It is only Tuesday

I don't want to be here

2008-07-04T20:39:45Z

I am starting to really miss home. The puppy is coming next thursday and I really want to be there to pick her up. Another part of me just want to curl up in the library by myself and game all day long. Yeah, this might not be the happiest of posts but heck. I miss my family, my pets and good food and right now I just want to go home. But no, it is five weeks time. Sigh. Shopping yesterday I realized things I am not prepared to live with out, good coffee, cheese, bread and a few other things. Looks like my mom might be right after all and I will end up in Europe. Right now I am thinking it would be a win win situation. Today is one of those days where I am wondering what I am doing over here in the first place. And right now I don't feel like being social, but... no choice there I am afraid. Damned.

Work and Joy!

2008-07-03T18:23:32Z

To anyone who doesn't know it, my boss is insane. She brought in donut holes today and have been living of them and coffee all day. Yay for sugar highs. She has now calmed down due to some salad and some financial stuff that needed doing. I have spent the day moving things from last fiscal year to the drawers we keep them in (We go from 07-08 to 08-09 on the 1st of July). It is weird to think that I have been at work for seven weeks already. And I have only 5 left. I have also been setting up a little bit of a budget for myself for the fall. So far I have monthly income (Norwegian and TAing, but I am not sure for how many hours yet) which I estimate to be somewhere between 200- 500 USD. Expenses are a bit more fluid, I have cell phone, payday sushi, other food, pathfinder, game informer and onecard (ie. Laundery and campus center cafe food), but I also want a monthly music, game(split into rpgs and xbox games) and craft budget. But there are also expenses that come only once, like my dA subscription and SSFFS and fencing. I guess it can wait until I have my funds from Lanekassa.

On the joy side, I have a four day weekend coming up. I think I'll spend it reading rpgs and preparing for what ever, possibly doing some writing (I want to finish my Assassin's Creed fanfic and get cracking on my other writing, a bunch of my characters are also demanding to have their character histories written). I also want to play more Oblivion. It is so fun. I also want to make my GM's binder. But the only thing that is holding me from that is that the more crap I get over the summer the more crap I have to fins somewhere to store for the last two weeks. *sigh* Ah well

Writing: Round Robin Chapter 7

2008-07-03T01:03:36Z

Author:tigerlofu

Story: Round Robin 07:

Rating: NC-17
Configurations: M/m
Warnings: Slavery, captivity, sexual use of a slave, bad language, magic, disobedient thoughts and porn
Word Count: 3565 - and then some
Summary: A young man moves to a new town and finds himself sold into slavery due to circumstances beyond his control. The underworld that he enters in is far different from the normal, ordinary world that he grew up in, and he has to find his way in this new world, adrift from everything he’s ever known.
Feedback: please.
Notes: Under the limit I know, but tons of friends came over this weekend and I had to be host like for parts of it. Also, unbeated.

Round Robin 01: Introduction. by </a></a>me_ya_ri
Round Robin 02: Affinities. by </a></a>maculategiraffe
Round Robin 03: Home, Sweet Home. by </a></a>shadowsonthesun
Round Robin 04: First Night. by </a></a>inoru_no_hoshi
Round Robin 05: Rock of Ages. by </a></a></a></a></a></div>libertas_atis

When David woke up later in the morning it took a few moments to remember where he was. He wasn’t sure if it was the pleasant smell of the sheets or the warm arms wrapped around him that tipped him off that he was far away from home. The memories of last night and this morning began to filter back into his memory and with a soft, content sigh David pressed a little closer to the strong chest behind him. He couldn’t help but smile when the arms tightened around him, making sure he wasn’t going anywhere. He nuzzled into the pillow and his eyes slid shut, loosing him in the memory.

The main thing he could remember was feeling warm, not on fire like you might have guessed based on the amount of fire, but the safe and happy and satisfied kind of warm. His master had chuckled, held him and convinced him it was not a dream. The dragons most defiantly made it seem like a dream. The warm, wet kisses on David chest finally got him convinced. And David had finally fallen back asleep.

Now he was still surrounded by nice warmness and softness. And his master had promised him a nice breakfast and then getting to meet the dragons. David wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to. In the early morning twilight the dragons had seemed so large and dangerous and not like something you wanted to be close to. They had been flying around the tower and breathing fire and having fun. His master had tried to reassure him that the dragons were not dangerous, but David wasn’t sure he believed him. But then again, David felt that he could trust his master not to put him in any too dangerous situation. He had said he would protect him after all.

