Imaginary Gardens

My dreams this weekend have been a) remembered (whoot whoot!), b) fannish, and c) awesome: ( Read more... )


* Max Eastman

It feels like I haven't written a proper post in ages, that the last time I did, dinosaurs were fighting off hoards of ninjas whilst crashing into tiny little wooden cottages filled with scared French peasants. Which is a shame, because there's actually quite a bit I ought to recount. (It's also a shame about the peasants and their little yet charming huts.) I have yet, for example, to give an account of my Christmas swag or wax poetical about my Time for Something Biblical proof copy, but seeing as that requires photographs that, yes, have already been taken, to be downloaded and uploaded and all that, those particular topics will have to remain unexplored. For now.

Instead, let me tell you about my German class, for example. It's the usual mix of young and middle-aged people, of about nine girls and two boys and if anyone gives me any gripe about saying girls and boys then you're reading the wrong blog. One of the guys (there, happy?) has albinism, which is absolutely fascinating.

I guess the most surprising thing about his condition - can we call recessive genetic mutations "conditions"? - is how red his skin is, all over. Like he's permanently blushing a lot. His eyes are also really neat (a bit like this, blue with red streaks) and, apparently, really not so good. While I knew - especially from Threshold by greygirlbeast - that albino eyes are particularly sensitive to light, I wasn't as aware of the eyesight problems linked to the mutation. The guy in my class has some serious lenses for far-seeing and others for reading, which he amps up with an extra hand-held lens. He sits next to me in class, which means we've partnered a few times for the conversation practices and he seems nice, although we haven't really chatted. I keep being struck not by his albinism but by his glasses, which make his eyes look huge, and it's taking me a while to get used to the effect.

Curiously, there's also another girl my class with what must be a very high prescription because they give a strong magnifying effect to her eyes, which makes my brain itch in the "something's slightly different here and I can't stop noticing" sense.

On Monday, we had a substitute teacher - rumoured to be Brazilian, of all things - because our teacher was off wrangling unicorns or something, I don't know. It a bit sad that I much preferred the substitute to our regular teacher, isn't it? ( Read more... )

Let me also tell you about my dreams, because they're still being strangely nice to me. ( Read more... )

I've been getting through January's Haitus of Death weeks - including the "We're back! We're gone again!" horrors that various shows did - by listening to podcasts. Today I listened to MonsterTalk, which is MADE OF SCIENCE and therefore awesome (and geckos). I'm really looking forward to the current episode, though. It's about ninjas, guys. Ninjas. And they Ask a Ninja.

I've also been playing catch-up on all those movies I've been meaning to watch and have had staring at me with puppy eyes Sam Winchester would be proud of. My boss gave me - or rather, regifted, because his wife already had one, but hey, gift horse of awesome - an agenda, and since it's only got wee tiny lines and sticks in four days per page, I've been using it to be ridiculous obsessive and organized and listmaking, by which I mean jotting down every book, podcast, episode and movie I read, listen to or watch. Last week, for example, included the Podfic Beautiful Disaster by thenyxie, which was really good and long and used music breaks to glorious effect (and because damn, do you need breaks after a couple hours of listening). My only complaint is that there really was too much porn - hours and hours of it. Don't get me wrong, it was well-written, smutty, and full of characterization, but the characters went at it like rabbits on E.

My other literary foray included the audiobook of The Metamorphosis. Let me put it this way: if TV Tropes had a posterchild for It Got Worse, The Metamorphosis would be it. Ye gods! but things just kept on getting worse for poor Gregor.

At the moment, I'm listening to The Trial, on seschat's recommendation. Not much happens, really, although I guess that's the whole point. For the most part it's interesting in an absurd sort of way, although I think K. is a complete jerk. I have just gotten through a pretty dull patch involving Titorelli, the court painter, and what felt like hours and hours of a lecture on court process. Let me tell you, when you're scanning document after document and need something to distract you, that is not it.

I also went to the cinema twice - well, once was the French Institute - for Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique (WIN) and The King's Speech (WIN). Not in the cinema, I've watched The Girl Who Played With Fire(which was so rivetting - and I say with with all the sarcasm in the world - that I started knitting whilst watching it just to get through it). "Thriller" my half-finished wristwramer. Splice, which was decent enough although I kept wanting to shout at the screen all the ways that they were doing science and scientists wrong, and I was very much amused that it remembered in the last twenty minutes that it was supposed to be a horror movie and not a science fiction one meant to comment on scientific advantages.

