Bitz 'N' Blogs with CJ Cross

Which Type of Partner Are You? Fandom Edition

August 5, 2026
(A/N : This blog is written in the name of fun. I mean no offence to anyone in writing this)

There’s something that’s been rolling around in my brain since the Outlander series ended (That was 874 years ago .. Well, that’s what it feels like to me anyway) and today I thought I’d tackle that something in the form of this weeks blog.

As you can tell by the title – Which type of fandom partner are you?

For context: Your girlfriend/boyfriend/ spouse/husband/ wife is neck deep into a fandom. Whether it’s books, a TV show, a film franchise, music or musical, game or genre of anything – you’ve fallen madly in love and can’t imagine your life without them in it. They’re your person in all things. They’re your always and forever. Everything is going great guns until one day – BAM- they’ve fallen down a fandom rabbit hole and have no intention of ever climbing out.

The question is, how do you handle their fandom obsession?

I have come up three types of “Fandom Partner” and trust me when I tell you, regardless whether you want to or not, you will find yourself in one of these categories eventually. Falling into a category doesn’t make you a bad person. You’re still a decent person. This is purely from my own observations ( as someone who has been part of various fandom spaces over the years) and my attempt to explain what I’ve seen during my time in fandoms.

Ready? Here we go!
1. ALL IN FLYNN
An ALL IN FLYNN is the type of person who takes one look at their significant other and decides then and there to join them down the rabbit hole.

You’ll find yourself becoming so involved, that even the one who found the fandom first, can’t help but gush to all their fandom friends that “They’re even more obsessed than I am!” or ” I am so lucky that my significant other is with me in this!” The two of you will go everywhere together. To every event, to every convention, to every meet and greet and every fan held function around the globe. You’ll share the same friends, you’ll cos play together, you’ll buy all the merch (including limited editions of things or the same things in several different colours) and chances are, you’ll create content that gets you a whole ton of extra attention from all four corners of the fandom-sphere. Your home will be decked out with fandom memorabilia and you’ll stand side by side and support each other should the shit hit the fan ( as it often does in the fandom space, regardless of what it is) the two of you will ride at dawn, on your metaphorical horse, with your swords drawn ready to defend the realm unto death. You know the hills you will die on by name and you’re not in the slightest bit sorry either. 10/10 no notes

2. SIDELINE SUSAN

If you’ve managed to get your hands on a SIDELINE SUSAN – they’ve similar energy to an ALL IN FLYNN except they’re quieter about it.

A sideline Susan is exactly as the category suggests. On the sidelines. OK, so you don’t go to every fandom related event on the calendar but every once in a while you’ll go to something, just to make your significant other happy. But mostly, you prefer to stay out of the spotlight. You’re the kind of person who, should your significant other wish to create content, you’ll go all out and buy all of the equipment required – complete with all the bells and whistles- just so your fandom obsessed other half can create something wonderful. You may not even like the thing they’re obsessing over but, you understand that *the thing* is important to them and so, you simply nod and smile while they spend hours talking about the latest fandom drama that’s got their attention.

As far as the merch goes? Behind closed doors, you roll your eyes while you mutter ” Dear God, not again! I swear they’ll send us broke” as you sit reading the latest credit card statement. But to their face you say that you’ve got no issues with what they’re buying but just ” take it easy” and remind them gently that money doesn’t grow on trees.

Having said that, you really can’t be to judgemental because you’re also aware on how much you’ve spent on said fandom obsession in the name of happiness. Being on the sidelines, you’ve become an expert on walking that fine line between casual spectator and full on player. It’s a skill not many people can possess. You Sideline Susans have mastered the art and thats nothing to be sneezed at.

And finally, while you won’t ride directly into the fray, if and when the fandom space becomes to much (which it does at least 75% of the time) you’ll be there with an empathetic ear, a warm blanket, a cup of hot coco with a box of tissues on standby.

3. Grumblebum Gary

Grumblebum Gary.

In the unfortunate event you’ve found yourself in possession of one of these, I’m afraid you’re in for a rough time

You guys are literally the worst type of people when it comes to anyone you know belonging to a fandom. Regardless how happy the person is being part of said fandom thing, you’re quietly seething and turning into the green eyed monster because their attention is focused on something other than you.