It wasn’t until quite a while later that Master stirred. He un-wrapped his arms from David’s waist and stretched, not unlike a cat.

“Ah. Good morning beloved. “David just smiled up at him “Ready for breakfast?”

“Yes Master.” David winced a little when they climbed out of bed, he was strangely sore. But he didn’t want his Master to see it so he hid the little jolts of pain. They weren’t so bad, he thought by the time he was by the bathroom. After all they did remind him of a rather pleasant memory. He had a quick shower after his master did, the smell of sweaty bodies and sex still clung to them both, brushed his teeth and dressed in the simple cotton pants his master had provided for him.

Then his master led him down stairs to the kitchen. In the kitchen were two youngish men and an older one, all sitting around the table eating breakfast. David stopped in his tracks, he had no idea who these men were. His master seemed to know them, but he hadn’t mentioned guests to David.

“You couldn’t wait, could you?” Master Gabriel asked the men. His tone was accusing but in that friendly way.

“Nope Gabriel, we had no idea how long you and your ….new pet was going to sleep in.” The older man answered as Aziraphale flew over and landed on his head. The man just chuckled and stroked the bird. The three men looked very different from each other. The older had darker skin, dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. The clothing he wore as loose and layered and covered most of his body.

“Yes, well, it is still polite to wait. David this is Azi Dahaka, those two are Y Ddraig Goch and Loong. “ The two nodded in David’s direction. The blonde one held his hand out to David, who glanced back at his master for a moment and then shook the offered hand.

“Just call me Goch, you have to be Welsh not to mispronounce my name.” The smile on his face was bright and his eyes glittered with mischief. The other young guy, Loong, came up to them, and also shook David’s hand. David’s hand skipped a beat now that he saw the guy up close, he was gorgeous enough to make anyone stare. Flawless skin with a hint of gold to it, there were golden strands in his black hair and his eyes had a warm chocolaty color. Next to the well muscled and slightly taller Goch, Loong’s features seemed slight and almost feminine. Loong and Goch glanced at each other and then they both grinned. David blushed and turned back to his master, getting a warm and comforting hug.

“Play nicely, boys.” Azi Dahaka sounded stern and David was happy it was not directed at him.

“If you say so, boss.”

“I do, now run along and fetch Master Gabriel breakfast.” The older man shooed the two away and they fussed over to the kitchen and came back with two plates of food. The food was more like lunch than breakfast. Master chuckled and explained to David.

“This is their not so subtle way of tell us they think we slept too long.”

“Not that you were sleeping much.” Loong joked and then laughed at the blush on David’s face. The laughter ended however when Master Gabriel smacked him on the head.

“Behave boy.”

While they were eating, Azi Dahaka and Master discussed things that made no sense to David. From what he gathered it seemed like Azi Dahaka and the boys were scouts or maybe spies for Master. Master seemed to want to know what was going on and Azi answered as best he could.

“We have lost contact with a lot of our… cousins… No word, no nothing.”

“Which ones, Azi?”

“Imoogi and Bakunwa”

“Water, am I correct?”

“Yeah, both kept mostly to them selves, but every now and again they would pop up and remind us all that they were still alive, but now, nothing.” It was Loong who answered, he sounded serious. The fact that Goch reached over and stoked his back did not make the heavy tense mood that had settled around the table any better. The look of mischief had been replaced by worry, and David thought it did not suit the blond at all. They all ate the rest of the meal in silence.

After the meal David helped Goch to clean the dishes while Loong cleaned the table. David was grateful for the opportunity to ask Goch something he had been wondering about for the better part of the meal.

“Goch, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Have you seen the dragons?” That comment made Goch grin and turn to Loong.

“Hey, pretty boy! You owe me money.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Yeah I am, he didn’t figure it out.

“Figure out what?” David was confused. What were these two talking about?

“Maybe we should show him.”

“Yeah…Hey Azi!” Loong called over his shoulder “Mind if we go outside to… show David something?”

“You mean show off.” Azi was smiling slightly and David was getting a little annoyed at how they were toying with him

“All right yeah, we mean show off.”

It wasn’t until he had pinched himself David believed his eyes. Loong had stretched and grown scales right in front of him. In the space the man had been a moment ago was now a large red dragon.

“Wha-What happened to Loong?” David asked Goch who was still standing next to him.

