Fallen Bloom by ~Beboots on deviantART
Depressing stuff first:

( Also, notes on an upcoming family trip, minus Beboots. )
All right, that's enough of that. On to happy stuff!


Not A Tree by ~Beboots on deviantART

Happy Dominion Day! :D

( Or to the rest of the world who doesn't live in 1926 any longer: Happy Canada Day! :D  )

Reflection by ~Beboots on deviantART

( Construction Woes )

Also, work is still awesome. :) Today at work I did an evening booking, for something called Murder Mysteries. I think that they do different verisons on each street (it would be so cool to see it at the actual Fort). It's essentially a group of actors in costume that host a party (the one that I worked was at the Johnny J. Jones Midway in 1926) and there's murder. They serve the guests (who've bought tickets to attend) food and drink (lots of drink, let me tell you) and they have to figure out who the murderer is by asking questions to people in costume.

Now, I was just running the carousel with Sasha for an hour, but since I was in costume, people asked me questions. I was in-character, but all I said was stuff to the effect of "Oh, I'm just green help" (i.e.: newly hired carnie), and sometimes I would add "And let me tell you, what with all of this drama, I'm not sure I'll hang about." It was fun. :)

Also, people who are tipsy enjoy the carousel even more. Seriously. Children of all ages.

As promised in my previous post, here is the alternate universe temeraire fic idea that I had. Title is coincidentally the same as that of a recent shoot'em up game, but... yeah. Unintentional. :)

Also, on another note, I managed to lose a file with a bunch of stuff (quotes and avatars, mostly) that I was going to show to my sister upon her return from Japan. D: Can anyone find me a copy of that avatar that says something to the effect of "Hogwarts is so last year. I'm enlisting in Star Fleet"?

( Left For Dead )

"You may not feel oustandingly robust, but if you are an average-sized adult you will contain within your modest frame no less than 7 x 10¹⁸ joules of potential energy - enough to explode with the force of thirty very large hyrdogen bombs, assuming you knew how to liberate it and really wished to make a point."
-Bill Bryson, on the meaning of E=mc², A Short History of Nearly Everything

(one of the most interesting paragraphs I've read today)


Mysterious Plant by ~Beboots on deviantART

So... what have I been up to?

Mainly working and doing errands. But as you can see from my previous post, work = lulz. :) I've been reading the abovementioned book, which has the distinction of being the only media that has made me actually interested in science in any capacity since Bill Nye the Science Guy. (For the unitiated, here is an example episode of a show that consumed my childhood along with the Magic School Bus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ag6rcM9V-U ) Everyone my age who grew up in North America can sing the theme song, or at least recognize it, I swear.

In any case... yesterday, on my first day off, I went out to Fabricland with Ashley on a whim, and we bought patterns and fabric and have half-finished floor-length cloaks on our hands. With lining. <3

I've also jumped through hoops to get my passport renewed. I swear, Passport Canada should really make passports expire every ten years, like the rest of the world, and not put us through such trials and tribulations every five. D:

I've also discovered that I really like Canadian government buildings, especially ones built to be impressive like Canada Place in Edmonton. (Does every large Canadian city have a Canada Place?) I feel comfortable around the familiar bilingual signs - it made me feel at home, even when visiting the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo a few years ago. :) It makes me feel calm and patriotic. Maybe they put something in the air...? ;)

I'm also planning on posting a long Temeraire fic idea soon. It's probably not going to get written out in full, but it's essentially the plan for a novel-length fanfic. I wrote it over the course of three hours or so, after ruminating on it for a week.

This post came out much less enthusiastic than I wanted to, but that's probably because I'm wilting from the heat. D: It's been like above 20C every day this week, and when you're working out in the sun, running hand-cranked rides or even just talking with people... it saps your energy.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
- Charles Schultz


Crisscross by ~Beboots on deviantART

I have come to the conclusion that today would have been a bad day, if I wasn't an eternal optimist. I mean, bad things happened to me today, but I don't feel like it was a bad day. Does this make sense?

( Let me elaborate.  )

were seized and feasted upon at once.
-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Okay, so I just had the most awesome training session ever, you guys.

 

( Cut for awesome zombie action )
Man, I love Fort Edmonton. I'm so happy to be working there this summer.

-On the manliness of Max Fightmaster's name, here: http://www.cracked.com/article_14982_9-manliest-names-in-world.html


OKAY SO I'M TOTALLY DONE ALL OF MY EXAMS NOW. *rejoice*

So I knew that I was completely and utterly done school today, when I went to the washroom after my exam and was staring at this poster on the wall while waiting in line. It was an advertisement that encouraged people to use "refillable pens and pencils". And then I thought to myself: "hey, if you remove the 'c' and the 'l' from 'pencils', you get..." XD

So yeah, my brain is dribbling out of my ears. I can think stupid. AND IT IS GLORIOUS.

