Odds and Ends

[extrapenguin]

I found a posting meme thing via fictional_fans that I might attempt!

In real life:
Summer, my least favorite season, has arrived. I hate the heat. It was +30°C already. A friend of mine came to visit and we wandered around a bit. We mostly got eaten by mosquitoes. He was interested in what I do during my free time nowadays (since he's also suddenly magically acquired more free time), so I mentioned fandom, and he asked which ones. I copped to Guardian and sent him the link to the YouTube playlist. *g* Let's see what his thoughts are, if any. He's been warned on the varying quality of the subtitles, and I told him it's 40 45-min episodes of science fiction, but nothing else, since I want him to go in with an open mind and form his own conclusions.

During that, we found the nearest beach and also came across a Thai fast food restaurant near it. I didn't have my wallet with me so I didn't have the chance to try it, but I'll have to go there some day.

In fandom:
I posted the penultimate chapter of From Ashes of Sunlight! Wei Wuxian has gotten together with [SPOILERS] and a bunch of people are happy at how it turned out. I still have a few more Chekhov's guns to fire, but that's what next chapter is for. Even with one chapter missing, it is 38k and the longest thing I've ever written. Next chapter will turn it into a novel!

In my other fandom, spaceship rental features Zhao Yunlan having dramatic emotional whiplash and Shen Wei having a silent internal crisis. This will definitely be over 20k; it might be 30k when it's done. (Currently I have 7k of extremely nonlinearly written stuff.) I hope it won't be too long so that I can get it done at some point! *g*

Comments

[firestar]

My sympathies for the weather. D: While summer has arrived in the UK I don't think it's gone over the mid-20s where I am and once it starts getting into the high 20s I'm just like NOOOOOOOO. D:

I'm cackling at the spaceship rental wordcount estimates, but in the *nicest possible way*, I swear. XD

[jo_lasalle]

We installed our third aircon unit two days ago so now all the rooms are useable even in the summer. The sudden 30°C were GAAAH.

The meme looks interesting! I'm probably too mono-fannish for it but I'd read it!

[extrapenguin]

I live in rental flats I'm not even allowed to drill holes in the walls of. :( Fortunately, next week looks to be 20°C and below, so my 23°C apartment can be cooled down just by opening the windows. Then I'm off to bumfuck nowhere for a while for midsummer; it should hopefully be cooler over there.

Last summer's 30°C indoors was terribad. I wish it'd never repeat, but, global warming.

[jo_lasalle]

Oh, I rent, too. We have the mobile units where you hang the pipe out of the window. It's not ideal (my #1 reason for seeing the appeal of homeownership, actually...) but it kept me from dying last summer in my old, no shade, terrible insulation apartment, and now it's keeping the penguin in my household from dying. *g*

[rheasilvia]

I am very curious where the spaceship rental will lead! :-) And I am glad to hear that From Ashes of Sunlight is getting the reception you hoped for, after all.

Yeah, summer is my least favorite season, too. It's already been above 30°C here, too, but fortunately it's cooled down again now. Here's hoping!

[rheasilvia]

I intended to have AC installed at the beginning of the year, but it's... somewehat more expensive than projected. So, any recommendations for mobile units? ;-)

(I actually expect prices to fall over the next years, as summers continue to heat up and the AC market grows. But in the meantime...)

[jo_lasalle]

We got all our units from Trotec (https://de.trotec.com/shop/?rc=0734ba4fba&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIstfjsLPc4gIVBOR3Ch0v6A5fEAAYASAAEgJpkfD_BwE) though ordered the last one through Amazon for slightly better customer service. The market for air conditioning is really quite limited in Germany, isn't it. >.< (Germans are so weird...) I know there are other manufacturers and I haven't compared those, I just know that these ones work for us and weren't horrendously expensive.

We have the PAC 2010 E twice - that was the first one I bought back in Village, and the third one we bought for the study two weeks ago. (https://de.trotec.com/shop/maschinen/klimatisierung/klimagerate-pac-serie/lokales-klimageraet-pac-2010-e.html) It's perfectly fine for one room, and did okay for me in my small two-room apartment, though it doesn't have a built-in swing, so you either sit full-on in the stream of totally outside of the stream.

Our second unit, which is in the bedroom, is a little more powerful and also has a built-in automatic swing, which I personally like in the bedroom, though for one room it wouldn't need to be this powerful. (https://de.trotec.com/shop/lokales-klimagerat-pac-3900-x.html)

My advice? BUY NOW.

