Imaginary Gardens

Life and Times:

The Netherlands - Mom arrived on Thursday evening. We threw out a lot of things (huge bags of clothes, notes, etc.) and packed the rest. A bunch of books and a pair of tennis shoes were sent by land through the mail service for ridiculously cheap prices. I closed a deal with Random Internet Person for the wardrobe for less than 50% of its worth, but the jerk never showed up. The guy who bought my bike complained two weeks later that he couldn't afford all the repairs the bike needed and could I please take it back and refund him, to which I say a) any and all repairs you want to make are unnecessary because the little shit works so just don't do them and stop whining about your budget, b) it's a Dutch bike, and a third-hand one at that: of course it could use repairs, c) seriously?!?!.

On the tourist side, we went to Den Haag and its beach, Scheveningen, ate broodje harrings (raw herring sandwhiches) and gigantic pannenkoeken, went to Amsterdam and its Rijks Museum, and so forth.

Rome - I'm still in the process of finding where to put my stuff, making room, unpacking, trying to make the room mine and not just "that room where I can put my stuff". I've signed up for super-intensive Italian courses (three hours every day, seven days a week, for one month), which was mom's idea. I fear this may sap me dry of energy and leave me unable to job hunt (which hasn't been happening), so feh.

Also, omg I cannot be a week behind in Links of the Day ever again. I might need to cull my reading list... So. Many. Links. *whimper* Oh gods, the tags!


Fandom:

Supernatural - ( Read more... )

Doctor Who - ( Read more... )

Ashes to Ashes - I still haven't watched last week's, but I hear there's some epic graffiti. Oh pleasepleaseplease let's have Sam Tyler show up if only for a little bit!

Castle - Patience, my precious.

Lost - Stupid no-new-episode week. Harrumpf.

Agora (Trailer, Wiki) - This movie (which was pretty awesome yet gruesome and made me go, "Oh, the humanity! Religion, why?!?" and also "Holy fuck is Rupert Evans gorgeous, but mrawr is Max Minghella scrumptious" and "It's an elipse! Argh, watching you suffer and research is making me sad I can't help!") touched on a number of moments in characters' lives and psyches that I'm going to have to hunt down for in fanfic, which will probably be futile. ( Read more... )


Quote of the Day: American Gods, Neil Gaiman

Would you believe that all the gods that people have ever imagined are still with us today? [...] And that there are new gods out there, gods of computers and telephones and whatever, and that they all seem to think there isn't room for them both in the world. And that some kind of war is kind of likely.

Links of the Day:
Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Ashes to Ashes / Life on Mars: ( Read more... )
Lost: ( Read more... )
Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
Nightmare on Elm Street (2010): ( Read more... )
Southern Vampire Mysteries / True Blood: ( Read more... )
Human Target: ( Read more... )
Multifandom: ( Read more... )
Other Fandom: ( Read more... )

Random: ( Read more... )


* TPratchett, Small Gods

It snowed all morning, leaving a good foot or so on the ground - which in a country as unused to snow as this translates to chaos - so instead of getting out of the house to wander aimlessly, I stayed in. Again. I had a short chat with my roommate Eerke, the only one with whom I really have any sort of relationship. I say hi to the others, and occasionally ask one how things are going, but only Eerke gives back the "I care!" vibe.

Which reminds me, I'm tired that every time I talk to Laura, she's all, "Oh! You've lost weight." It annoys me because no, I haven't, and even if I have, this is not something you point out to people, I think. Especially when, no, no they haven't lost weight. I mean, you're either saying it because they look horrifically emaciated and therefore must be sick, or because you think they look good, which means you thought they were fat before. In either case, shut the fuck up. She's way too direct and blunt, even for a Dutch, who are famed for their, "If I think it, I say it" mentality.

Also, she made me go over the whole, "So where are you from? But where were you born? So where are your parents from?" life history. I understand it's a potentially fascinating story to strangers, but for the love of fuck, don't you realize that I've had these questions before? And that I may not like answering them all the fucking time? Can't you just hold in your curiosity and not ask for my life history? It's like if I were a girl from Kansas and all my life people kept cracking the same old, "You're not in Kansas anymore" joke, only so much worse because I have to go over the same long schpeel and get the same questions. Look, I'm me, just leave it. It's enough to make a girl lie, say things like "I'm Canadian" (no more "Oh wow, your English is so good!" comments) or "I was raised in a remote cabin in southern Montana until the local wolves ate my entire family one winter, then I subsisted on berries and roadkill and it was very traumatic so please don't ask me any more questions."

On that note, I finally entered my weight recordings into excel and saw the failure in its full and utter glory. You can't even see the "Oh hai! I has been working out all day every day all October." ( You can has graph. )

I've failed at exercise in November and December, and failed even worse at feeding myself appropriately. Come on, Friday's lunch was potatoes, Saturday's was market-fried fish, today's was a shitload of chicken wings. I even forgot to buy breakfast stuff so today there wasn't even that. And all I have for dinner is cereal (again), which is running low.