You’ll make with passive – aggressive comments should the situation present itself and take great pleasure in reminding your person that fandoms are toxic and that anyone involved in a fandom is monumentally stupid.

Fandom Merch? Outrageously expensive and all they’re doing is pissing money up against a wall

Attending fandom events? Even to make your significant other happy? Fuck no! You’d rather set your genitals on fire or shit in your hands and clap!

As far as you’re concerned, being involved in a fandom is a complete load of bollocks and should be left in the bin where it belongs

In the event the shit hits the fan? Well, you’ll just tell them “I told you so” and “You’ll get no sympathy from me” before going about the rest of your day

Your motto is ” Saw a fandom – took a shit on it” and the less said about that, the better.

So, there you have it folks. The three types of fandom partners.

Which one are you with?

Thanks for reading,

Ceej
The blog I Wasn’t Going to Write

July 29, 2026

I had no intention of writing a blog this week.

I’m too tired, to exhausted, emotionally spent and I feel like my nervous system hasn’t been able to relax in months.

There are so many things that need to be fixed, so many things that need to be done and so many issues that need to be addressed, I simply have no idea what to do or where to start.

I feel like the weight of the world is on top of me, like no one around me is willing to be accountable for their actions and they just expect me to either turn a blind eye or make excuses for the messes they’ve caused.

I’m hurt, angry and upset and every single person I’ve tried to talk to has simply dismissed me or expected me to simply suck it up and deal with it.

“This has nothing to do with you, so you don’t have to worry about it” seems to be the current theme in my life. Thing is, it has everything to do with me and the reason that it has everything to do with me is because I feel like I have been left to *verbally fix* everything or *explain away* what’s been going on, while everyone else just gets away scot free without consequences … and honestly, I’m so bloody tired.

I’m so tired and worn out I’ve actually reached out to EAP (employee assist) – the free service provided by my work place for a little bit of help and guidance. I’ve booked appointments for various different services they provide and my hope is that over the next 6 months I find a way through all of this.

Thanks for reading

Ceej
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A Little Life Update.

July 22, 2026

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to my new posting schedule.

Glad you could be here. This week, I’m going to be giving you a little bit of a life update .

So, to begin with, my working life has been absolutely insane. For those who are unaware as much as I wish I could make a living from the written word, I don’t and I do in-fact work part time in a Customer Service role. Nothing fancy of course. It pays the bills but man… We’re so flat out my co workers and I are utterly exhausted by days end.

On the home front, things have been OK. I’ve been trying to cut back on a few things in order to save money. We’re only one week into that so I’ll keep you updated on how that goes

On the NDIS front, I’ve had my second monthly meeting with my Support Coordinator Sarah. We discussed a lot of things and I’m so glad things are finally getting somewhere

On the diabetic front – my levels sit at 5.9. I’m still taking Jardiamet and probably will be for a while yet. My next appointment with my diabetic educator is not until November . That’s a good thing at least.

The only other medical thing I’m waiting on is an appointment with the Royal Melbourne Hospital so they can ( hopefully) ascertain what’s happening with the right hand side of my face and why it’s sore and swollen all the time. I do hope they find something as I’ve been dealing with this discomfort for around 10 years now and I’m hoping to have a solution soon.

That’s all for now. Until next week!

Ceej
My Perspective – Alone Vs Feeling Lonely

July 15, 2026

Today is Wednesday 15th July and I am sitting here waiting for the Power to go off.

This will be AusNet second attempt at maintenance work on the power grid. The first time, it was a Tuesday and I had arranged to go to my Fathers for the day. Thing was, due to the wet weather, the work was cancelled and rescheduled for a later date. That date being today. At time of writing, I still have the lights on .. so we’ll see.

Now to the blog.

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about loneliness and feeling lonely and I wanted to write about it from my perspective.

For almost 7 years now I have been largely on my own. And if I’m being honest, its not been great.

I am a very social person. I enjoy being in the thick of things, surrounded by people, even if I’m doing something as basic as going to work riding public transport.

When it came to friends, I found as long as I could go to wherever they were, I was going to have a good time.

