Unopened letters to the world

Ho freakin' ho.

2008-12-25T23:20:00.000+01:00

And so Christmas is over and done with for another year, thank unnamed deity. I know, I know - you can call me a Grinch, but I can’t help it. I don’t really enjoy Christmas anymore, and I don’t even know why. It might just be that I hate this time of year in general; if I had anything to say, we’d be skipping November through February and head straight from autumn to spring. I used to love winter, I really did. I loved the dark and the cold and even the rain, having a reason to stay in and cosy it up on the sofa with candles lit. Now it all just depresses me, and not even the decorations and pretty lights all over town make it all right. I can’t wait until the days are longer again. I want spring. Warmth, green leaves, and light in the mornings when I wake up. I want to go for a run in the afternoon and feel the sun on my face. April, please get here soon.

This Christmas has been particularly miserable since I’ve been ill since the weekend with an awful cold. We celebrated on the 23rd with my uncle, aunt and cousins, and I was sick as a dog with a runny nose, stuffed head and swollen eyes. We celebrated Christmas Eve yesterday at my grandparents’, and at 7 o’clock I was bad enough that I had to go lie down and ended up sleeping for more than three hours. Today I’ve been coughing so hard all day I think I’m going to crack a rib at some point, or at least pass out from a lack of air. Oh, yes, awesome Christmas.

On a positive note, I found out on Monday that I passed all of my exams and now only have the play in January left. Yay! And not only did I pass all the exams, but I got distinctions for all of them, too! Am I allowed to say that I rock?

Bring on spring.

2008-10-21T18:15:00.001+02:00

3-2 against Wigan on Saturday. But damn it, why must they make me suffer and try to give me a heart attack with these late comebacks? Wigan was supposed to be that game I could watch easily and enjoy, maybe won by 3-0. It wasn’t supposed to be a game where Liverpool was down 1-2 but eventually managed to turn the whole thing around in the last ten minutes while I had to cover my eyes. They seriously need to take control of the match earlier.

Also, I wish Keane would start showing why he’s on the team.

Oooh.

2008-10-18T18:13:00.000+02:00

Canal+ is showing Liverpool-Wigan despite it not being in the tableau! What a nice surprise!

Come on, you Reds. Don’t make me suffer the way you did against Manchester City. Show me you can win without Nando, like you did against United.

No keg! (Too late!)

2008-08-24T20:08:00.000+02:00

Last night was the 25th x 4 birthday party in Ystad, and man, did we have a good time.

Looking back at the evening, I realised a few things. One: when I have been drinking it is apparently very difficult for me to be in a picture without making a silly face, which usually means opening my mouth wide enough that you’d think I was trying to break some kind of record. Two: my top was really low-cut. *hides* There was some serious boobage going on at one point. Three: I cannot (and will not!) be held responsible for my so called dancing when the band are playing AC/DC, and especially not Back In Black. And four: Bon Jovi really DOES rock on occasion. *makes horns*

It was a really great night. Food was yummy, band were awesome, and company equally so.

Oh, and on a completely different note, Dawn? Thanks a lot for reminding me about the Slapsong. It’s been on my head nonstop for the past few days, and I can’t just go around singing "You just got slaaaapped!" in public. It’s getting as bad as it was with Where There’s a Whip, There’s a Way.

…

I got a tip last night to watch ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’. I just did, and I have only one thing to say: full frontal nudity for the win! God, I love Jason Segel.

Newsflash

2008-06-27T09:43:00.000+02:00

In the last couple of weeks, I have rediscovered how much work it is having a puppy around. Morris is absolutely adorable, very cuddly and likes to crawl into my lap and fall asleep there, and very funny. He is also the most stubborn little thing you could ever imagine, snaps and yaps at us incessantly every night, tries to eat every damn thing that comes into his field of vision when outside and has very, very sharp teeth, which makes digging stuff out from his mouth ever so slightly unpleasant.

I can't wait for him to stop being a puppy and become a real dog.

Stuff.

2008-05-12T19:40:00.011+02:00

Home again from a four-day-weekend in London, which was wonderful. Saw Monty Python’s Spamalot (which, if you didn't know, is sort of a musical version of 'The Holy Grail'), where I had a moment of utter (though quiet) squee when Alan Dale came on stage. I mean, come on! Bradford Meade! Caleb Nichol! Then my squee subsided somewhat, because he wasn’t really that good, but still. And the show was fantastic - I laughed so much my cheeks hurt. The guy playing Patsy was my favourite - he looked eerily like Terry Gilliam, while at the same time being oddly cute. And if there is one thing Terry Gilliam is not, it’s ‘cute’.

Oh, and I am now also the proud owner of a white, fluffy killer rabbit with pointy teeth. This random American dude sat next to me bought one during the interval, and after paying he said, "This one is for you," and gave it to me. I have no idea why, but… Killer rabbit! Yay! It’s awesome, and called Steve. I don't know why, but it fits him.

On a completely different note, only three weeks until the new puppy arrives! I can’t wait. Of course, once it’s here and the initial ‘homigod so CUTE’ has worn off, it’s going to be a tiring summer of getting bitten every time you stick your hand down, and having to run out for a walk in the middle of an important football game. I can just imagine it. Sweden against France, 1-1 two minutes into overtime, and puppy begins looking anxious. And it will inevitably be my turn to go.

I’ve decided that I’m going to work on my Scouse this summer. I want that accent, damn it. I know the basic differences, like /ɜ:/ becoming /e:/, and /ɐ/ becoming /ʊ/ (I love saying /we:d/ and /brʊðə/), but clearly there is so much more and I want to learn it.

Oh, and /k/ becomes /x/, like in the Scotish 'loch'. So, 'look' would be pronounced as /lʊx/. How awesome is that?

Sports blather

2008-05-04T21:17:00.007+02:00

So, Liverpool won against Manchester City today. Yay! And Torres was the one who scored, which made me extra happy. I’m so proud of El Niño. Take that, all those who didn’t think he’d make it in the UK.

And my boys seem to have recovered somewhat after losing the Champions League semi-final to Chelsea. Man, that sucked. And the worst part was how happy both my parents were with the result; they’re both Chelsea supporters. The living room was so full of glee (and resentment, on my behalf), you wouldn’t believe.

I actually really love football. It amazes me, but I do. It’s fun to watch, and exciting. True, it's limited to English football and cups, but still.

What handball news there is isn't very exciting. Hammarby won the final against Sävehof, which wasn't completely unexpected considering how superior they've been this season, but it was still a disappointment.
And, here's to hoping that next season, my Lugi will get their act together and reach the standard I know they're really at. Because this season was bloody embarrassing.

The efforts of a high school student

2008-05-01T22:34:00.014+02:00

I just went back and looked at some of the English 'essays' I wrote in high school, which was, what, five years ago? And Jesus H. Christ, people. That was embarassing. But also oddly amusing.

I had actually written the phrase 'To summon up' at the end of one of them. I reacted 'on' things. I posed questions that I began to answer with the word 'Yep'. I wrote 'teared apart'. I even described a certain event in a novel as 'very not interesting'.

*headdesk*

Note to self: do not read your junior high stuff if you find that you still have any of it left.

Man, reading the 'conclusion' to my analysis (and I'm using the word 'analysis' in the loosest sense possible, here) of Grisham's The Rainmaker is cracking my shit up.

What worries me slightly, though, is the idea of looking back on this blog in a few years and having a similar reaction.

In which I get my geek on

2008-04-28T12:17:00.004+02:00

I don't know how I feel about this new idea to call the plosives /b/, /d/ and /g/ (well, apparently it goes for all voiced sounds) 'lenis' instead of 'voiced'. I'm very averse to change. /b/, /d/ and /g/ are voiced plosives, and that's that, just as /v/ is a voiced fricative. (And /ʒ/ is a voiced sibilant, but more on that later.)

It's almost as strange as suddenly having to think of /k/ and /g/ as velar sounds. "What do you mean, velar? They're palatal! Stupid book," was my intital reaction. Then I started saying 'car' and 'gone' to myself, and fine, maybe they are more velar than palatal in English.

I don't like this book much. They don't even mention sibilant consonants, I don't think. I can't find the term anywhere, anyway. And that's just rude to the poor sibilants. They shouldn't have to put up with just being lumped in with the all the other fricatives. They've deserved their subcategory.

The straw that breaks my back, however? The mandible isn't mentioned, either. *weeps* How can you write a book on phonetics and not take the opportunity to use an awesome word like 'mandible'?

Regardless of this, though, it really is a lot of fun reading about phonetics and phonology again. Brings back memories of revising madly for Pär's exams, hundreds of questions in front of you, trying to remember what the perturbation theory was about, to be able to tell the thyroid cartilage from the cricoid cartilage, and remember what the subglottic pressure is.

(7 cm water, in case you were wondering.)

When we first started with phonetics during that first term I never thought I'd say this, but I've missed it. A lot of it is different from the stuff we did then - clearly, since the sounds differ - but it's great getting to delve into it again.

Hear the cry of the righteous

2008-04-26T18:51:00.005+02:00

LJ has rather a lot of those amusing blog thingies going around, and the latest one is to find out what your battle cry would be when going to war. Apparently, mine would be, "I'm seriously going to smack you until you pee fire!!!"

You know, I kind of like it. I could definitely see myself running towards an army, a crowbar in my hand - wait, did I not mention that my designated weapon was a crowbar? Well, it was. Where was I? Oh yes - crowbar in hand, crying about making people pee fire.

What? Can't you?

I wish I could audition for 'Idol' right now.

2008-04-24T18:12:00.001+02:00

Man, I sound like a bullfrog with a really bad strep-throat. How very attractive.

Wrong.

2008-04-24T09:35:00.010+02:00

I realised last night that I'd forgotten to register for our vocabulary exam on Saturday and promptly panicked. Not helped by the fact that I seem to have the mother of all colds, either, which is killing my brain. And then I discovered that if I don't take the exam on Saturday, the next opportunity to take it is in August. Cue more panicking.

But, I got up this morning and made a couple of phone calls, and managed to register over the phone. Cue relief.

And then, cue irony. I'm completely exhausted, sneezing and coughing all over the place and my eyes keep tearing up, and I have no energy to study for the bloody exam. And yet for some reason I panicked over the possibility of not taking the exam on Saturday and made it so that I will.

I'm dumb.

But not so dumb that I didn't pass with distinction both my grammar and my translation exams. Score!

In other news, Liverpool lost their first semifinal against Chelsea in Champions' League by own goal when there were two seconds left. Well, not 'lost' as such, it ended 1-1, but since Chelsea 'scored' on away ground, their goal is worth more and now Liverpool have to score at the Bridge to make up for it.

Damn it. Own goal. Two seconds before the game ended.

Look! I post!

2008-04-20T21:25:00.004+02:00

This is what I looked like for the sitting Friday night. And a couple of people actually did get who I was meant to be right away, so yay!

Awesome night.

The good and the sucky

2008-02-13T20:53:00.003+01:00

I have been giggling at this video all afternoon. They're just. So. Cute! Not that I'd want a couple of my own, but still. Highly amusing.

The way Charlie laughs at his brother's pain... That is pure beauty that is.

In other news, at Frida's suggestion I have taken to naming my ear problem - from now on, it shall be called Vera.

Did I mention I hate Vera? Fucking bitch.

Those are strings, Pinocchio

2008-02-10T15:43:00.001+01:00

My grandmother is one hopeless case, bless her. You can't go see her and my grandpa without there being strings attached.

Frida and I are going there tomorrow, and gran called just now to let me know that we'll be having lunch there. Not 'asked me if we would like to have lunch', mind you, but let me know that we will. There's no arguing with her when it comes to lunch. And I was so sure eleven in the morning would be early enough that we could get away with just having coffee or something... Apparently not. "Well, you have to eat anyway," she said when I tried to say that coffee and biscuits or something would be just fine. "You can't go all day without food, and we have to eat dinner, so you two might as well eat with us." She didn't finish with 'And that's that', but I could still hear it.

Sorry, Frida. I tried my best, really. I thought we were in the clear.

