professorpalmarosa - Tumblr blog

[professorpalmarosa]

Update

Hi all,

I figured I hadn’t given a life update in a while (nor do I know if anyone still reads these, since I’m nowhere near as active on Tumblr as I once was) but a lot has happened over the past few months. Some of you know that my senior kitty had a cancer scare (don’t worry. We found out he doesn’t have it. He just has IBS), but here’s something else.

I got laid off. This time next week, I will no longer be working at the company I’ve spent the past four and a half years with.

I’m not the only person they let go, either. I won’t go into specifics, but the way they handled it was really shady but also the sort of thing you’d expect from a large corporation. It wasn’t anything personal—just a restructuring decision made by the higher-ups—but it still sucked to be told over a Teams call that I’d be losing my job.

I hit the ground running, though. I updated my resume and paid a professional to optimize it for ATS algorithm searches. I also updated my LinkedIn, switched my status to “actively looking,” and applied for every mid to senior-level position in my field that I could find. In addition to that, I also decided to enroll in a free Adobe XD class (so I could learn a new skill) and started submitting short works into writing contests with cash prizes. I didn’t win anything in the first one, but three others are being judged right now so fingers crossed!

And here’s what’s interesting. As weird as this is going to sound, I’m actually glad I got let go.

Not only did my workplace change from a fun start-up culture to an emotionless corporate one when we got acquired, but I was expected to do the impossible with no backup and virtually no bump in my pay. I’ve already found a new job, and guess what? I’m officially going to start making six figures. I’m literally making DOUBLE what the old job paid me and I start in 2 weeks!

So yeah. It’s been a roller coaster, but it looks like the wild part of the ride has finally stopped.

If you'd be interested in checking out my original works (I'm still writing fanfiction, but I'm no longer sharing new works until they're 100% complete), feel free to reach out to me and I can share the link.

[professorpalmarosa]

UPDATE - And it’s actually a good one!

We got the biopsy results today and Gaius doesn’t have cancer after all!!!! He just has really bad IBS and may have developed an allergy to one of the proteins in his food.

We’ll be putting him on steroids and switching him over to Purina HA Hydrolyzed Cat Food (which costs almost 5 times as much as his old food), but hey! At least it’s not cancer and is something that we can treat and manage.

I know I haven’t been as active on here as I once was, but I did want to give a small update to some followers who know my cat Gaius. He’s not doing so great.

Keep reading

[professorpalmarosa]

I know I haven’t been as active on here as I once was, but I did want to give a small update to some followers who know my cat Gaius. He’s not doing so great.

Earlier in the month, Gaius started to fart audibly and had crap the consistency of a melted milk chocolate bar. I originally chalked it up to stress from having a second cat in the house (Harlock’s now 9 months, which means he’s a rambunctious adolescent and constantly wants to play. By comparison, Gaius will be turning 10 in mid-May, so he’s approaching senior status).

Thinking that was the issue, I bought some calming cat pheromone diffusers, separated my kitties when play time got out of hand, and made sure to tell them both what good boys they were when they played nicely with each other.

That wasn’t the problem, though. Gaius loves Harlock and Harlock is obsessed with Gaius. They snuggle together on my lap every night, they groom each other, they always insist on being in the same room, and Gaius even tries to steal Harlock from me sometimes so he can hug him. He’s a weird cat.

So I checked to see if anything was wrong with their water fountains. I clean every 2 weeks. Nope. Not that, either. No dietary changes or changes to the house, either. Same cleaners, same detergents, same cat litter, etc.

Yesterday, we went to the vet. $570, a $2000 additional appointment scheduled, and a whole roller coaster of emotions later; I find out that my sweet boy who has been with me since 2012 very likely has cancer. It’s in 4 parts of his intestines and we’ve scheduled Gaius’s biopsy for next week. The vet is pretty sure it’s small cell lymphoma in his GI tract.