Also, pretend that that "pencils" observation never happened.

( CUT FOR RECCOMENDATIONS )

Okay, so I'm officially a lol!fan of the Dragonball series. For serious.

Now before you lose all respect for me, I have to say that I was initially kind of sort of coerced into seeing the new "Dragonball: Evolution" movie. Okay, that's a lie. A friend asked me, and I said yes. I watched it for the lulz, okay?

 

( And what lulz there were.  )
And oh yeah - studying. Right. I'll get right on that. *shifty eyes*

-Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way.

Okay, I just had a phonecall that made my DAY. No, weekend. No, LIFE.

Fort Edmonton, for the uninitiated, is a historical re-enactment park. Here is its website: http://www.fortedmontonpark.ca/pages/FortEdmonton/default.aspx It is a relatively large park, right along the river valley, which tells the history of the city of Edmonton, from an actual Hudson's Bay trading fort, to the settlement era, to... well, the 1920s, where I'll be working. There are general stores, penny arcades, early 20th century playgrounds, photography studios, farms (with horses, ponies, pigs, chickens, turkeys...), churches, a mosque, a tom thumb golf course (AKA minigolf), gorgeous scenery.... :D 

I'll be in the Midway, a 1920s carnival. :3 I get to run the merry-go-round. And/or Ferris Wheel. <3 I am so PUMPED for this job... :D

I get fitted out for a costume in two weeks. I'm so excited! :D I'm just so full of GLEE right now...  Just thought you guys should know. :D

Also, that means that I can give in my two week's notice tomorrow, at Superstore. I'll be getting out, after nearly four and a half YEARS. <3

I need more happy faces in this post.

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

"I remember once while working on an evening newspaper in southern England receiving a wire service story that made absolutely no sense until a correction was sent a few minutes later saying: "In the preceding story, for 'Crewe Station' read 'crustacean.'"

-Bill Bryson, "The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way"

So I've finally, finally, finally, gotten off my butt and actually written something. Well, completed something. I've probably written like 70,000 words (only a slight exaggeration) of fanfic this past year, but none of it completed. It's all sitting on my harddrive, gathering dust, only occasionally seeing the light of day when I get a burst of inspiration to write a hundred words or so. Maybe.

Until today.

Yes, it is short - a bare 1,075 words. But it is complete.

It's also from my new favourite fandom, Temeraire! :D This fic actually begged to be written. The fandom has made me love Laurence/Granby (and Laurence/Tharkay... and Laurence/Riley... and Laurence/Granby/Tharkay), but when I read the books, I honestly loved the dynamic between Laurence and Jane. Yes, I know that it's het. But it's adorable.

 So here goes:

( Aviators and Naval officers do frequent some of the same circles, and cross paths more often than you’d expect. Great Britain, despite what its people want you to think, is still a small country. Jane/Laurence )

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
~ Charles Schultz


Sunlight Through Leaves by ~Beboots on deviantART

Sometimes I think that I'm anti-depressed, if that's possible. I try to see things that interest me and make me happy in boring, everyday events.

Things that make me happy, every day:

1) Clever puns that I've never heard before (and sometimes puns that I have)

2) Sitting in the back of the bus on the way to university when the vehicle goes over a sizeable bump - and all of us back there leave our seats for a brief moment. :3 It doesn't happen everyday, but that makes it something novel. I'm not sure why, but I smile everytime it happens.

3) Sun shining on water, or through water.

4) Seeing birds fly upwards. Half of the time when they land, they look realy ungraceful. It doesn't make me smile as much, or, at least, not in the same way. Watch a duck land on water - it's pretty comical, sometimes. ;)

4) Listening to foreign language music and suddenly understanding a line with no translation. Like, listening to "Gaudete" and suddenly realizing the meaning of "Gaudete Christus est natus ex Maria virginae gaudete", or sitting in a Chinese restaurant and suddenly realizing that the lantern right above your head has the character for gold (金) on it.

5) Seeing someone play a harp or other string instrument really, really well. You can't just produce good music - you must have beautifully graceful hands as well.

6) Seeing a couple hold hands or walk arm-in-arm in public. But not more than that. I hate it when people grope each other or make out in a public place. Platonic = love, sometimes. :)

7) Having one of those rabbits that run around campus come up really, really close to you, and not get scared of the crazy human.

8) A genuine smile and hug from someone you know.

