Sunny Monday

Mar. 2nd, 2026 09:14 pm
kalloway: (GSMSV P-Zaku)
[personal profile] kalloway
The weekend was honestly nice.

Sunday was my mother's birthday and we surprised her after breakfast with flowers, cake, cookies, and her actual gift (socks! she asked for socks!) and she seemed really happy. I peeked out the doorwall in the living room and the snowdrops were up and blooming! (No sign of the crocuses yet, but none of us were expecting the snowdrops and those are always first.)

Saturday's nerd show was also good. If I could change one thing, it'd be moving the hours from 11-4 to, like, 9-2 or something. Big afternoon die-off.

It was sunny earlier, I had the energy to get quite a few chores done (or at least worked on) and got the all-fi set up. A few weeks back, I got about fifteen notices that the phone company is discontinuing landline service to this area. So my options were try their device that I assume uses the cellular network (yes I know that's not really what it is anymore, but for description's sake here) or go to the reliable and fast and absolutely miserable to deal with cable company. Their device, the 'all-fi', which sounds like a cult, has a free seven day trial to see if it'll work/have a signal so I finally got it and set it up. Unexpectedly, quite literally unexpectedly, I have a good signal and internet that's probably a hundred times faster than previous (not an exaggeration). I'm going to keep adding devices as I only have two tablets connected right now, but I think this is going to work out okay. (And the dire cable company is still always an option.) The set-up was obnoxious (an app that had to go on a phone, not a tablet) and I haven't entirely ruled out ornamental hermitude, but... so far so good.

Built: one small lotus flower brick kit from the nerd show, black Levinix, white Iglight (getting lots of customization, lol), dorky Zeta Gundam 'marble' shooter.

I'd also registered for CitrusCon but I really didn't do much with it because I was busy with the nerd show and also just... didn't really enjoy trying to communicate on the discord. Textual equivalency of being in a room with a thousand people yelling to each other.

Update~

Mar. 1st, 2026 07:47 pm
kalloway: (TF Decepticon Cheer)
[personal profile] kalloway
The little nerd show was good. Never really busy, but steady-ish. Mostly a Pokemon/card-heavy group, didn't move any of my animanga stuff, but sold a few TFs and some random other things. Sold video games, and at the end another vendor offered me half of what I had marked on my 'expensive' PS1 games which was still way more than double? triple? what I'd paid and I said "sure!" because, like, they are out of my sale box and I have cash in hand. Next show is in April and I suppose I'll be best served by picking out more games that I'm never going to play. (Also the vendor beside us kept coming over and looking at a couple of random PSP games but said he hadn't done well enough to justify buying them. He had Pokemon plushies and I said I'd trade for a couple of cool critters. I got a Pikachu and some sort of mushroom with tentacles that made me laugh.)

It's March, so I have communities to do things with and promote in general... I have a lot of stuff to do in general. While it is still chilly at the moment, the end of the week is supposed to be impressively warm and I will be able to hopefully do a quick garage-clean. Yay!

I suppose this week, if it's as quiet as it's looking like it might be, I can work on my Redacted III contest entry. That should be easy-ish to do? Hopefully? Just need to find momentum...

As I Shuffle Ever Closer

Feb. 28th, 2026 07:35 am
kalloway: (WF Olivia)
[personal profile] kalloway
I feel like I'm having more and more days where I would like to wander off and become an ornamental hermit.

That is probably also a post on its own... This is, thus far, a weekend of feeling very old/turning to dust and blowing away, and general enshittification annoyances.

Beyond that, I have finished the Destiny Astray as far as I'm going to for now. Absolute nightmare, would build again in an instant. Though I suppose I'd much prefer to be able to afford the ridiculously difficult-to-get official version of the kit and build that. (I remain tickled that the not-actually-wrong translated name of the bootleg kit translated back as Heresy of Fate. So I suppose I should be calling it that.)

