metawidget | Entries tagged with d&d

My rear wheel has a bit of wobble on my bike but I don't think it's the rims or spokes — maybe tire's a bit off?

Got out to see high school friends and parents last weekend — nice to see them all, the kids had fun and I don't think we overwhelmed anyone. The kids are travelling better so long as they can dictate the podcast audio for at least part of the trip.

I've had a few kind of big feelings talks with some of my people lately. I'm really happy to have them, but feeling a bit wrung out as well.

Renovations are going — drywall up and all the right things (plumbing, electrical, fresh insulation) behind it. Plaster on Tuesday! Barbecued for lunch (not the first time this year) but ate it out there (first time this year). Also, did dishes at the garden tap. At least it's nice camping weather now!

We finished our D&D campaign with polycule and kids last week — they defeated a dragon, improved the world, and called it done. It was a flagging game, but it was a fun final battle and they earned the win. Dragon was full of hot air, seemingly — she recharged her breath weapon twice, roasting party members three rounds in a row, fortunately they had divided into clusters out of range from each other!

Looking forward to reports of a mostly-open Gatineau Parkway to Champlain Lookout. Maybe I should line up people for a run at it next Sunday, after this week's forecast weather! Got in some good runs Monday, Friday and yesterday -- 31, 6, and 15 km mostly on trails. I think I'll have a pretty good spring marathon but I'm thinking I should sign up for a fall one too...

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What have you done lately for improving or maintaining your mental health? What more would you like to do?: I have been getting outside and moving almost every day — running, walking, biking — most days for an hour or more. I'm lucky to have that time to do it, and it feels good to move, get fresh air, and see my local area and how it all fits together. I know where my tofu burgers come from! I know how to get between neighbourhoods! Also, I got my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (Team BioNTech/Pfizer for the curious, although really Team Get Something In My Arm), which is one thing off my mind and a step toward getting to the After Times.
When did you last eat something specifically because it was good for you?: I think the only thing I "eat" for health reasons is actually making a point of drinking water. I'll remind myself to take it easy on something rich or vapid but I try to eat things that I like eating.
These days, what are you learning about, and what would you like to learn about next?: Management, union-ing, exercise training (taper! cross-train! stretch!), 18xx games (mostly 1846).
What’s positive about your physical appearance lately?: I trimmed my hair and beard yesterday! And I'm a bit sleeker than pre-pandemic thanks to all this running.
What will you do this weekend to bring joy into your life and a smile to someone else?: I'm going to play silly online games with a friend living alone, help make nice food appear for Mother's Day, and DM a D&D session with some of my favourite people. And probably get outside on feet or wheels.

From f.riday5.com

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Basement lair
Crossposts: https://metawidget.livejournal.com/229620.html

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My supervisor at work had a tip for us to maintain work-life balance: keep some simple task you don't find fun for the end of the day &emdash; you will probably get it done and you will also probably not keep doing it an hour past when you wanted to finish. K. is keen to use some of our administrative time to upgrade our skills in managing ourselves, or minions and our bosses, and is pitching in herself rather than just sending us to take an online course or get on the waiting list for a classroom session. I'm all for it; I haven’t really had a manager who takes that tack on things before.

Elizabeth is doing music virtually &emdash; quite a few things are in the works and she
’s been posting things on Facebook. Keep your eyes peeled!

My phone has FaceID and it seems to rely on being able to see my nose &emdash; it generally works if I'm covering my mouth, but with a bandana over my nose for going out of the house I’m punching in my passcode more.

The chickens are coming, sort of: coop ready, city chicken permit procured, and now there just remains acquiring the chickens. Elizabeth has tried to contact a local farm but we haven’t heard back from them yet. My dad was saying that Montréal-area farms are a bit overwhelmed by demand, so it may take a little while…

I’ve got a month left in my secondment. I have good surges of productivity and engagement, and some low-traction times too. I think it’s been a good experience despite it not going anything like expected, and I hope the connections I have made will stick. It’s been work I really like and good people too. I hope I can carry some of the energy on back to my home position.

The bridges are opening between Gatineau and Ottawa on Monday — guidance is still essential trips only but it’s a step in loosening restrictions. We'll have to see what this comes to mean for our connections with Ottawa loved ones but it’ a sign we can realistically start figuring that out. I’ve found time to connect over phone, text and video with Heather, Andrea and Morgen &emdash; including kicking off a virtual D&D game and video story time with Morgen and the little ones here — but it’s no substitute for in person. Ada’s birthday weekend is two weeks away; maybe by then it’ll be okay to have some sort of cautious celebration? The older two have been back in school and even with quite a few restrictions and a little grumbling they seem to be liking it and in good spirits.

Current Mood: cold
Current Location: Basement lair
Current Music: L7: Fuel My Fire

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Played D&D with the kids, Elizabeth and (video-linked) Heather today… we're all still getting our sea legs in 5th edition (or in D&D in general) but the party is doing well — offering to help NPCs, working together grumpily, blasting and stabbing undead in the fen…

I'm adapting an ancient second-edition adventure and some of the tropes and gender politics are iffy but I think their drive to fix them will lead to further adventures. I hope they learn to keep the wizard away from the front lines!

After three weeks of hunkering down and working from home, mu managers all managed to agree on an extension of my secondment — with any luck by the time my extension runs out mid-June, we'll be back to the office or at least good enough at telework that bringing me back will go more smoothly than in less than a month. We're still trying to figure out just what we can do and getting upper management to pick some priorities but I think our team is adapting pretty well.

I'm feeling… variable. Finding our feet at work and the new routine here is tiring. Some days I feel like we're rocking it and other days there's a lot of just spinning our wheels. Vivien is a bit cranky and Oscar lets use know they find the whole situation unfair. Their understanding and desire to talk about how various parties can make things fairer about cancelling stuff and travel restrictions makes me think of my kid self. Ada is mostly unflappable but a little clingy and mischievous by turns. I think the heavy-handed orders (checkpoints, now) are something Elizabeth was dreading and I was hoping we'd avoid. The quickly changing rules and uncertain length of the return to normal are wearing on me and us, like everyone.

On the other hand, our neighbourhood is full of rainbow signs saying "ça va aller" and there are little painted rocks with smiley faces scattered in our neighborhood and the early flowers are poking up and it smells like spring and we're not completely bored yet.

So for me, there's a bit of "we're managing pretty well" and a bunch of tired and anxious — real anxiety from uncertainty, from changing rules and from missing people and hoping they stay healthy, plus the anxious that we're all swimming in.

Current Mood: Mixed
Current Location: The couch
Crossposts: https://metawidget.livejournal.com/225108.html

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Dispatches from a happy Hullian

sometimes known as Woodgiepapa

Entries tagged with d&d

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