Holy crap.

2008-02-07T20:25:00.000+01:00

So, I kinda did not want to have seen this... But I did, and now you will, too. Floey gave us the address to this really cool morphing website, and I was dumb enough to be curious about what I'd look like as a guy.

I found out.

Holy crap. The worst bit? That is probably what I'd look like if I were a guy. It's a guy, but it's still me.

(And this was the picture I morphed. Yes, I look haggard. I'm tired.)

The memory, it betrays

2008-02-06T13:52:00.000+01:00

I think I want a new layout. Not sure how I'd want it to look, though. I kind of like the Rounders template, but it's still not quite right - I don't want the subheading right underneath the blog title, like most of the templates have. That's pretty much the only thing I still like about this one.

Meh. I wish I was good enough with html and CSS to actually create something myself instead of having to rely on existing templates.

Why can't I remember what 'perfunctory' means? Bloody word won't stick in my mind (or, won't cross from my short-term memory bank to my long-term one, as my lecturer would put it). Same with 'incensed', 'effervescent' and several others, and I need to know them for tomorrow. And stupid 'loom' doesn't have a decent translation for what it means in my mind. It drives me mental.

I'm way more stressed about this exam than I expected to or should be.

Tea, umbrellas and wellies

2008-02-05T21:38:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure why I've let my blog slide. I guess maybe because nothing much is happening, while at the same time somehow I've been incredibly busy. I shall make an effort to write at least once a week from now on.

English is fun. A lot of fun even, though just as much work. Up until now, the grammar course has been pretty much all repetition for me, seeing as how I've done both Swedish and linguistics at the university, but now that we're entering the lovely world of clauses and subclauses, I think I'm going to have to start paying some proper attention, as well.

Literature begins on Thursday, with a vocab exam on Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. Written Proficiency began yesterday, and if there's one course I'm not going to enjoy, it'll be that one. And yes, it's probably because it's the one I'm the least good at. I'm one of those people, apparently. *facepalm* But seriously... Academic writing. I'm having a hard enough time writing my thesis in Swedish - I don't even want to think about doing it in English as well!

You know what the worst part is? The brainstorming. When we get to the exam, where we're meant to write an essay on a given topic (and my worrying about that bit is a whole other post), they want to see our brainstorming. They want to see our so-called 'clustering'. And I suck at that, I always did. It just doesn't work that way for me. I've never been able to get my unsorted, incoherent thoughts down on paper. And tell me something - how on Earth do you write an essay with an introduction, a body and a conclusion, using less than 300 words?

No, not looking forward to this one at all. I might even dislike it more than I've been prepared to dislike Culture & History, the course I've expected to be my Achilles heel.

It's strange being in a course with a hundred students. I'm used to being no more than twenty-five. It's all so... anonymous, and it's hard to make contact with people. I miss my friendly linguistics group - I'm still in the same building where I used to be, but without my buddies. It feels odd.

Cuss like a mutha'...

2008-01-25T07:21:00.001+01:00

Swearing in English is awesome. TRUFAX.

Proving God brilliant

2007-12-16T14:17:00.001+01:00

Or maybe it's Ricky Gervais who's the brilliant one.

Also, while I'm on the subject of Ricky Gervais - my mum just got us both seasons of Extras on DVD as an early Christmas present, and it so so. Bloody. Funny. And horribly embarrassing, of course, but hilarious. And I love the actors who guest star as themselves, acting like complete fools. Sir Ian McKellen especially killed me.

WATCH.

"Sir Ian, sir Ian, sir Ian - action! wizard! YOU SHALL NOT PASS! cut - sir Ian, sir Ian, sir Ian."

*dies and is dead*
Or, in LJ speak, *diez and iz ded*

Have yourself an evil little Christmas

2007-12-14T12:31:00.001+01:00

Kripke, you fudging twisted bastard, you.
I love you.

And that's all for now, until my girls have seen the most recent Supernatural.

My mind is an odd, odd place.

2007-12-13T19:30:00.000+01:00

So, let me tell you what I was up to last night.

I was going to a party. Ida, your birthday party, to be more specific. It took place somewhere in Lund, and to make sure I knew how to find the place I went out earlier during the day to scour it out. Wearing pyjama trousers and a nightgown. In the rain.

Well, I found the place, and just when I was about to leave again (probably to go home, shower and change my clothes before coming back), the guests started dropping in. I was all embarrassed - everyone were all dressed up, and there I was in my pyjamas. Anyway, people started setting the table for dinner. I went up to Ida and said I really should go home and get properly done, it'd only take half an hour, tops. She went, 'Sure. Just scoop up a portion on this plate and you can eat when you get back'. I'm all, 'Cool'. Only problem was, when I was trying to scoop up my portion I kept spilling on the table, and Ida's dad (whom, may I add, I have never actually met) kept following me around and wiping at it. Finally, he goes, 'You know, if you maybe put the ladle this way instead, maybe you wouldn't make such a mess.' I was very embarrassed. Again.

Then, I needed to put some tin foil over my plate. But, in this place, you got the tin foil from a machine, and the damn machine only produced the foil in tiny strips, so it took me ages to cover the whole thing. Ages as in, everyone else had finished dinner already.

So I called my parents, hoping that maybe they could bring me my clothes and I could use the shower in the apartment (wherever we were). Unfortunately, my dad had been drinking wine and was unable to drive, and my mum was in Södra Sandby.

My salvation was a masquerade. We were challenged to dress up as characters from - for some reason - Dreamgirls (and I swear, I haven't even seen this damn movie!) and there were loads of clothes to choose from. I thought, 'Oh, great, maybe there's something nice to wear!' and found an awesome corset-like thingy, only it was made of, uh, pink fur. And had a brim of white fur. I thought it was perfect and put it on, but then one of the other guests went complaining to Ida: 'That doesn't look anything like any of the characters, she just looks like a slut!'

That's around where I woke up, I think. I swear to God, all of this crap really happened in my head.
And for the record, Ida, I don't actually believe that your dad would follow anyone around with a rag and berate them for spilling food. ;)

...

I have nasty cold. It sucks.
On the plus side - Supernatural is back tonight! Which means tomorrow for me, but yay! I'm totally excited for this episode after I caved and watched a director's cut of a very, very amusing scene. *snicker*

Hi.

2007-11-28T18:04:00.000+01:00

I know, I know, it's been ages, I suck. Let me make it up to you by getting you addicted to Free Rice. I already am - it's a terrific way to learn and/or test yourself, do a good deed and have fun/driving yourself nuts at the same time. Awesome. And yay - it does come in handy having studied Latin!

And let me ask you this. How is it possible not to love a language that has words like 'bulwark' and my absolute favourite, 'logorrhea' ('talkativeness')?

I realised something yesterday. One of my presents were socks, and I got totally happy. I mean, proper sports socks to wear while jogging! And then I thought, wow, I really must be grown up if I get this happy about socks. That's a very grown-up present to get.

giggle

2007-11-12T22:28:00.000+01:00

This is pretty much for my fellow Supernatural girls - the breakfast at the Chicago con. The rest of you can ignore it, if you want. :P

jaredjensenbfast
Uploaded by _sin_attract

Jesus Christ, people are screechy. But those two boys are so much fun.

Demotivation.

2007-11-10T17:18:00.001+01:00

In other news, rumour has it that the writers' strike could last for quite a while - Samantha Ferris believed it might even last for as long as five to twelve months. Damn. That worries me a little. By which I mean quite a lot. I'm on the writers' side here, I really am, but still. Slightly worried here. So many shows have already shut down production, 'Heroes' will from what I understand only get eleven or twelve episodes in total, '24' has been cancelled (for now)... Who knows how many shows won't make it to another season? Especially the ones on smaller networks. Like my show.

Att komma ihåg.

2007-11-08T18:25:00.000+01:00

Tungans inre muskler: longitudinalis inferior/superior, transversus och verticalis. Longitudinalis inferior öppnar vid /t/ och /d/, medan verticalis stänger. Verticalis gör tungan tjock och bred, transversus drar ihop tungan och gör den lång och smal, viktig för /l/-ljud och sibilanter som /s/.

De yttre är genioglossus (solfjäderformad, utgår från underkäken, i-muskel, bakre fibrer drar tillbaka tungspetsen, drar tungan framåt), hyoglossus (a-muskel, utgår från hyoidbenet, drar tungan neråt), styloglossus (fäster vid stilettformade utskott på skallbasen, drar tungan bakåt(?)/uppåt, o-muskel), palatoglossus (mindre viktig, arbetar med styloglossus).

Orbicularis oris - muskel runt munnen, vktig vid läpprundning. I svalget, ringformiga åtsnörpningsmuskler samt lodräta.

Postural parameters/tillståndsparametrar - hastighet, ljudnivå, F0. Temporal parameters - durationer för ljudsegment, intervaller mellan betonade stavelser.

Laminärt flöde - partiklar rör sig utan snabba förändringar i riktning och hastighet, i linjer. Turbulent flöde - virvlar, hastighet och riktning är oregelbunden. Alla frikativor har kanalturbulens. Splittringsturbulens - luftstråle från kanal riktas mot tändernas kant, enbart hos sibilanter.

Pertubationsteori - samband mellan talrörets form och formantfrekevenser. Nod vid glottis, buk vid munnen. Stängning vid buk sänker formantfrekvenser, stängning vid nod ökar. Exempel, /p/ och /b/ har formanter på låga frekvenser. /i/ har hög andraformant - palatala ljud har har höga andraformanter.

Tonotopisk represenatation - argh! Auditory nerv fibres = ANF. Olika ANF är känsliga för olika frekvenser. Vilken frekvens beror på var i cochleas vägg de fäster. Både frekvensfördelade och icke-frekvensfördelade förs vidare upp till hjärnan. ? 'Phase-locking' - ANF 'avfyrar' i takt med stimulus vågfrekvens. Inte nödvändigtvis i varje cykel, men alltid på samma ställe i cykeln.

Kategorisk perception - vi uppfattar ett akustikt kontinuum som om det är uppdelat i diskreta kategorier. Även vid (liten)gradvis förändring hör vi det i trappsteg i stället för kontinuerligt - ej linjärt. Motsats till kontinuerlig perception. Djur har också.

McGurk-effekten - olika intryck via syn och hörsel, syn tar över och vi väljer ett mellanting.

Integrering/segregering - om två ljud med frekvenser under 1000 Hz (över?!) ligger närmre varandra än 3,5 Bark integreras de. 3,5 Bark = kritiska bandbredden.

Subglottala trycket - trycket under glottis, 7 cm vatten ('tryckskillnaden mellan luftstrupens luft och luften utanför kroppen'). Supraglottala trycket, över glottis, 0, utom vid obstruenter då det är samma som det subglottala.

Bernouill-effekten - ökat flödeshastighet -> lägre tryck. Lägre tryck = sugkraft.

"Target" - uttalar vokaler långsamt och noggrant, når målvärdet. Annars reduktion och "undershoot". Hypertal - noggrant tal, hypotal, normal slarvigt tal = undershoot.

Koartikulationsmotstånd - /s/ och tremulantiskt /r/. Liten ändring ger stor skillnad i resultatet, vill inte koartikuleras.

Sonoritetsskala - samband mellan käkvidden och ljuds sonoritet. Ju likare vokaler, desto högre sonoritet. (/l/, /r/.)

Sätt att studera artikulatorer - avbildande, punkregistrerande, övriga. Avbildande - röntgen (farligt, avänds ej. Bra registrering, dock kan tungan döljas bakom ben. , tomografi (snittröntgen), CT, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
Punktregistrerade - EMMA: electromagnetic midsaggital articulometer, använder magnetfält. Sändarspolar fästs i munnen i triangel, mottagarspolar i triangel utanför. Strain gauges: punkter fästs på tänderna (om på hakan kan resultaten bli felaktiga pga att hakan rör ig med underläppen), trådar sitter fast och går ut till en manick som registrerar. Enbart för käkrörelser. Kan påverka läpprörelser. Optotrack: används speciellt för läppar och käke. Ger tredimensionell data. Negativt, begränsat till extern användning - sensorer följer lysande dioder, måste ha visuell kontakt.
Negativt för alla punktregistrerande - kan bara mäta på vissa punker; räcker för käken men inte för vävnad som muskler (tunga, läppar, velum. Också, kan påverka/begränsa rörelser.
Övriga, palatografi, elektroglottografi.

