Life!

On Friday I discovered that one of the wonderful new friends I made here in Graz since summer has a blog of her own. And apparently she is very good about it and posts almost every day, about what is going on in her life. For me, who has turned into Miss Lazy Poster, this sounds fab! So I guess I could write a bit more about my daily life and stuff as well, instead of taking a break with posting until I can get myself up from my laziness to take the relevant pictures for "big" posts.
So, forget the pictures for a moment. Here is what happened on Friday and Saturday.

Friday - lovely. I went to uni quite early on (9am?) because I had to hand in a paper. Thankfully I tried to take it out of my bag before walking in to the secretary's office, because - and this is a nice indicator of how fuzzy my head can be sometimes - I had packed the folder in which I wanted to put the printouts, but -wait for it - I forgot to pack the printouts! O_O
Yeah, that's me. I forget things. Then I shake my head about myself. Then I tell the story to everyone I know, until I can laugh about it. *sighs*

Anyway, the next things I had planned was meeting two people for coffee/tea - after each other. Insane? Maybe. Or an indicator of how little time I had during the rest of the month for meeting with people (for tea/coffee). So first I met with Kris (the one with the amazing daily updated blog) in my favourite coffee shop and we talked about soooo many things, especially old books we had and old toys we played with. As it turned out, she had always wanted to have some of those Princess of Powers dolls - of which I had had plenty, and which I had used to make up the most fantastic stories. Fun!

I guess I could have kept on talking with her for ages, but then I had to take this 3min walk over to the next café to meet coffee-drinking-friend number 2. I'd never been to this lovely café before, but I fell in love immediately. Hidden away in a tiny little street, comfy chairs, lovely tea and cake, great decor...and pink restrooms! PINK! OMG!
Friend number 2 is the one good friend I found amongst all my colleagues from uni. Since she has finished her MA and is doing her doctorate right now, I could fill her in on many new things that are transpiring at our department, like the three professors who are going to leave us come summer. I guess we talked for another two hours or more. Wow!

Next I had planned to maybe go into town to shop for swap stuff, but then decided to go home instead. And once home, I decided to read. And read I did! For the rest of the afternoon. About 200 pages, which means another book finished, wohooo! I like "holidays"*. :)
*It's not really holidays right now, it's called "lecture-free time", indicating that we should keep on studying - which I will, of course, on Monday. I'm being good. (and I'm overusing the word "indicating" right now, sorry!)

Anyway, then I took a bath in the evening, and then spent 3 hours watching this wonderful DVD: Jim Henson's The Storyteller. A series made in the 80s (I think 1987/88), consisting of 25min episodes, each telling an old fairytale. There were 9 episodes on that DVD, and I just couldn't stop watching! Sooo lovely.
Afterwards though, I went to sleep of course. That was at 3am. ;)

Saturday, I then slept until about 1.30pm. At least I was entertained during that very long time by the weird dreams I had. :P
The afternoon I spent sewing two patches onto my sister's pair of jeans (I'm being a nice sister right now) while watching my brother swim to two additional gold medals (he had already won three medals in the morning, one gold, one silver, one bronze - he's good, ain't he?) at the Styrian Hall Swimming Championships, or however that should be translated into English. (There's the summer championships, which take place outside, and the winter ones - the ones right now - taking place inside.)
And the rest of the evening? I met some lovely BC friends for dinner. (BC=Bookcrossing)
First we had dinner, and the best paella I ever had (also the first one I ever had, but I could taste with every bite that it was exceptionally delicious!), and talked for 2 hours, then three people left, and Kris and me stayed for another 2 hours just talking and talking and talking. Incredible how long a cup of tea can last.
Anyway, I came back home shortly past midnight, and I was so HAPPY. I still am. Life is good. :)

So tomorrow, or rather today, I will catch up on some sewing, and in the afternoon/evening I will go visit my best friend and we will sort out our photographs and put them into albums. Doesn't sound very exciting, but it's been on my internal to do list for YEARS (yep, they deserve the capital letters), so when I manage that today I should feel even better. :)

I hope everyone who reads this is also doing well! May all sewing machines be repaired and running well, the sun shining moderately and not too hot, the ice melting in other places, and good feelings all around. *stupidly feels like she wants to hug everyone*

Oh yeah, for those who have no clue what I mean by "Princess of Power", here is a very cheesy cartoon picture I found (so I have at least one picture with these many words!). Meet She-Ra, twin sister of the mighty He-Man, and some of her friends:

Six weird things about me...

...and a few extra.
I wanted to do this anyway, but then Dy went ahead and tagged me as well, so I guess that means I've got to do it NOW. ;)

So, read, and have fun. Please laugh, else it's tragic. :P

1. As a child in primary school (and maybe up until the age of 12 or so) I was convinced that I could fly. I would sit on my bed, suddenly feel like I would soon take off (weird, eh?), and then think "Just a little more now, just a little more." or "I'm flying I'm flying!" - alas, it never worked. :(

2. I used to dance. Latin American dances, like Cha-Cha, Samba, that kind of stuff. I used to be in a formation. I wore sparkly dresses full of sequins. I wore fake fingernails with sparkly crystals on them. I wore fake tan on my face and bright red lipstick. I think this entry alone would fill the whole list! O_O

3. I sometimes talk to myself - although, reading what other people have written, this is probably not that weird anymore. It just gets bad when I do it in traffic and complain about other drivers. And especially bad when I'm on my bike and people walk by. :P

4. I LOVE video games! For me, this is not weird, but other people might just think it is. I was playing Super Mario obsessively in primary school. Then I played loads of Tetris. Then, my once boyfriend got me into RPGs. The boyfriend is now gone, but the RPGs remain. I haven't been playing lately, but I sooo want to again.
(I'll add another weird thing to this one, so I don't end up with a list of 23 points...as a kiddo, I had a major crush on Luigi. As an older kiddo of around 18, I had a major crush on someone called Squall. Neither of these really exists.)

5. I had a time in my life when I would avoid anyone I knew at uni, like old school colleagues etc. If I saw any of them, I would take loooong detours. It was freaky.
I still avoid other people sometimes, but I think I have reduced them to a) people asking for donations b) people selling street magazines and c) my ex, who doesn't turn up anywhere anyway, thankfully - and the first two only when I really don't want to be bothered.

6. There was a time, for about 6 months or so, when the best friend I had was an Australian guy I had never met and only talked to online. I mentioned him before on this blog, I think. He saved me from what could have been a major crash (depression was looming - I had my hair cut really short and dyed red and looked very odd and wrote poems that still break my heart).
He'll probably never read this, but hey, let's trust to chance a bit: Hey Chug! *waves*
(His real names was a different one.)

7. Another one for good measure: I hate to find a parking space in a location where there are hardly any available, for example IKEA on Saturdays or the city centre on almost any day. I regularly freak out during such times, and if there should be someone in the car beside me, they better be very calm and relaxed people and prepare for some shouting, cursing, and possibly tears.

8. And maybe just another one, so Dy doesn't feel weird with her 8 points: I once went to an Apokalyptica concert. Apokalyptica play Heavy Metal on cellos. Guess what I was wearing? A very cute babyblue top. That's me. Always in black, but not for ze concerts. *shakes head at herself*

9. Oh, and I just thought of another one. I think my eyes are weird. Basically, they're blue. But sometimes, they are bright blue, and sometimes, they are a dark greenish blue. I suppose this has to do with weather and light and such. Still, looking at pictures of myself, it seems like my eyes always change. Weird! ;)

I *suppose* there would be more, but let's just leave it at that, hm? Thankfully, noone of my family is currently around, so they can't add anything...

10. I just thought, why not make it ten, actually. You may agree with me or not, but I think this is one of the best pictures ever. It still makes me laugh after months and months. Am I weird, or do you all like it as much as I do? Whatever, I will soon put it on a t-shirt.

Here we go again - Wardrobe Refashion 07

Soooooo....
I received my invite today, posted my introduction post, and I guess this means I will now, once again, post my pledge. I'm taking it for 4 months this time, as the 3 months I did last year weren't much of a problem. With my new sewing books and some more time on my hands, I think I'll actually have some nice things to show this time. :)

Well, here we go:

I, Barbara, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 4 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recylcled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings!
Signed Barbara ;)

And now everyone who reads this sign up as well! ;)

(By the way, they moved to a new address - Clicky here!)