“That is Loong” Goch smiled and scratched the dragon behind the ear. After the first shock had passed David saw that the dragon’s head was only a little higher than his own. It had red scales and golden fur, or maybe it was hair, David wasn’t sure. It looked a lot like a carving he had seen in a Chinese restaurant once. “This is how he really looks. I think he looks much better like this.” Goch teased the dragon and the golden eyes glared at him. Slowly something dawned on David.

“Goch, Are you a dragon too?”

“You are not as stupid as you look.”

“…is that a yes or a no?”

“It’s a yes. Yes I am one too”

“Do you look like him?”

“Lord no… Want to see?” David swallowed and nodded. Goch stepped a little away from the two and changed. As a dragon he was twice the size of Loong and looking a lot more like the dragons for the fantasy books David had read as a child. Unlike Loong who glinted with a golden metallic under layer, Goch was completely red, except for his eyes; they held the same golden glow as Loong’s did. Goch was broader and his muscles were more defined. Along his back, sides and shoulders were long thin, white scars you didn’t notice at first. David’s willed his courage back, he had been joking with these beings a few minutes ago, and stepped closer to the two dragons. He ran his fingers over the scars on Goch’s shoulder.

”What happened?”

”A fight a long time ago.” The dragon spoke with Goch’s voice. “I was defending my home against an invasion.”

“Did you win?”

“That battle, yes.” A smile formed on the dragon’s lips, and David couldn’t help but smile too and reach over and scratch the giant head.

“Goch is a warrior.” The sleek form that was Loong came up to them and nudged David. David reached out with his other hand and scratched him too. “So is Azi. I am just a luck dragon.”

“Hey, David, want to go for a ride?” Goch grinned and stretched his wings. David turned and glanced at his Master and Azi who had just come out.

“Can I, Master?”

“If Goch promises not to drop you.”

“I never drop anyone.” Goch let David climb on his back and after some adjusting flapped his wings and took off.

What have you done

2008-07-02T21:38:26Z

from dearkiki

Strike means I have done it

01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
~~03. Climbed a mountain~~
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
~~06. Held a tarantula~~
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Done a striptease
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
~~18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables~~
19. Touched an iceberg
20. Slept under the stars
21. Changed a baby's diaper
22. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
~~23. Watched a meteor shower~~
24. Gotten drunk on champagne
25. Given more than you can afford to charity
26. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
27. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Had a food fight
29. Bet on a winning horse
30. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
31. Asked out a stranger
32. Had a snowball fight
33. Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
35. Held a lamb
36. Enacted a favorite fantasy
37. Taken a midnight skinny dip
~~38. Taken an ice cold bath~~
39. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
40. Seen a total eclipse
41. Ridden a roller coaster
42. Hit a home run
43. Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
~~44. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking~~
45. Adopted an accent for an entire day
46. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
47. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
48. Had two hard drives for your computer - or more!
49. Visited all 50 states
50. Loved your job for all accounts
51. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
52. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
53. Had amazing friends
54. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55. Watched wild whales
56. Stolen a sign
57. Backpacked in Europe
58. Taken a road-trip
59. Rock climbing
60. Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
61. Midnight walk on the beach
62. Sky diving
63. Visited Ireland
~~64. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love~~
65. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
66. Visited Japan
67. Bench pressed your own weight
~~68. Milked a cow~~
69. Alphabetized your records
70. Pretended to be a superhero
71. Sang karaoke
~~72. Lounged around in bed all day too many times to count~~
73. Posed nude in front of strangers
74. Scuba diving
75. Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
76. Kissed in the rain
77. Played in the mud
78. Played in the rain
79. Gone to a drive-in theatre
~~80. Done something you should regret, but don't regret it~~
81. Visited the Great Wall of China
~~82. Discovered that someone who's not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog~~
83. Dropped Windows in favor of something better
84. Started a business
~~85. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken~~
86. Toured ancient sites in Mexico
87. Taken a martial arts class
88. Sword fought for the honour of a woman
~~89. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight~~
90. Gotten married
91. Been in a movie
92. Crashed a party
~~93. Loved someone you shouldn't have~~
94. Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95. Gotten divorced
96. Had sex at the office
97. Gone without food for 5 days
98. Made cookies from scratch
99. Won first prize in a costume contest
100. Ridden a gondola in Venice
101. Gotten a tattoo
102. Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103. Rafted the Snake River
104. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
~~105. Got flowers for no reason~~
106. Masturbated in a public place
1~~07. Got so drunk you don't remember anything~~
108. Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
~~109. Performed on stage~~
110. Been to Las Vegas
111. Recorded music
112. Eaten shark
113. Had a one-night stand
114. Gone to Thailand
115. Seen Siouxsie live
116. Bought a house
117. Been in a combat zone
118. Buried one/both of your parents
~~119. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off~~
120. Been on a cruise ship
1~~21. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone~~
123. Bounced a check
124. Performed in Rocky Horror
~~125. Read - and understood - your credit report~~
126. Raised children
127. Recently bought and played with a favourite childhood toy.
128. Followed your favourite band/singer on tour
129. Created and named your own constellation of stars
130. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132. Called or written your Member of Congress
132a. Had them write back
133. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
134. ... more than once?
135. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
~~136. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking~~
137. Had an abortion or your female partner did
138. Had plastic surgery
139. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
140. Wrote articles for a large publication
141. Lost over 100 pounds
142. Held someone while they were having a flashback
143. Piloted an airplane
144. Petted a stingray
145. Broken someone's heart
146. Helped an animal give birth
147. Been fired or laid off from a job
148. Won money on a TV game show
149. Broken a bone
150. Killed a human being
151. Gone on an African photo safari
152. Ridden a motorcycle
153. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100mph
154. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
155. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
157. Ridden a horse
158. Had major surgery
159. Had sex on a moving train
160. Had a snake as a pet
161. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
~~164. Visited more foreign countries than US states~~
165. Visited all 7 continents
166. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167. Eaten kangaroo meat
168. Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169. Been a sperm or egg donor
170. Eaten sushi
171. Had your picture in the newspaper
172. Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
~~173. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about~~
174. Gotten someone fired for their actions
175. Gone back to school
176. Parasailed
177. Changed your name
178. Petted a cockroach
179. Eaten fried green tomatoes
1~~80. Read The Iliad~~
181. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
182. Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183. ... and gotten 86'ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184. Taught yourself art from scratch
~~185. Killed and prepared an animal for eating~~
186. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
187. Skipped all your school reunions
~~188. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language~~
189. Been elected to public office
190. Written your own computer language
~~191. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream~~
192. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193. Built your own PC from parts
194. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
195. Had a booth at a street fair
~~196. Dyed your hair~~
197. Been a DJ
198. Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
~~199. Written your own role playing game~~
200. Been arrested

