Showing posts with label procrastinating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label procrastinating. Show all posts
petit blog post (with chocolate sauce)
Oh dear. It's out in (some) of my family that I have a blog, so now I feel obligated to post more often. This isn't a bad thing really, in fact I count anything that makes me more inclined to post as a blessing, but right now it's pretty late in the evening and I haven't thought of anything about which I can speak, so I think I'll just leave you all with some pictures I took while at my "Aunt" Amy's house.
spunk
Above are two screenshots of my desktop. It is very steempunk-y.
And above is a screenshot of my new Firefox theme. It is lovely as well.
titleless
I know that it's been six days since I've blogged, and I don't even have a good excuse.
I have started a new story, but I have a bit of a writer's block. I'm going to see if I can work through my plot today, and if I can't I'm just going to try and plough through it. It's making me grumpy. *grumble grumble*
whining, because I'm such a whiner
I've been a horrible blog-mistress. I'm sorry. In my (lousy) defense, I've been both busy and sick.
I took the SAT, got a nasty virus, took challenged the AP English exam with said nasty virus and then crashed for three days. Just when I was starting to feel better (read: yesterday), I started getting hay-fever from willow and cottonwood flowers.
The allergies are ticking me off more than anything, because since things in Ningbo bloom about a month and a half before things here in the Pacific Northwest, I've already paid my allergy dues this year.
A week ago, Brynne and I tie-dyed. I feel like an even worse person for not posting photos, but they're all on her camera. (Also, all the pictures of me are baaaad.) I may just have to get her to take more when she gets back from Districts (tennis).
My goal today is to update the 'about' page since it sorely needs it. Please don't go look until I tell you it's done.
bet you didn't know...
It's been a while since I've done one of these, and I think they're fun.
Name five things laying around your computer.
A bottle of sugarless mint gum, a roll of tape, a bunch of books, an alarm clock, two pairs of scissors.
10 places you've lived, in order.
I'm assuming that whoever wrote this means chronological order.
Santa Maria de Guia, the Canary Islands, Spain
Madison, Wisconsin, the US of A
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, USA
Five different houses in Dalian, China
Two houses in Ningbo, China
...and that's it.
A romantic night would be...
Um...romantic? I've never thought about it. But I suppose it would matter who it was with than anything else. And whoever it's with should have a say in what we do.
Were you ever rushed to the hospital? What for?
Yes, I was. For second-degree burns caused by oil splashing all over my neck and face. I was unconscious for most of it, and what I do remember is just...red. Thankfully the only scarring I have is some tiny bumps under my right eye.
What's the worst that can happen?
I could live forever. (I'm sure there are worse things out there, I just can't think of them right now.)
Xi'an, an ancient Chinese city, true!
I went to Xi'an with a bunch of people I know. It was fun. Here are pics, and I really need to stop reading I can haz cheezburger? because I starting to want to talk and type in LOLspeak.
The sign was funny. Not as funny as some of the stuff on Engrish Funny (Guess what I've been doing! On second thought, don't.), but the random capitalization ought to more than make up for that. It says:
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE DACIEN TEMPLE AND THE DA YAN PAGODA
The dacien temple was built in 648 AD to honour the empress wende by the tang crown prince li zhi.the temple with 13 yards and 1897 magnificent roomw was broad in scale. It occupied an area of more than 24 hectarew who lived in the temple. It was the most famous temple in Chang An city during the tang dynasty.
A buddhist and pilgrim Xuan Zang who studied buddhism in india was waslcomed to preside over the temple affairs in 653 an Xuan Zang arranged for the building of the Da Yan Pagoda to preserve the hundreds of wolumes of buddhist so riptures which had been brought back from Inida.
The original pagoda was constructed with five stories in India style.It was rebuilt to seve storeys in 701AD--704AD during the period of empress Wu Ze Tian.
Today, the Da Yan Pagoda is 64.5m high with seven storeys. The body of the pagoda is a square brick pagoda in the range of chinese national character and the tang style. It is a model place of boddhist architer ture. In 4 march 1961 the state council declede that the Da Yan Pagoda must be protected as one of the most important historical monuments.
Note: Chang An is the ancient name for Xi'an, and the spelling, punctuation and capitalization have been typed up exactly as they appear.
There were pretty marble carvings. They looked imposing. I'm not sure they were supposed to.
There were other pretty things, and a neat, gnarled-looking tree.
And painted ceilings and eaves galore!
Have I mentioned how awesome I thought those trees were? I have? And you think I've been talking too much about plants? Sorry, it's a bit of an obsession.
This was the pagoda.
These were chickens in the monastery gardens. Are my comments getting a little too obvious?
The gate to the monastery. It was imposing too. I felt very much imposed upon.
This was the view from the top of the city wall. I love the guardhouses next to the skyscrapers.
This was in a mosque near the city center. The whole group spent ages trying to guess what the sign meant without looking at the Chinese.
There were more pretties.
And neat roofs.
This was the bazaar near next to the mosque. I bought lots of stuff there, including two paintings, an antique (and awesome) Chinese lock, a hairstick, a little clay pot, a pair of old, adorable, embroidered, lion-shaped baby shoes, and some Men Zi (some species of pachyrhizus as far as I can tell, stir-fried and then smothered in balsamic vinegar, soy-sauce and spices).
