The Raven Colony: Voran's diary

[Voran]

I am a giant child. I just made ChatGPT write an epic 8-episode fantasy series in which malicious aliens invade the planet and the only defense is to throw toilet rolls at them.

 

[Voran]

Having a hard time getting past the fact that I now no longer dare play my ukulele in my own home and cannot play it outside either.

I guess I'll have to stick to hiking off into the middle of nowhere to play. Just great. Never mind if I get murdered or raped because I was alone far from civilization.

I know misanthropy is childish. I know being angsty is childish. But I can't help a vague feeling of hating people in general right now.

 

[Voran]

I get that noise is a valid issue...but then why complain about that while reserving the right to loudly act out at 2am?

IDK. Rural people are just twisted. Doesn't exactly make sense to falsely accuse someone of running a brothel either does it?

 

[Voran]

Going rucking since my sleep cycle is out. Better to just grab some exercise than sit at home and get more run down and more irritable from being awake too long.

Also I want the Dana Linn Bailey aesthetic for next summer. Except realistically I probably won't achieve the extreme upper body bulk she has going on. I suspect she has a little assistance from anabolic steroids lol.

 

[Voran]

I feel a bit silly. I think I overreacted.

I was out rucking and there was a young man showing some possibly endangered body language. He was sitting very close to a cliff face with his head in his hands.

Could be nothing; could be serious depression.

I weighed up what to do; I don't deal with heights like I used to.

I eventually decided to walk over close enough to speak but not close enough that I was looking down a vertigo-inducing drop and yelled 'Sir! Are you okay?'

He called back 'I'm fine just really tired.'

I feel silly now but otoh it cost nothing to ask.

 

[Voran]

It's odd. I'm getting old.

I used to uncritically love car chase scenes in movies...now I can't help thinking how hard it would be to stabilize the steering wheel at such speed. I'm not sure I'd have the lat strength.

I still enjoy the adrenaline. I'm not THAT old.

Also zombies. Good old zombies.

 

[Voran]

I just saw this article. I have some conflicting thoughts and opinions on it.

On the one hand...this is legitimate misandry. It's criticizing men for using bathrooms - as if only women have kidneys and men never need to pee.

On the other hand...it's not exactly a secret that people hide from their kids. Men work overtime to avoid their kids. Women admit to hiding in bathrooms to eat a chocolate bar without their kids pestering for a piece.

And yet people INSIST that in a few short years I'll be utterly bereft because I don't have a squalling meat potato to look after. That I couldn't possibly be happy when not cleaning up poo. Because women exist only to be help personnel and we totally get the biggest adrenaline rush ever out of nurturing others and smiling and being nice.

If it were the most wonderful thing ever...no one would need to hide in their bathroom to get a break from their own kids. People don't need to avoid things that are actually wonderful.

Dads Spend Seven Hours a Year Hiding from Their Families - in the Bathroom: Study

The study saw one-third of men surveyed admit to using the bathroom as a getaway "when their other half is 'nagging' them and to avoid the children"

people.com

 

[Voran]

Glad you enjoyed!

 

[Voran]

Also this is delicious. Looooove Tanya Tagaq.

 

[Jan D]

I just saw this article. I have some conflicting thoughts and opinions on it.

On the one hand...this is legitimate misandry. It's criticizing men for using bathrooms - as if only women have kidneys and men never need to pee.

On the other hand...it's not exactly a secret that people hide from their kids. Men work overtime to avoid their kids. Women admit to hiding in bathrooms to eat a chocolate bar without their kids pestering for a piece.

And yet people INSIST that in a few short years I'll be utterly bereft because I don't have a squalling meat potato to look after. That I couldn't possibly be happy when not cleaning up poo. Because women exist only to be help personnel and we totally get the biggest adrenaline rush ever out of nurturing others and smiling and being nice.

If it were the most wonderful thing ever...no one would need to hide in their bathroom to get a break from their own kids. People don't need to avoid things that are actually wonderful.