Comments will come later

Guess what I am going home to....

2008-07-02T18:42:01Z

Our new dog..6 weeks old, two weeks and she can move home

Gaming Gaming

2008-07-01T19:19:15Z

Been playing a lot of oblivion, mainly yesterday. Did quite a lot of the thief guild quests. Now I am going to level up one more level and then head back to the main quest.

But Oblivion is not what this entry is about. I want to GM D&D, probably 3.5, possibly Pathfinder Beta rules. But what rule system I am going to use is mainly my problem right? As I am the one who have to learn the rules.

I have tons and tons of ideas to use and I am looking forward to this. I really want to make an epic campaign, and by epic I mean long running. Mm wonder if there is any interest...

Problem is, around here D&D seems to take a lot of crap from people. When ever they want to point out a system with loads of dice rolling they point at D&D. I won't say there isn't a lot of dice in D&D, heck that is what I like about it (see below), but I hear it being said with a tone of detest. Why? I have no clue. I actually like all the dicerolling, it breaks up the game a little (which is often needed) and brings in a huge element of surprise for all parties involved. It makes the role as a GM more challenging because you have to change stats on the fly. If the dice goes badly for your big baddie, give him more HP or higher AC, however if it is going too good for him and it is looking like a total party kill you need to fudge the rules. Another thing I like about D&D is that the setting is very open. Yes, we are talking fantasy, yes in 90% of the cases magic does exist, and a certain level of 'breaking and entering' is expected. However, the rest is up to the GM. Is this a world were all the races are common? What about racism? How common is magic? Is it outlawed? Are there slaves? Are the gods purely fictional or do they walk the earth? Are we talking euro-centric or asian-centric worlds/contries? Is travel between the planes possible? and so on forever... The core books gives you all the rules you need and the GM can pick and choose what is possible. Some people I have talked to say they do not want the hack and slash that D&D is known for, they want more of an role play and less of the roll play. However, D&D does not need to be all about getting in, grabbing the treasure and get out. I have played and run more political games of D&D. Again, D&D is very open to it's GMs, and thus what kind of game you want is more about communication between the GM and the Players and not really about the system.

This attitude of D&D sucks have led me to not want to open my mouth and say 'hey, I want to run a D&D game'. So I might shut up and save my ideas for when I am in a more... accepting gaming group.

