Greetings, Internet! I hope everyone’s staying as safe and sane as can be. This week, I continued on the dissertation chapter (while listening to holiday music!), had fruitcake from a Cistercian Abbey in Missouri, and fought bots to get tickets for a concert. Daily summaries below!

December 9, 2022

• Got on Zoom to watch a cohortmate successfully defend her dissertation. Huzzah!
• Hoping to get to that level in < two years.
• Did a good amount of dissertationing.
• Worked out with an SCI trainer.
• More dissertationing.
• Wordle: In three!
• Currently feeling: Productive! But also, goodness, it’s past midnight, but I really wanted to get some thoughts down for the next parts of my chapter.
• Currently looping: Holiday music while I dissertate, because why not?

December 10, 2022

• Did the FES cycle while the Morocco-Portugal match was on.
• YEAH, MOROCCO! My mother let me know that the car horns were blasting in her neighborhood, which has a mix of North African and Middle Eastern populations.
• My boyfriend’s here! We went out to K-Town for dinner and ended up passing dozens and dozens of people dressed as Santa because we both didn’t realize that it’s SantaCon again.
• Omg, the lines coming out of bars are absolutely ridiculous.
• Thank goodness we’re just going to get tofu soup. And kimchi. And other foods that don’t involve going to a bar.
• We returned to my apartment so that I could try the fruitcake that my boyfriend has been hyping for months now. It’s made by a Cistercian Abbey in…Missouri, I think? And now that I’ve tried it, it’s hella dense and boozy. But also it’s not bad.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: It was nice to go outside, even if there were dozens of drunk Santas all over the place. I certainly do not want to go outside there tomorrow morning, though. I imagine the day after SantaCon doesn’t look too pretty.
• Currently looping: My holiday playlist, which I will link here if I haven’t already.

December 11, 2022

• My boyfriend made queso again and omg, it was incredible.
• Watched “The Muppets Christmas Carol” with my boyfriend and made hot cocoa. So, my perfect holiday-themed afternoon.
• I’m so full of cheese and chocolate. Oof.
• This is a good problem to have.
• Started typing out holiday cards (I like to type them first, and then handwrite them, because I tend to start typing, then realize I’m rambling, and then have to edit it down). We had “Elf” on in the background, because neither one of us had seen it before. It’s cute.
• I also ate more fruitcake. I think I like fruitcake. What is wrong with me? Then again, it was made by Cistercian monks, so maybe I’m just a fan of monks who bake boozy cakes.
• Wordle: Whoops.
• Currently feeling: ‘Twas a nice lazy Sunday, although I probably should’ve gotten in the standing frame at some point.
• Currently looping: Holiday movies. Yay!

December 12, 2022

• Driving lesson #2! Nearly sideswiped a FedEx truck, saw a guy in a bright yellow sportscar do donuts in an intersection, and nearly hit a woman who was doing an illegal u-turn. But my instructor still said I was getting better.
• Dang, driving’s hard.
• Then got lunch with my mother, and some bubble tea. I haven’t had hot bubble tea in years. It’s delightful.
• Worked out with an SCI trainer! We finally have a working standing bar setup. We’re just waiting to get a flat yoga mat.
• Started writing out holiday cards.
• Laundry, whoo!
• Wordle: In three!
• Currently feeling: I forgot, I need to tidy up a bit. I shall resume card-writing tomorrow!
• Currently looping: We interrupt all the holiday music to give you Brandi Carlile’s SNL performance of “The Story” in ALL OF ITS BEAUTEOUS GLORY. Okay, I’m doing this at karaoke, too.

December 13, 2022

• Went to Push to Walk!
• Didn’t have time for bubble tea today, on account of doing holiday food/tree shopping.
• We have a small tree!
• And no decorations, because there will be small children here and all my tree decorations are made of glass.
• Got a facial! I have to say, this has overall been my best skin year, and my esthetician is awesome.
• Did some vocal exercises, because I am determined to keep these vocal cords active.
• Wordle: In four!
• Currently feeling: I thought I’d have time to dissertate, but whoops, will have to do that tomorrow.
• Currently looping: Michael Bublé’s “Christmas” album.

December 14, 2022

• Ticketmaster is telling me that there are no wheelchair tickets.
• OH BUT WAIT, if I zoom in on a different viewing screen, THERE THEY ARE.
• HOLY CRAP, THEY’RE DISAPPEARING!
• <CLICKS RAPIDLY ON ANYTHING WITH A WHEELCHAIR SYMBOL>
• YES, I’LL TAKE THEM, GIVE THEM TO ME. DO NOT LOG ME OUT.
• THIS BITCH HAS TICKETS TO SEE THE POSTAL SERVICE/DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE.
• I’m not kidding, this was hell for anyone who tried it.
• I blame the bots. And Ticketmaster. How dare you.
• Death Cab for Cutie kept me company so many nights in the hospital when I first got injured. “Transatlanticism” sang me to sleep. And when I was sad in England, I listened to it. I was ready to punch people for these tickets.
• But also, that was way too much of an emotional rollercoaster for tickets. You would think after the TayTay debacle that Ticketmaster would learn.
• Watched the World Cup. Alas, Morocco.
• Therapy!
• Went to go meet a friend I hadn’t seen in years for some tortas. Stopped at Barnes and Noble on the way and got some books for my niece and nephew.
• Wordle: In two!
• Currently feeling: I hope the Swifties win their lawsuit against Ticketmaster. That thing is pure evil.
• Currently looping: The Dark Side of the Moon just released a new single featuring violinist Rusanda Panfili, and it’s somewhat holiday tangential? Anyway, here’s “Double Trouble/Lumos!”

December 15, 2022

• Did the FES cycle.
• Definitely not going outside during the nor’easter.
• But my mother decided to drive here to pick up things for my sister’s visit, because she’s intense like that.
• Dissertationing! Okay, this chapter is going to be a bit longer than anticipated. But I may go back after I finish this draft and see where I repeated myself too many times or got super wordy. And then it won’t be as long.
• Watched some of the “Beauty and the Beast” broadcast with H.E.R. and Josh Groban and it was cute. The choreography was very impressive.
• Sent some emails and made some phone calls. So many things to get done today.
• So many things that now it’s past midnight. I was going to go to bed a bit sooner, but then I realized I should type a couple of paragraphs for this section and do some paragraph switching so that I can start on the next section of the chapter tomorrow.
• Convinced that the best time to write is like, when you should be getting ready for bed. Or maybe that’s just me during dissertation mode, I don’t know. College habits die hard.
• Speaking of “Die Hard,” it was the question for Final Jeopardy!, and I was utterly delighted. Truly, it’s a holiday film (okay, the category was “Action Movies,” but still). Also, there was a music category and I named like, all the bands, so I felt cool.
• Wordle: In five!
• Currently feeling: Super productive!
• Currently looping: Holiday music! I’d recommend She and Him’s “Christmas Party.”

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, decorate your trees (if you’re a tree-decorating person), and join the Swifties in taking down Ticketmaster!