Tag: The Life of Lara

Winning!

Thanks to @fartmarbles on Tik Tock, I have successfully programmed my first nfc shortcut, to tell my phone I’ve taken my morning meds.

A shortcut to tick off a recurring reminder when my phone taps the nfc sticker on my pill case.

More public speaking, a completed assessment (not marked, just pass/fail, and I’m assuming a pass since no news is good news), finally got the paperwork to the lawyer to go ahead with forming the charitable trust for Gamechangers League, and kiddo is still trucking along ok at school. Not loving it, not reaching social or academic heights, but ok.

And last night I was assessed for my competence at using the laser cutter at Tap Lab and got my full licence, so now I CAN LASER CUT ALL THE THINGS!!!

I celebrated by making squirrel earrings. As you do.

Facebook, you suck

I’ve been becoming more and more reliant on facebook to keep in touch with family and friends, but recently one of my comments was removed for violating community standards.

Context. Picture of a woman in a dress. She says she felt pretty wearing it, but a random man came up to her in public AND TOUCHED HER STOMACH and said something about a blessed pregnancy/baby. I need not add that this woman was not pregnant.

My comment? “Men are stupid. Wear the dress.”

Hate speech. Against community standards. Wow.

And today, in response to a woman asking “help me explain to a man why calling women “girls” is not OK”, I post this link. And the post fails, because the link is “against community standards”.

So it’s ok for men to spread hatred and misogyny, but any attempt to counter it, address it, or educate, is hate speech.

Wow.

Blog, you just got a whole lot more important to me, and I want to find a way to mine all my memories off facebook and record them here, because it’s basically just a matter of time before something I say gets me blocked entirely.

Smiting Squids

There is a growing body of claims that Role Playing Games, and D&D in particular, are great for kids.

Being the owner of a kid, and also being scientifically minded, I have been doing my own single subject research for the past few years, and have come to the conclusion that smiting + social support + consistent play = engaged, happy, creative, social kid.

And since I’ve now been playing games with kids for more than half the year (one weekly game at each of two schools, plus another home campaign with kids, plus a campaign where the adults welcome a kid player), I thought it might be time to gather a few resources about playing with kids.

This article has a great overview of the benefits of RPG’s in a school setting.

Here is an interview with a Dungeon Master who is running sessions through an online school program.

My private facebook group for discussion about roleplaying games with or for kids.

An “official” video (featuring some famous faces) about the lifelong impact of D&D. Please note that one of the people featured in this video is an ex “adult” film performer, so don’t google her unless you have your filters on!

A TEDx Talk – “Why D&D is Good for You”

I have set up a slack channel for the kids I DM for to communicate with each other, I welcome parents to join up too. Please contact me to get access, as this is a closed server. I’ve also set up an account on D&D Beyond, so that the kids have electronic access to the Players Handbook and other resources that I have (they don’t have to pay to access this). Once they have set up an account I can send you (or them) a link to join my campaign.

At some point I may set up a virtual game so that kids can play from home, but for now I am trying to encourage face to face games to facilitate social connection, and get away from endless screen time!

I’ll continue to add resources here, and I welcome any questions you might have.

I did make a joke about a broken leg

So that would probably be a logical next disaster – I’m looking on todays sprain as good fortune 🙂

Between the hurry leg and a last minute opportunity to do a stats refresher course on the weekend, we won’t be heading up to Pearl Beach as planned. But at least I’m not sick (just a throat tickle and a cough), and I have a chance to learn some of the 100 level stats I am supposed to know before I start 200 level stats (my major source of anxiety this semester).

Another great weekend

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We watched the olympic opening ceremony, this guy was a highlight for me 😉

Yesterday was Leapy’s second birthday, Karl’s fortieth, and Marks company half year party. Bev and Ted kept Squish overnight, so Mark and I had a lovely night. I am slowly getting to know some of his colleagues and their other halves, so the parties are a bit more fun now. Last night was amazing. I met the wife of one of the partners, and we bonded over cracking jokes and drinking cocktails. I solved the problems of the world with a young guy from Melbourne who described his recent Hindu wedding ceremony, and reconnected with Magda from Poland, who apparently was inspired by my story at the last party, and has decided on more study and a career change. I was really touched.

I’ve cooked up a storm, had a great nights sleep, and bought a new kitchen appliance. Life is good.

And I am completely unprepared to start uni tomorrow!

80%

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I can swallow without painkillers, I can breathe, I can stay awake for more than an hour, and I can eat! I’m not feeling 100%, but after the past few months, 80% feels pretty damn good 🙂

Inigo and I took his paperwork up to school on Wednesday morning, and he is now on the road to being enrolled in big school. His school transition program starts next month, so we are gearing up for a big end of the year, and hopefully he is looking forward to the exciting elements of school rather than the scary ones. We’ve chosen a school that is just a bit further away than our local school, it’s just a bit smaller, a bit more diverse, and it has a school garden program, and no canteen. It’s still in easy cycling distance from home, and we’ve been attending playgroup and other activities there since before Inigo could walk, so he is very familiar with the environment.

I am trying super hard to be upbeat and positive, and not give in to the “he was only born about a week ago, and now I have to give his care over to the state, and he’s still my tiny baby” panic. He is sooo ready for the academic side of school life, and we are doing our best (with the help of his new preschool) to support his social interactions with kids his own age. He has no trouble holding long conversations with adults, but tends to find his peers pretty boring. Since that reminds me so much of me, I do worry, but I also know that we have made good choices for him, and that he will be well supported. And school for him will be worlds away from what I experienced in the mid 1970’s!

Uni is on a break for another week, so all I have to do is look after myself (and avoid getting sick again), and look after my lovely family. A new development that I would like to record for my own recollection is that in the past couple of weeks, bedtime has (touch wood) ceased to be a drama. After my very low point a few weeks ago, I’ve managed to institute a new routine that involves reading a long form story (starting with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and now James and the Giant Peach), after a few chapters of which he now snuggles in for a cuddle and drifts off to sleep in my arms. I hesitate to say that we have cracked the sleep problem, because it has been the bane of our existence for four and a half years, but the last two weeks have been great. Sleep time is now a time of loving connection and joy rather than a two hour screaming match that leaves everyone emotionally traumatised. Long may it last.

And tomorrow I am having friends over for a crafty morning. Mark has been going out on a Monday evening to follow his crazy hobbies, so I am co-opting Saturday mornings for mine. There is an open invitation to all, so if you are up for a bit of cake nibbling and yarn fondling, do pop over!