Writing: Words in June

2008-07-01T13:23:37Z

On the 6th or so of June I started keeping track of my writing in. My word count is almost at 10 000 words, that is counting the bit I did before. I have also done 49 LJ entires. If I counted correctly. I am really happy about this. That is a lot more than expected. Yay

Writer's Block: Choose a Power

2008-06-27T18:48:30Z

If you could have the power to fly, be invisible, or teleport anywhere, which would you choose?

View other answers

Teleport...

I live roughly 5000 km away from home. You have any idea how nice it would be not to spend those 12-24 hours traveling (each way) to get home

tigerlofu @ 2008-06-27T12:56:00

2008-06-27T17:03:40Z

from pilomuli
The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they've printed, listed below.

01. Bold the books you have read
02. Italicise those you intend to read
03. Underline the books you've seen a film version of
04. Place books that you have started but never finished in round brackets
05. Place books that you read in school in square brackets

001 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
002 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
003 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
004 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
005 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
006 The Bible
007 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
008 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
009 (His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman)
010 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
011 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
012 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
013 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
014 Complete Works of Shakespeare
015 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
016 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
017 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
018 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
019 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
020 Middlemarch - George Eliot
021 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
022 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
023 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
024 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
025 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
026 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
027 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
028 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
029 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
030 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
031 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
032 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
033 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
034 Emma - Jane Austen
035 Persuasion - Jane Austen
036 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis (Shouldn't this be in Chronicles of Narnia? me)
037 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
038 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
039 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
040 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
041 Animal Farm - George Orwell
042 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
043 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
044 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
045 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
046 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
047 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
048 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
049 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
050 Atonement - Ian McEwan
051 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
052 Dune - Frank Herbert
053 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
054 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
055 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
056 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
057 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
058 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
059 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
060 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
061 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
062 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
063 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
064 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
065 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
066 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
067 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
068 Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
069 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
070 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
071 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
072 Dracula - Bram Stoker
073 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
074 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
075 Ulysses - James Joyce
076 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
077 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
078 Germinal - Emile Zola
079 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
080 Possession - AS Byatt
081 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
082 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
083 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
084 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
085 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
086 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
087 Charlotte's Web - EB White
088 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
089 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
090 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
091 [Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad]
092 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
093 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
094 Watership Down - Richard Adams
095 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
096 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
097 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
098 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (This would be included in the Complete Works)
099 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

16/100 not too bad

Writing: Where I am.

2008-06-26T18:50:17Z

First of all, for the sake of my flist friends who are not interested in the things that go on in my head, all posts that contain fiction or is about my fiction will have writing in the title, this way you are free to skip them.

Secondly I am in the middle of tons of projects, here is a list:
Round Robin- my turn: Need to get up to date on where the story is(gosh I am so so bad) and then plot and write
Everybody Knows - FF7 fanfic: have around 500 words, and plot for the rest, just need to write it
Untitled Assassin's Creed fanfic: got about 300 words to go before I am at the minimum for the promt, though this is going great and might be expanded into something multi chapter
Savin' Me - Chapter 4: Not started and little to none ideas floating around for it
M-A-T-R-E-iarchy - Traveling Journals: Idea formed itself today at lunch, will begin writing for this soon. This is a different project than my others and the idea is to introduce a society through the eyes of a foreign correspondent.

And I still have DEE to think about...

Gosh... This is a lot

meme thing

2008-06-25T19:36:24Z

from kepodQuestions from her too

Leave a comment if you want 5 questions from me to answer, and extend the offer to others if you feel like it.

1. When you are 35, what sort of family do you hope to have?
A nice appartment with pets and friends close by. That is the kind of family I want, I do not forsee any kids or anything else anytime soon. I do not approve of marrying too young so.

2. Suppose you have to pick only one vowel sound to be able to pronounce. It's not such a terrible situation because you can still pronounce consonants, and you can still write any vowels you need. Which vowel do you keep?
E, it is the most common letter in the english language. My personal favorite is o though, so I am not sure, probably e.

3. The History Channel offers you the chance to participate in a reality show in which a group of individuals must replicate the lifestyle of a certain cultural time period. You and some others will live in a period residence, wear appropriate attire, and cook your own food using the ingredients and methods of the time. The show will last for one year. What era would you opt to emulate?
Oh, can I please? This is actually something I have wanted to do for a long while. Either Rome 100BC-100AD or the viking age.