I’m devastated. Gaius is my first baby. He’s been there for my first apartment, my first post-college roommate, five different jobs, two relationships, four moves (one of which was to a different state), and even the purchase of my first home. Until Harlock joined my household in October, Gaius was also the only other living being I got to see every day. And he loves the fact that I’m working from home. He’s the best pandemic pal ever.

For now, he’s still acting like his usual silly self and he’s even been a bit more playful, but I’m keeping an eye out. The biopsy will be on March 4 and I’m trying to keep it all together until then. I’m really hoping it’s small cell lymphoma (because the prognosis for that is better than large cell) and that treatments will work. I’m going to do all I can to keep him comfortable for as long as I can, but knowing that I’ll have to say goodbye in a matter of months or maybe a year or two?

It’s rough. It’s really, really rough.

[professorpalmarosa]

You know what the second I stopped saying “I wish I had a friend who-“ and started being “the friend who-“ my life has gotten 100% more fulfilling

[professorpalmarosa]

Update 2

So far, there has only been one hiss and no swatting through the door. I think Gaius is under the impression baby boy (now named Harlock, after Space Pirate Captain Harlock) is a temporary thing. That room is where cats tend to stay when I pet-sit, so I can understand why he might think that.

I’m alternating between beds to make sure neither cat gets too lonely, and I’ll also be taking upstairs/downstairs shifts during work days to make sure Gaius and Harlock get equal attention. Next weekend, I’ll do a switcheroo so Harlock can explore outside base camp and Gaius can hang out in there.

After that, the next stage will be to place the little guy in a pet carrier and leave him in a large room (probably the living room) so Gaius can sniff him with a safe barrier for both. Really hoping they get along!!!

In other news, Gaius ACED his last vet visit! He’s the slimmest and trimmest he’s been in 4 years and his vet said she can tell he’s been getting more playtime in.

And in case anyone wants to see the baby, here he is!

It’s been a weird, weird week.

My life typically isn’t very fast-moving or dynamic, and it’s only gotten slower with the pandemic in effect. I have been working from home for two months now and my company is encouraging people to continue doing so until October. The only times I go outside are to get my mail, take out the trash, or drive my car just enough to keep the battery from dying.

And now I’m worried about doing even that because we’ve had some feral cat drama in my community. Right before the pandemic started, a feral cat had babies in the community pool area. It was closed all of last year and I have no way of knowing with the COVID-19 situation if they’ll be crazy enough to open it this year. That said, the HOA is trying to repair it anyway.

Once the repairs started, the feral cat decided my carport would be a nice place to relocate. Tuesday morning, before sunrise, I went outside to throw away my trash and roll it out for pickup. The cat was right there. She hissed at me, growled, and chased me all the way back into my unit!

Naturally, I called animal control. Someone came out about 2 hours later and, of course, the cat was nowhere to be found. I was told to call again if I saw the cat and that this sort of aggressive behavior isn’t normal. This animal control person said the cat might have rabies (which scared me pretty badly), so I sent a group text out to my next door neighbors. I’m pretty spry for a 30-something, but they’re both old ladies. There’s no way they could outrun this damn thing!

Two days later, the cat shows up on my neighbor’s patio and harasses her cat. She was able to get her cat inside (considering how close we are to a highway, I wish she’d do this full time, but I digress) and called animal control again.

This next guy told us that since our city doesn’t have a leash law for cats, they can’t remove the cat! Rabies or not! “Just burn a citronella candle and she’ll go away.” Freaking seriously? Seriously?

So I notified the HOA of the situation, just so they could get the word out and warn other neighbors that the cat’s dangerous. Someone else must have called animal control because they were out again yesterday.

This is some crazy bullshit, I tell you. Crazy, crazy, craaaaazy bullshit.

[professorpalmarosa]

Update

Mama cat has a home now. Turns out she wasn’t rabid at all. She was just scared, hormonal, and really really pregnant. More details below, including an exciting update!!

My HOA president felt sorry for her, lured her into her screened-in porch, and helped her with the kittens. She had a healthy litter of 6 and after Beth found homes for all 6, she sent me pictures and an update.