Brocas - produktion, Wernickes - perception. Thalamus, växelstation, allt går dit, toppen på hjärnstammen. Cerebellum, kontrollerar rörelser i tid och rum. Skador kan ge dysartri. Centrala fåran, laterala fåran, longitudinella fåran. Cortex, hjärnbark, 2-3 mm tjock, grått pga anhopning av neuroner. Under, axoner, täckta av myelin. Motoriska området, hö och vä sida, längst bak i pannloben. Bakom det, sensoriska. Supplementära motorområdet, troligtvis språkområde, viktigt för komplexa rörelser. Pannlob, hjässlob, tinninglob, nacklob, limbisk lob. Hjärnstammen, det retikulära systemet - filterar intryck, ex syn/hörsel. Lateralisering - hjärnan specialiserar sig. 31 par ryggmärgsnerver, 12 par kranialnerver (utgår från hjärnstammen).

Argh.

oh. em. gee.

2007-11-06T20:07:00.000+01:00

Oh my God. Ida, look, look! It's her! Sweet wounded Jesus, there are no words for how bad I want that car. I mean - just - it's - look at her! Isn't she gorgeous? *strokes*

I really am going to have to start working towards my driver's license, aren't I?

Damn, I want that car.

(I owe emails. They shall be sent soon.)

...

Eta - aw, no, the auction has already ended. *is sad* The loss, it hurts.

Eta 2 - hah! Bob on 'Heroes' said there was a storm coming. Needless to say, I automatically added, "And you boys are smack in the middle of it."

Snappity snap snap.

2007-11-01T18:20:00.000+01:00

"You're sweet and kind, but never dull. Your flavorful personality and snappy style make a memorable first impression. Some people don't appreciate your spicy sense of humor, but your friends can't get enough of those witty wisecracks. You're smart, fresh, and totally tasty. Everyone wants a bite of you."

So I'm a gingersnap. That's fun. I will however not take responsibility for accuracy.

I also took the horror-death test, and apparently I will be swallowed by a giant squid.

Terrific. That'll help my fear of the open sea!

Tillfällig gäst i ditt liv

2007-10-28T15:14:00.001+01:00

We went to see Jonas Gardell, who's on tour with his show 'Tillfällig gäst i ditt liv', last night. I've never seen him live before, and I have to say, he was absolutely fantastic. Even my mum, who was hesitant about coming since she's never quite been able to stomach him, loved it.

He's just so damn funny. "Till er kvinnor i publiken har jag en sak att säga. Ni tror, att ni i en enda man ska hitta den perfekta älskaren, den trogna vännen, och den fantastiska pappan. Kvinnor! Män är inga Kinder-ägg!" We were seated on the eleventh row, which turned out to be just perfect. Any closer would have been very not good, because the first thing he did when he came out on stage was to hand out raincoats to the people on front row, and boy, did they need them. Because onstage he carried with him two buckets full of water, and proceeded to throw water on people up front every now and then when he felt we weren't laughing enough.

And poor Mark was the butt of a lot of jokes. Apparently he steals shampoo bottles with him when they're staying at hotels.
He's bald.
And apparently, it's also impossible to talk dirty when you're speaking 'finlandssvenska'. "Kan ni företälla er, där kommer han på kvällen, 'Jonas, ta mig i brasan'. Det låter ju som om vi ska grilla korv! ... Ja, vilket vi ju i och för sig ska, på ett sätt." Hee.

God, that man is awesome. I walked out of there with my cheeks hurting from smiling and laughing for two hours straight.

At least I didn't actually yell at her.

2007-10-25T17:37:00.000+02:00

I think I might be harbouring a lot of penned up aggression. I was on my bike yesterday, on my way home from school, and had to stop at a red light. The moment it turned green, this woman came up behind me and raced past me. Then, when I got to do the same thing to her a few minutes later, I mentally yelled, "Yeah, take that, bitch!"

This could also explain my glee at all the violent deaths they do on Supernatural these days. Forced to drink Drano, corroding mouth and throat? Yaaay! Falling on a running saw blade? Woooo! Fork through the neck, sticking out through guy's mouth? AWESOME! What do you mean, it's awful? Give me more GOOOORE!

I'm not sure whether I should be worried.

On a completely different note, my handball team is sucking out loud this season. I don't understand why. Last season we were one game away from making it to the the semi finales, and this season we've started off by losing five games out of seven. What the hell happened?
And yes, I say 'we' instead of 'they'. Shut up.

In which I'm overinvested.

2007-10-22T14:02:00.000+02:00

In eight days, the Bare album and DVD (dudes, check it out) is released, and I am so very, very excited. Although I'll admit it, that when I first heard of this recording, I was almost as worried as I was excited, because this show means more to me than any other save for perhaps Rent, and I was afraid they'd screw it up somehow.

But, with each little clip I've seen I've become a little less worried, and that is a lot thanks to Matt Doyle who plays Peter. Yeah, he's got a fantastic voice and he looks and sounds like Peter, but above all I just feel so relieved when I hear him talk about the show. He gets it, he gets Peter, and you get the feeling that he actually cares about the story, cares about the characters, and that he isn't just singing the songs. And to an overinvested nerd like me, that matters.
I can't wait to hear 'See Me'. And 'Ever After' - James Snyder seems like a great Jason, too, from the little you got to see (the note he hits at the end of the line 'of such peace' hits me right there), and I'm looking forward to hearing them sing against each other other than in 'Bare'.

Oh, and there's another clip from BroadwayWorld, with parts of 'Are You There?' (heh, the guy who plays Matt looks kinda geeky - it's not how I picture Matt, but it's cute) and 'Role of a Lifetime'.

This could turn out sofa king good.
/nerd

Gigglesnorting is good for your health.

2007-10-19T18:55:00.001+02:00

Ida, one thing is for sure. When we do our season 3 marathon, 'Bad Day at Black Rock' needs to be in there, if only because of two things:

"I lost my shoe." :hearts Sammy so much:

"Don't play with my Jesus." Seriously, I blame fandom for the dirty place my mind went to at that line.

In linguistic news, this is a question I one day hope to be able to ask someone: Får jag följa några köttsliga punkter på dina pariga muskler?
The credit for it belongs to Frida, but I still love it and will totally steal it.

Oh, also in linguistic news - this is my absolute favourite website at the moment. So much fun. My favourite is the male speaker from Pine Bluff in Arkansas... Damn, that's what I call a drawl. (Okay, this guy from Edinburgh is a close second.)
Although this one has to be wrong, doesn't it? It doesn't sound like a 33 year old male, and to my (untrained) ears it sure doesn't sound very Dublin-y, either, but maybe I'm just prejudiced.

It's a shame they only do English, but it's still fun.

Name dropping

2007-10-10T21:21:00.000+02:00

So, it seems I might be getting myself a bunny one of these days - I'm going absolutely crazy here without something soft and furry and warm to hug.
This means I get the job of trying to think of names for the little bugger. So far, the ones I have are Bailey, Whiskey, Ziggy, Pippin, Puck, Flotsam (which will probably turn into Sammy) or Smirnoff.

*longs for bunny*

Meh.

2007-10-08T21:19:00.000+02:00

I have no words for how bad I want these shoes. Look how pretty they are. The only thing stopping me, you know, besides the 83 dollars thing, is that I don't get the sizes. It starts at size five? And goes to eleven? I've always been size three when I shop outside of Sweden. This can't be the same chart.

Today has been a sort of sucky day. Went to the doctor about my ear - yes, again - and he proceeded to torture me thoroughly. There was digging and rinsing and suctioning and I wanted to curl into a ball and whimper like the sissy three-year old I really am. Apparently it looked like there had been some sort of bleeding inside the ear, which, what the fuck? Bleeding? In my ear? Why? And on top of that I had an inflammation in my ear canal, which means I'm now taking the same stupid drops I got before summer when it played up, and they're causing the same stupid cut-off feeling and hearing loss as they did then.

To top it all off, while I was there being tortured, my mum went for a walk and ended up falling and hurting her ankle. She's at the hospital now getting X-rayed, to see whether it's broken or just really badly sprained.

Told you it sucked.

They throw parties every Sunday.

2007-10-04T19:51:00.000+02:00

When I walk home from uni I sometimes walk past the church, which I did today. A couple of boys was standing there, just looking up at it, and just when I was walking by one of them turned to look at the other and said in this completely awed voice, "That is wild, dude!" I almost started laughing right there. Sure, it's a nice church, but 'wild' isn't really the word I would have chosen to describe it.

And a part of me got all giddy about hearing the word 'dude'. I was a little jealous of them for getting to use it. Lucky native English speakers.

I have recently discovered that I wasn't alone in crushing on a few animated characters when I was little. Teithiwr and I bonded over our love for fox-Robin (as in Robin Hood), and apparently there are more - sick, sick - people like me who crushed on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was a Michelangelo girl myself, from what I can remember. But the worst thing? The worst, most embarrassing animated-character crush of them all? Launchpad McQuack from Duck Tales. There, I said it. He was so totally cool and dreamy.
... I was little!

Supernatural finally comes back tonight, which...

Dude.

Smile

2007-09-27T20:13:00.000+02:00

It's good to find stuff that make you smile when things suck. The book we found outside the classroom today on 'The Female Body' was among that stuff. Lesbian activities? Sexually aroused through contact with animals? Positions for intercourse (with special ones ideal for impregnation)? Man, I needed those laughs.

Something else that makes me smile? Otter love. The REAL 'omg sofa king CUTE!' stuff doesn't come until towards the end, though.

I bet they're BOFFs. Best Otter Friends Forever.

I thought I heard the doggy snore this morning and started crying again. Sigh.

---

2007-09-26T11:24:00.000+02:00

So you learn stuff about yourself when things like this happen. I've learned that I'm definitely not a 'hug and cry' kind of person (not that I thought I was, really). I'm a 'shut myself in my room, put on AC/DC or Def Leppard, turn it up to eleven and cry' kind of person.

I guess I probably shouldn't want to go to lectures today, and sure, a part of me doesn't since I know I won't be able to focus one bit, but the larger part is just relieved that I have the opportunity to get out. I can't take my mum starting to cry every other second and my dad looking close to doing the same.

---

2007-09-25T16:55:00.000+02:00

Så. Vi åkte till djursjukhuset imorse för vovvens sjukgymnastik. När han skulle upp på gångbandet märkte sjukgymnasten att han var svullen över buken, och tyckte att en veterinär skulle titta på honom innan vi satte igång, för säkerhets skull.
Plötsligt visade det sig att han hade en jättetumör i mjälten och vi fick välja mellan omedelbar operation, där de skulle ta bort hela mjälten, eller att låta honom somna in.

Vi valde det senare.

Han fick i alla fall må bra in i det sista. Men det är så väldigt, väldigt tomt nu. Och det gör jävligt ont.

I can't focus on anything at all and everything makes me cry. Kansas' 'Carry On My Wayward Son' makes me cry. Dooce makes me cry. I can't listen to 'Given the Dog a Bone' or 'Wish You Were Here' or 'Silent Lucidity'.

Fools, the lot of them.

2007-09-21T18:48:00.000+02:00

I'm actually ashamed to be living in a country where the majority of the population voted for a government that goes by the motto that those who already have money deserve more, and those who don't, well, tough luck, they suck. Right. Reward the people with money and take the money away from the people who already have less to do it.

What the fuck possessed that prat Borg to present a budget like this one? What are the people who actually aren't able to work supposed to do? Yeah, they do exist, you know! If my mum had been on her own, she wouldn't have stood a chance - they're taking away pretty much all of her sickness benefits. What are single parents supposed to do? Or just singles, people who've burned out, people who are depressed? I have been around this for years, and let me tell you, it's not as easy as 'Go out and get a job'. I guarantee it.

