Liesje

Since Lex I've caught a cold and beat it, but it wasn't fun. Hope I don't get sick right away again this time, and to aid that hope I've been taking it easy. I've watched several movies, but did get tempted into visiting the cinema as well.

The first notable movie I saw was Up. I'm a big Disney/Pixar fan, so I expected something nice, but it seriously exceeded those expectations. I Loved it. The characters had depth, I cried and I laughed, and when the movie ended it left me happy. To all those that like animated movies: this one is worth it. However if you like the concept of growing happily old together(like I do): bring handkerchiefs. You'll need them.
The second one is New Moon. If you're not female, I'd say don't bother. The few men in the theatre all had this bewildered 'Where the Hell did I end up now'-look. Also, if you don't like stuff developed for teenagers: don't bother either. If you are female and don't mind watching something made for that age category, I can seriously recommend the movie. The story is interesting, it's well filmed, has a great cast and manages to put romance, drama, comedy and thriller into an interesting and highly entertaining mix. Plus the story concerns interesting variations on traditional monster-lore.

Last couple of weeks were spent in not so good condition. First Sna caught the flu, and after I while I had it too. I tried to ignore it mostly at first, but last week I took my bodies cluestick and spent several days in bed. Fortunately I felt well enough to go to work again on friday, and was able to go to Lex. I did take it easy, as to not end up sick yet again. Had fun playing Lucy despite the slow start the second night, doing typical Lucy stuff like shutteling people to the Prince and arranging things.

In the meanwhile the kittens have for a lack of better words nested. I'm currently sitting with one cat sleeping on my lap, and the other one right besides me. I have to say, I love having those critters around :-)

Last Friday was a long anticipated day: the new members of our household arrived.
I've been wanting kittens for a while, but we decided once upon a time that it wasn't a good idea with a move in our short term future. However, we've moved last summer and are now more or less settled it in.Selmaika had a nest of kittens at her house, and we got two male kittens from it, which she was kind enough to drop off at our place. There is a black kitten we've named Nox, and a striped one (think Wiskas stripes) we've named Set. Since I have fall vacation at the moment, my last week has been largely about the kittens. They're naughty but wonderful little critters, happily running about our house.
On other news, my second Bachelor degree was finally in, so I've picked it up. Besides my Bachelor degree in Econometrics I now also hold a Bachelor degree in Literary Studies, and I have the pieces of paper to prove it  ^_^

Recently I read a book which I absolutely loved. It was a gift, thus I had not read the cover text in advance. Afterwards I read it though, and I was left aghast: I would not have bought this book based on that text, and it would have diminished the story if I had read it in advance. It got me thinking.

A while ago I made a small study into what a good cover text does and does not do. I concluded it needs to give an impression of the main characteristics of the story, like writing style and general mood of the book, without betraying the plotline of the story. Bad ones tell you about the plotline itself but manage to give of nothing about the qualities of the writing itself.

Reviews face simillar issues. Based on a review I want to know whether or not a book is for me, but not too much about the story itself for that ruins the enjoyment of reading it.

Now I'm wondering. What characteristics do you think a good cover text must have, and what characteristics does a good review need?

It's sort of a weird feeling. I made it, I survived. Ae'ria is heading towards a bright and pleasant future, in which she'll get the oppertunity to learn and teach more magic, potentially start a wizards academy, help build a city, and visit a friend-that-became-a-tama for tea on a regular basis.

I just don't get to play her anymore.

For me it's the end of an era. It was a good and beautifull run, which started with an event that changed my life in more ways then I expected. I say goodbye to a character that was like a warm blanket to me, and find I have space to fill and plans that might just do that.

To all those involved: thank you. I will miss our times together, and hope (and expect, in all honesty) to run into you in other places, in another time.

The last couple of weeks have not been the best couple of weeks of my life. I had a few good days, with going to the Efteling and a zoo called 'Ouwehands Dierenpark'. However handing over the old house saw some unexpected complications, and Sna went to Drachenfest, both of which have been hard on me. I don't like being home alone several days in a row very much, and am very happy Sna is home again. I missed him. Fortunately I had friends over a couple of evenings which helped very much, and I visited Castlefest.

The next couple of weeks will hopefully shape up better, as Sna and I are going to Lacuna Coil tonight, and the Summer Darkness festival on sunday. Saterday it's time for crossfire again. So fun stuff is coming.