4. You are a Character. What is your signature mode of transportation?
Depends on what kind of character I am, but I guess something fast and cool like a motor bike or a helicopter

5. What would you most want to change about the curriculum at each of the schools you have attended? What creates the best learning environment?
For the norwegian school system I would change the always wait for the slowest student in the class
For RCN I would change when we did TOK and EEs or possibly add another year for people who did not feel that their english was up for the IB, giving them a pre IB year
For Smith, longer semesters and making the various majors more equal (I am thinking about the insane course load in Engineering)

Double Standars

2008-06-25T16:01:23Z

For those of you who read Norwegian (that might not be a lot) this post spawns from this little article and the following discussion.

For everyone else a summary:
The Norwegian Editor of Elle, Signy Fardal, wrote an editorial on how much the pressure young women are feeling when it comes to looks and especially weight. 'Very few of us women are 100% satisfied with our bodies' (my translation). In the same editorial she writes 'but I wouldn't say no to Jenifer Lopez body' (again, my translation). Then they give us a hundred something pages, or is it two hundred now, of articles and ads and interviews that just reinforce the idea that we women are not supposed to be satisfied with our bodies. The author of the article I liked goes through one magazine and talks what the message it gives is. He concludes with saying to Ms. Fardal that to find the answer to why young women feel this much pressure she does not have to move far beyond her own desk.

And now my rant:
The discussion following this article brings up an interesting point, actually two interesting points. The first is that women who oppress them selvs are beneficial to men, at this point I would like to point out that from context I think this point was written by a man. This way men can stay in control without having to do much work for it. This was specifically pointed out to be about dominating men, which the commentor made it sound like most guys are. A few points on this. First of all, I do not think all guys are dominating, or at least aware of it. However, most men are raised, at least in Norway and I believe this to be true for many cultures, to be domniant, to speak loudest, expect attention first and demand their rights. Women are raised to wait. This is true in Norwegian schools (multiple studies have been done, I have read a few) and later reflect in our social interaction. So yes, maybe men are the most dominant of us. I do also agree that men who like to be in charge, in the workspace, in a relationship or in any social group, will in most cases find it easier to control women than other men. Why? Because women are taught to wait. Sit around and do your job without a fuss and then one day you'll get a raise, a smile and pat on the back or you know, prince Charming will come by and sweep you up in his arms. Women sit around and get picked up, they get married. It is so ingrained in us that it even is in our language. Women are not the active participants, things happen to them. * It has been this way for a long long time. And in my eyes the 'women magazines', like Elle, are just another weapon to keep us women where we are, waiting.

Second point the discussion brings up, 'kvinne er kvinne verst' or in English 'Woman is woman's worst enemy'. This was a concept I first ran into in a book by Jean Sasson about women in Saudi, specifically the books about Princess Sultana. Sultana talks about female genital mutilation, and how the worst people to convince to stop is not men, but other women. The concept is here too. Myself, I weigh far more than I should, and I have for as long as I can remember. I got bullied for it all the way through high school. Comments and looks. Very very few of those were made by guys. The guys did not have to, the girls did it fine on their own. Combined with girly magazines, articles on how to loose weight (yes, I found them in magazines meant for 12-14 year olds) and the constant search for clothes stores that carry clothing in my size (I am still not sure what is the most humiliating, not finding anything that fits you even in the xl or xxl racks or having to go to a clothing store for larger sizes), I still struggle with the way I look. I close to never look at myself in a mirror without clothing on (I have learned to dress smart so you don't really see my shame), I hate trying on clothes in stores because 90% of the time they will be the largest size in there and still not fit and well over half the time someone compliment the way I look (and I am not thinking about eyes or hair here, because those are the things I am happy with, but more my general looks) I think they are just saying it to make me feel better about myself (which, by the way, if that is the reason for it ever, don't say it, it is more humiliating than being told I am ugly). Now those of you who know me in person, and a lot of you here, know I don't take crap from anyone, or if I do it is a rare occurance. I also no longer get hurt or even annoyed at comments like ''you're fat'' or ''Don't sit so close to the edge, the plane might tip'' (that last one was on a Boeing 747) anymore. But that have taken a lot of hardening of my skin to get there. It will take a lot longer before I am happy with what I see in the mirror everyday, if ever. My point is, the ones I hold responsible for this are for the most part not men. They are women of all ages, who through the years some way or another have reminded me that to be attractive you have to be thin. I hate this image and I find it horrifying that more and more men are subject to the same thing. [Edit: Something I forgot the first time around] I have female friends who, when I tell them I go to an all women's college, say ''I would not be able to survive. Women are one of the most evil, scheming creatures out there''. I tend to agree. And for some reason we seem to prefer to play against our own team in a manner of speaking. To me this is sad. [/end Edit]

[Edit: Conclusions are good]
I realized as I walked to lunch that I had not added an conclusion here. So here is what I think. We live in a world that is all about first impressions and looks is very important for first impressions. Add this to a world where one half of the population have been oppressed through the ages, you have a wonderful cocktail. I do not think the world will change anytime soon, but as with anything else where we want to change the world I think it is one little step at the time, one little gesture. How about we women all together just stop talking shit about each other and let the men for once do the work?