Oh, and I finally watched Twilight. With RiffTrax, of course, which made it hilarious. ( Read more... )


* Elle DeGeneres

Sickle's "Oh god oh god I've haven't written anything in ages!" Points: ( Read more... )

Sickle's Dreams, Because It's Easier To Remember Them When You Sleep In Fits and Starts Thanks To The Heat: ( Read more... )

Sickle's "Let's Write Down Grey's Anatomy Quotes!": ( Read more... )

Meme: Who Do You Write Like? ( Memes count as actual content, right? )

Quotes of the Day: Kelly Link, Zombie Contingency Plan

Art is for peple who aren't worried about zombies.

Hyperbole and a Half (here

What the hell kind of medical school did you go to?? They didn't even prepare you for a zombie massacre??

readingthedark, here

(I have a new theory: people save lives all the time and just don't realize it. The downside is that lots of people also commit brutal murders without even noticing.)

Links of the Day:
Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
True Blood: ( Read more... )
Lost: ( Read more... )
Twilight: ( Read more... )
Other Fandom: ( Read more... )
Multifandom: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* Grey's Anatomy

Sickle's Exhausted and Disembodied Jumble of Notes:

- The only one hundred percent good thing today was the dream wherein Eric of True Blood (and novels) and I are investigating or attending or planning a social event and he's courting me and I'm just hugging the hell out of him all platonic-like there was much joy and affection. Wow, real subtle, brain.

- Italian class sucked ass today. Teacher didn't have the balls yesterday to tell us she wasn't going to be here today, despite vague hand gestures to one student yesterday indicating that she fucking knew already. Cue substitute who makes us go through one and a half bloody hours of vocabulary consisting of, "What is a kiosk? What can you buy at a kiosk? What is a library? What can you buy in a library?" followed by exercises on fucking articles which we learnt the first mother-loving day. I was so bored, I did extra exercises. Most frustrating class ever.

- After class, wandered about, had unexceptional pizza and then met up with mom to watch free movie - Semper Vivu - at the French library. It was supposed to be a comedy, but turned out to be a drama-comedy. Damnit, I'm tired of movies about people dying!

- I'm leaving tomorrow for Spain - I guess I should've said this earlier and with more bold text or something, but then those who give a rat's will read this far. I'll be back Monday. Expect more disjointed yet less often entries.

- I had a massive bout of teh crazy. ( It was crazy. )

- I need to be up by 6 am tomorrow. I'm hungry. My head hurts. I'm emotionally drained (or on the cusp of drowning). I'm watching Castle. Yes, there is a logic to this choice.


Quote of the Day: theweaselking, here

You have to realize, that I actually have replied to "Do you believe in God?" with "Well, someone is out to get me." to a complete stranger.

Links of the Day:
Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Lost: ( Read more... )
Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
Ashes to Ashes: ( Read more... )
True Blood: ( Read more... )
Nightmare on Elm Street (2010): ( Read more... )
Multifandom: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* Common expression.

I went outside! I sent two applications! I got rejected for a job! I bought Nutella! I'm going to watch Up! I have nothing to report! Except for...

Happy Lostesday!
Spoil me and die!

Dream: ( Read more... )


Meme - 30 Days - Day 08 → A photo that makes you angry/sad: ( Read more... )


Quotes of the Day: nosferatu_blue, here

In the google search field, try this:

site:livejournal.com your fandom * your qualifier

The site: specifies the site to search. The * returns results with the fandom and qualifier only a few words apart.

Links of the Day:

Watchmen: ( Read more... )
Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Heroes: ( Read more... )
Human Target: ( Read more... )
Lost: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* W. Eugene Smith

Today I woke up feeling absolutely exhausted and it just went downhill from there. The morning - what was left of it - went by in a fog (and cramps). I made lunch. More fog.

I read through the two job magazines I'd acquired throughout the year (one UK focused, one for the Science employment fair I missed 'cause I was in Kenya, who's companies ads' wordings** made me want to jab pencils into people's faces and scream "But what do you doooo?!?). In conclusion, according to one of the magazines, the majority of science jobs are software programming. According to the other magazine, the only entity that mentioned "sustainable development" was one for Scottish National Heritage, which sounds promising.

