.: so comes snow after fire :.

So here's the update about how I've been doing! I still need to learn that my body is a lot weaker than I'm used to, and everytime I'm caught in a cold draft I end up with a stiff neck for a week, coughing and the like. So there's that. But at least I don't panic anymore, and that counts as a win. I've been to therapy twice, tried to arrange for the plumber to come over, I finally got the receipt for my taxes back from the accountant, and arranged a meeting with my lawyer.

Other than that boring - but awesome because it makes me feel like a normal competent adult again - stuff, I've been doing lots of wonderful things that make me feel like a normal adult with hobbies. In no particular order, I've been taking lots of cute pictures of my cat:



Baking cookies for the first time in almost two years:



And they came out delicious, if I do say so myself. I've been playing World of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy XV and enjoying them both a lot, even though I'll have to wait to continue playing FFXV until January because I don't have a PS4 back in Piedmont. The new Rivers of London book finally came out, and it was brilliant. They finally went back to London and the main plot was back again, although I wish they'd spent more time in the Folly. It felt like we were barely there. It was still great to see Nightingale again, though.

I've been binge-watching Supergirl, and it's adorable although the plot is kinda weak, especially considering how it's the strongest aspect of The Flash. I love how the cast is mostly female, and how they are not even in the vicinity of fucking around when talking about sexism. Plus the way the coming out story was handled was perfect and had me in tears at how great it was, and if only they eased up on the love triangles for Kara and gave us a stronger main plot it would be absolutely perfect. I feel a bit envious of today's little girls who have shows like this one, to be honest.

I'm also re-watching season 2 of The Flash because I love it, and I get to watch the blurays on my awesome tv instead of mkv files on my laptop. HD quality, oh yeah. *_____* Today the super crossover finally started (I don't think the Supergirl episode really counts), and it was everything I wanted and more. I watched it twice in a row squealing and cheering. It feels so good to be so invested in a tv show again! \o/

It seems the days of hellish heat and obligatory air conditioner have taken their toll on my body. I have a simple cough, but even with the aerosol therapy it's proving hard to get rid of. I only use the dehumidifier mode on the air conditioning unit, but even so I guess I couldn't escape the obligatory summer cold. At first my chest hurt when I coughed, but after two aerosol sessions the pain stopped, and only the cough remained. It's more annoying than anything else.

Yesterday we had a storm around midnight: it didn't lower the temperatures, but it cleaned the air and at least the ozone levels are back to normal. We've been on high alert for three days, and the air tasted chemical, it was awful. So at least today it's back to normal, sweaty heat, nothing poisonous to it. I just finished washing the floors and doing the laundry, it's nice to be able to keep the windows open for more than a couple of minutes at a time, and the house smells nice and clean. ^^



On fandom news, I finally finished the game Transistor. I first bought it on the PS4 last year, did the tutorial and then forgot about it. I started playing it again last week, and quickly finished it a few days later. It's not a long game, but it's very beautiful, and one that deserves a second playthrough.



The main character is Red, a singer who's lost her voice in an attack at the start of the game. Her fiancee shielded her and got killed, but his soul was preserved in the weapon used by the villain. He's reduced to a voice coming from the sword, the Transistor, that can now only be used by Red. During the game you esplore the city, Cloudbank, while searching for the men who unleashed killer machines on it, and tried to kill you. The soundtrack is splendid and mournful, and while Red cannot talk, her fiancee talks to her constantly, reminisces, helps her, even makes little jokes. It can be very dramatic at times but it's still an amazing experience. It's also on Steam and iOS. ;)



Not to mention, it looks a lot like the anime Gankutsuou. *________*

On Monday I had a most wonderful evening: a dear friend invited me to a night at the Opera! At the La Fenice theater, the Opera Theater here in Venice, where I hadn't been in years. The philharmonic orchestra there played pieces by Béla Bartók, Johann Strauss and Leoš Janáček (here's the poster), and it was absolutely magical. The Strauss one was especially loved, and after that the soloist came back on stage and played a wonderful improv with four other musicians, who answered his variations in kind. It was so unexpected and lovely, and funny. Everyone loved it, although we were all really surprised, it was quite unexpected. :D



Here's a picture I took before I had to turn the phone off, the musicians hadn't come out yet. We counted 75 of them, a full orchestra, something very rare indeed! They even had one of them playing the tubular bells! I knew of them, but I had never heard them, and they sound exactly like church bells, to the point that more than once I thought the sound was coming from outside. :D

When we came out it was 10 pm, and we had a lovely walk through the quiet, dark streets: no tourists at that hour, it was almost like it used to be when I was a kid, clean and peaceful. It was the city like it should be, but sadly isn't any more.