Finally I'm setting up a rpg-campain. I've been wanting to DM a campaign for a while now, and have been working on writing one in the Grimm setting. I'd prefer to run weekly, or bi-weekly, on an evening other than the weekend(which one is currently undecided). If you like the system and you're interested, do let me know.

The move was a lot of work, and with Sander having to work several days quite hard. But thanks to a lot of help from a lot of great people (thanks again, everyone!) it is almost done. Now we need just need to add some closets and unpack *a lot*. Oh, and obtain curtains. They should finally be in, but honestly, I can advice against getting curtains trough the Karwei, especially the one in Krimpen. It’s a lot of hassle, and customer friendly is a concept they’re not very familiar with.

The old house is as I understand it almost done now; we hope to be finishing it tomorrow.

 

Next couple of weeks will see a lot of working on my thesis (and working on my motivation to work on the thesis, I’m a little exhausted atm) and a fair bit of unpacking. I’ll probably attend Castefest, and will be at the Lacuna Coil concert and the Sunday of Summer Darkness. I’m very much looking forward to that.

Unity rocked! and then all our plans fell apart. Sander was supposed to have lots of time this week, but he found out last week that due to circumstances out of anyone’s control he'd have a lot less time this week. Which required a lot of re-planning. This resulted in a very important meeting being well er... forgotten. It's fixable, but it's sure requiring us to be flexible... which you know, I'm just not very.
When I'm ok, I can handle a lot of changes. But when I'm not optimal, like stressed, or feeling dislodged, every change is an issue. My need for control kicks in with a vengeance, and while this has a lot of perks with regards to getting things done, it also requires a lot of coping capacity :s

Recently I've been spending a lot of time on chores. Especially chores related to the move(and leaving the house in a respectable state). We've ordered cutrains. We did so at the Karwei, which even though they had a fair amount of choices wasn't the biggest hit... although at the end we we're helped reasonably well. The machine we needed to input out order into was epically slow, and appearantly there was only one person who seemed to know any specifics, and he needed to be resurrected from the bowels of the storehouse. Also, today I painted the bathroom(the paint looked really bad, I just know we'd have to paint it anyway so I figured: let's just get it over with) and cleaned it toroughly. Still to do: a spot of gardening.

Outside of that we've started planning the move itself. For this we have da masta plan, which can be found on sna 's livejournal. I'm really looking forward to the new house. Although I'll prolly have to do a spot of emergency gardening fairly soon to discourage the jungle growing there( we visited recently to get window measurements), and paint that bathroom as well...

Just got called: the school where I want to work most, and where I also was in the furthest stage of the application process, has decided to hire me. W00t!!!!! :-D

Last weekend I went to Symbols, which was awesome. My character lost the worst of the effect of the butterfly, which implies that concentration is a little easier. That doesn’t imply she suddenly stopped being a scatterbrain, she just is a little less of a scatterbrain. Which translated into her taking over the Mage Guild, since as far as she knows she currently is the most advanced normal magic user living in Runewall. From that point on I’ve spent a lot of time training other mages, learning from them, and cornering visiting mages into teaching me. In other words: doing exactly what this character prefers to do, and what I enjoy doing with this character most. 

After the weekend however I found myself thrown back into a huge pile of stress and stuff I needed to do or arrange. Wednesday I had a resit, the only one I had to do this year, which resulted in enormous amounts of stress. However, I passed it and that helped a lot. Also finally finished all the arranging I needed to do for my thesis, so now all that remains is the actual thesis itself.

I finally sent in my application for my second bachelors degree to the UvA, and the indication that I wish to go into the second year of my masters to the UU after the summer. I also sent in a couple applications to schools for potential work places as an unlicensed teacher, so I can get the work experience I need to get my license. I can also do this trough a plain stage, but the E200 a month that results in will leave me needing an extra job anyway, and from what I’ve been told by the IVLOS there is a fair chance that I can find a workspace that’s willing to pay me (at least more then E200) while at the same time resulting in the experience I need. I already have an interview next week, however I’m afraid to put all my eggs in one basket, hence the extra applications.

Finally, my tax return for this year came in, and it resulted into me feeling very rich. Naturally, this is relative, since I am a student and it’s mostly intended to fund new furniture after the move come July, but it sure looks nice on my account.

Add to this all me watching Star Trek yesterday eve, I am feeling much better then I was last Monday, and am looking forward to what hopefully will be a week with much less stress.