Then the pandemic hit and shortly thereafter my mobility began to suffer and, well, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know the rest.

i am not alone. I am not alone because I have my husband, my family, my support workers who work with me every day, my workmates ( via a computer screen but still) and my friends. (mostly by phone or online) I am not alone because I still get to interact with people when I attend my appointments or go somewhere on a Community Access outing.

I am lonely because despite all of that, I still spend a large amount of that time on my own. With nothing but two kittens for company (and who, if I’m being perfectly honest, spend most of the day asleep in their respective corners of the house and make for very poor conversational companions) more often that not, it is simply me, myself and I …and that makes me very sad.

*** Update***

At exactly 9:47am – the power went out . I am now running on a backup dongle ( purchased as a result of the last major outage and kept as a spare just in case) and a punch of bottle lights that have been in a cupboard collecting dust for quite a while. Thankfully, there is a torch somewhere so I can use that if need be.

Anyway, where was I?

I am lonely. A lot of the time I talk to myself out loud. I know they say that talking to oneself is the first sign of madness but, the truth is, I do it just to hear a voice. I have no doubt my neighbours have heard me – a near 50 year old woman having rather animated conversations with herself on a regular basis – but my house is so quiet that if I didn’t, I’d go mad.

I home from home. I work from home. I’m home about 95% of the time. While my mobility has improved thanks to my surgery a year and a half ago, I am still not quite able to leave my house unaided so, I can’t go anywhere or do anything without a helping hand.

When I was a kid, I imagined I’d have one of those lives where you’d keep the same group of friends your entire life. You’d still keep in touch, visit each other, have coffee dates, lunch and dinner dates maybe even go away together on holiday. Of course, that would alter slightly due to work, marriage, kids etc but you’d always find time for each other. Everyone would live within 30 minutes of each other and thats why it’d be so easy to stay in touch. Turns out, life doesn’t work out that way. Life isn’t a sitcom where the same characters stay around season after season. Sometimes life means you spend a larger part of your life by yourself- even if you’re surrounded by everyone you’ve ever cared about.

Thanks for reading

Ceej

PS: AusNet now believes the planned outage for today has been cancelled however, there is an “unplanned outage” affecting the area. *Sigh* I wish they’d make up their minds

PSS: This is not the new posting date- i am simply writing this blog for something to do while the power is out
Life Update and Change Of Posting Date

July 5, 2026

Greetings and Salutations,

Life is going along OK.

Writing is going OK

I am currently debating changing the day my blog goes live.

At the moment I am going to try for Wednesday mornings at about 11am AEST as, after looking at my social media things, Wednesday seems a good time to post. Yes, I know I will be working but everything can be saved as a draft until then so it should work.

My first Wednesday post will be from 22nd July

In the meantime, I await a call from the Royal Melbourne Hospital regarding the issues I’m having with the right hand side of my face. Will let you know if this happens this week.

For now, I just plan to have a quiet Sunday . The next two weeks are going to be a little busy.

Thanks for reading,

Ceej
Frustrations, Aggravations and Everything In-between

June 21, 2026

This week was one of the most frustrating working weeks of my life. The company I work for or, more specifically, the middle of the range upper management types are currently having knee-jerk reactions to everything.

Look, I’ve worked where I have (quite happily I might add) for almost 17 years and I have seen more management restructures than Carlton Football Club has won premierships. In my line of work, you’ve got to learn to become flexible. The goal post shift on a regular basis, on any day ending in Y and if you can’t keep up. then it’s not long till the wheels fall off and you’re left far behind the pack.

But this most recent over haul? It’s honestly left me wondering whether or not I can trust the process any more. Whether standard SOP is being used as a way to ensure that no one in upper management can be held accountable for their actions.

It’s frustrating, aggravating and infuriating to say the least.

Having said that, I need the money so, regardless of my personal feelings towards the situation, I simply need to keep my head down, work hard and shut up.

In other news, I had my first meeting with my new NDIS support Coordinator, Sarah. She’s quite lovely and very knowledgeable on all things relating to the NDIS. She came to my home and we sat for two hours and talked about our plan moving forward, about how my plan is looking at the moment and how my new plan is going to be effected by the new changes rolling out.

