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elizabeth's comments
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elizabeth  ·  295 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: June 7, 2023

I think the perception gap I need to close is between my professionalism and competence.

elizabeth  ·  322 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: May 10, 2023

Flying home on Saturday! I’m counting the days now, miss my friends and lover and home and I’m running out of money. I’m hoping this trip will have a lasting impact on my resilience - the ability to persevere through discomfort. It’s not quite the same as waking up at 6am to bike 10h but applying for jobs is going to be an uncomfortable grind I’m gearing for.

It’s good to be at the point where I’m tired of walking around exploring sights. Now I’m aching to work and be productive making things and projects.

elizabeth  ·  385 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: March 8, 2023

First proper day of bike touring in Taiwan and I’m spent. We’re going about half the speed we hoped for or what is displayed on maps. So 5.5h turned into a 12h day (with stops and food). It’s gonna be brutal, but I still think it’s feasible. Maybe my sore body will disagree tomorrow. I guess we underestimated the difficulty of the trip. And I don’t remember last time I actually seriously exercised. The good thing is that Taiwan is the most convenient place ever. 711s with food and bathrooms about every 20 mins, and we can take an emergency train back anytime. So we’ll keep going and hopefully make better time by the end of it.

Got a good fortune at the temple that was very positive - that my life is on the “up and up”. I didn’t think it meant hills!

elizabeth  ·  433 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 18, 2023

Overall a good week! Spent a few days back at home to help feed my little niece at night so my sister could get some sleep. Re-wrote my cv and learning about what it takes to make the career switch, and if it’s something that will actually fit my profile. Went to see an art expo with my ex - building back the friendship slowly. I need to let go of some worries Ive been carrying about his financial situation and stuff, as it’s not really my problem anymore. It’s hard to turn it off sometimes but it’s getting easier. It’s also getting easier to have a positive outlook on what this year will bring. Excited for the upcoming travels, new opportunities and who knows what other surprises. And sober January is still on, I’m proud of myself for not caving! Finally feels like I’ve unstuck mentally a little after all the overwhelming changes in 2022.

elizabeth  ·  448 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 4, 2023

oufff this new year started as a complete mess. got drunk and my memories goes from talking and laughing with my friends to literally sobbing on the bed about my breakup with my ex consoling me. I don't even remember what triggered it. It's been 4 months since our breakup, shit... (how long does it take to move on? it's my first breakup ever so I'm not too sure what to expect)

Then my new friend drove me home and i fell asleep with my lover in my bed. I wake up and she rage quit my place to drive 5h back home, texting me about how i'm selfish and unwelcoming and ungrateful. After I hosted her for 4 days at my place with her dog and invited her along to all my new years plans, including to my parents house. A complete text freakout demanding apologies and shit for vague accusations of hurt feelings. I've known her for less than a year. Fucking flipped a switch so fast i got whiplash. It's a bit annoying, but she lives in another city and I told her it's best we take some distance. No regrets on that front, but it added on to an already rough morning. And then my lover and one of his main poly partner break up a few days later over some insecurities - that he assures me have nothing to do with me but I have some reservations.

So, i've stopped drinking. It's been 5 days now, which is more than I can remember for a loooong time. I'll aim making it to a full week and if that works out i'll do a full month. Will limit my drinking to places with amazing views on my upcoming trip to Asia. Cause I used to really have fun drinking and now I most often than not turn into a crying mess. It's no fun for either me or my friends. I need to recalibrate so it becomes enhancement and not escapism.

My energy levels and mood have been in the dumps too, without routine and structure in the dark winter months. Booked a sober weekend with friends at the cabin cooking games and playing food - hopefully that helps! I just have this itch to be creative and productive and joyful but i can't find my arms. Thank god for my loving and supportive and thoughtful friends and family. It's the best thing I have in my life right now and I won't take it for granted.

elizabeth  ·  463 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: December 21, 2022

Been dating around a little for the first time in my life, and holy hell are dating apps terrible. Maybe I'm bad at picking people, but I've been on 3 dates so far and they all were a waste of time. I think I'm gonna give up on that for the time being.