I noticed I hadn't updated in a while again, thus it's time for one. First of, the last few weeks have seen exams. I’ll have to resit one, my first resit of the year. The other one hasn’t returned my grade yet, but most likely that one went better.
Last week I finally finished an assignment that was very overdue, for the last course I still have to finish for my Bachelors in Literature. I have enough point no matter what due to my second Bachelor, but want to finish the course anyway.
For Economics I’m starting on writing my master thesis, but even though I’m really into the topic I notice I’m finding it difficult. I suppose that mainly because I sort of need a vacation, but don’t really have the time for that before the thesis is finished.

 

On other news, last weekend sna and I celebrated being together for 4 years. We spend the day relatively quietly, walking some in a nearby forest, because working in Utrecht is leaving Sna relatively tired. After the move in the beginning of Juli, which we're both very much looking forward to, his work will be relatively close, but for now he's got a lot of travel time.
I’ve visited the Elf Fantasy Fair last Sunday. Had fun, and obtained loot. I got 2 books, Last Watch (sequel to Night watch, Day watch and Twilight watch) and The Watchmen, and the first season of Carnivale.

I have been a little busy with deadlines, which are going reasonable. Today however I can't seem to focuss, so I've been filling in the meme I has promised to do. So here it is:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you ANY five questions.
3. You WILL update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

 nathreee

 asked me the following questions:

 

1. What is your favourite roleplaying game and why?

 This is a difficult one. I've found something nice about basically every system I’ve ever come into contact with. The thing I like about roleplaying games is the stories they bring and the stories they enable you to tell with a group. I suspect Grimm would be my favorite because it also touches on a topic I’m very much into, namely fairy tales, but I haven’t gotten around to actually playing or being a dm (for which I do have plans) in this system.

2. What are the stories that you would one day like to write down and publish?

 On the non-fiction side I’d like to write something about fantasy and or sci-fi, and specifically look at how these relate to older stories or fairy tales and patterns from fairy tales.

On the fiction side I currently have to story concepts I’m attempting to work on. One is about a girl who finds a vampire’s journal. I’m contemplating having her reflect back from somewhere far in the future, where she is a vampire as well, but am still in a highly conceptual faze.

The other one is about a little girl who grows up in a rural world, but from where all the children get taken by a clerical order. I’m planning on telling her story and the story of her world in several separate stories, the first ones shorter and simpler, to raise the length and complexity of the stories as the girl ages within the books. I've pretty much already an overarching concept of the story, and drafts of the first couple of stories.

 

3. Who is your favourite character from my novel and why? :P

 I like Melancholy best. I have the feeling that there is a lot still to be told about her, both about her future and past and I find myself curious to find out about them.

4. You're a sensitive woman, like myself. What precautions do you take to make your life easier?

 I make sure I get enough rest. I know myself well enough to usually be able to predict what will be too much, and when I know moments like that are unavoidably coming I try to built in coping mechanisms. For instance, all winters are bad for me. So I plan a lot of fun things, preferably long in advance, and I object more to things planned in that period that will upset my status quo then I would if they’re planned during summer.

   Also, I sometimes distance myself from certain problems. If someone I care about is in trouble, I always feel the need to try and help. But I can’t fix everything, especially if people don’t really want to solve the problem... which is surprisingly often the case. I can then choose to let it wreck me, let it wreck the friendship, or take a step back so I’m still there when either they leave the problem behind them or they do want to change things and I can actually help. However it can be very hard taking distance from something when you’re seeing people you care about either in pain or in trouble.

5. What book would you recommend me if I wanted to read about "the supernatural"?

 That rather depends on why you want to read more about the supernatural (I worked in the library for a while, and this is where my training kicks in ;-) ). If you wanted to know more about where certain things come from, I’d advice you to read good translations from the original Grimm tales and the Mother the Goose tales. Also, it would be wise to read a couple of academically annotated versions of for instance Dracula, Frankenstein and Beowulf. You good even look into Greek and Roman myths; they contain a lot of supernatural elements you nowadays still run into as well. There is much more, but this already provides quite a reading list I think.

   If you want to know more about the concept of the supernatural, especially in literature you can read something about psychoanalysis of literature. When you narrow it down to the fantastical Rosemary Jackson’s Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion and Todorov’s The Fantastic are very worthwhile. I used these both for my Bachelors Thesis. A little older is Propp’s work; he analyzed folk tales to see if he could find a pattern(which he did), which I found very interesting.