What the fuck are they supposed to do? You tell me, Mr. Borg. Please. I'm dying to know.

I don't even have words for how much I despise this.

I always knew angels were bad news

2007-09-18T16:22:00.000+02:00

Am I a wuss if an alleged children's TV series scared the bejesus out of me? I will never be able to walk past a statue again. At least not without keeping my eyes pried open.

Don't blink. Don't even blink! Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away and don't blink!

Keep looking at it. Keep looking at it! Don't blink. Remember what he said. Don't even blink.

*gulp* I swear, these fucking things creep me the fuck out.

Ahem.

2007-09-14T16:26:00.001+02:00

*g*

More computer linguistics

2007-09-12T18:41:00.000+02:00

When the lecturer says "And then the question is of course, what does that mean?" and your first thought is, "Wait, what? What does what mean?!" you can draw the conclusion that you haven't really understood all that much during the last couple of hours.

Two things

2007-09-12T10:02:00.000+02:00

Two things about 'Computers in Linguistic Research'.

One; huh?!
Two; there is absolutely nothing normal about this. That's all.

Karma?

2007-09-06T11:57:00.001+02:00

There must be some reason that the day after I post a picture of the contents of my bag, including my awesome Avenue Q pen, the pen stops working. Meh.

Teh everyday

2007-09-04T16:19:00.001+02:00

So joined this LJ community where you post a picture of something from your life every week (there's a different assignment each week), and so far I've been there for two - where my books live, and the regular contents of my everyday bag. I know you're all just dying to see the pictures, so here you go.

There's another shelf full of Stephen King and Dean Koontz books at the bottom that didn't fit in the photo, and my beloved Shakespeare collection wasn't interested in having its picture taken, but otherwise, that's all. I had a huge cleanout a few months ago and put, like, three full bags of books in the basement and only kept the ones I reread fairly often.

In the bag, you find: an umbrella (it's that time now, when it might start raining at any given second). Pen (from 'Avenue Q', hence the fluff). An old crinkly bus ticket. A cinema ticket that got left there after the last time I went. Asthma inhaler. My glasses case. iPod. Hairband. An Ipren (painkiller) that I had no idea was there. Keyring, including a bottle opener, with keys to the apartment, my bike and the gym. Wallet. Camera case (usually containing the camera), since I'm one of those people who bring my camera with me everywhere. Comb. A couple of coins (some of them Euros that had apparently been forgotten in there since this summer). Mimi, my phone. Calendar, which I hardly ever use but still feel the need to keep there.
I should probably remove the Euros and the old bus ticket.

I'm an idiot

2007-08-31T17:37:00.000+02:00

And a damn clumsy idiot, at that.

A piece of advice? If you've taken a shower and want to shake the water out of your hair afterwards, make sure the bathtub isn't in the way when you throw your head down. I didn't. So I banged my head pretty fucking hard on said bathtub.

I think I have a mild concussion.

Ow.

On a different note, if you haven't seen Extras you totally should. It's sometimes excruciatingly embarrassing, but so, so funny. And it's worth the embarrassment, if only to hear Daniel Radcliffe while playing himself say, "I've done it. With a woman. Intercourse wise," or hear the adorably oblivious Maggie tell Orlando Bloom that being kissed by him just wasn't her 'cup of tea'.
Ricky Gervais is a comic genious, it can't be denied.

If you rearrange the letters in 'unemployed'...

2007-08-28T16:28:00.000+02:00

... It spells 'opportunity'!

Okay, I'm officially excited. I probably shouldn't be at this point, but I've just discovered that Lund has a translator education that sounds kinda perfect for me. One or two years long, advanced level, English as one of the source languages, connection to the labour market and sounds really interesting. And it means I'll actually have a reason to study English for a while; I need to get a graduate degree of 180 credits, of which 90 credits need to be in my source language, before I can apply - after this semester I'll have 90 credits in linguistics, which leaves me the 90 in English and after that I can do one year of actual translating training. And my credit at CSN actually covers that. I'm stunned.
Two years at the translating program would have been even better, of course, but one year still means I get the Swedish equivalent of the international master's.

So, yeah. A little bit excited.

You know what else is exciting? In less than a month bare: the album is released. On September 25th, to be precise. And Jenna Leigh Green will be singing Ivy! A part of me is gutted that John Hill and Michael Arden and above all the wonderful Natalie Joy Johnson aren't returning, but still. It's the album, and it's Jenna! I can't really ask for more than that.
Well, I'd have asked for the song Love, Dad to be included instead of Plain Jane, Fat Ass and for it to be more like the New York version than the Vegas version, but you really can't have everything. It's still bare.

Pick 'n mix

2007-08-23T22:39:00.000+02:00

So, Malmöfestivalen is this week, and Melanie and I went in briefly to get some food. We ended up eating souvlaki, fried banana with ice cream/belgian waffle, ice cream, and finishied it all off with a couple of doughnuts. That I tried to leave without paying for. It wasn't on purpose, honest! I thought I'd paid, I really did! Very embarrassing.

Also, they have all these stalls with clothes, and I found one with baby clothes, and I bought the most awesome little t-shirt for Elin! It's black and has the AC/DC logo on it, and the caption 'Back in black'. She is so going to be the coolest baby around. I did have some trouble deciding between that one and an almost equally awesome Ramones one, but you know, nothing really beats AC/DC. Isn't that right, Ida? Although, if they'd had an REO one, I might have gone for it.
Now I just need to give it to her before she's grown out of it already.

And now, its time for some Barcelona photospamming. Better late than never, I say. First, view from the plane. Kinda pretty.
We were going on the cableway. I'm scared of hights. We were high up. I was terrified. It shows. The Plaza Espanya fountain:

Best milkshake in the whole damn word. And I am not kidding.
In Caldetas. The waves were huge and getting in the water was hard work.
Crépes are gooood.
Paella. I... It's... Oh, I miss it. *sniffs*

And lastly, because I'm feeling brave, another video. We're not prominently featured, but the fountain is awesome and we do a guest stint towards the end.

Battery check

2007-08-15T11:32:00.000+02:00

You know, few things measure up to your mum and dad coming home from town with a present for you, an extremely heavy present that turns out to be the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Awesome.

There's still no timetable up on my institution's website, and I'd kinda like to know which course I'll be starting with and which day. It's only two weeks away. You can't get the literature too early.

This & that

2007-08-13T18:13:00.000+02:00

Doggie got through the operation, despite the vet being awfully pessimistic before doing it. When he called to let us know that it went all right he said we have 'a tough dog'. Fingers crossed he'll heal right now.

I think I finally got a slight grasp on first-order logic, thanks to Logan. If Caroline had used examples like P(m) meaning that Milo V tastes good with butter, I'm sure I'd have studied it harder. But yeah, I think I get it now. Sort of.

I finally have all the photos from Barcelona. That is to say, all 368 of them. Jesus Christ. And then there are 23 videos that we recorded, too. We're nuts. I'll put some pictures up this week.

Watched a really pretty scary* film the other day; Vacancy. It freaked me out a little. I also rediscovered an old favourite of mine - But I'm A Cheerleader, which is just awesome. "I'm not perverted. I get good grades, I go to church - I'm a cheerleader! I'm not like all of you!" Next on the list is Hot Fuzz, and I can't wait for all the GOOOOORE!

I finally finished V's present. I'm sorry it took so long, sweetie! I suck.

* Yes, I speak like that. I also like 'really pretty sure'.

Here goes nothing

2007-08-08T17:12:00.000+02:00

All right, for how long will I be able to avoid posting Barcelona photos? They'll show up eventually, I'm guessing, but I still haven't got Melanie's batch and I think there are a few of them I want to get in there. But, for now, here's something to entertain you. We had a charicature done by one of the artists on la Rambla. Stunning likeness, isn't it? We spent the entire afternoon watching it, going, 'Oh God, it's so awful! It's so horrible! It's so awesome!'

Right, so, we had an awesome couple of weeks on the whole. First week was a little bit of a bummer, with my stupid jaw and tablets not working and awful side effects. I've never suffered from side effects in my life, but this time I suddenly woke up to the room spinning a whole lot faster than any room should have a right to, and feeling like I was going to throw up if I moved a finger. Not the best way to start off a holiday, I tell you.

It got better, though. There has been much swimming, paella, chocolate con churros, sangria, and lusting over toned volleyball players at the beach. Mmm. We also met up and went for a drink with my teacher of two summers, David, which was great. Made me realise how rusty my Spanish is, but still, it was really fun. He's just awesome, one of the best teachers I've ever had.

I kinda loved our hotel. At first we didn't realise why all these people were just hanging around there - seriously, there was one bar and it really didn't look like much of a hangout - and then when we'd gotten a closer look at them, well, we did. Hooker's Corner (or, I as we named it in Swedish, 'Horhörnet'). There was this one guy who stopped in his car to chat one of them up who had a baby seat in the backseat. Eugh.

Worst bit about being away was Harry Potter. There will be no spoilers for the book here, in case my fellow geek Julia hasn't finished it yet, but I will say that I loved it. But I swear, the damn book was all over Barcelona! People were reading it everywhere; restaurants, the metro, the beach. And as I said in the video, there was a guy talking about it on the train - I wanted to throw my hands over my ears and shout 'Lalalala, I can't hear you!' Thank Christ he didn't say anything about the actual plot.

Then of course we came home to a dog who's now limping so bad he can barely walk. He's going to the vet for surgery on Monday, so fingers crossed he'll make it through that and that it'll work. If it doesn't... Well, then we're likely going to have to put him down. It's horrible watching him trying to walk like this, he's obviously in a lot of pain. But, hey, he's had the same operation done on the other hind leg a couple of years back and that turned out really well, so the prospects aren't all that bad.

Photos to come later. And if you're lucky, I might even show you a clip from the video diary we made. No English there, though, just Swedish.

Oh, one last thing. Cat Deeley is, like, the cutest thing to ever walk this Earth.

Virtual postcard

2007-08-04T23:21:00.001+02:00

Hi, people! There will be a more detailed account of the last two weeks soon, but for now I'm exhausted - I've been reading Harry Potter for seven and a half hours today and bawled like a little girl - and so for now you will have to settle for this little virtual postcard. I seem to remember someone wanting to hear me speak English - wish granted!

And yes, do I realise it's sort of void to say 'speak soon' now that I actually am home, but, you know, whatevs.

So long, farewell...

2007-07-20T10:23:00.000+02:00

So, I'm off to - hopefully - sunny Spain for two weeks, with likely no internet access. So, you guys take care and I'll speak to you all soon!

(Ida, jag läste i tidningen att AC/DC ska släppa ett nytt album och kanske turnera... Wahey!)

(You should all listen to Boston's Long Time and Peace Of Mind.)

In which I'm worried about nightmares

2007-07-17T19:24:00.000+02:00

Jag säger bara det, min mor... Hon kan kläcka ur sig saker utan att tänka på vad hon säger. På telefon med Anticimex (för att vi har stort jäkla getingbo ovanför fönstret), när de tydligen frågade om det gick att nå boet från fönstret: "Ja, en lång man med en lång grej kan nog." Jag bröt ihop.
Och nu ikväll när hon skulle försvara sig; "Men jag menade ju bara ett långt rör som han kan spruta med." Jag lovar och svär.

Saturday night was lovely - seeing 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' with my fellow geek Julia. Although she's way more geeky than I am, banging her head on a table just to get a scar like Harry's... Right? Hmm?
I actually loved the film. I haven't enjoyed the last ones, but this one I did. Even with all the stuff cut and changed, it just worked. There were times when I realised I was sitting there with a huge, stupid grin on my face, and that's a good sign for me. It was a bit light on actual school stuff, but other than that, fabulous.

And oh em gee, the last book is out soon. I could do a whole bunch of eleventyones after that statement, but I'll try to restrain myself.
I'll say one thing, though. I'm not going to get to read the book for a while since I'm not home when it's supposed to arrive, if it even decides to arrive on time, and if some idiot decides to spam the entire internet and give away the ending, I swear, I will CUT a BITCH.