Crossed fingers and toes succeed!

I'm still shaking my head about it with some bewilderment, but - I GOT THE JOB! Wohoooo!

On Tuesday I received this email from my professors secretary that he wanted to see me Thursday morning. "What now?" I thought, but hey, if I would get an aswer earlier on so that I could at least stop worrying about it, OK.
So I went, and he asked whether I had changed my mind since last week, and I just said "Well, I thought about what you said for a long time, but I'm sure I can manage everything." - and he said "Ok, then let's try. " :D I know, doesn't sound terribly enthusiastic on his side, does it? I guess he takes these kinds of things very serious, and laughing and smiling all the time while explaining my future duties would hardly have been fitting. :P SO not to worry. I'm sure he thought a lot about what he's doing - and I'll just prove it to him that he made the right choice. :)

Anyway, I will be working Tuesdays from March onwards (or rather, I'll probably be starting on February 27). I'll actually be employed by my uni. How fun is that? :D
The most fun will be my own office hour. (Yeeees, I will have my own office hour. LOL!) As in, I want to go to the first session of the lecture I'm "responsible" for, introduce myself and tell students to come to my office hour if there are any problems. That's my idea, at least. And I'm already laughing about it, even though (or because?) I can't even imagine that right now. Me + office hour = unbelievable. :D
My colleague will be the girl I might have mentioned - the one who is much much better at the theory stuff than I am. I know her a little, since we already had several courses together, and she's very nice.
I could go on blabbering forever, but I guess I better don't. I'm just really really excited. My first real job! At my uni! With my professor! Yay! And if I will spend half my time in front of the copy machine, so be it! ;)
I'll keep you updated about things go...

...and I shouldn't forget to send a huge THANK YOU!!! to all those lovely people who wished me luck and told me they were sure I would get the job - it was sooo lovely to have some people put their confidence in me when I really didn't have much of it in myself. You're the best. :)

Waiting

I had a talk with my professor on Friday. He said he'd already considered me for the spot - but he wasn't too sure about my theoretical knowledge - whether I would be able to explain literary terminology to other students.
Now, I know this is ony of my weak points, because I lost out on a lot of things during my studies because of, hm, private life interfering. My non-love of secondary literature, which only now is becoming a definite interest in secondary literature, may have "helped" as well.
Anyway, he said he'd let me know by the 30th, as that is when I will be seeing him in his office hour to discuss my thesis.
This means I have about one more week to do what I can to convince him that I CAN handle my terminology.
This means I have to apologise to everyone who is still waiting for certain posts, emails, packages etc. which I feel bad about, but I have to try. Not just to get the job, but because his opinion is quite important to me, and if he says that I could improve on that part of my knowledge, then believe you me, I will try to do so.

I felt like I needed to end this post, and begin my few days absence, with something nice and bright, so please enjoy this lovely picture of a kitten, which I just got off Google Image Search:

Exams are nothing compare to this

After some encouragement from some colleagues who currently fill the post but will be away form Graz by next semester, I have just sent an email to my thesis-supervising professor that I would love to work as his study assistant. Wanna know how long it took me to type that email? Long, very long, with many pauses in between.
So, tomorrow I will have two courses with him. And let me tell you, I will be far more nervous etc than for any of the presentations or exams. I was last Friday when I had first intended to ask him (he had to leave straight after class *curses*). I was for the last few days when I thought about writing this email. I was just now, while writing it, and then even more while hovering over the "Send" button - and tomorrow I will probably freak out somewhat. *sighs*

This would be my first job ever, except for the one 3-week work placement I had way back when I had just turned 18 - and the au-pair stuff, if that counts. My first job. Pfffff. O_O
I hope I hope I hope hope hope he has noticed how much more work I do ever since last March. I hope he thinks I can do it. I hope I can do it. I hope I will do it. I *so* would love to get that job! What could be better than working at your own department while writing your thesis? Getting to know from the inside the system that you were part of for more than 5 years? Properly getting to know the people, the professors, the secretaries, the librarians, all the people you've walked past, talked to, listened to for all these years? And working for the professor who is supervising your thesis and has been responsible for so much improvement in how you study etc?

Fingers crossed, eh?

More quizzes!

Hm, ages ago I did this quiz on "What yarn are you?" I think the result is still here on the blog somewhere.
Anyway, I just was made aware of two new ones to try. So I tried - and here are my results.

Your Power Color Is Blue

Relationships and feelngs are the most important things to you. You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict. If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well. You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What's Your Power Color?

Yeah, who would EVER have thought that my colour is blue? *feigns surprise* :P

Now the other one I sort of answered looking back, because I stopped drinking coffee last autumn. So there was a lot of substituting "Chai Latte" for "coffee" and thinking "If I would still be drinking coffee..." - well, you get the idea.

You Are a Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

And with this, I am afraid, I cannot wholly agree. :P
I don't exclusively have strong ideas about what I like. Sometimes, yes; but at other times I'll just go along with whatever.
I'm not completely girly girly at heart. In parts, maybe (see my latent love of pink).
I mainly drink my Chai Latte on my own, to relax and stop thinking about things. (although, of course, good conversation isn't a bad thing, I just don't explicitly prefer it.)
And - I'm not really easy to please. Sorry. In some areas, yes, probably in almost all areas, but in some others, uhoh, no.

So, maybe I shouldn't answer quizzes that are concerned with things I don't really do/eat/drink/whatever. ;)

Edit: Ok, I thought about this some more. Maybe I AM easy to please, or at least appear to be so. I am definitely easily amused. I generally like people without much ado about it. I easily go into excitement mode over pretty things. And maybe some other stuff, too. Does that mean I'm easy to please? You tell me.

Oh luck! Oh joy!

Ok, so after training yesterday, I was somewhat calmer again, a little more settled after talking to a few people etc. And today, after a shaky morning (still didn't know what was happening with my friend) and a presentation that went so much better than I ever would have thought, I was even calmer. I guess I'm ok again now, still a lot going on but I'm back in my "I can manage" state of mind, instead of the "OMG FREAK OUT!" state of mind. *phew*

Soooo, I got this package from Etsy today (more *later*, ahaha, this might be my favourite word, bad B), and went to leave my feedback, and, as I usually do, clicked on the pictures on the front page which I liked, and searched through the shops that I thusly found. And I guess I made the luckiest buy ever. EVER! Wohooo!
Not that I have the money, or somesuch, but with something like this, what can I say? Look at that picture:











See that bag? It is chockful with jewelry items that the respective artist made (before she got into glass bead making) and never sold, so now she is giving away this whole bag filled with necklaces, bracelets, earrings and whatnot, for this minimal amount of money! You probably wouldn't believe it if I told you how much.
As she says in the entry, one could take these things apart to have some beads to play with, or give them away as presents, or whatever. Well! What can I say, except that I will certainly have hours of fun when this little package arrives next week!
(And I will have to post a massive entry for this, so you can see all the goodies!)

Oh yeah, and I also bought this amazing glass bead in her store, check it out:

















Not sure yet what I will do with this, but the gorgeousness of it all just overwhelmed me. Soft blue! Soft lilac! Something that looks like mother of pearl! Seashell spiral pattern! Love! <3

And after this happy little interlude I'll write a few notes for tomorrow's class and then I'll be off to bed! *tired*

More exciting news soon, I promise! :)

Ayeeeh!

Ok, so I started to write this blog post yesterday about my two most recent swap packages and all sorts of other bits, but of course, I didn't get far with it yet, and now all is chaos again. :P

Today I took my best friend first to the doctor and then to the hospital, she has to stay there tonight so they can check what's actually wrong (some sort of evil infection).
I got up at 6.45am because of that, which I am just not used to, thank goodness I started getting up earlier (ie 7.30/8am) last week or I never would have managed.

I had one 1h-long office hour visit today (professors know far too much, you know? Input overflow :P), and a lecture, and am now trying to put all the bits and pieces of my presentation together for tomorrow.

Then a colleague just called about this other course and would I do this and that tomorrow, please? As she can't reach the other girls - geez.

And then there is this report I should have handed in today, or should at least tomorrow, hah, and another presentation on Wednesday, and the first exam on Thursday, and I basically don't know where my head is right now.