My other arrangements are decidedly strange, but being out of a 10 year relationship it fits the bill for me because I don't want to get into anything serious for at a minimum one year. Probably more. So i'm seeing people in poly/open relationships that I know - where we have great chemistry and have fun and deep times together, while knowing it's not going to amount to anything serious long term. I joke around telling one of my lovers that he might be poly but i'm just single. In part because I also don't want to get into the partner pandering and reassuring the whole "kitchen table (?)" model entails. I got no energy to manage other people's relations. I've seen these types of relationships all around me for many years now, and while I see plenty of people doing it well and enjoying it, I'm just not built for that and would much prefer a monogamous arrangement in the long run. So somehow seeing "taken" people seems safer because there are less chances of them catching feelings and fucking shit up.

In a way, slowly opening up our relationship 6 years in with my ex was a positive experience when we did. We had a fun time at the start. But with time I think it also blinded me to the moment it started going downhill and passed a point of no-return. We probably never would have stayed together anyway, but our downfall would have happened quicker otherwise. I'm still undecided if it was a good thing because it allowed us to explore a different model, from a comfortable trusting place. Or if it was a waste of time that allowed us to drag on something that was already dead. I guess hindsight is 20/20 but I'm not far enough away to see clearly just yet.

elizabeth  ·  507 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: November 2, 2022

My sister had a baby! Can’t wait to meet baby Alice. I just landed in Mexico City, hoping for a smooth trip :)

elizabeth  ·  657 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: June 8, 2022

Yeah, spent a summer bumming around the east coast taking pictures of rocks. My favorite city turned out to be Philly. Brooklyn is cool and all, but if I’d move to build a life anywhere in the east it would be Philly no contest. Was also pleasantly surprised by St-Louis. But your judgement of a city will always be tainted by who you hung out with when you were there first, and it’s a hard to undo first impression. I have totally biased views of cities all over the world - go make your own misjudgments based on 72h in a city and get into arguments with other travelers about it. Reach out to anyone you might tangentially know, Couchsurf, swing by my place if you’re near Montreal.

I’ve never explored middle America or the north east. There seems to be some really dope spots out there!

I have many friends that have been nomads for years, and I think there are definitely vibes to a city, and places that will fit your own vibe better than others. Everywhere has flaws, you just need to find a place with flaws you can live with.

You have the friend and the opportunity, why not also just move to Austin for a 6 month stint. Moving is daunting - if you can do it once with the company of a friend, doing it again will be easier. Look at it as an exchange semester abroad. Get a job at a game shop to see how it runs from the inside.

elizabeth  ·  737 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Signs of Lviv

Yup, good translations confirmed.

It's less puns, that cultural context people could be missing - like the whole "in" and "on" Ukraine semantic difference, where people still say "on" Ukraine in Russian (Like when people say "the Ukraine" in english) - like it was grammatically correct during the soviet union. Since it became an independent country, it's an offensive way to refer to the country that denies it's sovereignty

elizabeth  ·  785 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: February 2, 2022

Leaving to Mexico tomorrow! If you have off the beaten track suggestions around Sayulita, Guadalajara or MX city, let me know!

Got a rough plan and some ideas, but I like to leave it open to play it by ear a little. My partner wants to spend the first few day at the beach, so I might take a one day class and try out scuba diving for the first time to keep occupied!

It will be a good time to reflect on my work situation, I'm quite torn about it at the moment. It's been an emotional roller coaster since I've started and it's hard to get the perspective on wether it's the work, the environment, my personal mindset at the moment or my incompatibility with work in general. Time away might help me see it clearer. I feel I've only been sticking it out lately because I don't want to let down the project and my colleagues and because I don't have a more appealing alternative.

But then the funk has been omnipresent. Not feeling the vibe with friends either. It's easy to blame it on the fact that i'm unhappy at work and it's permeating everything - but it could also be a wider feeling shitty thing that won't be solved by switching occupation. Damn i need some perspective right now...