We went for ice cream before the film, since it was too hot to be inside for longer than necessary. Then we both lost our appetite when Julia's ice cream suddenly appeared to be full of flies, and a bird decided to crap frighteningly near mine. It missed, but still got my jeans. A pigeon. I'm not surprised; I've always said those damn birds are evil.

Three more sleeps until I'm off to Spain. *glee* Although first I'm off to the dentist tomorrow to check on my jaw, which is stiff and achey and has been for a few days. Always just before I'm about to go abroad. Why? Huh?

In which I photospam you

2007-07-12T13:59:00.000+02:00

Just so you know, this is all totally Julia's fault.

Okay, so, I decided to take photos of a bunch of key stuff from my everyday life. Completely uninteresting, probably, but man did I have a blast with my camera.

My alarm clock

My bathroom shelf

My phone, named Mimi

My favourite necklace

My favourite ring

Favourite earrings

My iPod

My keys

My favourite ballerina shoes

And last, but not least, my laptop.

Oh, and some other pretty stuff.

In which there was no Ark necessary

2007-07-08T15:30:00.000+02:00

There was no paddling necessary this weekend - trains to and from Kristianstad ran like clockwork despite the pouring rain, thank unnamed deity. Had a great time, even got to meet up with Pernilla yesterday, which was lovely. Hadn't seen her since December. Christ.

Highlights from the weekend included the best Greek food ever, a cousin gathering behind us that made me and Julia almost collapse with laughter - du, den där gödkalven, hur sajor du dé po utrikiska? - the white porn sofas, boobs-shaking and the now official Kristianstad Dance.

You girls? Are awesome.

Oh, and also? LIMONAOD!

...
Damn it. We heard 'Chasing Cars' on the radio yesterday, and Annica and I both got all 'Oooh!' and of course started talking about that Grey's Anatomy episode. So I thought I'd watch it today.
At the first chords of that stupid, stupid song I actually had to close VLC because I was already teary-eyed and would without question have started crying my eyes out if I'd watched for another second. Damn it. Again.

"He died all alone. He was alone. I changed my dress three times. I wanted to look nice. I would have been here sooner, but I couldn't figure out which dress to wear."

"You can't stay here. I know you want to..."

"Can you please, please, just get out? I want to be alone with Denny."

"Izzie, that's not Denny."

"Shut up."

"Izz, it's not Denny. The minute his heart stopped beating he stopped being Denny. Now I know you love him, but he also loved you. And a guy that loves you like that, he doesn't want you to do this to yourself. Because it's not Denny, not anymore.

"An hour ago he was proposing. And now... and now he's going to the morgue. Isn't that ridiculous? Isn't that - the most ridiculous piece of crap - you've ever heard?"

*breaks down* Damn you all.

Now is when I don't go to see 'Evan Almighty'

2007-07-05T18:34:00.000+02:00

Okay, this raining is actually starting to bother me. I could deal with it earlier, even went swimming despite it - wearing sunglasses - but now it's beginning to get on my nerves. It's July, for Christ's sake, and it's fourteen degrees outside! Not to mention that I'd rather not have the trains to Kristianstad cancelled tomorrow because of flooding. Soon I'll start building that Ark.

Stupid, stupid weather.

I hope it's not my fault. I did ask for bad weather so that Frida wouldn't have to work late and be able to come with tomorrow. But seriously, this was not what I meant. Jeez, God, get a clue, would ya?

Busy as a bee

2007-06-28T18:08:00.000+02:00

So, today has been a very productive day. I've signed up at the traffic school, made an appointment to get my hair cut next week, bought a new dress, made plans to go out for tapas tomorrow night, and I've finally finished my story for the Supernatural Lyrically challenge. It even turned out quite well, according to my helpful beta.

And you know I'm in a state of decay when that is what I call a productive day.

I understand about indecision

2007-06-25T12:20:00.000+02:00

So, Midsummer's Eve was nice. It was eating, drinking and kubb, like it should be.

I'm still bored to hell, and just got an email that I didn't get the last job I applied for. But, I have decided that I'm going to start working towards getting my driver's license this summer, and so I'm going to the traffic school this week. I'm terrified, but at least it's something to do.

The Door's 'People Are Strange' is currently on repeat in my head.

I have to get my hair cut, at least a little, before we go to Barcelona. Look how long it's gotten! *is pleased*

It lives!

2007-06-18T19:39:00.000+02:00

Someone just reminded me that I haven't posted in a week, and so, yes, I am still alive. Surprise! Just haven't been up to blogging much, since nothing much is actually happening. I swim. I apply for jobs and get no responses. I wait for July 20th to arrive so that I can switch Lund for Barcelona. I draw.

And speaking of drawing, here's actually a little something for my buddy Ida. Better late than never, I say. Enjoy, bitch!

Deja vu

2007-06-10T21:02:00.001+02:00

I'm humming 'I Can't Fight This Feeling' on repeat again. Oh, who could be to blame? Who?
Really, it is an awesomely sappy song.

I'm an awful daughter. After my little breakdown when watching the Jonestown documentary yesterday I was so torn up I didn't make sure to check that the DVR actually turned itself off when I hit the button, which it didn't, which meant that it didn't record the football game my dad had set it to later that night. He was not happy.

In a sick place

2007-06-09T17:37:00.000+02:00

I don't know if I'm extra sensitive today because of a lack of sleep or something, but I just finished watching a documentary about Jonestown and now I can't stop crying. Every time I think of the people lining up to drink the poison, the faces of all those children, babies having it injected into their mouths, the tears just start flowing.
I'm never going to be able to use the expression "I'm drinking the Kool-Aid" ever again.

I'm thinking.

2007-06-07T10:35:00.000+02:00

In a short break from paper writing, I just have to share the fact that Dark Angel, cheesy as it is, is kinda awesome. I stayed up way too late watching it - it was my reward for studying pretty much all day. But anyway, I got to watching this episode called Gill Girl, in which there's a scene where Max and Alec are trying to rescue a kidnapped mermaid from a strip club, and Max has to pretend to be a stripper to get in and proceeds to give Alec a "lap dance", if you could call it that, to fit in. It was the cutest thing and I was giggling all the way through it. The awesomeness is all in the way she keeps ruffling his hair and petting him distractedly without even looking at him while trying to think of a way to get the girl out, and in the way his face just says "What the hell are you doing?" And in the bickering.

- Can we concentrate on coming up with a plan?!
- I'm thinking.
- You're talking!
- I can do both.
- I doubt that!
- Well, you just lost your tip.
She smacks him on the head. He looks cute and innocent.

So much love for that.

Now, I'm gonna finish this paper so that I can finish watching. Or maybe go outside, because the weather's fantastic and I'm stuck in front of the computer. Which sucks.

...
And eight hours later, it's finished! Now, it may suck, it may be muddled and flimsy and she can give it whatever mark she wants, but it's finished! *fistpump*

In short

2007-06-06T14:09:00.000+02:00

Semantics paper, bad. Dark Angel, good.

I no longer look like a vampire. The dental surgeon thought the stitches might have annoyed something and caused the bleeding, so he took them out. Hurt like hell, but my mouth is blood-free now.

And happy Sweden day.

Arr, you scurvey cur!

2007-06-03T10:17:00.001+02:00

One morning last summer I woke up with a wasp buzzing above my head, which was a pretty lousy way to wake up, I thought. Maybe even the worst way there is. I was proved wrong this morning when I woke up early, not knowing why at first, and realising with my blurry mind after a little while that I had to swallow more often than usual, and that it tasted funny. Metallic, sort of. Oh. Blood. Great.

Yup, got up and went into the bathroom (without swallowing in the meantime) and when I finally got to the sink I had to spit out a freakin mouthful of blood. And another. And another. It just wouldn't stop. Luckily I had a couple of compresses left from when they pulled the tooth, so I stuck one in, and it soaked through. After I put the second one in it eased up, thankfully.

I have no idea what happened, but the now two week old and presumably healed hole where my tooth used to be seems to have decided that it's time to fun things up. Kinda scary, really. Guess I'll have to make a call to the dentist tomorrow.

Logan, you really should listen to those songs! I will stand by what I said; for someone to go through life without having heard 'Wish You Were Here' is, well, it's not right! Same goes for 'Carry On My Wayward Son' (and Ida will attest to that one). 'Crappy' rock... Pshaw. Remind me why we're friends again? ;)

...

Ten hours later? It's bleeding! Stupid fucking mouth. I look like a vampire with my teeth all bloody.

Today's

2007-05-30T19:52:00.000+02:00

1. Song: Boston's Foreplay/Long Time, or Clash's I Fought The Law. Still trying to get Joey Ramone out of my head. Also, I've discovered that it's physically impossible for me not to rock in time with the rhythm of Lifehouse's Breathing. God, I love that song.
2. Quote: "Never before has necrophilia sparked so much friendship!"
3. Annoyance: The gaping hole where my tooth used to be. It doesn't quite hurt anymore, it's just weird.
4. Scare: The fucking huge tick discovered on Biggles. Damn, I hate those creatures. They're almost as bad as wasps.

Completely forgot number 5, the day's "No fucking way!" moment: My bike's been stolen. Had it for two months, and now it's gone. Not. Cool.

And just because I'm a music freak I'm going to post my favourite playlist, named "The Greatest Hits of Mullet Rock", because, well... Ahem.
Technically, it's not all rock, but still.

Fire Of Unknown Origin - Blue Oyster Cult
Fight The Good Fight - Triumph
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother - The Hollies
I'm In Love With My Car - Queen
I Fought the Law - The Clash
Turn The Page - Metallica
Fly By Night - Rush
Dream On - Aerosmith
Stonehenge - Spinal Tap
Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Laugh I Nearly Died - Rolling Stones
You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
Road to Nowhere - Ozzy Osbourne
Walk Away - Joe Walsh
Baba O'Reilly - The Who
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cold As Ice - Foreigner
Carry On My Wayward Son - Kansas
The Living Years - Mike and the Mechanics
Back In Black - AC/DC
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
Wheel In The Sky - Journey
Renegade - Styx
God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
Save Yourself - Johnny Lang
House Of The Rising Sun - The Animals
Silent Lucidity - Queensryche
What Is And What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin
What a Wonderful World - Joey Ramone
Foreplay/Long Time - Boston
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Hell Hound On My Trail - Robert Johnson

Six things

2007-05-28T16:33:00.000+02:00

1. I'm still giggling over stuff from last night.
2. The solidarity and kindness of strangers amazes me (Best Buy can go suck on it!). There was much squeeing when I realised what was in the mail.
3. I cannot get Joey Ramone's cover of "What a Wonderful World" out of my head.
4. I hate first-order logic with a flaming passion.
5. A Nikon D40 with 55-200mm zoom is so, so tempting, and even more expensive.
6. Good luck to Frida and other neurolinguistics-people for tomorrow!

Truth is...

2007-05-27T20:56:00.000+02:00

People are sometimes awesomely crazy and incredibly gross, in an OMG I DIDN'T JUST READ THAT YES I DID OMG sort of way. That's just all there is to it.
That, and the fact that I've been laughing so hard for the past few minutes I thought I was going to tear my stitches and perhaps fall off the chair. There are crazy people, and then there are people who rock. Sometimes combined. LJ FTW!

Också sant: formell semantik är meningslöst, och jag förstår verkligen inte predikatlogik.

Bowling for Algeria

2007-05-25T23:44:00.000+02:00

I've got Millencolin's Strike! running through my head tonight, because Anna and I went bowling. Yes, that's right, bowling. And we were awesome. Strike after strike after strike. Sort of. In theory.

Then we proceeded to go into town and sit on the square for a chat, only to have an Algerian guy trying to pick us up. In French. As you know, I don't speak French at all (except for catching the word "rendezvouz" which made me go "oh, crap") , so poor Anna had to deal with him. Apparently, he was traveling through Europe, had always wanted to see Scandinavia and had now achieved his life's goal by coming here (dude, seriously, you need better goals), and had a friend for me who was "just like him". Oh, goodie!
Also, he was interested to know why Swedes are so "closed". We were interested to know why he was so slimy, but neither of us knew the French word for that, so we couldn't ask. We explained that we both had boyfriends and were going to meet up with friends, and so had to leave. Anna's a fabulous liar, aren't you, dear?