It felt so nice last Thursday and Friday, after those respective presentations were over, but, as I realised yesterday, that was just because I had completely forgotten about that report thing. :P

Well, whatever, I'm going to Aikido practice now and hope that it will sort of calm me down again, and then I'll just dig in for a few more hours.

And then, in a few days, when I have avoided another premature heart-attack (hah!) I will tell you about the wonderful thread packages I will be sending out soon!

Seven things

As I was reading through Meshell's archive to cheer me up when uni started again after the holidays, I came across this fun list, somewhat like the list of fours I did a while ago. Here goes...

Seven things to do before I die
1. Travel the world.
2. Write a book.
3. Own at least one cat.
4. Have children/a family.
5. Learn: how to knit, crochet, sew properly; and proper Italian, some French and some Japanese.
6. Work in my dream job(s).
7. Learn how to eat healthily and look after myself properly.

Seven things I cannot do
1. Sew straight lines (working on it)
2. Repair a computer (or build one from scratch *sighs*)
3. Learn how to budget money properly.
4. Stop eating chocolate.
5. Stop putting English words into German conversations.
6. Stop saying "lol" and "rofl" when talking to people.
7. Get to bed and sleep at the right time (getting to bed is OK sometimes, but falling asleep hardly ever is)

Seven things that attract me to my mate
We-ell, this one I can't answer right now. ;)

Seven Books I love
1. Each and every Terry Pratchett book.
2. All Harry Potter books (just no. 5 I didn't like that much, but maybe I need to read it again)
3. The Lord of the Rings
4. The Last Unicorn (finally read in Christmas holidays, oooh <3<3<3)
5. The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde
6. Eucalyptus - Murray Bail
7. Clear your clutter - Karen Kingston ;)

Seven Things I say
1. "Lol."
2. "Uaaaaah." *yawns*
3. "I am SO looking forward to when this is all over." (overused right now)
4. "Guess I'll do it tomorrow."
5. "I'm tired."
6. "Why me?"
7. "Have fun!" (My way of saying goodbye, hilarious when I say it without thinking to my mum as she goes to work - she's always saying "Thanks" with this "Yeah right" intonation...)

Seven Movies I Loved
1. Amelie
2. The Lord of the Rings movies
3. The Harry Potter movies
4. Sliding Doors
5. The Last Unicorn (so lovely when I was little, so entirely different when I watched it two weeks ago)
6. Most Disney movies (especially the older ones)
7. Kill Bill

Seven People To Tag
Whoever cares to do this, please do so (and let me know!)

WordCraft Challenge 1

You may wonder what this is about.
Well, last night, when I gave up writing the report I wanted to write and had already made several things out of pure frustration (pictures in a few days, maybe), I organised the little box with all my threads in it. You know, embroidery thread, that sort of stuff. I had lots of these, and all mixed up in one big mess. So I sorted through that and tidied it all up and put it nicely into one of those clear plastic storage boxes I bought at IKEA earlier this week.
But here's the point - in one of those small paper boxes that I never really opened, because my mum (or grandma even? Probably my mum) had bought those, I found a massive amount of blue thread in two shades. And then, I also had way too much orange and yellow. So I decided to offer some to anyone who could need it. But not just like that.
First, here's a picture of the thingies:













There's 13 DMC 793 (a sort of medium blue, it looks brighter in the picture because of the flash), 7 DMC 791 (dark blue), 2 Anker 0386 and 4 Anker 0332.

But why WordCraft? And why Challenge?
Well, I thought, wouldn't it be fun if crafty people who wanted some of these had to write something to get them? (That's the kind of thing I come up with at around 4am :P)
And I thought, Yeah - let them write poetry!
So, if you are interested in any of these, then please leave a comment, in which you should write which ones of these you are interested in - and a humorous limerick (limericks are always humorous :P) about either yarn, or general crafting. Like this, for example:

There was this one girl in Graz
Who was interested in all the arts
She read books quite a lot
but then often forgot
And so only remembered some parts.

Or

There was this collector of thread
who avoided going to bed
So she stayed up all night
had ideas not so bright
And let others suffer for that.

(Ok, forget that last rhyme :D)

Anyway, the idea should be clear, right?
You can post as many as you want - you have until next Sunday (the 14th).
If too many people want too much thread, I'll see what I'll do about this should the question arise - after all, I'm not so sure whether people are really wild about these thingies or not.
If this is a success though, and I get lots of funny poems to read, I might continue this - with buttons, for example, or ribbon, or whatever. So, get to it!

New Blogger

I just moved my blog to the new and improved Blogger - I think nothing bad should happen because of that though. :)

Things not mentioned, but not forgotten

This post is mainly about swaps I did with some wonderful people, but never got around to post about, because uni life set in and steamrolled over me.

Lori was one of the first people to ask me for a swap (the second one, actually). We said we would do a "Surprise Swap", and after I had collected together a few things, I decided on a theme for her: Roses/Flowers. I got some rose soap and rose paper cutout thingies (no idea what to call the stuff), dyed and painted some flowery design on a little tote bag, etc etc. I should post pictures about it but they're hiding away somewhere right now...

Anyway, when I received Lori's package, I had to laugh. Check the picture closely to see why:














YES! She sent me some rose soap as well! And rose paper! And rose scent bags! Ain't it just fantastic? No idea how we managed to think so much alike!
As you can see, she also sent loads of other stuff - a Rolling Stone magazine (never yet had one in my hands before, fun!), a Stephen King novel (without knowing that I had read some of his books as a wee teenie, but not this one!), some great beads and other fun stuff. The one thing that isn't in the picture is the lovely windchime she sent, all pinkish-purple fun - and it's not in the picture because it's hanging in my entry hall, and I didn't want to take it down.
So much fun, Lori, thanks again! And whenever I'm sick of life again, I'm sure your blog will cheer me up. :)
(Check it out, people, and you'll want to live on a little farm in the middle of nowhere as well! I know I do everytime I take a look at it.)

I think next in line came Carolyne from Adelaide. Now, Adelaide holds a special place in my heart every since I mad a very good online friend there, who has since disappeared, but I still heartily miss him. This fascination with Adelaide led to a general interest for Australia, and, in time, to the topic for my thesis - and me being able to make another friend, here in Graz, over our shared interest. So, as you can see, Adelaide, to me, is special, even if I've never been there (YET!).
Carolyne is an interesting person, for me. Working in what I would call hard science, analysing writing samples etc - whew. And then, on the side, she makes the most beautiful things. Check out this picture:



















See the bag? Click on the picture, please, to see the larger version, and look at the bag again. Isn't it great? I wore it for the first time to the opera, to see Carmen, and have the pictures to prove it (check the GYS site if you want to see them), and I'm longing to be able to use it again. I had it hanging up in my room for a couple of weeks after I received it, because I just wanted to look at it all the time. :)
Well, Carolyne also sent other things - loads and loads of wonderful beads, a great big t-shirt that, despite Carolyne's doubts, has already been in use several times, then a nice magazine with many many projects inside *fingers itching to make something*, some great chocolate (those FruitChocs were a true delight), and some nice stickers and touristy stuff, the kangaroo now sitting on my bedside table with some other nice things (a little touristy elk from Norway I got from my sister, a little angel figurine I received several years ago from my brother, and, since a few nights ago, another little kangaroo, from Perth).
Carolyne, thanks again! I loved and still love everything you sent!

And then there was Charlene, from Berkeley, CA. I asked her for magazines and look what she sent me:



















Magazines! And what great ones! First, the Japanese craft mag, fantastic, with things easy enough for me to make, lovely! Then, BUST, which I'd only heard about in whispers among the blogs I read, and wondered what was so great about it - then I looked through it and I think I understand now! Great to get this chance to check it out (without even asking for it specifically). And lastly, this really interesting music magazine. Never read a music magazine before, what fun!
But the magazines of course weren't everything. She also sent some great fabric, and some stickers, and...Ghirardelli chocolate! Oh, Ghirardelli Square, how I miss thee! I spent one afternoon of my life there, and what fun it was! So many things! So many lovely things! And great weather! One of the best days of my later school days, I'd say. (And the best thing I bought, ever: Chocolate pasta! My family was a little startled over that one when I brought it home!)
Again, thanks Charlene! And I'm still extremely sorry about the item that I sent you and which broke! (And I haven't forgotten about the recipes I meant to send you, they're just terribly late...I hope you don't mind waiting a few more weeks.)