A week later, she told me two of the kittens needed to be rehomed because the girl who adopted them had lied about her household situation. Initially, she told Beth that she was a caregiver for her grandmother and the only other pet was a senior dog they had listed as an emotional support animal so their apartment could keep it. She wanted to adopt the kittens, list them as her ESAs, and had her grandmother’s permission.

The only part of that statement that was true was that she lived with her grandmother. Not only did granny NOT know she was bringing home two kittens, but they actually lived in a house with a leaky roof and no usable bathroom. Granny wasn’t happy about the kitten situation, told the girl she had to give them back, and Beth got them back.

To make a long story short, my friend Victoria and I are going to foster these sweet little boys. She’s taking the shy, cuddly little gray baby and I’m taking the playful and outgoing little fluff ball who non-stop played with me on Tuesday. Both of us have stated this is foster-to-adopt and will do all we can to gradually integrate them with our other cats.

Beth’s worried that the brothers will be lonely during the transition period since they’ve always been together, so I’m going to give him lots of love and attention. I just have to make sure Gaius gets the same amount so my poor baby doesn’t get jealous!

Gaius has been my best pal since 2012 and the most wonderful kitty I’ve ever had. I love him to the point where it’s sickening and unironically refer to him as my son. While there’s going to be an adjustment period, I want to do all I can to make sure he sees this little guy as a fun new addition to the house: a little brother he can play with, snuggle with, and rough house with rather than a replacement/rival for attention.

I also want to be fair to the kitten. The only way my home won’t end up being his forever home is if Gaius is an unholy terror to him. If I follow the introduction/integration process my vet provided to a tee, I doubt that will happen, but we’ll see. Fingers crossed!

It’s been a weird, weird week.

My life typically isn’t very fast-moving or dynamic, and it’s only gotten slower with the pandemic in effect. I have been working from home for two months now and my company is encouraging people to continue doing so until October. The only times I go outside are to get my mail, take out the trash, or drive my car just enough to keep the battery from dying.

And now I’m worried about doing even that because we’ve had some feral cat drama in my community. Right before the pandemic started, a feral cat had babies in the community pool area. It was closed all of last year and I have no way of knowing with the COVID-19 situation if they’ll be crazy enough to open it this year. That said, the HOA is trying to repair it anyway.

Once the repairs started, the feral cat decided my carport would be a nice place to relocate. Tuesday morning, before sunrise, I went outside to throw away my trash and roll it out for pickup. The cat was right there. She hissed at me, growled, and chased me all the way back into my unit!

Naturally, I called animal control. Someone came out about 2 hours later and, of course, the cat was nowhere to be found. I was told to call again if I saw the cat and that this sort of aggressive behavior isn’t normal. This animal control person said the cat might have rabies (which scared me pretty badly), so I sent a group text out to my next door neighbors. I’m pretty spry for a 30-something, but they’re both old ladies. There’s no way they could outrun this damn thing!

Two days later, the cat shows up on my neighbor’s patio and harasses her cat. She was able to get her cat inside (considering how close we are to a highway, I wish she’d do this full time, but I digress) and called animal control again.

This next guy told us that since our city doesn’t have a leash law for cats, they can’t remove the cat! Rabies or not! “Just burn a citronella candle and she’ll go away.” Freaking seriously? Seriously?

So I notified the HOA of the situation, just so they could get the word out and warn other neighbors that the cat’s dangerous. Someone else must have called animal control because they were out again yesterday.

This is some crazy bullshit, I tell you. Crazy, crazy, craaaaazy bullshit.

[professorpalmarosa]

Talking about not criticising fanfic always turns into one of those incredibly frustrating “no, the lid” conversations because people are so inexplicably, bizarrely desperate to try and find loopholes.

“But if you compliment them first—” No.

“But if it’s not negative, just suggestions for improvement—” No.

“But if you say it in a really nice, friendly tone—” No.