[/end Edit]

Now, just as a side note, because some of you might know that I have been very concious of my weight and workouts and what I eat these last few weeks. Yes I am trying to loose weight. I would be lying if I said it wasn't partly because of my looks, but it is not my main reasons. I am 5'6'' and weight 225 pounds. With a little math you can see that that is a BMI of 36 something. The obesity range starts at 30. I have two major weight related things in my family, diabetes and heart problems. For my own health I need to loose weight. My hope is being down to 200 by the end of summer and down to 180 by christmas. That puts my BMI at 29, which is much better, still not good, but better.

ok, end rant now.

---
*I know this to be true for Norwegian and English, but I am curious about other, especially non-indo-european, languages. If you speak other languages please answer this one question. In your language do women 'marry' or do they 'get married'? In other words, are they active or passive? I am also curious about made up languages, Hope, Constance or Kayleigh, could you help me with this?

Today at Work

2008-06-24T20:20:15Z

Tday was a fun, very....let's just say it was a day full of do and don'ts in the future. Which of course is just the sort of day i like. I admit it I might have gotten hooked too.. Damned...

Writing is going well.. I am working on two projects at the same time and they are coming along nicely, there are two other projects on my mind as well that I need to work on.

So yeah, having fun, now onwards to comics

Writer's Block: How I got on LJ

2008-06-24T20:02:59Z

Who introduced you to LiveJournal? Why did you first open an account or get involved?

View other answers

I got introduced to LJ through the SSFFS community here. I wanted to be a part of it and created an account for it. Before that I had my blogger account which contained over one year of blogging for me. I kept it and mostly forgot about my lj until someone mentioned that I should post there too. So started a almost two year period of cross posting everything, that I just ended. For the last few months I have been intending on switching back to only one online journal. However I could not decide which to keep or to start a wordpress one (I happen to have an account there too). Finally last week I decided to stay here on lj, mainly due to the amazing people I have met here and communities I am a part of.

Morning Coffee

2008-06-23T13:55:11Z

Today I woke up at 5 am by the thunderstorm that was here. It was really amazing and I listened to the rest of it as I tried to return to sleepy land. Then the birds started singing when it was over. I managed to fall asleep at 6.30.

Now I am drinking coffee and enjoying myself

Can I hit someone?

2008-06-21T01:38:46Z

First I read this, then this . And now I want to hit someone.

20 left.. And they want harder control measures. What the FUCK have the wolf ever done to you? Last person who was killed by a wolf in Norway was a girl in 1800. (form here). And Farmers get reimbursed for livestock lost to predators. So the fuss is largely about people fearing for their children's safety.

IDIOTS!

((Hey Al Mualim, could I borrow Altaïr for one small task? ))

A good day for wine and song

2008-06-20T02:18:33Z

Today have been a nice day, it started at lunch. The Panini I had was really good, they had made a smashing pesto. Then I was really in the mood for BBQ which was what dinner was, and the corn was amazing. Then Becca and I headed to the Brewery for beer, and man that was good beer. We had a starter tray with 6oz of 4 different kinds of beer and we both found stuff we really liked. Over all it was really good beer. much better than I have had in a long while. Then again it has been half a year.

Mm I feel so much more content with life when my days involve good food and drinks

Wishlist

2008-06-18T12:59:15Z

PSP
Crisis Core
Sandman 1, 2, & 3
Some sort of TV to hook my xbox up to
Devil May Cry 4
Bone 7
The Boys1 & 2

Weird Squirrel Dream

2008-06-18T12:48:51Z

So. I dreamt I was in my bed in Lawrence, and looked out the window, there were some sort of railings outside my window. And a nice lawn like the one on the other side of the house, I face the parking lot. And in the middle of the lawn a drain. In my dream 3 maybe 4 squirrels came out of the drain, lifted up the lawn like it was a carpet and ran underneath. They were soon followed by two foxes. After a brief chase (all under the lawn carpet) the foxes caught two squirrels and began eating while the other two tried to get the foxes to let them go. At this point I turned to find my camera, but had the wrong lens in for capturing a nice shot of this. Then I woke up..