9) Having someone call you by name when you didn't realize they even knew who you were. (example: professors in a really big class randomly recognizing you from your paper or questions you've asked in e-mails) I like knowing that people put a name to my face.

10) Learning something completely new yet makes complete sense.
(Edit: IRONY snap)


(Also, this: http://t-lyrical.livejournal.com/83289.html?thread=172889 :DDD Thanks again!)

"Trying one's best is a good thing, but trying one's patience is a bad thing. A blunt instrument is dull, but a blunt remark is pointed." (seriously, what the hell, English? D: )

A cheerful little story for you guys, also courtesty of Bill Bryson's book "The mother tongue: English and how it got that way": 

On another note, my Habsburg history prof has been trying to encourage us to listen to classical music for the entire semester, telling us amusing stories about various composers - and of course the majority of what he calls "good" composers are from Central Europe. ;) In any case, because my brother was in the next room, chatting, I was like "GAH I need something to listen to... oh hey yeah classical instrumental music is supposed to be good for you to study to, right?" So I've been raiding youtube for awesome songs... and yeah, I've saved a bunch to my delicious. (Check it: http://delicious.com/Beboots/music ) They've really been helping, I think.

So what kind of stories was the good Professor Szabo telling us, about these composers? 
For instance, Heiden wrote the Austrian Imperial Anthem after seeing/hearing a crowd in England sing "God Save the King". He felt so moved that he wanted something like that for his own people. He, as an old man, was in Vienna when it was occupied by Napoleon and his troops. Now, the French really respected Heiden, and so he actually got an honour guard of French soldiers. They were so impressed with him, they requested that Heiden play something for them. Heiden, being a shaky old man by this time, sits down at his harpsicord... and plays the Austrian Imperial Anthem. ;)

Oh snap.  

Quote = from my new favourite non-fiction book, "The mother tongue: English and how it got that way" by Bill Bryson. Seriously, if you're into history or linguistics or english or British culture or anything, really, go out and read that book.


In other news... I'm pretty bogged down with papers, like pretty much all other university students are this year. On the plus side, I have just finished my midterms! :D Huzzah! ... which means that I only have three weeks until my first final exam. -_-;

Status report:

Due this Thursday: Habsburg history research paper on Enlightened Absolutism on Maria Theresia & her two sons: 1,184 out of 2,500 words, plus editing time. So, I'm probably already in advance of half the class. ;)

Due this Tuesday (OMG Tuesday? Shit!) French paper on La Moustache (which is trippy, btw): er, 13 words. Out of 1,000. But I have most of a plan written I swear.

Also, tomorrow I have  a job interview for Fort Edmonton! :D I'm both excited and anxious. I'm worried that I'll sleep in, that I'll forget to take a tag off my new shirt, that I'll accidentally interrupt the interviewer, that they'll bring in an authentic Japanese person to test my Japanese skills... though luckily, our last unit was on job interviews. So I can use the correct level of politeness, and might not stumble too much.... I'm also worried that the interviewer will test my French skillz (which is more likely than the Japanese option), but that they won't understand me because I no longer speak the Quebecois dialect, although I understand it.

There is also a written portion. On Canadian history, I assume. I'm pretty solid on this era (well, anything pre-confederation, up to world war to, really), but not in Western history. I can talk for hours about Ontario and Quebec and the Maritimes... even Manitoba because I'm interested in the Métis and wrote a paper on them last semester, but... aside from Fur Trade politics, I don't know much. But that'll get me through part of the park - Fort Edmonton is, after all, a Hudson's Bay Company post.

Maybe I'm panicking for no reason. Maybe I'm overconfident and will fail because of that. I don't know.

We'll see how this turns out.

(Goddamn I really don't want to work at Superstore for another summer. D: If the interview goes well, when I go in to check my schedule tomorrow I'll hand in my two week's notice. Seriously, this time.)

I am a total sheep. Yay for memes!

Post a single sentence from each WIP you have (or as many as you want to pick). No context, no explanations. No more than one sentence!

Oh god I have a lot of WIPs... Many of which may never again see the light of day. This is only a selection, because I can't be bothered to go through so many files. ;)

A Narnia/Harry Potter crossover, mostly an excuse to write about Mr. Tumnus:
Lucy Pevensie had never been entirely clear with him about the name of the place that she had come from, and had thrown around names like “War Droab,” “Spare Oom”, “Aarth” and “Ingle-land” almost interchangeably.

From that Twilight/House, M.D. crossover that I'm still determined to finish:
However, if the turnover rate was slightly higher at this particular teaching hospital than was the national average, perhaps (although few would admit it) it had something to do with “stress due to gimpy diagnosticians.”