So, these were my autumn swaps that I never posted about and had the worst moments over because I felt such a lazy thing, not to post about all these great things I received!
There's still two swaps I haven't written about, which I received just around Christmas:
One from Meshell in Perth, and one from Melissa in Singapore. But I'll post about them soon, as there are so many nice things to show you, and it would be a pity to let them suffer for publicity as long as the other packages did!

As a final picture, another one from my stay with my friends - on the afternoon of the 31st, we drove around the area a bit, and did some walking, and geocaching (google it if you have no idea what that is, or wait for me to say more about it, hah). It was my first time, and much fun! I took this picture about 30mins before the sun was setting. This is Burg Güssing, in the south of Burgenland, the most eastern province/county/whatever of Austria. My friends are thinking about getting married there. I hope they do, it would be fabulous. :)

The Dawn of 2007

I love this photograph! I took it at around 7.30am or so on January 1, standing alone in the garden of my friends' house. (The others, cleverly, had gone to bed earlier than me.)
I hope all of you had a good start into the new year, with fun, and friends, and general good times. I did, and it was great. The past few years have been rather bleak in some respects, and the days you sometimes notice this very much are always holidays. Especially last year's year switch was crap (as I may have mentioned before), but no more about that! New year, and how fun it will be!
The next three weeks probably not, I admit that. I have about 4 presentations and 5 exams and I don't know what sort of stuff to hand in (yeah, watch my organisational skills, which are as yet pretty much non-existant!). Then after those three weeks there will be 6 weeks with about 5 papers to write, but - I am looking forward to that, really I am. And after that - happiness. My thesis to write. I am REALLY looking forward to *that* one. (I'm not kidding you. I am.)
What will happen this year? I will graduate. I will probably move out from home. I may just have to find myself a job. Doesn't it sound exciting? :)

I would like to leave you with another picture...














This is the view to the West while the sun was rising. This isn't where I live, but about an hour to the east, where my best friends boyfriend and his sister lately purchased a house. Wonderful place, let me tell you. :)

Another year over...

So, since I'm going away this evening to celebrate with some friends tomorrow, I have to say a few things about this year of 2006, which turned out much better than I thought at it's beginning.

It started badly (who ever wants to start a new year crying?), and had another low point in February, but strangely enough, these two bad things actually set the direction for the year, which led me to this point where I am now, with my happy social life, friends around the world and so many things to look forward to. Strange how things turn out sometimes...

I got back from my Erasmus term in London in late January, and then had another two weeks of hard work for this paper I had to rewrite. Then the low point in February, but then, lo and behold, Miss Lazypants suddenly turned into Miss Motivated and signed up for 11 uni courses, and enjoyed them all (and finished them all, no more dropping out). Then summer, and big changes, hard won changes. (I read my horoscope for 2007 a week or so ago, in some sort of magazine, and it said there that 2006 would have been a year of great changes for me...then I remembered that I *had* read that in previous year's horoscope and had disregarded it with a laugh...) And a new term, with 12 courses, and sports courses, and new people and friends pouring into my life.

Ok, noone is going to be able to make any sort of sense of what I'm writing right now, I'm sorry. It's a fine balance to strike between saying things and not falling into a rant. I could rant about some things - but I'll spare you the stuff.

Anyway. What does my horoscope say for next year? That I will be able to make good use of the changes that have happened this year. That I will not fall back again into old patterns of behaviour (if this is true, nothing can go wrong anymore, I'm safe, hah). That I will be able to do something really good in summer/September (when my thesis should be finished and the final exam taking place, so fingers crossed). That someone special will turn up who can be relied upon (so maybe, someone I haven't seen enough of to have any sort of well-founded opinion about but still managed to gain my interest without so many words will return and show his face again? Hm? *ponders*).
If these things have any value in them, I should have a fantastic year. A hard one too (after all, 2006, which turned out great in the end, was quite hard in many parts), most likely, but ooooh, if it turns out good in the end, it will all be worth it, I suppose.

I'm not going to put up any resolutions here. If I did, they would sound quite familiar: Buy less stuff. Make more stuff. Save money. Work hard.
So, I'll just say that I'll try to make the best of things as they come. Go me. :)

May everyone who reads this blog, and worked their way through this post, have the best possible start into 2007, and may the year continue as good as it starts, and then get better! I'll see you again when the numbers have changed...

*wanders off into the sunset, whistling*

Getting things in order

So, after a long while of trying to ignore the huge backlog of emails I yet had to answer, I managed to reply to most of them today, which means that I have one or two swaps scheduled every month until around March/April, hehe. But at least it's sort of organized and nice now, and no more worrying about me not getting back to people - they now all heard from me. What a relief. :)

For the rest of the evening I'm going to put a few other things in order...make my hair a little darker again (I only did that at the end of October, yet now, when some light hits my hair, it goes all reddish, ick), organize my feeble but still overspilling craft supplies, and hopefully I'll finish the presents that my sister got from me for Christmas and her birthday (her birthday is the 26th, heh).
And Saturday I'll hopefully manage a good general cleanup, so I can come back from my friends' place where I'm going to spend New Year's to a tolerably clean and lovely home.

At least, that's the plan. Let's see how it goes.

[Out with the old, in with the new! Trash some useless trash today! :)]

Merry Christmas...

...everyone!

I just finished decorating the tree (my happy task every night before Christmas) and I'm finally getting into the spirit. My throat hurts from singing in the cold. My presents are half-finished at best. My room is in chaos. Christmas time is finally here! :)

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow/today, with your family and friends around you! Enjoy the holidays! I know I will. :)

*saunters off humming some Christmas carols*

Now I lay me down to sleep

...with my assignments written (although I missed an important point about them, which I will talk about with my professor tomorrow - reading instructions *properly* a few days before the text is due IS helpful indeed, or rather, would have been. :P)
...with a nice book to read (Pride and Prejudice, which I last read when I was around 17 or so - this time it's for uni, but I'll enjoy the whole business tremendously!)
...with only tomorrow to go until it's finally Christmas holidays!

Today I went into town after uni, to get a few more presents together, and I pretty much hated it all, I was tired and headachy, and all the crowds and hustle and bustle and music in the shops and in the street and the lights - it just annoyed me. I'm sorry to say so, but it did. Thankfully, next year there probably won't be 12 courses to do work for at uni, and I'll do the little bit of Christmas shopping I need to do early enough to be able to avoid town on these last few days before we finally all settle down for some quiet quality time.

This evening, thankfully, I did some cookie baking. My mum did one batch of cookies yesterday (which I missed), and then one today (which we arranged beforehand so I could do the work my mum loaths and I love - we made Vanillekipferl today, and when they're out of the oven, you have to cover them in this mixture of powder sugar and vanilla (sugar), something my mum hates to do, but I really like it, for some reason - childhood memories, I suppose).

And tomorrow, once I'm home from uni, massage course and climbing course, I'll take a loooong hot bath and say hello to the happy times ahead. :)

Unlucky Tuesdays

Well, well, well.

Last Tuesday I lost the wonderful pair of black and white gloves that my parents had brought for me from Iceland last spring. *sob* I went into a bank in the evening to use the cash machine, and left them lying on top of the thing...when I noticed, and hurried back, they had already gone.

Today, just before I left the house, I put on my favourite bracelet, which I had bought from Etsy only this summer...and when I arrived at my seminar, I noticed it had disappeared! *SOB* Just gone, I guess I didn't close it well enough or something, anyway, it could be anywhere, on the street, in the bus...it's just gone.
This is what it looked like:












It was called The Guardian and I used it as my Good Luck bracelet. And me, silly, me, I just lost it! How can I be so mindless!?

I don't know whether these two episodes are supposed to teach me something...and if so, whether it is to finally get a bit more organised again (because life, just now before Christmas, has turned into one huge mess for me), or whether I should learn a bit more about letting go (maybe something unresolved left yet that I should deal with? I guess so, hmmm...), or something else entirely? I don't know.

I'm just really sad about the bracelet. It was lovely. I might have to get back to Tish and beg and plead so she will make me another one - but how to tell an artist you have simply lost her work? Hmmmm. Not so easy...

Anyway, I'm once again posting to avoid homework, which I really shouldn't be doing...especially not when I should really be in bed. Byeeee!

A few things...