Although, if they're of the same mindset as the guy who interviewed me for graduate studies in an English university, then I might just scream. Now, I don't quite understand why they needed to interview me for an MSc acceptance/rejection decision, but they did just that, over the phone. That's perfectly all right, except that I was in a large city in Canada and had never lived in Europe - save for 1.5 years at the age of 7 or so - and they guy was asking me whether I could identify the local English birds. "Um, no, but I can learn! And I can identify a lot of Canadian birds, and African birds and all the invasive birds of Australia." He also asked if I went hiking or bird-watching. "...I'm a full-time student in a large metropolitan city." Gods, I hated that interview.

Anyway, so I did a list of possible places to check out for openings, and made another list of webpages with jobs listings, and then tried to google, started reading about the competitions for EU positions but freaked out. Badly.

So I made dinner and read Watchmen fanfic instead. I spent a good long while reading Anonymous' Sweet Child of Mine featuring Child!Rorschach (aka Walter) and Dan, which just melted my heart. The last chapter is still pending, but I'm going to haunt the page until it does. I'm not one for children - alive or in fiction - but this fic made me want to hug the beejezus out of Walter. And of course, I've been reading OT3 fic, the appeal of which was described better than I did in my last post by _ryouseiteki:

Also I'm totally in love with 'doesn't know wtf to do' Walter and 'predatory and sly' Laurie and 'mothering I love everything' Dan.

Then I watched The Sarah Jane Adventures "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith" purely because the Doctor shows up. There's a scene at the end of Sarah Jane's, which felt like saying goodbye to Ten all over again, and it felt right.

SARAH: "Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?"

DOCTOR: "I don't know. I hope not!"

SARAH: "Bye Doctor. Until the next time."

DOCTOR: "Don't forget me, Sarah Jane."

SARAH: "No one's ever going to forget you."

PAN OUT to sad music and sadder Doctor.

And now I'm going to watch Recovery, also featuring Tennant. I'm going to try to work tomorrow and get out of the house: I've found another second-hand bookstore quite a ways away, so I'll try unloading my books there, and I need to post a care-package.


( Dreams! More sharks! Parents! Brother! Candy! )


Links of the Day:

Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
Watchmen: ( Read more... )
Random Fandom: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* Happy Harry, to Rorschach, Watchmen
** "...everyone should do what they do best", "...immune to stress."

Today was mainly made of fail, and not in the made_of_fail_pc awesome way either. *sigh* I tried to update my CV but was too chicken to make much headway.

Instead, freaky dreams! And dreams for which I'll forgive my subconscious anything. ( Read more... )


Links of the Day:

Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Doctor Who: ( Read more... )
Twilight: ( Read more... )
Random Fandom: ( Read more... )
Random: ( Read more... )


* Nightmare on Elm Street

So today I tried to call the doctor to make an appointment (instead of yesterday, which is when I should've) because they said they were open "every day", making no mention of weeks and weekends. The first time I called (after even getting dressed to go out, because I'd do anything to put off making a phonecall), there's a recording in Dutch giving various phone numbers and saying something about, "Out for lunch, back at 2." I called again at 2 and got a different recording saying how they were closed on weekends, and I could call this number if it were an emergency.

So now I don't know what to do, whether to hold out until Monday and pray they can see me before the end of Tuesday (and they can put me on whatever delectable antibiotics I need) or whether to go for the Emergency! side. ( Sickle fails to make good plans and instead goes quietly insane. )

Also, at the Biology Building, I've been twice introduced to new Spanish ladies either working or studying there. One was introduced to me by Moon, the receptionist with whom I speak Spanish because he's trying not to lose the language, because the lady was right there. It went well. The second was introduced to me by my previous supervisor simply because the lady was Spanish and therefore I had to meet her. It didn't go so well, for a number of reasons. ( A girl's gotta rant about something. )

By the way, both my supervisors will be out of the country during my graduation, and any teachers I may have had during this program wouldn't know who I am anyway (they taught me way back in 2007) or aren't Biology teachers, so I will be speechified by the professor who helped me with the computer programs while I was working on my last project. I feel like such a failure for not having anyone.

Furthermore, I had nothing for lunch but the last dregs of the potato sack, fried. It was either than, or pasta again. Or a slice of cheese. I fail at life.

On the plus side: snow.