“But that’s how you leeeeaaaaaarn—” Which part of nay dost thou not understand??

So, here’s a deal. Here’s something you can do. Picture this scenario: you read some fanfiction, and you come across something you don’t like. Something that wasn’t written in the best way and could have easily been better with a bit of tweaking. “This could be done better,” you say to yourself. “I wonder if they’re open to constructive feedback.” You search far and wide, combing their notes for anything resembling a concrit request. But woe, alas! Your search yields nothing. They didn’t ask for feedback. They do not want your suggestions for improvement.

Here’s what you do: Write the criticism down—Easy, tiger! Not in the comments section. Not on the internet. Not anywhere the fic author might see it, in fact. Write it down somewhere you can see it. On a post-it note, perhaps, or a bedside notepad. Feel free to be as detailed as you like, here. Write down the specific bit of text and why it felt a little off to you and what the author could have done to improve it.

And keep it for yourself. Keep it as a reference for yourself, so you can improve your work if you want to. This isn’t just snark, I’m serious. This can be a legitimately valuable technique when you’re writing your own stuff - articulating why something felt a little off to you is a good reference point for deciding how you’re going to write it yourself. Your criticism might be valuable... to you.

And the original fanfic author? Leave them alone. Either don’t bother commenting at all, or compliment them on the stuff you did like and call it a day. They don’t need your criticism or “suggestions for improvement” and it would be rude to offer them unsolicited. (Yes, really, even in that particular scenario you’re thinking of.) You don’t even know whether they’re looking to “improve” anything.

[professorpalmarosa]

I have more empty bottles at home!

Next pay period, I’m going to also treat myself to a giant 19 pound bag of Epsom salt so I can make more fancy bath salts for holiday and birthday gifts for friends and family. It doesn’t take long at all, Epsom salt’s awesome for aches and pains after a stressful day, and it just feels like a nicer way to save pretty bottles than dumping them in the recycling bin.

What are some of your favorite blends?

[professorpalmarosa]

Here’s some of my recent handiwork: 4 batches of bath salts and a LOT of different bath bombs! Some of them (like Mint Condition and Feelin’ Lava-ly) are repeat blends, but here’s what all I made:

Bath Salts

Xing Fling (30% May Chang, 20% Szechuan Pepper, 20% Lemon, 15% Kumquat, 15% Yuzu)

Autumn Embers (40% Cinnamon, 20% Clove, 20% Blood Orange, 10% Nutmeg, 10% Allspice)

Mint Condition (see link)

Sandalwood Seduction (40% Ho Wood, 30% Sandalwood, 10% Lemongrass, 10% Vetiver, 10% Tagetes)

Bath Bombs

Holiday Orange (60% Sweet Orange, 30% Chocolate FO, 10% Vanilla Oleoresin)

Orange You Glad I Made This? (30% Blood Orange, 30% Tangerine, 40% Teakwood)

Feelin’ Lava-ly (see link)

Mint Condition (see link)

Stuffy Old Lady (20% Rose Damascena, 20% Egyptian Geranium, 20% Lavender Grosso, 20% Ylang Ylang III, 20% Roman Chamomile)

Wizard of Oz(manthus) (40% Osmanthus Absolute, 20% Frangipani Absolute, 20% Jasmine Absolute)

Special shoutouts to my friends @m-dawg63​ for the AMAZING mixer that made it so much easier to blend these bad boys, and for @senatorwiggles​ for locating my white whale of oils (Osmanthus Absolute)! Love you guys!

I know I posted my bath bomb recipe in various places over the past few years, but the bath salt recipe is a bit more lax. I just dump a crap ton of epsom salt into a mixing bowl, add some soap colorant until I get the shade I want, and a tablespoon of whatever fragrances/essential oils/absolutes/oleoresins I want to use. Mixer makes quick work of it!

I’ve found a creative use for my empty bottles!

