⚗️ Hi, I’m Fara!

That "potion bottle head guy"! Tangents inevitable; Any pronouns; Unlabeled.

[faranae]

CHECKPOINT REACHED!

Take care of yourselves! If applicable... 

Save your work;

Stretch your wrists;

De-pretzel, stretch, or give your back/legs some movement;

Do you have water or other hydration of choice on hand?

Double check if you’ve taken your meds today;

When was the last time you ate?

Remember the 20-20-20 rule to prevent eye strain: Every 20 minutes or so, try to look at something 20 feet (6 m) away for 20 seconds; 

Be kind! <3

[faranae]

I love placing an ice pack on my jaw and immediately hearing it scream and pop and crack because of how hot my face is. ToT

[faranae]

Sorry for disappearing. Suddenly found ourselves sheltering one of my kid's friends while we go through a bunch of stuff with children's services and the police.

Very tiring. I haven't had a lot of spare energy.

But the kid is safe, and that's what's important.

[faranae]

May 2026 Updates

Good morning everyone!

It sure is May! My, how time flies when you're neurodivergent.

How are folks doing? Thanks to everyone who's been checking in with me over the past few weeks. It's been a bit tough mentally, but knowing I have friends at my back helps a lot. And some folks even popped out of the woodwork whom I hadn't seen in years. (I may or may not have cried a little.)

My health is doing much better lately, though some days I still can't walk as far as the kitchen without getting winded and nauseous. That kinda sucks. A lot.

I've been slowly getting back into the swing of drawing again, though admittedly I still freeze up pretty badly whenever I so much as sit at the tablet. Whatever this weird trigger is, I'm doing my best to get over it. After all, there are doodles to doodle! (Preferably by me!)

And speaking of doodles: Shortly after this update post goes live, I'm finally opening up a small doodle drive to work towards my medical and living expenses. Full details will be posted to Ko-fi, Tumblr, and Bluesky. Please look forward to it!

(Savings and insurance updates after the cut!)

Insurance Update:

As of April, my partner's insurance through work has somehow managed to cover EVEN LESS of my medical costs. They've tried this before, but my doctor has learned to be PAINFULLY specific with paperwork to keep the insurance from wiggling their way into giving me cheaper, less effective options. (Yeah, that bullshittery happens in Canada too.)

I think the insurance company is getting annoyed: A few hundred was pulled out of my bank account without warning this month because the insurance only covered up to what the generic version of that one medication would cost, and the pharmacy charged us for the difference.

After this, it's even more important that I get ready and working regardless of how I'm feeling about my health. Adding even more medical costs to the "paid-out-of-pocket" pile is really going to hurt us.

Goals and Savings Update:

I've gone into more detail in previous update posts, so for now I'm just going to list my current goals in point-form. The costs listed below are only estimates, but they give an idea of what I'm saving up for:

💊 PRIORITY - Medications and basic needs.

👁 EYESIGHT - (Finally got a new Rx!) Glasses: $50-80.

💪 PHYSIO - Assessment for organ-ish issues: $145

💪 PHYSIO - Treatment: Depends on assessment.

🦷 TEETH - Ongoing repairs. (Dentists are very expensive. Two of my molars are almost hollow and my gums are receding badly despite flossing regularly.)

👂 EAR/JAW PAIN & HEARING PROBLEMS - ENT says all of my ear issues are actually because my jaw is "very messed up" so a dentist consult is needed.

And that's the April/May update!

That's it for now! I hope everyone has a good uncooked-ramen-hair month!

(I got to explain that meme to my gen-alpha kid last week, it was fantastic.)

[faranae]

BEHOLD: COW

Last year Cat saved up to crowdfund merch for a game she likes. While we were on Makeship, I spotted something quite dear to child!Fara's heart and as an Xmas gift to myself, I pledged.

And so: My Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon cow has just arrived.

AND SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL‽ SOBBING.

LOOK AT HER LITTLE BELL aaaaaaaaaa

[faranae]

I am so tired of things going wrong.

Two of my Rx refilled today and the total taken out of my bank account is 2 digits longer than it usually would be. I am now in the negative again, and not happy about it.

I am so tired. So damn tired.

[faranae]

Rant incoming.

It's so exhausting. I've been trying to get everything fixed up since January and every single time I'm stable enough to start stuff up, SOMETHING goes horribly wrong and stresses me out to hell.

I literally just made an eye doc appointment for me and my kid yesterday because I had convinced myself we were "Okay enough" to not feel guilty spending the money.

And now, the day after "adulting" and actually remembering to call in my prescription renewals, said prescription renewals drain not only the money I was going to use to take Cat and I to the optometrist? But also my grocery and laundry money for the next week and a half, and my power/phone/internet bills for the month. Gone.

Give me a few to figure out what I'm doing about all this. I am so fucking tired, man.

/endrant

[faranae]

I am so tired of things going wrong.

Two of my Rx refilled today and the total taken out of my bank account is 2 digits longer than it usually would be. I am now in the negative again, and not happy about it.

I am so tired. So damn tired.

[faranae]

I both love and hate inspection season:

➕ The apartment finally gets cleaned to my standards, but;

➖ This is the first inspection since the co-op changed the rules and refused to grandfather in my portable washing machine and dishwasher.

I dunno what to do... Disconnect and hide the now-banned machines, I guess? :(

[faranae]

Welp. I'm officially 35.