We plan to have monthly meetings face to face moving forward (this is completely different approach for me and I’m all here for it) so I look forward to seeing where this goes

Indigo has been an absolute god send. Since I got her, my productivity has increased 10 fold . I’m writing on the days I don’t work (after I’ve done all the things of course) and I’m also using my time on the weekends to write as well. It’s been so nice to sit at the dinning table and just work on something rather than sitting at my computer desk in my office waiting up to an hour to be able to write something and then constantly having to wait for the desktop to process what I’m writing because it needs to catch up.

Have I mentioned my recent CT scan? No? OK ..

So, on the week that I took off work, on the Friday of that week I went and got a CT scan on the righthand side of my face. Originally, my appointment was at 12:30pm . The day before, they contacted me and let me know they had a cancellation at 10am and could I come in then. Of course, I agreed.

On the Friday I got there early with my Support Worker, Miss L .

Now, for the record, I am not a fan of the CT scanning machine. I grant you, it’s not the MRI machine but it makes me feel claustrophobic enough. Jokingly, I said that It’d be fun as I’d be slightly radioactive and it turned out that no one at the radiology department had any idea about that. For the next 20 minutes I sat and waited while things were sorted out.

I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday this week to found out the results. I very much doubt they’ll find anything so chances are I’ll need to get another one and go through. the whole process all over again.

Will keep you updated on how things progress

Thanks for reading

Ceej
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And Now We Can Begin..

June 14, 2026
Greetings and salutations from my new Mac Neo, Indigo. She’s fast, she’s reliable and I don’t have to wait for up to an hour for Word Press to load so I can write my weekly blog.

Before I begin this weeks blog, I’d like to give a huge shout out to my Husband who saved the money so I could go laptop shopping. Thanks hon!

This week I took the week off work.

I didn’t have anything planned. It was just the way things worked out- with Monday being the Kings Birthday long weekend and I already had the Friday off for a medical appointment. So, it just made sense to take the Wednesday off and take the week in full .

Here is a snapshot of my week off
- I got a new drivers licence photo
- I caught up with my Father for lunch
- I went and got a CT scan for the issues I’m having with the right hand side of my face
- I made a follow up Doctors appointment
- Hubby and I were able to do the weekly shop together
- I went laptop shopping and spent and afternoon setting up indigo
- I got a visit from my friend Jo
- I inherited some interesting massage tools and wheat bags from a neighbour
- Hubby and I went to a local wine tasting and caught up with a friend
- I developed a taste for Pink Gin
- Hubby and I watched the Peaky Blinders movie ‘The Immortal Man’ & finished watching all of ‘Good Omens”
- I had serious thoughts about potentially joining a gym (The jury is still out on this one)
- I may potentially invest in a hiking pole (The jury is still out on this as well)
- I am – and probably always will be – curious about the benefits of using a muscle relaxant specifically designed for dogs and horses, on human beings. (IYKYK)
- I got a package delivered and ordered some microwave safe dinner plates
So yes, a quiet but enjoyable week off. Tomorrow its back to it (Ugh) but, as they say, these bills won’t pay themselves.

Today, I have a support worker to assist me for two hours. Just to give Hubby a bit of a break. Speaking of which, he’s just gone out to get us some breakfast before my Support Worker arrives for her shift and it is on that note, I must end this blog.

Until next week!

Ceej
Feeling Lost …

June 8, 2026

You know, I’m not sure why I’m writing this blog. Is it because I need something to do with my time? Is it because I feel I have something to say? Perhaps a bit of both?

Today, in my state is the King’s Birthday holiday. I’d normally be working today but, given that, that’s not happening today.. Here I am.

Currently, we are 8 days into June. For a large majority of Australia – this means it’s winter. For other places like The Northern Territory and a large majority of Queensland, it means you freeze your bits off in the morning but once the frost in your fingertips thaws out – you’re out living your best life while getting the type of suntan that most of you never asked for.

Observations about the weather aside, I think I am writing this blog because I feel lost.

Not lost like I don’t know where I am.. more like I just don’t know what I’m going to do next.

Over the last seven years, I have been up to my neck (and occasionally in up over my head) in the world of Outlander. The books, the TV show, the fandom experience – both positive and negative – online and that one time for the one time where there was an Australian Outlander convention held where I was fortunate enough to meet some online friends in real life.