Sort of on topic, because Venice plays a huge part in this as well, to those of you who haven't watched Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell yet, you should really, really do it. I can't recommend it enough. At first simply because it was one of my favourite novels, but after a couple of episodes it became clear this show is a beautiful masterpiece in its own right. Everything about it is perfectly crafted, the world feels alive, the magic real, and the acting is superb. Do yourself a favour and check it out, and be ready because it'll blow your mind. *_____*

A lot of fandom news, because there's not much real life news going on.

First, damn Netflix for releasing new series just before the weekend. Every single time. This particular weekend was cannibalized by the third season of Orange Is the New Black. Did I learn my lesson last year, when I devoured two seasons in three days and then got sad because I had to wait a whole year for new episodes? Evidently not, because I didn't even try pacing myself, and I finished the third season on Sunday morning. Oh well. Spoiler-free review: I loved it, as expected, and even more than the second one. I truly hated Vee and what she had done to some of my favourite characters, and her absence meant those same characters went back to having proper stories and character development, instead of being henchmen. I loved all the back stories, and even the main theme of the season, Faith (as not-so-subtly hinted by all the promos and posters from the past few months). It was all beautifully done. Great acting all around, as usual. And a strong soundtrack again!

The worst flaw is, at least for me, the main character, Piper. I sort of liked her in the beginning, when she was the stand-in for the audience: as she learned, we learned. But it slowly became obvious she was a selfish, weak, manipulative character with the spine of a jellyfish. I find Alex to be a much stronger character on her own, but who gets sacrificed for the soap opera that is her relationship with Piper. And even if we're finally rid of the awful boyfriend storyline (I can't believe we spent so much time on that), now that Piper's backstory is over, there is absolutely nothing left for her character to do, except for being annoying, and making weird faces. They even introduced a new character, the Aussie girl, in the laziest way ever, just to give her something to do, and yet I was still oscillating between being bored to tears and wanting to smother our protagonist with a pillow. Considering she got significantly less screentime than before, and that most secondary characters had much more intriguing storylines than her, I still found myself scoffing everytime we went back to her. I just can't stand her.

Anyway, great cliffhanger there, wonderful ending, and now it's back to waiting (and hoping against hope they'll kill Piper off next year - yeah, as if that would ever happen).

Speaking of endings, yesterday they aired the final episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones. Now, save for that awful thing they did back in episode 6, I have to say I really liked this season. It should be noted that the fourth season featured something that triggers me into awful panic attacks, over and over again. Not their fault, because it's not something that ever comes with a warning, and I'm used to being slapped in the face randomly with it, but it was so great to be rid of it, it finally felt safe to watch this show again, and it made me approach my weekly viewings with a clear heart and a happy mind, such a priceless feeling. I bit my nails, cried a bit, made wild theories, it was just like the first season all over again. And I cried out in shock at the ending, great job there. I didn't see that coming at all, holy shit.

They did a beautiful recap of the episode here on RollingStone, and it sums up my thoughts on the matter quite brilliantly. Speaking of, from what I read we have finally reached the books, so from now on it's uncharted waters. Well, at least I won't have to worry for book spoilers anymore (for those of you just tuning in, I read the first two books, didn't like the writing style at all, and dropped them there).

Oh, and Gravity Falls is coming back on July 13th, while Steven Universe has a new marathon week starting tonight. I'm so excited! \o/

Also, the new case and cover for my phone arrived:



Aren't they cute? I bought them both on Etsy! ^^

We're having horrible November weather here. The worst part is that apparently all tourists collectively forget ever having seen rain before as soon as they set foot in Venice, because they instantly don't know how to walk while holding an umbrella. Too foreign a concept. Is there a patron saint of patience? Because I think I scored so many points today from not hitting dumb people across the head with my cute little umbrella I'm pretty sure I'm gonna skip purgatory altogether, let me tell you.