One good thing has been my newest fling with a super caring chill dude. Where things are simple and we're just having good times together without any complicated bullshit. It's a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from everything else.

elizabeth  ·  795 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 19, 2022

Booked a 3 week vacation to Mexico. Hopefully it will turn around my mood and dissatisfaction with the workplace environment at the moment. I like the work, but the seasonal funk coupled with a toxic environment has pushed it to the point I was crying on the metro home most days and talking myself out of up and leaving every morning.

The dude I can’t stand in the project has his little workshop right outside the office door. Which means he’s always eavesdropping and butting in with opinions on shit that doesn’t concern him. Or just walks in Willy nilly to tell us about how he hates going to Michael Coors while I’m trying to get shit done. And I’ve been too wiped to have a productive confrontation. Having booked some flights, I have newfound energy and optimism. Maybe I’ll tell him to fuck off and leave him the 3 weeks I’m away to recover. Because any confrontation will only lead to a pissy attitude and no real improvement from what I’ve previously seen. Would love to not be around for that bit.

My boss being a depressed insomniac and going through a hard breakup has not helped the general office mood. Especially since I’ve told him he’s been a shitty friend and we’re on a strictly professional interaction type of relationship at the moment where we don’t even ask each other about our weekends. It sucks, but I’ve told myself I won’t invest any efforts in repairing that friendship because I’ve tried and failed too many times before. He’s not a bad person, but I feel I’ve been dragged into some emotional turmoil and suffered some collateral damage from the aforementioned breakup, so I had to step away until things settle (if ever).

Can’t wait to eat some tacos.

elizabeth  ·  831 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: EVERYTHING WILL FINALLY BE GOOD AGAIN

A recreation of this tradition has actually caused a massive controversy at the Boston Burn regional, including some event board resignations. Talking about “the goat” is still taboo in some circles I hear. Glad to see it on fire 🔥 There is something so visceral and enjoyable about big scale fires for me, even before I got into the burn scene. It’s literally my favorite thing.

elizabeth  ·  1065 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: April 28, 2021

Loving our little camper-trailer build! It's a little more fucked than expected, with 2 rotten corners we had to gut and replace, but for a 500$ buy I can't complain too much. I think we've already invested as much into in, and there are still more things to buy. I'm happy we're past the "destroying" stage and starting building. Learning a lot, it's challenging but small enough to be the perfect weekend occupation. But next week we need to help my sister move, and my boyfriend's mom the week after that. I need to find a way to carve out some time to advance the camper! I really can't wait to have our little private space in the woods. It's going to be really simple - a massive king sized bed with storage underneath and a little table with benches on the other side.

Had a stressful week last week, with an email server migration I lead at work being a mess (I suspect because our original hosting screwed up some of it, but i'm not technically knowledgeable enough to be certain). After a week of talking to support and making tests and adjustments, things are mostly settled now. Preparing for 2 board meetings and having a side gig to manage at the same time made it for a hard week. It's been a while since I had trouble falling asleep because my brain keeps circling to-dos and writing emails for the next day. But I feel it's mostly behind me know and I've re-gained control of my to-do list.

I've finished reading "Range" the other day - I think it got on my list from a mention on Hubski and it was pretty good. Maybe because it reassured me in my biases and life-decisions. I've started on "Antifragile" and i'm enjoying it so far. The writing is really disjointed, and it doesn't feel like the cookie-cutter books in the genre. I enjoy it for the style, even if it's a bit over the top at times and I'm not on board with all the arguments. What I didn't realize getting into it was that is was part of a book series. And that a previous book in the series he keeps referencing is called "The Black Swan". It's all about general life philosophy or some shit, so I was really confused what it had to do with that Natalie Portman movie, until I realized it was a different black swan.

elizabeth  ·  1085 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski April 7th 2021

Gottem back this morning, it’s negative! And while I was feeling quite shitty yesterday, today I just have a mild sore throat. My mom said its probably allergies. Crisis averted!