Well, I'm trying to get back into posting, so here I am again! I'm just home from this huge eat-out with the Aikido people, and I think I won't be eating anything for at least tomorrow. Too much food! O_O
And I haven't laughed so much and so hard for a long while, there came a stage where I really had to struggle to get my breath back. I wish I could tell the world what we talked about, but it's not that easy to tell, so, sorry. The fun you can have with stupid topics, amazing. :D

Anyway, I just checked Carolyne's blog, and she has this lovely list in her current entry, and since I can't sleep right now anyway because I'm stuffed, and need something to do that my mind is still able to do (no homework for me anymore, but other writing might still work...), I think I'll do this, now.
So, here we go:

4 jobs I have had
3-week internship in a company (me as secretary, woot)
babysitter for friends
Au-pair in Texas and Ireland
Hmmmm...can I call myself full-time student? As a job?

4 places I have lived other than where I am now
London, UK (how cool does that sound?)
Tralee, Ireland
Houston, Texas (for three weeks only *brrr*)
a different street in this city, until I was 2 years old

4 movies I could watch over and over
The new Pride and Prejudice movie (saw it two weeks ago and can't wait to see it again)
Who framed Roger Rabbit (not seen in ages but it just popped into my head right now)
Pirates of the Caribbean (every time I see it I notice something new)
Hmm...Bridget Jones or Hero? Both of them are nice to watch and rewatch...
(I haven't watched enough movies lately, I need to use my holidays to watch all those recorded ones I collected over the past few months/years)


4 TV shows I love
Starmania (Austrian version of Pop Idol and all that stuff) - because nothing is better than coming home Friday evening after a long week, flopping down on the sofa and watching something nice and quite mindless
Was gibt es Neues (Austrian comedy show, I just love those guys)
Caroline in the city (if it were still running)
The Simpsons (again and again and again)


4 places I have been on holiday
Bibione, Italy
Dublin, Ireland
Kopenhagen, Denmark
Paris, France

4 websites I visit daily
Cute Overload
Little Miss Meshell
Dilbert
Bookcrossing Austrian forum

4 Favorite foods
Rocket
Lasagna
Chicken Tikka Masala
Sushi

4 places I would rather be
In bed, asleep, and no need to get up tomorrow (ha, I wish)
Wherever Mr. "Now I'm here, and now, for 6 weeks or more, I'm gone, hahaha" is (...)
On a beach, be it night or day - with a nice book or without it - either Banna beach in Ireland (oooh, how I miss thee!) or, judging from the evil pictures Meshell has posted, Rottnest Island ;)
Some place that still gets snow


4 people I am tagging
Anyone who reads this - you know you want to!

Aha, and I'm sneezing again, so I guess I'll get myself to bed no matter whether I'll be able to sleep or not...

I'll be back!

Silence

..is golden, as some say. Anyway, I've been quiet for some time now, I guess I should get back into the posting fun.
Why am I not posting that much lately?
Because, all of a sudden, I have a social life! Wohooo!
Really, seems as if since that day in August when I managed to make a decision, my whole life turned upside down - which is great! I'm still not quite used to it, but - fantastic! I like myself much more like this. :)
Anyway, this is the last week before Christmas - at this time, in seven days, I will already be lazing on my bed, surrounded by books and whatnot...or I'll still be sitting in the living room with my mum and maybe my sister, working on the puzzle my mum wants for Christmas. Mhhh, it will be fun!
My swap packages for the time being (those that should arrive around or before Christmas) are sent, and I finally have time to concentrate on the gifts for my family. And I'm slowly getting into the Christmas spirit - I was in town Saturday afternoon, doing some carol singing with some colleagues of mine (we're supporting an organisation that helps children with cancer - very good). Good fun, and we were really good as well, and I (yes, I , me, Miss "Ooooh, how I hate presentations *shaky hands*") volunteered to do some more singing...in front of ALL OUR PROFESSORS *argh* *screams* That's what I meant with my life being upside down, it's all changing, and completely different and...weird. Fun. Good times. :)

Hm, I haven't written for such a long time that this is all over the place now, but yeah, I guess you can all see that I'm one excited happy little girl right now. Life is good.
And I'll soon write some more exciting stuff again, promise. ;)

And the winner is...

Me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me
me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me and ME!




Ahhh, it feels so good, I cannot describe it. This year, with so much to do and so little time, I really had my doubts at some points throughout the month. When I suddenly was 8k behind at the beginning of last week, I was pretty down. Sad and sorry for myself. I wondered how I would manage to catch up, how I should do it?
But Inspiration came in a form I hadn't expected, and it not only helped me gain thousands of words only dedicated to this one cause, it only helped clear my mind on one issue I was suddenly starting to have doubts about last week as well (which was also causing me to feel weird and somewhat down in the dumps).
But now all is good. Thanks to Lilly from the forum, I flew over the finishing line today, almost 6k written in around 3 hours or so. What joy! (Lilly, in turn, reached the finishing line about 10 minutes ahead of me, thanks to me. Wow. And I do not even know her, you know? :D)

In the Nano forums, I already thanked the whole community there in the German forums, which is the most motivating bunch of people that I know. But here I would like to thank all my friends around the world who checked in sometimes during the month and cheered me on, thank you, all of you! It would only be half the fun if it weren't for people like you. :)

Now I will have to wait 11 more months until the whole fun starts all over again.
I can hardly wait! :D

My name is Red - Bright Red

Inspired by the nail colour from hell, I decided to photograph some other nice red things that were important this weekend:
1) The nail polish. Amazing, that colour. It blinds my eyes.
2) Gluehweinsterne (mulled wine stars) - fruit gum with mulled wine aroma, bought yesterday and the bag is almost empty now, uh oh.
3) My new PIN letter. I have my new phone number. Adios, old contract. (And all that goes with that.)
4) My earrings, worn today (to match the nails, no less).

I'm starting to really look forward to Christmas now. It will, without a doubt, be the best one in years (unless anyone dies, which I hope will not happen!). Finally, a quiet day, a quiet evening, no more stress. => happy! :)

My own private little joke

See this bright red, which is almost a criminal offense?
It has its own little story, which I am not going to tell.
However, I have had this nail colour for many many years and today...today was the first day I ever wore it, and the last one as well.
My own little joke. ;)

Weekend

I'll be gone for the weekend as there's this big family event far far away to the west (Germany, that is), which I have been looking forward to for quite a while because it's SO rare to get all of my family in one place at the same time. Some of my cousins I've only ever seen once so far, and that not for long, and years ago...how fun it will be to see 'all grown up'! :D
I'm taking my laptop with me so I can continue working on my Nano stuff, which is slowly taking shape...I hope I'll have some time for that as well. And yeah, some books are going with me as well, for the car ride...need to get some of that uni reading done as well.
Anyway, hope you'll all have a good time, and I'll let you know what happened once I'm back!

Status Report Update

Haha! I actually wrote up the status report to make some confessions, and then I conveniently forgot them... :P
Well, there are a few things that haven't been going so well. Like, the lunchbox thing! Usually I'm just way too tired to pack myself a lunchbox for the next day. And in the mornings, of course there's no time at all! So. :P Not much progress on that front yet.
Also, I said no more books, and magazines only if I manage to get an exam with a grade of 3 or better. Well, I did the one at the beginning of October, and I got a 3 (I hadn't studied, at all, bad B, bad!), so I went to buy myself a magazine. But! I didn't! Oh no! I bought myself a book instead! :-O
Yeah, I know...but it's about Pilates, so actually about health stuff, so it's not too bad, is it?
The other bad thing? I bought some make up stuff when I really don't need any. But I wanted to try something out. Too bad. :P Well, I actually like the nail polish I bought quite a bit, not so sure about the other stuff yet...but well. I hope I'll stop with buying this kind of stuff again now. :P
Anyway, I needed to put that down. I'm not perfect! ;D

Status Report

So, how am I doing on all my several projects?

Studying:
Going ok. I don't manage to read everything I should be reading, but so far it's working out somehow. Also, already one presentation down, only 3 (or something) to go. ;)
But, somehow I feel quite good doing all these things. It keeps me occupied and I never sit around thinking "Now what should I do?" as I'm always doing something!
And every week, I like my supervising professor more; I think I definitely made the right choice when I decided to write my thesis with him. Good, eh?