Speaking of stressful situations, a few days ago the wonderful silviarambles pointed me in the direction of this amazing thing I had no idea existed, the Art Therapy Colouring Book. It arrived the other day, and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it!




It's a beautiful collection of black and white drawings and patterns to be coloured in as an anti-stress exercise. For all those situations where we need to take our mind off, as a relaxing hobby, or during phone conversations where one would usually doodle on the nearest piece of paper.


Here's my first completed page. That's two phone conversations, one lunch, and one dinner cooking. I hadn't done anything like this in twenty years, it was fantastic. I don't consider myself a very artsy person, so it was a great challenge as well. I brought it to my therapist today, and she loved it. *______*

The paper is very thick, and the colours don't bleed through. It's big, and there are a lot of pages: it'll take me months to finish it. I really can't recommend it enough. ^^

It's such a beautiful day today, sunny and hot, like summer! I'm leaving the house at noon, and that means it's time for a short skirt, and let those milky white legs get some sun! :D My therapist just called me, and she told me it's so hot downtown I should definitely wear sandals. Yesssss.

In other news, here's a random picture I took yesterday for a friend, to show her what happens when I try to read on the couch in the living room:



I'm a guest in my own house. :D

In other-other news, we have a date for the Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell premiere: 17/05. That's way earlier than I thought! I truly can't wait, although that means I won't be able to re-read the book before the show starts. Oh well, maybe it's for the best, sometimes reading a book just before watching the tv/movie adaptation ruins the experience.

As you can probably tell, I'm in a exceptional good mood. No particular reason why, I just feel very positive lately. ^^

I just completed the new Steven Universe game, Attack The Light, with 100% on all stages. I loved it! It's an app (both iOS and Android), and I highly recommend it even to those who haven't seen the show: as an RPG it's complex and funny, the gameplay is great and never frustrating, and the style is lovely. It's a perfect fusion (ah!) of the show's original style and a chibi one.







There are also a lot of cute nerdy references: all the Gems start at level 9000, Amethyst says "Bowacunga" when levelling up, Steven goes "item, I choose you!" when using an item. And the story is lovely, coherent to the show's, a real treat for the fans.

In other fandom news, how cool was that new Star Wars trailer? I screamed, I cried, and quite frankly those two minutes were a lot better than all prequel movies put together. I'm confident we can finally leave that nightmare behind, and enjoy a new era of Star Wars movies, the way they should be.

Yes, I'm still bitter about that train-wreck.

I'm also way behind on my Reading Bingo, because I'm reading a book I'm not enjoying at all, but at the same time I'm not completely hating it. So I'm stuck. It's so boring I can only read a couple of pages a day before I start making distressed whale noises, but I still feel obliged to finish it. Damn. I'm trapped - trapped like a... tinned anchovy!

(I amuse myself!)

I'm back! It's been a hectic week, and most days I couldn't even find the time to turn the computer on. This morning I woke up with a terrible pain in my back, to the point that I couldn't even take a deep breath without feeling like being stabbed. I took some painkillers and it finally feels a little better, but I definitely should take this as a warning I'm not as young as I wish I were.

My cousin arrived last tuesday and stayed until saturday. Even with all the stuff we had to do, we found time to play tourists, thanks to the surprisingly wonderful weather, hot and windy, with blue skies perfect for taking pictures.





I also did a bit of shopping at the Disney Store, because I have zero self-restraint.



They're called Tsum Tsum, and they were invented in Japan. They're soft and huggable, and the tummies are made from the same cloth used to clean tv screens. I got one for Tati and one for myself, and then we got in a long discussion about which one of us is Chip and which one is Dale. We usually agree on everything, but this time we almost ended up fighting. :D

And then I bough this dress at H&M solely because it reminded me of Gazelle from Kingsman The Secret Service. I only have a quick crappy selfie I took for a friend, but you still can see what it looks like:



And one month later my hair is still blue! Usually it washes away pretty quickly, as I use non-aggressive dyes, but this blue one is great. I got a lot of compliments for it!