   Of course you can also read one of the books about supernatural history. That’s on my reading list for after I graduate, when I no longer have huge stacks of mandatory stuff from school.

   Finally, if you just want to read about fun concepts within the genre, I can advice you to just read loads. I can recommend Patricia Briggs and Cate Tiernan to you. You also might find it worthwhile to delve into a couple of bundles of short stories. I’ve just finished Unusual Suspects, which I loved, and I’ve read Wolfsbane and Mistletoe with great enjoyment. That way you get a brief taste of the concepts an author uses without having to dive into a complete novel.

 

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Well... sort of. Finished all the stuff I needed to finish the last couple of weeks, and while one grade is still up in the air, I have confirmation I passed the other course. There is only something I promised myself to do left, but there is no hard deadline for that, thus I can take it a little easier.

My health however isn't holding up the way I hoped. I managed to trip, fall and bruise my knee and part of my hand, and when the worst was over(small blue spot on knee, mild twinge in fingers) I got a mild case of stomach flue and a seriously upset shoulder. Don't know how I managed, but it kept me up all night. Hope it goes away again soon...

On other stuff, life has been interesting. Which might turn out for the better, but hasn't been helping Unfortunately I have no idea how those things will turn out (especially with the house stuff) so I'll post when I do, or at least when I know more. Which should be soon... I hope.

Every now and again I find myself on crossroads. On moments where all the little decisions knot up into one neat little bundle and are about to transform everything... or not.

This week and next I need to finish all big mandatory assignments for the courses I am taking. The week after I have exams, and after that my schedule changes. Next week I have a job interview for a part time job besides my studies. The looking for house thing is being very present in my day to day life.

Things are changing. Most likely for the best. Doesn't make it less scary though.

Aan iedereen die ik nog niet gezien/gesproken heb om hen dit toe te wensen:

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!!!

Last Saturday was fun, with movies and friends. I ended up watching the Goonies, Mr. Magorium’s Magic Emporium and Gremlins. It also saw a bit of a doh-moment, since I caught a cold that has been doing it’s best to turn into a head infection. It managed to get my throat infected, but luckily my body managed to beat that somewhere yesterday. However, I then decided to finalize my Christmas-shopping and that might have been a less smart decision, since breathing trough my nose has been an issue ever since.
I was less sick then Sna though, who had been feeling unwell for a while and then in spite of taking it easy got to spend the Sunday hugging his new best friend the blue bucket. Fortunately he is doing a little better now as well and is successful again in keeping the food he inserts where it’s supposed to be.

Next couple of days will (hopefully) see us celebrating Christmas with family, and participation in a highly anticipated American Book Centre-raid. There are a couple of books I’ve been looking forward to that came out recently and other book stores just don’t carry them at all or have really long ordering periods. I’ve been looking forward to that very much.

Christmas here we come :-)

I’m holding up, more or less. Winter has hit and it hit bad. Having a couple of things I’d set my hopes on not turning out the way I hoped didn’t help and forcing myself to plan fun stuff is hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have fun when the fun stuff is there. I’m even dependant upon it to help me avoid sinking into a permanent state of gloom until spring. But putting energy into arranging something while everything within you is insisting you should go into hibernation mode is hard, and I just can’t deal with any disappointment at all. It takes me serious effort to lift my finger to press the tv-remote, so coping with a setback has become a process of days instead of hours.
But I muddle on, trying not to get too far behind in class and to keep doing stuff that keeps me on the positive side of the spectrum. Plus it’s only 5 more days till the longest night, 5 more days till the worst is behind me. And then it's time for Christmas!

I had a blast at Lex. Was very tired afterward, but it was a lot of fun. But Lucy is always interesting to play, especially with the stuff that happened last Lex which had Lucy relaying orders by the prince.

  Last weekend saw me working on Sna’s coat (which I hope to finish today) and visiting Scheveningen. Sna an I walked on the beach(which was cold but fun), walked a bit about the town and visited Sea World, where I had never been but which I absolutely loved. I can heartily recommend it to everyone that likes stuff like the Nemo in Amsterdam.

   School is going relatively well, and my health is holding up reasonably(as long as I remember to spend time with my daylight-lamp). Plus as of today December has started, which is a month in which I religiously plan loads of fun stuff. Coming up are a day with friends planning larp-stuff, the Winterfair, Sna’s birthday, various Christmas celebrations, visiting the Winterefteling and first: Sinterklaas.

   Can’t believe I’m saying this, with my winterblah and all, but W00t for winter…