My poor gum and the stitches still hurt.

Logan, I finally saw the "Heroes" finale! And I... was kinda underwhelmed. *hides* The second to last was fan-fucking-tastic, but the finale itself... Hi, plot holes! Sigh.
And... He's not dead! He just fell in some pie! Shut up. No, SHUT UP.
/end Refur-ness

Still on 'ow'

2007-05-23T16:52:00.000+02:00

Yeah, pretty much. And the stitches are annoying the inside of my cheek. And it's really difficult to eat... Yesterday was horrible food wise - to be so very, very hungry, and not able to eat anything except for yogurt, rosehip soup or porridge? And finally some mashed potatoes? It sucks. Lots of sympathy sent to my cousin who's having two of his wisdom teeth pulled today.

Semantics presentation over. Slurring in front of a classroom full of people? Check. Fantastic.
Citodon? Fabulously strong painkillers that increase the slurring = love. No biking while taking them, though. And to be precise, no writing emails, either. Things tend to come out wrong. The latest one I took hasn't kicked in yet, or I wouldn't be writing this. Or, well, I probably would, but I'd likely be even less coherent.

I wonder what they'd be like combined with wine. Awesome, I bet.

Logan, a question. There wouldn't happen to be a Best Buy store anywhere close to you, would there?

---
Now it's kicked in and I could just melt into the couch and go to sleep humming 'White Rabbit'. Damn, why didn't they give me more of these?

Pain is not for babies

2007-05-21T22:12:00.000+02:00

Ow. When the gaping hole where your tooth used to be starts hurting before the anaesthesia has worn off completely, you can tell you're in for a fun ride. And the best part? Apparently Wednesday and Thursday are going to be the worst. We have our semantics presentation on Wedneday, and the prosody home exam is supposed to be handed in on Friday. I don't stand a chance in hell of making it.

A few photos from Sunday's wedding:
Me and my gorgeous cousin, the bride herself.

Cousin number two. Nic took that photo, I love it. She sort of ran off with the camera and started snapping away, and half of all the photos we have are taken by her. And they're good, too!

Nicole, my beautiful, beautiful goddaughter. She did so good in the church during the ceremony I thought my heart was positively going to burst with pride.

I think I'm going to go and take some painkillers now.
eta - too late. Ow, ow, ow. And this is going to get worse until Wednesday or Thursday? Just kill me now.
Ow.

Oh noes

2007-05-18T16:14:00.000+02:00

Eep. Remember how I got a dentist's appointment to get my wisdom tooth pulled? Yeah, for Monday the 27th. Only we just discovered that the 27th isn't actually a Monday at all, so I made a call to double check when I was really supposed to be there. Well, it turned out that it was Monday the 21st, as in this coming Monday. Oh, God, I'm not ready, I haven't prepared myself mentally. I need a whole week for that.

Oh, and also? Kripke is a bastard. And this time I don't even mean it in the good way.

Girls got rhythm

2007-05-17T22:12:00.000+02:00

Goddamn stupid stressed body and mind that conspire and simply refuse to sleep any later than until 7 am. I want to sleep, damn it, the few days when I actually get to lie in, but no. Wake up at 6 am, go back to sleep, wake up again at 7, try to go back to sleep and end up getting out of bed at 8. And that's on my days off. On days with lectures, push back the schedule one hour so that I wake up at 5.

So, it's finally Thursday night. I could bounce all over the place in anticipation, and Kripke, if we don't get a hug this time, one where both parties' arms actually work, I will cut you. Now I just want to go to sleep so that it'll be tomorrow faster, and I'm killing time on TWoP with betting on when a certain event is going to take place in tonight's episode (and the winner gets a Metallicar T-shirt!). Unfortunately someone chose a time only three seconds after mine - not exactly a large window (although with my luck my choice is going to end up being in the middle of a commercial anyway).
And the show is officially renewed for next season, so, yays.

The last ever Gilmore Girls made me cry. No, I'm not ashamed to admit it. It was perfect.

Wedding and christening coming up on Sunday. Aww, my cousin is getting married. And wow, my first wedding. I tried on my dress today, and thank unnamed deity it fits. I heart that dress - green is the best colour ever.

What fun we have

2007-05-14T16:11:00.000+02:00

Our semantics lecturer was talking about constituents earlier today, and it was kinda out there as usual. Sometimes I really don't think she knows what she's talking about, and she reads most stuff straight off her powerpoint presentation. Anyway, at one point she said about said constituents, "And a lot of them are redundant."
The first thing in my mind was, "Yeah, well, so are you."
I felt mean. But good.

And every time I read the name "Jackendoff" on the handout I have to keep from giggling. My brain keeps crossing out the "end" in the middle.

edited because I refuse to make three entries in one day.
So, because Refur is awesome, even though she does keep breaking me like whoa, and we both need some happy distraction until Friday, she hereby gets smiley, gleeful Dean (who's just had pie) and not so smiley, holy crap, my cellmate is bigger than me, Dean, make him smaller Sam.

Hope you enjoy, dear!
(Ida, I am working on a little something for you, too.)

Not jumping to conclusions...

2007-05-14T12:08:00.000+02:00

... but there was no beeping last night! For the first time in what seems like ages I could go to sleep on my left side! And even if its back tonight, thank you, heavens, for this one night of reprieve.

In other uninteresting news, my hair has finally gotten long enough that I can put it up without just having gotten out of the shower. Go my hair!
And I'm starting to feel like cutting it off. Not going to, not going to. I will resist. It's just the regular, stupid whim, and this time I'm not giving in to it.

Continuity

2007-05-12T17:59:00.000+02:00

The beeping in my room won't stop, but at least now I've got earplugs. What worries me about that is whether or not I'll be able to hear my alarm in the morning - just having my right ear on my pillow makes it difficult to wake up, what are earplugs going to do?

Okay, so the part of my mood that's ruled by television is pretty much still on this. Is it Thursday yet?

'Heroes' did its best to cheer me up and succeeded somewhat (although Kring really needs to stop doing stupid, mean cliffhangers like this week's). Mama Petrelli, who are you and what is your game? And what the hell was that? Was that me actually feeling a bit sad for Sylar? No, no, no, I didn't feel sorry at all for the scary psychopathic murderer, I just got something in my eye (see, I told you that I get emotional easily - you believe me now?).

The part of me that's not ruled by television - it's a small part, I'll give you that, but it exists - is busy being stressed out. Why on Earth do they insist on piling everything on us these last few weeks? Frida, you have my deepest sympathies with neurolinguistics and biology on top of everything.
The prosody home exam hasn't even been handed out, and it terrifies me already. I feel like I've understood basically nothing of this course. Written exchange from Wednesday's lecture: "You understand anything?" "Nope." Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

Also?

processing

2007-05-11T10:23:00.000+02:00

I... It's... I can't...
You did not do that. You did not just do that. Kripke, you bastard. Damn you, you evil, evil bastard, DAMN YOU TO HELL.
You are awesome. I hate you.

I have this really annoying beeping going on in my room. I don't know where it comes from, but it's driving me crazy and I can't sleep at night because of it. It's not me having tinnitus (thank god for small mercies) because my mum hears it as well, but it's something, and I want it to stop. This month is stressful enough without adding a lack of sleep on top of everything, really.

Why I love my studies

2007-05-09T18:33:00.000+02:00

Goddamn stupid migraine. And now I have to finish the stupid semantics thing, too. Okay, so it's really quite interesting, but my head hurts.

Lunch today was a very entertaining hour. We spent it trying to think of words starting with an 's' (what? we're in linguistics, we're supposed to do geeky stuff like that) for Sara, so that she'll know what to say the next time she ends up in a group of people having to get to know each other by sitting in a circle and stating an interest or something they like starting with the same letter as their own name, like we did last semester. She's got a whole arsenal now.
Spindelägg, smilfinkar, stiletter, snickeri, stigbyglar, samåkning, stalakiter, skunkar, smurfar, stigmata, samovarer, Silvia, sumobrottare, smekningar, slampor, spelautomater, snuskhumrar, skandaler, simkuddar, skumbananer, sablar, smisk and snuttefiltar were among the offerings.
Johan's favourites were sodomy and Satan. I kinda liked them, too.

And some more linguistic filth that Frida dug up when expanding her material from Parole: "Som en termometer när solen kommer en varm junidag reste sig hans lem."
I swear to you, 50 percent of all the material has to come from pornographic short stories. Written by extremely repetetitive authors.

Who knew linguistics were so dirty?

2007-05-07T17:52:00.000+02:00

Turns out that when you search the Swedish Parole language database for 'korpusbelägg' (corpus evidence?) for words such as 'warm' and 'hot', you get several extremely interesting examples. Some of them involve a seemingly kinky woman called Getrude. No, not Gertrude. Getrude. Sometimes she's drinking snaps, sometimes she's feeling numbingly warm from arousal, and sometimes she's on her back in a back seat doing...one thing or another.

Someone is kissing someone else 'steamingly hot and wet'. Someone is having 'sexual feelings' when seeing someone else who's looking 'hot and dry'. And a guy named Martin keeps getting hot all over, there is some talk about 'splashing' where he's concerned, and every Saturday night a 'he' (and I'm betting we're still on Martin here) gets hot and wants to crawl into some girl's bed.

And seriously, this sentence? "Storklas levde i mej, stor och varm och buffade på min livmoderhals."
I just... I have no words.

I don't even want to know where the material in the database comes from, but we did get a few good giggles out of it.

An exception to each rule

2007-05-06T22:08:00.000+02:00

You know how I really don't like kids? Well, my goddaughter is so very much excepted from that. Elin, too, but mostly Nicole. Elin's not quite a person just yet, if you know what I mean. Oh, and Madeleine as well, she's just too sweet. But Nic...
It was kinda great having her to myself today. When we're the whole family, she gets so wound up it's like having a small and very loud tornado in the room, but today she and I spent most of the time in her room, playing cards and Memory (in which she kicked my ass, embarassingly enough).

She can be so serious sometimes. My mum asked me when I have my appointment with the dentist (three more weeks. *shivers*) and she gave me this very grave look and asked, "Don't you brush your teeth?" When I explained that I was going to have tooth pulled, she nodded very understandingly and said that her daddy's girlfriend had two teeth pulled out. "It really hurt," she said, very solemnly. I'm all... "Oh. That's... nice to hear." And the funny thing was you could see the exact moment she realised that she'd said something wrong and added, "Although it stopped hurting pretty quick. Now it just hurts just if she prods it." Oh, sweetie, thanks for trying.
My baby's growing up.

'Heroes' got its first "Damn, I love this show!" from me this week. Jesus Christ, that was bloody awesome. Twists with every new scene, and every other second I was all, "But he... And he's... And she's... But aren't they...? Oh, no he didn't!" Wow.
And 'Supernatural' sort of made me cry. Just a little. Damn you, Ackles. And Kripke. And Tucker. And I'm never going to wish for a magic lamp with a genie ever again, that's for sure.

Genna got a puppy, Genna got a puppy! *jealous* And no, I really don't know anyone else who goes out to shop for a skirt and comes home with a dog.

Wants and needs

2007-05-03T21:02:00.000+02:00

You never knew how much you needed something until you actually got it, and when you do have it, you need a better version of it. I mean, I have two cameras and they have served me amiably. But one, while it does take excellent photos, is too big and clumsy to easily bring with me, and the other, which is small enough to fit in my bag, doesn't take very good photos. What I was getting at is, I want a new camera. And it's not because Logan got one at all. Well... Not just.
But I can't afford it. We booked our trip to Spain a few weeks ago, and I still haven't found a damn job for the summer, so, yes, I'm kinda short on the money front. Donations are gratefully accepted.

Gilmore Girls is officially not going to be renewed. That makes me a little sad. Or, like Sookie would say, smad. I'm gonna cheer myself up with some 'Natural quotes.