A Good Omens/Harry Potter crossover that I've written two chapters of, in which Remus Lupin becomes friends with Aziraphale in a roundabout way. This is from the scene in which they meet:
An unconscious young man on the floor was a good enough reason as any to close up shop early.

From a Temeraire fic which is essentially a tell-all autobiography written by the dragon Temeraire. Quote is from Temeraire's narration of his hatching:
Laurence tells me that I am biased, but I truly believe that he was the most handsome and agreeable man of the lot.

A totally-not-crack-but-really-should-be Temeraire fic in which Laurence dies but comes back as a Flamme-de-Gloire (yes, a dragon) and makes his way back to England:
“I realize the ridiculousness in this statement, but I really am William Laurence,” The dragonet replied.

"It is written" - Slumdog Millionaire

Okay, so maybe this is a matter of "don't count your chickens before they've hatched", but mum called me over to the answering machine when she got home, and there was a message there for me... from the Fort Edmonton Human Resources! :D I have an interview! For the job I've been wanting for two years!

I may still bomb the interview, but... I have a shot at this! :D I am immensely excited about all of this. :)

Also, just for interest's sake... here's more hetalia fanart that I've uncovered:
The countries talk about their most talented authors: http://chira-chira.deviantart.com/art/hetalia-the-best-writer-104122833
Random sketches including the Cold War from Canada's point of view: http://chira-chira.deviantart.com/art/hetalia-sketches-102687393
And my favourite, Canada asking the UK for permission to be a country: http://chira-chira.deviantart.com/art/hetalia-Canada-s-Favor-104122999

Also, this one: http://angusmcleod.deviantart.com/art/World-War-Two-Simple-Version-73625561 It isn't Hetalia, but it's effing hilarious. Essentially, it's World War Two, but... yeah. It's as funny as war is ever going to get, man.

And in conclusion: HUZZAH and also YAY! :D

Colonel Eigher, referring to the surrender of Austria to Napoleon, in the novel "Black Powder War" of the Temeraire series.

I'm rereading this book in particular with fresh eyes, as it deals with the defeat of both Austria and Prussia at the hands of Napoleon, which we have only recently been studying in my Habsburg history class. I love reading and going "OMG there are reluctant Saxon troops! We learned about them in class!" :D


Line of Lanterns by ~Beboots on deviantART

Also, I'm really pleased, because today, I got my results for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) in the mail... and I passed! Level Three! :D Huzzah!

This means that, according to them, I have apparently "mastered grammar to a limited level, knows around 300 kanji and 1,500 words, has the ability to take part in everday conversation and to read and write simple sentences. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese fora round 300 hours and after completion of an elementary course."

So... I'm pretty much at the level of a six-year-old. Maybe. With less instinct for what "sounds" right and such. Also, I barely passed: I got 64/100 on the writing-vocabulary section, 74/100 on the Listening section (I knew that that section pulled my mark up!) and 119/200 on the Reading-grammar section. I'm pretty sure a pass is like 50%, and I'm not much higher than that... D: Still, even though they are merely numbers and letters on a page, I feel self-satisfied. :)

Also, for the crack-worthy-ness that actually kind of sort of ties my talk of Habsburgs and Japanese together... Have I told you guys about Hetalia yet? It's essentially a manga series (which is now an anime...? Maybe?) that tells European history, but with all of the countries as people. It is adorable.

Cassidy. You know what I'm talking about, right? Right. :) (Also, can you resend me the link to that one hetalia comic you once sent me? I've somehow managed to lose it! ;_; )

Apparently, though, there's controversy, because the next season/book/whatever that's to come out has the adventures of the Axis Powers. Including Nazi Germany. D:

I dunno, my favourite characters are Austria and the Holy Roman Empire (which, fittingly, are two separate characters).

But here is some awesomeness: the Austro-Prussian war, as told by Hetalia, with anthropomorphized Austria and Prussia. These two clips are essentially the same, but with different versions of the song. In this one ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_z_9eCFBxk ) the lyrics of the song match the subtitles, thereby making it easier to understand if you know some Japanese. (From what I can get, half of it is "You're an idiot"/"Don't call me an idiot") Also, it is amusing because Austria (which has been around for centuries, if not millenia, btw) speaks pretty politely, whereas Prussia (which is an amalgamation of several German states that used to be under the Habsburgs' jurisdiction, like Austria) is hilariously... not polite. XD The second one is sung better, and it's also pretty funny because Prussia's part is sung by a woman. Yeah. <3 (Also, Austria's lines are more casual. And sung in a sexier manner. Just incidentally.)

Also, skip through the first twenty or so seconds of this clip and see the countries of the world do a dance! :D Including Canada. We have a teddy bear. It's awesome.