Dads Spend Seven Hours a Year Hiding from Their Families - in the Bathroom: Study

The study saw one-third of men surveyed admit to using the bathroom as a getaway "when their other half is 'nagging' them and to avoid the children"

people.com

Choosing to have - or not have - a child is a personal decision, and no one should be hassled for making a less-popular choice. For various reasons, I ended up child-free, and can honestly say I’ve never had a single regret. In fact, I have frequently been grateful. And lots of other women feel the same way. Like you, most of us experienced external pressure at some point regarding our child-free status. But we chose to walk our own road. The planet is already over-populated. I, for one, thank you for choosing to not add to the problem. People will never stop offering their opinions. But ultimately, it’s your life, Voran. And you have the right to live it authentically.

 

[Voran]

Choosing to have - or not have - a child is a personal decision, and no one should be hassled for making a less-popular choice. For various reasons, I ended up child-free, and can honestly say I’ve never had a single regret. In fact, I have frequently been grateful. And lots of other women feel the same way. Like you, most of us experienced external pressure at some point regarding our child-free status. But we chose to walk our own road. The planet is already over-populated. I, for one, thank you for choosing to not add to the problem. People will never stop offering their opinions. But ultimately, it’s your life, Voran. And you have the right to live it authentically.

Thanks for the kind words. I honestly wouldn't even consider giving in to peer pressure. I like my peace...my freedom...and my abdominal wall.

 

[Voran]

Still unsure what to do with my writing.

I have a lovehate relationship with writing because while I enjoy making fantasy worlds in my head I struggle translating them to words. I don't primarily think in words. I mostly think in little glyphs and visuals. This is handy for me in my private life because I can pack a lot of meaning into a little symbol or a light flash...but then I have to decipher those before communicating with other people.

It eats a lot of energy but then again...I don't really want to just leave my old texts lying around on Google Drive to be forgotten about when I'm someday elderly and I die.

 

[kkimura]

The written word and to a degree the spoken word are poor attempts to describe reality. Signing is a lot closer to reality. I’ve heard that you can’t lie when signing.

 

[Voran]

The written word and to a degree the spoken word are poor attempts to describe reality. Signing is a lot closer to reality. I’ve heard that you can’t lie when signing.

I could choose to sign the phrase 'I am six feet eight, I really love babies and children, and I always keep my desk tidy' if I wanted...but you're right it would be a lot more demanding than verbally telling a lie.

 

[kkimura]

I could choose to sign the phrase 'I am six feet eight, I really love babies and children, and I always keep my desk tidy' if I wanted...but you're right it would be a lot more demanding than verbally telling a lie.

There you go. As soon as you sign “I’m six foot eight” you’re caught (if you’re not six foot eight). Yes, it’s very demanding to sign a lie.

 

[Voran]

Love sign language but only ever got around to learning a few inappropriate terms lol. Might start keeping a small fingerspelling chart in my jacket pocket so if i ever need to communicate with a Deaf person I can at least have something to work with.

 

[Voran]

Tempted to try a new tuning on one of my ukes. I was thinking of buying a new uke to try it on but why spend money when I have a perfectly working concert I could retune? I want to try the E-A-Db-A tuning I use on my 8-stringer but re-entrant with just the 4 strings. I haven't tried a new tuning in a while and sometimes I just crave messing around with something new out of curiosity.

 

[Voran]

I don't know why but I get so irritated at this modern expression 'unpacking' things.

It's such a stupid twee term I hate even when someone I like and respect says it.

When someone starts talking about 'unpacking' things I want to open fire with a machine gun. No actually make it a nuclear warhead. Just f***ng burn everyone and everything. I HATE that saying with a violent bloody passion.

 

[Voran]

On a happier note my absolute favorite new hobby is rucking in the early hours of the morning.

My sleep cycle is trashed again but the upside is I get to go for hikes when it's still pitch black.

I absolutely love going for walks at o dark thirty. Everything seems so much more dramatic and so much more of an adventure when it's black as tar and the only light is the primal yellow of a few streetlamps.

I do wear high viz headgear of course. I'm not an idiot; I'd rather not be splattered all over the road if a car goes past.

I have a specialized headband with a blindingly bright torch inlaid in it. I wear that and a high viz yellow jacket.

 

[Voran]

It's 2.26am here and I'll probably go hike at 6am. I'd rather not risk waking people up at a ridiculous hour via the clang of the metal gate outside.