I will have to get some photos posted because while building it absolutely sucked, it looks gorgeous and absolutely passes the two-foot rule.

I am going to make good on my promise to build a bunch of 30MM kits for the next little bit...

There are no fewer than four gunpla/plamo contests with deadlines in March. One of which I am definitely committed to (Redacted III), another I strongly intend to do (30ML), and the others are if I have a brilliant and fast idea that I can knock out quickly and easily.

I have a lot of other projects I need to get (back) to, but at this point I just need to get myself together to get to the nerd show today and do that. One thing at a time...

(Please go vote in my poll if you haven't.)
lebateleur: Ukiyo-e image of Japanese woman reading (TWIB)
[personal profile] lebateleur
I didn't finish anything over the past seven days, due to a combination of late days at work, a bunch of after-work obligations, and heroic attempts to complete the crosswords in two collections I own with an eye to sending them to the recycling center once I do.

What I Finished Reading This Week

Nothing.


What I Am Currently Reading

Of Dice and Men – David Ewalt
I've got one chapter to go before I finish.

A Fate Inked in Blood – Danielle Jensen
I read another 50 pages this week.

When the Tides Held the Moon - Vanessa Vida Kelley
This novel's premise is intriguing, but boy does Vida Kelley love their adjectives.


What I’m Reading Next

I acquired no new books this week.


これで以上です。

It's (Not) A Gundam!

Feb. 24th, 2026 07:36 am
kalloway: (Lucifer 13 - KoG pimp)
[personal profile] kalloway
Help me pick my next* build! (*Well, I have the Destiny Astray to finish, whatever I'm making for 30ML Day, the other contest, and possibly some other small decompression builds. Which is fine, it means I can leave this poll open for a bit.)

These kits are all not Gundams, nor are they made by Bandai. There's a frustrating habit in the hobby, both by the folks who build the kits and the folks selling them, to lump all these kits under "Third Party", "Indie Plamo", or just "ChinaPla" even though not all of the makers are Chinese. I haven't decided on a preferred term, but I'm leaning towards just listing the maker or if I need to refer to a larger whole, "Other Kits" or "Non-Bandai".

Poll #34288 It's (Not) A Gundam!
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 13


Which Non-Bandai Kit Should I Build Next?

View Answers

Blue Estailev (Orange Cat/Wave)
4 (30.8%)

Oberon (Mecha Core Industry)
4 (30.8%)

Baphomet Demon Phantom (Cang Toys)
2 (15.4%)

Fire Lord (SNAA)
1 (7.7%)

Apocalypse (Vientiane Fusion)
0 (0.0%)

Mandala (CaesarWorks)
0 (0.0%)

Yunsheng Y-20 (Xiwanshe)
1 (7.7%)

Genesis (Infinite Dimension)
1 (7.7%)

Gus (ZZZA)
1 (7.7%)

Valkyrie (Eddas)
3 (23.1%)

Edelstein II (Moderoid/Good Smile)
2 (15.4%)

Cannon Shadow (Soul Vogue)
1 (7.7%)

Oracle (Zao Workshop)
3 (23.1%)

Star Eternal (Iron Toys)
0 (0.0%)

Frame Arms W2 Spectre:RE (Kotobukiya)
0 (0.0%)



More info on each kit + links to listings/pictures )

Anyway, there's lots more conversation about non-Bandai and non-Gundam kits to be had, but here's a start. ^_^

[Feb-23-2026]

Feb. 23rd, 2026 10:36 am
arknes: Meta Golding, a beautiful medium-skinned black woman with wavy loose curls, smiling/smirking lips closed, slightly moving in place. Captioned: 'babygirl.' (Default)
[personal profile] arknes
 it's like i blink and the year's gone by again. i suppose i should reach out, shouldn't i? happy birthday, big brother. life is going good, and while i haven't... well, became truly independent, i am getting there. i have insurance on my car... i've been walking to stores myself. i guess ill ride the bus by myself soon. scary thoughts... hahaha. but im getting there. im very thankful to have my bf, and i really need to lay off caffeinated beverages. 