One of my more surreal dreams

Did it!

2008-06-17T23:26:00Z

Remember that cleaning of the room I was talking about, yep. It is now done. So is repotting my plants and everything. I have a new rug and it is fussy and blue, Talia, I have the rest of the cookie monster on my floor. The room is now looking a lot more like a space you want to live in. The only thing I need to do is change the bulb on my lamp.

Oh. One thing because I think people will like:

This is the new puppy we are getting. She will become paler when she grows up a little to turn into this

We are thinking about a D name and it is a female. Any ideas of names

New Userpic and Journal Name

2008-06-17T17:43:40Z

And they both have the same origin. The userpic is of course from Assassin's Creed, one of my new obessions. It is from what is called a leap of faith and that is exactly what I'll use it for. When ever there is something that might be against my better judgement, but I'll jump anyway (and pray that there are people leaving piles of hay around for me too). Like deciding to do a special studies and most likely a thesis. It is a leap of faith I have to do.

The journal name is 'It is only Tuesday'. The main reason is the song Six Days by DJ Shadow.

At the starting of the week
At summit talks you'll hear them speak
It's only Monday
Negotiations breaking down
See those leaders start to frown
It's sword and gun day

Tomorrow never comes until it's too late

You could be sitting taking lunch
The news will hit you like a punch
It's only Tuesday
You never thought we'd go to war
After all the things we saw
It's April Fools' day

Tomorrow never comes until it's too late
Tomorrow never comes until it's too late

You hear a whistling overhead
Are you alive or are you dead?
It's only Thursday
You feel a shaking on the ground
A billion candles burn around
Is it your birthday?

Tomorrow never comes until it's too late
Tomorrow never comes until it's too late
Make tomorrow come I think it's too late

I just feels that it fits me rather well. My days feel very long. Some nights when I walk home it seems like forever since I walked the same way to deliver mail at work. I also really like the tomorrow never comes until it is too late line. Sometimes all I want is for the day to be over so I can wake up to a new day tomorrow. Over all I just like the song.

New fandom: Yes, like that was a big surprise. I have really gotten into Assassin's Creed. So yeah, I have a new fandom now. Yay!

Today I feel like cleaning. We cleaned the copier area today and I think it got into my blood.. I want to make my room look like a room and not somewhere I am just staying. Hopefully that way I am more likely to spend time there. Time spent there means words written and that is very good. My words per day for June so far is 160-something, but it is cheating a little because it is counting all the days in june. (This is just the way I set up my little spread sheet. If I was to do it correctly it would be 384, which is pretty good for being me. I have been writing fanfiction these last few days since I am not entirely sure what to do in the next chapter of Savin' Me. If any of my readers have things they would like to see, please tell me, this is a very open ended project and I love ideas and input. The next chapter is Night PoV.

tigerlofu @ 2008-06-16T14:52:00

2008-06-16T19:06:55Z

The rest of my Smith Time
Fall 08		Fall 09
AST 100		CSC 364
GER 200		CSC 290/390
CSC 231		EGR 220
CSC 262		CSC 430
Spring 09		Spring 10
CSC 250		EGR 320
CSC 270		THE 254
PHY 118		CSC 430
CSC 400		Something for fun

Major Classes in red, minor in blue.

Ode to Facebook

2008-06-16T15:32:30Z

"Stalking made easy; brought to you by facebook"
-Michele

So, one of my tasks this summer is to hunt down out engineering alums and ask them what they are doing now, where they are going to school/work so on and so forth. However as can be expected, since it is summer and all, they don't always answer email as soon as I would like. Well if I got my way, I would have some sort of telepathic connection with them so I could automaticly download all of the information I need. However we are not in the world of Shadowrun and I am not a decker. So this is where facebook comes in. 2008's answer to the 'trix. This morning I have been hunting down some particular information, the graduation years of the alums that go to grad schools. And it is so easy. Surprisingly many people also give out their address, phone-number and any other way of contacting them you would like. I am almost scared, my biggest shock however was that Cornell gives out phone number, address, email and office address of their current students to an off campus IP. All this does make my job easier, but if I can, so can other people. Scary indeed.

Strangely fitting

2008-06-16T00:33:14Z

Johnny Jump Up

2008-06-15T02:10:15Z

Heh.. Love this song..