I bought the first unit in July 2017 - or tried to buy, as it took FOREVER for the thing to get here, because I made the mistake for waiting until it was actually hot and Trotec was slow to get new wares in.

We bought the second unit in July 2018 - and had to buy the more powerful unit at more money we originally wanted to spend with no discounts whatsoever because everything else was SOLD OUT. (I am glad for the swing functionality now, but boy, that was so stressful.)

This year, we were smart and bought in May as soon as I realised I also wanted to not die in the study, and we got a good price, had plenty of choice, and got the small unit that was delivered within 5 days.

They all do make noise, so if you need your bedroom silent, a mobile air con unit is problematic. I use earplugs anyway and consider them white noise over other noises, so that's an added benefit. *g*

ETA: if you don't mind me asking, how much was your estimate for getting a split unit installed? (PM is ok, too.) Just gathering intel for a maybe-future-me...

[extrapenguin]

Spaceship rental currently has 15 [scene goes here]s and 7k of text, so currently projected at 15k+7k=22k, but I know I'm missing interstitial scenes, so at least 25k. Longfic, in any case. I've already written a few bits I'm proud of, though not sharing for not spoiling. :)

I don't think we quite got 30°C, but it was close, and in any case too hot. Urgh, why can't it be September already?

[mekare]

Yay I’m happy to have spread that meme on fictional fans now. :-)

[rheasilvia]

Ooh, cool, thank you very much! Yeah, air conditioning should definitely be bought before the heat hits...

I had a DeLonghi mobile unit once upon a time, which worked very well, but had an annoying water tank that led to it leaking and meant it had to be decalcified all the time.

Did you chose Trotec for a particular reason?

It's a developing market in Germany, but I think that's going to change in a hurry. We just didn't get this kind of heat before. But those days are gone for good, so...

PM on the way. :-)

[jo_lasalle]

I think I originally went for Trotec because a) they still had something even if I had to wait a few weeks (Amazon was quite wiped out of other brands) and b) they had small units that were more affordable and also size-wise fit my small apartment better. I also seem to recall decent reviews. (I don't know how they'd compare now pre-aircon rush, we didn't research this time, just bought a unit we already know we liked.)

I don't think we have to do a lot of maintenance. I cleaned the filter of the first unit and drained water when I put it away for the season, but that was no big deal. (OMG a water tank would be deadly where we are! The water is so hard!)

Thank you!

[clevermanka]

spaceship rental features Zhao Yunlan having dramatic emotional whiplash and Shen Wei having a silent internal crisis. This will definitely be over 20k; it might be 30k when it's done.

[extrapenguin]

It'll also be done only in August; don't get too excited. :P (Two weeks away from my keyboard! And summer eats into my writing abilities besides.)

[extrapenguin]

I just hate high temperatures, ok? I wish it could be 20°C max. That is an appropriate temperature in which one can still exist with one's clothes on. (For context, I'm the person walking around in a t-shirt while there's still snow on the ground. T-shirt weather starts at -2°C or so.)

Spaceship rental will take at least a month to write, and I'm taking off for a few weeks around midsummer, so: August.

[clevermanka]

I'm sorry if you'll miss your keyboard, but the way time works for me, August will be here tomorrow so that's just fine. I am queen of delayed gratification. =D

[firestar]

One day, I was waiting for a bus in town and there were a couple of drivers clearly waiting to take over their shift and they were talking about going back to India to see family where it was apparently 40°C and I just. Died a little inside. DDDDDDDDDDDD: (On the other hand, -2°C is definitely still jumper weather. Warm, snuggly jumpers. I would freeze in t-shirts at that temp. XD)

Oooh, nice, where you off to? *is nosy*

[extrapenguin]

Ahhh yes same; temperatures over 20°C should only be allowed inside saunas. If I have to wear clothes, or be exposed to sunlight, that sort of thing is just Too Much.

Eh, just seeing relatives with some work spliced in there. On the Earth's surface.

[extrapenguin]

It'll take me some time to get to it, but: stuff to post about!

[extrapenguin]

That's nice to hear! :D

[firestar]

Way. Too. Much. Stay below the mid-20s pls. XD

I hope you have fun, at least when you don't have to work. <3

[satoyan]

That's good to know about the varying quality of the subtitles! I plan to continue watching at some point, so I will keep that in mind as well. :D

[extrapenguin]

Solo has also done a re-subtitling project which is less word salad in result. It should be available on their DW or alternatively somewhere in the depths of sid-guardian (but beware spoilers).