It takes a grand total of 5 minutes to create and it’s been a little surprise gift I can give my friends/neighbors who have been helping my immunocompromised ass during the pandemic. I’ve been making preblended cocktails people can throw in the freezer and use later, as well as turning some of the prettier bottles into bath salts containers.

So far, I think the St. Germaine and Don Julio bottles were the prettiest. They now hold Cinnamon/Clove/Allspice/Blood Orange and Szechuan Pepper/Litsea/Lemon bath salts!

Would anyone like to see my handiwork later? I can also post ratios/recipes!

[professorpalmarosa]

I’ve found a creative use for my empty bottles!

It takes a grand total of 5 minutes to create and it’s been a little surprise gift I can give my friends/neighbors who have been helping my immunocompromised ass during the pandemic. I’ve been making preblended cocktails people can throw in the freezer and use later, as well as turning some of the prettier bottles into bath salts containers.

So far, I think the St. Germaine and Don Julio bottles were the prettiest. They now hold Cinnamon/Clove/Allspice/Blood Orange and Szechuan Pepper/Litsea/Lemon bath salts!

Would anyone like to see my handiwork later? I can also post ratios/recipes!

[professorpalmarosa]

SOME OF MY FANCY BOOZE IS ARRIVING ON SATURDAY!

Saturday is going to be a fun day! Not only will I get to do my usual weekend treat (writing and making bath bombs), but some of my fancy booze will be arriving from halfway across the country.

Since I’m in the “discovery” phase of my bartending hobby, I’ve been collecting different types of liqueurs and spirits to see which ones I enjoy the most. This batch will contain Mezcal, Aperol, Fernet Branca, Cachaca, and extra-dry Junmai Sake.

I did the same thing when I first started getting into making bath bombs. I collected stuff as if they were freaking Pokemon, just to see what my favorites were and just never replenished the things I ended up not enjoying as much.

But beyond even that, I’m decorating my living room! A friend of mine told me last week that the Pokemon Destination Posters were back in stock with the Pokemon Center Store (complete with a new Galar poster!), so GUESS WHAT’S GOING ON BOTH SIDES OF MY RETRO STARBURST CLOCK?

[professorpalmarosa]

Thanks for tagging me, @olliya! I laughed my butt off over this, as well as the comments you had on your post. I swear...half of my stuff comes from late night fever dreams, jokes that turn way too serious with a friend, and my weird determination to figure out what happens before/after canon (and tying up plot holes).

But seriously? For this current one? It literally was, “I got drunk one night, binge-watched some of The Last Csars and Fullmetal Alchemist, and had a crazy-ass Rasputin fever dream. MIGHT AS WELL WRITE IT!”

I’m tagging @nikkxb, @tulpatopicterrors, and @qettleqorn for this one. Have fun, you three!

[professorpalmarosa]

For Writing Asks: Kazusa Densetsu and 💡, ⭐, ⛰️ and 🎢 Thx!!

💡-What was the motivation behind the story?

It was a few things, actually! I was still active on my @fire-hearted-father account back then and I was doing some absolutely stellar political drama threads with other roleplayers.

There was a mun who roleplayed Tobirama, Hashirama, and Madara. We quickly bonded over our love for these kinds of plots and she lamented that it was not only hard to find Founders Era accounts, but accounts that wanted to do something other than fluffy domestic stuff. She was here to wage war and bring down the system, dammit! Why was it so hard to find that?

So...I actually decided I’d use this as an opportunity to not just give my Vines series a prequel, but also test the waters by creating a cast of Founders Era OCs to expand on some of the clans who received less attention by the fandom.

Suffice it to say, by the time I was done, Osamu and Yanagi got their own account.

⭐- What’s a scene/paragraph you’re proud of?

They called it the Black Sea of Trees: a seemingly endless horizon of fog, old forest, and shadows. None of the trees bore fruit by their own design, but rather by the legions who chose to hang themselves. Like the butterfly from the cocoon, the corpses burst and ripped apart once they reached a certain point. It wasn't the soul, but merely a buildup of gasses. It didn't make it any less impressive.

