Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I read about an AR app that gets people over their fear of spiders by using exposure therapy with a virtual spider.

What a cool first step—because I doubt it’s the final step… even though the app apparently has ten steps. It asks questions to see how comfortable you are before moving you up or down a level. Though I wonder how it translates into fears of real world spiders. Your brain knows that it’s an AR spider, so while you may grow more comfortable, is it enough to translate into calm if there was an actual spider in your home?

I would love to see this expanded for other fears.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored post.

The ChickieNob and I finished listening to the Magicians trilogy a few weeks ago. We were wistful on the final walk. For months, it had provided structure to the afternoon. We launched immediately into Good Omens, and it took me a day or two to settle into that story, but we’ve found our rhythm again.

We can, of course, always return and listen to the trilogy again. I’ve clearly read (or now listened) to the books many times. But it’s still hard to release it at the end of each go-around.

Nicole Zhu says it best: “Rereading, with or without a specific lens, reveals aspects about the writing you may not have noticed before.” Reading these books during the pandemic, when things seem so hard and our efforts are often thwarted and the rules change daily, was an especially perfect pairing.

Moments like the flower on the underside of the world made the day-to-day moments in this world a little easier.

We recently discovered The Other Two, which I call either “The Two of Us” or “The Other One,” never getting the name correct. But this time I was linking to it, so I saw the name. Win!

It’s one of the many shows across streaming services that Lorne Michaels has his fingers in, and it is very very very funny. We’re still back on Season 1 because we like to watch shows after everyone else has moved on from them.

It is our new Schitt’s Creek, making us laugh when we’re in poopie moods.

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff…

Okay, now my choices this week.

Infertile Phoenix breaks down the verb and noun of the same word: “I really wanted TO parent. Yes, I wanted to BE a parent, but I also wanted to do the parenting.” She realizes that she’s still getting to take that action, albeit in a different form than how she imagined. I love this idea of pushing against word limits and finding all the other spaces the definition fits.

The Barreness tells stories about going in circles. Beginning with a gallery opening and ending at the core: “I use to be able to do laundry lists of tasks in hours, weekends were full of tasks done and things completed… now I am lucky if I change clothes and do laundry!” Yes to all of this. Every small thing that doesn’t work out feels like it throws everything else off, and even the things that work out sometimes just feel exhausting.

Lastly, Risa Kerslake almost had her vacation upended, but a shift in plans saved the day. It was a getaway for two that became a getaway for one after her kids got sick. I love that she packed up the car and continued with changed plans. It sounds like such a relaxing (recharging?) time.

The roundup to the Roundup: The Two of Us… NO… The Other Two. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between October 1 – October 8) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.

I am choosing to be optimistic. I read an article on NPR about modeler projections for COVID-19, based on what we know now. The predictions show a decline in cases between now and March, giving me hope that we will be able to travel by next summer.

For once, I am hopeful and everyone else is doom-and-gloom. “I’ll believe it when we’re on the plane,” the Wolvog told me. Fair enough.

We are still being cautious—we don’t socialize inside. We’re still doing takeaway; no meals indoors or outdoors at clustered tables. We wear masks indoors always and outdoors when we’re around people. But we’re also returning to regular life when it makes sense. In-person meeting when there is a Zoom option? No. But returning to the classroom when the county has returned to the classroom? Yes.

When brings me to the theater. The theater was one of the last things we did, pre-pandemic. It’s not really post-pandemic, but returning to the theater feels like a step out of the isolation. One of our favourite actors is doing Hedwig (one of our favourite plays) this fall. So we’re joining the vaccined, masked audience and enjoying Mason Alexander Park. I’m sure I will sob walking back into the theater.

Baby steps.

I like to read books right when they come out. I stay on top of soon-to-be-published lists and put myself on the holds list at the library as soon as the book is added. I read the book right when I get it so I can be in that first wave of people who consume the book.

Why do I do this? Why does it matter when I read or watch or listen to something?

I mean, yes, spoilers. I hate accidentally hearing or reading spoilers, so getting to a book early lessens the chances of that happening. But lots of books do not have a big reveal therefore spoilers are unimportant. For instance, I felt like I had to grab Becoming right when it came out, but no one was going to ruin Michelle Obama’s memoir.

I am in the middle of a bit of a book deluge. A few weeks ago, I was trying to balance three books at once, and when I finished the final one, I said never again. I would read one book at a time. Two at most. Never three. And then new book after new book came up on the holds list, and I somehow found myself with four—FOUR—at once, frantically trying to read the three library ones and just dragging the paper one I own from room to room.

It doesn’t feel good. I don’t get to enjoy the story when I’m reading this quickly. I wake up in the morning and think, “I need to get through at least 50 pages today or the book will be due and I’ll miss out.” I would have delayed the hold, but they were all popular titles. So. I was sucked back into the bad habit.

Do you feel like you need to read, watch, listen to things right when they come out, or do you put off for months books/shows/music you’re excited about, getting to them whenever it fits into your life?