December 2023's Vibe Check was started on gloomy December morning, and finished a fortnight later on cosy December night. Context changes things. Winds and rain (both freezing) stopped what was a mild winter. "Winter's not too bad" I thought, like someone who's never lived through a winter. We're into the worst six weeks of the year - three weeks from the solar solstice. It's dark by four in the afternoon, and that's still got to get earlier for a while.
Anyway, how was November? I had three wonderful weeks of unemployment. I had planned to spend the time breaking the back (pun intended?) of my wedding suit jacket. But I spent my time in much more worthy pursuits: taking cycle rides in the bright November sun, admiring the world around me as autumn shifts the hue slider into 'ultra-vibrant', eating well, and seeing friends and family. Then I crammed a lot of suit making into four days at the end.
The suit jacket is going well though, thanks for asking. I am part of an online cohort course with the Tailoring Academy. Until this course I was wholly a self-taught sewist. Being able to self-teach is one of the few fulfilled promises of the internet. If I wanted to make women's garments, not bespoke menswear, I think there would be a lot more material for me to self-teach with. So this course has been a great journey, giving a chance to hear from trained and experienced professionals. I have my moments, the work goes slow at times, but I couldn't do work of this type or this quality by myself. I feel really grateful for that. Not that I don't have panicky moments.
I definitely have noticed that I am not sewing for "fun". I am sewing a Serious Business™️ garment with a strict deadline. And I'm also choosing not to share photos or details with most people. So I'm doing a lot of work "just" for me.
Professionally, I started a new job this month - I am now a senior software engineer at Laka, who run bicycle insurance with a collective pricing model. I am in my third week, so still very actively learning about the landscape: the people, processes, problems, business, customers, and all the good stuff.
I've not started a new job in three years, and I feel a little out of practice. The shift from Head-Of into Senior has been a gear shift. Not a good thing or a bad thing, just a transition. I wanted some change.
Perhaps the thing I have enjoyed most about the cold snap is my return to video games. I've cracked out the Steam Deck, which is now functionally a handheld Balders Gate III machine. The day after I wrote the first draft for this blog post, Balders Gate won the Game Awards "Games of the Year" award. Friends, get it. It's a good game. It's "go to bed at midnight" and "think about it when you're not playing it" good.
Anyway: Some films I have watched this month:
- Quantum of Solace: I want to watch James Bond on the sofa and eat unsophisticated food, and have a drink. This film met the brief. Honestly very good, I see why the reviews were positive.
- When Harry Met Sally: It's a cult classic and I think I was a bit ashamed that I hadn't seen it before (I love rom coms). Taken in context, it's a very good film. It's cosy Christmas fare. Another sofa-supper-gin combo winner.
- Shiva Baby: A bit of whiplash from cosy Christmas fare. This film captures anxiety in a way that made me so uncomfortable as a viewer, which is a good thing (?). It's got a fitting soundtrack of violins that made me curl up into myself whenever it started. It's a good film but not a good time.
- Nimona: I think dismissed this as a children's film when I saw it on Netflix. I was wrong. You should watch this movie. It's a little on the childish side, but it's flirty with a lot of queer and gender issues without being a film "about" queer and gender issues. After some light reading, the film itself almost didn't get made, and I am just so grateful that it did. Funny and heartwarming, queer, and not patronising. Checks across the board. There's a really great piece on Letterboxd from some of the creators here.
- Quiz Lady: I enjoyed this film. It knew what it was, it was tight, and it had some very funny moments. Both the leads playing against type, and just good fun.