"I think that this is the theme song for my attitude at the moment..."
(And yay, HTML has stuck with me! :D I learned it when I was a little kid, making neopets pet pages... and after only a little bit of refresher, I can at least make links. Huzzah!)


The Blue and Yellow Staircase by ~Beboots on deviantART

So, I'm pretty busy at the moment, mostly studying. And frantically writing essays: a French one on La Moustache (see previous post for its craziness), a Canadian History research paper on the Quiet Revolution in Quebec (that's when they first started getting all... seperatist-y) and a Habsburg History paper on Maria Theresia and two of her sons, Joseph II and Leopold II (and how Enlightened/Absolutist they were).

So far, I'm not panicking. Not yet. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

I'm also writing some fanfiction. I'm still working on that House, M.D./Twilight crossover from hell, admittedly very slowly, but then again, I'm determined to finish it, so... yeah. I've written down a few ideas, in point-form, for Temeraire fics, and I really want to write a few of them... mostly because that fandom isn't nearly big enough, yet. I am also working on a Good Omens crossover with Harry Potter, essentially in which Remus Lupin and Aziraphale become friends. Yes, I know that it's been done before, but not in a multi-chaptered fic. >:3 I've written the first two chapters, and a smattering of other scenes, but I want to finish this fic (and the other crossover, mentioned above) before posting anything. That way, I won't abandon my readers halfway, like I have with Rise of the Jinchuuriki.

Which I am finishing, by the way. Or at least continuing. I have like 20,000 words more of it written. Just not... in order. D: It shall get done as well!

... as soon as I'm finished my three papers. Hopefully.

("What would you say if I shaved my mustache?")
Quote = the first line of Emmanuel Carrère's trippy novel, "La Moustache". Essentially, it is about an unnamed man who has a wonderful mustache, and who, one day, decides to shave it off, just for a lark. But nobody notices. Not even his wife. At first, he thinks that it's a joke, but then when he confronts his wife about it, she's all like "You never had a mustache!" Then, he has existential problems. It gets worse, because all of his co-workers, even people his wife doesn't know and couldn't have told about the joke say that he's never had a mustache. A few days later, at a restaurant, the man must show his photo ID, and his wife sees and is all like "You know it's illegal to deface your ID." and scraches off the "marker" that was his mustache. He's disturbed, and when he gets home that evening, searches for the photographs from his vacation in Java, feeling the need to save further irrefutable proof that he once had a mustache, but can't find them. Then his wife's all like "We've never been to Java" and the ex-mustache man is all like D: . Pretty much he starts going insane, and thinks that his wife's out to get him, or maybe that she's insane, not him, or both, and ends up running away to Hong Kong after she claims that his father has been dead for a year when he knew that they were supposed to have supper like, that week. It ends with him killing himself with his razor.

Um. Yeah. That's what I read over reading week. I promise you that I absolutely positively did NOT make that story up. Someone actually writes stuff like this. ;)


Fleur De Lis In A Blue Sky by ~Beboots on deviantART

Anyway, other than that, my Reading Week went well! :D I went to Quebec City and Montreal with my friend Maialen. It was awesome. :) We arrived in Quebec City the last day of the Winter Festival, so we witnessed the closing ceremonies. There were also uber-awesome ice sculptures scattered all across the city, so you could be walking along, thinking on how beautiful and quaint the street is, then turn a corner and see two giant ice fish kissing each other. I am not making this up.

Oh, and if you're staying in Quebec City, don't go to La Belle Planète backpackers hostel. It is... a little bit scary. Mostly because of Skee-pee - the scary dog belonging to the hostel owner. The place is really just a renovated appartment... which kind of looks like it's under renovations, even when it isn't. Skee-pee also goes nutso if you try to pet it, frequently jumps on the bed - even, or maybe even especially, if there's someone sleeping there. It also bites. Just so you know.

We stayed in Montreal-Alexendrie hostel, which was AWESOME, in Montreal. It's really close to both the Metro station and the bus station, so if you want to bus in from Quebec City like us, or bus to the airport, it works out really well. Plus, compared to La Belle Planète, it was so much nicer and more professional and more awesome all around. :)

The Festival of Lights began while we were there - can you say ice slides, camp fires with marshmallows, tire à érable, Quebecois bands and fireworks? :D

For the uninitiated, tire à érable = a delicious French Canadian treat involving dripping really hot maple syrup onto crushed ice, and rolling it as it cools into taffy onto a popscicle stick. OMNOMNOM, delicious and patriotic... <3

I think that I shall write more about my trip, later on, when I'm not procrastinating and avoiding doing my homework... ;)