Doing sports:
Oh, still love it all! With Aikido, two weeks ago I had a day where for some reason (ok I can guess why) I didn't manage to be concentrated enough and had some problems to do things correctly, but last week was fine again, and lots of fun. I'm losing my fear of falling, which is brilliant. I can do those forward and backward rolls quite well by now, at least better than a few weeks ago, so it feels like this huge success. :) Also, I really like the people doing the course, it's always fun to practice and talk with them.
The massage stuff is also going well, we finished the legs and have now started with the back, and oooh, it's brilliant! :)
Climbing this Tuesday was hard, since we had a break of 3 weeks or so, and at one point I almost lashed out at some guy who was trying to help me, just because I was getting so frustrated. (I didn't - thankfully.) But the first bit went quite well - the warming up, really felt good - it was just that after that bit my arms were already pretty much exhausted. :P
And Qi Gong, always good. I always feel loads better afterwards. :)

Meeting old friends, making new ones:
Going brilliantly!
Went to a cabaret show with my sister on Wednesday (Hader muss weg, for those elusive Austrian readers), would have gone to a meeting afterwards but all the people had left already (:P). Yesterday, one of my oldest friends celebrated because she finished her studies on Wednesday, so I met her and her boyfriend and some people from school, really fun as well. I talked so much that my voice disappeared halfway into the evening, and I had to coax it back with a cup of tea. ;)
Also, see below with Bookcrossing. :)

Crafting:
Uh oh. Nothing for a while. But I finished a paitning last week and put it up in my entrance hall, and I bought some more beads to make something nice for some swaps that are currently on. So yeah...not much doing, but some thinking about crafting.
Oh, wait - I did some origami at this Japanese festival we had last week. ;)

Swapping:
Two swaps that are supposed to go out next week or so, and I'm receiving more and more requests! Yay and Argh! I guess I have to update my swap post and tell people I'm all excited about hearing from them, but that it will just have to wait a couple of...months.

Writing:
Well, I managed to drag my Nano-novel over the 1/3 mark yesterday, but I'm a little behind by now. My plan had been to take it to 20k this weekend, let's see whether that works out, as the weekend ends in about 21 hours, and I'm currently writing here and not in my Word document. :P

Refashioning:
Well, except for the two t-shirt refashions I did in October (there was a t-shirt refashion competition, and since there were only three people who did something for it, I'll soon receive a runner-up prize! How exciting is that!) I haven't yet done anything, although I really want to. Ok, so I dyed a few things in this lovely lavender-like colour (should have been violet, but lavender/mauve suits me just as well), but haven't yet done anything with them (not even ironed them, I know, I'm sooo bad. :P) Hope I'll get around to this tube-top thingie I really want to make soon.

Bookcrossing:
Woohoo! Went to my first meeting ever today, and it was so much fun! Actually, one of the girls there studying the same as I do, so now I have a new friend at my department, hehe. We even like the same kind of music - brilliant! I left a few books at the meeting, and got some new ones, which is so exciting! I would soooo love to read them all at once, and now, but of course, no time yet. :P
(So yes, I met some new people here!)

So, as you can see, I'm WAY busy, but I'm also feeling really good about it all. I have these moments of exhaustion, but they only last a very short time now, since I am getting better and better at counteracting these. I could say I'm having the time of my life, but I guess I'll keep that for the moment when I finally manage to talk to Mr Elusive.* ;)

Hope everyone else is also doing well...I am reading your blogs, and I'm commenting whenever I have anything useful to say! I'll be better with posting here again once November is over. ;)

*Funnily enough, at this point in time only my friend's boyfriend would know what I'm talking about...

Winter is here

Hey people!
Actually, when I was at uni, I thought I'd tell you tonight about how temperatures have really dropped, and it was freezing cold, and around ze zero degrees. But I have something better for you...it's freakin' snowing! O_O
Now, when I asked my dad, he told me that yes, two years ago we had snow this early...actually, on October 24. But, of course, last year I wasn't here, and so this time around I'm like a wee little girl and jumping around the flat screaming "I can't believe it! Snow! §%?#!"
So, in about 10 minutes, I'll be leaving this house (Qigong is calling) in my winter coat (already! Woot!), and crunching ont the first few flakes of this year! OMG!
*overexcited*

Iced Salad or My Mind Crumbles

I have a small story for you, to let you know how I am doing:

On Saturday, my dad bought some salad for me. Rocket, which we only get here in those pre-washed plastic bags. I love rocket. I can only hope I write about the right salad. ;)
Anyway. I had half of the bag for lunch on Saturday. Then I put the bag away.
Today when I came home from uni, I knew my mum would bring some fish from town later on, so I wanted some small snack-like thing to eat. So I open the fridge and look for my salad. It isn't there. "Strange," I think to myself. "Who in this family could have eaten it? I can't think of anyone...and they only came back from their trip yesterday evening, too. How mysterious!"
I eat nothing but have a cup of tea and wait for my mum with the seafood goodies.
15 minutes ago she called me into the kitchen and asked me why the heck I had put my salad into the freezer.
You know, I'm asking myself that as well.

Check my progress!

Ok, I know it looks kinda ugly right now, but I promise, once the whole thing starts the one bar is gonna go and all that will be left will be the progress bar.
Yep, next Wednesday Nano starts, and as you can see, my blog is trying to shape up for it! Once the little ship reaches the end of its bar, madness will begin, and I will start counting my nervous breakdowns as well as my words written! ;) And so can you! (the words written at least, I'll keep the breakdowns to myself.) Throughout the whole of November, whenever you look at my blog, you'll see how I'm doing...and if you want, you can cheer me on, too. ;)
The way things are looking time-wise, I'll need all the motivation I can get - or live without sleep for a few weeks...we'll see. :D

Ugh

I had two hours of sleep last night as for some reason I didn't manage to fall asleep before 6am. My legs feel like lead. :(
I have uni courses from 10.15 to 16.30, and a meeting with someone I'm doing a presentation with. I'm not sure I'm going to make a lot of sense today...
My mum says its my fault for falling asleep for an hour yesterday in the later afternoon. I blame the pot of (green) tea I had late in the evening - even if it would completely suck if I should already be this sensitive to any form of caffeine or theine. (Because, should I ever succumb to the lure of coffee again, will that make me go through the roof or what?)
I feel like sleeping for the rest of the day, but of course that won't happen.
Guess I'll have to make the best of it and try to look as awake and super-smart as possible...which might just be a little hard to do, since I feel like going "Graaah!" at everyone who talks to me. :P

Update: Ok, so I had courses until 17.45 (usually would be 17.30), I was probably feeling hopeful when I put it down as 16.30. ;) And it was pouring when uni was over. And I came home at 19.15. Ugh again.
Now, you might say: "Hey, you probably fell straight into bed! Go you!" but I didn't. Instead I felt this pressing need to dig out one of them old tapes I recorded when I was 12/13 and listen to "Do you remember the first time" by Pulp over and over again -while singing along and dancing around in my room. :D If that's not sleep-deprived and slightly demented behaviour, I don't know. ;) Ok, so singing and dancing around is GOOD, obviously, but doing it for over an hour, with the same song on for most of the time, and LOUD, while completely wreckedly tired - that's the demented part. Anyway, it felt great. So, as you can see, I had a wonderful end to a hectic day. :)

How the Wii works

Ok, so most of the people currently reading this blog will have no idea what I'm talking about...but hey, soon you will!

Now, what for most of my time at uni* has been something of a second life/career has been my videoplaying self. Blame it on the boyfriend, I got quite addicted. Ok, I should maybe explain: I played videogames before...Super Mario, Tetris. But he got me into RPGs.

I'm not going to talk about my Playstation career now, because that would take way too long, and I should be studying. ;) But just to let you know, I do follow the news to some degree, and this winter/spring, there's two new consoles coming out, the Nintendo Wii, and the Playstation 3.
Now, the Wii has this really funky controller, which will introduce all new gameplay options and whatnot, and yeah, if I ever get rich (and don't die tryin') I'll have to get that one as well.

Anyway, what I found today was this amusing video making some fun of the controller (and Link, everyone's favourite green clad kiddie hero).

Watch Link getting bashed

And now I should go back to reading the one part of the Canterbury Tales still left for tomorrow's lecture. Dumdedum. :)

*Until about one year ago, I should add. I'm way too busy right now...sadly.