i hate not working, it makes me actually sewerslidal,,, it's the worst experience. i like having goals, doing manual work -- it's good to feel good. i just need to find work with more meaning! i have a cna course in 3 weeks, and i'll get hired (hopefully!!) as a cna after that. 

good news! im working on a mobile port of an otome game that went offline.. and im very happy to say that it's definitely got progress. it looks GOOD for what it is, so far.

my goal is getting it done by the end of the year. and im doing good this semester! 

i WILL be able to integrate work and school without being chronic exhausted. i am CAPABLE! 

i really oughta hang out more w my homegirl. time w her is cool, time with my brother is cool. life is cool. 

keep it cool cool :))

(no subject)

Feb. 21st, 2026 12:19 am
kalloway: (Lucifer 8 RoB)
[personal profile] kalloway
On Wednesday, my father pulled up a flyer on Facebook for a nerd-show next weekend and incredibly nearby. Even though I have a fairly strict no-winter-shows rule because, uh, weather, this is close enough and cheap enough that I figured if I get a table and nothing comes of it, I at least got to hang out with other nerds for a few hours. Anyway, got a table, lol, and will spend some of this weekend/coming week sorting out some stuff to take. This looks like it might become ~monthly and if it takes off and I can maintain a table, it'll really help the clear-out. (The only other table I have booked this year is Semmex and that's not a personal table. I also don't want to spend every weekend this year trying to sell my stuff but I really do need to do the cleanout. Blrgh. Blrrrrgh.)

Finished up the KO GM and it's... okay. Some parts sucked to build but overall it's fine. I was thinking he needed a friend and was looking up other GMs and then suddenly remembered maybe I had one in the back of a cabinet? Sure enough... It is a very old HGUC kit and the nubs have yellowed like I've seen on a lot of old Gundam Wing kits. Since this GM has probably been in the back of the cabinet since being built, I can only assume it's age + plastic quality. Anyway, the GMs can be slightly messy friends, lol.

Going to work on the Destiny Astray today and maybe get the body done this weekend? I'm hopeful. IDK what my next kit will be but it will be Bandai so it at least will go together without extensive modification and/or pain.
lebateleur: Ukiyo-e image of Japanese woman reading (TWIB)
[personal profile] lebateleur
A short entry for today since I got home late from work and have to scramble to get to the next thing. Anyway, here's what I read over the last six days:

What I Finished Reading This Week

Lake of Souls - Ann Leckie
This is an excellent book (and I say this as someone who vastly prefers novels to short stories). Lake of Souls has three sections: stand-alone short stories, stories in the Imperial Radch universe, and stories in the Raven Tower universe, and they're all excellent. I enjoyed all but one of the stand-alone stories (and the sole story I didn't like, I didn't enjoy only because it's a bit of a downer. But it's also only 1.5 pages long, so hey). I'd read two of the three Imperial Radch stories prior to this anthology's publication and enjoyed them again here (I won't spoil "She Commands Me And I Obey" but IYKYK...and it's good.) The third, new-to-me story was my least favorite of the bunch, but only because it's so obviously a reskinned version of a standard folktale that didn't add much to the Radch universe or benefit from having Radch elements introduced to it. I was surprised by how much I liked the Raven Tower stories; in fact, I liked many of them more than the novel itself. The Raven Tower worldbuilding constraints just work so well in a short story format. And throughout all three sections, Leckie says a ton of incisive and so-sharp-you-won't-know-you're-cut-and-bleeding things to say about gender. This book was delightful and I will absolutely read it again.


What I Am Currently Reading

A Fate Inked in Blood – Danielle Jensen
I'm only about 50 pages into it but enjoying things so far.

The Laws of Brainjo – Josh Turknett
I'll have this one finished by next week.


What I’m Reading Next

I acquired no new books this week.


これで以上です。
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