September 2022: The family is now complete

 

It's been more than a year since Cookie and JJ died. But we didn't adopt another pair right away because I had my hands full caring for Dozy and needed to process a lot of stuff (including managing financial uncertainty) after quitting my job. It didn't seem right to take on more responsibility at that point.

In September we finally adopted Panda and Burrito from HRSS. (Burrito, the fat one, is inside the box in this picture.)

They have such funny personalities. Panda is the alpha one: fearless, bossy, rude, greedy; a recalcitrant digger and destroyer; eater of species-inappropriate food (cat kibbles). The black and white terror.

Burrito is a fat loner kid. He hates people and things and other animals. He only loves food. (Even so, he'd often grab the food and run away to eat it alone.) We like to look at him chomping on hay with a faraway look in his eyes, like a cow. But Burrito is also an emo bunny, and you can often find him sulking under the bed. Get too close and he'll lunge at ya.

Meow Meow seems all right with them, except when Panda eats him / his food / his litter.

Turtle has, so far, not chomped on any of the new arrivals.

So that's the main thing this month.

Apart from spending hours watching the bunnies integrate in society, we have been reading and writing a lot, adding to our repertoire of places to sit and read/write.

September's been a bit of a reckoning for me. I am finally admitting to myself that my freelance work is not fulfilling anymore, and I decided to write a book. This much is obvious given how often I haunt the writing section of the library and think about The Artist's Way; it has been there ever since I quit my job, and it's high time for me to be honest about that.

So, a book! This is a first for me. I have to say, it's not easy. Especially because I've been an editor / marketer / bookseller throughout my entire career. You'd think that these experiences would help me with writing, but they don't. My inner editor loudly inserts comments and unsolicited advice while the writing self is at work, interrupting my creative flow. Oh well, it's just something to work through.

The flip side of this new purpose and drive is anxiety. I am committing to something new and the fear of failing is intense. Absorbed in my new goal, I neglect my usual exercise, cooking, and sleep routines.

I tried to follow Jeff VanderMeer's daily schedule, but it didn't work for me. Writing all day and only exercising at 4pm feels unhealthy, makes my thoughts muddy. But that's a valuable lesson. I am a person who needs to exert my body and sweat buckets early in the day, and then, only when the muscles are spent, can my brain feel at ease enough to write for the "public".

Apart from that, I'm glad that we've been devoting more time to fun and new things. As 30something homebodies, it's far too easy to stagnate. The only way around that is to try new and scary things, which in September included making ciabatta and taking part in a pub quiz.

In October I plan to reinstate my original routines for taking care of my body. That is, exercise at midday, eating at home, not using my laptop at night, and sleeping early. And of course I'll continue to write my book. Additionally Jon and I have also started doing The Artist's Way together, which will take place across the next 3 months. Couple goals, eh? I feel immensely happy that Jon is beginning to unleash his innate creative talents after years of being buried under his vocation.