Author Archives: lydias

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, puzzles, photographs, comic strips, short stories, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web. It’s bigger than usual because I kept finding fascinating things to share with my readers and I didn’t want to leave anything out. Heh. All of these links are also related to this time of year in some way.

A Giant Snowbun. I love this photograph.

Relaxed. If you added a plate full of frosted sugar cookies, a mug or two of eggnog, a good book, and a way to subdue my allergies, this would be my idea of a perfect afternoon.

Sweet Tooth #1. This made me giggle.

The History of Santa Claus in Pictures. What I found most fascinating about this article was that there was a time when celebrating Christmas was illegal in Britain. Had you heard this story before? I sure hadn’t!

Can You Figure Out GCHQ’s Christmas Card Puzzle? I’ve been trying to figure it out but haven’t had much success yet. Can any of my followers do it?

No Presents for Unbelievers. Too funny.

A Letter to Santa. This should really be a full-length novel.

From The Great Miracle:

“Grampa’s here!” little Jacob shouted, and he jumped towards me, laughing. A grandfather shouldn’t play favorites, I suppose, but I’ve always favored the youngest. Every new grandchild reminded me that the human race would go on.

What have you been reading?

Photo credit: Tiia Monto
and Anna Frodesiak.

Every year I take a break from blogging for the last two weeks of December. I will be sharing some of my old favourites in the meantime and will be back in January with new material.  This post was originally published on April 27, 2015.

I’ve noticed another bump in readership numbers, so I thought now would be a good time to reintroduce myself to everyone who has just started following this blog.

Welcome!

I can’t wait to get to know all of you.

My name is Lydia Schoch. I’m a science fiction author who was born and raised in the United States. I now live in Toronto with my husband, Drew.

On the Other Hand covers an eclectic mix of topics. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about writing, funny things that have happened to me, and mental health here, but I also have been known to go off on tangents when the right mood strikes.

New posts are published on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Occasionally you’ll find an interesting quote or video here on Wednesdays as well.

Sometimes I answer reader questions. You can submit new ones here.

Definitely check out the Link Love on the righthand side of this page while you’re visiting. I follow an eclectic group of people and I highly recommend every single one on that list.

Oh, and I’m obsessed with rabbits. If my better half and I weren’t so allergic to them, we’d no doubt have a few hopping around our apartment. Since this isn’t possible, I like to surprise my readers with them here instead.

Every year I take a break from blogging for the last two weeks of December. I will be back in early January with new material.  In the meantime, enjoy these amusing search engine terms that have lead people to my blog recently. 

apology text message for not talking sister that some is pregnant for me

It took me a long time to realize that this person’s sister is angry with him for not telling her that he’s gotten someone else pregnant.

I have no advice here. It’s an odd situation all around.

how will one know that gossiper are telling the truth?

I assume that gossips are lying or exaggerating about everything, to be honest.

can you forgive hateful words?

Yes, but it can take a long time. Don’t expect it to happen overnight.

I’m a quiet person. I feel like i can change myself to be someone who is a talkative person.

This is something I can do temporarily. I don’t think it’s something anyone can change permanently, though. You have to accept your temperament for what it is. Not everyone in this world is supposed to be talkative, and that’s okay.

What does forgiveness look like when the person hasn’t asked or changed?

Not wishing them ill, but also not giving them any more chances to hurt you.

Are quiet people dangerous?

Only sometimes. 😉

How does the winter solstice affect moods in 2015?

We’ll know for sure tomorrow, but I’m feeling great today.

Is silence an answer?

Yes. Words are precious and should never be wasted.

No family left to celebrate the holidays with.

You could:

1. Round up other people who will be alone over the holidays and plan something fun.
2. Enjoy the silence. There are far worse things in this world than a quiet, peaceful day to yourself.
3. Travel somewhere new.
4. Watch Netflix, drink eggnog, and eat cookies.
5. Take a long walk and think of everything you’re grateful for.
6. Adopt a pet (or offer to look after someone else’s pet while they’re away for the holidays).
7. Send email or postcards to anyone you know who is still around. Maybe they’re lonely, too.

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, comic strips, poems, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web. It’s bigger than usual because I kept finding fascinating things to share with my readers and I couldn’t bear to cut any of them out. Haha!

Latino Out of Water (Journey from Superstitious to Atheist) via secularlatinos. This writer’s story is so interesting.

Through the Wardrobe. Ooh, I loved this one. Growing up I always wished I could find a wardrobe or closet that didn’t have a proper back panel. Sometimes when the adults weren’t paying attention, I reached back to see if I could feel anything out of the ordinary behind the clothing or coats in any of them.

The Secret of the Bees via brudberg. If it were up to me, humanity would have never discovered honey as a source of food. That’s how much I hate getting stung by bees. While that wasn’t the point of this poem, it still came to mind as I read it.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Giving Up. The imagery in this is so vivid.

Necrokitty Comic Sans via Hannah_Chutzpah. One of the best poems about grief I’ve ever read.