Write your heart out 2006

...or NaNoWrimo 06, as it's usually called. ;)

As you can see, I have some time on my hands today for writing my long outstanding posts here - I stayed home from today's sports classes because of sore throat and headache, which I really don't want to develop into a proper cold. So I'm sitting here in my cuddliest warmest winter jumper, with scarf round my neck and a big pot of tea in front of me, doing my best to use the time well and do some reading for uni and writing for myself. :)

And this whole post is basically about writing for myself.

NaNoWriMo is a fantastic thing and I'm glad it exists. It entered my world in 2004 when a friend of mine posted about it in one of the forums I use.

Before I go on - what is this all about?
Well, it's about writing, quite simply, and about writing a lot in a short time. The thing is called "National Novel Writing Month", and even though it has been very international for a long time, the name as it is just works so nicely, they've kept it.
The goal for all those brave ones who sign up is to write 50,000 words of prose (fiction) in the month of November (ie 30 days). You have to start your story fresh from the start, so no continuing old stories. The purpose is to let yourself write without inhibitions. Don't worry about being perfect - just worry about reaching the right word count...that's enough worry for one month! I think Chris Baty (the crazy SF guy who invented the whole thing) says about it something like "writing with abandon" or something. As in, leave behind your inner editor and just write until your fingers hurt and your keyboard breaks down.

If anyone is still asking "Why would I want to do such a crazy thing?" here is my personal answer (you can find some answers on the Nano page as well):
Because it's fun. Because you will most probably surprise yourself. Because it has this great philosophy of not putting off good things forever but to throw yourself into what you love doing (ie writing for most of those who join in). Because the joy that finishing your novel brings will propel you along through all the winter dreariness and will boost your self-esteem through the roof. Because if you don't write this great story, noone will. Because imagination and creativity are such essential parts of our lives and usually live a sad underdog existence in our daily routines. Because you will meet people who share your passion. Because you will be inspired and inspire others. Did I mention it's excellent fun?

Now, let's continue with my own story:
In 2004 I had this great idea. I even knew how it was going to end. But I was missing an essential thing: A computer. I tried writing things by hand and then typing them when I had the chance, but duh - I failed miserably at around 12k. I still want to write that story someday, no matter how crazy it really is. (And it is, believe me.)

In 2005 I was in London. That alone was a very good and inspiring thing. Also, I had this library at hand with a pc lab that was accessible 24 hours a day. Yay for me! And so I wrote and wrote, with only three courses to do and no boyfriend or family demanding time away from the pc, and I finished my wonderful (crazy) 50k a few days before the deadline. I still have to write the ending though - and I will, soon.

This year of 2006 will be crazy (just like my stories, but not as nice I'm afraid). I'm doing lots of uni courses. I'm doing all the sporty stuff. I should be reading a whopping lot, and I think my professor would just be delighted if I did some work for my thesis. Also, I'm building myself some sort of social life now, very unusual as I didn't have such a lot of that for the past few years.
And - I will write this great and crazy story. Plus I will finish the story from last year. I will go mental around Nov 20 and have some nervous breakdown or scream at everyone who even so much as looks at me, but hey! ;)
On the computer front, all is well - I have my own notebook now, I have good access to the family pc...nothing to worry about anymore, thankfully!

I'm still trying to convince my surroundings to join in. My sister might be thinking about it, but as she has a lot to do as well and she's not as crazy as I am, she probably won't join...I'm working on convincing my best friend with the argument that she writes some stuff for her role-play character anyway...Tuesday evening she started musing about maybe writing one of the adventures down and that it would easily be enough material...so I'm still hopeful on that front.
Funnily enough, Meshell joined without knowing I did, so now we can kick each others behinds when we get, well, behind, which is great! ;)
I'm still thinking about putting up posters at uni etc. After all, I mentioned Nano in one of the articles I wrote for the spring edition of our departments magazine...noone sent me an email about that, but hey, maybe I just need to remind people a bit. Maybe I can bribe/convince the lecturer who does the Creative Writing course (which I did once, and we only have the one, and I don't have time for it now :P) to do some promotion in the course, that might help as well.
Anyone have any other ideas?

So, if anyone reading this has a glimmer of interest, but isn't too sure, let me know and I'll convince you. ;)

And if anyone wants to read what I produced in 2004 and 2005, hey, sure! Just don't expect a literary masterwork...rather, prepare for some crazy fantasy stuff with linguistic elements, and in the case of my later story, a good insight into what value shopping might have! ;D

Pretty little things

This is the earring post which I meant to write about two weeks ago...

The story goes like this: At around 14, I muse aloud about maybe having my ears pierced. My best friend promptly gives me some earrings as a present. After that, of course I had to have it done - even if I had changed my mind (I probably did still have some doubts back then). So, shortly after, when in town with my mum, she says "Hey, why not do it right now, right away?" And woopeduh, we're in the shop and I'm having holes shot into my ears. Ouch.
Even worse - I meet with my boyfriend in the evening and he's all like "Oh nooo, why the ears, oh my God, why did you do this?" etc. I feel like a complete idiot.
Result: For ten years I had my ears pierced, and for ten years I haven't really worn any earrings. Case closed.

And then, now, boyfriend gone (in German there is this nice expression for it which I'm not sure I can properly bring into English, so I'll leave it, but for the one German reader that already told me she's here (YAY) => "gegangen werden", ok? :D), I decide to indulge in a complete earring buying spree, and to wear them almost demonstratively...like a sign that the past is now truly over and done with.
Edit: Ok, I think the best translation I came up with is "he has been gone". Passive voice. Does that make sense?

So here are the results of my indulgence - all of them bought on Etsy.

Kathryn Riechert
These were the first ones I bought, and they're incredible! Kathryn wrote in her description that these are perfect for every day, and she's right! I could really wear these every day - if I hadn't bought such a lot of other ones! ;)
These are sterling silver, with little white pearls dangling beneath the discs. The detail on the discs was hand-hammered into them, and they really do reflect the light amazingly. I'm totally in love with them. :D


Patricia's Art
Of course I couldn't resist these! I mean, pearls! :D
I love these as they are pretty and not too extravagant while still being quite unusual. I think they're a little like me - not very loud but very interesting, ha! *makes herself look good*
At first I was worried that these would be too long for my comfort, but after wearing them for an evening I didn't even want to take them off anymore!
So, these are ceramic pearls with nice chinese designs on them (might be some I Ging stuff, but I'm not sure) and the slightly rosy pearls. Mhhh.

To stay a bit on the safe side I also bought the following two:

Funnily enough, I haven't worn these yet! No, I always went for the big and colourful ones instead of these safe and classic little pretties. Who would have thought?
Anyway, these are tiny, and both again with pearls (a word which I continually keep typing up as perals today :P).







Just a Tish
What can I say? Tish makes fantastic things! She selects the stones she uses by their character, ie their energies - if you believe in that kind of stuff. I do to some degree (*outs herself*).
She gives nice descriptions of what the stones she uses should help with.


These earrings, called Alice, use citrine and moonstone. This means they are good for intuition and for dispelling fear. Moonstone is a very feminine stone, too. :)
(If you're interested, you can look at her Items Sold list and check for details of what the stones can do.)


These are called Wink. ;)
Made of rutilated quartz and black/blue glass crystals.
Now, this quartz, if it fulfills everything it promises, then it should:
Get energy moving (good for me as I'm a lazy slob), assist with mental focus (which I sadly lack very often), and attracting love (a-HA!). Now, currently I mainly hope for some energy. Who knows, at some stage I might also hope for some love again. ;)

Now these are real fun. Called Catnip because Tish's cat was so fascinated with them! :D
I admit I haven't worn these yet as they're probably the most unusual ones I bought. Why should I wear them? Well, because they're fun of course, and because they might just help my memory and also with removing sorrow, both of which would be exceedingly good things. :)
(Stone is called carnelian, if anyone's interested.)


