busybee fluffy rambles

Vertigo stuff

I’ve more or less recovered from the Effexor. The neurologist wants to put me on an even more severe anti-migraine medication which has even more concerning side effects. For now my vestibular rehabilitation seems to be going okay and I think I’m going to focus on that as my first-line approach.

I’ve also decided that the best way to acclimate myself to vertigo while driving is to, y'know, drive more. But because driving in the real world causes anxiety attacks whenever I have a vertigo issue, I’ve bought myself a used racing wheel (for around $150 on eBay) and a frame to put it on, with the hopes that doing VR sim driving will also be a good way to reacclimate myself to driving in a less panic-inducing manner.

I’m still waiting for the frame to arrive (it should be getting here today) and finding good VR driving software is kind of a mess. City Car Driving sort of supports VR but it’s super janky and doesn’t provide a correct camera matrix for my headset (and plus, it’s super oriented towards passing driving tests in Europe, and I can’t figure out how to shift it into gear for some reason).

RaceRoom is all about highly technical track racing, which is fun but not particularly relevant the driving experience I’m trying to get more comfortable with.

I hear good things about Assetto Corsa and apparently it’s moddable for the kinds of driving I want to do. And right now it’s on sale for $5 so I’d might as well check it out.

All of the other recommendations that come up in VR driving threads seem to ignore the “VR” part.

I think that realistically I just need to, y'know, drive in meatspace more. But it’s hard to get over the hump.

Bathroom

So for the bathroom issue I’ve reached out to Gil, the contractor who does good work, and he proposed a scope of work that would have completely wiped out my liquid assets, which is not a good position to be in. I asked if there were a less-expensive option and he suggested going with a fiberglass tub surround, and while that wouldn’t be as nice-looking, it would also cost half as much and be less of a maintenance headache going forward, so, that’s what I’m going to do.

Music

My choir is doing a talent showcase and for it I was hoping to do a live performance of Repair My Heart using the arrangement I recorded for the album. It’s been tricky getting an ensemble together, though. I think I’ll have better luck if I make a new arrangement with just piano, cello, and violin, which should be fairly easy to do anyway.

Right now I’m also feeling like I’ve lost all my competence at playing piano, though. It’s like something is wrong with my brain.

Well, yeah.

At least I seem to be ready for my next VRChat show (in a week and a half!), and then there’s my pride show with Refraction VR.

I still haven’t heard back from Furality; I hope if I do get booked it doesn’t end up conflicting with Refraction, since I’ve already committed to performing with them.