elizabeth  ·  1093 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Hubski Virtual Meetup No. 9

I'll try to make it! Please add me to the shoutlist :)

elizabeth  ·  1095 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I Like That The Boat Is Stuck

I thought this was going to turn into lesbian erotica. But magic works too!

elizabeth  ·  1097 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post:

My french buddies always smuggle in cheese and meats - by mail and in luggages. My favorite thing is my friend walking around a party with a cheese board, whispering "saucisson illegal? ;)" to everybody.

elizabeth  ·  1105 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: March 17, 2021

Great news - my Dad got vaccinated yesterday! Our province is at 10% of the population vaccinated, older folks first. With spring coming and vaccination schedules ramping up, there is a hopeful mood in the air.

I've been looking for a rug for the past few months. And as usual, the things I want are way over my budget and the things that are in my budget I don't like. But I might have finally found something on facebook marketplace - going to check it out tonight! Fingers crossed it looks good in person, but my preliminary photoshop indicates it should be good. I've been getting into home decorating more and more recently, and I'm really wanting to have a funky, original looking place. I'm sick and tired of IKEA interiors, and hope to invest in some nice furniture and art pieces in the coming years.

My new job is going well so far. I feel like I've already helped move some projects along, that have been on standby due to lack to attention/time for a long time. Created the yearly survey of the makerspace members, moved the wiki onto notion, cleaned up the website backend and working on making a theme switch and some new content. Feeling super productive, which I haven't felt in a while. It's just a nice feeling to be crushing a to-do list. My favorite work assignment so-far has been going to a craft beer store to spend 50$ in craft brews for the guy who volunteers to run our yearly General Assembly :)

elizabeth  ·  1128 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: February 24, 2021

Might have been me! I remember sticking a few stickers in NOLA. Never been to Dooky Chase, but we had some fried chicken at Willie Mae's around the corner.

elizabeth  ·  1145 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 420th Weekly "Share Some Music You've Been Into Lately"

Gocchu with some Ukrainian and Russian reggae:

elizabeth  ·  1156 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 27, 2021

Had a strange experience today, where i had to do a job interview in front of a bunch of my friends.

Strange because I probably have gone through 4-5 interviews in my whole life. And it's weird to be be talking to my buddies in this formal corporate speak about where i see myself in 10 years. But hopefully it's not for nothing, it's a project i'd like to be involved in and the formalities of a board is necessary.

Recent events have added a layer a complexity in my relationship with my potential future boss, but I'm confident it's no big deal. It just means we need to have a conversation - and having adult conversations about ambiguous things is part of my yearly theme of maturity. It's a good year I think for me to "grow up" in all the right ways, and none of the bad ways. Turn the page on immature patterns, accept more responsibility. I was sad about getting older earlier, because I felt I was leaving behind a lot of my old thoughts, wants, world views and ambitions. But the opportunity of embracing new things is here :)

elizabeth  ·  1163 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 20, 2021

My life has become a combination of sports and renovations.

A good friend is moving and I'm helping him out with some apartment painting. I have more friends moving in February, and I told them I'll help them paint too. I'm also removing an ugly textured wall in my Dad's new apartment purchase this week - I've never done it before but I've watched a youtube video about and it seems easy, just lots of steps. I think the annoying part is behind me, I spent 5h sanding yesterday so I can put the first layer of gypse on today.

In the sports part of my life, winter sports are the only activity that are not affected too much by the pandemic. I've Ice skated with friends and realized I'm not too good compared to my hockey playing buddies. I think I'll attempt to improve this year, add a couple moves to my repertoire. i'm pretty stable and can go fast, but my braking is shoddy and I can't do any of the backwards stuff. Already getting better at turning where you put a foot in front of the other. There was a big snowfall this weekend, and we drove up north to a friends cabin. Went cross country skiing, and just walked around. It was really beautiful, I love the pine forest there. We've been going to this spot for 8 years, and never explored the area like we did this year! I want to go back later this year and ski until I find the rapids, maybe 10km north. Photo does not do it justice at all:

Also went snowboarding on Monday and the conditions were awesome. The snowfall provided a good coverage, and I caught amazing sunny views of the mountain.

