@adactio I didn't bring it up at the time, but I was also very, very aware of those two plot directions, and I very much did not love them.

@aegir Yeah. 😕 I know they're strapped for cash, but it's pretty shocking for them to ask me to essentially help make myself obsolete after all these years. I guess this is just the way things are now.

This week, one of my oldest and best clients ("best" not in terms of the amount of work I get from them - which generally isn't very much - but in terms of how important I think they are and how much they mean to me) told me they're planning to translate their new website into English using machine translation, and would I kindly personally translate a glossary they could use as the basis for this?

I can't even muster much anger at this point, just sad disappointment. Very sad.

(Also, obviously, I said no.)

@shivers She really is a great coach - she's been doing this a long time and she's a hugely accomplished swimmer herself (Channel solo, two-way relays, I don't even know what else), so she knows what goes into it, and what it can take out of you. I'm so lucky!

@aegir Aw, thank you, Aegir - now you, too, get to experience the terror! 😂 Yeah, I had to say something. It was one of those situations where I knew I couldn't "just push through" - it's gonna take a bit more work than that. Even MORE swimming! 😭😂

@dhwthompson Thank you for saying that! 🥹 I didn't feel very brave over the weekend, but in hindsight I think I did okay.

So, the swim training camp in Ramsgate was...not great. Or maybe it was great, because it made me realize that I'm not actually ready for the Channel yet, and that's okay:

https://wordridden.com/post/1058

@jenschuetz Oh, I’m so so sorry 💙💙💙💙

Day one of Channel swimming training camp in Ramsgate, and dear god what have I gotten myself into? What better way to spend a bank holiday weekend than sitting on a rocking boat, exhausted, freezing, wet, reeking of algae, wailing “I want to go home!”

It got slightly better after that, but not by much. And there’s still two days to go. 😭😭😭😭😭😭

@shivers Thank you! The prep is getting serious now, which is scary, but I'm really trying to enjoy the process too. Good luck with your swims this summer!

@orbific It's getting frighteningly real! 😂 Swimming has pretty much become my job these days...

Remember how I mentioned back in November that I'm going to swim the English Channel with a relay team in August? Well, that's just four(!) months away. This is really happening. 😱

My team is raising money for Mind, a UK mental health charity, and all donations are much appreciated!

https://www.justgiving.com/page/jitterbugs2025

Journal: Paying it forward

Like something I’ve written? You can thank me by helping foster the next generation of Irish traditional musicians.

🔗https://adactio.com/journal/21846

We just finished re-watching the first season of Andor in advance of the imminent second season (squee!), and it's just. so. good. There's so much detailed plot and characterization packed in there, there are no episodes where the show is just spinning its wheels for no apparent reason (unlike literally every other series these days), the performances are excellent across the board, and the story/message is more relevant than ever. Simply outstanding television (that just happens to be set in the Star Wars universe).

@orbific @adactio That's so funny, I was just thinking about this recently! It feels like a million years ago, a totally different world...

@jenschuetz That's gorgeous! I love mosaic knitting too, it's like magic. Wrangling multiple strands of yarn at once is not relaxing for me, but mosaic knitting is sheer pleasure.

Note to self: never delude yourself into thinking that assembling even the smallest piece of flat-pack furniture will take anything less than (what seems like) a lifetime 😩

Wearing varifocals for the first time, and I feel like a pigeon bobbing and weaving my head in order to see anything not directly in front of me 😭

On the plus side, I don’t have to take off my glasses to see my phone anymore (I only have to angle my head juuuussst right)

Proust can keep his madeleines—I've got a pot of meatballs and tomato sauce burbling away on the stove, and oh my gosh, I'm eight years old again.

@beep I'm so very sorry, Ethan. Your principles are such a credit to you, and I'm proud to count you as a friend 💜