Last Night's Dream - A: ( Read more... )
Last Night's Dream - B: ( Read more... )
Last Night's Dream - C: ( Read more... )

Translation: ( Read more... )


Links of the Day:

theuglyvovlo's Things I Learned From Holly - Puts all other writing to shame.
strangefrontier's Science Rant: STOP, COLLABORATE AND LISTEN!
qthewetsprocket's Texas police help kidnap a child - *grabs rusty spoon and charges* "Let me at 'em!"
lilith70's Cthulhu Christmas Ornament: Knitting Pattern
greygirlbeast embeds College Humour's "Dangerous Wands" - A Should-Totally-Be-A-Movie Harry Potter Trailer
InformationIsBeautiful.net's The Global Warming Skeptics vs. The Scientific Consensus ; Timelines: Time Travel in Popular Film and TV


* theuglyvolvo, here

Life: So I'm at work (or whatever it's called when you're working on something studenty and not getting paid and therefore being a disappointment to all). I'm alternatively bashing my head against Access and procrastinating, although both tasks currently contain Epic Fail. Working on this program always makes me very wibbley because it's so frustrating and it makes me feel so, so stupid to boot. Also, if the professor's busy, I'm hung out to dry because there's only so much searching, googling and random-button-pressing before you throw your hands up in the air and give up in the face of Access' cryptic ways.

And the wibble just continues from yesterday, where I got home, lay down on the bed and wept for half an hour for reasons I have yet to understand. I don't even know, guys. Fuck. Who want's a pair of ovaries, going cheap? Guaranteed to keep your eyes extra-moist for one week out of every four.

Then I called Ma, because she'd left me a message the day before complaining on how she hadn't heard from me in ages and all that. The conversation went majestically shittily ( Read more... )

Then I stayed writing Nano and procrastinating, or procrastinating and attempting to write Nano, at which I failed spectacularly, and finally at 2 am I thought I ought to go to sleep. Which means that today's morning pretty much went out the window. *sigh* Fucking hormones of woe.

And I had the weirdest dream ever, in that I may just be scarred for life. Gah. ( Read more... )

Alright, let's check if the professor's free again, so I can ask stupidly obvious Access questions. I'm a moron, dur hur. *sigh*

Fuck this, I'm going to raise sheep in Australia.


Video of the Day: "Bohemian Rhapsody", The Muppets ( Embedded )

Links of the Day:

Supernatural: ( Read more... )
Other: ( Read more... )


* La Oreja de van Gogh, "Rosas"**
** It still seems to me a lie that my life escapes me (lit.)-> I can't believe that my life is spent (paraphrased) ***
*** My translations skills suck today, deal with it.

Today's class was focused on networking, so we did - ta da! - a Network Game, which consisted of everyone having a fake futuristic CV (I apparently had worked at WHO, then was a manager in a pharmaceutical, and finally was happily working as manager at British Petrol's international human resources in London) and fake business cards. Then we had to talk to people, and, once given goals, find someone who could finance or advise your friend's company expansion (my given goal) or get funding for your group's association. It was actually quite fun. The afternoon lecture was spent watching a talk by much-awarded Nick Donofrio about innovation and discussing the hell out of it.

Right after that, I went over to the gym to meet up with Lander for a yoga class. Oh dear. It was exactly the type of yoga I hate, all "look into your naval" and "deep breathing" and "*exhale* ha!*inhale*" and really, really bad positions held for way too long. It made me very, very frustrated and angry and omg. The squee is that I met an English PhD archaeologist called Anne, methinks. She'd also done yoga before and had a similar opinion of this class. We've promised to wave hi at each other tomorrow, seeing as we're both planning on going to the pilates class.

Aaaand I still haven't really done any work on my Project Proposal, or made a doctor's appointment (although, yays, I haz doctor now). My fu'ed up schedule from 9 to 5, it maketh things difficult...eth.

Also, my shitty mood may have been encouraged by last night's dream of having cancer, a double masectomy, and then having to have physical therapy which meant I couldn't go to Kenya and crying frusrtatedly** over it.

ETA: Fuck this. I've been doing stuff since 9:30 this morning. I'm going home and pluckin' my eyes contacts out and having a decent meal. Can't do a literature search now.


Links of the Day:
john_simm tells us that "Sky1 has signed up Oscar nominees Tim Roth and Kelly MacDonald as well as Life on Mars star John Simm for its new feature-length drama Skellig." *squeeeeeee*
hamsterfactor and amewarashi's icon journal, icondork
batman_lulz's Bake-Off calls in fox_bourne's adorable Why so spongie? marshmellow.
randombattlecry's TDK Fanfic: Bird in Hand
shiny_n_new's TDK Fanfic: Tabloid Headlines
forth_eorlingas's TDK Fanfic: It's My Party (Crack)


* Fry, Futurama
** Totally a word, yo.