China is not for squeamish people. Note the cart of garbage above, as well as what comes next.
Okay, this stuff doesn't look gross, but it doesn't taste as good as the skewered stuff either.
Dates, we haz them.
Meat, we have it too. If you have a weak stomach, are vegetarian or might otherwise be disgusted by the sight of lots and lots of meat, please avert your eyes while proceed to the next picture. Thank you for your cooperation.
And this is a picture that came out funnily, and is only included so that we end on a nicer note than dead animals hanging everywhere.
P.S. The title of this post is a reference to the BNL song 'Crazy ABC's' from their album Snacktime.
stalling, one, two, three...
Things to do online when you're bored/procrastinating (geek version):
- make a blog (or three)
- watch Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
- go look at all the pretty stuff on thinkgeek.com
- browse mentalfloss.com
- browse omniglot.com
- browse The Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form
- browse Mysterious Britain and Ireland's Encyclopedia
For some reason, my brain has been in a bit of a funk lately and doesn't want to concentrate on one thing for a long time, so in between writing papers, I'm doing all of the above. It's surprisingly addictive.
Ministry of Names?
A couple of most excellent sites I stumbled upon while doing I-don't-know-what.
The Name Inspector- on names and naming.
in which I'm still slightly insane
Hey, what think you of the new layout? I think I like it. It's quite a change, though.
I know that I probably lost most of my readers due to my last bought of craziness. I hope I at least have a few valiant souls left. In my defense, I was operating on about three hours of sleep. I can't defend Brynne though. Her behavior was inexcusable. (Just kidding!)Anyhow, now that I've had a good night's sleep, I'm slightly more sane.
I apologize in advance if I don't get to blog regularly as I usually do while I'm here, because my schedule is a bit crazy (note: three hours of sleep is definitely crazy). Plus, there's really just not that much to say about what I'm doing here. I'm studying, I'm taking care of the most adorable little baby, and I'm eating a bunch of really good food.
if you give two girls skype...
This post's counterparts are over on Brynne's blog, here and here. You may not want to read this post unless you're crazy.
B: I get it.
*skip*
L: I just went to fake headdesk, except I missed and it became real.
B: This is actually his most famous song, except no one knows that he wrote it, 'cause he never actually preformed it much, you know...
L: My chicken smells all cold and clammy.
L: That sounds weird.
*skip*
B: Are you getting headphones?
L: Yes, because now you're louder.
B: My nose is runny.
L: Did you say funny or runny?
*skip*
B: I need to shave my legs, in case you care.
L: I care tremendously. This knowledge is essential to my existence.
B: It's one of the most important things I will ever tell you.
*skip*
L: Go shove your mic in your mouth.
B: Huh? Oh, my webcam mysteriously disconnected. That's why.
in which I am a geek
Anyway, we all know that I'm a tremendous copycat (last paragraph), but I have finally come to the conclusion that Brynne is way smarter than I ever will be.
As far back as I can remember, I've had a thing for languages. It may have something to do with the fact that my parents teach English, my mother has a master's in linguistics, I speak three languages and have studied five, but then again it may not.
Anyway, I've been (quietly) looking for a way to organize (one of) my current projects, and Brynne's idea is perfect. So I'm going to cautiously think about starting a blog for my latest language/world/culture, which is still mainly a concept. Hopefully having it be publicly accessible will make me actually do something with it, even though I'm currently swamped in schoolwork.
I'll post the link in a future post, if the blog ever makes it way out of pre-production.
in which I link to thingies that can be helpful when writing (part I)
These are in my "Names & Generators & Prompts" bookmark folder. I love them, end probably couldn't live without most of them.
Imagination Prompt Generator: This site generates random prompts that are good for blogging, journaling, or just to spark your imagination.
NameVoyager: Visual representations of baby name trends starting in the 1880's.
Behind the Name: I absolutely love this site, especially the random name generator, which is by far the best one I've found.
What a Lovely Name: Another baby name site, organized in a very refreshing and intuitive way.
Yafnag: Yet Another Fantasy NAme Generator.
Seventh Sanctum: Any kind of generator your heart could desire.
The Swami's Generators: Generators you've never even thought of, but without which you won't be able to live once you know they exist.
Cult of Squid Name Generator: Yes, another one. I use them all.
The Always Amusing Euphemism Generator: Exactly what it sounds like, and perfect for figuring out what your main character's batty great-aunt says.
The Forge: A flash-based fantasy generator for names, places, creatures and spells.
Let's Put Your Character into a Sticky Situation: Generates bad things that can happy to your character. The modern alternative to 'if all else fails, burn something down'.
82 Writing Experiments by Bernadette Mayer: Perfect for breaking writer's block or inspiring poetry.
The Surrealist: Generators and playthings galore.
Language is a Virus: Links to everything and anything concerning writing, and plenty of generators.
911 Writer's Block: Dial 1 for settings, dial 2 for characters etc.
Serendipity: More generators, of every kind.