I promised myself that when Outlander ended – it’d be my last foray into the fandom space. That I’d hand in my fangirl card, hang up my fandom hat and walk away knowing that I at least got the opportunity to share an experience unlike any I’d ever experienced before and be happy with that.

And honestly? Despite everything? I think I am.

What I’m left with now is … what do I do with my life from here?

Next year I turn 50 (and in accordance with my family history I start my journey into the world of Perimenopause and beyond) and so far they only thing I’ve learnt is that after 50 a woman starts losing muscle mass so exercise is key.

At present, I am debating whether I am able to join a gym. I have already lost 16.1Kgs in the last year and a half and my upper body strength is already pretty good, but, my lower body, in particular my legs, definitely need some work.

I’m looking at continuing my blog and my writing. While I promise to update as much as I can.. I am currently in the process of looking to buy a new Mac. My current one almost 10 years old and while it’s still hanging in there, it doesn’t quite have the speeds I’m after anymore. I’m currently looking at upgrading my desktop and will hopefully have a new Mac by September this year. Will keep you updated on my progress.

In the meantime, I beg you to bare with me as most of the time it takes more than 20 minutes for my current machine to do/load anything and more often than not by the time it’s done loading, I simply cannot be bothered anymore and have moved on to something else.

I would really love to meet new people but the truth is, given that I’ve been a shut in for so long, I’ve not the foggiest idea on how to people anymore and the mere thought of peopling again kind of overwhelms me.

My only constant companions are my Husband, my Father and my Support Workers and even then the time I spend with them is limited due to how our lives are. I do have my kittens but by and large they either see me as a snack source or a comfy place on which to sleep.

So yes. I am feeling a little lost a present. Not really sure which direction I’m going to go in.

I guess I’ll take it one step at a time and see where I end up

Thanks for reading

Ceej
The End … Of May.

May 31, 2026

And, we’ve made it to the end of May.

It’s been a hell of a ride.

We’ve had a month of birthdays, anniversaries, allergic reactions, dental appointments, vet visits, specialist appointments and technical devices being given their last rights before being sent to God.

We’ve had freezing cold nights, the inability to sleep, vividly weird dreams and kittens wanting to snuggle under the covers at all hours of the morning

We’ve gotten down to a size 14-16 while still weighing in at around 99.5kgs (219 lbs or15 stone)

It’s been a hectic, chaotic, month .. and I, for one, are glad it’s over.

Bring on June and the final stretch of 2026 .

Ceej
It’s Gonna Be May …..

May 10, 2026
May.

I, in equal parts love and loathe the month of May.

I love May because here, in Australia you can see an obvious change in the seasons. It means the Summer / Autumn wardrobe can be put away and the Winter wardrobe gets dusted off and ready to go. It means scarves. It means beanies. It means the warmer blankets can finally be put on the bed .. Just in case.

If you’re into star signs, May is the month of Taurus. ( Technically Taurus is April 20th – May 20th) Everyone has this mini celebration because Taurus tend to announce themselves in much the same way Will Smith did in his portrayal of Muhammad Ali. We walk into a room yelling “The Champ is here!” and expect everyone to acknowledge it accordingly, before ( Unlike Will Smith) demanding a huge plate of food on which we can graze and a nice comfy spot where we can sleep thus allowing everyone to get on with their day.

I love the month of May because :
- It’s my Birthday
- My Husband’s Birthday
- My Cousins Birthday
- My Sister’s Birthday
- My Mother’s Birthday
- Mothers Day
I also have the exact same birthday as two of my dearest friends (respective birthday twins) and I share a birthday with the man, the myth, the living legend himself- David Attenborough who, as we all know, turned 100 years old recently.

With all that goodness going on.. why then do I loathe it?

I loathe it because I am ardently opposed to colder weather. In particular cold mornings.

I loathe it because it always appears to be the month there is no money left- despite Hubby and I swearing black and blue we’ve not spent any.

I loathe it because despite every astrologer stating “Taurus – this year is your year” it never bloody is .. and it pissed me off ( First world problems and all. Despite my best efforts, I’ve still not won the lotto)

And honestly, I just find the month of May exhausting.

We’re already 10 days in and I feel like I could sleep for a million years.

I think I need a nap

Wake me up when it’s over will you ?

Thanks for reading

Ceej