(Honestly, the whole description of that forest was fun to do. I wanted an Aokigahara of my own out there and I hope I delivered!)

⛰️-  What was the hardest part?

The ending. Definitely the ending. I wrote Tobirama’s speech first, then went back and added everyone’s reactions to it. That was the easy bit...but the actual ending from Kazusa’s perspective was harder.

I wanted to end it on a deceptively hopeful and optimistic note, only because she’s the last perspective we see. She’s a teenage girl and has seen some horrible things; but as far as she’s concerned, the bad guys have gone away. The Uchiha Clan is given a special office with the Konoha Military Police Force. She’s about to lead! This could be a bright new beginning, at least from her perspective.

But I also wanted the readers to look at this, realize that, and see something she can’t. I want the reader to see that, pick up on the context from the other scenes, and realize that no. Things are not okay.

This whole place is fucking doomed and it’s only going to get worse a generation or two later.

🎢- Were there any scenes you were nervous about? For audience reception or otherwise?

There were two of them, and both related back to the Yamanaka Clan. They were the most fun to write, but I was also occasionally worried that I may have taken things a bit too dark or too far for most readers to stomach.

I know some of my readers get squicked by medical gore and I had a lobotomy scene. I strongly implied that there was some incest going on, too. Or at least some uncomfortable attachment between the twins they weren’t supposed to have.

I also worried about the peacemaking scene gone horribly wrong in Black Sea of Trees and even ended up taming down the Madara scene because it got too intense for one of my beta readers. I cut some of the more graphic bits and just left the rest to everyone’s imagination.

But hey. At least I got to use Osamu again in Hiruzen Monogatari!

[professorpalmarosa]

Writing Asks

Send a story/fic title and a symbol!

💡-What was the motivation behind the story?

💎- What was your favorite part?

⛰️-  What was the hardest part?

🎭- What was the feeling or mood you were going for?

🏟️- Who was your intended audience?

🔬- Was there one scene you were building up to/knew you had to get just right?

🗝️-What were you thinking when you wrote it?

🎥- Were there any tv shows, books, or movies that influenced this verse, if any?

📈- Was there a clear character arch you wanted____ character to go on?

🎢- Were there any scenes you were nervous about? For audience reception or otherwise?

☠️- Did you consider killing off any of the characters? Did you?

✉️- Did you title your chapters? What title do you like best?

☀️- Was there symbolism/motifs you worked in?

🎵- Did you have a playlist/piece of music that went with this story?

📜-Do you want to write something like this again in the future?

💁- Did readers influence change any part of this story?

✏️-Would you go back and change anything if you could?

⭐- What’s a scene/paragraph you’re proud of?

📣-What was the best piece of encouragement you got? 

🔦-Did you learn anything while writing it? About yourself? Writing?

🎁- Any writing advice for people who want to write something like this?

bonus:

😊- Leave your favorite line from my story in the ask and I’ll tell you what I was thinking.

😮- Leave a description of your favorite scene in the ask and I’ll tell you what I was thinking.

😛-Leave your favorite dialogue in the ask and I’ll tell you what I was thinking.

😂- Leave your favorite funny scene in the ask and I’ll tell you what I was thinking.

😥-Leave your favorite angsty scene in the ask and I’ll tell you what I was thinking.

[professorpalmarosa]

team mustang, assembled!

[professorpalmarosa]

What if there was an apocalypse but some people were really really in denial and optimistic and thinking everything will be back to normal soon?

Like they’d be foraging through the ruins of New York for supplies, shooting raiders in the face and saying “Man, this recession is really bad, huh?”

[professorpalmarosa]

Thanks for tagging me, @olliya​! I haven’t done a dollmaker in years and this one was a lot of fun to do.

If anyone else wants to try it, the picrew can be found here.

I’m going to tag @nikkxb, @cara-tine, @ubimelibiapes, @bi-hop, @hyugainterior! Have fun, y’all!