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

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

that's a great story, i love that he did exactly as he should have as a father. and yay that you've been able to add to the paper.

i re-read "engine summer" a lot. i can pick certain sections or even just a paragraph and immerse myself in the language and imagery. and i know it so well that the rest of the story unfurls for me even if i've just taken a quick glimpse.

um....i re-read the lloyd alexander books, or e. nesbit, the sword in the stone by t.h. white, the half magic books by edward eager, books i grew up with that have come to mean safety and joy to me.

there's a great book by randall jarrell called the "animal family" that i adore. and another one by c. northcote parkinson called pony's plot. gods, i haven't read that in years i should read it tomorrow.

i love phil stongs "honk the moose" (that was my first mooshee), and allison utley's "a traveler in time", anything at all by rosemary sutcliffe, but especially the armorour's house. and paul brown's "piper's pony, as well as crazy quilt.

the illustrations in the children's books are as vital as the writing. just looking at some of the pictures grounds me.

adult scifi/fantasy authors that i adore (besides john crowley) are: ursula leguin, c.j. cherryh, david herter, gegory maguire, emma bull, elizabeth willey, cherry wilder, a book by walter teve "mockingbird" that always makes me cry but in a good way. the becoming alien books by rebecca ore, the short stories by samuel delaney in his driftglass collection, the riddle master of hed series by mckillip, robin mckinley's blue sword and the hero and the crown. oh, and her book 'beauty' is wonderful.

not to forget *all* the mary renault books....and fred astaire's autobiography....gods, sorry to natter on....just pondering this has made me babble on (vs. babylon, heh). and when i have a good chunk of time anything on ancient history and archaeology, as well as the arts & crafts movement.

so many books, so little time. *g*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

I love the Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown books, as well as Beauty, very very much. I know I've forgotten some too, in my list. I have so many wonderful books to read, too, but not knowing if they'll be too much for my little brain brings me back to fanfic a lot.

But, if you get a chance, do look into Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Next series. It's marvelous and wonderful and joyous.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

the good fanfic is as good as the books i think. hereabouts in lj-land i'm continually impressed by the quality of writing.

thank you for the rec, and oh, how could i not mention george r.r. martin? i read all his books of the series (thus far) this past early fall and was astounded.

ps. and that's a great reading icon by the way. *g*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Yup, I agree, what makes fanfic a known quantity is that the world building is done, the premise I understand, and the characters I already like. Plus those headers are really a very good way of finding exactly the kind of thing you're in the mood for.

This icon? *g* props to lotrjunkie009.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

a big yes for the characters i like. i've been disappointed with some of what i see in the scifi section at the bookstore. not just because of the quality of writing, but the characters end up being people i really don't want to spend time with. *bg*