- Are we talking misdemeanor trouble or 'squeal like a pig' trouble?
(Squeal, baby, squeal!)

- Just try to relax.
- Just try to shut up!
(As much as I empathize with Dean's fear of flying, nothing makes me laugh like the breathing excercises.)

- ... And a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave.
(I'm sorry. Poor Dave. But it still makes me giggle.)

- Do I look like Paris Hilton?
(No. Thank God.)

- Okay, that attitude right there? That's why I always got the extra cookie.
(And because you're prettier, too.)

- I hope your apple pie's freakin' worth it!
(Dean... Apple pie... Dean. Apple pie. Mmm, apple pie.)

- That fabric softener teddy bear... Ooh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down.
('The hunt for Snuggles'. Can't wait to see that episode.

- Dude, I full on Swayze'd that mother!
(A show that turns 'Swayze' into a verb? You gotta love it.)

- Hey, Ash. Uh, we need your help.
- Well, hell, then. Guess I need my pants.
(Ew. Yes, Ash. Yes, you do. Please, wear them at all times.)

- What’s the point in saving the world if you can’t get a little nookie once in a while, huh?
(No point at all. Go for it!)

- What are you gonna do, poke her with a stick? ... Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick!
(Poke the old lady with the stick! Poke her with the stick!)

- You go get online, check old obits, freak accidents, that sort of thing, see if she's whacked anybody before. And don't go surfing porn, that's not the kind of whacking I mean.
(Aww, poor Sam. Never gonna live Casa Erotica on the Skin Channel down.)

- You're bossy.
- What?
- You're bossy. And short! *giggles*
- Are you drunk?
- Yeah? So? Stupid.
(Drunk!Sam, how I loved you. And then of course you had to ruin it by going all emo.)

- Who are you working for, huh? Are you working for the mandroid?!
- We're not working for the mandroid!
(Hee. Mandroid. Gets funnier every time I hear it.)

- Well, I think I learned a valuable lesson. Always take down your Christmas decorations after New Year's or you might get filleted by a hooker from God.
(The things you learn from TV.)

- You know, I'm - I'm a sucker for a happy ending, really, I am, but...
(Ooh, dirrrty!)

There, that cheered me up.

My dad is seriously awesome at handling unwelcome phone calls. Some internet company or another called while the hockey game was on, and I could hear him, all, "I'm good, thanks. Yes, actually, I'm watching hockey. Sweden against Denmark. Yeah, it's 2- 2. Well, would you mind calling me another time when there's no game on? Thanks. Bye."

In which she's clearly incapable of handling stress

2007-04-30T23:28:00.000+02:00

Because I'm a friggin' idiot like that, and in the stressing of leaving in time to catch the bus an hour ago managed to forget my student's ID, and that's why they wouldn't let me in at VG's and I had to go back home to get it and now have fifteen minutes to spare to write this before the next goddamn bus leaves because I can't find the way on the bike.
Seriously. I hate my psyche. And my non existant sense of direction.

Great pre-party, though. I even managed to do two push-ups in a row.

Eta that holiday bus traffic, as Heather would put it, 'sux sweaty goat balls'. Which is why I am here at home and not at VG's.

Rawr

2007-04-29T20:49:00.000+02:00

I am such a crabby bitch today. This time of the month just sucks out loud. I'm gonna go listen to some Metallica and get some agressions out.

What a waste

2007-04-28T09:47:00.000+02:00

This whole new healthier lifestyle I've decided to take on is actually working, so far. I've started taking a 45 minute walk before breakfast every day except for the two days when my classes start early, eating a bit less, more varied and more often, no unnecessary sweet stuff or snacks, more biking... And it seems like I'm sticking to it, too. It's really not that hard once you get into the routine. I'm so gonna fit into my pretty dress at the wedding in three weeks.

As for the aforementioned waste... Naming an episode 'Folsom Prison Blues' and then, no Johnny Cash? That just ain't right. And that earns it this icon.
(Heh, yeah, I just really wanted an excuse to use it. The concept belongs to Refur, who was kind enough to let me snag it. *squishes*)

But...

- You think you're funny.
- I think I'm adorable.

- Don't worry, Sam, promise I won't trade you for smokes.

- Poor Tiny, man, poor...giant Tiny.

... plus forearms and a really creepyass ghost made up for it. Sort of. And who knew orange could be so flattering?

Springtime's good for picnics and cycling

2007-04-26T21:33:00.000+02:00

According to tonight's weather rapport, it's going to get colder over the weekend and Valborg will be enjoyed in ten to fifteen degrees. Terrific. It's been summery all week, and now the weather's gonna decide we've had enough warmth for a while? When we're planning a Stadsparks-picnic? Bugger that. We demand sun. At least during the day.

I took my new bike (yes, new and so wonderfully easy to ride on) and went for a ride today - ended up going almost all the way to Sandby and back, 9 or so miles. Took me an hour and boy was I warm when I got home... I didn't realise I had fair wind on my way out, so going back was a bit more strenous. Not to mention that I ended up behind a truck on a narrow gravelpath and breathed in way too much dust for it to be healthy. Nice. Still, except for that it was a nice little trip.

Awesomeness

2007-04-24T19:48:00.000+02:00

I was looking at Adobe's website the other day, thinking of getting PhotoShop, when I realised... 10 000 sek? Jesus friggin' Christ! I want it, I really, really do, but not that bad. No thank you, I'm doing just fine with AppleWorks.
Well, I'm not, really, but it gets the work done. Kind of. A little bit of it. I've figured out how to make mood icons with text on them, anyway! Go me!

And hee, I got the coolest body detergent from Ida today - Extra Abrasive Bitch. It eliminates mean streaks and even contains PMS neutralizer. And let's not forget the mudcake, which was yum!

So, awesomeness for the both of us.

Memories false and true

2007-04-21T13:57:00.000+02:00

Okay, so Hollywood Babylon definitely deserves a *gigglesnort*. Filler and pretty much serving as a break before we head into the finale angst (of which there is bound to be a large amount, judging from the previous season), but yet kinda awesome. And the continuity fairy paid a visit! Always a plus.
And now I have another line I need to work into a conversation at some point - "Bite your tongue, heathen!" Man, that list is getting long.

I finally dragged the last bunch of photos from Bcn last summer into iPhoto (yes, I know, I know, it's been almost a year) and it sure brought back some memories from our last day there.
Heh, don't I look cool in my cap 'n all?

Here, they had the best paella ever. Seriously. I have never eaten anything so good. They better still be open this year when we get there. --->

wibble

2007-04-20T14:39:00.000+02:00

YouTube is letting me down. Sniff.
It's driving me fucking crazy that I don't have access to the US iTunes store. I want those iTunes cards, damn it! I should've remembered to beg Genna to pick some up for me.

I felt like taking some pictures in town yesterday - the weather was boring and the light wasn't good, but anyway, here are a few.

Heroes is back on Monday. That deserves a little squeeage.

I'm so much older than I can take

2007-04-18T20:57:00.000+02:00

Seriously, there is something wrong with eating a ham & cheese sandwhich when the bread is the same type of bread you use for hot dogs and hamburger buns, complete with sesame seeds. It's so sickly sweet. Just my luck that the one time I'm being too lazy to bring my own sandwiches that's all the cafeteria has. And still I did resist the comfort of mudcake and had an apple instead. *proud*

Some more awesome songs: Turn The Page, Metallica; Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy; and Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Leppard.
What bugs me and makes me kinda sad is when you adore the lyrics to a song, and you still can't bring yourself to actually enjoy the song itself. The Killers' Bling (Confessions of a King) is one of those. It's got beautiful lyrics (and almost made 'The Supernatural Hits I' based on them, for the mood at the end of Croatoan), but despite them it just drags.

Supernatural is back tomorrow night. *tries hard not to squee and fails* Final five episodes of the season, and from the little stuff I've reluctantly - and sometimes stupidly - picked up, it seems it's gonna be one hell of a last stretch. As soon as we get this week's somewhat 'silly' episode out of the way. (And damn it! I just looked at the promotional photos for 2.20! Why am I so weak? And why can't I learn that I regret it afterwards? Also, wow.)
Huh. Once this show's over for the summer I'm gonna have to actually get a life.
That's going to be a challenge.

A pragmatic birthday

2007-04-15T15:09:00.000+02:00

Yawn. Christ, I'm tired. I've got my semantics & pragmatics brick of a book lying next to the laptop and should be reading it to prepare for tomorrow's lecture, but I just cant bring myself to open it.

Pre-summer has arrived, complete with outdoor ficking and Italian ice cream from Glasskulturen to be eaten on Stortorget, and so I have suffered summer's first sunburn. Not as bad as it could have been, but it's there. At least it's fairly flattering shade of red... Yeah, right.

Oh, oh! Happy birthday, Ida! For you to enjoy on this special day:

(Psst - sadly, I don't own either the photo, from Ten Inch Hero, or Priestly. Or Mr. Ackles himself, for that matter. Oh boy, do I wish.)

Doesn't it tickle you to know he's wearing a kilt in that photo?

Had an awesome time last night, with great food, some excellent music - damn right REO! - and good company. Ida has cool friends. *approves* Although I totally blame those boys for my humming I Can't Fight This Feeling all day. I managed to refrain from singing it all while making the CD, and now it's stuck. Great. And all I can think is, "He sings it from the hair."

Right. Semantics. I'm off.

"Fika"

2007-04-14T15:18:00.000+02:00

Fika: fee-kah - verb, fika, fikade, fikat. Practised by a large part of the population, though especially by young people and particularly students. Commonly practised at cafés, but can also take place in a kitchen/living room, or on a blanket. Includes drinking (coffee is often involved, but can easily be replaced by tea, orange juice, soda, smoothie, hot chocolate, or even water), sometimes eating (baguettes are common, as are croissants, muffins, scones, and various cakes), but most importantly, chatting. The occurrence of drink and food may vary, but the chatting remains consistent - a person skilled at fika may be able to pass around three or four hours of time in one spell. Sometimes, cigarettes may also play a part, but after the banning of smoking inside this is mainly during summer when the outdoor cafés are open and picnics are possible.

Seriously, the English language needs a word for "fika". Unbelieveable that such an important phenomenon doesn't have its own word - my dictionary defines it as "having coffee", but coffee really doesn't need to be involved.
Logan, invent one!

Quitters, all of us

2007-04-11T18:37:00.000+02:00

So, Lugi lost. No more handball for my boys this season, no semi-finals, no final, no nothing. And, you know, I could live with that. I could live with that if we'd gone out fighting, fighting hard and just not making it. But losing by 21 to 31 against Skövde of all teams, after a game so fucking horrible and sloppy I couldn't even watch the last ten minutes, that is not okay. Damn, guys. What the hell happened? What happened to the team that hasn't been beaten at home in Lund all season? You chose this match to let them break that suite?

I'm giving up on Neurolinguistics, two weeks into the course. A part of me doesn't want to. I feel like a quitter, and I mean, it's interesting, I know that, theoretically. I want to think it's interesting, but I just don't feel that it's interesting. It's too much science for me. If I never hear the words 'neuron' or 'features' again, I'll be happy. And it sucks, because I really wanted to take this course, and I wanted to enjoy it.

Semantics and pragmatics, on the other hand, that is interesting. Today we got the question, "What is 'meaning'?" (in the linguistic sense of the word, first and foremost). And you try explaining - or just discussing - the word 'meaning' without using the word 'means'! (A problem which is apparantly called 'circularity'.) It was totally confusing and awesome.
I think we did come to a conclusion of sorts in the end... I at least got fond of the term 'learnt association'.
This is the kind of stuff I want to focus on.
And now I really want to study the phonesthemes in onomatopoetic words. I've never really thought of them - morphemes have always been the smallest meaningful units in the language to me, but she's right, the phonesthemes do mean something.

Don't mess with Metallicar

2007-04-09T21:37:00.000+02:00

So, Easter's over and there has to be about four pounds of candy in the house, the majority of which is my mum's, but still. Heh, she has nothing on Nicole, though - girl had a bag full of Easter egg candy that had to weigh almost seven pounds. And she shared it, too. Can't believe it's been so long since I saw her, she's gotten so big. And I remember holding her when she was christened, this tiny little baby who fell asleep the minute I took her.