From Christmas: A Plea To Evangelicals Who Evangelize Non-Christian Family Members:

Please, for one day, when we are all gathered together in expression of our love for one another, leave Jesus and your religion at the door.  By all means, if you must talk about Jesus, seek out like-minded Christian family members and talk to them. When talking to us, how about we agree to talk about the things we have in common: family, childhood experiences, and our favorite football team.

From No, Suicides Don’t Rise During the Holidays:

According to the CDC, November and December are the months with the fewest suicides. The overwhelming majority of people who kill themselves are mentally ill. For people who otherwise feel fine year-round, feeling mildly down in December is simply not enough to prompt suicide.

From Why Time Is a Feminist Issue:

Leisure time? I would have settled for a sick day.

When I’d recovered my senses enough to speak, I sputtered something like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have 30 hours of leisure a week.”

“Yes you do,” he insisted. “Come do a time study with me, and I’ll show you where your leisure is.”

What have you been reading?

Every year I slow down my production of new content here over the holidays. It’s the only blogging break I take in any given year, and it’s only ever a partial break.

There will be something special and silly on this blog on December 21.

Suggestion Saturday posts will continue to be new because of how much I enjoy working on them ahead of time. You can expect them as usual on December 19, December 26, and January 2. I went a little overboard on curating them this year, so look out for much more material than I’d typically give to you on a regular Suggestion Saturday entry. Haha.

Other than that, I’ll be sharing a lot of great posts from the past year here over the next two weeks on the normal Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday schedule. If there are any posts from me that you loved and I missed, feel free to share them in the comment section. I love hearing that kind of feedback.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I’ll be back to my regular routine on January 4.

Christmas Trees from Treat Studios on Vimeo.

The only thing I can tell you about this incredibly short film without giving away spoilers is that it’s about a man who decides to chop down his own Christmas tree.

Go see for yourself what happens after that!

One of the things that amuses me the most about this time of year is how many different types of desserts suddenly appear in my neighbourhood shops.

There are cookies, cakes, festive candies, pies, fruit cakes, tins of specialty hot chocolate, chocolate bars in a zillion different flavours, boxes of gourmet chocolates, candy canes, and a whole lot of other stuff I’m probably forgetting at the grocery store.

Our local coffee shops always have several seasonal drinks to offer. I can’t drink them because of my dairy allergy, but the combination of chocolate and various other flavours in them always smells so good.

Even our local drug store gets decked out for the holidays. By this time in December, I like to joke that they have more candy there than they have medicine.

I have a fairly strong sweet tooth, but even I get a little overwhelmed by all of the choices there are. This month I actually haven’t had any of my normal, seasonal treats that I typically pick up when they’re available . (Yet, that is. I won’t be sticking to my healthy eating habits 100% this month!)

It’s just too much sugar in too small of a time period. I’d rather spread out my treats evenly throughout the year than over-indulge for a month and then cut out every morsel of sugar and white flour come January 1st.

Not everyone agrees with me, though, which is why I want to hear how you handle this topic.

Regardless of what you do or don’t celebrate at this time of year, what – if anything – do you indulge in? Do you like to eat a lot of sugary things over the holidays and then drastically change your diet, or do you prefer my method of spreading things out? If your indulgence isn’t food or drink related, how do you decide when to experience it?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Thinking Happy Thoughts via pinkmenotmom. What a wonderful way of looking at the world.

Welcome to Heaven. Heh. This was great.

Gun Violence vs. Mental Illness: Facts Don’t Matter via gabehoward29. Everyone should read and understand this.

You Call Them Holiday Letters…I Call Them Revenge via barbtaub. I vaguely remember my parents sending out holiday letters when I was little. I never got into doing this as an adult, though.

From The Life and Times of Strider Wolf:

Strider’s face flattened in panic. Caseworkers had explained it would be like this with him. He’d lost so much, any whiff of rejection set off bells of alarm. His traumas were as much a part of him as the trees he climbed or the magic brooms he fashioned from sticks.

From Who Will Greet You At Home:

The yarn baby lasted a good month, emitting dry, cotton-soft gurgles and pooping little balls of lint, before Ogechi snagged its thigh on a nail and it unravelled as she continued walking, mistaking its little huffs for the beginnings of hunger, not the cries of an infant being undone.

What have you been reading?

The British Broadcasting Company has a quiz on their website that measures three personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism (that is, the desire to manipulate and control others).

The quiz takes 5 minutes or less. You’re supposed to answer the questions quickly and with your very first response to them. Don’t overthink anything.

Apparently, I’m shockingly saintly. Here’s the description of this category from the quiz:

Do you ever find yourself walking on water? Because you are shockingly saintly. You are a chink of light in a dark world.

Reading it made me laugh. I’ve never thought of myself as a saint before. Even revealing my score feels too much like a humble-brag. I almost didn’t post this blog entry at all. :O

But I would love to know how my followers did. How did you score? Have you ever heard of similar quizzes that test for other negative character traits