All I wanted for my birthday was a night in spent with good company, and that is exactly what I got. I was sent many well-wishes, which had me a bit emotional if I'm being honest, but it was also a good reminder that I'm loved.

I have some pretty vital home/admin stuff to take care of first, but you'll be hearing from me soon about that doodle drive. I did say around my birthday, after all. :)

Take care of each other, and take care of yourself; You're the only you you've got. Be kind. Love ya.

[faranae]

Gonna see if I can find and compile the few doodles and scribbles I managed to pump out during my hiatus. 🤔

[faranae]

Hard to believe I'm about to turn 35.

Time has gotten weird since the pandemic.

[faranae]

Congratulations on getting to introduce the kiddo to some of your favorite games! That sounds like so much fun. :D

It really is! Admittedly it can be a little bit frustrating at times because older technology likes to fight back, so they can be harder to set up (even PC games).

But holy heck, there is a very specific brand of JOY that comes with watching a 13-year-old try to figure out an N64 controller for the first time. Hehehehe

[faranae]

Cat asked me to hook up the N64! Took a bit of tinkering but we managed to get it connected with the 'cube's RCA cable. :D

(Don't let the photo fool you, it looks C R U N C H Y but she is delighted!!)

[faranae]

It would seem I got ahead of myself. 20 minutes later and the N64 hard-froze. It now turns on but refuses to send signal. From the smell of it, I think something internal didn't like being woken up.

We've now hooked up my Gamecube and she's spun up the Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition instead.

As I told her: "I can do this all day. If the 'Cube doesn't work, we'll try the Wii. If the Wii doesn't work, there's the WiiU virtual console. If that doesn't work, I have the 3DS remasters. If those don't work, we have the Switch virtual console."

… How many places do I own OoT/MM….?

[faranae]

Cat asked me to hook up the N64! Took a bit of tinkering but we managed to get it connected with the 'cube's RCA cable. :D

(Don't let the photo fool you, it looks C R U N C H Y but she is delighted!!)

[faranae]

Trying to shake the rust off and get the doodles out by keeping some pens beside my bed. No specific character, just trying to get pen to paper for the sake of it.

(Maybe I should not have started with pens aaaaa)

[faranae]

March 2026 Updates

Good morning everyone!

March is here, and while it took me a few days to get my thoughts in order I've put together an update for anyone who wants to know what's up! (The number-y stuff can be found in the latter half of this post.)

First thing's first, a thank-you: After my emergency situation last month, so many people offered a hand of support that it was very overwhelming. Your generosity kept food on our table. Thank you, from not only myself but my partner and kiddo as well. 

Pretty much everyone said "don't worry about it" with regards to compensation, but that just doesn't sit right with me. So instead, I'm adding equivalent slots to my "Pay it Forward" board. They'll be raffled off as free commissions once I'm in a better position. 💜

Birthday doodle drive?

Before I get to the point of tapping the PIFB though, I'm planning a doodle drive to get back into the swing of working on commissions full-time. It'll be limited to sketches for now, to avoid the risk of burning out.

Depending on how things go with life and energy levels, there may be some streaming during this time. We will have to play that one by ear.

I'll be running the drive through Ko‑fi for simplicity's sake, with all funds going towards my medications and other medical expenses. Which brings me to...

Goals and Savings update:

My ultimate goal is to reach a point where I can reliably cover my prescriptions and other medical costs. If I can manage that, it will take a massive (for us) financial burden off my household's shoulders. 

MONTHLY GOAL - Medications: $10.32/day Calculated daily cost of my 10 medications, including dispensing fees. For privacy reasons I will not go into the specifics of my current prescriptions. Total for March 2026 = $319.92

If my monthly medications goal is met, any further funds will be put towards my other medical goals:

PHYSIO - Assessment: $145 minimum $145.00 for the first assessment, and treatment can range between $95 and $145 per session after that. If I need a medical support device it will cost an additional $260 estimated (including sizing/fitting). Not going into too much detail, but to put it simply: Some of my insides aren't sitting where/how they're supposed to and it's causing problems. If I've put this one off too long, I may require surgery to correct the problem instead of physio; It all depends on that first assessment.

EYESIGHT - Optometrist + Glasses: $235 minimum $145 for appointment and measurements, then $90-ish to order glasses. I currently need to sit about a foot from the screen to read text clearly with my glasses on. I can't put this one off too much longer since the strain has begun to trigger migraines and weird depth perception issues.

EAR/JAW PAIN - Consult needed: $??? A bit of history needed on this one: After waiting over a year for an ENT, I was told the ear pain/intermittent hearing problems I've been having aren't caused by my ears at all; Apparently there is something "very, very wrong" (direct quote!) with my jaw. As a result, I have to find and schedule a visit to a dentist, I think? The specialist didn't really give specifics so I have no idea what kind of dentist or what to say so I need to research this one. > OG Post on this revelation, April 16 2025

CHECK-UP - GP visits: Cab fare only My doctor will only speak to me in-person, so if I can't find a ride I need to pay for a cab. I want to support public transportation, but the trek to my doctor's office takes over an hour each way by bus and that still involves 3 km (1.8 miles) of walking between stops that I physically cannot handle.

And that's the update for March! 

I'd like to make posts like this a monthly thing. What do you think?

Take care of yourselves! You're the only "you" you've got.

⚗ Fara

[faranae]

Happy Family Day, Canadians! 🍁

Family isn't always blood, and blood isn't always family.

It's important to remember that, these days. :)