I feel cloistered—more than usual. I haven't really been updating this journal, truthfully because I don't have a lot to update about! I've gotten back into art, and I feel much faster at it, more confident, and more ambitious than ever. It's perhaps a little early to look back and start sharing 2024 plans, though I do have them, and those will be going up on Letters.

Beyond that, work, work, work. I went from a socially anxious mess when I started this job to proving myself in a big way to frankly being over it. It gives me $350 a week—and that's about it, really. Whenever the bottom drops out, I will be scheduling another flight to Wales and staying there for a fucking month this time. Maybe two! One entire sixth of 2024 spent next to my girlfriend would make my year. Caby says I should be looking into certifications and higher skilled tech jobs without the retail part of it—because the retail part really is the worst part. I'm autistic. I can handle it, but I'm really not built for it.

Beyond that, though, this holiday season is going a lot better than expected. I don't know if I mentioned this, but I got selected for jury duty back in November—and turns out they selected everyone they needed without me even needing to drive an hour away to get interviewed. Home is peaceful, unlike last year, work has laid off the Christmas music onslaught to a comfortable level, and all the Somnol Christmas presents are starting to make their way across the world right now. I'll have stuff mailed out soon too, hopefully by January. I just got back from a nice dinner paid for by work where I ate a big burger-fried egg monstrosity and drank a spiked cream soda with rum (work did not pay for the liquor, but that would've went hard). That was all delicious. Life is good!

I'll be heading back to (creative) work—watch the main somnolescent.net domain for that. For now, go read Savannah's really fuzzy fun 2023 retrospective over on Letters (more to follow from other group people and myself) and peek at this wonderful Setter I commissioned Caby to draw! I wanted a new wallpaper for the eMachines Box, and here's the wandering Setter fullbody that'll be on it >:3c