I got into a car discussion yesterday with my dad, uncle and my little cousin, who knows a good deal about cars (and who's really not very little any longer, I tend to forget that). They actually wouldn't believe me when I said that Metallicar was an Impala. My own father claimed that she was a Ford Mustang, the others (who haven't actually seen the car) said that no one would think a Chevy Impala was a pretty car, but that it was big and ostentatious. And then they all said that the Impala was a typical 'raggaråk'.
Ostentatious?
Raggaråk?!
First thing I did this morning was getting picture proof, but it turned out that my father had done a bit of browsing himself last night and admitted that he was wrong.
That's right. You do not mess with the -67 Chevy Impala around me. I'll admit that the other years' models aren't as good looking, but oh, the -67... That's car porn at its finest.
And don't you forget it.

I sprained my ankle again. Wearing friggin' sneakers, just walking and minding my own business just about to go into Mondos. Maybe it's time to go and get it checked out, see if there's something to be done about it. There was talk of surgery on it a few years ago, but they decided against it in the end. But seriously, four or five sprains (I've actually lost count) since December... Something's gotta get done.

Payoff

2007-04-06T23:29:00.000+02:00

All the work I put into that damn Theoretical Grammar exam paid off. I screamed so loud when I got the email my mum thought I saw a mouse and then I started bouncing so much my amulet fell of its cord. Oh well, I was going to buy a new cord anyway.

And can I just say how much I love my mum? No one makes me laugh like she does, and she doesn't even mean to. Just yesterday we were talking about old ice creams, and my dad and I remembered the smiling clown who had a chewing gum for his nose. My dear mother looks at us, rolls her eyes, and says, "No, no, you're both wrong, the gum was his belly button."
Our reactions:
...

Turns out that the ice cream she'd been eating was, according to her, a naked clown with a pea sized gum for a belly button; which led to a discussion about my mother having ice cream kinks, what kind of twisted kiosk would sell an ice cream like that, and finally how it could have been called 'Magnum Navel' and been part of that campaign based on the mortal sins. And because my father and I have the same sense of humour - that is to say, we are both twelve - it ended with us imagining a girl licking a naked clown while a sexy voiceover whispers 'lust' and laughing so hard we cried. Just a regular Thursday night at the Pernryds'.
I guess you had to be there.

Ida and I were talking the other day about how annoyed we used to get when someone used too much English words when talking (in Swedish, for all nitpickers who know who they are :P)... I mean, shouting 'offside!' when watching football was all right, but otherwise English expressions were just plain annoying. And now, I'm totally overusing stuff like 'dude', 'son of a bitch' and 'awkward' - gee, I wonder why that could be? - and one of my main goals is to work "I'm lovin' you like a two dollar whore" into a conversation.
How things change.
(You rode in an Impala. Without me. You bitch.)

Happy Easter, everyone!

Damn you, Eve, it's all your fault.

2007-04-04T18:07:00.000+02:00

You know, for ten or so days every month, I really, really hate being a woman.

...

- Are you okay?
- Am I okay?
- Yeah.
- I just helped you steal some dead guy's confidential psych file. *beat* I'm awesome!

Yes, Ava is indeed awesome.

So, the current song I can't stop playing is Blue Oyster Cult's Fire of Unknown Origin. You gotta hear it. The one on the album with the same title, though, not the one on Agents Of Fortune. That version's just not as good. Animals' House of the Rising Sun has had its fair share of plays lately, as well as AC/DC's If You Want Blood (You've Got It).
And whenever Carry On My Wayward Son comes on I still just want to sit back, close my eyes and enjoy it. Same with Renegade. Oh, and The Hollies' He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother is also gorgeous.

God, I'm glad I'm not deaf.

Pass it on.

2007-04-02T20:28:00.000+02:00

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand had come out and taken yours."

I finally sat down and took the time to watch The History Boys today, and if the above quote (or gobbet, if you want, though Hector would have at me) doesn't tell you, it was just wonderful. Differed from the play quite a bit in places; most of the monologues are naturally gone, and parts of the dialogue, which admittedly made me a little sad - a few bits I really love were cut, like Scripps coming to the conclusion that God is "this massive case of unrequited love", that he should get real and that we don't owe him anything. But, either way, the essence was there, I laughed a lot and it hit all the right points. And I may or may not have shed a tear or two at the end, with Mrs. Lintott and the boys and the future laid out. Lockwood's fate especially came as a bit of a shock, even though afterwards I remembered Charlie having mentioned it.

The scene where the boys, Hector and Irwin discuss whether or not you can - or should, even - teach the Holocaust will definitely have a place on my 'Best scenes' list from now on. And I decided it needs to be shared with you. Mr. Bennett, Mr. Hytner, I mean no harm in reproducing this text.
Yes, I know, it's long, but read!

Akthar: It has origins, it has consequences. It's a subject like any other.
Scripps: Not like any other, surely. Not like any other at all.
Akthar: No, but it's a topic.
Hector: They go on school trips there nowadays, don't they? Auschwitz. Dachau. What's always concerned me, is where do they have their sandwiches, drink their coke?
Crowther: The visitors' centre. It's like anywhere else.
Hector: Yeah, but do they take pictures of each other there? Are they smiling? Do they hold hands? Nothing is appropriate.

*snip*

Hector: Why can't we simply just condemn the camps outright as an unprecedented horror?
Lockwood: There's no point, sir! Everybody will do that! "The camps an event unlike any other." "The evil unprecedented." Et cetera, et cetera.
Hector: No! Can't you see that even to say "et cetera" is...monstrous? "Et cetera" is what the Nazis would have said. The dead reduced to mere verbal abbreviation.
Lockwood: All right, not et cetera. But given that the death camps are generally thought of as unique, wouldn't another approach be to show what precedents there were? Put them, well, in proportion?
Scripps: Proportion?!

Dakin: Well, no, not proportion, then, but putting them in context.
Posner: But putting something in context is a step towards saying it can be understood and that it can be explained. And if it can be explained, it can be explained away.
Rudge: "Tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner."
Irwin: That's good, Posner.
Posner: It isn't good. I mean it, sir!
Dakin: But when we talk about putting them in context, it's only the same as the dissolution of the monasteries. After all, monasteries had been dissolved before Henry VIII, dozens of them.
Posner: Yes, but the difference is, I didn't lose any relatives in the dissolution of the monasteries!
Irwin: Good point.
Scripps: You keep saying, 'good point'. Not 'good point', sir, true! To you, the Holocaust is just another topic on which we may or may not get a question!
Irwin: No! No. But this is history. Distance yourselves. Our perspective on the past alters. And looking back, immediately in front of us is dead ground - we don't see it. And because we don't see it, this means there is no period so remote as the recent past. And one of the historian's jobs is to anticipate what our perspective of that period will be.

I love those boys. They seem know the characters so well. Samuel Barnett is everything I imagined and hoped Posner would be.

"I'm a Jew, I'm small, I'm homosexual, and I live in Sheffied. I'm fucked."

:heart:

Oh, and by the way, Logan - I also got a DVD box with no less than five Almodóvar films. Hable Con Ella, Todo Sobre Mi Madre, Mala Educación, Carne Trémula and Átame. Yay!

Our Lord Of The Rings (extended versions) marathon was great. Although I really do hope we didn't burn out the DVD player...
And I want a kitty of my own.

Just about a mile from Texarkana

2007-03-30T09:08:00.000+02:00

It always takes me a few days to recover from London... Not in an especially bad way these days, I seem to have gotten rid of the stubborn post-London depression that used to hit me, but still. The city takes a lot out of a hillbilly like myself who's not used to it anymore like I was.

But yeah, I had a really good time. Unzipped! was just awesome - four guys, stuck in a departure lounge after a week in Spain to celebrate their A-levels, waiting for their plane to be ready for takeoff because the transport carrying the little plastic milk containers had been delayed on its way to the airport (which made me giggle because I immediately thought of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and the ship that had been delayed because of napkins). Lots of laughs, rudeness, offensive language (and hand gestures) and great songs, like "Brits on Tour", "Why Do We Say 'Gay'?", "Thursday Night" and "Left Spain". The fact that Haydn's character made a My Fair Lady reference made me snort out loud all on my ownsies. Fantastic show. Seeing it with the girls made it even better.

Possibly my favourite exchange in the show, discussing whether or not Pete got laid:
- You couldn't bag a bag of beans!
- Or a cabbage!
- Potatoes!
- You couldn't bag a turnip!
beat
- You are so gay.
- Why are turnips gay?!
- They're funny shaped!

Although this was awesome, too.
- JB... You know earlier, when you were talking about 'who we are'. Did you mean, who we are as a group, or who we are as, you know, individuals?
- Well, Jordan, mate - you know - I can't remember exactly what I said, and, I'm pretty sure it was a load of bollocks anyway.

And there was a lot of shopping done. So much the guy in security frowned at me and complained that my bag was heavy. Well, screw you, buddy, not your problem. You're not carrying it. He might have heard what I was thinking, because he got all snippy and made me take of my boots when I went through. But hey, now I've got two new pairs of jeans and several new tops. God love Dorothy Perkins. Oh, and I got The History Boys DVD! I haven't had time to watch it yet, but I'm planning on sitting down tonight with a 'Do not disturb' sign on my door. I can't wait, been dying to see it ever since I read the play. I could still kick myself - or someone else - for not getting tickets to the show.

Oh, and, when you hear someone at an airport say on the phone just before boarding a plane, "Just one more hour and then I'm done. I can do it," you get just a teensy bit nervous.

Someone should so open a KFC over here. Yum. And Starbucks.

Still can't get CCR's 'Cotton Fields' out of my head.

Quick Supernatural note... Show, I love you to bits, you know I do, but please, please, you have to start letting there be fallout from dramatic episodes. I fucking loved 'Heart', damn, the ending was awesome, but what takes away from it is knowing that it's most likely not even going to be mentioned again. Same with 'Bad Sign'. Fantastic episode, so much potential, and no mention of it the next week. Please. Consequences. I'm begging here.

Quickie

2007-03-25T17:38:00.000+02:00

Yay for free wireless internet at hotels!

Having a great time - awesome to see the girls, absolutely loved 'Unzipped!' and had a huge grin on my face for most of the evening (when it wasn't sad). Lovely to see Haydn again, and in something where he gets to show off his actual voice. Because dude, he is good.
The parental units loved Avenue Q, which admittedly surprised me a little. They're usually a bit reserved with praise.

Oh, and I gotta say, my haggling skills have vastly improved since Madrid, where I ended paying a higher price than the original one. A green leather coat from one of those tourist traps at Oxford Street, reduced from 499 quid to 299? Ten minutes and he offered it me for 100 quid.
And I resisted. Ha!
Might go back tomorrow and see if I can get it down to 75, though.

Proudiness

2007-03-22T11:05:00.000+01:00

What? If 'truthiness' is a word, so is that.

So the exam last week apparently went well. Really well. Once again, study group does its job. Frida, we so rock.

~~Three questions~~ A question and a half left on the 'theoretical grammar' exam to finish before tonight. I can do this. Well, except for the Dyirbal/Arrente/split ergativity question. That one just confuses me and the answer consists of rambling.

So, RENT and Lord of the Rings marathon next weekend. That should be something. Now we just have to set a day for the Supernatural (and Gilmore Girls) marathon as well, and it's all good.

---
Okay, the three ways we know of to mark the relationship between the different arguments in a clause are word order/the order of the phrases, case systems (the ergative/absolutive or the nominative/accusative), or verb agreement. Then we're supposed to discuss other possibilities. What other possibilities, dammit? Those are all I can think of!

WWBD - What would Buffy do?

2007-03-20T16:36:00.000+01:00

Fyra timmar på akuten, vätska i mellanörat, spänd trumhinna, inget att göra, flyga på fredag.
Terrific.

- I barely have any skin left on my palm.
- I’m not touchin’ that line with a ten-foot pole.
*snort*