Note: The author is not held responsible for time wasted on these sites.
procrastinating...
I've finished all my schoolwork that has to be done today, which is good, but now part of me feels guilty because I'm not ahead, and I usually am. Anyhow, so instead of going over that big, thick book on my desk with 'College Trigonometry' printed on it, I'm procrastinating by iPod Touch-app-shopping. Only it's not really shopping, because I'm only downloading free apps, but still... I can think of better things to do with my time, only they're probably not quite as much fun as deciding which of the three million free Sudoku apps I want to download.
happy Christmas!
Right. So on Christmas Eve, I watched Evita, made accounts for a couple of fictional characters, and drank eggnog (minus the rum, of course). This morning, so far I've sat around in my pajamas, successfully not done schoolwork, and eaten an orange roll. There's no holiday like Christmas.
unless my brain runs away again...
Hey. The blog-mistress is officially back.
I've reorganized the links, cleaned up the tags a bit and can think of nothing else to delay my return to (kinda) regular blogging.
Meanwhile, here's a pick of random photos from my hard-drive. They really are random.
Books. Lots of them. I must be in heaven:
Old ad:
Me, in the middle of a sentence, after brushing my hair:
Some pretty place:
Me, talking again:
I must either talk a lot or else only get photographed when I'm talking. What is with that?
prompting me to say...
Yes, another one of those writing prompt posts. Because nothing that I've been doing lately is blog-worthy.
#1
List ten things you want to accomplish before it's too late.
- Own a puppy-sized elephant
- Eliminate small-talk from the world
- Cure klutziness
- Explore an alternate universe
- Figure out why I don't like licorice
- Find out why the answer to everything is 42 and not 41 or 43
- Own all the books I want
- Read all the books I want
- Get a cat
- Meet Dumbledore :)
#2
What one gift would you like for yourself?
Um... wisdom. Definitely.
#3
Things that make me fearful...
- People knowing what I'm thinking about/feeling
- Disappointing someone
- Having someone be angry with me
- Not knowing whether I can trust someone or not
- Being bad at something
#4
My ten favorite movies.
I'm actually not a huge fan of most movies. There's too much action, and not enough character development, and worldbuilding for my taste. Plus, if the movie's based on a book, the book is almost always better than the movie.
#5
People that irritate me...
...generally either have no idea that they irritate me or think I'm jealous of them.
#6
Describe a typical day in elementary school:
6:00- wake up, sit in bed and do homework due before lunch that I was too lazy to do the night before.
6:45- get dressed, eat breakfast, do dishes.
7:15- walk out the door, try to sneak a novel or four to read in class. May or may not get caught. Walk for five minutes, catch bus.
7:28- Get off the bus. Run. I'm going to be late! Aaaaah!
7:30- Do morning exercises (choreographed aerobic thingies that everyone hates) if it's spring r fall, jog (highly choreographed as well) if it's winter.
8:00- Start classes. Usually as soon as the teacher was safely in front of the blackboard, I would either start reading or go into a semi-comatose state, depending on whether or not I was able to sneak a book past my vigilant mother.
11:30- Look at sauerkraut (if winter) or other disgusting food (if summer) on my plate and gag. Try to hide it in my rice and sneak towards the scrap pail outside my classroom door. Usually get caught by the student monitor who's supposed to make sure we don't waste food. Try to sweet-talk said student monitor into letting me dump icky food, on success, dump food, and on failing, go back to my seat and choke some food down.
11:45- Sit at my desk and read or write. After everyone else finishes eating, get shooed out of the classroom either by the teacher or the students whose job it is to clean the classroom that week. Grumble, gripe, plead, but go outside eventually (taking my book/notebook of course) unless it's really miserable outside, in which case mention that I might have a cold.
12:30- Finish my book/realize that my hand is cramped. Go search for some human being that might play with me so that I won't look like a complete loser. Push to play a game that I'm good at/enjoy. Beat them all at it. Feel smug.
1:00- Sit in class and either talk to the people in front/next to/behind/opposite me or doodle.
2:30- Do another round of stupid choreographed exercise thingamajigs.
4:20- Start gathering up my things in preparation for getting out of school.
4:30- Shoot out of the door as soon as class is dismissed. Walk down the street, buy myself a snack, take my time so that everyone else gets on the bus in front of me.
4:45- Get home, eat another snack, do homework.
6:00- Eat dinner.
6:15- Read.
9:30- Go to bed.
#7
Do you work too much?
No. I don't work enough.
#8
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?
Um, I really don't know if I can think back to the future. I'll get back to y'all on that one after I turn 19.
#9
My favorite time of day...
I like dawn and evenings, even though midnight is pretty cool too.
#10
What is truth?
Whatever I command.
still AWOL
Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I've been very, very braindead. I'll be back soon. I promise.
...
I am not Brynne. I am not Fast Like a Freak. I also have other things to do. Which is why I have only written 22389 words in the past week.
However, yesterday I read Beowulf in its entirety, write 4000 words, did my Chinese homework, did my English quiz, started Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, forgot to blog, did half of my math problems for next week and did laundry.
November is a dreary month. And it's pouring rain again.
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