So anyway, I stayed home and have been watching Grey's Anatomy all day, and crying over it (or over other things, I don't know anymore, just basically crying). I moved to the bed around 4 pm, played Betsy for an hour (I suck at chords and stumming and everything), eventually had a shower, and now here I am, hungry and blank. Maybe I should talk to someone about the whole, "Oh hai, PMS is a week-long depressive stint! La joie!" I have over-the-counter PMS Relief pills, but I think they're more for cramps than mood swings from hell.

Tomorrow I'm definitely getting out of the house to print insurance forms for the doctor's visit and the meds. I think I might slip in a visit to Den Haag just for the walkies, or at least buy a real lunch with all the green things included. Right now I'm going to eat breadsticks and cry over more Grey's Anatomy.


Links of the Day:

Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
Multifandom: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* George, Grey's Anatomy

Nano: I'm nowhere near the scene, but when I get to it, I had the most brilliant idea of flashing back to Steven while Icarus bleeds out all over the backseat. *pets brain* And to set that up, a happy flashback when all three are getting in the car. Yesh, juxtapose the happy with the omgnoooooo, tha'sh good.

And and and omg because Icarus can't heal permanently, that's why he gets a drug addiction and- *screeching halt* and totally doesn't turn into Future!Castiel, nope, not at all. *sigh* Maybe.

Why can't I be writing that scene yet? Stupid long interview scene. Ic', be less cryptic or more urgent!

Nano, Later: Okay, it's nearly killed me, but I'm all caught up (after 2381 words omg) and then some (by all of 112 words, but hey). The never-ending questioning with tight-lipped Icarus is finally fucking over. Gaaaaah, that was painful. And next? Because I couldn't get Ic' to convince the dashing trio to leave with him for no-one-knows-where? He's going to stand outside and attract zombies. If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, yo. Now they'll have to go out (even though Chip's all, "no stupid heroics!") and then it's road trip again! And flashbacks, yay!

( Excerpt )

33434 / 50000 words. 67% done!


Meme!: Books most requested for banning between 1990-2000. Which have you read? ( Read more... )

Remember, there's this other "Guess what book that is" meme if y'all are bored.


Quote of the Day: Richard Siken, Little Beast, here

I couldn't get the boy to kill me, but I wore his jacket for the longest time.

Links of the Day:

Supernatural: ( Read more... )
New Moon: ( Read more... )
Random Fandom: ( Read more... )
Foooooood: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )
Music: ( Read more... )


* James Russell Lowell

Sickle's Day, Cliff-Notes Version:

- Day started off with routine self-loathing due to latelatelateness. Things were better than yesterday, though, in that supreme concentration was not required for menial tasks and the morning's routine was not interrupted by senseless weeping. (Translation: Fail, but not Epic Fail!)

- Biked over to Plexus to ask about where I could get an International Student Card. Biked to the address they gave me. Failed to find the place after a brief scan and then decided to not even try to search more thoroughly considering the time it was already. (Translation: Progress!)

- Arrived at work and wrote out notes for all the edits and additions I need to make in my first draft. (Translation: Fake progress!)

- Had miso soup and two mandarins for lunch. (Translation: Lunch was made of fail!)

- Worked on reading articles about lion manes and on maneless lions, then summarized in preparation for paragraph in the introduction. (Translation: Progress!)

- Spoke a few minutes with Supervisor who wanted some carcass-due-to-drought photos and a lioness' whisker spots. (Translation: Win!)

- Got home, heated up hotdogs for dinner and resolutely refused to go swimming. Did some weights instead. (Translation: Epic fail narrowly averted!)

- Plan to watch Heroes and Castle 1x03, continuing on from yesterday's Castle viewing. I found the show entertaining and light-fare (in that there's no woe or angst or thinky-thoughts going on - yet). Nathan's character is a wonderful caricature most of the time, which is okay because he's hilarious, except for the moments where he's a bit of a sleeze. I adored Castle's mother and daughter and really, really like the father&daughter scenes. There should be more of that in the show. And on TV. And real life. Just, more. (Also, those were the scenes where I most liked Castle.) (Translation: Squee!)

Squee of the Day: The Epic Clash of Conan, Colbert and Stewart ( Embedded, hilarious and adorkable )

Music of the Day: Je t'aime, Quebec by Konflit ( Embedded and snowy )

Links of the Day:
secretlytodream's Supernatural Fanvid You're Real
ina_ami's Supernatural Icons, "I Believe The Children Are Our Future"
writrgurl's The Curse of James Dean's "Little Bastard" - Spooky!
dalekdisaster's Supernatural Fanmix Big Black Nothing (Dean/Castiel)
zqfans's Eyecandy! - First .gif is pure sex with an eyebrow of win.
cleolinda's Pimpage of her e-book, with screenshots


* Urban Dictionary