Inkpot Droplets | February 2024 Wrap Up

Hello, dear readers! Thanks for turning into another monthly wrap-up on how things are going personally. I am still trying to figure out how I want to use this newsletter. I do like having my blog be my "bookish" space but I do miss writing personal musings and ramblings. But, so far, I just haven't had the time/bandwidth/interest to write a personal post through this newsletter, despite having plenty of topics I'd love to write about?

I won't lie: February was a really, really hard month. Please heed of the trigger warnings before continuing to read below (death, including family and pet). I am doing much better now but good fucking lord. 2024 is not playing around.

Let's see what I've been up to this month!

Highlights in February:

• Almost finished edits on my novel (I'll be wrapping them up this weekend)
• Had a really lovely Palentine's Day with all my queer besties
• Painted some bird feeders with my partner to hang up outside our apartment
• Ate some homemade lasagna with my family
• Continuing practicing some techniques I'm learning in therapy to better manage my anxiety
• Hung out with my best friend and painted some roses!
• Experienced the closest I've ever gotten to a TPK in DnD

Lows in February:

• Day job continues to be asinine and overwhelming in equal measure
• Within a week of one another, my grandmother (on my Dad's side) and one of my cats, Flynn, died. My grandmother was not surprising, but the timing was still hard for my Dad and the funeral was challenging for multiple reasons. Flynn's passing was traumatic and completely unexpected. My partner and I are doing a lot better in that regard, but gods do we miss the little fucker (he was an asshole, but he was our asshole cat).
• Had to get another MRI to get access to pain management again for my chronic condition

Content Consumed

Aside from reading another seven books this month (!!), what else have I gotten up to? I've continued to mix it up in terms of media, but not as much as January. (Honestly, I think a lot of February was spent in a depressed haze.)

For films and television, I've watched:

• The Meg 2: The Trench: this was so campy and fan service-y and I absolutely fucking loved it.
• Jake Whitehall's new comedy stand up: I think I liked some of his older comedy better? I thought it was okay. I am MUCH more excited for the new Taylor Tomlinson's latest special, which we hope to watch in March!

For gaming, I think I've only really played a few? (This is seriously so weird for me.) I continued to play a little bit of Apex, but honestly, it's been dominated by Helldivers. I am missing Divinity 2, since I definitely haven't beat it (I'm in the middle of Act II), but got distracted by Helldivers. So maybe I'll get back into it in March!

• Helldivers 2: My partner convinced me to get this game to play with him and his best friend. I won't lie: it's a great way to turn off your brain and just shoot bugs (if I can stay alive enough without either of them wasting me).

Advocacy Action

As we should be, the fight continues for a Free Palestine. I shared many resources on continued to stay informed on the active genocide (enabled by our leaders, if you're in the U.S.), as well as how to contact Congress, where to donate and how to continue to show up in solidarity for those suffering in Palestine.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! 🍉

Thanks for Reading!

For next month, I hope my mental health improves with the weather, I can work on some other creative projects (like fanfiction and novella) while I take a break from my novel, continue to read good books, have fun date nights with my partner and try to survive in the capitalism hellscape we're currently stuck in. I hope the month is kind to you!

Will next month bring any personal posts? I don't know! I think, out of all of my content, the newsletter is still the most nebulous for me. I'm also not sure if I like this format, due to not having a comment section to better engage with people? But, I also feel like it's important to have one, as a writer/author (though I really use my Patreon for more of that kind of stuff). So...we'll see, I guess! But let me know if there is something specific you want to see!

As always, if you'd like to dabble in any of my other content, you can find it below:

• For book reviews, discussions and lists, check out my blog​
• For writing updates, discussions and big news (ongoing), check out my Patreon​
• My presence on my socials are sporadic and will be staying Updates Only for now, but you can find me on various ones here​

Until next,
Nicole

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