I’ve been looking at a few different examples of weeknotes for inspiration, and I rather like the bullet point format folks such as Rowan and Naty use. I’m going to give it a whirl, as weeknotes written in this way feel a little more distinct from traditional blog posts, which is what I’m going for here!
Life Stuff
- Dusted off the ol’ geetar yesterday and had an informal jam session with some friends of ours who also happen to play instruments.
- I haven’t jammed with anyone in over twenty years, so I was more than a little rusty. It was still great fun, however! Much-needed, as well, after an otherwise sombre week (I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to go into any of that here, beyond simply saying that cancer sucks).
- Received a great compliment at work the other day, which was nice.
- I work in a difficult, largely thankless role, so those rare moments when folks tell me I’m good at what I do make all the difference.
- The weather improved a bit, so I took the opportunity to spend a little more time training my elderly cat to walk on his leash in our backyard.
- He’s getting so good at it! He used to growl at me when I had to pick him up and take him back inside, but he’s now walking with me up to the door and only voicing minor complaints while being ushered in; I think he gets it now that yard walkies are not a one-and-done deal, and that he will get the chance to go outside again.
Shows I Watched
- My husband and I clued up the third season of Succession this week and moved on to the fourth (and sadly final) season.
- All I can say is … holy shit! I won’t spoil anything, but we watched the third episode of the fourth season last night, and I’m still in a state of shock.
- Succession is easily one of the greatest examples of a TV show that just gets unresolved childhood trauma. The Roy children so obviously loathe their father (for so many good reasons – he is a tyrannical, abusive, malignant narcissist), so it is utterly gut-wrenching to watch them grappling with the fact that they still love him, in spite of it all. Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, and Alan Ruck deserve all the accolades they’ve received for being able to portray that warring state of simultaneous love and loathing so convincingly, especially in that episode.
Books I Read
- Finished up A Wizard of Earthsea earlier this week.
- I thoroughly enjoyed the novel from beginning to end, and found Ged’s final pursuit of his “shadow” particularly thrilling. Looking forward to reading the rest of the Earthsea series!
- Started reading Real Tigers the other night, which is the third instalment in Mick Herron’s excellent Slough House series.
- Looks like this will be a Standish-focused novel, which is fine by me! I have so much affection for that character, frumpy outfits and all.
Games I Played
- Hate-finished Alan Wake earlier this week.
- As I mentioned in my last weeknote, I found the gameplay clunky, boring, and way too frustrating. The story itself was interesting and delightfully campy at points, but that is the only thing the game has going for it, in my opinion. It was such a relief to see those closing credits.
- Hopefully Alan Wake 2 will be a lot better…
- Also started and finished Carrion on my Mac Mini, which was a breath of fresh air, by comparison. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a quick, inexpensive game to play! It’s available on pretty much every modern gaming platform.
- Carrion is described as a “reverse horror” game, as you are the horrifying, unstoppable monster (it’s not actually scary, though, so fret not if horror games aren’t your thing). I adored the gory pixel art and excellent sound design. The gameplay mechanics were also extremely engaging, fun, and intuitive on mouse and keyboard.
- Got lost for a long time between the Uranium Mines and the Military Junkyard, which was a little frustrating, but pushing on and figuring out the right way forward without a walkthrough was so rewarding in the end. The game is a Metroidvania, so getting lost and having to backtrack is all a part of it, but just be aware that you may find it a struggle at times if you’re as directionally challenged as I am. 🙂