2024 - Week 18

Arts & Crafts

No craft group this week, but I continued along with my table runner. It was a frustrating endevour as the plastic stitch counters kept breaking. I counted the moments until my metal replacements would come. There were 72. No, there weren't. Well, maybe there were, but I didn't actually count them because counting is an irksome activity for me. It's one of the things that makes my brain very unhappy. 

Decluttering & Minimalism

I've cleared the junk from my entrance table. Next up this week was to clear the junk from the rest of the entrance way. Someday, I hope to change the flooring out to something better suited to wet, winter boots.

Gaming & Streaming

On Monday, I found myself with nothing left to do but the main campaign in Diablo IV. I killed Duriel this time then met up with my allies and entered Hell. 

Thursday also held the completion of Diablo IV. The battle with Lilith, the cutscenes, and the credits were all epic. Overall, at times I felt like there was a lot of grinding. The battles were pretty similar throughout, so that got a bit boring for me. The music, art, and cutscenes were great. The main storyline was excellent and several side quests had neat stories too. Now I'm on this Grim Favours questline to clean up the mess left behind. Usually the hero just rides off into the sunset to let everyone else pick up the pieces, but not this time. In the future, I should label my streams better with parts. I should also fit in more time to ensure my audio is actually on. That was a reoccurring issue, but I understand OBS a little more now because of that.

After that, I spent a lot of hours trying to get Cyberpunk 2077 to install with no success.

Lifestyle & Sports

I truly hoped that PWHL Ottawa would beat New York on Tuesday and get into the playoffs. Boston had managed to beat Minnesota, so the race was still on. Boston has to face Montreal in May and Ottawa has to face Toronto. I didn't know what would happen if we ended up still tied going in unless Minnesota got eliminated. I have friends who ask me about the standings and we just didn't know yet. It seemed to be coming down to the wire. Minnesota had two games left against Toronto and New York. 

Whoever finished in the top position gets to decide who they play against in the playoffs. New York is out, but they were collecting points towards being able to get the first draft pick for next season. Minnesota had 35 points and Ottawa was tied with Boston with 32 points. Regulation wins give 3 points. Here's the breakdown from the PWHL:

"Once a team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, it begins earning ‘Draft Order Points’ in all subsequent games (including all regular-season games that begin following a team’s elimination), using the league’s standard points system that awards three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation loss. The team with the most Draft Order Points at the conclusion of the regular season will earn the first selection in each round of the draft. The non-playoff team with the fewest Draft Order Points will select second in each round of the draft."

But one of us could have gotten a regulation win and the other an OT win and then might get narrowly eliminated that way. Unfortunately, New York beat Ottawa 4-3 on Tuesday.

My second Tuesday sans curling involved a massage, fries, a cinnamon bun, web dev, a virtual hang out with friends, Stardew Valley, crochet, PWHL, and Haunt TV. When a woman wants to play with your fascia, you let her. 

I pull oracle cards monthly from my Music Oracles deck. It's something I've been doing for a couple of years now. May's card is Lou Reed.

Typically, I don't just pull the card and leave it there. I read about the artist and I listen to their music. Sometimes I really can't stand it, but they may be or have been kindred spirits in other ways. The categories on the card are Attitude, Lifestyle, and Inspiration. So I guess I'm supposed to be aloof in May, handle my own stuff, and accept the highs and lows that come.

Lou Reed liked to present in genderfluid ways and practiced Tai Chi. I don't see much picture evidence of him dressing in genderfluid ways, but that's what the write up in the guidebook says.

Wednesday was the monthly Pinball Women Ottawa tournament. I made it to Round 5. I thought I made it further, but made a mistake and I felt so bad. When you're out, you still get a prise anyway and this month I took home a pin:

Physio was pretty painful on Thursday, but we figured out that my remaining pain is largely that my pecs are much stronger than my upper back muscles are and it's pulling things out of alignment. I was quite sore on Friday, but it felt like I had been through a workout rather than the injury. I also realized the arms on my chair were two low and not supportive of better posture. I could almost use my arm normally though. I even tested by throwing an invisible softball. There's one iffy position when transitioning from going back to forward, but I can do it slowly. This whole injury has taught me to slow down, which is something I've not been good at historically. The authentic relief of pain feels like a whole body release.

And it came in time for my friend's bachelorette party. After a tasy dinner, we were off to the Cumberland Museum for a VIP Haunted Walk investigation. I found the desks in the school room quite comfortable. We used a Ouija board there and the spirit, who stated they weren't the teacher, didn't like any of the objects we had brought. Several of us heard a noise coming from behind a barricade in the Dale house. We could see in the living room, but not enter. It was near the piano. A spirit named George told us that, "Love you," was the answer to a happy marriage. 

On Sunday, I attended a Beltane event where we made flower crowns, set our intentions for the season, and enjoyed some tea and light snacks. Then I caught the last of the hockey game where PWHL Ottawa was eliminated from the playoffs.

Writing

I honestly can't remember if I got any writing done this week or not. As you can see if you read this all, I was preoccupied with a lot of things.