legged except the moose who seem to think it's an appetizer.

[orca-girl.livejournal.com]

...leads me to ponder something leadensky asked: when was the last time you saw a buddy fic with two women?

It's funny how sometimes the same slightly unusual topics appear in proximity to each other in different LJs. Like, accidental memes, or something. Anyway -- you don't have miera_c friended, although you do have a bunch of mutual friends with her. She asked a question very similar to this in her LJ about a month ago (March 9, actually), and some of the discussion in the comments considered the question of genre novels featuring women, esp. multiple women, esp. in buddy relationships. The upshot of course was: there's not a lot out there. Although, it actually inspired a dear friend of mine and Raqs's to start writing down his ideas for a series of non-romantic female buddy adventures. Anyway, thought you might be interested in that discussion.