I've also picked up this book "Trick Mirror" that consists of essays about today's world, centered around topics of social media, feminism, capitalism and such and it's been not too bad so far. It's not the kind of book that I expect to age well, and it's not extremely insightful but it's nice to see in writing some thoughts I've been having packaged in a fun to read way. The essay I read last night had a lot about the success of Barre classes, a world I was unaware of somehow. Maybe this is a first step of breaking my curse of choosing only terrible books to read in the past few months.

elizabeth  ·  1170 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What books are you reading hubski?

I don't remember how I ended up there but somehow I started listening to the Steppenwolf audiobook recently. It's some depressing middle aged incel bullshit so far. I seem to be really bad a picking books lately, I don't think I've finished one in a while.

I think the last book I enjoyed was "Educated: a memoir" about this lady that grew up in a family of religious nutcases.

Welcome! There are many musicians around these parts :) I'm not one of them, but your app idea seems cool.

elizabeth  ·  1204 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 10th Anniversary Hubski Meetup Is On and

:) Missed the yearly desert excursion...

I had the Hubski meet on my calendar, but had a safe occasion to see a few IRL friends and that took priority since it's so rare these times. I'll try to catch the next meetup!

elizabeth  ·  1261 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 14, 2020

Yes! bouldering is super fun, and accessible. I wish I had a gym nearby that was close enough to justify getting a membership. I never done too much of it, but the first few months, you improve like crazy and it's awesome.

elizabeth  ·  1282 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: September 23, 2020

Living a busy life of working on that plastic non-profit, going out to my friend's cabin building it out to be this epic hangout spot. Latest addition is the floating bar:

Made a habanero hot sauce today, tried this weird wax-ironing techinque to make art with my mom and cleaned a bunch in the house. Tonight is thai food dinner with a friend, and then we're going to watch a documentary about a local makerspace. Productive, full and fun day just like i love them.

elizabeth  ·  1307 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Wait, are we doing it wrong? [Potential major Hubski experiment]

    I might be more thoughtful about them

while i'm all about thoughtfulness, i feel we're already pretty good. raising the bar even more will have the opposite effect of intimidating new users. That's actually why i've been spending lots of time on the chat. With the removed pressure of always being super insighful, I can have more fun, casual, fresh chats with yall internet buddies.

elizabeth  ·  1324 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: August 12, 2020

I've had a glorious day (and a glorious week now that I think about it).

Weather was great today, I've been in a such a good mood it's almost euphoric. Went to work in our new free office, in another neighbourhood and it reminded me how much I like it here in Montreal. Finally got the banking stuff for our non-profit unstuck - so we can now send and receive payments online! I feel we're finally getting somewhere with organizing/cleaning the mess the basement was. My mother's birthday last Monday was awesome, loving, heartfelt and without any family drama! Drove there after a 3 day reunion weekend with the epic crew of the first (and only) festival we did this year, back in February in Florida. Will try to surf this wave of good vibes as long as it lasts, it's like there is this perfect balance between fun and productivity right now :) Here's to enjoying it before life throws in the next wrench!

    After their study was published in 1998, tourists located the stone circle by plucking the latitude and longitude from the research paper. Soon, visitors were defacing the megaliths and standing up nearby stones that changed the site’s alignment.

    “They ended up messing up the area, which had been pristine for 5,000 years,” Malville says.

Fuck people! But great article - it's funny how reading it reminded me of the one I posted about the Polynesians recently, and then they mention them a few paragraphs later.

    There was no north star at the time, so the people navigated using bright stars and the circular motion of the heavens.

This was news to me, I had to google that because the thought of "important" stars changing significantly seemed so unlikely to me, in the small scale we have experienced humanity. Looks like something changed in earth's alignment so that the North Star now appears brighter?