Danglebeads
Ok, so this is where I went a little crazy. Meshell had posted the ones she ordered on her blog, and I just fell in love. So of course I had to order my own, and try not to order the exact same ones that Meshell bought. Thankfully, that was quite an easy thing to do, as the selection is huge. Except for the red ones, I managed! :)

Of course I couldn't resist these as the colour was called "seamist green" and I'm an inland girl who is an ocean freak. :D
What is really fantastic about these is that when I had them I found out that one of the shirts I bought at some stage fits perfectly with a jumper I bought on a different date and the earrings match up perfectly with the colour of both of these! What a great coincidence! I might just be perfect at buying matching outfits when I don't bother about it! ;)

These are just nice and fresh and blue. Go perfect with another jumper of mine. What luck! :D







These are the red ones that I couldn't resist. Once I fit into my jeans again I will wear jeans, black jumper and these pretties....mhhh. :)






And I had to get hematite ones! Duh. But I bought different ones than Meshell did, so I'm ok, right?
Anyway, I haven't worn these yet because the only times I tried I was wearing a lot of black already, and it just looked too dark and dreary. I'm sure though that the perfect occasion for these will soon come my way.



These would be perfect for spring! Pity it's now October and cold. but I'm still wearing them! At least they remind me of spring. :)







And finally these. this is my absolutely most loved colour. I guess you could call it teal, or petrol, or bluegreen. I just love it, it's perfect! And so are these. On Tuesday I could get no useful outfit together, so I was wearing black and dark grey (ugh) and felt like an idiot for trying to put useful clothes together at 2.30am. So I put on these earrings and a scarf somewhat the same colour and felt a little better about it all.
But still, no more choosing clothes for the next day at that sort of time - I have no creativity and useful thoughts whatsoever at that stage I guess.

So, these are all the many great earrings I bought! I think it's 13 pairs or so. Wow.
But they've really paid off, I feel better when wearing some, not so boring etc, also like I at least did some little work on the way I look, which does wonders for my poor self-esteem.
Lastly, they are also great when I feel a little fidgety during class - I can just pull one of these from my ear and play around with them a bit. ;)

And that concludes this very very long review. Please check out all the pages/shops of the people I bought from, they make wonderful stuff!

I dream of smoking

I'm not a smoker. I never smoked. I never will smoke.
However - in my dreams I do.

I just remembered a minute ago that this night again I was dreaming about me smoking. I'm not kidding you. In my dreams, I'm actually a quite accomplished smoker.
Now, I had a lot of practice (in my dreams), because I dream these things repeatedly. Not the same dream over and over, but different ones, connected by the fact that my Dream Me is chain-smoking. Sure, I do not smoke in every dream I remember, but in a disconcerting number of them.

I can guess at what Freud and all psychologists might have to say about that. I probably had some traumatic experience in my oral phase and now, since I surpress that fact in my real life (I suppose?) my Dream Me/subconscious is free to smoke however much it wants to.
At least that's my guess - if anyone here has any other ideas, let me know.
(Fact: No one in my family smokes. My friends don't smoke. Only a few people I know smoke, and they're mostly colleagues from uni who I don't have much to do with.)

There are probably many possible reasons for this. But is there a solution? Are there any methods available for weaning my Dream Me away from the bad stuff?

Because it really messes with your life when you wake up and can't remember for quite a few minutes if you have ever smoked or not.

Duhhhhh bi duhhhh

Ok, so my brain for writing is taking a break...I have loads of unanswered emails and loads of things I want to write but don't want to write *right now*. :P
Problem: November isn't far away, and if anyone here knows me, they know what I'll be doing in November - writing my Nano stuff. (If you don't know me, and don't know what the heck I am talking about, I will write about Nano soon).
So, I have to get my writing enthusiasm into gear, and be quick about it.

But! Even though I haven't posted, and now owe three swap reviews, some (5?) sweet reviews, one earring review (hello to Perth!) and all sorts of other stuff - at least I managed to get and send in pictures for three of my swaps. Pretty good ones too (I think). So that's something done at least.
I'll get the ones for the other two swaps taken soon, and then I should probably work on new swaps - sorry to those people who are waiting for me to reply!

In other news, uni has started and it is hectic but fun. I have NO idea how I am planning to get all the work done, plus work on my reading list, plus work on my thesis, plus eat and sleep - but I'll work it out somehow. And if that means not reading everything for some course, well then, sorry course! I have to sleep sometime. ;)
(Oh yeah, add the Nano stuff to November. That is going to be soooo crazy this year...)

Maybe some bits about the sport classes I keep going on about. I am doing four very interesting and different things: Aikido (with my sister), sports massage (very neat), sports climbing (with my sister), and Qi Gong (or Ch'i Gong as I probably should write it - explained to us today). That's a lot, and even more so for little me who has avoided all serious sport for the last 6 years (yeah, back then, I was dancing - that's AGES ago, wow), except for going for walks and some very light jogging, and the bit of cycling that I do to get from A to B and back again.
Anyway, 4 courses. Of course, massage sounds easy, but when you do the massaging, you're actually quite active - so not just pure relaxation, haha. Qigong is probably the most relaxing of all the four things.
And they're all fun! Amazing but true! Yes, even the climbing stuff, which is hard, and kills my feet and hands, and is frustrating because we have a difficult wall with slippery holds and I'm a complete newbie. It's still fun! :)
It was probably insane to sign up for that much stuff in a semester where I already have to do much stuff, but what's the saying like? All is allowed in love and war, or something like that.

Just so you all know I am enjoying myself and have not forgotten about swaps finished, still outstanding, and all the other stuff!

Tired now (and for the last 8 hours or so :P), so off to bed it is.

Wardrobe Refashion Pledge

The Wardrobe Refashion Pledge

I, Barbara,

Pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing.

I Pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle pre-loved items for myself.

I Pledge that I shall create and craft items of clothing for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium.

I Pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recylcled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings!

And I will do so at least until the end of 2006! Take that, H+M!

Rest and Resolutions

In the danger of sounding paradoxical - soon uni will start again (tomorrow, sort of), and soon I will find some rest and peace again. Haha.
Honestly, paper writing always gets me on edge. In the danger of sounding paradoxical again, my thesis should be so much more fun than those endless term papers! By now they annoy the hell out of me, no matter how interested I might be in the topic and how much I'd love to write about these things.

Anyway, October 1 which just passed here marked the beginning of my new resolutions for the rest of the year, which will hopefully make up for not having any sort of resolutions this past New Years.

They are mainly concerned with spending less - far less. Close to nothing would be preferable, though that will probably not happen.

To achieve this, I have resolved the following (I might miss a few things now, I have a longer list elsewhere):
1. To not buy any more clothes. To help with this, I joined Wardrobe Refashion 06. I think I need the group pressure, uh, group support here.
2. To not buy any more magazines, books etc. I have some exception clauses here:
a) If I absolutely need a book for uni reading and it's gone both from my department's library and the main library, I may consider buying it.
b) If I finish any exams during this term, and my grade is either an A, B or C, I may buy myself one single magazine as a reward.
To further my goals in this respect, I have deleted my credit card information from my Amazon account, YesAsia account and PayPal account.
3. No more other fun but unnecessary stuff like video games, CDs, DVDs, jewellery etc.
4. No more Etsy purchases (unless as per point 5).
5. I will only buy bath stuff when I run out of a certain product. Which means - only when I have close to none toothpaste/shampoo/conditioner/what have you left will I buy a new one. And yes, I may buy these from Etsy, as the stuff they have is good stuff.
6. I will pack my lunch for uni instead of spending good money on not so good food, and for this purpose have ordered and received my own little lunchbox set! Hah. Won't that be cute..by which I mean slightly childish but fun.
7. I will give my credit card to my parents so that when I need - or think I need - to use it I will have to ask them for it. Boy, that should help.
8. I will get bank statements on how my account is doing every Friday - and I will actually look at it. ;)
9. I will buy craft stuff only when a) it's for a definite project, and just the amount I need and b) I know I will actually finish said project within the week. Better to use what I already have though, sure.

I guess that's the main stuff...it should work. :) All these are from October 1st 2006 until January 1st 2007. I guess Christmas will just be sooo great when I can wish for some books etc. Yay!

Something that doesn't fit into the 'saving money' stuff is that I will get back to what used to be my usual weight, which somehow went ballistic since March. The sports courses I signed up for (starting tomorrow! Me and my sister will be learning the coolness of Aikido - I hope - on Mondays from now on. Hah.) should help - although I signed up for them just because I wanted to, and not because of the weight thing.
Hey, at least I'm not joining Weight Watchers! ;)

In other news, I learned yesterday that one of my friends is going to get married next summer.
Now *that's* amazing...