On saturday Tati and I went to the Cartoomics convention in Milan. We met a lot of wonderful cosplayers (two Thorins, a Wirt from Over The Garden Wall, historically accurate Elsa and Anna), and I bought mochi. Two boxes, red bean and green tea, my favourites! We had a tea party on sunday, with green mint tea my cousin bought me in Morocco. Absolutely delicious, and they worked so well together.

Then yesterday I had another dental surgery, which didn't leave me in as much pain as the last one, but for whatever reason it got me really angry and annoyed. I have a huge anger issue, as in I do not feel anger at all. I'm working on it in therapy, obviously, but those very rare times I happen to feel it I'm still unable to deal with anger. Instead of letting it run its course I sit in a corner, brood and do nothing. Yesterday I hid under the covers and watched Hot Fuzz on my laptop, which worked for a while, but by the end of the evening I was snapping at everyone and everything. What an unpleasant feeling.

Looks like my back isn't trying to kill me anymore, but it's still sore. I should probably go lie down.

News from the past week: I had a bit of a cold and ear infection in the weekend that greatly affected my balance. Luckly it went away quickly, and it was probably because of the sudden spring weather we've been having. I'm greatly enjoing having the floor back where it's supposed to be. ^^

The other day something special arrived by mail:



That's my front door, with a new shiny burglar-looking-for-a-job rune on it. It's a childhood dream come true! It came with very complicated instructions, but in the end it only took me a few seconds to apply it. I'm very proud of my wizarding skills, not gonna lie. :D

I haven't written about it on here not to jinx it, but my new laptop seems to be working fine. The old one sputtered and died last november, and then when the new one arrived a few weeks back the OS wasn't properly installed (either that or it was possessed by an angry lumberjack - yes, I'm still squeeing over that new Gravity Falls episode) and it collided on itself. Now it's been back for a couple of weeks, and it seems to be working perfectly fine. All my favourite programs are installed, and I'm back to watching downloaded tv shows on the tv screen through a HDMI connector. I missed that so much. *_______*

Speaking of which, I started watching The 100 on Netflix, but had to abandon it halfway through the second season. It's good, but it has every single one of my triggers, it was too stressful. But hey, if you're looking for a new sci-fi series that's aimed at a young audience but is still full of references to classics, you should check it out. The writing is good, and there's a lot of great female characters. It's not that refined, true, but it's full of promise and intriguing enough.

Gravity Falls came back with a fantastic, unexpectedly gory, and truly amazing episode. It was great! And yesterday The Big Bang Theory did their toast to actress Carol Ann Susi. I loved it, it was quiet and respectful and full of love. One of the best moments of the season. I haven't watched Better Call Saul yet, shame on me, but everybody tells me it's awesome. I'll probably wait until it's over and then marathon it like the crazy person I am. Also Moriarty seems to be coming back to Elementary, I'm still celebrating over that letter!

And last but not least yesterday the actual creator of Over The Garden Wall wrote me a personal message. On Etsy, about the shipping cost of a book I ordered from him the other day. But it still counts!!! Seriously, when I recieved it I screamed out loud, and had to breathe in a pillow for a while.

I'm still playing Lego The Hobbit: I'm about to meet the Necromancer, and then the dragon. I can't wait! This game keeps being awesome and hilarious, it's a fantastic experience. The puzzles are growing in complexity, but they're never frustrating. I encountered a couple of bugs, but I just had to reset the level and everything went back to normal.

I was supposed to go to therapy tomorrow afternoon, but my therapist had to cancel; I have a billion other things I should do, but I'll probably spend it sorting my unread books for the Reading Bingo. ;)

So, about that Tolkien-obsessed phase I'm going through (again), Tati and I are finally marathoning The Lord of the Rings, extended editions, together. And this came in the mail today:



It's Bilbo Baggins' contract with Thorin's company, and it's lifesize. It's a glorious 150 cm, I measured it. I'm such a nerd. :D







During the weekend I'll start working on a Tolkien shelf, much like with my Sherlock Holmes shelf, with all the books and nerdy stuff in display together. It's going to be awesome! *_____*

This is a rather short entry because I just came home and I'm about to leave for the gym, but in short, real life is going fine, therapy is going great, it's been a lovely start of the new year. ^^ And the new Supernatural episode was amazing, so there's that too!